moss: January 2010

1/26/10

Oregon Tax Measures 66 and 67 pass

Total raised by Vote Yes for Oregon: $6.8 million
Total raised by the opponents, Oregonians Against Job-Killing Taxes: $4.5 million
Estimated additional revenue for Oregon State government: $726 million
Amount needed by Portland Public Schools: $23 million
Voice of support from Oregon voters: priceless

1/17/10

Animation in Flip Note Studio on Nintendo DSi

Miles has been doing some animation in FlipNote Studio on his Nintendo DSi. It's similar to the old paper & pencil flip books I used to do as a kid, except with a cool high-tech twist.
Here are some examples:

Stick Man Factory	I Like Cheese

Pirate?	Adventures in Skateboarding

1/2/10

Answer: Oregon Place Names

Image via Wikipedia

Earlier I posed a puzzler: can you name two or more towns in Oregon that have two pairs of letters? As an example I named "Scappoose," which has double-p and double-o.

So, according to this list some other towns in Oregon that meet the criteria are: Tillamook, McMinnville, Bonneville, Cherryville and Happy Valley. Contrary to my hunch, most of those are not of Native American origin, but more likely have French roots.

The second part of the question was whether there's a town in Oregon that has three sets of double letters? The answer is: yes. The town of Lookingglass near Roseburg has three pairs of letters in its name.

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1/1/10

Oregon place names puzzler

Image via Wikipedia

Today I drove out to Scappoose to visit with relatives, and drove across the Willamette River to get there. Both of these names are most likely of Native American origin. This site says that "scappoose" meant "gravelly ground," while this site says "willamette" (rhymes with "dammit") was "long and beautiful river or rainwaters along the river." In any case I thought it was interesting that both names had pairs of letters. It reminded me of Walla Walla Washington.

So, here's the puzzler: can you name two more towns in Oregon that have two pairs of letters? And, is there a town in Oregon that has three sets of double letters?

Click here for the answer.