Sep 23

 

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

Sep 23, 2020  Week: 39 Day: 267                   Local:   H 80° \ L 40° \ Average Sky Cover: 60%

Wind:   5mph\Gusts: 10mph                            Nearest lightning:  6mi.; active fire:  59mi. 

high Risk of Fire                                               Visibility:  10mi

Record: 86°[1944]   Record: 25°[1970]                  Sep Averages: 74°\42° (5 days with rain)

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Today’s  Quote

"If you're offered a seat on a rocket ship,

don't ask what seat! Just get on."

-Sheryl Sandberg

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Random Tidbits

Give the cold shoulder

Surprisingly, this doesn’t just refer to coldly turning your back on someone. Etymologists think the phrase originated from medieval etiquette. After a feast, hosts in England would subtly signal that the meal was over (and it was time for guests to leave) by serving a cold slice of pork, mutton, or beef shoulder.

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A little humor

From Actual Medical Records

The bugs that grew out of her urine were cultured in the Casualty and are not available. I WILL FIND THEM!!!

The patient left the hospital feeling much better except for her original complaints.

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True Things

 A Minnesota man who collected more than $167,000 in welfare benefits while he had more than $3 million in the bank was sentenced to 21 months in prison. The court heard Colin Chisholm, 63, and his wife, Andrea, 54, collected more than $167,000 in medical and food assistance claims in the seven years leading up to March 2012 and investigators later discovered the couple had more than $3 million in the bank and lived in a $1.6 million mansion in Deephaven. The couple, who once claimed to be Scottish nobility and went by the titles "Lord and Lady Chisholm," were also found to own a luxury yacht worth millions on Lake Minnetonka. Judge Lois Conroy handed down a 21-month prison sentence despite state sentencing guidelines calling for probation. Conroy agreed with prosecutors that prison time was called for due to the severity of the welfare fraud. Chisholm was also ordered to pay $167,420 in restitution following the completion of his prison sentence.

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Observations This Week

Constitution Week: 17-23	National Singles Week: 20-26
National Ballroom Dance Week: 18-27  Link	National Rehabilitation Awareness Week: 20-26
Farm Animal Awareness Week: 19-25	National Indoor Plant Week: 20-26
Build A Better Image Week: 20-26	Nat’l Historically Black Colleges/Univ.Week: 20-26
Child Passenger Safety Week: 20-26 Link	National Farm & Ranch Safety/Health Week: 20-26
Deaf Dog Awareness Week: 20-26 Link	Prostate Cancer Awareness Week: 20-26
International Clean Hands Week: 20-26	Tolkien Week: 20-26
Internat’l Interpreters and Translators Week: 20-26	World Reflexology Week: 20-26
International Women's E-Commerce Days: 20-26	National Bike to Work Week: 21-27 Link   Moved from May due to COVID-19
National Dog Week: 20-26 Link   Link  Link	National Love Your Files Week: 21-25  Link
National Employ Older Workers Week: 20-26  Link	Pollution Prevention Week: 21-27 Link

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Observations for Today

Celebrate Bi-sexuality Day	National Snack Stick Day  Link
Checkers Day; Dogs in Politics Day Link	National White Chocolate Day
Innergize Day	Restless Legs Awareness Day
International Day of Sign Languages	Teal Talk Day  Link
Nat’l Great American Pot Pie Day  Link	UK's National Fitness Day
	Za'atar Day Link

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My Rambling Thoughts

First day of Fall may bring some moisture…the clouds are very dark grey. Dug around and found my fall decoration for the front door. I’m ready! So excited, a nice rain just started. Cooled things off to a nice 70 degrees.

Excited to see the new Cosmos season with Neil de Grasse Tyson tonight. He always does a great job.

While watching the football games on Sunday, I wondered why some coaches were not wearing masks. Guess I was right to wonder. The Bronco’s, 49er’s, and Seahawk’s teams were each fined for it…a whopping $350,000 per team.

There are some new neighbors moving into the next building. Each day since Sunday they have arrived with a U-Haul truck to unload. I guess they used to live nearby. I’m not stalking them; their truck is noisy when it drives past my place…every morning about 8:00am.

Here is some interesting data: Colorado is third on the list of the most highly educated population in the United States, securing the first place in the states with the highest percentage of associate degree holders or college-experienced adults. It also has the second highest percentage of bachelor’s degree holders and quality of education.

Colorado is among the states with the highest education level and highest income, according to WalletHub. The state celebrated this win when The Denver Post proudly said “Colorado Wields Most Brain Power West of Mississippi, Ranking says” in their headline.

