Monday August 9

This is Week 32 of 2010►Day 221 with 144 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

It was a very nice day here in Flagstaff. It was 72° on my deck with little breeze. We didn’t get any rain and I should have worked on cleaning my vehicle, but, it was Sunday—the day of rest. I can always do that tomorrow. I did take a nice walk this morning, before reading the Sunday paper. The neighborhood was quiet, guess everyone was out doing something somewhere. It was a great day for that.

The news says that tonight or tomorrow BP will do the final kill of the Gulf well. This is much anticipated, long overdue, and much needed. Like everything with BP, nobody knows if this will really happen. I continue to hope.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

William Carlos Williams (American Poet): In summer, the song sings itself.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1842 US-Canada border defined by Webster-Ashburton Treaty

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION about Disney

> Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was the first full-length animated feature film to come out of the United States (the first ever was Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (1926), which clocks in at 65 minutes, and was animated entirely in silhouette).

> Some scenes of woodland creatures and the forest fire in Bambi (1942) are unused footage from Pinocchio (1940).

> The Doorknob was the only character in Disney's Alice in Wonderland that did not appear in Lewis Carroll's books..

>Ricky Martin provided the voice of Hercules in the Spanish language version of the Disney film.

> Dumbo is the only Disney animated feature film that has a title character who doesn't speak.

> The soundtrack for Lilo & Stitch features seven Elvis Presley songs (five sung by Presley, two covered). This is more than any other movie, including ones that Elvis Presley was in.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Questions: Historical Landmarks

She came from France to harbor America's freedom

When he was home, George Washington slept here

The cornerstone of Massachusetts, it bears the date 1620

Site where John Hancock signed his "John Hancock"

D.C. building shaken by November '83 bomb blast

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

WATERLOO, IA - An Iowa man who used an air horn to protest his neighbor's loud "hippie tunes" was arrested for disorderly conduct, police said. Carl Herold, 62, of Waterloo, said he "started blasting" the air horn Wednesday because he was tired of calling police to complain about the loud "hippie tunes" from his across-the-street neighbor, the (Waterloo) WCF Courier, reported.

Police said they could hear the air horn from five blocks away when they responded to complaints about the noise at about 1 p.m. Wednesday. Herold was arrested when he refused an order from officers to stop sounding the horn. He was charged with disorderly conduct.

A LITTLE LAUGH

An influential Londoner wound up a business trip to the Orient with a visit to Taipei. At a luncheon he was asked to say a few words. Since he spoke not a word of Chinese, his address was to be translated by an interpreter sentence by sentence.

"I want you to know," he began, "I'm tickled to death to be asked here today."

A look of panicked confusion appeared on the interpreter's face. "This poor man," he said in Chinese, "Scratches himself until he dies, only to be with you today."

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

Tall when sitting, short when standing. What am I?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Walden Pond: Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

6-9: Hobo Week

8-14: Assistance Dog Week

…Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week

…National Resurrect Romance Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

International Day of The World's Indigenous People

Veep Day: Commemorates the US succession of power

National Polka Festival

Baltimore, MD: Frank Zappa Day

Canada: National Peacekeepers' Day apan : Nagasaki Memorial Day (1945)

Libya: Sanusi Army Day

Rhode Island: Victory Day

Singapore: National Day (1965, separation from Malaysia)

South Africa: National Women's Day (since 1956 when South African women demonstrated against pass laws )

