May 28

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May 28, 2019 Week: 22 \ Day: 148

86004:   H 44° \ L 28° \ Average Sky Cover: 90% 

Nearest wildfire:  392mi. Nearest lightning:  219mi

Wind:   7mph\Gusts:  13mph

Visibility: 4 mi

Record High: 86°[2000]   Record Low: 24°[1929]

May Averages: 68°\34° (3 days with rain)

Today’s Quote

Unless we remember we cannot understand.

E. M. Forster

Random Tidbits

The Chinese word for rice is the same as the word for food; in Thailand when you call your family to a meal you say, "eat rice"; and in China a typical greeting, instead of 'How are you?' is "Have you had your rice today?"

Rice is a symbol of life and fertility, which is why rice was traditionally thrown at weddings.

Observances This Week

Ramadan 5/5-6/4

Fleet Week (NY): 22-28

National African Violet Week: 26-6/2

Black Single Parents Week: 28-6/3

Scripps National Spelling Bee: 28-31

Observances for Today

Amnesty International Day

Menstrual Hygiene Day Link
National Hamburger Day Link  Link
Sierra Club Day Link
Slugs Return From Capistrano Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Great Memorial Day weekend is ending with rain, hail, snow, rain. It has been a good weekend, but right now it’s just wet. The forest can always use a little more moisture. Remember the Fallen.

I was visiting with friends the other day and we had an interesting discussion. We were talking about the difference between being a Christian and being an American Christian. Then the term WWJD? [What would Jesus Do?] entered the conversation. The six of us were bemoaning the state of America and how a small, yet vocal group, talked about being Christian. So often these people have an agenda and only hear what they want to hear…from taking Bible quotes out of context to ignoring politicians who do horrific things to the other side. Then one in our group suggested using ‘What DID Jesus do?’ That finally made sense to all of us.  Maybe that will help put our country on a better path.

While our local weather is less than ideal, I am so fortunate to live here. We don’t have tornadoes, major flooding, or other major disasters. A few says every now and then are not ideal, but overall, we live in a great area.

PUZZLE OF THE DAY

Answer at the bottom of this page

There are 25 horses and you want to find the fastest 3 among them. You can race any 5 of the horses against each other and see the final standing, but not the running times. If all the horses have constant, permanent speeds, how many races do you need to organize in order to find the fastest 3?

Today’s Significant Historical Events

1400’s

1431 Joan of Arc is accused of relapsing into heresy by donning male clothing again, providing justification for her execution

1800’s

1830 US Congress authorizes native Indian to be removed from all states to the western prairie

1845 Fire in Quebec, Canada, 1,500 houses destroyed

1892 Sierra Club formed by John Muir and others in San Francisco, for conservation of nature

1900’s

1923 US Attorney General says it is legal for women to wear trousers anywhere

1929 1st all color talking picture "On With the Show" exhibited (NYC)

1936 Alan Turing submits "On Computable Numbers" for publication, in which he set out the theoretical basis for modern computers.

1937 Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco opens to vehicular traffic

1956 Eisenhower signs farm bill allows government to store agricultural surplus

1961 Amnesty International founded (Nobel Peace Prize 1977)

1961 Last trip (Paris to Bucharest) on the Orient Express (after 78 years)

1972 White House "plumbers" first break in at the Democratic National Headquarters at Watergate Complex in Washington D.C.

1982 Pope John Paul II is 1st reigning pope to visit Great Britain (Adrian IV was born in England, as Nicholas Breakspear)

1987 60th US National Spelling Bee: Stephanie Petit wins spelling staphylococci

1999 In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece "The Last Supper" is put back on display

Birthdays Today

0’s

1910 T-Bone Walker,

(d. 1975: @64: stroke)

American blues guitarist (Funky Town, Well Done),

born in Linden, Texas

1940 Betty Shabazz,

(d. 1997: @63: apartment fire)

American educator and civil rights activist who was the widow of Malcolm X,

born in Pinehurst, Georgia

1941 Beth Howland,

(d. 2015: @74: lung cancer)

actress (Vera - Alice, Company),

born in Boston, Massachusetts

1944 Gary Stewart,

(d. 2003: @59: suicide)

American country singer (She's Actin' Single), born in Jenkins, Kentucky

80’s

81- Jerry West,

Hall of Fame B-ball guard

70’s

75- Gladys Knight,

singer, leader of Pips (Last Train),

born in Atlanta, Georgia

75- Rudy Giuliani,

American Mayor of New York City (Republican: 1994-2001) at the time of the September 11 attacks,

born in NYC, New York

74- John Fogerty,

American rocker (Creedence Clearwater Revival),

born in Berkeley, California

40’s

48- Marco Rubio,

American politician (Senate-R-Florida, 2011-),

born in Miami, Florida

Historical Obits Today

80’s

@86-2014 Maya Angelou

[Marguerite Johnson],

American author ("I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"), poet and actress (Nyo-Roots)

@84-1843 Noah Webster,

American lexicographer (Webster's Dictionary)

60’s

@67-1996 Sidney Greenbaum,

grammarian, dies at 66

40’s

@49-1998 Phil Hartman,

Canadian actor and comedian,

murdered by his wife in his sleep at 49

@46-1971 Audie Murphy,

American soldier who was among the most decorated in WW II with 33 medals and actor (To Hell and Back, Whispering Smiths),

killed in a plane crash

@42-2010 Gary Coleman,

American actor (Diff'rent Strokes),

dies after fall

20’s

@29-1849 Anne Brontë,

English novelist (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall),

dies from TB

Puzzle answer:

Let us label the horses H1, H2, H3, H4, …, H24, H25.

We race H1 – H5 and (without loss of generality) find that H1 > H2 > H3 > H4 > H5. We conclude that H4, H5 are not among the fastest 3.

We race H6 – H10 and (without loss of generality) find that H6 > H7 > H8 > H9 > H10. We conclude that H9, H10 are not among the fastest 3.

We race H11 – H15 and (without loss of generality) find that H11 > H12 > H13 > H14 > H15. We conclude that H14, H15 are not among the fastest 3.

We race H16 – H20 and (without loss of generality) find that H16 > H17 > H18 > H19 > H20. We conclude that H19, H20 are not among the fastest 3.

We race H21 – H25 and (without loss of generality) find that H21 > H22 > H23 > H24 > H25. We conclude that H24, H25 are not among the fastest 3.

We race H1, H6, H11, H16, H21 and (without loss of generality) find that H1 > H6 > H11 > H16 > H21. We conclude that H16, H21 are not among the fastest 3.

Now we know that H1 is the fastest horse and only H2, H3, H6, H7, H11 could complete the fastest three. We race them against each other and find which are the fastest two among them. We complete the task with only 7 races in total.