4th of July

Declaration of Independence

The first, largest, and most famous signature is that of John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress. The youngest signer was Edward Rutledge (age 26). Benjamin Franklin (age 70) was the oldest. Two future presidents signed: John Adams (second President) and Thomas Jefferson (third President).

Signers:

Delaware • George Read • Caesar Rodney • Thomas McKean

Pennsylvania • George Clymer • Benjamin Franklin • Robert Morris • John Morton • Benjamin Rush • George Ross • James Smith • James Wilson • George Taylor

Massachusetts • John Adams • Samuel Adams • John Hancock • Robert Treat Paine • Elbridge Gerry

New Hampshire • Josiah Bartlett • William Whipple • Matthew Thornton

Rhode Island • Stephen Hopkins • William Ellery

New York • Lewis Morris • Philip Livingston • Francis Lewis • William Floyd

Georgia • Button Gwinnett • Lyman Hall • George Walton

Virginia • Richard Henry Lee • Francis Lightfoot Lee • Carter Braxton • Benjamin Harrison • Thomas Jefferson • George Wythe • Thomas Nelson, Jr.

North Carolina • William Hooper • John Penn • Joseph Hewes

South Carolina • Edward Rutledge • Arthur Middleton • Thomas Lynch, Jr. • Thomas Heyward, Jr.

New Jersey • Abraham Clark • John Hart • Francis Hopkinson • Richard Stockton • John Witherspoon

Connecticut • Samuel Huntington • Roger Sherman • William Williams • Oliver Wolcott

Maryland • Charles Carroll • Samuel Chase • Thomas Stone • William Paca

Memory

I have learned numerous computer languages. The first was Fortran (basically a calculation language), then I learned SNOBOL (a string manipulation) & ALGOL (calculation). Next was BASIC (a very basic language). Then came PASCAL (was Macintosh's preferred language) & ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE (for work). C (an elegant language), C++ (object language based on C), Obective-C (Mac's new language). Add JAVA & Javascript to round out the languages.

Notice the past tense; I have to relearn these every time I use them. Now mainly C,C++, SmallTalk (Obj C). My memory can not keep the knowledge in there. One problem is that I use them so seldom that my brain cells are filled with other things (food, choir anthems, Bible studies, sleep,etc.) & there is a limited number of neurons.

I find my memory is not as good as my wife's, daughter's, son's, etc.. I remember things that no one else does (say figment) or remember things incorrectly. One memory trick I use is ask my wife to remind me, this seems to help me remember.

.........

Winter is here also. My daughter has been writing about her weather for a few posts. We reached -18 degrees F last night & this morning when I took out Frisbit.

.........

Another hero, electric utility repairmen who go out in the horrid weather to keep the electricity flowing!

MIND (n) A mysterious form of matter secreted by the brain. Its chief activity consists in the endeavor to ascertain its own nature, the futility of the attempt being due to the fact that it has nothing but itself to know itself with. From the Latin mens, a fact unknown to that honest shoe-seller, who, observing that his learned competitor over the way had displayed the motto "Mens conscia recti," emblazoned his own front with the words "Men's, women's and children's conscia recti."

World is Ending?

On 2/17/09, the world will end for many people unless the "benevolent" government acts!

As you know one of life's NEEDS is TV.  What would life be like without it?  You might have to talk to people or read books (if you are geeky enough using a Kindle).  Literacy could increase & people might actually figure out what is happening in the world!

It's not as if people have a chance to get convertors; I mean 3 years is little compared to the age of the earth!  But THE ONE (the big O [not Oprah the other one]) might save us by increasing the amount of time to not get a convertor box!

.........

My daughter sometimes uses little dots to separate different thoughts on her blog; so I thought I might as well do it too.

..........

More heroes:

Mothers who raised us or our children; fathers who work & still find time for the kids.  These are probably the most important heroes since our society depends on kids becoming adults!

SATIRE, (n) An obsolete kind of literary composition in which the vices and follies of the author's enemies were expounded with imperfect tenderness. In this country satire never had more than a sickly and uncertain existence, for the soul of it is wit, wherein we are dolefully deficient, the humor that we mistake for it, like all humor, being tolerant and sympathetic. Moreover, although Americans are "endowed by their Creator" with abundant vice and folly, it is not generally known that these are reprehensible qualities, wherefore the satirist is popularly regarded as a soul-spirited knave, and his ever victim's outcry for codefendants evokes a national assent.

Hail Satire! be thy praises ever sung
In the dead language of a mummy's tongue,
For thou thyself art dead, and damned as well --
Thy spirit (usefully employed) in Hell.
Had it been such as consecrates the Bible
Thou hadst not perished by the law of libel.
Barney Stims

Heros

There are numerous unsung heroes. The snow plow driver, who has to drive to work in the lousy weather & then spend all that time clearing off the snow.

The postman who delivers the mail in all kinds of weather.

The policemen & firemen who keep us safe.

The pastor & ushers of our churches.

The military who keep us safe from foreign powers.

Thank you to all of them!

hero (n) a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities : a war hero; the chief male character in a book, play, or movie, who is typically identified with good qualities, and with whom the reader is expected to sympathize; (in mythology and folklore) a person of superhuman qualities and often semidivine origin, in particular one of those whose exploits and dealings with the gods were the subject of ancient Greek myths and legends