Oct 26

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Oct. 26, 2019 Week: 43  Day: 299

86004:   H 60° \ L 28° \ Average Sky Cover: 5% 

Nearest active fire:  30mi.  Nearest lightning:  1271mi

Wind:   12mph\Gusts:  19mph  Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 75°[1959]   Record Low: 14°[1972]

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

Today’s Quote

My painting does not come from the easel.

Jackson Pollock

Random Tidbits

English is the international language of flight. All flight controllers and all commercial pilots who fly on international flights are required to speak English.

Research shows that the first 3 minutes after takeoff and the final 8 minutes before landing are when 80 percent of plane crashes happen.

The risk of being killed in a plane crash for the average American is 1 in 11 million. The risk of being killed in a car accident is 1 in 5,000.

Bonus:

1.      Mincemeat was originally a medieval (England) sweet, spicy mixture of chopped (minced) lean meat (usually beef, or beef tongue), suet and fruit.

2.      It was generally served as an entree.

3.      Gradually the meat content was reduced, and today the mixture contains nuts, dried fruit (raisins, apples, pears, citrus peel, etc.), beef suet, spices and brandy or rum, but no beef.

4.      Mincemeat is used primarily in pies and tarts.

5.      Mince pies date back to medieval times and possibly long before. They are descended from a huge pie baked on Christmas Eve containing chopped beef, suet, nuts, spices and fruit of which whole dried plums were an important constituent.

Observances This Week

19-26

INVICTUS Games

20-26

Asexuality Week Link  Link | Freedom From Bullies Week
National Business Women's Week  Link | National Character Counts Week
National Chemistry Week | National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week Link 
National Forest Products Week | National Friends of Libraries Week
National Nuclear Science Week | National Pharmacy Week
National Save For Retirement Week Link | National School Bus Safety Week
National Teen Drivers Safety Week Link | National Massage Therapy Week Link 

National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week Link  |
National Respiratory Care Week Link | Pastoral Care Week Link  
Pro Bono Week  Link | Rodent Awareness Week
Spiritual Care Week

21-27

Freedom of Speech Week  Link    

23-26

International Dyslexia Association Reading Week

23-31

Red Ribbon Week Link  

24-30

Disarmament Week

24-31

Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week

25-11/11

World Origami Days

25-31

International Magic Week

Observances for Today

Allantide  Link
Howl at The Moon Night  Link
Intersex Awareness Day  Link
Kiwanis One Day Link 
Make a Difference Day
Mule Day   
 Honors the importation of the first Spanish Jacks to the US which were a gift from King Charles III of Spain delivered October 26, 1785 in Boston. George Washington then began breeding them in the US. For the celebration)
National Day of The Deployed
National Financial Crime Fighter Day Link
National Mincemeat Day

National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day  Link
National Pumpkin Day

Pit Bull Awareness Day Link  

My Rambling Thoughts

I guess fall has really arrived. My furnace ran a whole lot this morning.  The CPAP inspector arrived about 9:30a and all is good with the machinery. Made a Sam’s Club run after he left.

About 6:30 this morning my phone sent an alert. All it said was ‘Police Situation on I-40’. As more alerts came in, I -40 was closed in all directions about 5 miles east of Flagstaff. A gunman was shooting at police before he crashed his vehicle. When I headed to Sam’s, using I-40, the alert said that traffic lanes were open, but expect some delays. I got my shopping done and headed back on I-40. Bad idea. Two miles from my exit traffic was at a standstill. The incident, which was over, was 5 miles from my exit. I was amazed at the backup of mostly big rigs. It took me 20 minutes to get to my exit. I should have taken another route.

Two Native things happened yesterday…one great, one disgusting. The new AZ Teacher of the Year is a Navajo lady who teaches for the BIA in Salt River. She is the first Native to ever receive the honor. I worked with several of her cousins in Tuba…all good teachers. The other incident happened a few miles away from that school when there was a girls’ volleyball game between a Native team and a team from Anthem, AZ. The game was suspended when the visiting crowd started yelling racial slurs and used racial gestures at the Native girls.  No excuse for that behavior.

Decades ago the airline industry was deregulated. This was to open up more flights and have better pricing. I made my Christmas flights today. A trip to Merida is $500 cheaper if I fly next week than flying near Christmas. Flying on the 20^th is $100 cheaper than flying on the 21^st. My flight is a regular flight…not an add-on for the holidays. The plane and crew fly the flight every day. The flight uses the same fuel, or close to it. So how come the airlines charge almost 1/3 more at Christmas? I guess it is ‘what the market will bear’ and it certainly helps the airlines bottom line. I’m flying United, but American had the same prices. I probably could have saved some by making flights on three different airlines, changing airlines in Houston and Mexico City. But it would have added at least 4 hours to the one-airline flight of 6 hours. Crazy!

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of this page

A man is on a game show. He is presented with two doors, one on the left, and one on the right. Behind one is 2 million dollars, and behind the other is a donkey. Choose the correct door to win the prize. There are also two men in front of the doors, and they know which door leads to the millions. One wears a black hat, and the other wears a white hat. The host explains that one of the men is a liar, and will always lie, and the other man will always tell the truth – but you do not know which is which.

You can ask only one of the men only one question.

What is the question, and which man do you ask to ensure you win the money?

Historical Events

1774 - The first Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia.

1775 - King George III of Great Britain went before Parliament to declare the American colonies in rebellion, and authorized a military response to stop the American Revolution.

1776 - Benjamin Franklin went to France to seek French support for the American Revolution.

1825 - From Albany, New York to Lake Erie, the Erie Canal opened.

1861 - The Pony Express officially closed.

1881 - The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral takes place at Tombstone, Arizona. The "OK" probably referred to two families, Ormsby & Kimberly, who owned the nearby corral.

1936 - The first electric generator at Hoover Dam went into operation.

1957 - #1 Hit: Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock / Treat Me Nice

1958 - Pan American Airways made the first commercial flight of the Boeing 707, from New York City to Paris, France.

1974 - #1 Hit: Dionne Warwick and The Spinners - Then Came You

1980 - Pac-Man was released in the United States

1984 - "Baby Fae" received a heart transplant from a baboon, and died three weeks later.

1985 - #1 Hit: Whitney Houston - Saving All My Love for You

2000 - Sony PlayStation 2 released, Video Game Console

2001 - The United States passed the first Patriot Act.

2012- Windows 8 was released

2017 Cremation ceremony for King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand held in Bangkok, a year after his death

2017 Jacinda Ardern is sworn in as Prime Minister of New Zealand, becoming the world’s youngest female head of government

Birthdays Today

Pat Sajak, Wheel of Fortune host (73)

Jaclyn Smith, actor (Charlie’s Angels) (74)

Hillary Clinton (72)

Jackie Coogan, actor

(d. 1984 @69; heart failure)

Mahilia Jackson, gospel singer

[Summertime/Motherless Child]

(d. 1972 @60; heart failure/diabetes)

Dylan McDermott, actor (58)

Keith Urban, country singer (52)

Seth MacFarlane, actor (46)

Puzzle answer:

You ask either man the following question: “If I asked the other guy which door has the money, what would he say?” and then choose the opposite door. Work it out: If you ask the question to the liar, he will lie about the ‘correct’ answer, so you must choose the opposite door. If you ask the truth teller, he will tell the truth about the lie, so you can choose the opposite door as well.