This is Week 45 of 2010►Day 316 with 49 days left.
Flagstaff Weather: H—42°; L—19°; RH—40%; —clear sky and wind—18 mph; wind chill about 8° colder
QUOTE FOR THE DAY—Margaret Mead
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, It is the only thing that ever has.
FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
Being Veteran’s Day Mary brought Mike along for our weekly lunch. Mary’s daughter and her son are coming in just before Thanksgiving and will spend a few days with Mary, then they all go down to Phoenix for Thanksgiving with her son and his family…in their new house/mansion. Cheryl is doing OK on her pre-surgery diet, but the insurance company hasn’t given its final blessing and the op is scheduled for next Wednesday. Typical for government work—wait to the very last minute to get the thing done. Her son, Joey, will be coming in Tuesday, so she is set for transportation. Esther, my former boss’ wife, was also there with friends. Nice to see her again.
My brother called this afternoon and we made our hotel reservations for Thanksgiving. We will be closer to Laura’s family and that will be nice. There is some tension with her mom and the rest of the family. She is a real codependent, although she is my age. R&L have been taking care of her finances—sort of. She raises big dogs and sells them. The problem is, she gets her income, then keeps about half, and sends the rest to them to pay the bills. Problem: the amount she sends doesn’t equal the bills. The mom bitches about being broke, but takes the money she keeps and spends it on frivolous things. Of course they only seem frivolous to the rest of the family, not to her. So hard to teach her about frugality from so far away. Laura’s youngest brother is in his early 20’s, has a menial job with his dad, and lives with his mom. It is also hard when there is a two generation family. It will be another painful visit for everyone involved. Her dad’s side will be a little sad, as he lost his 95 yr old dad a few months ago and Grandpa was such a kind and gentle man who held that side of the family together. Of course, R&L are having their financial difficulties too. It’s a little hard for me, when the in-laws ask what I did this past year, and I talk about my trips.
The residents of Flag came out in force as the military brought home a 22 yr old Williams soldier. It is a sad day for so many in that small town. The memorial will be held on the 20th. I never know what to say when someone passes, especially when it is someone I barely knew. I did not know this young man, but do know a few of his friends. Suddenly the war that seems so far away is on our doorstep. Every Sunday morning, one of the news shows runs an In Memoriam segment. They end with a list of military personnel lost. Even that doesn’t bring it home that our young men and women are dying every week for a war that is incomprehensible. Even harder to believe, this segment has been running weekly for so long that many of the soldiers currently fighting think it has always been part of the Sunday news. I am old enough to remember a time when the only military deaths where through old age, an auto accident or a disease.
I sorta freaked out today when I heard about the latest campaign to improve air travel. There is a group who are calling on all travelers to partake in their protest. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, they are asking every traveler to refuse to submit to the full body scan machine and demand a pat down. They also think the new pat down procedures are bad. Somehow, they believe that by making the TSA workers pat down every passenger it will stop planes from flying and force Homeland Security to reevaluate their procedures….again. I’m afraid that if this campaign takes on steam over Thanksgiving—the busiest travel weekend—that it will continue into the Christmas week travel. I am not a fan of all the security. I hate taking off my shoes, carrying small bottles of toiletries, removing all my metal and whatever else they want. I must say that the TSA workers have become much nicer and sadly, they are only doing what some bureaucrat has told them to do. They are not paid to think. They are not hired for their common sense—in fact that is probably the one thing that will keep them from being hired. The campaign to improve convenience on airlines needs to be aimed at Homeland Security and Congress. The ones who should be leading the improvement for passengers should be the airlines. No one has the gumption to stand up and say—get real. The latest stats say that there are about 810 million passengers flying in the US every year. The actual number of humans is much less since a round trip ticket counts as two passengers and if you fly two different flights trying to get somewhere you count as two passengers. That being said, there are a lot of people trying to fly every day. One guy had a faulty bomb in his shoe so now every time you get on a plane; you have to remove your shoes. Two guys got on a plane with bottles of liquid that could be combined to make an explosion. Air travelers have been removing shoes and carrying small bottles for almost six years—because of three guys. An air tragedy is frightening and very sad. But does every one of those 810 million passengers have to be viewed in a machine that looks through your clothes, take off your shoes, and randomly get an intrusive pat down? I am very happy that my job didn’t require lots of flying or that I worked as a pilot, cabin crew member, or a food service worker that has to go through this every time they go to work. As a casual traveler, I dislike it. If I had to do it every day I would go crazy. One last thing: the argument that since the shoe bomber or the liquid bombers were caught and we haven’t had any more since the new procedures doesn’t hold water. If a terrorist group really wants to kill, they will find a way.
