Jan 26

FYI: Any Blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Jan. 26, 2020 Week: 1  Day: 26

86004:   H 50° \ L 26° \ Average Sky Cover: 5%

Nearest lightning:  2110mi.; Nearest active fire:  348mi.  

Wind:   5mph\Gusts:  8mph  Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 60°[1987]   Record Low: -15°[1937]

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

Today’s Einstein Quote

The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Random Tidbits

Amid the many hundreds of diet books are really only four basic rules for weight loss: 1) eat carbs in the form of whole grains or fiber, 2) avoid trans and saturated fats, 3) eat lean protein, and 4) eat lots of fruits and veggies.

While eating raw fish that has been packed in fermented rice is a culinary technique that is a least 400 years old, sushi did not appear in the United States until the 1960s, and didn't become really popular until the 1980s when Americans became more health conscious.

Observations This Week

International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week: 18-26

Sundance Film Festival: 23-2/2

US Nationals Snow Sculpting Days: 25-2/2

Catholic Schools Week: 26-2/1

Clean Out Your Inbox Week: 26-31

Meat Week: 26-2/1

National School Choice Week:  26-2/1 

Tax Identity Theft Week: 26-30

Observations for Today

Australia Day

Dental Drill Appreciation Day
Grammy Awards
Lotus 1-2-3 Day
National Bible Sunday 
National Green Juice Day Link
National Peanut Brittle Day  Link
Spouse's Day

Toad Hollow Day of Encouragement
World Leprosy Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Tonight is the first meeting of 2020 for our discussion group. I have been with this group for 10 years. Our composition has changed but still a very worthwhile group. Tonight’s discussion should be very informative. The topic is Human Trafficking. The articles defined human trafficking, slavery, forced labor, sex trafficking, and child trafficking. Turns out this is a very complicated, complex issue involving International Law, National Law, Cultures, and the difficulty of defining all the terms above. I have already learned a lot about the countries with the best and worst records of child labor/slavery/forced labor. The authors also talked about how to avoid buying products from the worst offenders. I didn’t know that much of the tomato crop and chili crop from Mexico is from Child Labor or that coffee from most of Central and South America is from child labor.

Most followers of world news know that many times the first reports out are not that accurate. One has to wait a few days, weeks or even months to get the full story. The problem with our current media is that Breaking News has taken over and when the full story comes out, it is barely reported or even ignored. Back when the Iranian General was killed, all the news organizations had breaking news: General killed, no US casualties. Now, weeks later it has come out that there were at least 34 US soldiers who suffered TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). President Trump was quick to say ‘No US Casualties’, then as TBI information started coming out, he said ‘some soldiers had headaches after the attack.’ Having worked in education as my career, I can tell everyone a TBI is so much more than a headache. Yet, there is no Breaking News about the TBI cases, no in-depth news stories about what happened to our soldiers. The media helps us forget way to soon.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Adam’s father has 4 children; Alice, Alesha, Alan.

Who is the fourth?

Historical Events

1564 - The Council of Trent issued its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.

1784 Benjamin Franklin expresses unhappiness over eagle as America's symbol

1788 Captain Arthur Phillip and British colonists hoist the Union Flag at Sydney Cove, New South Wales, now celebrated as Australia Day

1837 Michigan admitted as 26th US state

1838 - Tennessee became the 1st state to prohibit alcohol.

1905 World's largest diamond, the 3,106-carat Cullinan, is found in South Africa

1906 - The world's steam car land speed record was set at 127.7 mph (205.5 km/h) by Fred Marriot, racing at Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.A. in his canoe-shaped Stanley Steamer Rocket. The record stood until 2009.

1912 - Jim Thorpe relinquished his 1912 Olympic medals for being a professional athlete. He was paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the amateur rules at that time. His Olympic medals were reinstated posthumously by an act of Congress in 1983.

1915 - The Rocky Mountain National Park was established.

1918 Herbert Hoover, US Food Administrator, calls for "wheatless" & "meatless" days for war effort

1961 1st woman personal physician to a US President - Janet G. Travell (to John F. Kennedy)

1963 - #1 Hit: The Rooftop Singers - Walk Right In

1966 - The Beaumont Children (ages 9, 7, and 4) disappeared from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide, South Australia.

1974 - #1 Hit: Ringo Starr - You're Sixteen

1979 - The Dukes of Hazzard debuted on CBS

1988 - Broadway Show - The Phantom of the Opera (Musical) opened

1991 - #1 Hit: Surface - The First Time

1998 President Bill Clinton says "I want to say one thing to the American people; I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky"

2005 Condoleezza Rice is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State, the first African American woman to hold the post

2010 The World Health Organization rejects claims that it overstated the severity of the swine flu pandemic under pressure from vaccine companies

Birthdays Today

@84-Douglas MacArthur, War hero

@83- Paul Newman, actor, entrepreneur

62- Ellen DeGeneres, TV host, actor

59- Wayne Gretzky, hockey legend

11- Suleman octuplets, longest surviving set

Puzzle Answer:

Adam. Alice, Alesha and Alan are his siblings.

Jan 25

FYI: Any Blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

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