8/30/2016

Saving the Pooch

Click to view more photos and the story about how this gentleman saved the dog.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/156dc8a4bca1fa46?projector=1

8/28/2016

News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier

https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/n/newsflash.asp

News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier.

Click to read the article.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/12/news-is-bad-rolf-dobelli

Sunsets in Sarasota

Click for more sunsets

sunsetssarasota.blogspot.com

Sassquatch

http://www.redbubble.com/shop/sassquatch

8/25/2016

Native Americans - We Are They

The conventional view of the settlement of America is that white Europeans immigrated to North America, stole the land, and killed most of the Native Americans. The few survivors were driven to reservations, where a relative few descendants live today.

This view is partially incorrect. Murder and mayhem did occur but what happened in many cases is that white and Native Americans intermarried and interbred. The second and third generation American often was a product of European, Native American, and African genes. Continuing immigration of white settlers gradually increased the percentage of European contribution to the population. Our ancestors gradually forgot their origins and that they were part Native American.

The early settlers in the 1600's and 1700's were tough people immigrating to a difficult environment. There were many young men coming to the new world to make their fortune. They often came without wives or their wives died in childbirth. They did what was natural and what occurs whenever two population groups come together - they intermarried. Who did these settlers marry if not Native American women? I have it on good scientific authority that women are required for the creation of descendants.

When two populations come into contact they usually interact, socialize, and intermarry to form a new population group. This takes place in all countries. In North and South America there are a number of countries that proudly recognize their Native American roots. Mexico and Chile are two prominent examples. But Argentina and the US are examples of countries where large ongoing European immigration continued to dilute the original population mix.

Improved immunity from disease favored intermarriage. Children of Native Americans and immigrants would have better immunity to old and new world diseases.

Our history is full of conflicts and short wars between colonists and Native Americans. The wars get a lot of publicity and are a big part of our historical understanding of the past. But relatively few Native Americans and settlers killed in the Indian wars. For the most part they peacefully traded and interacted and intermarried.

Marriage of Pocahantas and John Rolfe

There are numerous accounts of intermarriage. The marriage of Pocahontas to John Rolfe is perhaps the best known example. But there is little historic memory of intermarriage since it was not very noteworthy. People simply married and had children. Their children did the same and after a few generations little was remembered about the origins of the great and great great great grandparents.

Both my wife and I have family histories that indicate that one or more of our distant ancestors were Native American. And most of the known intermarriage would have occurred in the 1600 and 1700’s, when much of the European immigration were young men. And in the early years the population of the country was majority Native American.

Most of the social intercourse among Native Americans and colonists would have occurred at the edge of the colonial settlement. And this line very slowly moved west, allowing for many years of opportunities for trade, sexual intercourse, and marriage. It took several hundred years to move the line of European settlement to move from the Atlantic coastline to the lands east of the Appalachian mountains

Disease also played a part. Europeans brought diseases which heavily impacted Native Americans who had no natural immunity to old world disease. And the Americas were the home of diseases for which Europeans had little native immunity. A person carrying both European and Native American genes had better immunity and a better chance of surviving and passing on his genes. The hardy survivors intermarried and passed on their immunities to their descendants.

Most people do not know their complete ethnic heritage back over 3 or 4 generations. There are roughly 10 generations back to pre colonial America. Ten generations equals 1024 forbears. Virtually no one knows the background or makeup of all of their 1024 ancestors.

I can only follow a dozen or so names back to the colonial era. Most of these were male lines who kept their last name. It is much more difficult to determine the ancestry of the women they married, who changed their name with each marriage. And some of them were probably Native American - more then my one known Native American ancestor.

In Mexico, for example, male ancestors are often of European descent while female ancestors were Native Americans. This follows the pattern of the conqueror, with better technology and wealth who successfully father the most children. The same situation prevailed in the US, but with ongoing waves of European immigration overwhelming the Native American contribution.

