Sunday August 29

This is Week 34 of 2010►Day 241 with 124 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I know it’s the weekend in Flag, it rained yesterday and today was windy all day. I decided to clean the house, as going outside was not real pleasant. I also caught up on some of the favorite DVR recorded series that I didn’t see this week. It worked out well, and tonight is comfort food—beef and noodles.

The news today was filled with the Glenn Beck thing at the Lincoln Memorial on the 47th anniversary of the “I Have A Dream” speech. He seemingly claimed that it was not a political rally, but a rally to return America to God. He certainly has become a voice for many conservatives who are not happy with DC politics. Many conservatives want smaller government, less taxes, fewer social programs, and little or no government interference in their daily lives—except for little stuff, like Social Security, Medicare, a working highway system, safe bridges, safe water, clean air, and similar things. Mr. Beck sure has made a name for himself since his rehab. Somehow his rally appeared to me to be delusional. He titled the whole thing as “Restoring Honor”. He has admitted that he is an entertainer and not a journalist. His daily entertainment is all about distorting history to fit his agenda. How is that honorable? Sadly, many of his followers don’t realize that he takes obscure historical events and makes them historical landmarks. He takes actual historical landmarks and turns them into footnotes that had no importance to our history. He is hoping that in the future he will be seen as a genius who really understood America. Sane people can only hope that he is wrong. When I hear the name Glenn Beck many adjectives come to mind, but honorable is not one of them.

NPR ran a great piece today about the games on social networking sites. I must admit I have played the free version of Mafia Wars and Farm Town. I have not and will not ‘buy’ things on at these games if they cost real money. It turns out I may in the minority of players, since last year these companies got $1.6 billion real dollars from real people for imaginary things. I’m not talking about buying some video game disk, I’m talking about imaginary cows, imaginary stolen gold, hiring an imaginary hit man to kill an imaginary adversary. Insane. A few years ago the ‘shadow economy’ was talking about hiring someone to clean your house, or take care of your garden or nanny your children without reporting the pay to the IRS. The IRS is full of bean counters, and soon they will be probably figuring out a way to collect tax on the imaginary crop you harvested. Actually they will find a way to tax the real money people are spending on these sites for the imaginary mansion just bought. The other downside to these games is that they can take up hours and can become highly addictive—even if you are playing for free. Some crops rot if not harvested every couple of hours, imaginary money builds up in your Mafia account and it can all be stolen if you don’t put it in the bank every few hours. In Mafia Wars they take 10% of your imaginary deposit as a laundering fee. Wonder how much the IRS will take in real money?

As I said, Flag was windy today. The 20+ mph winds were pretty steady most of the day. I did go out to empty the trash and watched the clouds move quickly across the sky…upper level winds must have been much stronger because them those clouds were really hustlin’ across our blue sky. My deck was 72° but the wind made it feel closer to 60°. My windows and deck door had to remain closed most of the day. There was no rain, but it sure smelled and felt like it could rain at any time.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

W. Somerset Maugham: Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1896 Chop suey invented in NYC by chef of visiting Chinese Ambassador

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION about Cars

§The first Cadillac, which was produced in 1903, cost less than the original Model T Ford. Their prices, respectively, were $750 and $875.

§The fastest street-legal car on the road is the Bugatti Veyron. Only thirty are to be built this year, five of which can reach up to 267 mph! The British vehicle is $1.7-$2.5 million American.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers

$100-She talked to Arnold's class about drugs on TV's "Diff'rent Strokes"

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$200-One of her early suitors was her husband's arch rival, Stephen A. Douglas

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$300-Teddy's niece, her married & maiden names were the same

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$400-Her tough Texas husband preferred her nickname to calling her Claudia Alta

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$500-She was expelled from Society of Friends for marrying non-Quaker 4th president

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UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

Cincinnati, OH-- a 36-year-old Cincinnati woman was simultaneously masturbating with a sex toy and watching a porno while driving last week, according to cops who arrested her on assorted criminal charges. Colondra Hamilton was pulled over when cops noticed she was driving a car with overly tinted windows.

That's when officers noticed that Hamilton's pants were unbuttoned and she had a vibrator in her lap. After questioning admitted that she had also been watching a porno that was playing on a laptop in the passenger seat. Then they noticed her roach clip on the console. Ms. Hamilton was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

A LITTLE LAUGH

Tips to live better in 2010

--Old telephone books make ideal personal address books. Simply cross out the names and addresses of people you don't know.

--Avoid parking tickets by leaving your windshield wipers turned to fast wipe whenever you leave your car parked illegally.

