Aug 1

 

Aug 1, 2021 Week: 31 Day: 213

Ave. Sky Cover:  70%\Visibility: 10 miles

Local Temp:   72°\ 53° Wind: 8mph\ Gusts: 9mph

Low risk of fire Active fire: 38mi. \ Lightning: 8mi.

Aug Averages: 79°\50° (9 days w/moisture) 

Today’s Quote

  

  

Month Long Observations

 

American Adventures Month American Artists Appreciation Month Link American Indian Heritage Month Link   American History Essay Contest (8/1 - 12/15)  Arrr-gust: International Pirate Month  Link Black Business Month Boomers Making A Difference Month Bystander Awareness Month Children's Eye Health & Safety Month Child Support Awareness Month Link Children's Vision & Learning Month Clear The Shelters Month (8/23 - 9/19)  Link Get Ready for Kindergarten Month Golf Month

 

Weekly Observations

 

XXXII Olympic Games (postponed from 2020):	7/23-8/8
Lollapalooza	7/29-8/1
Satchmo Week Superman Days	7/30-8/1
Gallop International Tribal Indian Powwow	7/31-8/9
Assistance Dog Week   Link Link Happiness Happens Week  Link International Clown Week  Link National Cleanse Your Skin Week   Link National Minority Donor Awareness Week International Psychic Week   Link  Simplify Your Life Week World Breastfeeding Week  Link National Exercise With Your Child Week Knights of Columbus Family Week   National Farmers' Market Week   Link  National Health Center Week  Link   Stop on Red Week Link	1-7

 

Daily Oberservations

 

Mahjong Day Raspberry Cream Pie Day Girlfriends’ Day Minority Donor Awareness Day Raspberry Cream Pie Day Respect for Parents Day Rounds Resounding Day World Lung Cancer Day

 

Favorite Memes

 

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

 

August is continuing our wet monsoon. Already had one storm and another is not far behind. No complaints.

Sorry to read of the passing of former CO governor Dick Lamm who passed at 85.

Looks like wearing masks will be the norm around here. I wish more would just get vaccinated.

Our discussion group is finally meeting tonight. We have had only one outdoor meeting in over a year. It will be good to get together. Tonight’s topic is US/Northern Triangle issues over immigration. The articles were over a year old, so some things have changed leaving me to do some additional research. It is still a hot issue. I’m hoping I will hear some viable solutions.

When I worked on my uncle’s ranch in the late 60’s every summer there was talk of cloud seeding to bring rain to the hay crops, wheat crops, and cattle. Neighbors would get together at the town bar and try to decide if the cost was worth the benefit. Most years the rain would come, and the discussion would end.

Dubai has brought cloud seeding to the 21^st century. The desert is very dry and the 125° daily heat doesn’t help. They are now using drones to shoot laser-beams into the clouds to force rain out of the clouds. It seems to be helping.

 

Historical Events

 

1834 – Slavery was abolished in Jamaica

1944 – The last entry for Anne Frank’s diary

1969 – The Zodiac Killer’s letters arrived at several San Francisco newspapers. The killer was never caught.

1990 – Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau created the prototype HTML language and the World-Wide Web.

 

Birthdays Today

 

@75 – Dom DeLuise, American actor (d. 2009; kidney failure)

74 – Avi Arad, Israeli-American producer, founded Marvel Studios

@72 – Herman Melville, novelist, short story writer, poet (d. 1891; heart attack)

@71 – Yves Saint Laurent, Algerian-French, co-founded Yves Saint Laurent (d, 2008, brain cancer)

@68 – William Clark, American explorer, of Lewis & Clark (d. 1838)

@63 – Francis Scott Key, American author, and poet (d. 1843)

58 – Coolio, American rapper

@53 – [Jerome John]Jerry Garcia, singer-songwriter, guitarist (d. 1995; heart attack)

42 – Jason Momoa, American actor 

 

 

 

Jul 31

 

Jul  31, 2021 Week: 31 Day: 212

Ave. Sky Cover:  45%\Visibility: 10 miles

Local Temp:   77°\ 53° Wind: 5mph\ Gusts: 9mph

Moderate risk of fire Active fire: 38mi. \ Lightning: 1mi.

