1st Day Lent

For Lent I'm giving up Butter and Beef my Uncle John is giving up nailing his hair piece to his head on windy days.

Ya gotta admit, he's got me on that one.

Dick

The Upstate New York "5-Day Local Weather Forecast"


TODAY – will start off pretty nice, but it will be breezy with clouds moving in later today, with late afternoon rain likely and a daytime high today in the low to mid 40’s.

TONIGHT – we can expect rain and windy conditions overnight with gusts to 40 mph. The overnight low tonight will be in the mid to upper 30’s.

TOMORROW – is going to continue breezy with rain and a daytime high tomorrow in the mid 40’s.

FRIDAY – The snow on the ground should be gone but we could see a few snow showers mingle with the Friday morning rain as Friday’s high reaches the low 40’s.

SATURDAY – is calling for mostly cloudy skies with a very slight chance for some early Saturday morning snow showers mixing with a little bit of rain. Saturday’s daytime high will make it to the lower 40’s once again.

SUNDAY – the advance forecast once again calls for some cloudy skies, a 40% chance for early morning snow and rain showers and a daytime high only in the mid 30’s.



The Amerks Lose a Big Scorer
Florida Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon announced today that the club has recalled forward Tim Kennedy from the Rochester Americans and assigned forward Kenndal McArdle to the Amerks..

Kennedy leaves the Amerks as the team’s current active top point-getter with 43 points (12+31) in 56 combined American Hockey League games with Rochester and Hartford/Connecticut this season.

The Amerks next action is Friday night as the Toronto Marlies come to town.
. . .
Newark Grad Doing Well
University at Buffalo forward Javon McCrea today was named the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year in men’s basketball. He is the first UB player to win the award.

McCrea, a Newark graduate and last year’s All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year, is having one of the finest freshman campaigns in UB history. The 6-foot-6 forward is averaging 11.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists. His 330 points is the third-highest single-season total by a freshman in school history.

McCrea leads the Mid-American Conference and ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage (.648). He ranks fourth in the conference in blocked shots with 50 – the second most ever by a UB freshman. His 38 steals are second on the team.

McCrea has four double-doubles on the season – the most by a Buffalo freshman since the Bulls returned to Division I in 1991
. . .
Boy’s H.S. Basketball
East Rochester defeated Marion 57-47




Paramedic Steals Foot from Crash Site
(Miami, Florida - AP)A man who lost his foot and part of his leg in a 2008 crash on I-95 in St. Lucie County is suing a paramedic who swiped the foot from the crash scene.

Cynthia "Cindy" Economou, a former St. Lucie County Fire District firefighter-paramedic, had admitted to taking Karl Lambert's foot after the Sept. 19, 2008, crash but says she took it to train her body recovery dog, according to tcpalm.com.

Economou was sentenced to six months probation in 2009 for second-degree petit theft in the foot swipe, though she told the court at the time that when she found the foot trapped in the wreckage an hour after Lambert was airlifted from the scene, it was unusable.
. . .
Shanghai’s House of Barbie Closes
SHANGHAI (AP) - Barbie is hitting the road as Mattel Inc. closes down its Shanghai flagship store dedicated to the iconic brand after just two years.

The six-story store, complete with spa, cafe, design studio, fashion stage and shelves and shelves of Barbies and Barbie products, closed Monday, the world's biggest toy maker said in a statement explaining that it plans to use its experience in Shanghai to reach customers across China.

"I have gone on a tour of China!" a cartoon Barbie says on the store's website, explaining the brand is on a "Barbie Pink Bus Tour."

Mattel, based in El Segundo, California, inaugurated the store on the 50th birthday of the Barbie brand, bringing together 45 product lines, including trampolines, jewelry and stationery.

Though sales of Barbie and other Mattel dolls have recently shown strong growth back home, the store never took off as a popular destination for local girls.