It was not a good day to spend time outside. It was chilly, and I can handle that. The breeze dropped my tolerance by quite a bit. It dropped the temperature so that it felt about 10° colder than it really was. I didn’t take my walk today, but should be ready to do it tomorrow.
HOLY MACKEREL: 1954»Ellis Island, immigration station in NY Harbor, closed
JEOPARDY PUZZLE—(1984 games)(answers below)—TV Animals
$200-The seasick sea serpent
$400-While Lassie was played by a male, this dolphin was played by a female
$600-He was 1st of several chimps featured in the early days of "The Today Show"
$800-In the TV show "Maya", it's what Maya was
$1000-In this series, Starbuck's little friend Boxie had a pet Daggit
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—
»The only river that flows both north and south of the equator is the Congo. It crosses the equator twice.
»There's only one city in the United States named merely "Beach." It is found in North Dakota, which is a land-locked state.
»The Beatles held the Top Five spots on the April 4th, 1964 Billboard singles chart. To date, they're the only band that has ever accomplished that.
»The only repealed amendment to the US Constitution deals with the prohibition of alcohol.
»During the Prohibition, at least 1,565 Americans died from drinking bad liquor, hundreds were blinded, and many were killed in bootlegger wars. Federal Agents and the Coast Guard made 75,000 arrests per year.
»Coca-Cola was so named back in 1885 for its two 'medicinal' ingredients: extract of coca leaves and kola nuts. As for how much cocaine was originally in the formulation, it's hard to know.
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM
Chicago--A woman from Gurnee faces charges of aggravated assault for threatening an officer with a "rigid female pleasure device." Carolee Bildsten, 56, allegedly walked out Tuesday on her tab at Joe's Crab Shack in Gurnee for a second time, which led the restaurant to call the police on the suspected tab jumper.
Officers found an allegedly intoxicated Bildsten lying on the grass down the street and approached her to investigate the unpaid tabs. She claimed her money was at home and said she would retrieve it to pay the bill, prompting officers to provide an escort. What happened at the apartment, well, the actual police report says it best:
"She walked into her bedroom. She said her money was in her dresser drawer and she opened it and reached inside and removed a “clear, rigid feminine pleasure device” and held it over her head and approached the officer in a threatening manner. The officer knocked the device out of the way prior to being struck and placed the woman under arrest. She was then escorted out of the residence, placed in the squad car and transported to the Gurnee Police Department."
Bildsten was taken into custody and charged with one misdemeanor count of aggravated assault and theft. Additionally, she faces an ordinance violation for pedestrian under the influence.
Bildsten was released on bond and is to appear in court on Dec. 6 at the Lake County courthouse.
This apparently isn't her first brush with the law. According to The Smoking Gun, Bildsten was arrested in September for drunken driving.
A LITTLE LAUGH
A priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut. The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest's breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car.
He says, "Sir, have you been drinking?"
"Just water," says the priest. The trooper says, "Then why do I smell wine?"
The priest looks at the bottle and says, "Good Lord! He's done it again!"
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’ Mary Black’s Ellis Island Song
GREY MATTER PICTURE
This is a close up of what object?
SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION
¤ Weekly Observances ¤
7-13: National Nurse Practioner's Week, Pursuit of Happiness Week, National Rad Tech Week , Fraud Awareness Week, Dear Santa Letter Week, National Young Reader's Week, World Kindness Week
14-20: American Education Week, Geography Awareness Week, National Hunger & Homeless Awareness Week, National Global Entrepreneurship Week
19-25:National Farm-City Week
21-28: National Bible Week, National Family Week, National Game & Puzzle Week, National Teens Don't Text and Drive Week, Better Conversation Week, Church/State Separation Week
¤ Today’s Observances ¤
National Pizza With The Works Except Anchovies Day
Domino Day
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day (1815)
National Donor Sabbath Day: Since 1997, working of donor networks and religious leaders to have followers be given information on the importance of Organ donation through the eyes of religion
Azerbaijan: Constitution Day
Austria: Republic Day (1918)
Bermuda: Remembrance Day
Saudi Arabia: Coronation Day
Taiwan: Doctors' Day
Taiwan: Cultural Renaissance Day.
