Old Sailors' Almanac

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

Week 05, 2019

Previous Week   January 28, 2019 - February 03, 2019  Next Week

Astronaut Eileen Collins becomes the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle on February 03, 1995

Astronaut Eileen Collins becomes the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle on February 03, 1995

Astronaut Eileen Collins becomes the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle: On February 03, 1995, Adjustments made to countdown sequence to better accommodate short five-minute window required for rendezvous with Mir, including adding more hold time at T-6 hours and T-9 minutes. Launch first scheduled for Feb. 2 postponed at L-1 when one of three inertial measurement units on orbiter failed. Countdown Feb. 3 proceeded so smoothly there was extra time left in T-9 minute hold. Launch marked first at 51.6-degree inclination to the equator to put orbiter in line with Mir, also at 51.6-degree inclination.

First shuttle flight of 1995 included several history - making achievements: First flight of a female shuttle pilot and, as part of Phase I of International Space Station Program, second flight of Russian cosmonaut on shuttle and first approach and flyaround by shuttle with Russian space station Mir.

Beginning on flight day one, series of thruster burns performed daily to bring Discovery in line with Mir. Original plan called for orbiter to approach to no closer than 10 meters, or 32.8 feet, from Mir, and then complete flyaround of Russian space station. However, three of 44 orbiter Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters -- small firing jets used for on-orbit maneuvering -- sprang leaks prior to rendezvous. Shortly after main engine cutoff, two leaks occurred in aft primary thrusters, one of which - called R1U - was key to rendezvous. Third leak occurred later in flight in forward primary thruster, but crew was able to fix problem.

After extensive negotiations and technical information exchanges between U.S. and Russian space teams, Russians concluded close approach could be safely achieved and STS-63 crew was given 'go' to proceed. R1U thruster manifold was closed and backup thruster selected for approach. R1U thruster manifold was closed and backup thruster selected for approach. Ship-to-ship radio contact with Mir achieved well ahead of time, and Titov, who lived on Mir for more than a year, communicated excitedly with three cosmonauts aboard space station: Mir 17 Commander Alexander Viktorenko; Flight Engineer Elena Kondakova; and Valery Polyakov, a physician who has broken Titov's record for extended time in space. After stationkeeping at a distance of 400 feet (122 meters) from Mir and with Wetherbee manually controlling orbiter, Discovery flown to 37 feet from Russian space station.

“As we are bringing our spaceships closer together, we are bringing our nations closer together”, Wetherbee said after Discovery was at point of closest approach. “The next time we approach, we will shake your hand and together we will lead our world into the next millennium.”

“We are one. We are human”, Viktorenko responded. Wetherbee then backed away to 400 feet (122 meters) and performed one and a quarter-loop flyaround of Mir while station was filmed and photographed. The Mir crew reported no vibrations or solar array movement as result of the approach.

NASA / Wikipedia / Encyclopedia Britannica / Library of Congess.gov / Oklahoma History.org / Space Shuttle Flight 67 (STS-63) (YouTube) video


Cold War: Captured American U2 spy-plane pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, and its ruthless Germanisation, are the ultimate geopolitical objectives of Third Reich foreign policy on February 03, 1962

Cold War: Captured American U2 spy-plane pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel on February 03, 1962

Cold War: Captured American U2 spy-plane pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel: On February 10, 1962, two men stepped on to opposite ends of the Glienicke Bridge in Berlin. Francis Gary Powers - a prisoner of the Russians since 1960 - faced westward. Rudolf Abel—captured by the FBI in 1957 - faced eastward. Both men had been captured while performing daring intelligence missions. When the signal was given, Powers and Abel began to cross the bridge. They passed in the middle of the bridge, with barely a nod. They were headed home.

Spy Exchange

The exchange of Powers and Abel was the first of many East-West prisoner exchanges to take place over the next 27 years. It also marked a change in Cold War intelligence. The Soviets had long excelled at espionage, but lost Abel to one of America's early counterintelligence coups in 1957. For their part, the Americans did well at technical collection, and were pioneering the use of overhead reconnaissance from the edge of space and beyond when Powers' U-2 spy plane was shot down.

