The Chief of Staff of the United States Army (CSA) is the professional head of the United States Army who is responsible for ensuring readiness of the Army. As with the other military service chiefs, he has no operational command authority. However, under 10 U.S.C. § 743, the chief of Staff of the Army is by default the highest ranking officer in the Army (save the chairman or vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should they be Army officers). He is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and is the chief military adviser to the President of the United States on Army matters. Originally, the officer who was appointed chief of Staff did not have to be in senior rank because he did not have to wait to be appointed until the end of his career. Since the Army has capped all officers with a maximum age set by rank, most chiefs of Staff have been four star generals. 10 U.S.C. § 3033(b) requires all chiefs of staff to be a four star general while holding the position. The current occupant of the office is General George Casey.
Prior to 1903, the military head of the Army was the Commanding General of the United States Army.

U.S. Army Chiefs of Staff

LTG Samuel Young (15 Aug 1903-8 Jan 1904)
LTG Adna R. Chaffee (9 Jan 1904-14 Jan 1906)
LTG John C. Bates (15 Jan 1906-13 Apr 1906)
MG J. Franklin Bell (14 Apr 1906-21 Apr 1910)
MG Leonard Wood (22 Apr 1910-21 Apr 1914)
MG William W. Wotherspoon (22 Apr 1914-16 Nov 1914)
MG Hugh L. Scott (17 Nov 1914-22 Sep 1917)
GEN Tasker H. Bliss (23 Sep 1917-19 May 1918)
GEN Peyton C. March (20 May 1918-30 Jun 1921)
Gen of the Armies John J. Pershing (1 Jul 1921-13 Sep 1924)
MG John L. Hines (14 Sep 1924-20 Nov 1926)
GEN Charles P. Summerall (21 Nov 1926-20 Nov 1930)
GEN Douglas MacArthur (21 Nov 1930-1 Oct 1935)
GEN Malin Craig (2 Oct 1935-31 Aug 1939)
GA George C. Marshall (1 Sep 1939-18 Nov 1945)
GA Dwight D. Eisenhower (19 Nov 1945-6 Feb 1948)
GEN Omar N. Bradley (7 Feb 1948-15 Aug 1949)
GEN J. Lawton Collins (16 Aug 1949-14 Aug 1953)
GEN Matthew B. Ridgway (15 Aug 1953-29 Jun 1955)
GEN Maxwell D. Taylor (30 Jun 1955-30 Jun 1959)
GEN Lyman L. Lemnitzer (1 Jul 1959-30 Sep 1960)
GEN George H. Decker (1 Oct 1960-30 Sep 1962)
GEN Earle G. Wheeler (1 Oct 1962-2 Jul 1964)
GEN Harold K. Johnson (3 Jul 1964-2 Jul 1968)
GEN William C. Westmoreland (3 Jul 1968-30 Jun 1972) GEN Bruce Palmer, Jr. (Acting) (1 Jul 1972-11 Oct 1972)
GEN Creighton W. Abrams (12 Oct 1972-4 September 1974)
GEN Frederick C. Weyand (3 October 1974-30 September 1976)
GEN Bernard W. Rogers (1 October 1976-21 June 1979)
GEN Edward C. Meyer (22 June 1979-21 June 1983)
GEN John A. Wickham, Jr. (23 July 1983-23 June 1987)
GEN Carl E. Vuono (23 June 1987-21 June 1991)
GEN Gordon R. Sullivan (21 June 1991-20 June 1995)
GEN Dennis J. Reimer (20 June 1995-21 June 1999)
GEN Eric K. Shinseki (21 June 1999-11 June 2003)
GEN Peter J. Schoomaker (1 Aug 2003-10 Apr 2007)
GEN George W. Casey, Jr. (10 Apr 2007-Present)
Source: Historical Resources Branch, United States Army Center of Military History

For the Wikipedia process, see Wikipedia:Requests for comment.
In internetworking and computer network engineering, Request for Comments (RFC) documents are a series of memoranda encompassing new research, innovations, and methodologies applicable to Internet technologies.
Through the Internet Society, engineers and computer scientists may publish discourse in the form of an RFC memorandum, either for peer review or simply to convey new concepts, information, or (occasionally) engineering humor. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) adopts some of the proposals published in RFCs as Internet standards.

