The monsoon came and dumped today. Sure kept things nice and cool. A friend lost her modem by lightning strike near her rural home. That has to be a bummer. Another one of my friends has a summer house in Oregon. She let everyone know today that Oregon is very very hot and that no one has air conditioning. In fact many don’t even have fans. People are really suffering up there. While the house is beach front, on private land, they say it is virtually impossible to drive anywhere because all the private streets are filled with cars of beach goers. The public lots are filled and people will park anywhere to get to the water. Not a place I would want to be right now.

I got a call today from Hamdy, my roommate from the Egypt trip. It seems everything is going well for the trip to South Africa. I guess it’s about time to start doing some research on that part of our world. I need to find some on line newspapers from South Africa, Botswana, and Zambia. I also need to start learning about the Game Preserves we will be in. We don’t leave until late October, but it’s never too soon to start some real research. This should be a great trip. The Internet sure makes research so much easier. When I was in school, learning about Africa, Zambia had just changed from Northern Rhodesia to Zambia. They ended a century of British Rule in 1964. Botswana didn’t get its independence until 1966. It used to known to Westerners as Bechuanaland. I remember Africa being called the “Dark Continent”. Was that because the sun didn’t shine that much over there? Was it because Negroes lived there? Was it because Americans were in the dark about what was really happening over there? I’m afraid that Edgar Rice Burroughs and many imitators gave me a more visual, though fictitious, picture of Africa. Even the factual Livingston and Stanley story rings loud, while the daily lives in Africa below the equator is currently silent in my understanding. While the late 60’s were a time of big change in the US, it was also a time of even bigger change in Africa. All three countries we will visit are new to democracy. I look forward to updating my knowledge base.

Daily newspapers in English abound from Egypt and of course Scotland. I’m sure there will be many from South Africa, and at least one or two from Botswana and Zambia. When I searched for Egyptian papers I found some that were very pro-American, and a few that were not. This did help me prepare for meeting the people when I got there. While I didn’t meet any anti-Americans I did find some people that were not exactly pro-American. I was glad I had some background to better understand their positions. I plan to have a better understanding of the area before I get there, so I can learn more while there.

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Random Fact…

If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die

Ants stretch when they wake up in the morning.

Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.
Istanbul (aka Constantinople), Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.

Los Angeles' full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula -- and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: L.A.

Crazy Stuff In The News…

WELLS, England - Officials with western England’s Wookey Hole Caves said more than 2,000 people have applied to become the attraction’s new resident witch. Organizers of the search to find a resident witch for the Wells England Caves said the performer will earn $82,000 per year portraying a legendary witch said to have lived in the caves during the Dark Ages, CNN reported. Local legend states the witch lived with goats in the cave until she was turned to stone by a splash of holy water from an Abbot. Some proponents of the legend say the frozen figure of the witch can be seen in the cave’s rock formations.
The witch was alleged to have caused diseases, soured milk and cursed crops. The organizers said the applicants will each have one minute to convince a panel of judges that they have the best cackle and can make good use of their witch props. They said men, women and transgendered people are equally welcome to audition.

July is…

…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…

Week of July 31…
Moby Dick Week

July 31…
212 days so far this year…153 days remain in 2009
System Administrator Appreciation Day
*Malaysia: Hair Pahlawan Day—Warrior’s Day
*Ka Hae Hawai’I Day—Hawaiian Flag Day
*Mexico : Day of National Mourning (1811-Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla)

BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1803
John Ericsson US, invented screw propeller, built USS Monitor
1841
George Melville polar explorer, naval engineer
1867
S.S. (Sebastian Spering) Kresge merchant: S.S. Kresge’s five & dime stores [now Kmart]

1912
Milton Friedman economist (Nobel 1976)
1919
Curt Gowdy Green River Wyo, sportscaster (ABC)
1943
William Bennett US Secretary of Education (1985-88)/drug czar
1945
Gary Lewis (Levitch)
singer: group: Gary Lewis and the Playboys: This Diamond Ring
1962
Wesley Snipes actor
1966
Dean Cain actor

IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1498
Christopher Columbus discovers island of Trinidad

1777
Marquis de Lafayette, 19, made major-general of Continental Army

1912
US government prohibits movies & photos of prize fights (censorship)
1925
Unemployment Insurance Act passed in England
1948
Pres Truman dedicates Idlewild Field (Kennedy Airport), NY
1953
Dept of Health, Education & Welfare created
1960
Elijah Muhammad, leader of Nation of Islam, calls for a black state
1972
Thomas Eagleton withdraws as Democratic VP candidate
1975
Jimmy Hoffa, the former president of the Teamsters union, is reported missing

Word Fragments Puzzle

In each of these puzzles, a word fragment is given, and you must think of an English word that contains the fragment -- that is, you must form a word by adding letters to the beginning and/or the end of the fragment. You may not add letters to the middle of the fragment, nor may you rearrange the letters given.
Multiple solutions are given for several word fragments and are shown in brackets (although we omitted most alternate solutions that rely on variations of the same word). To solve the puzzles, however, you only need to find one word for each fragment.

Example: choan [1]
Answer: psychoanalysis

1. rogl [3]
2. choan[2]
3. ylop [1]
4. rehen [5]
5. leco [2]
6. hep [1]
7. nuu [1]
8. aa [2]
9. ioa [1]
10. tegr [2]
*Bonus caj [2]

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Answers
1. Hieroglyphic, nitroglycerine, troglodyte
2. psychoanalysis
3. xylophone
4. apprehend comprehend incomprehensible prehensile reprehensible
5. telecommunicate teleconference
6. shepherd
7. continuum
8. aardvark bazaar
9. radioactive
10. integral integrity
*Bonus: cajole cajun
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