Spy Exchange

Powers had flown for the U.S. Air Force before shifting to the Central Intelligence Agency to become one of the first U-2 pilots in 1956. He flew 27 successful missions in U-2s (not all of them over the Soviet Union) before a surface-to-air missile downed his ship near Sverdlovsk on May 1, 1960.

The Soviets captured him immediately, but took their time telling the news. This made the Eisenhower Administration very uncomfortable because it initially denied that the lost and presumably dead pilot had any intelligence connection. In August 1960, Powers was tried and convicted of espionage against the Soviet Union. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. Powers was cleared by the U.S. government of all allegations of misconduct after his repatriation.

Powers worked for Lockheed as a test pilot from 1963 to 1970. He co-wrote a book about his experience title “Operation Overflight: A Memoir of the U-2 Incident” in 1970. Powers then became a helicopter pilot for a Los Angeles television station. He died in 1977 when his helicopter crashed on his return from covering a news story.

The Man with Many Names

We know far less about the other man on the bridge that February day. “Rudolf Abel” was the name he gave his FBI captors on June 21, 1957. However, he had arrived in the United States in 1948 under the name of “Andrew Kayotis”, and lived in a Brooklyn artists' colony during the late 1940s under yet a third, “Emil Goldfus”.

American authorities had no inkling of Abel’s espionage before his deputy defected in May 1957 at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. After Abel’s death in 1971, we learned his real identity: he was William Fisher, an Englishman who had moved to Russia with his family when he was a child.

Abel was fluent in English, German, Yiddish and Polish. He served in the Red Army communications unit, and then worked as a language teacher until 1927. Abel joined the OGPU—the forerunner of the KGB - the same year. During World War II, he served as an intelligence officer on the German front. He was known for his operational tradecraft and survived a lengthy career as a spy before his arrest because he always covered his trail.

We still do not know what he accomplished as a senior KGB “illegal” officer, although he was treated well on his return to Moscow. He was posthumously hailed along with other famous operatives in a commemorative volume published by the Russian foreign intelligence service in 1995.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) / History Channel / Francis Gary Powers - Rudolf Abel - Wikipedia / Francis Gary Powers - Rudolf Abel - Encyclopedia Britannica / Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training / BBC> / Cold War: Captured American U2 spy-plane pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel on February 03, 1962 (YouTube) video


Adolf Hitler announces the expansion of Lebensraum into Eastern Europe, and its ruthless Germanisation, are the ultimate geopolitical objectives of Third Reich foreign policy on February 03, 1933

Adolf Hitler announces the expansion of Lebensraum into Eastern Europe on February 03, 1933

Adolf Hitler announces that the expansion of Lebensraum into Eastern Europe: On February 03, 1933 Adolf Hitler announces the expansion of Lebensraum into Eastern Europe, and its ruthless Germanisation, are the ultimate geopolitical objectives of Third Reich foreign policy.

Foreign-policy prime directive

The conquest of living space for Germany was the foremost foreign-policy goal of the Nazis towards establishing the Greater Germanic Reich that was to last a thousand years. On February 03, 1933, at his initial meeting with the generals and admirals of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler said that the conquest of Lebensraum in Eastern Europe, and its “ruthless Germanisation”, were the ultimate geopolitical objectives of Reich foreign policy.

The USSR was the country to provide sufficient Lebensraum for the Germans, because it possessed much agricultural land, and was inhabited by Slavic Untermenschen (sub-humans) ruled by Jewish Bolshevism. The racism of Hitler's Lebensraum philosophy allowed only the Germanisation of the soil and the land, but not of the native peoples, who were to be destroyed, by slave labour and starvation.

Wikipedia / Encyclopedia Britannica / USHMM / BBC / Oklahoma History.org / Adolf Hitler announces the expansion of Lebensraum into Eastern Europe on February 03, 1933 (YouTube) video


Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect an income tax on February 03, 1913

Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified on February 03, 1913

Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified: On February 03, 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect an income tax

Until 1913, customs duties (tariffs) and excise taxes were the primary sources of federal revenue. During the War of 1812, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander J. Dallas made the first public proposal for an income tax, but it was never implemented. The Congress did introduce an income tax to fund the Civil War through the Revenue Act of 1861. It levied a flat tax of three percent on annual income above $800. This act was replaced the following year with the Revenue Act of 1862, which levied a graduated tax of three to five percent on income above $600 and specified a termination of income taxation in 1866.

