Did You Know That the train route from San Francisco to New York is one of the longest and most scenic in the United States, crossing a wide range of landscapes and regions? The service is operated by Amtrak, but there is no direct train, usually requiring a transfer in Chicago. Here's a summary of the route:

Departure: San Francisco, California (Emeryville Station)
The journey typically begins at Emeryville Station, as there is no Amtrak station in San Francisco itself. However, there is a connecting bus service from downtown San Francisco.

Train: California Zephyr
From Emeryville, passengers board the California Zephyr, one of Amtrak’s most iconic routes. This train travels through the heart of the United States, passing stunning landscapes like the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada.

Key destinations: Sacramento, Reno, Salt Lake City, Denver, Omaha.
Travel time: Approximately 51-52 hours from Emeryville to Chicago.
Transfer in Chicago
At Chicago Union Station, passengers need to switch trains. The train that typically continues to New York is the Lake Shore Limited.

Train: Lake Shore Limited
This train follows the route along Lake Michigan and the Hudson River before reaching New York.

Key destinations: Toledo, Cleveland, Buffalo, Albany.
Travel time: Approximately 20 hours from Chicago to New York.
Arrival: New York (Penn Station)
The journey ends at Penn Station in New York, located in the heart of Manhattan.

Total travel time:
Approximately 70 to 75 hours (depending on layover and transfer times in Chicago).

Pneumatic tubes were an innovative method of transporting mail between 23 U.S. Post Offices in New York City, covering a network of 27 miles. Introduced in the early 1900s, these tubes allowed for the rapid movement of letters and small packages through a system of underground pipes using air pressure.
The pneumatic tube system was particularly useful for expediting mail delivery in a busy urban environment, reducing reliance on traditional postal methods. It functioned by sending mail through tubes to various post offices, where it could be collected and sorted quickly.
The system operated effectively for several decades, enhancing the efficiency of the postal service in New York City. However, advancements in transportation and communication eventually rendered pneumatic tubes obsolete, leading to their discontinuation in 1957. Despite its end, the pneumatic tube system remains a fascinating chapter in the history of urban infrastructure and mail delivery.

𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
Jasmine Lawrence, the eldest daughter of comedy king Martin Lawrence, has inherited her father’s talent while carving out her own path in the entertainment world. Born in 1996, Jasmine developed a passion for acting early on and appeared in several notable projects, including Bad Boys for Life (2020), where she had the opportunity to act alongside her father.

Beyond acting, Jasmine is also making waves in the tech industry. A graduate of Duke University, she currently works at Microsoft, showcasing her intelligence and determination.

With her diverse talents and captivating personality, Jasmine Lawrence is making a name for herself and is a source of great pride for Martin Lawrence.

#BOOMchallenge #JasmineLawrence #MartinLawrence #BadBoysForLife #RisingStar #Hollywood

