May 7

FYI: Any Blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

May 7, 2020 Week: 19 Day: 128

86004: H 81° \ L 39° \ Average Sky Cover: 15%

Wind: 7mph\Gusts: 11mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 528mi.; Nearest active fire: 506mi.

Record High: 81°[1989] Record Low: 15°[1938]

May Averages: 68°\34° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

"Climb the mountain so you can see the world,

not so the world can see you."

— David McCullough

Random Tidbits

Morocco

Credit: Rudolf Ernst/ iStock

Watch a lot of movies, and you might imagine the city of Casablanca is the capital of Morocco. Even with the likes of Bogie and Bergman gracing your screens and making you fall in love with Morocco, this beautiful city isn't the capital. Nor is the popular tourist hot spot Marrakech. The capital of this international destination is actually Rabat, a coastal city on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea.

Home to the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, Rabat is a hidden gem with a lot to offer. The mausoleum is a preserved holy place that's open to the public. Three members of the Alaouite dynasty are interred within. The architectural style is reminiscent of the dynasty's time.

Have a smile

A friend sent these to me

Q. How do you make the number one disappear?
A. Just add a 'g' and it's gone!
Q.What do you call a pudgy psychic?

A.  A four-chin teller.

Observations This Month

Older Americans Month
Personal History Month LinkPet Cancer Awareness Month Link
Prader-Willi Syndrome Awareness Month
Preeclampsia Awareness Month Link
Prepare Tomorrow's Parents Month (5/11-6/15)
React Month
Revise Your Work Schedule Month
Save Your Tooth Month
Social Security Education Awareness Month
Skin Cancer Awareness Month  LinkSpiritual Literacy Month
Strike Out Strokes Month
Sturge-Weber Awareness Month Link

Observations This Week

Ramadan: 23-5/23

Choose Privacy Week: 1-7 Link
Be Kind To Animals Week: 3-9
Dating and Life Coach Recognition Week: 3-9 Link 
Drinking Water Week: 3-9 Link 
Flexible Work Arrangement Week: 3-9
Goodwill Industries Week: 3-9 
Hurricane Preparedness Week: 3-9 Link
International Clitoris Awareness Week: 3-9
National Alcohol & Drug Related Birth Defects Awareness Week: 3-9
National Anxiety & Depression Awareness Week: 3-9
National Correctional Officer's Week:3-9
National Family Week: 3-9
National Hug Holiday Week: 3-9
National Raisin Week: 3-9 Link
National Root Canal Appreciation Week: 3-9  Link
National Tourism Week: 3-9 Link  
North American Occupational Safety & Health Week: 3-9 Link
Public Service Recognition Week: 3-9 Link
National Pet Week: 3-9 Link 
National Small Business Week: 3-9 Link
Update Your References Week: 3-9 
(World) Dystonia Awareness Week: 3-11 Link
Air Quality Awareness Week: 4-8  Link 
Children's Book Week: 4-10 
Economic Development Week: 4-9  Link
International Coaching Week: 4-10  Link
National Safety Stand Down Week (Constuction Falls): 4-8 Link Cancelled due to COVID-19
National Sun Safety Week: 4-10 Link
National WildflowerWeek: 4-10 
Peripheral Neuropathy Awareness Week: 4-10 Link
PTA Teacher Appreciation Week: 4-8 
Screen-Free Week (Digital Detox Week): 4-10 Link Teacher Appreciation Week: 4-8 Link 
National Nurses Day and Week: 6-12 Link  Link

Observations for Today

Beaufort Scale (Wind) Day
Cosmopolitan Day (Drink)
Cystinosis Awareness Day
Design Packaging Day  Link
Day of Vesak Link
National Barrier Awareness DayNational Children's Mental Health Awareness Day
National Day of Prayer Link
National Day of Reason National Roast Leg of Lamb Day

National Tourism Day

Worldwide Day of Genital Autonomy Link
World Password Day Link

My Rambling Thoughts

It's another Spring day...nice day for a long walk. Enjoyable.

