Wednesday July 14

This is Week 28 of 2010, Day 195 with 170 days left. It is Day 86 of the BP Mess.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I got two interesting emails today, both very nostalgic. Wes, the BIA man who got me into ESL, and LaNell, who kept me in it both dropped me a note. Wes was going through boxes and found a box of old ABC (Arizona Bilingual Council) newsletters. He sent an email reminding me of people I hadn’t thought about for decades. I must say, seeing just the names brought back a flood of good memories. We lived all around Arizona and NM, yet took an organization with about 10 members to one of several hundred. Lots of work when Long Distance calls cost money and there was no internet, but it was a worthy endeavor. LaNell saw my email address and sent a ‘hi’. Guess I will answer her and catch up. She was always a busy lady, involved in everything and really knew how to get people to work hard for no pay and feel good about it.

The Yankees and the baseball world lost George Steinbrenner today. I was never a big fan of his ‘do whatever it takes to win’ philosophy. I must say that he lived that philosophy and he was god at it. At various times in his Yankee ownership he was the most loved or the most hated man in baseball. Every baseball fan will be waiting to see what happens to the Yankees now that The Boss is gone. RIP

The Peaks and artificial snow have been in the news for decades. Last weekend our FB/Twittering Mayor posted that she was invited to Hopi for a ceremony. Never known for my shyness I posted that she should pay close attention to any talk about the Peaks, as that is the home of the Kachinas. When she got back she posted that the Kachina home was in the ceremony. Somehow I don’t think she got the part about putting artificial snow on their home. Next time I will be more clear in my comments.

Alas no rain in my area. It did climb to 84° and the 35% humidity made it feel a little warmer. There were clouds around most of the day but no real breeze. The neighbors behind me are pouring cement in their backyard. The lady who lives there, is quite eccentric and kind of loud. Sometimes she will be walking around her back yard talking on her portable phone. All the neighbors can clearly hear her end of the conversation. Other times she will walk around the backyard talking loudly but no one is around and she doesn’t seem to have a cell phone or ear piece. Today she spent much of the afternoon talking to the workers about how she used to ‘do that’. The couple of times I was on my deck to check on water and food for the birds she was talking away and the workers just worked around her. Very strange lady. I have to say, my thistle seed is a big hit. Seldom do I go to the deck that there aren’t at least two finches at each feeder. Sometimes there will be five or six on one feeder. Very cool, very colorful. I also have two woodpeckers that really enjoy the ponderosa. They can get a little noisy when I’m out there, but they must be finding lots of food, as they come back several times a day.

HOLY MACKEREL: On this date in 1988 ►The latest figures released show that the big three US auto makers Ford Motor Company, GM Motors and Chrysler between between them account for 95% of the US domestic sales. This is just 21 years ago . (2009 the percentage of the big three US auto makers is 44.7%)

MY QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Ayn Rand: The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. Whenever evil wins, it is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact that there can be no compromise on basic principles.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION

The first lighthouse to use electricity was the Statue of Liberty in 1886.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1

There is a reason why men's clothes have buttons on the right while women have buttons on the left. What is it?

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

LONDON — Twenty percent of Britons have managed to send racy texts to the wrong person, and nearly one in 10 has been caught red-handed "sexting," according to a poll on Tuesday.Under-25s are the most careless, with 43 percent admitting to sending fruity texts to the wrong contact. Men and women were equally guilty.

"Text and picture messaging has now become so second nature that people are less cautious, leading to messages frequently going astray," said Keir McConomy, Managing Director of SellMyMobile.com which commissioned the survey.

"A key aspect of text messaging is that it allows a more detached method of communication. This was part of its initial popularity and a likely explanation for the large number of people willing to send out explicit content."

The survey of 1,097 mobile phone users also revealed that one in five respondents fail to wipe their phones of personal content such as contacts, messages and pictures before selling, giving away or recycling their mobiles.

A LITTLE LAUGH

These are classified ads, which were actually placed in a U.K. Newspaper:

FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER. 8 years old. Hateful little bastard. Bites!

FREE PUPPIES 1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbour's dog.

FREE PUPPIES. Mother, a Kennel Club registered German Shepherd. Father, Super Dog... Able to leap tall fences in a single bound.

COWS, CALVES: NEVER BRED. Also 1 gay bull for sale.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2

Using the BrainTracker grid below, how many words can you find? Each word must contain the central E and no letter can be used twice, however, the letters do not have to be connected. Proper nouns are not allowed, however, plurals are. There is at least one nine letter word. Excellent: 53 words. Good: 40 words. Average: 32 words.

