Fun facts and trivial tidbits

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!  Hopefully you had a good Labor Day weekend.  Probably some of you did work, but hopefully you were paid well to labor on Labor Day.  This week's installment of Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits will center around the month of September.  How much do you know about this month?  Some of us used to associate September with going back to school (yeah, really dated myself there..), and others probably associate early September (especially right after Labor Day) with the end of summer and summer vacation.

Did you know the origin of the word "September"?  It's root is in the Roman word "septem" which means seven.  This came about because in the Roman calendar, September was actually the seventh month of the year, not the ninth month as it is in our Gregorian Calenders.  The Anglo Saxons called this month "Gerst monath (Barley month) because this was when they harvested barley. 

Another interesting fact about September, is when Britain changed from the Julian Calendar (which is 365.25 days long) to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, we lost 11 days.  So, September 3rd immediately became September 14th.  Therefore time between September 3, 1752 and September 14, 1752 is the only time in British history where NOTHING happened...  Pretty cool information? 

Did you know that September 17th is Constitution Day (also Citizenship Day) in the United States of America?  The United States Constitution was ratified by the US Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Now that we have the serious facts covered, let's have some fun with September - did you know that September is National Chicken Month?  It is also Cholesterol Awareness Month right here in the good ol' U.S. of A. 

The poem, "Mary had a Little Lamb" was published September 1, 1830

September also has a National Teddy Bear Day and a National Play-Doh Day.  It seems like September is a great month to play in...

To wander off the subject of September for a moment, the interesting item about National Teddy Bear Day is that the United States has TWO National Teddy Bear Days, one in September and then another one in November.  The November event was created by the Vermont Teddy Bear Company in 2000 to celebrate the contribution the teddy bear has made to popular culture....Perhaps in November we will discuss how the Teddy Bear got it's name...

The U.S. Supreme Court was established in September 1789 as was the U.S. Treasury Department.

In Medieval times, September 24th is traditionally the start of  harvesting and Michaelmas Day (September 29th) is traditionally the last day of the harvest season. 

Hopefully you enjoyed these fun facts and trivial tidbits about the month of September.  There are a large number of celebrations and odd events that occur during the month of September.  Have fun with them.

Tomorrow being hump day, we will re-introduce our Motivational Wednesday information.  This way, you will stay motivated through the day tomorrow and then we can keep you motivated the remainder of the week.

Until tomorrow...

Labor Day and other interesting things

Well, as you all are probably aware, I messed up on my days at the beginning of this week and I have yet to get re-calibrated. I was going to bring more motivational tips up, but realized that with tomorrow being Friday, you have more than enough motivation to make it the remainder of the week.

That being said, lets have some more fun. Since this upcoming Monday is Labor Day, I thought it might be interesting to cover some more facts about the origins of Labor Day and any other interesting things regarding this holiday.

Labor Day is currently celebrated in the United States as the first Monday in September. It was designed to celebrate the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of America.

It was first celebrated on September 5, 1882. On that day, some 10,000 workers assembled in New York City to participate in America's first Labor Day parade. The participants marched from City Hall, past the reviewing stands on Union Square, and then turned uptown to 42nd Street. At the end of the parade, the workers and their families gathered in Wendel's Elm Park for a picnic, concert, and speeches. This first Labor Day celebration was eagerly organized and executed by New York’s Central Labor Union, an umbrella group made up of representatives from many local unions. Debate continues to this day as to who originated the idea of a workers' holiday, but it definitely emerged from the ranks of organized labor at a time when they wanted to demonstrate the strength of their burgeoning movement and inspire improvements in their working conditions.

These celebrations in New York then spread across the country. It was the State of Oregon that became the first state to grant legal status to this holiday. In 1894, Congress passed legislation making Labor Day a national holiday.

Believe it or not, over 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers. Depending on where you research, some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co founder of the American Federation of Labor, first suggested a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

Labor Day has also been unofficially designated the end of summer. In some fashion circles, after Labor Day you can no longer wear white (shoes, purses, clothes) except for weddings.

