Things I learned lately - 7 Feb

• Prime Minister Harper never showed up at a repatriation or funeral of any of the Afghanistan casualties.
• Microsoft will offer Windows 10 for free as an upgrade to current users of Windows 7 or 8.x, but only for the first year.
• Canada is on track to offer the lowest amount of foreign aid as a percentage of GDP on record in the next few years.
• The amount of money Target has set aside to pay its about to be laid off Canadian staff (17,600 employees) is slightly less than the money it paid out to one former employee: CEO Gregg Steinhafel.
• Geraldine 'Jerrie' Fredritz Mock was the first woman to fly solo around the world. She flew the 'Spirit of Columbus', a single engine Cessna 180. The trip began 19 March 1964, in Columbus OH, and ended there 17 April 1964. She was 38 years old when she accomplished what Amelia Earhart failed to do.
• After John and Paul played their song to Paul's father, he said, "That's very nice son, but there's enough of these Americanisms around. Couldn't you sing 'She loves you, yes, yes, yes!'?"
• They became known as Siamese twins because the most famous one, Chang and Eng Bunker, were born in Siam (now Thailand).
• A Los Angeles man threw a $2.5 million, 2 week birthday party for his wife and 30 of her friends. It took place in southern France. 20 vintage European cars were imported to Provence for a road rally. The road was closed to the public for the 90 minute race and at one pit stop the birthday girl's favourite chef from LA served snacks. The party also enjoyed a 6 night sail on a luxury cruise ship and a private cooking lesson with a 2 star Michelin chef.
• 6 members of the Russian parliament, their wives, and adult children planned a month-long, $1 million vacation in Canada. They were to go fishing, hunting, and then stop in Montreal for plastic surgery. Visa setbacks forced the trip to be cancelled.
• A Russian tycoon took 7 employees and their sons on a 10 day off-road trip in Mexico. They flew from Moscow to Chiapas in the client's private 747, rented 15 SUV 4x4s (at $10,000 each), hired local police and private security for every leg of the trip and had groceries imported from around the world. Lobster from Maine, pheasant from England, and caviar from you-know-where. Cost: $800,000.
• There are 66,000 abandoned lots in Detroit.