Thursday

~~~Free Ramblings
Finally the wind has died down. It blew all night and most of the day. We did get a little rain sometime last night; just enough to wet the dust and pollen that was on the clean car and make it look very dirty. It still hasn’t reached freezing temps at night. The hope now is that the wind will simply not start up again.

I went to a lunch today. It was put on my investment consultant. Great food. Interesting information. Seems this ‘recession’ is far from over. The scary part is that it doesn’t look like we will be back from this for quite a time. As one guy was saying, the Generation X people will be fine, the Baby Boomers will have to be very careful. It will take 5-10 years to get all the lost money back. So glad I’m not really in that group that had so much in the stock market. With less money out there, even some of the alternative investments will not be able to make the gains we thought we would get. Add that to the falling American dollar on the world market, and many more will be hurting. The new trend in alternative investments is Health Care REITS. That is investing in buildings that are used for assisted living, health care facilities, etc. Ten years ago these places were called nursing homes and were very limited. Now these centers are on the rise, and most have a 6 month waiting list to get in.

A friend of mine is leaving tomorrow for 2 weeks in Paraguay. It is a church-oriented mission to conduct some ESL classes down there and to train teachers. Sounds like they will be in some very isolated areas. Very interesting sites. Living with the people. Sounds like an engaging adventure.
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~~~Random Facts

In many countries, urine was used as a detergent for washing.

If you cut a 'V' shape into your toe nails, you can prevent 'in-grown' toe nails.

~~~Before They Were Famous

In 1955 (at age 25), Clint Eastwood got his start in feature films with an uncredited role in the b-movie "Revenge of the Creature."

Michael Eisner (former CEO of Disney) was a camp counselor for his first job at age 16.

While studying Communications and Psychology at the University of Miami, Gloria Estefan worked as a translator in the Customs Department at Miami International Airport.

~~~Crazy News

MEDFORD, Mass. – Officials with a Massachusetts university said complaints led to a new policy banning students from having sex while their roommates are present. Tufts University spokeswoman Kim Thurler said officials added the rule to the 2009-10 guest policy after receiving about a dozen complaints from students “who expressed concerns that they were experiencing uncomfortable situations with their roommates’ sextra-curricular activities,” The Boston Herald reported Tuesday. “We really didn’t have anything concrete in place for (them) to set clear boundaries,” she said. The policy informs students in dormitories that they “may not engage in sexual activity while your roommate is present in the room.” Thurler said the policy does not state any penalties for a violation, but she said officials hope the rule will “empower” students to “bring that issue up” if they have a problem with their roommate’s sexual activities.

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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula

Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 27 Sep
Banned Books Week

~~~1 OCT Observances
274 days so far this year…91 days remain in 2009
World Vegetarian Day
Agricultural Fair Day (since 1810)
International Day of Older Persons
Fire Pup Day—to honor all firehouse mascots
^National Day of the People's Republic of China (1949)
^Republic of Cyprus – Independence Day (from Britain, 1960)
^Nigeria – Independence Day (from Britain, 1960)
^Tuvalu – Independence Day (from Gilbert Islands (Kiribati), 1975)
^ Cameroon : Unification Day (1961)

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1847__Annie Besant [Wood], England, philosopher/thesophist

1914__Daniel Boorstin author (1974 Pulitzer Prize)
1920__Walter Matthau NYC, actor (Odd Couple)
1921__James Whitmore White Plains NY, actor
1925__Roger Williams (Louis Weertz) pianist
1927__Tom Bosley Chicago, actor (Howard-Happy Days)
1933__Richard Harris actor
1935__Julie Andrews England, actress/singer (Sound of Music, Mary Poppins)
1944__Scott McKenzie (Phillip Blondheim) singer: San Francisco [Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair]
1949__Annie Leibovitz photographer

~ATHLETICS
1939__George Archer golf: Masters Champion [1969]
1945__Rod (Rodney Cline) Carew Baseball Hall of Famer
1963__Mark McGwire Baseball Oakland A's

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1781__James Lawrence naval hero (War of 1812-"Don't give up the ship!")
1881__William Edward Boeing founded aircraft co (Boeing)
1924__Jimmy Earl Carter (D) 39th Pres
1924__William Rehnquist Ws, Supreme Court

~SCIENCE/RELIGION

~~~In Remembrance
1972__Louis Leakey anthropologist, @68
1985__E. B. White, American author @85
1996__Pat McGeown, Provisional Irish Republican Army member @40
2004__Richard Avedon, American photographer @81

~~~Historical Events on this day
1800__Spain cedes Louisiana to France in a secret treaty Treaty of San Ildefonso
1880__ John Philip Sousa became director of the United States Marine Corps Band
1885__Special delivery mail service begins in US
1890__Yosemite National Park established

1918__Arab and British forces commanded by Lawrence of Arabia capture Damascus from Turkish forces
1936__Gen Francisco Franco establishes the state of Spain
1937__The US House of Representatives passed The Marihuana Tax Act, Pub. 238, 75th Congress, 50 Stat. 551 the bill was an important bill on the path that led to the criminalization of cannabis.
1939__Winston Churchill refers to Soviet policy as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma"
1946__Mensa the well known high-IQ society is formed which is non political and free from all social distinctions (racial, religious, etc.).
1955__ "Honeymooners" premieres 1964 SF cable cars declared a national landmark
1971__Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida opens
1979__US returns Canal Zone to Panama after 75 years (but not the canal)
1985__The public health service agency has issued a master plan to combat the spread of Aids and has stated that an Aids vaccine is unlikely to be available till 1990.

~ Holy Mackerel
1989__US issues a stamp, labeling an Apatosaurus as a brontosaurus
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Countries by population
Place these countries in order by estimated 2009 population—largest to smallest.
1. Afghanistan
2. Albania
3. Algeria
4. Andorra
5. Angola
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Answers:
1. Algeria 34,178,188 (growth rate: 1.2%)
2. Afghanistan 33,609,937 (growth rate: 2.6%)
3. Angola 12,799,293 (growth rate: 2.0%)
4. Albania 3,639,453 (growth rate: 0.5%)
5. Andorra 83,888 (growth rate: 1.1%)
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