Made all the more difficult by having to stay up until midnight-thirty last evening helping certain children of mine get some photos together for scrapbooks that they have to turn in this evening at church, as well as my own funtime activity of poking holes in a black sheet of foamcore board and threading fiber optic filaments through them.
I will say this--my stuff looks super pretty fantastic.
Then again, I didn't have it nearly so bad as Reba, who stayed up with Oldest doing stuff until 3 this morning. Yes, that's right, 3:00 ante meridian. I'm sure they'll both be fresh as daisies today at work and at school.
But, hey--it's all about me, so as long as I was able to get up at 5:30 and head off for my early morning meeting and function at my usual high mental level, then that's really all that matters, right!? Of course.
The meeting itself actually went quite well--we had 18 cases on the agenda, and STILL managed to wrap things up before 9:00, which is really good considering we've had half as many in past meetings and ran nearly an hour longer.
BUT, as usual, I now have much transcribing and typing to do, so in the interest of giving you something to ponder while I'm off doing work, allow me to note that although some dates in history are rather slim when it comes to interesting stuff, April 12 seems to be quite the opposite. From the AP, this is an excerpt of a listing of things that happened today, and it's pretty amazing to me what all happened on this date:
4/12/2006, 8:46 a.m. CT
The Associated Press
(AP) — Today is Wednesday, April 12, the 102nd day of 2006. There are 263 days left in the year. The Jewish holiday Passover begins at sunset.
To all my Hebrew blogmates (Skinnydan, Sarah, Meryl, Jeff, and more than likely a whole bunch more that I don't know about), I bid you Gut Yomtov, Chag Same'ach, and A Zeisen Pesach. Please be sure to send all of your leavened products to me as quickly as possible. And remember, I don't fall for that deal where your rabbi says he's selling it to a gentile, and the gentile never gets it, and you keep it locked up in YOUR house.
If I'm a'paying for it, I WANT it. Especially if baked into some nice babke.
Today's Highlight in History:
Four hundred years ago, on April 12, 1606, England's King James I decreed the design of the original Union Flag (also referred to as the Union Jack), which combined the flags of England and Scotland.
If I do say so myself, I think the Union Jack is the second-best-looking flag in all the world. Good job, Jimmy the One--and thanks for making sure Jesus and the rest of them guys spoke proper English.
In 1861, the American Civil War began as Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
Immediately thereafter, the Union press began to blame George Bush for his reckless cowboy intransigence and for forcing a confrontation with the kind-hearted Jefferson Davis, thus leading to the destabilization and destruction of what was once a peaceful, harmonious, prosperous society.
In 1862, Union volunteers led by James J. Andrews stole a Confederate train near Marietta, Ga., but were later caught. (This episode inspired the Buster Keaton comedy "The General.")
Those wicked, wicked Yankees!
In 1934, "Tender Is the Night," by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was first published.
Much liquor was then consumed.
In 1945, President Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Ga., at age 63; he was succeeded by Vice President Harry S. Truman.
Afterwards, the American press vilified George Bush for his flagrant violation of international law for using nuclear weapons against Japan.
In 1955, the Salk vaccine against polio was declared safe and effective.
This really is a milestone of incredible proportion, especially considering what a battle had been fought against childhood polio and between the competing vaccine teams.
In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly in space, orbiting the earth once before making a safe landing.
Yeah, well--second into space, FIRST TO THE MOON, BABY!
Five years ago: The 24 crew members of a U.S. spy plane arrived in Hawaii after being held for 11 days in China.
How many of you remember this? I do, and keep remembering then that I hoped that was the worst we could expect on the international front.
Anyway, now back to work.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at April 12, 2006 09:16 AMIs the DSL working now?
Posted by: jim at April 12, 2006 10:31 AMThe thing to remember about meetings is this:
Short agenda, long meeting
Long agenda, short meeting
This is subject to the occasional exception, but it usually works out to be true, especially in the government setting.
/f
Posted by: fritz schranck at April 12, 2006 10:47 AMJim--working like a charm.
Fritz--even more so with members of an appointed body. The extra time that might be spent in more productive matters tends to get spent pontificating.
Either way, I can't leave until it's done.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at April 12, 2006 11:04 AMRegarding the Salk vaccine, you left out "The American press upbraided President George Bush for not making this vaccine available years earlier, when it could have saved thousands of lives. His lack of foresight was, to say the least, worrisome."
Posted by: skillzy at April 12, 2006 11:38 AM::dope slap:: How could I have forgotten!? And I also forgot how George Bush was responsible for the Sabin vaccine giving people polio because it used live virus. Obviously, it was a ploy to make more money for Big Drug Companies. And Halliburton. And Big Oil.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at April 12, 2006 11:44 AM