DET

GEN

ERT

FOUND ON YOU TUBE

Radmilla Cody: former Miss Navajo Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what common object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

► Weekly Observances ◄

11-17: National Farrier’s Week: Horseshoe People

…………Sports Cliché Week

► Today’s Observances ◄

National Nude Day

France, Guiana, Polynesia, Guadel, Martinique: Bastille Day (1789: Beginning of French Revolution)

Iran: Appointment of the Prophet

Iraq: Republic Day (1958)

Senegal: African Community Day

► Hit Songs on this date ◄

Jingle Jangle Jingle: Kay Kyser in 1942

Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart: Vera Lynn in 1952

Roses Are Red: Bobby Vinton in 1962

Lean on Me: Bill Withers in 1972

Don't You Want Me: The Human League in 1982

► Born today ◄

…The Arts

Ingmar Bergman, director (Cries & Whispers), born in 1918 Uppsala Sweden

Woodrow Wilson "Woodie" Guthrie, folk singer (This Land Is Your Land), born in 1912 Okemah, OK

Owen Wister, US, novelist (The Virginian),’Father of Western Fiction, born in 1869 Philadelphia, PA

+++

Polly Bergen, 80, actress (“To Tell the Truth,” The Winds of War), singer, born Knoxville, TN

Dale Robertson, 87, actor (Death Valley Days), born in Harrah, OK

John Chancellor, news anchor, born in 1927 Chicago IL

…Athletics

Roosevelt (Rosey) Grier, 78, actor, former football player, born Cuthbert, GA

Steve Stone, 63, sportscaster, former baseball player, born Euclid, OH

…Business & Education

Tom Carvel, ice cream mogul (Carvels), born in 1906 Hartsdale, NY

…Politics

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. [Leslie Lynch King, Jr.], 41st VP , 38th pres, born in 1913 Omaha, NE

…Science / Religion

Florence Bascom, 1st American woman PhD geologist: first woman geologist appointed to the U.S. Geological Survey and first to be elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, born in 1862 Williamstown, MA

Jay Wright Forrester, invented random-access magnetic core memory, born in 1918 Anselmo, NE

► Obituaries today ◄

King Faisal II PM of Iraq, assassinated @ 23 in 1958 Baghdad during successful coup

Henry McCarty (allias: William H. Bonney and Billy the Kid), American gambler, outlaw, shot by Sheriff Garrett @ 22, in 1881Fort Sumner, NM

► Events ◄

…The Arts

1957 ►Funnyman Stan Freberg debuted a new weekly comedy program on CBS radio

…Athletics

1985 ►Kathy Baker beats Judy Clark to win golf's US Women's Open

1987 ►NL defeats AL, 2-0 in 13, in 58th All-Star Game in Oakland, Calif

…Business & Education

1850 ►1st public demonstration of ice made by refrigeration

1951 ►1st color telecast of a sporting event (CBS-horse race)

2008 ►After a $52 billion takeover deal, American beer maker, Anheuser- Busch, was taken over by the Belgian beer maker InBev

…Indigenous People

1837 ►At Fort Clark, on the upper Missouri, Francis Chardon records the first death of a Mandan attributed to smallpox. The outbreak of this disease spreads rapidly and be extremely deadly to the people in this area.

…Politics (US)

1798 ►Sedition Act prohibits "false, scandalous & malicious" writing against US govt

1832 ►Opium exempted from federal tariff duty

…Politics (outside US)

2002 ►French President Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed during Bastille Day celebrations.

…Science / Religion

1865 ►1st recorded ascent of Matterhorn

1914 ►1st patent for liquid-fueled rocket design granted (Dr R Goddard)

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

…1

Most people are right handed and find it easier to fasten a button which is on the right through a hole which is on the left. This is why men's buttons are on the right. When buttons were first used it was rich people who could afford clothes with buttons. Among this class the ladies were often dressed by maid servants. The servant would face the lady and so it was easier for right handed servants to fasten buttons which were on the lady's left.

…2

Common words: deer, degree, den, dent, deter, DETERGENT, edge, en, end, enter, entered, entree, ere, erg, gee, gender, gene, genre, gent, get, getter, greed, green, greet, greeted, nee, need, nerd, net, netted, netter, red, reed, regent, rend, renege, reneged, rent, rented, ted, tee, teen, teeter, ten, tend, tender, tenet, tent, tented, tern, tree, treed, trend.

All words: de, dee, deer, deet, degree, den, dene, dent, dere, detent, detente, deter, deterge, DETERGENT, dree, dreg, ed, edge, edger, eger, egret, en, end, ender, eng, enter, entered, entree, er, ere, erg, ern, erne, et, eterne, ged, gee, geed, gen, gender, gene, genet, genette, genre, gent, gerent, get, getter, gettered, gree, greed, green, greened, greet, greeted, ne, nee, need, needer, nerd, net, nett, netted, netter, re, red, rede, ree, reed, reg, regent, rend, renege, reneged, rent, rente, rented, ret, rete, retene, retted, ted, tee, teed, teen, teener, teeter, teg, ten, tend, tender, tenet, tent, tented, tenter, tentered, terete, tern, terne, tet, tree, treed, treen, trend, tret.

…Photo

Dental Floss Dispenser

 

TODAY’S PHOTO SHOT

Matterhorn, Switzerland
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