Monday

~~~Free Ramblings
A great Sunday afternoon. Denver won in an OT. I didn’t get to see the whole game, but after the Cardinal win, they switched to the Denver game and I got to see the last 5 minutes of regulation and the OT. Denver is still undefeated. Arizona finally got a win. It’s hard to get into a football game when its 60° outside, but when your team is playing you do what has to be done. Here is Flag we dropped to 29° last night, so soon the flowers will be gone for another season.

AOL ran an interesting piece today. It seems that students in many elementary, middle, and high schools are learning more about Columbus and his impact on the Native population that was already here. This has been happening in Native schools for a long time. Glad to see it is finally happening across the country. The word ‘discovery’ and its variations are being downplayed. One State Superintendent commented that it is hard to teach ‘discovery’ when people were already here.

The next step in this process is to teach students that just because you find something, you can’t claim it as your own. It is an easy lesson if you ‘find’ a set of keys and try to keep them without looking for the owner. Even that is a culture-based example. For centuries the various European cultures have believed that just about anything can be claimed for your leader. If the culture that is already there doesn’t fight you and win, then your claim holds back home. A sad commentary is that too many cultures believe that it is OK to take things and people if you are stronger than they are. Most, if not all, of the cultures that do not believe this have been taken over and destroyed by those who do believe you can take and keep whatever you want.

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~~~Random Facts
As of 2008, Harry Potter books have sold over 400 million
copies and have been translated into 67 languages

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the
letters only on one row of the keyboard.

The drive-through line on opening day at the McDonald's
restaurant in Kuwait City, Kuwait was at times seven miles long.

~~~Crazy News
McDonald’s know what sells in various cultures…
In India, there are no Big Macs because the Hindu people don’t eat beef. However, they have the Maharaja Mac, which is a Big Mac made of lamb or chicken meat. There is also a vegetarian burger, the McAloo Tikki.

It’s bottoms up in Germany, where McDonald’s serves – Beer!
In parts of Canada, have a lobster dinner with the McLobster lobster roll. Pardon me – “McHomard” (in French).

Japan totally reinvents McDonald’s with its Ebi Filet-O (shrimp burgers), Koroke Burger (mashed potato, cabbage and katsu sauce, all in a sandwich), Ebi-Chiki (shrimp nuggets) and Green Tea-flavored milkshake!

In fish-loving Norway, they have the McLaks, a sandwich made of grilled salmon and dill sauce.

In Chile, you can dress your burgers with – not ketchup – avocado paste!

In Costa Rica, unsurprisingly, you can order Gallo Pinto, meaning rice and beans.

It’s not Greek without pita, so when in Greece, have a Greek Mac, a burger made of patties wrapped in pita.

Rice-loving Hong Kong, has – of course – Rice Burgers, where the burgers are in between, not burger buns, but two patties of glutinous rice.

Despite Jewish religious dietary laws, most McDonald’s are not Kosher (there are a few exceptions), and they serve “McPitzutz” ice creams and cheeseburgers… and Israel is one of the only countries that cooks the meat over charcoal versus frying. They also have the McKebab, two patties with Middle Eastern seasonings, stuffed into a pita bread.

In Uruguay, they have the McHuevo, which is like a regular hamburger, but it is topped with a poached egg.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Don Johnson
appeared as a contestant on "The Dating Game" in the late 1960s.

Angelina Jolie admitted in an interview that when she was younger she wanted to be a funeral director.

Tommy Lee Jones was once roommates with Al Gore at Harvard.
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~~~October Month Long Observances


Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 12 Oct
National School Lunch Week
World Rainforest Week

~~~12 OCT Observances
285 days so far this year…80 days remain in 2009
Columbus Day
Free Thought Day
Nat’l Kick Butt Day
Nat’l Salesperson Day
^Equatorial Guinea – Independence Day (from Spain, 1968)
^Malawi – Mother's Day
^Spain – National Day—for Columbus’ landing
^Latin America - El Dia de la Raza
^Brazil – Children's Day

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1844__George W Cable
American writer (Northampton Years)

1929__Robert Coles Milton Mass, author (Pulitzer 1973)
1932__Dick Gregory comedian/political activist
1935__Luciano Pavarotti Modena Italy, operatic tenor
1947__Chris Wallace Chicago Ill, newscaster
1970__Kirk Cameron Panorama City Calif, actor
~ATHLETICS
1906__Joe (Joseph Edward) Cronin
Baseball Hall of Fame
1935__Tony (Anthony Christopher) Kubek baseball: outfielder/shortstop
1951__Sally Little golf champion

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1923__Jean Nidetch
Brooklyn, founded Weight Watchers

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1860__Elmer A Sperry
inventor (gyrocompass)

~~~In Remembrance
1870__Robert E. Lee
, American Confederate general @ 63

1940__Tom Mix, American actor @ 60
1969++Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater @ 57
1985__Johnny Olson, American game show announcer @ 75
1989__Jay Ward, American animator (Rocky and Bullwinkle, etc.) @ 69
1997__John Denver, American singer @ 54
1999__Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player @ 63
2003__Willie Shoemaker, American jockey @ 72


~~~Historical Events on this day
1823__
Charles Macintosh of Scotland begins selling raincoats (Macs)

1920__Construction of the Holland Tunnel got underway
1931__Olympic gold medal swimmer Johnny Weissmuller is chosen to play Tarzan in the movies 1960 Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe at UN General Assembly session
1968__19th modern Olympic games opens in Mexico City
1975__Archbishop Oliver Plunkett became 1st Irish-born saint in 7 centuries

~ Holy Mackerel
1999__
The United Nations Population Fund designate today in history as the approximate day on which world population reached six billion
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Jeopardy Categories
(these answers are all pairs of people who collaborated on works or shared a style)
1. Two 20th Century Americans who depicted dust bowl refugees with sympathy and understanding. One wrote Of Mice and Men; the other, a photographer, is known for her Migrant Mother.
2. Two French Impressionists. One was known for his paintings of water lilies. The other, a composer, wrote La Mer or The Sea.
3. One's a dancer and one's a composer. They worked together on the Ballet Russe production of The Rites of Spring.
4. Two 20th Century Americans who combined symphony and ballet. The first is a composer who created the score for Appalachian Spring. The second is the choreographer who collaborated with him on the same production, and was also an innovator in modern dance.
5. Often performing together, their folk-rock music of the early 1960s expressed rebellion and desire for change. She is a 3 octave vocal range folk singer known for her version of the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome," and he is known for such early folk songs as "Blowin In the Wind," as well as his current Grammy-winning rock music.

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Answers:
1. Who are John Steinbeck and Dorothea Lange?
2. Who are Monet and Debussy?
3. Who are Nijinsky and Stravinsky?
4. Who are Aaron Copeland and Martha Graham?
5. Who are Joan Baez and Bob Dylan?
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Sunday

~~~Free Ramblings
T-12 and my trip lists are coming together. My next big hurdle is to get a couple of my medications. For some unknown reason, BCBS needs to give me permission to buy my regular medications ahead of time. The three meds are set up on a monthly refill. I can only refill them a couple of days before they are due. Since I will be out of the country when the refill comes due, I have to call BCBS and get permission. These are not narcotics. They aren’t meds that expire quickly. They have no ‘street’ value. When I went to Egypt I had to give them my itinerary. This trip is longer, and I’m sure they will want the same. As far as I’m concerned, where I go is none of their damn business. I really don’t like strangers knowing that I will be out of the country. I am not that private a person, but I don’t hand out private information when it is not necessary. I have no problem letting the bank know that I will be traveling…since they might shut down my cards due to ‘unusual’ purchases. I’ve talked to several people who didn’t tell their bank, or the told the bank, and the bank forgot. They were in European countries and it was still a hassle. I’m sure being in Botswana would surely set off some bell somewhere at the bank that would freeze the card. I’m just as sure that it would be very difficult to get the card thawed. No one on a vacation wants to spend time on a phone, calling a bank and proving it is necessary the card work. So on Tuesday I’ll start working with BCBS.

