This is Week 42 of 2010►Day 296 with 69 days left.
FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
I had some annual blood work done on Monday and went to the Dr. today for the results. One test showed that my blood was too thick, and another showed that I might have sleep apnea. I went to the hospital lab for a blood draw, and thankfully my thick blood is back down. Now I have to go do a sleep test. That should be a lot of fun…going to a clinic, hooking up wires, and sleeping. I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, however, all this started when I returned from 3 ½ weeks in Borneo’s rainforest, at sea level. When I returned from nearly 100° temps with 100% humidity, I was back to night temps in the 30’s with about 40% humidity and a 14 hour time difference. Of course my body was a little confused. The sleep apnea thing is a little scary, but the doctor says that can be related to the thick blood too. I mentioned my problem with getting back into the right sleep pattern, which could be the travel or could be apnea. Hmm. Since Tuesday, I have been sleeping just fine, waking up at 6:30a, ready to go. I will see how this all plays out. For most of the day, I was fairly concerned—I’m too young, but when the blood thing came back and in 5 days is almost back to normal, and the fact that I see myself as fairly healthy, I am not nearly as concerned. I will get the tests, walk more for more exercise, and see what happens.
Blood drawing is always a hassle for me. My veins are deep and hard to find. There was a student who was going to draw my blood. She had trouble finding a vein, as do all people drawing blood. She decided not to poke me. The nurse checked me out—well she checked out my veins—and found a vein. We both tried to get the student to try, but to no avail. The nurse tried twice and couldn’t get any blood. By policy she had to get another nurse to do it. The new nurse was all of 5’2” and probably was drawing blood during the Truman administration. I tried joking with her, and while she was not mean, she certainly was not a go-getter. I heard lots of sighs, lots of ‘hmmmm’, and she checked my hand, my arm, my other hand, my other arm and finally with one big sigh, chose a vein in my arm. She used a syringe to pull my blood out—something I don’t recall ever happening before. Then she started filling up the vials with the blood from the syringe—three of them. Somehow she spilled some of my blood during the process. “Damn” was all I heard. I asked her if a clean-up crew was going to suddenly appear to clean up those two drops of blood. She smiled and said, “Nope, I made the mess, I have to clean it up.” After about a 20 minute wait, the first nurse came out to tell me that my count was good and they wouldn’t have to take anymore blood. I headed home, grateful.
I spent the afternoon finishing up some of my travel videos and started to download them. Then I found out that my Qwest DSL was uploading at about 85% of what I’m paying for. I don’t do much uploading—taking information from my computer and loading it to another site. Really the only time I do that lately has been with this blog. I haven’t noticed any problems in speed. However, today, the little bar that shows up when you are uploading said that my 7 minute movie would take ‘about 2hrs and 42 minutes’. I called Qwest and while speaking to a very nice lady in India or Pakistan, I was told that my upload speed was at 85%. She had me disconnect, unplug, reconnect, and plug in all the cords that have anything has to do with the telephone, computer, modem, etc. Since she was looking at my speed from India, I knew it had nothing to do with my computer—she was the one that told me I was at 85%. She decided that my connection server must be really busy and she would turn in a work request to move me to another server. This simple unplug and plug in one connection will take 24-48 hours. When I was working in Tuba, this issue took about 35 seconds. I asked her what I do, in 48 hours, if the speed is still slow. I had to ask the question at least 5 times during the conversation, and she finally said that if it is still slow in 48 hours to call them back. Well, duh. I have been thinking about putting my videos on YouTube, but that means getting yet another screen name and password. I really want to avoid that if possible. I really enjoy sharing my experiences and will find a way…hopefully sometime soon.
During all time at the hospital, Martha had called—my cell phone was in the car. Her jeep needed immediate care and needed a ride back home. We met up, and I took her home. It was good to know that I was not the only person in Flagstaff having problems. Her vehicle will be ready about the time I go back to see the doctor. She does have another vehicle, I don’t have an extra body.
Our wet weather continued throughout most of the day. It was always cloudy and showers came and went. I headed to my doctor’s appointment about 8:30 and didn’t take a jacket. By the time I got home at noon, I realized this was not one of my brightest choices. It was wet, it was cool, and it was definitely ‘light jacket’ weather. The bigger birds have emptied my bird feeders each day for the past two days. The finches must have already headed south as their food is not disappearing nearly as fast.
Flag…H—49°; L—36°; RH—93%; and 8 mph breeze with rain.
QUOTE FOR THE DAY—Pablo Picasso
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
HOLY MACKEREL: 1897 1st frontier days rodeo celebration (Cheyenne, WY)
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—odd and ends
→Ducks are never male. The males of the species are called drakes. In a casino, however, ducks is a nickname for a pair of deuces.
→Shoemakers are commonly called cobblers but correctly speaking a cobbler is a shoe repairmen. A shoemaker is a cordwainer – they also made leather bottles and harnesses.
