Aug 13

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Aug. 13, 2019 Week: 33  Day: 225

86004:   H 78° \ L 51° \ Average Sky Cover: 30% 

Nearest wildfire:  99mi. Nearest lightning:  219mi

Wind:   12mph\Gusts:  21mph

Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 90°[2002]   Record Low: 39°[1999]

Aug Averages: 79°\50° (9 day with rain)

Today’s Quote

That's why people listen to music or look at paintings.

To get in touch with that wholeness.

Corita Kent

Random Tidbits

With the ubiquitousness of the Internet it is easy to forget that once upon a time the recording and passing on of knowledge was a monumentally important, even sacred task and books were frequently more valuable than gold. Now, many books aren't even worth the paper they are printed on, but those rare examples of historic publications in antiquity that are still in good condition can fetch kingly prices. Some of the most expensive books ever sold at auction are...

Traite Des Arbres Fruitiers

The "Treatise on Fruit Trees" is a five volume set written in 1750. It contains illustrations and descriptions of sixteen different varieties of fruit trees. With a 2006 purchase price of $4.5 million, it has the distinction of being the most expensive book about fruit trees ever sold.

The Gutenberg Bible

There are 48 Gutenberg Bibles left of the original 180 believed to have been produced. They were printed in 1456 and were the first books produced with moveable type. A copy sold in 1987 for $4.9 million at Christie's New York.

Observances This Week

9-13

Perseid Meteor Showers

11-17

National Motorcycle Week Link
Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week  Link  Link 
National Resurrect Romance Week
Weird Contest Week

12-18

US Amateur Golf Week

Observances for Today

International Lefthander's Day  Link

National Filet Mignon Day

My Rambling Thoughts

It’s Monday…I had an early Dr. Visit. All is good. The Dr. is from China and told me she was worried that my blood issues might interfere with my recent visitor. She was happy to hear all went well. She was very happy I enjoyed my visit, and told of growing up in Beijing when the only transportation was bicycle or public transit. She visited a few years ago and said she had culture shock with all the positive changes that have taken place. Great stories and a positive health visit.

Ten weeks of protests in Hong Kong. I keep trying to imagine what the closed airport must be like. We traveled about an hour from our hotel to the airport a few years ago. Now they are saying that people in the airport must leave the airport walking, as no transportation is permitted. WOW! And that there are 5000+ demonstrators in the airport. Walking the road out of an airport with luggage would be daunting under any circumstances, but with that many protestors and cops…No Thanks.

Weather here is great. Sunshine, a few clouds, nice temps, and light wind. Almost a perfect day.

I’m sure conspiracy theories have been around as long as humankind. The new twist is for the President of the US to repeat them, instead of reading them in the tabloid world. Many of us wonder how Epstein could have committed suicide while in jail. Turns out lots of prisoners commit suicide while being held for heinous crimes. Hopefully the investigation will provide transparency to the conditions of jails and prisons and what measures really work to prevent any prisoner from taking their own life in custody. The victims, their families, and the perp’s family need closure and that never comes with a suicide.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of this page

If you throw me from the window,

I will leave a grieving wife.

Bring me back but in the door,

And you’ll see someone giving life.

What am I?

Historical Events

1521 - Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes captured Aztec leader Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc and conquered the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

1868 (Earthquake & Tsunami) Arica, Chile

1898 - Carl Gustav Witt discovered 433 Eros, the first near-Earth asteroid to be seen.

1918 - Opha Mae Johnson was the first woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps.

1942 - Walt Disney's fifth full-length animated film, Bambi, was released in theaters.

1961 - East Germany closed the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin with the Berlin Wall.

1965 - Jefferson Airplane made their first professional appearance at the Matrix Club in San Francisco.

1966 - #1 Hit August 13, 1966 - September 2, 1966: The Lovin' Spoonful - Summer in the City

1969 - The Apollo 11 astronauts were released from a three-week quarantine to enjoy a ticker tape parade in New York, New York.

1997 - South Park aired for the first time on Comedy Central.

2013 - Google Incorporated suffered an outage for five minutes. All of its services, including Google Search, YouTube and Google Drive, experienced this outage. During that brief time window, the world's Internet traffic dropped by 40%.

Birthdays Today

Fidel Castro, leader of Cuba

 (d. 2016 @90)

Alfred Hitchcock, director

(d. 1980 @80)

Don Ho, Hawaiian singer

(d. 2007 @76: heart failure)

Annie Oakley [Phoebe Ann Mosey], trick shooter

(d. 1926 @66: anemia)

Danny Bonaduce, actor (60)

Koji Kondo, sound director: Nintendo (58)

John Slattery, actor (Mad Men), director (57)

Puzzle answer:

The answer is THE LETTER N.