Tuesday August 24

This is Week 34 of 2010►Day 236 with 129 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I had a nice lunch with a former co-worker from TC and Kaibeto. Annie is retired and is looking over her diary from her youth and turning it into a manuscript. She is still very political and had some good observations about the upcoming Navajo elections. She is always an interesting conversationalist. I always have to spend a few days thinking about what she has said to let in sink in and work itself into my understanding of reality.

I learned something interesting today; I did not know who was the first US President to add the Qur’an to the White House Library right next to the Bible. I did not know which President honored Muslim World Leaders with not one, but five iftars—the Muslim dinner held during Ramadan after sunset—in the White House. It is very sad that the crazies against the Mosque in NY and the crazies who are spreading lies about Obama’s faith and the crazies who are scaring Americans with lies don’t remember that President George Bush—after the 9-11 bombings spent the rest of his administration telling the American people and world leaders that Islam is not bad. I was never a fan of Bush; I enjoyed collecting ‘Bushisms’ that were so easy to find; I did not want us to invade Iraq; I didn’t want him leading our country. One thing he did, and quite well, was to not allow the American people or any sector of the press to persecute innocent Muslims or Islam. He stated over and over that Muslim was not a synonym of terrorism. The War on Terror was exactly what he said—a war on terror and not a war on Islam or Muslims.

Obama is in a very difficult situation. He is seen as a Black President. He has never denied that his father was a Muslim. He has always stated that he is Christian. He tells all who ask that his faith is important to him, that he prays daily, that he gets a morning devotion on his Blackberry every morning. The crazies out there are scared. Many are anti-Black, anti-anything not their form of Christianity. We are a free country and people can say just about anything they want to. As a free country we don’t have to listen to the crazies, anymore than we listen to those who wear tinfoil hats to keep out the space aliens brainwave signals.

It was a good day in Flagstaff. Our high of 80° with 70% humidity was not as bad as it sounds, we had a nice breeze to keep that sticky air moving. My back yard neighbor continues to have workers adding a hot tub and a small redwood patio. The guys start about 8am every work day and finish about 4pm. I know these times because the building has been going on for about a week—the power saw, the air hammer, and the banging of boards has greatly reduced my bird population’s feeding habits. It is going to be very nice when it’s finished and that day can’t come any too soon. I’m sure the lady having it built feels the same way.

QUOTES FOR THE DAY

President George W. Bush—all quotes were AFTER 9-11.

Here in the United States our Muslim citizens are making many contributions in business, science and law, medicine and education, and in other fields. Muslim members of our Armed Forces and of my administration are serving their fellow Americans with distinction, upholding our nation's ideals of liberty and justice in a world at peace.

Over the past month, Muslims have fasted, taking no food or water during daylight hours, in order to refocus their minds on faith and redirect their hearts to charity. Muslims worldwide have stretched out a hand of mercy to those in need. Charity tables at which the poor can break their fast line the streets of cities and towns. And gifts of food and clothing and money are distributed to ensure that all share in God's abundance. Muslims often invite members of other families to their evening iftar meals, demonstrating a spirit of tolerance"

America treasures the relationship we have with our many Muslim friends, and we respect the vibrant faith of Islam which inspires countless individuals to lead lives of honesty, integrity, and morality. This year, may Eid also be a time in which we recognize the values of progress, pluralism, and acceptance that bind us together as a Nation and a global community. By working together to advance mutual understanding, we point the way to a brighter future for all.

Islam brings hope and comfort to millions of people in my country, and to more than a billion people worldwide. Ramadan is also an occasion to remember that Islam gave birth to a rich civilization of learning that has benefited mankind.

Ours is a war not against a religion, not against the Muslim faith. But ours is a war against individuals who absolutely hate what America stands for, and hate the freedom of the Czech Republic. And therefore, we must work together to defend ourselves. And by remaining strong and united and tough, we'll prevail.

Some of the comments that have been uttered about Islam do not reflect the sentiments of my government or the sentiments of most Americans. Islam, as practiced by the vast majority of people, is a peaceful religion, a religion that respects others. Ours is a country based upon tolerance and we welcome people of all faiths in America.

We see in Islam a religion that traces its origins back to God's call on Abraham. We share your belief in God's justice, and your insistence on man's moral responsibility. We thank the many Muslim nations who stand with us against terror. Nations that are often victims of terror themselves.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1912 NYC ticker tape parade for Jim Thorpe & victorious US Olympians

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION about the Christian Bible

§There are 66 books in the standard Bible: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament.

§The Israelites were forbidden to eat rabbits and camels.

§The Israelites were required to free their servants in the seventh year of service.

§Matthias was chosen to replace Judas as the twelfth apostle.

§With 150 chapters, Psalms is the longest book in the Bible.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers: Trivia

In 1983 Americans used over 1¼ million gallons of this beach product

When it was rung for Chief Justice John Marshall's funeral, it cracked

"Kingdom" that Khrushchev couldn't visit in 1959 U.S. trip

Dr. Seuss' egg-hatching elephant who was "faithful, 100%"

It spent the night in a discount-house parking lot before heading to L.A. Coliseum

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

NEW YORK — A copper casting of the tip of the Statue of Liberty's nose is among a collection of iconic items that will be auctioned off next month in New York City.

Guernsey's auction house President Arlan Ettinger says the casting of Lady Liberty's nose is one of four that was made during a restoration effort in the 1980s. One of the four was used on the statue, one was destroyed, and another is in a private collection.

He says the piece is about 2 feet wide, consisting of the tip and the area around the nostrils. He says it's "actually quite good-looking."

The sale also includes a motorcycle from John F. Kennedy's Dallas motorcade and James Dean's sunglasses. The auction is scheduled for Sept. 24.

A LITTLE LAUGH

'Writing: For the Sell of It' was the theme of our community college's annual writers' conference. When I called a widely published author and asked him to be our keynote speaker, my request was met with a long silence. He finally said, "I don't know what I would say to that audience."

"You're just being modest," I replied. "I'm sure you're extremely qualified to speak on that subject."

He suddenly broke into laughter. "I thought you said, 'Writing for the Celibate!'"

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

There is a boy who lives in a hotel on the 15th floor, when he goes to school he presses button number 1 to the ground floor however when he comes back from school he presses number 10 and walks to the 15th floor, why does he walk all the way to the 15th floor instead of using the lift?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Obama White House Dinner/Iftar 2009: Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

23-27: National Safe at Home Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

Knife Day

Vesuvius Day: Remembering 79AD eruption

National Waffle Day

Liberia: Flag Day (1847)

Sierra Leone: President's Birthday

Ukraine: National Day or Den' Nezalezhnosti, independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

1892 ... The Old Folks at Home…Len Spencer Hear a version here!

