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MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
Thankfully there was little wind after midnight and through today. We didn’t make the promised 50° but close enough for me. I took a nice little walk in the forest this morning. The forest floor was a little wet, but thankfully not slippery. This was my first forest walk in 2011 and was very relaxing.
I’ve tried for three days to get a haircut from my haircut lady. It was not meant to be. So a new lady cut my hair. I like Terri but can’t play work-tag with her. The new lady did a good job. She will probably not stay a stylist…not because of talent, but because of personality. She happened to be there on two of my three trips looking for Terri. Both times and again today, when I came in she was busy flat-ironing her hair in front of her station. When she called me over, she spoke few words. She seemed very uncomfortable talking to me. I thought maybe I was just an old white guy and she was a student from somewhere who had a bad experience at a boarding school. She wasn’t rude, just non-communicative. Maybe she thought she should only be cutting hair of beautiful young women and buff young men. Or maybe, she is just quiet in a business that doesn’t have many of those types. Whatever, she got a good tip because she did give me a nice haircut.
It has been a week since the shootings in Tucson. I have learned much. It appears that there were several miracles that day. None of the family members of those lost are expressing anger. They are very sad, they are in mourning, they are in shock but don’t come off angry. A congressman has suggested that for the State of the Union address, everyone just sits wherever—rather than the traditional sitting with their party members. What a great way to show unity of the congress. It will be much more difficult to have someone yell out ‘you lied’ during Obama’s speech. It will show the country even when all the Dems stand and applaud that this is part of the democratic process. I sure hope that they at least try it. I am hoping that AZ will rethink its gun policy. Today some 47 year old had a fight with his wife in Phoenix, walked out of the house and shot a pistol into the air. That is illegal in AZ as a few years ago a bullet killed a little girl on New Year’s Eve when a neighbor, some four blocks away shot a celebratory shot into the air. The bullet, like all bullets, was brought back to earth by gravity and hit the little girl who was outside at a party. Anyway, the cops came after a neighbor called 911. The police saw the man returning home in his car. He stopped, opened the door and came out with an AK-47. Cops shot him—in the head—and he is in the hospital. No one in AZ needs an AK-47 for anything. Yet they are legal. This tragedy could have been much worse—an innocent bystander could have been injured by the falling bullets, he could have shot his wife and neighbors and cops. Last week I might have thought differently. In fact I might not have even paid any attention but things have changed.
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∞ JEOPARDY PUZZLE—(Super-Jeopardy Answers) from 1990 WORLD TRAVEL
…answers at bottom…
• EPCOT, as in EPCOT Center, is an acronym for "Experimental Prototype Community of" this
• Jasper National Park in this country has special snow coaches for tours of the ice fields
• You have to go to France, not Switzerland, to climb this highest peak in the Alps
• Treetops, the Ark & Mountain Lodge are 3 famous game-viewing lodges in this East African country
• The Algarve is the major vacation area of this European country
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM-- BUCHAREST, Romania
Dozens of dead starlings found in a Romanian city were not victims of avian flu, as first feared, but were the victims of alcohol poisoning, officials said. Residents found the dead birds on the outskirts of Constanta, BBC News reported this week. Authorities were notified out of concern they might have died from avian flu. Romania has had outbreaks of avian flu in the past, including a March 2010 incident that resulted in some birds being culled. However, local veterinary officials said the starlings died after eating grape pulp left over from wine-making. Analysis of the starlings' gizzards showed they died from alcohol poisoning, the head of the local sanitary and veterinary authority said.
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—
• In 2002, there were 850 hunting accidents in the U.S.
• Over 400,000 children are taken to the ER for bicycle-related injuries each year.
A LITTLE LAUGH
A little boy and girl are playing in a sandbox. The little boy has to go to take a pee and he was told by his mother to always be polite and don't talk about private matters in public.
At first he holds it in for a little while because he does not know what to say to the little girl to excuse himself. Then he remembers what his Mom had said at the restaurant to excuse herself from the table.
So he turns to the little girl and says, "Will you excuse me I have to go powder my nose."
And saying that he leaps out of the sandbox and runs to the washroom.
When he comes back the little girl looks up at him and asks, "Did you powder your nose?"
"Yes," said the little boy stepping back into the sandbox.
"Well then," says the little girl, "You'd better close your purse because your lipstick is hanging out."
GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS—Extraordinary Animals
• The most calves born in a single birth is five, all of whom were born on March 18, 2005 at the Santa Clara Ranch, Congregacion Garza, Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The owners are Mr Guadalupe Olivares Garza & Sons.
• The world's highest ranking law-enforcement camel is Bert, who was accepted as Reserve Deputy Sheriff for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, San Dimas, USA on April 5, 2003 and regulary goes on patrol with his handler Nance Fite (USA).
