May 1

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May 1, 2020 Week: 18 Day: 122

86004: H 80° \ L 40° \ Average Sky Cover: 75%

Wind: 11mph\Gusts: 20mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 380mi.; Nearest active fire: 193mi.

Record High: 80°[1947] Record Low: 17°[1972]

May Averages: 68°\34° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

If you set your goals ridiculously high and it's a failure, you will fail above everyone else's success."

-James Cameron

Random Tidbits

In Medieval England, May Day celebrations centered on the maypole, which is a pole made from wood, decorated with streamers, which are held by dancers circling the pole.

The pole is thought by many to (not so subtly) represent the masculine, while the decorations of flowers, wreaths and ribbons are thought to symbolize the feminine. Although some scholars assert that sometimes a pole is just a pole.

Have a smile

A friend sent these to me

If prisons let prisoners take their own mugshots,

would they be called cellfies?

Why couldn't the onion go to the house party? 

Because he was onionvited. (uninvited)

Observations For Month of May

ALS Awareness Month Link
(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's Disease)
Apraxia Awareness Month
APS Awareness Month

Better Hearing & Speech Month Link
Bladder Cancer Awareness Month Link
Borderline Personality Disorder Month Link
Brain Tumor Awareness Month LinkBuilding Safety Month Link Link

Observations This Week

Festival of Ridvan: 19-5/1
Ramadan: 23-5/23

National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW): 26-5/3 Link
Preservation Week:26-5/2  Link (re: Libraries)
Stewardship Week: 26-5/3 
National Playground Safety Week: 27-5/1 Link

Choose Privacy Week: 1-7  Link

Observations for Today

Amtrak Day
Batman Day

Beltane [Gaelic] Link
Dandelion Day
Executive Coaching Day
Global Love Day Link
Hawaiian Lei Day

Hug Your Cat Day
International Workers Day Link
Keep Kids Alive! Drive 25 Day
Law DayLoyalty Day

May Day
May One Day
Mother Goose Day Link
National Bubba Day
National Chocolate Parfait Day

National Purebred Dog Day Link
New Homeowner's Day
No Pants Day

Save the Rhino Day

School Principals' Day
Silver Star Banner Day Link
Skyscraper Day
Space Day Link
Stepmother's Day
School Lunch Hero Day Link  
Tuba Day Link

My Rambling Thoughts

A new month starts. It is great weather. Three days in a row I have been able to air out the house with doors and windows open. Here in AZ our stay-at-home continues until at least May 15. I've decided that the hardest part of this situation is trying to figure out who to believe and who not to believe about what to do. Everybody near a camera or reporter seems to have 'valuable' information that they are more than willing to share. When it comes to credentials many of them have about as much as credibility as a freshman in college performing brain surgery unassisted.

OMG, VP Pence was touring a facility today and wearing a mask. I guess he does listen. Glad to see that.

There is a small community a few miles outside Flagstaff called Baderville. Some off-the-grid people live there. It was reported yesterday that there are fleas in the area carry the plague. Not good news for sure. What will be next?

I read this morning that 100,000 cruise ship crews are stuck on ships around the world, unable to dock anywhere. Some crew members are sick with Covid-19, some have died, and the healthy ones have no way to get off the ship. Scary.

As states are opening up, it turns out that if your state allows a business to open and an employee refuses to return to work due to the Covid-19, they are no longer able to collect unemployment checks. This is true even if the state is not following CDC guidelines to re-open. As I said above, don't know who to believe.

China has been shipping lots of masks, ventilators, PPE's around the world. American hospitals who bought such items say they do NOT meet minimum standards for use. Many of the ventilators were made for ambulances for short term use until the patient gets to the hospital. Yet the information from the company said they work just fine in hospitals. Turns out they don't. This is just to add to all the craziness.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?

Historical Events

May 1 is Law Day, begun in 1958. "A national day set aside to celebrate the rule of law. Law Day underscores how law and the legal process have contributed to the freedoms that all Americans share."

