Jan 25

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Jan. 25, 2020 Week: 1  Day: 25

86004:   H 53° \ L 23° \ Average Sky Cover: 70%

Nearest lightning:  1122mi.; Nearest active fire:  506mi.  

Wind:   3mph\Gusts:  6mph  Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 61°[1975]   Record Low: -17°[1937]

Jan. Averages: 43°\16° (22” days with snow)

Today’s Einstein Quote

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.

Random Tidbits

Sleep deprivation can make it harder to lose weight. Inadequate sleep upsets a person's hormone balance, which decreases leptin (a hormone that makes a person feel full) and increases ghrelin (which triggers hunger). Scientists argue that getting enough sleep is the cheapest and easiest obesity medicine there is.

Muscle uses more calories to maintain itself than any other body tissue. For every pound of muscle someone puts on, they automatically burn an extra 22 to 36 more calories a day.

Observations This Week

Week of Christian Unity: 18-25

International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week: 18-26

Healthy Weight Week: 19-25

Hunt For Happiness Week:  19-25

National Activity Professionals Week:  19-25 

National CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists) Week: 19-25

National Handwriting Analysis Week:  19-25

Snow Care For Troops Awareness Week: 19-25

Sundance Film Festival: 23-2/2

US Nationals Snow Sculpting Days: 25-2/2

Observations for Today

A.F.R.M.A. Fancy Rat & Mouse Day
A Room of One's Own Day
Chinese New Year 2020: Year of the Rat
Fruitcake Toss Day Link
Local Quilt Shop Day
Macintosh Computer Day Link
 (Note: On Jan. 22, 1984 in a Super Bowl ad the Macintosh got introduced. Steve Jobs then presented it to the world on Jan. 24, 1984 and it went on sale to the public the next day on Jan. 25, 1984.  There is a big 30th Anniversary event on Jan. 25, 2014. Since Apple considers Jan. 25 the anniversary day for celebration, this is why it’s listed on the 25th also and not the other dates. )
National Irish Coffee Day
National Seed Swap Day
Opposite Day: 25 Link
Robert Burns Day: 25 Link  Link

My Rambling Thoughts

Chinese Virus is spreading and putting a big damper on many Chinese New Year celebrations around China. This is a big holiday for Chinese and millions travel to celebrate. With the virus, many celebrations are being cancelled. Sad.

Denver Public Schools made headlines on one of the sites I trust for news. The ‘new’ school board, at their first meeting, passed a resolution that every school in this huge district will have at least one bathroom that is non-gendered. They believe this will help end discrimination of LGBTQ+ students and staff. A bold move for sure, especially in these times, but seems like a good compromise to me.

I must admit that I have not watched that much of the current Senate trial on impeachment. From what I have seen, the Dems are putting out a very professional staging of their case. For sure, some is aimed at the Senate (jury), some is aimed for the American Public, and some is just a tad repetitive. The other side will probably do the same thing. I am very disappointed that there are not cameras showing the American Public what the 100 Senators are doing during the presentations. One leak said that Rand Paul was making paper airplanes, another was doing crossword puzzles, several Senators had smart watches. At least one was sleeping. One Senator said it was like a required college course with hundreds of students, some were taking notes, some were just staring, some were just listening, and some listened with their eyes closed. I get why no Senators objected to this camera thing, cameras catch everything, and if voters see a Senator not paying attention, the Senator might lose votes at the next election. However, I do wish that the Chief Justice had said that the regular cameras would be there during the trial. I am really curious what my two senators are doing during this trial. How many times did my senators leave the room, were they listening or sleeping, or doodling?

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Think of a common phrase (two words, nine letters) describing something that allows you to get money. Rearrange those letters to spell another common two-word phrase describing something that blocks you from getting money. What are the two phrases? 

Historical Events

1533 - Henry VIII of England married his second wife Anne Boleyn.

1755 Moscow University is established by Elizabeth of Russia and founded by Mikhail Lomonosov on Tatiana Day

1819 University of Virginia chartered by Commonwealth of Virginia, with Thomas Jefferson one of its founders

1840 American naval expedition under Charles Wilkes is first to identify Antarctica as a new continent

1858 - The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn was played at the marriage of Queen Victoria's daughter, Victoria, and Friedrich of Prussia.

1881 - Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell formed the Oriental Telephone Company.

1890 National Afro-American League founded in Chicago by Timothy Thomas Fortune, one of earliest civil rights organizations in America

1939 - Joe Louis KO'd John Henry Lewis in one round for the World Heavyweight boxing title.

1945 - Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first US city to begin fluoridating the drinking water.

1955 - Columbia University scientists developed an atomic clock accurate to within one second in 300 years.

1961 - President Kennedy held the first live presidential press conference.

1971 Military coup in Uganda under Major General Idi Amin

1975 - #1 Hit: The Carpenters - Please Mr. Postman

1981 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived back in US

1985 - The Falcon and the Snowman was released in theaters.

1992 - #1 Hit: Color Me Badd - All 4 Love

2002 - The Mothman Prophecies debuted in theaters.

2004 - Opportunity rover (MER-B) landed on the surface of Mars.

