A Little Friday File Fun (01/16)

Well, here’s a couple of thousand…

...how not to get out of a speeding ticket…

If you can't view the above video, try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j3w1QfV35I

Here's another thousand...

- - - In Phoenix, Arizona , an as-yet-unnamed thief broke into Sam Denison's home - - - and stole his Treo cell phone, along with some other items - - - Sam replaced his phone - - - but when he logged on to the picture mail section of his cell phone provider's Web site - - - he found some photos of a man - - - who looks to be the guy who stole his other cell phone - - - you can see him at http://www.kpho.com/2009/0109/18445866_240X180.jpg

Only twice inU.S.history has the inauguration of the President of theUnited Statesbeen moved indoors, both times for cold weather.  

The inaugurations of William Howard Taft in 1909 and Ronald Reagan in 1985 were moved indoors.

In 1909 , Washington, D.C. was hit by a heavy, drifting snow, and strong winds. The 10 inch snow fall ended at 12:20 p.m., but the afternoon remained cloudy and windy.  President Taft's Inauguration (March 4) was held indoors, in the Senate chamber, due to the snowfall.  Strong winds toppled trees and telephone poles, trains were stalled and city streets unpassable. City workers shoveled sand and snow through  half the night. It took 6,000 men and 500 wagons to clear 58,000 tons of snow and slush from the parade route.

Due to January 20th being on a Sunday in 1985 (and Super Bowl Sunday, to boot), President Reagan was sworn in during a private ceremony by Chief Justice Warren Burger. His public inauguration was the following day.  Even then, owing to record cold temperatures on January 21, the public Inauguration ceremony was moved indoors to the Rotunda, and became a semiprivate ceremony.  In answer to the obvious question ("how cold was it?"); Wind chill temperatures fell into the -10°F to -20°F range in the afternoon. Estimated noon temperature was 7°F.

Interestingly enough, Reagan's second Inauguration (1985) was the coldest on record, while his first, in 1981 , was the warmest (a noon temperature of 55°F).

On January 22,  1984, Apple introduced the Macintosh (with the classic "1984" Super Bowl commercial).

If you can't view the above video, try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8