June 12

FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1787: Law passes providing a senator must be at least 30 years old

1839: 1st baseball game played in America

1897: Possibly most severe quake in history strikes Assam India, shock waves felt over an area size of Europe (low mortality rate given size of earthquake, 1500 casualties) 

1923: Harry Houdini frees himself from a straight jacket while suspended upside down, 40 feet (12 m) above ground in NYC

1942: Anne Frank gets her diary as a birthday present (Amsterdam)

1962: 3 convicts used spoons to dig their way out of Alcatraz

1964: Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison in South Africa

1981: "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" starring Harrison Ford premieres

2008: Ireland rejects the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum, thus putting into question the reform programme of the European Union

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪ 

                   

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Another great summer day in Flag. So nice to have great weather. Sittin on the deck is so nice. Ran a few errands early this morning, then out on the deck.

My brother is switching from his Vespa to a bike. Too many close calls in NYC. Good for him. He’s recovering from a minor accident that hurt his hip…while he is recovering from his knee surgery. He said he guesses he isn’t 25 anymore.

Game   Center: (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game—A close up picture of what?

NPR Sunday Puzzle

My bad…typo yesterday…clue should have read ‘Indian’

Take two four-letter words and put three letters in front of both of them to complete two common seven-letter words. For example: for the words, GAIN and RACK, the added three-letter word would be BAR to form BARGAIN AND BARRACK.

1.     Give; tune:

2.     Arch; soon:

3.     Mach; rage:

4.     Grin; lice:

5.     Lain; lore:

6.     Sage; tiff:

7.     Each; rove:

8.     Ache; icky:

9.     Bang; riff:

10.  Lacy; lout:

11.  Ashy; urge:

What is the answer?

The following number has a rather special characteristic. What makes it unique?

8,549,176,320

4X4 Word Boxes

The answer to 1 across is the same word as the answer to 1 down; 2 across is the same as 2 down; etc. Can you solve these Word Boxes? Each answer is 3 letters.

1.              couple

2.              French abbot

3.              big nose bird

4.              remainder

Lifestyle  Substance     

Songs of the 1970’s

• Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen--1976

• My Sharona, The Knack--1979 

• My Sweet Lord, George Harrison--1970

• I Will Survive Gloria Gaynor--1979

Harper’s Index         

Number of US ome sales double-counted by the National Assoc. or Realtors between 2007 and 2010: 2,970,000

Found on You Tube 

       Returns tomorrow

Planet Earth—

Joke-of-the-day

A man and his girlfriend were out to dinner one night. The waiter tells them the night's special is chicken almandine and fresh fish. "The chicken sounds good; I'll have that," the woman says. The waiter nods. "And the vegetable?" he asks. "Oh, he'll have the fish," she replies.

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

For every 550 feet in elevation, the boiling point of water falls by 1 degree Fahrenheit. To determine your elevation, measure the boiling point of water, subtract the temperature from 212 degrees, and divide the difference by 1.8. This will give you your approximate elevation in thousands of feet.

Yeah, It Really Happened

Austria: It seems a poor Austrian woman of some considerable girth passed away recently and the family decided to cremate the body.
As the temperatures in the crematorium reached 300 C (that is 572 F) the operators realized there was a problem. Her body fat was burning out of control. Thick black smoke started billowing out of the crematorium. The device was immediately switched off but by then the building had caught fire.Firemen, whose clothing was left covered with a layer of greasy black soot, eventually had to bring the fire under control by blasting water in through the vents used to clear the filter.
A spokesman said that after reports of similar problems at other cemeteries not only in Austria but also in Switzerland, officials were now are considering a ban on larger bodies.               

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Though it may seem that termites enjoy all wood, they will bypass ebony, a dense black wood yielded from various tropical trees in Southeast Asia.

• The wood of ebony sinks in water because it is so dense. It is the wood of choice for the black keys on pianos. 

