Happy Birthday Thomas Jefferson

April 13, 1743 was this great man's birthday. He could write in Greek with one hand while writing the same in Latin with the other. His Portrait is on the Two $2.00 Dollar Bill.

Here are some facts about his life and quotes from Thomas Jefferson.

At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor.
At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.
At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.
At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.
At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.
At 23, started his own law practice.
At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America" and retired from his law practice.
At 32, was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence.
At 33, took three years to revise Virginia's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.
At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia.
At 40, served in Congress for two years.
At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations.
At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.
At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became active head of Republican Party.
At 57, was elected the third president of the United States.
At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation's size.
At 61, was elected to a second term as President.
At 65, retired to Monticello.
At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.
 At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.
At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence.

John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the White House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." -- Thomas Jefferson

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." -- Thomas Jefferson

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too
much government." --Thomas Jefferson

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." --Thomas Jefferson

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." -- Thomas Jefferson

"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." --Thomas Jefferson

Tap Dance Diversion

Here is Bill Bojangles Robinson from 1932 tap dancing with stairs as a prop. LINK

Wordology, Pancreas

Inside your abdomen is your pancreas, just behind and below the stomach. It is a long, flat organ that is connected to the small intestines.

It is part of the digestive system and releases digestive enzymes into the small intestines that help to break down food, so your body can extract the nutrients it needs. It also produces sodium bicarbonate, which neutralizes acids that find their way from the stomach into the small intestines.

The pancreas also secretes important hormones your body needs, such as insulin and glucagon to help to regulate blood sugar levels in your body.

Incidentally, the abdomen is an area of the body that contains most of the tube-like organs of the digestive tract, as well as several solid organs. Hollow abdominal organs include the stomach, the small intestine, and the colon with its attached appendix. Organs such as the liver, its attached gallbladder, and the pancreas function in close association with the digestive tract and communicate with it via ducts. The spleen, kidneys, and adrenal glands also lie within the abdomen, along with many blood vessels including the aorta. 

Little Tree Story

Not the usual fare I include, but the following is thought provoking and I decided to share.

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and then his pickup truck refused to start.

I drove him home and when we arrived, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. Upon opening the door he had undergone an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

He walked me to my car and as I was leaving, we passed the small tree. My curiosity got the better of me and I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier at the little tree.

"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I will always have troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, those troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children." "So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home and ask God to take care of them. Then in the morning I pick them up again."

"Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren't nearly as many as I hung there the night before." ~ Author unknown

State Gas Tax Rates

The highest state gas tax is assessed in Pennsylvania, at 50.4 cents per gallon, with Washington State (44.5 cpg) and New York (42.64 cpg) following closely behind. Alaska drivers pay the lowest rate in the country at 12.25 cents per gallon. These figures do not include the 18.4 cpg federal gas tax.

Science I Like

Do not make up your bed. When you are sleeping under a blanket, your body becomes hot and sweaty. This creates the perfect breeding ground for dust mites which are microscopic bugs that can exacerbate asthma and allergies. Research from Kingston University has proven that the best way to get rid of dust mites is to leave your bed unmade and let it dry out. When mites are exposed to sun and air they get dehydrated and die.

Scientists have developed a computer model to track how changes in the home can reduce numbers of dust mites in beds. “We know that mites can only survive by taking in water from the atmosphere using small glands on the outside of their body,” Dr Pretlove said. “Something as simple as leaving a bed unmade during the day can remove moisture from the sheets and mattress so the mites will dehydrate and eventually die.”

The two-year project has attracted more than £200,000 funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Dr Pretlove is working alongside built environment experts from University College London and the University of Cambridge. Zoologists from Insect Research and Development Ltd and the Royal Agricultural College are also part of the project team.

Happy Friday

"There is nothing more beautiful than cheerfulness in an old face." ~ Jean Paul

Cheerfulness makes everyone beautiful, especially on a Happy Friday!