Flagstaff had a nice fall day. Cool at night—about 33°, and only up to 63° during the day. It got a little breezy this afternoon, but overall just a typical fall day. I talked to a friend in Colorado, and they are having their first snow storm. Guess it is time for the ol’ snow shovel up there, and soon we will be in the same boat.

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~~~Random Facts
The average human head has about 100,000 hairs

Just under 500,000 babies are born each year in the U.S. to teenage mothers

Basketball great Wilt Chamberlain never fouled out of a game.

~~~Crazy Superstitions
In Iceland, an unmarried person who sits at the corner of a table won’t marry for seven years. A pregnant woman who drinks from a cracked cup risks having a baby with a harelip.
In Japan, picking up a comb with its teeth facing your body brings bad luck.

In Malta, churches with two towers are fitted with a clock face in each but the two clocks always tell different times to confuse the Devil about the time of the service.

In Nigeria, a man hit with a broom becomes impotent unless he retaliates seven times with the same broom. Sweeping a house at night brings misfortune to the occupants.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Hugh Jackman
once worked as a clown, reportedly making about $50.00 per show.

Samuel L. Jackson was once expelled from Morehouse College for a civil rights demonstration in which he and other students held hostage members of the Morehouse board of trustees. He then moved to L.A. and worked in social services for two years before returning to Morehouse to major in drama.

Mick Jagger used to be a porter in a mental hospital. As a child, he also had a summer job selling ice cream from a refrigerated trolley.

Waylon Jennings was a disc jockey in West Texas before becoming a country artist. He was part of history when he played bass guitar for Buddy Holly during his final tour.In a very early tour, he played the Tuba City Chapter House and then went to a 49er with the locals.

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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 11 Oct
Emergency Room Nurses Week
Get the World to Beat A Path to Your Door Week
Home-based Business Week
International Credit Union Week
National Food Bank Week


~~~11 OCT Observances
284 days so far this year…81 days remain in 2009

Clergy Appreciation Day
Internat’l African Diaspora Day
Nat’l Coming Out Day
^Republic of Macedonia – Revolution Day (1941)

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1932__Dottie West
Tenn, country singer (Here Comes My Baby)
1948__Daryl Hall rocker/songwriter (Hall & Oates-Sara Smile)
~ATHLETICS

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1827__Sir George Williams
England, founder YMCA
1844__Henry John Heinz founded prepared-foods company (57 varieties)
1884__Eleanor Roosevelt 1st lady/crusader and UN Delegate
1896__Roman Jakobson linguist/Slavic scholar (Fundamentals of Language)

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1906__Charles Revson
cosmetic mogul: founder of the Revlon Co

~~~In Remembrance
1809__Meriwether Lewis
, American explorer suicide @ 35
1961__Chico Marx, American comedian @ 74
1971__Nikita Khrushchev @ 77
1987__Lorne Greene actor (Bonanza), @ 72
1988__Peter Tosh reggae singer shot @ 43
1991__Redd Foxx American comedian and actor @ 69
2005__Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, Linguist, and writer of Pakistan @ 88
2007__Werner von Trapp, member of the Trapp Family Singers @ 92

~~~Historical Events on this day
1864__
Slavery abolished in Maryland
1881__Roll film for cameras was patented
1890__Daughters of the American Revolution founded

1939__Albert Einstein wrote his famous letter to FDR about the potential of the atomic bomb.
1983__Last hand-cranked telephones US went out of service as 440 telephone customers in Bryant Pond, Maine, were switched over to direct-dial
1987__200,000 gays march for civil rights in Washington

2000__America Online becomes the biggest, richest and most successful Internet company with nearly 30 million subscribers
2002__Former President Jimmy Carter wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts at ending the middle east conflict

~ Holy Mackerel
1975__
William Jefferson Clinton and Hillary Rodham tied the knot
1975__The comedy-variety show Saturday Night Live premiered with George Carlin as the host Years later, Bill and Hillary were prominent in many skits.
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Game Today
Jeopardy Categories

(these answers all contain the word night)

1. This Shakespearean comedy features pairs of lovers who are found by the king and queen of the fairies.
2. These Islamic stories were supposedly narrated by Scheherazade to entertain a sultan.
3. This expressionistic painting by Van Gogh features a night sky and is recognizable by its swirling blues and golds.
4. This painting by Rembrandt depicts members of a military unit falling into action.
5. This play won a Pulitzer prize for Louisville native Marsha Norman.

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Answers:
1. What is ‘Twelfth Night’?
2. What is ‘One Thousand and One Nights’?
3. What is ‘The Starry Night’?
4. What is ‘The Night Watch’?
5. What is ‘night, Mother’?

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Saturday

~~~Free Ramblings
Many workers are ready for a holiday. We will be celebrating the day that some Natives walked down to the shore and discovered a lost European in need of food and supplies. They welcomed Chris and his crew, encouraged them to rest and eat before moving on. That was 517 years ago. At least one other European had been on the shores before, but ‘1492’ and ‘ocean blue’ sounded better than 1000 in the poem.

It’s T – 13 until I leave for my latest adventure. I’m getting very excited. While my brother and his wife are surfing in Barbados this weekend, I will begin making my lists, setting stuff aside, and preparing to go. I still have trouble preparing for a long trip. I’m still a guy who likes to throw stuff in the suitcase the night before I go. But when one is gone for 21 days and can only take one duffle bag and a carry-on, planning becomes essential. I was picking up my malaria pills today and the lady behind me asked me where I was going. I told her, and she said she had spent 3 months in Botswana with something like Drs without Borders. She said it is a beautiful country and she can’t wait to go back.

President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today. It seems that organization recognizes his efforts. This is great. He is making so many in-roads for our country. Of course, being a free society, not everyone is happy. It is interesting that the two main groups who are saying he doesn’t deserve it are the Taliban/Al-Qaeda folks and the Far Right Wing Conservatives. Hmmm.

My friend Cheryl’s mother passed yesterday. She had been in poor health about a year, and like so many from her generation, must have been waiting for Cheryl’s visit before passing. Her mom was not doing any better or any worse when Cheryl got there and Cheryl just said her Mom kept asking her sisters when she was going to come. All of Cheryl’s sisters still live in Michigan, so they saw their mother often. Cheryl spent about 3 months there when her mom first started failing, and was able to be with her about 2 weeks in this trip. Cheryl has always driven back there for visits for many years. She says she would rather drive for two plus days than fly. This time she flew. Of course her ticket back was for today, but she will be staying until next week. The airlines told her how sorry they were about the passing, but since she had a nonrefundable, unchangeable ticket, there was nothing she could do but buy a new one way ticket. The one-way ticket cost as much as the round trip she booked a month early. I don’t think Cheryl will be flying again anytime soon. She already hated flying and now she has this hassle and this expense to remind her yet again how she hates to fly.

The US Forest Service has apologized for the Williams fire. Thankfully no homes were lost, but about 70 families had to evacuate and school in Williams was closed for a couple of days. They held a meeting in Williams yesterday, and explained how the wind shifted, as predicted. It just shifted a day early. My deck got up to 63° today with a low last night on 33°. Twas a wee bit breezy today, with gusts up to 25mph. All in all not a bad weather day.

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~~~Random Facts
Hot dogs are the most widely consumed form of sausage in the USA.

Female Mosquitoes locate their victims primarily through scent.

In the movie "Scarface" the F-bomb is said 207 times, which
works out to an average of 1.22 per minute.

