91 - none other than Dennis Rodman on LEAP DAY

522. he was/is a weirdo - but he sure could rebound

 

523. Happy Leap Day Birthdays to Cody Meyer and James Vondenhuevel!!!!

524. Boys high school basketball scores from last night:

Franklin def. Chaminade-Julienne, 78-75                       Urbana def. Greenville, 69-22
Mason def. Mt. Healthy, 79-43                                         Indian Hill def. McNicholas, 63-52
Winton Woods def. Ross, 59-58                                       Springboro def. Belmont. 99-46
Madeira def. Deer Park, 60-49                                        Badin def. Clark Montessori, 43-36
Thurgood Marshall def. Bellbrook 68-51                         Beavercreek def. Stebbins, 81-49
Roger Bacon def. Shroder, 60-54                                    Trotwood def. Indian Lake, 88-45
Summit def. CHCA, 49-26                                                Aiken def. Wilmington, 69-49
Finneytown def. Reading, 56-42                                     Waynesville def. Dayton Christian, 67-56
Fenwick def. Anna, 58-46                                                Middletown def. St. Xavier, 61-37
Russia def. Botkins, 55-41                                                Houston def. Lehman, 54-49
Troy Christian def. Arcanum, 62-51                                 Jefferson def. Xenia Christian, 68-32
Versailles def. Northridge, 74-52                                     Dixie def. Carlisle, 55-48
Withrow def. Milford, 69-64                                             North College Hill def. Ripley Union-Lewis, 92-55
Miami Valley def. Hillcrest, 74-68                                    Lockland def. Riverview East, 71-48
Miamisburg def. Xenia, 65-43
Centerville def. West Carrollton, 48-41
Walnut Hills def. Western Hills, 54-42
Princeton def. Sycamore, 62-53

my dad will be 90 on August 29th!!!

519. today would have been my Mom and Dad's 66th wedding anniversary - here they are on their wedding day - thanks Mom and Dad!!!!

Thomas Virgil and Corrine Rose (Puthoff) Francis, married February 28, 1946








 if you know of anyone who has a LEAP DAY birthday, please send it to me, we will try to honor them as they only get to celebrate once every 1461 days instead of every 365 days like most of us!!!!!!

AT9

if you know of anyone who has a LEAP DAY birthday, please send it to me, we will try to honor them as they only get to celebrate once every 1461 days instead of every 365 days like most of us!!!!!! 
519.  I heard this last night on the Oscar Awards and thought to myself, how could I not put this on my blog tomorrow - Louis Armstrong - "What a Wonderful World"

520. gonna have to wait until today to find out who wins the biggest race of the year in NASCAR - the Daytona 500 was rained out for the first time ever yesterday!!!

521. stat of the day - Wisconsin beat Ohio State yesterday - it is their first road win over a Big 10 top ten team in 32 years - since January 1980 - when Clark Kellogg played for the Bucks!

522. a few pictures from a trip Missy took to New York City with some friends in 2008

THE NAKED COWBOY

KELLY RIPA LIVE!!

A VIEW FROM ATOP THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING

Kathy, Julie, and Stacey outside Rockefeller Center - ???

NOT REAL CLEAR, BUT HERE IS REGIS ARRIVING AT WORK!

523. today's birthdays include:

Josh Groban - 30

Chelsea Clinton - 31

Elizabeth Taylor - 79

John Steinbeck - 109

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - 204

The first night game at Wrigley Field 8-8-88

515. here is a picture from the first night game ever at Wrigley Field in Chicago on 8-8-88.  I am not sure why I remember this date, but I did.  I also remember that the game was called because of rain before it became an official game.  Therefore, it was actually not the first night game in Wrigley Field history.  Cubs fans said that this was God's way of telling us that there should not be lights at Wrigley Field.

516. there is a town in Kentucky named Eighty Eight, Kentucky.  If I remember correctly, there were a lot of couples were married there on August 8, 1988.
517. here is a picture of Dale Jarrett's famous UPS car - don't forget about the big race today - Boogity, Boogity, Boogity!!!!!

and here is a picture of the ride for Dale Jr. today - pretty sweet looking ride!!!

