I was off on my tax diatribe yesterday. It had to do with one of my Propane Investments in Colorado. Not for me to worry about though. I use H&R to do my complicated taxes, and I pay for “Peace of Mind”, meaning that if they screw up, they pay the penalty. I have to pay the tax, but I would have had to pay that anyway. Living in a small town, H&R is only open 2 days a week here during non-tax season. So I have to wait until Wednesday to drop the bad news on them. I still don’t know who made the mistake, but whoever, I have Peace of Mind that I will pay my necessary tax and no more.
I know that summer is tourist time here in Flag. I had to run some errands on the west side of town. Between the construction projects and the tourists, the time to get across town is longer than usual. I really didn’t expect it on Monday morning, but it was there. I was able to use the freeway to get back home, and that was not crowded. I try to plan my trips so I don’t have to back track. Sometimes this means driving through downtown.
I got invited to a hamburger BBQ for this Saturday. Unfortunately it is in Denver. It will be for those of us going to Africa. While these people are great, I’m not up for a 10 hour drive to get there, and a 10 hour drive to get back. I did find out that my roommate will be Hamdy. The guy who might have been my roommate backed out. First it was Hamdy, then this other guy, then back to Hamdy. It will be a great trip. Only 12 of us are going. I already know five and they are great to travel with.
It was hot again today—90° on my deck. To add to this, no rain but lots of smoke from prescribed burns. What a strange day. Being outside was not pleasant. Guess this is one of the joys of living in a very large National Forest.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that my next door neighbors had set up a pool table in the living room. I should now rephrase that, my neighbors have set up a pool hall next door to me. From about 5pm every day until who knows when, cars come and go. People play a few games, more come, some leave. They are not loud or any bother. It’s just that my other neighbors have not been this gregarious. My office is upstairs and I can look out the window and see all the traffic. I woke up about 3am last night. Unusual for me. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I walked downstairs to get some water. They weren’t loud, but they were still playing. Ah, to be young again.
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Random Fact…
In the 1500’s, houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs)lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
Shaving cream will reduce the fogging on your bathroom mirror. Smear some on the mirror, wipe it off, the mirror will have less fog during a hot shower.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
The Washington Supreme Court ruled that Seattle, WA had for two years improperly charged water customers for servicing hydrants when the city should have covered the service from general tax funds and it ordered refunds to customers an average $45. However, Seattle then discovered it had insufficient general funds to pay for the hydrant service and thus imposed a water surcharge of $59 per customer. The most likely reason the surcharge was higher is that the City had to pay $4.2 million to the attorneys who filed the account-shuffling lawsuit.
Month long events in August
Edinburgh Festival is an internationally famous arts festival that takes place during August... National Immunization Awareness Month… National Psoriasis Awareness Month… Women's Small Business Month... National Back to School month…American Adventures Month…Golf Month…National Inventor’s Month…National Win with Civility Month…What will be your legacy Month
Week of Aug 3…
Sturgis Bike Week
Psychic Week
Exhibitor Appreciation Week
4 Aug…
216 days so far this year…149 days remain in 2009
Coast Guard Day
National Chocolate Chip Day
National Night Out
*Republic of Upper Volta / Bourkina Fasso (National Day) 1984
*Norway Peer Gynt Festival Days
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1755…..Nicolas-Jacque Conte inventor (modern pencil)
1792…..Percy Bysshe Shelley England, romantic poet
1832…..Gaspar N£¤ez de Arce Spain, poet "Spanish Tennyson"
1900…..Elizabeth Britain's Queen Mother
1901…..Louis Armstrong New Orleans, Jazz musician & bandleader
1909…..Glenn Cunningham US middle distance runner in the 1930's
1955…..Billy Bob Thornton Hot Springs, Ark. actor,
1958…..Mary Decker Tabb Slaney NJ, Olympic track star
1961…..Barack Obama Hawaii, 44th U.S. President
1962…..Roger Clemens Dayton Ohio, Boston Red Sox pitcher
Events on this day…
1693…..Dom Perignon invents champagne
1735…..A jury finds John Peter Zenger, publisher of the New York Weekly Journal, not guilty of seditious libel. The case marks the first victory for American freedom of the press
1821…..The Saturday Evening Post was published as a weekly for the first time.
1830…..Plans for the city of Chicago laid out
1892…..Sunday school teacher Lizzie Borden arrested in Fall River, Mass
1916…..US agrees to buy Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million
1944…..The Nazi Gestapo captures 15-year-old Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family in a sealed-off area of an Amsterdam warehouse
1964…..Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman & James Chaney found buried inside an earthen dam in Mississippi
1988 Congress votes $20K to each Japanese-American interned in WW II
Word Fragment Puzzle
In each of these puzzles, a word fragment is given, and you must think of an English word that contains the fragment -- that is, you must form a word by adding letters to the beginning and/or the end of the fragment. You may not add letters to the middle of the fragment, nor may you rearrange the letters given. Multiple solutions are given for several word fragments (although we omitted most alternate solutions that rely on variations of the same word). To solve the puzzles, however, you only need to find one word for each fragment.
1. htg [1]
2. tht [2]
3. relso [1]
4. thsa [1]
5. rotr [2]
6. ksk [1]
7. achc [1]
8. fj [1]
9. ofre [1]
10. eref [4]
*Bonus: xpu [3]
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Answers:
1. Nightgown
2. Bathtub breathtaking
3. quarrelsome
4. soothsayer
5. protract protrude
6. buckskin
7. beachcomb
8. fjord
9. proofread
10. aftereffect dereference bereft therefore
*Bonus: expulsion expunge expurgate
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Sunday
I always seem to get ‘important’ mail on Saturday. One of two days in the week that one can’t deal with the ‘important’ message. Yesterday was one of those days and it’s driving me crazy. I got a ‘delinquency notice’ from the State of Colorado for taxes not paid in 2006, 2007, and 2008. The total delinquency with all the ‘penalties’ is almost $1000. I know it’s a mistake. Some low level bureaucrat who can’t figure out tax bills. I had to deal with the State of MA a couple of year ago. With them, it took three phone calls from me and two from my tax service to determine I didn’t owe anything. That bill was only $700. First the bill showed $100, but turned out that was just the penalty. Their mistake, but only got a letter saying my tax delinquency had been removed. This one is probably on my mom’s estate. We had a joint checking account so I could pay her bills. I called the bank right after the funeral. The bank had already removed her name. God only knows how they knew she passed, since no one at the bank came to the service or sent a sympathy card. Anyway when I got the bank’s ‘interest earned’ form, all the interest for the year was under my name. At my request, the bank sent out two forms—my mom‘s estate paid the taxes on the interest until she passed. Then I paid the taxes after that. I figure that when I paid my share of the interest, somebody checked and found out that my name was the only name on the account at the bank. Without checking the history, someone assumed I just hadn’t claimed the tax for the two previous years. It will probably take quite a bit of time to educate whomever. I am also convinced that the economic crisis has something to do with this. Get every penny they can to keep the state of Colorado running. Don’t waste time or money on research of the problem, as that is the tax payers responsibility. I’ll find out tomorrow what is going on. This is one of the few times I am happy that AZ doesn’t have Daylight time, as I can start off someone’s week very early for them. Of course, the call is on my dime, since they don’t have an 800 number.
My deck was 90° today, and we didn’t get any rain. We did have a few promising clouds, but none of them delivered on the promise. So it was just hot most of the afternoon. While it seemed hot, Phoenix had yet another extreme heat warning and they hit 113°.
For many years, before Interstate 40, Williams, AZ was the gateway to the Grand Canyon. It was on Rt. 66 and played the Grand Canyon thing to the hilt. I-40 took a big chunk of the tourist business. Then the town started pushing its Grand Canyon Railroad trip. A steam engine that takes you to the Grand Canyon, on a beautiful ride on an old train, and a hold up is thrown in as a free bonus. As tourist dollars are drying up, the train is dropping the number of trips per day. Well, then Williams talked about having an amusement park with a wild west theme to keep tourists around. It didn’t pan out, yet. The $500 million to $1 billion price tag didn’t get any bites. Now some guy is going to put in a wild animal park. Part of it will be seen by vehicle, another part will be seen by walking. Williams is all excited about the jobs and tourists it will bring. I’m not sure it will be the cash cow that they are expecting. But then, I’m not a businessman.
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Random Fact…
In a recent survey, Americans revealed that banana was their favorite smell.
If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.
Mark Twain was born on a day in 1835 when Halley's Comet came into view. When he died in 1910, Halley's Comet was in view again.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
InformationAgePrayer.com is a website that offers, for people too busy to speak to God themselves, a daily service of invocations (using voice-synthesizing software) for Catholics, Protestants, Jews, or Muslims. Starting each day ‘reciting’ the Lords Prayer (or the Islamic Fajr) is $3.95/month. Hail Marys are 70 cents a day for 10. A Complete Rosary Package is $49.95/month. Each prayer is voiced individually, according to a report of LiveScience.com, with the subscriber’s name on the screen. For Muslim prayers, the computer’s speakers point toward Mecca.
Month long events in August
Edinburgh Festival is an internationally famous arts festival that takes place during August National Immunization Awareness Month… National Psoriasis Awareness Month… Women's Small Business Month... National Back to School month…American Adventures Month…Golf Month…National Inventor’s Month…National Win with Civility Month…What will be your legacy Month
Week of Aug 3…
Sturgis Bike Week
Psychic Week
Exhibitor Appreciation Week
2 Aug…
215 days so far this year…150 days remain in 2009
Watermelon Day
*Niger: Independence Day—1960 from France
*Venezuela: Flag Day—since 2006
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1851.....Lady Isabella Caroline Somerset temperance leader
1900.....John T Scopes Tennessee teacher convicted for teaching evolution
1905.....Dolores Del Rio Mexico, actress
1920…..P.D. James mystery writer (Cover Her Face)
1923…..Anne Klein fashion designer
1924…..Leon Uris US, novelist (Exodus, QB VII)
1926…..Tony Bennett Queens NY, singer
1940…..Martin Sheen actor
1941…..Martha Stewart cookbook author, TV Host
1952…..Jay North North Hollywood Calif, actor (Dennis the Menace)
Events on this day…
1492…..Columbus sets sail from Palos, Spain for "Indies"
1678…..Robert LaSalle builds 1st ship in America, Griffon
1829….."William Tell," the final opera of Rossini, has premiers in Paris.
1882.….Congress passes 1st law restricting immigration
1921…..1st aerial cropdusting (Troy Ohio to kill caterpillars)
1936…..Sprinter Jesse Owens wins the first of his four gold medals in Berlin
1949…..Basketball Assoc of America & National Basketball League merge to form the NBA
1952…..15th Olympic games close in Helsinki Finland
1963…..Allan Sherman releases "Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda"
1975…..Louisiana Superdome is dedicated
1981…..Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) begin their strike
1933…..The world-famous Mickey Mouse Watch was introduced.
1966…..Comedian Lenny Bruce died of a morphine overdose this day.
Word Fragment Puzzle
In each of these puzzles, a word fragment is given, and you must think of an English word that contains the fragment -- that is, you must form a word by adding letters to the beginning and/or the end of the fragment. You may not add letters to the middle of the fragment, nor may you rearrange the letters given. Multiple solutions are given for several word fragments (although we omitted most alternate solutions that rely on variations of the same word). To solve the puzzles, however, you only need to find one word for each fragment.
