Famous Question: Laurie Urlacher

How the tsunami happened.

How the tsunami happened?

A tsunami (pronounced soo-nahm-ee) is a series of huge waves that happen after an undersea disturbance, such as an earthquake or volcano eruption. (Tsunami is from the Japanese word for harbor wave.) The waves travel in all directions from the area of disturbance, much like the ripples that happen after throwing a rock. The waves may travel in the open sea as fast as 450 miles per hour. As the big waves approach shallow waters along the coast they grow to a great height and smash into the shore. They can be as high as 100 feet. They can cause a lot of destruction on the shore. They are sometimes mistakenly called “tidal waves,” but tsunami have nothing to do with the tides.

Hawaii is the state at greatest risk for a tsunami. They get about one a year, with a damaging tsunami happening about every seven years. Alaska is also at high risk. California, Oregon and Washington experience a damaging tsunami about every 18 years.

In 1964, an Alaskan earthquake generated a tsunami with waves between 10 and 20 feet high along parts of the California, Oregon and Washington coasts.

In 1946, a tsunami with waves of 20 to 32 feet crashed into Hilo, Hawaii, flooding the downtown area.

The Tsunami Warning Centers in Honolulu Hawaii and Palmer Alaska monitor disturbances that might trigger tsunami. When a tsunami is recorded, the center tracks it and issues a warning when needed.

How do I determine my rising sign.

How do i determine my rising sign
(source: astrologyzine.com)

The Sign of the Zodiac which was just coming up on the Eastern Horizon at the time and place of your birth is what is called your “Rising Sign” – and it’s there even if no one could see it because the Sun was too bright during daylight hours. To know which Sign was rising, you have to know what time you were born, and the place you were born (the town or city, state, and country).

Your Sun Sign (what you might call “my zodiac sign” or “star sign”) is actually the Sign the Sun was in at birth; and it might just happen to be the same Sign as your Rising Sign ONLY if you were born close to the time of Sunrise while the Sign the Sun was IN was ALSO the Sign that was rising at that time.

The Rising Sign is sometimes called the “Ascending Sign”. It indicates how you appear to others on “first impression”, and it is also how you want to appear. It is not who you “are” – it is how you “act”. It is your “image” and style and mannerisms. Unless your Rising Sign and Sun Sign are the same (true for only 1 of every 12 people) then what they see is NOT what you are inside. Traits of your Rising Sign show on the outside much more than traits of your Sun Sign.

We can use tables in an Ephemeris (or use a computer program) to determine the exact… (more…)

How much does a piece of paper weigh

How much does a piece of paper weigh?

One standard, 8.5×11 inch, 20# sheet of paper weighs approximately .16 ounce. This is useful in calculating the postage of a mailing. You could multiply the number of sheets plus the weight of the envelope to get the entire weight of the shipment.

The remarkable fact realized by Galilean is that all objects accelerate towards the Earth at the same rate. You can verify this yourself by doing the following simple experiment. Hold a sheet of paper in one hand and your physics text book in the other, and drop them simultaneously from the same height above your desk. Do they hit the desk at the same time? The answer is no, but we know that the reason has to do with air resistance, which has more effect on the light piece of paper than on the heavy text book. Now if the piece of paper is just a bit smaller than the size of your textbook you can place the paper on top of the book, and drop the two together. You should find, quite dramatically, that the book and paper hit the desk at precisely the same instant.

How to write a dirty letter...

How to write a dirty letter?
(source: whatdomenreallythink.com)

Dirty love letters actually help you go the long way with your relationship with your boyfriend. So if you are planning to write a dirty letter to your boyfriend then you are just on the right path to strengthen your relationship.

The first thing about writing a dirty letter is to ensure that you write it from the bottom of your heart. It does not matter if the love letter is dirty or clean (there is nothing like dirty or clean by the way, it is all a state of mind).
There are a few things to keep in mind:
Handwritten letters as compared to Emails: Handwritten love letters are more personal than emails. They communicate more effectively with your guy letting him feel your exact emotions Did you know that human beings can actually feel the other person’s presence when he has something material to look at? In this case, your handwriting. It really does not matter how good or bad your writing is. What matters is that you took the time to pen down a passionate hand written love letter to your boyfriend.