References

http://dna-explained.com/2012/12/18/proving-native-american-ancestry-using-dna/

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/05/elizabeth_warren_says_she_s_1_32nd_native_american_how_many_people_have_that_heritage_.html

http://minglecity.com/group/knowledgeisking/forum/topics/black-native-americans-in-the

http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.com/2009/06/claim-they-have-native-american-blood.html

8/22/2016

The 1993 Chicago World's Fair

Your ticket to the White City

Tricia Bobeda, Andrew Gill

October 23, 2013

The World’s Fair was held in Chicago’s Jackson Park. It was a monumental feat. Millions of travelers who flocked to Chicago for the Fair were faced with the stark juxtaposition of architect Daniel Burnham’s White City and the soot-stained, crime-ridden urban environment beyond the fairgrounds.

Click to read the full article:

New York Worlds Fair 1964-65

The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair was envisioned as a "universal and international" exposition, the fair's theme was "Peace Through Understanding", dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe".

The fair showcased American culture and technology. More than 51 million people attended the fair, but the fair was a financial failure.

Click to read more about the Fair

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_New_York_World%27s_Fair

nywf64.com - 1964 / 1965 New York World's Fair 1964 / 1965

www.nywf64.com/

nywf64.com presents the 1964 / 1965 New York World's Fair experience. Re-live this 60's Space Age exposition through text and graphics!

1964 New York World's Fair 1965 - The Fair - The Story of the Fair ...

www.nywf64.com/fair_story01.shtml

The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair was the second World's Fair to be held at Flushing Meadows Park in the Borough of Queens, New York in the 20th ...

What Remains of the 1964-65 New York World's Fair? - Imagineering ...

www.imagineeringdisney.com/.../what-remains-of-the-1964-65-new-york-worlds-fair...

Feb 6, 2013 - In my last post I shared some Then and Now photos from my visit to the site of the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. In this post I share a few ...

1964 World's Fair: When the world came to Queens - New York Daily ...

creative.nydailynews.com/worldsfair

New York Daily News

The 1964-65 World's Fair opened April 22, 1964 and brought excitement to a city and a nation still grieving for an assassinated president. The social upheaval of ...

1964: The New York World's Fair - The Atlantic

www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/.../1964...new-york-worlds-fair/100749...

The Atlantic

Jun 2, 2014 - The theme of the 1964 World's Fair in New York City was "Peace Through Understanding". 650 acres of pavilions, public spaces and displays ...

20 Awesome Things People Saw at the 1964 World's Fair | Mental Floss

mentalfloss.com/article/.../20-awesome-things-people-saw-1964-worlds-f...

Mental Floss

Apr 22, 2014 - It was 50 years ago today that the 1964–'65 World's Fair opened in New York City, bringing a plethora of innovative exhibits to Flushing ...

Stock Footage - TO THE FAIR! 1964 World's Fair in New York City ...

▶ 25:45

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U4zNx_eqQ0

Mar 19, 2012 - Uploaded by MyFootage.com

TO THE FAIR! Wonderful film documenting the 1964 World's Fair in New YorkCity. This clip is available for ...

50 Years After the New York World's Fair, Recalling a Vision of the ...

www.nytimes.com/interactive/.../worlds-fair-1964-memories.ht...

The New York Times

Apr 18, 2014 - Fairgoers share memories of family outings and moments of inspiration at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

8/20/2016

United Airlines Route Map

Click the link to see better copies of the US and International Route Map.

https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/travel/Pages/routemaps.aspx

1940 Route Map for United Airlines

1940 Route Map for United Airlines

They have grown a bit since then.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_United_Airlines

8/19/2016

The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō

The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō (東海道五十三次 Tōkaidō Gojūsan-tsugi?), in the Hōeidō edition (1833–1834), presented here, is a series of ukiyo-e woodcut prints created by Utagawa Hiroshige after his first travel along the Tōkaidō in 1832.

The Tōkaidō road, linking the shōgun's capital, Edo, to the imperial one,Kyōto, was the main travel and transport artery of old Japan. It is also the most important of the "Five Roads" (Gokaidō)—the five major roads of Japan created or developed during the Edo era to further strengthen the control of the central shogunate administration over the whole country.