~~~Crazy News
FLORIDA Laws
Women may be fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer, as can the salon owner.

A special law prohibits unmarried women from parachuting on Sunday or she shall risk arrest, fine, and/or jail.

If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.

It is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swimsuit.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Comedian D.L. Hughley's first job was cleaning the lobby at McDonald's.

Long before his music career took off in the sixties, Engelbert Humperdinck worked in a boot factory operating a lathe.

Before Ice Cube found success with Dr.Dre and Eazy-E in N.W.A., he received a degree in architectural drafting from the Phoenix Institute of Technology.

Before rapping on his own, Ice-T ghost-wrote raps in Mr. T's "Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool." (He is credited as the musical arranger.)

Jeremy Irons was a social worker before giving Hollywood a try.
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~~~October Month Long Observances


Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 6 Oct
Physicians Assistance’s Week

~~~11 OCT Observances
283 days so far this year…82 days remain in 2009

Internat’l Newspaper Carrier’s Day
National Cake Decorating Day
Universal Music Day
World Mental Health Day
^Afghanistan : Deliverance Day
^Cuba : Yara Day/Beginning of War of Independence (1868)
^Fiji – National Day
^Finland – The Day of Finnish literature
^Japan – National Health-Sports Day
^ Isle of Skye - Michelmas –for Michael the Archangel
^Namibia, South Africa : Kruger Day (1825)
^North Korea – Party Foundation Party
^Republic of China (Taiwan) – National Day (Double Ten Day)

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1813__Giuseppe Verdi
Italy, composed operas (Rigoletto, Aida, Othello)

1900__Helen Hayes Wash DC, actress
1924__ James Clavell author: Shogun
1946__Ben Vereen Miami Fla, actor/dancer
1958__Tanya Tucker Seminole Tx, country singer/actress
1973__Mario Lopez San Diego Calif, actor

~ATHLETICS
1956__Melissa Belote
Olympic gold medalist
1969__Brett Favre football [QB]

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1825__Paul Kruger
president: South Africa; leader of the Boers

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1731__Henry Cavendish
England, physicist/chemist (discovered hydrogen)

~~~In Remembrance
1708__David Gregory
, Scottish mathematician @ 49

1872__William H. Seward, United States Secretary of State--Alaska Purchase @ 71

1913__Adolphus Busch, American brewer (Anheuser-Busch) @ 74
1964__Eddie Cantor, American singer and vaudeville performer @72
1985__Yul Brynner, Russian-born actor @ 65
1985__Orson Welles actor (Citizen Kane), @70
2004__Christopher Reeve, American actor @ 52

~~~Historical Events on this day
1802__
1st non Indian settlement in Oklahoma
1845__The Naval School (now called US Naval Academy) opens at Annapolis
1871__The great Chicago fire is put out
1886__The first tuxedo is worn at a dinner club in New York.

1913__Gamboa Dam in Panama blown up; Atlantic & Pacific waters mix
1920__Arizona Cardinals (then in Chicago) play 1st NFL game, a 0-0 tie
1935__George Gershwin's "Porgy & Bess" opens on Broadway
1964__18th modern Olympic games opens in Tokyo
1973__After pleading no contest to tax evasion, Spiro Agnew becomes the first U.S. vice president to resign in disgrace.
1978__President Carter signed a bill authorizing the likeness of suffragette Susan B. Anthony on one side of the new dollar coin, and the Apollo moon landing on the other.
1979__Panama assumes sovereignty over Canal Area (ie Canal Zone)

~ Holy Mackerel
1971__
After being removed from over the Thames in London and shipped all the way to Arizona and then reconstructed London Bridge reopened today in Lake Havasu City, Arizona
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New Game Today
Jeopardy Categories
(these answers are all commonly known by a first name)
1. This Renaissance artist is known for his inventions, and for creating the first High Renaissance portrait.
2. Known for her sensitive lyrics, this 7th Century Greek poet lived on the Isle of Lesbos.
3. This 17th Century Dutch artist painted The Night Watch, a work in which dramatic use of light and shadow heightened the impact of his compositions.
4. This Renaissance artist wished to be sculpting, but spent years painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
5. He was a Mesopotamian king and the first epic superhero.
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Answers:
1. Who is Raphael?
2. Who is Sappho?
3. Who is Rembrandt?
4. Who is Michelangelo?
5. Who is Gilgamesh?

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Friday

~~~Free Ramblings
Finally some good medical news for me. I went to my ophthalmologist this morning. I told him that the new prescription I got back in June just isn’t working. This was my 2nd trip to his office for this issue. I have a weird prescription with prisms, so I know they take getting used to. I told him something was really wrong. I now read the paper w/o my glasses. I have increased the font on my computer. He checked my prescription then checked my eyes and said all was good. Then he checked my glasses. Ah hah! They were the wrong prescription. The bifocal part was only half the strength he had ordered. So I go back to the glasses store. I show them my prescription, the note that is attached, and give them my glasses. The lady checks everything out and returns to say the new glasses will be ready at 3p today. No apology. Never admitting their error. I go back and get the new glasses. Eureka!!! I can see things in focus—for the first time in four months.

After they are fitted, I ask to see the manager. She appears and I tell her my sad story. How I thought I must be going blind for four months. How I was adjusting my life to this lack of focus. How I had brought the glasses to her store three times, each time, telling them something was wrong and each time somebody readjusting the glasses and sending me on my way. I mentioned I had been a customer there since they opened about 15 years ago. She apologized, promised to meet with her staff, explained that she would follow up and talked about the several checks they have to prevent this. I left, grateful that I could finally see things in good focus with the glasses. About an hour later she called me. She had called corporate and they agreed that this was not good. So, to help me out, I would be getting a credit on my card for ½ the price of the glasses. Finally a company who fixes its mistakes. Thank you EyeMasters. I will continue to use them, but will be much more careful.

I must say, this experience made me feel a little invisible. Here I am, at 60, telling people in their 20’s that I can’t see. They seemed to not hear me. A good combination, I can’t see them, and they can’t hear me. I now know that my brain is still working well, and that my brain knows when something is wrong. I also know that as I age in this country it just takes a lot longer to get people to believe me. I still have good communication skills. I can speak and I can listen. Too many workers see someone older and don’t listen. I’m no longer into getting the most expensive frames, the ‘in’ style, the fanciest extras. Now I just want glasses where I can see. So, to many, I’m just a dollar sign, who really doesn’t matter. Well, now I know, and it won’t be happening again, without me standing up for what is right and doing so a lot sooner.

It was clear and breezy here in Flagstaff today. It keeps getting closer and closer to a freeze over here. Last night got to 33°. The airport was 26°. Our high today was a sweltering 55°.
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~~~Random Facts

The average American eats at McDonalds more than 1,800 times in their life. [That is like eating 3 meals a day there for 1.6 years or one meal a day for over 5 years.]

