Happy Lunar New Year! At the start of 2002, snarkout posted an entry about the lucky foods people eat to mark the beginning of the year. I had not heard about the Chinese custom of eating dumplings for New Year’s and the placing of a coin in one of them. When I asked my father about it, he thought a bit and decided that it was probably a custom that is more common in the northern part of China. Rice is a staple in the south and east but wheat is used in the north. My father also defined the difference between what he considers a “custom” versus a “tradition”. He explained that the dumpling and coin thing is a custom which is not as strong as the traditions, such as the giving of money in red envelopes. The distinction is quite subtle, but it’s clear to him. The one food that is customary in my parent’s house for New Year’s is the Glutinous Rice Cake (Nian Gao). Unfortunately, I don’t enjoy its chewy texture.

What fun! English milk bottles of all sorts at Milk Bottle of the Week. Most have advertisements. Here’s a Kellogg’s Corn Flakes maze. There are messages from the police and messages from farmers. Queen Elizabeth has her own dairy and therefore her own milk bottles. (via Yahoo What’s New moo!)

Various news agencies have reported that the number of couples getting married in China has spiked up as the Lunar New Year approaches. Apparently the upcoming Year of the Horse is an unlucky one because it does not contain a date for the start of spring. Covering February 12, 2002 through January 31, 2003, this new year will have just missed the start of spring on February 4, 2002 and will not contain the following one. Engaged couples are taking all the luck they can get and rushing off to the marriage offices. But some are being patient and waiting for this year to pass by.

The Social Security Administration’s website has a history section. It includes Social Security Number trivia and describes why the geographical assignment of the first three digits of the SSN has an anomaly with New Hampshire having lower numbers than Maine. This was done so that Social Security Board Chairman John G. Winant, who was from New Hampshire, could be assigned 001-01-0001. But he declined it and it was eventually given to Grace D. Owen who was the first to apply for a number in New Hampshire. I also found an interesting photo of female African-American keypunch operators.

The Amtrak Reform Council was created in 1997 when Congress approved a five-year plan to fund Amtrak. With those five years now at an end, Amtrak has not managed to create a self-sufficient business and has asked for more money. But the Reform Council has recommended a 3-way breakup of Amtrak’s business: 1. policy, 2. overseeing the tracks, property and stations Amtrak owns in the Northeast Corridor, 3. train operations. Bids for franchises to operate various routes would be accepted in two to five years. Amtrak chairman Michael Dukakis (remember him?) would like their proposal to be rejected. Opinions range widely from those wanting to save the long struggling company and those who wouldn’t mind if it just disappeared, with its tracks and routes going to the highest bidder. I love train travel and have seriously considered taking a scenic long distance trip. But air travel is faster and more affordable. I don’t think the government should throw more money at Amtrak, but I do hope that someone brings the glory back to longer distance train travel in the United States.

I first learned to type on a keypunch machine in my father’s office. Well, perhaps “learned” is too strong a word. But I did produce much nonsense and some actual words on stacks of punch cards. I still have a few of them. Douglas W. Jones collects punch cards and his site has historical information and scans of his card collection. Many of them have corporate logos. He also has a page on chads and voting machines. Jones’ site was featured in a NY Times article about surviving use of punch card systems.

The reincarnated Iridium is adding five more satellites to its crop of 66 plus 7 spares. It was only last year that the old incarnation was set to crash and burn, along with their satellites, before the U.S. Department of Defense came to the rescue. Last year’s press release stated that there were seven in-orbit spares and they were planning to launch seven more spares this year. I wonder what happened to the other two? In December they issued a press release stating that the satellites are expected to operate through mid-2010, and they have not needed to use any of the spares.

Where can you buy a one dollar bill for five dollars? Well, besides going to just about anyone on the street with that enticing offer (they probably won’t believe you), you could also have pulled off this neat trick at a special U.S. Treasury sale in San Francisco. They sold some bills in sheet form, a configuration that has been available for many years, and they also sold a new item: dollar bills for Chinese New Year. These “lucky” dollar bills have auspicious serial numbers and come in colored folders. They are also available online from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Store in their Lucky Money Line.

The Fastap Keypad looks like a promising new phone key arrangement. Start exercising those thumbs now! (via CamWorld)

A cat treks 353 miles back home to its family. It’s another one of those “how do they do it?” animal mysteries. Skittles, an orange tabby, was left behind during a summer stay in southern Wisconsin. He managed to make his way back to Hibbing, Minnesota, a little the worse for wear, but probably quite relieved to have found his owners. (via Obscure Store)