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

A-Tisket, A-Tasket Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb 1938

You Call Everybody Darlin' Al Trace 1948

Poor Little Fool Ricky Nelson 1958

Hello, I Love You The Doors 1968

Three Times a Lady The Commodores 1978

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Merle Kilgore, Songwriter Hall of Famer: Ring of Fire, More and More, Johnny Reb, Wolverton Mountain, Dear Mama, Love Has Made You Beautiful, Fast Talking Louisiana Man…born in 1934…Chickasha,OK

~~~

Gillian Anderson, 42, actress (“The X-Files,” “Bleak House,” The House of Mirth), born Chicago, IL

Sam Elliott, 66, actor (“Mission Impossible,” Gettysburg), born Sacramento, CA

Melanie Griffith, 53, actress (Working Girl, Something Wild, Milk Money), born New York, NY

Whitney Houston, 47, singer, actress (Waiting to Exhale), born Newark, NJ

• Athletics

Robert Joseph (Bob) Cousy, 82, Hall of Fame basketball player, former coach, born New York, NY

Brett Hull, 46, hockey player, born Belleville, ON, Canada

Rodney George (Rod) Laver, 72, former tennis player, born Rock-hampton, Australia

• Business & Education

--

• Politics

--

• Science/Religion

Jean Piaget, pioneer developmental psychologist/zoologist …born in 1896… Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Marvin Minsky, 83, Artifical intelligence computer scientist (MIT) …born in New York City, NY

Ralph Wyckoff, American pioneer in x-ray crystallography…born in 1897…Geneva, NY

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Jerry Garcia, Grateful Dead, heart attack @ 53 

Alan Napier, (Alfred the Butler on Batman), @ 85 in 1988

Sharon Tate, actress, killed by Charles Manson's gang @ 26 in 1969

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1854 Henry David Thoreau publishes "Walden"

1930 Betty Boop debutes in Max Fleischer's animated cartoon Dizzy Dishes

• Athletics

1936 Jesse Owens wins 4th gold medal of Berlin Olympics

1992 25th Olympic Summer games close in Barcelona, Spain

• Business & Education

1638 Jonas Bronck of Holland becomes 1st European settler in the Bronx

1803 1st horses arrive in Hawaii

1859 Nathan Ames of Saugus, MA patented the escalator.

1910 Alva J. Fisher of Chicago, IL received a patent for an invention that moms, grandmas and single guys certainly came to appreciate: the electric washing machine.

• Indigenous People

1814 The Treaty of Fort Jackson (7 stat.120) officially ends the Creek War. The Creeks, including those who fought with Andrew Jackson, are forced to cede 22,000,000 acres, almost half their lands, to the United States

• Politics (US)

1842 US-Canada border defined by Webster-Ashburton Treaty

1969 Manson family commits Tate-LaBianca murders

1974 At noon on this day, U.S. President Richard Nixon’s resignation was official.

• Politics (International)

1673 Dutch recapture NY from English; regained by English in 1674

1902 Edward VII of England crowned after death of his mother Victoria

1942 British arrests Indian nationalist Mohandas K Gandhi

1945 US drops 2nd atomic bomb "Fat Man" on Japan destroys part of Nagasaki

• Science / Religion

--

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

She came from France to harbor America's freedom: What is the Statue of Liberty?

When he was home, George Washington slept here: What is Mount Vernon?

The cornerstone of Massachusetts, it bears the date 1620: What is Plymouth Rock?

Site where John Hancock signed his "John Hancock": What is Independence Hall?

D.C. building shaken by November '83 bomb blast: What is the Capitol Building?

↔ 2

A dog

↔ Picture

A toy train

TODAY’S PHOTO SHOT

Betty Boob

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Sunday August 8

This is Week 32 of 2010►Day 220 with 145 days left.

It is Day 111 of the BP Mess.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I was awakened about 1am to thunder and lightning. This is unusual here in Flag. We don’t have a lot of late night loud storms. When I got up about 6am it was still raining, just more quietly. It rained all day, another unusual thing. The rain finally stopped about 5:00 this afternoon. For those who live in rain country, you are used to this, for those of us in the high desert, this is very strange. I can’t remember the last time we had sixteen plus hours of rain. Sometimes the rain was hard, but most of the time it was just a gentle, but steady rain. This is the best kind of rain for our forest. I’m sure glad that I didn’t clean my car yesterday, as now it would all be lost. I had to run to the store this afternoon. I went to Albertson’s for fresh corn. I figured the rain would keep most shoppers away. Wrong. It’s the weekend, and I understand that many out of towners and working in towners have to shop sometime. Albertson’s has wider aisle than Safeway, and has much better lighting, so it wasn’t a big hassle. The real hassle was getting to and from the vehicle, since I was parked real far out. While the rain was ‘steady and gentle’ most of the main drag had standing water at all the intersections and of course the parking lot had a whole slew of wading ponds.

This cloudy day made me lazy so I caught up on some TNT favs. With my DVR I record them and then catch up on a day like this. It is so nice to be able to skip past all the commercials. It’s amazing that a one hour show is really more like 42 minutes of show.

I talked to my brother this afternoon. The NYC economy is still in the whole. I understand that, since a couple of my REIT’s have stopped paying dividends. The REITs are commercial real estate around the US. Business everywhere is suffering and the REITs say they are having trouble with tenants. The scary part of that is that the buildings are rented by high-end businesses as their corporate offices. Seems they just don’t have the cash flow to sign multi-year leases. My brother rents a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan for $4K/month on a two year lease. They have just about decided to move to their condo in Miami to live full time. The condo is 1500 sq ft and their mortgage is only $1000 a month. They can’t sell the condo right now, due to the drop in housing prices in Miami. A friend of theirs down there declared bankruptcy and wanted to unload their 3000 sq ft condo. The bank wouldn’t even take it, saying that they wouldn’t be able to sell it. A family friend in Denver is the top Antiques Dealer in Denver, known nationwide as the go-to guy for Antiques west of the Mississippi. He too is considering bankruptcy as an alternative. This recession is hitting people really hard and sadly, many don’t see an end to it. Even those with ‘old money’ aren’t spending. Those with ‘new’ money don’t have it anymore.

I have lived my life in education, so don’t really understand business. Many ‘leaders’ in education attempted to move the education system in the US to a business model. If teachers aren’t producing, fire them. If schools aren’t producing, close them. Small class size was not economical. All those business genius-type couldn’t figure out a real measure of success in schools. A bottom line of say college graduation took way to long for the business model. So these business people set up a spin for the masses…test scores will show what is learned. Pass the test, everyone is happy. Fail the test, and someone has to go. Since they couldn’t get rid of the learners, they blamed everyone and everything else. Sadly, our students still aren’t learning and the thankfully, the business model is on its way out. So when my business friends talk about their problems, I am at a loss. This is really frustrating when you can’t offer any assistance.

Ah, the rain. It sure kept the temperature down today. We only got to 67° on the deck. There wasn’t any real breeze, but the rain kept me inside most of the day. When it finally stops raining, the deck will need some cleaning as there are lots of pine needles, pine cones, and dirt out there. The birds freaked out too, as they completely emptied all the feeders by 3pm this afternoon.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Epictetus: He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1960 Tell Laura I Love Her, by Ray Peterson, wasn’t a big hit in Great Britain. Decca Records in England said the song was “too tasteless and vulgar for the English sensibility.” They destroyed 25,000 of the platters this day.  Click Here to Hear Original

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION about the Old West

>Henry McCarty was born in New York City in 1859, far from the West where he would eventually become famous as Billy the Kid

>The Colt Peacemaker, a .45-caliber gun manufactured by Colt's Fire Arms Manufacturing Company in Hartford, Connecticut, was produced for the first time in 1873 and has become known as "the gun that won the West". At the time, it sold for $17.00 ($250 in 2010 dollars).

>Pearl Hart became the only woman known to have robbed a stagecoach. She and a man named Joe Boot (probably an alias) stopped the Globe, Arizona stagecoach and relieved its passengers of all their money -- about $400. Feeling badly, however, at leaving her victims penniless, Pearl decided to return a dollar to each of them -- "enough to eat on".

>It has been estimated that 90% of women living in Deadwood, South Dakota in 1876 were prostitutes.

>Legendary Old West figure Bat Masterson held a wide variety of jobs during his adventurous lifetime, including stints as a buffalo hunter, frontier lawman, gambler, Army scout, U.S. Marshal, and sports editor for the New York Morning Telegraph and the inspiration for the character of Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Questions

Type of auto engine, or a tomato cocktail

Derived from words "American", "travel", & "track", it provides most U.S. passenger rail service

London's, not New York's, was the first ever built

Changing lines, you could have at one time ridden these from Freeport, IL to Utica, NY

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

Beijing: A fishmonger in China reportedly suffered severe internal injuries after a live eel crawled up his rectum when he fell into a tank. Li Chang, 43, slipped off his perch while sitting on the edge of a container housing hundreds of the creatures.

Chang said: "I guess they were scared when I suddenly landed in the tank so they started wriggling everywhere. Several shot up my trouser leg. And then to my horror I felt one go up my bottom.

"I didn't say anything at first when I climbed out - I was too embarrassed. I dried myself off and tried to carry on working, but it was just too painful."

Chang's co-workers called the emergency services when he later collapsed and doctors successfully removed the eel and repaired the trauma in surgery lasting five hours.

A hospital spokesman said: "The eel had badly injured the patient. If he had not arrived when he did he would have died. We expect he will make a full recovery, though. The eel was as wide as two fingers and as long as a man's arm." There is no report on the condition of the eel.

A LITTLE LAUGH

My quiet Saturday morning ended abruptly when my 12-year-old son, Billy, and one of his friends burst through the door.

"Hey Dad, announced Billy, "have you met the new neighbors?"

"No."

"Come on Dad, you have to meet them."

"Some other time; I'm busy."

"Dad, you have to meet them now."

From the urgency in Billy's voice, I assumed the neighbors were waiting outside. I set aside my project and went to the front of the house. No one was there.

"Where are they?" I asked.

"Well, Dad," he explained, "we haven't met them yet either, but our baseball is in their living room!"

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

I have feathers but no wings and when I hit you it will sting.

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Central Park, NY has lots to see, a 2 minute tour: Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

6-9: Hobo Week

8-14: Assistance Dog Week

…Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week

…National Resurrect Romance Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

The Date to Create

Eleanor Roosevelt Day

Happiness Happens Day

Odie Day (Garfield’s Pal)

Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

The Stars and Stripes Forever Sousa's Band 1897

Me and My Shadow 'Whispering' Jack Smith 1927

A Sailboat in the Moonlight Guy Lombardo 1937

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) Tex Williams 1947

Teddy Bear Elvis Presley 1957

Light My Fire The Doors 1967

I Just Want to Be Your Everything Andy Gibb 1977

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Phil Balsley, 71, singer: group: The Statler Brothers: Flowers on the Wall…born in Staunton, VA

Sara Teasdale, US, poet (1st Pulitzer Prize-1918-"Love Songs")…born in 1884 St. Louis, MO

