Halloween

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Oct. 31, 2019 Week: 44  Day: 304

86004:   H 32° \ L 12° \ Average Sky Cover: 5%

Nearest active fire:  119mi.  Nearest lightning:  1090mi

Wind:   16mph\Gusts:  29mph  Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 70°[1999]   Record Low: 7°[1935]

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

Today’s Quote

There is nothing weak about kindness & compassion.

There is nothing weak about looking out for others.

There is nothing weak about being honorable.

You are not a sucker to have integrity

and to treat others with respect.”

~ Barack Obama

Random Tidbits

Halloween Candy

The numbers are in. A large-scale market study has revealed the most popular Halloween candies.

Surprisingly, caramel corn balls did not even make it onto the list. But if you are stopping for Halloween supplies tonight, you might want to consider some selections from the top ten...

10. Hershey Bars

9. Skittles

8. Sour Patch Kids

7. Butterfinger

6. Nerds

5. M&M's

4. Kit Kats

3. Twix

2. Snickers

1. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Sour Patch Kids? Seriously? What is happening to today's youth? One of my favorites; Payday, came in 47. And the perennial Halloween candy; candy corn? Number 67.

Observances This Week

23-31

Red Ribbon Week 

24-31

Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week

25-11/11

World Origami Days

25-31

International Magic Week

27-11/2

Give Wildlife a Brake! Week 

Kids Care Week

Observances for Today

Beggars' Night
Books For Treats Day
Carve a Pumpkin Day

Day of the Seven Billion Link
Girl Scout Founder's Day Link
Halloween or All Hallows Eve
Increase Your Psychic Powers Day

Magic Day
National Caramel Apple Day  Link
National Doorbell Day Link
National Knock-Knock Jokes Day
National Magic Day
National UNICEF Day
Samhain Link
World Cities Day
World Savings Day Link

My Rambling Thoughts

Have a Happy Halloween.

I woke up to what I thought it was cold…17°. Then I checked the internet machine and I was basking in warmth, compared to Denver. Hope everyone up there is staying warm.

Good news from the Blood Dr. All blood counts he looks at in the normal range. Going for a scan next week to be sure all the lymph nodes are also normal. Very good news.

As the horrific fires continue in California, I read an article yesterday that the Navajo Hotshots are out there too. The Navajo Hotshots have helped at wildfires for decades.  Glad to see they are still active. Hotshots have a very dangerous job as they are on the ground at all major fires out west. The Navajo Hotshot team is recognized nationally as one of the best.

NPR had a good summary of the fires and the problems. One major issue is when the utility companies turn off electricity so that their powerlines don’t start more fires. Almost 1 million have been without electricity since Saturday. Most critical are the many who use electricity for medical machines at home, like dialysis, oxygen, and CPAP machines. Then there are the businesses that need electricity to be open like grocery stores, gas stations, etc. Many businesses have generators, but can’t get fuel now. Tons of food are spoiling. Some can’t get gas so they can’t evacuate. The bottom line seems to be that many electric company providers have not taken care of their infrastructure deciding not to spend money on modern upgrades to keep their profit margin high. What a mess.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of this page

As a whole, I am both safe and secure.

Behead me, I become a place of meeting.

Behead me again, I am the partner of ready.

Restore me, I become the domain of beasts.

Historical Events

683 - During the Second Islamic Civil War and the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba caught fire and burned down.

1517 - Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.

1913 - Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. It was the first automobile highway going across United States.

1926 - Magician Harry Houdini died of gangrene and peritonitis that developed after his appendix ruptured (after an unexpected punch to the stomach a few days earlier).

1941 - Mount Rushmore is completed, featuring the sculpted head of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

1964 - #1 Hit: The Supremes - Baby Love

1968 - "October Surprise" - Just before the US elections, US President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that he had ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam" effective November 1.

1969 - Wal-mart incorporated in Arkansas.

1984 Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by her bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh at her home in New Delhi.

Rajiv Gandhi takes office as India's 6th Prime Minister succeeding his mother Indira Gandhi

1992 Roman Catholic church reinstates Galileo Galilei after 359 years

1998 - WKOW in Madison, Wisconsin became one of the first high-definition broadcasts in digital television.

2011 - Date that there were 7 billion people living on Earth.

2017 John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff comments in TV interview that “the lack of an ability to compromise led to the Civil War", draws criticism

2018 Worlds biggest statue, the Statue of Unity is unveiled of Indian independence leader Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at 182 meters in Gujarat state

Birthdays Today

Michael Collins, astronaut (Apollo 11) (89)

Dan Rather, newscaster (88)

Dale Evans

[Lucille Wood Smith], actress, singer

(d. 2001 @88)

Vanilla Ice

[Robert Matthew Van Winkle], rapper (52)

John Candy, Canadian actor

(d. 1994 @43; heart attack)

Willow Smith, singer (19)

Puzzle answer:

Stable. A table is a place of meeting.

Able and ready is a common phrase, and

a stable is where beasts reside (beasts of burden, not beasts like the one in Beauty and the Beast who lived in a glorious castle but the west wing was forbidden to enter until Belle…I’ve said too much!).