Sunday July 18

This is Week 29 of 2010►Day 199 with 166 days left.

It is Day 90 of the BP Mess.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I had planned to head out for the Celtic Festival about 9:30 this morning, however; I got a call about 7:30 that chairs and tables were needed for the band ASAP. So I headed out, got the tables and chairs, and was at the games by a few minutes after 8. It was already a little warm, but there was a cool breeze—either off the mountain, or from the pipers who were tuning up. There was a good turnout at the event. I am always happy when band members remember and greet me. Larry and Karen, the Pipe Majors parents are always there and we always seem to have things to talk about. As the band warmed up, I walked though the exhibits. It sure seemed like there were more than last year, but then again, it was getting hotter and hotter so maybe I was just not into walking in the heat. Southwest Skye Pipes Major marched in the head of the McBain Clan. That was nice. Then the band played for the crowd while the massed bands organized themselves. That march in was also very impressive. There were lots of Clan Banners and marchers, but alas, still no Fraser of Lovett, or any Fraser banner. I walked by the Athletic Games and could only feel for the participants in the heat. Lots of tourists found that Flagstaff is a great place to come. Those from ‘down South’ weren’t even bothered by the heat. By 12:30 it was way hot, and clouds were only making it real muggy. I took off, and soon after I got home, the rain finally came. It wasn’t the hard rain of yesterday but it was rain.

I like my new Sony camera, but am not as excited as I had hoped. It takes great pictures, I like the Panorama feature. I am still not used to no view finder. It will take some work to get used to the big screen—there is lots of glare from my point of view. I have gone back to see if there is a hood or something to cut the glare. Sony doesn’t have a fix yet, but I have hope they will come up with something. I did get some nice pics today.

I saw Pat Carr while at the games. He was politicking in his usual way—walking though the crowd and talking to friends when he see them. I ask him a couple of questions about the upcoming election. He was little help. I did come home and look some stuff up on the Arizona Constitution. First I learned that we have 30 legislative districts in the state. I live in District 2, which I already knew. Then I found out that State Senate is made up of one elected individual from each district. The AZ House is made up of two individuals from each district. This seems backwards to me, but I wasn’t one of the cowboys who wrote the thing. I am still trying to figure out the ‘Clean Elections Law’. When I voted for it, about a decade ago, it sounded like a good way allow more candidates. Now I’m not so sure. Some of the candidates I am planning on supporting abide by the Clean Election funding, others don’t. I’m not real sure why some don’t. A Navajo is running for Secretary of State in AZ. He is using traditional funding—meaning, I think, not participating in the Clean Elections Funding. Both Reps that I will probably vote for are using Clean Election Funding. Pat was unable to explain it to me. That in itself was not surprising, but Pat is famous for talking and talking without saying a whole lot sometimes. In this case, he wasn’t even in the talkative mood. He couldn’t even send me to a source to learn more. Stranger than that, was that he says he is doing ‘workshops’ in the district on ‘How to run for elected office in Arizona’. All I got from our 10 minute conversation was that his years of Union work helped him prepare to run for state office. Hmmm.

We only got to 84° today, but the 47% humidity made it feel a whole lot hotter. We are the desert after all and are much more used to less than 20% humidity. Those in other states don’t really see our 47% as even humid and I am sure they are laughing when we complain. There was very little breeze today and that meant that we were just sticky. I took a cold shower early this evening, just to get rid of the stickiness. It worked and I am now a happy camper again.

MY QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Alfred Hitchcock: These are bagpipes. I understand the inventor of the bagpipes was inspired when he saw a man carrying an indignant, asthmatic pig under his arm. Unfortunately, the man-made sound never equaled the purity of the sound achieved by the pig.