1. Ttre [2]
2. cerb [2]
3. mert [1]
4. nexh [1]
5. drob [1]
6. nves [1]
7. eue [1]
8. ipu [2]
9. gub [1]
10. cion [5]
*Bonus: ucra [2]
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Answers:
1. Buttress mattress
2. Acerbic exacerbate
3. summertime
4. inexhaustible
5. wardrobe
6. invest
7. queue
8. manipulate stipulate
9. lugubrious
10. aficionado conscionable coercion scion suspicion
*Bonus: bureaucrat lucrative
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My deck was 90° today, and we didn’t get any rain. We did have a few promising clouds, but none of them delivered on the promise. So it was just hot most of the afternoon. While it seemed hot, Phoenix had yet another extreme heat warning and they hit 113°.
For many years, before Interstate 40, Williams, AZ was the gateway to the Grand Canyon. It was on Rt. 66 and played the Grand Canyon thing to the hilt. I-40 took a big chunk of the tourist business. Then the town started pushing its Grand Canyon Railroad trip. A steam engine that takes you to the Grand Canyon, on a beautiful ride on an old train, and a hold up is thrown in as a free bonus. As tourist dollars are drying up, the train is dropping the number of trips per day. Well, then Williams talked about having an amusement park with a wild west theme to keep tourists around. It didn’t pan out, yet. The $500 million to $1 billion price tag didn’t get any bites. Now some guy is going to put in a wild animal park. Part of it will be seen by vehicle, another part will be seen by walking. Williams is all excited about the jobs and tourists it will bring. I’m not sure it will be the cash cow that they are expecting. But then, I’m not a businessman.
<> <> <> <> <> <>
Random Fact…
In a recent survey, Americans revealed that banana was their favorite smell.
If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.
Mark Twain was born on a day in 1835 when Halley's Comet came into view. When he died in 1910, Halley's Comet was in view again.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
InformationAgePrayer.com is a website that offers, for people too busy to speak to God themselves, a daily service of invocations (using voice-synthesizing software) for Catholics, Protestants, Jews, or Muslims. Starting each day ‘reciting’ the Lords Prayer (or the Islamic Fajr) is $3.95/month. Hail Marys are 70 cents a day for 10. A Complete Rosary Package is $49.95/month. Each prayer is voiced individually, according to a report of LiveScience.com, with the subscriber’s name on the screen. For Muslim prayers, the computer’s speakers point toward Mecca.
Month long events in August
Edinburgh Festival is an internationally famous arts festival that takes place during August National Immunization Awareness Month… National Psoriasis Awareness Month… Women's Small Business Month... National Back to School month…American Adventures Month…Golf Month…National Inventor’s Month…National Win with Civility Month…What will be your legacy Month
Week of Aug 3…
Sturgis Bike Week
Psychic Week
Exhibitor Appreciation Week
2 Aug…
215 days so far this year…150 days remain in 2009
Watermelon Day
*Niger: Independence Day—1960 from France
*Venezuela: Flag Day—since 2006
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1851.....Lady Isabella Caroline Somerset temperance leader
1900.....John T Scopes Tennessee teacher convicted for teaching evolution
1905.....Dolores Del Rio Mexico, actress
1920…..P.D. James mystery writer (Cover Her Face)
1923…..Anne Klein fashion designer
1924…..Leon Uris US, novelist (Exodus, QB VII)
1926…..Tony Bennett Queens NY, singer
1940…..Martin Sheen actor
1941…..Martha Stewart cookbook author, TV Host
1952…..Jay North North Hollywood Calif, actor (Dennis the Menace)
Events on this day…
1492…..Columbus sets sail from Palos, Spain for "Indies"
1678…..Robert LaSalle builds 1st ship in America, Griffon
1829….."William Tell," the final opera of Rossini, has premiers in Paris.
1882.….Congress passes 1st law restricting immigration
1921…..1st aerial cropdusting (Troy Ohio to kill caterpillars)
1936…..Sprinter Jesse Owens wins the first of his four gold medals in Berlin
1949…..Basketball Assoc of America & National Basketball League merge to form the NBA
1952…..15th Olympic games close in Helsinki Finland
1963…..Allan Sherman releases "Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda"
1975…..Louisiana Superdome is dedicated
1981…..Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) begin their strike
1933…..The world-famous Mickey Mouse Watch was introduced.
1966…..Comedian Lenny Bruce died of a morphine overdose this day.
Word Fragment Puzzle
In each of these puzzles, a word fragment is given, and you must think of an English word that contains the fragment -- that is, you must form a word by adding letters to the beginning and/or the end of the fragment. You may not add letters to the middle of the fragment, nor may you rearrange the letters given. Multiple solutions are given for several word fragments (although we omitted most alternate solutions that rely on variations of the same word). To solve the puzzles, however, you only need to find one word for each fragment.
1. Ttre [2]
2. cerb [2]
3. mert [1]
4. nexh [1]
5. drob [1]
6. nves [1]
7. eue [1]
8. ipu [2]
9. gub [1]
10. cion [5]
*Bonus: ucra [2]
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Answers:
1. Buttress mattress
2. Acerbic exacerbate
3. summertime
4. inexhaustible
5. wardrobe
6. invest
7. queue
8. manipulate stipulate
9. lugubrious
10. aficionado conscionable coercion scion suspicion
*Bonus: bureaucrat lucrative
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Saturday
Retirement sure is good to my BIA friends, and others. One couple is out watching whales in an Alaska Cruise. Another is headed for St. Petersburg on another cruise. Two others are always taking off to see grandkids—one to CA, the other to Phx and Chicago. I only know one Tuba BIAer who is not enjoying her retirement. She is busy raising her three great-grandchildren. I do feel sorry for her, but she took on that responsibility while still working. We all have to make choices and then live with them. BIAers who are still working have one last day to enjoy summer break. Another year of work and another set of students starts on Monday. New programs and new forms abound. Since it is the BIA, many of the new forms do not replace old forms, they only add another couple. It seems like their summer just gets shorter and shorter.
Clouds with no rain here today. Only got to 83°, so it was a good day to be outside. I did take advantage of that with a nice walk. I must say I was glad that I wasn’t getting ready to return to work on Monday.
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Random Fact…
Chocolate only grows within 20 degrees of the equator.
PEZ candy comes from Austria where it originally tasted like peppermint.
In the 1500’s most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell...brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Still in the 1500’s baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"
The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent.
Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
RAINBOW, Calif. - A man who bought a historic Oceanside, Calif., home for $1 and moved it to his property in Rainbow, Calif., said he is now selling it for a lower price -- free. Hayden Perrine said he had originally planned to convert the house, which was built in 1889, into an extension of his home, but San Diego County permits and mandated restorations have made the project too expensive, KGTV, San Diego, reported. "To do everything they're asking me to do to this structure and put the foundation in to code and to secure it to the existing home, it would cost me about $60,000," Perrine said.
Perrine purchased the house for $1 from the city of Oceanside after it offered a number of homes for the price with the stipulation that purchasers move the homes at their own expense. He said the house is now listed on Craigslist as free. He said the purchaser will have to pay to move the house and conduct the county-mandated restorations.
Month long events in August
Edinburgh Festival is an internationally famous arts festival that takes place during August National Immunization Awareness Month… National Psoriasis Awareness Month… Women's Small Business Month... National Back to School month…American Adventures Month…Golf Month…National Inventor’s Month…National Win with Civility Month…What will be your legacy Month
Week of Aug 2…
National Fraud Awareness Week
National Clown Week
Single Working Mother’s Awareness Week
2 Aug…
214 days so far this year…151 days remain in 2009
Sister’s Day
Friendship Day
*Costa Rica: Our Lady of the Angels Day
*Macedonia: Republic Day [1944]/ St. Elijah Day [Summer Storms]
*Russia & Ukraine: Airborne Forces Day
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1696…..Mahmud I Ottoman sultan, fought Austrians & Russians
1754…..Pierre Charles L'Enfant France, architect laid out Wash DC
1892…..Jack L. (Leonard) Warner (Eichelbaum) movie mogul: one of Hollywood’s famed Warner Brothers
1905…..Myrna Loy Montana, actress (Rebound, Emma)
1922…..Carroll O'Connor NYC, actor (All in the Family, Heat of the Night)
1924…..James Baldwin author: Go Tell It on the Mountain
1926…..Betsy Bloomingdale dept store mogul
1932…..Peter O'Toole Ireland, actor
1939…..Wes Craven author: A Nightmare on Elm Street
Events on this day…
1375,,,,,1st roller skating rink opens (London)
1492…..Jews are expelled from Spain by King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella
1622…..The first regular newspaper printed in England. Because of political restrictions, it covers mainly foreign news
1776…..Formal signing of the Declaration of Independence
1798…..British under Adm Horatio Nelson beat French at Battle of Nile
1819…..1st parachute jump in US
1858…..1st street mailboxes-Boston, Mass
1876…..Wild Bill Hickok is shot, his final hand, pairs of aces and eights, becomes known as the "dead man's hand."
1909…..1st Lincoln head pennies minted
1939…..Hatch Act prohibits political activity by federal workers 1943….. PT 109, with JFK. on board, was rammed and sunk
1990 Iraq invades & occupies Kuwait
Word Fragment Puzzle
In each of these puzzles, a word fragment is given, and you must think of an English word that contains the fragment -- that is, you must form a word by adding letters to the beginning and/or the end of the fragment. You may not add letters to the middle of the fragment, nor may you rearrange the letters given. Multiple solutions are given for several word fragments (although we omitted most alternate solutions that rely on variations of the same word). To solve the puzzles, however, you only need to find one word for each fragment.
1. illili [1]
2. ghw [1]
3. nhu [4]
4. nhi [2]
5. nho [6]
6. ayg [1]
7. ehel [1]
8. ewil [1]
9. itn [1]
10. xub [1]
*Bonus: cd[1]
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Answers:
1. milliliter
2. highway
3. inhuman, inhumane, manhunt, unhurt
4. downhill. inhibit
5. buttonhole, greenhouse, inhospitable, manhole, pinhole, townhouse
6. playground
7. beheld
8. bewilder
9. witness
10. exuberant
* BONUS: anecdote
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Clouds with no rain here today. Only got to 83°, so it was a good day to be outside. I did take advantage of that with a nice walk. I must say I was glad that I wasn’t getting ready to return to work on Monday.
<> <> <> <> <> <>
Random Fact…
Chocolate only grows within 20 degrees of the equator.
PEZ candy comes from Austria where it originally tasted like peppermint.
In the 1500’s most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell...brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Still in the 1500’s baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"
The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent.
Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
RAINBOW, Calif. - A man who bought a historic Oceanside, Calif., home for $1 and moved it to his property in Rainbow, Calif., said he is now selling it for a lower price -- free. Hayden Perrine said he had originally planned to convert the house, which was built in 1889, into an extension of his home, but San Diego County permits and mandated restorations have made the project too expensive, KGTV, San Diego, reported. "To do everything they're asking me to do to this structure and put the foundation in to code and to secure it to the existing home, it would cost me about $60,000," Perrine said.
Perrine purchased the house for $1 from the city of Oceanside after it offered a number of homes for the price with the stipulation that purchasers move the homes at their own expense. He said the house is now listed on Craigslist as free. He said the purchaser will have to pay to move the house and conduct the county-mandated restorations.
