This is Week 42 of 2010►Day 294 with 71 days left.
FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
Time passes and so many times, we forget to follow up. I was shocked by the Haiti earthquake, and the destruction is caused. Yesterday I read a very disturbing report on what is happening in Haiti—the capital Port-au-Prince. Remember all those tarp cities, all those mansions that had been severely damaged, all those volunteers helping. That was way back in January. Well, homes are being rebuilt or built. Cost--$900K each. The rebuilding and building is slow, very slow. Most of those natives are still living under tarps. Most still don’t have jobs. Most still don’t have any money. There is limited ‘rental’ space. There was little rental space before the quake, now there is less. Two relief organizations have moved out of the capital into smaller towns several miles from the need. Why? Because the very limited rental space monthly rental has skyrocketed to prices similar to Manhattan. My brother and sister-in-law are subletting their small one bedroom (the $4K/month is just too much and they have a lease that they can’t break or negotiate), to share an apartment in Queens with her sister. American news media spent millions to show us instant pictures of the damage in Haiti. It was not ‘newsworthy’ anymore, so the media packed up their bags, their cameras, and everyone returned home. Now I learn that the pain is not getting any better because so many want to make big bucks. I wish I had a solution, but I don’t. Money is not the answer, as so much of the money is going to ruthless people who are making big bucks. Volunteering is not the answer, as the volunteers are now spending a good portion of their time traveling to and from the city. Another story that left the media fairly quickly was the Gulf Oil Spill. Again, the locals are still suffering, the wildlife is still suffering. But the media doesn’t see it as a necessary news story. Our country seems to show empathy on many issues, until the rubber hits the road and the real work has to be done.
Many Americans, me included sometimes, have very short attention spans. Previous generation’s leadership seemed to have a better handle on helping humankind than our current leaders. Look at what our nation did after WWII throughout Europe and Japan. Look at the programs that pulled us out of the 1929 mess. So many politicians today don’t walk the walk. Our non-elected governor has made her case that Obama and the stimulus is bad. Yet this week she came to Flagstaff to give a check of several million stimulus $$ to two groups. The ceremony was closed to the public and closed to the media. Talk: the stimulus has ruined our country. Walk: This money will help you a lot—just don’t make a big deal about it. Even Obama is struggling. He talks about ending ‘DADT’. Walk: When a federal judge blocked its enforcement, his administration moved to overturn her decision. We need politicians who will talk the talk AND walk the walk. We have always led the world by example. In 2010 we are not setting a very good example.
Today my brother celebrated #59. He is having a good day, and I talked to him twice. Being a CFO he has to work on his birthday, but they are going out for ‘a surprise’ tonight. I’ll find out tomorrow exactly what that meant. To keep up with our family tradition, I mailed his b-day present to him today. We have been known to wait up to four months before sending the gift. So actually, I am very early this year.
It rained a lot after midnight and continued through the early morning. It remained cloudy most of the day and the rain was able to soak the ground, rather than just runoff. I was out running errands much of the morning, including getting a card and mailing the b-day present. The PO was actually a good experience as I used a flat rate Priority box. So easy and they even let me use their tape to seal the box…not bad.
Flag…H—57°; L—34°; RH—87%; and 3mph breeze with some rain.
QUOTE FOR THE DAY—Harold Evans-British journalist
Propaganda is persuading people to make up their minds while withholding some of the facts from them.
Bonus Quote: If we believe a thing to be bad, and if we have a right to prevent it, it is our duty to try to prevent it and damn the consequences. Lord Milner-British administrator of South Africa
HOLY MACKEREL: 1849 The tattooed Irishman, James F. O’Connell, was put on exhibition at the Franklin Theatre in New York.
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—Apples
→America's longest-lived apple tree was reportedly planted in 1647 by Peter Stuyvesant in his Manhattan orchard and was still bearing fruit when a derailed train struck it in 1866.
→Apples have five seed pockets or carpels. Each pocket contains seeds. The number of seeds per carpel is determined by the vigor and health of the plant. Different varieties of apples will have different number of seeds.
→Newton Pippin apples were the first apples exported from America in 1768; some were sent to Benjamin Franklin in London.
→Apples ripen six to ten times faster at room temperature than if they were refrigerated.
→A bushel of apples weighs about 42 pounds and will yield 20-24 quarts of applesauce.
→Two-thirds of an apple's fiber and lots of antioxidants are found in the peel. Antioxidants help to reduce damage to cells, which can trigger some diseases.
GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Double Jeopardy Answers (1984)--Sculpture
$200-His only signed work is the "Pieta" in the Vatican
$400-A gold statue of Prometheus towers over the ice rink of this N.Y.C. landmark
$600-"Disarming" statue unearthed by peasant of Greek island of Melos in 1820
$800-The Berlin museum is home to the famous bust of this Egyptian queen
$1000-Though it represents a woman, his 5-story Chicago structure has been called a baboon
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM
San Diego, CA-Border Patrol agents busted a man allegedly trying to hide over $300,000 worth of liquid methamphetamine in his windshield washer fluid reservoir.
Agents arrested the 21-year-old around 9:50 p.m. Tuesday night. They say he was acting nervous and gave inconsistent answers when he showed up at a checkpoint on Interstate 8 near Pine Valley, Calif..
A K-9 team was brought in to check out the suspect’s Trailblazer. Once they were let loose, the dogs headed toward the front of the vehicle, which prompted agents to look into the vehicle’s interior.
They found 19.2 pounds of liquid methamphetamine inside the windshield washer fluid reservoir.
The meth was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
A LITTLE LAUGH
One of our clients brought in his massive Doberman pinscher to be spayed. As a veterinary assistant, I escort the patient into the doctor's office.
Before taking this dog's leash, I glimpsed those large teeth of hers and asked the owner, "Is she friendly?"
"Friendly?" said the man. "Friendly? She's had five litters! How much 'friendlier' than that can she get?"
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
Architectural Wonder of Guggenheim Museum: 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 ¤
Babbling Day
England: Trafalgar Day (1805-Nelson’s victory @ Cape Trafalgar, Spain)
Honduras: Army Day (1956)
Hong Kong: Kite Flying Festival
Laos: Full Moon Holiday
Mexico and USA: International Day of the Nacho (Nachos first created circa 1943 by Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya, the original consisted of fried corn tortillas covered with melted cheddar cheese and pickled jalapeño peppers. )
Republic of China: Overseas Chinese Day
Somali/Sudan: Revolution Day (1964)
Thailand: National Nurses' Day
United Kingdom: Apple Day
¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤
1898...She Was Happy Till She Met You / Dan Quinn
1908...Cuddle Up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine / Ada Jones & Billy Murray Click Here to View!
1918...Over There / Enrico Caruso Click Here to View!
1928...Sonny Boy / Al Jolson Click Here to View!
1938...Change Partners / Jimmy Dorsey
1948…A Tree in the Meadow / Margaret Whiting
1958…It's All in the Game / Tommy Edwards Click Here to View!
1968…Hey Jude / The Beatles Click Here to View!
1978…Kiss You All Over / Exile Click Here to View!
1988…Groovy Kind of Love / Phil Collins Click Here to View!
¤ Today’s Births ¤
╬ THE ARTS
Malcolm Arnold, composer (Bridge over River Kwai), born in 1921 Click Here to View!
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet (Rime of the Ancient Mariner), born in 1772
Dizzy Gillespie, trumpeter, a creator of modern jazz, born in 1917
Ursula K. LeGuin, 81, author (The Wind’s Twelve Quarters, A Wizard of Earthsea)
Manfred Mann (Manfred Sepse Lubowitz), 70, rocker (The Mighty Quinn), born in Johannesburg, South Africa
♦♦♦♦♦♦
Carrie Fisher, 54, actress (Star Wars, Shampoo), novelist (Postcards from the Edge)
Edward Charles “Whitey” Ford, 82, Hall of Fame baseball player
Joyce Randolph, actress (Trixie-Honeymooners)
Ken Watanabe, 51, actor (The Last Samurai), born Kansaku Watanabe
╬ ATHLETICS
Ted (Theodore Otto) Uhlaender, baseball: Twins, Indians, Reds, born in 1939
╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
Frances Fitzgerald, 70, journalist, author (The Fire in the Lake)
╬ POLITICS
Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, 41, crown prince of Bahrain
Benjamin Netanyahu, 61, 9th Prime Minister of Israel
╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION
Martin Gardner, Scientific American math & puzzles columnist, born in 1914
Ronald E. McNair, physicist, astronaut: mission specialist aboard the ill-fated Challenger Space Shuttle, born in 1950
Alfred Bernhard Nobel, Swedish inventor of dynamite & Peace Prizes, born in 1833
¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤
Gertrude Hoffman, actress (Mrs Odetts-My Little Margie), @ 95 in 1966
Adm Horatio Nelson, British war hero,in the Battle of Trafalgar @ 47 in 1805
Nat Turner and 19 associates, hung—Nat was 47 in 1831
¤ Today’s Events ¤
╬ THE ARTS
1959 Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens (NYC)
1976 American Saul Bellow wins Nobel Prize for Literature “for the human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture that are combined in his work.”
╬ ATHLETICS
1989 1st black owners (Betram Lee & Peter Bynoe) to own a major sports team, purchasing Denver Nuggets for $65m
╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1869 1st shipment of fresh oysters comes overland from Baltimore
1879 Thomas Edison perfects the carbonized cotton filament light bulb
1908 A Saturday Evening Post advertisement offered a chance to buy, for the first time, a two-sided record.
1918 Margaret Owen sets world typing speed record of 170 wpm for 1 min
╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1769 The Spanish arrive in San Francisco Bay.
╬ POLITICS (US)
1797 US Navy frigate Constitution, Old Ironsides, launched in Boston
1917 1st Americans to see action on the front lines of WW I
1925 The U.S. Treasury Department announced that it had fined 29,620 people for (alcohol) prohibition violations. The fines totaled $5,000,000.
1960 JFK & Nixon clashed in 4th & final presidential debate (NYC)
1967 Thousands opposing Vietnam War try to storm the Pentagon
1971 Nixon nominates Lewis F Powell & William H Rehnquist to US Supreme Court, following resignations of Justices Hugo Black & John Harlan
╬ POLITICS (International)
1945 Women in France allowed to vote for 1st time
1950 Chinese forces occupy Tibet
1969 Bloodless coup in Somalia
1977 US recalls William Bowdler, ambassador to South Africa
╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION
2137 -BC- 1st recorded total eclipse of the sun China
1520 Magellan entered the strait which bears his name
1553 Volumes of the Talmud are burned
1970 777 Unification church couples wed in Korea
GREY MATTER ANSWERS
↔ 1 Jeopardy
$200-His only signed work is the "Pieta" in the Vatican: Who is Michelangelo?
$400-A gold statue of Prometheus towers over the ice rink of this N.Y.C. landmark: What is Rockefeller Center?
$600-"Disarming" statue unearthed by peasant of Greek island of Melos in 1820: What is Venus de Milo?
$800-The Berlin museum is home to the famous bust of this Egyptian queen: Who is Nefertiti?
$1000-Though it represents a woman, his 5-story Chicago structure has been called a baboon: Who is Picasso?
↔ PICTURE
A domino
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