If you have ever had the pleasure to feast your eyes upon all aspects of the Avon River, you likely had to travel a bit. There are five rivers in England named Avon. There are three more such waterways in Scotland and yet another in Wales. Of course the river in Wales is spelled Afon Afan. The Welsh are noted for their inimitable spelling.
The original commercial PC scanner was installed at a grocery market in Troy, Ohio. The first item scanned (June 26, 1974) was a pack of Wrigley’s gum.
From the Skydeck on the 103rd floor of what was the Sears Tower (currently the Willis Tower), one can sometimes view regions of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Indiana.
In order to limit increasing violence in the Santa Clara (Calif.) jail, the local sheriff investigated what would be required in order to install security cameras at strategic locations on the facility grounds. The report given to the sheriff indicated that approximately $20,000,000 would be needed. Additionally, several bidding processes involving various vendors would be mandatory, architects’ input would be compulsory, document preparations and reviews must be presented for approval and all security equipment needed to be tested by qualified personnel. She (the sheriff is a woman) was informed that the process would take a minimum of two years and be cost prohibitive. Sheriff Laurie Smith read the report and that same day went to a local store to purchase 12 security cameras with monitoring equipment for $762.00 (charged to her personal credit card). She had the whole system up and working in a few days. It would seem to me that this sheriff deserves some applause. Clap, Clap, Clap!
Meanwhile, back in England (Lincolnshire at Woolsthorpe Manor), the site where an apple supposedly fell in 1666 that triggered one of the great scientific minds of all time – special attention is being given to a tree. It was Isaac Newton that observed an apple fall and he began to wonder about the universal effects of gravity. The earliest known mention of the event was recorded in 1752 and the very tree was noted. That tree was blown over in an 1820 storm (some sources indicate the storm was actually 1816). Sprigs did grow from the roots and the regrown tree is alive today. Apples are still produced seasonally. Well, behave when in Santa Clara’s jail and – “cael wythnos dda”! (That is Welsh, I think). ([email protected])