HOLY MACKEREL: On this date in 2006 ►The final withdraw of Japanese troops from Iraq. The Japanese troops could only contribute on humanitarian and reconstruction fronts during their stay in Iraq because of their constitution, which disallows the use of force in international disputes. Some Japanese believed that their involvement in the Iraq war violated their constitution, which was created by the United States in 1947 after World War II.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION

The blue whale’s heart is the size of a VW Beetle. The Blue Whale female—larger than a male—weighs about 150 tons, the heart weighs about 1000 lbs. These baleens eat about 4-6 tons of krill (like tiny shrimp) every day.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1

Which is the odd couple? Find how these pairs were formed, then decide which does not belong with the other four.

1. HIS and MIST

2. LUSH and PULP

3. LOFT and SOUND

4. WIDE and NINE

5. HIKE and SEED

Hint below

Hint: Each couple is a well-known pairing of words, with one letter swapped.

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

GIG HARBOR, WA - Authorities in Washington state said a man facing theft and assault charges told deputies he did not need the tweezers he allegedly tried to steal. Pierce County sheriff's deputies said Troy Montgomery, 48, walked into a pharmacy Friday in Gig Harbor and placed a pair of the store's tweezers in his pocket, The (Tacoma) News Tribune reported Thursday. Montgomery threw the tweezers and tried to leave when a store employee confronted him and said she was calling police. Deputies said Montgomery shoved a pharmacist, who was blocking the door, causing the man to fall to the ground and incur a 3-inch cut to his arm. Deputies said the suspect was detained by customers until they arrived. Montgomery was asked whether he wanted to answer questions about the incident. "Not really," Montgomery told deputies. "Besides being stupid, I don't even need the thing, about the dumbest thing I ever did." He was arrested and charged with third-degree theft and third-degree assault.

A LITTLE LAUGH

A mechanic who worked out of his home had a dog named Mace. Mace had a bad habit of eating all the grass on the mechanic's lawn, so the mechanic had to keep Mace inside.

The grass eventually became overgrown. One day the mechanic was working on a car in the backyard and dropped his wrench, losing it in the tall grass. He couldn't find it for the life of him, so he decided to call it a day.

That night, Mace escaped from the house and ate all the grass in the backyard. The next morning the mechanic went outside and saw his wrench glinting in the sunlight.

Realizing what had happened he looked toward the heavens and proclaimed, "A grazing Mace, how sweet the hound, that saved a wrench for me!"

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2

What is represented by this BrainBat? O R S E M A N

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

First Perfect 10 Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what common object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

► Weekly Observances ◄

15-21: Rabbit Week: to raise awareness of rabbits as pets

16-19: National Ventriloquism Week

18-25: Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week

………..Captive Nations Week

………..National Independent Retailers Week

► Today’s Observances ◄

National Ice Cream Day

National Caviar Day

Spain: Labor Day/National Day

Uruguay: Constitution Day/Jura de la Constitucion (1951)

► Hit Songs on this date ◄

The Gypsy: The Ink Spots in 1946 HEAR IT!

The Wayward Wind: Gogi Grant in 1956

Hanky Panky: Tommy James & the Shondells in 1966 HEAR IT!

Kiss and Say Goodbye: The Manhattans in 1976

Invisible Touch: Genesis in 1986 HEAR IT!

► Born today ◄

…The Arts

James Brolin (Bruderlin), 69, actor (Emmy for “Marcus Welby, MD”; “Hotel”), born Los Angeles, CA

Hume Blake Cronyn, actor (World According to Garp, Cocoon) —born in London Ontario 1911

Vin Diesel (born Mark Vincent), 43, actor (XXX, The Fast and the Furious, Pitch Black), born New York, NY

Dion DiMucci, 71, singer (Dion and the Belmonts), born the Bronx, NY

Harriet Nelson, actress (Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet) —born in Des Moines, IA 1909

Martha Reeves, 69, lead singer (Martha & the Vandellas), born Detroit, MI

Ricky Skaggs, 56, musician (bluegrass guitar), singer, born Cordell, KY

Richard Red Skelton, comedian (Clem Kadiddlehopper, Freddie the Freeloader) —born in Vincennes, IN 1913