Licking Machine

A school of higher learning, engineering students at Purdue University, actually measured Tootsie Pop licks. It officially takes 364 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. They used a proprietary “licking machine” rather than a human tongue. Human volunteers reached the center in just 252 licks.

Wordology, Achilles Heel

In Greek mythology, Achilles was the son of an immortal goddess named Thetis and a mortal man named Peleus. When Achilles was born, Thetis thought she could make him immortal by submerging him into the River Styx. The legend says Thetis held Achilles by his heel when she dipped him into the river. Therefore, his heel was not touched by the magical waters of the River and it remained mortal and thus vulnerable. Achilles went on to become a hero in the Trojan War, but was killed toward the end of the war when he was shot in the heel by an arrow.
Since then, the term "Achilles' heel" has come to mean a vulnerability or weakness in an otherwise strong person. For example, a fighter might be brought down by his Achilles' heel, such as pride, or overconfidence.

The Achilles tendon is the largest and strongest tendon in the body, stretching from the calf muscles down to the heel. It is strong, but prone to injury. Doctors speculate this is because of its limited blood supply and the fact that it frequently has high tension placed upon it, especially during walking and running.

I Write The Songs

Barry Manilow did not write his hit song “I Write the Songs”. Before he recorded it, Barry didn’t even think it was a particularly good song. It was written by Bruce Johnston, of the Beach Boys, during 1975.

Monowi Nebraska

There is an American town with a population of one. Monowi is the only town in the United States with an official population of one person. Monowi means "flower" in a Native American language. Elsie Eiler became the sole resident of Monowi in 2004, after her husband, Rudy, passed away. She pays taxes to herself and grants her own alcohol license.

She is in her 80s, and is employed as the village’s mayor, librarian, and bartender. The Monowi Tavern has regular customers. At the tavern, she is the only full-time staff, but she occasionally brings on extra help when she is expecting a big crowd, like the motorcycle group that meets there several times a year.

The nearest community to Monowi is Lynch, located approximately 6.92 miles (11.14 km) away. The village is located approximately 193.97 miles (312.16 km) from Omaha.

Windshield Repair Hack

It is frustrating when a truck or car in front throws up a rock and creates a nick in the windshield. If you ignore it, it might spread and require a new windshield. There are a few ways to put off the trip to a repair shop.

One - Clear nail polish can fill the nooks and crannies of your small windshield chips and cracks and when it dries, helps to seal and protect it from the cold and elements that cause further cracking. Clean the damaged area of your windshield with dish soap and warm water. When dry, apply a thin layer of clear nail polish to the damaged area and let dry.

Two - So clever that I had to look it up to verify. You can actually fix a cracked window with garlic. Cut a garlic clove lengthwise down the middle. Rub the cut side softly over the crack and wipe away the excess garlic juice with a paper towel. Garlic contains various sucrose compounds called fructans in high concentrations. Fructanos are responsible for making the knife sticky when we cut one of these and is like a natural glue. When filled with the natural garlic glue, it will prevent cracks from spreading. It is not a substitute for a professional fix, but it will keep the crack on your windshield from getting worse until you can get to a repair shop.

Distressing Birthday Thought

You are most likely to die on your birthday. According to research published in the Annals of Epidemiology, people over sixty have a fourteen percent higher chance of dying on their birthday than any other day. Other researchers have found that an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, falls, and suicides makes our birthdays a far more dangerous day of the year than any other. Another group of researchers, who have studied more than two million people over the course of two decades have found: we are more likely to die on our own birthday than any other day of the year. More reasons to skip birthdays and just be happy every day.

Cheese May Prevent Nightmares

In case your birthday is close, there is a way to not have nightmares about it. According to research conducted by the British Cheese Board, no study subjects reported having nightmares after eating cheese, but blue cheese consumption had a tendency to make dreams a bit odd. Filed under another odd study, but it seemed to fit.