Sidney Poitier was a 20 year old dishwasher in NYC. He came from the Bahamas and could only read 3rd grade level, having great trouble with 3 syllable words. He lost his dish washing job, so he looked in the want ads and was about to throw the newspaper into the trash box on the street when he read: Actors Wanted.
The 'wanted' seemed like an invitation, so he walked to the address, was given a two page scene to read by a large man. Poitier slowly read word by word in his Caribbean accent. The large man grabbed him by the belt and collar and pushed him to the door saying, "Stop wasting people's time. You can't speak and you can't read.
Go back to dish washing." Walking to the bus stop Poitier stopped on the street thinking, "How did he know I was a dishwasher?" Poitier said: "I realized that was his perception of me. No value but something I could do with my hands. Even though he was correct in his anger to characterize me that way, I was deeply offended. I said to myself, 'I have to rectify that.' "I decided right then on that street, that I was going to be an actor just to show him he was wrong about me. I had to take the responsibility to change how people perceived me.
I continued as a dishwasher, but I began to work on myself."
Poitier auditioned at the American Negro Theater in Harlem, hoping to get into classes there. He didn't know that one could buy books with plays in them, so he memorized an article in True Confessions magazine.
He wasn't accepted, but Sidney said, "I'll be your janitor for free if you let me study here." The school accepted that deal. Months later, he was told he had no gift for acting and had to leave. Unknown to Poitier, three fellow students that liked him went to the head-master and asked her to give him a walk on in the next play. She said, "No, but I'll make him the understudy for the lead. (She had no intention to use him).
However, the night of the play, the lead, Harry Belafonte, had to help his janitor father carry out the six heavy boxes of furnace ashes, and it had to be done that night. So Poitier went on, knew his lines and did he best he could. In the theater that night was a producer that offered him a bit part in his next play. His character was the first to speak as an excited man who has to tell some news in the first scene, and that was all.
Poitier said, "When I looked out through a peephole at the 1,200 people waiting for the play to begin, I became paralyzed with fear. "I ran out on stage and started with my 7th line first. The other actor's eyes bulged out, but he came up with the right answer. We skipped around lines, then my character left the stage and that was my only scene. The audience didn't know the play, so they liked my confused, excited character.
"However, walking back to the room I was renting, I decided to give up on acting. I bought four newspapers on the way home and was surprised that I was mentioned favorably in three of them, like: 'Who was that funny kid that came on at the beginning?' So I decided to continue acting." After a few small parts in small movies, it was 1954. Sidney Poitier was sent to an audition for a movie by an agent named Martin Baum, but was not Poitier's agent.
Poitier read a scene in front of the producers, they wanted him and gave him a full script to take home. Poitier's character was a janitor who saw a crime committed by gangsters. To keep him quiet, the gangsters kill his daughter. And he stays quiet. Poitier said, "I really hated it. At that time, I had no objections to playing a janitor, but I hated the idea of a father not taking action on the gangsters. The janitor permits what the gangster do to him. To the writers it's just a plot point, but I can't play that because I have a father. And I know my father would never be like that. And as a father myself, I would never be able to NOT attack those gangsters. I want to do movies that show who I am as a human being."
Poitier called Martin Baum who said they will pay $750 for the part. ($7,000 today). He told Baum, " I read it and I can't play it," and explained why. Baum said, “That’s why you don't want to do this? You need that money don't you?" Poitier desperately needed the money. He had to pay the hospital $75 for his 2nd daughter's birth. But didn't take the part. Poitier said, "That speaks to who I was then and still am. And who I am is my father's son. I saw how he treated my mother and family. I know how to be a decent human being.
So I pawned my furniture, such as it was, got $75 and paid the hospital. Then I went back to dish washing. "Months later, Martin Baum called me and invited me to his office and said, "I have never been able to understand why you turned down that job. I told him why again, but I don't know if he understood it.
But Martin said, 'I have decided that anyone as crazy as you are, I want to be their agent.' He's been my agent till now." Poitier won an Academy Award for Best Actor for 'Lilies of the Field' in 1963. Five years later, Sidney Poitier was offered the lead in 'In the Heat of the Night' to be produced by Walter Mirisch (West Side Story, The Magnificent 7) Poitier said, "When I read the script, I said, 'Walter I can’t play this. The scene requires me to be slapped by a wealthy man and I just look at him fiercely and walk away. That is not very bright in today's culture. It's dumb.
"This is 1968. You can't do that. The black community will look at that and be appalled, because the human response would be different. You certainly won't do the movie with me this way. 'If I do this movie, I insist to respond as a human being; he pops me and I pop him right back. If you want me to play it, you will put that in writing. Also in writing you will say 'If this picture plays in the south, that scene is never removed.' Walter said, 'Yeah, I promise you that and I'll put it in writing.' "But being the kind of guy Walter is, his handshake and his word are the same, so I didn't need to have it in writing, and he kept his word. That scene made the movie. Without it, the movie wouldn't have been as popular."
'In the Heat of the Night' won five Academy Awards: Best Picture - Best Screenplay.