→The device at the intersection of two railroad tracks to permit the wheels and flanges on one track to cross or branch for the other is called a frog.
→In the early days of film making, people who worked on the sets were called movies. The films were called motion pictures.
→The little lump of flesh just forward of your ear canal is called a tragus – it also aids in capturing sounds that come from behind you.
→The ear-splitting sound produced by the high notes of a bagpipe is called a skirl.
GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers (1984 games)
$100-They "rush in where angels fear to tread"
$200-Some of the badges she can earn are: Horse Lover, Dabbler & Ms. Fix-it
$300-Hemingway wrote the book, Rogers & Parton sang the song: Click Here to Here Song!
$400-If the item is colored yellow & you use a red dye, the resulting color is this
$500-Filing an IRS form 4868 gets you a 4-month extension from this date
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM
LONDON — A new British nuclear-powered submarine was towed free after running aground off the coast of northwest Scotland on Friday.
HMS Astute, the first of a new class of nuclear-powered submarines that was undergoing sea trials, became snagged on rocks off the Isle of Skye in an embarrassing incident for the Royal Navy. The Navy had to wait for hours for high tide before tugs could tow the advanced submarine to deeper water. "Two tugs attached lines to her and pulled her free at high tide," a Royal Navy spokesman said.
The submarine will be closely examined for any damage, he said.
HMS Astute, commissioned into the Navy in August, is nuclear-powered but does not carry nuclear weapons. Britain's nuclear missiles are carried aboard four Vanguard-class submarines.
"This is not a nuclear incident," a Ministry of Defense spokesman said earlier. "There are no injuries to personnel and the submarine is watertight."
The submarine got stuck, for unknown reasons, during a routine exchange of crew members. "At some point she touched the rudder on the bottom and they weren't able to get her off immediately," a Navy spokesman said. "There are no nuclear issues, no environmental impact, no injuries to people -- potential damage to the rudder, that's about it," the spokesman said.
The submarine's skipper, Cmdr. Andy Coles, chose not to force the vessel off the rocks, the U.K. Daily Telegraph reported, as that might have damaged the hull which the newspaper said was fitted with "some of the most advanced acoustic tiles that make Astute virtually undetectable beneath the seas."
The Telegraph said the $1.88 billion HMS Astute was the "world's most advanced nuclear submarine." Its nuclear reactor will not need refueling during the sub's life time in service.
The design, development and manufacture of the first three Astute-class submarines cost $6.1 billion.
A LITTLE LAUGH
Although I knew our commanding officer hated doling out weekend passes, I thought I had a good reason.
"My wife is pregnant and I want to be with her," I told the C.O.
Much to my surprise he said, "Permission granted."
Inspired by my success, a fellow soldier also requested a weekend pass. His wife wasn't pregnant, so when the C.O. asked why he should grant him permission, my friend responded, "My wife is getting pregnant this weekend and I want to be with her."
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
Around the time your toddler reaches 18 months of age they'll begin learning words at an astonishing rate. This communication phenomenon is known as the language explosion. Click Here to View!
GREY MATTER PICTURE
This is a close up of what object?
SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION
¤ Weekly Observances ¤
17-23: Food and Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week ^ Getting The World To Beat A Path To Your Door Week ^ International Credit Union Week ^ Teen Read Week ^ National Chemistry Week ^ National Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Week ^ YWCA Week without Violence ^ National Character Counts Week ^ National Forest Products Week ^ National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week ^ National School Bus Safety Week
18-24: Freedom From Bullies Week ^ Freedom of Speech Week ^ Medical Assistants Recognition Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Infertility Awareness Week ^ National Massage Therapy Week ^ National Businesswomen's Week
24-31: Disarmament Week ^ Give Wildlife a Break Week ^ Pastoral Care Week ^ Peace, Friendship and Good Will Week ^ Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week ^ International Magic Week ^ National Respiratory Care Week
27-11/3: World Hearing Aid Awareness Week
¤ Today’s Observances ¤
National Mole Day: commemorates Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 10^23), which is a basic measuring unit in chemistry—Mole being short for Molecule.
Make A Difference Day Hungary: National Day (since 1989--prior since 1956-Revolution Memorial Day)
Puerto Rico: Grito de Lares Day (1868)
Saudi Arabia: Unification Day (1932)
Republic of Macedonia: Day of the Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle (1893)
Thailand: Chulalongkorn Day (for death of King in 1910)
Wyoming: Frontier Day
¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤
1890...The Thunderer / U.S. Marine Band (not available)Click Here to View Update!
1900...Because / Haydn Quartet (not available)
1910...Every Little Moment / Harry MacDonough & Lucy Isabelle Marsh (not available)
1920...The Love Nest / Art Hickman Click Here To View!