 
518. here are some boys basketball scores of interest from the southwest region from yesterday:

Catholic Central def. Newton, 65-54                               Lebanon def. Northmont, 81-77
Troy def. Butler, 49-48                                                    Centerville def. Sidney, 57-28
Eaton def. Oakwood, 60-34                                             Finneytown def. Purcell Marian, 66-48
Tri-Village def. Emmanuel Christian Academy, 83-48    Southeastern def. Franklin Monroe, 46-43
Colerain def. Kings, 54-46                                               Lakota West def. Loveland, 77-33
Turpin def. Harrison, 74-49                                             Archbishop Moeller def. Hamilton, 61-37
Bellefontaine def. Greenon, 54-35                                  Shawnee def. Kenton Ridge, 48-37
Cincinnati Christian def. Felicity Franklin, 78-63             Fayetteville Perry def. Seven Hills, 53-49
CHCA def. Georgetown, 59-38                                         Versailles def. National Trail, 61-34
Carlisle def. Twin Valley South, 50-45                             Reading def. Blanchester, 67-38
Greeneview def. Madison, 69-45                                      Fairborn def. Tecumseh, 61-54
Dunbar def. Monroe, 90-28                                            Middletown Christian def. St. Bernard, 56-42         
Jackson Center dev. Mississinawa Valley, 57-47              Fairlawn def. Mechanicsburg, 66-54
Dixie def. Northeastern, 70-62                                          Dayton Christian def. Preble Shawnee, 70-37
Anna def. West Liberty-Salem, 49-35                               Fenwick def. Triad, 68-30
Taft def. Wyoming, 93-41                                                 Fairfield def. Woodward, 68-52
Chaminade-Julienne def. Meadowdale, 85-47                 Carroll def. Valley View, 68-58
Tippecanoe def. Benjamin Logan, 62-54                          Batavia def. Taylor, 48-37
Miami Valley def. Oyler, 84-74                                         LaSalle def. Little Miami, 64-29
Lockland def. New Miami, 91-40                                      New Richmond def. Norwood, 48-42
Wilmington def. Goshen, 56-38

# 87 for the Pittsburgh Penguins - Sid the kid Crosby

507. the answer to yesterday's trivia question - Richard Petty had 7 Daytona 500 victories, Cale Yarborough 4, Bobby Allison 3, Dale Jarrett 3, and Jeff Gordon 3.  The winner, none other than Phil "the future" Pleiman who is refusing his Cruizer's gift card because the question was too easy!!!!!!!!!!!

508. high school boys basketball tournament scores of note from last night:

Miamisburg def. Wayne, 57-54                           Mt. Healthy def. Anderson, 60-55
Withrow def. Elder, 55-34                                   Milford def. Western Brown, 68-45
Jefferson def. Tri-County North, 89-36                Troy Christian def. Cedarville, 64-29
Roger Bacon def. Williamsburg, 89-54               Ripley def. Mariemont, 73-66
Western Hills def. Lakota East, 51-50                 Sycamore def. Northwest, 69-65
Bellbrook def. Clinton Massie, 61-51                  Thurgood Marshall def. Ponitz, 81-36
West Carrollton def. Springfield, 65-56              McNicholas def. Hughes, 52-49
Aiken def. Bethel-Tate, 84-36                             Middletown def. Talawanda, 68-39
Trotwood def. Northwestern, 77-63                    Badin def. School of the Creative Performing Arts, 74-30
Miami East def. Brookville, 59-35                       Bethel def. Covington, 50-36
Lehman def. Ansonia, 70-27                              Botkins def. Ft. Loramie, 50-49
Springboro def. Piqua, 69-45                             Ross def. Oak Hills, 58-46
Urbana def. Milton-Union, 55-46                         Deer Park def. East Clinton, 55-40
509. I may have already had this on, too lazy to check all other 86 blogs, but here is my favorite one-hit wonder of all time - Dexy's Midnight Runners with a classic - Come on Eileen

510. here is a picture of one of the best current NHL hockey players - # 87 - Sidney Crosby of the Pittsh

511. send me your pick to win the Daytona 500 for tomorrow - whoever places highest wins a $ 10 gift certificate to Cruizer's (donated by Phil Pleiman) - send to hood3939@gmail.com

The Class of '86

498. Here is the Russia High School Class of 1986 when they were third graders - check out how cute the chick is bottom row, fourth from the right!!!!