Hopefully you all will partake of this long weekend, the last of the summer holidays and have fun. For many, this weekend represents the last "official" time for backyard barbeque's, summer clothes and the end of summer vacation from school. For others, this holiday could allow them to finish chores that were put off all summer long. For me, it will be a time to relax and enjoy some much-needed time off.

However you spend your Labor Day and weekend prior, have a great time and we will chat again on TUESDAY...yup, Monday is a HOLIDAY. Enjoy

Until Tuesday...

Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits - Late

Sorry guys, I lost track of time, forgot that YESTERDAY was MONDAY, not today. All the same, welcome to your weekly installment of Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits, even though it is a day late...

Let's get right into the fun... tonight we are going to find fun facts about places around the world:

The smallest "country" in the world to have its own top-level domain name is Norfolk Island, off the coast of Australia.

If you love traveling and monkeys, Gibraltar is the only place in Europe where you can find wild monkeys (we are not looking at elementary schools...)

For those of you who believe that we are Always at war, it is interesting to note that the shortest war ever recorded lasted only 38 minutes (Britain versus Zanzibar, in 1896). Don't know why we can't have short wars like that again...heck, I have have known couples to have arguments longer than 38 minutes...

In 1892, Italy raised the minimum age for marriage for girls to a whopping 12 years old...wow, old maids...

In light of all the news regarding the latest hurricane, did you know that New York City has 570 miles of shoreline? That is one of the reasons why there was such concern about the hurricane hitting New York City straight on.

If you have ever traveled to the Amazon jungle, there are up to 3,000 species of trees that have been cataloged within on square mile. That is a major amount of diversity...

Do you know what the original purpose of the (now) leaning tower of Pisa? It was originally designed as a bell tower. Guess that got thrown out when the tower started leaning....hard to ring a bell that is almost sideways.

Did you know that more Siberian tigers live in zoos than in the wild?

Brazoria County in Southeast Texas is the only county in the United States and Canada to have every kind of poisonous snake found in those two countries.

And lastly, for those of you who HATE snakes and all those cold-blooded critters, the only continent without any reptiles or snakes is Antarctica.

Have a wonderful week. Hopefully you enjoyed this weekly update of Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits. Until Thursday (since I am off by a day, might as well continue to be off this week...)

Take care...

Motivational Wednesdays

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!!! Bet you thought I wouldn't be here tonight...HA had you fooled didn't I? Since I have been seriously challenged lately, I thought that tonight would provide a great opportunity to talk about some motivational techniques so that you too can possibly get more things done. Welcome to my Motivational Wednesday...

Since Wednesdays are typically the middle of a "standard" work week, many people have also called Wednesday's "hump-days". Wednesdays are a bit tough because you have struggled for two days to get here, but then the good news is that you only have 2 more days to the weekend. Since I personally do have trouble with motivation on Wednesdays (in particular...) I have started once again to pick up some motivational techniques so that I can get through the day and accomplish all the tasks I do have on my list, that I REALLY didn't want to finish. You all know THOSE tasks, the ones that NEED to be done, but you don't want to do them? (that is not to say I don't enjoy writing this Blog, I just noticed that I am seriously lacking in motivation all day on Wednesdays...)

One way to stay motivated is to reduce boredom and to understand what it is you do that may make you particularly bored. Being bored is a great way to lose motivation.... Being bored makes the day appear to go slower, being bored can easily lead to over-eating and being bored can make you grumpy. Identify what makes you bored and strive to eliminate that boredom. The real challenge comes when there is a task or core that you MUST do but it is supremely boring. The key here is to identify that task, and get it done as quickly as possible, because the more you put it off (because it is soooo darned boring) the more you will not get anything else done either. Boredom can really kill any motivation. If you know what your triggers are for boring tasks, find ways to avoid those triggers, even while completing that task. This is not easy by any stretch of the imagination, but once you master it, you can make those boring chores a lot easier to deal with. They may still be boring, but you have learned to cope with that. Personally, I strive to get the really boring tasks done as fast as possible...sort of like taking nasty medicine. Get it done fast and then reward yourself for a job well done....works for me.

