Dec 15

 

‘Tis the Season

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Dec 15, 2020  Week: 51 Day: 350	Local:  H 43°\ L 16°\Average Sky Cover: 5%
Wind:   6mph\Gusts:  15mph	Nearest lightning:  1491mi.; Active fire:  59mi
Moderate Risk of Fire	Visibility:  10mi
Record: 63°[1929]   Record: -14°[1939]	Nov Averages: 44°/\17° (5 days with moisture)

 

Today’s  Quote

A gem cannot be polished without friction,

nor a man perfected without trials.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

 

Random Tidbits

When most people think of rainforests, they picture massive jungles filled with trees and critters. However, somewhere in the Sargasso Sea sits the so-called "floating rainforest" that consists not of dense vegetation on land, but of seaweed under water.

 

A little humor

All my passwords are protected by amnesia.

 

True Things

A mysterious monolith was found outside a Texas shopping center, just days after similar discoveries in Utah, Romania and California. Visitors to The Substation shopping center in El Paso snapped photos of the silver-colored metal structure spotted next to the road. The monolith's origins were unknown. The structure appeared in the wake of similar monoliths that were discovered -- and subsequently removed -- in Utah, Romania and California. It was unclear whether El Paso city officials would have the monolith removed.

 

Observations This Week

Human Rights Week:…………………………………..	10-17
Gluten-free Baking Week:……………………………	12-18
Cookie Exchange Week:………………………………	13-17
Christmas Bird Count Week Link…………………	14-1/5
Halcyon Days……………………………………………..	14-28

 

 

Observations for Today

Bill of Rights Day

Cat Herders Day  Link
Chocolate Covered Anything Day
International Tea Day  Link
National Cupcake Day 
National Gingerbread Latte Day
National Lemon Cupcake Day

National Wear Your Pearls Day Link
Pythagorean Theorem Day
Zamenhof Day (Esperato Literature Day) Link

 

My Rambling Thoughts

I ran over to Kohl’s for my last Christmas shopping. I went early, only saw 2 customers and a bunch of salespeople. I found just what I needed for the in-laws who will be visiting from NYC in Mexico.

I was happy to see that both the Broncos and the Cards won yesterday. I watched the Cards but had to see internet updates for the Broncos game.

There are more than enough jerks in the world and way too many media outlets that push their crazy ideas. Surprised to see the WSJ publishing some crazy guy’s idea that Dr. Jill Biden is not really a Dr. because her Doctorate…and her two Master’s…are not in Medicine but in Education. Tiny, illiterate mind at work. Turns out the Greeks were the first to use the Doctor term and first used it to recognize great educators. Oops.

Hackers are still at work. Some, associated with ‘cozy bear’, have hacked into the Commerce Dept. and the Treasury Dept. ‘Cozy Bear’ has been tracked to the Russian Federation Gov’t. I’m glad they were caught. I’m glad it somehow leaked out, so we all know to be aware.

Who would have ever thought that CNN and others would send video crews to almost every state to show the Electoral College voting? While I’m not watching every second, it is a very good Civics lesson for all to see in action. Not expecting any surprises. While the results end the election process, according to the US Constitution, I don’t expect this to be the end in the media.

 

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

A gunman hangs up his hat, turns around and walks 5000 meters, then turns around and shoots his gun, putting a hole right through his hat. How did he do it?

 

Historical Events

1827 – The city of Boston, Massachusetts, the School Committee voted to require, effective 1 Mar 1828, that public school students show that they had been vaccinated against smallpox prior to the school entrance. Certificates to the board of health were to be issued where necessary for free vaccination. This initiative came just three decades after Edward Jenner’s discovery of a method to immunize against smallpox. The state of Massachusetts passed the first school vaccination law in 1855, followed by New York (1862) and Connecticut (1872).

1836 – A fire destroyed the US Patent Office, erasing the records of most of the first 9,957 US patents’ records.

1890 – Native American Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotake) was shot and killed by Indian police over a political misunderstanding.

1933 – The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment.

1939 – Gone with the Wind premiered at Loew’s Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

1944 – Bandleader Glenn Miller’s plane disappeared over the English Channel. One of the largest pop stars of his day, he was the first of many who died in an airplane mishap.

1970 – Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully landed on Venus. It is the first successful soft landing on another planet.

1973 – The American Psychiatric Association voted 13-0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders.

1978 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would recognize the People’s Republic of China and sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

1984 USSR launches Vega 1 for rendezvous with Halley's Comet

2001 The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 to fortify it, without fixing its famous lean

2013 China successfully lands its moon rover on the moon

2015 Mayor of Flint, Michigan declares state of emergency over contaminated water supplies amid calls for a criminal investigation

2018 Egyptian Archaeologists announce discovery of 4,400 year old tomb of Fifth Dynasty priest in Saqqara pyramid complex near Cairo

2019 Protests against India's new citizenship bill that excludes Muslims, erupt across major cities, killing at least five

 

Birthdays Today

@91 – Alexandre Eiffel, French engineer, Eiffel Tower (d. 1923)

@85 – Tim Conway, American comedian and actor (d. 2019)

@83 – J. Paul Getty, American-English businessman, founder of Getty Oil (d. 1976)

@78 – Uziel Gal, German/Israeli inventor of the Uzi submachine gun (d. 2002; cancer)

71 – Don Johnson, American actor

67 – J. M. DeMatteis, American author, comics [Justice League Inernat’l]

41 – Adam Brody, American actor

@30 – Nero [Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus], Roman emperor (d.68; suicide by attendant)

 

Puzzle Answer

He hung up the hat on his gun.

Enjoy the Holiday