May 20

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May 20, 2020 Week: 20 Day: 141

86004: H 70° \ L 30° \ Average Sky Cover: 5%

Wind: 15mph\Gusts: 40mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 389mi.; Nearest active fire: 97mi.

Extreme Risk of Fire

Red Flag Warning

Record High: 84°[2008] Record Low: 18°[1899]

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

Today’s Quote

"It is during our darkest moments

that we must focus to see the light."

-Aristotle

"Whoever is happy will make others happy too."

-Anne Frank

Random Tidbits

What is the capital of Brazil?

Many guess that Rio de Janeiro is the capital of Brazil. Those people, unfortunately, are incorrect. The capital is found about 720 miles to the southwest. Brasilia is the capital of the largest country in South America.

This city is home to almost 3 million residents and has a tropical savannah climate with high humidity. If you visit, you'll want to check out the Cathedral of Brasilia, a Roman Catholic cathedral that looks more like a state-of-the-art museum in New York City than any a place of worship. The Chapada dos Veadeiros is a renowned national park with numerous waterfalls and opportunities to see wildlife. You can also visit the Poço Azul, or "Blue Pool," a natural wonder formed from quartz that is a popular snorkeling location.

Have a smile

A friend sent these to me

My dog chases people on a bike a lot.

If this continues Ii'll have to take his bike away.

The official mascot of 2020 is the raccoon.

Washes hands incessantly

Always wears a mask

Observations This Week

Ramadan: 23-5/23

Cannes Film Festival: 12-23 Cancelled due to COVID-19
National Foul Ball Week: 16-21
National Safe Boating Week: 16-22 
EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Week: 17-23  Link
International Heritage Breeds Week: 17-23 Link  
National Eosinophil Awareness Week: 17-23  Link  
National Medical Transcription Week: 17-23  Link
International New Friends, Old Friends Week: 17-23
National Unicycle Week: 17-23
World Trade Week: 17-23 
National Bike to Work Week: 18-22 Link Moved to September 21-27 due to COVID-19
National Tire Safety Week:  18-24 Link  
Fleet Week (NY): 20-26

Observations for Today

Be a Millionaire Day

Eliza Doolittle Day
Emergency Medical Services for Children Day  Link 
Everybody Draw Mohammed Day Link
National Employee Health & Fitness Day Link
National Juice Slush Day Link
National Quiche Lorraine Day

National Rescue Dog Day  Link
Pick Strawberries Day

Turn Beauty Inside Out Day  
Weights & Measures DayWorld Autoimmune/Autoinflammatory Arthritis Day Link
World Bee Day Link

My Rambling Thoughts

Wind is blowing. Wind is really blowing. I'm staying inside as 30-40mph wind is no time to be outside...for any reason. I haven't put out my deck furniture yet, thank goodness.

Remember 'checks and balances' from civics class...Thanks Ms. Ruth Steinmeyer for teaching me. Who allowed our current President to have this much power? Power to stop WHO funding on an thought he had? Power to fire 4 Inspector Generals in various positions with no repercussions until November elections. I know he has the power to fire those in his cabinet, but this has gone way too far.

I get that 'distraction' is the name of the game for the Trump Administration. I can still giggle when Eric Trump gives a speech about how this stay-at-home thing and masks are all a Democrat plot that will continue until Election Day, then will 'magically disappear'. He is one of the best stand up comedians in the entire administration.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

A farmer in California owns a beautiful pear tree. He supplies the fruit to a nearby grocery store. The store owner has called the farmer to see how much fruit is available for him to purchase. The farmer knows that the main trunk has 24 branches. Each branch has exactly 12 boughs and each bough has exactly 6 twigs. Since each twig bears one piece of fruit, how many plums will the farmer be able to deliver?

Historical Events

1873 - Levi Strauss and Jacob W Davis patented (#139,121) copper-riveted jeans, designed to help prevent tears in the fabric.

1883 - Krakatoa began to erupt; the volcano exploding three months later, killing more than 36,000 people.

1899 - The American Physical Society was founded at Columbia University.

1901 - Claude Grivolas patented (French) a projector for three-dimensional (stereoscopic) movies viewed wearing spectacles with one red and one blue lens.

1916 - The Saturday Evening Post published its first cover with a Norman Rockwell painting - 'Boy with Baby Carriage'.

1927 - US aviator Charles A. Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, on the world's first solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean (New York to Paris.)

1949 - The Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency (NSA), was established.

1957 - Pilot Milton Torres was ordered to intercept a UFO over East Anglia, UK

1983 - First publication of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier.

1993 - 80 million people watched the series finale of Cheers on NBC

1993 10m meteor comes within 150,000 km of Earth (1993KA)

1996 UN and Iraq agree to Resolution 986, which provides Iraq with the opportunity to sell $1 billion of oil for 90 days for a 180-day trial period; proceeds from the sale would be used for humanitarian purposes

1997 US President Clinton signs an executive order barring new US investment in Burma (also known as Myanmar), effective May 21 and renewable annually

2002 The independence of East Timor is recognized by Portugal, formally ending 23 years of Indonesian rule and 3 years of provisional UN administration (Portugal itself was the former colonizer of East Timor until 1976)

2013 Yahoo purchases Tumbler for $1.1 Billion

2013 The Church of Scotland votes to allow openly gay men and women to be ministers

2015 5 major world banks (JPMorgan, Barclays, Citigroup, RBS and UBS) fined US$5.7bn for manipulating currency markets - some of the largest ever fines

2017 US President Donald Trump begins his 1st foreign trip arriving in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

2019 Google stops support for Huawei's Android system in an escalation of the tech war between US and China

Birthdays Today

@89-Actor James 'Jimmy' Stewart (d. 1997)

74-Entertainer Cher [Cherilyn Sarkisian]

@70-Singer Joe Cocker (d. 2014; lung cancer)

54-Actor Mindy Cohn [voice on Scooby-Doo:Velma]

52-Actor, producer Timothy Olyphant

@38-Singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (d. 1997; hyper-obese)

Puzzle Answer:

None. A pear tree does not bear plums.