Good morning,

Today’s forecast calls for patchy fog, later becoming sunny, and a high of forty-three degrees. That’s a forecast, I’d guess, for today’s weather and Whitewater’s future.

On this day in 1770, the Boston Massacre took place, during which British soldiers killed five colonists. Massachusetts attorney John Adams successfully defending the soldiers, leading to their acquittal.

There’s a website from an historical society, the Boston Massacre Historical Society, dedicated to preserving information about the massacre.

They have videos about the event, including historical re-enactments (where the results, of course and fortunately, fall short of the original).

Here’s one:

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li7fIijSZnY

I find their dedication to history — to remembering the past truthfully — admirable. more >>

Good morning,

Today’s forecast for Whitewater calls for a sunny day, with a high of thirty-seven degrees. Balmy.

There are teacher conferences in our public school district today, so students have no school.

Wired remembers today as a great day in science: March 4, 1877: The Microphone Sounds Much Better. Here’s why microphones started sounding better —

1877: Emile Berliner files a patent caveat for a new kind of microphone. It assures the future of the telephone, but not fame for Berliner.

Alexander Graham Bell had already invented his telephone, but without Berliner’s carbon-disk or carbon-button microphone, telephones would have sounded terrible for decades. And they may not have been capable of surmounting such great distances, hindering one of humanity’s most important advances….

Berliner’s patent application improved on the existing design by adding a layer of carbon particles in between two contacts, one of which acted as a diaphragm for catching sound waves. Movements of the diaphragm created varying pressure on the carbon particles, allowing more or less electricity to pass between the contacts.

Bell paid $50,000 for Berliner’s microphone patent (about $1.1 million in today’s money) and began manufacturing telephones using the technology in 1878. But controversy dogged the patent, which was eventually thrown out, much to Berliner’s dismay. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1892 that Thomas Edison, and not Berliner, invented the carbon microphone.

In truth, neither can claim total credit.

As Bell executive W. Van Benthuysen told The New York Times (.pdf) in December 1891, the idea of transmitting speech by varying the current between two contacts as they are affected by sound waves was common knowledge in some circles, having appeared in published works as early as 1854 — well before either Berliner or Edison (who filed a similar patent) claimed credit for the idea in 1877….

Nonetheless, Berliner reputedly went to his grave in 1929 convinced that Edison had stolen his idea. Before that, he did receive ample credit for another crucial invention: the lateral-cut vinyl-disc record, whose design is still prized by hipsters and purists alike. Before that, everybody was using Edison’s phonograph cylinders, which took up much more space, and were difficult to duplicate.

Berliner’s vinyl records were used in toys from 1888 until 1894, when his company began selling records using a logo of a dog cocking its ear towards a record player. Modified versions of the “His Master’s Voice” logo have been used by record companies around the world, including RCA in the United States. It now forms the retail entertainment chain HMV’s logo….

Good morning,

Whitewater’s forecast is for a day of patchy fog with a high temperature of thirty-seven degrees.

Whitewater’s Landmarks Commission meets later this afternoon, at 5 p.m., at 5 p.m. in the City Manager’s ultra-plush conference room. Here’s the agenda for the meeting:

I. Call to Order
II.Roll Call
III. Approval of Agenda and Possible Rearrangement.
IV. Approval of Minutes of February 3, 2010 Meeting
V. Set date of next meeting Wednesday, April 7, 2010, at 5

Old Business
VI. Report from Friends of the Mounds Meeting (Helmick)
1. Garlic Mustard Pull – April 23
2. Wis. Archaeological Preservation events – May 22-AM
VII. Action on Landmark Commission Bylaws (McDonell, Singer)
VIII. Update on Train Depot Renovation (Lashley)
IX. Update of possible moving or demolition of James and Ella Rockefeller House at 837 South Janesville Road (Scott)
X. Report from Indian Mound Task Force Meeting (Christ, Scott)
XI. Discuss possible events and projects for Historical Preservation Month
1. Library display – May 1 through May 31
2. Local Landmarks Tour – May 22 – PM
3. Stone Stable signage dedication and presentation
XII. Report on the New Provisions of Chap.17 (Scott)
1. Discuss establishing criteria for designation
2. List of possible items

New Business
XIII. Discuss possible projects and events for 2010
1. Local Landmark Designations
2. Historic Districts
XIV. Future Agenda Items
1. Congregational Church Clock Tower
2. Whitewater Historical Survey Recommendations
3. Leaflets and Educational Materials
4. Certified Local Government Reports (Scott)
XV. Adjournment

Book fairs continue at both Lincoln and Washington Schools. I’m sure there are fine offerings at both schools. There’s no way readers can go wrong with Seuss, whose birthday was yesterday. There’s also a band concert at our Middle School tonight at 7 p.m.

In honor of Seuss, here’s a clip from Green Eggs and Ham:

Link: Green Eggs and Ham

Wonderful, just wonderful, isn’t it? more >>