Jan 21

FYI: Any Blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Jan. 21, 2020 Week: 1  Day:21

86004:   H 48° \ L 32° \ Average Sky Cover: 80%

Nearest lightning:  1228mi.; Nearest active fire:  308mi.  

Wind:   5mph\Gusts:  8mph  Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: °[]   Record Low: °[]

Jan. Averages: 43°\16° (22” days with snow)

Today’s Einstein Quote

If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.

Random Tidbits

The Exchequer is a government department of the United Kingdom probably originating in the Anglo-Saxon period lasting until 1834, responsible for the management and collection of taxation and other government revenues.

The chief finance minister in the United Kingdom is referred to as the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The name Exchequer derives from the counting table used by the crown treasurer in medieval England. The table resembled a giant chess board. The French word for chessboard being echiquier.

In the early medieval period, before the Norman conquest of England, the counting board was simply a flat surface inscribed with horizontal lines representing various denominations. Small stones or pebbles were used as counters. In fact, our word calculate comes from the Latin word calculus meaning small stone.

Observations This Week

National Fresh Squeezed Juice Week: 17-23

Week of Christian Unity: 18-25

International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week: 18-26

Healthy Weight Week: 19-25

Hunt For Happiness Week:  19-25

National Activity Professionals Week:  19-25 

National CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists) Week: 19-25

National Handwriting Analysis Week:  19-25

Snow Care For Troops Awareness Week: 19-25

Sugar Awareness Week: 20-24

No Name Calling Week:  20-24

Kitchen and Bath Show Week: 21- 23

International Hoof-Care Week: 21-24  

Observations for Today

International Sweatpants Day
National Cheesy Socks Day
National Granola Bar Day

National Hugging Day Link
National Hug Your Puppy Day

National New England Clam Chowder Day

Squirrel Appreciation Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Flag put up. Very cloudy day but still a decent winter day.

When I was working for the Feds, I had to deal with the ADA on more than one occasion. One time a mom was upset with the public school and brought her son to
Tonalea for his education. He was wheelchair bound due to a birth defect. The mom wanted him picked up at home and brought to school. Lots of phone calls later I had a handicap bus that could do it and a driver. This was on a Wednesday and I told her we would pick him up Monday morning as the bus was in Holbrook about 3 hours away. She threatened to sue us, but we worked it out. He attended out school for two weeks, then went back to TC Public, when the principal came to her home in Tonalea and met her demands for a different aide. On my cynical side, this boy was a gold-mine for SpEd funding. Another time a teacher was assigned a new classroom she didn’t want. She went to the safety officer at the Agency to file an ADA complaint. Her old classroom was 30 feet closer to where she was dropped off than her new classroom. She was an older woman and walked with a cane. When school started, she won, didn’t move, and had her 4^th graders in the Kindergarten wing of the school. The real reason was that she didn’t want to teach 4^th grade and wanted to stay in Kindergarten. Her students and their parents were very understanding. Her, not so much.

Some people do misuse the ADA, but the ADA has made all public places safer and better for those who need help. I was stunned to read that Amtrak charged $25,000 for two wheel-chaired users to ride the train from Chicago to Bloomington, IL while others paid $16 for tickets.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

4 criminals are lined up on some steps, each on a different step. They are all facing in the same direction. A wall separates the fourth man from the other three. To summarize: Man 1 can see men 2 & 3. Man 2 can see man 3. Man 3 can see none of the others. Man four can see none of the others.

The criminals are wearing hats. They are told that there are two white hats and two black hats. The men initially don’t know what color they are wearing. They are told to shout out the color of the hat they are wearing as soon as they know for certain the color. They are not allowed to turn around or move. They are not allowed to talk to each other. They are not allowed to take their hats off.

Man 1- black hat

                                  Man 2-white hat

                                                               Man 3 – black hat

                                                                  XXX WALL XXX

                                                                         Man 4 white hat

Who is the first person to shout out? Why?

Historical Events

1472 - The great daylight comet of 1472 was visible in daylight for 8 days.

1790 - Dr Joseph-Ignace Guillotin proposed the guillotine to the newly formed National Assembly of Paris as a "humane" method of execution.

1799 - Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccination was introduced.

1807 - The London Institution for the Advancement of Literature and The Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (The London Institution) received a royal charter signed by King George III, to "promote the diffusion of Science, Literature, and the Arts, by means of Lectures and Experiments, and by easy access to an extensive collection of books, both ancient and modern, in all languages."

1861 - Jefferson Davis resigned from the United States Senate.

1911 - The first Monte Carlo Rally took place, with 23 cars.

1915 - Kiwanis International was founded, in Detroit.

1921 British crime writer Agatha Christie publishes her first novel "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" introducing the character Hercule Poirot

1954 - The first atomic submarine, the U.S.S. Nautilus, was launched at Groton, Connecticut. It was officially commissioned later that year.

1970 - The Boeing 747, made its 1st commercial flight, between New York's John F. Kennedy Airport and Heathrow Airport in London, England. .

1972 - The first convention of Star Trek fans was held in New York City's Statler-Hilton Hotel

1977 - President Jimmy Carter pardoned most Vietnam War draft evaders.

1979 - Neptune became the outermost planet as Pluto moved on its highly elliptical, tilted orbit closer to the sun than Neptune. This eventually led to Pluto being downgraded from planetary status.

1983 President Reagan certifies El Salvador human-rights abuses have decreased making country eligible for US military aid

1984 - #1 Hit: Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart

1985 - President Regan's first inauguration (Jan 20, 1981) was the warmest on record at 55°F, while his second inauguration (Jan 21, 1985) was the coldest on record at 7°F.

1989 - #1 Hit: Phil Collins - Two Hearts

1990 - MTV Unplugged premiered on MTV (The featured artist was Squeeze)

1998 - News of the Monica Lewinsky/Bill Clinton affair was published, President Clinton said he "did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."

2006 - #1 Hit: Nelly featuring Paul Wall, Ali and Gipp - Grillz

2017 More than 2 million people protest worldwide in the 'Women's March' against Donald Trump, with 500,000 marching in Washington D.C.

Birthdays Today

Internet is too slow to find anything. Must be the weather.

Puzzle Answer:

Man 2 will shout out after some time.

Here’s why:

Man 3 and 4 cannot see the other’s hats

Man 1 sees a white hat and a black hat knows his hat can be black or white

Man 2 sees one black hat, but if he is also wearing a black hat, it would be obvious to Man 1 that is wearing a white hat. Since Man 1 did not shout out, Man 2 concluded he was wearing a white hat.