The high level of cultural diversity in Arizona makes it more difficult for its citizens to get a high-quality education. USA Today says only 79.4% of children in Arizona are raised with parents who speak English fluently. It is one of the smallest percentages all over the nation. Arizona’s unique landscape contributes to this difficulty as well, experts say.

This results in the state’s notoriously low graduation rates. To fare better next year, the state needs to focus on educational reforms and better cater to students who don’t speak English as their first language.

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Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Two men find an old gold coin and want to have a coin toss with it to decide who gets to keep it. The only problem is the coin is heavier on one side so it comes up heads more than tails.

What is a fair way for the men to toss the coin and decide who gets to keep it?

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Historical Events

1642 – Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, had its 1^st graduating class.

1846 – German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle discovered the planet Neptune.

1913 – Mark Sennet presented the first Keystone Cops film, although some say it was Hoffmeyer’s Legacy, in 1912.

1932 Abdulaziz Ibn Saud merges the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

1938 – A time capsule, to be opened in 6939, was buried at World’s Fair in NYC.

1950 Nobel peace prize awarded to Ralph Bunche for mediation in Israel - 1st African American winner

1952 Richard Nixon makes his "Checker's" speech

1955 – When James Dean first met Alec Guinness (Ben Kenobi) he asked him to take a look at his brand new Porsche Spyder. Guinness told Dean: “If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week.” This encounter took place on September 23, seven days before Dean’s death.

1957 White mob forces 9 black students enrolled at Little Rock's Central High School in Arkansas to withdraw

1957 – The first movie (1953) to become a TV series was How to Marry a Millionaire. It was syndicated and not on a regular network.

1962- The Jetsons cartoon debuted on ABC – ABC’s first full-color program.

1986 – The U.S. Congress voted the rose the official flower of the US.

1988 – Jose Canseco became baseball’s first player to steal 40 bases & hit 40 Home Runs in a season. He later admitted to using steroids.

2007 – During the 2007 baseball season, the Los Angeles Dodgers added an infielder named Chin-Lung Hu. After Hu singled in his third at-bat in a game on September 23, Dodgers announcer Vin Scully said, “Shades of Abbott and Costello, I can finally say, ‘Hu is on first base.'”

2018 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches "Modicare", free healthcare for 500 million, world's biggest healthcare program

2019 Climate activist Greta Thunberg scolds world leaders "How Dare You" for not addressing climate change at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York

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Birthdays Today

1897 – Walter Pidgeon, Canadian-American actor, and singer (died in 1984)

@93 – Mickey Rooney, American actor, and singer (d. 2014)

@40 – John Coltrane, American saxophonist, composer (d. 1967; liver cancer)

@73 – Ray Charles, singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (d. 2004; liver failure)

77 – Julio Iglesias, Spanish singer-songwriter

71 – Bruce Springsteen, American singer-songwriter

61 – Jason Alexander, American actor, singer, and voice artist

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Puzzle Answer

They toss the coin twice.  Each man picks heads or tails on the first coin toss and on the second coin toss they switch.  So, if you picked heads on the first coin toss you would have tails for the second coin toss.  In this way no one has an advantage over the other.

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Sep 22

 

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

Sep 22, 2020  Week: 39 Day:266                    Local:   H 79° \ L 45° \ Average Sky Cover: 80%

Wind:  1 mph\Gusts:  3mph                              Nearest lightning:  6.1mi.; active fire:  59mi. 

high Risk of Fire                                               Visibility:  10mi

Record: 83°[1949]   Record: 29°[1912]                  Sep Averages: 74°\42° (5 days with rain)

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Today’s  Quote

"I would rather die of passion than of boredom."

-Vincent van Gogh

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Random Tidbits

 Under the weather

Originally, sailors used the phrase “under the weather bow,” referring to the side of the ship that would get the brunt of the wind during storms. To avoid getting seasick when the waves got rough, they’d bunker down in their cabins—literally under that bad weather—to let the storm pass.

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A little humor

From Actual Medical Records

The patient is a 79-year-old widow who no longer lives with her husband.

The patient refused an autopsy.

Many years ago the patient had frostbite of the right shoe.

