May 10

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May 10, 2020 Week: 20 Day: 131

86004: H 81° \ L 44° \ Average Sky Cover: 35%

Wind: 7mph\Gusts: 16mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 275mi.; Nearest active fire: 418mi.

Extreme Risk of Fire

Record High: 82°[1934] Record Low: 19°[1953]

May Averages: 68°\34° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

"All we have to decide is what to do

with the time that is given us."

— J.R.R. Tolkien

Random Tidbits

Teachers before fame

“Angela’s Ashes” author Frank McCourt taught high school in New York for 30 years

Before he was a successful sitcom star, Andy Griffith was a mediocre music teacher. “

Kiss lead singer Gene Simmons once worked as a teacher. "I used to be a sixth-grade teacher in Spanish Harlem

Have a smile

A friend sent these to me

The road to success is always under construction.”
– Lily Tomlin

Question:How was the camping trip?
Answer: it was in tents (intense)

Observations This Week

Ramadan: 23-5/23

(World) Dystonia Awareness Week: 3-11 Link
Children's Book Week: 4-10 
International Coaching Week: 4-10  Link
National Sun Safety Week: 4-10 Link
National WildflowerWeek: 4-10 
Peripheral Neuropathy Awareness Week: 4-10 Link
Screen-Free Week (Digital Detox Week): 4-10 Link
National Nurses Day and Week: 6-12 Link  Link
National Public Gardens Week: 8-17  Link
INVICTUS GAMES: 9-16  Link 
Universal Family Week: 10-16
Food Allergy Awareness Week: 10-16 Link
National Hospital Week: 10-16 Link
National Nursing Home Week: 10-17
National Police Week:  10-16
National Return To Work Week:  10-17
National Transportation Week: 10-16 
National Women's Health Week: 10-16 Link  Link
Reading is Fun Week:  10-17 Link 
Salute to Moms 35+ Week: 10-16 
Salvation Army Week: 10-17 

Observations for Today

Clean Your Room Day Link
Dia De La Madre
Mother's Day Link  Link
Mother's At The Wall Day National Hampster Day Link
National Lipid Day (Dyslipidemia)  National Liver and Onions Day

World Lupus Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Happy Mother's Day. I hope everyone has great memories of their mom.

The PPE portrait project is awesome. It takes a picture of a healthcare worker and makes a large laminated sticker to put on their PPE gown so patients will see a picture of the person without the mask and shield. The project was a big success during the Ebola crisis in Liberia and is now being done world wide. Very Cool.

Hamdy's wife posted a photo. She ordered toilet paper over the internet. She got a bunch of rolls with no center hole for placing them on the holder. Crazy.

I texted Lori, Bob Eckhardt's daughter, to check up. She retired a year ago as an RN. She has been busy making over 100 masks for her former hospital. Also the nurses who work have worked there have a virtual Happy Hour every Friday after work. Very Cool. Lori and all her family are doing fine during this crisis.

The city of Wheat Ridge has ordered face masks for businesses to give to their customers if they don't have one. There are only a few businesses open, and the city wants them to be safe. Very cool.

Shocked, dismayed and angry. A sacred Tipi was erected at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas for the graduates. The Native University, like all other Universities, is not having a normal graduation. Last night someone came on campus and burned the Tipi to the ground. A good grad school friend serves on their Board of Regents. There is no excuse for this blatant racism. I hope the perps are caught. From their FB post: Last night the graduation tipi at Haskell University (@hinuarts) was burned to the ground. Haskell Indian Nations University is the only intertribal Native American university in the country, and we see this as a spiritual attack on over 100 Indigenous nations. This act is unacceptable and should absolutely be considered a hate crime. We are in solidarity with those affected, including the graduates, their families, and the larger Indigenous community outside of Lawrence. We are working to mobilize a response and to find the individual or individuals responsible, including a possible reward for information leading to an arrest. 

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

When is 1600 plus 25 and

1700 minus 35 the same thing?

Historical Events

Mother's Day in Mexico is a set date of May 10th every year, unlike most other countries where it lands on a Sunday.

