Monday

~~~Free Ramblings
What an autumn Sunday. Got up this morning to clouds and wind as expected. Then came the rain. Nice surprise. Since the wind was blowing so hard, the rain came in waves. This blowing rain lasted on and off for a couple of hours. Then the wind stayed but no rain. We made it to a scorching 57° today while last night only dropped to about 45°. It really looked and felt like a real autumn day. I’m sure the Peaks got some snowfall throughout the day.

All this wind and moisture made it into a lazy day for me. I was glad the Broncos were playing the Cowboys. That puts the game on AZ TV. Before the Cardinals came to the state, AZ football fans became Cowboy fans. I never really understood why. The Rams, the Raiders, and the Broncos were all closer to Arizona. I guess it was because Dallas was in its glory days and everyone wants to support a winner. Anyway, Denver is now 4-0 and looking pretty good this year.

My friend Cheryl is visiting her mom back in Michigan, so she is missing all the fire stuff near Williams, where she lives. From what I can tell, her home is far enough away from the fire that she isn’t in the evacuation area, but it is still frightening. Don’t know which would be worse—being across the country and hearing about the fire or being in Williams near the fire. Either way, there isn’t a whole lot anyone can do in this situation, except pray that it doesn’t hit your neighborhood.

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~~~Random Facts
Dueling is legal in Paraguay, as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

~~~Crazy News
FORT PIERCE, Fla. – A Florida woman angry at her boyfriend for refusing to buy more beer allegedly tried to choke him and threw a table leg through a window, authorities said. Police in Fort Pierce, Fla., said the boyfriend told them his live-in girlfriend, Andrea Elizabeth Bathgate, 31, became angry after drinking a lot of beer Tuesday night —and he refused to buy her more because she became “aggressive” while intoxicated, TCPalm.com reported. Investigators said the man told the woman to leave and she attempted to choke him before exiting. Bathgate then allegedly broke a leg off an outside table and “threw the hard missile through a window of the residence, causing deadly shards of glass to be forcefully launched into the occupied residence,” the arrest affidavit states. Bathgate was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery and a felony count of throwing a missile into a dwelling.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Judy Garland was born as Frances Ethel Gumm. Judy and her sisters performed in vaudeville houses under the name "The Gumm Sisters."

Jennifer Garner was a hostess at Isabella's Restaurant on New York's Upper West Side before becoming a famous actress.

Bill Gates worked as a Congressional Page while attending Harvard.

Richard Gere attended the University of Massachusetts in Amherst on a gymnastics scholarship where he studied philosophy. He later dropped out to pursue acting.

Two years before his big break as Mad Max, Mel Gibson can be seen as an uncredited baseball player in "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden."

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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 5 Oct
Spinning and Weaving Week
Nuclear Medicine Week
Customer Service Week
Financial Planning Week

~~~5 OCT Observances
278 days so far this year…87 days remain in 2009

Improve Your Office Week
^Bulgaria Independence Day (1908)
^Portugal – Republic Day, overthrow of the Monarchy 1910
^International World Teachers' Day [since 1994]
^Indonesia – Army Day
^World Habitat Week
^Hor and Susia in the Coptic Church—Martyrs

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1864__Louis LumiŠre with brother Auguste made 1st motion picture in 1895 )

1908__Joshua (Lockwood) Logan (III) producer, director, writer: Ensign Pulver; director: Paint Your Wagon, Camelot, Fanny, South Pacific, Sayonara, Bus Stop, Picnic
1919__Allen Ludden Mineral Point Wisc, TV host (Password)
1922__Bill Keane cartoonist: Family Circus
1924__Bill Dana comedian, actor: “My name, Jose Jimenez.”
1943__Steve Miller singer, songwriter: group: The Steve Miller Ban
1952__Clive Barker author

~ATHLETICS
1902__Ray Kroc Illinois, founder of McDonalds owner of SD Padres
1937__Barry Switzer football coach (Oklahoma)
1962__Michael Andretti Indy-car racer/Auto Hall of Fame

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1830__Chester Alan Arthur Fairfield Vt, (R) 21st Pres
1882__Robert Hutchings Goddard Worcester Mass, rocket pioneer "Father of Space Travel"

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1703__Jonathan Edwards US, theologian/philosopher (Original Sin)

1923__Philip Berrigan militant priest (Chicago 7)

~~~In Remembrance
1940__Ballington Booth, Salvation Army Officer and co-founder of Volunteers of America @ 83

2004__Rodney Dangerfield, American comedian @ 83

~~~Historical Events on this day
1877__Chief Joseph surrenders, ending Nez Perce‚ War “From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.”

1945__"Meet the Press" premieres on radio
1947__1st Presidential address televised from White House-HS Truman
1953__Earl Warren sworn in as 14th chief justice of the US
1962__The Beatles release their first single in the UK "Love Me Do"
1970__PBS becomes a network
1983__Lech Walesa wins the Nobel Peace Prize
1989__Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for nonviolent efforts to free his homeland from China.

~ Holy Mackerel
1969__Monty Python's Flying Circus makes its debut on BBC Television, there were only 45 episodes aired over four seasons
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Countries by population
Place these countries in order by estimated 2009 population—largest to smallest.
1. Ecuador
2. East Timor
3. Egypt
4. El Salvador
5. Equatorial Guinea
6. Ethiopia
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Scroll down for answers
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Answers:
1. Egypt 83,082,869 (growth rate: 1.6%)
2. Ethiopia 78,254,090 (growth rate: 2.2%)
3. Ecuador 14,573,101 (growth rate: 1.5%)
4. El Salvador 7,185,218 (growth rate: 1.6%)
5. East Timor 1,131,612 (growth rate: 2.0%)
6. Equatorial Guinea 633,441 (growth rate: 2.7%)
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