Saturday

~~~Free Ramblings
Many workers are ready for a holiday. We will be celebrating the day that some Natives walked down to the shore and discovered a lost European in need of food and supplies. They welcomed Chris and his crew, encouraged them to rest and eat before moving on. That was 517 years ago. At least one other European had been on the shores before, but ‘1492’ and ‘ocean blue’ sounded better than 1000 in the poem.

It’s T – 13 until I leave for my latest adventure. I’m getting very excited. While my brother and his wife are surfing in Barbados this weekend, I will begin making my lists, setting stuff aside, and preparing to go. I still have trouble preparing for a long trip. I’m still a guy who likes to throw stuff in the suitcase the night before I go. But when one is gone for 21 days and can only take one duffle bag and a carry-on, planning becomes essential. I was picking up my malaria pills today and the lady behind me asked me where I was going. I told her, and she said she had spent 3 months in Botswana with something like Drs without Borders. She said it is a beautiful country and she can’t wait to go back.

President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today. It seems that organization recognizes his efforts. This is great. He is making so many in-roads for our country. Of course, being a free society, not everyone is happy. It is interesting that the two main groups who are saying he doesn’t deserve it are the Taliban/Al-Qaeda folks and the Far Right Wing Conservatives. Hmmm.

My friend Cheryl’s mother passed yesterday. She had been in poor health about a year, and like so many from her generation, must have been waiting for Cheryl’s visit before passing. Her mom was not doing any better or any worse when Cheryl got there and Cheryl just said her Mom kept asking her sisters when she was going to come. All of Cheryl’s sisters still live in Michigan, so they saw their mother often. Cheryl spent about 3 months there when her mom first started failing, and was able to be with her about 2 weeks in this trip. Cheryl has always driven back there for visits for many years. She says she would rather drive for two plus days than fly. This time she flew. Of course her ticket back was for today, but she will be staying until next week. The airlines told her how sorry they were about the passing, but since she had a nonrefundable, unchangeable ticket, there was nothing she could do but buy a new one way ticket. The one-way ticket cost as much as the round trip she booked a month early. I don’t think Cheryl will be flying again anytime soon. She already hated flying and now she has this hassle and this expense to remind her yet again how she hates to fly.

The US Forest Service has apologized for the Williams fire. Thankfully no homes were lost, but about 70 families had to evacuate and school in Williams was closed for a couple of days. They held a meeting in Williams yesterday, and explained how the wind shifted, as predicted. It just shifted a day early. My deck got up to 63° today with a low last night on 33°. Twas a wee bit breezy today, with gusts up to 25mph. All in all not a bad weather day.
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~~~Random Facts
Hot dogs are the most widely consumed form of sausage in the USA.

Female Mosquitoes locate their victims primarily through scent.

In the movie "Scarface" the F-bomb is said 207 times, which
works out to an average of 1.22 per minute.

~~~Crazy News
FLORIDA Laws
Women may be fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer, as can the salon owner.

A special law prohibits unmarried women from parachuting on Sunday or she shall risk arrest, fine, and/or jail.

If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.

It is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swimsuit.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Comedian D.L. Hughley's first job was cleaning the lobby at McDonald's.

Long before his music career took off in the sixties, Engelbert Humperdinck worked in a boot factory operating a lathe.

Before Ice Cube found success with Dr.Dre and Eazy-E in N.W.A., he received a degree in architectural drafting from the Phoenix Institute of Technology.

Before rapping on his own, Ice-T ghost-wrote raps in Mr. T's "Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool." (He is credited as the musical arranger.)

Jeremy Irons was a social worker before giving Hollywood a try.
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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 6 Oct
Physicians Assistance’s Week

~~~11 OCT Observances
283 days so far this year…82 days remain in 2009

Internat’l Newspaper Carrier’s Day
National Cake Decorating Day
Universal Music Day
World Mental Health Day
^Afghanistan : Deliverance Day
^Cuba : Yara Day/Beginning of War of Independence (1868)
^Fiji – National Day
^Finland – The Day of Finnish literature
^Japan – National Health-Sports Day
^ Isle of Skye - Michelmas –for Michael the Archangel
^Namibia, South Africa : Kruger Day (1825)
^North Korea – Party Foundation Party
^Republic of China (Taiwan) – National Day (Double Ten Day)

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1813__Giuseppe Verdi Italy, composed operas (Rigoletto, Aida, Othello)

1900__Helen Hayes Wash DC, actress
1924__ James Clavell author: Shogun
1946__Ben Vereen Miami Fla, actor/dancer
1958__Tanya Tucker Seminole Tx, country singer/actress
1973__Mario Lopez San Diego Calif, actor

~ATHLETICS
1956__Melissa Belote Olympic gold medalist
1969__Brett Favre football [QB]

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1825__Paul Kruger president: South Africa; leader of the Boers

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1731__Henry Cavendish England, physicist/chemist (discovered hydrogen)

~~~In Remembrance
1708__David Gregory, Scottish mathematician @ 49

1872__William H. Seward, United States Secretary of State--Alaska Purchase @ 71

1913__Adolphus Busch, American brewer (Anheuser-Busch) @ 74
1964__Eddie Cantor, American singer and vaudeville performer @72
1985__Yul Brynner, Russian-born actor @ 65
1985__Orson Welles actor (Citizen Kane), @70
2004__Christopher Reeve, American actor @ 52

~~~Historical Events on this day
1802__1st non Indian settlement in Oklahoma
1845__The Naval School (now called US Naval Academy) opens at Annapolis
1871__The great Chicago fire is put out
1886__The first tuxedo is worn at a dinner club in New York.

1913__Gamboa Dam in Panama blown up; Atlantic & Pacific waters mix
1920__Arizona Cardinals (then in Chicago) play 1st NFL game, a 0-0 tie
1935__George Gershwin's "Porgy & Bess" opens on Broadway
1964__18th modern Olympic games opens in Tokyo
1973__After pleading no contest to tax evasion, Spiro Agnew becomes the first U.S. vice president to resign in disgrace.
1978__President Carter signed a bill authorizing the likeness of suffragette Susan B. Anthony on one side of the new dollar coin, and the Apollo moon landing on the other.
1979__Panama assumes sovereignty over Canal Area (ie Canal Zone)

~ Holy Mackerel
1971__After being removed from over the Thames in London and shipped all the way to Arizona and then reconstructed London Bridge reopened today in Lake Havasu City, Arizona
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New Game Today
Jeopardy Categories
(these answers are all commonly known by a first name)
1. This Renaissance artist is known for his inventions, and for creating the first High Renaissance portrait.
2. Known for her sensitive lyrics, this 7th Century Greek poet lived on the Isle of Lesbos.
3. This 17th Century Dutch artist painted The Night Watch, a work in which dramatic use of light and shadow heightened the impact of his compositions.
4. This Renaissance artist wished to be sculpting, but spent years painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
5. He was a Mesopotamian king and the first epic superhero.
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Scroll down for answers
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Answers:
1. Who is Raphael?
2. Who is Sappho?
3. Who is Rembrandt?
4. Who is Michelangelo?
5. Who is Gilgamesh?

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