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On May 10th, 1869, the race to complete the great transcontinental railroad came to an end with a golden spike.  In three long and difficult years, the two companies, Union Pacific and Central Pacific laid nearly 2000 miles of track ultimately meeting in Promontory, Utah. It was known there was a need for this railroad since 1832, but challenges arose in congressional funding and the civil war.  In 1853, congress finally approved funds to survey the land.  However, with the rising tensions from the North and South, progress was slow going.  It wasn't until 1862, one year into the civil war that a Republican-controlled Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act, which guaranteed public land grants and loans to the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroad companies. In 1866, construction finally began, but was not without it challenges.  Terrible weather, long harsh work hours, Indian raids and getting over/through the Sierra Nevada mountains ...

“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.” -George Washington On February 22, 1732, the world was forever changed when a special child was born. He was a husband, a father (of adopted children), a man of faith, a general and the first President of The United States of America. All the things he did in his life he did not aspire to do, but rose to the occasion when his people and his country needed him most. One thing is certain, he did it all with the help and direction of God. This great country was founded by our Father in Heaven. George knew this and always tried to do what's right before God. Countless miracles can be seen through the revolutionary war and the fact the colonies won against the powerful British army is a miracle in and of itself. Many times mysterious weather like fog, wind, and storms saved his troops and helped them defeat the Briti...

Do you like watching TV, but hate that steep cable bill...?  What if you were able to cut the cable TV umbilical cord and get all your favorite TV shows for really cheap and even free?  This how to article will take you step by step on how to do just that.  To be upfront, it does require some initial hardware investment.  But that cost can depend on your desired features. Overview: You can get most local and some other channels for free over the air with a HD TV antenna and tuner.  People have been doing this for years, but I will show you how to do it and not sacrifice the shows you like and want.  Depending on what cable channels you watch and what you like, there are many options to get what you want.  Also depending on what features you want, the up front cost could be very little (~$200) or more significant (~$600-$1,000), but in the long run you can say goodbye to the cable company! You can just get free over the air channels and no DVR o...

Today, is an endless vortex of communications.  We have land lines, fax machines, cell phones, texting, Skype, Facetime, satellites and streaming media to name a few.  But it all started with some wire and an idea.  Almost 200 years ago Samuel Morse gave his first public demonstration of the telegraph on January 11th 1838. Source: Wikipedia Samuel Morse invented and patented the Telegraph in 1837.  He came up with the concept and code known as Morse Code to be able to send messages over a wire with electricity.  He encoded the alphabet and numbers with dots and dashes that could then be sent with one telegraph key and received by another. Source: Wikipedia This was the first method of communication that was instantly received on the other side.  Before this invention all communications came by letter or messenger.  On this day in 1838, Morse demonstrated his invention at Speedwell Ironworks close to Morristown NJ.  He sent a mess...

On this day December 14th 1962, a US made spacecraft called the Mariner 2 had finally arrived at it's long awaited destination Venus.  The Mariner 2 had launched on August 27th 1962, so it took just a little over 3 months to arrive. Before the Mariner 2 was successful, the Mariner 1 had to be self detonated only 5 mins after takeoff (July 22, 1962) due to it veering off course from a SW glitch.  They were able to correct that issue in the code and use other learnings to make Mariner 2 a success.  Although there were a few hiccups and course corrections through it's flight to Venus, it was able to recover from all of them and hit its mark. The Mariner 2 arrived at Venus on December 14th 1962 and began capturing data with its on-board instruments.  Weighing 40 lbs, here are the instruments it was equipped with: Microwave radiometer Infrared radiometer Three axis fluxgate magnetometer Cosmic ray detector Cosmic dust detector Solar plasma spectrometer Part...