RFC production and evolution
The inception of the RFC format occurred in 1969 as part of the seminal ARPANET project. Today, it is the official publication channel for the IETF, the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), and — to some extent — the global community of computer network researchers in general.
The authors of the first RFCs typewrote their work and circulated hard copies among the ARPA researchers. Unlike the modern RFCs, many of the early RFCs were requests for comments. The RFC leaves questions open and is written in a less formal style. This less formal style is now typical of Internet Draft documents, the precursor step before being approved as an RFC.
In December of 1969, researchers began distributing new RFCs via the now-operational ARPANET. RFC 1, entitled "Host Software", was written by Steve Crocker of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and published on April 7, 1969. Although written by Steve Crocker, the RFC emerged from an early working group discussion between Steve Crocker, Steve Carr, Jeff Rulifson. (The document lists Bill Duvall as having attended only the final working group meeting prior to publication.)
In RFC 3, which first defined the RFC series, Steve Crocker started attributing the RFC series to the "Network Working Group". This group seems never to have had a formal existence, being rather defined as "this group of people", but the attribution remains on RFCs to this day.
Many of the subsequent RFCs of the 1970s also came from UCLA, not only because of the quality of the scholarship, but also because UCLA was one of the first Interface Message Processors (IMPs) on ARPANET.
Douglas Engelbart's Augmentation Research Center (ARC) at Stanford Research Institute was another of the four first ARPANET nodes, as well as the first Network Information Centre, and (as noted by the sociologist Thierry Bardini) the source of a large number of early RFCs.
From 1969 until 1998, Jon Postel served as the RFC editor. Following the expiration of the original ARPANET contract with the U.S. federal government, the Internet Society (acting on behalf of the IETF) contracted with the Networking Division of the USC Information Sciences Institute to assume the editorship and publishing responsibilities (under the direction of the IAB). Jon Postel continued to serve as the RFC Editor until his death. Later, Bob Braden has taken over the role of project lead, while Joyce K. Reynolds has continued to be part of the team.

History
The official source for RFCs on the World Wide Web is the RFC Editor. Unofficially, they are obtainable from a multitude of mirrors accessible via the HyperText Transfer Protocol, anonymous FTP, the gopher protocol, and other prominent application layer protocols.
One may retrieve almost any individual, published RFC like RFC 3700 via the following URL example: http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3700.txt
Every RFC is available as ASCII text, but may also be available in other file formats; however, as of 2006 the definitive version of any standards-track specification is the ASCII version. Note that RFC 1119 is not on standards track.
For easy access on the meta data of an RFC including abstract, keywords, author(s), publication date, errata, status, and especially later updates or replacements in human readable format the RFC Editor site offers a search form with many features. A redirection sets some efficient parameters, example: http://purl.net/net/rfc/3700

The Verve Pipe is an American post-grunge band from Middleville, Michigan. It was formed in 1991 by Brian and Brad Vander Ark, Brian Stout and Donny Brown. In 1992, working with producer/engineer Jon Frazer, they released their first album, I've Suffered a Head Injury. A year later, they released a second album, Pop Smear again working with Frazer that helped them gain a devoted following in their native state of Michigan and their eventual signing with RCA Records in 1995. Their first major label release was 1996's Villains, which was a minor hit and launched two respectably-selling singles, first "Photograph" then the #1 hit "The Freshmen". They came back with a new album, The Verve Pipe, in 1999. Their most recent release is 2001's Underneath.
Since the release of their last album, lead singer Brian Vander Ark has released two solo albums; 2003's Resurrection and 2006's Angel, Put Your Face On. Currently, Vander Ark can be seen playing shows around the country. No official word has been given about the current status of The Verve Pipe, although every now and then Vander Ark and some incarnation of the group will play a show together. As of now, the band is unsigned and has no public plans to release another album.
The song "Colorful", from 2001's Underneath, was featured on the soundtrack of Rock Star.

Personnel history

Brian Vander Ark – guitar, lead vocals
Brian Stout – guitar, vocals
Donny Brown – drums, vocals
Brad Vander Ark – bass, vocals Original lineup (1991–1993)

Brian Vander Ark – guitar, lead vocals
A.J. Dunning – guitar, background vocals
Donny Brown – drums, background vocals
Brad Vander Ark – bass, background vocals Pop Smear lineup (1993–1995)

Brian Vander Ark – guitar, lead vocals
A.J. Dunning – guitar, background vocals
Donny Brown – drums, background vocals
Brad Vander Ark – bass, background vocals
Doug Corella – keyboards, percussion Post-Underneath lineup (2002–2005)

Brian Vander Ark – lead vocals, guitars
Donny Brown – drums, background vocals
Doug Corella – keyboards, percussion
Dan Matheny – guitars
John Connors – bass, background vocals
Joel Ferguson – bass, background vocals Current lineup (2005-present)

Discography

I've Suffered a Head Injury (November 19, 1992) EPs

Pop Smear (December 9, 1993)
Villains (March 26, 1996, U.S.: Platinum)
The Verve Pipe (July 27, 1999)
Underneath (September 25, 2001) Studio albums

Platinum & Gold Collection (March 9, 2004) Compilations

Singles

"Photograph" (radio version) / "Photograph" (album version) / "Photograph" (shorter radio version) (1996)
"Cup of Tea" (album version) / "Cup of Tea" (radio version) (1997)
"The Freshmen" (album version) / "The Freshmen" (radio version) / "The Freshmen" (Studio D version) / "Ominous Man" / "Spoonful of Sugar" (live) (1997) #5 U.S.
"Villains" (remix edit) / "Villains" (remix) / "Suggested Callout Hook #1" / "Suggested Callout Hook #2" (1997) From The Verve Pipe

"Never Let You Down" (2001)

In economics, government monopoly (or public monopoly) is a form of coercive monopoly in which a government agency is the sole provider of a particular good or service and competition is prohibited by law. It is usually distinguished from a government-granted monopoly, where the government grants a monopoly to a private individual or company.
A government monopoly may be run by any level of government - national, regional, local; for levels below the national, it is a local monopoly. The term state monopoly usually means a government monopoly run by the national government, although it may also refer to monopolies run by regional entities called "states" (notably the US states).

Examples
In many countries, the postal system is run by the government with competition forbidden by law in some or all services. Also, government monopolies on public utilities and railroads have historically been common, though recent decades have seen a strong privatization trend throughout the industrialized world.
In the United States the police system is a monopoly.
In Scandinavian countries some goods deemed harmful are distributed through a government monopoly to reduce the harmful effects. For example, in Finland and Sweden, government-owned companies have monopolies for selling alcoholic beverages. In Finland, government has also a monopoly to operate slot machines.
Governments often create or allow monopolies to exist and grant them patents in order to help grow a nation. This will limit entry and allow the patent-holding firm to earn a monopoly profit from an invention-a reward for developing the new product. Without it incentives would fall.
Health care systems where the government controls the industry, such as the British National Health Service, are sometimes referred to as government monopolies.

Charles Simmons (born December 24, 1885 - died ?) was a British gymnast who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.
He was part of the British team, which won the bronze medal in the gymnastics men's team, European system event in 1912. In the individual all-around competition he finished 28th.
It is believed that Charles Simmons inspired the character of Basil Hallward in the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

The section could be improved by integrating relevant items into the main text and removing inappropriate items.
It is customary in many cultures to celebrate the anniversary of one's birthday, for example by having a birthday party with family and/or friends. Gifts are often given to the person celebrating the birthday. It is also customary to treat people specially on their birthday, either generally acceding to their wishes, or subjecting them to a rite of transition.


It is thought that the large-scale celebration of birthdays in Europe began with the cult of Mithras, which originated in Persia but was spread by soldiers throughout the Roman Empire. Before this, such celebrations were not common; and, hence, practices from other contexts such as the Saturnalia were adapted for birthdays. Because many Roman soldiers took to Mithraism, it had a wide distribution and influence throughout the empire until it was supplanted by Christianity. The Jewish perspective on birthday celebrations is disputed by various rabbis. where the foundation stones of the new Jerusalem are listed, in the order of the Roman calendar:
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

Just as there are alternatives with birthstones, there are also alternatives with birth flowers. For example, October is often listed as Calendula (Marigold) , but is also occasional noted as being rose or camellia.

A person's birthday is usually recorded according to the time zone of the place of birth. Thus people born in Samoa at 11:30pm will record their birthdate as one day before UTC and those born in the Line Islands will record their birthdate one day after UTC. They will apparently be born two days apart, while some of the apparently older ones may be younger in hours. Those who live in different time zones from their birth often exclusively celebrate their birthdays at the local time zone.

While this word has also been used as synonym of Birth stone (see above), there is a separate list of assignment according to the day of the week of the recipient's birth:




The birthday cake is traditionally highly decorated, and typically covered with lit candles when presented; the number of candles often equals the age of the person. The person whose birthday it is makes a silent wish and then blows out the candles; if done in one breath, the wish is supposed to come true, but only if the person keeps the wish to himself (or herself). It is also common for the "birthday boy" or "birthday girl" to cut the initial piece of the cake as a newlywed couple might with a wedding cake.
A birthday is considered a special day for the person, and so the person will often get special treatment from friends and family. This is especially true for children who cannot wait for their own special day. In addition to parties, people often get gifts on their birthday.
Birthday parties for children often include fun games which are relevant to the local culture.
There are also traditions of surprise parties.
Not all traditions are equally generous. In certain circles the birthday boy or girl is expected to treat their party guests, this varies depending on the local culture and may involve party gifts or a nice gesture. In some cultures the birthday that means reaching the legal age limit for drinking alcohol may be celebrated with a party with free or abundant alcoholic drinks.
When the most significant digit changes, for example one's 1st, 10th, 15th, 30th, 50th, or 100th birthdays, as well as significant years such as the 18th (Legal adult age in many western countries including US, UK and Aus, UK alcoholic beverage drinking age), 21st (US alcoholic beverage drinking age), and 13th (when someone officially becomes a teenager).
One's golden birthday, also called a champagne birthday, is the day when the age someone turns is the same as the day in the month he or she was born. (for example, someone turning 26 on December 26 celebrates his or her golden birthday).
In most legal systems, one becomes a legal adult on a particular birthday (often 18th or 21st), and at different ages gain different rights and responsibilities — voting, certain drug use (for example, alcohol, purchasing tobacco), eligibility for military draft or voluntary enlistment, purchasing lottery tickets, vehicle driving licences, etc.
Many cultures have one or more coming of age birthdays:

• Jewish boys have a bar mitzvah on or around their 13th birthday. Jewish girls observe a bat mitzvah on or around their 12th birthday, or sometimes on or around their 13th birthday in Reform and Conservative Judaism.
  In some Christian traditions, generally Catholic and Anglican, Confirmation is the ritual by which a young person becomes an official member of the Church. This sometimes includes the bestowal of a 'Confirmation name,' generally the name of a saint, which is often worn as a second middle name. Confirmation also bestows the Holy Spirit upon the confirmand, and in some churches is received concurrent with baptism or first communion.
  In Latin America the quinceañera celebration traditionally marks a girl's 15th birthday.
  Some girls and a few boys in the United States have "sweet sixteen" birthday parties.
  In many Asian countries the 14th birthday is celebrated as the day one becomes a man, or a woman, in society.
  Many Filipino girls celebrate their 18th birthdays with a cotillion and debutante ball, commonly known as a debut.
  The birthdays of historically significant people, like national heroes or founders, are often commemorated by an official holiday. Some saints are remembered by a liturgical feast (sometimes on a presumed birthday). By analogy, the Latin term Dies natalis 'birthday' is applied to the anniversary of an institution (such as a university).
  King's or Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
  Commonwealth Day, originally called Empire's Day, is on the Queen-Empress Victoria's birthday: May 24
  Jesus of Nazareth's official birthday is celebrated as Christmas Day around the world: 25 December or 7 January in Julian calendar interpretations.
  The Grand Duke's Official Birthday in Luxembourg: 23 June
  King's official birthday in Belgium: November 15 (on saint Leopold, liturgical feast of the dynasty's founder's patron saint)
  in Malaysia, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (federal King, elected for 5 years) on 3 June
  Koningsdag or Koninginnedag in the Kingdom of the Netherlands is fixed on 30 April (Queen's Day; celebration of the reigning Queen's accession). It was fixed by queen Beatrix at the birthday of former queen Juliana, to avoid the winter weather associated with her own birthday in January.
  Monday : Pearl (the only organic gem)
  Tuesday : Garnet
  Wednesday : Cat's eye (Chatoyant Chrysoberyl)
  Thursday : Emerald
  Friday : Topaz
  Saturday : Sapphire
  Sunday : Ruby
  Various birthdays are mentioned on the pages devoted to each day of the year, from January 1 to December 31
  Birthday paradox
  Birthday attack
  East Asian age reckoning - a different method of age reckoning to birthdays that is used in some Asian countries.
  Half-birthday
  Astrology
  
  
  
  • Natal chart
    Horoscope
    Unbirthday
    Decimal Birthday
    Sashtiabdhapoorthi, a kind of Hindu meta-birthday for those turning sixty.
    Did Early Christians Celebrate Birthdays? This article provides additional details on some of the early Christian and Judaic views concerning the celebration of birthdays.
    Birthday Party Tips Blog

Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 1736 - December 19, 1788) was a Novo-Spanish explorer for the Spanish Empire.

Life
The town of Anza, California is named after Juan Bautista de Anza. The small town of roughly 7,000 people lies on highway 371 in the mountains above Palm Springs. The Juan de Anza House in San Juan Bautista, California is a National Historic Landmark. De Anza is also the namesake of several streets, schools, and organizations in California, including De Anza Boulevards in San Mateo and Cupertino respectively, De Anza College in Cupertino, De Anza High School in Richmond, Juan De Anza K-5 in the Wiseburn Elementary School District, Hawthorne, De Anza Middle School in Ventura, De Anza Hotel in San Jose, and Juan Bautista De Anza Community Park in Calabasas.