Thursday July 22

This is Week 29 of 2010►Day 203 with 162 days left.

It is Day 94 of the BP Mess.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I spent an interesting day learning Windows 7. Some of the stuff is cool. Other parts are not yet understood by me. Learning a new computer operating system or software program doesn’t happen overnight, it takes practice, practice, practice. I think the hardest part for me is unlearning the old XP shortcuts. But Bill seems to understand that and has put a few videos on the computer to show me how to do stuff. One 5 minute video explained about 5 new things. I watched it twice then on the third time I stopped it to practice the new thing. It worked for me. Then I left my computer for the rest of the day. Surprise, when I did the startup I had forgotten most of the stuff and tried to do the things the old way. There is something to the phrase ‘can’t teach an old dog new tricks’. More practice is certainly in order.

Our Land of the Free just can’t get past the race issue. All parties seemed to have overreacted to the Black Federal employee in DOA. One thing I find hard to believe is that you can resign your Federal position with a Blackberry. Just a few years ago, you had to sign any government document in black ink. Now you can resign while driving down the road. Another interesting thing, since she was on government business during a regular work day she must have been driving a GSA vehicle. How could anyone allow her to resign and still drive the vehicle? In all the craziness, I surprised they didn’t tell her to park the vehicle and wait for some gopher to come pick it up, on the side of the road. Then, since she would be a private citizen on the side of the road, she would have to find her own way home.

The division of race in this country is still being swept under the carpet or kept in the closet. Every so often it sneaks out and everyone freaks. Many in our country continue to say: Watch Out! The [insert minority] are here and they want your job, your home, and your money. On the other side: Watch Out! The [insert the current politically correct term for the people who are not people of color] are here to keep you in your place. They are all against you. Such a sad state of affairs. Winston Churchill rallied a nation with ‘we have nothing to fear but fear itself.’ In this case there are some minorities that are out to get us and there are some whites that are out to keep the minorities in their place—wherever that is. Both sides build on fear. It is unfortunate that people are afraid to listening to either fringe. It’s time to remember: United we stand, divided we fall.

After my rant on Flagstaff’s Pow Wow and parades I was reminded that memory and the facts are seldom the same. On the Pow Wow—many organizations (including AIM and the ACLU) pointed out to the leaders of Flagstaff that the Pow Wow had become a way for Flagstaff to make money off Natives with less and less benefits for the Natives who attended. On the many parades no longer crossing US 89, it was the State and the Feds who stopped it. If the highway continued to be closed for parades and the like, the money to repair that road, and other roads would be turned off. It turns out that at the same time, Sedona had to change their parade routes too. Life in a small town is nice, and when a state or Federal highway divides your town, compromises must be made. I guess the nostalgia of the good ol’ days was just too strong to be bothered by the actual facts.

Yesterday the rain brought flooding to many of the homes saved from the fire. To add to the mess, a waterline in the burn area leaked and added over one million gallons of water to the rain fall. Many spent their night and day watching the sky while cleaning up. One family was interviewed from their flooded living room and they had just found out that their renter’s insurance did not cover their personal loss of property because the water came inside the house. They said that if a water pipe had burst and done damage that would have been covered. Lots of homes were flooded with water, mud, soot, and hay that were placed on the land after the fire. My place didn’t get any rain today, but I too was watching the clouds. There was a couple of rainstorms during the night, but not much lightning or thunder. The only way I knew it had rained was that the sidewalk and deck were wet this morning. We climbed to 85°with 45% humidity. Thankfully a slight breeze kept things cooler than I had expected. I ran some errands and enjoyed a short walk early this morning.

MY QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Gandhi: What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?

HOLY MACKEREL: 1969►Aretha Franklin arrested for disturbing the peace in Detroit

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION

In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are 'limbs,' therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, 'Okay, but it'll cost you an

arm and a leg.' (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint)

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1

What is represented by this BrainBat?

DD

OO

OO

GG

OO

NN

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

HAGATNA, Guam — Authorities in the U.S. territory of Guam have turned away a ship after thousands of spiders overflowed from its cargo.The Guam Department of Agriculture says hundreds of large spiders and thousands of smaller ones were seen when stevedores began offloading insulation and beams for housing units from the ship, the M.V. Altavia.

The cargo was returned to the ship, and the Agriculture Department on Friday ordered that the ship not be allowed to dock. It was last ported in South Korea. Agriculture officials say they don't know what type of spiders were on the ship, but said it's a type that isn't normally found on the island. They said there was concern the spiders could damage Guam's environment.

The ship was carrying housing units and accessories for a work force village expected to house up to 18,000 temporary workers.

A LITTLE LAUGH

A red neck walks into a hardware store and asks for a chain saw that will cut 6 trees in one hour. The salesman recommends the top of the line model. The red neck is suitably impressed, and buys it.