~~~

Rory Calhoun, actor…born in 1922 Los Angeles, CA

Keith Carradine, 60, actor (Nashville, Will Rogers Follies, “Dexter”), singer…born San Mateo, CA

Dustin Hoffman, 73, actor (Oscars for Rain Man and Kramer vs. Kramer; The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, Outbreak)…born Los Angeles, CA

Deborah Norville, 52, television host (“Inside Edition”)…born Dalton, GA

Connie Stevens (Concetta Ingolia), 72, actress (“Hawaiian Eye”)…born Brooklyn, NY,

Mel Tillis, 78, singer, songwriter…born Pahokee, FL

Esther Williams, 87, swimmer, actress (Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Dangerous When Wet), born Los Angeles, CA

• Athletics

Jose (Dilan) Cruz, 63, baseball: SL Cardinals, Houston Astros [all-star: 1980, 1985], NY Yankees…born in Arroyo, Puerto Rico

Roger Federer, 29, tennis player…born Basel, Switzerland

• Business & Education

Charles Bulfinch, Boston Mass, 1st US pro architect (Mass State House)…born in 1763 Boston, MA

Roberta Cooper Ramo, 68, first woman president of the American Bar Association…born Denver, CO

• Politics

Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary, peasant leader…born in 1879 Anenecuilco, Morelos, Mexico

• Science/Religion

Matthew Henson, explorer: North Pole expedition [1908-09 w/Robert Peary] …born in 1866 Nanjemoy, MA

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Richard Deacon, actor (Mel-Dick Van Dyke Show), heart disease @ 62 in 1984

Charlie Gemora, actor who portrayed King Kong, heart attack @ 58 in 1961

John Roselli , mob hit man hired by CIA to kill Castro and Kennedy (?), murdered @ 71 in 1976

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1963 Kingsmen release "Louie, Louie," radio stations label it obscene

• Athletics

1984 Carl Lewis wins 3rd (200m) of 4 gold medals in the Summer Olympics

1987 The opening ceremonies of the Pan American Games were held in Indianapolis

• Business & Education

1890 Daughters of the American Revolution organizes

1929 Salem Oregon airport dedicated

1963 Seven million dollars was stolen in Britain’s Great Train Robbery by a gang of fifteen thieves.

1988 Renovated Central Park Zoo reopens after 4 years

• Indigenous People

 422 Maya King Casper is born, according to some sources. Eventually, he rules over Palenque, Mexico.

1699 The Tohome Indians live along the Gulf Coast in Alabama and Mississippi. In Biloxi, they formally establish peaceful relations with the French.

• Politics (US)

1973 VP Spiro T Agnew branded as "damned lies" reports he took kickbacks from govt contracts in Maryland. He vowed not to resign

1974 Pres Richard M Nixon announced he'd resign his office 12PM 08/09

• Politics (International)

1588 The Spanish Armada, a fleet of 130 huge ships, met defeat at the hands of English sailors and their smaller, more maneuverable vessels.

1860 Queen of Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) arrives in NYC: Her Majesty Queen EMMA

1940 Battle of Britain began as Germany launches air attacks

• Science / Religion

1609 Venetian senate examines Galileo Galilei's telescope

1709 1st known ascent in hot-air balloon, Bartolomeu de Gusmao (indoors)

1844 Brigham Young chosen Mormon Church head following Joseph Smith death

1876 Thomas Edison patents mimeograph

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

Type of auto engine, or a tomato cocktail: What is V-8

Derived from words "American", "travel", & "track", it provides most U.S. passenger rail service: What is Amtrack?

London's, not New York's, was the first ever built: what is a subway

Changing lines, you could have at one time ridden these from Freeport, IL to Utica, NY: What is a streetcar?

↔ 2

An arrow

↔ Picture

A reflector from a bike

TODAY’S PHOTO SHOT

Queen Emma of Sandwich Islands (Hawaii)

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Saturday August 7

This is Week 31 of 2010►Day 219 with 146 days left.

It is Day 110 of the BP Mess.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

There are still some sane minds in Arizona regarding the illegals. More and more we are getting facts about this ‘election year crisis’. I learned some fairly startling facts: Most of the 12 million illegals are here after passing through regular border crossings. They have outstayed their visits or work permits. Border violence incidents are mostly anecdotal and are statistically atypical. In the first six months of 2010 more than 136,000 criminal illegals were deported, a 40% increase over the same time period last year. Property crimes in the US have declined 30% since 1995, yet in Arizona, it has decreased by 43%. Murder rates and kidnapping rates in Arizona are no greater than similar areas in the US. Immigrants tend to commit less crime than native born Americans. Border crossings---legal or illegal--into the US have declined due mainly to the fall of the world’s economy. Most amazing to me is that none of the proposals to stop the illegal crossings has any way to measure when the border is closed. Maybe that shouldn’t be surprising. It’s like the drug war. There is no way to know when it is over, so it can continue to be an issue forever. Our government, like many others around the world, does not have a good tracking system for visitors who enter their country, stay, and then leave or stay and don’t leave. All those lines, all those stamps on your passport, all those cards one fills out on the plane may or may not make it into the system to show one came and then one left the country. Illegals have become a sound bite issue—the real issue—tracking who is here and who has left—is not a sound bite issue, so it isn’t discussed that much. Thanks to our local paper for a great editorial on this issue. We all need facts, not rhetoric, to make informed decisions.

While running errands today I picked up stuff to really clean my ride. We can’t wash our vehicles in the parking lot. Since I moved in, I have taken my vehicle to many a car wash—the kind you drive up to, pull in, park, and the machine washes, rinses, waxes, and blows the vehicle dry. I have vacuumed the inside, and cleaned the inside. I haven’t spent the couple of hours it takes to really clean the inside, or the couple of hours it takes to wax the vehicle. Well, as my last car payment looms ahead in a couple of months, I decided it is time. So, now I have all the necessary stuff. The right day is just around the corner.

