Noah Ends Jacob's 14 Year Run as Most Popular Baby Boy Name in United States

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The U.S. Social Security Administration publishes an annual list of the 1,000 most popular baby names going back to year 1880. 134 years worth of interesting data, searchable by year, decade, state and more at www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames.

After a 14 year run as the most popular baby boy name, Jacob was overtaken by Noah in 2013. Noah's triumph has been a gradual one. In 2003, it was the 31st most popular name, gaining popularity over time to break into the top 10 in 2009, then down to #4 in 2012 and #1 last year.

Source: Social Security Administration Popular Baby Names Database

If history is any indication, Noah could continue to be the most popular name for years to come. Prior to Jacob's 14 year win streak, Michael had been the most popular boys' name from 1961 to 1998, an amazing 38 year streak, stumbling only in 1960 when David made a brief appearance, following Michael's initial 6 year streak from 1954 to 1959.

Prior to 1954, from 1880 to 1953, the names James, Robert and John populated the #1 baby boy name spot for 74 years.  Robert was there from 1924 to 1939 and 1953. James was #1 from 1940 to 1952. And John holds the American record for most years as most popular boy name, topping the list from 1880 to 1923; 44 years.

Going back 100 years ago, the most consistently popular boys names populating the t

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Oxnard High School Stadium is Named After Three-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Houser

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I was at a kids track meet at Oxnard High School the other day when I stopped to admire the school track and field records reflected on the large sign shown above. In admiring my way through the impressive array, I did a double take when I saw the boys' shot put record. Bud Houser has the record of 56' 3" that was set in 1922. This record is 92 years old!!

That's not something you see every day. So I took a look at the Oxnard High School website alumni section, which indicated that 1922 graduate Clarence "Bud" Houser went on to compete at the 1924 Olympics in Paris and won the gold medal in both the shot put and the discus throw! No one ever since has won gold medals in both of these events at the same Olympics.

He returned to the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam and earned another gold medal in his only event that year, the discus throw. Competing in the Olympics three times and earning the gold medal each time is pretty darn epic if you ask me. Bud Houser is a legend. I'm not the only one to observe that as the Oxnard High School stadium is named after him!

Houser was a three time national champion in the discus and two time champion in the shot put (including 1921, while he was still in high school). He held the world record of 158 feet, 1 3/4 inches in the discus throw from 1926 to 1929.

In 1979, at the age of 78, Bud was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame. He later enrolled in the dentistry program at USC and opened a dentistry practice in Palm Springs. He died in 1994 at the age of 93.

"Prank it Forward" Brings Surprise Five Star Meal to Homeless Shelter in Glendale

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Here is an uplifting video featuring a "Prank it Forward" at the Ascencia Shelter in Glendale. Director and prankster Greg Benson worked with his team to transform the shelter for one night into a fancy restaurant, complete with classical music and filet mignon, to the delight of 50 attendees. Learn more about Prank it Forward at sites.break.com/prank-it-fwd.

Quicken Loans and Warren Buffett Team Up For the 2014 NCAA March Madness "Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge"

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According to a post on WarrenBuffet.com, Warren Buffett's holding company Berkshire Hathaway and Quicken Loans have teamed up to offer $1 billion to someone who is able to pick a "perfect" NCAA March Madness bracket. Registration for the Quicken Loans Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge opens up on March 3rd.

What is a perfect bracket? That means picking the correct winner of every single game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament that begins on March 18, 2014. Berkshire Hathaway is ensuring the grand prize. I think they're good for the money, given the company has over $200 billion in net assets (assets less liabilities) as of September 2013.

The chances of winning are 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808, which in words is nine quintillion, two hundred twenty three quadrillion, three hundred seventy-two trillion, thirty-six billion, eight hundred fifty four million, seven hundred seventy-five thousand, eight hundred and eight. This actually gives me some incentive to play POWERBALL, with its much better chances of winning the prize at 1 in 176 billion!

Is this really $1 billion!? Well, kind of. If you take the winnings over 40 years, you'll receive $25 million each year. Or you can take a lump sum of $500 million up front. I think I'd go with that option. Of course, if there are multiple winners, you'll split the proceeds.

Quicken Loans is also giving away $100,000 to the top 20 scoring brackets! They are capping contest entires to the first 10 million registrants, thought they may expand that at their discretion. The contest is open to legal, 21 and older residents of the U.S. and District of Columbia.

Follow the Quicken Loans Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge Facebook page at www.facebook.com/notes/quicken-loans/quicken-loans-billion-dollar-bracket-challenge-short-form-rules/10152185833560489 for details and official rules.

Local Family's Marathon Toy Making Session Captured on This Time Lapse Video

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Simi Valley resident Tony Pinto captured this time lapse video of his boys putting together a Starcraft II Mega Bloks BlizzCon 2011 Exclusive Limited Edition Set Battlecruiser during the recent Christmas break. This LEGO-like, 1,738 piece spaceship took an elapsed time nearly 10 hours over two days to put together, including a little help from pop. This explains the change of clothes mid-way into the video. This time lapse also captures a cameo appearance from their sister, one beverage spill and clean-up and a 90 minute period where younger bro takes a video game break. Looks fun!