The Civil War income taxes, which expired in 1872, proved to be both highly lucrative and drawing mostly from the more industrialized states, with New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts generating about 60 percent of the total revenue that was collected. During the two decades following the expiration of the Civil War income tax, the Greenback movement, the Labor Reform Party, the Populist Party, the Democratic Party and many others called for a graduated income tax.

The Sixteenth Amendment (Amendment XVI) to the United States Constitution allows the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on the United States Census. This amendment exempted income taxes from the constitutional requirements regarding direct taxes, after income taxes on rents, dividends, and interest were ruled to be direct taxes in the court case of Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895). The amendment was adopted on February 3, 1913.

Our Documents.gov / Wikipedia / Encyclopedia Britannica / Library of Congress.gov / National Archives.gov / Cornell Law School / Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified on February 13, 1913 (YouTube search) video


USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) will be the lead ship of the Navy’s newest destroyer class, designed for littoral operations and land attack.

The Old Salt’s Corner

Surface combatants (or surface ships or surface vessels) are a subset of naval warships which are designed for warfare on the surface of the water, with their own weapons. They are generally ships built to fight other ships, submarines or aircraft, and can carry out several other missions including counter-narcotics operations and maritime interdiction. Their primary purpose is to engage space, air, surface, and submerged targets with weapons deployed from the ship itself, rather than by manned carried craft.

The term is primarily used to mean any modern vessel type that is not a submarine; although a “surface ship” may range in size from a small cutter to an aircraft carrier, the weapons and tactics have some commonality, more so than for submerged vessels. They look unusual and different from cruise and other ships.

Surface ships include cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and corvettes, and several outdated types including battleships and battlecruisers. The category does not include aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, and mine hunters, as these generally do not use on board weapons system (i.e. aircraft carriers generally only attack with their aircraft, and mine hunters are not primarily combat vessels). However some warships combine aspects of the surface combatant and other roles, such as the Russian Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier, which carries both aircraft and an array of conventional armament (the class is sometimes termed a “heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser”).

Modern naval warfare is divided into three operational areas: anti-surface warfare (ASUW), anti-air warfare (AAW) and anti-submarine warfare (ASW).

The current canonical combined arms naval task force or task group centers around a flagship hosting dedicated command elements to conduct tactical operations within each of these areas. In smaller surface action groups (i.e. a single or a few task elements, such as a lone Aegis-equipped destroyer or cruisers on patrol), the same combatant commander may be responsible for managing all three areas as part of his duty in carrying out his vessel's mission, while larger formations such as a carrier strike group may have an individual commander in charge of each separate warfare element.

Western naval career advancement for unrestricted line officers also follow this model: a career line officer in a command-oriented track will specialize, train, and be billeted into distinct surface, naval aviation, or subsurface warfare posts.


“I’m Just Sayin’”

“I’m Just Sayin”

&ldquoDon’t flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you

to say disagreeable things to your intimates.

The nearer you come into relation with a person,

the more necessary do tact and courtesy become.”

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes


“Thought for the Day”

“Thought for the Day”

“I hope our wisdom

will grow with our power,

and teach us that

the less we use our power

the greater it will be.”

~ Thomas Jefferson


“What I Have Learned”

“What I Learned”

“We were all humans until

race disconnected us,

religion separated us,

politics divided us,

and wealth classified us.”

~ Anonymous


What to Consider When Connecting to Free WiFi?

Mr. Answer Man Please Tell Us: What to Consider When Connecting to Free WiFi?

Everyone loves free WiFi! Free WiFi is much more readily available with WiFi spots on the bus to work, in your local cafe, and even when you’re doing your grocery shopping in the supermarket.

However, not many people consider the risks of connecting to free WiFi.

Be armed with the correct knowledge to prevent yourself from becoming a victim

What to Consider When Connecting to Free WiFi?

Use a VPN

Using a virtual private network (VPN) will ensure that your privacy is kept private. Without a VPN, your internet activity can be tracked via your IP address, making you an easy target. A VPN will allow your time spent online to remain anonymous (review the best VPN’s here).