1707 - The Act of Union joined the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.

1759 - Josiah Wedgwood founded the Wedgwood pottery company in Great Britain.

1849 - The telegraph register was patented (#6,420) by Samuel F. B.Morse.

1851 -The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations opened in Hyde Park, London, England.

1888 - Nikola Tesla was issued several patents (#381,968, #381,969, #381,970; #382,279, #381,980, #381,981, #381,982) relating to the induction magnetic motor, alternating current (AC) sychronous motor, AC transmission and electricity distribution.

1899 - Bayer introduced aspirin in powder form, in Germany. The pill came about in 1915.

1931 - The Empire State Building in New York City was dedicated by President Hoover from the White House in Washington DC.

1951 - Great Exhibition opened in the Crystal Palace in London with over 10,000 exhibitors.

1958 - The discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts that surround Earth by James Van allen was published in the Washington Evening Star.

1941 - Citizen Kane debuted at the RKO Palace Theater in New York City.

1960 - American U-2 spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union.

1964 - The BASIC computer program was used for the first time at Dartmouth University by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz. The name is an acronym for 'Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code'.

1982 - The 1982 World's Fair opened in Knoxville, Tennessee.

2011 - Osama bin Laden was reported killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan.

Birthdays Today

@90- Actor, Glenn Ford (d. 2006)

81- Singer, Judy Collins

@79-Singer, Kate Smith (d. 1986)

75- Singer, Rita Coolidge

74- Director, John Woo (1946)

52- Singer, Tim McGraw (1967)

Puzzle Answer:

A promise

Apr 30

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Apr. 30, 2020 Week: 18 Day: 121

86004: H 78° \ L 46° \ Average Sky Cover: 5%

Wind: 5mph\Gusts: 10mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 823mi.; Nearest active fire: 129mi.

Record High: 78°[1981] Record Low: 10°[1967]

Apr. Averages: 60°\27° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

"If you look at what you have in life,

you'll always have more.

If you look at what you don't have in life,

you'll never have enough."

-Oprah Winfrey

Random Tidbits

The largest tree by volume

The world's largest tree is a stately giant sequoia known as General Sherman in California's Sequoia National Park. This majestic arboreal master is about 52,500 cubic feet in volume.

Most Dangerous Animals

Elephants: 100 deaths per year. Elephants have the largest brains of the animal kingdom.

Have a smile

A friend sent these to me

My friend just told me that his beloved Swedish car was stolen today.
It was quite a Saab story.

What do you call a baby monkey?

A chimp off the old block.

Observations This Week

Festival of Ridvan: 19-5/1
International Mariachi Week: 22-29 Link
Ramadan: 23-5/23

National Scoop The Poop Week: 24-30
World Immunization Week: 24-30
National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW): 26-5/3 Link
Preservation Week:26-5/2  Link (re: Libraries)Stewardship Week: 26-5/3 
National Playground Safety Week: 27-5/1 Link

Observations for Today

Adopt A Shelter Pet Day

Animal Advocacy Day

Honesty Day

National Oatmeal Cookie Day

National Raisin Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Andy called this morning and his neighbor wanted to help with the gutter. So the three of us got it done in about 2 hours. The neighbor is retired Army and three made the job very simple. Glad I could help. Hardest part was putting the ladder up around the air conditioner and the satellite dish.

Throughout my working career my health insurance was always through my employer. I was lucky because I had the same main employer...the Federal Government...for my 36 year career. Most workers are not so lucky. Many employers don't even offer a healthcare plan. Unions, in the past, fought for coverage for their members. Many who have coverage have to change providers if they change jobs. Since the virus arrived on our shores, 9.2 million working Americans have lost their coverage, because they lost their jobs when the country shut down. Now they don't have a job and they don't have health coverage if they get sick. The lesson I learned: the way Americans get health coverage has to change now.