Month long events in August
Edinburgh Festival is an internationally famous arts festival that takes place during August National Immunization Awareness Month… National Psoriasis Awareness Month… Women's Small Business Month... National Back to School month…American Adventures Month…Golf Month…National Inventor’s Month…National Win with Civility Month…What will be your legacy Month
Week of Aug 2…
National Fraud Awareness Week
National Clown Week
Single Working Mother’s Awareness Week
2 Aug…
214 days so far this year…151 days remain in 2009
Sister’s Day
Friendship Day
*Costa Rica: Our Lady of the Angels Day
*Macedonia: Republic Day [1944]/ St. Elijah Day [Summer Storms]
*Russia & Ukraine: Airborne Forces Day
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1696…..Mahmud I Ottoman sultan, fought Austrians & Russians
1754…..Pierre Charles L'Enfant France, architect laid out Wash DC
1892…..Jack L. (Leonard) Warner (Eichelbaum) movie mogul: one of Hollywood’s famed Warner Brothers
1905…..Myrna Loy Montana, actress (Rebound, Emma)
1922…..Carroll O'Connor NYC, actor (All in the Family, Heat of the Night)
1924…..James Baldwin author: Go Tell It on the Mountain
1926…..Betsy Bloomingdale dept store mogul
1932…..Peter O'Toole Ireland, actor
1939…..Wes Craven author: A Nightmare on Elm Street
Events on this day…
1375,,,,,1st roller skating rink opens (London)
1492…..Jews are expelled from Spain by King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella
1622…..The first regular newspaper printed in England. Because of political restrictions, it covers mainly foreign news
1776…..Formal signing of the Declaration of Independence
1798…..British under Adm Horatio Nelson beat French at Battle of Nile
1819…..1st parachute jump in US
1858…..1st street mailboxes-Boston, Mass
1876…..Wild Bill Hickok is shot, his final hand, pairs of aces and eights, becomes known as the "dead man's hand."
1909…..1st Lincoln head pennies minted
1939…..Hatch Act prohibits political activity by federal workers 1943….. PT 109, with JFK. on board, was rammed and sunk
1990 Iraq invades & occupies Kuwait
Word Fragment Puzzle
In each of these puzzles, a word fragment is given, and you must think of an English word that contains the fragment -- that is, you must form a word by adding letters to the beginning and/or the end of the fragment. You may not add letters to the middle of the fragment, nor may you rearrange the letters given. Multiple solutions are given for several word fragments (although we omitted most alternate solutions that rely on variations of the same word). To solve the puzzles, however, you only need to find one word for each fragment.
1. illili [1]
2. ghw [1]
3. nhu [4]
4. nhi [2]
5. nho [6]
6. ayg [1]
7. ehel [1]
8. ewil [1]
9. itn [1]
10. xub [1]
*Bonus: cd[1]
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Answers:
1. milliliter
2. highway
3. inhuman, inhumane, manhunt, unhurt
4. downhill. inhibit
5. buttonhole, greenhouse, inhospitable, manhole, pinhole, townhouse
6. playground
7. beheld
8. bewilder
9. witness
10. exuberant
* BONUS: anecdote
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Friday
The Cash for Clunkers Program is a really big success. You trade in your old gas guzzler and get $4500 from the government towards the purchase of a more fuel efficient vehicle. It started last week, and in less than a week, the $2 billion dollars is gone. That means about 225,000 people took advantage of it. If each one bought a $20K car, that just put $4.5 billion into the car industry. The one million was supposed to last until November. It was gone in a week. So Congress today proposed another $2 billion for the program. Some are calling this a great success. The $2 billion will come from other energy saving programs that aren’t off the ground yet. Maybe the recession has bottomed out. I personally can’t grasp any of the numbers. I do get the $4500. If I had a clunker, I would probably join in. I also get that the Flagstaff car dealers were complaining that the rebate web site kept crashing the last few days. It takes several hours for the dealership to do one rebate, with all the crashes. Now, the money is gone, unless Congress actually passes the latest bills.
The monsoon brought lots of thunder and lightning to our area, but didn’t drop any rain here. Probably dropped it around town in various places…thus the term isolated thunderstorms. I can’t complain, it never got over 80°. The traffic is building up for the weekend here. So many families heading toward Flag from the extreme heat of Phoenix. Just hope they spend lots of money to help our local economy.
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Random Fact…
The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.
The term 'The Big Apple' was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930's who used the slang expression 'apple' for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple.
There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland; more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy; and more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel..
There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio, every one is man made.
The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia , at just 1.75 sq. miles.
In the 1500’s they used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery.......if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor" But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...........they "didn’t have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
SWANSEA, Wales - After stealing about $1,154 in liquor, two burglars decided to celebrate and got so drunk they fell asleep instead of escaping, police in Swansea, Wales, said. Burglars Keith Cullen and Paul Wiggins stacked up the stolen booze outside the store and then went in to have a drink. Police found them asleep in the store the next morning, The Sun newspaper reported. A Swansea prosecutor said closed circuit television recorded the entire theft of the Kuehne Nagle Drinks Logistics depot.
Police said Cullen turned up for his hearing at Swansea magistrates’ court so drunk he was prohibited from entering the building. Wiggins disappeared from the court.
Neither returned so both were tried in absentia. Cullen, 33, and Wiggins, 45, were convicted of burglary and theft and will be sentenced later.
August:
August is the eighth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. This month was originally named Sextilis in Latin, because it was the sixth month in the ancient Roman calendar, which started in March about 735 BC under Romulus. It became the eighth month either when January and February were added to the beginning of the year by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC or when those two months were moved from the end to the beginning of the year by the decemvirs about 450 BC (Roman writers disagree). It was renamed in honor of Augustus in 8 BC because several of the most significant events in his rise to power, culminating in the fall of Alexandria, fell in this month. Lore claims August originally had 29 days in the Roman Republican calendar. Augustus took two days from February and gave it to August when Sextilis was renamed in his honor. August's flower is the gladiolus or poppy, and its birthstone is the peridot. In common years no other month starts on the same day of the week as August, though in leap years February starts on the same day. August is the only month without a major federal holiday in the United States.
Month long events in August
Edinburgh Festival is an internationally famous arts festival that takes place during August National Immunization Awareness Month… National Psoriasis Awareness Month… Women's Small Business Month... National Back to School month…American Adventures Month…Golf Month…National Inventor’s Month…National Win with Civility Month…What will be your legacy Month
Week of Aug 1…
World Breastfeeding Week…Simplify Your Life Week
1 Aug…
213 days so far this year…152 days remain in 2009
Respect Your Parent’s Day…Sweet Corn Day…World Wide Web Day…National Mustard Day
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1744 Jean-Baptiste Lamarck believed in inheritance of acquired traits
1770 William Clark explorer: Lewis and Clark Expedition
1779 Francis Scott Key composer (Star-Spangled Banner)
1819 Herman Melville US, author (Moby Dick, Billy Budd)
1933 Dom DeLuise NY, comedian, actor (End, Cannonball Run, Fatso)
1936 Yves Saint-Laurent fashion designer (Opium, Obsession)
1942 Jerry Garcia SF, rocker (Grateful Dead)
1948 Cliff Branch football Univ of CO grad
1961 Bart Conner US, parallel bars gymnast
Events on this day…
1619 1st black Americans (20) land at Jamestown, Virginia
1774 Priestly discovers oxygen
1790 1st US census (population of 3,939,214)
1831 London Bridge opens
1869 1st voyage down Colorado River
1876 Colorado becomes 38th state
1944 13-year-old Anne Frank made the last entry in her diary
1953 Calif introduces sales tax (for education)
1960 Chubby Checker releases "The Twist"
1972 1st article exposing Watergate scandal (Bernstein-Woodward)
1982 Greg Louganis, US becomes 1st diver to score 700 in 11 dives
Puzzles return tomorrow…
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The monsoon brought lots of thunder and lightning to our area, but didn’t drop any rain here. Probably dropped it around town in various places…thus the term isolated thunderstorms. I can’t complain, it never got over 80°. The traffic is building up for the weekend here. So many families heading toward Flag from the extreme heat of Phoenix. Just hope they spend lots of money to help our local economy.
<> <> <> <> <> <>
Random Fact…
The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.
The term 'The Big Apple' was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930's who used the slang expression 'apple' for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple.
There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland; more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy; and more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel..
There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio, every one is man made.
The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia , at just 1.75 sq. miles.
In the 1500’s they used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery.......if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor" But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...........they "didn’t have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
SWANSEA, Wales - After stealing about $1,154 in liquor, two burglars decided to celebrate and got so drunk they fell asleep instead of escaping, police in Swansea, Wales, said. Burglars Keith Cullen and Paul Wiggins stacked up the stolen booze outside the store and then went in to have a drink. Police found them asleep in the store the next morning, The Sun newspaper reported. A Swansea prosecutor said closed circuit television recorded the entire theft of the Kuehne Nagle Drinks Logistics depot.
Police said Cullen turned up for his hearing at Swansea magistrates’ court so drunk he was prohibited from entering the building. Wiggins disappeared from the court.
Neither returned so both were tried in absentia. Cullen, 33, and Wiggins, 45, were convicted of burglary and theft and will be sentenced later.
August:
August is the eighth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. This month was originally named Sextilis in Latin, because it was the sixth month in the ancient Roman calendar, which started in March about 735 BC under Romulus. It became the eighth month either when January and February were added to the beginning of the year by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC or when those two months were moved from the end to the beginning of the year by the decemvirs about 450 BC (Roman writers disagree). It was renamed in honor of Augustus in 8 BC because several of the most significant events in his rise to power, culminating in the fall of Alexandria, fell in this month. Lore claims August originally had 29 days in the Roman Republican calendar. Augustus took two days from February and gave it to August when Sextilis was renamed in his honor. August's flower is the gladiolus or poppy, and its birthstone is the peridot. In common years no other month starts on the same day of the week as August, though in leap years February starts on the same day. August is the only month without a major federal holiday in the United States.
Month long events in August
Edinburgh Festival is an internationally famous arts festival that takes place during August National Immunization Awareness Month… National Psoriasis Awareness Month… Women's Small Business Month... National Back to School month…American Adventures Month…Golf Month…National Inventor’s Month…National Win with Civility Month…What will be your legacy Month
Week of Aug 1…
World Breastfeeding Week…Simplify Your Life Week
1 Aug…
213 days so far this year…152 days remain in 2009
Respect Your Parent’s Day…Sweet Corn Day…World Wide Web Day…National Mustard Day
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1744 Jean-Baptiste Lamarck believed in inheritance of acquired traits
1770 William Clark explorer: Lewis and Clark Expedition
1779 Francis Scott Key composer (Star-Spangled Banner)
1819 Herman Melville US, author (Moby Dick, Billy Budd)
1933 Dom DeLuise NY, comedian, actor (End, Cannonball Run, Fatso)
1936 Yves Saint-Laurent fashion designer (Opium, Obsession)
1942 Jerry Garcia SF, rocker (Grateful Dead)
1948 Cliff Branch football Univ of CO grad
1961 Bart Conner US, parallel bars gymnast
Events on this day…
1619 1st black Americans (20) land at Jamestown, Virginia
1774 Priestly discovers oxygen
1790 1st US census (population of 3,939,214)
1831 London Bridge opens
1869 1st voyage down Colorado River
1876 Colorado becomes 38th state
1944 13-year-old Anne Frank made the last entry in her diary
1953 Calif introduces sales tax (for education)
1960 Chubby Checker releases "The Twist"
1972 1st article exposing Watergate scandal (Bernstein-Woodward)
1982 Greg Louganis, US becomes 1st diver to score 700 in 11 dives
Puzzles return tomorrow…
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The monsoon came and dumped today. Sure kept things nice and cool. A friend lost her modem by lightning strike near her rural home. That has to be a bummer. Another one of my friends has a summer house in Oregon. She let everyone know today that Oregon is very very hot and that no one has air conditioning. In fact many don’t even have fans. People are really suffering up there. While the house is beach front, on private land, they say it is virtually impossible to drive anywhere because all the private streets are filled with cars of beach goers. The public lots are filled and people will park anywhere to get to the water. Not a place I would want to be right now.