499. Boogity, Boogity, Boogity - NASCAR got under way yesterday with Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth winning the twin 150s - my pick to win on Sunday at Daytona - Carl Edwards

500. Best NASCAR pre-race prayer - from last year at Nashville

501. The Daytona 500 was originally named "First Annual 500 Mile International Sweepstakes"

502. Fireball Roberts won the 1962 Daytona 500 - he has to have my second favorite name in auto racing history - right behind, who else, but ---------------- Dick Trickle
503. 2 things memorable about the year 1986, other than the greatest graduating class in Russia High School history - it was the year when the last time that Haley's Comet appeared, and also, the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up on January 28, 1986
504. here is a picture of the pacecar from the 1986 Indianapolis 500 - a 1986 Corvette

505. here is a picture of a glacier "calving" from our trip to Alaska in 2008 - one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed!!!

506.  Trivia question for the thirteenth Friday of the blog - all correct answers are eligible to win one of two $ 10 gift certificates to Cruizers - No help from the internet for your answer -there are five men who have won 3 or more Daytona 500 races - whoever names the most wins (you get only 5 guesses)!!!! -  send your answers to hood3939@gmail.com - deadline is 6 pm Friday!!!

Ocho Cinco

490. was there ever any doubt as to what the title of today's post was going to be?????

491. even David Letterman has caught Jeremy Lin-tastic fever       click to watch
492. if I ever get to New Brunswick, New Jersey, I might eat here      link to Steakhouse 85

493. You can own this LearJet 85 for a cool 4 million or so!!!!

494. I was not aware of this - not a huge fan of Taco Bell (except on Thursday night's in college after dollar Long Islands at Alexanders), but I know a lot of the young crowd is - I might have to try one of these sometime -   

Taco Bell Has an 85 Million Taco Shell Reserve Prepared for Doritos Onslaught

Look, you can argue this fact all you want, but a fact it remains: Taco Bell's soon selling tacos made out of giant Doritos, and you're going to eat one. Millions of orange shells await.

495. Big Congratulations to Botkins senior Logan Bauer who won a state title in Division II diving yesterday!!!

496. Jay Bruce reported to training camp 16 pounds lighter than last season - look for him to have a breakout season.

497. here is a video of Michael Jackson's facial progression from age 5 to death

84 Lumber

485. for anyone who did not see the comment left from yesterday's blog about the wiffle ball tournament - here it is, "from  Earl Scheib - Seniors won much to your dismay!"  - even though Earl Scheib says the seniors won, I still believe that they lost - Earl Scheib will sell you any car for $ 79.95, however

486. For $8,000, Natalie Gulbis will let you carry her bag click to read

487. some good blindfolded men's boxing click to watch

488. I love the new Pepperdine Waves baseball uniforms - old school Astros!!!

489. a one-hit wonder from the '70s - Blues Image - Ride Captain Ride

RHS Class of '83 - Mob Rules Nothing

479. Derek and University of Notre Dame President Father John Jenkins from Saturday night

480. the most famous # 83 that I can think of - how many linebackers do you know that wore # 83 - here is Ted "The Stork" Hendricks from the Oakland Raiders

481. one of the greatest inventions ever - the TI-83 graphing calculator!!!

482. one of my best memories from my freshmen year in high school was the wiffle ball tournament finals when the seniors were playing the juniors and the seniors all had MOB RULES t-shirts on and they were chanting "Mob Rules" and everyone else was chanting "Mob Rules Nothing" - not sure why I remember this so clearly, but I do, I think the seniors lost also - at least I hope that they did - they were annoying

483. click to view a pretty awesome video someone sent me of a picture 

from all 50 states   http://oldbluewebdesigns.com/mybeautifulamerica.htm

484. another one-hit wonder for your Tuesday listening pleasure - this one from Devo

82 - Ozzie Newsome

473. President's Day 2012

474. we are getting rid of our home phone this week - if you try to call 937-526-3939 after Wednesday, you will not reach the Francis family any longer

475. spent the weekend in South Bend, Indiana for Junior Parents Weekend at Notre Dame - had a great time - the University had a lot of events planned for parents and did a fantastic job with the organization - I will share some pictures later this week.