Get into the mood when writing the letter: Put on a hot costume, climb into the bed, sprinkle perfume, and get into the right mood. (more…)

how many gold medals did the u.s. women win in the olympics

How many gold medals did the u.s. women win in the olympics?
(source: wiki.answers.com)

There have been two winter Olympic games held in Japan.

In the winter Olympics in Nagano in 1998, US women won four gold medals. Three individual gold medals and a team gold for the ice hockey.

The total of gold medals won by Americans was six. US men won two.

The US women won only two gold medals in the Winter Olympics held in Japan. Winter Olympics were held in Japan’s Sapporo city in the year 1972.

Dianne Holum was one of the winners. She won the golds in the speed skate event. Anne Henning was another athlete who won a gold in the same event. Holum won gold in 1500 meter event and it was a record for Olympics, but she finished sixth in 1000 meter race and also folded up her Olympic career.

Anne Henning won the gold medal in 500 meter speed skating. At the race she was obstructed by Sylvia Burka, but she still was able to set the fastest time record. But she was allowed to repeat the event and she improved her time even further. At the age of 16, Henning became the youngest speed skating champion in the Olympic history.

How does radioactive decay work?

How does radioactive decay work?
(source: extension.osu.edu)

The explanation of radioactive decay begins with a description of the atom. Atoms are made up of three subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. The protons and neutrons are packed together in the nucleus at the center of the atom (see Figure 1). The electrons orbit the nucleus. The number of protons in the nucleus determines what material (element) the atom is. For example, if the nucleus contains 8 protons, the atom is oxygen. If the nucleus contains 17 protons, the atom is chlorine. (more…)

How do you know fake or real diamond?
(source: nationaljewelerssupplies.com/diamonds-real-or-fake.html)

How do you know fake or real diamond.

Buying a diamond for the first time is a very personal and exciting experience. Hands down, the first thing on the mind of the buyer will be: How can I know I am buying the real thing and not a fake?

If you have been given a beautiful diamond or heirloom and you want to be absolutely sure that your diamond is real, get a professional appraisal. This can be done by looking under “Jewelry” (Appraisal) found in your yellow pages. Call to inquire about their services and ask these two important questions:

1. Will I be able to accompany my jewelry at all times or will you take my jewelry to evaluate elsewhere? If they say they will need to separate your jewelry from you at any point, it would be wise to find another appraiser.
2. What is the fee? ($50.00-$75.00 is considered a good fee.)

If a professional appraisal is not within your limited budget, here are some other methods.

1. If you have access to a diamond tester, you can test for diamonds vs. simulants. (Beware, moissanite is the only stone than can fool the electronic diamond tester.)
2. The transparency test. Flip your diamond upside down and place it over some newsprint. If you can clearly read through the stone, it’s not a diamond. (Beware, some low cut diamonds or stones such as emeralds can be read through.)
3. The fog test. Put your diamond in front of your mouth and fog it like you would fog a mirror. If it stays fogged for 2-4 seconds, it’s a fake. A real diamond will disperse the heat instantaneously so by the time you look at it, it has already cleared up. Oil and dirt on the stone can affect reliability and the test is not accurate at all on doublets where the top of the stone is diamond and the bottom is cubic zirconia glued together.
4. Test for weight. The most popular diamond simulant (fake) is a cubic zirconia. C.Z.’s will weigh approximately 55% more than diamonds for the same shape and size. Use a carat or gram scale to see if the impostor tips the scales too much.
5. The U.V. test. Many diamonds will show fluorescence of blue if put under an ultra violet light or black light. 99% of all fakes don’t do this; so, a positive identification of medium to strong blue would indicate a diamond. Diamonds with blue fluorescence can be as much as 20% less valuable; however, lack of blue fluorescence doesn’t mean it’s a fake; it could be a better quality diamond.
6. The under the loop test. With a magnifying lens, there are some things you can look for on the stone that might give away its identity:
1. Look at your diamond from the top and see how the facets (the cuts on top of the diamond) are joined. They should be sharp but not rolled.
2. Is the girdle faceted or frosty (yes, then it’s a diamond) or waxy and slick (yes, then it’s a fake.)
3. Under magnification, look into your diamond for flaws (carbon, pinpoints, small cracks.) It’s very hard to put inclusions into a fake.
4. Look at the stamps inside the setting. A stamp of “10K, 14K, 18K, 585, 750, 900, 950, PT, Plat” indicates the setting is real gold or platinum. This gives a better chance that the stone in it is real as well. Look for any “C.Z.” stamps. This will tell you the center stone is not a diamond.

How do you draw Yoshi?

How do you draw yoshi?
(source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshi)

Yoshi, sometimes Romanized Yossy in earlier Japanese language materials is a fictional dinosaur-like creature who appears in the Mario series of video games by Nintendo. His debut was in Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. He later had his own series with several platform and puzzle games, including Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. He has also appeared in many of the spin-off Mario games, such as the Mario Party, the Mario Kart series as well as in other various Mario sports titles.

So how do you draw yoshi? That is a fair and popular draw question for the character yoshi. Yoshi is difficult to draw so how do you really get those shapes to pan out to look like the real thing? That is a perfectly honest question. You should read the rest of this article…. (more…)

How much does paper weigh

How much does paper weigh?
(source: paper-paper.com)

In an effort to help eliminate the “Paper Weight” confusion problem,
we have compiled the comprehensive table listed below.
Now you can compare various types of paper and their “Equivalent Weights.”

• Basis Weight
  The basis weight of a paper is the designated fixed weight of 500 sheets,
  measured in pounds, in that paper’s basic sheet size.
  It is important to note that the “basic sheet size” is not the same
  for all types of paper.
• Caliper
  Caliper refers to the thickness of a sheet of paper expressed
  in thousandth of an inch. This measurement is taken with a micro meter.
  Normally, paper caliper should not have more than a + or – 5% variance
  within a sheet. Generally, the relation between caliper and basis weight ….
  the greater the caliper (the thicker the paper), the greater the paper weight.
• Equivalent Weight
  While different paper types have different basic sizes,
  papers can still be compared by using equivalent weight.

How do I interpret tarot cards?

How do i interpret tarot cards?
(source: psychicguild.com)

Many people wonder how a deck of cards can tell us anything, but as we study the cards we realize that they go way beyond the pictures that we see. As we use the cards we gain a greater understanding of ourselves and the world around us. They represent journeys that each of us must take and lessons we need to learn and master while we are on the earth plane.

In most cases the tarot is viewed as a tool for divination. With a normal reading we have someone who seeks information and answers, usually personal questions; and then a reader who knows how to interpret the cards.

A typical reading begins as the person seeking answers shuffles the deck, lays them down on … (more…)

Why do bubbles burst so easily?

Why do bubbles burst so easily?
(source: questacon.edu.au)

There are a few things that may affect how well your bubble mix works.

Bubble mix gets better with age. With time, some water may evaporate from the bubble mix and it may need more water added.

Humidity can seriously affect your bubbles. Bubbles burst when they dry out, so the more humid it is the longer they last. Bubbles work best at night, in the shade and while it is raining. Air conditioners can dry the air which bursts bubbles faster.

The quality of the tap water in your area may also affect your bubble mixture. Hard water doesn’t work as well as soft water. You may need to try distilled water instead of tap water.

You may need to “fine-tune” your bubble mix, either by adding more detergent or more water. Experiment a little. Remember to stir thoroughly.

Froth on the top can interfere with making bubbles.

How much does it cost to open a restaurant?

How much does it cost to open a restaurant?
(source: restaurantowner.com)

Have you ever wondered what it costs to get a restaurant open? As part of our “Financing Your First Restaurant” survey, we asked RestaurantOwner.com members to tell us how much they spent getting their restaurant open. This survey yielded nearly 500 results, creating a valuable resource for those planning to open a new restaurant.

The cost to finance the opening of a restaurant can vary greatly. The following table illustrates how various factors affect the overall investment based on the type of venture and whether the restaurant is purchased or leased. (more…)

How much do celebrities weigh

How much do celebrities weigh?
(source: weight-loss-story.blogspot.com)

I’m sorry, but I can in now way believe that Mariah Carey weighs a mere 107. That is absolutely impossible. She is like an amazon woman! Kate Moss, who is at least three inches shorter than her and is waif thin is listed at 105. There is no way that Ms. Carey only weight two pounds more.

i agree with Kate. there is no way this is accurate. no way is mariah’s waist 22 inches either.

