Aug 14

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Aug. 14, 2019 Week: 33  Day: 226

86004:   H 83° \ L 52° \ Average Sky Cover: 15% 

Nearest wildfire:  26mi. Nearest lightning:  257mi

Wind:   6mph\Gusts:  6mph

Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 89°[2002]   Record Low: 33°[1976]

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

Today’s Quote

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

Dalai Lama

Random Tidbits

Some of the most expensive books ever sold at auction are...

First Folio

This book, a collection of William Shakespeare's plays, was published after his death in 1623. Seven hundred and fifty copies were published, but only 228 survived. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen purchased a copy for around $6.1 million in 2001.

The Canterbury Tales

There are only 12 known first edition copies left since its publishing in 1477, and only one is in a private collection. The book was originally purchased in 1776 and not sold again until 1998 with a purchase price of $7.5 million by Christie's of London.

Observances This Week

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

14-18

Navajo Nation Code Talker’s Week

Observances for Today

National Creamsicle Day

National Navajo Code Talkers Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Weather is great…again. No complaints.

O got a pedi this morning. It had been 6 weeks, so it was time. Tomorrow will be haircut day along with other things.

I was fortunate enough to work on the Navajo Rez for my career. Fortunate again that there were quite a few Code Talkers in the communities that I worked. For those that don’t know, the Marines met with a group of Navajo in Flagstaff to develop a code the Japanese were never able to break. Code Talkers were assigned to many fighting units, communicated over the radios with their language, and made it possible for the US to defeat the Japanese. Enemy planes were named after various birds, tanks after various animals. The Code Talkers were not honored by anyone until the early 1970’s when their heroics became public knowledge. Before that, all was Top Secret. May of the Code Talkers were pulled out of boarding schools, including Tuba City, to serve in the Marines where they were trained in CA and sent overseas. Many were not yet 18 years old, but just said they were, since birth records were sparse. Thank you for your service to the country. At Veteran’s Day, every school where I worked honored the local Code Talkers. They gave classroom presentations, had lunch with the students, and returned year after year to share their story.

Window’s updates are a pain. Today I got a notification that updates were waiting. I clicked. It took over 2 hours.

Hong Kong airport closed again. This is getting very real. I have to wonder what, if anything, our guide Suzi Q is telling this week’s tourists to Beijing. Also have to wonder if she even knows what is going on in Hong Kong or if any tourists are even asking.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of this page

What occurs once in every minute, twice in every moment, but never in a thousand years?

Historical Events

1888 - An audio recording of English composer Arthur Sullivan's "The Lost Chord", one of the first recordings of music ever made, was played during a press conference introducing Thomas Edison's phonograph in London, England.

1893 - France became the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration.

1933 - Oxydol's Own Ma Perkins debuted on Cincinnati's WLW and became the first successful national radio soap opera.

1935 - Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act.

1936 - Rainey Bethea was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky in the last public execution in the United States.

1945 - Japan accepted the Allied terms of surrender in World War II. V-J Day. Be sure to thank Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson and Martha Quinn for their service to our country.

1959 - Founding and first official meeting of the American Football League.

1965 - #1 Hit August 14, 1965 - September 3, 1965: Sonny & Cher - I Got You Babe

1975 - The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the longest-running release in film history, opened at the USA Theatre in Westwood, Los Angeles, California.

1980 - Lech Walesa led the first strike at the Gdansk, Poland shipyards.

1989 - Sega Mega Drive/Genesis released, Video Game Console

1994 - Inside the Actors Studio made its debut on Bravo

2000 - Dora the Explorer premiered on Nick Jr

2010 - The first-ever Youth Olympic Games were held in Singapore.

2013 - Egypt declared a state of emergency as security forces killed hundreds of demonstrators supporting former president Mohamed Morsi.

Birthdays Today

David Crosby, musician (Byrds, Crosby-Stills-Nash (78)

Steve Martin, comedian, actor (74)

Danielle Steele, romantic novelist (72)

Gary Larson. Cartoonist [The Far Side] (69)

Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, Jr., basketball super star (60)

Marcia Gay Harden, actress (60)

Sarah Brightman. English classical crossover soprano, singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and musician (59)

Susan Olsen, actress (Brady Bunch) (58)

Halle Berry, actress (53)

Jay Manuel, Creative Director (America’s Next Top Model) (47)

Mila Kunis [Ukrainian: Мілена Марківна Куніс] actress (36)

Tim Tebow, football player (32)

Puzzle answer:

The answer is THE LETTER M.