Saturday, January 19, 2013

birl \burl\, verb:

1. To spin or cause to rotate.
2. Chiefly Northern U.S. Lumbering. To cause (a floating log) to rotate rapidly by treading upon it.
3. British. A. To move or rotate rapidly. B. Informal. To spend money freely. C. Informal. To gamble.

noun:

1. British Informal. An attempt; a gamble.

Birl arose in the 1700s from an unknown origin. It may have been a combination of birr (meaning "force") and whirl. 

apartment ninja

1. One who steps lightly on the floor in a second/third story apartment.
2. One who sneaks into the neighbor's apartment through the patio door.

1. Dude, I had to be an "apartment ninja" just to go to the bathroom becuase the old lady downstairs likes to yell at me for noises...

2. Dude I think I just got owned by an "Apartment Ninja" because that's the third time my internet was on when I came home.

Trivia

• Tomorrow 

History

• 1883 - Thomas Edison's first village electric lighting system using overhead wires began operation in Roselle, NJ.
• 1907 - The first film reviews appeared in "Variety" magazine.
• 1915 - neon sign: was patented by French engineer/chemist Georges Claude; early neon signs were called "liquid fire"
• 1937 - Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record. He flew from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.
• 1953 - Sixty-eight percent of all TV sets in the U.S. were tuned to CBS-TV, as Lucy Ricardo, of "I Love Lucy," gave birth to a baby boy.
• 1957 - Johnny Cash made his first network TV appearance, on CBS' "Jackie Gleason Show."
• 1983 - Apple Lisa: the first Apple with a GUI and a mouse was announced; speedy (5 MHz) and robust (512 KiB RAM), it cost nearly $10,000
• 1988 - Metallica began recording their fourth full-length release, "And Justice For All."

Birthdays

• James Watt 1736
• Robert E. Lee 1807 - Confederate General during U.S. Civil War
• Edgar Allen Poe 1809 - Poet
• Sir Henry Bessemer 1813
• Paul Cezanne 1839 - Artist
• Ish Kabibble 1908
• John Raitt 1917
• Guy Madison 1922
• Jean Stapleton 1923
• Fritz Weaver 1926
• Robert MacNeil 1931
• Tippi (Natalie) Hedren 1931
• Phil Everly (Everly Brothers) 1939
• Michael Crawford 1942
• Janis Joplin 1943
• Laurie London 1944
• Shelley Fabares 1944
• Dolly Parton 1946 - Singer
• Ann Compton 1947
• Harvard Hinsley 1948
• Robert Palmer 1949
• Dewey Bunnell (America) 1952
• Desi Arnaz Jr. 1953
• Katy Sagal 1956
• Mickey Virtue (UB40) 1957
• Paul McCrane 1961
• William Ragsdale 1961
• Stefan Edberg 1966
• Junior Seau 1969
• Trey Lorenz 1969
• Shawn Wayans 1971
• John Wozniak (Marcy Playground) 1971
• Drea de Matteo 1972
• A.J. McLean (Backstreet Boys) 1978
• Jodie Sweetin 1982