TODAY’s “Geez”: 1902 - Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer
Free Rambling Thoughts…
Yesterday afternoon I got a phone call from my friend Bob. He had found a good river trip through the Grand Canyon. He asked me to join him. He did the checking and found there was still room for us in July. A very hot time in the canyon, but can’t be hotter than Borneo. I told him to check it out, and this morning I got a call that it was all set. This should be a great trip. We leave Flg and go to Lee’s Ferry, then down to Lake Mead, then back to Flg. We have 13 days on the river. Bob has done a number of river trips, but never through the Grand Canyon. I live close to the canyon, have hiked to the bottom, and enjoy the Canyon. I have thought about doing a river trip before, but never had anyone to go with. So here we go. Very excited.
The wind blew hard all day. I’m getting really tired of it. There is little enjoyment in being outside when there is all this wind. There was a small forest fire up on the Mesa today. Thankfully, it was reported quickly and put out quickly. No cause has been listed, yet, but I’m sure it wasn’t natural. People just don’t get it. The forest is dry, a dry forest burns very easily. No fire means that and does not make anyone exempt. It’s going to be a long summer.
The Maricopa Sheriff Dept—Sheriff Joe—is in trouble…AGAIN. This time a local TV station found that many, many sexual attacks that happened in El Mirage were never investigated. Many of these cases had the victim able to identify their attacker. Many of these cases involved children under that age of 15. El Mirage had no local police and had paid Sheriff Joe’s Department to keep their community safe. El Mirage found dollars and now has a police department again. Today Sheriff Joe’s office admitted that over 500 sexual assault cases from those days are now being investigated. This of course is making headlines in our state. I expect to see a whole lot of law suits from victims who were ignored for as many as five years. The only good news is that sexual assault cases involving minors have NO statute of limitations. This hasn’t made national news, yet. Guess the Sheriff’s Department was too busy harassing legal ‘look-like’ HIspanics.
Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of psot)
Who found fame trying to resist the charms of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate?
Which actor is the father of actress Jamie Lee Curtis?
Which TV soap was Rock Hudson a star of shortly before his death?
Which Ford of Star Wars was voted Film Star of the Century by a panel of critics in 1994?
Richard Gere is a follower of which eastern religion?
In which country was Marlene Dietrich born?
Which Oscar winner for From Here To Eternity, famous as Ol' Blue Eyes the singer, died in 1998?
Which star of The Godfather in the 70s played opposite Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire in the 50s?
Which dancer, the star of Singing in the Rain, never won an Oscar?
Grace Kelly became Princess of which principality where her film To Catch a Thief was set?
Which comedian starred with Bing Crosby in the Road Films?
Which star Joan was the subject of the movie Mommie Dearest?
Which Russian Doctor was played in the 60s by Omar Sharif?
Zoom-ed in Picture…Can you Identify what this is? (Answer at end of post)
Hmmmmm…
Ooops, left out the kicker yesterday… should have read:
>Median income in NY-14, the country’s wealthiest congressional district: $60,099
>Median income of NY-16, the country’s poorest: $17,995
>Distance between the two districts in miles: 0.75
The First Time…
1892 --- 1st female lawyer in US. She qualified for Illinois bar in 1869, but was prevented, due to gender, from being admitted to practice until 1892: Myra Bradwell, (nee Colby)
1892 --- 1st immigrant to pass through Ellis Island. She was 15 years old and from County Cork, Ireland: Annie Moore
1893 --- 1st woman to appear on a US postage stamp: Queen Isabella of Spain
1896 --- winner of the 1st women's bicycling marathon, which took place on January 6-11, 1896 at Madison Square Garden in New York. She traveled 418 miles: Frankie Nelson
Somewhat Useless Information…
++ The first rubber heel for shoes was patented on January 24, 1899 by Irish-American Humphrey O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan patented the rubber heel which outlasted the leather heel then in use. Elijah McCoy invented an improvement to the rubber heel.
++ The modern shoestring (string and shoe holes) was first invented in England in 1790 (first recorded date March 27). Before shoestrings, shoes were commonly fastened with buckles.
++ The first rubber soled shoes called plimsolls were developed and manufactured in the United States in the late 1800s. In 1892, nine small rubber manufacturing companies consolidated to form the U.S. Rubber Company.
Yeah, It Really Happened…
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — An enzyme found in cheese triggered false drug test results that led North Carolina deputies to think a man with 91 pounds of tortilla dough was actually carrying that much cocaine, the sheriff said.
Antonio Hernandez spent four days in an Asheville jail this month before tests by a state lab showed he was carrying food, not drugs.
A Buncombe County deputy stopped Hernandez on May 1 and found what turned out to be a mix of cheese, shrimp and tortilla and tamale dough in his truck. A portable kit used by deputies changed colors, indicating the mixture was illegal drugs.
Sheriff Van Duncan told The Asheville Citizen-Times he didn't know until this case that some foods, like cheese, can give false positives on field drug tests. He plans to have deputies talk to the company that makes the tests.
Guffaw…or at least smile…
When my boss returned to the office, he was told that everyone had been looking for him. That set him off on a speech about how indispensable he was to the company.
