13 Interesting Place Names in California

Thursday Thirteen #113

I admit it. Place names fascinate me. So, this week I chose to hunt up some places with interesting monikers right here in California. You know…like Helltown and Bummerville. Do you have any interesting place names near you? Comment and let me know.

13 Interesting Place Names in California:
1. Sucker Flat (It’s not far from Smartsville)
2. Second Garrotte
3. Wimp
4. Blunt
5. Cheeseville
6. Weed
7. Elfin Forest
8. Sleepy Hollow
9. Zzyzx
10. Secret Town
11. Top of the World
12. Rough and Ready (Not to be confused with Rough and Ready Island)
13. You Bet

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13 Places in the USA with Colors in their Names

Thursday Thirteen #112

I’ve lately become quite interested in place names. Some of them can be quite entertaining (tune in next week for more on that.) This week I’m looking at towns with colors in their name, like Red Bluff, CA. Do you have a favorite town with a color in it’s name? Please share in the comments.

13 Color-full Places in the USA:
1. Blue Earth, MN
2. Browntown, AL
3. Red Rock, AZ
4. Greenville, AR
5. Copperopolis, CA
6. Silver Springs, CO
7. Red Lion, DE
8. Orange Heights, FL
9. White, GA
10. Blackfoot, ID
11. Golden, IL
12. Greenfield, IA
13. Redfield, KS

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13 Historic Places in the USA

Thursday Thirteen #111

What are your favorite historic sites?

13 Historic Places:
1. Ash Lawn – Highland – Home of James Monroe
2. Monticello – Thomas Jefferson’s Home
3. The Alamo – You know, the one you’re supposed to remember.
4. Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland.
5. Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia
6. The Jamestown Settlement
7. Sutter’s Fort – Sacramento, CA
8. The Betsy Ross House
9. Route 66 – (where you go to get your kicks…)
10. Liberty Bell Center – Home of the Liberty Bell.
11. The Oregon Trail
12. The OK Corral – (keep on the good side of Wyatt Earp while visiting…)
13. The Library of Congress

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By Request: 13 Cool Things At the Phoenix Public Library

Thursday Thirteen #110

This week, by request of Jehara, I bring you information about her local library: The Burton Barr Central Library branch of the Phoenix Public Library. It’s fun to see what different libraries offer.

13 Cool Things At the Phoenix Public Library:
1. They offer booklists on their website, like this parenting one.
2. Burton Barr Central Library has a teen program called Wii Wednesday and offers a resume workshop for job seekers..
3. PPL offers reading level screenings for kids in grades 1-3.
4.The Burton Barr Central Library has 280,000 square feet of space on five levels and contains 705,700 items in its collection.
5. The Burton Barr Central Library is also the home to the Accessibility Center. Need Talking Books, or books in Braille or Large Type? Those are only a couple of the services that they offer.
6. Have a yen to see a page from a Gutenberg Bible or a Shakespeare folio? Check out the Rare Book Room.
7. Need to take a look at an Arizona City Directory from 1892 or some correspondence from Rough Rider James H. McClintock? The Arizona Room is the place for you.
8. The Law Collection is where you can research a law that interests you.
9. The Burton Barr Central Library carries materials in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
10.The Phoenix Public Library offers free wireless internet hotspots as well as on site computers. The Burton Barr Central Library has 151 internet PCs.
11. Need an article for your research project? Try the article databases on the Phoenix Public Library website.
12. Can’t make it into the library today? Check out the Phoenix Public Library’s digital media collection. They offer ebooks, downloadable audiobooks, and downloadable video files.
13. Who doesn’t love a good story? Check out the Storyline (English): (602) 262-4868 & Storyline (Spanish): (602) 262-4039

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13 Things You Can Find in the Alameda County Library

Thursday Thirteen #109

This week I’m celebrating the different things you can find in the libraries in my system. What cool things do your local libraries offer?

13 Things You Can Find in the Alameda County Library:
1. Computers that you can use, for example, to access tax forms and helpful information related to said tax forms.

2. TV Shows on DVD such as Supernatural, Cheers, Father Knows Best, and Project Runway.

3. Librarians to help you with your reference question, whom you can contact in person, via telephone, by email, or on IM. (AskaLibrarian)

4. Music on CD in English, Chinese, Farsi, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. This includes everything from Muse to Juanes and Jatin-Lalit to Yo-Yo Ma.

5. Computer classes on topics such as Internet Basics and Microsoft Word.

6. Book Sales! (Both tiny daily ones and larger ones scattered throughout the year.)

7. Storytime for babies of various ages.

8. Fliers for local events, college class schedules, bus schedules, and DMV booklets.

9. WiFi (though you will need a library card number or day pass to get on.)

10. Study rooms.

11. Audiobooks (CD, MP3, and Cassette) such as Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Outlander, Home: A Memoir, and Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.

12. Local Newspapers, with old issues on microfilm. (Darn handy for those “day you were born” reports.)

13. Books. Lots of books. Even ebooks. Picture Books, Chapter Books, Teen Books, Large Type Books, Paperbacks, Mysteries, Science Fiction, Romance, Short Stories, Westerns, Bestsellers, Fiction, Non-Fiction…

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13 Things From AtoZ the USA

Thursday Thirteen #108

We recently got a new database here at the Alameda County Library called AtoZ the USA. It has everything from antique maps for the states to state energy profiles. Definately an excellent resource for those darn state reports. So, here’s thirteen facts I’ve uncovered using the database.

