This is Week 33 of 2010►Day 233 with 132 days left.
FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
I assisted Martha in mailing some 30 odd books today. She has been selling her bookstore inventory on Amazon for a couple of years. My part, the easy part, was to carry two of those white Post Office carry boxes from her car to the PO line. A very easy job. She had to find the books, put them in the envelope, address the envelope, put on all the right tags. She knows all the PO people really well as she does this almost daily. Right now she is limited to lifting five pounds at a time. I haven’t been in the old downtown Post Office for many years. They still have the old combination mailboxes; they have painted and fixed up the look of the post office. The entire post office is now government grey, which makes it look very retro.
Every city in the US is suffering from high unemployment, some more than others. No matter where you live, construction is suffering more than many other sectors. Today’s news taught us that the various construction unions are against building the mosque. They are already saying that their members will not build the mosque. They can tell their members that, the members don’t have to build it…but if they refuse to work on that mosque and are therefore unemployed, are the eligible for unemployment payments? The other item that many seem to ignore is that right now, and for the last 30 years, there has been a mosque on the very site. Politics and religion should not mix.
Since this is the holiest month of the Muslim year, Ramadan, that has to have something to do with all this hype and also the hype about Obama and his religion. Ramadan is only a month, and maybe, after the sliver of the moon is seen, this will all die down. During the Christian Christmas season we hear about the separation of church and state, the display of Christian symbols in government buildings and in public spaces. As soon as the Christmas season ends, the concern seems to be put on the back burner until the next year. Maybe the same will happen with the Muslim issues some seem to have.
Thankfully, the last escapee and his fiancé have been recaptured. While there was an international search, they were right here in Arizona, camping out in the mountains in South-Eastern Arizona. The capture was uneventful and everyone can rest better now. As the facts of their escape continue to be released one has to wonder if private prisons are really the best way to protect our citizens. There seems to have been very little state oversight and lots of cost cutting measures, like not insuring that the border fence actually had a working alarm system that didn’t accidently go off some 30 times a day or insuring that the changing of the guard didn’t leave the outside unguarded for anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes at each changing. Hopefully things will change.
Flagstaff was nice today. No rain, and it was 82° with very little breeze. I enjoyed a short morning walk. It was a little warm this afternoon on the deck, but certainly not unbearable.
QUOTE FOR THE DAY
H. L. Mencken –American journalist and satirist: For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.
HOLY MACKEREL: 1987 Clayton Lonetree, 1st marine court-martialed for spying, convicted served 9 years and received dishonorable discharge.
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION on Samuel Clemens
§The preface to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn contains the following warning: "PERSONS attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot."
§Mark Twain published his first book, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County , in 1867. The book contained 27 previously released pieces written during Twain's years as a newspaper writer in Nevada and California.
§Prior to adopting Mark Twain as his pen name, Clemens wrote under the pseudonym Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass for three humorous pieces he contributed to the Keokuk Post.
§During the execution of their elaborate plan to help Jim escape, Tom neglected to tell Huck and Jim that Jim was already a free man. Old Miss Watson had died two months previously and, ashamed that she had ever intended to sell Jim, set him free in her will.
§Mark Twain received an honorary doctorate from Oxford University in 1907.
GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers: Toys and Games
Number of pockets on a pool table
Color that always has opening move in chess
Versions of this board game take place in London, Madrid, & Atlantic City
Binney & Smith makes them in 64 colors
She's been a teenage fashion model for over 25 years
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM
CHRISTINA LAKE, British Columbia — Police who uncovered two marijuana fields near the U.S.-Canada border had to tread carefully: 13 black bears were wandering around the crops.
The fields of about 2,300 plants were found near Christina Lake, just a few miles (kilometers) from the border.
Royal Candian Mounted Police Cpl. Dan Moskaluk says that when police arrived in the area two weeks ago, they discovered the bears and cautiously went about making the seizure.
He says the bears were docile and obviously were used to humans. They could be put down if they are too habituated to people.
The property's two owners were arrested on charges of production and possession of a controlled substance.
It's unclear if they used the bears to guard the pot fields or just liked having them as pets.
A LITTLE LAUGH
A New York retail clerk was suffering from aching feet.
"It's all those years of standing," his doctor declared.
"You need a vacation. Go to Miami, soak your feet in the ocean and you'll feel better."
When the man got to Florida, he went into a hardware store, bought two large buckets and headed for the beach.
"How much for two buckets of that seawater?" he asked the lifeguard.
"A dollar a bucket," the fellow replied with a straight face.
The clerk paid him, filled his buckets, went to his hotel room and soaked his feet. They felt so much better he decided to repeat the treatment that afternoon. Again he handed the lifeguard two dollars. The young man took the money and said, "Help yourself."
The clerk started for the water, then stopped in amazement. The tide was out. "Wow," he said, turning to the lifeguard. "Some business you got here!"
GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle
Ten birds are sitting on a power line. A neighbor comes outside with a shotgun, annoyed at the birds sitting there. He shoots his gun and kills one bird. How many are left?