It takes eight and a half minutes for light to get from the sun to earth.

~~~Crazy News
FARDAL, Norway – A Fardal, Norway, man said his attempt to rid his garage of wasps ended with the structure burning to the ground with his car inside. The elderly man said he poured lighter fluid on a rag and lit it in an attempt to smoke the wasps out of their nest, but the flames spread to the woodpile that held the nest and ignited a blaze that took down the entire garage, Aftenposten reported Thursday. “Maybe using lighter fluid wasn’t such a good idea, but it was an accident all the same and the wasps are gone,” the man said. He said he is waiting to hear from his insurance company to see if the loss of his garage and car will be covered.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Country music star Faith Hill had several jobs before becoming famous: selling T-shirts, working as a receptionist at a music publishing company and packaging merchandise for Reba McEntire.

Dustin Hoffman was once a typist for the Yellowpages. He can also be seen in a 1966 Volkswagon commercial.

Before her singing career, Whitney Houston began as a fashion model. She was featured on the covers of Vogue, Seventeen, & Glamour Magazine, as well as a Canada Dry ginger ale commercial.

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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 6 Oct
Physicians Assistance’s Week

~~~9 OCT Observances
282 days so far this year…83 days remain in 2009

World Post Day
^South Korea – Hangul Day: celebrating the invention of Korean phonetic alphabet 1446AD
^Uganda – Independence Day (from Britain, 1962)
^Leif Erikson Day – in United States, Iceland and Norway: celebrating the first European landing in North America 1000AD
^Ecuador – Guayaquil's Independence Day (from Spain 1820)
^Romania – Romanian Holocaust Remembrance Day
^Shi’a Muslims: Husain Day—led to the split of Shi’a and Sunnie 680AD

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1547__Miguel de Cervantes
novelist (Don Quixote)

1940__John Lennon rocker/Beatle (Imagine)
1944__Peter Tosh Jamaica, reggae musician
1945__Jeannie C Riley Texas, singer (Harper Valley PTA)
1948__Jackson Browne Germany, rocker

~ATHLETICS
1940__Joe Pepitone
baseball player (NY Yankee 1st baseman)
1959__Mike Singletary NFL middle linebacker (Chicago Bears)

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1891__Otto Schnering
candy bar mogul Baby Ruth, Butterfinger

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1890__Aimee Semple McPherson
Pentecostal evangelist/radio preacher

~~~In Remembrance
1967__Che Guevara
, Argentine revolutionary and guerrilla leader (executed) @ 39
1987__Clare Boothe Luce, American diplomat @ 84
2000__Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross WWII hero @ 82

~~~Historical Events on this day
1701__
Yale University is chartered as a "collegiate school" in Branford, Conn.
1776__The Mission at San Francisco is started today.

1855__Joshua Stoddard of Worcester, Mass patents 1st calliope
1872__The first mail order catalog was delivered.
1877__American Humane Association organized in Cleveland

1936__Hoover Dam begins transmitting electricity to LA
1980__1st consumer use of home banking by computer

~ Holy Mackerel
1915__Woodrow Wilson becomes 1st pres to attend a world series game
1989__Penthouse Magazine's hebrew edition hits the newstands
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New Game Today
Jeopardy Categories
(these answers all begin w/ the letter C)
1. The Silk Road transmitted the culture of this large Asian country all the way to Rome.
2. The Red Badge of Courage was written by this 19th Century American novelist.
3. His framed stories contain realistic and sometimes bawdy tales told by pilgrims on the way to the shrine of Thomas a' Beckett.
4. This 19th Century feminist writer was known for her portrayal of Creole life in Louisiana in such novels and The Awakening.
5. This American author celebrated the western frontier in her short stories and novels such as O Pioneers!
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Answers:
1. What is China?
2. Who was Crane? [Stephen]
3. Who was Chaucer?
4. Who was Chopin? [Kate]
5. Who is Cather? [Willa]

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Thursday

~~~Free Ramblings
This is my week for doctors. I see them about every six months. Thanks to my excellent planning ability, they usually end up all in the same week. Today was the dermatologist. I have had a small spot on my nose forever, but about three months ago it changed a little. So I figured I would get it frozen off today. Ah, I am so far behind in medical technology. I must have been all of 16 when I had a spot on my face the last time. Well in today’s health care system, first it has to be biopsied. Then, it’s removed, if necessary, in a two hour office procedure. Of course the doctor said it was nothing to worry about, but he said ‘freezing’ it won’t do it. So I will be back in around Thanksgiving, to have it removed after I’m sure a fairly expensive biopsy followed by a more expensive ‘surgery’. I’m not worried about it. Whatever it turns out to be, it is small, isn’t expected to spread, and just another bump in the road of life.

I woke up this morning to rain. A rain the weatherman didn’t predict. It was nice. We only got to 55° today and last night dipped to 35° last night. Not a great day to be outside, but it is October and we are at over 7000’, so I’m not complaining.

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~~~Random Facts
Queen Elizabeth II has a rubber duck in her private bath with an inflatable crown.

The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.

~~~Crazy News from AOL
MEMPHIS — A Memphis woman who found a 1929 high school class ring while raking leaves in a lot said she traced the item back to its 97-year-old owner. Misty White said she found the Central High School ring, which bore the initials “AMM,” while raking a lot as part of a “Save Libertyland” event for cleaning defunct amusement park Libertyland.
“Something made me keep raking leaves,” White said. “It was under two years of leaves, and the ring just popped out.”
White said she found the school’s 1929 yearbook at a library and identified the ring’s owner as Anna Maude Mahaffey. “It gave me great pleasure to get it back,” Mahaffey White said. “It has a sentimental value.”

~~~Before They Were Famous
As a teenager, Tom Hanks was a popcorn and peanuts vendor at the Oakland Coliseum.

Audrey Hepburn formally entered a Dance Academy in Holland to become a ballerina. She was considered too tall, and was advised not to continue.

Before becoming a household name, Tommy Hilfiger sold his clothes out of his car trunk.

Comedian Benny Hill was once a milkman.

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~~~October Month Long Observances


Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 6 Oct
Physicians Assistance’s Week

~~~7 OCT Observances
281 days so far this year…86 days remain in 2009

Nat’l Depression Screening Day
World Sight Day
^Croatia: Independence Day
^Peru: Navy Day

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1920__Frank Herbert
sci-fi writer (Dune)
1936__David Carradine Hollywood, actor
1939__Paul Hogan Australia, actor (Crocodile Dundee)
1943__Chevy Chase NYC, comedian/actor
1949__Sigourney [Susan Alexandra] Weaver LA, actress

1941__George Bellamy musician: guitar: The Tornados: Telstar
1970__Matt Damon actor
~ATHLETICS
1956__Scott Michael Pellaton
barefoot water ski champ
1959__Tony Eason football quarterback (New England Patriots)

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1890__Eddie Rickenbacker
aviator "Ace of Aces" (WW I)
1895__Juan Peron Argentine Pres (1946-55, 1973-74)
1941__Jesse Jackson clergyman/presidential candidate

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1873__Ejnar Hertzsprung
Denmark, astronomer (Hertzsprung-Russell diagram)

~~~In Remembrance
1793__John Hancock
, American revolutionary @ 56
1869__Franklin Pierce 14th President of the United States @ 65

1982__Fernando Lamas actor/director, @ 67

~~~Historical Events on this day
1775__
Officers decide to bar slaves & free blacks from Continental Army
1871__Great Chicago Fire starts

1935__Ozzie Nelson marries Harriet Hilliard (Ozzie & Harriet)
1938__This day’s cover of The Saturday Evening Post portrayed Norman Rockwell, by Norman Rockwell—his first cover.
1952__The Complete Book of Etiquette was first published.
1970__The Russian writer, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, wins the Nobel Prize for literature
1998__The U.S. House of Representatives votes to proceed toward impeaching President Bill Clinton