Use a Secure Connection

It may sound like a bit of a no brainer, but you’ll be surprised by the amount of un-secure websites on the internet. It’s simple to identify a secure website just by making sure the URL starts with https:// as opposed to http:// (always make sure the s is present).

If you’re still worried that your connection may not be secure, you can install the HTTPS extension in your browser.

Forget networks on your device

Most devices will remember a WiFi connection automatically. Handy if you’re at home using a private connection, but not so great if you’re connecting to a free public WiFi spot. If you’re not sure how to forget a network on your iPhone, take a look at this guide. You can perform a simple search engine search for any smart phone or device, just remember to forget this network.

When you pass a public WiFi spot you’ve used before, you’ll be prompted to connect to the network again. This may be time consuming, but it could save you from becoming a victim of fraud.

What to Consider When Connecting to Free WiFi?

Don’t use your credit card or internet banking

As tempting as it may be to sit down in your local coffee shop and do some internet shopping, it may not be safe! If you’re using a free WiFi spot (even if it is secure), do not use your bank card to purchase goods online, or access your internet banking.

Free WiFi spots are much easier targets for hackers and fraudsters, so it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Turn off your WiFi

If you’re not actually interested in using free WiFi when you’re out in public, simply turn it off on your device. Whether you’re using a laptop, phone, or tablet, you can simply set your device to WiFi off.

Not only will you not be able to connect to WiFi (thus reducing your chances of being a victim of fraud), you’ll also save some battery. A win-win situation!

Use an Antivirus

Whether you’re using a desktop or portable device, you can install antivirus software. Yes, you can even have an antivirus on your phone! Antivirus software can be free or paid, dependent on the type of features you want.

When using any antivirus software, always remember to install the latest version. Antivirus software can detect hacking attempts and even fake free WiFi connections.

What to Consider When Connecting to Free WiFi?

Encrypt your passwords

If you simply can’t remember your passwords, make sure you use a password manager that will ensure they are encrypted.

Turn off Bluetooth

You may be questioning what Bluetooth has to do with free WiFi. When you’re connected to free WiFi, or simply out in public, Bluetooth allows communication. Open communication can lead to cyber security risks that can be eliminated by simply turning your Bluetooth connection off.

Bluetooth is a fun feature to use at home or in a private space, but best avoided in public!

Update your device

Device updates can be irritating, especially when they take longer than a few minutes. However, ignoring a crucial device update could lead to you putting yourself at risk. Software updates are designed to fix issues and provide security updates to your device.

Updates can be applied directly to your device whilst in use, e.g. the latest Windows update. Alternatively, you can set a reminder on your phone to update at a specific time/date so as not to disturb your current activity.

What to Consider When Connecting to Free WiFi?

Logout of applications

Mobile and desktop applications have a habit of ‘performing background activity’. If you’re connected to a free WiFi spot, your applications could be using the hotspot to transmit data. Instant messaging apps, for example, use GPS technology to track your location.

To ensure your applications are only used when you want to use them, logout of all apps unless you’re connected to a private and secured network.

Disable sharing

On most devices you’ll find a setting which can enable/disable sharing. Sharing is simply a way of being able to access files and data easily between devices. Though this feature may be handy at home, it’s definitely not advised to be used when connecting to free or public WiFi.

When you login to your Windows PC for example and connect to a network, you’ll be asked if your connection is public or private. Ensure you select public if you are using a public connection to disable sharing.

VPN GeeksFederal Trade Commission Consumer Information.orgLife HackerQuaraWikipediaWiredWhat to Consider When Connecting to Free WiFi? (YouTube Search) video


NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang - U.S. Navy

NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang

B.O.C.O.D: “Beat Off Cut Off Date” - The date prior to returning home from a deployment on which a man should stop masturbating in order to save himself up for his wife or girlfriend.

Bogey: An unknown aircraft which could be friendly, hostile, or neutral.

B.O.H.I.C.A.: (Bend Over, Here It Comes Again). Often used when situations, as can be normal, repeat themselves but more often when you just know you are about to get it again from the Command.

B.O.H.I.C.A Key: Naval Air Station Key West was located on Boca Chica Key, Florida.

BOHICA Boat: Derogatory name for USS NIMITZ (CVN-68) BOHICA our screws never stop. A ships bumper sticker was authorized by the CO and were printed by the thousands until the CO found out what BOHICA meant. Circa 1981.