∞CLOSEUP PICTURE
Can you identify this close up picture
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
♫ T V COMMERICALS OF 1950’s♫
Click on Song Title to see and hear
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DAYBOOK INFORMATION
‡…THIS WEEK…‡
11-17 Cuckoo Dancing Week:
12-16 National Soccer Coaches of America Week:
15-17 Bald Eagle Appreciation Days:
16-22 International Printing Week • Healthy Weight Week • Hunt For Happiness Week • National Activity Professionals Week
‡…TODAY IS…‡
Appreciate A Dragon Day
Golden Globe Awards
Hot and Spicy Food International Day
National Nothing Day
World Religion Day
El Salvador: National Day of Peace
Israel: Flag Day or Magen David Day (Star of David)
Japan
Malawi: John Chilembwe Day (Baptist educator: Hero of Colonization Resistance)
US: Religious Freedom Day
‡…Today’s Births…‡
• AUTHORS
Jim Berry, 79, cartoonist (Berry's World)
• ATHLETES
1911 Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean HOF baseball pitcher (St Louis Cardinals)
Anthony Joseph (A.J.) Foyt, Jr, 76, former auto racer
• BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1757 Samuel McIntire woodcarver/architect (architect of Salem)
1853 André Michelin France, industrialist/tire manufacturer (Michelin)
• ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS/…)
Debbie Allen, 61, dancer, choreographer, singer, actress (“Fame”)
John Carpenter, 63, movie director (Halloween, The Thing)
David Chokachi, 43, actor (“Baywatch”)
1887 John Hamilton actor (Perry White-Superman)
Marilyn Horne, 77, opera singer
William Kennedy, 83, author (Ironweed, Roscoe)
1908 Ethel Merman stage & screen actress (Anything Goes, Call Me Madam)
Ronnie Milsap, 67, country singer
• POLITICIANS
1901 Fulgencio Batista President/Dictator of Cuba (1933-44, 1952-59)
• SCIENCE & RELIGION
1932 Dian Fossey zoologist (Gorillas in the Mist)
1893 Henry C Rümke Dutch psychiatrist (Periods in Man's Life)
‡…Today’s Obituaries…‡
1979 Ted Cassidy actor (Lurch-Addams Family), surgery complications @ 46
1968 Robert R "Bob" Jones founder (Bob Jones University), @ 84
1942 Carole Lombard actress, (Bolero), killed in plane crash (along with her mother & 20 others) @ 32
1938 William Pickering pioneer US stellar spectroscopist, @ 80
1972 David Seville, recorded Alvin and the Chipmunks, heart attack @ 52
1957 Arturo Toscanini Italisn-American conductor, @ 89
‡…Today’s Events…‡
• ARTS
1938 Benny Goodman refuses to play Carnegie Hall when black members of his band were barred from performing
1939 Comic strip "Superman" debuts
1973 NBC presents 440th & final showing of "Bonanza"
1974 "Jaws" by Peter Benchley is published
1995 UPN (Universal-Parmount Network) begins telecasting
• ATHLETICS
1981 Ivan Lendl intentionally loses a match in the Volvo Masters in order to avoid having to play Björn Borg
1988 Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder fired from CBS for racial remarks
• BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1759 British Museum opens in London
1868 Refrigerator car patented by William Davis, a fish dealer in Detroit
1915 Congress authorizes $1 & $50 Panamá-Pacific International Expo gold coin
1951 World's largest gas pipeline opens (Brownsville TX, to 134th St, New York City NY)
• INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1831 Mushulatubbe ("Determined to Kill") says he will step down as Chief when the removal of the Choctaws to Indian Territory begins. He recommends that Peter Pitchlynn replace him as Chief of the Northeastern District.
1854 Citizens from Yreka, California, confront Shasta Indians over stolen cattle. Four whites are killed. This helps to rekindle the Rogue River War
• POLITICS (US)
1777 Vermont declares independence from NY
1870 Virginia becomes 8th state re-admitted to US after Civil War
1919 Prohibition ratified by 3/4 of the states; Nebraska is 36th
1920 18th Amendment, prohibition, becomes the law of the land
1991 Operation Desert Storm begins
• POLITICS (International)
1493 Columbus returns to Spain on his 1st trip
1944 General Eisenhower took command of Allied Invasion Force in London
1953 Egyptian Premier General Naguib disbands all political parties
1956 Egyptian President Nassar pledges to re-conquer Palestine
1967 1st black government installed in Bahamas
• SCIENCE & RELIGION
1219 Floods in Northern Netherlands after storm, 1,000s killed
1581 English parliament passes laws against Catholicism
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ANSWERS
∞ JEOPARDY
•EPCOT, as in EPCOT Center, is an acronym for "Experimental Prototype Community of" this
What is TOMORROW?
•Jasper National Park in this country has special snow coaches for tours of the ice fields
What is Canada?
•You have to go to France, not Switzerland, to climb this highest peak in the Alps
What is the Mount Blanc?
•Treetops, the Ark & Mountain Lodge are 3 famous game-viewing lodges in this East African country
What is Kenya?
•The Algarve is the major vacation area of this European country
What is Portugal?
∞ Close up Picture
Snow Shovel
• AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW •
: Haru-No-Yabuiri (Servants and employees given a day off after working through holidays)
