This is Week 40 of 2010►Day 278 with 86 days left.
FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
Our original itinerary had a full day of leisure in KL. We had had very long busy days in Taiwan and Ellie convinced our guide that we would be better tourists if we had two half days of leisure. Susan and Mr. Wo accommodated our request so we were well rested to see some of the sites. I enjoyed walking around KL in the morning but didn’t venture by cab or bus. Those that did, had a great time but didn’t find any wonderful discoveries the rest of us missed. KL had a huge mall—five stories high. On four of the five floors was a huge food court with about 20 restaurants on each level—everything from fast food to elegant dining. The government goal of joining the developed world still leaves me wondering. This mall had many franchise stores from around the world. I easily recognized the American franchises—especially KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Carl’s Jr. I learned that many of the department type stores were Chinese, British, and Australian. It was hard to find a Malaysian based company. Several people in our group kept reminding me that this is what Globalization is all about—everything available to the world. I did notice that the franchise fast food places had a much different menu, though I still chose not to eat at one of them, they were all busy. KL has certainly embraced Globalization and seems to be a thriving city. Our guide had also embraced it, and it was not possible to find out what they had to give up for this new trend. Susan was happy with the electricity, nice homes, jobs, good transportation, and more modern lifestyle. She was certainly a ‘never look back’ type person. The destruction of forests, open space, shanty areas was seen as a good thing. Not real sure what happened to the Shanties that were removed or the people who used to live there.
Malaysia got its name from Sanskrit (‘land of mountains’) when Indian traders arrived in the 1st century. It is divided into 13 states and 3 Federal territories. Nine of the states retain their royal family—headed by a Sultan. One of the nine Sultans is selected to represent all the Sultans in National Politics. Each Head Sultan serves for 5 years, then the nine meet again and select another Head. It appeared that rather than actually selecting, it was more on a rotating basis. No Sultan has yet served twice. This may occur in a couple of years, as the Sultan who will be selected was the youngest Sultan ever selected when his father had died just before his turn, and his 18 year old son became Head Sultan. Now 40 years later, he is only 56 now. The constitution allows religious freedom but also states that it is a country of Islam. The crescent moon and star of Islam are on the flag, along with 13 stripes (alternating red and white) to represent the 13 states. On Malaysia Day there were flags and banners on every building, and the flying was very reminiscent of Old Glory.
While KL was a nice modern metropolis that appears to be thriving, it was not a highlight on the trip for me. We stayed at a very nice hotel. You needed to use your room key to get the elevator to work. As we quickly learned, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Getting mad does no good. The same was true for getting into the room. Sometimes the key worked, other times it didn't. We were on the 10th floor, so if the room key didn't work and the elevator key didn't work, it was a long walk downstairs. It was a very nice hotel, but not a 6 star hotel. I am not used to hotels with elevator cards and it seemed a little pretentious to me. There were doormen 24/7 who would open the door for you. We were not in an area where outsiders could just wander around the halls of the room floors. It seemed to be for 'show' rather than 'safety'.
I must have brought some of the rain from the rainforest back to AZ. It rained all night, and rained on and off all day. Fall is certainly in the air. It is almost time to turn on the furnace. Today’s long sleeve shirt and long pants were needed all day long. I’m sure there must be snow on the Peaks, but the cloud cover is so low, we can’t even see the peaks. I picked up my monthly scripts and they were doing flu shots. So easy and no hassle with insurance. Before I left on my adventure, one of the techs told me that the main pharmacist was from Taiwan. He was giving the shots, so I asked him where he was from. Turns out he is from Bangkok, Thailand. We had a nice chat about my trip and his trip in March back to Thailand. Very interesting and informative. That tech is just another example of what happens when we don’t teach geography in schools anymore. I’m going to try and learn a Thai greeting before I go back next month. It must be very hard to tell your co-workers where you are from, and they continue to get it wrong. If I told an American that I was from Arizona and they kept introducing me as a friend from Alabama I would certainly be surprised and dismayed.