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True Things

 Prosecutors said an alleged carjacker in Chicago contacted the vehicle's owner and offered to sell the 1998 Chevy Malibu back to her for $50. Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti said Jereh Brown, 24, received a ride in the victim's car from a friend of the owner and he forced the woman out of the driver's seat while the car was stopped. Antonietti told a hearing Brown contacted the owner of the car, a 19-year-old woman, and offered to sell the 1998 Chevy Malibu back to her for $50. The woman arranged to meet with Brown and contacted police to accompany her to the chosen location, the prosecutor said. Police found Brown hiding in a closet in a home at the location of the arranged meeting just before 10 p.m. and he was arrested. Investigators found a key to the car inside the home where Brown was arrested. Brown was charged with vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen vehicle. He was released on electronic monitoring.

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Observations This Week

Constitution Week: 17-23	National Singles Week: 20-26
National Ballroom Dance Week: 18-27  Link	National Rehabilitation Awareness Week: 20-26
Farm Animal Awareness Week: 19-25	National Indoor Plant Week: 20-26
Build A Better Image Week: 20-26	Nat’l Historically Black Colleges/Univ.Week: 20-26
Child Passenger Safety Week: 20-26 Link	National Farm & Ranch Safety/Health Week: 20-26
Deaf Dog Awareness Week: 20-26 Link	Prostate Cancer Awareness Week: 20-26
International Clean Hands Week: 20-26	Tolkien Week: 20-26
Internat’l Interpreters and Translators Week: 20-26	World Reflexology Week: 20-26
International Women's E-Commerce Days: 20-26	National Bike to Work Week: 21-27 Link   Moved from May due to COVID-19
National Dog Week: 20-26 Link   Link  Link	National Love Your Files Week: 21-25  Link
National Employ Older Workers Week: 20-26  Link	Pollution Prevention Week: 21-27 Link

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Observations for Today

American Business Women's Day	National Bike to Work Day: Link    Moved from May due to COVID-19
Autumnnal Equinox  9:31AM EDT	National Centenarian's Day
Business Women's Day	National Girls' Night In Link
Car Free Day Link	National Ice Cream Cone Day
Chainmail Day	National Leg Wear Day Link
Dear Diary Day	National On-line Recovery Day Link
Elephant Appreciation Day	National Voter Registration Day Link
Hobbit Day	National Walk n' Roll Dog Day
Ice Cream Cone Day	National White Chocolate Day  Link
International Day of Radiant Peace	National Woman Road Warrior Day
Mabon (On Autumn Equinox)	Remote Employee Appreciation Day

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My Rambling Thoughts

Another week begins. Still wearing masks, still avoiding crowds, still waiting for the election. Weather is still nice, cloudy but still warm and nice.

A couple of days ago I mentioned Nielson Powless, the Oneida who was in the Tour de France. He finished 9^th in his bracket…Young Rider. Great news for Native athletes.

I updated the Focus Travel Club site. Check out the new adventure to Nova Scotia in June 2021. Looks exciting. The website has the latest information on all the upcoming trips.

A crazy lady sent an envelope with the poison Risen to the White House. The letter was stopped at a warehouse before getting anywhere near the White House. Authorities say she was arrested trying to return to the US from Canada. How anyone can be uneducated enough to believe that letter would ever get to the President, or White House staff unopened is a special kind of dumb.

In another update, the massive death of elephants in Rwanda has now been linked to a bacteria in the water at waterholes. Due to the drought, water levels are low and elephants are the only mammal that goes deep into the water to get its drink. The bacteria live near the bottom of the waterholes. It is sad so many elephants have been lost, but now they know why and have to figure out how to fix it.

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Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Alive without breath, as cold as death;

never thirsty, ever drinking, all in mail, never clinking.

What am I?

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Historical Events

1776 – Nathan Hale was hanged by the British as a spy for the colonies during the Revolutionary War. In fairness to the British, this war hero was spying on them.

1789 – The U.S. Post Office was established by congress.

1911 – Pitcher Cy Young beat Pittsburgh 1-0 for his final career victory – number 511.

1920 – A Chicago Grand Jury convened to investigate charges that 8 White Sox players conspired to fix the 1919 World Series. They did.

1964 – The Man from U.N.C.L.E. premiered on NBC.

1985 – Farm Aid wast first broadcast, on TNN and in syndication

2011 – CERN scientists announced their discovery of neutrinos breaking the speed of light. There were reasonably sure that the experiment would not cause a black hole that would suck up the entire planet. So far, so good.

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Birthdays Today

64 – Debby Boone, American singer

62 – Andrea Bocelli, Italian singer

62 – Joan Jett, American singer-songwriter

60 – Scott Baio, American actor

@55 – Eric Baker, English activist, co-founded Amnesty International (d.1976)

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Puzzle Answer

Fish

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