Oct 1

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Oct. 1, 2019 Week: 40  Day: 274

86004:   H 64° \ L 39° \ Average Sky Cover: 5% 

Nearest active fire:  82mi.  Nearest lightning:  367mi

Wind:   9mph\Gusts:  15mph  Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 85°[1990]   Record Low: 20°[2009]

Oct. Averages: 63°\32° ( 4 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

"There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October."

- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Bonus

Life without liberty is

like a body without spirit.

Khalil Gibran

Random Tidbits

The first Oktoberfest was held in Munich in 1810. It was for the commemoration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The first celebration included a horse race.

Unbelievable, but in the beginning, beer was not available at the Oktoberfest. Alcohol could only be purchased and enjoyed outside of the actual venue. Authorities soon realized that it would make sense to open the Oktoberfest venue to vendors and it was only then that the traditional beerhalls became popular.

Observances This Month

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Bullying Prevention Month

Celebrating The Bilingual Child Month

Country Music Month Link

Down Syndrome Awareness Month Link

Fair Trade Month Link

German-American Heritage Month

National Popcorn Poppin' Month

National Stop Bullying Month

Tackling Hunger Month

World Menopause Month

Observances This Week

1-5

Trichotillomania, Skin Picking &

Related BFRB Awareness Week  Link

National Chimney Safety Week

National Fall Foliage Week  Link 

1-6

International Sand Sculpting Championships  Link

1-7

National Walk Your Dog Week Link   Link
Universal Children's Week
World Dairy Expo

Observances for Today

Balloons Around the World Day

CD Player Day
Fire Pup Day
International Coffee Day Link
International Day for the Elderly

International Music Day Link
Model T Day
National Black Dog Day Link
National Book It! Day
National Fruit At Work Day  Link  (First Tuesday)
National Hair Day  Link
National Homemade Cookies Day

National Lace Day Link
National Pumpkin Spice Day

National Walk Your Dog Day Link  Link
Vegan Baking Day
Willy Wonka Day  Link
World Vegetarian Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Finally a day with breezes, not wind. Nice walk this morning, followed by a much needed pedicure. My regular lady was there. She had been in Virginia as she had lost her younger brother to cancer. Sad.

Final Monsoon Numbers for Flagstaff: I knew it was dry, but turns out it was the driest on record…since 1898. We only got 2.08” of precipitation. That is 25% of our normal 8.31”.

Also took some time to clean my computer keyboard, mouse, and screen. Amazing how grungy the keyboard gets. Then I set up a Wi-Fi booster I bought over the internet machine. Took a little longer than the ad said, but is working fine and has sped up my connection, as promised.

What a mess in DC. Whistleblower may testify behind closed doors soon. How to get the person in and out without identifying the person will be a challenge to say the least.

I watched 60 minutes last night. The Saudi Prince said the heinous murder of the journalist hurt him personally. Hmmm, it hurt Jamal Khashoggi a whole lot more. If the Prince had nothing to do with it, prove it.

A friend from Tuba called and needed a place to wait for his vehicle to get fixed. Picked him up and brought him to my place for about 3 hours while he waited for his vehicle. Just dropped him off. All good. Great time catching up.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of this page

The key to this riddle is only for you

Below are instructions, above this the clue

First strike the one near the head of a year

Then remove he who begins a cheer

Next take away the end of a tunnel

Then let us go to solve this puzzle

What you first took you must now take again

With three you are left, but fret not dear friend

Fattest to front and thinnest to rear

Add in two “eyes” and all becomes clear

Remark: The instructions in this riddle are quite literal.

Historical Events

331 BC - Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela, bringing about the fall of the Persian Empire.

1843 - London's The News of the World began publication.

1880 - John Philip Sousa, the first recorded popular music star, became the leader of the United States Marine Band.

1908 - For $825 each, Ford's Model T car was put on the market.

1940 - The Pennsylvania Turnpike opened to traffic. It is considered the first US superhighway.