Flagstaff was really nice again today. No rain, but a few clouds. We were 79° at our warmest, 53° at our coolest. There was very little breeze. The wild birds keep me busy as they are empting the feeders quickly. I am still amazed at the number of finches that found my seed socks. Seldom do I look out there during the day that there aren’t at least five brightly colored finches feeding on each sock. Larger, but less colorful birds are at the two tube feeders. The birdbath usually has one or two birds drinking or bathing. They are all very enjoyable to watch. I haven’t gotten any pictures, but will keep trying.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

William Faulkner: Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1934 US Court of Appeals upheld lower court ruling striking down government attempt to ban controversial James Joyce novel "Ulysses"

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION on Hot Air Balloons

>Hot air balloons were discovered in France in 1783. At that time, in the laboratory, it was discovered that a fabric bag filled with hot air could rise.

>In the beginning, to test for safety, balloons without passengers were sent up and observed. The next step was to send animals up to experiment with different weights. Sheep, chickens and ducks were used.

>When everything was proven safe, a balloon with two men traveled over Paris for 5.5 miles, staying up 23 minutes.

>Hot air balloons do not fly in the rain because balloon heat can cause water to boil at the top of the balloon, and boiling water can destroy the fabric.

> If a balloon is in a controlled air space, it must meet air-traffic control requirements and pilots must have radio contact with controllers.

>Depending on balloon size, area balloon operators can carry from two to 10 passengers at a time.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1 Jeopardy answers

The "coq" in coq au vin

A British variety is called "bangers", a Mexican variety, "chorizo"

Jewish crepe filled with cheese

French for a toothsome cut of beef served to a twosome

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

PORTLAND, OR— After a county inspector squeezed out a kid's lemonade business, so many Oregonians puckered up in disgust that the county chairman had to pour on a little sugar.

The apology sweetened up some sour feelings and made 7-year-old Julie Murphy eligible to resume selling her Kool-Aid and water concoction for 50 cents a cup.

Last week at a local arts fair, Julie and her mother were surprised when a county inspector asked to see their restaurant license.

They didn't have one. The inspector told them they would face a fine of up to $500 if they didn't stop selling lemonade.

Other vendors urged Julie and her mother not to leave. A second inspector arrived and the two inspectors were surrounded by a crowd of vendors supporting Julie and her mother.

Ultimately, Julie and her mother packed up the stand, and as Julie left the fair she was crying.

But Julie has prevailed.

Jeff Cogen, chairman of Multnomah County, says the health inspectors were "just following the rule book" but they should have given the girl and her mom a break. On Thursday, he talked with Julie's mom to apologize.

"A lemonade stand is a classic, iconic American kid thing to do," Cogen told The Oregonian. "I don't want to be in the business of shutting that down."

And how does Julie feel about this?

Her mother, Maria Fife, said she and her daughter appreciates the apology.

But the sweet and sour tale of lemonade stands at the Portland art fair might not yet be over.

According to the Oregonian, one vendor at the local arts fair is planning a "lemonade revolt" the next time the fair is held — later this month.

Cogen says he doesn't know what he'll do if a bunch of fair vendors try selling lemonade without a license.

A LITTLE LAUGH

Don goes into business for himself. He buys a hotdog cart and sets it up in a prime spot on a busy downtown corner, right near a large bank.

One day, his friend Jim approaches him and asks Don if he can lend him some money.

Don refuses.

"But why?" asks Jim. "Everyone knows you're doing well, and I'm not asking for much."

"Well, Jim, in order to get this spot I had to sign a Non-competition Agreement with that bank over there. According to the terms of the agreement, they're don't sell hot dogs, and I don't lend money."

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2

You can make me; You can take me; You can watch me; But you can never stop me.... What am I?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Stan Freberg on the USA: Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

1-7: World Breastfeeding Week…Simplify Your Life Week…National Clown Week…National Fraud Awareness Week…Single Working Women's Week

2-6: Exhibitor Appreciation Week…Intimate Apparel Market Week…Psychic Week

4-7: Rock for Life Week

6-9: Hobo Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

Lighthouse Day

National Mustard Day

Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day

Professional Speakers Day

Purple Heart Day

Columbia: Battle of Boyac (1819: led to Independence from Spain)

Ivory Coast: Independence Day (1760 from France)

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

To Each His Own Eddy Howard 1946

My Prayer The Platters 1956

Summer in the City The Lovin' Spoonful 1966

Don't Go Breaking My Heart Elton John & Kiki Dee 1976

Glory of Love Peter Cetera 1986

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Stan Freberg, 84, satirist, born Pasadena, CA