"Actually," interrupted his assistant, "you left with the key to the stationery closet."
Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…
Daybook Information
…Happening This Week:
15-21
National Dog Bite Prevention Week * National New Friends, Old Friends Week * National Police Week * National Transportation Week * World Trade Week * EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Week * American Craft Beer Week * National Bike to Work Week *
«TODAY IS
Pack Rat Day
World Hypertension Day
World Information Society Day
World Telecommunications Day
Flower Moon
Norway: Constitution Day
Today’s Events:
… IN ARTS
1846 - Saxophone is patents by Antoine Joseph Sax
1904 - Maurice Ravel's "Shéhérazade," premieres in Paris
… IN ATHLETICS
1875 - 1st Kentucky Derby: Oliver Lewis aboard Aristides wins
1928 - 9th modern Olympic games opens in Amsterdam
… IN BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1620 - 1st merry-go-round seen at a fair (Philippapolis, Turkey)
1845 - Rubber band patents
1883 - Buffalo Bill Cody's 1st wild west show premieres in Omaha
1989 - Nelson Mandela receives a BA from U of S Africa
… FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1629 - According to a deed, Sagamore Indians, including Passaconaway, sell a piece of land in what becomes Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
… IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
1536 - Anne Boleyn’s 4 "lovers" executed
1590 - Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland.
1916 - British Summer Time (Daylight Savings), 1st introduced
1926 - Chiang Kai-shek is made supreme war lord in Canton
1961 - Castro offers to exchange Bay of Pigs prisoners for 500 bulldozers
… IN SCIENCE & RELIGION
1673 - Louis Joliet & Jacques Marquette begin exploring Mississippi
1804 - Lewis & Clark begin exploration of Louisiana Purchase
1915 - National Baptist Convention chartered
1970 - Thor Heyerdahl crosses Atlantic on reed raft Ra
1979 - -12°F (-11°C), on top of Mauna Kea, Hawaii (state record)
… IN US POLITICS
1775 - Continental Congress bans trade with Canada
1884 - Alaska becomes a US territory
1932 - Congress changes name "Porto Rico" to "Puerto Rico"
1941 - Pennsylvania declares legal holiday to honor A's manager Connie Mack
1944 - General Eisenhower sets D-Day for June 5th
1954 - Supreme Court unanimously rules on Brown v Topeka Board of Education reversed
1896 "separate but equal" Plessy Vs Ferguson decision
1973 - Senate Watergate Committee begins its hearings
2004 - Massachusetts becomes the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage
… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS…
1921 - Bob Merrill, American composer and lyricist
…ATHLETES
Matt Cassel, Football player, turns 29
Jim Nantz, Sports announcer, turns 52
…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)
Enya, Singer, turns 50
Craig Ferguson, TV host ("The Late Late Show"), turns 49
Taj Mahal, Blues singer, turns 69
1911 - Maureen O'Sullivan, Boyle Ireland, actress (Tarzan, Pride & Prejudice)
Bill Paxton, Actor, turns 56
Bob Saget, Actor, comedian ("Full House"), turns 55
… ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS
1914 - Stewart Alsop American journalist
1912 - Archibald Cox, special prosecutor (Watergate)
1868 - Horace E. Dodge American automobile manufacturer
…POLITICIANS
1900 - Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran's ayatollah
…SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS
1749 - Edward Jenner, England, physician, discovered vaccination
1836 - Joseph Norman Lockyer, discoverer (Helium)/founder (Nature magazine)
Today’s Obits:
1510 - Sandro Botticelli, [Alessandro di Mariano del Filpepi], painter, dies at 65
1886 - John Deere, American blacksmith and manufacturer dies at 82
2005 - Frank Gorshin, American actor dies of lung cancer at 72
1864 - Nathaniel Hawthorne, writer, dies in his sleep at 59
1829 - John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States dies at 84
1883 - Lydia Estes Pinklham, patent-medicine manufacturer, dies at 64
ANSWERS:
Trivia Quiz
Who found fame trying to resist the charms of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate?
Dustin Hoffman
Which actor is the father of actress Jamie Lee Curtis?
Tony
Which TV soap was Rock Hudson a star of shortly before his death?
Dynasty
Which Ford of Star Wars was voted Film Star of the Century by a panel of critics in 1994?
Harrison
Richard Gere is a follower of which eastern religion?
Buddhism
In which country was Marlene Dietrich born?
Germany
Which Oscar winner for From Here To Eternity, famous as Ol' Blue Eyes the singer, died in 1998?
Frank Sinatra
Which star of The Godfather in the 70s played opposite Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire in the 50s?
Marlon Brando
Which dancer, the star of Singing in the Rain, never won an Oscar?
Gene Kelly
Grace Kelly became Princess of which principality where her film To Catch a Thief was set?
Monaco
Which comedian starred with Bing Crosby in the Road Films?
Bob Hope
Which star Joan was the subject of the movie Mommie Dearest?
Crawford
Which Russian Doctor was played in the 60s by Omar Sharif?
Zhivago
Close Up Picture
…AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW
