Jul 30

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Jul. 30, 2019 Week: 31 \ Day: 211

86004:   H 86° \ L 59° \ Average Sky Cover: 70% 

Nearest wildfire:  4mi. Nearest lightning:  141mi

Wind:   7mph\Gusts:  7mph

Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 92°[1943]   Record Low: 40°[1913]

Jul Averages: 82°\542° (8 day with rain)

Today’s Quote

Only two things are infinite,

the universe and human stupidity,

and I'm not sure about the former.

Albert Einstein

Random Tidbits

6. The Colossus of Rhodes at the entrance of the harbor of Rhodes in Greece.

From its building to its destruction lies a time span of merely 56 years. Yet the colossus earned a place in the famous list of Wonders. "But even lying on the ground, it is a marvel", said Pliny the Elder. The Colossus of Rhodes was not only a gigantic statue. It was rather a symbol of unity of the people who inhabited that beautiful Mediterranean island -- Rhodes.

7. The Lighthouse of Alexandria in the city of Alexandria in Egypt.

Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one had a practical use in addition to its architectural elegance: The Lighthouse of Alexandria. For sailors, it ensured a safe return to the Great Harbor. For architects, it meant even more: it was the tallest building on Earth. And for scientists, it was the mysterious mirror that fascinated them most... The mirror which reflection could be seen more than 50 km (35 miles) off-shore.

Observances This Week

27-8/5
National Little League Baseball Week  Link

Observances for Today

Cheesecake Day Link
Father-in-Law Day
Friendship Day Link
Health Care Now!  Medicare's Birthday  Link
International Day of Friendship Link    
National Chicken and Waffles Day
National Support Public Education Day Link
National Whistleblowers Appreciation Day  Link
Paperback Book Day
World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

My Rambling Thoughts

It’s Monday. Our fire is now 65% contained. Still early morning smoke. It’s only been a week + one day but seems like it’s been forever. Things look better every day, just a slow process.

I headed out around 8a to pick up some scripts and other necessities. Got what I needed and headed home. It looks like rain, so hoping it comes with no lightning.

I am happy that Congress is on a much needed 6-week break. They can now go home and listen to their voters. I can only hope that they do just that. This is also the time for the media to listen to the people. We will never come together as a country until both sides start listening to the voters.

I have started working on a little slide show of my trip on the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Lots to do, but will be worth it when I finish it in a few days.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of this page

Use all letters of this sentence once each only to spell out three animals.

'TALL ELEPHANT OR APEMAN'

Note: Elephant is not one of the three.

Today’s Highlighted Historical Events

1700’s

1729 City of Baltimore founded

1800’s

1836 First English language newspaper published in Hawaii

1863 President Abraham Lincoln issues "eye-for-eye" order to shoot a rebel prisoner for every black prisoner shot

1863 Indian Wars: Chief Pocatello of the Shoshone tribe signs the Treaty of Box Elder, promising to stop harassing the emigrant trails in southern Idaho and northern Utah

1900’s

1928 George Eastman shows first amateur color motion pictures to guests at his New York house including Thomas Edison

1935 1st Penguin book is published, starting the paperback revolution

1942 FDR signs bill creating women's Navy auxiliary agency (WAVES)

1945 After delivering the Atomic Bomb across the Pacific, the cruiser USS Indianapolis is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-58. 880 of the crew died, many after being attacked by sharks, the inspiration for the movie Jaws.

1956 US motto "In God We Trust" authorized

1965 LBJ signs Medicare bill, which goes into effect in 1966

1974 House Judiciary Committee votes on 3rd & last charge of "high crimes & misdemeanors" to impeach President Nixon in the Watergate cover-up

1975 US Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa disappears in suburban Detroit; Hoffa legally declared dead in 1982

2000’s

2013 Wikileaks discloser Bradley [later Chelsea] Manning convicted of 17 espionage charges

2017 China's President Xi Jinping heads 12,000 troop parade at Zhurihe training base, Inner Mongolia marking 90 years since founding of the People's Liberation Army

2017 Russian President Vladimir Putin announces American diplomats in Russia cut by 755 in response to American sanctions

2018 Official Malaysian investigation into the disappearance of Flight 370 is unable to determine what happened

Highlighted Birthdays Today

1818 Emily Brontë,

English novelist (Wuthering Heights), born in Thornton, West Yorkshire (d. 1848: @30: long illness)

1863 Henry Ford,

American industrialist and auto maker (Ford Model T), born in Dearborn Township, Michigan (d. 1947: @83)

1893 Fatima Jinnah,

Mother of Pakistan, sister and close adviser of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, born in Karachi, Bombay Presidency, British India (d. 1967: @73: heart failure)

1922 Henry W. Bloch,

American businessman (co-founder of H&R Block) and philanthropist, born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 2019+: @96)

80’s

86- Edd "Kookie" Byrnes,

American actor (77 Sunset Strip, Jack the Ripper), born in Los Angeles, California

80- Peter Bogdanovich,

American director and producer (Last Picture Show), born in Kingston, New York

70’s

78- Paul Anka,

Canadian/American singer

72- Arnold Schwarzenegger,

Austrian-American body builder, actor (Terminator) and politician (38th Governor of California), born in Thal, Austria

60’s

63- Anita Hill,

American academic and attorney, accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, born in Lone Tree, Oklahoma

63- Delta Burke,

American actress (Suzanne-Designing Women), born in Orlando, Florida

50’s

58- Laurence Fishburne,

American actor (The Matrix, CSI, Apocalypse Now), born in Augusta, Georgia

56- Lisa Kudrow,

American actress (Phoebe Buffay on Friends), born in Los Angeles, California

55- Vivica A. Fox,

American actress (Kill Bill: Vol. 1), born in South Bend, Indiana

50- Simon Baker,

Australian actor

40’s

49- Christopher Nolan,

British/American director

48- Tom Green,

Canadian comedian and actor

45- Hilary Swank,

American actress (Boys Don't Cry, Million Dollar Baby), born in Lincoln, Nebraska

Highlighted Historical Obits Today

80’s

@89-2007 Ingmar Bergman,

Swedish stage and film director (Cries & Whispers)

@83-1898 Otto von Bismarck,

German "Iron" chancellor

@80-1998 Buffalo Bob Smith

[Robert Emil Schmidt],

American TV host (Howdy Doody)

70’s

@75-2007 Bill Walsh,

American football coach (San Fransisco 49ers), dies of leukemia

@73-1718 William Penn,

English Philosopher, Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania (No cross, no crown)

60’s

@67-2015 Lynn Anderson,

American country singer (I Never Promised you a Rose Garden), dies of a heart attack

30’s

@31-1918 Joyce Kilmer,

American poet, dies in WWII battle

20’s

@25-1989 Lane Frost,

American bull rider, dies from injuries sustained by being gored by a bull

Puzzle answer:

PANTHER, ANTELOPE, LLAMA