Bolter: Failed attempt at an arrested landing on a carrier by a fixed-wing aircraft. Usually caused by a poor approach or a hook bounce on the deck, this embarrassing event leads to a go-around and another attempt to “board”.

Bonnie Dick: USS BONHOMME RICHARD * (CV/CVA 31, LHD 6).

Boomer: Ballistic Missile Submarine (SSBN).

Boomer Fag: Crewmember of a Ballistic Missile Submarine (SSBN).

Boondockers: The standard workday steel-toed boots.

Boondoggle: An inefficient meeting, event, or evolution; one that it is more fun than productive. Telling the LPO you're going up to the calibration shop for awhile but head up to the roach coach instead? That's also a boondoggle. “Shithead is on a boondoggle again”.


Just for MARINES - The Few. The Proud.

Just for you MARINE

Boondoggle: Project or trip on government time and/or expense that serves no purpose other than to entertain the person making it.

Boot: A term for Marines who are new to the Marine Corps. Derived from the term “boot camp”, to insinuate that the Marine is fresh out of boot camp. Generally used as a pejorative term (even if in an affectionate manner) in the Fleet and elsewhere, sometimes as a way to explain that new Marines should know their place. It can also be used as a term for a Marine who is new to a rank or billet. e.g. - “He's a boot Corporal”. Meaning, said Marine was just recently promoted to Corporal. Also used by infantry Marines as a pejorative for any other Marine who has not gone on a combat deployment, regardless of rank or time in service.

Boot Bands: Elastic bands or metal springs rolled into the hem of the trousers to blouse them near the top of the boot.

Boots and Utes: The utility uniform without the normal uniform blouse, typically used for PT.

Boot camp: Training hub for new Marines at Parris Island, South Carolina and San Diego, California.


Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

Patrol Squadron Forty Seven (VP-47) - nicknamed the “Golden Swordsmen”

United States Navy - Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. - Established June 1, 1944.


Where Did That Saying Come From

Where Did That Saying Come From?

Where Did That Saying Come From? “Goody two shoes”

Goody two shoes:”  Meaning: Someone who is virtuous in a coy, smug or sentimental manner.

History: This phrase derives from the title of the nursery tale The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes, which was published in 1765. The authorship of this is disputed. Oliver Goldsmith is the name most commonly associated with it, although the evidence that claim is largely circumstantial and is based on the fact it is considered to be in Goldsmith's style and that he had previously undertaken the ghost-writing of somewhat similar stories for cash rather than as a named author. 'Anonymous' is probably the wisest choice when naming an author of this book.

The story itself is a re-telling of the Cinderella story, which itself is an example of the Christian teaching that diligence reaps its reward in Heaven - what later came to be called 'jam tomorrow'.

'Goody Two-Shoes' is the name given to a poor orphan - Margery Meanwell. She is so poor as to possess only one shoe and is so delighted when given a pair of shoes by a rich gentleman that she keeps repeating that she has 'two shoes':

“She ran out to Mrs. Smith as soon as they were put on, and stroking down her ragged Apron thus, cried out, 'Two Shoes, Mame, see two Shoes'. And so she behaved to all the People she met, and by that Means obtained the Name of 'Goody Two-Shoes.”

By virtue of hard work she makes good and marries a wealthy widower - thus mimicking the Cinderella theme of virtue being finally rewarded.

People who were considered self-righteously or piously virtuous began to be called 'goody-goodies' from around the turn of the 20th century. There are a few examples of people's behaviour being called 'goody-goody' from 1896 onwards. The first example that I've found of someone being described as 'a goody-goody' comes from 1911 - in the Wisconsin newspaper The Racine Daily Journal, July 1911, in a piece with the heading A Goody-Goody:

“Philadelphia Press: Senator Lorimer according to his friends, is such a paragon of innocence and true goodness that what seems to be needed is a place where he can retire, safe from the world - and the world safe from him.”

The childish exclamation of delight 'goody, goody' may derive from Goody Two-Shoes, although it could just as easily just be a form of 'oh good'.