Garrison Keillor, 68, humorist, producer, host (“The Prairie Home Companion”), author (Lake Wobegon Days), born Anoka, MN

~~~

Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke, actress (Glinda-The Wizard of Oz) …born in 1885 Washington DC

David Duchovny, 50, actor (“The X-Files,” “Californication”), born New York, NY

Billy Joe (B.J.) Thomas, 68, singer (“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head”), born Houston, TX

• Athletics

--

• Business & Education

Georg Stiernhielm, "father of Swedish poetry" (Hercules)…born in 1598 Svartskär, Sweden

• Politics

Ralph J Bunche, a founder & UN diplomat (Nobel 1950) …born in 1904 Detroit, MI

Mata Hari (Margaretha Geertruida "Grietje" Zelle MacLeod), dancer/courtesan/spy(?) (WW I) …born in 1876 Leeuwarden, Friesland, Netherlands

• Science/Religion

Carl Ritter, cofounder of modern science of geography…born in 1779 Quedlinburg, Germany

Louis Leakey, anthropologist (1964 Richard Hooper Medal) …born in 1903 British East Africa (now Kenya)

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Oliver Hardy, comedian of Laurel & Hardy, stroke @ 65 in 1957

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

--

• Athletics

1974 French daredevil Philip Petit tightroped his way between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

• Business & Education

1970 1st computer chess tournament

• Indigenous People

1670 Apache or Navajos attack the ancient Zuni Pueblo of Hawikuh. They burn the church, and kill the resident missionary.

1758 According to some reports, a peace conference is held for the next two days between representatives of the British in New Jersey and the Minisink Indians.

• Politics (US)

1782 George Washington creates Order of the Purple Heart

• Politics (International)

1998 A pair of major explosions near U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed 224 people

• Science / Religion

1947 Balsa raft Kon Tiki crashes into a Polynesian archipelago reef

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

The "coq" in coq au vin: What is chicken?

A British variety is called "bangers", a Mexican variety, "chorizo": What is sausage?

Jewish crepe filled with cheese: What is blintz?

French for a toothsome cut of beef served to a twosome: What is chateaubriand?

↔ 2

Time

↔ Picture

Mickey Mouse "Fantasia" statue

TODAY’S PHOTO SHOT

Kon Tiki

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Friday, August 6

This is Week 31 of 2010►Day 218 with 147 days left.

It is Day 109 of the BP Mess.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

We had our weekly lunch today. We invited Dawn, who just returned from Mexico with her husband and two cute girls. She said she couldn’t leave her house—as she is 8++ months with child, so we met there. We had BBQ and it was nice. Dawn will be here the entire school year, because her two girls are in school and down in their town in Mexico, if you arrive late for the start of school, you wait till the next year to attend. It’s a small town. Dawn, one of my first T-ball players, back in the day, has such a good outlook on life. She is quite funny and sees the world through very old eyes. It was a great lunch.

I ran some errands before lunch, got a haircut, had a good lunch experience—what more could I ask for?

Our president is trying to right a wrong from 1972. Good for him. The widow is now 91 and has been working for years to get her husband’s good name and have his rank returned to him. He died 31 years ago. Today, Nixon tapes released show that the good general did exactly what any 4 star General would do—he followed the orders of the commander in chief. When his mission made headlines and a congressional hearing, Nixon did not support his general. When the general was stripped of two of his four stars for the mission, and forced to retire Nixon said it was the right thing to do. In private, on some of his less famous White House tapes, he admits the general did as he was told. Turns out that Henry Kissinger was in the oval office, hearing all this. He also did nothing to protect the general. Politics and re-election ethics really suck sometimes.

I don’t live in New York City. I don’t want to live in New York City. While my brother thinks that Manhattan is the only place to live, I disagree. The building of a mosque a few blocks from ground zero is dividing NYC much like SB1070 has divided Arizona. So many events in this country today seem to be dividing the country. All the press shows that those behind the building of the mosque are moderate Muslims. They have no ties to any radical groups. How is this mosque disrespectful to those who died? It is time for us to realize that Muslim and terrorist are not synonyms. There are lots of crazy and dangerous people in this world. Some are Muslim, some are Christian, some are Jewish, some are atheist, some are agnostic. The crazy guy who killed his coworkers in PA was Black. That doesn’t mean that all Blacks are killers. The crazy guy who blew up the OK building a few years back was white and that doesn’t mean that all whites blow up buildings. Many people have been asking since 9-11 why the moderate Muslims don’t stand up and say the crazies in their religion do not represent them. Now we know why. The group wanting to build the mosque has said that they want an education center for all to learn about the Muslim faith. They have now been labeled as radicals and how dare they do this. Once a minority has been labeled ‘dangerous’ just about anything any member of the minority does will become lose-lose. I have never been able to find a label that fits all the people in that label. Many of my Native friends have been labeled Mexican. I have some Indian (from India) friends who have been labeled Muslim. Let the mosque be built, let us learn to live together. Let us learn from each other.

Flagstaff was 81° with little breeze. It was nice most of the day.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Henry Ward Beecher: The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!

HOLY MACKEREL: 1930 Joseph Crater, 41 years old and a New York Supreme Court Justice, mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION about insects

>There are about 91,000 different kinds (species) of insects in the United States. In the world, some 1.5 million different kinds (species) have been named.

>To survive the cold winter months, many insects replace their body water with a chemical called glycerol, which acts as an "antifreeze" against the temperatures.

> When the droppings of millions of cattle started ruining the land in Australia, dung beetles were imported to reduce the problem.

>Wasps feeding on fermenting juice have been known to get "drunk' and pass out.

>Houseflies find sugar with their feet, which are 10 million times more sensitive than human tongues.

>Male mosquitoes do not bite humans, but rather live on plant juices and other natural liquids from plants and decomposing organic material.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1

What number comes next in this sequence: 1 3 6 11 18 ==?==

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

LITTLE ROCK, AR. — Elvis Presley is running for Arkansas governor. No, not that Elvis.

Elvis D. Presley, of Star City, filed papers with the secretary of state's office Wednesday to run as a write-in candidate for governor.

Presley indicated in the paperwork that he wants to "supply the people with a broader array of employment and newer chain of state government."

He declined to tell The Associated Press how he got his name but says he is an Elvis impersonator in his spare time.

"People will find out I'm for real," Presley told the Arkansas News Bureau. "I hope to debate the governor on TV."

Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe is seeking re-election in November. He faces Republican Jim Keet and Green Party nominee Jim Lendall in November. Two other candidates have filed to run as write-ins for governor.

Presley must still file with each of the state's 75 counties.

A LITTLE LAUGH

When we finished a personality assessment at work, I asked my friend Dan if he would share the results with his wife.

"That would require me to go home and say, 'Hi, honey. I just paid someone $400 to tell me what's wrong with me,'" he said. "And based on that, considering we've been married 23 years, she'd hand me a bill for about $798,000."

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2

What do you call a billionaire that never showers?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Carl Lewis at the LA Olympics: Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

1-7: World Breastfeeding Week…Simplify Your Life Week…National Clown Week…National Fraud Awareness Week…Single Working Women's Week

2-6: Exhibitor Appreciation Week…Intimate Apparel Market Week…Psychic Week

4-7: Rock for Life Week

6-9: Hobo Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

Hiroshima Day—on this side of the IDL

National Fresh Breath (Halitosis) Day

Braham Pie Day: city of Braham MN share pies and celebrate

Australia: Bank Holiday

Bolivia: Independence Day (1825 from Peru)

Hiroshima, Japan: Peace Festival at Peace Memorial Park (1945)

Iceland: Bank Holiday

Jamaica: Independence Day (1962 from Britain)

Malawi: Ireland: August Holiday

UAE: Accession of H.H. Sheik Zayed Ben Sultan Al-Nahayan

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

Give My Regards to Broadway Billy Murray  1905

Home, Sweet Home Alice Nielsen  1915

Sweet Georgia Brown Ben Bernie   1925

Paris in the Spring Ray Noble   1935

On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Johnny Mercer   1945

Rock Around the Clock Bill Haley & His Comets   1955

I'm Henry VIII, I Am Herman's Hermits   1965

Jive Talkin' The Bee Gees   1975

Shout Tears for Fears   1985

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Alfred Lord Tennyson, poet laureate of England…born in 1809 Somersby, Lincolnshire, England

Andy Warhol, pop artist (or 08081930) …born in 1927 Pittsburgh, PA

~~~

Lucille Ball, comedienne/actress (I Love Lucy, Mame) …born in 1911 Jamestown NY

Peter Bonerz, 72, actor (The Bob Newhart Show, 9 to 5), director...born Portsmouth, NH

Soleil Moon Frye, 34, actress (Punky Brewster)...born Glendora, CA

Hoot (Edmund Richard) Gibson, actor: Death Valley Rangers, Frontier Justice, The Marshal’s Daughter, The Prairie King, Sonora Stagecoach, Wild Horse,Roaring Ranch, Fighting Parson…born in 1892 Tekamah, NB

Robert Mitchum, actor (Winds of War, North & South) …born in 1917 Bridgeport Ct

• Athletics

David Robinson, 45, basketball player (Spurs)...born Key West, FL

• Business & Education

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• Politics

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• Science/Religion

Sir Alexander Fleming, discovered penicillin (Nobel 1954) …born in 1881 Lochfield, Scotland

