Kansas Firsts & Other Claims to Fame

I’m going to use this post as a temporary spot to list some of the significant historical and/or current events or facts about Kansas. Most of these aren’t obscure–in fact, I think they’re so well-known they’ve just been taken for granted. I haven’t spent any real time researching the specific details of the list below, and I really, really, really don’t claim to be an historian. I just like that my adopted home has so much claim to fame but is much too gracious to flaunt it. (Since I’m not from here, I feel fine about flaunting it.)

Some of these were contributed by folks who follow me @ICTCheap on Twitter, and others were told to me by various people since I’ve lived here.

Wichita, KS was first to rock the electric guitar http://wichitahistory.org/special_traveling_exhibits.asp

Topeka, KS changed its name to Google and Google changed its name to Topeka in 2010!

The Coleman Company, famous manufacturer of camping gear, is headquartered in Wichita, KS

The Coleman Lantern was introduced at a Fairmount College football game in 1905. http://ow.ly/32Wgo

And then of course there’s Greensburg, KS, the model “Green Town” http://ow.ly/32WmN

Brown v. Board of Education case from Topeka, KS ended legal segregation in public schools. http://ow.ly/32WcQ

Hutchinson, KS the location of the first #140conf#smalltowns event.

Also in Hutch, the salt mine has stored Hollywood films and props and costumes for years–long before it was The Kansas Underground Salt Museum

Pizza Hut was started in Wichita by two college students. (I believe they were WSU students, but I don’t know if the college was called WSU at the time.)

White Castle started in Wichita, KS

One of the first successful Civi Rights sit-ins was in July, 1958 in Wichita, KS http://ow.ly/32W7A

Cessna started in Wichita, KS And I believe Flight Safety here is still where pilots have to come for training…?

Norman No. 1  was the first oil well west of the Mississippi River to produce a commercial quantity. Nov. 28, 1892 http://www.kshs.org/portraits/norman_no_1.htm (Thanks @ditziwt)

Wichita is the world headquarters of Koch Industries (Thanks, @KSTaxMan)

 

 

Holiday Galleria – Article for Women's Focus magazine

The 2010 Holiday Galleria is fast-approaching in Wichita, Kansas, so the editor of Women’s Focus magazine asked me to write a short article to promote the charitable event.

You probably won’t be able to read it here since the thumbnail-size image makes the print pretty small, but you can find the article online in the Women’s Focus flipbook (p. 15 of the digital copy) or pick up a print copy of the September 2010 issue.

Aerospace and Aviation Manufacturing Case Studies

The Tomcat Group, which specializes in interim management and high-results turnarounds, contracted me to write a series of case studies outlining some of its successes.

You can see three of the case studies online at Tomcat-Group.com/Case-Studies.html. Go ahead — take a peek. These folks are amazing at what they do.

To complete the case studies, I work with an outline of events provided to me at the beginning of the job. I drill down for further details by online research and communication with the CEO.

CommonCents 3.0 Not Your Grandmother's Envelope Budget System

I worked with clients at enDevelopment to write this press release about the launch of CommonCents 3.0, personal budgeting software based on the envelope system. It was released today.

They used PRWeb to distribute the release and it seemed to work well. The package they chose allowed them to add this overview video of the budgeting software.

(I know it’s hanging over the edge of my theme. Sorry.)

http://www.youtube.com/v/oiYwqySmi_4&hl=en_US&fs=1&

Who that? Well it ain't yer grammar.

For me, advice on proper grammar and usage is one of those mote and beam issues. Experience has given me a sharp eye for spotting errors in others’ writing, but I don’t always see them in my own. Typos slip through my keyboard often enough that I’m cautious not to get uppity.

So take this as it’s intended: a friendly reminder for those who already know it, and a quick lesson for anyone who was absent that day in English class.

A person is a “who” and a thing is a “that,” thus:

Wrong: The girl that wrote my marketing copy is fabulous.
Correct: The girl who wrote my marketing copy is fabulous.
Also correct: The writer who wrote my marketing copy is fabulous.

Easy-peasey. As a bonus, I’m going to throw in “which” for free:

Wrong: The writer, which wrote my fabulous marketing copy, is not uppity about grammar.
Correct: The writer, who … (Okay, you get it. )

Update: Like so many other hard-and-fast rules of grammar, this one isn’t hard or fast. See this post by the Grammar Girl, who shows how the who/that sits in a gray area. (But she’s on my side.)

My most recent article for Women's Focus

It’s an “awareness” month. Can you guess from the title which one?

No Buts About It

Mom Science

As my daughter nears those pre-teen years, I’ve found myself reminiscing. This is an article I wrote back during the toddler years:

This article was first published in the July 2008 issue of Women's Focus Magazine