1902 ... Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home…Arthur Collins (Della Reese sings) Hear a version here!

1912 ... Ragtime Cowboy Joe…Bob Roberts (Ann Gibson sings) Hear a version here!

1942… Jingle Jangle Jingle…Kay Kyser (Fallout sings) Hear a version here!

1952… Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart…Vera Lynn Hear it Here!

1962… The Loco-Motion…Little Eva

1972… Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)…Looking Glass

1982… Eye of the Tiger…Survivor

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Orla Fallon, 36, Irish Vocalist for Celtic Woman…born Knockananna, County Wicklow,Ireland

Oscar Hijuelos, 59, author (Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love)…born New York, NY

Louis Teicher, pianist: duo: Ferrante & Teicher: Exodus, Tonight, Theme from "The Apartment", Midnight Cowboy…born 1924… Wilkes-Barre, PA

~~~

Rupert Grint, 22, actor (Harry Potter films)…born Hertfordshire, England

Steve Guttenberg, 52, actor (“Billy,” Three Men and a Baby)…born Brooklyn, NY

Craig Kilborn, 48, late night TV personality…born Hastings, MN

Marlee Matlin, 45, actress (Oscar for Children of a Lesser God; Walker, “Reasonable Doubts”)…born Morton Grove, IL

Durward Kirby, TV announcer (Garry Moore Show) …born 1912… Indianapolis IN

• Athletics

Gerry Cooney, 54, heavyweight boxer, born New York, NY

Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku, 100m swimmer (Olympic-gold-1912, 20) …born 1890… Waikiki, HI

• Business & Education

Betty Dodson, 81, American feminist and sex educator…born NYC, NY

Hideo Kojima, 47, Japanese video game director…born Tokyo, Japan

• Politics

Mike Huckabee, 55, former Governor of Arkansas…born Hope, AR

Geoffrey Plantagenet, conquered Normandy…born 1113…France

Wilbur Wilberforce, crusaded against slavery…born 1759… Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England

• Science/Religion

Gregory Jarvis, aircraft engineer: astronaut; killed Jan 28, 1986 in Challenger space shuttle explosion…born 1944…Detroit, MI

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Bernard Castro, patented convertible couch, @t 87 in 1991

E.G. Marshall, actor - "The Defenders", "Nixon", "Absolute Power", @ 88 in 1998

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1902 A statue of Joan of Arc is unveiled in Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier.

• Athletics

1989 Pete Rose, baseball's all-time hits leader, was out - of baseball (banned for life).

• Business & Education

1456 The printing of the Gutenberg Bible was completed.

1853 1st potato chips prepared by Chef George Crum (Saratoga Springs, NY)

1869 Waffle iron invented

• Indigenous People

1818 The Quapaw Indians sign a treaty (7 stat. 176) at St. Louis covering lands along the Arkansas and Red Rivers.

1835 The United States signs a treaty (7 Stat., 474.) with the Choctaw, Comanche,Creek (Muscogee), Cherokee, Osage, Quapaw, Seneca and Witchita at Camp Holmes "on the eastern border of the Grand Prairie, near the Canadian River."

• Politics (US)

1814 British sack Washington, DC, White House burned

1909 Workers start pouring concrete for Panama Canal

1912 Territory of Alaska organized

1912 The U.S. Post Office got heavy -- by abolishing its rule that only parcels up to four pounds could be sent through the system.

• Politics (International)

1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established

• Science / Religion

    79 Mt Vesuvius erupts, buries Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae

1662 Act of Uniformity requires English to accept book of Common Prayer

1932 1st transcontinental non-stop flight by a woman, Amelia Earhart

1987 Announcement of possible Martian tornado

2006 The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is considered a Dwarf Planet.

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

In 1983 Americans used over 1¼ million gallons of this beach product: What is suntan lotion?

When it was rung for Chief Justice John Marshall's funeral, it cracked: What is the Liberty Bell

"Kingdom" that Khrushchev couldn't visit in 1959 U.S. trip: What is Disneyland—the Magic Kingdom?

Dr. Seuss' egg-hatching elephant who was "faithful, 100%": Who is Horton?

It spent the night in a discount-house parking lot before heading to L.A. Coliseum: What is the Olympic torch?

↔ 2

He can't reach the 15th floor button.

↔ Picture

Vending machine coin slots

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Wind Cave National Park is 7th National Park since January 9, 1903: Wind Cave in South Dakota is distinctive for its calcite fin formations called boxwork and needle-like growths called frostwork. The cave, which was discovered by the sound of wind coming from a hole in the ground, is the world's densest cave system. Above ground is a mixed-grass prairie with animals such as bison, black-footed ferrets, and prairie dogs. Photo of Boxwork.

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Monday August 23

This is Week 34 of 2010►Day 235 with 130 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

My Broncos aren’t starting off very well; they are 0-2 in the pre-season. I still enjoy watching them and our local cable company has picked up the NFL station in HD. Last night I watched the Saints/Texans game on the NFL station. It is much different than a game on ESPN or one of the alphabet stations. The NFL station does have good camera angles, but the commentators are unsuccessfully trying to clone the other stations. They also don’t have the graphics we are all so used to watching. I’m sure they are giving us all the pre-season games for free, and then suddenly, when the season starts, they will want a bundle of bucks to watch all the games. They won’t be getting any more of my money. HD is really, really nice, and is especially cool for sports. However, even I have my limits. It’s tough to try and stay up on technology and then not be willing to pay the price for it.

I decided today to spend some time studying the candidates running for office in our Tuesday primary. I am very confused now, even more than before. The Clean Elections group puts out a book with all the candidates statements. One really has to be able to read between the lines to understand what they are saying. So often they just say what we want to hear. After my retirement, I learned that the more you know about a candidate, the less you know about them. One candidate, who made ‘education’ the main topic, stated she had been in Education for 25 years. She is going to fight for the kids in AZ. Good for her. When I went to her campaign site, I learned that she had been a private mentor to students and has never spent anytime inside a public school, a private school, or any school that teaches kids. Nothing wrong with that, but I find that she is going to probably have a very steep learning curve when it comes to public education. Another candidate, running for Sec of State, touted his vast experience in the legislature as his best qualification for the job. He would become Governor, if for some reason, the governor doesn’t complete that term. His vast experience includes one two-year term in the legislature. Strangely, he is not the pick of the Democratic Party for the job. Before one goes into politics, there must be a mandatory training in personal ego development. I already know that it is very difficult to get any democrat elected in a state-wide office in AZ. It is not impossible, just very difficult. Here in Northern AZ, it is a little easier. This year’s campaign ads have been downright dirty. These are all ads that cut down their opponents—from the same party. McCain talks about building the ‘dang fence.’ JD has an ad that has a bunch of McCain quotes, followed by ‘he chose to lie.’ The worst, IMHO, is Ben Quayle—the former VP’s son. This is first run for public office—not in my district. His ad starts out with a close up facial shot, stating the “Barack Obama is the worst president our country has ever had.” I’ll vote on Tuesday and find out which candidates make it to the November election. I’m glad I will be out of AZ most of September and will miss lots of the dirty campaigning.

QUOTES FOR THE DAY--Elections

~Author Unknown: There are always too many Democratic congressmen, too many Republican congressmen, and never enough U.S. congressmen.

…If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

~Carl Sandburg: A politician should have three hats. One for throwing into the ring, one for talking through, and one for pulling rabbits out of if elected

~Charles Krauthammer: Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in the country - and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1833 Britain abolishes slavery in colonies; 700,000 slaves freed

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION about Football

§Baseball's Philadelphia Athletics, managed by Connie Mack, and the Philadelphia Phillies formed professional football teams in 1902, joining the Pittsburgh Stars in the first attempt at a pro football league, named the National Football League. The Athletics won the first night football game ever played, 39-0 over the Kanaweola Athletic Club at Elmira, New York, November 21, 1902.

§New York's original AFL team was called the Titans. When Sonny Werblin took over the franchise in 1963, he changed the team name to the New York Jets to reflect the modern approach of his team and the star-studded performances he hoped his team would produce.

§The Dallas Cowboys were the only team in the 1990s to win three Super Bowls, claiming Super Bowl XXVII (1993), XXVIII (1994), and XXX (1996). The Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers each won two Super Bowls during the 1990s.

§Beattie Feathers, of the Chicago Bears, rushed for 1004 yards in 1934, the first player ever to rush 1000 yards. Remarkably, he did it in only 119 carries, giving him an amazing 8.4 yards per carry average!

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers: Anatomy

Mark Anthony borrowed them, then bent them

Over ½ of these are in your hands & feet

Number of chambers in a judge's heart

The body has over 60,000 miles of them

Prominent zygomatic bones, considered an attractive facial feature

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

SKANE, Sweden - Emergency responders were called to a Swedish graveyard when a woman's leg sank into soil that had been softened by recent heavy rains. Witnesses said the woman was leaving flowers at a family grave about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Bragarps church in Skane when her leg sank into the muddy terrain and became stuck, The Local reported Thursday. Emergency responders were called to free the woman and she required no medical attention, witnesses said. "I have been working here for 11 years and I have never seen anything like this," the Rev. Jonas Kristiansson said. Kristiansson said recent rains caused subsidence in several areas of the graveyard. He said workers plan to repair the grave Thursday.

A LITTLE LAUGH

Our cat, Figaro, comes home between 10 or 11 at night to eat. If he's late, I turn on the carport light and call him until he appears.

One day my daughter was explaining to a friend where we live, and her friend said, "Is that anywhere near the house where the woman stands on her steps late at night and sings opera?"

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

What did the carpet say to the wall?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Green Acres Theme: Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

23-27: National Safe at Home Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

National Sponge cake Day

Valentino Day

Day for The Remembrance of The Slave Trade & Its Abolition

European Union: European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism

Romania: Liberation Day (1944 from Nazis)

Swaziland: Umhlanga Day: Reed Dance ceremony, is an annual Swazi and Zulu tradition

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

1891 ... The Mocking Bird…John Yorke Atlee Click Here to Hear It

1911 ... Mother Machree…John McCormack Click Hre to Hear It

1941 … Daddy…Sammy Kaye

1951 …Come On-a My House…Rosemary Clooney

1961 …Wooden Heart (Muss I Denn)…Joe Dowell

1971…How Can You Mend a Broken Heart…The Bee Gees

1981 …Endless Love…Diana Ross & Lionel Richie

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Gene Kelly, dancer/actor (An American in Paris, Going My Way) …born 1912…Pittsburg, PA

William Primrose, violist (Method for Violin & Viola)…born 1903… Glasgow Scotland

Mark Russell (Mark Ruslander), 78, political comedian…born Buffalo, NY