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini), heart attack @ 80 in 1978

Harry Reasoner, newscaster (60 Minutes), blood clot @ 68 [An editorial cartoon the day after his death showed Reasoner arriving at the Pearly Gates, with a startled St. Peter crying, "Oh, no! It's 60 Minutes!"], in 1991

Ellen Wilson, Pres Wilson's wife, Bright’s Disease @ 54 while 1st Lady in 1914

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1926 You would have paid $10 a seat to see the first talking picture, Don Juan, starring John Barrymore. ($126 today)

• Athletics

1890 Cy Young pitches & wins 1st game

1926 NY's Gertrude Ederle becomes 1st woman to swim the English Channel

1948 Bob Mathias, US, wins decathlon and Fanny Blankers-Koen (Neth) is 1st women to win 3 golds at London Olympics

1984 Carl Lewis wins 2nd (long jump) of 4 gold medals in LA Summer Olympics

• Business & Education

--

• Indigenous People

1676 Weetamoo is the Sachem of the Wampanoag town of Pocasset, Rhode Island. The sister-in-law of King Philip, she leads as many as 300 warriors in battle. While trying to escape from European soldiers from Taunton, Massachusetts, she drowns in the Taunton River. Her head is cut off, and displayed on a pole in the town.

1840 Hundreds of Comanche, led by Buffalo Hump, surround, and attack Victoria, Texas. In the next two days, fifteen settlers are killed in the fighting. The Comanches take several hundred head of livestock.

• Politics (US)

1815 US flotilla ends piracy by Algiers, Tunis & Tripoli

1890 1st use of electric chair in US, John Hart, in NY for murder

1930 Joseph Crater, 41 years old and a New York Supreme Court Justice, mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again.

1934 US troops leave Haiti, which had been occupied since 1915

1965 Federal Voting Rights Act guarantees black voting rights

• Politics (International)

1806 Holy Roman Empire ends

1990 UN Security Council votes 13-0 (2 abstentions Cuba & Yemen) to place economic sanctions against Iraq

• Science / Religion

--

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

29: each term increases by the next prime number.

↔ 2

Filthy rich!

↔ Picture

An ice cube tray

TODAY’S PHOTO SHOT

Muhammed Ali by Andy Warhol

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Thursday August 5

This is Week 31 of 2010►Day 217 with 148 days left.

It is Day 108 of the BP Mess.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

The past few months have been filled with disasters. Luckily I have been looking that them from afar. At times one had to wonder if all these disasters were not leading to the end of the world or at least the end of the world as we know it. For those who believe that we will be around for the end of times another story was added to that belief. The Navajo Nation had a primary yesterday for its President. Mrs Lovejoy, who ran in the last election won the primary with her closest competition with 1/3 the votes she received. I know that the Navajo is a matriarchal society. I know that the Navajo governmental system was set up by Washingdoon, DC after the 1868 treaty. Prior to that there was no central government and the DC people needed someone to sign the treaties. Anyway, I always wondered why a matriarchal society would not have a woman at its head. Several Navajo FB friends posted comments on the Lovejoy victory. All commented on that the elders have always taught that an event like this is a sign of the ‘end of days’. I have several people on Navajo who taught me much about their culture. The knowledge I gained always came from listening and not asking questions. I always knew that I was being given the information up to a point, but that some was never shared. I also knew that the information I was given did not necessarily give me the go ahead to share it with others. As I was given information and then kept it to myself, I was given more and more. I learned that when one ‘asks’ for information, one gets an answer that may or may not be accurate. Sometimes it is given so one will quit asking, thus my lack of understanding about this situation. I don’t see my Navajo Culture teachers very often, and when we do meet, it is certainly not like living on the Rez. I am really curious to learn more about this belief, but have no idea how to get more information. My first thought was to call somebody. Duh, I quickly realized that wouldn’t work. I will just have to wait to find out, and when the time and place are right, I will be given the information if I am supposed to have it. The Sioux have a belief that there is a young woman who weaves. Each day she weaves all day, each night her dog unravels most of that day’s work. If the weaving is ever finished, the world will end. This is common knowledge and has been in books and movies. There is certainly much more to the belief that is only known to the Sioux.

A California judge overturned Prop 8 today—the one on same-sex marriage. This is only the beginning of a long battle. His 37 page decision certainly stuck to the heart of the matter. The state should not be messing with love. The judge compared the ban to those of the laws that used to prevent inter-racial marriages. Many used to believe that if there was inter-racial marriage, or inter-religious marriage that it was a sign for the end of days. They were wrong. Sanity may be returning to the world.

I didn’t get any rain today, and it was a mostly sunny day. Good day to walk and I did. It got up to 80° by this afternoon. My walk was about 7am when it was about 60°. So happy to live in a place that has such great days. I ran a few errands today and spent time on the deck.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Jean Baptiste Massieu, translated from French: Gratitude is the memory of the heart.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1925 Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that was at the time in danger of dying out.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION

>The density of Saturn is so low that if you were to put it in a giant glass of water it would float. The actual density of Saturn is 0.687 g/cm3 while the density of water is 0.998 g/cm3. At the equator Saturn has a radius of 60,268 ± 4 km (197,729 ') – which means you would need an extremely large glass of water to test this out.

>Every year the moon moves about 3.8cm further away from the Earth. This is caused by tidal effects. Consequently, the earth is slowing in rotation by about 0.002 seconds per day per century.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1

Half of what number is zero?

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

A late night run to 7-Eleven could now lead to an agonizing decisions: Slurpee or a new chicken for your virtual farm on "FarmVille."

PayNearMe has launched a payment system that allows Facebook game players to buy credits for virtual goods at local 7-Eleven stores around the country. While in Facebook, players select the number of Facebook credits they want to purchase, print a receipt and take it to their local 7-Eleven where it will be charged at the register just like an item purchased in the store.

Facebook credits run $5.00 for 50, $10.00 for 100 and so forth. Recently, Facebook added free credits to user accounts to help fuel the demand for its currency.

The new payment method eliminates the need for using a credit card online. It is PayNearMe’s first step in building a payment system to provide offline payment for online purchases.

PayNearMe’s CEO Danny Shader told Inside Facebook that he’s not sure how many people would try the service, but social games and virtual goods are big business. Zynga, the company behind "FarmVille," "Mafia Wars" and "PetVille" is expected to make more than $450 million this year from virtual purchases.

To promote the service, PayNearMe spokesperson said the company will offer bonuses to customers. All users receive a 10 percent bonus at the register and those who are the first to buy credits at that 7-Eleven’s morning, second, or night shift get an extra bonus of 50 or 100 credits.

PayNearMe is developing a mobile app so customers can show a digital barcode instead of printing a receipt at home.