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
How to paint the Mona Lisa: Click Here
GREY MATTER PICTURE
This is a close up of what object?
SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION
♦ Weekly Observances ♦
15-21: National Aviation Week
……….Weird Contest Week
♦ Today’s Observances ♦
Hug Your Boss Day
National Homeless Animals Day
National Spumoni Day
Poet's Day
Senior Citizen's Day
(World) Daffodil Day
Morocco: King Mohammed VI's Birthday
Philippines: Ninoy Aquino Day
♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦
My Wild Irish Rose Albert Campbell 1899 (not the original but still good) Click Here!
Singin' in the Rain Cliff Edwards ("Ukelele Ike") 1929
Some Enchanted Evening Perry Como 1949
The Three Bells The Browns 1959 Click Here!
Honky Tonk Women The Rolling Stones 1969
My Sharona The Knack 1979
♦ Today’s Births ♦
• The Arts
William "Count" Basie, jazz pianist…born 1906…Red Bank, NJ
Jackie DeShannon, 66, singer, songwriter…born Hazel, KY
Friz Freleng, animator (Bugs Bunny-Emmy 1982) …born 1906…Kansas City, MO
Harold Reid, 71, bass singer: The Statler Brothers …born Staunton, VA
Kenny Rogers, 72, singer…born Houston, TX
~~~
Kim Cattrall, 54, actress (“Sex and the City,” Mannequin)…born Liverpool, England
Hayden Panettiere, 21, actress (“Heroes,”)…born Palisades, NY
Nancy Kulp, actress (Jane-Beverly Hillbillies) …born 1921… Harrisburg Pa
• Athletics
Usain Bolt, 24, Olympic track and field athlete…born Trelawny, Jamaica
Wilt (Wilton) Chamberlain, Basketball Hall of Famer: NBA MVP Award: Philadelphia Warriors [1960], Philadelphia 76ers…born 1936…Philadelphia, PA
Archie Griffin, 56, football: Heisman Trophy winner: Bengals…born …Columbus, OH
James Robert (Jim) McMahon, 51, football (BYU, Bears, Chargers, Eagles, Vikings, Cardinals, Browns, Packers)…born Jersey City, NJ
Chris Schenkel, sportscaster: CBS Sports; ABC Sports…born 1923… Bippus, IN
• Business & Education
Steve Case, 52, founder of America Online…born Oahu, HI
Harry Smith, 59 , TV host (CBS Morning Show) …born Lansing, IL
• Politics
Princess Margaret Rose, Countess of Snowdon; sister of England’s Queen Elizabeth II …born 1930… Glamis Castle, Scotland
• Science/Religion
Hubert Gautier, engineer, wrote 1st book on bridge building…born 1660… Nîmes, France
♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦
Benigno S Aquino Jr, Philippines opposition leader, killed in Manila @ 51 in 1982
Robert Moog, American pioneer of electronic music @ 71 in 2005
♦ Today’s Events ♦
• The Arts
1911 The Mona Lisa is stolen by a Louvre employee.
• Athletics
1929 The Chicago Cardinals became the first professional football team to go out of town for training camp
1975 Rick & Paul Reuschel become 1st brothers to pitch a combined shut out (Cubs)
• Business & Education
1841 John Hampson patents venetian blind
1888 William Burroughs of St. Louis, MO patented his adding machine
1912 Arthur R. Eldred of Oceanside, NY is the first to reach the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America program.
• Indigenous People
1680 Pueblo Indians took possession of Santa Fe‚ from Spanish
1689 Frenchmen convince local Indians to attack British Fort Charles in Maine. Several settlers are killed in the fighting.
• Politics (US)
1831 Nat Turner slave revolt kills 55 (Southampton County, Virginia)
1858 1st Lincoln-Douglas debate (Illinois)
1959 Hawaii becomes 50th US state
• Politics (International)
1689 The Battle of Dunkeld in Scotland.
1950 The United Nations moved into its new permanent facilities in New York City -- on land donated by the Rockefeller family
1991 Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses
• Science / Religion
1986 Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20-kilometer range.
2007 Hurricane Dean makes its first landfall in Costa Maya, Mexico with winds at 165 mph (266 km/h). Dean is the first storm since Hurricane Andrew to make landfall as a Category 5.
GREY MATTER ANSWERS
↔ 1
Number of pockets on a pool table: what is six?
Color that always has opening move in chess: What is white?
Versions of this board game take place in London, Madrid, & Atlantic City: What is Monopoly?
Binney & Smith makes them in 64 colors: What are Crayons?
She's been a teenage fashion model for over 25 years: Who is Barbie?
↔ 2
One. The one he shot. The other nine were scared off by the sound of the shot gun.
↔ Picture
A bicycle seat
TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS
Yosemite, 4th National Park as of October 1, 1890: Yosemite has towering cliffs, waterfalls, and sequoias in a diverse area of geology and hydrology. Half Dome and El Capitan rise from the central glacier-formed Yosemite Valley, as does Yosemite Falls, North America's tallest waterfall. Three Giant Sequoia groves and vast wilderness are home to diverse wildlife.
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