✔ April 27, 2012 ✔

What a wonderful day yesterday! I got EVERYTHING done that I needed & wanted to do. I had some time to work on the oriental latch hook rug that I'm making, I created myself in the Sims 3 (hard to do with only FIVE traits), Finished a house I was building & decorating in the Sims 3, cooked a nice dinner, all kinds of great stuff! And my herbs have sprouted this morning! Happy birthday to the universe (according to Kepler)! City council meeting / LCFD BBQ / Maintenance on Tuesday.

An unknown "video pirate" overrides an HBO broadcast to announce that he will not pay for his cable service. (1986)

Chrysler and autoworkers' union agree to a deal (2009):

On this day in 2009, Chrysler and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union reach a tentative deal that meets government requirements for the struggling auto manufacturer to receive more federal funding.

As part of the deal, the UAW agreed to let Chrysler reduce the amount of money it would pay toward healthcare costs of its retired workers. The month before the deal was announced, President Barack Obama issued an ultimatum to Chrysler that it must undergo a fundamental restructuring and shrink its costs in order to receive future government aid. Obama also gave Chrysler a month to complete a merger with Italian car maker Fiat or another partner. Although Chrysler reached a deal with the UAW as well as its major creditors shortly before the one-month deadline, Obama announced on April 30 that Chrysler, after failing to come to an agreement with some of its smaller creditors, would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, then form a partnership with Fiat. The move made Chrysler the first big automaker to file for bankruptcy and attempt to reorganize since Studebaker did so in 1933.

The Chrysler Corporation was originally established in 1925 by Walter P. Chrysler (1875-1940), an auto industry executive who once headed General Motor's Buick division. In 1928, under Walter Chrysler's leadership, his company acquired the Dodge Brothers Company, thereby becoming the world's third-largest auto maker, after GM and Ford.

After decades of expansion, Chrysler's success came to a halt after the 1973 oil crisis led to skyrocketing gas costs and new government standards for emissions. Chrysler's gas-guzzling vehicles faced stiff competition from smaller, more fuel-efficient imports. By 1979, the company's financial situation had become so dire that a federal government bailout loan was required to rescue it from near-collapse. The company eventually rebounded: In 1984, it launched the minivan, which proved to be a big success, and in the 1990s, it had another hit with the Jeep. However, in 1998, Chrysler, once again experiencing financial problems, merged with German automaker Daimler to form DaimlerChrysler. In 2007, the company was split and hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management paid $7.4 billion for an 80 percent stake in Chrysler.

In 2008, Chrysler, hit hard by the global recession and slumping auto sales, received a $4 billion bailout loan from the federal government. However, on April 30, 2009, the company declared bankruptcy. On June 10 of that same year, the automaker emerged from bankruptcy, selling the bulk of its assets to Fiat and receiving $6.6 billion in exit financing from the U.S. government. That day The New York Times reported: "As envisioned by Chrysler, Fiat and the government, [the sale] will create a new carmaker freed from the old Chrysler's crushing labor costs and debt levels. In Fiat, which will run the company, it will have gained a partner skilled in making and selling small, fuel-efficient cars around the world."

Fending off dining disasters:

Spill.

If you spill food on the table while taking it from a serving dish, neatly pick up as much as you can with a clean spoon or the blade of your knife. Then wet a corner of your napkin in your water glass & dab the spot. If you knock over a drink, quickly set the glass upright & apologize to your tablemates: "I'm sorry! I hope none of it got on you." Get a cloth or sponge & mop up the liquid right away. In a restaurant, discreetly signal the server, who will put a napkin over any stains. In someone's home, immediately tell your host, & help with the cleanup.

For A Few Dollars More:

Clint Eastwood returns as the iconic "man with no name," who joins forces with a rival bounty hunter to capture a crazed outlaw in director Sergio Leone's gritty follow-up to the 1964 classic A Fistful of Dollars.

Friendle+ ~ 7-in-1 Board Games for Friends!:

Friendle is on FIRE! Find out for yourself why this 7-in-1 bundle is the social gaming sensation of 2012! Play games like Words, Chess, Checkers, Backgammon, Four in a Row, Reversi, and Chinese Checkers with friends, family, or random opponents -- whether they're sitting next to you or thousands of miles away!
=== User Reviews ===
★★★★★ "If you like Words With Friends, you'll love this app. I'd give it 6 stars if I could." - Mimie1969
★★★★★ "Blows Words With Friends away and has additional games to play on the same platform!" - Cphocks
★★★★★ "Polished interface, amazing matching system, and perfect use of iOS 5 notifications." - Kirkpad
★★★★★ "What else can I say except PERFECT?! " - xbetayll
=== Games ===
► Words (compare to Words With Friends®)
► Chess
► Checkers
► Four in a Row (compare to Connect Four®)
► Reversi
► Backgammon
► Chinese Checkers
=== Key Features ===
✔ Turn-based gameplay so you can have multiple games going at the same time
✔ Easily find your friends or let us find you a random opponent
✔ Stunning HD graphics on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
✔ Optional push notifications let you know when it's your turn
✔ In-game chat helps you stay in touch with friends and family
✔ Post invitations to your Facebook friends and Twitter followers
✔ Elo rating system tracks your play
✔ Pass and Play mode for offline fun
✔ Access your games from all of your devices

Garage:

If your recycling center doesn't require you to sort your items, don't! Save yourself the time. Many recycling centers have machines that do this.