1948 - Over Fargo, North Dakota, WW II pilot George F. Gorman reported 'playing chicken" with a blinking orb of light UFO. It was visually seen by people in the control tower, but did not show up on radar.

1955 - The Honeymooners premiered on CBS

1957 - First appearance of "In God We Trust" on U.S. paper currency, on one dollar bills.

1958 - The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

1971 - Walt Disney World opened near Orlando, Florida.

1977 - #1 Hit: Meco - Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band

1983 - #1 Hit: Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart

1989 - Denmark introduced the world's first legal modern same-sex civil union, called a "registered partnership".

1992 - Cartoon Network begins broadcasting.

1996 - Animal Planet made its debut

2006 - Dexter premiered on Showtime

2010 - Sony launched Sony Movie Channel

2013 - The United States federal government shutdown: (October 1-16) affected many operations for the US government

2015 A gunman kills 8 students and a teacher at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon

2017 Stephen Paddock shoots dead 58 people, injuring 489, at a concert in Las Vegas in the deadliest mass shooting in American history

2018 New trade deal announced between United States, Canada and Mexico (USMCA), replacing NAFTA…still not passed by US Congress

2018 More than 80,000 American died of the flu during 2017-2018 winter, highest in ten years, according to US health officials

Birthdays Today

Jimmy Carter, 39^th US President (95)

Julie Andrews, movie actor (84)

Tom Bosley, actor (d, 2010 @83)

Ip Man, martial arts teacher: Bruce Lee’s teacher

(d. 1972 @79; throat cancer)

Walter Matthau, actor

(d. 2000 @79, heart disease)

Richard Harris, Irish actor, singer

(d. 2002 @72; Hodgkin's disease)

Randy Quaid, actor (69)

Theresa May, British politician (63)

Zach Galifianakis, actor (The Hangover) (50)

Brie Larson,

[Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers], actor, filmmaker (30)

Bonnie Parker, of Bonnie & Clyde fame

 (d. 1934 @23; shot by FBI)

Puzzle answer:

The answer is XVIII, or 18 in Roman numerals.

The key is “only for you” – EXCLUSIVE. Remove “the one near the head of a year” – E. Remove “he who begins a cheer” – C. Remove “the end of the tunnel” – L. Remove “us” – U and S. Remove again E. Now you are left with X, I, V. Arrange them “fattest to front and thinnest to rear” – X > V > I. Add “two ‘eyes'” – I and I, so you get XVIII=18.

Sep 30

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Sep. 30, 2019 Week: 40  Day: 273

86004:   H 64° \ L 42° \ Average Sky Cover: 15% 

Nearest active fire:  21mi.  Nearest lightning:  382mi

Wind:   11mph\Gusts:  24mph  Visibility: 10 mi

Wind warning: expect 45-55mph gusts until 8p

Record High: 83°[2010]   Record Low: 24°[1907]

Sep Averages: 74°\42° (5 days with rain)

Today’s Quote

Success seems to be largely a matter of

hanging on after others have let go.

William Feather

Random Tidbits

While the September equinox usually occurs on September 22 or 23, it can very rarely fall on September 21 or September 24. A September 21 equinox has not happened for several millennia. However, in the 21st century, it will happen twice  in 2092 and 2096. The last September 24 equinox occurred in 1931, the next one will take place in 2303.

The equinox dates vary because of the difference between how the Gregorian calendar defines a year (365 days) and the time it actually takes for Earth to complete its orbit around the Sun (about 365 and 1/4 days).

Observances This Week

27-10/6

International Sand Sculpting Championships  Link

29-10/5

National Chimney Safety Week

National Fall Foliage Week  Link 

Observances for Today

Ask A Stupid Question Day Link 
Blasphemy Day  Link
International Podcast Day Link
International Translation Day Link
National Love People Day Link
National Mulled Cider Day Link
Recovery Day Link

My Rambling Thoughts

Another windy day. The only thing nice about wind here is that the air is not filled with fine red sand, like it is on the Rez. Still don’t enjoy it as it plays havoc, somehow, with my DSL and my cable TV.

