Monday August 16

This is Week 33 of 2010►Day 228 with 137 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

Sunday is my day of ‘staying informed’. Not that I am not informed on other days, but Sunday seems to review so much of the past week and set the tone for the new week. I start off with Christine Amanpour. She is Persian (Iran)/English and comes from a wealthy family that moved to the US while she was young at the time of the Revolution. She is now on ABC after many years with CNN. Then it’s Candy Crowley on CNN. She is new on the scene but does some great interviews. One of my favorites is Fareed Zakaria, an Indian/American born in Mumbai with a degree from Yale. His international background and his belief that his show should educate its listeners make for really stimulating interviews. My last ‘can’t miss’ show is 60 minutes. The local Sunday paper rounds out my ‘news day’. Technology has certainly made it easier to be informed regarding world issues while living in a small mountain town. I still have to be very careful not to take one interview or one story and believe it. Even these great interviewers sometimes have a hidden agenda and it can come out by the kinds of questions asked or by what is left on the cutting room floor.

I was happy to see that the local paper editor answered some of his most received email issues today. He answered the paper’s stand on the use of the term ‘street alcoholic’ regarding two recent deaths in Flagstaff. He feels that the community needs to know this information. He didn’t say how many arrests are needed to get the label, nor did he mention how many convictions are needed. He believes it’s a ‘one-just-knows’ thing. He believes that the public’s need to know is greater than the family concerns. I couldn’t disagree more, but he did address the issue, made his point, and now we all know.

I took an early morning walk, leaving about 6am. It was one of my ‘fast’ walks—meaning I covered a little over a mile in about 15 minutes. I know I’m not going to be in SI for these walks, but they are a great way to start the day.

Flagstaff was a little warm today. My deck thermometer was at 89° around 3pm. While it was clear most of the day, this afternoon brought in some big billowy clouds with flat bottoms. I was sure hoping they would bust loose with rain, but no such thing was in the cards for today. Our humidity was 43% and the forecast says there is a good chance for thunderstorms most of next week. Maybe them those monsoon things aren’t over yet. The Forest Service and the County are working hard to deal with the devastation of the fire. Money to clear fallen trees; money to replant and protect the replants; money to open up drainage areas so they drain and not flood are all in full swing.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Stephen Colbert: Fake news executives are nicer than real news executives, though real news executives are funnier than fake news executives.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1984 The U.S. Jaycees voted to admit women to full membership in the organization

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION about the Stock Market

~Wall Street was laid out behind a 12-foot-high wood stockade across lower Manhattan in 1685. The stockade was built to protect the Dutch settlers from British and Native American attacks.

~The Massachusetts Investors Trust was the first official mutual fund, created on March 21st, 1924. The Wellington Fund, created in 1928, was the first mutual fund to include stocks and bonds.

~The NYSE was originally organized at the Tontine Coffee House, located at the northwest corner of Wall and Water Streets, at 82 Wall Street. Business was transacted there until 1817.

~The longest period in which the exchange was closed occurred during WW1, when the NYSE was closed for four and a half months starting July 31st, 1914.

~The NASDAQ was created in 1971 and was the first electronic stock exchange, focusing on the trading of OTC stocks. NASDAQ stands for “National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation.”

~The Dow Jones Industrial Average was created by Dow Jones & Company in 1896. There are thirty companies on the DJIA, with the list constantly being revised. 3M Co., Alcoa Inc., American Express Co., AT&T, Bank of America, Boeing Co., Caterpillar Inc., Chevron, Cisco Systems, Coca-Cola Co., E.I. DuPont de Nemours, Exxon Mobil Corp., General Electric Co., Hewlett-Packard Co., Home Depot Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Intel Corp., International Business Machines Corp., Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Kraft Foods, McDonald's Corp., Merck & Co. Inc., Microsoft Corp., Pfizer Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., Travelers Corp., United Technologies Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Walt Disney Co.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers--Automobiles

He'd build you a Model T "in any color, so long as it was black"

This toy company builds more cars than Ford, G.M. & Chrysler combined

Powered by this, the Stanley Special won in Daytona in 1907 at 197 MPH

In Japan it's called "rasshu awa"; in L.A, 4 to 6 P.M.

Models of Ford, Chrysler, & Cadillac are all named for cities in this S. European country

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

London-- A 13-year-old boy was struck by lightning — at 13:13 hours on Friday the 13th, according to reports. The teen was watching an air show at Lowestoft, England, when he was struck and was later treated for burns to his shoulder, the U.K.'s Mirror newspaper said. He is expected to fully recover.

Rex Clarke, leader of the St. John Ambulance team that treated the child, described what happened. "Suddenly there was this huge crack of lightning really close to the seafront and really loud thunder," he told the Mirror. "Seconds later we got a call someone had been hit. The boy was breathing and was conscious. He had a minor burn to his shoulder and was taken to hospital as a precaution. It could have been a lot worse," he said, adding: "It's all a bit strange that he was 13, and it happened at 13:13 on Friday the 13th."

A LITTLE LAUGH

While visiting Annapolis, a lady tourist noticed several students on their hands and knees assessing the courtyard with pencils and clipboards in hand.

"What are they doing?" she asked the tour guide.

"Each year," he replied with a grin, "the upperclassmen ask the freshmen how many bricks it took to finish paving this courtyard."

When they were out of earshot of the freshmen, the curious lady asked the guide: "So, what's the answer?"

The guide replied: "One."