1503 - Columbus stumbled across the Cayman Islands and dubbed them Las Tortugas, after the numerous sea turtles.

1860 - The discovery of two new elements - caesium (Cs) and rubidium (Rb), was announced by German chemists, Robert Bunsen and Gustav Robert Kirchhoff to the Berlin Academy of Scientists.

1869 - Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads completed the Transcontinental Railroad.

1877 - US President Rutherford B. Hayes has the White House's first telephone installed in the 'telegraph room.'

1879 - America's first archaeological society was formed in Boston Mass., the Archaeological Institute of America.

1893 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Nix v. Hedden that a tomato is a vegetable, not a fruit, under the Tariff Act of 1883. Scientifically, it is a fruit.

1924 - J. Edgar Hoover as named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation (now the FBI).

1941 Adolf Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess escapes to Britain to open secret negotiations with the Allies, parachuting into Scotland

1969 In an interview with the 'Belfast Telegraph' former Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O'Neill states: "if you give Roman Catholics a good job and a good house, they will live like Protestants, ... They will refuse to have 18 children"

1975 - Sony's Betamax, the first home videocassette recorder, went on sale in Japan

1980 - The US Government gave Chrysler a $1.5 billion loan.

1993 Paul Cézanne still life painting sells for US$28,600,000 in NYC

1994 Nelson Mandela sworn in as South Africa's 1st black president

1994 - Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was sworn in as the first black president of South Africa.

2005 A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 65 feet (20 metres) from U.S. President George W. Bush while giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, it malfunctions and does not detonate

2008 Philippine court acquits Imelda Marcos in a 17-year-old case of 32 counts of illegal transfer of wealth totaling $863 million in Swiss bank accounts

2013 - One World Trade Center became the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, at 1,776 feet.

2017 USGS releases a report saying that some glaciers in Montana have receded by 85% in the last 50 years

2017 US President Donald Trump shares classified information about ISIS plot with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office

2018 New record auction price for a Latin American artwork of $9.76 million for Diego Rivera's "The Rivals"

Birthdays Today

@88-Singer, Dancer Fred Astaire (d. 1987)

74-Singer Donovan [Donovan Philips Leitch]

@69-actor Nancy Walker [Anna Myrtle Swoyer] (d. 1992; lung cancer)

60- Singer, philanthropist Bono[Paul David Hewson]

42-Actor, comedian Kenan Thompson

38-Singer, songwriter Carrie Underwood (1983)

@21-bassist Sid Vicious [John Simon Ritchie] (d.1979)

Puzzle Answer:

When it is military time.

May 9

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May 8, 2020 Week: 19 Day: 130

86004: H 77° \ L 40° \ Average Sky Cover: 5%

Wind: 6mph\Gusts: 11mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 302mi.; Nearest active fire: 280mi.

Record High: 81°[1934] Record Low: 14°[1930]

May Averages: 68°\34° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

"Why do you go away?

So that you can come back."

— Terry Pratchett

Random Tidbits

Teachers first; then fame

“Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda was working as a substitute at his alma mater, Hunter College High School in New York when the school offered him a permanent job

Future president Lyndon Johnson taught speech at a high school in Houston, where he drilled relentlessly, putting the debate team through dozens of practice competitions.

Have a smile

A friend sent these to me

Question:What is the best time to go to the dentist?
Answer: Tooth Hurty (2:30)

I believe the finest shoes are made of smooth leather.
My opinion will never be suede. (Swayed)

