Apr 6

 

 

 

Apr 6 2021   Week: 15    Day: 96                              

Visibility: 10 miles	Ave. Sky Cover: 5%
Local: H70 °\ L 38°	Extreme Risk of Fire:  Active fire:  102mi
Wind:  7mph/ Gusts:  14mph	Apr. Averages: 60°/27° (3 days w/moisture)
Nearest Lightning: 689mi.

 

Today’s Quote

There is always room at the top.

~Daniel Webster

Random Tidbits

During sleep, the brain "consolidates" memories and skills, meaning that the brain strengthens, reorganizes, and restructures memories during sleep.

REM atonia, or sleep paralysis, occurs in the typical sleeper every night to prevent people from acting out their dreams. Only a few muscles have the ability to move during REM sleep, such as the eye muscles, the auditory muscles, and the diaphragm for respiration.

A Little Something to Think About

The Eiffel Tower held the title until the 1,046-foot Chrysler Building was built in New York in 1930.

The lights on the tower were put up in 1985, and they are copyrighted.

Common Words: New Meanings

Gargoyle  (N.), olive-flavored mouthwash.

Flatulence  (N.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

Balderdash  (N.), a rapidly receding hairline.

True Things

A Georgia teenager eased his pandemic lockdown boredom by building a roller coaster in his family's back yard.

Ben Tolliday said the lack of activity amid the COVID-19 pandemic left him feeling bored, so he spent three weeks constructing a roller coaster from wooden beams, PVC pipe, cinder blocks and sandbags in the back yard of his family's Sandy Springs home.

Tolliday said he was confident in his work, but his first ride on the completed coaster was tense.

"I was absolutely terrified. But I guess because I built it, I knew how sturdy it was. So, I was pretty confident I'd be OK, but I was screaming my head off. It was crazy," Tolliday said.

Tolliday's mother, who took a ride on the coaster in a video the teen posted to TikTok, said she enjoyed the ride, but she'll be happy when it's gone.

"I'm looking forward to getting my yard back. I've got some plants trying to grow underneath. Yes, this is not going to be a permanent fixture in my yard, I can tell you that," Katherine Tolliday said.

The teenager, who will begin college in the fall, said he is now considering a career in the roller coaster business.

"That would be my dream job, to build stuff like this for people and then see their reaction when they go down it for the first time. Yeah, I had so much fun building it," he said.

Monthly Observations

 

Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month Link  Medical Cannabis Education and Awareness Month Month of the Military Child Link Month of the Young Child Move More In April  Link National 9-1-1 Education Month National African American Women's Fitness Month National Autism Awareness Month National Cannabis Awareness Month Link National Cancer Control Month  Link National Child Abuse Prevention Month National Card and Letter Writing Month National Decorating Month National Exchange Club - Child Abuse Prevention Month National DNA, Genomics, Stem Cell Education, Awareness Month Link National Donate Life Month National Facial Protection Month Link National Frog Month National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month  Link  Link  Link

 

Weekly Observations

National Cherry Blossom Festival Link	Thru 4/10
APAWS Pooper Scooper  Week Golden Rule Week Laugh at Work Week Medication Safety Week Testicular Cancer Awareness Week (aka Get A Grip Day!)  Link	1-7
National Robotics Week Link	3-11
Bat Appreciation Week  National Dental Hygienest Week Link National Library Week Hate Week National Blue Ribbon Week Link  (Child Abuse) National Public Health Week National Window Safety Week	4-10
American Indian Awareness Week  Link CANCELLED Explore Your Career Options	5-9
International Dark Sky Week   Link  Mule Days The Masters Tournament	5-11
National Catholic Educational Association Week	6-8

 

Today’s Observations

Army Day Link
California Poppy Day 

Charlie the Tuna Day Link
Drowsy Driver Awareness Day
Fresh Tomato Day

Hostess Twinkie Day  Link
International Day of Sport for Development and Peace Link
International Carbonara Day

National Caramel Popcorn Day

National Library Workers Day 
National Library Day Link 
National Sexual Assault Awareness Day of Action (SAAM)  Link  
National Student Athlete Day  Link
National Tartan Day

New Beer's Eve Link
Plan Your Epitaph Day 

Siamese Cat Day

Sorry Charlie Day

Student-Athlete Day

Tartan Day Link
Teflon Day

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Day

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Another very nice day…a walk around the neighborhood is in order.

New computer brings a learning curve. I’m having trouble getting my email onto my new computer, so am not checking it every day. My computer desk is not wide enough to have both computers set up at the same time. I have a work around, but it takes a little time.

That being said, I like the new computer. It is fast, it has a camera and mic, the screen is huge, it has plenty of RAM and hard drive storage.

The more this trial is on the TV, the happier I am that I am not a juror and that I don’t have to sit through all of this.

Easter was nice here in Flag. A couple of neighbors set up a feast in the commons section and had lots of kids searching for eggs and then eating and playing games. First time I’ve seen this on Easter.

I guess the big question on many minds is now that I’ve been vaccinated, how long does it last and when will I need a booster. Then, will the booster vaccine be easier than what we just went through. I sure it lasts long enough for everyone to get vaccinated. I also hope it will be easier to get.

Daily Puzzle

Answer: bottom of the page

51. You are in a place called Wally’s World and there is only one law. There is a mirror, but no reflection. There is pizza with cheese, but not sausage. There is pepper, but no salt. There is a door, yet no entrance or exit. What is the law?

Historical Events

648 BC – Earliest solar eclipse recorded by the Ancient Greeks.

1748 – Excavations began at Pompeii, covered by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

1830 – The Mormon Church was founded in Fayette Township, New York, by Joseph Smith.

1852 – Edward Sabine announced that the 11-year sunspot cycle was “absolutely identical” with Earth’s geomagnetic cycle.

1895 – Oscar Wilde was arrested, and later found guilty of being a homosexual, and sentenced to two years of hard labor.

1909 – The North Pole was discovered by Robert E. Byrd and his team.

1930 – Hostess Twinkies snack cakes were invented by James ‘Jimmy’ A. Dewar, at the Continental Baking Company in Chicago

1938 – Roy J. Plunkett and Jack Rebok accidentally discovered the chemical compound polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), later marketed as Teflon by DuPont.

1947 – The first Tony Awards were presented for theatrical achievement.

1956 – The Capitol Records Building opened in Los Angeles. The light on top blinks out “Hollywood” in Morse Cose at night.

1957 -Trolley cars in ended service in New York City.

1973 – The American League of Major League Baseball began using the designated hitter.

1998 – Travelers and Citicorp merged (the merger was completed on October 8) forming Citibank.

2016 Protests in Lima, Peru by 30,000 against presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori on 24th anniversary of her father Alberto Fujimori's coup

2017 Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Florida for talks with US President Donald Trump

2020 Nadia, a tiger at the Bronx Zoo (New York City), tests positive for COVID-19, 1st known case of human-to-cat transmission

 

Birthdays Today

@89 – André Previn [Andreas Ludwig Priwin], American pianist, composer, conductor (d. 2019)

83 – Billy Dee Williams, American actor

@79 – Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter (d. 2016; lung cancer)

74 – John Ratzenberger, American actor and voice actor

69 – Marilu Henner, Greek-Polish American actress

46 – Zach Braff, American actor

@37 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520; short illness)

23 – Peyton List, American actress and model

Puzzle Answer

Each word in Wally’s World must contain double letters.