I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to teach a college class as a “guest speaker” and it was pretty interesting. It was at the local community college (a branch of Montana State University - go ‘Cats!); the course is an overview of the American healthcare system that is being taught by a friend of mine who is a nurse. He asked me if I would present the chapter on healthcare administration careers, and of course I agreed immediately. It was pretty cool - only an hour with a small class, but it sure was neat. Hmmm…perhaps a post-AF career…?

All the talk recently about the National Spelling Bee got me reminiscing about my 15-seconds of fame, way back in 1980, in 8th grade. I won the school spelling bee, and then a small regional bee, and then was on to the Kern County spelling bee in Bakersfield (CA). This was big stuff - it was even recorded to air on one of the local channels! Well, long story short, I didn’t win. In fact, I bombed out very early in the contest, thanks to my mouth forging ahead way faster than my brain. As soon as I uttered the incorrect consonant in the word, I knew that I had screwed up. I turned to the judges, said “Oh wow…bummer…” and proceeded off-stage. So, my question to you, astute readers, is: what word did I spell incorrectly? Here’s some clues: the word has nine letters; it is a compound word; it begins with the letter H and ends with the letter N. Any guesses? Winner gets a nifty prize!

ps - family members not allowed to participate in this contest!

Well, not THIS day of April 8th, but rather the day of October 30th, which is when I celebrate my birthday. Seen over at Charles’ place is the Wikipedia meme: first, type in your birthday (minus the year) in the search bar at Wikipedia.org; then list three interesting facts, two births, and one death that happened on your birthday. So here we go:

1. 1864 - Helena, Montana is founded after four prospectors discover gold at “Last Chance Gulch.”
2. 1938 - Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds, causing a nationwide panic.
3. 1974 - “The Rumble in the Jungle“: Muhammad Ali knocks out George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire to regain the World Heavyweight Boxing championship.
4. 1939 - Grace Slick, American singer (Jefferson Airplane)
5. 1945 - Henry Winkler, American actor
6. 1968 - Rose Wilder Lane, American journalist and author (b. 1886)

All this talk lately of Shia and Sunni muslims has puzzled me: what, exactly, is the difference between the two “branches” of the same religion? From the History News Network comes this brief explanation:

The Sunni branch believes that the first four caliphs–Mohammed’s successors–rightfully took his place as the leaders of Muslims. They recognize the heirs of the four caliphs as legitimate religious leaders. These heirs ruled continuously in the Arab world until the break-up of the Ottoman Empire following the end of the First World War. Shiites, in contrast, believe that only the heirs of the fourth caliph, Ali, are the legitimate successors of Mohammed.

There are other smaller groups within the Islamic community, too. The Sunni branch is the largest, worldwide, but the Shia branch is dominant in Iran.

It sure seems like a lot of folks absolutely hate ‘word problems‘ - you know, math problems that use words in addition to all of those pesky, confusing numbers. I dunno…word problems always seemed to be much easier for me than regular “numbers-only” math…having real-world examples to work with and provide imagery helped me quite a bit. And of course the bestest most classic word problems always seem to revolve the “…if a train leaves Los Angeles travelling at 75 miles per hour…” but there are always variations involving money and even ducks and Harry Potter (and yes, even bluefish, if you’re an 80s music fan). If you long for the days when solving problems like that was your biggest concern, you might appreciate this web-based version of word problems.

How many of you enjoyed the kids magazine “Highlights” when you were young? Most of you, eh? Did anyone else find The Timbertoes to be…well, just stupid? And how many of you ever wanted Goofus to sucker-punch Gallant just once? Or vice-versa? And you know on the cover of each issue has the slogan, “Fun With A Purpose,” right? Well, how many of you thought that it actually said “Fun With A Porpoise?” Yeah…me, too.

What would you like to learn about during my next blog entry? I will do some basic scouting around for information about whatever topic you like, and will try to present the information in an entertaining & educational manner. So what will it be? Politics? Geology? Medicine? 80s Pop? Civil War? Law? Snow? Peru? Farming? Peanut Butter? Tell me.

I’ve glanced through Steve Pavlina’s site a few times; some decent advice periodically, particularly for younger folks who may not have had a lot of exposure to goal-setting classes, self-discipline, etc. But what has always fascinated me about Pavlina is on his About page, particularly this bit:

“I set a challenging goal of graduating with a four-year degree in just three semesters. My strategy was simply to pile my schedule with as many classes as I could fit.”

In case you’re wondering, he did indeed reach that goal. For instance, he took 13 classes in one semester. Sounds pretty daunting…ever wonder if you could do something like that?

Julie wrote an essay about the now-abandonded nuclear missile sites in her state, and she has pictures, too. Julie is an excellent writer. Just thought you all should know.

The order of Presidential succession has always interested me; everyone knows that the Vice President is only a proverbial heartbeat away, and that the Speaker of The House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate are next. But after that, it falls to cabinet secretaries. With the creation of the new Department of Homeland Security, I had wondered several times if the DHS chief would automatically be last in line among his peers, and it appears that was correct. That didn’t quite sit right with me… (more…)

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Let’s learn about niacin today, shall we? Niacin is a member of the vitamin B family, sometimes called B3, and it assists in your body’s ability to convert food into energy. It’s also good for your digestive system and skin. Niacin is found in the “protein” foods: eggs, meat, poultry, dairy products, etc. If you don’t get enough niacin in your diet, you might suffer from pellagra, which, according to the NIH, can cause “…scaly skin sores, diarrhea, inflamed mucous membranes, and mental confusion and delusions.” Yikes. On the other hand, you can get too much niacin, which can cause liver damage, peptic ulcers, and skin rashes. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of niacin for most adults is between 14-16 mg. Quite a lot of sites reference the niacin flush, which “…dilates blood vessels and creates a sensation of warmth…often accompanied with a blushing of the skin.” On the non-medical side, Niacin is also the name of a rock band.

I know virtually nothing about Napoleon, other than that he was French, was a military and political leader, was defeated at Waterloo, and shared a first name with a cool secret agent. But this morning, the Better Living Wife was watching a program on Discovery Times called “Napoleon’s Obsession,” and I happened to catch a few minutes of it. I was surprised to learn that Napoleon travelled to Egypt and fought battles in the Middle East. How could I have not known this? So, to remedy my ignorance, I turned first to Wikipedia and got a basic sketch of Napoleon’s life, and also learned a bit about the Napoleonic Code, which seems to me to be quite a remarkable thing. Then over at Wikiquote I perused some quotes attributed to Napoleon. I even learned about the mystery of the “hand in coat” pose! All in all, quite a remarkable person.