Clear as a Bell

"Clear As A Bell"

Definition

Clearly understood message.

Believed Origin

Originates from a commercial aspect back in the early 20th century where it was employed as an advertising slogan by a company comparing their product to the clarity and distinct sound of a bell chime.

Poll: Who Was the Most Interesting Woman Ruler

Poll: Who Was the Most Interesting Woman Ruler?

Who was the most interesting woman ruler in history? People chose from among these queens, empresses, and pharaohs. Here is the list of leading women personalities.

1) Catherine the Great of Russia
2) Christina of Sweden
3) Cixi (Tz'u-hsi or Hsiao-ch'in)
4) Cleopatra VII
5) Eleanor of Aquitaine
6) Elizabeth I of England
7) Hatshepsut
8) Isabella I of Spain
9) Mary, Queen of Scots
10) Victoria of Great Britain

Armed To The Teeth

"Armed To The Teeth"

Definition

To be heavily armed.

Believed Origin

Originating from the 17th century, a Pirate would carry many weapons about him to compensate for the limitations of having single-shot weapons. To complete their armoury they would also carry a knife between their teeth, hence the term to be "armed to the teeth".

Read the Riot Act

"Read The Riot Act"

Definition

To lecture someone on their behavior.

Believed Origin

Originates from the English policeman who by law was required to read the official Riot Act before dispersing a crowd or making any arrests.

McCartney and Starbucks

Sir Paul McCartney has been unveiled as the first signing to the music label of coffee house chain Starbucks.

The company announced plans last week to sign established and new acts to Hear Music, which has previously released albums of licensed songs.

Its biggest success to date has been the Grammy-winning Genius Loves Company album of Ray Charles duets.

Sir Paul told the company's annual meeting he expected the new album to be in the shops in early June.

He added he was impressed with Hear Music's plan to use Starbucks' 13,500 retail outlets to sell the album.

"For me, the great thing is the commitment and the passion and the love of music, which as an artist is good to see," he said.

This is a pretty powerful new platform, when you can reach 44 million customers per week through Starbucks stores

Glen Barros, Concord Music

The company will also release his music through online download stores, while it also operates Hear Music coffee houses where customers can burn tracks onto CDs.

Glen Barros, president of Concord Music Group - which is Starbucks' partner in the Hear Music venture - said recording artists should be attracted by the idea of a built-in audience in Starbucks.

"This is a pretty powerful new platform, when you can reach 44 million customers per week through Starbucks stores," Mr Barros said last week.

Sir Paul's past recordings are not included in the deal.

Don't Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth

"Don't Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth"

Definition

Don't be critical of a free gift.

Believed Origin

The age and usefulness of a horse can be determined by inspecting its teeth because a horse's gums recede with age. A horse gifted to someone would not need such an inspection because it is free and would therefore be deemed foolish to do anything
other than take the free gift.

Clean Bill of Health / Blow of Steam

"Clean Bill Of Health"

Definition

To be pronounced healthy.

Believed Origin

In times gone by, when a ship sailed it would be given a "bill of health" to prove that the port from which it last sailed was free of any epidemics. Providing a "clean bill of health" would ensure that the ship could dock at the next port.



"Blow Off Steam"

Definition

To release tension from oneself.

Believed Origin

The term derives from the workings of a water boiler whereby the boiler needs to relieve pressure built up from the steam. The boiler is equipped with a safety valve called a 'blow off value' which is used to "blow off steam" to prevent the boiler from
exploding under the pressure.

All for the best...

My friend got axed from her post in the school where she is working with. Perhaps, she made a couple of mistakes. Perhaps, too much for absolution to happen. Perhaps her best wasn't good enough for such a nerve breaking, death defying, Olympus-bound work that's meant only for the gods and the likes of Superman.

At first, she was adamant and cloaked in denial. Something she uses to protect herself from too much hurt. Indeed, it is understandable. She had been in that school for three years. Three long years. She was there at the very beginning. When the school was still confused about a lot of things - curriculum, policies, etc. Well, at least some of those things are non-existent anymore. Not that they took care of it. It's just not a cause of confusion anymore - that they don't have those things.

Anyway, slowly but surely, she accepted the truth. And found her way out of the stage of self-defense and denial.

Then, last week she told me she is being considered for a position in another school Which is something of a miracle because we are not young anymore. She will be preparing preschool materials. The program is for children with disability. Something she really wants to do.

I told her, Wow. I am so proud of you.

She said,

I was inspired when I saw the brochure of Bahay Pangarap. It is not what man has lost, but what was left that is important. It is not the disability, but the ability. In some ways, we have our own crippling disabilities in our life. But what is important is our ability to live...I think the mystery of God continues to unfold as we continue to journey and search for our place to be of service to others. In spite of our imperfections.

Isn't that tenacious? I would love the kids of Hungry Minds to acquire that kind of resilience. She goes beyond what is now. The clouds may hover in our lives for some time. But they are there just to return water to the earth, to cleanse it and make it whole again.