The children's phrases 'goody gumdrops' and 'goody, goody gumdrops' began life in the mid 20th century. The expression is found in the Harold Teen cartoon strip by the American cartoonist Carl Ed in 1936. 'Goody gumdrops' is recorded, as a commonplace British children's expression, by the Opies - Iona and Peter, in The lore and language of schoolchildren, 1959:

“Cries of jubilation include: Wow! Whacko! Goody gumdrops! Lovely grub! and By gog jolly custard!”

Phrases.org UK


Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Astronomers discover super-Earth around Barnard's starHuge crater discovered in Greenland from impact that rocked Northern HemisphereStretchable thermoelectric coils for energy harvesting in miniature flexible wearable devicesSeismic study reveals huge amount of water dragged into Earth's interiorEnd-to-end learning of co-speech gesture generation for humanoid robotsNASA Learns More About Interstellar Visitor 'Oumuamua (the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system)Gravitational waves from a merged hyper-massive neutron star

Phys.org / MedicalXpress / TechXplore


Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good – real news story)

Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good – real news story)

Giant 'Pink Legacy' Diamond Fetches Over $44 Million at Auction

Giant 'Pink Legacy' Diamond Fetches Over $44 Million at Auction

Bright pink diamonds are rare. Big, bright pink diamonds are even rarer. And a diamond like the famed Pink Legacy — which is extraordinarily vivid for such a large diamond, weighing in at a whopping 18.96 carats — is so unusual that it has been called “as good as it gets” for a colored diamond, according to Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Jewellery at Christie's auction house.

If you happened to have enormous quantities of cash burning a hole in your pocket, the Pink Legacy could have been yours. The rare gem, which is set in a platinum ring surrounded by smaller diamonds, hit the auction block today (Nov. 14) at Christie's in Geneva. The diamond was expected to fetch as much as $50 million, and went to the winning bidder for more than $44 million

Other pink diamonds typically contain hints of other colors, such as brown, orange, gray or purple. But the Pink Legacy is pink through and through, with a rich tone classified by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) as "fancy vivid." That qualification is awarded to only 1 in 100,000 diamonds, Christie's representatives explained in a statement.[Sinister Sparkle Gallery: 13 Mysterious & Cursed Gemstones]

“It is unusual for pink diamonds to occur with a strong depth of color and saturation in any size”, GIA representatives told Christie's.

Fancy-vivid pink diamonds rarely weigh more than one-fifth of a carat, and only four of such diamonds identified as over 10 carats have been offered for auction in almost 250 years, according to Christie's.

What gives pink diamonds their unusual color? Unlike other colored diamonds, which gain their shades from light-absorbing chemical impurities in their carbon structures, pink diamonds are free of impurities. Some researchers suggest that pink diamonds may be created by intense physical disruptions to their molecular structure during formation, the BBC reported. A seismic shudder deep underground, for example, could shift a diamond's crystal structure, generating defects that could produce a rosy hue, according to the BBC.

While the Pink Legacy diamond is the largest known cut-and-colored diamond, raw diamonds found in nature can be much, much larger. Earlier this year, a mining company unearthed a 910-carat diamond in Lesotho, Africa; that gem is the fifth-largest diamond ever found.

The Pink Legacy is part of Christie's "Magnificent Jewels" auction, and it appeared alongside more than 300 other sparkling items, including sapphire and diamond rings; colored-diamond earrings and pendants; and necklaces dripping with diamonds, emeralds and pearls.

Bidding began at 24 million Swiss francs (U.S. $23,815,680) shortly after 10:00 p.m. local time in Geneva, and within two minutes climbed to 42 million Swiss francs (U.S. $41,677,440). The final bid — 44 million, five hundred thousand Swiss francs (U.S. $44,158,240) — claimed the precious gem at 10:10 p.m.

Live Science (11/13/2018) video


Second Hand News

Second Hand News (Links to Articles from Week 5 - January 28, 2019 - February 03, 2019)

Top News Stories - Photos (Washington Examiner) Democrats who oppose President Trump's border wall say they might be able to agree to spend $1.6 billion on new 'pedestrian fence' along a walkway in the Rio Grande ValleySchumer tells Trump to butt out of border talksEmboldened Democrats spoiling for a fight over border troop deploymentsTrump, Pelosi agree to State of the Union on February 5Obama delivers speech to Boeing after $10M donation made to his presidential center84-year-old ex-San Francisco mayor: Yeah, I had an affair with Kamala Harris. So what?Arctic blast has Midwest governors preparing for the worst Washington Examiner

Top News Stories - Photos (Daily Mail) '5,000 troops to Colombia': John Bolton's White House notes raise prospect of U.S. military intervention in Venezuela crisis after Trump freezes Maduro's access to oil cash and declares 'all options are on the table'Russia condemns 'illegal' U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil and China warns against ‘external interference’ amid warnings the South American country faces ‘imminent open war’Beijing urges Washington to stop the 'unreasonable crackdown' on Chinese companies after U.S. charges tech giant Huawei and its top executive for 'stealing technology and violating sanctions on Iran'Iran warns it will wipe Israel off the map and 'any action against us will lead to their elimination'

Four Houston cops are shot while serving a warrant, as two suspect are killed, in terrifying echo of 2016 Dallas cop ambushTrump will deliver State of the Union on February 5 after squabble over original date during government shutdown'Don't help elect Trump you egotistical billionaire!' Heckler embarrasses 'a**hole' ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz at Manhattan book launch as he mulls independent presidential runGroup of twelve Mexican and Chinese nationals are arrested after coming ashore in makeshift boat at U.S. Naval Weapons Station in California Daily Mail UK

Top News Stories - Photos (Deutsche Welle) Pakistan's top court has dismissed an appeal against the acquittal of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman accused of blasphemyTransparency International: 'Crisis of democracy' and corruption go hand in handU.S. charges Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei with fraud, theftIran defends plan to improve missile accuracyIsrael shutters TIPH observer mission in flash point Hebron Deutsche Welle

Top News Stories - Photos (Times of Israel) Iran attacks Israel in cybersphere ‘daily,’ Netanyahu chargesIran threatens Israel with ‘inferno,’ vows to improve missile accuracyU.S. charges Huawei with stealing trade secrets, violating Iran sanctionsIran and Syria agree to boost cooperation, in ‘message to world’Ex-IDF chiefs Gantz, says he won’t join government with PM under indictment Times of Israel

CORRUPTION CHRONICLES - Mainstream Media Scream: (Watch Dog On-Line Publications) TARGETING OF TRUMP’S TEAM ‘WORST CORRUPTION BY DOJ IN MODERN TIMES’New York's War on Religious EducationAir Pelosi ExposedJudicial Watch: Senate Ethics Committee Gives Senator Cory Booker a Pass for Purposely Violating Rules to Try to Torpedo Kavanaugh Nomination Judicial Watch


© CEASAR CHOPPY by cartoonist Marty Gavin - archives Ceasar Choppy's Navy! “© CEASAR CHOPPY” by Marty Gavin

SONG FACTS

“Bring It On Home” - Led Zeppelin 1969 “Bring It On Home” - Willie Dixon 1964

“Bring It On Home” - Led Zeppelin
Album: Led Zeppelin II
Released 1969 video

Famous Cases of Alleged Music Plagiarism

Led Zeppelin vs. Willie Dixon (1972)

Led ZeppelinBring It On Homevideo

Written by Willie DixonBring It On Home”) video - (sung by Sonny Boy Williamson (1966)

Nothing really comes from scratch anymore, and music is no exception. The first thing bands talk about when they form are their influences, and they typically start off by (and never really stop) playing other people’s music.

Entire genres, like folk, blues, and hip-hop, are based upon liberal borrowing out of either tradition or necessity. Simply put, every artist you love, no matter how unique, innovative, and game changing they may be, stands on the proverbial shoulders of giants.

With that in mind, famous instances of alleged music plagiarism. Some cases went to court. Others got shrugged off. Sometimes we think we’re listening to the same song twice. Other times we just don’t hear it that way.

The Case: Courts found that two tracks on II, Led Zeppelin's sophomore album, owed crushing debts to Chicago blues classics by Willie Dixon. Album opener “Whole Lotta Lovevideo copped lyrics from the 1962 Dixon-penned Muddy Waters song “You Need Love”) video. The source material for Zep's “Bring It On Home” is even more apparent. Page borrowed the intro and outro of Sonny Boy Williamson's 1966 original, intending it as a deliberate homage to the blues great; Dixon didn't see it that way and sued the band for copyright infringement in 1972. He took them to court again in 1985 over writing credits on “Whole Lotta Love”, which by then had become a classic-rock staple.

