July 4th Trivia

Happy Independence Day

Here's some Independence Day trivia to help you celebrate our nation's birth.

• Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national animal but was outvoted when John Adams and Thomas Jefferson chose the bald eagle.
• Over an estimated 150 million hot dogs will be consumed today. That's roughly 1 dog for every two people in the U.S.
  
• Oddly, the majority of the nation's flags and patriotic paraphernalia in relation to the 4th of July is produced in China. Nearly $349 million dollars are used each year to import in the flags, banners, decorations, and emblems.
• The first 4th of July party held at the White House was in 1801.
• The 4th of July was not declared a national holiday until 1941.
• John Hancock was the only person to actually sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The other 55 signers did not sign it until August 2nd or even later.
• When the United States became a country, there were approximately 2.5 million people living in the country. Today the population is around 304 million.
• Fireworks were invented in China in the 12th century to ward off evil spirits.
• 'The Star Spangled Banner' was written by Frances Scott Key and was originally set to the tune of an English drinking song.
• Calvin Coolidge, our nation's 30th president, was born on July 4th, 1872.
  
• The Liberty Bell sounded from the tower of Independence Hall on July 8, 1776, summoning citizens to gather for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon.

Vintage 4th Of July Greeting Cards

July 4th is known for cookouts and fireworks but not many realize that at one time it was a big time for 4th of July greeting cards.
I did some research and came across some really neat vintage cards that people sent to others to celebrate Independence Day. (click on the image to enlarge.)

RIP Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson

From being a child and watching Farrah chase down the bad guys in her bikini while her golden hair flipped around to waiting to watch the world premiere of Michael Jackson's Thriller in the days when MTV actually played music. These where some of many good memories I had growing up.
Today both, the stunningly beautiful angel and the king of pop music died only hours apart.

Most of the nation knew that Farrah Fawcett was battling cancer for the last year and that she was gravely ill but the news of Jackson dying suddenly of a heart attack was right out shocking.

Both careers of these two loved and sometime hated celebrates were not with out scandal. From drug abuse to plastic surgery addiction to accusations of child molestation, these two who lived very separate lives were never out of the news. But what can't be denied about them both was that they were two very talented people and both will be missed by millions.

May the two of you both Rest In Peace.

ADVENTURES IN GEOCACHING

WHAT IS GEOCACHING?

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a (GPS) to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container (usually a tupperware or ammo-box) containing a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little value.

Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica. There are over 820,000 active geocaches in the world right now.

"RICK, MEET GEOCACHING"

I first was introduced to this "geocaching" hobby by my friend Todd in San Francisco. He told me how he and his son would hike all over to find these hidden boxes using his GPS.

These boxes ranged in size of a small film canister to a toaster sized metal box. Some boxes had small "treasures" in them which could be taken as long as you left something equal or greater in value. What is in all the boxes is a log sheet which you would sign your name to. Then when all is done, you would re-hide the box in the same location you found it and you would log it in as "found" on geocaching. com, the home site for this scavenger hunting game.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

Now that I was back home in Connecticut I decided to give this game a try. I looked on the geocaching site and I found that there were hundreds of caches hidden in Connecticut and some right in my home town.

I quickly fired up the geocaching app on my iPhone, kidnapped my little nephew for company and set out to find my very first cache on my own. It was an easy one. The GPS on my iPhone took me right to the place I needed to be. It was "The Old Stone Church" (the oldest stone church in the country, built in 1774) that was right down the street from my house.

A clue that was given to where the box was hidden read "under the old stone". That was about all we had to go on. We knew we were in the right area because out GPS told us so. I knew that there was a good 15-20 feet radius that the GPS could be off, so with my nephew's help, we started looking under every "old stone" we could find.

After a good 45 minutes I was getting discouraged. Sammy, my 3 year old nephew, was bored and it was starting to drizzle out.