Cold Turkey

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EVERYDAY PHRASE
-------------------

"Cold Turkey"

-------------------
DEFINITION
-------------------

An approach to quitting a habit completely.

-------------------
BELIEVED ORIGIN
-------------------

A known side effect of narcotics withdrawl is visible goose
bumps on the skin. This is comparable to the skin of a plucked
"cold turkey", hence the term.

Let the Cat out of the Bag

-------------------
EVERYDAY PHRASE
-------------------

"Let The Cat Out Of The Bag"

-------------------
DEFINITION
-------------------

To reveal the secret.

-------------------
BELIEVED ORIGIN
-------------------

In Medieval times, a rogue market trader selling pigs would
place the pig in the bag with an instruction that the buyer
should not open the bag until they had left the market. Upon
opening the bag, the buyer would discover that they had in fact
been given a cat instead of a pig. Hence, the trader's secret
was revealed when they "let the cat out of the bag".

On the Ball

-------------------
EVERYDAY PHRASE
-------------------

"On The Ball"

-------------------
DEFINITION
-------------------

To be clued up, adept, aware etc.

-------------------
BELIEVED ORIGIN
-------------------

Originates from a baseball pitcher who was having a bad outing
being termed as one who "had nothing on the ball".

Chew the Fat

EVERYDAY PHRASE
-------------------

"Chew The Fat"

-------------------
DEFINITION
-------------------

To pass time, usually by discussing life's events.

-------------------
BELIEVED ORIGIN
-------------------

Some cultures used to chew on pieces of bacon fat or whale
blubber (if you were an Eskimo) to pass the time. Such products
were chosen to help pass the time because of the length of time
it took for them to dissolve.

Cut the Mustard

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
EVERYDAY PHRASE
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Cut The Mustard"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
DEFINITION
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

To achieve an acceptable standard.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
BELIEVED ORIGIN
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

This expression appears to have come from a cowboy expression
- "the proper mustard", meaning "the genuine thing", and the
resulting use of "mustard" to denote the best of anything.
O. Henry in Cabbages and Kings (1894) called mustard "the main
attraction" and it was also recorded in an O. Henry story in
1902 - "So I looked around and found a proposition (a woman)
that exactly cut the mustard".

Get someone's goat

-------------------
EVERYDAY PHRASE
-------------------

"Get Someone's Goat"

-------------------
DEFINITION
-------------------

To irritate somebody.

-------------------
BELIEVED ORIGIN
-------------------

Originates from the early 20th century where goats were often seen stabled with race horses because of their known calming influence on the horse. Competitors would attempt to remove the goat with the result that the horse would be less come and more
irritated come the race. Hence the term "to get someone's goat".

Take a Rain Check...

-------------------
EVERYDAY PHRASE
-------------------

"Take A Rain Check"

-------------------
DEFINITION
-------------------

To decline an offer until another time.

-------------------
BELIEVED ORIGIN
-------------------

Originates from 19th century baseball games where spectators
could leave a game because of bad weather whilst retaining their
ticket for use on another day.

http://DailyIdiom.com

Godless money

U.S. Mint goofs on new dollars

The U.S. Mint mistakenly struck George Washington dollar coins without their edge inscriptions, including "In God We Trust." One coin expert estimated 50,000 faulty coins made it past inspectors and went into circulation Feb. 15. After fetching as much as $600, they're now selling for about $50 online.

Copyright 2007 Investor's Business Daily, Inc.


I think, United States as a nation should drop the inscriptions altogether. If they want to remain as democratic and free as they profess, they should respect the growing population, albeit small, of those who don't believe in God. Well, some who are professing they do lead forgetful lives. What's the difference? Lose the "God" in the money. Isn't it that somewhere it is said, "The love of money is the root of all evil"? Jesus also said, "Give me a coin...whose inscription is it? Let us give to Ceasar what is due to him..."

The inscription is hypocritical. Let us put "In War We Trust". Might be better for the image of America. Or bombs perhaps.

Gates and Buffett neck and neck at the top

AP
Gates, Buffett Top Billionaires Ranking
Thursday March 8, 8:44 pm ET

By Jackie Farwell, AP Business Writer

Bill Gates, Warren Buffett Top Record-Breaking Forbes Magazine's Billionaires Rankings


NEW YORK (AP) -- What could a Chinese dumpling maker and Mexican telecom mogul possibly have in common? They're among a record number of wealthy people who held the title of billionaire over the past year. The tally of billionaires around the globe reached a high of 946, their combined wealth growing 35 percent to $3.5 trillion, according to Forbes magazine's 2007 rankings of the world's richest people.

The rich cashed in on strong equity markets, real estate and commodity prices worldwide, according to Forbes billionaires co-editor Luisa Kroll.

"It's just been kind of an extraordinary year for markets worldwide," she said.