I had a good La Fonda lunch with Cheryl. She has been busy with her new puppy and visiting her son and family in California. She got to see some firsts—grandson’s first day soccer practice, granddaughter’s first day at dance class. Sounded like a lot of fun. It sure was nice to have Mexican food. The conversation was also good. Cheryl is cleared for her surgery, and just needs to take a little more time to take the leap. I told her that the waiting is usually worse than the actual operation and how glad I was that my gall bladder and stent were both emergency things so I didn’t have to wait for months to do either one. For that, I am grateful. Several of my friends have had non-emergency surgery and had to go though many months of anticipation, concern, wondering if it was worth the risks, if it would help and on and on. I’m just not built for that kind of hassle.
Flag…H—57°; L—421°; RH—93%; and only a breeze of 5 mph—a cloudy, rainy, fall day that means we may never have a shorts and polo shirt day again.
QUOTE FOR THE DAY
The right hand shouldn't trust the left hand (meaning of proverb: don't put too much trust in your friends)
HOLY MACKEREL: 1866 1st train robbery in US in Indiana
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION
English is the medium for 80% of the information stored in the world's computers, and three-quarters of the world's mail, telexes and cables are in English.
No word in the the English dictionary rhymes with "MONTH" or "ORANGE”.
GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers-- STATES IN SONG
$100- It's where I came from with a banjo on my knee
$200- According to Beach Boys' hit, state with the cutest girls in the world
$300- State where you'd find Elvis' rain & Diamond's woman
$400- The alternate lyrics to "I've Been Working On The Railroad"
$500- Patti Page hit that is official song of a southern state
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM
CLAWSON, Mich. - Police in Michigan said they arrested a man who was allegedly drunk when he drove an intoxicated woman to the police station for questioning. Investigators said the 35-year-old Clawson woman told police she was too drunk to be interviewed following a Sunday domestic incident between her and her husband and she told an officer who called Monday morning that she was still too drunk to come in, The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens, Mich., eported Thursday. However, Clawson Police Lt. Scott Sarvello said the woman showed up about 15 minutes later and said she received a ride from a neighbor. The driver, Donald Chamberlain, 40, of Clawson, was stopped a short distance from the police station by an officer who said the vehicle had a cracked windshield. Chamberlain failed field sobriety tests and his blood alcohol content was measured at 0.13, more than the 0.08 legal limit. Chamberlain was arrested and released on a personal bond following his arraignment on a drunken driving charge. He is due back in court Nov. 3.
A LITTLE LAUGH
Driving along an outback road in Australia, I spied an exotic bird flying overhead. The creature was black, with a huge and striking red-and-gold beak. "Hey, look! A toucan!" I yelled.
"Toucan nothin'," said the Aussie passenger. "It's a crow with its beak stuck in a McDonald's fries carton. ---Ah, Globalization...
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
AH….Vintage view of Kuala Lumpur in 1961 Click Here to View
GREY MATTER PICTURE
This is a close up of what object?
SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION
¤ Weekly Observances ¤
1-7: Universal Children's Week
2-9: No Salt Week
3-9: National Newspaper Week ^ National Work From Home Week ^ Fire Prevention Week ^ Mental Illness Awareness Week ^ Mystery Series Week ^ National Carry A Tune Week ^ Nuclear Medicine Week
4-10: Customer Service Week ^ Financial Planning Week ^ Spinning & Weaving Week ^ World Space Week
5-10:Great Books Week
6-12: Physicians Assistant Week
8-12: Kids' Goal Setting Week
8-10: New York Comic Con Week
10-16: Build Your Business with Business Cards Week ^ Emergency Nurses Week ^ Home-based Business Week ^ National Chestnut Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Metric Week ^ Take Your Medicine Americans Week ^ World Rainforest Week
11-17: Fall Astronomy Week ^ National School Lunch Week
17-23: Food and Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week ^ Getting The World To Beat A Path To Your Door Week ^ International Credit Union Week ^ Teen Read Week ^ National Chemistry Week ^ National Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Week ^ YWCA Week without Violence ^ National Character Counts Week ^ National Forest Products Week ^ National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week ^ National School Bus Safety Week
18-24: Freedom From Bullies Week ^ Freedom of Speech Week ^ Medical Assistants Recognition Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Infertility Awareness Week ^ National Massage Therapy Week ^ National Businesswomen's Week
24-31: Disarmament Week ^ Give Wildlife a Break Week ^ Pastoral Care Week ^ Peace, Friendship and Good Will Week ^ Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week ^ International Magic Week ^ National Respiratory Care Week
27-11/3: World Hearing Aid Awareness Week
¤ Today’s Observances ¤
German-American Day: Descendants of the earliest German settlers have observed October 6 as German Pioneer Day or German Settlement Day since 1908, commemorating the day on which the first permanent German settlement in America was established at Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1683
Come and Take It Day
Egypt: Military Day: to commemorate the 1973 Egypt/Syria attack on Israel. Known as the Yom Kipper War in Israel, the October War in Egypt and Syria.
¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤
1944 …You Always Hurt the One You Love / The Mills Brothers Click Here to Hear!
1954 …Hey There / Rosemary Clooney Click Here to Hear
1964 …Oh, Pretty Woman / Roy Orbison Click Here to Hear!
1974 …I Honestly Love You / Olivia Newton-John
1984 …Let's Go Crazy / Prince & the Revolution
¤ Today’s Births ¤
╬ THE ARTS
Jenny Lind, Swedish soprano/nightingale, in 1820
David Zucker, 63, writer, producer (Naked Gun movies, Airplane!)
♦♦♦♦♦♦
Janet Gaynor, actress (Sunrise, A Star Is Born), in 1906
Britt Ekland, 68, actress (The Night They Raided Minsky’s)
Stephanie Zimbalist, 54, actress (“Remington Steele”)
╬ ATHLETICS
Henry Chadwick, baseball pioneer, developed 1st rule book, in 1824
Boris Mikhailov, 66, Soviet ice hockey player
Helen N Moody, tennis pro (8 Wimbledon titles 1927-1938), in 1905
Kathleen Webb, 54, American comic book writer and artist—‘Archie’ comics
╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
Shana Alexander, journalist (60 Minutes), in 1925
George Westinghouse, responsible for alternating current in US, in 1846
╬ POLITICS
Gerry Adams, 62, Northern Irish politician
╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION
Reginald Fessenden, Canadian-born inventor and radio pioneer, in 1866
Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian anthropologist/explorer (Kon Tiki, Aku-Aku), in 1914
Ernest Walton, Irish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate, in 1903
¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤
Henry Calvin, actor (Sgt Garcia-Zorro), throat cancer @ 57 in 1975
Bette Davis, actor @ 81 in 1989
Henry Gurney, British high commissioner to Malaya assassinated during Malayan Emergency by communist guerillas @ 53 in 1951
Walter Hagen, PGA golfer (US Open 1914, 19), @ 76 in 1969
Charles Stewart Parnell, founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party in 1891, heart attack @ 45
Anwar Sadat, Egyptian president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, assassinated @ 63 in 1981
¤ Today’s Events ¤
╬ THE ARTS
1927 "Jazz Singer," 1st movie with a sound track, premieres (NYC)
╬ ATHLETICS
1857 American Chess Assn organized; 1st major US chess tournament (NYC)
1923 1st NL unassisted triple play (Ernie Padgett, Braves against Phillies)
╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1863 The first Turkish bath was opened in Brooklyn, NY
1876 American Library Association organized in Philadelphia
╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1539 de Soto will reach the APALACHEE town of Iniahica, near present day Tallahassee. He will pick this town as his winter quarters. He will maintain this camp until March 3, 1540.
1598 Juan de Onate will leave his base in San Juan Pueblo. He is en route to "visit" the PUEBLOs to the west.
╬ POLITICS (US)
1781 Americans & French begin siege of Cornwallis at Yorktown; last battle of the Revolutionary War
1949 Iva Toguri D'Aquino (Tokyo Rose) sentenced to 10 years & $10,000 fine
╬ POLITICS (International)
1928 Chiang Kai-Shek becomes president of China
╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION
1890 Mormon Church outlaws polygamy in order for UT to become a state
1979 Pope John Paul II is 1st Pope to visit the White House
GREY MATTER ANSWERS
↔ 1
$100- Its where I came from with a banjo on my knee: What is Alabama?
$200- According to Beach Boys' hit, state with the cutest girls in the world: What is California?
$300- State where you'd find Elvis' rain & Diamond's woman: What is Kentucky?
$400- The alternate lyrics to "I've Been Working On The Railroad": What is The Eyes of Texas?
$500- Patti Page hit that is official song of a southern state: What is “Tennessee Waltz”?
↔ PICTURE
A compass
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