Christmas Edition

        DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ESPERANZA AQUINO

Founded: December, 2000       Created By: Esther Aquino & Joseph Garcia



                                Thursday December 2nd, 2004

In Today's Edition

       For more info click here http://www.tamalefestival.org/index.html

             Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film.

Born on December 2nd

Britney Spears (1981)

Ric Felix (1980)

Monica Seles (1973)

Lucy Liu (1968)

Tracy Austin (1962)

Michael McDonald (1952)

Cathy Lee Crosby (1948)

Gianni Versace (1946)

Maria Callas (1923)

Charles Ringling (1863)

George Seurat (1859)

Alexandra Garcia

Born on December 4th

Mrs. "Kat" Tuttle

Born on December 5th

Mr. Raley

God Is Watching

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray: "Take only ONE. God is watching."

Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.

A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples.

Today's useless fact - What is a healthy percentage of body fat?

We browsed through the Lukol Fitness Tips category to turn up many different estimations of healthy body fat.

Most sources agree that the human body requires a certain amount of fat for good health. Fat helps regulate body temperature, store energy, and cushion and insulate organs. The percentage of body weight that makes up this "essential fat" is around 4% of body weight for men and 10% for women. Beyond that, there's a somewhat wide range of what is considered a healthy percentage of body fat.

According to an article from Medscape.com, the American Dietetic Association recommends that men have 15-18% body fat and women have 20-25% body fat. Healthy male athletes might be as low as 5- 12% body fat, and healthy female athletes could be as low as 10- 20%.

Dr. C. Everett Koop's site, ShapeUp.com, breaks down healthy body fat ranges by both gender and age. Men under 39 years of age should have 8-19% body fat, and women under 39 years of age should have 21-32%. Older men may range from 11% to 24%, and older women may range from 23% to 35%.

"Health Check Systems" quotes the American Council on Exercise and says men's body fat should be 6-25%, and women's should be 14- 31%.

What's The Buzzword For December 2nd?

sequester \sih-KWESS-ter\ verb What does it mean? 1 : to set apart : segregate 2 : to take custody of (as personal property) until a demand is satisfied How do you use it? "I sauntered along the shore until I came to a sequestered cove, where buttercups and wild peas were blooming close down to the limit reached by the waves." (John Muir, _Steep Trails_) Are you a word wiz? The history of "sequester" takes us back to the ancient Roman legal system and the Latin word "sequester." Judging from what you know about today's buzzword, what do you think "sequester" meant in Roman law? A. the part of a prison where inmates were held in solitary B. a person entrusted with property that was in dispute C. a family member who took custody of an orphaned child D. property named separately in a will to go to one person Answer: Hear ye, hear ye! Answer B wins in this case. The law of ancient Rome had enormous influence on legal systems and legal language throughout Western civilization. "Sequester" traces back to the terminology of the Roman system of law. It was originally the Latin word for a third party entrusted to hold on to disputed property until the resolution of the dispute. From the name for this agent, the Romans created a corresponding verb, "sequestrare," meaning "to hand over to a trustee." The Latin word passed through Anglo-French (the French spoken in medieval England) and Middle English to become the modern word "sequester" with its current meaning.

Today's Jigsaw Puzzle

Click Here King and Queen

That's all for today. Tune in Monday for more stuff.

The following is what appeared in Wednesday's edition.

In Today's Edition

The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. This wasn't for any religious reasons. They couldn't find three wise men and a virgin.
--Jay Leno

Born on December 1st

Julie Condra (1970)

Bette Midler (1945)

John Densmore (1944)

Richard Pryor (1940)

Lee Trevino (1939)

Lou Rawls (1936)

Woody Allen (1935)

Mary Martin (1913)

Cyril Ritchard (1897)

Angel Contreras

Christmas Divorce

An elderly man in Phoenix calls his son in New York and says, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough."

"Pop, what are you talking about," the son screams.

"We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the old man says. "We're sick and tired of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her." And he hangs up.

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone.

"Like Heck they're getting a divorce,” she shouts, " I'll take care of this."

She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at the old man, "You are NOT getting divorced! Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" And she hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone, smiles and turns to his wife. "They're coming for Christmas and paying their own way."

