Tuesday

~~~Free Ramblings
We aren’t having a lot of freezing temperatures, but fall is sure here. Today was breezy and 55°. I keep forgetting that is light jacket weather. I get ready to go somewhere, walk outside and realize I have to go back and get a jacket. Soon I should start remembering to take it the first time.

I went to my allergist today. It is always an exciting trip. I enjoy watching office manager as she is one of the most anal-retentive people I have ever seen. I always get to the doctor about 10-15 minutes before my appointment. Today I came in at 8:50—give or take. I know, I’m a little a-r too. I checked in and sat down. She sat behind her glass window doing work. At exactly 9:00 she turned to the nurse and nodded. The nurse immediately came out of the glassed in area and called me in. This happens every time. The manager would never have me called in one minute early or one minute late. Believe me I’m not complaining. I was in and out in about 15 minutes. That’s nice at a medical office. She did become a little flustered when I tried to make my next appointment in 6 months. Seems the computer was not ready for April appointments. She said they would call me when the computer was ready and wrote a note on a sticky note and put it on the computer. I asked how long it would be before she called. She looked horrified. She had told me she would call and I guess that should have made me happy. I then told her I would be out of town soon. She said it would be about a week. I left after telling her that would be fine. While I don’t mind giving her a little bump in her day, I do wish more office managers were as good as she was. How many doctors does anyone know that are so punctual?
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~~~Random Facts
Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

The names of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with.

In a nod to astronauts, Texas is the only state that permits residents to cast absentee ballots from space.

~~~Crazy News
To Fight Sin, One Must Know Sin: In April, the Arizona State Parks Board unanimously chose Renee Bahl, thought to be a dynamic, experienced professional, to be director of state parks. However, her employment record while an assistant parks director in California in 2001 included an incident in which she was disciplined for etching "Renee 2001" into the wall of one of the parks' historic adobe barns. [Arizona Republic, 5-1-09].

~~~Before They Were Famous
Whoopi Goldberg actually used to work as a bricklayer and a bank teller.

CNN news-woman Nancy Grace worked at an Indian burial grounds in Georgia.

Heather Graham of Austin Powers fame worked at Toys R'Us as a teenager, and once worked as an usher at The Hollywood Bowl.

Like most Hollywood hopefuls, Kelsey Grammer did his time as a waiter. He also painted apartments in New York before eventually landing regional theater roles.
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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

~~~6 OCT Observances
279 days so far this year…86 days remain in 2009

Mad Hatter Day [look at his hat]
U.S. German-American Day observed since 1987
^Egypt Armed Forces Day; commemorates the October War of 1973.

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1820__Jenny Lind Sweden, soprano/nightingale
1906__Janet Gaynor Philadelphia, actress
1909__Carol Lombard actress

~ATHLETICS
1824__Henry Chadwick baseball pioneer, developed 1st rule book
1905__Helen Wills Moody International Tennis Hall of Famer
1959__Dennis ‘Oil Can’ (Ray) Boyd baseball

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1846__George Westinghouse responsible for alternating current in US

1914__Thor Heyerdahl Norway,anthropologist, explorer (Kon Tiki, Aku-Aku)

~~~In Remembrance
1891__Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish politician @45
1892__Alfred Lord Tennyson, British poet @83
1975__Henry Calvin actor (Sgt Garcia-Zorro), @ 57
1981__Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize Assassinated @63
1989__Bette Davis, American actress @ 81

~~~Historical Events on this day
1683__The first German Mennonite settlers arrive in America. They will establish Germantown, outside Philadelphia.

1781__Americans & French begin siege of Cornwallis at Yorktown; last battle of the Revolutionary War

1866__1st train robbery in US
1876__American Library Association organized in Philadelphia

1927__"Jazz Singer," 1st movie with a sound track, premieres (NYC)
1966__The hallucinogen drug LSD is declared illegal in the United States
1973__Egyptian and Syrian forces launch a coordinated attack against Israel on Yom Kippur.


~ Holy Mackerel
1961__President John F. Kennedy advises American families to build bomb shelters to protect them from atomic fallout in the event of a nuclear war.
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Countries by population
Place these countries in order by estimated 2009 population—largest to smallest.
1. Gabon
2. Gambia
3. Georgia
4. Germany
5. Ghana
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Answers:
1. Germany 82,329,758 (growth rate: 0.0%)
2. Ghana 23,832,495 (growth rate: 1.8%)
3. Georgia 4,615,807 (growth rate: –0.3%)
4. Gambia 1,782,893 (growth rate: 2.6%)
5. Gabon 1,514,993 (growth rate: 1.9%)
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