published by Jean October 9, 2011

it's been days and days.
many
many
more than one day.
so many days that
memory did forget
any other days that
were not as this day.
gray
dull
listless, lifeless,
soundless swirl.
blending endlessly
each day
into
every day.
some day
begins.
no day
ends.

In about 1862, gold was discovered in Grimes Creek in what was then Washington Territory; later to become the 300 square mile Boise Basin mining district. It is claimed that more gold was eventually pulled out of the Boise Basin mines than from either the California or Klondike mines. Almost 3 million ounces of gold were produced in the district.

As it happened, the main route to the diggings was from the west. Miners from California, Oregon, and California, seeking the next promise of riches, would travel from Portland to Umatilla on the Columbia River, then overland (roughly along today's US30/I-84) by stage or wagon - crossing into what is now Idaho near Weiser on the Snake River upriver from the treacherous Hells Canyon.

A mail route was soon established along the Idaho road with two stations along the 100 mile stretch between the Snake River and Placerville, the primary town at the time in the gold district.

The major mines played out long ago, mail routes have shifted, Placerville is a near ghost-town, and the stage and mail stations no longer exist - even the ruins have melted back into the land.

Except at this one location, these roses remain - leaving with them thoughts of those who once lived here and planted them.

suggested by Mary Ann

Grandma Laura's Italian Traditional Bread-Making

Yes, perhaps speaking out of turn but I'm guessing Gerard would approve ...

"18 states continue to defy executive order banning biological boys in girl's sports"

Why is this even an issue? Why should it need an executive order in the first place? ... and what do states gain by insisting boys play on girls teams?
There must be money involved ...

Having been one, I understand what teenage boys get out of it ... having matured (maybe), I understand what girls lose from it.

This crap started with LBJ's Civil Rights Act and went crazy with Title IX in 1972. Then lawsuit upon lawsuit.

Now here we are.

Time to bring back a bit of discrimination and segregation back to our world.

submitted by ghostsniper via Comments

The name-letter effect is the tendency of people to prefer the letters in their name over other letters in the alphabet. Whether subjects are asked to rank all letters of the alphabet, rate each of the letters, choose the letter they prefer out of a set of two, or pick a small set of letters they most prefer, on average people consistently like the letters in their own name the most. Crucially, subjects are not aware that they are choosing letters from their name.

Discovered in 1985 by the Belgian psychologist Jozef Nuttin, the name-letter effect has been replicated in dozens of studies, involving subjects from over 15 countries, using four different alphabets. It holds across age and gender. People who changed their names many years ago tend to prefer the letters of both their current and original names over non-name letters. The effect is most prominent for initials, but even when initials are excluded, the remaining letters of both given and family names still tend to be preferred over non-name letters.

Most people like themselves; the name is associated with the self, and hence the letters of the name are preferred, despite the fact that they appear in many other words. People who do not like themselves tend not to exhibit the name-letter effect. A similar effect has been found for numbers related to birthdays: people tend to prefer the number signifying the day of the month on which they were born. Alternative explanations for the name-letter effect, such as frequent exposure and early mastery, have been ruled out. In psychological assessments, the Name Letter Preference Task is widely used to estimate implicit self-esteem.

There is some evidence that the effect has implications for real-life decisions. In the lab, people disproportionately favor brands matching their initials. An analysis of a large database of charity donations revealed that a disproportionately large number of people donate to disaster relief following hurricanes with names sharing their initial letter (e.g. Kate and Kevin following Hurricane Katrina). Studies that investigate the impact of name-letter matching on bigger life decisions (where to live, whom to marry, which occupation to take on) are controversial.

Wiki article