I got a call today from Hamdy, my roommate from the Egypt trip. It seems everything is going well for the trip to South Africa. I guess it’s about time to start doing some research on that part of our world. I need to find some on line newspapers from South Africa, Botswana, and Zambia. I also need to start learning about the Game Preserves we will be in. We don’t leave until late October, but it’s never too soon to start some real research. This should be a great trip. The Internet sure makes research so much easier. When I was in school, learning about Africa, Zambia had just changed from Northern Rhodesia to Zambia. They ended a century of British Rule in 1964. Botswana didn’t get its independence until 1966. It used to known to Westerners as Bechuanaland. I remember Africa being called the “Dark Continent”. Was that because the sun didn’t shine that much over there? Was it because Negroes lived there? Was it because Americans were in the dark about what was really happening over there? I’m afraid that Edgar Rice Burroughs and many imitators gave me a more visual, though fictitious, picture of Africa. Even the factual Livingston and Stanley story rings loud, while the daily lives in Africa below the equator is currently silent in my understanding. While the late 60’s were a time of big change in the US, it was also a time of even bigger change in Africa. All three countries we will visit are new to democracy. I look forward to updating my knowledge base.
Daily newspapers in English abound from Egypt and of course Scotland. I’m sure there will be many from South Africa, and at least one or two from Botswana and Zambia. When I searched for Egyptian papers I found some that were very pro-American, and a few that were not. This did help me prepare for meeting the people when I got there. While I didn’t meet any anti-Americans I did find some people that were not exactly pro-American. I was glad I had some background to better understand their positions. I plan to have a better understanding of the area before I get there, so I can learn more while there.
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Random Fact…
If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die
Ants stretch when they wake up in the morning.
Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.
Istanbul (aka Constantinople), Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.
Los Angeles' full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula -- and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: L.A.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
WELLS, England - Officials with western England’s Wookey Hole Caves said more than 2,000 people have applied to become the attraction’s new resident witch. Organizers of the search to find a resident witch for the Wells England Caves said the performer will earn $82,000 per year portraying a legendary witch said to have lived in the caves during the Dark Ages, CNN reported. Local legend states the witch lived with goats in the cave until she was turned to stone by a splash of holy water from an Abbot. Some proponents of the legend say the frozen figure of the witch can be seen in the cave’s rock formations.
The witch was alleged to have caused diseases, soured milk and cursed crops. The organizers said the applicants will each have one minute to convince a panel of judges that they have the best cackle and can make good use of their witch props. They said men, women and transgendered people are equally welcome to audition.
July is…
…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 31…
Moby Dick Week
July 31…
212 days so far this year…153 days remain in 2009
System Administrator Appreciation Day
*Malaysia: Hair Pahlawan Day—Warrior’s Day
*Ka Hae Hawai’I Day—Hawaiian Flag Day
*Mexico : Day of National Mourning (1811-Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla)
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1803
John Ericsson US, invented screw propeller, built USS Monitor
1841
George Melville polar explorer, naval engineer
1867
S.S. (Sebastian Spering) Kresge merchant: S.S. Kresge’s five & dime stores [now Kmart]
1912
Milton Friedman economist (Nobel 1976)
1919
Curt Gowdy Green River Wyo, sportscaster (ABC)
1943
William Bennett US Secretary of Education (1985-88)/drug czar
1945
Gary Lewis (Levitch)
singer: group: Gary Lewis and the Playboys: This Diamond Ring
1962
Wesley Snipes actor
1966
Dean Cain actor
IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1498
Christopher Columbus discovers island of Trinidad
1777
Marquis de Lafayette, 19, made major-general of Continental Army
1912
US government prohibits movies & photos of prize fights (censorship)
1925
Unemployment Insurance Act passed in England
1948
Pres Truman dedicates Idlewild Field (Kennedy Airport), NY
1953
Dept of Health, Education & Welfare created
1960
Elijah Muhammad, leader of Nation of Islam, calls for a black state
1972
Thomas Eagleton withdraws as Democratic VP candidate
1975
Jimmy Hoffa, the former president of the Teamsters union, is reported missing
Word Fragments Puzzle
In each of these puzzles, a word fragment is given, and you must think of an English word that contains the fragment -- that is, you must form a word by adding letters to the beginning and/or the end of the fragment. You may not add letters to the middle of the fragment, nor may you rearrange the letters given.
Multiple solutions are given for several word fragments and are shown in brackets (although we omitted most alternate solutions that rely on variations of the same word). To solve the puzzles, however, you only need to find one word for each fragment.
Example: choan [1]
Answer: psychoanalysis
1. rogl [3]
2. choan[2]
3. ylop [1]
4. rehen [5]
5. leco [2]
6. hep [1]
7. nuu [1]
8. aa [2]
9. ioa [1]
10. tegr [2]
*Bonus caj [2]
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Answers
1. Hieroglyphic, nitroglycerine, troglodyte
2. psychoanalysis
3. xylophone
4. apprehend comprehend incomprehensible prehensile reprehensible
5. telecommunicate teleconference
6. shepherd
7. continuum
8. aardvark bazaar
9. radioactive
10. integral integrity
*Bonus: cajole cajun
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I got a call today from Hamdy, my roommate from the Egypt trip. It seems everything is going well for the trip to South Africa. I guess it’s about time to start doing some research on that part of our world. I need to find some on line newspapers from South Africa, Botswana, and Zambia. I also need to start learning about the Game Preserves we will be in. We don’t leave until late October, but it’s never too soon to start some real research. This should be a great trip. The Internet sure makes research so much easier. When I was in school, learning about Africa, Zambia had just changed from Northern Rhodesia to Zambia. They ended a century of British Rule in 1964. Botswana didn’t get its independence until 1966. It used to known to Westerners as Bechuanaland. I remember Africa being called the “Dark Continent”. Was that because the sun didn’t shine that much over there? Was it because Negroes lived there? Was it because Americans were in the dark about what was really happening over there? I’m afraid that Edgar Rice Burroughs and many imitators gave me a more visual, though fictitious, picture of Africa. Even the factual Livingston and Stanley story rings loud, while the daily lives in Africa below the equator is currently silent in my understanding. While the late 60’s were a time of big change in the US, it was also a time of even bigger change in Africa. All three countries we will visit are new to democracy. I look forward to updating my knowledge base.
Daily newspapers in English abound from Egypt and of course Scotland. I’m sure there will be many from South Africa, and at least one or two from Botswana and Zambia. When I searched for Egyptian papers I found some that were very pro-American, and a few that were not. This did help me prepare for meeting the people when I got there. While I didn’t meet any anti-Americans I did find some people that were not exactly pro-American. I was glad I had some background to better understand their positions. I plan to have a better understanding of the area before I get there, so I can learn more while there.
<> <> <> <> <> <>
Random Fact…
If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die
Ants stretch when they wake up in the morning.
Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.
Istanbul (aka Constantinople), Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.
Los Angeles' full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula -- and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: L.A.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
WELLS, England - Officials with western England’s Wookey Hole Caves said more than 2,000 people have applied to become the attraction’s new resident witch. Organizers of the search to find a resident witch for the Wells England Caves said the performer will earn $82,000 per year portraying a legendary witch said to have lived in the caves during the Dark Ages, CNN reported. Local legend states the witch lived with goats in the cave until she was turned to stone by a splash of holy water from an Abbot. Some proponents of the legend say the frozen figure of the witch can be seen in the cave’s rock formations.
The witch was alleged to have caused diseases, soured milk and cursed crops. The organizers said the applicants will each have one minute to convince a panel of judges that they have the best cackle and can make good use of their witch props. They said men, women and transgendered people are equally welcome to audition.
July is…
…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 31…
Moby Dick Week
July 31…
212 days so far this year…153 days remain in 2009
System Administrator Appreciation Day
*Malaysia: Hair Pahlawan Day—Warrior’s Day
*Ka Hae Hawai’I Day—Hawaiian Flag Day
*Mexico : Day of National Mourning (1811-Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla)
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1803
John Ericsson US, invented screw propeller, built USS Monitor
1841
George Melville polar explorer, naval engineer
1867
S.S. (Sebastian Spering) Kresge merchant: S.S. Kresge’s five & dime stores [now Kmart]
1912
Milton Friedman economist (Nobel 1976)
1919
Curt Gowdy Green River Wyo, sportscaster (ABC)
1943
William Bennett US Secretary of Education (1985-88)/drug czar
1945
Gary Lewis (Levitch)
singer: group: Gary Lewis and the Playboys: This Diamond Ring
1962
Wesley Snipes actor
1966
Dean Cain actor
IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1498
Christopher Columbus discovers island of Trinidad
1777
Marquis de Lafayette, 19, made major-general of Continental Army
1912
US government prohibits movies & photos of prize fights (censorship)
1925
Unemployment Insurance Act passed in England
1948
Pres Truman dedicates Idlewild Field (Kennedy Airport), NY
1953
Dept of Health, Education & Welfare created
1960
Elijah Muhammad, leader of Nation of Islam, calls for a black state
1972
Thomas Eagleton withdraws as Democratic VP candidate
1975
Jimmy Hoffa, the former president of the Teamsters union, is reported missing
Word Fragments Puzzle
In each of these puzzles, a word fragment is given, and you must think of an English word that contains the fragment -- that is, you must form a word by adding letters to the beginning and/or the end of the fragment. You may not add letters to the middle of the fragment, nor may you rearrange the letters given.
Multiple solutions are given for several word fragments and are shown in brackets (although we omitted most alternate solutions that rely on variations of the same word). To solve the puzzles, however, you only need to find one word for each fragment.
Example: choan [1]
Answer: psychoanalysis
1. rogl [3]
2. choan[2]
3. ylop [1]
4. rehen [5]
5. leco [2]
6. hep [1]
7. nuu [1]
8. aa [2]
9. ioa [1]
10. tegr [2]
*Bonus caj [2]
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<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
Answers
1. Hieroglyphic, nitroglycerine, troglodyte
2. psychoanalysis
3. xylophone
4. apprehend comprehend incomprehensible prehensile reprehensible
5. telecommunicate teleconference
6. shepherd
7. continuum
8. aardvark bazaar
9. radioactive
10. integral integrity
*Bonus: cajole cajun
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MidWeek
No monsoon, no clouds, no breeze. My deck hit 90° again today. Humidity was around 30% so it wasn’t the best of weather days. With only two days left in July, Flagstaff is getting set to have one the hottest July in a long time. Heat is so relative. Those in Phoenix are used to what they call triple digits. They too are complaining about this July, with many days well above 110°. I keep reminding myself, it’s a dry heat. I know I would have trouble in NYC right now. Way too hot with way too much humidity.
I really didn’t do very much today. I got a haircut and did some quick shopping. Our old WalMart is doing something—inside and out. Much of the parking lot is blocked off—much like the Sam’s Club lot has been for several months. Sam’s is building a gas station. I spent a short time in WalMart. It is remodeling. The last time I was there it was easy to go down the side main aisles. They had no stuff in those main wide aisles. It was nice. Well today, they have filled the main aisles again, but not with stuff a customer can buy. They filled them with boxes on pallets. It looks like everything is moving. Don’t think I’ll be going back until they finish. Moving stuff is fine. Moving whole departments is fine. Finding the things I needed was not easy. So, until they finish I will find what I need somewhere else or go without. They had a big stand up sign at the entrance saying they had temp jobs for people with three shifts, for about a month. Good for them. I’ll come back in late August.
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Random Fact…
Fortune cookies were actually invented in America, in 1918,
by Charles Jung.
Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is an Indian word meaning 'Big Village.'
Next to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.
Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan carries the designation M-1, so named because it was the first paved road anywhere.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
27-year-old Chris Parks of Seattle had just flown back to the United States from a vacation in Mexico with friends. He was going through customs in an airport in North Carolina when his name caught the attention of Homeland Security personnel. Before he knew it Parks was arrested and tossed into the county jail in Charlotte and locked up for one week. When told he was a fugitive, he was floored. His crime? He was a deserter from the military.
The only problem is Parks was never in the military.
“I’ve been in the Army for 10 years, and didn’t even know it,” he says. “Just seems kind of odd.”
No one believed him. Parks was ordered to report to Fort Knox in Kentucky - where he sat and waited and waited some more with actual military deserters.
His head was shaved, he was issued fatigues. He was afraid he would be court-martialed.
“I was at Fort Knox for one week - and I almost didn’t get out,” says Parks.
Parks says when he was 18, he nearly joined the Army. But at the last minute, he backed out. Apparently, that message never got through military’s system.
Despite the army’s paperwork showing that Parks went through basic training in South Carolina, then went AWOL from a base in Georgia, he insists that never happened, and wonders if
his military recruiter from 10 years ago hung him out to dry by never processing his paperwork. Parks says he now carries documents to prove to authorities he’s not a deserter.
July is…
…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 27…
World Hacky-Sack Week
July 30…
211 days so far this year…154 days remain in 2009
Cheesecake Day
Father-In-Law Day
*Vanuatu – Independence Day (formerly Anglo-French condominium of the New Hebrides)
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1818
Emily Bronte England, novelist (Wuthering Heights)
1863
Henry Ford Dearborn Township, Mich, auto maker (Ford)
1889
Vladimir Zworykin, developer of television
1890
Casey Stengel NY Yankee (1949-60) & 1st NY Met manager
1933
Edd "Kookie" Byrnes (Breitenberger) LA, actor (77 Sunset Strip,
1939
Peter Bogdanovich director
1940
Patricia Schroeder (Rep-D-Colo)
1941
Paul Anka songwriter
1947
Arnold Schwarzenegger Austria, actor, politician
1956
Delta Burke Orlando Fla, actress
1961
Laurence Fishburne (Lawrence Fishburne III/Larry Fishburne)Tony Award-winning actor
IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1619
House of Burgesses Virginia formed, 1st elective US governing body
1836
1st English newspaper published in Hawaii
1928
George Eastman demonstrates 1st color movie
1931
Russel Boardman and John Polando land their Monoplane in Istanbul, Turkey today in 49 hrs and 20 minutes since leaving New York setting a new long distance non stop world record
1935
The first Penguin paperback book is published, an early step in the paperback revolution that would take off after World War II.
1956
US motto "In God We Trust" authorized
1965
LBJ signs Medicare bill, which went into effect following year
Word Fragments Puzzle
In each of these puzzles, a word fragment is given, and you must think of an English word that contains the fragment -- that is, you must form a word by adding letters to the beginning and/or the end of the fragment. You may not add letters to the middle of the fragment, nor may you rearrange the letters given.
Multiple solutions are given for several word fragments and are shown in brackets (although we omitted most alternate solutions that rely on variations of the same word). To solve the puzzles, however, you only need to find one word for each fragment.
Example: choan [1]
Answer: psychoanalysis
1. llel [3]
2. osoe [1]
3. iloli [1]
4. atula [2]
5. terb [8]
6. thom [1]
7. alibr [2]
8. wkw [2]
9. lywo [9]
10. athem [2]
*Bonus oela [1]
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Answers
1. allele hallelujah parallel
2. whosoever
3. kiloliter
4. congratulations spatula
5. butterball chatterbox counterbalance jitterbug litterbug quarterback scatterbrain terbium
6. fathom
7. calibrate caliber
8. hawkweed awkward
9. plywood pollywog
10. anathema mathematics
*Bonus: shoelace viscoelastic
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I really didn’t do very much today. I got a haircut and did some quick shopping. Our old WalMart is doing something—inside and out. Much of the parking lot is blocked off—much like the Sam’s Club lot has been for several months. Sam’s is building a gas station. I spent a short time in WalMart. It is remodeling. The last time I was there it was easy to go down the side main aisles. They had no stuff in those main wide aisles. It was nice. Well today, they have filled the main aisles again, but not with stuff a customer can buy. They filled them with boxes on pallets. It looks like everything is moving. Don’t think I’ll be going back until they finish. Moving stuff is fine. Moving whole departments is fine. Finding the things I needed was not easy. So, until they finish I will find what I need somewhere else or go without. They had a big stand up sign at the entrance saying they had temp jobs for people with three shifts, for about a month. Good for them. I’ll come back in late August.
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Random Fact…
Fortune cookies were actually invented in America, in 1918,
by Charles Jung.
Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is an Indian word meaning 'Big Village.'
Next to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.
Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan carries the designation M-1, so named because it was the first paved road anywhere.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
27-year-old Chris Parks of Seattle had just flown back to the United States from a vacation in Mexico with friends. He was going through customs in an airport in North Carolina when his name caught the attention of Homeland Security personnel. Before he knew it Parks was arrested and tossed into the county jail in Charlotte and locked up for one week. When told he was a fugitive, he was floored. His crime? He was a deserter from the military.
The only problem is Parks was never in the military.
“I’ve been in the Army for 10 years, and didn’t even know it,” he says. “Just seems kind of odd.”
No one believed him. Parks was ordered to report to Fort Knox in Kentucky - where he sat and waited and waited some more with actual military deserters.
His head was shaved, he was issued fatigues. He was afraid he would be court-martialed.
“I was at Fort Knox for one week - and I almost didn’t get out,” says Parks.
Parks says when he was 18, he nearly joined the Army. But at the last minute, he backed out. Apparently, that message never got through military’s system.
Despite the army’s paperwork showing that Parks went through basic training in South Carolina, then went AWOL from a base in Georgia, he insists that never happened, and wonders if
his military recruiter from 10 years ago hung him out to dry by never processing his paperwork. Parks says he now carries documents to prove to authorities he’s not a deserter.
July is…
…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 27…
World Hacky-Sack Week
July 30…
211 days so far this year…154 days remain in 2009
Cheesecake Day
Father-In-Law Day
*Vanuatu – Independence Day (formerly Anglo-French condominium of the New Hebrides)
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1818
Emily Bronte England, novelist (Wuthering Heights)
1863
Henry Ford Dearborn Township, Mich, auto maker (Ford)
1889
Vladimir Zworykin, developer of television
1890
Casey Stengel NY Yankee (1949-60) & 1st NY Met manager
1933
Edd "Kookie" Byrnes (Breitenberger) LA, actor (77 Sunset Strip,
1939
Peter Bogdanovich director
1940
Patricia Schroeder (Rep-D-Colo)
1941
Paul Anka songwriter
1947
Arnold Schwarzenegger Austria, actor, politician
1956
Delta Burke Orlando Fla, actress
1961
Laurence Fishburne (Lawrence Fishburne III/Larry Fishburne)Tony Award-winning actor
IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1619
House of Burgesses Virginia formed, 1st elective US governing body
1836
1st English newspaper published in Hawaii
1928
George Eastman demonstrates 1st color movie
1931
Russel Boardman and John Polando land their Monoplane in Istanbul, Turkey today in 49 hrs and 20 minutes since leaving New York setting a new long distance non stop world record
1935
The first Penguin paperback book is published, an early step in the paperback revolution that would take off after World War II.
1956
US motto "In God We Trust" authorized
1965
LBJ signs Medicare bill, which went into effect following year
Word Fragments Puzzle
In each of these puzzles, a word fragment is given, and you must think of an English word that contains the fragment -- that is, you must form a word by adding letters to the beginning and/or the end of the fragment. You may not add letters to the middle of the fragment, nor may you rearrange the letters given.
Multiple solutions are given for several word fragments and are shown in brackets (although we omitted most alternate solutions that rely on variations of the same word). To solve the puzzles, however, you only need to find one word for each fragment.
Example: choan [1]
Answer: psychoanalysis
1. llel [3]
2. osoe [1]
3. iloli [1]
4. atula [2]
5. terb [8]
6. thom [1]
7. alibr [2]
8. wkw [2]
9. lywo [9]
10. athem [2]
*Bonus oela [1]
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Answers
1. allele hallelujah parallel
2. whosoever
3. kiloliter
4. congratulations spatula
5. butterball chatterbox counterbalance jitterbug litterbug quarterback scatterbrain terbium
6. fathom
7. calibrate caliber
8. hawkweed awkward
9. plywood pollywog
10. anathema mathematics
*Bonus: shoelace viscoelastic
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Two last comments on the Birthers…I learned today, a little late I guess, that John McCain was born on a military base in Panama. Obama was born in the 50th state, and it had been a state for 6 years when he was born. Panama still isn’t a state, and never will be. I guess the birthers believe that being born on a military base is the same as being born in the US, while being born in a new state doesn’t count. Such craziness. I also learned today that conspiracy theories are not new…well I did know that. Mary Todd Lincoln, a southerner, had to have all her mail, to her relatives, during the Civil War, read by the government, to squelch the theory that she was sending Northern troop movements to the enemy. I guess conspiracy theories will always be around. I still don’t believe the ‘magic bullet’ theory.
AARP had a live town hall meeting with Obama on Health Care. It was on CNN and available on the Internet. I did get some good information and heard some questions from elderly who are really scared. One person stated that she didn’t want ‘socialized medicine’ and didn’t want changes to her Medicare. Huh? Another wanted Obama to promise that the government wouldn’t be sending a person to all Medicare recipients with a form to fill out on how they wanted to die. Of course he answered both ladies quite well. What so many people don’t seem to believe is that our heath care system is a mess. It is much too profit based. It is fraught with waste. It can’t stay the same.
Our monsoon didn’t come today and the thermometer rose to 92° on my deck. Air inside and out was just stagnant. I had the cooler on for most of the afternoon.
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Random Fact…
Crayons were invented in New York in 1903. Crayons were invented in New York in 1903.
Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica. This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert.. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches. Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, that is), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
INDIANAPOLIS - A venomous scorpion hitched a ride on a jet plane bound from Phoenix to Indianapolis and stung one passenger before it was captured when the aircraft landed.
Marilee McInnis, a spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines, said the passenger was not seriously hurt and the Arizona bark scorpion and five of its babies were destroyed after Flight 2093 arrived at Indianapolis International Airport, the Indianapolis Star reported. Airport spokeswoman
Susan Sullivan said Douglas Herbstsommer, 44, discovered the arachnids in his carry-on luggage and was stung by the adult about a half an hour before the plane landed.
Herbstsommer was treated at the airport and did not require hospitalization. McInnis said the jetliner was fumigated overnight to make sure there were no additional scorpions.
July is…
…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 27…
World Hacky-Sack Week
July 29…
210 days so far this year…155 days remain in 2009
Lasagna Day
Rain Day
*Romania: National Anthem Day [1848-unofficial; 1989-official]
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1805
Alexis de Tocqueville France, statesman/writer (Democracy in America)
1869
Booth Tarkington US, novelist (17, Magnificent Ambersons)
1871
[Gregory Efimovich] Rasputin the mad Russian monk
1883
Benito Mussolini [Il Duce], Fascist Italian dictator
1892
William Powell actor (Thin Man, My Man Godfrey)
1905
-Clara Bow silent screen actress
-Dag Hammarskjuld 2nd UN Secretary-General (1953-61) (Nobel 1961)
1907
Melvin Belli Sonora Calif, lawyer
1924
Robert Horton LA Calif, actor (Wagon Train)
1933
Robert Fuller Troy NY, actor (Wagon Train)
1938
Peter Jennings Toronto Canada, news anchor
1953
Ken Burns Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, director
IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1588
Attacking Spanish Armada defeated & scattered by English defenders
1715
10 Spanish treasure galleons sunk off Florida coast by hurricane
1773
1st schoolhouse west of Allegheny Mtns completed, Schoenbrunn, OH
1848
During the Potato Famine in Ireland, a nationalist rebellion led by William Smith O'Brien is crushed, and O'Brien arrested.