Sidney Poitier was a 20 year old dishwasher in NYC. He came from the Bahamas and could only read 3rd grade level, having great trouble with 3 syllable words. He lost his dish washing job, so he looked in the want ads and was about to throw the newspaper into the trash box on the street when he read: Actors Wanted.
The 'wanted' seemed like an invitation, so he walked to the address, was given a two page scene to read by a large man. Poitier slowly read word by word in his Caribbean accent. The large man grabbed him by the belt and collar and pushed him to the door saying, "Stop wasting people's time. You can't speak and you can't read.
Go back to dish washing." Walking to the bus stop Poitier stopped on the street thinking, "How did he know I was a dishwasher?" Poitier said: "I realized that was his perception of me. No value but something I could do with my hands. Even though he was correct in his anger to characterize me that way, I was deeply offended. I said to myself, 'I have to rectify that.' "I decided right then on that street, that I was going to be an actor just to show him he was wrong about me. I had to take the responsibility to change how people perceived me.
I continued as a dishwasher, but I began to work on myself."
Poitier auditioned at the American Negro Theater in Harlem, hoping to get into classes there. He didn't know that one could buy books with plays in them, so he memorized an article in True Confessions magazine.
He wasn't accepted, but Sidney said, "I'll be your janitor for free if you let me study here." The school accepted that deal. Months later, he was told he had no gift for acting and had to leave. Unknown to Poitier, three fellow students that liked him went to the head-master and asked her to give him a walk on in the next play. She said, "No, but I'll make him the understudy for the lead. (She had no intention to use him).
However, the night of the play, the lead, Harry Belafonte, had to help his janitor father carry out the six heavy boxes of furnace ashes, and it had to be done that night. So Poitier went on, knew his lines and did he best he could. In the theater that night was a producer that offered him a bit part in his next play. His character was the first to speak as an excited man who has to tell some news in the first scene, and that was all.
Poitier said, "When I looked out through a peephole at the 1,200 people waiting for the play to begin, I became paralyzed with fear. "I ran out on stage and started with my 7th line first. The other actor's eyes bulged out, but he came up with the right answer. We skipped around lines, then my character left the stage and that was my only scene. The audience didn't know the play, so they liked my confused, excited character.
"However, walking back to the room I was renting, I decided to give up on acting. I bought four newspapers on the way home and was surprised that I was mentioned favorably in three of them, like: 'Who was that funny kid that came on at the beginning?' So I decided to continue acting." After a few small parts in small movies, it was 1954. Sidney Poitier was sent to an audition for a movie by an agent named Martin Baum, but was not Poitier's agent.
Poitier read a scene in front of the producers, they wanted him and gave him a full script to take home. Poitier's character was a janitor who saw a crime committed by gangsters. To keep him quiet, the gangsters kill his daughter. And he stays quiet. Poitier said, "I really hated it. At that time, I had no objections to playing a janitor, but I hated the idea of a father not taking action on the gangsters. The janitor permits what the gangster do to him. To the writers it's just a plot point, but I can't play that because I have a father. And I know my father would never be like that. And as a father myself, I would never be able to NOT attack those gangsters. I want to do movies that show who I am as a human being."
Poitier called Martin Baum who said they will pay $750 for the part. ($7,000 today). He told Baum, " I read it and I can't play it," and explained why. Baum said, “That’s why you don't want to do this? You need that money don't you?" Poitier desperately needed the money. He had to pay the hospital $75 for his 2nd daughter's birth. But didn't take the part. Poitier said, "That speaks to who I was then and still am. And who I am is my father's son. I saw how he treated my mother and family. I know how to be a decent human being.
So I pawned my furniture, such as it was, got $75 and paid the hospital. Then I went back to dish washing. "Months later, Martin Baum called me and invited me to his office and said, "I have never been able to understand why you turned down that job. I told him why again, but I don't know if he understood it.
But Martin said, 'I have decided that anyone as crazy as you are, I want to be their agent.' He's been my agent till now." Poitier won an Academy Award for Best Actor for 'Lilies of the Field' in 1963. Five years later, Sidney Poitier was offered the lead in 'In the Heat of the Night' to be produced by Walter Mirisch (West Side Story, The Magnificent 7) Poitier said, "When I read the script, I said, 'Walter I can’t play this. The scene requires me to be slapped by a wealthy man and I just look at him fiercely and walk away. That is not very bright in today's culture. It's dumb.
"This is 1968. You can't do that. The black community will look at that and be appalled, because the human response would be different. You certainly won't do the movie with me this way. 'If I do this movie, I insist to respond as a human being; he pops me and I pop him right back. If you want me to play it, you will put that in writing. Also in writing you will say 'If this picture plays in the south, that scene is never removed.' Walter said, 'Yeah, I promise you that and I'll put it in writing.' "But being the kind of guy Walter is, his handshake and his word are the same, so I didn't need to have it in writing, and he kept his word. That scene made the movie. Without it, the movie wouldn't have been as popular."
'In the Heat of the Night' won five Academy Awards: Best Picture - Best Screenplay.