When I sent to a new school I knew that 'When in Rome, do as the Romans.' Every school was I detailed to had a strong school culture. I had to learn that culture and work within that culture in order to keep the school operating. It is sad that the VP of the United States has never learned that valuable lesson. While visiting the Mayo clinic and sick patients, he should have worn a mask...for the health of the patients, the front-line workers, and for himself...and as a message to all Americans that this is serious. I have no understanding of his actions.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Returns tomorrow

Historical Events

In Celtic tradition, the night of April 30 was thought of as the darkest of the year, when witches flew to frighten, spawning evil throughout the land. In response, people pounded on kettles, slammed doors, cracked whips, rang church bells and made all the noise they could to scare off the corruption they imagined to be moving on the moist air.

They lit bonfires and torches and witch- proofed their houses with spring boughs. Such vigils were kept throughout the night until the rising of the May-dawn.

1789 - In New York City, George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States.

1803 - The Louisiana Purchase from France, for 15 million dollars, also included much (if not all of) of Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.

1812 - The Territory of Orleans became the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.

1894 - Antarctic iceberg fragment was sighted at a latitude 26.50 degrees south, approximately parallel to to Rio de Janeiro, the nearest to the equator that an Antarctic iceberg that has been seen.

1900 - Casey Jones died in a train wreck in Vaughan, Mississippi, while trying to make up time on the Cannonball Express.

1900 - Hawaii became a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.

1927 - Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford were the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theater, in Hollywood.

1939 - The New York World's fair opened at Flushing Meadow Park in Queens.

1948 - The Land Rover, a British-made all-terrain vehicle, debuted at an auto show in Amsterdam.

1989 - CNBC, the first NBC cable channel and the first financial cable channel, began transmitting.

1992- A Time Capsule was put in the ground in front of the Nickelodeon Building. However, on the same exact day 13 years later, Nickelodeon's studios closed. It's now underneath the entrance to the Nickelodeon Resort. It will be opened April 30th, 2042.

1993 - Tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed by Gunter Parchein Hamburg, Germany.

1997 - During the 'Puppy' episode of Ellen it was revealed that the main/title character (Ellen DeGeneres) was gay.

2009 Chrysler automobile company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

2013 Willem-Alexander becomes the first male Monarch of Netherlands in 123 years, following the abdication of his mother, Queen Beatrix

2019 New type of dementia identified and named limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (Late) after misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's disease

Birthdays Today

94-Actress, Cloris Leachman

@89-Alice B. Toklas (d. 1967)

@66-Actress, Jill Clayburgh ( d.2010; leukemia)

59-Basketball player, Isiah Thomas

38-Actress, Kirsten Dunst

@35-Musician, Johnny Horton (d.1960; auto accident)

Apr 29

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Apr. 28, 2020 Week: 18 Day: 120

86004: H 75° \ L 43° \ Average Sky Cover: 15%

Wind: 9mph\Gusts: 13mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 760mi.; Nearest active fire: 131mi.

Record High: 79°[1992] Record Low: 7°[1970]

Apr. Averages: 60°\27° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

"If life were predictable

it would cease to be life,

and be without flavor."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

Random Tidbits

The heaviest known organism

In Utah's Fishlake National Forest in Utah there lives a massive grove of trees called Pando, which is actually a single clonal colony of a male quaking aspen. Nicknamed the Trembling Giant, this enormous root system is comprised of some 47,000 stems that create the grove. All together - with all of the individual trunks, branches and leaves - this quivering organism weighs in at an estimated 6,600 short tons. It is the heaviest known organism on the planet, and perhaps even more impressive is its age. Conservative estimates put it at 80,000 years old, making it also the oldest living thing known to man.

The largest land animal

The African bush elephant holds the title for largest land animal. Reaching lengths of up to 24 feet and gaining heights of 13 feet, these beautiful gray beasts weigh in at 11 tons. Their trunks alone can lift objects of more than 400 pounds.