~ Holy Mackerel
1929__
A Man is Charged of Speaking Offensively in Front of a Lady and found guilty for using obscene language in front of a woman in Ohio.
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Countries by population
Place these countries in order by estimated 2009 population—largest to smallest.
1. Kazakhstan
2. Kenya
3. Kiribati [in South Pacific]
4. Korea, North
5. Korea, South
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Answers:
1. Kenya 39,002,772 (growth rate: 2.7%)
2. Korea, South 48,508,972 (growth rate: 0.2%)
3. Korea, North 22,665,345 (growth rate: 0.4%)
4. Kazakhstan 15,399,437 (growth rate: 0.3%)
5. Kiribati 112,850 (growth rate: 2.2%)
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Wednesday

~~~Free Ramblings
I saw my PCP today. I needed some Malaria pills for my trip. I made the appointment more for my rash/pain three weeks ago, but knew I needed to get my meds before I left for Africa. He gave me several scripts including one for Montezuma’s Revenge, one antibiotic in case I got sick, and the malaria pills.

I also had a chat with my PCP about why it took three weeks to see him when I was sick. He had a good answer, saying that he would rather have me go to a walk-in and then let him know what was wrong. His reasoning is that he takes a look at the whole patient and the whole picture of the patient’s well being. If he also did ‘emergency’ stuff, he wouldn’t have time to meet with his patients. I must say it made sense, was good information, and as usual I spent an hour with him. He checked the CDC site to be sure I was getting the script that would treat Malaria in that country. Hmmm. Everyone I have talked to had just said get Malaria meds. Little did I know there were various strains around the world, and that some meds are better than others for certain strains. Adding an ‘in case’ antibiotic for the possible problems in the area I was going makes a lot of sense.

I must say I wish I had talked to him earlier about his role in my overall health. As a kid we had a family doctor who dealt with just about everything. While I knew the health care in our country had changed a lot, I still thought of my PCP as my family doctor. Now I understand the difference. I’m better off, and am glad I have a PCP who takes the time to answer all my questions. I also know that in the future, when I get an illness, I need to notify my PCP, go to the walk-in who deal with ‘emergency’ care, and then just inform my PCP what I am taking. It’s a small price to pay for someone who oversees my overall health.

Fall weather is here. We only made it to 61° today, and last night here in East Flag was 35° but at the airport it was 25°. Johannesburg was 85° and Victoria Falls was 93°. Both had a low around 65°. Hmmm, seems like a hot spring to me. In a month we were told to expect 80’s during the day and 60’s at night.

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~~~Random Facts
A&W Root Beer is named after Roy Allen and Frank Wright, the founders of the company.

The English word “girl” was initially used to describe a young person of either sex. It was not until the beginning of the sixteenth century that the term was used specifically to describe a female child.

~~~Crazy News from AOL
Edgar Allan Poe's cousin, Neilson Poe, never announced his death publicly. Fewer than 10 people attended the hasty funeral for one of the 19th century's greatest writers. And the injustices piled on. Poe's tombstone was destroyed before it could be installed, when a train derailed and crashed into a stonecutter's yard. Rufus Griswold, a Poe enemy, published a libelous obituary that damaged Poe's reputation for decades.
But on Sunday, Poe's funeral will get an elaborate do-over, with two services expected to draw about 350 people each — the most a former church next to his grave can hold. Actors portraying Poe's contemporaries and other long-dead writers and artists will pay their respects, reading eulogies adapted from their writings about Poe.
"We are following the proper etiquette for funerals. We want to make it as realistic as possible," said Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House and Museum.
Advance tickets are sold out, although Jerome will make some seats available at the door to ensure packed houses. Fans are traveling from as far away as Vietnam.
The funeral is arguably the splashiest of a year's worth of events honoring the 200th anniversary of Poe's birth. Along with Baltimore — where he spent some of his leanest years in the mid-1830s — Poe lived in or has strong connections to Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Richmond.
Eulogies will follow from actors portraying, among others, Sarah Helen Whitman, a minor poet whom Poe courted after his wife's death, and Walt Whitman, who attended the dedication of Poe's new gravestone in 1875 but didn't feel well enough to speak. Writers and artists influenced by Poe, including Arthur Conan Doyle and Alfred Hitchcock, will also be represented.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Jake Gyllenhaal's first role was in 1991 as Billy Crystal's son in "City Slickers."

In 1985, a 9-year old Seth Green appeared as a detective in a Duncan Hines chocolate chip cookie commercial (alongside 8-year old Sarah Michelle Gellar). Seth can also be seen in a 1992 commercial for a NERF toy.

Hugh Grant once considered a career as an art historian. He intended to pursue PhD studies in Art History at the Courtauld Institute in London.

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~~~October Month Long Observances


Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 6 Oct
Physicians Assistance’s Week

~~~7 OCT Observances
280 days so far this year…85 days remain in 2009

Balloons Around the World
Walk to School Day—celebrated around the world
^Brazil: Composers Day
^Fiji : Deed of Cession (1874)
^Libya : Evacuation Day


~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1917__ June Allyson
Bronx, actress
1951__ John Cougar Mellencamp Seymour Indiana, rocker
1955__ Yo-Yo Ma Paris France, world famous Chinese cellist

~ATHLETICS
1926__Alex Groza
basketball
1950__Bo (David) Rather football: Miami Dolphins

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1879__Joe Hill
Sweden, organizer (IWW)/songwriter (Union Scab)/martyr
1879__Leon Trotsky Russian revolutionary leader/writer
1888__Henry Wallace 33rd Vice President of U.S.

1943__Oliver North military

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1885__Niels Bohr
Denmark, physicist
1896__Elijah Muhammad founder of Nation of Islam

1931__Desmond Tutu Anglican Archbishop of S Africa (Nobel Peace Prize 1982)

~~~In Remembrance
1894__Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.,
American writer @ 85
1849__Edgar Allen Poe poet, @ 40

1959__Mario Lanza American tenor @38—heart attack
1991__Leo Durocher baseball coach/manager (Dodgers, Giants), @ 86

~~~Historical Events on this day
1672__
White Mountain APACHEs raid the ZUNI pueblo of Hawikum, and kill a priest named Pedro de Abila y Ayala today

1765__The Stamp Act Congress convenes in NY

1826__Granite Railway (1st chartered railway in US) begins operations
1886__Spain abolishes slavery in Cuba

1919__KLM Royal Dutch Airlines of the Netherlands is founded
1931__1st infra-red photograph, Rochester, NY
1950__US forces invade Korea by crossing the 38th parallel
1957__ "American Bandstand" premieres
1959__A U.S. House subcommittee began investigations of allegedly rigged TV quiz shows.
1960__"Route 66" premieres
1968__Motion Picture Association of America adopts film rating system

~ Holy Mackerel
1905__Andy Devine
[Jeremiah Schwartz], Flagstaff Az, actor, raised in Kingman, AZ
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Countries by population
Place these countries in order by estimated 2009 population—largest to smallest.
1. Iceland
2. India
3. Indonesia
4. Iran
5. Iraq
6. Ireland
7. Israel
8. Italy
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Answers:
1. India 1,166,079,217 (growth rate: 1.5%)
2. Indonesia 240,271,522 (growth rate: 1.1%)
3. Iran 66,429,284 (growth rate: 0.8%)
4. Italy 58,126,212 (growth rate: 0.0%)
5. Iraq 28,945,657 (growth rate: 2.5%)
6. Israel 7,233,701 (growth rate: 1.6%)
7. Ireland 4,203,200 (growth rate: 1.1%)
8. Iceland 306,694 (growth rate: 0.7%)
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Tuesday

~~~Free Ramblings
We aren’t having a lot of freezing temperatures, but fall is sure here. Today was breezy and 55°. I keep forgetting that is light jacket weather. I get ready to go somewhere, walk outside and realize I have to go back and get a jacket. Soon I should start remembering to take it the first time.

