Advertisements
Archive | January 28, 2015
January 28, 2015  

Norman Epstein [1931 – 2015] — The Obituary.

.Anura Guruge December 2014 thumbnail
.
.
.
by Anura Guruge

Related posts:
 >> Louis Epsteins’s cardinalabili list.

Norman Epstein is the father of Louis Epstein with whom I have collaborated on many topics papal and cardinalate since 2010.

[Check my ‘Popes and Papacy’ blog for just some of the work we have done together. The cardinalabili list for the upcoming February 14 cardinal creating consistory was our last venture.]

Norman Epstein

Norman Epstein died at home in Kent, New York, on January 23rd 2015, the 23rd anniversary of his mother’s death, at age 83. He had suffered a variety of illnesses in recent years.

He was born in Brooklyn September 22nd 1931 to Louis and Rose (Silverman) Epstein. When he was a child the family bought the land surrounding the intersection usually shown on maps as “Mead’s Corners”, though the Epstein family has now owned the land (which they have named “Twin Brooks”) longer than the Meads, the Foshays who preceded them, or the Reddings after them. He moved there permanently in 1961 with his wife Turid, to whom he was married from 1957 to her death in 2011.

He was a graduate of Tilden High School in Brooklyn and was in the Army from 1952 to 1954, serving at Fort Dix. For some years he worked for his family’s chemical business in Brooklyn and New Jersey before selling his shares to his brothers.

He was a mechanical genius who was awarded patents on various locking devices, a tube sheet plug for heat exchanges, and surgical replacement joints. Other projects never realized included a fly-tying vise and a rotary engine with 70% thermal efficiency. He was a longtime amateur magician and a former competitive skiier and bicycle racer. For years he was a private pilot of single-engine airplanes. His hobbies included music, photography, and international cooking. He met his Norwegian wife in Paris when lighting a stage production (a talent he had first honed in Brooklyn) and they married in London.

He was a founding member and second president of the Kent Volunteer Fire Department, and for years managed the family rental apartments at Twin Brooks, employing the same skills he used to build and design his own home there. Built as a summer colony by his father, he converted the bungalows to year-round rentals in the 1960s. He was active in various local political, environmental, and recycling groups.

He is survived by his son Louis of Twin Brooks, Kent, and a brother Edward of New Jersey and Florida. A daughter died in infancy in 1959.

Balsamo-Cordovano Funeral Home () will conduct graveside services at 1 PM Friday, January 30th, at King David Memorial Gardens, Rose Hills Cemetery, Peekskill Hollow Road & Mill Street in Putnam Valley [New York].

Some of his patents. Check Google Patent Search.

Click to ENLARGE and admire.

normanepsteinpat3p
normanepsteinpat3
* * * *
normanepsteinpat2
* * * *
normanepsteinpat1

Advertisements
January 28, 2015  

Alton Central School (ACS) [N.H.]: Should Today, Day 2 Of “Blizzard I of 2015”, Have Been A Snow Day?

.judgementAnura Guruge December 2014 thumbnail
.
.
.
.
.
.
by Anura Guruge

Related posts:
 1. Mar. 13, 2014 ACS 2-hour delay?

++++ Search ‘ACS’ for other related posts >>>>

acsjan28152hour1a

Click to ENLARGE and read. The part about the ‘any changes’ caught many a parent off-guard. To many sending kids to school, at a particular time, is a ‘go, no-go’ decision. They have to make arrangements — even with a 2 hour delay. Quite a few of the ACS parents work, away from home.

Knowing mentality of the ACS Superintendent I kind of knew last night at 11:30 (as I wrote my first ‘Blizzard I of 2015’) that ACS will probably try for a 2-hour delay, as opposed to a snow day, despite all the snow we received late at night. Well I was proved right, though, ironically, Alton’s Prospect Mountain High School (PHMS) is closed for the day because the administrators in Barnstead (renowned for their acumen) decided that they didn’t want their kids & STAFF trying to battle the snow.

The 2-hour delay decision, as Deanna informed me ~9 am, after she had checked the local social media, had not been met with universal approval among parents. I am not surprised.

I think, on days like this, MORE of the staff, especially the teachers, as opposed to the kids that take the buses. All of the ACS teachers do not live in Alton. Some live in remote rural locations. So the main roads in Alton may have been plowed by 6am, but that probably was not true for other places. I do not think it is fair to expect teachers to have to weather snow conditions like this.

I do NOT really see what the big deal is of having an extra catch-up day in June. One accident on today’s roads would be too much. I am personally too busy to check but I will try to find out how many teachers could NOT make it to ACS today. And that will tell its own tale. Our kids went. But the kids across the road didn’t! There was only 1 kid on the bus when it arrived to pick our two up. There should have been more.

Lets see what happened. I do not think this was right. But, this is par for ACS.

January 28, 2015  

4 of the Top 6 Ranked Universities Are In Britain.