The next day he brings it back and says, "This chainsaw is defective. It would only cut down one tree and it took all the gosh-darned day!"

The salesman takes the chain saw, starts it up to see what's wrong, and the red neck asks, "What's that noise?

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2

If you're in 3rd place and you passed the person in 2nd, what place are you in?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Carl Sandburg: Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

► Weekly Observances ◄

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

………..Captive Nations Week

………..National Independent Retailers Week

► Today’s Observances ◄

National Penuche Fudge Day

Rat-catchers Day

Spooners (Spoonerism) Day

Pakistan : Bank Holiday

Poland : Liberation Day (1944)

Swaziland : King's Birthday

► Hit Songs on this date ◄

I'll Never Smile Again Tommy Dorsey in 1940

Mona Lisa Nat "King" Cole in 1950

I'm Sorry Brenda Lee in 1960

(They Long to Be) Close to You The Carpenters in 1970

It's Still Rock and Roll to Me Billy Joel in 1980

► Born today ◄

…The Arts

Emma Lazarus, poet ("The New Colossus"-base of Statue of Liberty), born in 1849 NYC

Stephen Vincent Benet, US, writer (The Devil & Daniel Webster), born in 1898 Bethlehem, PA

+++

Orson Bean, 82, actor (“To Tell the Truth,” “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”), born Dallas Frederick Burroughs at Burlington, VT

Albert Brooks (Albert Lawrence Einstein), 63, comedian, director, actor (Finding Nemo, Broadcast News, Mother), born  Los Angeles, CA

Rob Estes, 47, actor (“Melrose Place,” “Silk Stalkings”), born Norfolk, VA

Danny Glover, 63, actor (Honeydripper, Beloved, Lethal Weapon, The Color Purple), born San Francisco, CA

Don Henley, 63, musician (The Eagles), songwriter, born Linden, TX

John Leguizamo, 46, actor, performer (Moulin Rouge!, Summer of Sam, Freak, stage: Mambo Mouth), born Bogotá, Colombia

Bobby Sherman, 65, singer, actor, born Santa Monica, CA

David Spade, 45, actor (“Saturday Night Live,” “Just Shoot Me,” Tommy Boy), born Birmingham, MI

Alex Trebek, 70, game show host (“Concentration,” “Jeopardy!”), born Sudbury, ON, Canada

…Athletics

--

…Business & Education

Oscar De La Renta, 78, fashion designer, born Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Amy Vanderbilt, authority on etiquette (Complete Book of Etiquette), born in 1908 NYC

…Politics

Robert J. Dole, 87, retired US Senator (R, Kansas), born Russell, KS

Kay Bailey Hutchison, 67, US Senator (R, Texas), born Galveston, TX

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, mom of JFK, RFK & Ted, born in 1890 Boston, MA

…Science/Religion

Gustav Hertz, German quantum physicist (Nobel 1925), born in 1887 Hamburg, Germany

Gregor Mendel, monk/geneticist, discoverer of the laws of heredity, born in 1822 Heinzendorf bei Odrau, Silesia, Austrian Empire (now Hynčice, Czech Republic)

Rev William Archibald Spooner, London, invented "spoonerisms", born in 1844 London, England

► Obituaries today ◄

John Dillinger, gangster, shot dead at Biograph Theater in Chicago @ 31 in 1934

Carl Sandburg, poet (Abraham Lincoln: The Prarie Years), @ 89 in 1967

► Events ◄

…The Arts

1933►Caterina Jarboro became the first black prima donna of an opera company.

…Athletics

1912►5th Olympic games in Stockholm closes

1990► Greg LeMond won his third Tour de France.

…Business & Education

--

…Indigenous People

1790►The United States enacts a law for the formal regulation of trade with Indians titled "An Act providing for Holding a Treaty or Treaties to Establish Peace with Certain Indian Tribes." It also enacts "An Act to Regulate Trade and Intercourse With the Indian Tribes."

1814►A Treaty (7 Stat., 118.) with the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanoese, Senecas, and Miamies is signed. The United States declares peace. It is signed by dozens of Indians.

…Politics (US)

1686►City of Albany, NY chartered

1796►Cleveland, Ohio, founded by Gen Moses Cleaveland

1975►Confederate General Robert E. Lee had his U.S. citizenship restored by the U.S. Congress. 1998► U.S. President Bill Clinton signed a bill designed to mold the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) into a friendlier, fairer tax collector.

…Politics (outside US)

1298►English defeat Scots at Battle of Falkirk

…Science / Religion

1951►Dezik (Дезик) and Tsygan (Цыган, "Gypsy") were the first dogs to make a sub-orbital flight.

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

…1

Up to no good.

…2

2nd.

…Photo

A spray can button/nozzle

TODAY’S PHOTO SHOT

M81 spiral galaxy

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