Alphin C. Tom

"Freedom and love go together. Love is not a reaction. If I love you because you love me, that is mere trade, a thing to be bought in the market; it is not love. To love is not to ask anything in return, not even to feel that you are giving something- and it is only such love that can know freedom."

supererogatory \soo-puhr-ih-ROG-uh-tor-ee\, adjective: 1. Going beyond what is required or expected. 2. Superfluous; unnecessary. Supererogatory comes from Latin supererogare, "to spend over and above," from super, "over, above" + erogare, "to ask for," from e-, "out" + rogare, "to ask, to request."

Leap Year A leap year is a year in which an extra day is added to the calendar in order to synchronize it with the seasons . Since the tropical year is 365.242190 days long, a leap year must be added roughly once every four years (four times the fractional day gives ). In a leap year, the extra day (known as a leap day ) is added at the end of February, giving it 29 instead of the usual 28 days. In the Gregorian calendar currently in use worldwide (except perhaps the Russian and Iranian calendars ), there is a leap year every year divisible by four except for years which are both divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400. Therefore, the year 2000 will be a leap year, but the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not. The complete list of leap years in the first half of the 21st century is therefore 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032, 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2048. The extra rule involving centuries is an additional correction to make up for the fact th...

"My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return."

fallible \FAL-uh-bul\, adjective : 1. Liable to make a mistake. 2. Liable to be inaccurate or erroneous. Fallible derives from Medieval Latin fallibilis , from Latin fallere , "to deceive." It is related to fail , false (from falsum , the past participle of fallere ), fallacy ("a false notion"), fault (from Old French falte , from fallere ), and faucet (from Old Provençal falsar , "to falsify, to create a fault in, to bore through," from fallere ).

Septum A septum is a dividing wall or membrane, especially between bodily spaces or masses of soft tissue -- such as the nasal septum and crural septum. There are also specific ones like the septum pellucidum (in the brain) and the septum transversum (which is the diaphragm or the embryonic structure from which it in part develops).

temerarious \tem-uh-RAIR-ee-uhs\, adjective : Recklessly or presumptuously daring; rash. Temerarious comes from Latin temerarius , "rash," from temere , "rashly, heedlessly."

Shaking Hands In early times, people carried weapons in their right hands. When someone wanted to show another that they wished to be friendly, they extended an empty right hand showing that it held no weapon. To make sure that neither could suddenly draw a weapon, they grasped each other's hand firmly until sure they were in agreement. The actual shaking of the hands may have been for the purpose of dislodging any hidden weapons.

"For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for the want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for the want of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the enemy, all for the want of care about a horseshoe nail." Benjamin Franklin

MIME MIME stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions -- a standard that extends the SMTP to permit data like video, sound, and binary files to be transmitted by Internet email without having to be translated into ASCII first. This is accomplished by using MIME types, which describe the contents of a document. A MIME-compliant application sending a file assigns a MIME type to the file. The receiving application, which must also be MIME-compliant, refers to a standardized list of documents that are organized into MIME types and subtypes to interpret the content of the file. MIME is part of HTTP and both Web browsers and HTTP servers use MIME to interpret email files they send and receive.

lissom \LISS-uhm\, also lissome : adjective ; 1. Limber; supple; flexible. 2. Light and quick in action; nimble; agile; active. Lissom is an alteration of lithesome , which derives from Old English lithe , "flexible, mild, gentle."

"When I Asked him for Strength He Gave Me Difficult Situations to Face When I Asked him for Brain & Brown He Gave Me Puzzles in Life to Solve When I Asked him for Happiness He Showed Me Some Unhappy People When I Asked him for Wealth He Showed Me How to Work Hard When I Asked him for Favors He Showed Me Opportunities to Work Hard When I Asked him for Peace He Showed Me How to Help Others He Gave Me Nothing I Wanted He Gave Me Everything I Needed" - Swami Vivekananda

irrupt \ih-RUHPT\, intransitive verb : 1. To burst in forcibly or suddenly; to intrude. 2. (Ecology) To increase rapidly in number. Irrupt is derived from the past participle of Latin irrumpere , from ir- , in- , "in" + rumpere , "to break."