I headed out early to get some groceries when I realized I was out of my morning juice. Discovered my new phone didn’t transfer my Fry’s Food Card, so had to pick up another one. Thankfully I got back home before the wind go going too bad. Still 25mph wind is no fun to carry 2 arms full of groceries.

I did watch most of my Sunday morning news shows. It is so strange to live in our current world. When a Republican is on a news show, everything is fine, and the Dems will be sorry for the lies. Then a Dem comes on and our country is in a Constitutional Crisis that is getting worse every day and they want the Republicans to wake up. My advice, Voters need to get out and vote to end the careers of all politicians who have caused this mess. And it’s time to demand term limits on all in Congress, to stop ‘dark’ money in politics, and to repair their retirement system.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of this page

Riddled and Dismembered

The following is a riddle. Do not solve the riddle. Instead, explain the title.

My top is tilted to the light,

A trumpet, almost, in its form.

You court a woman? There I am.

I please, palliate, perfume and mourn.

Your grief I lament. Slay me and

I will you last amen adorn.

Hint: Find the flower parts in each statement

Historical Events

587 (Earthquake) Atioch (now Turkey)

1452 - Johann Guttenberg's Bible was published.

1888 - "Jack the Ripper" killed two women, Liz Stride & Kate Eddowes.

1911 - The first movie stuntman was hired as a stand-in for The Military Scout.

1946 - 22 Nazi leaders were found guilty of war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials.

1947 - The first World Series game was watched by an estimated 3.9 million people, television's first mass audience event.

1949 - The Berlin Airlift came to an end.

1951 - The Red Skelton Show debuted on NBC.

1954 - The Nautilus, the first atomic-powered submarine, was commissioned by the US Navy.

1960- The Flintstones debuted on ABC during primetime.

1961 - The bill for Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773) was paid by Mayor Snyder of Portland who wrote a check (to 'Great Britain') for $196, the total cost of all tea lost, but with no interest. This factoid has been seen on several online websites, but we have been unable to verify it.

1975 - The Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier title fight from the Philippines ("Thrilla in Manila") was sent via satellite to the U. S. and shown on HBO

1978 - #1: Exile - Kiss You All Over

1982 - Cheers premiered on NBC

1984 - Murder She Wrote debuted on CBS

1985 - MacGyver debuted on ABC

1995 - #1 Hit: Mariah Carey - Fantasy

2003- Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 was released

2004 The first images of a live giant squid in its natural habitat are taken 600 miles south of Tokyo

2005 The Parliament of Catalonia passes with 120 plus votes and 15 against, the Project of New Catalan Statute of Autonomy, proclaiming in its article 1, "Catalonia is a nation".

2005 The controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

2014 A case of Ebola Virus reaches Dallas, Texas

2018 Chinese-French painter Zao Wou-Ki's work "Juin-Octobre 1985" sells for $65 million in Hong Kong, in one of the most expensive art auctions ever in Asia

Birthdays Today

Angie Dickinson, TV actor (88)

Elie Wiesel, Holocaust activist

(d. 2016 @87)

Johnny Mathis, singer, songwriter (84)

Barry Williams, TV actor (Brady Bunch) (64)

Fran Dresher, TV actor (62)

Eric Stoltz, actor (58)

Truman Capote, novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, playwright, and actor

(d. 1984 @57; liver disease)

Jenna Elfman, actor (48)

Frankie Lymon, Rock & Roll/R&B singer

(d. 1968 @25; heroin OD)

Puzzle answer:

The riddle is about a (dismembered) flower. Its different parts are hidden within the words of the riddle:

My top is tilted to the light, -> pistil

A trumpet, almost in its form. -> petal

You court a woman? There I am. -> anther

I please, palliate, perfume and mourn. -> sepal

Your grief I lament. Slay me and -> filament

I will your last amen adorn. -> stamen