Today's useless fact - How thick is the ice on a hockey rink?

We went straight to NHL Facts category to answer this question. Sure enough, the About the NHL page says that the ice on a hockey rink is approximately 3/4" thick. The thicker the ice, the softer and slower the ice becomes for skaters -- and hockey players don't want that! several links provided further details on rink ice. Bruce Tharaldson, the icemaker for the San Jose Arena, explains the process to create a premium ice surface for hockey. Before the pre-season games start in September, the arena pumps freezing cold salt water through pipes that run under a concrete slab that makes up the arena floor. When the slab is cold enough, layers of water are applied to it. That 3/4" ice surface consists of eight to ten thin layers of ice. The first few layers are painted with game markings and logos. The upper layers seal the paint and provide the playing surface.

This ice stays in place all season long, from September through April -- or even longer if playoff games are necessary. When the arena is used for other sports or musical concerts, a floor is constructed on top of the ice. Arenas maintain the ice by using a Zamboni -- a large mechanical ice resurfacer that scrapes away loose ice, flushes dirt out of grooves, and adds a layer of heated water that freezes and restores a smooth surface.

It takes 10,211 gallons of frozen water to create a hockey rink. The ice is kept at 16 degrees Fahrenheit for hockey playing. However, figure skaters prefer a rink that's kept at 22 degrees Fahrenheit, since they require softer ice to land their jumps

What's The Buzzword For December 1st?

gregarious \gri-GAIR-ee-us\ adjective What does it mean? 1 : tending to associate with others of one's kind : sociable 2 : tending to live or move with others of one's own kind : tending to flock together How do you use it? Mr. Evan's gregarious personality made him a natural to host the annual school awards banquet. Are you a word wiz? "Gregarious" comes "grex," a Latin word having to do with a characteristic behavior of some animals. Which of the animal behaviors listed below do you think is behind the word "gregarious"? A. the construction of nests B. the protection of young C. the congregation in herds D. the consumption of flesh Answer: When you're one of the herd, it's tough to avoid being social. "Gregarious" remains true to its sociable roots in "grex," meaning "herd" or "flock." In its earliest English uses, "gregarious" referred mostly to animals that lived in groups. But by the 18th century people were using "gregarious" for sociable human beings as well. In addition to "gregarious," "grex" gave English a whole flock of other words, including "egregious" ("very bad"), "congregate" ("to come together") and "segregate" ("to separate").

Today's Jigsaw Puzzle

Click Here Hugs & Kisses

That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff

The following is what appeared in Tuesday's edition.

In Today's Edition

Ending a relationship is just like adjusting your underwear. You feel better when the creep is gone.

Born on November 30th

Ben Stiller (1965)

Bo Jackson (1962)

Billy Idol (1955)

Shuggie Otis (1953)

Mandy Patinkin (1952)

David Mamet (1947)

Robert Guillaume (1937)

Abbie Hoffman (1936)

G. Gordon Liddy (1930)

Dick Clark (1929)

Richard Crenna (1926)

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. (1923)

Gordon Parks (1912)

Winston Churchill (1874)

Mark Twain (1835)

Jonathan Swift (1667)

Anessa Hernandez

Phone Sex

Question: What is it when a man talks nasty to a woman?
Answer: Sexual Harassment.

Question: What is it when a woman talks nasty to a man?
Answer: $3.99 a minute.

This Little Piggy

Today's useless fact - Why can't great white sharks be kept in captivity?

We went fishing to our Underwater Life category for this one. As it turns out, great whites aren't the only species of shark that don't fare well in aquariums. (Blue sharks are also quite vulnerable in captive situations.) Great white sharks are pretty darn big -- they can grow up to 21 feet long and weigh as much as 7,000 pounds. That kind of animal needs a lot of space, and that makes it hard to house one in any kind of tank. Even in huge tanks, great whites would probably run into electrical problems. The Monterey Bay Aquarium proposes that electromagnetic fields in steel and concrete tanks may confuse the sharks' delicate navigational systems. Great whites can pick up electrical charges as small as 0.005 microvolts, or the electrical energy generated by a beating heart or a gill action. Yikes.