I went to my allergist today. It is always an exciting trip. I enjoy watching office manager as she is one of the most anal-retentive people I have ever seen. I always get to the doctor about 10-15 minutes before my appointment. Today I came in at 8:50—give or take. I know, I’m a little a-r too. I checked in and sat down. She sat behind her glass window doing work. At exactly 9:00 she turned to the nurse and nodded. The nurse immediately came out of the glassed in area and called me in. This happens every time. The manager would never have me called in one minute early or one minute late. Believe me I’m not complaining. I was in and out in about 15 minutes. That’s nice at a medical office. She did become a little flustered when I tried to make my next appointment in 6 months. Seems the computer was not ready for April appointments. She said they would call me when the computer was ready and wrote a note on a sticky note and put it on the computer. I asked how long it would be before she called. She looked horrified. She had told me she would call and I guess that should have made me happy. I then told her I would be out of town soon. She said it would be about a week. I left after telling her that would be fine. While I don’t mind giving her a little bump in her day, I do wish more office managers were as good as she was. How many doctors does anyone know that are so punctual?

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~~~Random Facts
Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

The names of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with.

In a nod to astronauts, Texas is the only state that permits residents to cast absentee ballots from space.

~~~Crazy News
To Fight Sin, One Must Know Sin: In April, the Arizona State Parks Board unanimously chose Renee Bahl, thought to be a dynamic, experienced professional, to be director of state parks. However, her employment record while an assistant parks director in California in 2001 included an incident in which she was disciplined for etching "Renee 2001" into the wall of one of the parks' historic adobe barns. [Arizona Republic, 5-1-09].

~~~Before They Were Famous
Whoopi Goldberg actually used to work as a bricklayer and a bank teller.

CNN news-woman Nancy Grace worked at an Indian burial grounds in Georgia.

Heather Graham of Austin Powers fame worked at Toys R'Us as a teenager, and once worked as an usher at The Hollywood Bowl.

Like most Hollywood hopefuls, Kelsey Grammer did his time as a waiter. He also painted apartments in New York before eventually landing regional theater roles.
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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 6 Oct
Physicians Assistance’s Week

~~~6 OCT Observances
279 days so far this year…86 days remain in 2009

Mad Hatter Day [look at his hat]
U.S. German-American Day observed since 1987
^Egypt Armed Forces Day; commemorates the October War of 1973.

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1820__Jenny Lind
Sweden, soprano/nightingale
1906__Janet Gaynor Philadelphia, actress
1909__Carol Lombard actress

~ATHLETICS
1824__Henry Chadwick
baseball pioneer, developed 1st rule book
1905__Helen Wills Moody International Tennis Hall of Famer
1959__Dennis ‘Oil Can’ (Ray) Boyd baseball

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1846__George Westinghouse
responsible for alternating current in US

1914__Thor Heyerdahl Norway,anthropologist, explorer (Kon Tiki, Aku-Aku)

~~~In Remembrance
1891__Charles Stewart Parnell
, Irish politician @45
1892__Alfred Lord Tennyson, British poet @83
1975__Henry Calvin actor (Sgt Garcia-Zorro), @ 57
1981__Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize Assassinated @63
1989__Bette Davis, American actress @ 81

~~~Historical Events on this day
1683__
The first German Mennonite settlers arrive in America. They will establish Germantown, outside Philadelphia.

1781__Americans & French begin siege of Cornwallis at Yorktown; last battle of the Revolutionary War

1866__1st train robbery in US
1876__American Library Association organized in Philadelphia

1927__"Jazz Singer," 1st movie with a sound track, premieres (NYC)
1966__The hallucinogen drug LSD is declared illegal in the United States
1973__Egyptian and Syrian forces launch a coordinated attack against Israel on Yom Kippur.


~ Holy Mackerel
1961__
President John F. Kennedy advises American families to build bomb shelters to protect them from atomic fallout in the event of a nuclear war.
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Countries by population
Place these countries in order by estimated 2009 population—largest to smallest.
1. Gabon
2. Gambia
3. Georgia
4. Germany
5. Ghana
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Answers:
1. Germany 82,329,758 (growth rate: 0.0%)
2. Ghana 23,832,495 (growth rate: 1.8%)
3. Georgia 4,615,807 (growth rate: –0.3%)
4. Gambia 1,782,893 (growth rate: 2.6%)
5. Gabon 1,514,993 (growth rate: 1.9%)
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Monday

~~~Free Ramblings
What an autumn Sunday. Got up this morning to clouds and wind as expected. Then came the rain. Nice surprise. Since the wind was blowing so hard, the rain came in waves. This blowing rain lasted on and off for a couple of hours. Then the wind stayed but no rain. We made it to a scorching 57° today while last night only dropped to about 45°. It really looked and felt like a real autumn day. I’m sure the Peaks got some snowfall throughout the day.

All this wind and moisture made it into a lazy day for me. I was glad the Broncos were playing the Cowboys. That puts the game on AZ TV. Before the Cardinals came to the state, AZ football fans became Cowboy fans. I never really understood why. The Rams, the Raiders, and the Broncos were all closer to Arizona. I guess it was because Dallas was in its glory days and everyone wants to support a winner. Anyway, Denver is now 4-0 and looking pretty good this year.

My friend Cheryl is visiting her mom back in Michigan, so she is missing all the fire stuff near Williams, where she lives. From what I can tell, her home is far enough away from the fire that she isn’t in the evacuation area, but it is still frightening. Don’t know which would be worse—being across the country and hearing about the fire or being in Williams near the fire. Either way, there isn’t a whole lot anyone can do in this situation, except pray that it doesn’t hit your neighborhood.


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~~~Random Facts
Dueling is legal in Paraguay, as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

~~~Crazy News
FORT PIERCE, Fla. – A Florida woman angry at her boyfriend for refusing to buy more beer allegedly tried to choke him and threw a table leg through a window, authorities said. Police in Fort Pierce, Fla., said the boyfriend told them his live-in girlfriend, Andrea Elizabeth Bathgate, 31, became angry after drinking a lot of beer Tuesday night —and he refused to buy her more because she became “aggressive” while intoxicated, TCPalm.com reported. Investigators said the man told the woman to leave and she attempted to choke him before exiting. Bathgate then allegedly broke a leg off an outside table and “threw the hard missile through a window of the residence, causing deadly shards of glass to be forcefully launched into the occupied residence,” the arrest affidavit states. Bathgate was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery and a felony count of throwing a missile into a dwelling.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Judy Garland
was born as Frances Ethel Gumm. Judy and her sisters performed in vaudeville houses under the name "The Gumm Sisters."

Jennifer Garner was a hostess at Isabella's Restaurant on New York's Upper West Side before becoming a famous actress.

Bill Gates worked as a Congressional Page while attending Harvard.

Richard Gere attended the University of Massachusetts in Amherst on a gymnastics scholarship where he studied philosophy. He later dropped out to pursue acting.

Two years before his big break as Mad Max, Mel Gibson can be seen as an uncredited baseball player in "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden."

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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 5 Oct
Spinning and Weaving Week
Nuclear Medicine Week
Customer Service Week
Financial Planning Week

~~~5 OCT Observances
278 days so far this year…87 days remain in 2009

Improve Your Office Week
^Bulgaria Independence Day (1908)
^Portugal – Republic Day, overthrow of the Monarchy 1910
^International World Teachers' Day [since 1994]
^Indonesia – Army Day
^World Habitat Week
^Hor and Susia in the Coptic Church—Martyrs

