New York OA Trader

For those of us who sell on eBay, or otherwise send out oversized envelopes or other packages regularly know the hassles that can be involved in shipping you items.  What service to use, is first class more or less expensive than priority? Maybe I should use UPS?

Well now there is a web-based service called ShipTool that allows you to input the ship from and ship to addresses, the size and weight of the items and several other options and will calculate the cost of various shipping methods and display them on a single screen.

Check it out.

Hat Tip: Lifehacker

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For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three.

Alice Kahn

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Our “Stars and Stripes”, the official symbol of the United States of America was authorized by the Continental Congress on Saturday of June 14, 1777

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation establishing a national Flag Day on June 14, Americans celebrate the adoption of the Stars and Stripes on June 14 as Flag Day.

Prior to 1916, many localities and a few states had been celebrating the day for years.  Congressional legislation designating that date as the national Flag Day was not signed into law until much later when, in 1949, it was signed by President Harry Truman.

“Why ain’t you got your flag out?” says Mr. Richmond, entering the gas station in which he spends much of his time these days. “You know today is flag day, don’t you?”

“I guess the boss forgot to buy a flag, George,” says Mr. Davis, the station attendant. “And even if we had one, we ain’t got no place to put it.”

Mr. Richmond: “That’s a fine state of affairs, that is. Here they are tryin’ to bring home to you people the fact that you’re livin’ in one of the few countries where you can draw a free breath and you don’t even know it. You’re supposed to have flags out all this week. Don’t you know that? This is flag day and this is flag week. Where’s your patriotism?”

Mr. Davis: “What the hell are you hollerin’ about, George? You’re always runnin’ the country down. They can’t do anything to suit you. You’re worryin’ about taxes and future generations and all like that. Where’s your patriotism?”

Mr. Richmond: “Well, that’s different. A man got a right to criticize. That’s free speech. Don’t mean I ain’t patriotic.”"Richmond,” circa 1936-40.
American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-1940

Retiring an Old Flag:

Many Scout units and BSA Councils hold regular ceremonies to retire US flags.  The AirForce Wives Website contains a Ceremony of Final Tribute which can be used to retire one or more flags.

The United States Flag Code 36s 176(k) states:
“The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem of display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.”

In many American communities, one or more organizations render an important community service by collecting and overseeing the proper disposal of old, worn, tattered, frayed, and/or faded U.S. Flags.

More important than my earlier posting, today is the 64th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings.

June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded — but more than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!

Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

– Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

photo credit: jpvargas

With the start of summer just around the bend, those of us of a certain age remember the Drive-in theatre.

The concept was developed by Richard Hollingshead Jr., who experimented with various projection and sound techniques in the driveway of his house. Using a 1928 Kodak projector mounted on the hood of his car and aimed at a screen pinned to some trees, Hollingshead worked out the spacing logistics to make sure that all cars had an unobstructed view of the screen.

He received a patent for his idea in May 1933 and opened his first drive-in theater only three weeks later. They quickly fanned out across the country.

Their popularity soared after World War II, when Americans started having kids in droves. (Can you say “Boom”?) The drive-in offered cheap family entertainment, a place where parents could take the kids without having to shell out for a baby sitter, or worry about them bothering other patrons.

  photo credit: pstao1

The other day, John Pannell pointed out a site he used to plan his Bike ride. He also mentioned that the site could be used for other purposes including trips to TOR’s and other events. I ran across one which could help you decide if it is safe to leave your collection in your car, while at that TOR.

SpotCrime is a mashup of recent criminal activity onto Google Maps, which allows users to stay away from seedier parts of towns. This would likely be a good tool if your considering a move to an unfamiliar area or vacation stay in a unfamiliar city. Hoy all areas are available now. In New York state only Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers and NYC are currently available.

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My mother buried three husbands, and two of them were just napping.

Rita Rudner
US comedian

Wired Magazine has a Day in Technology section that  picks a highlight from the history of changes in technology.  Today’s highlight is:

1901: Connecticut passes the first U.S. state law regulating motor vehicles. It sets a speed limit of 12 mph in cities and a whopping 15 mph outside.

The law was not the first U.S. speed limit, just the first for automobiles.

How would you have like to have had the distinction for the first automobile speeding ticket.

Arrests for speeding in motor vehicles also precede the Connecticut law. Cabbie Jacob German was arrested and jailed in New York City May 20, 1899, for driving his electric taxi at the “breakneck speed” of 12 mph. 

photo credit: Ford Racing 

I just read an interesting article on working memory or what we can keep in our active mind.

I forget how I wanted to begin this story. That’s probably because my mind, just like everyone else’s, can only remember a few things at a time. Researchers have often debated the maximum amount of items we can store in our conscious mind, in what’s called our working memory, and a new study puts the limit at three or four.

Working memory is a more active version of short-term memory, which refers to the temporary storage of information. Working memory relates to the information we can pay attention to and manipulate.

Now this does not say that we can only remember 3 or 4 things, but that we can only remember a limited items not committed to long term memory.  So as your walking out the door reciting the 8-10 things you need at the store, you may forget some of them when your shopping. 

The good news is people can improve their performance on certain working-memory tasks with training. When children practice these tasks, over time they get better. And not only do their scores on the memory tasks improve, but their scores on tests of attention and reasoning can also rise.

“The jury is still out on how useful this will be, but it’s at least suggestive that you can train skills at these tasks, and that this improvement can affect other things,” Kane said. “We don’t know quite how they work together, but attention and working memory seem to be very close cousins.”

So how does this relate to collecting scout patches?  Get organized

Write it down and keep a checklist. 

How many times have you purchased or traded for an item you already had because you had not remembered you had a specific piece?

Write it down and keep a checklist.

Don’t just write it down, remember to update the list as you acquire your needs and add new items as your collecting interests expand or new items are issued.  

photo credit: Gaetan Lee