Observations This Week

Ramadan: 23-5/23

Be Kind To Animals Week: 3-9
Dating and Life Coach Recognition Week: 3-9 Link 
Drinking Water Week: 3-9 Link 
Flexible Work Arrangement Week: 3-9
Goodwill Industries Week: 3-9 
Hurricane Preparedness Week: 3-9 Link
International Clitoris Awareness Week: 3-9
National Alcohol & Drug Related Birth Defects Awareness Week: 3-9
National Anxiety & Depression Awareness Week: 3-9
National Correctional Officer's Week:3-9
National Family Week: 3-9
National Hug Holiday Week: 3-9
National Raisin Week: 3-9 Link
National Root Canal Appreciation Week: 3-9  Link
National Tourism Week: 3-9 Link  
North American Occupational Safety & Health Week: 3-9 Link
Public Service Recognition Week: 3-9 Link
National Pet Week: 3-9 Link 
National Small Business Week: 3-9 Link
Update Your References Week: 3-9 
(World) Dystonia Awareness Week: 3-11 Link
Children's Book Week: 4-10 
Economic Development Week: 4-9  Link
International Coaching Week: 4-10  Link
National Sun Safety Week: 4-10 Link
National WildflowerWeek: 4-10 
Peripheral Neuropathy Awareness Week: 4-10 Link
Screen-Free Week (Digital Detox Week): 4-10 Link
National Nurses Day and Week: 6-12 Link  Link
National Public Gardens Week: 8-17  Link
INVICTUS GAMES: 9-16  Link 

Observations for Today

American Indian Day Link
Bereaved Mother's Day
Birthmother's Day Link
Clean Up Your Room Day

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Awareness Day Link
International Migratory Bird Day Link
Letter Carrier's Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day Link Cancelled due to COVID-19
Lost Sock Memorial Day

Mother Ocean Day National Archery Day  Link   Cancelled due to COVID-19
National Babysitters Day  National Dog Mom's Day
National Foodies Day

National Miniature Golf Day National Moscato Day
National Sleepover Day  Link
National Train Day

National Windmill Day

Stay Up All Night
Time of Remembrance & Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives During The Second World War

World Belly Dance Day
World Fair Trade Day

My Rambling Thoughts

A great spring day for a nice walk in the forest. Done!

This is my new shopping day. Yesterday I broke a key on my keyboard, so made an extra stop for a new one. After groceries and Sam's, I stopped at Best Buy. Customers need a appointment to enter the store. Thankfully they have a clerk who looks up what you want on their phone, then goes inside and get it for you. It's a fast system, and easy.

One of the craziest things about this stay-at-home thing is that every store that is open has a different protocol for shopping. When a customer arrives at a given store, they have no idea what the protocol is. Some stores, you just walk in and shop. Others, you have to have a mask. Some stores hand out wipes, others don't. Many have main aisles marked to you know if you are 6' apart, others have arrows for one-way traffic in the aisle. Instead to each store or chain store making its own policy, it seems the CDC professionals should set up clear, concise guidelines for all open stores to follow.

Back in the day, Frontier Airlines was a great way to get from Flag to Denver. I used them often, until they left our airport. The only bad part was that on occasion, I had to do a puddle-jumper flight that had lots of landings and take-offs. Years later, I took a Frontier flight from Phoenix. Checked Bags were $25 and there were no carryons. At the gate, a carryon was taken and you were charged $125. I learned the hard way. Well they just found another way to gouge their customers...for an extra $40 fee you are guaranteed and empty middle seat on your flight. Hmm.

Today is Cheryl's birthday. Our retirement group can't do lunch because of the virus. I had a nice talk with her. We all really miss our weekly lunches. She and her family are doing well during this mess. She too is tired of staying home and not being able to travel to California to see her son and his family. But we all agreed that this can't last forever.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?

Historical Events

1662 - Famous puppet Mr. Punch made his first recorded appearance in England.

1865 - The patent (#47,631) was issued to Richard Jordan Gatling for the Gatling gun, which was the first to successfully combine reliability, high firing rate and ease of loading into a single device.

1882 - William F. Ford was issued a patent (#257,487) for his stethoscope.

1887 - Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show opened in London, England.

1893 - The first motion picture exhibition was presented by Thomas Edison in Brooklyn, New York to an audience of 400 people at the Dept of Physics, Brooklyn Institute, Brooklyn, NY using his Kinetograph.

1914 - Although referred to since the late 1800s, US President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Mother's Day holiday on this date.

1926 - Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett made the first flight over the North Pole.

1950 - L. Ron Hubbard (Lafayette Ronald Hubbard) published Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.

1955 - West Germany joined NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

1958 - Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo has world premiere in San Francisco.

1960 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the world's first commercially produced birth-control bill: Enovid-10.

