Dec 12

 

‘Tis the Season

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Dec 12, 2020  Week: 50 Day: 347	Local:  H 48°\ L 26°\Average Sky Cover: 25%
Wind:   9mph\Gusts:  18mph	Nearest lightning: 1136mi.; Active fire:  59mi
High Risk of Fire	Visibility:  10mi
Record: 64°[1921]   Record: -16°[1921]	Nov Averages: 44°/\17° (5 days with moisture)

 

Today’s  Quote

He who defends everything defends nothing.

Frederick the Great

 

Random Tidbits

Princeton researchers Ernest Wever and Charles Bray took out a cat's skull and most of its brain to connect the animal to electricity. When they spoke into the cat's ear, the sound could be heard through a phone receiver in another room. The twisted experiment paved the way for cochlear implant developments.

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Listening to classical music while you study can improve memory retention and reduce stress, known as the “Mozart effect”.

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A group of Scorpions is called a Bed or Nest.

 

A little humor

Q: Why didn't the toilet paper cross the street?  Because it got stuck in the crack?  
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Q: What does a barista wear? A cap & chinos. 

 

True Things

The mayor of Oudenburg, Belgium, said it was not the city's intention that new Christmas decorations it installed resemble an iconic part of the male anatomy. City officials had set out to create lighted columns that looked like candles, the Daily Mail reported, but decided to do something different and placed blue spheres on top instead of flames. "I only realized (they looked phallic) when they were illuminated," Mayor Anthony Dumarey said. "I see the funny side of it myself (and) I see no reason to remove or replace them ... we will have the country's most talked-about Christmas lights this year."

 

Observations This Week

Computer Science Education Week:……………. (Always week with 12/9. Birthday of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper.)	6-12  Link
Human Rights Week:…………………………………..	10-17
Gluten-free Baking Week:……………………………	12-18

 

 

Observations for Today

Gingerbread House Day
International Day of Neutrality
International Universal Health Coverage Day
National Ambrosia Day

National 12-hour Fresh Breath Day
National Ding-a-Ling Day  Link
National Cocoa Day  Link
National Lost Day Link
Our Lady of Guadelupe Link
Poinsettia Day

Worldwide Candle Lighting Day (The Compassionate Friends) Link 
World Choral Day  Link

 

My Rambling Thoughts

I needed my down vest when I went out to do my weekly grocery shopping. Quick trip to Fry’s and found some nice in-store sales. Glad I went early as the wind is really picking up and it is a cold wind. I have a collection of 4 masks that I wear whenever I’m out in public. I rotate them each trip. Today I washed them and spayed them with Lysol so I’ll be ready the next time I head out.

AZ, like so many other states, is suffering from the virus. In Phoenix, ICU beds are almost full. In 2019 a 101-year-old hospital closed due to lack of patients. Now, thankfully, that hospital is being reopened as a ‘last resort’ for Corvid patients. It will have 235 beds to assist with this mess. The only problem is finding health workers for the place.

The Senate has always been terribly slow in making any changes. 2020 is no different. Wait to the last minute to do less than necessary. It’s how our government has worked most of my life. I’m not happy about it, but it is what it is.

A number of re-elected Republicans have signed on to the lawsuit that claims that Trump won and that election was fraudulent. I must ask why none of those Representatives have not resigned since they were elected in a fraudulent election. Shouldn’t they stand up for the constitution, like their oath, and if the election was fraudulent, they didn’t really win. Hmmm.

This is the time to reflect. I am so happy that I had a great career on the Rez. I am even happier that I am retired and don’t have to be concerned about being at work everyday with Covid in the air. I miss going out and about, I miss traveling, but I am convinced it will all return.

 

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Ruby and Lewis are expecting…triplets. They already know what they will name their children, but aren’t sharing the names until the children are born. For now, all they will say is:

All three babies are boys

The names have 6 letters are and anagrams of one another.

Their names include both the parents’ initials but none of the other letters in their parents’ first names:

What are the children’s names?

 

Historical Events

1787 – Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1917 – Father Edward J. Flanagan founded Boy’s Town in Omaha, Nebraska.

1925 – The Mo-Tel of San Luis Obispo, California (between Los Angeles to San Francisco) opened as the first motel. The word Motel is a combination of the words ‘Motorist’ and ‘Hotel.’

1953 – Chuck Yeager established the speed record (Mach 2.5) record flying a Bell X-1A, a slightly larger, but a much-modified version of the Bell X-1

1967 – Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, starring Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, and Katharine Houghton, opened in theaters.

1980 – Leonardo da Vinci’s Leicester Codex was sold to Armand Hammer for $5.12 million. Bill Gates later bought it from the Hammer Estate for 30.8 million in 1994.

1989 – 69-year-old Leona Helmsley, the “Queen of Mean”, received a four-year prison sentence, along with750 hours of community service, and a $7.1 million tax fraud fine in New York.

2000 US Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore, settling the recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election in George W. Bush's favor and thus handing him the presidency

2003 – Keiko the Orca (or killer whale), star of the Free Willy movies died in his home of Taknes fjord, in Norway.

2012 – 12/12/12/ The Concert for (Hurricane) Sandy Relief took place at Madison Square Garden.

2014 Over 200 pro-democracy activists arrested in Hong Kong

2018 China built 88 out of world's 143 skyscrapers in 2018 more than any country ever (buildings over 200 meters/656 ft)

2019 Deepest point on land on earth identified under Denman Glacier, east Antarctica at 3.5km (11,500ft) below sea level

 

Birthdays Today

97 – Bob Barker, American game show host

@88 – Ed Koch, 105th Mayor of New York City (d. 2013)

83 – Connie Francis, American singer, and actress

@82 – Frank Sinatra, American singer, and actor (d. 1998)

@80 – Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter, and illustrator (d. 1944)

80 – Dionne Warwick, singer

@79 – Edward G. Robinson, American actor (d. 1973; bladder cancere)

68 – Cathy Rigby, American gymnast

63 – Sheila E. (Sheila Cecelia Escovedo), American singer-songwriter and drummer

45 – Mayim Bialik, American actress, PhD in neuroscience

@22 – Otto Warmbier, American student imprisoned in North Korea (d. 2017)

 

Puzzle Answer

Arnold, Roland, Ronald

Enjoy the Holiday