It's one of those days.  I have this itchy feeling.  I need to break free from the confines of my current life.  I have all those big questions running through my head:

1.  Why am I here?
2.  What is my purpose in life?
3.  Can I make the world a better place?

I don't the know the answers.  I just know that every now and then I get so restless.  I feel the need to expand my horizons, to grow, to learn, to stretch beyond my comfort zone.  I want to do something positive with my life.  Not just fix IT problems, crunch numbers, and stuff.  What will be my place in history?  Will I be remembered by anyone?  Don't the wrong idea.  I don't want to be famous or anything like that.  I just want to make sure that this life counts for something.  We only have one go at it and I want to make the most of it.  And if along the way I can give something back to the world which provides for us then I think that is a good thing.  Anyway, all this thought made me think about this day in history.  Here it is:

January 19
1825 - Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett of New York City patented a canning process to preserve salmon, oysters and lobsters.

1915 - George Claude of Paris, France patented the neon tube advertising sign. His handiwork was regularly seen adorning the Eiffel Tower and many pizza parlors throughout America. Now you can buy a neon sign for your in-home office at the discount warehouse. Probably not in one of George Claude's wildest dreams...

1937 - Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record, flying from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.

1949 - The salary of the President of the United States was increased from $75,000 to $100,000 with an additional $50,000 expense allowance added for each year in office.

1952 - The National Football League bought the franchise of the New York Yanks. To make nice with the New York Giants for having another team in their territory, the NFL permitted the Giants to choose five players from the Yanks roster. One of the five was Tom Landry, who played for the Giants for six years. During that time, the NFL sent the Yanks club to Dallas. They became the Dallas Texans for one season and moved on to Baltimore, where they changed their name to the Colts. In 1960, the Dallas expansion team (the Cowboys) hired Tom Landry as head coach. That original Yanks club was sold to the NFL for a mere $300,000.

1953 - Sixty-eight percent of all TV sets in the U.S. were tuned to CBS-TV this day, as Lucy Ricardo of I Love Lucy gave birth to a baby boy — just as she actually did in real life — following the script to the letter! The audience for the program was greater than that watching the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower the following day.

1959 - Dick Clark's American Bandstand was the number-one daytime TV show in the U.S. Remember Rate-A-Record? Three kids would listen and then rate a new song. Rankings went from 35 to 98. The usual comment, "It has a good beat and you can dance to it."

1966 - Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, was appointed India's prime minister. Following the death of her father (May 1964), Gandhi had become minister of information and broadcasting in Lal Bahadur Shastri's government. Gandhi succeeded him as prime minister this day, after he died suddenly. The following year she was elected to a 5-year term by the Parliament members of the dominant Congress party. She led her party to a landslide victory in the national elections of 1971. Indira Gandhi was assassinated Oct 31, 1984 by Sikh members of her security guard.

1976 - The Beatles turned down an offer of $50 million to play together again on the same stage. Rock promoter Bill Sargent was astonished when the group turned down the offer.

1985 - The New York Times announced that Lee Iacocca's book, Iacocca, was the best selling hard cover book of

1984. It wasn't topped in sales until the arrival of Rush Limbaugh's first tome in the early '90s.

1991 - Janet Jackson's single, Love Will Never Do (Without You), hit #1 (for one week) in the U.S.

1996 - U.S. debut day for these films: Mr. Holland's Opus (a frustrated composer finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher), with Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, Jay Thomas, Olympia Dukakis, W. H. Macy, Alicia Witt and Jean Louisa Kelly; and Screamers, a "sci-fi thriller" starring Peter Weller, Poy Dupuis, Jennifer Rubin and Andy Lauer.

2001 - New movies in the U.S.: The Gift (a woman with extrasensory perception is asked to help find a young woman who has disappeared), starring Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Greg Kinnear and Hilary Swank; The Pledge (a retiring police chief pledges to catch the killer of a young child), with Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright Penn and directed by Sean Penn; and Snatch (weirdos tracking down a priceless stolen diamond), starring Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, Jason Flemyng, Vinnie Jones, Brad Pitt, Rade Sherbedgia and Jason Statham.

Birthdays
January 19
1736 - James Watt, inventor: condensing steam engine; the watt, a unit of power, was named after him; died Aug 19, 1819

1807 - Robert E. (Edward) Lee, Civil War: Confederate General surrendered to the North's General Ulysses S. Grant; died Oct 12, 1870

1809 - Edgar Allan Poe, poet: The Raven; author of suspense tales: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Fall of the House of Usher; died Oct 7, 1849

1939 - Phil Everly, singer: The Everly Brothers [w/brother, Don]: Bye Bye Love, Wake Up Little Susie, All I Have to Do is Dream, Bird Dog, Cathy's Clown; solo: When Will I Be Loved; radio host: In Session

1942 - Michael Crawford (Dumble-Smith), actor, singer: The Phantom of the Opera, Condorman, Hello, Dolly!, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Knack

1943 - Janis Joplin, singer: with Big Brother and The Holding Company: Piece of My Heart, How Hard It Is; formed Kozmic Blues Band, then Full Tilt Boogie Band: Pearl, Me and Bobby McGee; died Oct 4, 1970

1946 - Dolly Parton, songwriter, singer: ACM Entertainer of the Year [1977], CMA Entertainer of the year [1978]: Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, Here You Come Again, 9-to-5, You're the Only One, [w/Kenny Rogers]: Islands in the Stream; Grand Ol' Opry member; actress: 9-to-5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias; owns Dollywood amusement park in Tennessee

1949 - Robert Palmer, singer, guitarist: Sneakin' Sally through the Alley, Hey Julia, Addicted to Love, Every Kinda People, I Didn't Mean to Turn You On, It Could Happen To You; died Sep 26, 2003

1953 - Desi Arnaz Jr., entertainer, singer: group: Dino, Desi and Billy: Through Spray Colored Glasses; see 1953 [above]

Chart Toppers
January 19, 1987
Shake You Down - Gregory Abbott
C'est La Vie - Robbie Nevil
Open Your Heart - Madonna
What Am I Gonna Do About You - Reba McEntire