1961 - Newton Minow, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, referred to television as the "vast wasteland"

1992 - The Golden Girls aired their series finale.

1992 Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial dedicated in Danvers (formally Salem Village) to mark 300 year anniversary of trials

1997 1st US ambassador since Saigon fell arrives in Vietnam

2005 Liberal commentary website The Huffington Post is launched

2012 United States President Barack Obama officially states his support for same-sex marriage

2016 Boris Johnson resigns as Mayor of London, succeeded by Sadiq Khan

2017 US President Donald Trump dismisses FBI Director James Comey

2017 Fossil of Chinese feathered baby dinosaur formally identified as Beibeilong sinensis (baby dragon in Chinese)

2018 India's Supreme Court criticises the country’s archaeological conservation body for failing to protect the Taj Mahal from discoloration and green slime

2018 Iranians and their president Hassan Rouhani react angrily to President Trump pulling the US out the Iran Nuclear deal

2019 Pope Francis introduces new rules on reporting sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, criticized for not going far enough

2019 Archaeologists hail Anglo-Saxon tomb found 2003 in Prittlewell, England, as Britain’s equivalent of Tutankhamun’s tomb as full report of its contents published

Birthdays Today

@82-Actor Albert Finney (d. 2019)

80-Director James L Brooks

71-Singer Billy Joel

59-Actor, Singer John Corbett

41-Singer, actor Rosario Dawson

29-Actor Mitchel Musso

Puzzle Answer:

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

May 8

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May 8, 2020 Week: 19 Day: 129

86004: H 79° \ L 41° \ Average Sky Cover: 5%

Wind: 7mph\Gusts: 15mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 502mi.; Nearest active fire: 373mi.

Record High: 85°[1989] Record Low: 17°[1965]

May Averages: 68°\34° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

"The more I traveled the more I realized

that fear makes strangers of people

who should be friends."

— Shirley MacLaine

Random Tidbits

Turkey

Credit: muratart/ Shutterstock

With a history dating back to the stone age, the capital of Turkey is a familiar name, but not the one most think of first. While Istanbul is probably the best-known city in the country, it's not the capital. The actual capital sits about 280 miles inland from Istanbul.

Would you be surprised to learn the capital city is Ankara? Some might be, as it has roughly one-third the population of Istanbul and is not nearly as famous. What Ankara does offer is the famous Angora (long-haired) goats and cats. In fact, Angora used to be the name of the city before it was renamed Ankara.

From Roman-era temples to a Byzantine citadel to a Seljuk era mosque, there are many different viewpoints from which to see the city. Ottoman buildings fill a large portion of the city, some having been converted into museums to educate visitors.

Have a smile

A friend sent these to me

I always wanted to be somebody,
but now I realize I should have been more specific.”
– Lily Tomlin

Observations This Month

Teen CEO Month
Tennis Month
Tay-Sachs and Canavan Diseases Month
Textile Month  Link
Tourettes Syndrome Awareness Month (5/15 - 6/15) Link
Toxic Encephalopathy and Chemical Injury Awareness Month Link
Ultra-violet Awareness Month
Women's Health Care Month
Worldwide Home Schooling Awareness Month
Young Achievers of Tomorrow Month
National Family Month (5/12 to 6/16) 

Observations This Week

Ramadan: 23-5/23

Be Kind To Animals Week: 3-9
Dating and Life Coach Recognition Week: 3-9 Link 
Drinking Water Week: 3-9 Link 
Flexible Work Arrangement Week: 3-9
Goodwill Industries Week: 3-9 
Hurricane Preparedness Week: 3-9 Link
International Clitoris Awareness Week: 3-9
National Alcohol & Drug Related Birth Defects Awareness Week: 3-9
National Anxiety & Depression Awareness Week: 3-9
National Correctional Officer's Week:3-9
National Family Week: 3-9
National Hug Holiday Week: 3-9
National Raisin Week: 3-9 Link
National Root Canal Appreciation Week: 3-9  Link
National Tourism Week: 3-9 Link  
North American Occupational Safety & Health Week: 3-9 Link
Public Service Recognition Week: 3-9 Link
National Pet Week: 3-9 Link 
National Small Business Week: 3-9 Link
Update Your References Week: 3-9 
(World) Dystonia Awareness Week: 3-11 Link
Air Quality Awareness Week: 4-8  Link 
Children's Book Week: 4-10 
Economic Development Week: 4-9  Link
International Coaching Week: 4-10  Link
National Safety Stand Down Week (Constuction Falls): 4-8 Link Cancelled due to COVID-19
National Sun Safety Week: 4-10 Link
National WildflowerWeek: 4-10 
Peripheral Neuropathy Awareness Week: 4-10 Link
PTA Teacher Appreciation Week: 4-8 
Screen-Free Week (Digital Detox Week): 4-10 Link Teacher Appreciation Week: 4-8 Link 
National Nurses Day and Week: 6-12 Link  Link
National Public Gardens Week: 8-17  Link