~~~

Barbara Eden (Barbara Huffman), 76, actress (“I Dream of Jeannie,” Harper Valley P.T.A.)…born Tucson, AZ

Shelley Long, 61, actress (“Cheers,” Irreconcilable Differences)…born Fort Wayne, IN

Vera Miles, 80, actress (The Wrong Man, Psycho)…born Boise City, OK

Richard Sanders, 70, actor (Les-“WKRP in Cincinnati”)…born Harrisburg, PA

• Athletics

Kobe Bryant, 32, basketball player, born Philadelphia, PA

Christian Adolph 'Sonny' Jurgensen, 76, Hall of Fame football player (Eagles, Redskins)…born Wilmington, NC

• Business & Education

--

• Politics

Lisa Najeeb Halaby, Queen Noor of Jordan, 51…born Washington, DC

Oliver Hazard Perry, American naval officer: Battle of Lake Erie: “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.” …born 1785…South Kingstown, RI

• Science/Religion

Andreas Floer, Geometry mathematician..born in 1956 in Germany

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Hoot Gibson, silent screen cowboy actor, @ 70 in 1962

Oscar Hammerstein II, Broadway librettist, cancer @ 65 in 1960

Hank Patterson, actor (Fred Ziffel-Green Acres), @ 87 in 1975

Oliver Hazard Perry, naval hero, on 34th birthday in 1819

Rodolpho Alfonzo Rafaello Pietro Filiberto Guglieimi Di Valentina D'Antonguolla (Rudolph Valentino), silent movie idol, peritonitis @ 31 in 1926

Nicola Sacco@ 36 & Bartolomeo Vanzetti @ 39 executed in MA after 3 trials and lots of media, for murder in 1927

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1919 "Gasoline Alley" cartoon strip premiers in Chicago Tribune

• Athletics

1982 Gaylord Perry, Mariner, was tossed out of a game for throwing an illegal spitball.

1985 Paul Hornung awarded $1,160,000 by a Louisville court against NCAA who barred him as a college football analyst for betting on games

• Business & Education

1838 Mt Holyoke Female Seminary (South Hadley, Mass) 1st graduating class

1872 1st Japanese commercial ship visits SF, carrying tea

1892 John H. Stedman of Rochester, NY patented the printed streetcar transfer.

1902 Fannie Merrit Farmer opened her cooking school, Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery, in Boston, MA.