Taiwan: Sun Yat Sen's Birthday (1866)
¤ Top 10 songs of ____ ¤
Click on Song Title to see and hear the original
¤ Today’s Births ¤
╬ THE ARTS
Brian Hyland, 67, rocker (She Wore an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini)
Booker T. Jones, 66, musician: group: Booker T and the MG’s: Green Onions, Time is Tight
Auguste Rodin, sculptor (Kiss, Thinker)—in 1840
Jo Stafford, singer (I'll Never Smile Again)—in 1918
♦♦Actors♦♦
Grace Kelly, Monaco princess/actress (Philadelphia Story, Rear Window)—in 1929
Megan Mullally, 52, actress (“Will & Grace”)
David Schwimmer, 44, actor (“Friends”), director
Neil Young, 65, singer (Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), songwriter
╬ ATHLETICS
Nadia Comaneci, 49, Olympic gold medal gymnast, born Onesti, Romania
Tonya Harding, 40, former figure skater
Al Michaels, 66, sportscaster: Monday Night Football [since 1986]; Emmy: Outstanding Sports Personality -- Play-by-Play Host
Sammy Sosa, 42, baseball (Rangers, White Sox, Cubs, Orioles, Rangers), born San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
Charles Manson, 76, criminal (Tate-Labianco)
╬ POLITICS
Harry A Blackmun, Supreme Court justice (1970-1999)—in 1908
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, suffragist (80 Years & More)—in 1815
Letitia Christian Tyler, 1st wife of President Tyler—in 1790
Sun Yat-sen, father of modern China (ROC & PRC) (traditional)
╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION
Bahá'u'lláh (Mirza Husayn Ali), founded Bahá'ís faith—in 1817
Juana Ines de La Cruz, poet/nun/feminist (Primer Sueno)—in 1651
¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤
Eve Arden, American actress @ 82 in 1990
Jonathan Brandis, American actor, suicide @ 27
Percival Lowell, American amateur astronomer, founder of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, stroke @ 61 in 1916
Wilma Rudolph, American runner, brain/throat cancer @ 54 in 1994
Penny Singleton, American actress @ 95 in 2003
¤ Today’s Events ¤
╬ THE ARTS
1936»1st TV Gardening show
1946»Walt Disney's "Song Of The South" released
╬ ATHLETICS
1892»Pudge Heffelfinger receives $500, becomes 1st pro football player
╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1936»Oakland Bay Bridge opens
1946»1st drive-up bank window established (Chicago)
╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1764»Colonel Henry Bouquet calls upon the Shawnee, at his camp on the Muskingum River, to deliver all of their remaining prisoners. He asks the Shawnees to treat them gently.
1935»An election to establish constitution for the Tuolumne Band of Me-WokIndians of the Tuolumne Rancheria is authorized by the Secretary of the Interior
╬ POLITICS (US)
1775»General Washington forbids recruiting officers enlisting blacks
1975»Supreme Court Justice William O Douglas retired after 36 years
╬ POLITICS (International)
1927»Trotsky expelled from Soviet CP; Stalin becomes undisputed dictator
1979»US halts Iranian oil imports & freezes Iranian assets
╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION
1915»Theodore W. Richards of Harvard University became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry
1933»1st known photo of Loch Ness monster (or whatever) is taken
1956»Largest observed iceberg, 208 by 60 miles, 1st sighted
1981»1st balloon crossing of the Pacific is completed (Double Eagle V)
1984»Spacewalker Joseph Allen became the first astronaut to rescue a satellite.
GREY MATTER ANSWERS
↔ JEOPARDY
$200-The seasick sea serpent
Who was Cecil?
$400-While Lassie was played by a male, this dolphin was played by a female
Who was Flipper?
$600-He was 1st of several chimps featured in the early days of "The Today Show"
Who was J Fred Muggs?
$800-In the TV show "Maya", it's what Maya was
What is an elephant?
$1000-In this series, Starbuck's little friend Boxie had a pet Daggit
What was Battlestar Galactica?
↔ PICTURE
An old saw
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