In my younger days I could watch TV or visit with friends until 1am, get up, shower, and be at work at 7:30am with no side effects. Last night was another Netflix night, I stayed up until 1:30am and finally got up about 7:45 this morning. After my walk I felt like I had been up forever. I'd like to blame it on Covid-19 stay-at-home order, but is probably something else...like getting older.

I got a text last night about 9pm that a former co-worker and friend had passed from this virus. She was a hard worker, beloved by staff and students at Grey Hills High School in Tuba, with three grown kids. She raised them after losing her husband and son in a climbing accident on the rez. So sad.

Bipolar news...the Corona Task Force is back on indefinitely, just one day after the President announced it would be ending. Always keep them guessing is the plan.

Yesterday President Trump visited AZ and a Honeywell plant that is making masks. Then he held a news conference with the AZ governor, the 2^nd lady of the Navajo Nation, and the Governor of Gila River Reservation. The last two have much praise to Trump for the money he was sending to Indian Country for virus release. The AZ Governor thanked him for the money for AZ. Then Trump talked about how his wall was saving the country. After all the talk about 'Indian Country', neither Native leader said a word about how his wall was dividing the land of the Tohono O’odham (formerly Papago) Nation. Being a politician is a difficult job. Already some in Indian Country is not pleased.

There was a macabre mistake in Seattle. A local health center that serves Native Americans in that community ordered 6000 test kits for Covid-19 from the Feds. When they opened the boxes, they found 6000 white body bags. There is now a full investigation as to how this happened.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

No matter how smart you are there is one thing you always overlook. 

What is it?

Historical Events

1718 - La Nouvelle-Orleans (now New Orleans) was founded by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, the Regent of France.

1896 - Dr. H. H. Holmes, one of America's first well-known serial killers, was hanged to death in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Over 200 bodies were found in his property.

1915 - A German U-boat sank the Lusitania.

1952 - The concept of the integrated circuit chip was first presented, at a Symposium on Progress in Quality Electronic Components in Washington DC, by Geoffrey W.A. Dummer.

1994 - Norway's most famous painting The Scream by Edvard Munch (1893), was recovered almost three months after it was stolen from a museum in Oslo.

1998 - Germany's Daimler-Benz announced the purchase of the Chrysler Corporation, forming DaimlerChrysler AG. It was sold again in 2006, forming Chrysler LLC.

1999 Pope John Paul II travels to Romania becoming the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.

2008 Dmitry Medvedev is sworn in as the 3rd President of the Russian Federation

2012 Vladimir Putin sworn in for third six-year term as President of Russia

2013 Delaware becomes the 11th US State to legalize same-sex marriage

2015 British General Elections: Conservative Party win outright majority and David Cameron returns as Prime Minister

2015 Underwater explorers discover a silver ingot of Captain William Kidd's treasure near Madagascar

2018 Vladimir Putin is sworn in as Russian President for another 6 years

2019 Denver is the first US city to decriminalize psilocybin "magic mushrooms"

2019 Hackers seize control of the computer system of the US city of Baltimore, demanding a ransom in Bitcoins to unlock them

Birthdays Today

@83- Character actor George "Gabby" Hayes

@83- Actor Darren McGavin [William Lyle Richardson](d. 2006)

@62- Actor, Anne Baxter (d. 1985; stroke)

@60- Actor Gary Cooper (d. 1961; cancer)

@53- Composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (d. 1893)

51- Actor Traci Lords [Nora Louise Kuzma]

@33- politician Eva Peron (d. 1952)

Puzzle Answer:

Your nose

May 6

FYI: Any Blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

May 6, 2020 Week: 19 Day: 127

86004: H 73° \ L 39° \ Average Sky Cover: 5%

Wind: 4mph\Gusts: 8mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 711mi.; Nearest active fire: 540mi.

Record High: 82°[1947] Record Low: 14°[1975]

May Averages: 68°\34° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

"Traveling — it leaves you speechless,

then turns you into a storyteller."

