The California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech) is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering. Its 124-acre (50 ha) primary campus is located approximately 11 mi (18 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Although founded as a preparatory and vocational school by Amos G. Throop in 1891, the college attracted influential scientists such as George Ellery Hale, Arthur Amos Noyes, and Robert Andrews Millikan in the early 20th century. The vocational and preparatory schools were disbanded and spun off in 1910, and the college assumed its present name in 1921. In 1934, Caltech was elected to the Association of American Universities, and the antecedents of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which Caltech continues to manage and operate, were established between 1936 and 1943 under Theodore von Kármán.
Despite its small size, 31 Caltech alumni and faculty have won the Nobel Prize and 66 have won the National Medal of Science or Technology. There are 109 faculty members who have been elected to the National Academies. In addition, numerous faculty members are associated with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as well as NASA. Caltech managed $332 million in sponsored research and $1.77 billion for its endowment in 2011. Caltech was ranked first in the 2011–2012 Times Higher Education worldwide rankings of universities as well as ranking first in physical science and engineering. It also has a long standing rivalry with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928) is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician named The Amazing Randi, but after retiring at age 60, he began investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively calls "woo-woo".
Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi rejects that title owing to its perceived bias, instead describing himself as an "investigator". He has written about the paranormal, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!. The JREF sponsors The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge offering a prize of US$1,000,000 to eligible applicants who can demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties.
You got your toecaps reinforced with steel
Hard-wearing sole and heel
Make those tired feet feel like new
Take your pick, black or brown
Great for the country or the man in town
You're gonna need a quality shoe
You don't want no stand-by pair
'Cause these'll take the wear and tear
Made to take good care of you
For that trip by road or rail
For extra grip on those rocky trails
You're gonna need a quality shoe
Now, they maybe ain't too hot for dancing
But I don't foresee too much of that
You ain't exactly gonna be prancing
Around in the moonlight
With a cane and a top hat
If you could use a change of pace
And be excused from the rat race
Just take a look at what's on view
Lace 'em up, walk around
I guarantee you can't wear 'em down
You're gonna need a quality shoe
Now, I wish you sunny skies
Happiness wherever you may go
But you got to realise
There'll be wind, there'll be rain
And occasional snow
You're gonna want to smile in them
If you're gonna walk a mile in them
There'll be times when you'll be blue
To laugh at rainy days and then
Make your getaways in them
You're gonna need, you're gonna need
You're gonna need a quality shoe
You got your toecaps reinforced with steel
Hard-wearing sole and heel
Make those tired feet feel like new
Take your pick, black or brown
Great for the country or the man in town
Let me show you my world
See through the eyes of the girl
Break this chains, wash away the stains
Until nothing but a free mind remains
Maybe then you will see
What the beauty of life truly means
Take my hand for the time we'll spend
On this journey through a new wonderland
Quae laetitia!
Quae magnanimitas eximia!
Quae laetitia!
Quae magnitudo et psalmodia!
Celebrate, iubilate
Celebrate vitam et libertatem
Celebrate, iubilate
Ecce vita!
There's no place around
Where the beauty of life can't be found
Hear the wind whisper tales and hymns
Of a new dawn about to begin
Quae laetitia!
Quae magnanimitas eximia!
Quae laetitia!
Quae magnitudo et psalmodia!
Celebrate, iubilate
Celebrate vitam et libertatem
Celebrate, iubilate
Ecce vita!
Leave your past behind
Let go of the doubts in your mind
Change your ways here's the chance you craved
For a new start with the cleanest of slates
Quae laetitia!
Quae magnanimitas eximia!
Quae laetitia!
Quae magnitudo et psalmodia!
Celebrate, iubilate
Celebrate vitam et libertatem
Celebrate, iubilate