The Verdict: Both suits were settled out of court for undisclosed - but presumably large - sums. Songwriting credit reverted to Dixon in the case of “Bring It On Home”, and his name is also included on “Whole Lotta Love” along with the rest of Led Zeppelin. Despite the cost, Robert Plant was unbothered by the controversy over the latter song. “Page's riff was Page's riff”, he told Musician Magazine in 1990. “It was there before anything else. - At the time, there was a lot of conversation about what to do. It was decided that it was so far away in time and influence that - well, you only get caught when you're successful. That's the game.”

Why It Matters: Led Zeppelin's artistic debt to the blues, one shared by many of their British classic-rock peers, was never in doubt, but these suits actually took legal stock of that debt - and put a price tag on it.


This was influenced by a song of the same name recorded by blues great Sonny Boy Williamson and written by Willie Dixon. The Dixon composition was so similar that Led Zeppelin reached a settlement with Dixon over the royalties for the song, and credited Dixon as the writer when this appeared on Led Zeppelin's How The West Was Won live DVD.

Led Zeppelin frequently performed this live, with interplay between Jimmy Page's guitar, John Bonham's drums and John Paul Jones' bass. This can be heard on CD 3 of How The West Was Won.

The battle between Bonham and Page was referred to as a completely separate song entitled “Bring It On Back” when done live.The harmonica part was recorded in Vancouver. The band went on tour with the master tapes from Led Zeppelin II and now and then stopped into a studio to record parts.

Led Zeppelin, official website / Rolling Stone / COS / Billboard / All Music / Song Facts / Led Zeppelin

Image: “Led Zeppelin II (album)” by Led Zeppelin

Trivia

Trivia

● The name of what type of animal comes from the Greek words meaning Terrible Lizard?

Answer to Trivia

● The second wife of King Henry VIII was convicted of adultery and beheaded. Who was this woman, the mother of Queen Elizabeth I?

Answer to Trivia

● What number lies halfway between 1/3 and 1/5?

Answer to Trivia

● If 3 out of your 7 friends are girls, then what percentage of your friends are boys?

Answer to Trivia


Jeopardy

A Test for People Who Know Everything

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “CONES” ($200)

“The Glory of the Sea cone shell is from a marine one of these gastropods.”

Answer for People Who Do Not Know Everything, or Want to Verify Their Answer Molluscs

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “CONES” ($400)

“This lab device named for chemist Robert produces a cone-shaped blue flame.”

Answer for People Who Do Not Know Everything, or Want to Verify Their Answer Chemistry World

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “CONES” ($1,000)

“A Mach cone is the shape of a shock wave that produces this loud noise.”

Answer for People Who Do Not Know Everything, or Want to Verify Their Answer How Stuff Works


Answer to Last Week's Test

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “SCRAMBLED KEGS” ($200)

“Not just for the stoutest:”

“INN GUESS.”

● Answer: Guinness. Vinepair

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “SCRAMBLED KEGS” ($800)

“Tonight is kind of special:”

“NEW LABOUR.”

● Answer: Lowenbrau. Untappd

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “SCRAMBLED KEGS” ($1,000)

“Enjoyed by a 'range' of people:”

“AREA INVADERS.”

● Answer: Sierra Nevada Forbes


Joke of the Day

Joke of the Day

“A Fella Looking Through The Newspaper One Day - Order the Pounds You Want to Lose”

“A Fella Looking Through The Newspaper One Day - Order the Pounds You Want to Lose”

“An 18th-century vagabond in England”

Joke of the Day

“An 18th-century vagabond in England”

An 18th-century vagabond in England, exhausted and famished, came to a roadside Inn with a sign reading: “George and the Dragon.” He knocked.

The Innkeeper's wife stuck her head out a window. “Could ye spare some victuals?” He asked.

The woman glanced at his shabby, dirty clothes. “No!” she shouted.

“Could I have a pint of ale?”

“No!” she shouted.

“Could I at least sleep in your stable?”

“No!” she shouted again.

The vagabond said, “Might I please...?”

“What now?” the woman screeched, not allowing him to finish.

“D'ye suppose”, he asked, “that I might have a word with George?”