April 2003

Volume 2 Issue 6

 

SeaLab

The Newsletter For FOA Employees on the Sea and In the Lab

Important Links

FOA Home Page

ProVantage Software

SeaLab March 2003

SeaLab February 2003

SeaLab January 2003

SeaLab December 2002

SeaLab November 2002

Welcome to April.  Spring is here!  Time to head for the outdoors and enjoy some of the beautiful scenery of the Pacific Northwest.  Many of us will definitely be traveling more in the spring and summer months than we did during the winter.

Your job may also require you to do more traveling during this period.  When you travel using your personal vehicle, you are entitled to mileage reimbursement.  You will be reimbursed at the rate of .36 cents per mile.  

To  receive mileage reimbursement you must do the following.  Turn in a Travel Request form, signed by your project leader authorizing the mileage reimbursement.  Submit a expense reimbursement sheet.  (Both of these forms can be downloaded, http://www.frank-orth.com/foa%20links.htm) On this sheet make sure you state when you incurred  these miles for NOAA, where you traveled to and from, and the total miles.

By following these procedure we will be able to process your expense reimbursement in a timely manner.  Please call me if you have any questions.

Gene

 

Springtime Fun

When you think of spring, what activity do you enjoy doing the most?

Watching the Mariners at Safeco Field

Playing 18 holes of golf.

Fishing

Going to the beach

Hiking/Camping Out

 

And the winner is

Last month we asked everyone to vote on which movie should win the Academy Award for Best Picture.  SeaLab readers and the Academy voters think alike.  "Chicago" was the overwhelming pick for the best picture, followed by "Lord of The Rings: Two Towers", then "The Hours".

Thanks for participating.

 

 

  Upcoming Important Dates  
April 1 April Fool's Day "April Fool's Day" is believed to have begun around 1582 when  Pope Gregory XII ordered the new Georgian calendar to replace the old Julian calendar.  Under the Julian Calendar, New Years day was celebrated on April 1.   When the Georgian Calendar was first implemented many French and British citizens insisted on still celebrating New Years Day on April 1.  As a result they were called April Fools for celebrating New Years on the wrong date.  This continued until 1752 when the British Adopted the Georgian calendar.
April 1 Timesheets Due Definitely not an April Fool's joke!
April 4 Pay Day  
April 11 Happy Birthday! Scott Nodtvedt
April 15 Tax Day.  Tax Returns due to IRS The 16th Amendment to the Constitution gave the federal government the authority to tax personal income.  But, it wasn't until World War II that pay roll deductions would start.  Prior to World War II you had to pay your entire year's taxes in one chunk.
April 16 Timesheets Due  
April 20 Easter Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon that appears after the Vernal Equinox.  Easter can come as early as March 22 , or as late as April 25.
April 21 Pay Day  
April 30 Timesheets Due  
May 4 Happy Birthday! Barbrina Dunmire
May 5 Pay Day  
May 11 Mother's Day The first Mother's Day was celebrated in 1907.  Ana Jarvis of Philadelphia, persuaded her mother's church to celebrate a day to honor mothers, on the anniversary of her mother's death; the second Sunday  in May.  In 1914 President Wilson signed the bill that made Mother's Day a national holiday.
May 15 Time Sheets Due  
May 26 Memorial Day.   FOA and  Federal Offices Closed

Memorial Day was first observed on May 30, 1868.  General John Logan had wreaths laid on the graves of both union and confederate soldiers at Arlington National Commentary. General Logan believed this would be the first step to healing wounds, left over from the Civil War, between the North and South.  This celebration was carried out every year until World War I.  After World War I the ceremony was changed to honor the dead of all wars. However, Memorial Day did not become an official Federal holiday until 1968 when Congress designated the last Monday of May as a day to honor those who lost their lives in armed services.

 
May 31 Happy Birthday! Jennifer Rogan
June 2 Timesheets Due  
June 5 Pay Day  
June 14  Flag Day Flag day is believed to have originated in 1885, when a Wisconsin school teacher encouraged his students to celebrate the flag's birthday (The Stars and Stripes was officially proclaimed the US Flag on June 14, 1777).  The earliest celebrations of Flag Day were often referred to as "Flag Birthday". Flag Day, or Flag Birthday would be celebrated in various ways until 1949.  In 1949 President Harry Truman signed an act of Congress making June 14 Flag Day. 
June 17 Timesheets Due  
June 20 Pay Day  

Comments about SeaLab, questions for the editor?  Contact Gene Gordon