476. I missed my first Russia varsity boys basketball game in over 13 years this weekend, I had not missed one since January 22, 1999 - the day that I had surgery to repair my achilles tendon

477. I am not a Browns fan at all, but I thought that I would throw their fans a bone with this famous # 82 - none other than the Wizard of Oz - Ozzie Newsome

478. one hit wonder - Norman Greenbaum - Spirit in the Sky

81 - David Verser

Finally an update on the 43 stocks that make up the Hood Ornaments 43 index.  Before the beginning of trading on the first trading day of the year, 8 readers and myself picked 5 stocks each to follow for the entire year (there were 2 stocks that were picked twice).  These 43 stocks have went up an average of 12.34 % through the close of trading on Thursday, February 16th.  This compares to the Dow Jones Industrial average which has went up 5.62%, the NASDAQ which has went up 13.62%, and the S&P 500 which has went up 7.99%.  

The leader through last Thursday is Ken Francis whose stocks have climbed an average of 22.42%.  Craig Fiessinger is in second place with an average rise of 20.40%.  Third place belongs to Derek Francis at 15.46%.  I am 4th at 14.89%, Bob Schulze is 5th at 12.56%, Jeremy Monnin is 6th at 11.33%, Doug Borchers is 7th at 8.15%, Steve Springer is 8th at 5.20%, and Cayle McEldowney is trudging along in last place with a whopping increase of 0.53% over the first 32 trading days of the year.  Following is a list of all of our picks and how they have fared thus far in 2012.  I will update this list more often as the year goes along.

 

Hood Ornaments 43 Stock Index
Name	Jan. 3	Feb. 16	%	Average
	price	price	change	%
				change
Ken Francis
TZOO	24.58	25.35	3.13%
MAKO	25.21	36.72	45.66%
WLL	46.69	54.88	17.54%
AAPL	405	502.21	24.00%
BIDU	116.47	141.83	21.77%	22.42%
Craig Fiessinger
AMRN	7.49	9.35	24.83%
DEPO	5.18	6.8	31.27%
NBIX	8.5	8.88	4.47%
HGSI	7.39	9.5	28.55%
VRTX	33.21	37.49	12.89%	20.40%
Derek Francis
JPM	33.25	38	14.29%
BK	19.91	21.98	10.40%
C	26.31	32.71	24.33%
TGT	51.22	51.93	1.39%
GS	90.43	114.74	26.88%	15.46%
Brad Francis
PPP	3.22	2.86	-11.18%
M	32.18	35.3	9.70%
MT	18.19	21.22	16.66%
EBAY	30.33	34.51	13.78%
BAC	5.56	8.09	45.50%	14.89%
Bob Schulze
HAL	34.51	35.64	3.27%
CCJ	18.05	23.5	30.19%
IAG	15.85	16.28	2.71%
SLW	28.96	36.2	25.00%
ATVI	12.32	12.52	1.62%	12.56%
Jeremy Monnin
CVX	106.4	106.52	0.11%
ACN	53.23	58.45	9.81%
TDC	48.51	62.49	28.82%
AAPL	405	502.21	24.00%
GOOG	645.9	606.52	-6.10%	11.33%
Doug Borchers
ABX	45.25	48.17	6.45%
CVX	106.4	106.52	0.11%
CPO	52.59	57.09	8.56%
KELYA	13.68	15.72	14.91%
ROK	73.37	81.25	10.74%	8.15%
Steve Springer
EKDKQ	0.63	0.4	-36.51%
DELL	14.63	18.32	25.22%
GT	6.61	6.87	3.93%
IPG	9.73	10.93	12.33%
VCLK	16.29	19.71	20.99%	5.20%
Cayle McEldowney
EA	20.6	17.77	-13.74%
NKE	96.37	106.16	10.16%
DPZ	33.95	33.07	-2.59%
ITW	46.71	56.42	20.79%
NTRI	12.93	11.38	-11.99%	0.53%	12.34%

The US boycotted the Olympics in '80

467.the second most famous # 80 that I can think of - Cris Collinsworth

468. right behind this guy - the GOAT - Greatest of All Time

469. The number 80 is considered to be extrovert and is the highest feminine number.  Its’ attributes are those of 'giving and receiving' and 80 is the number of 'Karma'. The related planet is Saturn and it is also related to the star sign Scorpio.
470. Tom Brandewie scored 1834 varsity boys in his career at Fort Loramie and is the all time leading scorer in SCL history - the winner of the $ 10 gift certificate is '79 Fort Loramie grad Deb Westerheide -sorry to tell her age, but it tied in with the 79th blog.