1928
Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie" is released
1958
Pres Eisenhower signs NASA & Space Act of 1958
1965
Beatles movie "Help" premiers, Queen Elizabeth attends
1970
6 days of race rioting in Hartford Ct
1981
Millions of people around the world watched on television as England’s Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
1996
Carl Lewis won his ninth Olympic gold medal by winning the long jump competition at the 1996 LA Olympic games
Category Puzzle
Each of the three words can be made into a common word or two word phrase
Example: play, beef, rocky
Answer: ground
1. House, star, street
2. Cart, fifth, chair
3. Theme, trailer, ball
4. Thumb, ever, onion
5. Hog, board, mouth
6. Video, board, waiting
7. Cheese, guitar, along
8. Master, wedding, side
9. Oil, rattle, eyes
10. Rocket, night, lark
*Bonus: Neck, snapping, dove
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Answers
1. Light
2. Wheel
3. Park
4. Green
5. Wash
6. Game
7. String
8. Ring
9. Snake
10. Sky
*Bonus: Turtle
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AARP had a live town hall meeting with Obama on Health Care. It was on CNN and available on the Internet. I did get some good information and heard some questions from elderly who are really scared. One person stated that she didn’t want ‘socialized medicine’ and didn’t want changes to her Medicare. Huh? Another wanted Obama to promise that the government wouldn’t be sending a person to all Medicare recipients with a form to fill out on how they wanted to die. Of course he answered both ladies quite well. What so many people don’t seem to believe is that our heath care system is a mess. It is much too profit based. It is fraught with waste. It can’t stay the same.
Our monsoon didn’t come today and the thermometer rose to 92° on my deck. Air inside and out was just stagnant. I had the cooler on for most of the afternoon.
<> <> <> <> <> <>
Random Fact…
Crayons were invented in New York in 1903. Crayons were invented in New York in 1903.
Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica. This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert.. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches. Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, that is), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
INDIANAPOLIS - A venomous scorpion hitched a ride on a jet plane bound from Phoenix to Indianapolis and stung one passenger before it was captured when the aircraft landed.
Marilee McInnis, a spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines, said the passenger was not seriously hurt and the Arizona bark scorpion and five of its babies were destroyed after Flight 2093 arrived at Indianapolis International Airport, the Indianapolis Star reported. Airport spokeswoman
Susan Sullivan said Douglas Herbstsommer, 44, discovered the arachnids in his carry-on luggage and was stung by the adult about a half an hour before the plane landed.
Herbstsommer was treated at the airport and did not require hospitalization. McInnis said the jetliner was fumigated overnight to make sure there were no additional scorpions.
July is…
…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 27…
World Hacky-Sack Week
July 29…
210 days so far this year…155 days remain in 2009
Lasagna Day
Rain Day
*Romania: National Anthem Day [1848-unofficial; 1989-official]
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1805
Alexis de Tocqueville France, statesman/writer (Democracy in America)
1869
Booth Tarkington US, novelist (17, Magnificent Ambersons)
1871
[Gregory Efimovich] Rasputin the mad Russian monk
1883
Benito Mussolini [Il Duce], Fascist Italian dictator
1892
William Powell actor (Thin Man, My Man Godfrey)
1905
-Clara Bow silent screen actress
-Dag Hammarskjuld 2nd UN Secretary-General (1953-61) (Nobel 1961)
1907
Melvin Belli Sonora Calif, lawyer
1924
Robert Horton LA Calif, actor (Wagon Train)
1933
Robert Fuller Troy NY, actor (Wagon Train)
1938
Peter Jennings Toronto Canada, news anchor
1953
Ken Burns Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, director
IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1588
Attacking Spanish Armada defeated & scattered by English defenders
1715
10 Spanish treasure galleons sunk off Florida coast by hurricane
1773
1st schoolhouse west of Allegheny Mtns completed, Schoenbrunn, OH
1848
During the Potato Famine in Ireland, a nationalist rebellion led by William Smith O'Brien is crushed, and O'Brien arrested.
1928
Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie" is released
1958
Pres Eisenhower signs NASA & Space Act of 1958
1965
Beatles movie "Help" premiers, Queen Elizabeth attends
1970
6 days of race rioting in Hartford Ct
1981
Millions of people around the world watched on television as England’s Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
1996
Carl Lewis won his ninth Olympic gold medal by winning the long jump competition at the 1996 LA Olympic games
Category Puzzle
Each of the three words can be made into a common word or two word phrase
Example: play, beef, rocky
Answer: ground
1. House, star, street
2. Cart, fifth, chair
3. Theme, trailer, ball
4. Thumb, ever, onion
5. Hog, board, mouth
6. Video, board, waiting
7. Cheese, guitar, along
8. Master, wedding, side
9. Oil, rattle, eyes
10. Rocket, night, lark
*Bonus: Neck, snapping, dove
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Answers
1. Light
2. Wheel
3. Park
4. Green
5. Wash
6. Game
7. String
8. Ring
9. Snake
10. Sky
*Bonus: Turtle
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birthers
Another monsoon cooled us off and wet the forest quite nicely. It wasn’t anywhere like yesterdays downpour, but it works. Clouds are still around so more is coming. So many of my non-Arizona friends still don’t get that we are above 7000’, and a whole lot cooler than Phoenix. Several out of state friends emailed me today to ask how was surviving the ‘extreme heat’. They had seen on TV that much of Arizona was under an ‘extreme heat warning’ meaning stay inside, drink lots of water, and don’t drive more than necessary. As I explained, I am in Northern Arizona where a really day is around 90° and we are having a nice monsoon season which keeps us much cooler than even that. I am reminded almost daily that, to many citizens in this country, Arizona is Phoenix. I remind them that when a tornado hit Fort Collins, Colorado last year, I didn’t ask my Denver friends if they saw it. It’s OK, even though these friends don’t know AZ, they know I live there and are concerned. That is good.
This ‘birther’ issue—is our President a natural-born citizen—is getting out of hand. First I should say, I have no question that he was born in Hawaii. When I retired and needed a passport, I couldn’t find the birth certificate I grew up with. I do remember it though. It was a very old copy. It was black with white type. It had an embossed seal. It was not an original birth certificate. [I digress. It was the one the State of Colorado produced for me after I was officially adopted. For whatever reason, the really original—with my birth name and at least birth mother’s name was locked up somewhere for no one to see. Not even me. Laws have changed, and I guess I could get a copy of it now—if I was interested. However this white writing on black paper said I was born. It said it was a live birth. It didn’t say I was a bastard—even though I was.] Back to point about Obama’s birth certificate. When the State of Colorado mailed me an official copy of my birth certificate, it was a nice computer print out. It didn’t show a lot of the information that was on the old certificate. Today, there was a news story about Obama’s birth certificate. It was held up by some official in Hawaii. I knew right away it wasn’t the original. It looked a lot like the one I now have. It’s clean, computer generated, and has a computer generated seal.
I’m not surprised that some conservatives don’t want to accept that certificate. Many of them don’t want anything that comes from a computer. They believe that computers are the beginning of the end. No computerized medical records is also part of their call. I am beginning to think many of the ‘birthers’ aren’t really sure that Hawaii is part of the United States. When they were in school, they learned about the Hawaiian King Kamehameha. Any person born in Hawaii may not be a natural born citizen.
Some Americans still aren’t sure that New Mexico is part of the US. Remember the Olympics mess when an Atlanta ticket seller wouldn’t sell America tickets to a family in Santa Fe, NM, because they had to go through their local embassy. Remember that many Americans who travel to New Mexico and/or Hawaii ask their travel agent the exchange rate in that area. We have many out there who just don’t understand.
Politicians will continue to cater to their constituency, and if the ‘birthers’ are loud enough, few of today’s politicians will stand up and tell these people to ‘get a life.’
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Random Fact…
Number of words in the first sentence of Bill Clinton’s memoir and in that of George W. Bush’s, respectively: 49, 5
Men get hiccups more often than women.
A house in Baghdad worth $15,000 before the Iraq war now sells for $120,000 to $150,000.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - A 93-year-old Illinois man says he is marrying his third-grade sweetheart after 85 years apart. Roland “Mac” McKitrick, 93, of Arlington Heights, proposed to Lorraine Beatty, 92, of Georgia, about three years after they reconnected following an 85-year interruption in their friendship, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald reported. “She was my third-grade sweetheart back in 1921,” McKitrick said. “We knew each other for about one year. Then, for all practical purposes, we lost contact for 85 years.” But McKitrick said both he and Beatty had brothers living in Connecticut who became friends, and the two reunited through their brothers. “I still picture her as my third-grade sweetheart. I’ve carried that in the back of my mind since that time,”
McKitrick said. He said he still has a photograph of himself with Beatty taken when they were children. “That snapshot stayed in my memory,” he said, “and her face stayed in my memory.”
July is…
…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 27…
World Hacky-Sack Week
July 28…
209 days so far this year…156 days remain in 2009
National Milk Chocolate Day
*Peru: Independence Day [1821]
*Faroe Islands [1/2 way between Scotland & Iceland]: Olvasoka Eve [opens Parliament]
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1165
Ibn al-'Arabi Muslim mystic/philosopher
1844
Gerard Manley Hopkins England, poet (The Windhover)
1866
Beatrix Potter England, children's author (Tale of Peter Rabbit)
1892
Joe E Brown Holgate Ohio, comedian
1901
Rudy Vallee Vt, singer
1907
Vivian Vance Cherryvale Ks, actress (Ethel Mertz-I Love Lucy)
1916
David Brown NYC, director (Jaws, Planet of the Apes)
1929
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis 1st lady
1945
Jim Davis cartoonist (Garfield)
1948
-Georgia Engel Wash DC, actress (Georgette-Mary Tyler Moore Show)
- Sally (Ann) Struthers Emmy Award-winning actress
IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1586
Sir Thomas Harriot introduces potatoes to Europe
1851
Total solar eclipse captured on a daguerreotype photograph
1862
Fort Bowie is established in the Apache Pass, in southeastern Arizona, by members of Brigadier General James Charlatan's California volunteers.
1865
The American Dental Association proposed its first code of ethics
1866
Metric system becomes a legal measurement system in US
1868
14th Amendment ratified, citizenship to ex-slaves
1900
Hamburger created by Louis Lassing in Connecticut
1915
US forces invade Haiti, stays until 1924
1931
Congress makes "The Star-Spangled Banner" our 2nd national anthem
1943
Pres FDR announces end of coffee rationing in US
1959
Hawaii's 1st US election sends 1st Asian-Americans to Congress
1999
Federal Regulators from the SEC have given until August 1st for Brokerage firms to prove compliance with Y2K or a court order will be obtained to close them down on December 31st.