1930...Body and Soul / Paul Whiteman (not available)
1940…Only Forever / Bing Crosby Click Here To View!
1950…Goodnight Irene / Gordon Jenkins & the Weavers Click Here To View!
1960…I Want to Be Wanted / Brenda Lee Click Here To View!
1970…I'll Be There / The Jackson 5 Click Here To View!
1980…Woman in Love / Barbra Streisand Click Here To View!
¤ Today’s Births ¤
╬ THE ARTS
John Coltrane, saxophonist (Round Midnight), born in 1926
Ray Charles, singer/pianist (Georgia), born in 1930
Euripides, Greek playwright (Trojan Women), born in 484BC
Ang Lee, 56, director (Oscars for Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)
♦♦♦♦♦♦
Paul Petersen, 65, actor (Jeff Stone-Donna Reed Show)
(Milton) ‘Gummo’ Marx, theatrical agent; vaudeville with his four brothers (Marx Brothers)
Alfred Matthew “Weird Al” Yankovic, 51, singer, satirist
Dwight Yoakam, 54, country singer, actor
╬ ATHLETICS
Douglas Richard (Doug) Flutie, 48, sportscaster, former football player (NFL, CFL & USFL)
Pelé, 70, former soccer player, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento
Juan “Chi-Chi” Rodriguez, 76, former golfer
Keith Van Horn, 35, basketball (Nets, 76er's, Nicks, Bucks, Mavericks)
╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
Johnny Carson, Emmy Award-winning comedian, TV host
Nancy Grace, 52, talk show host
William H McGuffey, educator (McGuffey Readers), born in 1800
╬ POLITICS
Octavian (Augustus Ceasar), 1st Roman emperor (27 BC-14 AD), born in 63BC
Adlai Ewing Stevenson, 23rd Vice President of the U.S. [1893-1897], born in 1835
Victoria Chaflin Woodhull, feminist/reformer/free love/1st female presidential candidate, born in 1838
╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION
Samuel Morey, American inventor with 20 steamboat patents, born in 1762
Randy Pausch, American computer science professor, author “The Last Lecture”, born in 1960
¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤
Cliff Arquette, comedian "Charlie Weaver", stroke @ 68 in 1974
Sigmund Freud, created psychoanalysis, @ 83 in 1939
Al Jolson (Asa Yoelson), actor, singer, heart attack @ 64 in 1950
Urbain JJ Leverrier, codiscoverer of Neptune, @ 66 in 1877
¤ Today’s Events ¤
╬ THE ARTS
1958 Russian poet and novelist Boris Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature (Dr. Zhivago), however, was forced to refuse the honor because of negative Soviet reaction.
1961 1st movie to become a TV series-How to Marry a Millionaire
1962 ABC's 1st color TV series-The Jetsons
╬ ATHLETICS
1845 1st baseball team, NY Knickerbockers organize, adopt rule code
1926 Gene Tunney defeats Jack Dempsey for world heavyweight boxing title
╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1642 Harvard College in Cambridge, Mass, 1st commencement
╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1823 According to Cherokee records, Creek Chief William McIntosh, representing United States Indian commissioners, will attempt to bribe Cherokee leaders. For $12,000 McIntosh hopes that Chiefs John Ross and Charles Hicks, and Council Clerk Alexander McCoy will try to convince the Cherokees to cede lands to the United States. The Cherokee leaders will refuse the offer with a show of indignation.
╬ POLITICS (US)
1779 John Paul Jones' "Bon Homme Richard" defeats 'HMS Serepis'
1806 Lewis & Clark return to St Louis from the Pacific Northwest
1862 Lincoln's Emancipation is published in Northern Newspapers
1952 Richard Nixon makes his "Checker's" speech
╬ POLITICS (International)
1978 100,000 cheering Egyptians welcome Sadat home from Camp David summit
1983 Suicidal terrorists drove a truck loaded with TNT into the U.S. Marines headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon killing 240 U.S. personnel.
1990 Saddam Hussein says he will destroy Israel
╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION
1910 Blanche S. Scott became the first woman aviator. Blanche was known, not as an aviator, but an aviatrix
1938 Time capsule, to be opened in 6939, buried at World's Fair in NYC (capsule contained a woman's hat, man's pipe & 1,100' of microfilm)
GREY MATTER ANSWERS
↔ 1 Jeopardy
$100-They "rush in where angels fear to tread": What are Fools?
$200-Some of the badges she can earn are: Horse Lover, Dabbler & Ms. Fix-it: What is a Girl Scout?
$300-Hemingway wrote the book, Rogers & Parton sang the song: What is “Island in the Stream?”
$400-If the item is colored yellow & you use a red dye, the resulting color is this: What is orange?
$500-Filing an IRS form 4868 gets you a 4-month extension from this date: What is April 15?
↔ PICTURE
Top of a soda bottle
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