Salt Water Carbonate sedimentary rocks, obviously laid down in an aquatic environment, have been dated to 1 billion years ago. They are the source of the salt in the ocean's waters. When the oceans formed, the high carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere at that time would have allowed a buildup of dissolved carbon dioxide in the water and made these early oceans acidic and capable of dissolving surface rocks that would add to the water's salt content.

"You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you."

"A computer will not make a good manager out of a bad manager. It makes a good manager better faster and a bad manager worse faster."

nettlesome \NET-l-suhm\, adjective : Causing irritation, vexation, or distress. Nettlesome is from the verb nettle, "to sting; to irritate or vex" (from nettle, a plant covered with minute sharp, stinging hairs) + -some.

Ice Cream People have been eating ice cream for 3000 years, originally as flavored snow or ice. Ice cream evolved from flavored ices that were popular with the Roman nobility in the 4th century BC. The emperor Nero is known to have imported snow from the mountains and topped it with fruit juices and honey. In the 13th century, Marco Polo was reported to have returned from China with recipes for making water and milk ices. Early colonists poured maple syrup over snow. Both Washington and Jefferson owned a "cream machine for making ice" and Dolly Madison's White House dinner parties were talked about for the "large shining dome of pink ice cream" as the centerpiece. Colonists talked about going to ice cream houses since the 1700s, which weren't generally called ice cream parlors or ice cream stands until the late 1870s. The discovery that salt would lower the freezing point of cracked ice led to the first practical method of making ice cream. Making ice cr...

"A racehorse that consistently runs just a second faster than another horse is worth millions of dollars more. Be willing to give that extra effort that separates the winner from the one in second place."

sine qua non \sin-ih-kwah-NON; -NOHN; sy-nih-kway-\, noun : An essential condition or element; an indispensable thing. Sine qua non is from the Late Latin, literally "without which not."

Peanut Butter It takes 3650 peanuts to fill a 5-pound container of peanut butter. Half of all edible peanuts consumed in the US are used to make peanut butter.

relegate \REL-uh-gayt\, transitive verb : 1. To assign to an inferior position, place, or condition. 2. To assign to an appropriate category or class. 3. To assign or refer (a matter or task, for example) to another for appropriate action. 4. To send into exile; to banish. Relegate is from the past participle of Latin relegare , "to send away, to remove, to put aside, to reject," from re- + legare , "to send with a commission or charge."

Train Robbery The first train robbery took place on May 5, 1865, when an Ohio and Mississippi Railroad train en route from St. Louis, MO, to Cincinnati, OH, overturned at North Bend, OH and was robbed by looters. The first train robbery of a train in motion took place on October 6, 1866 on an Ohio and Mississippi Railroad train.

  "Never make someone a priority in your life when you are just an option in theirs!!!"

factitious \fak-TISH-uhs\, adjective : 1. Produced artificially, in distinction from what is produced by nature. 2. Artificial; not authentic or genuine; sham. Factitious comes from Latin facticius , "made by art, artificial," from the past participle of facere , "to make."

Horseshoe The belief that it is lucky to pick up a horseshoe comes from the idea that it was a protection against witches and evil generally. The legend is that Mars (iron) is the enemy of Saturn (God of the Witches); consequently they were nailed to the house door with two ends uppermost, so that the luck did not "run out."

"To know is nothing at all; to imagine is everything."

"If you care enough for a result, you will most certainly attain it."