Have a smile

A friend sent these to me

Question:Why don't eggs make good quarterbacks?

Answer: When their defense cracks they are too quick to scramble.

Observations This Week

Festival of Ridvan: 19-5/1
International Mariachi Week: 22-29 Link
Ramadan: 23-5/23

National Scoop The Poop Week: 24-30
World Immunization Week: 24-30
National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW): 26-5/3 Link
Preservation Week:26-5/2  Link (re: Libraries)Stewardship Week: 26-5/3 
National Playground Safety Week: 27-5/1 Link

Observations for Today

Denim Day Link

Greenery Day
International Dance Day Link
International Guide Dogs Day Link 
International Noise Awareness Day Link
National Shrimp Scampi Day

"Peace" Rose Day (The flower)
World Wish Day Link
Zipper Day

My Rambling Thoughts

A great spring day. Andy, my former boss and friend, decided they needed a gutter. He got all the stuff and I headed to his house about 9a...with mask and gloves. We worked on it about 30 minutes when he announced that he was calling the professionals at Home Depot. I must say I was pleased with his proclamation. Two 70+ guys on ladders with tools in hand was not my idea of being safe. We both agreed it would have been much about 25 years ago. Haha

The HOA crew came by yesterday and cleaned out our gutters. Today they are mowing, blowing, and cleaning up the front areas. Nice! Except when they are blowing, I have the windows and doors wide open. Spring is here for sure. This year's crew is great, after covering our vehicles with dust, they blew it off the entire vehicle. Nice!

Yesterday was the 2^nd day in a row with no Covid deaths in our county and also on the Rez. Things are looking up. Stay inside so it won't start up again.

So our dear leader has decided to call back all the West Point Grads so he can give a speech at their graduation. Being Military, the grads have to comply or face disciplinary action. Hopefully Dear Leader with rethink this.

While I was at my computer this morning I broke down and decided to get the e-edition of our local daily paper. They had a 3 month deal for $3 so I took it. I'll find out if I want to continue it.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

What one word can be added to the end of the following words to form new words?

back, down, for, home, in, on, out, sea, sky, to, up, way, west, wind

Historical Events

1429 - 17 year-old Joan of Arc arrived to relieve the Siege of Orléans.

1864 - Theta Xi fraternity was founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,

1945 - The US Seventh Army's 45th Infantry Division liberated the Dachau concentration camp.

1945 - Adolf Hitler married his longtime partner Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker.

1953 - In the first 3D television broadcast, an episode of Space Patrol was shown on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV.

1968 - Broadway Show - Hair (Musical) April 29 opening

1996 - TV Land network made its debut.
1996 - Broadway Show - Rent (Musical) April 29, 1996
2011 - The Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Kate (Catherine) Middleton.
2015 - A baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox set the all-time low attendance mark for Major League Baseball. Zero (0) fans were in attendance for the game, because the stadium was officially closed to the public due to the 2015 Baltimore protests.

2018 Sweden's official Twitter account confirms Swedish meatballs actually originated in Turkey

2019 Indonesia is planning to relocate its capital from Jakarta due to its sinking according to a government minister

2019 Over 700 people infected with measles in the US, highest number for 25 years

2019 Islamic State releases video showing leader Bakr al-Baghdadi for first time in five years

Birthdays Today

@88-Publisher, William Randolph Hearst (d. 1951)

@75-Musician, Duke Ellington (d. 1975; lung cancer)

@81-Musician, Rod McKuen (d. 2015)

87-Musician, Willie Nelson 

67-Actor, Richard Kline (1944)

66-Actor, Jerry Seinfeld (1954)

65-Actress, Kate Mulgrew (1955)

63-Actor, Daniel Day-Lewis (1957)

50-Tennis star, Andre Agassi

Puzzle Answer:

ward