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

10-16

   National Flag Week
   Jim Thorpe Native American Games
   Men's Health Week
   National Automotive Service Professionals Week

Today Is                                                                      

Abused Women and Children's Awareness Day

Crowded Nest Awareness Day

Loving Day

Machine Day

Multicultural American Child Awareness Day

National Peanut Butter Cookie Day

Russia: Independence Day (1990, from the USSR)

Today’s Other Events                                                             

1600’s

1665: English rename New Amsterdam, NY, after Dutch pull out

1700’s

1756: Today, DELAWARE Indians, led by King Beaver, will attack the fortified garrison in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, called Bingham's Fort. The number of settlers killed or captured was estimated to be as many as two dozen

1800’s

1855: Walla Walla Conference: Governor Stevens bypassed the entire structure of the American Constitutional System, giving Congress sole power to ratify treaties

1900’s

1917: Secret Service extends protection of president to his family

1935: Senator Huey Long of Louisiana spoke continually for 15½ hours in Senate's longest speech on record (150,000 words)

1955: "Mr Peepers" (TV Comedy) starring Wally Cox airs for last time on NBC

1990: Orioles Cal Ripken plays in his 1,308th consecutive game to move past Everett Scott into 2nd place on the all-time list

1991: Boris Yelstin elected president of Russian Federation

2000’s

2004: A 1.3 kilogram chondrite type meteorite strikes a house in Ellerslie, New Zealand causing serious damage but no injuries

2009: TSC: All television broadcasts in the United States switch from analog NTSC to digital ATSC transmission

  

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Remembered for being born on this day

Anne Frank, Holland, Nazi victim/diarist (Diary of Anne Frank) in 1929

Charles Kingsley, [Parson Lot], Engl vicar/historian (Westward Ho!) in 1819

Harriet Martineau, controversial journalist, political economist, abolitionist and life-long feminist in 1802

Alphonse Ouimet, Canadian TV pioneer and president of the CBC in 1908

In their 80’s

George Herbert Walker Bush, MA, 43 VP (1981-89) 41st Pres (R, 1989-93) is 88

Vic Damone, [Vito Farinola], Bkln, singer (Street Where You Live) is 84

Jim Nabors, Sylacauga Al, actor/singer (Gomer Pyle) is 82

In their 60’s

Marv Albert (Marvin Philip Aufrichtig), NYC, "Yes!" sportscaster (NBC-TV)/back biter is 69

Today’s Obits                                                           

Bill Blass, American fashion designer dies of throat cancer in 2002 at 79

Nicole Brown Simpson, ex-wife of OJ, murdered in 1994 at 35  

James F "Jimmy" Dorsey, US orchestra leader, dies of cancer in 1957 at 53

Medgar Evers, NAACP official, shot in Jackson Miss in 1963 at 37

Thomas Farnaby, English grammarian dies in 1647 at 72

Ron Goldman, waiter, murdered with wife of OJ Simpson in 1994 at 27

Don Herbert aka "Mr. Wizard", American television host dies in 2007 at 89

Milburn Stone, actor (Doc-Gunsmoke), dies in 1980 at 75

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game: Close Up Picture

What is the answer?

It consists of the digits 0-9 in alphabetical order

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.     Give; tune: for: forgive; fortune

2.     Arch; soon: mon: monarch; monsoon

3.     Mach; rage: sto: stomach; storage

4.     Grin; lice: cha: chagrin; lice

5.     Lain; lore: exp: explain; explore

6.     Sage; tiff: mas: massage; mastiff

7.     Each; rove: imp: impeach; improve

8.     Ache; icky: pan: panache; panicky

9.     Bang; riff: she: shebang; sheriff

10.  Lacy; lout: fal: fallacy; fallout

11.  Ashy; urge: spl: splashy; splurge

4X4 boxes

PAIR

ABBE

I B I S

REST

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.