Category Puzzle
Each of the three words can be made into a common word or two word phrase
Example: play, beef, rocky
Answer: ground
1. Off, crow, tactics
2. Reading, stick, fat
3. Hook, jelly, bowl
4. Hay, smoke, up
5. Dog, frog, fighter
6. Weight, fly, sand
7. Above, floor, walk
8. Watch, house, gone
9. Hard, under, up
10. Fitting, land, free
*Bonus: salt, melon, white
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Answers
1. Scare
2. Lip
3. Fish
4. Stack
5. Bull
6. Paper
7. Board
8. Dog
9. Cover
10. Form
*Bonus: Water
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This ‘birther’ issue—is our President a natural-born citizen—is getting out of hand. First I should say, I have no question that he was born in Hawaii. When I retired and needed a passport, I couldn’t find the birth certificate I grew up with. I do remember it though. It was a very old copy. It was black with white type. It had an embossed seal. It was not an original birth certificate. [I digress. It was the one the State of Colorado produced for me after I was officially adopted. For whatever reason, the really original—with my birth name and at least birth mother’s name was locked up somewhere for no one to see. Not even me. Laws have changed, and I guess I could get a copy of it now—if I was interested. However this white writing on black paper said I was born. It said it was a live birth. It didn’t say I was a bastard—even though I was.] Back to point about Obama’s birth certificate. When the State of Colorado mailed me an official copy of my birth certificate, it was a nice computer print out. It didn’t show a lot of the information that was on the old certificate. Today, there was a news story about Obama’s birth certificate. It was held up by some official in Hawaii. I knew right away it wasn’t the original. It looked a lot like the one I now have. It’s clean, computer generated, and has a computer generated seal.
I’m not surprised that some conservatives don’t want to accept that certificate. Many of them don’t want anything that comes from a computer. They believe that computers are the beginning of the end. No computerized medical records is also part of their call. I am beginning to think many of the ‘birthers’ aren’t really sure that Hawaii is part of the United States. When they were in school, they learned about the Hawaiian King Kamehameha. Any person born in Hawaii may not be a natural born citizen.
Some Americans still aren’t sure that New Mexico is part of the US. Remember the Olympics mess when an Atlanta ticket seller wouldn’t sell America tickets to a family in Santa Fe, NM, because they had to go through their local embassy. Remember that many Americans who travel to New Mexico and/or Hawaii ask their travel agent the exchange rate in that area. We have many out there who just don’t understand.
Politicians will continue to cater to their constituency, and if the ‘birthers’ are loud enough, few of today’s politicians will stand up and tell these people to ‘get a life.’
<> <> <> <> <> <>
Random Fact…
Number of words in the first sentence of Bill Clinton’s memoir and in that of George W. Bush’s, respectively: 49, 5
Men get hiccups more often than women.
A house in Baghdad worth $15,000 before the Iraq war now sells for $120,000 to $150,000.
Crazy Stuff In The News…
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - A 93-year-old Illinois man says he is marrying his third-grade sweetheart after 85 years apart. Roland “Mac” McKitrick, 93, of Arlington Heights, proposed to Lorraine Beatty, 92, of Georgia, about three years after they reconnected following an 85-year interruption in their friendship, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald reported. “She was my third-grade sweetheart back in 1921,” McKitrick said. “We knew each other for about one year. Then, for all practical purposes, we lost contact for 85 years.” But McKitrick said both he and Beatty had brothers living in Connecticut who became friends, and the two reunited through their brothers. “I still picture her as my third-grade sweetheart. I’ve carried that in the back of my mind since that time,”
McKitrick said. He said he still has a photograph of himself with Beatty taken when they were children. “That snapshot stayed in my memory,” he said, “and her face stayed in my memory.”
July is…
…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 27…
World Hacky-Sack Week
July 28…
209 days so far this year…156 days remain in 2009
National Milk Chocolate Day
*Peru: Independence Day [1821]
*Faroe Islands [1/2 way between Scotland & Iceland]: Olvasoka Eve [opens Parliament]
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1165
Ibn al-'Arabi Muslim mystic/philosopher
1844
Gerard Manley Hopkins England, poet (The Windhover)
1866
Beatrix Potter England, children's author (Tale of Peter Rabbit)
1892
Joe E Brown Holgate Ohio, comedian
1901
Rudy Vallee Vt, singer
1907
Vivian Vance Cherryvale Ks, actress (Ethel Mertz-I Love Lucy)
1916
David Brown NYC, director (Jaws, Planet of the Apes)
1929
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis 1st lady
1945
Jim Davis cartoonist (Garfield)
1948
-Georgia Engel Wash DC, actress (Georgette-Mary Tyler Moore Show)
- Sally (Ann) Struthers Emmy Award-winning actress
IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1586
Sir Thomas Harriot introduces potatoes to Europe
1851
Total solar eclipse captured on a daguerreotype photograph
1862
Fort Bowie is established in the Apache Pass, in southeastern Arizona, by members of Brigadier General James Charlatan's California volunteers.
1865
The American Dental Association proposed its first code of ethics
1866
Metric system becomes a legal measurement system in US
1868
14th Amendment ratified, citizenship to ex-slaves
1900
Hamburger created by Louis Lassing in Connecticut
1915
US forces invade Haiti, stays until 1924
1931
Congress makes "The Star-Spangled Banner" our 2nd national anthem
1943
Pres FDR announces end of coffee rationing in US
1959
Hawaii's 1st US election sends 1st Asian-Americans to Congress
1999
Federal Regulators from the SEC have given until August 1st for Brokerage firms to prove compliance with Y2K or a court order will be obtained to close them down on December 31st.
Category Puzzle
Each of the three words can be made into a common word or two word phrase
Example: play, beef, rocky
Answer: ground
1. Off, crow, tactics
2. Reading, stick, fat
3. Hook, jelly, bowl
4. Hay, smoke, up
5. Dog, frog, fighter
6. Weight, fly, sand
7. Above, floor, walk
8. Watch, house, gone
9. Hard, under, up
10. Fitting, land, free
*Bonus: salt, melon, white
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Answers
1. Scare
2. Lip
3. Fish
4. Stack
5. Bull
6. Paper
7. Board
8. Dog
9. Cover
10. Form
*Bonus: Water
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Monsoon
Sunday is a day of rest. I didn’t need rest, but I sure didn’t get to be outside much either. The morning, like most recently, began with clouds moving in. It warmed up, just like always. Then about 1:30 the clouds opened and we got a hard rain. Then it slowed to a gentle rain. Just like most monsoonal days. Soon the gentle rain turned into a wave of hard rain. This cycle continued for almost an hour. I’m sure this is the most rain we have had in one afternoon in many a day. Now the sky is basically clear here, but it looks like the horizon clouds are just waiting for tomorrow.
Sara Palin really quit. At a picnic. In Fairbanks…not the capital. Guess she showed them politicians by golly. She also proved she was a maverick…to all those who trusted and voted for her. Guess she showed everyone she was a soccer mom and not a pit bull.
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Random Fact…
The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth II, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply. The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river; one can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States.
Estimated total, in pounds, of explosives dropped by Israel on Gaza during the first week of this winter’s attack: 40,000. Estimated total fired into Israel by Palestinians last year: 40,000
Crazy Stuff In The News…
MIAMI - A suburban Miami woman said a bee removal specialist destroyed about 250,000 bees inside the walls of her home. Mary Olarte of Miami Shores said she was not concerned when dead bees began appearing outside of her house but she was shocked when a contractor discovered three thriving hives within the walls of her home, the Miami Herald reported. Willie Sklaroff, proprietor of bee removal service Willie the Bee Man, said all of the bees were destroyed Tuesday due to fears they may have been Africanized honeybees, also known as killer bees. However, analysis of the bees after they were killed with pesticides indicates they were not Africanized, the Herald reported..Olarte said she collected more than 100 pounds of honey and wax from the now-vacated hives in her walls. “I have lots of friends,” she said, and “everyone wants to try some.”
July is…
…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 27…World Hacky-Sack Week
July 26…
208 days so far this year…157 days remain in 2009
Nat’l Korean War Veterans Armistice Day
Barbie-in-a-Blender Day
Take your Houseplant for a Walk Day
Walk on Stilts Day
*Finland: Nat’l Sleepy Head Day
* N. Korea: Victory Day
*Puerto Rico: Jose Celso Barbosa Day [The Father of ‘Statehood for Puerto Rico Movement’]
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1870
Joseph Hilaire Belloc England, author (Path to Rome)
1880
Donald Crisp Scotland, actor
1899 Harl McDonald near Boulder Colorado, composer (Santa F‚ Trail)
1906
Leo Durocher Mass, baseball manager
1916
Kennan Wynn NYC, actor
1922
Norman Lear TV writer/producer
1931
Jerry Van Dyke Danville Ill, actor
1933
Nick Reynolds folk singer: group: The Kingston Trio
1944
Bobbie Gentry Grammy Award-winning singer [1967]: Ode to Billy Jo
1948
Peggy Fleming San Jose Cal, ice figure skater
1949
Maureen McGovern Youngstown Oh, singer (Got to be a morning after)
IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1501
Copernicus formally installed as canon of Frauenberg Cathedral
1694
Bank of England chartered
1775
Benjamin Church began his service as the first Surgeon General of the Continental Army
1837
US Mint opens in Charlotte, NC
1844
Fire destroys the US mint at Charlotte, NC
1974
John Denver’s biggest hit song reached the top of the Billboard singles chart. Annie’s Song, written for his wife
1991
TV Guide publishes it's 2000th edition .
Category Puzzle
Each of the three words can be made into a common word or two word phrase
Example: play, beef, rocky
Answer: ground
1. Key, wall, precious
2. Corn, winner, sweet
3. Top, inner, test
4. Go, there, seen
5. Back, crawl, work
6. Read, child, water
7. Blue, lands, roots
8. Butter, maid, run
9. Hot, strong, arrow
10. Sore, witness, buck
*Bonus: battle, work, play
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Answers”
1. Stone
2. Bread
3. Tube
4. Fore
5. Space
6. Proof
7. Grass
8. Milk
9. Head
10. Eye
*Bonus: Ground
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Sara Palin really quit. At a picnic. In Fairbanks…not the capital. Guess she showed them politicians by golly. She also proved she was a maverick…to all those who trusted and voted for her. Guess she showed everyone she was a soccer mom and not a pit bull.
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Random Fact…
The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth II, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply. The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river; one can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States.
Estimated total, in pounds, of explosives dropped by Israel on Gaza during the first week of this winter’s attack: 40,000. Estimated total fired into Israel by Palestinians last year: 40,000
Crazy Stuff In The News…
MIAMI - A suburban Miami woman said a bee removal specialist destroyed about 250,000 bees inside the walls of her home. Mary Olarte of Miami Shores said she was not concerned when dead bees began appearing outside of her house but she was shocked when a contractor discovered three thriving hives within the walls of her home, the Miami Herald reported. Willie Sklaroff, proprietor of bee removal service Willie the Bee Man, said all of the bees were destroyed Tuesday due to fears they may have been Africanized honeybees, also known as killer bees. However, analysis of the bees after they were killed with pesticides indicates they were not Africanized, the Herald reported..Olarte said she collected more than 100 pounds of honey and wax from the now-vacated hives in her walls. “I have lots of friends,” she said, and “everyone wants to try some.”