"I failed", I thought to myself. As I walked toward the parking lot defeated, I looked up at the church door and I noticed the sign above it said "Old Stone Church". I then looked down and noticed the stairs leading to the door were made out of the same brown stone as the church itself. In one last ditch effort I walked over to the stairs and looked around them. There it was, tucked neatly behind a crack in the stone stairs. It was a small film canister. I quickly opened it and inside was a scrolled up piece of paper which I took out. On it was a bunch of names of the people who found it before me. I signed my name, along with Sammy's. I them returned the canister back to it's hiding place and off we went with anticipation of finding our next cache.

The next day I set my sights in another local hidden cache. This one was in the old cemetery that was a few blocks from my house. Now this cemetery is a typical old New England graveyard with stones dating back to the first settlers of this country. As I walked through the old cemetery, my GPS brought me to a wooded area that was right smack in the middle of the boneyard. The clue that was given with this hunt was "hidden 4 feet up". After a few minutes I found that the bark on one of the old giant elm trees was false. I pulled it away and there was my second find in two days. Like the first, I signed the scroll and returned the canister. I thought to myself that this is easy and yet fun. I love it.

THE SLEEPING GIANT VS. THE GEO-HUNTERS

"This is easy and yet fun." Those are the words I used when I told my friend Chris about this geocaching hobby I was now involved with. I convinced him to bring his seven year old son along and join me at "Sleeping Giant State Park" to find a cache hidden there.

I had no problems with Chris bring his small child, after all, how hard could this one be? I found the first two caches quickly and I didn't even break a sweat. So on a sunny, Sunday afternoon we set out to find the cache on the Sleeping Giant.

The GPS took us to an old rock wall hidden in the woods on Sleeping Giant. The clue was "about 3 feet up from ground level." That was easy enough. So after almost an HOUR, Chris found a small canister hidden in this massive old wall. We opened it and in it was coordinates leading to the "real cache box".
I punched in the numbers in my GPS and it set us a path on a map on the iphone. I figured it was up the path, maybe a quarter mile or so. It was nice and sunny out and we had all day so I thought a nice hike through the woods would be fun.

As we scaled rocky vertical paths and walked along cliffs that would send us plummeting hundreds of feet straight down with one slip of the foot, I feared the wrath of Chris' wife if I returned without one or both of her family members. Sweating fro the beating sun, dirty and out of breath we finally found our destination a couple hours later.

Hidden within a pile of rocks and boulders was a toaster sized metal box. We quickly opened it and in it was all sorts of treasures, from match box cars to coins. After signing the scroll, we told James, Chris' son, that he could pick anything he wanted out of the box.
After looking through the numerous treasures, James chose a stick with a point. Kind of like a stick you would stab a vampire with. James figured that we were deep in the woods of Sleeping Giant and the sun was going down and you never knew when bear or lion would jump out and then we would all be thankful he chose the one thing in the box that would save all our lives. So with Chris and James and his pointy stick, I returned the box and we headed out back to the car. We beat the Sleeping Giant!


I would soon learn that geocaching could be very easy, with finds that were nearly in plain sight and then there was the hard, like the one we found hidden a good 30 feet, deep down in a rocky pit where the only way in was through a hidden cave.

In our short time in playing this game we had scraps, cuts and bruises... and we almost lost Chris when he tumbled down a jagged rocky slop, causing some really cool looking cuts.

This geocaching hobby is addicting. It's the challenge of finding what is hidden from you. It's the mystery of the hunt and the satisfaction of the find.
My suggestion to you if you decide to try geocaching is to map it out before you leave. Try not to do it alone. Bring a cell phone. Bring gloves, water and some snack food. Have fun. This is a web site where you could learn all about geocaching and how to get involved. Seriously, it's great fun so check it out!
http://www.geocaching.com/

Here are some pics from out geocaching adventures so far.

Rick, James and Mike with the "Pit" cache find!

This is a typical "canister cache". It usually contains a log book or scroll to sign.

Chris and his son James coming out of the cave that leads to the "Pit".

Huge find on "The Sleeping Giant".