1904 Automobile tire chain patented

• Indigenous People

1732 Today marks the beginning of a peace conference held in Philadelphia with the local Indians. Attending the meeting are several Iroquois Chiefs, including OnondagaChief Shikellamy.

1876 "Treaty 6 Between Her Majesty The Queen and The Plain and Wood CreeIndians and Other Tribes of Indians at Fort Carlton, Fort Pitt and Battle River with Adhesions" is signed in Canada.

• Politics (US)

1917 Race riot in Houston Texas (2 blacks & 11 whites killed)

• Politics (International)

1617 1st one-way streets established (London)

1914 Japan declares war on Germany in World War I

• Science / Religion

1960 World's largest frog (3.3 kg—7.3 lbs) caught (Equatorial Guinea)

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

Mark Anthony borrowed them, then bent them: What are ears?

Over ½ of these are in your hands & feet: What are bones?

Number of chambers in a judge's heart: What is four?

The body has over 60,000 miles of them: What are blood vessels?

Prominent zygomatic bones, considered an attractive facial feature: What are cheek bones?

↔ 2

What did the carpet say to the wall?

↔ Picture

A "sippy cup" lid

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Crater Lake, 6th National Park as of May 22, 1902: Crater Lake lies in the caldera of Mount Mazama formed 7,700 years ago after an eruption. It is the deepest lake in the United States and is known for its blue color and water clarity. There are two islands in the lake, and, with no inlets or outlets, all water comes through precipitation.

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Sunday August 22

This is Week 34 of 2010►Day 234 with 131 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

The press keeps talking about Obama’s vacation. Yeah, right. They said that he had a private picnic with his family on the beach at Martha’s Vineyard. Yeah, right….his family and a couple of secret service for him, probably one for his wife, and one for each kid. It is hardly a vacation I would want to take. He is simply taking a break from being in his office, not a break from his work. As a retired civil servant, I know that having a real vacation is almost impossible. Every Federal supervisor I ever worked with would always call in during their vacation…sometimes daily and at the very least twice during the work week. If there was an issue, the phone calls were much more frequent. Part of the reason was so that one would not return to chaos, unaware of some event. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t necessary, but at the time, it was hard to enjoy a vacation by worrying about what was happening. My friends and family ‘supervisors’ who are, or were, not Federal employees also ‘checked in’ during vacation time. They also did this so that they would not return to uninformed chaos. I think I have talked about the time a friend, who was the Navajo Nation Vice President, invited me to a family gathering here in Flagstaff--a mini-vacation. When I got to their house—on Anglo time—I just opened the door and walked in, as I always did. Two Navajo ‘Secret Service’ types showed up out of nowhere and prevented my entry. There was lots of teasing after that incident. Politicians and supervisors never get a real vacation. Some may think it is a vacation, but it certainly isn’t.

Some big-wig at Google told us that in the future, we will have one on-line identity and an off-line identity. He believes that at 18 or 21 you will get a new name. Many Native American cultures have been doing that for centuries. Today’s on-line personality through social networking sites can prove embarrassing. It used to be the parents, pulling out the ‘baby book’ to show your good friends. They would never have thought of showing those cute pictures and associated antics to their child’s boss, or potential employer, the family clergy, and certainly not total strangers. Today, employers use social networking to learn more about their current and potential employees. All of this technology is no new, it is also abused. I’m not sure a new name will help. I have a former co-worker friend on FB. Today she posted that she clicked on ‘free iPad’ and is now getting lots of spam. She started to fill out the pop-up form, but didn’t finish it, realizing that it wasn’t free. She is a highly educated, common sense type person. Her minor lapse in judgment now caused lots of headaches. FB does the same with their ‘like’ button. NPR did a great story this week on how your on-line presence is followed. If you search for ‘airline tickets to LA’ on your computer, within seconds, that information is sold. Suddenly, when you open any browser—AOL, Explorer, Firefox, Safari…-- you will have ads on that page for ‘airline deals to LA’. Sometimes it is only on that computer, other times it follows you whenever you sign in. They don’t have your password, or even your name. The advertiser just knows that your particular binary code searched, and they are there to tell you about their product. It is all legal ‘targeted’ advertising. Of course, sometimes it is more invasive, some can steal all your email contacts and send them spam. Some can actually get your online banking info, your pin numbers, etc. This is all very scary high tech stuff and reminds us all that we have to be very careful whatever we click on, whatever we post, whatever sites we open, and what we do on line. Right now, there is really only one way to protect yourself from this advertising, don’t go on-line.

Flagstaff was dry today, but we sure had several chances to get rain. Huge grey clouds came through the sky and I’m sure they dropped rain somewhere nearby. I just didn’t get any of it. It did get hot [85° on the deck] and this afternoon was muggy [RH was 47%] with basically no ground level breeze. It must have been very windy in the upper atmosphere as those clouds came in quickly, stayed a couple of hours, then were gone quite quickly. Our small local airport is about 5 miles out of town and about 15 miles from my house. For some reason, we have become the flight path for incoming planes. I am right at the bottom of Mt. Elden so I’m not sure why the landing flight pattern has changed. There are only about 5 flights a day and the largest plane holds about 30 people. We just got rid of the train noise, now we get landing noise…it’s not fair. I’m sure it has something to do with the season and the winds and will soon stop. We always have had helicopters—flight of life—over your complex but those flights are very rare and it is difficult to get upset, when you think about why they are flying nearby.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

White Elk (Otoe Elder, Nebraska): When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1865 William Sheppard of New York City patented liquid soap

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION on Sam Clemens Part II

§In his later years, Mark Twain formed a sort of club for the daughters of several friends. He would entertain the Angelfish Club with stories and became a grandfather figure to the group.

§Mark Twain married Olivia Langdon in 1870. The couple remained married until Olivia died in 1904, and the sadness inherent in Twain's letters written after 1904 is often attributed to his depression over her death.

§In The Diaries of Adam and Eve , Adam mistakes his son Cain for a fish. He says:

"It resembles us in some ways, and may be a relation. That is what she (Eve) thinks, but this is an error, in my judgment. The difference in size warrants the conclusion that it is a different and new kind of animal--a fish, perhaps, though when I put it in the water to see, it sank, and she plunged in and snatched it out before there was opportunity for the experiment to determine the matter."

