Tuesday

~~~ Provocative Quote
"Toil is most pleasant when done." ~unknown

~~~Free Ramblings
The visit to the Dentist is never one of my favorite ways the times. Today was no different. One of the hygienists didn’t come in. So my wait was longer than usual. Then the dentist dropped the bomb. I have to get a crown. Actually he suggests three crowns on teeth that had large cavities years ago. At $800 a pop and minimal dental insurance, I opted for one now and the others after the first of the year. Better to do this, I guess, than wait for the tooth to break. I have one other crown, and that came after the tooth had broken. I sure don’t want to go through that again. Not only was it expensive, it requires several visits and some oral surgery. So I’m opting for the preventative road. Tomorrow morning I get my tiny basal cell growth removed from my nose. This will be a simple procedure and take about 2 minutes…of course, it is a medical procedure, so I have to wait 2 hours while they check the thing they remove to be sure they got it all. Assuming they do, I’m free to leave. If not, another 2 minutes and another 2 hour wait. He didn’t say what happens after that. Modern medicine sure can do lots of things. It seems to me that TV can do so many medical procedures within an hour, I should be able to get out of a real doctor’s office much faster. TV shows get a DNA match in about 30 seconds. Patients enter a hospital, have a serious operation, and are on their way home before the show ends.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s time for a look at things to be thankful for. There are lots of cute emails going around, and lots of funny things out there. My list of things I am thankful for is too long for this blog. I’m thankful that I have friends I can count on. I’m thankful that I am able to do things that I like to do. I am thankful that every day starts with a sun rise I can enjoy. I am thankful that I am not too old to keep learning. And the list goes on and on. Hope everyone else starts their Thankful List now, and has a list longer than mine.

We had a warmer night than usual—it only dropped to 21° last night. While I was gone, many of the birds either migrated or just gave up on me. I go for the former as there was still some suet available. When I left, they were eating two feeders a day. Now that I am back, it’s down to about one feeder every few days. I don’t blame them for leaving; these cold nights are no fun. I heard a report today that Northern Arizona’s drought is far from over. That is very depressing. Our forest is really suffering, and it is the main draw for so many of us here. Turns out it will take about 5 years of way above average precipitation to get this thing to end. And they say that is not on the horizon.
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~~~Random Facts
Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.

In a lifetime, an average person walks the equivalent of 5 equators.

~~~Unusual News
BEAVERTON, Ore. - A 96-year-old photographer in Oregon said he decided to plan and hold his own wake prior to his death so he could attend the event. Hugh Ackroyd, 96, said he held the wake for family and friends Sunday at the Beaverton home of friend Edda Sigurdar, The Oregonian reported Monday.

"Well, why not?" Ackroyd said of leading his own wake. "Why bother when (I'm) dead?" Ackroyd, a father of two whose wife died about 12 years ago, sat in his padded wheelchair and greeted his friends as they arrived for the event. He said one of his favorite items at the wake was a wreath bearing a ribbon reading: "Eventually, Hugh, rest in peace." "It's quite magnificent," Ackroyd said of his wake.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Keith Richards (of the Rolling Stones) said in an interview that he worked several summers as a ball boy at a local tennis court.

When he was 11, Cal Ripken Jr. worked in a minor league ballpark in North Carolina sweeping and folding towels.
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~~~November Month Long Observances

Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month ~ American Diabetes Month ~ American Indian Heritage Month ~ Lung Cancer Awareness Month ~ Military Family Appreciation Month ~ National Adoption Month ~ National Homeless Youth Awareness Month ~ National Inspirational Role Models Month ~ National Novel Writing Month ~ Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month ~ Transgender Awareness Month ~ Vegan Month

~~~Week of 24 November

Church / State Separation Week

~~~20 NOV Observances
327 days so far this year…38 days remain in 2009

Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day
Use even if the seal is broken Day

^Turkey Teacher’s Day
^Republic of the Congo /Zaire New Regime Anniversary (1965)

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1713…Laurence Sterne Ireland, novelist/satirist (Tristram Shandy)
1849…Frances Hodgson Burnett author of children's book (My Secret Garden)
1864…Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec France, painter (At the Moulin Rouge)
1868…Scott Joplin US, entertainer/composer (The Entertainer)
1888…Dale Carnegie author (How to Win Friends & Influence People)
1911…Kirby Grant Butte MT, actor (Sky King)
1917…Howard Duff Bremerton Wash, actor (Flamingo Road, Knots Landing)
1940…Johnny Carver singer: Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree
1944…Bob Lind singer, songwriter: Elusive Butterfly

~ATHLETICS
1806…William Webb Ellis, credited with the invention of Rugby
1938…Oscar Robertson Basketball Hall of Famer: ‘The Big O’

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1784…Zachary Taylor (Whig) 12th President
1853…Bat Masterson gambler, gunfighter
1877…Alben Barkley 35th Vice President of the U.S. (Truman)
1925…William F Buckley Jr right-wing curmudgeon

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1713…Father Junipero Serra established many of the missions in California.
1774…Thomas Dick, Scottish scientific teacher and writer

~~~In Remembrance–
1957…Diego Rivera, Mexican painter @ 71
1962…James J Kilroy tank inspector (Kilroy was here), @ 60
1980…George Raft NYC, actor @ 85
2004…Arthur Hailey, British-born author @ 84
2005…Pat Morita, American actor @ 73

~~~Historical Events on this day
1859…Charles Darwin publishes "On the Origin of Species"
1871…National Rifle Association organized (NYC)
1874…Joseph F Glidden patents barbed wire
1947…John Steinbeck's novel "The Pearl" published
1971…Dan "DB" Cooper parachutes from a Northwest AL 727 with $200,000
1974…In northeastern Ethiopia Lucy, a three-million-year-old hominid, is the most complete early man discovery ever made in Africa

~ Holy Mackerel
1933…George Bernard Shaw showed his admiration for Hitler. What Shaw most admired about him was his “expression of intense resentment”. Shaw was a part of the Fabian society, a British socialist movement. He was also partially responsible for the Labour Party, which represented the working class people. Later on in life, Shaw was noted to having regretted supporting the Hitler movement.
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Countries
Place these countries in order by estimated 2009 population—highest to lowest.

Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
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Scroll down for answers

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ANSWERS

Myanmar 48,137,741 (growth rate: 0.7%)
Morocco 34,859,364 (growth rate: 1.5%)
Mozambique 21,669,278 (growth rate: 1.7%)
Montenegro 672,180 (growth rate: -0.8%)