Wednesday, April 8, 2009

chimerical \ky-MER-ih-kuhl; -MIR-; kih-\, adjective:

1. Merely imaginary; produced by or as if by a wildly fanciful imagination; fantastic; improbable or unrealistic.
2. Given to or indulging in unrealistic fantasies or fantastic schemes.

Chimerical is ultimately derived from Greek khimaira, "she-goat" or "chimera," which in Greek mythology was a monster having the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a dragon.

notice me e-mail

• In the age of telecommuting, an e-mail message sent either early in the morning, or late at night, with the subtle intent of revealing the fact that the sender was logged on and working at the time the message was sent, hidden within the context of a more "official" looking message.

(an example "notice me e-mail")

From: Molly Worker

To: dev_group@mycompany.org

Date: 03/27/05 23:17:04 EST

Subject: Deliverable deadline

Hi all... I just wanted to let you all know that I have received most of your status reports, but that the deliverable deadline is fixed. Therefore, if you will not be able to make the deadline, please adjust your status report schedule to fit the deadline. Thanks! -- Molly Worker

Trivia
At what top U.S. golf course is each hole named after a plant?

• The Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, which was built on the site of a former plant nursery. Each hole on the world-famous course is named for a distinctive plant that is within view of the hole—ranging from hole No. 1, Tea Olive, to No. 18, Holly.

Today in History:

• Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.: US Supreme Court ruled that the income tax in effect at the time was unconstitutional (1895)
• Times Square: Manhattan area was renamed in honor of then-tenant The New York Times (1904)
• Clint Eastwood: movie star was elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea (1986)
• Passover begins at sundown

Today's Birthdays:

• Harvey Cushing (1869-1939): Pulitzer Prize-winning neurosurgeon who created techniques that made certain brain surgeries possible
• Sonja Henie (1912-1969): figure-skating champion
• Kofi Annan (71): former UN secretary-general
• John Havlicek (69): NBA All Star; other ball players born today include: Catfish Hunter (1946-1999) and Gary Carter (55)
• Barbara Kingsolver (54): author of The Bean Trees and The Poisonwood Bible
• Patricia Arquette (41): Emmy-winning actor, Medium; actors Mary Pickford (1893?-1979), John Schneider (49), Robin Wright Penn (43), Emma Caulfield (36), Taylor Kitsch (28), and Taran Noah Smith and Kirsten Storms (both 24) were also born on this date