Saturday

~~~Free Ramblings
Finally I seem to be pain free without meds. It has been almost two weeks with this shingle-like outbreak. The rash is gone, and this morning I didn’t need a pain pill to get moving or have the pain awaken me. What a relief. I was beginning to think that this was going to last forever. As I said many times, the pain was only about a 3 out of 10. But it was very annoying. But now it seems to be gone. That is good news.

I went to Wal-Mart today to get some household stuff. While the store is still a mess as it ‘remodels while open’ and the parking lot is also a mess; I could find everything I needed. Then the big surprise—three aisles of fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving stuff and no Christmas stuff. Such a relief. I was sure Santa would be set up for children’s laps by now at Wal-Mart and that I would be listening to non-Christian Christmas music.

I have to say that I was disapponted today for two reasons. First, Chicago didn’t get farther than the first round in Copenhagen. I enjoy the Olympics and now in 2016 they will be in Rio. Congrats to them. This is the first time the Olympics will have ever been in South America. Since the Olympics is supposed to represent the world, it makes sense to me that South America’s time has come.

Second, the conservative pundits actually cheered when it was announced that Chicago had lost the bid. Rush, Glenn, the Weekly Standard and others we elated that Obama’s trip and speech had failed to persuade the Olympic committee. They saw this as a great defeat for Obama. Hello!!! The Olympics does cost a city mucho dinero. It may not bring in a huge profit to the city. It forces a city to ‘get a good face-lift’. It makes commuting difficult for a couple of weeks. IT IS THE OLYMPICS. It creates jobs; it brings in thousands of tourists who spend mucho dinero to stay, eat, and view the city. It allows people to see some great athletic events. Not everyone in Chicago wanted the Olympics. Not everyone in the US wanted the Olympics. I get that. For these conservative pundits to cheer at the first announcement that Chicago was out of the running in the first vote of three is so much more than annoying. It seems all they want is for Obama to fail. I hope this crazy behavior unites the people of Chicago and that they come out swinging against these conservatives. I have watched at least ten announcements from the Olympic Committee when they announce the games upcoming city. Never have I seen people cheering when their city was not chosen. The people in Chicago were seen with shocked looks, some tears, and some sadness. Too bad that the international news organizations have those images as well as the images and words of the conservative pundits cheering when Chicago was out.

The weatherman says that the Flagstaff Airport dropped to 22° last night. Here in East Flag we didn’t get below 30°. Here in East Flag we got all the way to 65° today. Fall is certainly in the air. More so at the airport than over here. It was a little breezy today, all around Flagstaff but no moisture.

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~~~Random Facts
The height of a bowling pin is equal to its circumference

Dentists in medieval Japan extracted teeth by pulling them out with their fingers.

~~~Before They Were Famous
You may remember Laurence Fishburne as the pink satin wearing "Cowboy Curtis" from "Pee Wee's Playhouse" in the 80's. He was billed as Larry Fishburn.

Calista Flockhart was an aerobics instructor at one point

After attending the University of Minnesota to study journalism, Henry Fonda took a job with the Retail Credit Company.

Harrison Ford had earned quite a reputation as a carpenter before his acting career took off.

Before Family Ties or Back to the Future, Michael J. Fox appeared in a scavenger hunt movie called Midnight Madness.

~~~Crazy News
WILMORE, Pa. – A Pennsylvania couple who married nearly 49 years ago said they discovered their wedding was never made official under the law. Frank and Betty Skrout, who married Oct. 6, 1960, at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Wilmore, said they discovered recently while hunting down documents needed for Betty Skrout’s pension plan that Rev. James Feehley failed to file the “return of marriage” document at the Cambria County Register of Wills/Clerk of Orphans Court, The (Johnsontown, Pa.) Tribune Democrat reported Monday.
“All these years we’ve been living in sin,” Frank Skrout joked. Patty Sharbaugh, the Cambria County official in charge of the records, said she would file the document and backdate it to the couple’s wedding date if it can be located. “If the priest is still around or if they can locate those church records, we’ll complete them,” she said. Officials with the Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese said they are searching for the documents to finally make the marriage official.

*Update: The Univesity of AZ has now dropped charges on the sidewalk writers, and changed the policy. Writing on a sidewalk is not longer a crime.

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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 2 Oct
No Salt Week
Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend

~~~3 OCT Observances
276 days so far this year…89 days remain in 2009
Alternative Fuel Day
Change a Light Day
World Card Making Day
^Germany – Day of German Unity 1990
^Leiden – Siege of Leiden 1533
^South Korea – National Foundation Day (Gaecheonjeol) in 2333BC
^Iraq : Independence Day (1932)

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1925__Gore Vidal writer/playwright (Myra Breckinridge, Lincoln)
1939__James Darren Phila, actor/singer (Gidget, Diamond Head)
1941__Chubby Checker singer (The Twist)
1947__Lindsey Buckingham rocker (Fleetwood Mac-Rumours, Tusk)
1924__Harvey Kurtzman cartoonist; founder of Mad magazine
1938__Eddie (Ray Edward) Cochran Rock and Roll Hall of Famer [1987]: singer: Summertime Blues
1944__Roy (Roy Uwe Ludwig Horn) illusionist: Siegfried & Roy


~ATHLETICS
1937__Eli Jacobs baseball owner (Baltimore Orioles)
1941__Mike Gallagher skier: Olympic Men’s Skiing/Cross Country
1959__Fred Couples golf champion

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1804__Townsend Harris 1st Western consul to reside in Japan

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1803__John Gorrie inventor (cold-air process of refrigeration)
1844__Sir Patrick Manson "Father of tropical medicine"
1854__William Crawford Gorgas US, Surgeon-Gen, help cure yellow fever
1916__James Herriot (James Alfred Wight) veterinarian, author: All Creatures Great and Small

~~~In Remembrance
1226__ Saint Francis of Assisi @45

1656__Myles Standish, English-born soldier @72

1838__Black Hawk (chief), Leader of the Sauk Native American tribe @71

1967__Woody Guthrie, American musician @55

~~~Historical Events on this day
1789__Washington proclaims the 1st national Thanksgiving Day on Nov 26

1863__Lincoln designates last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day

1913__Federal Income Tax signed into law (at 1%)
1922__Rebecca L. Felton becomes the first female senator in U.S. history
1922__1st facsimile photo send over city telephone lines, Washington, DC
1945__World Federation of Trade Unions formed; CIO a member
1955__"Captain Kangaroo" premieres
1955__"Mickey Mouse Club" premieres
1961__"Dick Van Dyke Show" premieres
1961__"Mr Ed" premieres
1981__Irish Nationalist at Maze Prison near Belfast end 7-mo hunger strike
1995__O.J. Simpson was acquitted.

~ Holy Mackerel
1971__Billie Jean King became 1st female athlete to win $100,000
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Countries by population
Place these countries in order by estimated 2009 population—largest to smallest.
1. Cambodia
2. Cameroon
3. Canada
4. Cape Verde
5. Central African Republic
6. Chad
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Scroll down for answers
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Answers:
1. Canada 33,487,208 (growth rate: 0.8%)
2. Cameroon 18,879,301 (growth rate: 2.2%)
3. Cambodia 14,494,293 (growth rate: 1.7%)
4. Chad 10,329,208 (growth rate: 2.0%)
5. Central African Republic 4,511,488 (growth rate: 1.4%)
6. Cape Verde 429,474 (growth rate: 0.5%)
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