Sharks that thrive in aquariums are usually smaller species that naturally live closer to the sea floor. These types, such as leopard and catsharks, tend to adapt better to aquarium tanks.

What's The Buzzword For November 30th?

deign \DAYN\ verb What does it mean? : to think proper to one's dignity How do you use it? The mayor of our city finally deigned to visit our little neighborhood one fall afternoon. Are you a word wiz? We're glad you've deigned to read the Buzzword today, and hope you'll also do us the honor of answering this question: which of the following sentences do you think uses the word "deign" correctly? A. The popular actor didn't even deign to acknowledge the crowd of his fans. B. The children deigned sleep in hopes that it would make the puppies calm down a little. C. The Queen of England has been deigning for more than fifty years now. D. It'll be hard, but I'm going to try to deign from having dessert. Answer: Sentence A is the one that makes sense here. An actor who doesn't deign to acknowledge fans doesn't think it's proper to his dignity -- he thinks he's too good for them. Sentences B, C, and D should be replaced with words that rhyme with "deign." In sentence B, the word is "feign." To feign sleep is to pretend to be asleep. In sentence C, the right word is "reign," which means in this case "to govern as a monarch." In sentence D, the word "refrain" makes sense. To refrain from having dessert is to go without it.

Today's Jigsaw Puzzle

Click Here Point Arena Lighthouse

That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff

The following is what appeared in Monday's edition.

In Today's Edition

This Thanksgiving, I was thankful for a lot of things.

One of those things was elastic waistbands!

Born on November 29th

Jon Knight(1968)

Kim Delaney(1961)

Cathy Moriarty(1960)

Jeff Fahey(1956)

Howie Mandel(1955)

Garry Shandling(1949)

Chuck Mangione(1940)

Peter Bergman(1939)

John Mayall(1933)

Diane Ladd(1932)

Vin Scully(1927)

Chicken

A man runs to the doctor and says, "Doctor, you've got to help me. My wife thinks she's a chicken!"

The doctor asks, "How long has she had this condition?"

"Two years," says the man.

"Then why did it take you so long to come and see me?" asked the shrink.

The man shrugs his shoulders and replies, "We needed the eggs."

Today's useless fact - How much trash does the average American throw away every year?

According to the Lukol Recycling category, the average American generates four pounds of solid trash per day, for a grand total of 1,460 pounds per year. Americans are the number one global trash offenders. Every day, we dispose of approximately 200 million tons of the stuff. Less than one-quarter of it is recycled, leaving the rest for land fills and incinerators. The Environmental Protection Agency hosts this handy little fact sheet that offers a summary of the solid waste scene. The good news is that we recycled 64 million tons of material in 1999, which is up significantly from 34 million tons in 1990.

The most commonly recycled material in the United States? Car batteries.

We still have a long way to go, however. Although Americans represent roughly 5% of the world's population, we generate 40% of its waste.

What's The Buzzword For November 29th?

sedate \sih-DAYT\ adjective What does it mean? : quiet in manner or conduct : staid, sober How do you use it? "'I am quite amazed, to tell the truth, that such a sedate, plodding fellow as you should have entertained such a craze for a moment.'" (Thomas Hardy, _Jude the Obscure_) Are you a word wiz? Each of the persons named below had a nature that might have been described as "sedate." Which of them do you think lived during the time that "sedate" came into English? A. Jan Vermeer, Dutch painter (1632-1675) B. Immanuel Kant, German philosopher (1724-1804) C. Emily Dickinson, American poet (1830-1886) D. Calvin Coolidge, U.S. president known as "Silent Cal," (1872-1933) Answer: Make some noise if you chose A! The word "sedate" entered English around the mid-1600s, when Jan Vermeer was creating his masterpieces, often serene paintings of women absorbed in everyday activities. By that time, English already included other words with the same basic meaning. "Staid," meaning "not easily changed" or "calm and serious in manner, attitude, or style" entered English in the 1500s. English-speakers of the 1400s were using "serious" to mean "thoughtful or quiet in appearance or manner." In the century before that, "quiet," meaning "marked by little or no motion, activity, or noise" or "calm," had made its way into English.

Today's Jigsaw Puzzle

Click Here Lab Hunts Mole

That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff