Frank Tripucka

According to Wikipedia, he was the first U.S. pro quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. He also threw the first touchdown pass in the history of the AFL.

Lincoln Logs

According to mentalfloss.com Lincoln Logs, which were invented by John Lloyd Wright (son of the famous Frank Lloyd Wright), Lincoln Logs were named after John’s birth name: Frank Lincoln Wright.

Saint Isidore of Seville

is known as the patron saint of computer users, technicians and the internet.

Chevy (“Fletch”) Chase

The comedic actor famous for his career on Saturday Night Live as well as many movies, was born Cornelius Crane Chase.

Octopuses

According to Wikipedia, octopi is technically incorrect as the plural version of octopus.

The Oxford English Dictionary (2004 update^[11]) lists octopuses, octopi and octopodes (in that order); it labels octopodes “rare”, and notes that octopi derives from the mistaken assumption that octōpūs is a second declension Latin noun, which it is not. Rather, it is (Latinized) Greek, from oktṓpous (ὀκτώπους), gender masculine, whose plural is oktṓpodes (ὀκτώποδες). If the word were native to Latin, it would be octōpēs (‘eight-foot’) and the plural octōpedes, analogous to centipedes and mīllipedes, as the plural form of pēs (‘foot’) is pedes. In modern, informal Greek, it is called khtapódi (χταπόδι), gender neuter, with plural form khtapódia (χταπόδια).

Mike Alstott…

… is the Tampa Buccaneers all-time leading scorer.

Wine Lovers

are referred to as oenophiles.  Or as winos, depending on the caliber of the wine.

Properly displaying text fields in SQL Query Analyzer

To have SQL Query Analyzer display all the text from a particular column (of type text), and not a shortened version, go to “Tools > Options”, click the “Results” tab and set “Maximum characters per column” to something greater than the default value of 256 (to a max of 8000).  Don’t forget to click “Apply” once that is done.

Pondering 2007

2007 has come and gone and 2008 is upon us. A new year to do new things. Here’s a quick look back at what we’ve accomplished since 1907, 100 years ago.

• The average life expectancy was 47 years.
• Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
• Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
• There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles
  of paved roads.
• The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
• The average wage in 1907 was 22 cents per hour.
• The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year .
• A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
  A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
• More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME .
• Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION- instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as ‘substandard’.
• Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
• Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
• Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
• Five leading causes of death were:
  1. Pneumonia and influenza
  2. Tuberculosis
  3. Diarrhea
  4. Heart disease
  5. Stroke
• The American flag only had 45 stars.
• The population of Las Vegas , Nevada, was only 30!!!!
• Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn’t been invented yet.
• There was no Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
• 20% of adults couldn’t read or write.
• Only 6% of all Americans were high school graduates.
• 18% of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
• There were only 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE ! U.S.A.

Just a little perspective for ya’

Famous Welsh

Aside from Tom Jones, Dylan Thomas, Bonnie Tyler and Catherine Zeta-Jones also were “made in Wales.”