I found this extremely fascinating since my daughter and I are alway watching our weight and at this point we seem to be on par with the stars in the range of 102 lbs (my daughter) and 110 lbs (myself). But there were some weight results which I just can’t see as an avid t.v. watcher on E and other channels that people like Drew Barrymore, Mariah Carey, Sally Field for instance I can’t imagine that they weigh as little as they do and weigh less than skinny stars like Heather Locklear, Teri Hatcher, Mia Farrow, Cher. 98 lbs for Drew, unless she is on her way to being annorexic (God forbid!) is more underweight than most underweight people! And yet when you see her on the screen she looks great and is far from being overweight but come on now! 98 lbs???? Lets get real!

Do celebrities lie about their weight? The short answer is a resounding yes. We can’t really prove it without forcefully getting them on a weight scale but there is no doubt that many celebrities lie about their weight.

Someone made a comment here about Kirstie Alley where we wondered if she was telling the truth about losing 75 pounds and weighing less than 150 pounds. If Kirstie was five feet tall, this would be believable, but she is somewhere between 5’7 and 5’8. If you see her on the Oprah video here, and have a look at her legs, you too would probably doubt she is telling the truth.

How do you draw a cat?

How do you draw a cat?
(source: chunky monkey)

Cats can be very hard to draw because of their complex markings and varied poses. Often a thin cat will look very fat when sitting (which is why famous author James Thurber once wrote, “cats sit fat and walk thin”). Sometimes when you try to add the body and legs, it just doesn’t look quite right.

But we believe that drawing a cat can be pretty easy if you break it down into some simple steps. If you have a cat of your own, watch it when it’s sleeping or sitting and try to think of the body position in shapes such as circles or ovals. Once you can take a hard-to-draw shape and think of it more simply, you’re on your way to being a better artist.

Step 1 — Yup, just a circle.

(more…)

How much does britney spears weigh?

How much does britney spears weigh?

In America the only things we love more than the absurd status of our celebrities are the rare chances we get to viciously throw them from the pedestals we have created. We love assisting in the creation of famous people by tuning into their shows or buying their albums, but we would much rather watch, pleasantly aghast, as our idols plunge from the summit of adoration into our on looking base-camp below. In essence, we actually like Wilson Philips better now as the punch line to a bad joke than we ever did when they were producing quality, if dangerously overweight, pop-rock in the early 90s – which may explain the amount of press being given to Britney Spears’ current pop-star high dive. The girl is in absolute freefall and people can’t get enough.

Even one year ago Britney’s name was being batted around as the heir to Madonna’s throne as the “queen of pop.” At that point she had a fourth platinum selling record and a hit single, “Toxic,” mistaken in some sections of Russia as referring to the country’s troubled relationship with nuclear energy. Actually about a semi-abusive love affair, “Toxic” was a huge success and seemed to reflect her development as an artist and the continuing evolution of her sound. We didn’t know if she was a girl or a woman, but whatever she was we loved her. But then it all went to hell. Or more accurately … Louisiana.

As nearly as anyone can tell Britney began playing Russian roulette with her career last year when she married a childhood friend for a period of 36 hours in Las Vegas. While this was incredible promotional material for a city that prides itself on proving that anything can and does happen, it was a solid body blow to her image.

Britney had an image predicated on the assumption of un-attainability. Record executives knew that average guys assumed we could never have her, but, just like stopping for a pretty girl in a crosswalk, we would buy her records as a thank you for being so out of our league. Good plan, unless the star around which this image has been constructed goes and does something stupid like marry a farm boy from Louisiana whose resume includes things like “playing high school football” and “denying domestic abuse charges.”

Average guys everywhere thought, “Hey, I’m no catch. But look at this guy. At least I don’t work at Chick-Fil-A.” The marriage got average guys thinking and when average guys think it’s never good for anyone in marketing. And just like that, the Britney bubble popped; in record time she went from jailbait fantasy to divorcee of questionable virtue.

In typical fashion Britney attempted to divert attention from the controversy by releasing a greatest hits album. A pretty standard move (see attached graph: release dates of Michael Jackson Greatest Hits versus dates of molestation indictments) but she added an extra twist. Britney decided the best way to sell her Greatest Hits and make people forget about her domestically violent ex-husband was to cover a song by Bobby Brown, an artist who’s relationship with Whitney Houston has been featured on at least six episodes of Cops. And we weren’t buying it. The drama just wasn’t exciting anymore. Almost overnight Britney became way too normal to watch. Her whole scandal was not enough rock and roll and too much backwoods Louisiana soap opera: too little Hollywood and too much Waffle House.