Another trick to keep motivation up is to switch tasks so you don't get too bored doing one task. Strive to work on a few small, easy tasks and use them to break up what could be a long, drawn-out and possibly boring task. Pick up those small tasks when you are almost at your wits end when working on that big project. The little tasks completed will provide you a great sense of accomplishment and will help to keep you motivated to finish that large project you were working on. Also, buy taking a break from one project, and completing another, when you return to the original project at hand, you may find solutions that you didn't realized existed. Taking a break provides you with the opportunity to take a fresh look at an old task.

Lastly, to stay motivated and on task, remember to reward yourself for a job well done. You don't need to go to extremes, but if there is something small that you really like doing, reward yourself with whatever that is after you complete a task, even a boring task. By rewarding yourself for a job well done, you create a positive habit that will assist you in staying motivated and completing other projects. You could even look forward to completing tasks so that you can gather your own personal reward. This small reward could be as simple as a small cup of ice cream, or playing a quick game, or even taking a relaxing shower or swim. You can then be motivated to quickly complete your project so that you can reap your reward.

Hopefully some of these tips will help you to stay on task, remain motivated and finish those projects that have been dogging you for the longest time.

If I don't talk to you on Friday, have a great weekend and we will chat again on Monday.

Until then...

More Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits

HA!!! Bet you thought that I wouldn't be posting again...HA, HA. Well I even surprised myself with this post. I made a promise to all of you and myself, and I am working very, very hard to maintain that promise. Granted, I have been physically unable to post daily since last week, but at least I am getting Mondays down. I will post again this Wednesday, since I really believe I will not have time to post tomorrow....

Anyway, tonight is the weekly update for Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits. As you are aware, I started tracking these silly little items over a year ago to help resolve some of the Monday doldrums. Hopefully these little known factoids are fun to share with friends and family, or better yet, you can use them to torment others who HATE trivia!! Oh what fun!!!

Especially on Mondays, do you find that you have a terrible time waking up or staying awake? How many cups of coffee did you drink to even start to get those heavy eye-lids up and that sluggish brain to start plodding along? Did you know that apples are better at waking a person up than even caffeine? Something to think about when you don't want your stomach torn up with all that acid from the coffee...

Now that we are starting to consider autumn in some parts of the country (not here, but somewhere...) did you know that oak trees do not produce acorns until they are 50 years old or older? And you thought waiting until you were 21 to drink took a long time...

For those of you who are still celebrating summer and the requisite mosquitoes.... did you know that mosquito repellent really doesn't "repel" mosquitoes? The repellents actually hid you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you are there (that is until you find one and squish it...)

Do you know the origins of the name of the soda drink, 7-Up? When this citrus soda was created in 1929, the original containers were on 7 ounces. The word 'UP' indicated the direction the bubbles went....

Do you ever wonder why the radio operators were called Ham radio operators? It is not because they "hammed" it up on the radio. The term "ham" was derived from the "ham-fisted" operators", which described the early radio users who sent Morse code (they pounded their fists when hitting all those dots and dashes...)

Here is something to bother your friends with - only one-third of the people that can twitch their ears, can twitch only one at a time.

Did you know that the term "the Boogey Man will get you" comes from the Boogey people, who still inhabit an area of Indonesia? These people still act as pirates today and attack ships that pass. Therefore, the phrase spread, "if you don't watch out, the Boogey man will get you."

Lastly, for those of you still wishing for the weekend, and really wanting a beer - in medieval England, beer was often served with breakfast. Now that could really put a good spin on your day... ;-)

Hopefully you have enjoyed yet another installment of Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits. I will be posting again this Wednesday, so in the meantime, have a wonderful Tuesday and don't forget to torment your friends and family with some of these useless tidbits of useless trivia.

Until Wednesday...

Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits

Welcome again to the weekly (not weakly) edition of Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits. Granted, it has been some time since our last installment, this week's information should keep you generally entertained.

How many of you, while at work, may wander by the vending machine to either get something out of it, or to stare at it wistfully hoping something in there will not make you gain weight? Well, did you know that more than 10 people a year are killed by vending machines? Really... so don't get too close to that machine, you might be one of those 10 for this year...

Thinking about losing weight? Talking about those killer vending machines didn't do the trick? Did you know that if you smell (not eat) bananas or green apples (or both it the mood strikes) can help you to lose weight? Try it, and don't eat the banana or green apple...

