Prayers

Heather and I have had a busy couple of days. My interview went very well on Thursday night. I made the cut to the final four (out of 57). I was called back on Friday and given the good news about that, but the Superintendent has not made his final pick. We had lunch with him on Friday and talked for about 3 hours. I believe he is calling in all 4 of us to talk, this should help in his decision. I should know by Tuesday if I have the job or not. I know that most of you already know all of this, but asking for prayers is the last thing I can do at this point. If I am luckly I will be driving back out to West Texas for the fourth week in a row to meet the School Board and sign a contract on Thursday night.

Bored at Work

You read all kinds of intresting things when your bored at work in a Library. Such as:


Herbert Hoover held a job as disbursing officer for a Geological Survey party. When a pack mule was found dead, the rules required Hoover and two witnesses to investigate. They found a loose hind shoe in the animal's neck halter and reported that it had broken its neck while scratching its head with a hind foot. The bureau refused to accept the story and fined them $60. From that time Hoover watched mules to later confirm that they could indeed scratch their heads with a hind foot. Herbert Clark Hoover was born in West Branch, Iowa, on 10 August 1874. The Hoovers were Quakers of Swiss origin who emigrated to the US in 1740. Hoover was elected 31st US President in 1928.

Church League

Why does Church League anything seems to bring out the worst in people? If you took a poll of umpires and officials, I would be willing to bet they would say they have more problems with Church League sports than any other leagues. Could this be because we tend to hold Church League players to a higher standard than other players? I am not sure, in the end can’t we all just get along???

Why is blue for boys and pink for girls?

In ancient times, it was believed that certain colours could combat the evil spirits that lingered over nurseries. Because blue was associated with the heavenly spirits, boys were clothed in that colour, boys then being considered the most valuable resource to parents. Although baby girls did not have a colour associated with them, they were mostly clothed in black. It was only in the Middle Ages when pink became associated with baby girls.

Science

Music was sent down a telephone line for the first time in 1876, the year the phone was invented.

Sound travels through water 3 times faster than through air.

A square piece of dry paper cannot be folded in half more than 7 times.

Air becomes liquid at about minus 190 degrees Celsius.

Liquid air looks like water with a bluish tint.

A scientific satellite needs only 250 watts of power, the equivelant used by two hour light bulbs, to operate.

The thin line of cloud that forms behind an aircraft at high altitudes is called a contrail.

Radio waves travel so much faster than sound waves that a broadcast voice can be heard sooner 18,000 km away than in the back of the room in which it originated.

Fear of Friday the 13th

What do people fear most? At the top of the list is death, the fear of which is necrophobia. Second, apparently, is the fear of failure, which is called kakorrhaphiophobia. There is of course a story of how fears developed, like fear for the number 13. The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia.

In pagan times Friday was the luckiest day of the week because it was ruled by the planet Venus, the symbol of love and fortune. In fact, Friday is named in honour of Freya, goddess of Love. But for Christians, Friday has not been a good day. Adam and Eve is said to have eaten the forbidden fruit on a Friday and died on a Friday. Jesus was crucified on a Friday.

For centuries sailors refused to set sail on a Friday. It is told that when the reluctance of seamen to set sail on a Friday had reached such proportions that it interfered with naval operations, the British Admiralty decided to prove once and for all that it is a fallacy. They laid the keel of a new vessel on a Friday, named her H.M.S. Friday, and launched her on a Friday. On her first voyage, setting sail on a Friday, she was commanded by Captain James Friday. She left the harbour and nothing has since been heard of her or her crew. The identical story has also found its place in American lore.

The fear for traveling on a Friday continued until the early 20th century where in Europe bus and train travel was lowest on a Friday. But before you say "Thank Goodness, it's Friday!" consider that today, FBI statistics show, most robberies take place on a Friday.

The number 13It is believed that the fear for the number 13 stems from primitive man being unable to count past 12. Numbers beyond 12 do now have an individual and independent name but are a combination of the first 12 numbers. With 12 being the end of the line, 13 was moving into unknown territory.

In Norse mythology the 13th number led to the death of Baldur, the beloved of the gods. When the 12 gods gathered for a banquet in Valhalla, Loki gatecrashed the party, increasing the number to 13, which led to the death of Baldur. It also happens that in Tarot cards, 13 is called "Death."

The baker's dozen The "unlucky 13" is the reason why the thirteen loaves that bakers once supplied were never called by the number, but described as "a baker's dozen." The thirteenth loaf was regarded as a special bribe for the devil not to spoil the sale or the bread.
The number 13 in Greek is triskaideka and the fear of the number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia.

Hiccups

I had a student ask me about Hicups today so here is the answer.

Hiccups happen when the diaphragm, the muscle that controls our breathing, becomes irritated and start to spasm and contract uncontrollably. With each contraction, air is pulled into the lungs very quickly, passes through the voice box, and then the epiglottis closes behind the rush of air, shaking the vocal chords, causing the "hic" sound. The irritation can be caused by rapid eating, emotional stress and even some diseases. The best cure? Breathing into a paper bag. This calms the diaphragm by increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in your bloodstream.

History of Easter

Ancient Anglo-Saxons celebrated the return of spring with a carnival commemorating Eostre, their goddess of offspring. The word carnival possibly originated from the Latin ‘carne vale' meaning "flesh, farewell." Offerings were rabbits and coloured eggs. As it happened, the pagan festival of Eostre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ and it didn't take the missionaries long to convert the Anglo-Saxons when they encountered them in the 2nd century. The offering of rabbits and eggs eventually became the Easter bunny and Easter eggs.

Prior to 325 AD, Easter was variously celebrated on different days of the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the Council of Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. It issued the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. The "full moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon, which is defined as the 14th day of a tabular lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on the same date as the astronomical full moon. The ecclesiastical "vernal equinox" is always on 21st March. Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on the first Sunday after 21st March.

Christians commemorate the Friday before Easter as Good Friday, the day that Jesus was crucified. Easter Sunday is celebrated as the day Jesus rose again.