— Ibn Battuta

Random Tidbits

Most Deadly Animal

Mosquitoes: 725,000 deaths per year. It would take about 1.2 million bites to drain all the blood from your body.

Have a smile

A friend sent these to me

Q. What happens when a frog's car dies? He needs a jump.

A.  If that doesn't work he has to get it toad. 

I ate my exam papers... which means

pretty soon I'll pass the test.

Observations This Month

National Meditation Month
National Mediterranean Diet Month Link
National Mental Health Month
National Military Appreciation Month
National Pet Cancer Awareness Month Link  Link
National Osteoporosis Prevention Month
National Photo Month
National Physical Fitness & Sports Month
National Physiotherapy Month Link
National Preservation Month
National Read To Your Baby Bump Month
National Recommitment Month  Link
National Salad Month
National Salsa Month (The Sauce)
National Service Dog Eye Examination Month  Link
National Smile Month Link  (May 18-June 18)
National Syringomyelia Awareness Month  Link  
National Stroke Awareness Month
National Sweet Vidalia Onions Month
National Tuberous Sclerosis Month LinkNational Water Safety Month Link
National Water Quality Month  Link  (also in August.)
National Vinegar Month
National Youth Traffic Safety Month Link
Necrotizing Fasciitis Awareness Month
Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month Link

Observations This Week

National Sun Safety Week: 4-10 Link
National WildflowerWeek: 4-10 
Peripheral Neuropathy Awareness Week: 4-10 Link
PTA Teacher Appreciation Week: 4-8 
Screen-Free Week (Digital Detox Week): 4-10 Link Teacher Appreciation Week: 4-8 Link 
National Nurses Day and Week: 6-12 Link  Link

Observations for Today

Beverage Day

Great American Grump Out:
International Management Accounting Day
Joseph Brackett DayNational Crepe Suzette Day

National (Deaf) Interpreter Day Link
National Skilled Trades Day: Link
No Diet Day

National Golf Day Link
National Tourist Appreciation Day

No Homework Day
Nurses Day/National RN Recognition Day Link Link
Russell Stover Candies Day
School Nurse Day Link

My Rambling Thoughts

Nice day for a long walk...so I did it.

I live alone. Since March 13 I have had no visitors at my place. So yesterday afternoon I did my laundry. Two loads of clothes. As I was putting the clean and folded laundry away, I discovered I was missing a sock. I checked the washer, dryer, and the trail I took from the laundry room to the bedroom upstairs. Sock is still missing. I haven't gone anywhere that I took my socks off...and even if I had, one would think I would have noticed that a sock was missing. The mystery continues.

The administration announced, in a private meeting, that the Task Force will be shutting down soon. They didn't even tell the Task Force members before it was released. Also no one knows why Fauci will testify before the Republican Senate Oversite committee but will not testify before the House Committee...first he was 'too busy', now the committee is a 'set up'. Tired of the every day changes.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Everyone in the world needs it, but they usually give it without taking it. What is it?

Historical Events

1851 - Linus Yale, Jr. was granted a patent (#8,071) for the invention of his "Self-Detaching and Attaching Key-Lock" as "a new and Improved Safety-Lock for Banks, Safes, Vaults, Stores."

1851 - President Benjamin Harrison had the first electric lights installed in the White House.

1889 - The Eiffel Tower was officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.

1933 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order creating the Works Progress Administration (WPA)

1937 - The Hindenburg exploded over Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 passengers and crew members.

1940 - John Steinbeck was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.

1954 - Roger Bannister broke four-minute mile (3:59.4) at the Iffley Road Track in Oxford, England

1984 - Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer, collectively called Spinal Tap, performed at CBGB's in NYC.

2001 - During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II became the first pope to enter a mosque.

2010 - The US stock market lost and regained over $1 trillion in value, within about 20 minutes. The Dow swung by over 1,000 points and many stocks declined to one cent per share before rising again. There are many theories but no conclusive reason for the crash.

2013 - Michelle Knight, Amada Berry and Gina DeJesus were freed after being held for years in the home of Ariel Castro.

2013 Wal-Mart becomes the largest company by revenue on the Fortune 500 list

2013 The US Senate passes a bill enabling taxing of online sales

2019 One million plant and animal species are now at risk of extinction according to a major new UN report

Birthdays Today

89-Baseball star, Willie Mays

75-Singer, Bob Seger

@70-Actor, director, Orson Welles (d.1985; heart attack)

67-British Politician Tony Blair

65-Game show host, Tom Bergeron

59-Actor, George Clooney

51- 1^st Lady, Melania Knauss Trump

@31-Actor, Rudolph Valentino (d.1926' peritonitis)

Puzzle Answer:

Advice

May 5

FYI: Any Blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

May 5, 2020 Week: 19 Day: 126

86004: H75 ° \ L 38° \ Average Sky Cover: 5%

Wind: 6mph\Gusts: 11mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 588mi.; Nearest active fire: 131mi.

Record High: 86°[1947] Record Low: 18°[1950]

May Averages: 68°\34° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

— Helen Keller

Random Tidbits

Deadliest Animals

Snakes: 50,000 deaths per year. The number of snake deaths may be higher because rural areas may not have adequate documentation.

Humans: 475,000 deaths per year. Over a 75-year lifespan, a person has a 1 in 200 chance of being murdered in America.

Have a smile

A friend sent these to me

I have a pen that can write underwater....

.... it can write other words too..

Observations This Month

National Allergy/Asthma Awareness Month Link
National Barbeque Month
National Better Hearing Month Link
National Bike Month Link
National Chamber Music Month Link
National Egg Month Link  Link
National Electrical Safety Month  Link
National Foster Care Month Link
National Good Car Keeping Month
National Hamburger Month  Link  Link
National Hepatitis Awareness Month
National High Blood Pressure Education Month Link
National Inventors Month Link
Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month (aka NF Month) Link
(World) Lyme Disease Awareness Month Link

Observations This Week

Ramadan: 23-5/23

Choose Privacy Week: 1-7 Link
Be Kind To Animals Week: 3-9
Dating and Life Coach Recognition Week: 3-9 Link 
Drinking Water Week: 3-9 Link 
Flexible Work Arrangement Week: 3-9
Goodwill Industries Week: 3-9 
Hurricane Preparedness Week: 3-9 Link
International Clitoris Awareness Week: 3-9
National Alcohol & Drug Related Birth Defects Awareness Week: 3-9
National Anxiety & Depression Awareness Week: 3-9
National Correctional Officer's Week:3-9
National Family Week: 3-9
National Hug Holiday Week: 3-9
National Raisin Week: 3-9 Link
National Root Canal Appreciation Week: 3-9  Link
National Tourism Week: 3-9 Link  
North American Occupational Safety & Health Week: 3-9 Link
Public Service Recognition Week: 3-9 Link
National Pet Week: 3-9 Link 
National Small Business Week: 3-9 Link
Update Your References Week: 3-9 
(World) Dystonia Awareness Week: 3-11 Link
Air Quality Awareness Week: 4-8  Link 
Children's Book Week: 4-10 
Economic Development Week: 4-9  Link
International Coaching Week: 4-10  Link
National Safety Stand Down Week (Constuction Falls): 4-8 Link Cancelled due to COVID-19
National Sun Safety Week: 4-10 Link
National WildflowerWeek: 4-10 
Peripheral Neuropathy Awareness Week: 4-10 Link
PTA Teacher Appreciation Week: 4-8 
Screen-Free Week (Digital Detox Week): 4-10 Link Teacher Appreciation Week: 4-8 Link 

Observations for Today

Cartoonists Day
Childhood Depression Awareness Day
Childhood Stroke Awareness Day Link
Cinco de Mayo Link
Foster Care Day Link  
International Day of The Midwife Link
International Roller Derby Day
National Astronaut Day Link
National Enchilada Day

National Hoagie Day

National Teacher DayOyster Day

Revenge of the Fifth (Star Wars Sith) Link
Silence The Shame Day Link
Totally Chipotle DayWorld Asthma Day Link 

My Rambling Thoughts

Cinco de Mayo during pandemic is very strange, to say the least. All Cinco de Mayo events in AZ have been canceled. I'm sure it's the same everywhere.

I'm confused again. The Senate of the US is back in session, the House is not. Trump offered screening tests to Congress. In a joint statement, Pelosi and McConnell said to send the tests to front line workers. I have to wonder how serious our Congress is taking this pandemic. Do they believe elected officials are immune? Do they know something about this contagion they are not telling us? Every day it just gets stranger.

The mayor of Page, AZ is in some hot water. Page is a border town. Lots of Navajo live in Page. Lots more spend money in Page. That has decreased since the Power Plant and the coal train closed a few months back. Navajo Nation has a tourist area at Antelope Point Recreation Area...boat ramp, fishing, hotel, dining, and boat tours. It brings many tourists to the area, including Page. So the Mayor sent a letter to Navajo Nation President Nez, asking him to reopen Antelope Point area. The President replied that the Navajo Nation was following CDC guidelines, and would not reopen until it met those guidelines. The mayor then went on Facebook and posted “I wish he would battle alcoholism as hard as Covid-19.“ This did not sit well with Navajo residents of Page or the Navajo Nation. Time will tell if he keeps his office after this debacle.

A few weeks ago I got an email from a friend inviting me join a Stanford School of Medicine National Daily survey on Covid-19. I put in my age, zip code, and email address. Now every day I get an email with two questions: How are you feeling...worse, same, better as yesterday. Do you have any symptoms? I've been doing it everyday and it actually makes me feel good. Being able to say I am the same as yesterday and have no symptoms must be sending endorphins to my brain. It makes me realize I am doing good during this pandemic.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

What can fly without wings and cry without eyes?

Historical Events

1809 - Mary Kies became the first woman awarded a US patent (#X01043) , for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.

1821 - Corsica-born Napoleon Bonaparte died as a British prisoner on the remote island of Saint Helena in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

1847 - The American Medical Association (AMA) met for the first time in the Hall of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1862 - General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated a French army led by General Charles Latrille de Lorencez that was attempting to capture Puebla de Los Angeles, a small town in east-central Mexico. This was the initial Cinco de Mayo cause for celebration.

1891 - The Music Hall in New York City (now known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Pyotr Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.

1904 - Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans threw the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball. They named an award after him.

1933 - The discovery of radio waves from the center of the Milky Way galaxy was announced by Karl Jansky.

1936 - The patent (#2,039,345) was issued for the first bottle with a screw cap and a pour lip to Edward A. Ravenscroft, Glencoe, Illinois

1961 - Navy Commander Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. was launched into space aboard the Freedom 7 space capsule, the first American astronaut to travel into space.

1965 - The Warlocks, later known as The Grateful Dead, made their first public appearance at Magoo's Pizza located at 639 Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park, California.

1994 - American teenager Michael P. Fay was caned in Singapore for theft and vandalism

2002 - Spider-Man was released and became the fastest movie ever to earn more than $100 million at the box office, raking in $114.8 million that weekend.

2002 Jacques Chirac wins the French Presidential election for a second term defeating Jean-Marie Le Pen leader of the far-right National Front

2005 Tony Blair's Labor Party is re-elected for a third consecutive term in UK general election

2017 Anna Wintour, the editor of US Vogue, is made a dame by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace

2019 King Vajiralongkorn is crowned King of Thailand, first monarch to be crowned in nearly seven decades during a three-day celebration in Bangkok

Birthdays Today

@88-Actor, Ann B. Davis (d. 2014)

@64-Philosopher, Karl Marx,  (d. 1883; pleurisy)

@55-County singer, Tammy Wynette (d. 1998; blood clot)

@44-Actor, Tyrone Power (d. 1958; heart attack)

31- Singer, Chris Brown (1989)

Puzzle Answer:

A cloud