A LITTLE LAUGH

During a conference, I was pleasantly surprised to be seated next to a very handsome man. We flirted casually through dinner, then grew restless as the dignitaries gave speeches. During one particularly long-winded lecture, my new friend drew a # sign on a cocktail napkin. Excited, I wrote down my

phone number.

Looking startled for a moment, he flipped the napkin over and drew another # sign, this time adding an X to the upper-left-hand corner.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2

The man who makes it doesn't use it, the man that buys it can't use it and the man who uses it doesn't know it. What is it?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Hiroshima Memorial Park: Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

1-7: World Breastfeeding Week…Simplify Your Life Week…National Clown Week…National Fraud Awareness Week…Single Working Women's Week

2-6: Exhibitor Appreciation Week…Intimate Apparel Market Week…Psychic Week

4-7: Rock for Life Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

International Beer Day

National Underwear Day

National Mustard Day

Test Ban Day (Int'l Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War)

Iran: Constitution Day

Upper Volta: Independence Day/Burkina Faso (1960 from France)

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis Billy Murray 1904

By the Beautiful Sea Heidelberg Quintet 1914

Swinging on a Star Bing Crosby 1944

Sh-Boom The Crew-Cuts 1954

A Hard Day's Night The Beatles 1964

Feel Like Makin' Love Roberta Flack 1974

Ghostbusters Ray Parker, Jr. 1984

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Conrad Aiken, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet: Selected Poems [1930] …born in 1889 Savannah,, GA

John Huston , director/writer (African Queen, Chinatown) …born in 1906 Nevada Mo

~~~

Loni Anderson, 64, actress (“WKRP in Cincinnati,” The Jayne Mansfield Story), born St. Paul, MN

Selma Diamond , comedienne (Selma-Night Court) …born in 1920 London Ontario

Robert Taylor (Spangler Brugh), actor: Magnificent Obsession, Quo Vadis, Billy the Kid, Bataan, Knights of the Round Table, The Night Walker, Death Valley Days…born in 1911 Filley, NB

Erika Slezak, 64, actress (“One Life to Live”), born Los Angeles, CA

• Athletics

Patrick Aloysius Ewing, 48, former basketball player, born Kingston, Jamaica

• Business & Education

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• Politics

William , 1st black child born in English America…born in 1624 Jamestown Va

• Science/Religion

Neil Alden Armstrong, 80, former astronaut (first man to walk on moon), born Wapakoneta, OH

John Eliot, "Apostle to Indians," Bible translator…born in 1604 Widford, Hertfordshire, England

Joseph Carey Merrick, "Elephant Man"…born in 1860 Leicester, England

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Richard Burton, Welsh actor (Cleopatra), cerebral hemorrhage @ 58 in 1984

Soichiro Hondo, CEO & founder (Honda), liver cancer @ 84 in 1991

Marilyn Monroe, actress, drug overdose @ 36 in 1962

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1924 The comic strip Little Orphan Annie debuted in the New York Daily News.

1957 "American Bandstand," goes on network TV (ABC) 1

1984 Joan Benoit won the first women’s Olympic marathon at the Summer Games in Los Angeles, California.

• Athletics

1923 1st American to swim the English Channel (Henry Sullivan)

1936 At Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens wins his 3rd Olympic medal

• Business & Education

1882 The Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.

• Indigenous People

695 Forces under Maya King Jasaw Chan K'awiil I (Sky Rain) defeat an army from Calakmul under Maya King Yich'aak K'ak' (Fiery Claw).

1570 A Spanish colony expedition in sailing up the Chesapeake in Virginia, when they reach the area they will call Axaca somewhere near the Rappahannock. The local Indians will force the Spanish to abandon the effort.

1689 1,500 Iroquois attack the village of Lachine, in New France.

• Politics (US)

1861 US Army abolishes flogging

1861 US levies its 1st Income Tax (3% of incomes over $800)

1864 Battle of Mobile Bay, Ala; Adm David Farragut orders "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"

1884 The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid at Bedloe’s Island (now called Liberty Island), New York

1964 US begins bombing North Vietnam

1981 Federal govt began firing striking air traffic controllers

• Politics (International)

1305 William Wallace, who led Scottish resistance to England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he is put on trial and executed.

1583 Gilbert claims Newfoundland (1st English colony in North America)

1945 Atom Bomb dropped on Hiroshima (Aug 6th in Japan)

• Science / Religion

--

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

Eight. When written as a digit, 8, the top half is 0, and the bottom half is also 0.

↔ 2

A coffin

↔ Picture

A spigot on a drinking water container

TODAY’S PHOTO SHOT

Statue of Liberty

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Wednesday August 4

This is Week 31 of 2010►Day 216 with 159 days left.

It is Day 107 of the BP Mess. Day 19 with Small(?) leaks

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

Fingers crossed that the leak will be killed tonight or tomorrow. As one NPR story said today, the battle is just beginning. Surprise everyone, BP’s estimate on the amount of oil was off quite a bit, scientists now say that in the beginning it was actually 62,000 barrels per day, dropping to 53,000 barrels a day when the cap was put on. That means about 4 million gallons were put into the Gulf. The concern that everyone has: how will BP determine who was ‘damaged’ by this spill? Tough call for sure. I think the bigger issue is how such a spill is prevented. According to public documents there were hundreds of safety violations by BP, while others, in the same time frame had fewer than five. As a school administrator I had to deal with many inspections. I understand that some violations are minor, others not so much. I also know that when a school had repeating minor violations they soon started moving to major violations. For example, in one inspection of a school cafeteria, the school had a major violation for not having food in the freezer on pallets. I knew that this was usually a minor violation. When I questioned it, I discovered that each of the past three inspections had listed it as a minor violation. I was told that it is three strikes and you are out—meaning that the same violation becomes a major violation. Why doesn’t this hold for BP? Where were the inspectors? Why was nothing done about them? Until this is fixed, drilling in deep water anywhere is not safe. I’m a ‘better safe than sorry’ guy.

School is about to start in Flagstaff and now the community is starting to realize the true impact of the school closings and boundary changes. Suddenly parents realize that some neighborhoods will be split by the changes. Where were they during the entire process?

About a week ago I was saddened that one of my former students had passed, and that the local paper, while posting the story, was very aware of his contribution to the community. Today I read that first degree murder charges had been filed against a man for killing him. Still not a lot of information is out there, but we did learn that the accused killer had been out of prison for less than a month for a conviction of aggravated assault. I’m not sure this will bring any comfort to the family, but it is a beginning to explain the events. Whatever happened should not have happened and I can only hope that my former student did not suffer in this senseless death.

We had more monsoons today. It wasn’t a lot of rain, but enough to issue flash flood warnings for the poor people who are living with that daily. We had very little breeze and the ol’ thermometer climbed to 77°.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Federico Fellini, Italian film director, Life is a combination of magic and pasta."

HOLY MACKEREL:1821 The Saturday Evening Post was published as a weekly for the first time. 

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION on Orca or Killer Whales

>Individual orcas can be identified by their dorsal fins and saddle patches. These characteristics are unique for each orca just as human fingerprints are all different.

>The orca is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family

>Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas

>Killer whales are highly social; some populations are composed of matrilineal family groups which are the most stable of any animal species. They produce three categories of sounds: clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls. Clicks are believed to be used primarily for navigation and discriminating prey and other objects in the surrounding environment, but are also commonly heard during social interactions.

>The killer whale is one of 35 species in the oceanic dolphin family, which first appeared about 11 million years ago.

>Males typically range from 20–26 ft long and weigh in excess of 6 tons. Males sexually mature at the age of 15 but do not typically reproduce until age 21. Wild males live around 29 years on average, with a maximum of 50–60 years.

>Females are smaller, generally ranging from 16–23 ft and weighing about 3 to 4 tons Females breed until age 40, meaning that on average they raise five offspring. The lifespan of wild females averages 50 years, with a maximum of 80–90 years.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1

Starting with SOFT, change one letter at a time until you have the word LENS. Each change leaves the other letters in their original places and must result in a proper word. What is the minimum number of steps required to achieve this change?

SOFT

....

....

....

LENS

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

New York: A former city firefighter who retired with a nearly $75,000-a-year tax-free disability pension seven years ago for alleged lung problems is now a mixed-martial-arts fighter, The Post has learned.

John Giuffrida, 42, has spent the last two years wiping the mats with opponents in brutal grappling and Thai-kickboxing matches despite his career-ending diagnoses of lung disease and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"He's scamming the city and slapping all these widows and widowers in the face," a source close to Giuffrida said, adding that he got divorced and took up hiking and scuba diving in his retirement along with martial arts. "All of a sudden he was cured," the source fumed.

Giuffrida claims that he was forced to retire by a Fire Department medical board after 12 years of service -- collecting a three-quarters-pay pension that the FDNY said comes out to $74,624 a year.

Among the first-responders on 9/11, Giuffrida says he spent 30 days -- including 30 hours nonstop -- doing the grim and toxic recovery work at Ground Zero.

The next year, FDNY docs determined he was suffering from asthma and other lung ailments and placed him on light duty. By 2003, he was out with his tax-free disability pension despite his attempts to stay on, he said.

"I have nothing to hide," Giuffrida told The Post from his Shark River, NJ, home. "The conditions that precluded me from being a firefighter in no way preclude me living an active life in order to preserve my health."

Giuffrida is the latest firefighter found drawing a disability pension while performing feats of strength and endurance.

A LITTLE LAUGH

Charley, a new retiree-greeter at WalMart, just couldn't seem to get to work on time.

Every day he was 5, 10, 15 minutes late. But he was a good worker, really tidy, clean-shaven, sharp minded and a real credit to the company; obviously demonstrating their "Older Person Friendly" policies.

One day the boss called him into the office for a talk.

"Charley, I have to tell you, I like your work ethic, you do a bang up job. But, being late so often is quite bothersome."

"I know boss, and I am working on it."

''Well good, you are a team player. That's what I like to hear. It's odd though you’re coming in late.

I know you're retired from the Armed Forces. So, what did they say if you came in late back then?"

''They said, 'Good morning, Admiral, can I get you coffee, sir?'''

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2

I trail behind the rest. I'm dominate to some. Everyone has it, but some have more than one.What is it?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Orca whales in the wild: Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

1-7: World Breastfeeding Week…Simplify Your Life Week…National Clown Week…National Fraud Awareness Week…Single Working Women's Week

2-6: Exhibitor Appreciation Week…Intimate Apparel Market Week…Psychic Week

4-7: Rock for Life Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

Coast Guard Day

National Chocolate Chip Day

Twins Day Festival

Cook Islands: Constitution Day

Norway: Peer Gynt Festival Days

Trinidad & Tobago: Discovery Day (1498)

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

Lazybones  Ted Lewis  1933

You'll Never Know  Dick Haymes 1943

Vaya con Dios (May God Be with You) Les Paul & Mary Ford 1953

Fingertips (Part II)  Little Stevie Wonder 1963

The Morning After Maureen McGovern 1973

Every Breath You Take The Police 1983

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Louis Armstrong , Jazz musician & bandleader, "Hello Dolly" - oldest musician in Billboard history to have a Number One song…born in 1901 New Orleans. LA

Percy Bysshe Shelley, romantic poet (Adonais) …born in 1792 Horsham, England