Observations for Today

Child Care Provider Day Europe Day

Iris Day

Lost Sock Memorial Day

National Coconut Cream Pie Day

National Outdoor Intercourse Day

No Socks Day

Student Nurse Day Link
Time of Remembrance & Reconciliation for Those  Who Lost Their Lives During The Second World War

V-E Day

World Ovarian Cancer Day  Link
World Red Cross / Red Crescent Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Nice day for a walk. When I returned 5 of our HOA Gestapo was wandering around, snapping pictures, pointing and writing. Only 2 had masks. Sure enough, about an hour later the tow truck showed up to haul away vehicles without permits. At least this time it is in broad daylight.

During the potato famine in Ireland, the Choctaw donated to the Irish in Ireland. Now, Ireland is sending $1.5 million for COVID-19 relief to the Navajo and Hopi.

Trump declared May 5 Missing and Murdered Native American and Alaskan Native Awareness Day. Good for him. This is a tragedy that needs a lot of publicity.

Flagstaff has one main homeless shelter, with some funds for hotel rooms if they need them. Yesterday, 2 staff and 16 of the 62 residents tested positive. Weather has been good and there is talk they will shut down the facility until the fall.

All prescribed burns in AZ forests have been postponed over concerns of travel and social distancing in doing the fires. This is good news for the workers, but not good news for the forest's health. I hope they get the virus under control. All we need here is a huge forest fire to add to our problems.

Our governor had 12 professors from ASU and UA working on Covid-19 models for tracing its spread in AZ for our Health Dept. Now that he has decided to open up the state, that group has been put on pause indefinitely. Seems like a dumb move to me.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

What runs around the whole yard without moving?

Historical Events

1840 - The first U.S. photographic patent (#1,582) was issued to Alexander S. Wolcott of New York City

1886 - Coca-Cola was first sold to the public at the soda fountain in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.

1912 - Paramount Pictures was founded.

1933 - Mohandas Gandhi began a 21-day fast of self-purification and launched a one-year campaign to help the Harijan movement.

1945 - V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day) was celebrated in America and Great Britain.

1961 - The first practical seawater conversion plant in the US was opened in Freeport, Texas.
1976 - The New Revolution, the first steel roller coaster with a vertical loop, opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

1980 - The World Health Organization confirmed the eradication of smallpox.

1984 - The Soviet Union announced that they were boycotting the 1984 Olympics.

2007 A new Northern Ireland Executive is formed with Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party) as First Minister and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) as Deputy First Minister

2008 Dmitry Medvedev appoints Vladimir Putin as Russian Prime Minister

2010 - Betty White hosted Saturday Night Live, thanks to a push by fans on Facebook. She won an Emmy for her appearance.

2012 Dmitry Medvedev is confirmed as Russian Prime Minister by the State Duma, after being nominated by Vladimir Putin

2014 World's oldest astrolabe (mariner's navigator tool) c. 1498 from Portugeuese shipwreck of explorer Vasco da Gama found near Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman

2018 President Trump pulls the US out of the multilateral Iran nuclear deal

Birthdays Today

93-TV Host David Attenborough

@88-33^rd US President Harry S Truman (d. 1972)

56-Actor Melissa Gilbert

45-Pop Singer Enrique Iglesias (1975)

Puzzle Answer:

A fence