Almanacs “The Almanac - March 8 - Post Chronicle” plus 3 more

The Almanac - March 8 - Post Chronicle
Candice Choi: Baseball cards out-value peanuts and Cracker Jacks - Burlington Free Press
9 tips to create a frugal garden [BC-NEWS2USE-SAVINGS2:MCT] - TMCnet
Daily almanac - Columbus Dispatch

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Posted: 08 Mar 2010 04:29 AM PST

Today is Monday, March 8, the 67th day of 2010 with 298 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Neptune and Jupiter. The evening stars are Venus, Mars, Saturn and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. in 1841; Scottish children's writer Kenneth Grahame, author of "The Wind in the Willows," in 1859; American printer and type designer Frederic William Goudy in 1865; German nuclear chemist Otto Hahn, discoverer of nuclear fission, in 1879; actress/dancer Cyd Charisse in 1921; actors Sam Jaffe in 1891; Louise Beavers in 1902, Claire Trevor in 1910, Alan Hale, Jr. in 1921; Susan Clark in 1940 (age 70) and Lynn Redgrave in 1943 (age 67); former Monkee Micky Dolenz in 1945 (age 65); songwriter Carole Bayer Sager in 1947 (age 63); Baseball Hall of Fame member Jim Rice, 1953 (age 57); actors Aidan Quinn in 1959 (age 51) and Camryn Manheim in 1961 (age 49); Freddie Prinze Jr. in 1976 (age 34) and James Van Der Beek in 1977 (age 33).

On this date in history:

In 1817, the New York Stock Exchange was established.

In 1913, the Internal Revenue Service began to levy and collect income taxes in the United States.

In 1917, strikes and riots in St. Petersburg marked the start of the Russian Bolshevik revolution.

In 1921, after Germany failed to make its first war reparation payment, French troops occupied Dusseldorf and other towns on the Ruhr River in Germany's industrial heartland.

In 1957, Egypt reopened the Suez Canal to international traffic after Israel withdrew from occupied Egyptian territory.

In 1965, nearly 4,000 U.S. Marines landed in South Vietnam.

In 1983, U.S. President Ronald Reagan referred to the Soviet Union an "evil empire" in a speech before the British House of Commons.

In 1990, Colombia's M-19 leftist guerrilla group surrendered its arms, ending 16 years of insurrection.

In 1992, Menachem Begin, the stern, hunted Israeli underground leader who went on to win the Nobel Prize as prime minister for making peace with Egypt, died of heart failure.

In 1998, James McDougal, a former business partner of then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, died in prison. He had been convicted in connection with the Whitewater land scandal.

In 1999, the U.S. Energy Department fired a Chinese-born computer scientist from the Los Alamos, N.M., National Laboratory in the theft of U.S. nuclear secrets.

Also in 1999, baseball great Joe DiMaggio died at age 84.

In 2002, as charges of child abuse by Roman Catholic clergy emerged across the United States and dozens of priests resigned or were suspended, the bishop of Palm Beach, Fla., stepped down after admitting he had abused a teenage seminary student in the 1970s. His predecessor had resigned in 1999 admitting he had molested five boys.

In 2003, Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a car in the Gaza Strip, killing a top Hamas leader and three bodyguards.

In 2004, writer and actor Spalding Gray, missing for almost two months, was found in New York's East River, a suspected suicide.

Also in 2004, as revenge killings continued in Haiti, Boniface Alexandre, the Supreme Court chief justice, was named interim president.

In 2005, thousands of Lebanese protested the pullout of Syrian forces.

In 2006, an official of the World Health Organization expressed strong concern that bird flu spreading to humans could cause a massive pandemic.

Also in 2006, three Alabama college students reportedly looking for cheap thrills were arrested on charges they set fire to nine rural Baptist churches.

In 2007, eight children and an adult died in a four-story house fire near Yankee Stadium in New York.

Also in 2007, the British House of Commons approved a measure requiring the House of Lords to be elected by the people rather than appointed.

In 2008, U.S. President George W. Bush vetoed legislation that would have outlawed severe interrogation methods such as waterboarding used by the CIA. Bush said the proposal would eliminate "one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror."

In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States may try reconciliation with Taliban moderates in an effort to turn around the Afghan war.

Also in 2009, a man on a motorcycle drove into a crowd of Baghdad police recruits and detonated an explosive vest, killing 28 people and wounding almost 60 others.

A thought for the day: Spencer Johnson said, "Happiness is not having what you want, it's wanting what you have." (c) UPI

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Candice Choi: Baseball cards out-value peanuts and Cracker Jacks - Burlington Free Press

Posted: 08 Mar 2010 04:58 AM PST

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Keep in mind that price guides are usually based on cards in good condition; cards with wear and tear could be worth far less.

You could always bring your cards to a hobby store too. A knowledgeable worker should be able to give you an idea of what they're worth for free, so long as you're not hauling in crates of them. Of course, you'll want to double check any casual estimates.

How to sell

If you have cards worth $500 or more, consider selling through an auction house. This gives you access to a pool of experienced buyers willing to pay top dollar for quality cards, said Joe Clemens, price guide editor at Tuff Stuff's Sports Collectors Monthly.

Auction houses typically take a commission of about 15 percent, although that figure can vary depending on the sale price. So for a card that sells for $500, you'd pay a commission of $75.

Cards of lesser value can be sold at hobby stores or baseball card conventions. EBay is another option, although Clemens notes that the overall breadth and quality of cards isn't as great, so bids tend to be lower.

One way to drive up your card's value is to get its condition professionally graded, since this gives buyers confidence about what they're getting.

The two big grading services, Professional Sports Authentication in California and SGC Grading in New Jersey, seal cards in plastic cases, which are tagged with the card's serial number and a grade ranging from one to 10.

