February 17th - Today is the 48th day of the year, with only 317 days remaining in 2006.

February Flowers - Violet, Primrose
February Birthstone - Amethyst (Sincerity)

American Postal Service Day
In 1691, Thomas Neale was granted a British patent to establish the first American postal service.


"Universal Time" (UT) which is sometimes referred to, now colloquially, as "Greenwich Mean Time" (GMT)
FULL MOON - Feb 13   4:44 a.m.
LAST QUARTER - Feb 21   7:17 a.m.
NEW MOON - Feb 28   0:32 a.m.
FIRST QUARTER - Mar 6   8:15 p.m.


From the Home Office in Wahoo, Nebraska, it's the Top Ten List for January 17, 1996
TOP TEN WAYS THE POST OFFICE WILL SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY FROM THE RATE HIKE
10. Hire consultants to figure out how to plan next rate hike
9. To find new and better ways to lose our nation's mail
8. Stamps the size of door mats!
7. Face lift for Mr. Zip
6. Commemorative stamp collection featuring President Clinton and all of his mistresses
5. Lobby to put a mailman on Mount Rushmore
4. Battery-operated vibrating mail bags
3. Special stamp glue that gives you a three hour buzz
2. Retain the services of Robert Shapiro
1. Ammo! Ammo! Ammo!
©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.


ACTING -
1914 Arthur Kennedy, Worcester MA, actor (Fantastic Voyage, Signs of Life) [D: 01/05/90]
1925 Hal Holbrook, Cleveland OH, actor (All the President's Men, Mark Twain)
1934 Sir Alan Bates, Derbyshire England, actor (Georgy Girl, Zorba the Greek) [D: 12/27/2003]
1939 Mary Ann Mobley, Biloxi MS, Miss America-1959/actress (Diff'rent Strokes)
1954 Rene Russo, Burbank CA, actress (Lethal Weapon 3/4, Ransom)
1959 Richard Karn, Seattle WA, actor (Al-Home Improvement)
1962 Lou Diamond Phillips, Subic Bay NS Philippines, actor (La Bamba, Wolf Lake)
1963 Larry the Cable Guy (Daniel Lawrence Whitney), Pawnee City NE, commedian (Blue Collar TV)
1970 Dominic Purcell, London England, actor (John Doe, Lincoln-Prison Break)
1972 Denise Richards, Downers Grove IL, actress (Starship Troopers, The World Is Not Enough)
1974 Jerry O'Connell, NY NY, actor (Quin Mallery-Sliders, Yours, Mine and Ours)
1980 Jason Ritter, LA CA, actor (Kevin-Joan of Arcadia)
1981 Paris Hilton, NYC, socialite/model/actress (The Simple Life)

ARTISTIC -
1912 Andre Norton (Alice Mary Norton), Cleveland OH, sci-fi writer (Beast Master, Time Traders) [D: 03/17/2005]

HISTORIC -
1844 Aaron Montgomery Ward, Chatham NJ, department store founder [D: 12/07/13]
1874 Thomas John Watson, Sr., Campbell NY, founder of International Business Machines (IBM) [D: 06/19/56]
1924 Margaret Truman, Independence MO, president's daughter/writer (Harry S. Truman)
1942 Huey Newton, Monroe LA, co-founder Black Panther Party [D: 08/22/89]

MUSIC -
1864 Andrew "Banjo" Paterson, New South Wales Australia, poet (Waltzing Matilda) [D: 04/05/41]
1941 Gene Pitney, Hartford CT, singer/songwriter (Town Without Pity)
1974 Bryan White, Lawton OK, country singer (So Much For Pretending) 2 platinum albums

SCIENCE -
1888 Otto Stern, Sohrau (Zory) Upper Silesia, physicist (Molecular Ray Method-Nobel '43) [D: 08/17/69]

SPORTS -
1908 Walter L "Red" Barber, Columbus MS, sports announcer (Dodgers, Yankees) [D: 10/22/92]
1936 Jim Brown, St. Simons Island GA, NFL full back (Browns)/actor (Dirty Dozen)
1963 Michael "Air" Jordan, Brooklyn NY, NBA guard/forward (Bulls) considered greatest basketball player


1621 Miles Standish appointed first commander of Plymouth colony
1801 The House breaks an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President.
1819 The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise.
1864 The CSS H. L. Hunley is the first submarine to engage and sink a warship.
1867 The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.
1897 National Congress of Parents & Teachers (PTA) organizes (Washington DC).
1924 Johnny Weissmuller sets 100-yard freestyle record (52.4 seconds).
1933 Blondie Boopadoop marries Dagwood Bumstead; Dagwood's father promptly disinherits him.
1962 Beach Boys introduced a new musical style with their hit "Surfin".
1968 In Springfield, Massachusetts the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
1969 Golda Meir sworn in as Israel's first female prime minister.
1996 In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
MORE EVENTS

SOURCE: Earth Calendar
National Public Science Day - United States of America
Random Acts of Kindness Day - United States of America


PHOTOGRAPHS
I got a package envelope in the mail the other day that had written on the front: "Photographs: Do Not Bend."

Underneath, the mailman wrote: "Oh, yes they do!"


Mail your packages early so the post office can lose them in time for Christmas. - Johnny Carson


POST OFFICES: Governmental stamping grounds. (Wicked-Good Dictionary)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

New subscribers are always welcome.
To receive your FREE Jest-A-Day Journal, sign-up here