§In The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson, Wilson's hobby is taking fingerprints. He stores a collection of fingerprints of the entire town and, in the end, uses this collection to solve a murder case.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers: Alphabet Soup

He's the heavyweight of the A-Team

Caveman comic strip created by Johnny Hart

Letter shared by sensuous woman author & 76'ers Doctor

What Bo Derek would have been in ancient Rom

Binet & Simon's measure of mental age

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

Note: A friend in Florida, Wes, told me his town is considering these microchip recycle bins in his small town.

Cleveland: Introducing smart recycling bins. They are part of a new recycling initiative being introduced in Cleveland next year. The way it works is new trash and recycling carts will be embedded with radio frequency identification chips and bar codes.

The chips will allow city workers to monitor how often residents roll carts to the curb for collection. If a chip shows a recyclable cart hasn't been brought to the curb in weeks, a trash supervisor will sort through the trash for recyclables.

Trash carts containing more than 10 percent recyclable material, including glass, metal cans, plastic bottles, paper and cardboard, could lead to a $100 fine.

So basically, garbage cops. Of course, citizens could just side-step the issue by wheeling an empty recycling bin to the end of the drive once a week, but the question is, is it right for your local government to bug your garbage cans?

A LITTLE LAUGH

Rodney Dangerfield One Liners:

My mother got morning sickness after I was born.

My uncle's dying wish was to have me sit in his lap...he was in the electric chair!

My father carries around the picture of the kid who came with his wallet.

I come from a stupid family. During the Civil War, my great uncle fought for the west.

I could tell my parents hated me. My bath toys were a toaster and a radio.

A girl phoned me the other day and said... Come on over, there's nobody home. I went over. Nobody was home.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

What kind of dance does a spaghetti go to?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Neptune: So much to learn, Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

--

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

Be An Angel Day

Southern Hemisphere: ‘Hoodie Hoo’ Day: yelled at noon today to chase away winter and welcome spring

Russia: Flag Day

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

1890 ... Semper Fidelis by U.S. Marine Band Hear it Here!

1910 ... Casey Jones by Billy Murray & American Quartet

1940… I'll Never Smile Again by Tommy Dorsey

1950… Goodnight Irene by Gordon Jenkins & the Weavers Hear it Hear!

1960… It's Now or Never by Elvis Presley

1970… Make It with You by Bread Hear it Here!

1980… Magic by Olivia Newton-John

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Ray Bradbury, 90, author (The Toynbee Convector, Fahrenheit 451), born Waukegan, IL

Claude Debussy, composer (La Mer, Clair de lune): impressionist music…born 1862…St Germain-en-Laye, France

