Jul 31

 

Jul  31, 2021 Week: 31 Day: 212

Ave. Sky Cover:  45%\Visibility: 10 miles

Local Temp:   77°\ 53° Wind: 5mph\ Gusts: 9mph

Moderate risk of fire Active fire: 38mi. \ Lightning: 1mi.

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

Today’s Quote

  

Weekly Observations

 

XXXII Olympic Games (postponed from 2020):	23-8/8
RAGBRAI: Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa Women in Baseball Week	25-31
Great Texas Mosquitos Days Quilt Odyssey Week World Lumberjack Championships	29-31
Satchmo Week Superman Days	30-8/1

 

Daily Oberservations

 

National Avocado Day

National Cotton Candy Day

National Jump for Jelly Beans Day

In the Middle East, a delicacy called lokum has been around since biblical times. It’s known as Turkish Delight in English-speaking countries and it is made of sugar syrup boiled with gelatin or pectin which spreads into thin sheets when cool enough to handle. This jelly candy was an inspiration for Jelly beans but they were actually based on Jordan almonds that are coated in powdered sugar by shaking them about inside a container until their outside becomes hard like our favorite chewy sweets.

The earliest known reference of a Jelly Bean was an 1861 advertisement for William Schrafft of Boston that promoted the sending of jelly beans to soldiers in the Union Army during the Civil War. Jelly Beans were also mentioned in the Chicago Daily News in 1905.

Jelly beans became associated with the Easter holiday in the 1930s, due to their egg-shaped appearance. They grew in popularity from the 1960s through the 1980s, thanks to famous devotees like John Lennon and President Ronald Reagan. But it was really Harry Potter that made them a staple of our lives today; the Jelly Belly company created flavors inspired by the Potter books and films. With over 100 flavors today, Jelly Belly® Jelly Beans were introduced that year only eight flavors: Root Beer, Green Apple, Licorice, Cream Soda, Lemon, Tangerine, Very Cherry, and Grape.

 

Favorite Memes

 

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

 

More monsoon rain expected soon. Lightning is close. There was a nice, long, male rain last night that lasted a good 45 minutes with lightning only .5 miles away.

Got an email from the HOA this morning that our mail delivery will not resume until Monday. I headed to the Post Office to pick up mail I haven’t had delivered since Tuesday. Being a federal building, it’s masks and 6’ distancing. The line had 7 people in front of me and only one person working. I finally got up and gave her my license and said I live in Christmas Tree Estates, and they just got a new bank of boxes. She smiled and went in the back. Five minutes later she came out with one piece of 1^st class mail, several junk mail, and the free local paper. I said there should be more. She said she had checked ‘both bins’ that had Christmas Tree mail. I asked when they were going to restart delivery. She said she had no idea but would ‘buzz’ the supervisor. There was a guy standing waiting for the supervisor who had been there most of time I was in line. I left. I called the PO when I got home. No one answered. Guess I’ll just be surprised when it finally comes. I’m hoping they don’t lose my CPAP covers that should be delivered this week.

I was reading in today’s paper that over 200 Tokyo athletes from 23 different countries in swimming and track have trained at a local facility before the Olympics. Hypo2 is known for training elite athletes. We are at 7000’ and manicured running trails nearby up to 8500’. They also have a huge pool, not open to the public, for training. Many athletes like the higher altitudes because it builds up red blood cells and helps them when they return to lower altitudes. Very cool.

 

Historical Events

 

1703 Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers

1790 – The United States Patent Office opened

1792 – The cornerstone of the first US Federal Building was laid, the Philadelphia Mint

1948 – Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) was dedicated.

1960 Elijah Muhammad, leader of Nation of Islam, calls for a black state

1970 Black Tot Day: the last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy (started 1740)

1989 – Game Boy released, video game

1991 – The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty

2006 Cuba’s leader Fidel Castro handed over power to his brother, Raúl.

2019 Russian President Vladimir Putin orders Russian army to help put out huge wildfires in Siberia covering three million hectares (7.4 million acres) after 700,000 people sign petition

 

Birthdays Today

 

@94 – Milton Friedman, economist, academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006) @90 – Marion Talbot, influential American educator (d. 1948) @86 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster and actor (d. 2006) @83 – Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-American songwriter, producer, founded Atlantic Records (d. 2006)

@79 – Fred Quimby, American animation producer (d. 1965) 63 – Mark Cuban, American businessman 59 – Wesley Snipes, actor 56 – J. K. Rowling, English author, film producer 55 – Dean Cain, American actor 43 – Zac Brown, American country singer-songwriter

 

 

 

Jul 30

 

Jul  30, 2021 Week: 31 Day: 211

Ave. Sky Cover: 40% \Visibility: 10 miles

Local Temp:   81°\ 58° Wind: 6mph\ Gusts: 10mph

Low risk of fire Active fire: 38mi. \ Lightning: 4mi.

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

Today’s Quote

  

 

Weekly Observations

 

XXXII Olympic Games (postponed from 2020):	23-8/8
RAGBRAI: Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa Women in Baseball Week	25-31
Great Texas Mosquitos Days Quilt Odyssey Week World Lumberjack Championships	29-31
Lollapalooza	29-8/1

 

Favorite Memes

Daily Oberservations

 

Father-in-Law Day

International Day of Friendship

National Cheesecake Day

National Intern Day

Paperback Book Day

Share a Hug Day

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

 

Did some quick shopping this morning and now just awaiting the afternoon rain.

The pandemic has kept people from many things. One new startup is doing great. It’s called ‘swimply’. It works like Airbnb. You can rent a pool at someone’s home by the hour. They carry insurance, furnish the pool and towels along with wifi access. This summer’s heat waves have helped increase reservations in the hottest areas. In some areas their reservations have increased 300% over last year. Nice!

One addition to yesterday’s post about Luis Grijalva, the runner from our local University. He will be running for Guatemala in his 5000m run.

I enjoyed the swimming and synchronized diving last night. Things have changed a lot since I was swimming on a team.

When I saw the headline about the 8.2 earthquake in Alaska, I remembered the great quake in the mid-60’s. Luckily, the tsunami didn’t happen, and major damage was limited.

The Flagstaff mayor just announced that beginning tomorrow at 8a there is a mask requirement for all city facilities, even if fully vaccinated. Here we go again. Sad.

 

Historical Events

 

 762 – Baghdad was founded by Caliph Al-Mansur.

1619 – In Jamestown, Virginia, the first representative assembly in the Americas, the House of Burgesses, convenes for the first time.

1729 – Founding of Baltimore, Maryland.

1733 – The first Masonic Grand Lodge in the future United States was constituted in Massachusetts.

1866 – New Orleans, Louisiana’s Democratic government ordered police to raid an integrated Republican Party meeting, killing 40 people and injuring 150.

1935 – The first softcover paperback books were introduced, in Germany.

1956 – A joint resolution of the US Congress was signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing In God we Trust as the US national motto.

1962 – The Trans-Canada Highway, the largest national highway in the world, officially opened.

1965 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.

1975 – Jimmy Hoffa disappeared from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. He was declared dead on July 30, 1982.

2003 – In Mexico, the last Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the assembly line.

2017 Russian President Vladimir Putin announces American diplomats in Russia cut by 755 in response to American sanctions

2020 The US economy posts the largest quarterly fall on record with GDP down 9.5% for the 3 months to June 30

 

Birthdays Today

 

@96 – Henry W. Bloch, co-founded H&R Block (d. 2019)

@85 – Casey Stengel, American baseball player, manager (d. 1975)

@83 – Henry Ford, founded the Ford Motor Company (d. 1947)

82 – Peter Bogdanovich, American actor and director

80 – Paul Anka, Canadian singer-songwriter

74 – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, and politician, 38th Governor of California

65 – Delta Burke, American actress

65 – Anita Hill, American lawyer and academic

58 – Lisa Kudrow, American actress

57 – Vivica A. Fox, American actress

53 – Terry Crews, American football player and actor

51 – Christopher Nolan, English-American director, producer, screenwriter

50 – Tom Green, Canadian comedian and actor

47 – Hilary Swank, American actress

 

 

 

Jul 29

 

Jul  29, 2021 Week: 31 Day: 210

Ave. Sky Cover: 95%\Visibility: 10 miles

Local Temp:   80°\ 57° Wind: 4mph\ Gusts: 7mph

Moderate risk of fire Active fire: 75mi. \ Lightning: 2mi.

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

Today’s Quote

  

  

Weekly Observations

 

XXXII Olympic Games (postponed from 2020):	23-8/8
RAGBRAI: Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa Women in Baseball Week	25-31

 

Daily Oberservations

 

International Tiger Day

National Chicken Wing Day

National Lipstick Day

Rain Day

 

 

 

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

 

Monsoon showers are here. Lots of lightning and thunder. ‘Take Shelter’ alerts on my phone. I’m still waiting, but thankfully got some shopping done before the thunder started. There are currently four squirrels chasing each other in our commons area. Up and down trees, chasing on the ground, back to the trees. They must have had too much coffee this morning.

The mailboxes for our complex are on the main drag, about 50 yards from my place. The bank of boxes also has several bins for large packages. Over the past few months, I’ve noticed that some of the bins are not locked and several people have left their boxes open, but no key. I have had trouble opening my box and had to jiggle the key a lot to open the box. I got a letter from the HOA that there are problems with the old bank of boxes so today they are putting in new ones. No mail delivery until Friday. Even then may have to go to the main post office to pick up mail that wasn’t delivered yesterday or today. I just hope they are a little larger than the ones currently installed.

Listening to the hearing yesterday on the Jan. 6^th incident was moving and disturbing from the cops who protected so many that day. Hearing the conservative responses to the cop’s testimony is truly frightening.

I learned yesterday that there is a runner from our local university in Tokyo. He is DACA since arriving here at age 1 with his parents from Guatemala. After qualifying, he had to get special permission from the US government to run in the 5000m race. I’ll be watching Luis Grijalva when he runs. Go Lumberjack!

 

Historical Events

 

 1148 – The Siege of Damascus ended with a crusader defeat and lead end of the Second Crusade.

1836 – Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile (Arch of Triumph of the Star) in Paris, France.

1958 – US President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law, which created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

1981 – A worldwide TV audience of over 700 million people watched the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

2005 – Astronomers announce their discovery of the dwarf planet, Eris.

2009 Temperature reaches 103°F in Seattle, Washington, the hottest day on record

2015- Windows 10 was released.

2015 Part of missing airline MH370 is found on the island of Reunion

2020 Scaled back Hajj pilgrimage begins in Saudi Arabia with no foreigners

 

Birthdays Today

 

@102 – ‘Professor’ Irwin Corey, American comedian and actor (d. 2017)

68 – Tim Gunn, American television host and actor

@61 – Benito Mussolini, Italian fascist politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1945)

He was shot. On 29 April 1945, the bodies of Mussolini, Petacci, and the other executed Fascists were loaded into a van and moved south to Milan. At 3:00 a.m., the corpses were dumped on the ground in the old Piazzale Loreto. The piazza had been renamed "Piazza Quindici Martiri" (Fifteen Martyrs' Square) in honor of fifteen Italian partisans recently executed there.

After being kicked and spat upon, the bodies were hung upside down from the roof of an Esso gas station.[192] The bodies were then stoned from below by civilians. This was done both to discourage any Fascists from continuing the fight, and as an act of revenge for the hanging of many partisans in the same place by Axis authorities. The corpse of the deposed leader was subject to ridicule and abuse. Fascist loyalist Achille Starace was captured and sentenced to death and then taken to the Piazzale Loreto and shown the body of Mussolini. Starace, who once said of Mussolini "He is a god",[193] saluted what was left of his leader just before he was shot. The body of Starace was subsequently hung up next to that of Mussolini.

After his death and the display of his corpse in Milan, Mussolini was buried in an unmarked grave in the Musocco cemetery, to the north of the city. On Easter Sunday 1946, his body was located and dug up by Domenico Leccisi and two other neo-Fascists.

On the loose for months—and a cause of great anxiety to the new Italian democracy—Mussolini's body was finally "recaptured" in August, hidden in a small trunk at the Certosa di Pavia, just outside Milan. Two Franciscan brothers were subsequently charged with concealing the corpse, though it was discovered on further investigation that it had been constantly on the move. Unsure what to do, the authorities held the remains in a kind of political limbo for ten years, before agreeing to allow them to be re-interred at Predappio in Romagna, his birthplace. Adone Zoli, the then-current prime minister, contacted Donna Rachele, the dictator's widow, to tell her he was returning the remains, as he needed the support of the far-right in parliament, including Leccisi himself. In Predappio, the dictator was buried in a crypt (the only posthumous honor granted to Mussolini). His tomb is flanked by marble fasces, and a large idealized marble bust of him is above the tomb.

55 – Martina McBride, American singer-songwriter

49 – Wil Wheaton, American actor