Jul Averages: 82°\51° (9 days w/moisture) 

Today’s Quote

  

Weekly Observations

 

XXXII Olympic Games (postponed from 2020):	23-8/8
RAGBRAI: Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa Women in Baseball Week	25-31
Great Texas Mosquitos Days Quilt Odyssey Week World Lumberjack Championships	29-31
Satchmo Week Superman Days	30-8/1

 

Daily Oberservations

 

National Avocado Day

National Cotton Candy Day

National Jump for Jelly Beans Day

In the Middle East, a delicacy called lokum has been around since biblical times. It’s known as Turkish Delight in English-speaking countries and it is made of sugar syrup boiled with gelatin or pectin which spreads into thin sheets when cool enough to handle. This jelly candy was an inspiration for Jelly beans but they were actually based on Jordan almonds that are coated in powdered sugar by shaking them about inside a container until their outside becomes hard like our favorite chewy sweets.

The earliest known reference of a Jelly Bean was an 1861 advertisement for William Schrafft of Boston that promoted the sending of jelly beans to soldiers in the Union Army during the Civil War. Jelly Beans were also mentioned in the Chicago Daily News in 1905.

Jelly beans became associated with the Easter holiday in the 1930s, due to their egg-shaped appearance. They grew in popularity from the 1960s through the 1980s, thanks to famous devotees like John Lennon and President Ronald Reagan. But it was really Harry Potter that made them a staple of our lives today; the Jelly Belly company created flavors inspired by the Potter books and films. With over 100 flavors today, Jelly Belly® Jelly Beans were introduced that year only eight flavors: Root Beer, Green Apple, Licorice, Cream Soda, Lemon, Tangerine, Very Cherry, and Grape.

 

Favorite Memes

 

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

 

More monsoon rain expected soon. Lightning is close. There was a nice, long, male rain last night that lasted a good 45 minutes with lightning only .5 miles away.

Got an email from the HOA this morning that our mail delivery will not resume until Monday. I headed to the Post Office to pick up mail I haven’t had delivered since Tuesday. Being a federal building, it’s masks and 6’ distancing. The line had 7 people in front of me and only one person working. I finally got up and gave her my license and said I live in Christmas Tree Estates, and they just got a new bank of boxes. She smiled and went in the back. Five minutes later she came out with one piece of 1^st class mail, several junk mail, and the free local paper. I said there should be more. She said she had checked ‘both bins’ that had Christmas Tree mail. I asked when they were going to restart delivery. She said she had no idea but would ‘buzz’ the supervisor. There was a guy standing waiting for the supervisor who had been there most of time I was in line. I left. I called the PO when I got home. No one answered. Guess I’ll just be surprised when it finally comes. I’m hoping they don’t lose my CPAP covers that should be delivered this week.

I was reading in today’s paper that over 200 Tokyo athletes from 23 different countries in swimming and track have trained at a local facility before the Olympics. Hypo2 is known for training elite athletes. We are at 7000’ and manicured running trails nearby up to 8500’. They also have a huge pool, not open to the public, for training. Many athletes like the higher altitudes because it builds up red blood cells and helps them when they return to lower altitudes. Very cool.

 

Historical Events

 

1703 Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers

1790 – The United States Patent Office opened

1792 – The cornerstone of the first US Federal Building was laid, the Philadelphia Mint

1948 – Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) was dedicated.

