“[H]istorians studying a newly discovered fragment of the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament announced that the legendary “mark of the beast” is probably 616, rather than 666.”
The Week Newsletter
Author: NewMexiKen
On this date
… in 1864, Confederate General James E. Longstreet was wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness. Many of his troops thought him dead, but he recovered. The Library of Congress tells us more:
Although his right arm was paralyzed by the injury at the bloody Battle of the Wilderness, Longstreet resumed his command in November 1864, but, by that time, Lee’s army was embroiled in the siege of Petersburg. Longstreet remained by Lee’s side to the end, surrendering with him at Appomattox.
General Longstreet, who remained the friend and admirer of both his West Point classmates General Ulysses Grant and General Robert E. Lee, became an active member of the Republican Party after the end of the war.
As a supporter of the Reconstruction Acts and of Grant’s Administration, Longstreet was appointed surveyor of customs for the Port of New Orleans, and later served as U.S. Marshal in Georgia and, for a brief time, as the U.S. Minister to Turkey. His reconciliation to the Union, along with his open criticism of General Lee’s handling of the Battle of Gettysburg, offended many Southerners and made him a controversial figure for the rest of his life.
In retelling the story of his war wounds in his memoirs From Manassas to Appomattox, published in 1896, Longstreet indicated that the post-war controversies had been more personally painful to him than the flesh wound he had suffered:
Bad as was being shot by some of our own troops in the battle of the Wilderness,—that was an honest mistake, one of the accidents of war,—being shot at, since the war, by many officers, was worse.
May 6
A year ago today NewMexiKen wrote about some pretty darn interesting things. Among them:
The Shining in 30 seconds with bunnies; Amadeo Peter Giannini, the founder of Bank of America and a hero in the aftermath of the San Francisco Earthquake; dreaming about Sigmund Freud (it’s his birthday); Willie Mays (it’s his birthday); Orson Welles (it’s his birthday); the Hindenburg explosion (it happened on this date in 1937); and about my son Ken (it’s his birthday). Happy Birthday, Ken
I Like Ike
“Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1952
Swiped from Julie with a B. Link via MakesMeRalph.
Update May 12: Slightly corrected version with source (November 8, 1954).
More vacation photos
NewMexiKen was going to post photos of my Cinco De May trip to Margaritaville but it seems the pictures are all out of focus.
No, wait, the pictures are fine, it’s me that’s out of focus.
Now here’s something useful
Really. With photos. Very helpful. From Target Australia.
Of course, NewMexiKen finds the simplest approach overall is to have one set of sheets, take them off the bed, launder them, put them back on (usually the same day). No folding. No storage issues.
Multi-tasking
“As you may have heard, Los Angeles has been hit by a rash of freeway shootings lately. Of course, L.A. drivers are amazed by this – ‘How can you talk on the phone, hold a cup of coffee, do your makeup, and fire a gun at the same time?'”
Jay Leno
Tessie
At 1,645 feet deep, Lake Tahoe ranks as the world’s 10th deepest lake. Twenty-two miles long and 12 miles wide, it harbors many legends. But perhaps most persistent is the myth of a humped-backed, scaly serpentine the locals call Tessie.
What do you think? Real or myth?
Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
05/05/05
NewMexiKen’s favorite niece was expecting to deliver a son today on 05/05/05. I suggested she call him “Cinco.”
Having a mind of his own, he arrived on Tuesday and he’ll just have to settle for Steven. Mother and son are doing great.
I hear the little guy already made his debut on Tucson TV. You’ve got famous down kid; now go for rich.
Best line of the day, so far
“I love the Internet. I used to love card catalogs.”
anonyMoses at The American Street
To which NewMexiKen can only say, “Amen!”
Problems
As frequent visitors can tell, NewMexiKen is playing with the underlying code to change the appearance, etc.
That, however, is not responsible for the problems you may be having accessing the site. NewMexiKen’s provider is having server problems.
For my part, I apologize for any inconvenience. Maybe they will resolve their problems and I will quit creating mine.
Best line of the day, so far
“‘Wind resistance roughly doubles between 55 mph and 70 mph.’ (So I never go more than 55 mph in a 35 mph zone.)”
Found at Andrew Tobias – Money and Other Subjects.
Living on borrowed time
NewMexiKen thought this excerpt from The Social Security Trust Fund is Irrelevant (Or How Al Gore Was Right) to be a pretty succinct summary of Social Security finances:
For all but 11 of the last 68 years, payroll tax revenues for Social Security have exceeded the amount the government spent on Social Security. The government used the excess to buy special bonds printed by the federal government. In other words, the government borrowed from itself. It then took the proceeds of the bonds and used it for other government expenditures. The idea all along has been that in 12 to 14 years, in the midst of the baby boom retirement wave, Social Security benefits will exceed payroll taxes earmarked for Social Security. Then the government can sell these bonds — to itself, of course — and use the proceeds to make up the gap.
And that’s why the Trust Fund is irrelevant. To buy the bonds in the Trust Fund from itself, the government must get the money from somewhere. It has four options. It can reduce other government spending. It can sell assets. It can increase taxes. Or, it can sell bonds [that is, borrow some more].
It’s the underlying financial crisis (i.e, the deficit) that’s the issue, not Social Security.
Latest from Google
Google Web Accelerator claims to speed up downloads (with only minor invasions of your privacy). NewMexiKen is giving it a try and so far it claims to have saved me 39.6 seconds. Of course, that’s in one and two second bites, so it’s difficult to assess.
Besides don’t most people browse at work to kill time?
Update after six hours: It’s probably just me, but I sensed that this thing was slowing things down. I removed it already. We’ll wait and see.
Hello
“Percentage of Americans aged 18 to 29 who speak to their parents every day: 48.”
Alligator Pear
According to The Writer’s Almanac “Americans will eat 54 million avocados today, most of them in the form of guacamole.”
Here’s a whole page of Avocado Fruit Facts should you find yourself wanting in that knowledge.
The Climate of Man
RSS primer
Walter Mossberg has A Guide to Using RSS, Which Helps You Scan Vast Array of Web Sites. It’s just the basics, but if you’ve been wondering, not a bad place to start.
Cinco de Mayo
The holiday of Cinco De Mayo, The 5th Of May, commemorates the victory of the Mexicans over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862. It is primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Mexican state capital city of Puebla and throughout the state of Puebla, with some recognition in other parts of the Mexico, and especially in U.S. cities with a significant Mexican population. It is not, as many people think, Mexico’s Independence Day, which is actually September 16.
Alice …
is 79 today. If you’re her age, you might remember her better as Schultzy. That’s Ann B. Davis of The Brady Bunch and The Bob Cummings Show.
Numismatic nirvana
WASHINGTON, DC—Following the success of its 50 State Quarters program—deemed one of the most popular commemorative-coin programs in American history—the U.S. Mint announced its next ambitious project: releasing a unique penny for every county in the nation.
“Located in the first state in the union, Delaware’s Kent County will be the first county honored in this grand celebration of America,” U.S. Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore said Monday. “But over the coming years, citizens all across the nation will see the best aspects of their own counties celebrated on the obverse side of a penny. Collecting all 3,143 county pennies will be a fun activity your family will enjoy for generations.”
Starting in 2006, the U.S. Mint will release five new pennies per year for the next 629 years. While the process will be a long one, residents of the nation’s 3,143 counties and county equivalents have already begun debating how their regions should be depicted.
Best line of the day, so far
“Anybody who has ever lost a quarter in a Coke machine should be terribly afraid of what we’re probably gonna be forced to vote with.”
Getting more than her allotted 15 minutes
If you’re old enough to remember Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass, go take a look at The One and Only.
Link via Boing Boing
Worth thinking about when you head to the store
Chart from The New York Times. Found at Pandagon.net.
Cheesy
Maybe Jennifer just ran on account of all the cheesy wedding gifts:
Among the items purchased at her registry: a cheese wire slicer ($9.99), a two-piece cheese server set (that’s one knife and one slicer for $29), a cheese server (that’s a tray, not a person — $35), a full cheese set (marble serving board, cheese knife, cracker tray — $49), a set of four cheese spreaders ($29), and, best of all, the mighty and essential “Cheese Dome” ($19).