wane v

1. To progressively loses its splendor, ardor, power, etc.
2. (of light) To dim or diminish in strength.
3. (of the Moon) To decrease in visible surface during its phases

~ Helen Keller

Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, activist and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to graduate from college.

The story of how Keller's teacher, Annie Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate, has become known worldwide through the dramatic depictions of the play The Miracle Worker.

What is less well known is how Keller's life developed after she completed her education. A prolific author, she was well traveled, and was outspoken in her opposition to war. She campaigned for women's suffrage, workers' rights and socialism, as well as many other progressive causes.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller

It is surprising how easy we have it and what we take for granted and proves that we are the reason for our limitations.

~ Sarah Orne Jewett (September 3, 1849 – June 24, 1909)

forensic adj

1. Relating to the use of science and technology in a court of law.
2. (dated) Relating to, or appropriate for courts of law.
3. (archaic) Relating to, or used in debate or argument.

This figure is a simplified, schematic representation of the flows of energy between space, the atmosphere, and the Earth's surface, and shows how these flows combine to trap heat near the surface and create the greenhouse effect. Energy exchanges are expressed in watts per square meter (W/m2)

~ John Dewey

John Dewey (October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer, whose thoughts and ideas have been greatly influential in the United States and around the world. Dewey, along with Charles Sanders Peirce and William James, is recognized as one of the founders of the philosophical school of Pragmatism. He is also one of the founders of functional psychology and was a leading representative of the progressive movement in U.S. schooling during the first half of the 20th century.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey

~ Hiram Johnson (September 2, 1866 – August 6, 1945)

Other variations:

"When war is declared, truth is the first casualty." ~ Arthur Ponsonby (1928)

"Among the calamities of war may be jointly numbered the diminution of the love of truth, by the falsehoods which interest dictates and credulity encourages." ~ Samuel Johnson (1758)

spoilsport n

1. Someone who puts an end to harmless fun.

~Kevin Huillery

~Bhartrihari

Bhartṛhari is the name of a 6th or 7th century Sanskrit grammarian, and of a Sanskrit poet of roughly the same period. It is not known whether the two are the same person.

Bhartṛhari was an early figure in Indic linguistic theory, mentioned in the 670s by Chinese traveller Yi-Jing.

ossify v

1. To transform from a softer substance into bone.
2. To become inflexible and rigid in habits or opinions.
3. To grow formulaic and permanent.

This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good.
(Found this on my brother's Facebook)

I don't know the source of this, depending on when this was originally created it might be from;

This is the beginning of a new day. I have been given this day to use as I will. I can waste it. . . or use it for good, but what I do today is important, because I am exchanging a day of my life for it! When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place something that I have traded for it. I want it to be gain and not loss; good and not evil; success, and not failure; in order that I shall not regret the price that I have paid for it. I will try just for today, for you never fail until you stop trying.

Ric Kausrud, 1997
After living with HIV for over 20 years,
Written a few months before his death from complications from AIDS

This is a representation of a small part of the Internet created by following connections between networks. Colour-coding represents the type/ownership of network and distance represents signal travelling time at the point of time the representation was created. The Internet cannot actually be navigated using such "maps", but such maps can be used to convey a sense of its hardware organization.

accursed adj

1. Hateful; detestable.
2. (archaic or theology) Doomed to destruction or misery; cursed.

~ Warren Buffett

Warren Edward Buffett (born August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American investor, businessman and philanthropist. He is regarded as one of the world's greatest investors and is the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. With an estimated net worth of around US$62 billion, he was ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world as of February 11, 2008.

Often called the "Oracle of Omaha," Buffett is noted for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth. His 2006 annual salary was about $100,000, which is small compared to senior executive remuneration in other comparable companies. When he spent $9.7 million of Berkshire's funds on a business jet in 1989, he jokingly named it "The Indefensible" because of his past criticisms of such purchases by other CEOs. He lives in the same house in the central Dundee neighborhood of Omaha that he bought in 1958 for $31,500, today valued at around $700,000.

Buffett is also a noted philanthropist. In 2006, he announced a plan to give away his fortune to charity, with 83% of it going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2007, he was listed among Time's 100 Most Influential People in The World. He also serves as a member of the board of trustees at Grinnell College.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett

~ William Buffett

negawatt

1. A unit of saved energy.

I find it funny that the word of the day comes up as a spelling error on spell checker

obstinate adj

1. Stubbornly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course.
2. Said of inanimate things not easily subdued or removed.