~~~

Richard Belzer, 66, comedian, actor (“Law & Order: SVU,” “Homicide: Life on the Street”)…born Bridgeport, CT

Daniel Dae Kim, 42, actor (“Lost,” “24”)…born Pusan, South Korea

Billy Bob Thornton, 55, actor (Bad News Bears, Friday Night Lights, Bad Santa), director, screenwriter (Oscar forSling Blade)…born Hot Springs, AR

• Athletics

Roger Clemens, 48, baseball (Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees, Astros)…born Dayton, OH

Glenn Cunningham, US middle distance runner in the 1930's despite badly burned legs …born in 1909 Elkhart, KS

Jeff Gordon, 39, race car driver…born Pittsboro, IN

• Business & Education

Helen Thomas, 90, journalist, longtime White House correspondent…born Winchester, KY

• Politics

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, Britain’s Queen Mother…born in 1900 London

Barack Obama, 49, 44th president of the US, former US Senator (D, Illinois)…born Honolulu, HI

• Science/Religion

Nicolas-Jacque Conte, inventor (modern pencil) …born in 1755 Normandy, France

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer @ 70 in 1875

Lee Hazlewood, American country singer, songwriter and producer @ 78 in 2007

Victor Mature, American actor @ 84 in 1999

Frederick Chapman Robbins, American Nobel Prize Laureate @ 87 in 2003

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

--

• Athletics

1984 Carl Lewis wins gold medal in 100-meter dash at LA Summer Olympics

1996 26th Olympic Summer games close in Atlanta, Georgia

• Business & Education

1753 George Washington becomes a master mason

1830 Plans for the city of Chicago laid out

• Indigenous People

1813 500 warriors of the White Stick faction of the Creeks gather in Coweta, across the river in Alabama from modern Columbus Georgia. With 200 Cherokee warriors, they make plans to attack a band of Red Stick Creeks, followers of Tecumseh, over 2,500 strong. The White Sticks are led by Tustunnuggee Thlucco and Tustunnuggee Hopoie.

• Politics (US)

1964 Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman & James Chaney found buried inside an earthen dam in Mississippi

• Politics (International)

1944 Anne Frank, 15, (Diary of Anne Frank) is arrested by Nazis

• Science / Religion

1693 Dom Perignon invents champagne

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

SOFT, LOFT, LEFT, LENT, LENS

↔ 2

I am a person's last name.

↔ Picture

A wrist weight for exercising

TODAY’S PHOTO SHOT

Dom Pierre Pérignon, a Benedictine monk

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