July is…
…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 27…World Hacky-Sack Week
July 26…
208 days so far this year…157 days remain in 2009
Nat’l Korean War Veterans Armistice Day
Barbie-in-a-Blender Day
Take your Houseplant for a Walk Day
Walk on Stilts Day
*Finland: Nat’l Sleepy Head Day
* N. Korea: Victory Day
*Puerto Rico: Jose Celso Barbosa Day [The Father of ‘Statehood for Puerto Rico Movement’]
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1870
Joseph Hilaire Belloc England, author (Path to Rome)
1880
Donald Crisp Scotland, actor
1899 Harl McDonald near Boulder Colorado, composer (Santa F‚ Trail)
1906
Leo Durocher Mass, baseball manager
1916
Kennan Wynn NYC, actor
1922
Norman Lear TV writer/producer
1931
Jerry Van Dyke Danville Ill, actor
1933
Nick Reynolds folk singer: group: The Kingston Trio
1944
Bobbie Gentry Grammy Award-winning singer [1967]: Ode to Billy Jo
1948
Peggy Fleming San Jose Cal, ice figure skater
1949
Maureen McGovern Youngstown Oh, singer (Got to be a morning after)
IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1501
Copernicus formally installed as canon of Frauenberg Cathedral
1694
Bank of England chartered
1775
Benjamin Church began his service as the first Surgeon General of the Continental Army
1837
US Mint opens in Charlotte, NC
1844
Fire destroys the US mint at Charlotte, NC
1974
John Denver’s biggest hit song reached the top of the Billboard singles chart. Annie’s Song, written for his wife
1991
TV Guide publishes it's 2000th edition .
Category Puzzle
Each of the three words can be made into a common word or two word phrase
Example: play, beef, rocky
Answer: ground
1. Key, wall, precious
2. Corn, winner, sweet
3. Top, inner, test
4. Go, there, seen
5. Back, crawl, work
6. Read, child, water
7. Blue, lands, roots
8. Butter, maid, run
9. Hot, strong, arrow
10. Sore, witness, buck
*Bonus: battle, work, play
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Answers”
1. Stone
2. Bread
3. Tube
4. Fore
5. Space
6. Proof
7. Grass
8. Milk
9. Head
10. Eye
*Bonus: Ground
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Saturday
Saturday brought us clouds, a slight breeze, then an overcast sky, but so far no monsoon. I’m holding onto hope, as it did rain in West Flagstaff when I was over there earlier. It looks like it could rain at any moment, so here’s hoping.
A change in Health Care sounds like it is in trouble, yet again. As I have gotten older, I have started to add to my doctors—always had a primary care person, a dentist, and an ophthalmologist. Now I have a dermatologist, a urologist, an allergist. My insurance has been BCBS-Federal since I started working for the BIA. This year the plan raised its co-pay from $15 to $20 dollars. The deductible needed to get a break on tests also was raised a lot. The Feds have one of the best coverage programs anywhere in the US. One allergy medicine went from $12/month to $25/month…same medicine. And it’s a generic. One test the eye doctor runs used to cost me $8. This year it was $105—I haven’t met my annual deductable this year. Some people reading this are saying, “Damn, wish my medicines and visits were that cheap.” I understand that. I’m just saying that some medicines doubled in price and the office visit went up 25%. And I am one of the lucky ones.
All those people that don’t think we need a change in our health care system need to get a life. Each time I visit a doctor, I ask about their side of this debate. They don’t talk a lot about it, but do say they are doing more paperwork and are being paid less each year. Their rent goes up. Their employee wages go up. Their cost of running an office goes up. They say that the percentage of these rising costs are not met by any of the insurance companies. My premium goes up, my co-pay goes up, my deductable goes up, and the physicians don’t seem to be getting their fair share of this. The medical community is in a catch 22. If they don’t accept certain plans, they don’t have patients. If they accept the plans, they say they don’t get fair compensation. I want a medical care provider who is excited about fixing what is wrong with me. I don’t need a provider who feels the insurance compensation isn’t adequate for his work. I want a provider who is up on the latest information, not one who can’t afford to keep up to date. I have been in an emergency room twice in my life. Both times were fairly serious and led to hospitalization. Each time I saw many people waiting to be seen. I know too many people who use the Emergency Room as their Primary Care Physician. This country needs a health care system that fairly compensates providers, provides good care to the sick, gives compensation for regular screenings, and charges patients fairly and equally. I heard that one proposal was that every American paid 1% of their gross income. I’m paying more than that now. Maybe that would solve our health care system problems.
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Random Facts…
Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.
Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, Psycho, which actually took 7 days to shoot.
Chance that a U.S. Gulf War veteran still suffers from “Gulf War illness,” according to a federal panel: 1 in 4
Crazy Stuff In The News…
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. - A Florida town fired its manager after learning the woman he married less than a year ago was an adult video actress, officials say. The town council of Fort Myers Beach voted unanimously to terminate the contract of manager Scott Janke, 55, and then held a meeting Wednesday night to explain the move to residents, the Fort Myers (Fla.) New-Press reports. “I’m very puzzled about the need for emergency action since our manager has been married since October,” said resident Pat Smith. “What I don’t also understand is why it matters so much what the spouse is doing so long as it’s legal.” Janke’s wife, who acts under the screen name Jazelle Moore, refers to herself as a “priestess of the erotic arts” on her Web site. The town council says her profession brings an inappropriate and negative image to a place that prides itself on being family-friendly.
July is…
…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 23…
Lumberjack Week—for the real ones, not the NAU ones
July 26…
207 days so far this year…158 days remain in 2009
Parent’s Day
*India: Vijays Divas [end of the Kargil War]
*Cuba: Day of National Rebellion [1953]
*Liberia: Independence Day [1847] from US
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1796
George Catlin US, author/painter of American Indian scenes
1805
Constantine Brumidi artist (Myrtle Murdock)
1829
Auguste Beernaert Belgium (Nobel Peace Prize-1909)
1856
George Bernard Shaw Dublin Ire, dramatist (Pygmalion-Nobel 1925)
1875
Dr Carl Gustav Jung Switzerland, founded analytic psychology
1892
Pearl S Buck US, novelist (The Good Earth)
1894
Aldous Huxley England, author (Brave New World)
1902
Gracie Allen SF Calif, Mrs George Burns/comedian (Burns & Allen)
1928
Stanley Kubrick director
1943
Mick Jagger Rolling Stone
1956
Dorothy Hamill Olympic Hall of Famer
1959
Kevin Spacey Academy Award-winning actor
IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1775
Benjamin Franklin becomes 1st Postmaster General
1788
New York, the 11th state, entered the United States of America this day
1848
1st Woman's Rights Convention (Senecca Falls NY)
1887
1st Esperanto book published
1908
Federal Bureau of Investigation established
1947
Department of Defense established
1956
Egypt seizes Suez Canal
Category Puzzle
Each of the three words can be made into a common word or two word phrase
Example: play, beef, rocky
Answer: ground
1. Back, short, watch
2. Blue, cake, cottage
3. Stool, powder, ball
4. Big, soil, table
5. Made, cuff, left
6. Motion, poke, down
7. Light, hot, check
8. Light, hot, back
9. Wood, liquor, luck
10. Drop, off, stand
*Bonus: car, top, ice
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Answers
1. Stop
2. Cheese
3. Foot
4. Top
5. Hand
6. Slow
7. Stop
8. Flash
9. Hard
10. Kick
*Bonus: box
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A change in Health Care sounds like it is in trouble, yet again. As I have gotten older, I have started to add to my doctors—always had a primary care person, a dentist, and an ophthalmologist. Now I have a dermatologist, a urologist, an allergist. My insurance has been BCBS-Federal since I started working for the BIA. This year the plan raised its co-pay from $15 to $20 dollars. The deductible needed to get a break on tests also was raised a lot. The Feds have one of the best coverage programs anywhere in the US. One allergy medicine went from $12/month to $25/month…same medicine. And it’s a generic. One test the eye doctor runs used to cost me $8. This year it was $105—I haven’t met my annual deductable this year. Some people reading this are saying, “Damn, wish my medicines and visits were that cheap.” I understand that. I’m just saying that some medicines doubled in price and the office visit went up 25%. And I am one of the lucky ones.
All those people that don’t think we need a change in our health care system need to get a life. Each time I visit a doctor, I ask about their side of this debate. They don’t talk a lot about it, but do say they are doing more paperwork and are being paid less each year. Their rent goes up. Their employee wages go up. Their cost of running an office goes up. They say that the percentage of these rising costs are not met by any of the insurance companies. My premium goes up, my co-pay goes up, my deductable goes up, and the physicians don’t seem to be getting their fair share of this. The medical community is in a catch 22. If they don’t accept certain plans, they don’t have patients. If they accept the plans, they say they don’t get fair compensation. I want a medical care provider who is excited about fixing what is wrong with me. I don’t need a provider who feels the insurance compensation isn’t adequate for his work. I want a provider who is up on the latest information, not one who can’t afford to keep up to date. I have been in an emergency room twice in my life. Both times were fairly serious and led to hospitalization. Each time I saw many people waiting to be seen. I know too many people who use the Emergency Room as their Primary Care Physician. This country needs a health care system that fairly compensates providers, provides good care to the sick, gives compensation for regular screenings, and charges patients fairly and equally. I heard that one proposal was that every American paid 1% of their gross income. I’m paying more than that now. Maybe that would solve our health care system problems.
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Random Facts…
Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.
Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, Psycho, which actually took 7 days to shoot.
Chance that a U.S. Gulf War veteran still suffers from “Gulf War illness,” according to a federal panel: 1 in 4
Crazy Stuff In The News…
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. - A Florida town fired its manager after learning the woman he married less than a year ago was an adult video actress, officials say. The town council of Fort Myers Beach voted unanimously to terminate the contract of manager Scott Janke, 55, and then held a meeting Wednesday night to explain the move to residents, the Fort Myers (Fla.) New-Press reports. “I’m very puzzled about the need for emergency action since our manager has been married since October,” said resident Pat Smith. “What I don’t also understand is why it matters so much what the spouse is doing so long as it’s legal.” Janke’s wife, who acts under the screen name Jazelle Moore, refers to herself as a “priestess of the erotic arts” on her Web site. The town council says her profession brings an inappropriate and negative image to a place that prides itself on being family-friendly.
July is…
…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 23…
Lumberjack Week—for the real ones, not the NAU ones
July 26…
207 days so far this year…158 days remain in 2009
Parent’s Day
*India: Vijays Divas [end of the Kargil War]
*Cuba: Day of National Rebellion [1953]
*Liberia: Independence Day [1847] from US
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1796
George Catlin US, author/painter of American Indian scenes
1805
Constantine Brumidi artist (Myrtle Murdock)
1829
Auguste Beernaert Belgium (Nobel Peace Prize-1909)
1856
George Bernard Shaw Dublin Ire, dramatist (Pygmalion-Nobel 1925)
1875
Dr Carl Gustav Jung Switzerland, founded analytic psychology
1892
Pearl S Buck US, novelist (The Good Earth)
1894
Aldous Huxley England, author (Brave New World)
1902
Gracie Allen SF Calif, Mrs George Burns/comedian (Burns & Allen)
1928
Stanley Kubrick director
1943
Mick Jagger Rolling Stone
1956
Dorothy Hamill Olympic Hall of Famer
1959
Kevin Spacey Academy Award-winning actor
IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1775
Benjamin Franklin becomes 1st Postmaster General
1788
New York, the 11th state, entered the United States of America this day
1848
1st Woman's Rights Convention (Senecca Falls NY)
1887
1st Esperanto book published
1908
Federal Bureau of Investigation established
1947
Department of Defense established
1956
Egypt seizes Suez Canal
Category Puzzle
Each of the three words can be made into a common word or two word phrase
Example: play, beef, rocky
Answer: ground
1. Back, short, watch
2. Blue, cake, cottage
3. Stool, powder, ball
4. Big, soil, table
5. Made, cuff, left
6. Motion, poke, down
7. Light, hot, check
8. Light, hot, back
9. Wood, liquor, luck
10. Drop, off, stand
*Bonus: car, top, ice
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Answers
1. Stop
2. Cheese
3. Foot
4. Top
5. Hand
6. Slow
7. Stop
8. Flash
9. Hard
10. Kick
*Bonus: box
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About Me
- Retired, Not Dead
- Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
- I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.