13 Facts I found in AtoZ the USA:
1. People from Kansas are called “Kansans.”
2. Alabama’s State Motto is: Audemus jura nostra defendere (“We dare to defend our rights”)
3. Colorado’s State Nickname is: “The Centennial State”
4. The Delaware State Bird is the Blue Hen (Gallus gallus).
5. One of the film festivals in Florida is called “15-Minutes Of Fame Festival Of Shorts.”
6. Generally, Athens, Georgia has 113 clear days a year.
7. In 2002, Honolulu, Hawaii had 8488 Motor Vehicle thefts.
8. The State Population of Iowa is: 3,002,555 (2008 estimate)
9. “Louisiana ranks fourth among the states in crude oil production, behind Texas, Alaska, and California (excluding federal offshore areas, which produce more than any single state).”
10. Big Sky, MT is home to the Big Sky Farmers Market.
11. The First Governor of Nebraska was David C. Butler (February 21, 1867-June 2, 1871).
12. Fort Sill is one of the National Historical Landmarks in Oklahoma. (Current Use: Active Military Base, access restricted.)
13. The Pennsylvania State Mineral is Celestine.

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13 Article Titles from Popular Science, February 1873.

Thursday Thirteen #107

Surprise! You can browse all 137 years of Popular Science (or Popular Science Monthly as it was once called) online for free. (When you get a chance, check it out here.) So, this week I went back to February 1873 to give you a taste of science past.

13 Article Titles from “The Popular Science Monthly” – February 1873:
1. The Law of Storms Developed by Professor Thompson B. Maury of the Signal-Office, Washington.

2. Heat and Life by Fernand Papillon (translated from the French by A.R. MacDonough, Esq.)

3. Nervous Health and Moral Health (from the London Spectator.)

4. Brain-Work and the Emotions (from the London Lancet.)

5. The Romance of Medicine by Frederick Arnold.

6. The Expression of the Emotions (Author?)

7. The Study of Sociology by Herbert Spencer (VII. Subjective Difficulties – Emotional.)

8. The Warming of Houses by John P. Seddon, Esq.

9. Is Electricity Life? by Henry Lake

10. Do Birds Improve in Nest Building? (translated from The Revue des Deux Mondes. By J. Fitzgerald, A.M.)

11. The Antipodes and Periœci by Hezekiah Butterworth, Esq.

12. Useful Things by Edmond About

13. Charles Robert Darwin (No author given)

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13 Things About March 2010

Thursday Thirteen #105

March is just around the corner. Can you believe it? Here are some things headed your way next month.

13 Things About March 2010:
1. March is National Caffeine Awareness Month. How much caffeine do you take a day?
2. March 1-7 is Return the Borrowed Books Week. *ahem* *taps foot*
3. March 1 is National Pig Day. Be nice to a piggy today.
4. March 1-7 is also National Procrastination Week. (No, you can’t procrastinate with the Borrowed Book from #2.)
5. March is also National Umbrella Month. Celebrate this fabulous invention.
6. Ron Howard will turn 56 on March 1.
7. I Want You to Be Happy Day falls on March 3. So does What If Cats and Dogs Had Opposable Thumbs Day. I’m guessing that would make Dogs and Cats happy.
8. I have a couple of friends who would love to learn that March 4 is National Grammar Day.
9. Penn Jilette turns 55 on March 5.
10. March 8 is Fun Facts About Names Day. What does your name mean? Don’t know? Find out on March 10, which is Learn What Your Name Means Day. Middle Name Pride Day is March 12.
11. Micky Dolenz will turn 65 on March 8.
12. Chuck Norris will be giving 70 a good swift kick on March 10.
13. On March 7, I am starting a new job.

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13 Mystery Spots

Thursday Thirteen #104

This Summer I fully plan to visit the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, CA. So, I thought that I would share a list of similar spots around the USA for you all to enjoy. Have you visited the one near you?

13 Mystery Spot-type Places:
1. Confusion Hill – Piercy, California
2. Mystery Spot – Santa Cruz
3. Big Mike’s Mystery House – Cave City, Kentucky
4. Mystery Spot – St. Ignace, Michigan
5. Paulding Lights – Watersmeet, Michigan
6. Montana Vortex and House of Mystery – Columbia Falls, Montana
7. Mystery Hill – Blowing Rock, North Carolina
8. Mystery Hill – Marblehead, Ohio (reportedly closing after the 2010 season)
9. The Oregon Vortex – Gold Hill, Oregon
10. Gravity Hill – New Paris, Pennsylvania
11. Cosmos Mystery Area – Rapid City, South Dakota
12. Wonder World Park – San Marcos, Texas
13. Mystery Hole – Ansted, West Virginia

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13 Things On the CA State Website

Thursday Thirteen #103

I was recently working on a list of Official State Websites (stay tuned next Wednesday for said list if you are interested) and it ocurred to me that it might be fun to surf around on the California State Website and see what kinds of interesting things I could find. Boy howdy. Check out what I found!

13 Things You Can Do With The Official California State Website:
1. Check out a list of free public WiFi Hot Spots.
2. Is “211” service available in your area? Check the N11 Service Directories.
3. Find and Compare schools in your area.
4. Worried about traffic? Check the Caltrans Live Traffic Cams.
5. Follow the state on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube.
6. Try e-filing your State Tax Return.
7. Into statistics? Check out the state Demographics.
8. Enjoy podcasts? Try the one from the California State Parks Foundation or Flex Your Power.
9. Find out if the state is holding any Unclaimed Property for you here.
10. Planning a visit to someplace in California? You may need a map of the area.
11. California has an Official State Dance: West Coast Swing Dancing. (The State Folk Dance is Square Dancing.) You can find information about this and other official State Symbols here.
12.Lottery Results are always a popular item.
13. Check the lists of State Holidays and Furlough Fridays to find out if the State Agency you plan to visit is open on the day you were planning to be there.

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