THINGS THAT YOU NOW KNOW

• Betty White turned down a role in "As Good as it Gets" because of the scene where Jack Nicholson puts a dog down a garbage chute. She didn't want to be associated with it.

• Cyndi Lauper was stranded at an Argentine airport this past week... but made the most of it by singing over the PA system to other passengers waiting.

• Really? Suri Cruise is 4 years old and using a pacifier? What's going through your mind right now?

• Taylor Swift is on her European tour.

• J-Lo's husband, Marc Anthony, has joined the cast of "Hawthorne" on TNT.

• Adam Lambert returns to American Idol for an acoustic performance on Thursday night.

• Jennifer Aniston is calling her viral video for Smartwater her "sex video."

• George Michael's companion of 15 years has had enough of his self-destructive behavior and has left him.

• Celine Dion's 4-month-old twins -- Eddy and Nelson -- were baptized at a Las Vegas church last Saturday, with 200 friends and family members in attendance.

• Emma Watson says she will finish her degree from Brown University. But she's taking a little time off from studies to do some film work.

• Wanna buy the Beverly Hills home that Christina Aguilera bought from Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne? Yours for just $13.5 million.

• "Secret Millionaire" paid off for ABC, reaching 12.7 million viewers for its debut on Sunday.

• The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City is being moved from Seventh to Sixth Avenue next year. Just so you don't set up on the wrong street.
. . .
An Old Adage Debunked
A new study seems to debunk the beloved old adage: "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.

" Maybe it can make folks healthy and wealthy, but that "wise" part is now in question.

Researchers from the London School of Economics have discovered that folks with high IQs tend to be night owls, compared to those with modest IQs, who are more likely to rise early and be at their best during the daytime.

Further studies have also found a link between "eveningness" and scoring high grades in school. Still, all is not rosy for those who burn the midnight oil. It's been show that people who tend to stay up late may be less dependable and more likely to suffer from depression and various addictions than early risers. (National Examiner)

. . .
Gas Price Comparisons
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average American household uses 1,143 gallons of gas in a year. At today's prices, that means you're paying $900 more for gas in 2011 than you did in 2010 -- and the price per gallon is expected to keep increasing. For example, $160 of that $900 annual increase can be attributed just to last week.

What can you do about it? Not much, but there is one thing. GasBuddy.com can help you find the cheapest gas in your hometown. The prices vary widely. A quick check of these major U.S. cities yielded the following per gallon prices on Tuesday:

• Atlanta: $3.29 to $3.44
• Baltimore: $3.34 to $3.45
• Boston: $3.29 to $3.43
• Chicago: $3.56 to $3.67
• Columbus, OH: $3.28 to $3.38
• Los Angeles: $3.75 to $3.85
• Phoenix: $3.29 to $3.41
• San Francisco: $3.75 to $3.93
• Washington, DC: $3.41 to $4.55

. . .
Things We Do That We Shouldn’t Do
I read a recent Consumer Reports article, telling us we're doing what we shouldn't do. For example:

• Nearly 3 out of every 4 of us put cotton swabs inside their ears, risking a perforated eardrum, according to the magazine's telephone survey of 1,000 adults.
• Nearly 4 in 10 often eat raw cookie dough, which could carry salmonella.
• Only half the respondents have a carbon monoxide detector at home.
• 61 percent don't have a rubber mat in the shower.
• 13 percent admitted sometimes drinking beer while using power tools.
• 58 percent never wear a helmet while bicycling.
• 27 percent never use sunscreen.
. . .
Barbie Trivia
Mattel introduced the Barbie doll on March 9, 1959 -- In celebration of Barbie's 52nd birthday, we've gotten ahold of her family tree.

We'll give you a name, and you tell us if it's a Barbie pal, a real doll made by Mattel or baloney, we just made it up.