Leading the list are two men who manage to keep getting richer as they give more and more money away. Microsoft founder Bill Gates ranked No. 1 for the 13th straight year, beating out friend and fellow philanthropist Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Gates's fortune rose $6 billion to $56 billion last year, while Buffett garnered in an additional $10 billion to boost his net worth to $52 billion.

Only five Americans ranked in the top 20, though they account for 44 percent of the overall list.

Breathing down Buffett's neck was Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim Helu, who added $19 billion to his existing fortune, the largest one-year gain over the past decade. With $49 billion to his name, Helu was just $3 billion shy of the No. 2 spot.

Starbucks Corp. chairman Howard Schultz and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner joined the ranks of the world's richest for the first time, behind new faces Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, Canadian co-chiefs of Blackberry maker Research In Motion Ltd.

Self-made mogul Li Wei, founder of Synear Food Holding, made the list for the first time along with a dozen other Chinese newcomers. Her company, one of the country's largest producers of frozen food, including sweet and meat dumplings, is an official supplier to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

All bets were off for online gambling moguls Ruth Parasol, Russell DeLeon and Calvin Ayre, who dropped from the list after recent crackdowns limiting offshore gambling Web sites.

Bumped from the top 20 were the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. heirs, who saw their company's stock languish, and Michael Dell, founder of computer maker Dell Inc. Losing billionaire status entirely was Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, the once-powerful Japanese industrialist who first topped the tally in 1987.

Japan surrendered its title as Asia's leading billionaire locale to India, which boasts 36 megarich on the list. Russia contributed 53 billionaires and now challenges Germany as home to the most billionaires outside the United States.

Among three Indians in the wealthiest top 20 are Mukesh and Anil Ambani, feuding brothers who got even richer after dividing their fortunes in 2005. Mukesh Ambani ranked 14th with a $20.1 billion fortune, while brother Anil came in four places lower at No. 18 with his $18.2 billion.

The methodology of the rankings remains similar to previous years, Kroll said. The magazine confirmed the worth of an individual's holdings in public companies by using the Feb. 9 closing stock price, and estimated the value of private companies by evaluating comparable public firms in the industry and by consulting with experts in the field.

Astronomers are watching a galaxy rip to shreds, a finding that could help reveal how galaxies go from stellar riches to rags.

While looking at the galaxy cluster Abell 2667 with the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists found a spiral galaxy which they nicknamed the "Comet Galaxy."

The gas and stars of the Comet Galaxy--moving through the cluster at speeds of more than 2 million mph--are being stripped away by the tidal forces of the cluster. Also, the pressure of the cluster's scorching gas plasma--known as ram pressure stripping--is adding to the damage.

"This unique galaxy, situated 3.2 billion light-years from Earth, has an extended stream of bright blue knots and diffuse wisps of young stars driven away by the tidal forces and the ram pressure stripping of the hot dense gas," said Jean-Paul Kneib, a study collaborator from the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille.

Galaxy metamorphosis

Galaxies come in many shapes and sizes. Elliptical galaxies generally have little gas and dust and mainly consist of old stars. Unlike spiral galaxies, which are generally found in isolation, elliptical galaxies are spotted in the center of crowded galaxy clusters.

Up until now, it's been a mystery as to how a gas-rich spiral galaxy evolves into a gas- poor irregular galaxy or a gas-poor elliptical galaxy. Also, when the Universe was half its present age, only one in five galaxies was a gas-poor elliptical galaxy. This has left astronomers wondering where all of the present day elliptical galaxies came from.

Elliptical galaxies, scientists suspect, are transformation products of other types of galaxies, something no one has seen because the process takes billions of years. What they are observing now is some 200 million years into such a process.

"By combining Hubble observations with various ground- and space-based telescopes, we have been able to shed some light on the evolutionary history of galaxies", said study team leader Luca Cortese of Cardiff University, UK.

Piglet with Two Snouts

Liu Shuping, a farmer specializing in raising pigs, presents a newly-born piglet with one head, two mouths, two noses and three eyes, for photographers in Xi'an, northwest China's Shannxi Province March 6, 2007. Experts attributed it's (sic) condition to genetic variation, local media reported. Picture taken March 6, 2007. CHINA OUT REUTERS/China Daily (CHINA)

Yahoo News

Lunar Eclipse

Sky watchers across the world have been enjoying the first total lunar eclipse in more than three years.

The eclipse began at 2018 GMT, with the Moon totally immersed in the shadow of the Earth between 2244 and 2358 GMT.

During "totality" the Moon took on a reddish hue; the only light reaching its surface by this stage had been filtered through Earth's atmosphere.

The eclipse was visible from the whole of Europe, Africa, South America, and eastern parts of the US and Canada.

The copper-red Moon was visible across large areas of the UK thanks to clear skies.

Robin Scagell, from the Society for Popular Astronomy, said that it was "one of the best lunar eclipses from Britain for years".

bbcnews