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Posts tagged with "history"

Louie Louie

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On this day in history, December 10th, 1963 Louie Louie by The Kingsmen was on top of the charts.

Over the years a lot has been made out of such a simple tune, but nothing like the original trouble it caused when it was released.


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Dec. 09, 1968 History

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One of the most commonly used computer devices made its debut on this day in 1968, wondering just what that could possibly be?

The humble mouse was first demonstrated December 9th, 1968 in a presentation by Stanford Research Institute engineer Douglas Engelbart. This little presentation of his would go on to be called "the mother of all demos".

Engelbart's mouse pictured to the left was made out of a block of wood, had one button and underneath was two wheels connected to potentiometers. One recorded the mouse's movement along the x axis, the other one tracked the y axis.

The simple mouse has evolved to become for some people an extension of their hand, a piece of art, and most of all an absolutely essential tool. The mouse - as commonplace as the keyboard has let literally millions of people use computers by simply pointing and clicking.

To read more about Engelbert's mouse demonstration on Wired complete with an interesting gallery of mice over the years.

On This Day

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1980: John Lennon shot dead
Former Beatle John Lennon has been shot dead by an unknown gunman who opened fire outside the musician's New York apartment.

The 40-year-old was shot several times as he entered the Dakota, his luxury apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side, opposite Central Park, at 2300 local time.

from the BBC

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Calendars

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Another thing that always seems to get stuffed into people's Christmas socks are calendars.


A quick look around through google or anywhere else and you'll discover there's a calendar for just about everyone. As these few examples reveal.

From a funeral home in Italy there's the caskets and women calendar. I can't imagine how they came up with this idea or even who buys them but what the heck.


The Lady Farmers Calendar has been printing for a couple of years now in support of British farmers. I think it's just an excuse to get nekid.

Women in Waders? ...whatever floats your boat, who am I to judge?


As you can see online calendars just don't cut it like an old fashioned pin it to the wall calendar does.

For a history of the calendar and man's efforts to organize time check out www.webexhibits.org

Want to make your own calendar then be sure to check out the 10,000 year calendar. They've got a lot of free templates for you to use.

Who can forget the Farmers Almanac, where today I'm being reminded that the word of the day is ..."babbler"

Later folks.


Kid STUFF

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The leaves are just about gone from the trees and it's getting colder out there. Here's a couple of really good sites for kids, lots of homework help, interesting facts and just plain fun.

Some of the sites do require Flash and Shockwave but not to worry the plugins are free and readily available at www.adobe.com

Childrens BBC
More than 70 online games, activities and video clips. There's desktop wallpaper, message boards and lots more to discover. You can find it all at CBBC

The Best of Legends
Has lots of interesting history about King arthur, Robin Hood and of course Pirates. Not only real life but fictional characters can be found here as well. The Best of Legends will keep you busy for hours.



Natural History Notebooks
Facts and information about more than 250 animal species. Everything from insects to prehistoric beasts, you'll find it all. The resources section contains a list of other recommended web sites. Natural History Notebooks

School Wax TV
Designed with schools, educators and parents in mind, SchoolWAX TV is one of the safest online learning environments around.



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