All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

☺    And That Is All for Now  ☺

June 11

FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1742 - Benjamin Franklin invents his Franklin stove

1837 - The Broad Street Riot occurs in Boston, fueled by ethnic tensions between English-Americans and Irish-Americans

1927 - Charles Lindbergh is awarded the 1st Distinguished Flying Cross

1966 - Janis Joplin plays her 1st gig (SF)

1982 - Movie "ET the Extra-Terrestrial" released (highest grossing film)

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪ 

                   

Free Rambling Thoughts   

A little cloudy today, but still a nice day. Hard to tell if we will get any moisture, but it doesn’t look good. Two family friends are concerned about Colorado wildfires. Both are safe, and smoky for now and hopefully that will hold.

Sinus infection/summer cold…whatever, is getting better…slowly for me, but it’s only been 4 days of cough.

Game   Center: (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game—A close up picture of what?

NPR Sunday Puzzle

After a category is given, there should be a response with something else in that category that starts with the last two letters of the given category. For example, if the clue is Rigoletto, then the response might be Tosca. They are both Italian operas.

1.     Wisconsin:

2.     Spruce:

3.     Job (Bible):

4.     Square:

5.     Tuba:

6.     Verona:

7.     Sulphur:

8.     Fillmore:

9.     Apple:

10.  Pontiac (car):

11.  Gator:

12.  Indians:

13.  Huron:

What is the answer?

Here is a quotation with all the spaces and vowels removed. What is the quotation?

MNCNNTBTCRFLNTHCHCFHSNMS

4X4 Word Boxes

The answer to 1 across is the same word as the answer to 1 down; 2 across is the same as 2 down; etc. Can you solve these Word Boxes? Each answer is 3 letters.

1.              wander (about)

2.              inspiration of invention

3.              Superman foiler

4.              woman

Lifestyle  Substance     

Songs of the 1970’s

Heart Of Glass, Blondie  1979

Let It Be, The Beatles 1972 

Dancing Queen, Abba  1977

Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon & Garfunkel 1970

Harper’s Index         

Years by which the average life span of ahomelss person is shorter than the overall average: 30

Found on You Tube 

         My Top 25 Favourite Alfred Hitchcock Movies

Planet Earth—

Joke-of-the-day

During a simulated attack, the troops have to defend themselves against an imaginary enemy, as the sergeant calls it. Bawling out orders, he notices that one recruit shows little response. “You there,” the sergeant shouts, “the imaginary enemy is advancing, and you are caught in the crossfire.
“Action!” The recruit takes two steps to one side. “What are you doing, man?” Yells the sergeant, purple with fury.
“I’m taking shelter behind an imaginary tree, Sergeant,” answers the recruit calmly.

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

When your woodstove is going full bore, you should be able to hold your hand firmly pressed on any nearby combustible surface. If you can't, you need to increase the clearance between the surface and the stove, or install a heat shield.

Yeah, It Really Happened

CHIPPING CAMDEN, England - The judge of the Shin-kicking Championships in Britain said the sport is about more than just two men kicking each other below the knees. James Wiseman, who judged this year's Shin-kicking Championships at the Cotswold Olimpicks, an event held in Chipping Camden, England, on-and-off since the 1600s, said the event is similar to wrestling, ITN reported Wednesday. "I kind of get quite annoyed when people think that shin-kicking is quite literally two guys facing each other and kicking each other as hard as possible in the shins," Wiseman said. "The easiest ways to describe it is it's a bit like wrestling but with a lot of contact below the knees. The idea is really to throw the person to the ground, but to throw the person to the ground you've got to unbalance by kicking them first." The winner of this year's event was Zac Warren, 23, of Pershaw, England.               

Somewhat Useless Information  
AREA 51, sometimes referred to as "Dreamland" or "Groom Lake", is a secret military facility located about 90 miles north of Las Vegas, Nevada.During World War II, U.S. pilots began reporting odd balls of light or shiny metallic spheres that could fly circles around their planes. These UFOs came to be called Foo Fighters. The phenomenon was never explained.The earliest known report of a UFO sighting was by Julius Obsequens, a Roman writer, in 100 B.C.. He claimed to have seen "things like ships" in the sky over Italy.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

7-10

   Superman Week
10-16

   National Flag Week
   Jim Thorpe Native American Games
   Men's Health Week
   National Automotive Service Professionals Week