1960 Elijah Muhammad, leader of Nation of Islam, calls for a black state

1970 Black Tot Day: the last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy (started 1740)

1989 – Game Boy released, video game

1991 – The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty

2006 Cuba’s leader Fidel Castro handed over power to his brother, Raúl.

2019 Russian President Vladimir Putin orders Russian army to help put out huge wildfires in Siberia covering three million hectares (7.4 million acres) after 700,000 people sign petition

 

Birthdays Today

 

@94 – Milton Friedman, economist, academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006) @90 – Marion Talbot, influential American educator (d. 1948) @86 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster and actor (d. 2006) @83 – Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-American songwriter, producer, founded Atlantic Records (d. 2006)

@79 – Fred Quimby, American animation producer (d. 1965) 63 – Mark Cuban, American businessman 59 – Wesley Snipes, actor 56 – J. K. Rowling, English author, film producer 55 – Dean Cain, American actor 43 – Zac Brown, American country singer-songwriter

 

 

 

Jul 30

 

Jul  30, 2021 Week: 31 Day: 211

Ave. Sky Cover: 40% \Visibility: 10 miles

Local Temp:   81°\ 58° Wind: 6mph\ Gusts: 10mph

Low risk of fire Active fire: 38mi. \ Lightning: 4mi.

Jul Averages: 82°\51° (9 days w/moisture) 

Today’s Quote

  

 

Weekly Observations

 

XXXII Olympic Games (postponed from 2020):	23-8/8
RAGBRAI: Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa Women in Baseball Week	25-31
Great Texas Mosquitos Days Quilt Odyssey Week World Lumberjack Championships	29-31
Lollapalooza	29-8/1

 

Favorite Memes

Daily Oberservations

 

Father-in-Law Day

International Day of Friendship

National Cheesecake Day

National Intern Day

Paperback Book Day

Share a Hug Day

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

 

Did some quick shopping this morning and now just awaiting the afternoon rain.

The pandemic has kept people from many things. One new startup is doing great. It’s called ‘swimply’. It works like Airbnb. You can rent a pool at someone’s home by the hour. They carry insurance, furnish the pool and towels along with wifi access. This summer’s heat waves have helped increase reservations in the hottest areas. In some areas their reservations have increased 300% over last year. Nice!

One addition to yesterday’s post about Luis Grijalva, the runner from our local University. He will be running for Guatemala in his 5000m run.

I enjoyed the swimming and synchronized diving last night. Things have changed a lot since I was swimming on a team.

When I saw the headline about the 8.2 earthquake in Alaska, I remembered the great quake in the mid-60’s. Luckily, the tsunami didn’t happen, and major damage was limited.

The Flagstaff mayor just announced that beginning tomorrow at 8a there is a mask requirement for all city facilities, even if fully vaccinated. Here we go again. Sad.

 

Historical Events

 

 762 – Baghdad was founded by Caliph Al-Mansur.

1619 – In Jamestown, Virginia, the first representative assembly in the Americas, the House of Burgesses, convenes for the first time.

1729 – Founding of Baltimore, Maryland.

1733 – The first Masonic Grand Lodge in the future United States was constituted in Massachusetts.

1866 – New Orleans, Louisiana’s Democratic government ordered police to raid an integrated Republican Party meeting, killing 40 people and injuring 150.

1935 – The first softcover paperback books were introduced, in Germany.

1956 – A joint resolution of the US Congress was signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing In God we Trust as the US national motto.

1962 – The Trans-Canada Highway, the largest national highway in the world, officially opened.

1965 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.

1975 – Jimmy Hoffa disappeared from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. He was declared dead on July 30, 1982.

2003 – In Mexico, the last Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the assembly line.

2017 Russian President Vladimir Putin announces American diplomats in Russia cut by 755 in response to American sanctions

2020 The US economy posts the largest quarterly fall on record with GDP down 9.5% for the 3 months to June 30

 

Birthdays Today

 

@96 – Henry W. Bloch, co-founded H&R Block (d. 2019)

@85 – Casey Stengel, American baseball player, manager (d. 1975)

@83 – Henry Ford, founded the Ford Motor Company (d. 1947)

82 – Peter Bogdanovich, American actor and director

80 – Paul Anka, Canadian singer-songwriter

74 – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, and politician, 38th Governor of California

65 – Delta Burke, American actress

65 – Anita Hill, American lawyer and academic

58 – Lisa Kudrow, American actress

57 – Vivica A. Fox, American actress

53 – Terry Crews, American football player and actor

51 – Christopher Nolan, English-American director, producer, screenwriter

50 – Tom Green, Canadian comedian and actor

47 – Hilary Swank, American actress