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1864__Louis LumiÅ re
with brother Auguste made 1st motion picture in 1895 )

1908__Joshua (Lockwood) Logan (III) producer, director, writer: Ensign Pulver; director: Paint Your Wagon, Camelot, Fanny, South Pacific, Sayonara, Bus Stop, Picnic
1919__Allen Ludden Mineral Point Wisc, TV host (Password)
1922__Bill Keane cartoonist: Family Circus
1924__Bill Dana comedian, actor: “My name, Jose Jimenez.”
1943__Steve Miller singer, songwriter: group: The Steve Miller Ban
1952__Clive Barker author

~ATHLETICS
1902__Ray Kroc
Illinois, founder of McDonalds owner of SD Padres
1937__Barry Switzer football coach (Oklahoma)
1962__Michael Andretti Indy-car racer/Auto Hall of Fame

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1830__Chester Alan Arthur
Fairfield Vt, (R) 21st Pres
1882__Robert Hutchings Goddard Worcester Mass, rocket pioneer "Father of Space Travel"

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1703__Jonathan Edwards
US, theologian/philosopher (Original Sin)

1923__Philip Berrigan militant priest (Chicago 7)

~~~In Remembrance
1940__Ballington Booth
, Salvation Army Officer and co-founder of Volunteers of America @ 83

2004__Rodney Dangerfield, American comedian @ 83

~~~Historical Events on this day
1877__
Chief Joseph surrenders, ending Nez Perce‚ War “From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.”

1945__"Meet the Press" premieres on radio
1947__1st Presidential address televised from White House-HS Truman
1953__Earl Warren sworn in as 14th chief justice of the US
1962__The Beatles release their first single in the UK "Love Me Do"
1970__PBS becomes a network
1983__Lech Walesa wins the Nobel Peace Prize
1989__Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for nonviolent efforts to free his homeland from China.

~ Holy Mackerel
1969__
Monty Python's Flying Circus makes its debut on BBC Television, there were only 45 episodes aired over four seasons
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Countries by population
Place these countries in order by estimated 2009 population—largest to smallest.
1. Ecuador
2. East Timor
3. Egypt
4. El Salvador
5. Equatorial Guinea
6. Ethiopia
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Answers:
1. Egypt 83,082,869 (growth rate: 1.6%)
2. Ethiopia 78,254,090 (growth rate: 2.2%)
3. Ecuador 14,573,101 (growth rate: 1.5%)
4. El Salvador 7,185,218 (growth rate: 1.6%)
5. East Timor 1,131,612 (growth rate: 2.0%)
6. Equatorial Guinea 633,441 (growth rate: 2.7%)
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Sunday

~~~Free Ramblings
I had a good Saturday, and it’s not even over yet. Got up pain free. Cleaned up around the house, went for a walk, saw a couple of friends, and talked to a couple more. All is good. It’s great to talk to people who are still working. They have their lives so very structured. My brother really loves his wife, being in NY, and taking getaways on weekends or making long weekends. Next week they are headed for Barbados for a long weekend. Great. I’m happy they do that. But to be able to do that, they have to work 12 hour days, including weekends, for about three weeks to be able to leave the business for two work days. Not my idea of fun. Another friend runs into Flag from the Rez during the week, after work. Can’t come on weekends because work needs to be done at school or home. A four hour evening—including a 2 ½ drive—is OK is his book, but not a whole day and evening in Flagstaff. Oh well, to each his/her own.

I turned on my computer this evening to be greeted with yet another high wind advisory for all day tomorrow. We can expect sustained winds in the 20mph with gusts to 50mph for most of day and night tomorrow. Whoopee.

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~~~Random Facts
The Bank of America was originally the Bank of Italy!
Israel's Dead Sea is 1,312 feet below sea level.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Before becoming the great comedian known as "Redd Foxx," John Elroy Sanford worked as a dishwater in a small restaurant in New York where one of his best friends, Malcolm X, also worked there as a waiter.

Morgan Freeman attended Los Angeles Community College before serving as a mechanic in the US Air Force in the 1950's. He was also the character "Easy Reader" on the children's TV show "The Electric Company".

Before Clark Gable became the King of Hollywood, he worked as a necktie salesmen at the Meier & Frank department store.

Greta Garbo was once a lather girl in a barbershop. She also worked at PUB, a major department store in Stockholm, Sweden, during the 1920s before becoming a successful actress.

~~~Crazy News
BEECH GROVE, Ind. – Investigators said a man who stole $97 from an Indiana drug store returned for a beverage he purchased before the robbery. Beech Grove, Ind., police said the man, described as about 48 years old, handed a Walgreen’s clerk $2 for a cola and made “idle conversation” until she opened the cash register, The Indianapolis Star reported.

The man then put his hand under his coat and informed the clerk he was robbing the store. He took $97 from the register and began to leave, police said. However, the police report said the man “came back for the bottle of soda that he placed on the counter and previously paid for.”

Police said the suspect was last seen walking through a parking lot across the street from the store.

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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 2 Oct
Fire Prevention Week
Mental Illness Awareness Week
Mystery Series Week
Nat’l Work From Home Week
Nat’l Newspaper Week
Nat’l Metric Week
World Space Week

~~~4 OCT Observances
277 days so far this year…88 days remain in 2009
Intergeneration Day
‘Ten-Four Good Buddy’ Day
^World Animal Day
^World Communion Day
^Lesotho – Independence Day (from Britain, 1966).


~~~Births on this day

~ The ARTS
1861__Frederic Remington
US, artist/sculptor of the American West
1895__Buster Keaton actor

1917__Jan Murray
Bronx NY, comedian Game Show Host
1923__Charlton Heston actor
1928__Alvin Toffler author: Future Shock
1931__Dick Tracy comic strip crimestopper
1935__Jimmy Orr football: Baltimore Colts wide receiver: Super Bowl III, V
1941__Jackie Collins author
1941__Anne Rice (Howard O’Brien Rice) author: Interview with a Vampire
1949__Armand Assante NYC, actor
1967__ Liev Schreiber actor

~ATHLETICS
1934__ Sam Huff
Pro Football Hall of Famer
1943__Owen Keir Davidson Australia, 4 time Wimbledon mix double champ

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1626__Richard Cromwell
lord protector of England

1822__Rutherford B Hayes (R) 19th pres (1877-81)

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1542__Robert Bellarmine
, Italian saint (d. 1621)

~~~In Remembrance
1944__Al Smith
, American politician @71
1970__Janis Joplin, American singer @27
1974__Anne Sexton, American poet @ 46
1989__Graham Chapman, British comedian of Monty Python @48

~~~Historical Events on this day
1636__
1st code of law for Plymouth Colony
1824__Mexico becomes a republic
1854__Honest Abe Lincoln made his first great political speech
1881__The player piano was invented by Edward Leveaux of Sussex, England

1910__Portugal becomes a republic, King Manuel II flees to England
1927__Work begins by sculptor Gutzon Borglum on the face of Mount Rushmore
1957__"Leave It to Beaver," debuts on CBS
1957__The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1 into orbit.


~ Holy Mackerel
1965__
Pope Paul VI becomes 1st Pope to visit Western Hemisphere (UN)
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Countries by population
Place these countries in order by estimated 2009 population—largest to smallest.
1. Denmark
2. Djibouti
3. Dominica [in Lesser Antilles]
4. Dominican Republic
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Answers:
1. Dominican Republic 9,650,054 (growth rate: 1.4%)
2. Denmark 5,500,510 (growth rate: 0.2%)
3. Djibouti 516,055 (growth rate: 1.9%);
4. Dominica [in Lesser Antilles] 72,660 (growth rate: 0.2%)
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Saturday

~~~Free Ramblings
Finally I seem to be pain free without meds. It has been almost two weeks with this shingle-like outbreak. The rash is gone, and this morning I didn’t need a pain pill to get moving or have the pain awaken me. What a relief. I was beginning to think that this was going to last forever. As I said many times, the pain was only about a 3 out of 10. But it was very annoying. But now it seems to be gone. That is good news.

I went to Wal-Mart today to get some household stuff. While the store is still a mess as it ‘remodels while open’ and the parking lot is also a mess; I could find everything I needed. Then the big surprise—three aisles of fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving stuff and no Christmas stuff. Such a relief. I was sure Santa would be set up for children’s laps by now at Wal-Mart and that I would be listening to non-Christian Christmas music.

I have to say that I was disapponted today for two reasons. First, Chicago didn’t get farther than the first round in Copenhagen. I enjoy the Olympics and now in 2016 they will be in Rio. Congrats to them. This is the first time the Olympics will have ever been in South America. Since the Olympics is supposed to represent the world, it makes sense to me that South America’s time has come.

Second, the conservative pundits actually cheered when it was announced that Chicago had lost the bid. Rush, Glenn, the Weekly Standard and others we elated that Obama’s trip and speech had failed to persuade the Olympic committee. They saw this as a great defeat for Obama. Hello!!! The Olympics does cost a city mucho dinero. It may not bring in a huge profit to the city. It forces a city to ‘get a good face-lift’. It makes commuting difficult for a couple of weeks. IT IS THE OLYMPICS. It creates jobs; it brings in thousands of tourists who spend mucho dinero to stay, eat, and view the city. It allows people to see some great athletic events. Not everyone in Chicago wanted the Olympics. Not everyone in the US wanted the Olympics. I get that. For these conservative pundits to cheer at the first announcement that Chicago was out of the running in the first vote of three is so much more than annoying. It seems all they want is for Obama to fail. I hope this crazy behavior unites the people of Chicago and that they come out swinging against these conservatives. I have watched at least ten announcements from the Olympic Committee when they announce the games upcoming city. Never have I seen people cheering when their city was not chosen. The people in Chicago were seen with shocked looks, some tears, and some sadness. Too bad that the international news organizations have those images as well as the images and words of the conservative pundits cheering when Chicago was out.

The weatherman says that the Flagstaff Airport dropped to 22° last night. Here in East Flag we didn’t get below 30°. Here in East Flag we got all the way to 65° today. Fall is certainly in the air. More so at the airport than over here. It was a little breezy today, all around Flagstaff but no moisture.


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~~~Random Facts
The height of a bowling pin is equal to its circumference

Dentists in medieval Japan extracted teeth by pulling them out with their fingers.

~~~Before They Were Famous
You may remember Laurence Fishburne as the pink satin wearing "Cowboy Curtis" from "Pee Wee's Playhouse" in the 80's. He was billed as Larry Fishburn.

Calista Flockhart was an aerobics instructor at one point

After attending the University of Minnesota to study journalism, Henry Fonda took a job with the Retail Credit Company.

Harrison Ford had earned quite a reputation as a carpenter before his acting career took off.

Before Family Ties or Back to the Future, Michael J. Fox appeared in a scavenger hunt movie called Midnight Madness.

~~~Crazy News
WILMORE, Pa. – A Pennsylvania couple who married nearly 49 years ago said they discovered their wedding was never made official under the law. Frank and Betty Skrout, who married Oct. 6, 1960, at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Wilmore, said they discovered recently while hunting down documents needed for Betty Skrout’s pension plan that Rev. James Feehley failed to file the “return of marriage” document at the Cambria County Register of Wills/Clerk of Orphans Court, The (Johnsontown, Pa.) Tribune Democrat reported Monday.
“All these years we’ve been living in sin,” Frank Skrout joked. Patty Sharbaugh, the Cambria County official in charge of the records, said she would file the document and backdate it to the couple’s wedding date if it can be located. “If the priest is still around or if they can locate those church records, we’ll complete them,” she said. Officials with the Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese said they are searching for the documents to finally make the marriage official.

*Update: The Univesity of AZ has now dropped charges on the sidewalk writers, and changed the policy. Writing on a sidewalk is not longer a crime.

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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 2 Oct
No Salt Week
Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend

~~~3 OCT Observances
276 days so far this year…89 days remain in 2009
Alternative Fuel Day
Change a Light Day
World Card Making Day
^Germany – Day of German Unity 1990
^Leiden – Siege of Leiden 1533
^South Korea – National Foundation Day (Gaecheonjeol) in 2333BC
^Iraq : Independence Day (1932)

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1925__Gore Vidal
writer/playwright (Myra Breckinridge, Lincoln)
1939__James Darren Phila, actor/singer (Gidget, Diamond Head)
1941__Chubby Checker singer (The Twist)
1947__Lindsey Buckingham rocker (Fleetwood Mac-Rumours, Tusk)
1924__Harvey Kurtzman cartoonist; founder of Mad magazine
1938__Eddie (Ray Edward) Cochran Rock and Roll Hall of Famer [1987]: singer: Summertime Blues
1944__Roy (Roy Uwe Ludwig Horn) illusionist: Siegfried & Roy


~ATHLETICS
1937__Eli Jacobs
baseball owner (Baltimore Orioles)
1941__Mike Gallagher skier: Olympic Men’s Skiing/Cross Country
1959__Fred Couples golf champion

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1804__Townsend Harris
1st Western consul to reside in Japan

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1803__John Gorrie
inventor (cold-air process of refrigeration)
1844__Sir Patrick Manson "Father of tropical medicine"
1854__William Crawford Gorgas US, Surgeon-Gen, help cure yellow fever
1916__James Herriot (James Alfred Wight) veterinarian, author: All Creatures Great and Small

~~~In Remembrance
1226__ Saint Francis of Assisi
@45

1656__Myles Standish, English-born soldier @72

1838__Black Hawk (chief), Leader of the Sauk Native American tribe @71

1967__Woody Guthrie, American musician @55

~~~Historical Events on this day
1789__
Washington proclaims the 1st national Thanksgiving Day on Nov 26

1863__Lincoln designates last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day

1913__Federal Income Tax signed into law (at 1%)
1922__Rebecca L. Felton becomes the first female senator in U.S. history
1922__1st facsimile photo send over city telephone lines, Washington, DC
1945__World Federation of Trade Unions formed; CIO a member
1955__"Captain Kangaroo" premieres
1955__"Mickey Mouse Club" premieres
1961__"Dick Van Dyke Show" premieres
1961__"Mr Ed" premieres
1981__Irish Nationalist at Maze Prison near Belfast end 7-mo hunger strike
1995__O.J. Simpson was acquitted.

~ Holy Mackerel
1971__
Billie Jean King became 1st female athlete to win $100,000
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Countries by population
Place these countries in order by estimated 2009 population—largest to smallest.
1. Cambodia
2. Cameroon
3. Canada
4. Cape Verde
5. Central African Republic
6. Chad
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Scroll down for answers
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Answers:
1. Canada 33,487,208 (growth rate: 0.8%)
2. Cameroon 18,879,301 (growth rate: 2.2%)
3. Cambodia 14,494,293 (growth rate: 1.7%)
4. Chad 10,329,208 (growth rate: 2.0%)
5. Central African Republic 4,511,488 (growth rate: 1.4%)
6. Cape Verde 429,474 (growth rate: 0.5%)
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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.