These samples belong to the same soil type and have been in corn-bean rotation for over 20 years, but their treatment was very different!!!.
.
.
The land on the left has not been plowed or fertilized with anhydrous ammonia for more than 20 years and has benefited from a rye cover crop.

The land on the right was plowed annually and fertilized with anhydrous ammonia in the fall.

This photo was taken about 2 minutes after the samples were immersed in water.

The plowed land practically “exploded” as soon as it hit the water. Repeated plowing of the soil has destroyed its structure, removing interstitial space and the biological “glue” that helps hold the soil together, leading to its disintegration.

In contrast, with minimal soil disturbance, the no-tilled soil had excellent porosity and high biological activity, giving it a healthy structure that could withstand water shock.

In less than five minutes, the plowed land disappeared completely, while the unplowed land remained almost intact.

We wanted to see how long it would last and continued adding water (to compensate for evaporation) for several weeks.

We stopped after 6 weeks, during which time the no-till soil sample was still 95% intact.

Daily Factfinder

Did you know?

How a black enslavëd man taught Jack Daniel how to Distill .

So who taught a young Jack Daniel how to distill what would become the world’s best-selling whiskey?

Nathan "Nearest" Green, an enslaved Black master distiller, taught distilling techniques to Jack Daniel, founder of the Jack Daniel Tennessee whiskey.

Uncle Nearest, as he was fondly called by family and friends grew up in Lynchburg, Tennessee, and began working on the farm of a country preacher and distiller in Lincoln County around the mid-1800s.

It was there that he learned the skill of distilling and specialized in a process of distillation known as sugar maple charcoal filtering which was also called the Lincoln County Process.

Nearest was such a skilled distiller in the process he specialized in but he kept working with the preacher in the Lincoln County and fortunately it was there that Jack Daniels met him.

In the mid-1850s, Jack Daniels who was just a young white boy from a large family and who also lost his mother to a sudden illness at the age of four months began working as a chore boy for the preacher whom Uncle Nearest worked for.

It is said that Jack Daniels was a curious young boy who kept asking about the smoke coming up through the hollow on the 338-acre property and why men kept hurrying back and forth from that area which he was never allowed to go with mules and wagons.

He never stopped asking, until the preacher whim he worked for decided to give in to his curiosity took him to the area on the property where the smoke came from.

As later described in the boy’s biography, it is said that the preacher introduced the young boy to a “coal-black negro” which was uncle Nearest.

He introduced Uncle Nearest by saying “This is Uncle Nearest. He’s the best whiskey maker I know of”. The preacher went further to ask Nearest to teach the young (Jack Daniels) everything he knew about distilling and also the process of sugar maple charcoal filtering.

"A request Nearest obliged and taught the young boy the special filtration process of the Tennessee whiskey."

Reposted from Instagram@ppv_tahoe

WARNING Contains strong language - News & Awareness education |
Sacramento, California.— Man caught stealing a catalytic converter from parked car

Instagram@smithbrosclassics

Thieves are targeting these devices, which are located under vehicles, because they contain precious metals that are valuable to scrap metal dealers — and because they’re easily accessible and lack identifying markings.

Specifically, there are three types of metals that help the catalytic converter remove toxins from vehicles’ emissions: platinum, palladium and rhodium. There’s only a tiny amount of each metal inside each converter, but a little goes a long way. The prices of these already-valuable metals have quickly increased by hundreds of dollars an ounce in recent years.

Scrap metal dealers will pay close to $100 for the typical catalytic converter. However, the metals found in some exotic and foreign car models can fetch more money, even up to $400.