Today Is                                                                      

Corn on the Cob Day

King Kamehameha Day

National Hug Holiday

Today’s Other Events                                                             

Before 1000CE

1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes

1500’s

1509 - King Henry VIII marries wife #1 Catharina of Aragon

1600’s

1644 - Florentine scientist describe invention of barometer

1700’s

1752: While at a conference with British authorities, Chief Shingas will be named sachem or king of the Delaware by Tanacharison of the Iroquois. The Delaware were subjugated by the Iroquois

1800’s

1829: Major Bennett Riley, and troops have just joined Charley Bent's wagon train bound for Santa Fe, near Round Grove, in Kansas. A band of 100 Kiowa, and Comanche, steal the wagon train's herd of cattle. The Indians then start attacking the wagon train and the soldiers. Riley will fire his artillery piece, and the Indians will scatter

1870 - 1st-stone Amstel Brewery opens in Amsterdam

1891 - Puerto Rican flag adopted

1896 - US Assay Office in Deadwood South Dakota authorized

1900’s

1928 - Alfred Hitchcock's 1st film, "Case Of Jonathan Drew," is released

1937 - Marx Brothers' "A Day At The Races" released

1955 - Le Mans race car accident kills 83 spectators (race continues)

1975 - 1st oil pumped from North Sea oilfield

1979 - Chuck Berry pleads guilty to income tax evasion, sentenced to 4 months

1988 - Freedomfest - Mandela addresses Wembley Stadium London

2000’s

2001 - Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing

2004 - Ronald Reagan's funeral is held at Washington National Cathedral

2008 - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made an official historic apology to Canada's First Nations in regard to a residential school abuse in which children were isolated from their homes, families and cultures for a century

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Remembered for being born on this day

Charles Fabry, discoverer (ozone layer in upper atmosphere) in 1867

Alfred L Kroeber, Hoboken NJ, author (Anthropologist looks at History) in 1876

Vince Lombardi, NFL coach (Green Bay Packers) in1913

Wesley Ruggles, actor/producer/director (Keystone Kops) in 1889

Lawrence E Spivak, Bkln NY, news panelist (Meet the Press) in 1900

Richard Georg Strauss, Munich Germany, composer (Don Quixote) in 1864

In their 80’s

Charles B Rangel, (Rep-D-NY) is 82

In their 70’s

Chad Everett, actor (Medical Center, Airplane II) is 76

Gene Wilder, American actor (Silver Streak) is 79

In their 60’s

Adrienne Barbeau, actress (Maude, Swamp Thing) is 67

Henry Cisneros, first Hispanic to serve as mayor of a major U.S. city (San Antonio) is 65

In their 50’s

Hugh Laurie, English actor (Strapless, Dr Gregory House-House) is 53

Joe Montana, NFL quarterback (SF 49ers) is 56

In their 30’s

Shia LaBeouf, American actor (Disturbia, Transformers) is 26

Today’s Obits                                                           

David Brinkley, American television reporter dies in 2003 at 82

King George I of Great Britain dies of stroke in 1727 at 67

Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist by execution in 2001 at 33

Karen Ann Quinlan, comatose patient, dies in 1985 at 31

Daniel D Tompkins, 6th US Vice President (1817-25), dies in 1825 at 54

John Wayne, actor (Green Berets, True Grit), dies of stomach cancer in 1979 at 72

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game: Close Up Picture

What is the answer?

A man cannot be too careful in his choice of his enemies (Oscar Wilde)

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.     Wisconsin: Indiana

2.     Spruce: cedar

3.     Job (Bible): Obadiah

4.     Square: rectangle

5.     Tuba: bassoon

6.     Verona: Naples

7.     Sulphur: uranium

8.     Fillmore: Reagan

9.     Apple: lemon

10.  Pontiac (car): Acura

11.  Gator: Orange (bowl games)

12.  Indians: Angels (baseball teams) or Antarctic (oceans)

13.  Huron: Ontario

4X4 boxes

MILL

IDEA

LEAD

LADY

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.

All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

☺    And That Is All for Now  ☺