Oct 16

 

 

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Oct 16, 2020  Week: 42 Day: 290	Local:  H 76°\ L 36°\Average Sky Cover: 5%
Wind:   10mph\Gusts:  11mph	Nearest lightning:  1584mi.; active fire:  59mi
Extreme Risk of Fire	Visibility:  10mi
Record: 78°[1991]   Record: 13°[1984]	Sep Averages: 63°\32° (4 days with moisture)

 

Today’s  Quote

The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves,

 but in our attitude towards them.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

 

Random Tidbits

Christopher Columbus wasn't the first European to find the Americas, as he set foot on islands in the Bahamas. Technically, Columbus never entered North America and never knew he discovered a continent. And even if he had set foot in 1492, the Native Americans were already in America and the region is believed to have been discovered 500 years before Christopher Columbus' birth by Norse explorer Leif Erikson.

While the federal holiday is called Columbus Day in the United States, it is called Dia de la Raza ("Day of the Race") in many Latin American countries.

In the United states, four states do no recognize Columbus Day. Those states are Hawaii, Alaska, Oregon and South Dakota. Instead, Hawaii celebrates Discoverers' Day, South Dakota celebrates the day as Native American Day and Oregon does not recognize or commemorate the day. Other states, like Nevada and Iowa, do not celebrate the day as an official holiday.

 

A little humor

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS pilots ("P") and solutions recorded ("S") by maintenance engineers:

P: Suspected crack in windshield.

S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.

S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.

S: Aircraft warned to: straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.

S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

 

True Things

'Wild Indians':

Ever heard somebody say, "Stop acting like a bunch of wild Indians"? This comes from a long held American stereotype that Indigenous people were and are 'wild' (e.g. 'merciless Indian Savages').  The simple fact is, anything that people of European, western culture could not tame, enslave or subdue was considered 'wild'. So, the next time the kids are acting up, be sure to avoid referring to them as 'wild Indians'!

'Indian Style':

This one isn't gonna make anyone too upset, but I often hear teachers use this term when telling their young students to sit cross legged.  Indigenous people did not invent the cross legged sitting style. This may seem like splitting hairs, but trust me when I say, it's the little things that make a huge difference in this world. And just for the record, although some may argue that this term hails from India (and it may!), I can assure you that when it is used in America, kids and teachers here are thinking "Indians!"

 

Observations This Week

Drink Local Wine Week:  11-17	World Rainforest Week: 11-16 Link
Earth Science Week:  11-17 Link	Bone and Joint Health National Awareness Week: 12-20 Link
Emergency Nurses Week: 11-17	Choose To Be G.R.E.A.T. Week: 12-16  Link
National Chestnut Week:  11-17	National School Lunch Week: 12-16
Nat’l Food Bank Week:  11-17  Teen Read Week: 11-17	Apple Butter Stirrin' Week: 16-18  Great American Beer Festival: 16-17  Link
Veterinary Techs Week:   11-17  Link

 

Observations for Today

Bosses Day	National Liqueur Day
Dictionary Day Global Champagne Day  Link	National World Food Day

 

My Rambling Thoughts

I took a break yesterday. Had a Dr. appt. All good. Today sure seems like summer. I guess our little mountain town is getting very little fall. Some leaves turning, others, not so much.

Elections have consequences…some you would never expect. Vote whenever possible. Here’s a trivia question: How did Judge Barrett get to the district court. Obama had nominated to fill the vacancy at the same time he nominated to fill the SC vacancy. So both seats remained empty until Trump came in. Trump then nominated Barrett to District Court. Insanity!

Elections have consequences…Attention NBC: Holding Trump and Biden campaign stuff at the same time on different networks does NOT help voters decide…it simply divides the country more. Biden announced his town hall right after Trump declined to have a virtual debate. Trump should not have an opportunity to divide the viewers.  Grow Up NBC.

So now the census has ended…earlier than expected. Sad.

A Genghis Khan exhibit in France will not happen. The Chinese government said they couldn’t use Genghis Khan, Mongol, or Empire in any literature or signage at the exhibit. Sad.

As Covid rises are being reported, now the medical establishment is saying there is a shortage of adequate PPE at hospitals. It seems to me that this would have been averted if there were a National strategy. Drs. Have been saying for months that there will be a surge as weather gets colder. Guess the administration didn’t believe them. Now it is here, and frontline workers are back in greater danger. Unacceptable.

 

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Turn Me On My Side And I Am Everything. Cut Me In Half And I Am Nothing. What Am I?

 

Historical Events

1701 – Yale University was founded.

1793 – Marie Antoinette, the widow of Louis XVI, was guillotined at the height of the French Revolution. The phrase “Let them eat cake” is often attributed to Marie but there is no evidence she ever said it.

1814 – The Great Beer Flood. More than 323,000 gallons of beer burst out of the Meux and Company Brewery and poured into the streets of St. Giles, London, England.

1847 Charlotte Brontë's book "Jane Eyre" published

1869 – The Cardiff Giant was “discovered” in Cardiff, New York.

1869 Hotel in Boston becomes 1st to have indoor plumbing

1875 – Brigham Young University was founded in Provo, Utah.

1913 George Bernard Shaw's play "Pygmalion" premieres in Hofburg Theatre in Vienna, Austria

1916 – In Brooklyn, New York, Margaret Sanger opened the first family planning clinic in the United States.

1921 – Frank Coughlin, the head coach of the Rock Island Independents, was fired in the middle of a game against the Chicago Cardinals. The Independents were leading the game 14-7 at the time. Coughlin is the only coach in NFL history to be fired in the middle of a game.

1934 Mao Zedong and 25,000 troops begin their 6,000 mile Long March from the south of China to the north and west

1950 The first edition of C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" is released in London

1962 Cuban Missile Crisis begins as JFK is shown photos confirming the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba

1968 – Tommie Smith and John Carlos were both kicked off the US team for participating in the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute.

1973 Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho controversially awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating a ceasefire in Vietnam that later failed

1978 – Karol Wojtyla was elected Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian pontiff since 1523.

1984 – Desmond Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1986 US government shuts down due to disputes between President Reagan and the House

1986 Wole Soyinka, Nigerian playwright and poet, becomes the first African to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature

1995 – The Million Man March took place in Washington, DC. Between 400,000 and 850,000 people marched.

2018 Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman denies knowledge of the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi according to President Trump

 

Birthdays Today

95 – Angela Lansbury, English-American actress

@84 – Noah Webster, American lexicographer (d, 1843)

74 – Suzanne Somers, American actress

62 – Tim Robbins, American actor, and director

46 – Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright, novelist, and poet (d. 1900; meningitis)

45 – Kellie Martin, American actress

43 – John Mayer, rock singer

 

Puzzle Answer

The number 8 looks like an infinity symbol if it's turned sideways. Cut in half, the digit looks like two zeros.