George Herriman, cartoonist: comic strips: Krazy Kat…born 1880…New Orleans, LA

John Lee Hooker, blues musician (Canned Heat) …born 1917…Clarksdale, MS

E. Annie Proulx, 75, author (The Shipping News, Accordion Crimes), born Norwich, CT

Archibald M Willard, artist (Spirit of '76)…born 1836…Bedford, OH

~~~

Honor Blackman, 84, actress (Pussy Galore-Goldfinger) …born … London, England

Valerie Harper, 69, actress (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Rhoda”), born Suffern, NY

Cindy Williams, 62, actress (American Graffiti, “Laverne & Shirley”), born Van Nuys, CA

• Athletics

Duane Charles (Bill) Parcells, 69, football coach, born Englewood, NJ

Carl Yastrzemski, 71, Baseball: Red Sox…born …Southampton, NY

• Business & Education

Steve Kroft, 65, television journalist, editor (“60 Minutes”), born Kokomo, IN

Giada De Laurentiis, 40, chef, cookbook author, television personality (“Everyday Italian”), born Rome, Italy

• Politics

Norman H. Schwarzkopf, 76, retired army general, born Trenton, NJ

Deng Xiaoping, Maoist Chinese leader…born 1904… Guang'an, Sichuan, Empire of the Great Qing of China

• Science/Religion

Dr. Denton Cooley, 90, heart surgeon: pioneered many techniques used in cardiovascular surgery; 1st successful US heart transplant…born …Houston, TX

Samuel Langley, pioneer in aviation: Langley Air Force Base [in Virginia] bears his name…born 1834…Roxbury, MA

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Sebastian Cabot, actor (Mr French-Family Affair), stroke @ 59 in 1977

Michael Collins [Mícheál Ó Coileáin], Sinn Fein leader, killed by rebels @ 32 in 1922

Jomo Kenyatta (Kamau wa Muigai), 1st president of Kenya, of the Kikuyu people @ 83 in 1978

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

2004 A version of The Scream and Madonna, two paintings by Edvard Munch, are stolen at gunpoint from a museum in Oslo,Norway.

• Athletics

1950 Althea Gibson becomes 1st black competitor in national tennis competition

• Business & Education

1762 1st female (Ann Franklin) US newspaper editor, Newport RI, Mercury

• Indigenous People

1670 Hiacoomes preaches his first sermon to his Wampanoag people on Martha's Vineyard

1806 Pike’s expedition has reached a village of the Little Osage near the forks of the Osage River in modern Missouri. He holds a council here with both the Grand and Little Osage. The Little Osage are lead by Tuttassuggy or "The Wind," and the Grand Osage by Cheveau Blanc, or White Hair

• Politics (US)

1846 US annexes New Mexico

1902 Pres Teddy Roosevelt became 1st US chief executive to ride in a car

• Politics (International)

1454 Jews are expelled from Brunn Moravia by order of King Ladislaus

1770 Captain James Cook, having landed at Australia, claimed it for the British Crown

1851 Gold fields discovered in Australia

1988 Australia unveils 1st platinum coin (Koala)

• Science / Religion

565 St Columba reported seeing monster in Loch Ness

1906 1st Victor Victrola manufactured

1968 1st papal visit to Latin America (Pope Paul VI arrives in Bogota)

1989 1st complete ring around Neptune discovered

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

He's the heavyweight of the A-Team—Who was Mr. T?

Caveman comic strip created by Johnny Hart—What is BC?

Letter shared by sensuous woman author & 76'ers Doctor—What is ‘J’?

What Bo Derek would have been in ancient Rome—What is ‘X’

Binet & Simon's measure of mental age—What is IQ?

↔ 2

A meatball—meat ball

↔ Picture

A hand mixer

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Mount Rainier National Park, as of March 2, 1899—4th National Park: Mount Rainier, an active volcano, is the most prominent peak in the Cascades, and it is covered by 26 named glaciers including Carbon Glacier and Emmons Glacier, the largest in the continental United States. The mountain is popular for climbing, and more than half of the park is covered by subalpine and alpine forests. Paradise on the south slope is one of the snowiest places in the world, and the Longmire visitor center is the start of the Wonderland Trail, which encircles the mountain. Mount Rainier was first known by the Native Americans as Talol, or Tacoma, from the Lushootseed word [təqʷúʔbəʔ] ("mother of waters") spoken by the Puyallup.

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Saturday August 21

This is Week 33 of 2010►Day 233 with 132 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I assisted Martha in mailing some 30 odd books today. She has been selling her bookstore inventory on Amazon for a couple of years. My part, the easy part, was to carry two of those white Post Office carry boxes from her car to the PO line. A very easy job. She had to find the books, put them in the envelope, address the envelope, put on all the right tags. She knows all the PO people really well as she does this almost daily. Right now she is limited to lifting five pounds at a time. I haven’t been in the old downtown Post Office for many years. They still have the old combination mailboxes; they have painted and fixed up the look of the post office. The entire post office is now government grey, which makes it look very retro.

Every city in the US is suffering from high unemployment, some more than others. No matter where you live, construction is suffering more than many other sectors. Today’s news taught us that the various construction unions are against building the mosque. They are already saying that their members will not build the mosque. They can tell their members that, the members don’t have to build it…but if they refuse to work on that mosque and are therefore unemployed, are the eligible for unemployment payments? The other item that many seem to ignore is that right now, and for the last 30 years, there has been a mosque on the very site. Politics and religion should not mix.

Since this is the holiest month of the Muslim year, Ramadan, that has to have something to do with all this hype and also the hype about Obama and his religion. Ramadan is only a month, and maybe, after the sliver of the moon is seen, this will all die down. During the Christian Christmas season we hear about the separation of church and state, the display of Christian symbols in government buildings and in public spaces. As soon as the Christmas season ends, the concern seems to be put on the back burner until the next year. Maybe the same will happen with the Muslim issues some seem to have.

Thankfully, the last escapee and his fiancé have been recaptured. While there was an international search, they were right here in Arizona, camping out in the mountains in South-Eastern Arizona. The capture was uneventful and everyone can rest better now. As the facts of their escape continue to be released one has to wonder if private prisons are really the best way to protect our citizens. There seems to have been very little state oversight and lots of cost cutting measures, like not insuring that the border fence actually had a working alarm system that didn’t accidently go off some 30 times a day or insuring that the changing of the guard didn’t leave the outside unguarded for anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes at each changing. Hopefully things will change.

Flagstaff was nice today. No rain, and it was 82° with very little breeze. I enjoyed a short morning walk. It was a little warm this afternoon on the deck, but certainly not unbearable.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

H. L. Mencken –American journalist and satirist: For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1987 Clayton Lonetree, 1st marine court-martialed for spying, convicted served 9 years and received dishonorable discharge.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION on Samuel Clemens

§The preface to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn contains the following warning: "PERSONS attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot."

§Mark Twain published his first book, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County , in 1867. The book contained 27 previously released pieces written during Twain's years as a newspaper writer in Nevada and California.

§Prior to adopting Mark Twain as his pen name, Clemens wrote under the pseudonym Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass for three humorous pieces he contributed to the Keokuk Post.

§During the execution of their elaborate plan to help Jim escape, Tom neglected to tell Huck and Jim that Jim was already a free man. Old Miss Watson had died two months previously and, ashamed that she had ever intended to sell Jim, set him free in her will.

§Mark Twain received an honorary doctorate from Oxford University in 1907.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers: Toys and Games

Number of pockets on a pool table

Color that always has opening move in chess

Versions of this board game take place in London, Madrid, & Atlantic City

Binney & Smith makes them in 64 colors

She's been a teenage fashion model for over 25 years

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

CHRISTINA LAKE, British Columbia — Police who uncovered two marijuana fields near the U.S.-Canada border had to tread carefully: 13 black bears were wandering around the crops.

The fields of about 2,300 plants were found near Christina Lake, just a few miles (kilometers) from the border.

Royal Candian Mounted Police Cpl. Dan Moskaluk says that when police arrived in the area two weeks ago, they discovered the bears and cautiously went about making the seizure.

He says the bears were docile and obviously were used to humans. They could be put down if they are too habituated to people.

The property's two owners were arrested on charges of production and possession of a controlled substance.

It's unclear if they used the bears to guard the pot fields or just liked having them as pets.

A LITTLE LAUGH

A New York retail clerk was suffering from aching feet.

"It's all those years of standing," his doctor declared.

"You need a vacation. Go to Miami, soak your feet in the ocean and you'll feel better."

When the man got to Florida, he went into a hardware store, bought two large buckets and headed for the beach.

"How much for two buckets of that seawater?" he asked the lifeguard.

"A dollar a bucket," the fellow replied with a straight face.

The clerk paid him, filled his buckets, went to his hotel room and soaked his feet. They felt so much better he decided to repeat the treatment that afternoon. Again he handed the lifeguard two dollars. The young man took the money and said, "Help yourself."

The clerk started for the water, then stopped in amazement. The tide was out. "Wow," he said, turning to the lifeguard. "Some business you got here!"

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

Ten birds are sitting on a power line. A neighbor comes outside with a shotgun, annoyed at the birds sitting there. He shoots his gun and kills one bird. How many are left?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

How to paint the Mona Lisa: Click Here

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

15-21: National Aviation Week

……….Weird Contest Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

Hug Your Boss Day

National Homeless Animals Day

National Spumoni Day

Poet's Day

Senior Citizen's Day

(World) Daffodil Day

Morocco: King Mohammed VI's Birthday

Philippines: Ninoy Aquino Day

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

My Wild Irish Rose   Albert Campbell   1899 (not the original but still good) Click Here!

Singin' in the Rain    Cliff Edwards ("Ukelele Ike")   1929

Some Enchanted Evening    Perry Como     1949

The Three Bells     The Browns     1959 Click Here!

Honky Tonk Women     The Rolling Stones     1969

My Sharona     The Knack     1979

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

William "Count" Basie, jazz pianist…born 1906…Red Bank, NJ

Jackie DeShannon, 66, singer, songwriter…born Hazel, KY

Friz Freleng, animator (Bugs Bunny-Emmy 1982) …born 1906…Kansas City, MO

Harold Reid, 71, bass singer: The Statler Brothers …born Staunton, VA

Kenny Rogers, 72, singer…born Houston, TX

~~~

Kim Cattrall, 54, actress (“Sex and the City,” Mannequin)…born Liverpool, England

Hayden Panettiere, 21, actress (“Heroes,”)…born Palisades, NY

Nancy Kulp, actress (Jane-Beverly Hillbillies) …born 1921… Harrisburg Pa

• Athletics

Usain Bolt, 24, Olympic track and field athlete…born Trelawny, Jamaica

Wilt (Wilton) Chamberlain, Basketball Hall of Famer: NBA MVP Award: Philadelphia Warriors [1960], Philadelphia 76ers…born 1936…Philadelphia, PA