Click the link below to read more and see all the images.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifty-three_Stations_of_the_T%C5%8Dkaid%C5%8D

Thanks to Mike Yui for contributing.

8/18/2016

O'Hare Airport - Danger

Why O'Hare is America's most dangerous airport--and why it will get worse

By Dennis Byrne, October 13, 2011

And Midway is Number 12

A new study based on Federal Aviation Administration statistics shows that O'Hare International Airport is the nation's most dangerous airport.

The study is based on the number and potential severity near-collision between airplanes incidents at the airports. (See the full methodology.)

Travel and Leisure Magazine, which conducted the study, cited a previously reported 2006 incident in which United Airlines Fllight 1015 , speeding down a runway for takeoff narrowly avoided crashing into an Atlas Air 757 cargo plane taxing directly into its path. (The Tribune has reported extensively on such runway "incursions," but this is the first time that I've seen a comparative list compiled of all America's airports.)

Click to read the full article:

http://www.chicagonow.com/dennis-byrnes-barbershop/2011/10/why-ohare-is-americas-most-dangerous-airport-and-why-it-will-get-worse/

Locations and Size Chicago Airports

From North to South

Airport Size in Square Miles

O'Hare_________11.3

Midway_________1.0

South Suburban__8.5 +- Initial airport, 26.0 +- Full build out 6 runway airport

The graphic above illustrates the size of the planned airport with Midway Airport, once the world's busiest airport and still a very busy airport. Airports such as Midway cannot be built today because of safety and environmental concerns. Modern airports require very large buffers and distance from residential areas, hence the enormous size of the new airport.

Planning and land purchase continues for the Third Airport for Chicago. Planning for the airport has been underway for over forty years. My wife and I worked on this issue for many years.

It is of course very controversial. Many of the people who live in or near the site are of course very opposed. Other people see the airport as the economic engine for the south side of Chicago.

The area is at the south end of the Chicago developed metro area, bounded by Crete, University Park, Monee, Peotone, and Beecher. I-57 is on the west side, I-294/Rt 1 on the east side, and the new I-355 Tollway would be on the north side.

A considerable amount of land has been acquired for the initial airport. It will not be developed until the economic recovery creates additional demand for air traffic. O'Hare and Midway are of course very busy and congested and Chicago is the major Hub for the United States.

I prepared the Land Use Plan Map above. The Plan is a mosaic of the plans of Will and Kankakee County and the Villages of Crete, Monee, University Park, Peotone, Beecher, Manteno, and Grant Park.

The web sites below tell more about the airport.

http://www.southsuburbanairport.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_Chicago_south_suburban_airport

http://www.suntimes.com/news/14080173-418/top-idot-official-says-third-airport-will-be-built.html

Third Airport For Chicago - Land Acquisition

The map above shows land acquisition status for the planned third airport for Chicago. The red is the land already required while the green parcels are the land needed for the development of the inaugural two runway airport. The blue shows the land needed for the planned 6 runway airport.

I have been involved with this issue all of my professional career. The first planning document I ever read on the plan was in 1968 when it was planned to be located to the east of the present location. The planning and environmental documents would probably fill a large room. The planned airport is south of Chicago, with access planned from I-57 and IL Route 50.

The planning for the airport was very difficult and controversial. Planning a major airport is much like bathing a large angry elephant. It is very large, difficult, and you can definitely get hurt.

To get a perspective on the size of this airport, here is one square mile which is the size of Midway Airport, once the busiest airport in the world and still a very busy second airport for Chicago. Environmental regulations require very large distances from new major airports far exceeding the distances of existing airports.

It will likely be some time before the airport is actually built. It requires airlines to commit to using the airport, and there are few developers with the capacity to build the airport. And the existing major airlines in Chicago do not want competition.

http://www.southsuburbanairport.com

http://www.southsuburbanairport.com/LandAcquisition/images/SSALandAcquistion_20160627.pdf