We expect a lot of our celebrities when they make mistakes and Britney just didn’t deliver. If she had woken up in Tijuana with a vial of crack, a Los Lonely Boys sex tape from the previous evening and a nasty case of scabies we might have paid attention. But marrying a high school friend and then claiming they were stone sober when it happened is to rock and roll scandals what Hall and Oates were to rock and roll. Then in a desperate effort to prove that her life was not becoming some sick Redneck one-act, Britney got married again, put on 40 pounds and is now having a baby. Call me convinced.

I suppose we have to face the fact that we are enjoying this a little too much. All of it, the divorce, her drive-thru second marriage, and especially her hideous weight gain. In a recent issue US Weekly even tried to break the record for “pictures of one person eating Dairy Queen” in a smear article about Spears. It’s exactly this kind of thing that we should be ashamed of. We elevated her miles above ourselves and when she couldn’t handle it, she just jumped. Is that her fault? But as she comes crashing down towards the rest of us make sure to get out of the way. Someone could get hurt. Have you seen how big she’s gotten? Well, let me tell you …

How do hurricanes form?

How do hurricanes form?
(article by: the American Red Cross)
Tropical storm and hurricane prediction probably never will be an exact science, but the reasons for storm formation are well understood by the scientific community. There are several elements that—when combined at the “right” amount of time and under the “right” conditions—will create a hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).

The beginning of life for any hurricane is a pre-existing tropical disturbance—an area of low atmospheric pressure in the air over the tropical Atlantic Ocean near Carribean islands, such as Bermuda and the Bahamas.

The warmth and moisture of the ocean during late summer and early fall months (when ocean waters reach their highest temperatures) energizes the pre-storm conditions and leads to thunderstorms.

If thunderstorms persist and winds pick up to 40 miles per hour, the tropical disturbance officially becomes a tropical storm. At this point, the National Hurricane Center names the storm, working from a pre-determined list of names that is recycled every six years. Meteorologists all over the country know to keep a close eye on the now-named storm, although many tropical storms weaken and die before becoming hurricanes. (more…)

How to make a mojito?

How to make a mojito?

According to wikipedia.com, a mojito is traditionally made of five ingredients: white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime, carbonated water and mint. Its combination of sweetness and refreshing citrus and mint flavors are intended to mask the potent kick of the rum, and have made this clear highball a popular summer drink. Many hotels in Havana also add Angostura bitters to cut the sweetness of the mojito; while a popular variation, it is not the original version created in La Bodeguita del Medio

When preparing a mojito, lime juice is added to sugar (or syrup) and mint leaves. The mixture is then gently mashed with a muddler. The mint leaves should only be bruised to release the essential oils and must not be shredded. Then rum is added and the mixture is briefly stirred to dissolve the sugar and to lift the mint sprigs up from the bottom for better presentation. Finally, the drink is topped with ice cubes and sparkling water, and mint leaves and lime wedges are used to garnish the glass.

The mojito is one of the more famous rum-based highballs in the world. There are several different versions of the mojito.

Why do we celebrate veterans day?

Why do we celebrate veterans day?

Veterans Day honors men and women who have served in the United States armed services. Veterans Day is a legal federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated on November 11th. The United Kingdom celebrates November 11 as Armistice Day. It is not a legal holiday, but special observances celebrate the armistice that ended World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. Canada has a legal holiday called Remembrance Day that is celebrated on November 11. Veterans Day celebrations in the United States include parades and speeches. Special services are held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on Veterans Day.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as Armistice Day to remind Americans of the tragedies of war. A 1938 law made the day a federal holiday. In 1954, Congress changed the holiday’s name to Veterans Day to honor all United States veterans.
~Above Information from The World Book Encyclopedia~

Why do earthquakes happen?

Why do earthquakes happen
Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake. When two blocks of rock or two plates are rubbing against each other, they stick a little. They don’t just slide smoothly; the rocks catch on each other. The rocks are still pushing against each other, but not moving. After a while, the rocks break because of all the pressure that’s built up. When the rocks break, the earthquake occurs. During the earthquake and afterward, the plates or blocks of rock start moving, and they continue to move until they get stuck again. The spot underground where the rock breaks is called the focus of the earthquake. The place right above the focus (on top of the ground) is called the epicenter of the earthquake. (more…)