Archie Griffin, 56, football: Heisman Trophy winner: Bengals…born …Columbus, OH

James Robert (Jim) McMahon, 51, football (BYU, Bears, Chargers, Eagles, Vikings, Cardinals, Browns, Packers)…born Jersey City, NJ

Chris Schenkel, sportscaster: CBS Sports; ABC Sports…born 1923… Bippus, IN

• Business & Education

Steve Case, 52, founder of America Online…born Oahu, HI

Harry Smith, 59 , TV host (CBS Morning Show) …born Lansing, IL

• Politics

Princess Margaret Rose, Countess of Snowdon; sister of England’s Queen Elizabeth II …born 1930… Glamis Castle, Scotland

• Science/Religion

Hubert Gautier, engineer, wrote 1st book on bridge building…born 1660… Nîmes, France

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Benigno S Aquino Jr, Philippines opposition leader, killed in Manila @ 51 in 1982

Robert Moog, American pioneer of electronic music @ 71 in 2005

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1911 The Mona Lisa is stolen by a Louvre employee.

• Athletics

1929 The Chicago Cardinals became the first professional football team to go out of town for training camp

1975 Rick & Paul Reuschel become 1st brothers to pitch a combined shut out (Cubs)

• Business & Education

1841 John Hampson patents venetian blind

1888 William Burroughs of St. Louis, MO patented his adding machine

1912 Arthur R. Eldred of Oceanside, NY is the first to reach the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America program.

• Indigenous People

1680 Pueblo Indians took possession of Santa Fe‚ from Spanish

1689 Frenchmen convince local Indians to attack British Fort Charles in Maine. Several settlers are killed in the fighting.

• Politics (US)

1831 Nat Turner slave revolt kills 55 (Southampton County, Virginia)

1858 1st Lincoln-Douglas debate (Illinois)

1959 Hawaii becomes 50th US state

• Politics (International)

1689 The Battle of Dunkeld in Scotland.

1950 The United Nations moved into its new permanent facilities in New York City -- on land donated by the Rockefeller family

1991 Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses

• Science / Religion

1986 Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20-kilometer range.

2007 Hurricane Dean makes its first landfall in Costa Maya, Mexico with winds at 165 mph (266 km/h). Dean is the first storm since Hurricane Andrew to make landfall as a Category 5.

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

Number of pockets on a pool table: what is six?

Color that always has opening move in chess: What is white?

Versions of this board game take place in London, Madrid, & Atlantic City: What is Monopoly?

Binney & Smith makes them in 64 colors: What are Crayons?

She's been a teenage fashion model for over 25 years: Who is Barbie?

↔ 2

One. The one he shot. The other nine were scared off by the sound of the shot gun.

↔ Picture

A bicycle seat

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Yosemite, 4th National Park as of October 1, 1890: Yosemite has towering cliffs, waterfalls, and sequoias in a diverse area of geology and hydrology. Half Dome and El Capitan rise from the central glacier-formed Yosemite Valley, as does Yosemite Falls, North America's tallest waterfall. Three Giant Sequoia groves and vast wilderness are home to diverse wildlife.

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Friday August 20

This is Week 33 of 2010►Day 232 with 133 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

My car radio is set to NPR-talk. Whenever I am out and about I am listening to one of their many shows. I have listened to many stories over the years where I get to the place I am going, park, and sit in the car to hear the rest of the story. NPR calls it a ‘driveway story’ as you listen to the rest of the story in your driveway before going into the house. Today there was program on ‘bed bugs’. I had just seen a 60 minutes story on them. I parked at the restaurant, and was late to our lunch, to hear the program. I am usually not a real paranoid person. My upcoming trip may change my mind. It turns out it is not a NY problem, but a worldwide problem. I heard specific instructions of things to look for at a hotel room before putting your suitcase in the room. The same is true for any hospital, any dormitory, any apartment complex, any nursing home, for anywhere one is going to sleep. These little freaky creatures are found in every hotel chain, no matter what you pay. How do they get into your bed? Obviously they are brought in by previous people or from the housekeeping staff or from your neighbors. No, it is not mean people or crazy people carrying around a jar of them to leave behind. The other place mentioned is your local clothing store. Somebody buys a piece of clothing, takes it home, throws it on a bed or chair, while they prepare to try it on. They put it on and it doesn’t fit or isn’t the right color. They take it back to the store and get something else. Well, if they have bed bugs, the little critters crawl on the new clothing and are now off to a new home. Why are bed bugs making such a comeback? All the chemicals that kill them have been banned to all but professional exterminators. I guess that mom was right when she vacuumed and turned the cushions on the couch on a regular basis. I’m expecting nightmares tonight. Thanks NPR for another great driveway story.

We had a really good lunch and conversation today. I only briefly mentioned my new knowledge of bed bugs as it wasn’t really good for mealtime conversation. Mary and hubby Michael went to Sedona for a break. Of course she found and bought a nice bracelet. They didn’t continue to Phoenix—their original plan—as it was just too hot. Cheryl has been working on her home repair list, by having her handyman come in to make the list shorter. Cheryl is headed for some surgery in November and gets to go through all the pre-test maze. She did her first EKG this morning and returns in a couple of weeks for the stress test. The doc asked her how fast she could walk. She said it depended on how badly she wanted to get where she was walking to. The doc and the nurse just cracked up.

Two local stories caught my eye today. The head of the Dept. of Corrections released a report on the recent private prison escapes. Everything in the escape points to poor management and poor oversight. Lots of private and state government jobs are now on the line. Our non-elected governor is more interested in the press she gets by arresting illegals than keeping the convicted criminals inside the prison. The other story showed that the state has been caught ‘embellishing’ the figures regarding kidnappings in Arizona. The state figures show that there was almost one kidnapping every day in AZ in 2008 and this has allowed our state to get millions in Federal funding—mostly from Homeland Security—to decrease the numbers. AZ took the money, the figures remained fairly stable. Phoenix had the highest kidnapping rate in the US. Now the revised figures show that during that time period, there were 38 kidnappings. Those figures have affected every homeowner or land owner in the state with higher insurance premiums and possibly lower property values. I sure hope heads roll on that too.

FYI: I am not one of the nearly 20% of Americans who believe that Obama is a Muslim. The story will not die. The pollsters keep asking. The more they ask, the more people who start to believe it. I guess 20% is a small group. There are 6% of people who believe we never landed on the moon.