--Fool other drivers into thinking you have a cell phone 'texting' on an old TV or video remote control and occasionally swerving across the road and mounting the curb.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

The police found a dead body inside a car. It was obvious that the woman was shot to death. There was no gun powder inside the car, so that meant that the murderer shot the woman from outside the car. But the windows were intact and rolled up and the doors were locked. How did the shooter kill the woman?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Mormon Tabernacle Choir - "Battle Hymn of the Republic" Click Here to Hear!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

25-31: Be Kind To Humankind Week

29-9/4: Minority Enterprise Development Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

More Herbs, Less Salt Day

According to Hoyle Day

National Sarcoidosis Awareness Day: Besnier-Boeck disease, a disease in which swelling (inflammation) occurs in the lymph nodes, lungs, liver, eyes, skin, or other tissue

Slovakia: Slovak National Uprising Anniversary (1944 against Nazis)

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

1897 ...The Stars and Stripes Forever...Sousa's Band

1927 ... Me and My Shadow..."Whispering" Jack Smith

1947 ...Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) ...Tex Williams

1957 ...Tammy...Debbie Reynolds Click Here to Hear!

1967 ...Ode to Billie Joe...Bobbie Gentry Click Here to Hear!

1977 ...Best of My Love...The Emotions Click Here to Hear!

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Sir Richard Attenborough, 87, filmmaker (In Which We Serve, The Great Escape), born Cambridge, England

Charlie "Bird" Parker, famous African-American jazzman…born 1920…Kansas City, KS

William Friedkin, 71, filmmaker (Oscar for The French Connection; The Exorcist)…born Chicago, IL

Oliver Wendell Holmes, physician/author (Old Ironsides) …born 1809…Cambridge, MA

Michael Jackson, singer (Thriller, Bad)…born 1958… Gary IN

Peter Jennings, news anchor (ABC TV) …born 1938… Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Robin Leach, 69, television host (“Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”)…born London, England

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Ingrid Bergman, actress (Casablanca, Cactus Flower) …born 1915… Stockholm, Sweden

Richard Gere, 61, actor (Chicago, An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman)…born Philadelphia, PA

Elliott Gould (Elliott Goldstein), 72, actor (M*A*S*H, The Long Goodbye)…born Brooklyn, NY

• Athletics

Pablo Mastroeni, 34, soccer player…born Mendoza, Argentina

• Business & Education

Charles F Kettering, inventor (auto self-starter) …born 1876…Londonville, OH

John Locke, empiricist philosopher; disproved substance…born 1632… Wrington, Somerset, England

• Politics

John Sidney McCain III, 74, US Senator (R, Arizona)…born Panama Canal Zone

• Science/Religion

Henry Bergh, founder of American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals…born, 1811…NYC,NY

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Ingrid Bergman, academy award winning actress, dies on 67th birthday

John the Baptist, beheaded ( Note: Actual date is questionable ), about 40 in 29AD

Edmond Hoyle, games expert, @ 97 in 1769

Lee Marvin, actor, heart attack @ 63 in Tucson, AZ in 1987

Lowell Thomas, newscaster (High Adventure), @ 89 in 1981

Brigham Young, 2nd president of Mormon Church, @ 76 in 1877

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1967 Final TV episode of "The Fugitive"

• Athletics

1844 1st white-indian lacrosse game in Montreal, Indians win

1904 3rd modern Olympic Games opens in St Louis

1984 Edwin Moses won the 400-meter hurdles in track competition in Europe, his 108th consecutive victory.

• Business & Education

1896 Chop suey invented in NYC by chef of visiting Chinese Ambassador

1958 Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs, CO

• Indigenous People

1758 The First State Indian reservation, in Brotherton New Jersey, is established. It is primarily for the Lenni Lenape

• Politics (US)

1708 Haverhill, Mass destroyed by French & Indians New Jersey by the New Jersey Colonial Assembly.

1862 2nd Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) begins

1862 US Bureau of Engraving & Printing begins operation

• Politics (International)

1930 The last 36 remaining inhabitants of St Kilda are voluntarily evacuated to other parts of Scotland due to illness and death

1991 Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union suspends all activities of the Soviet Communist Party.

2003 Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, is assassinated in a terrorist bombing, along with nearly 100 worshippers as they leave a mosque in Najaf.

• Science / Religion

1883 Seismic sea waves created by the Krakatoa eruption create a rise in the English Channel 32 hrs after the explosion

2005 Hurricane Katrina moved into the Gulf of Mexico and grew into one of the most devastating hurricanes in US history

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

She talked to Arnold's class about drugs on TV's "Diff'rent Strokes": Who is Nancy Reagan?

One of her early suitors was her husband's arch rival, Stephen A. Douglas: Who is Mary Todd Lincoln?

Teddy's niece, her married & maiden names were the same: Who is Eleanor Roosevelt?

Her tough Texas husband preferred her nickname to calling her Claudia Alta: Who is Lady Bird Johnson?

She was expelled from Society of Friends for marrying non-Quaker 4th president: Who is Dolley Madison?

↔ 2

The car was a convertible!

↔ Picture

Contacts on a smart card, e.g. credit card or satellite TV card

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Lassen Volcanic National Park: 14th National Park, in California as of August 9, 1916” Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world, is joined by all three other types of volcanoes in this park: shield, cinder dome, and composite. Other than the volcano, which last erupted in 1915, the park has hydrothermal areas, including fumaroles, boiling pools, and steaming ground, heated by molten rock under the peak.

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