2019 Longest-ever US government shutdown ends after

35 days when President Donald Trump agrees to three week of negotiations on border security by a House-Senate conference committee

Birthdays Today

@37- Robert Burns, Scottish poet (d. 1796; rheumatic heart condition)

@59 - Virginia Woolf, novelist (d. 1941; suicide; drowning)

Puzzle Answer:

Debit card → bad credit

Jan 24

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Jan. 24, 2020 Week: 1  Day: 24

86004:   H 49° \ L 23° \ Average Sky Cover: 5%

Nearest lightning:  1059mi.; Nearest active fire:  482mi.  

Wind:   12mph\Gusts:  18mph  Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 61°[1982]   Record Low: -15°[1964]

Jan. Averages: 43°\16° (22” days with snow)

Today’s Einstein Quote

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Random Tidbits

It would be well into the sixteenth century before the Hindu-Arabic numbering system that we use today, with its concept of decimal places and the introduction of zero, came into general use in Europe, making counting boards obsolete.

Stress can make it difficult to lose weight. Stress can trigger cravings for carb-rich snack foods which tend to calm stress hormones. Stress hormones can also increase fat storage. In addition to physical exercise, relaxation techniques can help control weight.

Observations This Week

Week of Christian Unity: 18-25

International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week: 18-26

Healthy Weight Week: 19-25

Hunt For Happiness Week:  19-25

National Activity Professionals Week:  19-25 

National CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists) Week: 19-25

National Handwriting Analysis Week:  19-25

Snow Care For Troops Awareness Week: 19-25

Sugar Awareness Week: 20-24

No Name Calling Week:  20-24

International Hoof-Care Week: 21-24  

Sundance Film Festival: 23-2/2

Observations for Today

Beer Can Day  Link  Link
Belly Laugh Day Link
Compliment Day

International Day of Education
Lobster Thermidor Day

Macintosh Computer Day

National Compliment Day
National Peanut Butter Day Link
Talk Like A Grizzled Prospector Day  Link
Women's Healthy Weight Day 

My Rambling Thoughts

It has been a busy week for me. All is good. Blood doctor wants another blood letting next week. PCP wants a stress test next month. Root Canal went well. All want pictures of my next adventure.

My PCP did a full physical today. Remember the old strip down and lay on the table. That’s what I got. All was good “for a male of your age”. Great. Then he asked me if I had been to China in the last year. Yep, but only Beijing and the railroad, adding not in the area of the new virus. Good.

Speaking of China, I have been following the news of the spread of the new virus. Today the ground zero city has stopped all public transportation. I was a little surprised that that city has a population of 11 million people. I can’t imagine my little town suddenly having no public transportation and everyone told to stay away from crowds, let alone what this does to a city that big. Frightening for sure.

I have not been happy about our cold temps this winter. They seem to be never ending. Then I saw the report from Florida about Iguanas. Since the temps have been cold…for Florida, falling into the 40’s at night it is causing problems for Iguanas. They normally live in trees, but the cold temps are putting the cold-blooded creatures to sleep. They are falling out of trees. Not dead, just ‘sleeping’ until it warms up. Turns out that Iguana meat is quite the delicacy, and some of these sleeping ones are being cut up for that meat. Gross. Turns out they are known as ‘Chicken of the Trees’ in some circles.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

My grandson is about as many days as my daughter in weeks, and my grandson is as many months as I am in years. Together we are 120 years. How old am I?

Historical Events

41 - Roman Emperor Caligula was assassinated.

1848 - Gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill, Coloma, California by James W. Marshall.

1899 - The US patent (#618128) for a rubber 'safety heel' was issued to Humphrey O'Sullivan

1908 Lieutenant General Robert Baden-Powell publishes "Scouting for Boys" as a manual for self-instruction in outdoor skills and self-improvement. The book becomes the inspiration for the Scout Movement.

 1922 - The 'Eskimo Pie', an ice cream center covered in chocolate, was patented (#1404539) by Christian K. Nelson of Onawa, Iowa.

1935 - The 1st beer in a can - 'Krueger Cream Ale' is sold by the Kruger Brewing Company.

1950 - A microwave oven patent (#2495429) was issued to Percy LeBaron Spencer under the title 'Method of Treating Foodstuffs'.

1976 - #1 Hit: Diana Ross - Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)

1984 - The Apple Macintosh was released.

1986 Voyager 2 makes 1st fly-by of Uranus (81,593 km), finds new moons

1987 - #1 Hit: Billy Vera and the Beaters - At This Moment

1995- Live coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial began. Day-time network soap operas were pre-empted for almost nine months.

2003 - The United States Department of Homeland Security officially began operation.

2017 President Trump withdraws the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA)

2019 US government recognizes Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's President

2019 17 temperature records broken in South Australia including highest ever recorded for capital Adelaide at 46.6C

Puzzle Answer:

72. This makes the grandson 6 and the daughter 42. It can be solved by creating the following system of equations:

Let m be my age in years. If s is my son's age in years, then my son is 52s weeks old. If g is my grandson's age in years, then my grandson is 365g days old. Thus,365g = 52s.

Since my grandson is 12g months old,12g = m. Since my grandson, my son and I together are 120 years,

g + s + m = 120.

The above system of 3 equations in 3 unknowns (g, s and m) can be solved as follows.

m / 12 + 365 m / (52 x 12) + m = 120 or

52 m + 365 m + 624 m = 624 x 120 or

m = 624 x 120 / 1041 = 72.

So, I am 72 years old.