There was no rain in Flag today. We reached 80° with a nice breeze to keep it tolerable. Nice to be outside, nice day for a walk. Flagstaff is a great place to live.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Thomas Fuller (1608-1661), Clergyman, historian: A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1986 Mail carrier Patrick Sherrill, Edmond Ok, shot 14 fellow workers dead—thus ‘going postal'

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION about The Bard

~Shakespeare, one of literature's greatest figures, never attended any university.

~With 1,787 lines and 14,369 words, The Comedy of Errors is Shakespeare's shortest play. The shortest of his tragedies (with 1993 lines) is Macbeth.

~In 1582, at the age of eighteen, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway who was seven or eight years older than the young playwright.

~Shakespeare is said to have played the Ghost in the original production of Hamlet.

~None of Shakespeare's original manuscripts have survived, due partly perhaps to the fact that they were written, many of them hastily, strictly for stage performance.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers

Christmas, Easter, or Bermuda, for example

Europe's only wild monkeys live on this "rock"

1/3 the size of U.S., this royal kingdom has no rivers or lakes but lots of oil

Largest country entirely in Europe

Clocks in Lima, Peru, read the same as in this U.S. time zone

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

VIENNA — No kangaroos in Austria? Wrong! The search is on for a missing marsupial in the Alpine republic.

Sumsi disappeared from a private zoo in the southern village of Preding about two months ago and is keeping locals busy by popping up and then quickly getting away again.

Tourists to Austria can buy T-shirts with the slogan "No kangaroos in Austria" because this European country is sometimes confused with Australia, where the marsupials are native.

Recently, local firefighters sealed off a corn field after a Sumsi sighting — but to no avail. Not even a feeding station set up by kangaroo-crazy kids has done the trick.

Zoo operator Magrid Brauchart said Thursday she's convinced the five-year-old male was stolen and worries her charge could get hurt.

A LITTLE LAUGH

A young man I know, who recently became law clerk to a prominent New Jersey judge, was asked to prepare a suggested opinion in an important case. After working on the assignment for some time, he proudly handed in a 23-page document.

When he got it back, he found a terse comment in the judge's handwriting on page 7: "Stop romancing—propose already."

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

You are in a room with 3 monkeys. One monkey has a banana, one has a stick, and one has nothing. Who is the smartest primate?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Overture of 1812 Finale: Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

15-21: National Aviation Week

……….Weird Contest Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

National Radio Day

Men's Grooming Day

Virtual World's Day

Estonia: Restoration of Independence Day, re-declaration of the independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Nepal: Father's Day

Hungary: Constitution Day (1949)

Senegal: Independence Day (1960 from Mali Federation)

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody Al Jolson 1918

A Tisket, A Tasket Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb 1938

Little Star The Elegants 1958

People Got to Be Free The Rascals 1968

Grease Frankie Valli 1978

Roll with It Steve Winwood 1988

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Isaac Lee Hayes Jr., composer (Shaft) … born 1942…Covington, TN

Robert Plant, 62, singer (Led Zeppelin), born Bromwich, England

Salvatore Quasimodo, poet/critic/translator (Nobel 1959) … born 1901… Modica, Sicily

Alan Reed, original voice of Fred Flintstone…born 1907…NYC, NY

Jim (James Travis) Reeves, first big country-crossover artist… born 1923… Galloway, Panola County, TX

Al Roker, 56, television personality (“Today Show”), born Brooklyn, NY

Jacqueline Susann, author: The Valley of the Dolls, The Love Machine… born 1918…Philadelphia, PA

~~~

Shirley Booth, actress (Hazel-Hazel, A Touch of Grace) … born 1907…NYC, NY

• Athletics

Donald (Don) King, 79, boxing promoter, born Cleveland, OH

Graig Nettles, 66, 3rd baseman (Yankees, Padres, Indians) … born San Diego, CA

• Business & Education

Connie Chung, 64, journalist, born Constance Yu-Hwa at Washington, DC

• Politics

Benjamin Harrison, 23rd Pres… born 1833…North Bend, OH

Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme, leader of Chile: ‘Liberator of Chile’… born 1778… Chillán, Chile

• Science/Religion

Hideki Shirakawa, 74, Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize laureate for Chemistry…born Tokyo, Japan

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Charles Floyd, only fatality of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, colic or ruptured appendix @ 22 in 1804

Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Arctic explorer, @ 82 in 1961

Leon Trotsky, Bolshevik Marxist leader, ice picked by Frank Jackson @ 61 in 1940

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1882 Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture debuts in Moscow.

• Athletics

1939 1st black bowling league formed (National Bowling Assoc)

1945 Tommy Brown of Brooklyn Dodgers, became the youngest player (17 years, 8 months and 14 days old) to hit a home run in a major-league ball game.

2000 Tiger Woods won the 82nd PGA Championship in Louisville, becoming the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three majors (Masters, U.S. Open, British Open) in one year.

• Business & Education

1896 Dial telephone patented

• Indigenous People

1789 Juan de Ugalde is Commanding General of all Spanish forces in Coahuila, Nuevo León, Nuevo Santander, and Texas. He starts a major expedition against the Apache.

1789 An "Act Providing for the Expenses Which May Attend Negotiations or Treaties with the Indian Tribes, and the Appointment of Commissioners for Managing the Same" is approved by the United States.

1794 Gen Mad Anthony Wayne routes Indians at Fallen Timbers, Ohio

• Politics (US)

1865 Pres Johnson proclaims an end to "insurrection" in Tx

1866 Pres Andrew Johnson formally declares Civil War over

1942 Dim-out regulations implemented in SF

• Politics (International)

1741 Alaska was discovered by Danish navigator Vitus Jonas Bering

• Science / Religion

1912 Plant Quarantine Act goes into effect

1980 Reinhold Messner of Italy is 1st to solo ascent Mt Everest

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

Christmas, Easter, or Bermuda, for example: What are islands?

Europe's only wild monkeys live on this "rock": What is Gibraltar?

1/3 the size of U.S., this royal kingdom has no rivers or lakes but lots of oil: What is Saudi Arabia?

Largest country entirely in Europe: What is France?

Clocks in Lima, Peru, read the same as in this U.S. time zone: What is Eastern Time Zone?

↔ 2

You are.

↔ Picture

A Snoopy doll

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Kings Canyon Nat’l Park, California, since October 1, 1890, 3rd Park Home to several Giant sequoia groves and the General Grant Tree, the world's second largest, this park also has part of the Kings River, site of the granite Kings Canyon, and San Joaquin River, as well as the Boyden Cave

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