.busdriverphd1Anura Guruge December 2014 thumbnail
.
.
.
.
.
.
by Anura Guruge

For other related posts:
 >> Obama’s free 2 years of College.
>> University of Whales (sic.)

++++ Search on ‘ACS’, ‘Common Core’, ‘Sri Lanka’ etc. on sidebar >>>>

top4britunivr

Click to ENLARGE and read. Use link below to access original.

Click here to access original.

I happened to hear this, by chance, end of last week, when the British Chancellor, George Osborne, said this on CNN. I was skeptical. So I Googled. I was AMAZED and very proud. I wondered why he was very specific about the ‘SIX‘, ‘4 of the top 6 universities in the World’. Now I know.

I knew that Oxford and Cambridge will be up there — as they should. They are the granddaddies of them all, with Oxford having been known to EXIST in 1096! That is 919 years AGO.

I am delighted that Imperial College and University College of London made the top 6. University College of London is one of the Colleges of the “University of London“. Imperial was another of those Colleges till 2007. I got my Master’s (in Computer Science (with a Mark of Distinction)) from the “University of London” 1977 – 1979. So at that time both Imperial and UCL were part of the University. Imperial has always been one heck of a school. This list made me happy.

January 28, 2015  

Preview Of ‘Buddy’, An Adorable ‘Light’ Golden, The Star In GoDaddy’s Non-Sexist Super Bowl 2015 Commercial.

Last year’s insensitive ‘I Quit’ ad.

.Anura Guruge December 2014 thumbnail
.
.
.
.
.
.
by Anura Guruge

Related posts:
 1. “Carl’s Jr.” cheeseburger.
2. Godaddy ‘I Quit’ ad.
3. VW ‘Jamaican’ ad.
4. Library destruction ad.
5. Power failure at SuperDome.

++++ Check Category ‘Humor’ for similar posts >>>>

Click to ENLARGE.

gdbuddya1
BuddyBowTie_4690_PR_hires_wtrmrk
1.Danica_Puppyhires_wtrmrk

The Commercial.

As GoDaddy EXPECTED & WANTS it is creating waves.
That is what they aim for and have done for year.
Controversy is good, FREE publicity —
more than they can get with a straight Ad.

Click here, or image below, to find out about the Commercial and watch the video.

buddyvideo

For the record, we BOUGHT Braxton over the Internet!

January 28, 2015  

Blizzard I of 2015, January 27 – 28: Central New Hampshire (Lakes Region) — It Could Have Been Worse.

Feb. 8, 2013 blizzard

.
Anura Guruge December 2014 thumbnail
.
.
.
.

.
by Anura Guruge

Related posts:
 ++++ Search ‘snow’, ‘blizzard’ & ‘shoveling’ for other related posts >>>>


Actual picture of the snow, Tuesday evening, 5:30 pm, January 27, 2015.

Front door. 9:30 am, Tuesday morning, Jan. 27. It could have been worse.

Teischan, as is her wont, built a fort and lay down. ~5:45pm, Tuesday evening.

~5:45pm, Tuesday evening. It had been snowing for 15 hours, but it was still coming down.

All in all it wasn’t too bad (yet). I write this around 11:30 pm, Tuesday night, January 27, 2015. It has been snowing since 02:00 am. It is still snowing. If anything, heavier than ever. We appear to have had about 9″ MORE snow since we stopped shovelling, the 2nd time around, and came in, for dinner, ~5:45 pm.

I took a tape measure at 11:19 pm and measured the undisturbed snow on the back deck. Exactly 24″ — 2 feet. Not bad. Given that we are at 660′ above sea level we get a few more inches than those who do not live on a hill. So 24″ is par for the course given what others around here are reporting.

We did not lose power — YET. That in itself is a miracle. We are usually the first to lose power. But I have NOT ruled one out. I also have visions of a person in PSNH, “Eversore Energy” now, going: “Ah! Those suckers in Alton. Lets turn off their power for the heck of it”.

Wasn’t too cold either. This morning when the two girls and I went out to shovel it was 14°F (-10°F). Nice temp. for shovelling. The wind blew and you got some snow in your face. That wasn’t much fun. I shovelled non-stop for 70 minutes. Teischan shovelled for at least 40 minutes and Devanee for about 45. The three of us went back again at 5 pm and Devanee and I shoveled, methodically for 40 minutes, while Teischan built her snow fort. We even took the dogs for a walk. They love it in the snow.

There is a LOT of snow out there. We have had more. The blizzard of 2013 was worse. But, I will be shoveling till Friday and then there will be MORE snow. So I might have to shovel over the weekend too — and then they say another storm on Monday. It is wonderful exercise. I enjoy it. The bending, twisting and throwing.

Well, looks like I have my work cut out for the next week. I hope the kids don’t have school Wednesday; worst case they have a 2 hour delay. Roads aren’t going to be plowed first thing in the morning.

Actual snowflakes. Around 5pm.

blizzardI2015montagea

Click to see ENLARGED images.

%d bloggers like this: