Five Things to Know Today, March 5

Welcome to Monday and a new week. Here are some things to know today.

The weather: Watch out - the National Weather Service has issued a freeze alert for tonight - it may be as cold as 30 degrees. During the day, the high will be 58 and it'll be sunny.

Gas prices crept up over the weekend. The cheapest price for a gallon of regular is 4 cents higher than it was Thursday, at $3.65 (at Phillips 66, 5044 Lawrenceville Hwy and at three other places) on Sunday. The highest price was $3.69 (at Shell, 4032 US-78 and at seven other places).

Slide. Hey, remember slide rules? The ruler-style sliding bars marked with mathematical lines were the quickest pre-computing way to make complex calculations. Pocket calculators, and then ubiquitous computing, have driven them out of style. But did you ever wonder how long the slide rule has been around? Almost 400 years. Today is the birthday of English mathematician William Oughtred, born in 1574, who’s credited with inventing the device in 1622. Grab your slide rule to calculate how old he’d be now.  

Hammer. It’s also the birthday of football and acting great Fred Williamson, who went from a pro career in the late 1950s and 1960s that included the Oakland Raiders to a film career that carries on to this day. Born on March 5, 1938, Williamson won the nickname “The Hammer” for his defense style early in his pro football days. He started in TV in 1969 on series including “Ironside,” then made his film breakthrough in the 1970 Robert Altman movie “MASH.” From there he made his name as one of the big 1970s African-American action heroes in movies like “Black Caesar” and “That Man Bolt.”  Since then he’s stayed active on TV and the big screen, including playing with George Clooney in “From Dusk till Dawn.”  

Fur. It’s pretty clear that not everybody is good to pets. I don’t understand how they can do it, but humans abandon their animal companions every day. It’s not just dogs and cats that get left high and dry, though. March is National Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig Month, which suggests there’s a need to help those furry little guys, too. Guinea pigs can live for 10 years, so they can be your friend for a long time. They don’t need much space, and they’re cute. Do you have room in your life for a rescued cavy?