Chill Wills, actor (Fronteir Circus, Rounders) —born in Seagoville TX 1903

…Athletics

Richard Totten (Dick) Button, 81, sportscaster, Olympic gold medal figure skater, born Englewood, NJ

Nick Faldo, 53, golfer, born Welwyn Garden City, England

Anfernee Deon “Penny” Hardaway, 38, basketball (Magic, Suns, Nicks, Heat), born Memphis, TN

Joe Torre, 70, baseball (Mets, Braves, Cardinals: Yankees, Dodgers—Mgr) born New York, NY

…Business & Education

Steve Forbes, 63, publisher, chairman, Forbes Newspapers, born Morristown, NJ

Samuel Ichiye S.I. Hayakawa, Senator & educator (Language in Action) —born in Vancouver, British Columbia 1906

…Politics

Andrei Gromyko, diplomat/USSR President (1985-89) —born in Staryja Hramyki, Russian Empire (now in Sviatsilavitski Sielsaviet,Vietkauski Rajon, Homiel Voblast, Belarus) 1909

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, 92, political prisoner—born in Mvezo, Umtata, Transkeian Territories, Cape Province, South Africa

Feargus O'Connor, leader of the English Chartists—born in County Cork, Ireland 1796

…Science / Religion

John Glenn, 89, astronaut, first American to orbit Earth, former US Senator (D, Ohio), born Cambridge, OH

Gilbert White, "father of British naturalists"—born in Selborne, Hampshire, England 1720

► Obituaries today ◄

Horatio Alger Jr American clergyman & author, heart disease @ 67 in 1899

Bobby Fuller, rocker (I Fought the Law), murder or suicide @ 24 in 1966

Karl Menninger, psychiatrist (Menninger Clinic), cancer @ 96

► Events ◄

…The Arts

1334 ►The bishop of Florence blesses the first foundation stone for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral, designed by the artist Giotto di Bondone.

... Athletics

1976 ►The first perfect 10 ever recorded in Olympic gymnastics was achieved up by Romania's 4-foot-11, 88-pound Nadia Comaneci

1999 ►David Cone pitched a perfect game for the New York Yankees

…Business & Education

1853 ►1st train to cross the US-Canada boundary, Portland, Me.-Montreal

…Indigenous People

1759 ►British Superintendent for Indian Affairs in the Southern Department, Edmund Atkins, meets with Choctaws in the upper Creek villages. They sign a treaty which establishes trade, and a promise of mutual aid in case of war. This treaty angers the Choctaw’s former allies, the French.

1764 ►According to some reports, an agreement regarding peace and alliances is reached by representatives of Great Britain and the Hurons.

…Politics (US)

1969 ►A car driven by Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy plunged off a narrow wooden bridge into a tidal pond after leaving a party

1984 ►Walter F Mondale wins Democratic presidential nomination in SF

…Politics (outside US)

64 ►Rome burned on this day -- while Nero fiddled, literally.

1936 ►Spanish Civil War began, Gen Francisco Franco led uprising

1981 ►10,000 take part in a march through Dublin in support of republican hunger strikers in the Maze Prison, Northern Ireland

…Science / Religion

1870 ►The First Vatican Council decrees the dogma of papal infallibility

1998 ►A tidal wave of 23ft runs along the coast of Papua New Guinea wiping out Low lying fishing villages that were completely washed away and killing over 3,000 people

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

…1

The original couples, before the exchange of a letter, were:

1. HIT and MISS

2. PUSH and PULL

3. LOST and FOUND

4. WINE and DINE

5. HIDE and SEEK

The odd couple is 'WINE and DINE'. All the others are antonym pairs.

…2

A headless horseman: the word HORSEMAN is missing the initial H.

…Photo

Tortoise Shell

TODAY’S PHOTO SHOT

Southwest Skye Pipe and Drum Band, Flagstaff, AZ

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