Traffic Lights The present system of color coding was developed by the railroads during World War I, though the use of these particular colors for the same meanings goes back further. Red, the color of blood, has been a danger signal since early times; even Roman legions used a red banner for Mars, the god of war. The other colors have changed over time. Originally red meant "stop", green "caution" and white "go". The white signal was easily confused with normal light, so it as changed. The railroads decided to drop white and make green "go" and yellow "caution", the latter presumably because it was readily visible and offered the most striking contrast to the other two colors. The first traffic signals (Cleveland 1914) used just red and green. In the early 1920s, in Detroit, they started using the three colors we use today.

abominate \uh-BOM-uh-nayt\, transitive verb : To hate in the highest degree; to detest intensely; to loathe; to abhor. Abominate comes from Latin abominari , "to deprecate as a bad omen, to hate, to detest," from ab- + omen , "an omen."

virago \vuh-RAH-go; vuh-RAY-go\, noun : 1. A woman of extraordinary stature, strength, and courage. 2. A woman regarded as loud, scolding, ill-tempered, quarrelsome, or overbearing. Virago comes from Latin virago , "a man-like woman, a female warrior, a heroine" from vir , "a man."

Lying and Perjury Perjury is willful, knowing, and corrupt giving under oath of false testimony regarded as material to the issue or point of inquiry. All elements of the crime are essential for conviction. Criminal intent is required; a person who makes a false statement and then later corrects himself has not committed perjury. The testimony must be material to the issue of inquiry, since perjury on a point not material can be no more than a misdemeanor and may not be punished at all. The giving of false testimony under oath distinguishes perjury from criminal contempt. The latter is an obstruction of the administration of justice, usually in violation of an order of the court. Some perjuries that have the effect of obstructing the adjudication of a case may be given increased punishment for that reason. Generally, however, punishment is directed less against the effect of the perjury than against the disregard of the oath itself. Thus, a man who perjures himself numerous times du...

"The surest way to fail is not to determine to succeed."

copacetic \koh-puh-SET-ik\, adjective : Very satisfactory; fine. The origin of copacetic is unknown.

City Area The largest city in area in the United States is Juneau, Alaska! With 2593.6 square miles it is much bigger than the second-largest, Anchorage (1697.6 square miles). The rest of the top ten are: Jacksonville City, FL; Butte-Silver Bow, MT; Oklahoma City; Houston; Nashville-Davidson, TN; Los Angeles; Phoenix; and Suffolk City, VA.

"The creative person wants to be a know -it -all. He wants to know about all kinds of things: ancient history, nineteenth -century mathematics, current manufacturing techniques, flower arranging, and hog futures. Because he never knows when these ideas might come together to form a new idea. It may happen six minutes later or six months, or six years down the road. But he has faith that it will happen."

perdurable \pur-DUR-uh-bul; pur-DYUR-\, adjective: Very durable; lasting; continuing long. Perdurable ultimately comes from Late Latin perdurabilis, from Latin perdurare, to last a long time, to endure, from per-, throughout + durare, to last.

Tarot Cards The true origin of tarot cards is unknown, but they are probably from China, India, or Egypt. Tarot cards resembling today's version first appeared in Italy and France in the 14th century. At first they were probably used for playing games, though gypsies may have used them for fortune-telling. From the 18th century onward, the cards began to take on esoteric associations, as certain European writers connected them to diverse traditions of mysticism, divination, alchemy, and ritual magic. The cards have retained these associations and are now widely used for fortune-telling. A modern tarot card deck consists of 78 cards divided into two groups: the Major Arcana group of 22 cards and the Minor Arcana group of 56 cards.

"Immature love says: I love you because I need you. Mature love says: I need you because I love you."

VALENTINE’S DAY In ancient Rome February 14th was the day for worshipping the Goddess Juno the consort of Jupiter and Queen of the Roman pantheon and associated with the Greek Goddess Hera, wife of Zeus. The sacred marriage was held in the month of Gamelion – mid January to mid February. February 15th is the beginning of the Roman festival of Lupercalia. Two youths used to run a course round the Palatine with strips of goat-hide in their hands. A blow from one of these thongs was believed to produce fertility in women. Valentine’s Day also is the same day marked for lottery lovers. It dates back to Roman times when young boys and girls had to lead strict separate lives. But on this day on the eve of the festival of Lupercal the names of young girls were written and placed in jars. Each young man would draw a girls name and she would then be his partner during the duration of the festival. Sometimes the pairing lasted for a year or maybe a lifetime. Emperor Claudius was a cruel blood...