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TODAY’s
“Geez”
.
- 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte exiled on Island of St Helena
- 1860 - 11-year-old Grace Bedell writes to Lincoln, tells him to grow a beard
- 1866 - Great fire in Quebec destroys 2,500 houses
- 1924 - Pres Coolidge declares Statue of Liberty a national monument
- 1937 - Ernest Hemingway novel "To Have & Have Not" published
♪♪ HaPpY BiRtHdAy to♪♪
.
Free
Rambling Thoughts
.
I AM PART OF THE 99%. Today I ran up against the airline
bureaucracy. I went to the airport this morning to try and change my flight
home from Denver. The lady and the man simply said, “It’s $150 + any higher
price the ticket to change it.” The lady said that I could call reservations or
go to an airport hub and see if anything could be done. Then she said lots of
people make the wrong reservations by clicking the wrong button. So I called
them. Three people later I learned that even though the opening message says ‘you
MAY be charged a $150 change fee’, what that really means that if the airline
changes your flight because of mechanical problems, or other problems they do
not charge the $150 change fee. Anything else is automatic and NO ONE in the
entire bureaucracy can change that. So I said, OK, let’s change it. Then she
said, there is an additional $25 fee to do it over the phone, but on the
website it is free. So I go online and change it…and it costs $175 to change it
as the price of the ticket has gone up $25. It really isn’t the money, it is
the principle. The first ticket was $312. So the change was almost ½ the price
of the ticket. Grrrr
Mary just hooked up with a website that offers discounted cruises.
The good news is that the prices are 60-85% off the original price. The cruise
lines offer these deep discounts to fill up the ship. The bad news is that the
cruises usually leave within 2-5 days after the offer is sent. It’s great if
one is cruising out of LA, but anywhere else, the flight to the city will cost
an arm and a leg, since the airlines do not lower prices to fill the cabin…the
closer the flight date, the higher the price.
To prove my point, there was a lady on a news show today talking about
her issue. Her grandmother passed away and she got on line to make
reservations. She thought she was going April 14, but when she got to the
airport she found her reservation was for May 14…long after her grandmother was
buried. Since there were 5 in her family trying to get to Grandma’s funeral,
they drove 15 hours to get there on time. She said tickets on the day of the
flight were so high and the change fee was so high, they just couldn’t afford
it. And yes, as I was told today by the airline…the tickets were a ‘wash’—meaning
that she and her family did not board the plane on May 14 so they lost all the
money paid for the tickets. Of course, the
airlines still has stand-by tickets for really low prices…turns out they are
collecting twice for some of those seats…once from the passenger who is now
known as a ‘wash’ and from the stand by passenger. ENOUGH ALREADY.
I talked to a friend in Tuba today. The fair didn’t charge
teachers a $5 fee to bring their class into Kids Day…they charged $8. Kids who
wanted to ride on any ride had to pay $1/ride. In years past the rides have always
been free and everyone got in free. It was good community relations and kids
almost always came back on the weekend with their families where they paid
hefty prices. ENOUGH ALREADY.
Trivia
Quiz…(answers at the end of post)
.
1.
How many types of panda are there?
2.
The longest beetle in the world is how
long?
3.
Animals without backbones are called
what?
4.
An earthworm has how many hearts?
5.
A fluke is what kind of animal?
6.
The spots on a plaice are what color?
7.
An abalone is what kind of animal?
8.
What is the offspring of a mare and a
male ass called?
9.
On a rabbit where would you find a
scut?
10. In Thailand, what is the sacred animal?
11. Alphabetically, what animal comes first in the Chinese horoscope?
Wuzzles…What
concept or phrase does this suggest? .
Hmmmmm
.
Minimum hours that Armenia went without internet service after a
Georgian woman cut a cable while scavenging for copper: 5
Somewhat
Useless Information
.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart never went to school. His father taught
him music and mathematics.
Coffee was first decaffeinated in 1900 by Ludwig Roselius. His
father had been a coffee taster, and Ludwig believed his father's death was
caused by caffeine.
Lincoln Logs were invented in 1916 by John L. Wright, son of
architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Cotton Mather entered Harvard at 12, the youngest student ever
admitted. He went on to write more than 450 works.
Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, was the only First Lady
to be born abroad.
Dick Clark's wife was the one who gave Chubby Checker his nickname
- she got it as a take-off from Fats Domino.
Yeah,
It Really Happened
.
Armed with a handgun and an assault rifle, Terry “T.J.” Newman,
25, and John “Pimp” Roberts invaded a home in San Antonio, Texas, and demanded
money. Authorities said that when the homeowner’s son came out of a bedroom
with his own assault rifle and started firing, the two robbers fled, leaving
their getaway car idling in front of the house.
They returned 15 minutes later for the car, by which time members
of the household had armed themselves with a second assault rifle and opened
fire. Police arrived, only to have Newman ram their patrol vehicle with a
second vehicle. He was arrested and convicted of aggravated assault.
(San Antonio Express-News)
Guffaw…or
at least smile .
A salesman telephoned a household, and a four-year-old answered.
Salesman: May I speak to
your mother?
Child: She is not here.
Salesman: Well, is anyone
else there?