Garbage disposals:

Originally called a "sink food waste disposer," the smart invention makes taking out the kitchen garbage a less smelly chore.

If you put a coin in an empty bottle & insert a cork into the neck of the bottle, how could you remove the coin without taking the cork out or breaking the bottle?

Into what sports hall of fame was fashion designer Vera Wang inducted in 2009?

Look up "happy" in the dictionary - the word "thin" is never used in the definition.

Once you get married, there's no "yours" & "mine" anymore. It's all ours, & that's when you should pay everything together. Marrying someone who's in debt is okay, too. But you need to make sure the habits that caused the debt have been broken, & that you're both in complete agreement from that point on about how the money will be handled.

To remove wood pitch, use mineral spirits (paint thinner). It's safe to use on most everything, but you should test it to make sure it won't leave a mark. The easiest way is to put some paint thinner in a spray bottle and spray it on the pants. It should soften up the pitch and allow you to wash it out.(You might need to retreat the area until the pitch thins enough to remove.)
Before you put the clothes in your washing machine, wash out the thinner with plenty of soap and water. It's greasy, but it will wash out. Once all the thinner is gone, you can wash it in your machine like you normally do.

Universe is created, according to Kepler (4777 BC):

On this day in 4977 B.C., the universe is created, according to German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler, considered a founder of modern science. Kepler is best known for his theories explaining the motion of planets.

Kepler was born on December 27, 1571, in Weil der Stadt, Germany. As a university student, he studied the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus' theories of planetary ordering. Copernicus (1473-1543) believed that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the solar system, a theory that contradicted the prevailing view of the era that the sun revolved around the earth.

In 1600, Kepler went to Prague to work for Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, the imperial mathematician to Rudolf II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Kepler's main project was to investigate the orbit of Mars. When Brahe died the following year, Kepler took over his job and inherited Brahe's extensive collection of astronomy data, which had been painstakingly observed by the naked eye. Over the next decade, Kepler learned about the work of Italian physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who had invented a telescope with which he discovered lunar mountains and craters, the largest four satellites of Jupiter and the phases of Venus, among other things. Kepler corresponded with Galileo and eventually obtained a telescope of his own and improved upon the design. In 1609, Kepler published the first two of his three laws of planetary motion, which held that planets move around the sun in ellipses, not circles (as had been widely believed up to that time), and that planets speed up as they approach the sun and slow down as they move away. In 1619, he produced his third law, which used mathematic principles to relate the time a planet takes to orbit the sun to the average distance of the planet from the sun.

Kepler's research was slow to gain widespread traction during his lifetime, but it later served as a key influence on the English mathematician Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and his law of gravitational force. Additionally, Kepler did important work in the fields of optics, including demonstrating how the human eye works, and math. He died on November 15, 1630, in Regensberg, Germany. As for Kepler's calculation about the universe's birthday, scientists in the 20th century developed the Big Bang theory, which showed that his calculations were off by about 13.7 billion years.

Viridity:

1a: The quality or state of being green. b: The color of grass or foliage. 2: Naive innocence.

Those who can barely remember that the 't' is silent in 'merlot' may be tempted to stay away, fearing wine snobs will chortle at their viridity.

"Viridity" is simply a highfalutin way to say "greenness" in both its literal & gifurative senses. "Greenness" goes all the way back to the Old English growan ("to grow"). "Viridity" dates from the 15th century, when it was adopted into Middle English (as viridite) from the Middle French viridite. The ultimate source of "viridity," however, is the Latin viriditas ("greenness"), itself drawn from the root viridis ("green"). Viridis is also the sourse (by way of the Middle French verdoyant) of the English "verdant," as well as "verdancy," yet another fancy synonym for "greenness."

What comic book villain plots to undermine Barack Obama’s inauguration in an Amazing Spider-Man edition issued shortly before the actual 2009 presidential swearing-in?

The Chameleon, who changes himself into an Obama look-alike to carry out his plot, which (it goes without saying) is foiled by Spider-Man.

What type of business establishment served as the U.S. Marine Corps’ first recruiting station?

A bar, the Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1775 after Samuel Nicholas, a delegate to the 2d Continental Congress, was named Marine commandant, he went to the tavern and appointed its owner “chief Marine recruiter” and his first captain.

Which food delivers the most, 2nd most, & 3rd most energy?

A. Carrot

B. Apple

C. Banana

Which sport is America's favorite, 2nd favorite, & 3rd favorite?

A. Baseball

B. Football

C. Basketball

BAC. The highlight of the gootball year is the Super Bowl, one of the most watched television broadcasts in the U.S. with between 80 & 90 million Americans tuning in. Super!