It happens to all of us, young and old, short and tall. When that late afternoon hits and then the yawning frenzy begins. Sometimes or should I say many times we yawn when we feel tired.  But why is it the body has the need to do this?  Why do we yawn?! There are many theories as to why we yawn. Like many things about the human body, science can't quite explain it or just have theories and no real answers.  So here are some of the theories: We yawn because our brain needs oxygen This has been a theory for some time, but there is no real evidence this is the case We yawn to cool the brain Some theories are this is the way the brain regulates temperature.  When we yawn we draw in are to cool the bottom of the brain stem and cool our head down. We yawn to wake ourselves up Theory is that yawning is the bodies counter measure to wake itself up when too tired.  By the body doing this, it causes muscles to contract and blood to flow waking you up. ...

Almost 80 year ago today an event occurred that changed the tides of WWII.  The war had been raging in Europe, but he US had mostly stayed out of it.  That is until the Japanese decided to attack and bomb Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.  This attacked killed 2,335 Americans and was the reason the US finally put both feet into the fire to enter the WWII stage. Source: Wikipedia On December 7th at 7:48 am Hawaii time, the base was attacked.  353 Japanese aircraft were launched from nearby aircraft carriers and started attacking.  Many of them after running out of bombs and ammo would nose dive into ships trying to sink them.  All eight battle ships in the harbor were damaged and 4 were sunk.  All but the USS Arizona were raised and repaired and 6 returned to service.  The USS Arizona remains there today along with the crew forever entombed as a reminder of that fateful day. I recently had the opportunity to visit Pearl Harbor and see some o...

You may have not thought about this much, but why does ice float in water? It is water itself right?  Did you know water is the only liquid this will happen to? (At standard temperatures that is)  If you froze some alcohol and put it in its liquid self, it would sink... So why is water so unique? The simple answer?  Water expands when freezing making it less dense when in its frozen state.  So if an object is less dense than the liquid you are putting it into, it will float! Why does water become less dense when frozen?  Well, water is a polar molecule which means it has a positive and a negative side.  This is because it's a bit off balance having 2 hydrogen atoms and only 1 oxygen atom. This causes water molecules to be attracted to each other almost like little magnets. As water cools below 4 C, the hydrogen bonds adjust to hold the negatively charged oxygen atoms apart. This produces a crystal lattice, which is commonly known as 'ice'.  This...

Over 230 years ago the revolutionary war was finally winding down towards its end.  On this day November 30, 1782 the British signed an agreement to recognize US independence. This also included the definition of the boundaries of the United States of America along with the British agreeing to withdraw troops from the US. However it wasn't until April 11, 1783 when Congress officially declared the end to the Revolutionary War. Here are some facts about the Revolutionary War: Involved 217,000-231,000 Colonial Troops although only about 48,000 active at any given time. At any given time Britain had about 22,000 Troops along with ~25,000 Loyalists (colonist still loyal to Britain), and about 30,000 German Troops at it's disposal The British hired professional German troops called Hessians About 6,800 US troops died in battle, however 25,000 US troops died during the war mostly due to disease. Total British casualties was about 24,000, but it is unclear how many are f...

Have you ever seen a fly land in front of you and start rubbing their hands and feet together?  Either  they are getting ready for a tasty meal or planning something devious or both...?  So why do they do this?  Well the answer is simple, they are cleaning themselves. Flies are actually quite complex and they have many sensory capabilities.  They have very compound eyes that include thousands of individual visual receptors that all act as individual eyes.  Their antenna detect smells and the hairs on the ends of their legs act as taste buds. It's complicated business to keep all these sensors working properly.  So when they land they clean these all off.  You will see them rubbing their front and hind limbs together and rubbing their eyes and antenna.  They have to keep them all clean so they avoid predators, find food and find locations to lay their eggs. One good thing about this need for them to clean themselves is it creates the ...

Here are some fun riddle to solve... Happy Monday!  (Hint: Answers are at the bottom) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.  9. 10. Answers: Your Left Hand Lunch and Dinner A Towel Fire A Shadow An Egg Incorrectly Silence A Stamp Your Age