Jul 22

 

 

 

Jul  22, 2021 Week: 30 Day: 203

Ave. Sky Cover: 60%\Visibility: 10 miles

Local Temp:  81°\ 58° Wind: 2mph\ Gusts: 5mph

Low risk of fire Active fire: 70mi. \ Lightning: 6mi.

Jul Averages: 82°\51° (9 days w/moisture)

 

Today’s Quote

 

 

 

Random Tidbits

 

There are several types of vegetarians. The strictest type is vegans. Vegans avoid not only meat but also all animal products. There is a debate within the vegan community about whether honey is appropriate for a vegan diet. For example, the Vegan Society and the American Vegan Society do not consider honey appropriate because it comes from an animal.

 

True Things

 

-- Vincent Vinny Marks, 27, of Plaquemine, Louisiana, picked the wrong guy to pull over as he impersonated a police officer on June 10. Law & Crime reported that an off-duty sheriff's deputy was driving that day when the vehicle behind him began "flashing his headlights continuously." The deputy pulled into a convenience store parking lot, followed by Marks, who approached his car, presented a badge and "represented himself as being a police officer." Unfortunately, the off-duty officer recognized Marks from a domestic incident that he had responded to earlier in the year. The Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office launched an investigation, and Marks was arrested on June 28 for false personation of a peace officer. [Law & Crime, 6/30/2021]

 

Idioms Origins

 

White Elephant

A seemly great, but an ultimately useless gift. The phrase started from the historic practice of the King of Siam (now Thailand) giving rare albino elephants to lessor patrons and frenemies who had displeased him so that they might be financially ruined by the animals’ upkeep costs.

 

Weekly Observations

 

Hemp History Week Link National Moth Week Link	17-23
Captive Nations Week Everybody Deserves A Massage Week Link  National Independent Retailers Week Link   National Zoo Keeper Week Link	18-24
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week	18-25
International Lace Week  Link	19-23
National Baby Food Week Link	21-24
Comic Con International	22-25
Hemingway Look-Alike Days Link	22-24

 

Today’s Observations

 

Casual Pi Day (22/7) Fragile X Awareness Day Hammock Day Mango day National Refreshment Day  Link   Pi Approximation Day Rat-catcher's Day (for Pied Piper) Spooners (Spoonerism) Day Summer Leisure Day

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

 

Another day with Monsoon rain. Lightning is already close. Hoping for no flooding from the burn areas. TV just announced flash flooding imminent in a small part of Flagstaff. Scary.

Politics: Nancy Pelosi has vetoed two Republicans from the committee to investigate January 6. There is lots of backlash as this is the first time in American history that this has happened. As a voting citizen, I just want to know who screwed up on Jan. 6^th to allow the protesters to do it. I don’t care if they claim to be Republican, Independent, Democrat, or Martian. I just want trueful answers. I know it is 2021 and that is virtually impossible, but that is what I want.

I read yesterday that the huge fires in Oregon are creating their own weather. Scary for sure.

The Suns lost to the Bucks last night. The last time the Bucks were Champions, Kareem was playing on their team…way back in 1971. I know the Suns will be back. Also the Buck’s coach is from Holbrook AZ.

The Havana Syndrome was identified when State Dept. officials on duty at the US Embassy in Havana began having issues with headaches and nausea. Now that syndrome moves to other embassies, we still don’t know how it occurs. Now there is an ‘incident’ at the US embassy in Vienna. Hope there is a solution soon.

 

2 New Puzzles Everyday

Answer: bottom of the page

 

Comm ¢¢

SELL       BUY

 

 

Historical Events

 

1796 – Surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company named an area in Ohio “Cleveland” after Gen. Moses Cleaveland, the superintendent of the surveying party.

1893 – Katharine Lee Bates wrote America The Beautiful after admiring the view from the top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, Colorado.

1933 – Wiley Post became the first person to fly solo around the world, traveling 15,596 miles (25,099 km) in seven days, 18 hours, and 45 minutes.

1934 – In front of Chicago’s Biograph Theater, “Public Enemy No. 1” John Dillinger was shot and killed by FBI agents.

1962 – Mariner 1 spacecraft flew off course several minutes after launch and had to be destroyed by remote control.

1996- The Daily Show premiered on Comedy Central

2011 – Norway was the location of twin terror attacks, the first being a bomb blast that targeted government buildings in central Oslo(killing 8 and injuring 209), the second being a massacre at a youth camp on the island of Utøya, killing 69 and injuring 110.

2015 'Oldest' Qur'an fragments discovered in collection of Birmingham University, radiocarbon testing dates to AD568 - AD645

2019 US President Donald Trump says US could win war in Afghanistan in a week "I just don't want to kill 10 million people. If I wanted to win that war, Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the earth"

 

Birthdays Today

 

@104 – Rose Kennedy, American philanthropist (died in 1995)

98 – Bob Dole, American soldier and politician

@91 – Orson Bean [Dallas Frederick Burrows], American actor (d. 2020)

89 – Tom Robbins, American novelist

@82 – Oscar de la Renta, Dominican-American fashion designer (d. 2014)

@80 – Alex Trebek, Canadian-American game show host (d. 2020)

78 – Bobby Sherman, American singer-songwriter

75 – Danny Glover, American actor

74 – Albert Brooks, American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter

@66 – Amy Vanderbilt, American author (d. 1974; fall from 2^nd floor)

66 – Willem Dafoe, American actor

57 – John Leguizamo, Colombian-American actor

57 – David Spade, American actor

49 – Colin Ferguson, Canadian actor

29 – Selena Gomez, American singer and actress

 

Puzzles Answer

 

Common sense                                                      Buy low; sell high

                       

 

Jul 21

 

 

 

Jul  21, 2021 Week: 30 Day: 202

Ave. Sky Cover: 20%\Visibility: 10 miles

Local Temp:  82°\ 52° Wind: 3mph\ Gusts: 6mph

Low risk of fire Active fire: 70mi. \ Lightning: 61mi.

Jul Averages: 82°\51° (9 days w/moisture)

 

Today’s Quote

 

 

 

Random Tidbits

 

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) concludes that a vegetarian or vegan diet is healthier than one that includes meat. They note that vegetarians have lower body mass indices, lower rates of death from heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and less prostate and colon cancer.

 

True Things

 

-- In Gillette, Wyoming, a 62-year-old man called the Campbell County Sheriff's Office on June 24 to ask why he hadn't been arrested the day before, when officers raided his home. Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds asked him why he ought to be arrested, and the man admitted that he had used methamphetamine -- which might shed light on the fact that his house was never raided and there had been no plans to arrest him. He also told officers that 10 men were following him, the Associated Press reported. Deputies caught up with him as he was driving and arrested him for driving under the influence of a controlled substance. [Associated Press, 6/28/2021]

 

Idioms Origins

 

Toast

Bill Murray gave TOAST the meaning of YOU’RE DEAD in Ghostbusters. Bang. You’re Toast. The best part is, he made it up on the spot.

 

Weekly Observations

 

Rabbit Week	15-21
Hemp History Week Link National Moth Week Link	17-23
Captive Nations Week Everybody Deserves A Massage Week Link  National Independent Retailers Week Link   National Zoo Keeper Week Link	18-24
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week	18-25
International Lace Week Link	19-23
National Baby Food Week Link	21-24

 

Today’s Observations

 

Legal Drinking Age Day Lowest Recorded Temperature Day (-128.6F Antarctica) National Be Someone Day National Be Someone Day Link National Creme Brûlée Day National Hot Dog Day National Junk Food Day No Pet Store Puppies Day Take Your Poet to Work Day

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

 

Looks like another monsoon this afternoon. The two storms yesterday were nice and cooling.

Another commercial space flight this morning. This time it was Blue Origin funded by Jeff Bezos. I don’t care that some are saying they aren’t ‘really’ astronauts because they didn’t orbit. This time it included Jeff, an 18-year-old young man and an 82-year-old woman who trained in the 60’s to be an astronaut. Space flights are moving more quickly now. Yeah!

I read yesterday that some DIA flights were delayed or postponed due to haze from the Oregon fires. WOW!

A few months ago Microsoft announced a big hack into their programs. Everyone thought ‘Russia’ again. Turns out, now the experts are saying it was China. They are much bigger traders with the US, so no sanctions, so far. Still it a rogue attack and should not be allowed.

 

2 New Puzzles Everyday

Answer: bottom of the page

 

Another one thing

Pri               son

 

 

Historical Events

 

356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, was destroyed by arson.

1865 – In Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shot and killed Davis Tutt, in what is considered as the first western showdown.

1902 – Willis Carrier showed his air conditioner concept in Buffalo, New York.

1918 – German submarine attacked Orleans, Massachusetts, hitting a tugboat and four barges, as well as striking the beach with shells. This was the only time that the continental United States was shelled during World War I.

1919 – The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashed into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago, killing 12 people.

1925 – In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100.

1949 – The United States Senate ratified the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO).

1961 – Gus Grissom piloting, Liberty Bell 7, became the second American to go into space.

1979 – Jay Silverheels became the first Native American to have a star commemorated in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1983 – The world’s lowest temperature in an inhabited location was recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica (-128.6 °F, -89.2 °C).

2011 – NASA’s Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135.

2012 – Erden Eruc completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world, via several boats.

2013 Philippe of Belgium becomes King of Belgium after his father King Albert II's earlier abdication

2020 Stage 1 of the controversial filling of Blue Nile River dam announced completed by Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed

 

Birthdays Today

 

@81 – Don Knotts, American actor, screenwriter (d. 2006)

@78 – Janet Reno, American lawyer, politician (d. 2016; Parkinson’s)

73 – Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) [Steven Demetre Georgiou], English singer-songwriter, guitarist

73 – Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist

@61 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961; suicide)

64 – Jon Lovitz, American comedic actor

@63 – Robin Williams, actor/comedian (d. 2014; suicide)

@49 – John Gardner, novelist, essayist, critic (d. 1982; motorcycle accident)

43 – Josh Hartnett, American actor

 

Puzzles Answer

 

One thing after another                                                  Prison break

 

Jul 20

 

 

Jul  20, 2021 Week: 30 Day: 201

Ave. Sky Cover: 35%\Visibility: 10 miles

Local Temp:  80°\ 57° Wind: 5mph\ Gusts: 10mph

Moderate risk of fire Active fire: 70mi. \ Lightning: 24mi.

Jul Averages: 82°\51° (9 days w/moisture)

 

Today’s Quote

 

 

 

Random Tidbits

 

A number of researchers argue that while the human body is capable of digesting meat, our bodies are actually designed to be herbivores. For example, the human molars are similar to those of an herbivore, flat and blunt, which make them good for grinding, not gnashing and tearing.

Several studies show that a plant-based diet increases the body's metabolism, causing the body to burn calories up to 16 percent faster than the body would on a meat-based diet for at least the first 3 hours after meals.

Some research suggests that if a man avoids red meats, it improves the sex appeal of his body odor.

 

True Things

 

Least Competent Criminals

-- An unnamed man in Waterboro, Maine, was arrested on June 27 on an outstanding warrant for a theft from a Walmart, the Associated Press reported. When the bail commissioner arrived, the man tried to use two counterfeit $100 bills to post his bail. He was returned to jail and charged with forgery. Reportedly he was able to meet bail with legitimate bills later that day and is scheduled to be in court on Aug. 4. [Associated Press, 6/29/2021]

 

Idioms Origins

 

Third Degree

There are 4 likely first uses of the term:

1. Severe burns on a victim (1900s)

2. Richard H. Sylvester, the Chief of Police for Washington, DC. He divided police procedures into the arrest as the first degree, transportation to jail as the second degree, and interrogation as the third degree (the early 1900s), and probably coined the term.

3. The third degree of Freemasonry and difficulties to advance to that level (1900).

 

Weekly Observations

 

Rabbit Week	15-21
Hemp History Week Link National Moth Week Link	17-23
Captive Nations Week Everybody Deserves A Massage Week Link  National Independent Retailers Week Link   National Zoo Keeper Week Link	18-24
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week	18-25
International Lace Week  Link	19-23

 

Today’s Observations

 

Fortune Cookie Day Moon Day National Ice Cream Soda Day National Ice Cream Sundae Day National Lollipop Day Link National Moon Walk day Nap Day Space Exploration Day Link World Chess Day  Link World Jump Day Link

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

 

New week brought a nice sunrise and the outlook is for more monsoon later this afternoon. This is so needed. Hopefully all the growth will not dry up later and increase the already high fire danger.

I am a tad frustrated with my Al-Med, my CPAP supplier. The new cloth covers for my mask are great.  But cost about $25/month. Blue Cross says they can be part of my supplies, for which I have no co-pay. Al-Med says they have no ‘number’ to put in the computer to charge them to my insurance. I emailed the company that has the covers and am awaiting their reply. Such a hassle.

60 Minutes last night was good. I had seen one of the reports. The segment on the autism spectrum was amazing. A few companies have discovered how great certain spectrum employees are. There just needs to be more companies attempting to find slots that work for these hard working, highly knowledgeable people.

Guantanamo prison has 39 prisoners. Only 11 have been charged. Many of the remaining have been marked for release, if another country will take them and guarantee they will be watched. Biden just made a deal with Monaco to accept one of those marked for release. He has been OK-ed for release since 2016. He has been at Guantanamo since 2001 without being charged. This is disgraceful.

 

2 New Puzzles Everyday

Answer: bottom of the page

 

potato                                                  potato potato                    potato                         potato

E B bush A T

 

 

Historical Events

 

1903 – The Ford Motor Company shipped its first car.

1938 – The United States Department of Justice filed suit in New York City against the motion picture industry charging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act in regard to the studio system.

1940 – California opened its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway.

1950 – The Arthur Murray Party TV Show premiered. Originally on ABC, it eventually moved through DuMont, CBS, and NBC.

1960 – The Polaris missile was successfully launched from a submarine, the USS George Washington, for the first time.

1969 – In a live transmission from the Moon was viewed by 720 million people around the world, with the landing of Apollo 11, at 10:56 p.m. EDT, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the surface of the Moon, live on international television.

1976 – The American Viking 1 spacecraft successfully landed on Mars.

1977 – The Central Intelligence Agency released documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind-control experiments.

1982 – The Provisional IRA detonated two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent’s Park in central London, killing eight soldiers, wounding forty-seven people, and killing seven horses.

1997 – The fully restored USS Constitution (a.k.a. Old Ironsides) celebrated its 200th birthday by setting sail again for the first time in 116 years.

2005 – The Civil Marriage Act legalized same-sex marriage in Canada.

2012 – Movie theater in Aurora theater shooting, killing 12 and injuring 70 others.

2015 – The United States and Cuba resumed full diplomatic relations after five decades.

2017 Elon Musk tweets he has "verbal government approval" to build 29 minute Hyperloop between New York and Washington, D.C.

2020 United Kingdom suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong in wake of new Chinese security laws for the territory

2020 Scientists find evidence of volcanoes on Venus, showing the planet is not as dormant as previously thought (Nature Geoscience)

 

Birthdays Today

 

@87 – Cormac McCarthy, American novelist (d. 1933)

@82 – Diana Rigg, English actress (d. 2020)

76 – Kim Carnes, American singer-songwriter

74 – Carlos Santana, Mexican-American singer-songwriter, guitarist

@61 – Gregor Mendel, Austro-German monk, geneticist, botanist (d. 1884, nephritis)

@52 – Chris Cornell, American singer-songwriter (died in 2017)

50 – Sandra Oh, Canadian actress

48 – Omar Epps, American actor

46 – Judy Greer, American actress

@43 – Natalie Wood, American actress (d. 1981; drowning<?>)

33 – Julianne Hough, American dancer

@32 – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king (d. 323 BC; poisoned <?>)

 

Puzzles Answer

 

Small potatoes                                                                   Beat around the bush