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Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Good Tuesday Morning to You!

Keep me posted. Clue me in. Keep me in the loop.

Those three phrases are commonly used when asking others for updates on particular subjects or matters. A loyal reader of this column recently asked me if I knew where the phrases originated. I told her I didn’t know, but I would find out… and keep her posted.

The word “post” originates from the Latin word “postis,” which refers to a doorpost. Some say it comes from the use of doormen who guarded building entrances. Others claim the phrase “keep me posted” originates directly from military sources, as soldiers were “posted” to specific landmarks, bases and checkpoints. In the Old French language, which was spoken from the eighth to the 14th centuries, the word “post” meant a “pillar” or a “beam.” Prior to the Internet, people would physically “post” announcements to doors and boards to share information. Even in recent decades, bands would “post” their concert flyers on bulletin boards or doors and even staple them to utility poles. As such, to “post” something means to publish or announce it to others.

To clue one in means to offer new information — or to correct misinformation — but why the word “clue”? The famed myth of the Minotaur shares how the Minoan princess, Ariadne, helped the Greek hero, Theseus, slay the monster. She did so by giving a ball of thread to Theseus so, after killing the Minotaur, he could retrace his path from inside the labyrinth by following the thread. The word “clue,” while German in origin, is derived from “clew” — which referred to a “ball of thread or yarn.” By the 1600s, “clue” was used to mean “something that points the way.” Over time, the relation to the labyrinth faded, and “clue” began to mean “a sign or some information that helps you to find the answer to a problem.”

The word “loop” in the phrase “keep me in the loop” is short for a command-and-control feedback loop. This military term is about the passing of orders from officers to soldiers, and status reports from soldiers back to officers. The more quickly the messages would go around the feedback loop, the more effective the overall command was. This is why the telegraph and radio revolutionized warfare, as they shortened the time around the loop. Think about how much time it took a messenger on horseback to deliver a message. As such, to be in the loop is to know what is going on by receiving messages. The opposite, to be out of the loop, is to be clueless because the information has bypassed you.

Now you are posted, clued in and in the loop.

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com

 
 
CITYVIEW's  Best Of Des Moines
 

CITYVIEW announced its 2023 Best Of Des Moines readers' choices Jan. 31. You can find all the results from the poll in the February issue of CITYVIEW magazine!

Best Local Chicken Wings

1. Jethro’s

2. Gerri’s

3. Chicken Heat

SEE EVENT PHOTOS HERE...

 
Read More
 
 

Your Clear Mortgage forecast from Jason Parkin

Highs in the 40s will be with us into Wednesday, and we may see a few snowflakes clip the metro Wednesday afternoon. Thursday and Friday bring shower and thunderstorm chances, and Friday's high might get into the 70s. We may see snow in northern Iowa Saturday. Breezy from Wednesday night on.

For help with preapprovals or refinancing, get in touch with Jason at parkin.mortgage

 
 
Featured Home For Sale
 
Attention Realtors, post your listings here for $50. Contact jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com for details.
 
$429,900

4309 129th St., Urbandale, IA 50323

 
Welcome to this beautiful custom two story home in Urbandale, just minutes from interstate access. This 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom 2, 072 sqft home is sure to check off many of your boxes! The main level features a two story entry, massive living room with built-ins, large windows and a fireplace and more.
 
 
See More Homes For Sale
 
On March 28 ...

1979: At 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979, the worst accident in the history of the U.S. nuclear power industry begins when a pressure valve in the Unit-2 reactor at Three Mile Island fails to close. Cooling water, contaminated with radiation, drained from the open valve into adjoining buildings, and the core began to dangerously overheat.

1915: On March 28, 1915, the first American citizen is killed in the eight-month-old European conflict that would become known as the First World War. Leon Thrasher, a 31-year-old mining engineer and native of Massachusetts, drowned when a German submarine, the U-28, torpedoed the cargo-passenger ship Falaba, on its way from Liverpool to West Africa, off the coast of England. Of the 242 passengers and crew on board the Falaba, 104 drowned. Thrasher, who was employed on the Gold Coast in British West Africa, was returning to his post there from England as a passenger on the ship.