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

What belongs to you, yet people use it more than you do?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Walter Cronkite remembers the Stock Market Crash: Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

10-16: Elvis Week

15-21: National Aviation Week

……….Weird Contest Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

Joe Miller's Joke Day: English comic from early 1700’s

Cyprus: Independence Day (1960)

Dominican Republic: Restoration Day (1963)

Liechtenstein: Prince Franz-Josef II Day

Vermont: Bennington Battle Day (1777)

Kyoto, Japan: Gozan no Okuribi or Daimonji: Bonfires around the city allow the departed spirits to return to where they came from

Palau-de-Cerdagne, France: Xicolatada: Centuries old celebration where hot chocolate is given to people with hangovers.

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

Washington Post March Sousa's Band 1895 Click Here to Hear!

If You Knew Susie Eddie Cantor 1925

And Then Some Ozzie Nelson 1935

On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Johnny Mercer 1945

Rock Around the Clock Bill Haley & His Comets 1955 Click Here to Hear!

I Got You Babe Sonny & Cher 1965 Click Here to Hear!

Jive Talkin' The Bee Gees 1975

Shout Tears for Fears 1985

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

James Cameron, 56, director (Oscar for Titanic; True Lies)…born Kapuskasing, ON, Canada

Harold Foster, cartoonist (created "Prince Valiant")…born 1892… Halifax, Nova Scotia

Kathie Lee Gifford, 57, television personality, singer…born Paris, France

~~~

Steve Carell, 47, actor, comedian (“The Office,” “The Daily Show,” Get Smart, The 40-Year-Old Virgin)…born Acton, MA

Robert Culp, actor (I Spy, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice) …born 1930…Oakland, CA

Eydie Gorme (Edith Gormezano), 78, singer…born New York, NY

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, 52, singer, actress (Desperately Seeking Susan, Evita)…born Bay City, MI

Julie Newmar, 75, actress (Cat Woman on television’s “Batman,” Li’l Abner)…born Hollywood, CA

Fess Elisha Parker, Jr., actor, Disney films, Davy Crockett…born 1924…Fort Worth, TX

• Athletics

Frank Newton Gifford, 80, sportscaster, Hall of Fame football player, born Santa Monica, CA

Amos Alonzo Stagg, football pioneer, 1st all-American team; coach: developed wing-back principle, quick kick, onside kick, double flankers, pass-run option play, man in motion, inventor (tackling dummy)…born 1862… West Orange, NJ

• Business & Education

George Meany, labor leader: president of American Federation of Labor; merged the AFL with Congress of Industrial Organizations [CIO] …born 1984…Bronx, NY

Robert Ringling, circus master and Wagnerian Opera singer…born 1897…Boston, MA

• Politics

Menachem Begin, Israeli PM (1977-83, Nobel 1978) …born 1913… Brest, Russian Empire

• Science/Religion

Seán Brady, 71, Cardinal-Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland..born Drumcalpin. Ireland

Michael Harkin, 52, American anthropologist—ethnohistory of Indigenous people…born Bella Bella, British Columbia, Canada

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Amanda Blake, actress (Gunsmoke), AIDS @ 60 in 1989

Norman Lockyer, editor of NATURE, discoverer of helium in Sun @ 84 in 1920

Duncan Phyfe, furniture maker. @ 86 in 1854

Elvis Presley, the King, heart ailment/drug overdose @ 42 in 1977

George Herman Babe Ruth, Baseball legend, pneumonia /cancer @ 53 in 1958

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1930 The first color sound cartoon, called Fiddlesticks, is made by Ub Iwerks.

1962 Pete Best replaced by Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) as drummer for The Beatles.

1969 Day two of the Woodstock Festival.

• Athletics

1936 11th Olympic games close in Berlin

1954 Sports Illustrated publishes its 1st issue

1981 Highest score in World Cup soccer match (New Zealand-13, Fiji-0)

• Business & Education

1829 The first Siamese twins brought to the United States arrived in Boston, MA. Chang and Eng (Bunker) were 18 years old

1896 Gold discovered in the Klondike, found at Bonanza Creek, AK

1898 Roller coaster patented

1939 The famous vaudeville house, Hippodrome, in New York City, was used for the last time.

• Indigenous People

1851 One in a series of treaties with California Indians is signed at Reading's Ranch. The treaty is designed to reserve lands and to protect the Indians.

• Politics (US)

1863 Emancipation Proclamation signed

• Politics (International)

1819 Manchester Massacre; English police charge unemployed demonstrators

1858 Britain's Queen Victoria telegraphs President James Buchanan

1959 USSR introduces installment buying

• Science / Religion

1987 Thousands of people prayed and meditated for universal peace, as the much publicized Harmonic Convergence, the exact alignment of planets in the solar system, happened

1989 A solar flare from the Sun creates a geomagnetic storm that affects micro chips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto's stock market.

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

He'd build you a Model T "in any color, so long as it was black": who is Henry Ford?

This toy company builds more cars than Ford, G.M. & Chrysler combined: What is Mattel?

Powered by this, the Stanley Special won in Daytona in 1907 at 197 MPH: What is steam?

In Japan it's called "rasshu awa"; in L.A, 4 to 6 P.M.: What is Rush Hour?

Models of Ford, Chrysler, & Cadillac are all named for cities in this S. European country: What is Spain?

↔ 2

Your name.

↔ Picture

Toy train track

TODAY’S PHOTO SHOT

Solar Flare

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