Red Cross

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with almost 100 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide, which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering. It is called a 'movement' and has two major independent organizations. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). A private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 and coordinates activities between the 186 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The International Federation Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

In addition, there are 186 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. Thirty Three Islamic states use the Red Crescent symbol.

The first disaster relief provided by the American Red Cross benefited thousands of fire victims of the Michigan Great Fire of 1881. The fire raged for three days, scorching over a million acres. 282 people died in the blaze, which burned much of the thumb area of Michigan.

The American Association for the Relief of Misery on the Battlefields was a result of the International Red Cross and the forerunner of the American Association of the Red Cross. Clara Barton was instrumental in establishing the American Red Cross chapter in September 1881.

Seven Unique Uses for Nail Polish

Dab a bit of clear nail polish on the screws on the side of your glasses to keep the screw from getting loose. Also good to put on cupboard door screws to tighten them up.
Dip the end of shoelaces in some to keep them from raveling.
Put on labels to smudgeproof them.
Put different colors on keys to distinguish. Also put a dot of the same color on door locks to match.
Cover costume jewelry to keep it from losing its luster.
Use it as a band aid for small cuts. It is close to what hospitals use instead of stitches.

Waffle Bacon

According to some people, waffle irons make the best bacon. They point out that  in a pan, the fat and meat shrink and cook at different rates. The waffle iron pulls away bacon grease in its nooks and notches. You can easily pour it off or leave a thin layer of bacony goodness on for seriously delectable home-style waffles. Mmmmm!

Happy Friday

Where there is life, there is hope. Where there are hopes, there are dreams. Where there are dreams there are goals. Where there are goals there is action.

I hope and dream to act on my goal of having a Happy Friday!

Happy Pheidippides Day

Legend has it that, on this day in the year 490 B.C., a trained runner by the name of Pheidippides (or Phidippides or Philippides) of Athens, was dispatched to seek help against the invading Persian army. He ran for two days and two nights to the city of Sparta, about 125 miles away. Because of a religious festival, he could not get the needed help until after the next full moon, so he ran back without reinforcements.

Fortunately, they won the battle against the Persians at Marathon. After the battle and victory, Pheidippides ran 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to carry the news of the victory. His last words before he collapsed and died, were something like, "We have won."

In honor of Pheidippides, the 26-mile marathon became part of the Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896. Seventeen runners began, but only nine finished the race. Hamilton Ontario’s 30k Around the Bay Road Race is the oldest long-distance race in North America. It was first run in 1894 – two years before the first Olympics and three years before Boston.

At the Olympic games in London in 1908, King Edward VII asked to have the race begin near Queen Victoria’s statue at Windsor Castle. The revised distance of 26 miles to the stadium, plus a 385-yard lap of the track was established. This is the distance each race honors today.

Unknown Phone Numbers

Have you ever received a call from a number you do not recognize? Usually these are companies trying to sell you something. There is a place to look up the number to see if it is a scam. Also, if your phone has the feature, you can block the number. One place to look is at this LINK. It is a web site where you can look up these numbers to see if others are receiving calls.

You can also report the number. You do not need to leave your name or phone number. I received a call from 505-506-1046 and found it was a scam from a company based in Albuquerque, with Indian operators trying to sell credit card interest rate reductions. Worth the few minutes it takes to rid the airwaves of pushy sellers.

Hot Dog Chips

7-Eleven, has produced a new product - Big Bite Hot Dog Flavored Potato Chips. They are ketchup, mustard, and relish spiced chips. 

Others have been making hot dog chips for a while, Like Shearer's rippled hot dog chips, and Humpty Dumpty that are loaded hot dog with onions and relish flavors. Even Snyder's of Hanover produces hot dog chips. Go ahead, be daring.

Salt is Good

Salt is good for us. According to the Salt Institute, there are more than 14,000 uses for salt, including flavoring food, like potato chips.

If you have an overflow of soap suds, sprinkle salt on top of the suds and they disappear.

Take a zippered plastic bag, place some salt in the bag along with dirty artificial flowers and shake. The flowers are clean when the salt begins to turn dark.

Rub dampened salt on bee stings and mosquito bites.

If you drop an egg on the floor, just sprinkle enough salt to cover the mess and let sit for about 20 minutes and sweep it up..

Salt will smother a kitchen grease fire if you have enough of it. (A large dampened towel works better).

Fresh cut flowers last longer with a pinch of salt in the water.

If you run out of toothpaste, brush your teeth with equal parts baking soda and salt.

Weeds and grass in sidewalk cracks can be killed with a little salt and warm water.

Gargling with warm salt water is good after dental work and also soothes a sore throat.

After Party Beer Tip

After the crowd leaves and you are left with a few dozen almost empty beer cans, pour the remaining drops from each can into a container and use it every now and then to fertilize your house plants. They love the sugars.  More is better for outdoor veggie gardens.

Kissing Facts

Human lips are different from most other animals, because they are everted, meaning that they purse outward.

Great apes press their lips together to express excitement, affection, or reconciliation.

Scientists are not sure why humans kiss, but some think it might actually be a learned behavior. I wonder where these people went to school.

The Roman military introduced kissing to many non-kissing cultures.

The earliest literary evidence for kissing comes from Sanskrit texts, written 1,000 to 2,000 years ago. One mentions lovers setting mouth to mouth.

Dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of desire and reward, spikes in response to novel experiences, which explains why a kiss with someone new can feel so special. Kissing reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, thereby lowering blood pressure and optimizing immune response.

A passionate kiss makes our pupils dilate.

Men are far more likely to prefer sloppy tongue kisses than women.

Women pay much closer attention than men do to the breath and teeth of their partner.

The last fact most of us already know - It's fun.

Books With Sound

A new start-up called Booktracks has developed something unique. It pairs sound with reading, just like what happened to the motion picture industry when they added sound to silent movies. It provides some excitement that may forever change how we read.

One sample tested has music in the background, but when a passage, such as a door closing is read, the sound of a door closing is heard. It seems to stay in sync, whether you read fast or slow.

Some Booktracks are already available in the Apple App Store. In the works are editions of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Peter Pan, The Three Musketeers, Pride and Prejudice and more. This will be a great development to watch and see if it will be revolutionary or fizzle.

Package Delivery

In 1907 in Seattle a teenager named Jim Casey borrowed $100 from his friend, Claude Ryan, and started a local delivery service named American Messenger Company. They provided round-the-clock customer service with courtesy, reliability and low rates.

In 1913 they merged with Mac McCabe and formed Merchants Parcel Delivery. It was the first company to consolidate packages with similar street destinations on one delivery truck. The trucks were painted dark brown color to portray a professional appearance.

They expanded to Oakland and Los Angeles, California. and changed the name to United Parcel Service.  UPS now operates a small package and document network in more than 200 countries and can reach over four billion people.”

Google+

One of the nice features is that you have circles of people, so you can set up family, friends, business, etc. When you make a comment, you decide which circle it is intended for and it is only viewable by that group. You can set up a category of people that you follow, and comments can be sent to them independently or you can send to all groups. Below each comment box are icons to add pictures, links, video, location, and this makes it extremely easy to attach. Another feature is that you can add people to your circles so that they receive emails only and do not have to join Google+.

Happy Friday

If you want to succeed, put your heart, mind, and soul into your smallest acts.

I always put my heart, mind, and soul into having a Happy Friday!