The "Lizard Rock" clue.

Coordinates that led to the cache location.

San Francisco, Gay Rights, Star Trek and Geocaching. May in a nutshell.

I can't believe I missed the entire month of May without one entry. It's not like nothing happened in May. It's more that I have been so busy. So here's a look back at some of the things I would like to bring into focus from May. Think of it as a cluster of mini blog post.

I went to San Francisco with my best friend Joe. We went out there to visit my friends Joe, Todd and Alice. Alice's son, Mark Bingham, was one of the four people believed to have stormed the cockpit and stop the terrorists on his hijacked plane from crashing it into the White House. Mark was a man who loved life, his family and friends. Mark also happened to be gay. He was on United Flight 93 and he gave his life to save hundreds.


This leads to my next mini post. Why in the world do people feel they need to vote to let gay people marry? This is a basic right that straight people in love all have. Gay people love each other in the same way. How could one set of people decide on something so personal? How could we allow a majority vote on rights of a minority? If this was the case than we would have never seen women cast their votes in elections. We would have never seen blacks go to the same schools as white or even drink from the same water fountains. I only hope that all women and African-Americans remember this next time this question of gay marriage is brought up for vote.


As for vote. I vote that so far Star Trek is the best movie of the summer so far! This movie Rocked.


Speaking of Rocks, I have a new hobby called geocaching. It's kind of like a treasure hunt that's world wide. People from all over leave boxes hidden in different places. they mark their location on GPS and the computer and others use clues to find them. It's serious fun. Today I climbed the most rockiest trails up the side of a HUGE hill to seek out one of these caches. Well worth the climb!


Ok, that's about it. I promise I'll be back in June!

Famous Pigs

The outbreak of the Swine Flu has been hard on the people who have been stricken by it. Because of miscommunication and wrong information, it's also been hard on the pigs nation around the world.
To remind people that "pigs are out friends", I'm listing some pictures of famous pigs.
See if you could name these 8 piglet starlets. Place the answers in the comment section. Good luck

1.2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Swine Flu Information

It's been all over the news for the last few days. The "swine flu" in threatening people world wide. I did some research and gathered some information that I hope helps everyone keep healthy.

What is swine flu?
Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Swine flu viruses have been reported to spread from person-to-person, but in the past, this transmission was limited and not sustained beyond three people.

What are the signs and symptoms of swine flu in people?
The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. In the past, severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection in people. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.

How does swine flu spread?
Spread of this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is thought to be happening in the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

What should I do to keep from getting the flu?
First and most important: wash your hands. Try to stay in good general health. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food. Try not touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.What surfaces are most likely to be sources of contamination?
Germs can be spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth. Droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air. Germs can be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets from another person on a surface like a desk and then touches their own eyes, mouth or nose before washing their hands.

What can I do to protect myself from getting sick?
There is no vaccine available right now to protect against swine flu. There are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza. Take these everyday steps to protect your health:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you get sick with influenza, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

What is the best technique for washing my hands to avoid getting the flu?
Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. Wash with soap and water. or clean with alcohol-based hand cleaner. we recommend that when you wash your hands -- with soap and warm water -- that you wash for 15 to 20 seconds. When soap and water are not available, alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizer may be used. You can find them in most supermarkets and drugstores. If using gel, rub your hands until the gel is dry. The gel doesn't need water to work; the alcohol in it kills the germs on your hands.

What should I do if I get sick?
If you live in areas where swine influenza cases have been identified and become ill with influenza-like symptoms, including fever, body aches, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, or vomiting or diarrhea, you may want to contact their health care provider, particularly if you are worried about your symptoms. Your health care provider will determine whether influenza testing or treatment is needed.

If you are sick, you should stay home and avoid contact with other people as much as possible to keep from spreading your illness to others.

If you become ill and experience any of the following warning signs, seek emergency medical care.

In children emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish skin color
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Not waking up or not interacting
• Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
• Fever with a rash

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting

For more information about the swine flu go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/