For some of you women out there, have you ever commented on your 'guy' spending soooo much time in the bathroom? Did you ever take note of HOW much time is spent in there? For some reason, it seems that guys like to spend a lot of time in the bathroom. If asked, some of them claim it is the only place they can get peace and quiet. Some believe it is a great reading room. Well, someone with a bunch of time on their hands has calculated that the average person spends 3 years of their life on the toilet. Geezz...my legs would have fallen asleep long before then...

In light of that little trivial tidbit, did you know that each year there are more than 40,000 toilet related injuries in the U.S. Most likely from all those numb legs after spending so much time sitting on the toilet...

Do you have a friend whose sole goal in life is to get as many shoes as possible? Did you know that almost 29% of women spend more time looking for shoes than looking for a life partner? Heck, at least shoes don't talk back and if you get tired of them, you can throw them in a box and give them to a charity. Can't do that (legally) with a life partner.... go figure.

Therefore it makes sense that 40% of women have hurled footwear at men.

While at work, how many times does that darned copier break down? For us, it happens quite a bit. I think we have now figured out why the copier mis-behaves... 23% of all copier faults are caused by people sitting on them and copying their rear-ends. And you wondered why the glass was smudged...

And lastly, you know we have come a long way. If you wanted your picture taken (not on a copy machine) by the very first camera, you would have had to sit still for 8 hours. Makes copy machines a little better to deal with (even if they do break often...)

Hopefully you enjoyed your weekly edition of Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits...

Until tomorrow...

I am ALIVE!!!

Hello one and all. Bet you thought I would never poke my head out of my hidey hole... Well, here I am, almost back in the saddle. Tonight is going to be a brief, wandering chat, nothing too difficult and really, I do promise to get back to regular posting...

I realize I don't have to explain myself, but feel it is the right thing to do... Since the economy has been SOOOO stinky, I did go out and get a short-term job. The problem is that this "short-term" job turned into a major job that then turned into major hours and weekend work. Not quite what I had originally signed on for. The problem has been that I have had to drag my tired butt home every day after 10-12 hours working both in a warehouse and on a computer. Needless to say, I had zero energy to even want to eat dinner let alone talk to you guys about anything.

My mother taught me a great lesson, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. So...three guesses why you haven't heard from me in a Looonnng time? I have now re-screwed my head back on straight and will carve time out of my evenings to at least chat with you all again. I truly have missed talking with you and after reviewing my old posts, needed to take my own commentary and advice to heart.

So, here I am talking once again and hopefully you all can forgive my disappearance and allow me to redeem myself by writing more consistently.

Tonight, I was sitting on the back porch, enjoying the lightning show in the distance. It has cooled down a bit here, all the way down to 102. A nice breeze has kicked up and it was overall a pleasant evening until I happened to look down. As I was sitting comfortably in my outside chair, what did I see, but a BIG BLACK HAIRY thing skulking around right under my chair. My first reaction was to get all body parts as high in the air as possible. Then I looked again to see this SPIDER slowly wandering around under my chair.


I then realized I was trying to fly, feet, and hands were waving around in the air, but it did nothing to lift me any higher from that BIG SPIDER. After my initial shock though, I realized it was most likely a tarantula (still not sure because my eyes were not adjusted too well to the dark, I was watching lightning, so I was still somewhat night-blind. After my eyes adjusted to the dark better, I did confirm I was looking at a tarantula. Then I carefully watched where it was walking and was able to put my sandeled feet back on the ground. I quickly ran to the back door, flung it open grabbed the dogs and locked them in the bedroom. I then flicked on the back porch light, verified the tarantula was still there and ran to get my camera.

So now you see what I saw, and you have a pretty good idea how big this male Arizona Blonde Tarantula is... the tiles are 6"x6". Pretty cool.

Anyway, this guy was subsequently picked up and placed on a bush OUTSIDE the fenceline so the dogs would not hurt or bother it. So all's well that end's well.

That's all the fun for tonight. I will be back tomorrow for a brief chat...PROMISE!!!

Until tomorrow...