The points make a big difference. A rookie Mickey Mantle card with a grade of 8, for instance, was sold by Heritage Auction for $71,700 last fall. The same card with a grade of 1 sold for about $3,600.

Grading can be expensive, however -- $5 to $20 per card, depending on its estimated value, plus another $20 or so for shipping each way. So it's only worth doing if you think your cards will sell for a worthwhile amount.

You can find out more about grades and fees at www.psadna.com or www.sgccard.com.

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9 tips to create a frugal garden [BC-NEWS2USE-SAVINGS2:MCT] - TMCnet

Posted: 08 Mar 2010 04:00 AM PST

(McClatchy-Tribune News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Gardening _ you should excuse the pun _ is rapidly growing into the number-one American hobby. Maybe we're trying to save money by growing our own vegetables or maybe gardeners are returning to the soil as a means of working off stress. Whatever the reason, gardening is one of the most "fruitful" returns on investment one can make.

Unfortunately, novice gardeners can end up spending more on seeds, tools and the other doo-dads required for a start-up patch. The good news is there are a few tricks that can save you money while still turning out a good crop. Here are nine tips to get you going.

1. Plan Early Plot out your garden before turning the first spade of earth. Several Web sites make it easy to plan your garden either at no cost or free for the first 30 days. I'm particularly partial to GrowVeg.com, which helps you plot out the amount of space you'll need for each plant and where each should go in relation to other plants. The Farmers' Almanac is still one of your best guides to when you should start planting and what kind of weather you can anticipate for the growing year.

2. Understand Your Land Before you shell out a ton of cash for new plants, ask your neighbors what plants thrive in the soil of your region. Keep in mind plants appropriate for your growing zone might not work in your garden due to variations in soil composition, micro-climate, pests, sunlight exposure and water availability. Your local USDA Extension Specialist or Master Gardener can analyze your soil and recommend amendments and suitable plants.

3. Dig Deep Digging a deep garden bed can increase the number of plants you grow and ensure roots have plenty of room to grow.

4. Mulch Mulching your garden _ or covering the surface layer with plastic, wood chips, etc. _ will feed the soil, keep the soil and plant roots cool, retain moisture to reduce watering and prevent weeds. Mulching also will cut down on the amount of time you spend watering and weeding.

5. Plant From Seeds Starts are 10 times more expensive than seeds and often are sold long after the plant should have been unpotted. (Never buy starts with roots growing through the bottom of the pot.) Starting seeds indoors is cheaper and will give you a jump on the season. Save even more money by creating your own seed-starting pots.

6. Save and Swap Seeds Seed packets often contain far more seeds than you actually need, so consider starting or joining a seed exchange in your area. You can also harvest and store seeds for use the following year.

7. Profitable Plants If you have limited space, consider planting produce that costs the most in a store or at a farmers' market. Monetarily, you get the best bang for your buck by growing cilantro, salad greens, chives, tomatoes and squash.

8. Be Sun Savvy You'd be surprised how often experienced gardeners put a shade-loving plant in full sun or a sun-loving plant in the shade. Daylight is a moving target, so it can be difficult to ascertain the best location for each plant. Before plotting out your garden, spend some time studying the movement of the sun over that patch of land, paying particular attention to those areas that are heavily shadowed.

8. Smart Watering Consider installing an Eevapotranspiraton (ET) Controller, if you have an in-ground sprinkler system. These systems use real-time weather data sent by satellite to control when your sprinklers turn on and off. This can cut your water usage by up to 30 percent. Controllers costs between $300 and $400, depending on system size, but some municipal water agencies offer rebates, particularly in arid regions.

9. Install Drip Irrigation If you don't have an in-ground sprinkler system, consider installing a drip-irrigation system. You'll save on water bills because the water won't evaporate as quickly and plant roots will receive a more thorough soaking.

___ (For more savings tips, check out FreeShipping.org's "Go Frugal" blog at http://www.freeshipping.org/blog/) ___ (c) 2010, www.freeshipping.org Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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Daily almanac - Columbus Dispatch

Posted: 08 Mar 2010 03:17 AM PST

Today is Monday, March 8, the 67th day of 2010. There are 298 days left in the year.

Highlights in History

• On March 8, 1862, during the Civil War, the ironclad CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack) rammed and sank the USS Cumberland and heavily damaged the USS Congress, both frigates, off Newport News, Va.

• In 1854, U.S. Commodore Matthew C. Perry made his second landing in Japan; within a month, he concluded a treaty with the Japanese.

• In 1960, Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard M. Nixon were the victors of the New Hampshire primary.

• In 1965, the United States landed its first combat troops in South Vietnam as 3,500 Marines were deployed to defend the U.S. air base at Da Nang.

• In 1988, 17 soldiers were killed when two Army helicopters from Fort Campbell, Ky., collided in midflight.

• Ten years ago: President Bill Clinton submitted to Congress legislation to establish permanent normal trade relations with China. (The United States and China signed a trade pact in November 2000.)

• Five years ago: President George W. Bush said authoritarian rule in the Middle East had begun to ease, and he insisted anew that Syria had to end its almost three-decade occupation of Lebanon.

• One year ago: A pastor was gunned down during a Sunday sermon in a southwestern Illinois church; a judge later ruled the suspect in the shooting, Terry Sedlacek, was mentally unfit to stand trial in the killing of the Rev. Fred Winters at the First Baptist Church of Maryville.

Thought for Today

"In every person, even in such as appear most reckless, there is an inherent desire to attain balance." - Jakob Wassermann, German author (1873-1934)

Source: Associated Press

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Almanacs

Monday, March 8, 2010