471. some Doors for your Saturday listening pleasure

The Great Flood of '79 - June 29th if I remember correctly

460. Can anyone verify that this is the correct date of the flood in Russia???

461. That was Ken Francis who turned 46 yesterday - he knows that he is always the same age as the Super Bowl!

462. the five bowlers were (I believe) (left to right) Harold "Shep" Simon, John Monnin, Paul Voisard, Joe Groff, and Jerry Voisard

463. Rest in Peace - Gary Carter aka "The Kid", who passed away yesterday at the age of 57  - one of my favorite non-Cincinnati Reds of all time

464. Barney Francis, Doug Simon, and Steve Heuing all are proud graduates in the year '79

465. here is a Topps 1982 football card of the most famous # 79 that I could think of - Ross Browner

 466. here is a picture of a '79 Trans Am

467.  Trivia question for the twelvth Friday of the blog - all correct answers are eligible to win one of two $ 10 gift certificates to Cruizers - No help from the internet (or Bob Wise's book) for your answer -how many points did Tom Brandewie score in his varsity basketball career at Fort Loramie?? - closest to the correct answer wins -  send your answers to hood3939@gmail.com - deadline is 6 pm Friday!!!

78 rpm records

Happy Birthday Wishes

455. Happy 46th Birthday to the guy on the left in the top picture who is also the guy on the right in the bottom picture!!!!  (that is Sheri Stevens and my Dad with us in the top picture and Potroast in the bottom picture)

456. Linsanity has hit my blog - all he does in win, lin, lin

Jeremy Lin of the New York Knickerbockers

457. any time you want any pictures or birthday wishes on here, just send them to me, I will be glad to oblige

458. here is an EBAY link to some 78 rpm records    click to view

459. can you identify the five bowlers in this picture????

FORTRAN 77

445. went to Marion's Piazza in Troy last night (yesterday was Grand Opening Day) for supper, about a 20 minute wait to order, and then a 50 minute wait to get your food - we went across the street to Cassano's instead - we will have to try Marion's some other time I guess.

446. Happy 90th Birthday to Marion Grillot of Russia - he has 75 grandchildren plus 2 step-grandchildren for a total of "77"
447. not sure why, but thin crust pizzas are by far my favorite over medium or thick

448. Spring Training is right around the corner for major league baseball teams - Major League Baseball is my favorite pro sport by far!!!

449. saw in the Dayton Daily news yesterday that a girl from Urbana has made 107 three point field goals this season - that is over 5 per game! - she was also 20 for 20 from the foul line Monday night!

450. I use a lot of exclamation points in my blog - sorry - I will try to cut back

451. Kate Upton is this year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover choice - is she still dating Mark Sanchez??

452. I missed McCartney, Springsteen, and the Beach Boys at the Grammy's on Sunday night - how were they??

453. in case you missed my new favorite country music song - here is Taylor Swift and her song "Mean" from Sunday evening's Grammy's

454. a picture of FORTRAN 77 code on a punch card - you have to be at least 40 years old to remember when computers worked this way.  What else was there - BASIC???

Philadelphia 76ers, 76 Trombones

435. Happy St. Valentine's Day 2012!!!
here is a picture of a heart formed by a handle of a coffee mug

436. here is the Simon and Garfunkel I promised from yesterday - here's to you, Mrs. Robinson - a classic!

437.  Whitney's rendition of the National Anthem in 1991, just 10 days after we went to war in the Persian Gulf ranks right up there as one of the best ever - click on arrow to watch below

438. I watched most of the Grammy's on Sunday night - I especially liked Adele the best, then Glen Campbell, and surprisingly Taylor Swift!!!
439. how about this picture of 76

440.  here is a picture of 7 foot 6 inch Shawn Bradley who used to wear # 76 when he played for the Philadelphia 76ers - he is guarding Avery Johnson, I believe

442. Seventy-six Trombones is the signature song from the musical play The Music Man (1957), which was written by Meredith Willson

443. July 4, 1776 was a very important date in this country's history!
444. here is a picture of Derek Busse and Corrina from wacky hair day at school in about 3rd grade