• Skipper (Yes, Barbie's little sister)
• M.C. Hammer (Yes, a Barbie "celebrity friend")
• Tommy (Baloney, that was Dennis the Menace's friend)
• Jazzie (Yes, Barbie's cousin)
• Stacey (Yes, Barbie's British chum)
• Kayla (Yes, Barbie's dance club pal)
• Madge (Baloney, Midge is Barbie's best friend)
• Krissy (Yes, Barbie's baby sister)
• Todd (Yes, Barbie's little-known tiny twin brother)
. . .
Barbie! Barbie! Barbie!
Yes, Barbie is 52 today, here are some new Barbie dolls to coincide with her and our aging gracefully. These are a bit more realistic.

• Bifocals Barbie -- Comes with her own set of blended-lens fashion frames in six wild colors (half-frames too!), neck chain and large-print editions of Vogue.

• Hot Flash Barbie -- Press Barbie's bellybutton and watch her face turn beet red while tiny drops of perspiration appear on her forehead. Comes with hand-held fan and tiny tissues.

• Facial Hair Barbie -- As Barbie's hormone levels shift, see her whiskers grow. Available with teensy tweezers and magnifying mirror.

• Flabby Arms Barbie -- Hide Barbie's droopy triceps with these new, roomier-sleeved gowns. Good news on the tummy front, too-muumuus with tummy-support panels are included.

• Bunion Barbie -- Years of disco dancing in stiletto heels have definitely taken their toll on Barbie's dainty arched feet. Soothe her sores with the pumice stone and plasters, then slip on soft terry mules.

• No-More-Wrinkles Barbie -- Erase those pesky crow's-feet and lip lines with a tube of Skin Sparkle-Spackle, from Barbie's own line of exclusive age-blasting cosmetics.

• Soccer Mom Barbie -- All that experience as a cheerleader is really paying off as Barbie dusts off her old high school megaphone to root for Babs and Ken, Jr. Comes with minivan in robin-egg blue or white, and cooler filled with doughnut holes and fruit punch.

• Mid-life Crisis Barbie -- Barbie needs a change, and Alonzo (her personal trainer) is just what the doctor ordered, along with Prozac. They're hopping in her new red Miata and heading for the Napa Valley to open a Bed & Breakfast. Includes a real tape of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do."

• Recovery Barbie -- Too many parties have finally caught up with the ultimate party girl. Now she does Twelve Steps instead of dance steps. Clean and sober, she's going to meetings religiously. Comes with a little copy of The Big Book and a six-pack of Diet Coke.

• Post-Menopausal Barbie -- This Barbie wets her pants when she sneezes, forgets where she puts things, and cries alot. Comes with Depends and Kleenex. As a bonus this year, the book "Getting In Touch with Your Inner Self" is included.
. . .

BIRTHDAYS

In 1451 Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci (Americas named for him)

In 1902 Actor, Will Greer (Grandpa Walton-The Waltons) [d: 4-22-78]

In 1918 Author, Mickey Spillane (Mike Hammer) [d: 7-17-06]

In 1934 Cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin (first man in space) [d: 3-27-68]

In 1936 Country singer, Mickey Gillie (Urban Cowboy) (75)

In 1942 Singer, Mark Lindsay (Paul Revere & The Raiders) (69)

In 1943 TV host, Charles Gibson (Good Morning America, World News) (68)

In 1959 Mattel's Barbie, the world's most famous doll (52)



IT WAS ON THIS DAY

In 1497 Nicolaus Copernicus records the first astronomical observations.

In 1796 Napoleon Bonaparte marries Josephine de Beauharnais.

In 1864 General Ulysses S. Grant is named Commander of the Union armies.

In 1916 Mexican raiders led by Pancho Villa attack Columbus, New Mexico, killing more than a dozen people.

In 1996 Actor/comedian George Burns dies in Beverly Hills, CA, just one week after turning 100.

In 1998 Falling crude oil prices, and a price war among refiners and distributors, sends gasoline prices to an all-time low of $15 per barrel.