Five Things to Know Today, April 4

Welcome to Wednesday, one day closer to Friday!  

The weather: There is a 30% chance it will rain today in the late afternoon.  The high will be near 83 with a calm west wind.  Temperatures will drop into the 60s tonight. 

Gas prices: The Stop and Shop on the corner of 7th Street and Ridge Avenue sold gas yesterday for $3.62, while the rest averaged between $3.64 and $3.69.  The discrepancy in pricing is often due to when the gas station owners purchase the gas, not simply price gouging.  Unless of course you sell it for $4.29, like the Chevron on the corner of Cobb Parkway and North Marietta Parkway in Marietta did yesterday.  That's a little odd.  

Pretty flowers: The Atlanta Botanical Gardens is celebrating its second annual "Atlanta Blooms" festival.  Take advantage of the time with your kids and go check out this colorful display of tulips, daffodils and other early spring flowers.  The sights and smells combined with being outside will send lots of endorphins rushing through your brain.  Children under 3 are free, while kids 3-12 cost $12.95.  Adults pay $18.95.

A Royal Knight: After circumnavigating the globe, Francis Drake received his official "Sir" designation on this day in 1581.  Drake was an adventurer during the Golden Age of the Elizabethan era; he was a sea captain, navigator, and politician.  His reputation is soiled, however, by his involvement in the slave trade.  In a modern society that recognizes the heinousness that was slavery, it is astonishing that a person that had such a strong hand in the worst business in history could have been raised to such a high office during his time.

PC Power: Microsoft was founded on this day in 1975 as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Alberquerque, New Mexico. Need I say more?  Between Microsoft and Apple, the world changed completely.  In fact, you could say that Gates and Jobs ushered in a new era.