Child: My sister
Salesman: O.K., fine. May I
speak to her?
Child: I guess so.
There was a long silence on
the other phone. Then;
Child: Hello?
Salesman: It’s you. I
thought you were going to call your sister.
Child: I did. The trouble
is: I can’t get her out of the playpen.
Searchin’
“You Tube” I found
.
West Side Story - Trailer [1961] [34th Oscar Best Picture]
Daybook
Information
.
…Happening This Week:
9-15
Build Your Business with Business Cards Week /
Emergency Nurses Week / National Chestnut Week / Fire Prevention Week /
National Metric Week / National School Lunch Week / National Work From Home
Week
10-16
Home-based Business Week / Kids' Goal Setting Week /
Take Your Medicine Americans Week / World Rainforest Week
TODAY
IS
.
Bridge Day—the ones over water, not the card
game
International Day of Rural Women
National Grouch Day
National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day
Sweetest Day
White Cane Safety Day
Today’s
Events
.
ARTS
1764 - Edward Gibbon observes a
group of friars singing in the ruined Temple of Jupiter in Rome, which inspires
him to begin work on The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
1905 - Claude Debussy's "La
Mer," premieres
1940 - "The Great Dictator", a
satiric social commentary film by and starring Charlie Chaplin, is released
ATHLETICS
1881 - 1st American fishing
magazine, American Angler published
1980 - George Brett is forced out
of World Series with hemorrhoids
1986 - Longest post season game,
Mets beat Astros 7-6 in 16 & win NL pennant
1989 - Wayne Gretzky passes Gordie Howes
as NHL's all time top scorer
BUSINESS
1660 - Asser Levy granted butchers
license (kosher meat) in New Amsterdam
1932 - Tata Airlines (later to
become Air India) makes its first flight
1993 - Amstel brewery on Curacao
produces 1,000,000,000th bottle
EDUCATION
--
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1606 - Indians attack Champlain's men at Chatham
1615 - Samuel de Champlain, 12 Frenchmen, and many of his Huron
allies, attack the Iroquois town of Onondaga. Champlain will be wounded, and
several Huron will be killed. Champlain will give up the attack. Because of
Champlain's actions, the Iroquois will fight the French for years to come
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
1501 - English crown prince Arthur
marries Catharina of Aragon
1971 - The start of the 2500-year
celebration of Iran, celebrating the birth of Persia
1993 - Nelson Mandela & S African
Pres F W de Klerk awarded Nobel Peace Prize
RELIGION
1949 - Billy Graham begins his ministry
SCIENCE
1985 - Shuttle Columbia carries Spacelab
into orbit
US POLITICS
1789 - 1st presidental tour-George
Washington in New England
1883 - Supreme Court declares Civil
Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional
1966 - LBJ signs a bill creating Dept of
Transportation (DOT)
1991 - Clarence Thomas is confirmed
as Supreme Court Justice (52-48)
Today’s
Birthdays
.
ARTISTS: (AUTHORS,
COMPOSERS,…)
1921 - Mario Puzo, novelist
(Godfather, Cotton Club, Earthquake)
1881 - P G Wodehouse,
British-American writer (Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves)
ATHLETES
1858 - John L
Sullivan, heavyweight boxing champ
ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)
Paige Davis, HGTV host is 42
Linda Lavin, actress (Alice, Barney
Miller) is 74
Penny Marshall actor, producer,
director is 69
Tanya Roberts, actor is 57
ENTREPRENEURS & EDUCATORS
Emeril Lagasse, American chef is 52
1909 - Robert Trout, newscaster
(ABC)
POLITICIAL FIGURES
--
SCIENTISTS & THEOLOGISTS
1701 - Marie-Marguerite
d'Youville, first native Canadian canonized
Today’s
Obits
.
2008 - Edie Adams, American singer and Broadway actress dies
at 81
1990 - Leonard Bernstein, composer (West Side Story), dies of
pneumonia and a pleural tumor at 72
1958 - John Hamilton, actor (Perry White-Superman), dies of
heart attack at 71
1917 - Mata Hari, Dutch dancer/German spy, executed by
firing squad in Paris at 41
1983 - Pat O'Brien, actor (Some like it hot), dies of
heart attack at 83
1964 - Cole Porter, composer (Still of the Night), dies
of kidney failure at 73
ANSWERS
.
Trivia Quiz
1. How many types of panda are there?
a. Two, the giant and the lesser
2. The longest beetle in the world is how
long?
a. Six inches
3. Animals without backbones are called
what?
a. Invertebrates
4. An earthworm has how many hearts?
a. 5
5. A fluke is what kind of animal?
a. Worm
6. The spots on a plaice are what color?
a. Orange (a flat fish)
7. An abalone is what kind of animal?
a. Marine snail
8. What is the offspring of a mare and a
male ass called?
a. A mule
9. On a rabbit where would you find a scut?
a. The tail (a stubby erect tail)
10. In Thailand, what is the sacred animal?
a. The white elephant
11. Alphabetically, what animal comes first
in the Chinese horoscope?
a. Boar
Wuzzle
Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel
free to agree or disagree.
All ‘data’ info is from the internet
sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned
that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there,
many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events
occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be
totally accurate.
§
AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW §
