Apr 11

 

 

 

Apr 11, 2021   Week: 16    Day: 101       

Visibility: 10 miles	Ave. Sky Cover:5 %
Local: H 68°\ L 32°	Nearest Lightning: mi.
Wind:  4mph/ Gusts: 11 mph	EXTREME Risk of Fire:  Active fire:  92mi
Record: 87°[2017]  Record: 20°[1874]	Apr. Averages: 60°/27° (3 days w/moisture)

 

Today’s Quote

Cherish all your happy moments; they make a fine cushion for old age.

Booth Tarkington

Random Tidbits

Hansen Gregory, an American ship captain, is the man credited with inventing the classic hole-in-the-middle shape of the modern doughnut in 1847 by simply punching out the middle. Other versions of the story describe Gregory piercing the middle of the doughnut on the ship's steering wheel so he could use both hands to steer.

A Little Something to Think About

The Washington Post's Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year's winners:

6.  Inoculatte  (V): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

7.  Hipatitis  (N): Terminal coolness.

8.  Osteopornosis  (N): A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

Weekly Observations

 

National Robotics Week Link	3-11
International Dark Sky Week   Link  Mule Days The Masters Tournament	5-11
Satchmo Days: Link  Moved to September 30 due to COVID	8-11
Just Pray No! Worldwide Weekend of Prayer & Fasting Link	10-11
Money Smart Week Link	10-17
Week of The Young Child Link	10-16
Animal Control Officer Appreciation Week Link  National Dog Bite Prevention Week Link   National Public Safety Telecommunicators (911 Operators) Week  National Occupational Health Nursing Week Link Pan American Week	11-17

 

Today’s Observations

 

Barbershop Quartet Day

Cheese Fondue Day

Eight Track Tape Day 

Farm Animals Day

Global Day to End Child Sexual AbuseLink 
Golfer’s Day

Hug Your Dog Day

International "Louie, Louie" Day
National Cheese Fondue Day

National Clean Up Your Pantry Day
National Pet Day

National Ranch Water Day Link  Link
National Submarine Day

National Teach Children To Save Day
World Parkinson's Disease Day Li`nk

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Another nice warm day to take a walk. Love it here in the spring…and summer and fall and most of the winter.

When I was sitting at my computer, I had a momentary senior moment. I felt like I hadn’t turned in my taxes. I turned to look where the pile of tax stuff is and realized I had dropped it off yesterday. Crazy! Then about 10 minutes after that I got a call from the tax guy saying they were ready. I get them Monday. Maybe I was just psychic.

Here is hoping that next week will end the Floyd murder trial. I need to see what the defense has to say.

Studies are coming out from Europe that are showing how learning decreases without direct in-class instruction. After 8 weeks the study showed about a 20% decrease. Imagine what it will be in the US after a year. I remember when I first started teaching; we started in early Sept. and tested during September, then tested again in April to see growth. One year I looked at the spring to fall scores change. There was a huge loss. Back then to get Federal funding we had to show a one-year gain for one year taught and used fall to spring scores. If we had used spring to spring scores there would have been less gain. Scary. That is one of many reasons I was not happy with much standardized testing.

Volcanos in the Caribbean are making news on St. Vincent Island. Many evacuated and no injuries reported. They are using Cruise Ships to evacuate.

Daily Puzzle

 

56. Put a coin into an empty bottle and insert a cork into the neck. How can you remove the coin without removing the cork or breaking the bottle?

Answer: bottom of the page

 

Historical Events

1876 – The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was organized in NYC.

1876 – The stenotype was patented (#175,892) by John C. Zachos of NYC

1909 – The city of Tel Aviv was founded.

1919 – The International Labor Organization (IOL) was founded.

1957 – The Ryan X-13 Vertijet became the first jet to take-off and land vertically, at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

1963 – Pope John XXIII issues Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) – the first encyclical addressed to all instead of to Catholics alone.

1970 – Apollo 13 was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying astronauts James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert, and Fred W. Haise. The difficult trip back home was the topic of the film, Apollo 13.

1976 – The Apple Computer 1 (Apple I) was created. They were initially all hand-built by Steve Wozniak.

1981 – Van Halen’s lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen married One Day at a Time actress Valerie Bertinelli

1988 – Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian) won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in 1987’s Moonstruck.

2006 – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully enriched uranium.

 2015 Barack Obama and Raúl Castro meet in Panama, the 1st meeting of US and Cuban heads of state since the Cuban Revolution

2019 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is forcibly removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London by police and arrested on failure to appear in court on US extradition charges

2019 Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir overthrown and arrested by the army in Khartoum after 29 years in power

2020 Brazil is the 1st country in the southern hemisphere to report more than 1,000 deaths from COVID-19, with 1,056 deaths and 19,638 cases

 

Birthdays Today

89 – Joel Grey, American actor, singer, and dancer

81 – Louise Lasser, American actress

@69 – James Parkinson, English surgeon and paleontologist (d. 1824; stroke)

@61 – Richard Berry, American singer-songwriter, wrote ‘Louie Louie’ (d. 1997; heart attack)

 

Puzzle Answer

Push the cork down into the bottle. Then shake the coin out.