1984: On March 28, 1984, Bob Irsay (1923-1997), owner of the once-mighty Baltimore Colts, moves the team to Indianapolis. Without any sort of public announcement, Irsay hired movers to pack up the team’s offices in Owings Mills, Maryland, in the middle of the night, while the city of Baltimore slept.

Read more at History.com.

 

Cracker Barrel has closed all but one of its Oregon restaurants because of crime problems. The one remaining is in southern Oregon, far from Portland.

J.M. Smucker Company told Food Business News that 71% of all coffee is now consumed at home. That number rose considerably when COVID-19 began and has remained steady since, The company also said that pet snacks are the growth part of the pet food business. They sold a pet food division for $1.2 billion to invest in dog snacks, like their Milk Bones. They are changing production to 60% snacks and 40% food, from two-thirds food and one-third snacks. It seems that 21st century dogs are too busy with social activities to sit down for a family meal now days.

Oysters are half-priced, and classic martinis are $5 on Tuesdays at Django, 1420 Locust, Des Moines.

— Jim Duncan

 
Headlines

FROM KCCI: DNR: 13 coyote carcasses found in Iowa ditch

JOHNSON COUNTY, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources wants to know who's responsible for dumping 13 coyote carcasses in a Johnson County ditch....READ MORE FROM KCCI

FROM WHO-TV: Old Spaghetti Works in Des Moines suddenly closes for good

DES MOINES, Iowa — Old Spaghetti Works fed Des Moines customers for more than 40 years, but the restaurant suddenly announced it would permanently close the Court Avenue cornerstone. ...READ MORE FROM WHO-TV

FROM WOI-DT Local 5: MLK Pkwy lane reduction to impact traffic in downtown Des Moines

Starting on Monday, April 3, traffic on MLK Jr. Pkwy will be a bit tighter heading north due to an overhaul of the street's storm overflow sewer system. ...READ MORE FROM WOI-DT Local 5

 
Following in Their Footsteps
 

A life of dance

Ali Hansen followed her mom, Pat Dickey’s, footsteps to become a dance studio owner. Patricia opened her dance studio, Pat Barton Dance Studio, in Altoona in 1969. She would let Ali rollerblade through the studio while she worked on costuming, bills and office work during the day.

Ali has been surrounded by dance education since she was a baby. She was on stage before she was even out of diapers, taking classes at her mom’s studio every night of the week and spending her free time playing at the studio while her mom taught classes. She remembers these times fondly.

“The studio was my happy place,” she says.

... Read more in the March issue of Altoona Living magazine.

 
Birthdays and Notables!
 

These celebrities were born on this date: Lady Gaga, Derek Carr, Julia Stiles, Vince Vaughn, Reba McEntire, Kate Gosselin, Bernice King, Luke Walton, Byron Scott

SUBMIT: Send your birthday greetings and congratulatory notes to: tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

 
Morning Chuckle

The answer to yesterday's riddle:
The Pentagon was supposed to be an octagon. What happened? THEY CUT CORNERS! Other answers: Carolyn Rogers: President Roosevelt was so delighted about how plans for an octagon-shaped building were coming along, that he turned to the architect and said, "Gimme a high-five!" And that's what he got. Mike Chiston: The 3 other sides were considered "pork" in the bill & had to be cut. Gail Tomlinson: The architect flunked geometry

Today's Riddle

What invention is the most ground-breaking?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

 
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If you would like to advertise in this daily newsletter, please contact Jolene Goodman at jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com, or call 515-953-4822 ext. 319.

P.S. As a free newsletter, we rely on readers like you to grow our subscriber list. If you have a friend or coworker who you think would enjoy waking up to The Daily Umbrella each weekday morning, please share our newsletter sign-up page with them! Visit www.thedailyumbrella.com and click on the SUBSCRIBE link on the upper right-hand side!

 

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