Tuesday August 10

This is Week 32 of 2010►Day 222 with 143 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

The week started out very strangely here on ol’ St. Nicholas Drive. Some background: I live in one of about 33 units in our complex. My living room and one of the bedrooms (my office) look out onto the U-shaped compound. I am in one of the sides of the ‘U’. My master bedroom and my deck are on the back—quiet side—of the apartment. So this morning I got up about 6:30. After my normal tasks—you know those—I went to the office to turn on the computer. As I enter the office, I hear a voice yelling, “This is the police, raise your hands and slowly walk down the stairs.” I look out the window to find several things. The cops are at a unit in the bottom part of the ‘U’. There is one cop at the door, pounding and yelling. Another is standing on a retaining wall looking into the stairwell inside the unit. Three more cops are standing on the sidewalk, hands on guns standing in a very aggressive position. I look around the parking lot to discover that the entire parking lot and commons area has yellow tape around it. No one can leave the parking lot. Several cars are sitting at the yellow tape, trying to get to work. After a couple of minutes a young man comes out, is handcuffed, and sat on the sidewalk. A few more minutes and a young girl comes out and is handcuffed and moved down to another spot on the sidewalk. Both of the people handcuffed are in their late teens or early 20’s. The yelling by the cops stops, they put up crime tape in front of the house. Those trying to get to work are let out. Cops and detectives walk though the commons area; tape some of it off; walk around some more. I decided not to take a walk this morning. About 30 minutes later the man is taken away in an ambulance, but does not seem hurt as he walks to the stretcher. Later the girl is un-cuffed and walked to a police car and the car leaves with her. Part of the commons area remains taped all day, as does the unit door. Usually there are lots of kids outside, riding bikes and playing. Not today. The detectives keep looking around. Around about 10am everyone is gone, but the tape remains. Each time I went outside; there was a marked police car sitting in the parking lot taking up several spaces in front of the unit; his motor running; and he sitting behind the wheel.

At noon I decided I need to detail my vehicle. It was a nice day. I had been planning on doing it for several days, the sky was clear, and yeah, by being outside I could see if anything was happening. I figured the cop sitting in his car could radio back to his superiors “No action on St. Nicholas except for old man who seems to be detailing his vehicle.” During my 3 hours outside, several residents did approach the cop but only stayed a minute or so. Not long enough to find out what was going on. My vehicle looks very nice. I went inside about 3:30 and decided to call the HOA to find out what the hell was going on. She hadn’t heard anything, but said she would make some calls. I told her I thought about calling the cops, but she told me, “they won’t tell you anything.” I was sure that was true, especially if they were waiting for some perp to return. I was surprised when she called me back about 30 minutes later to tell me that there had been a ‘domestic disturbance’ and that a male had been stabbed by a female, and he was OK. This stabbing took place in the early hours near the trees in the commons area. All the pieces fit, I felt better. Just as the workers were beginning to return home after a hard day’s work, the yellow tape disappeared, the parked police car disappeared. Only the toddlers have been outside with their moms since the cops left. I just signed a new one year lease—with no rent increase, but I think I am going to start looking for another neighborhood. Moving is such a hassle. I like the place I live. I don’t like having cops with guns around. This is twice in the last month that a large number of cops have entered our quiet neighborhood. Nothing like this has happened in the four years I have lived here. It’s probably the economy—hard to find renters. I am also real glad I don’t own this place, as selling right now would be stupid. Time will tell what happens.

It really was a nice day as we were a very comfortable 75° with no breeze. A great day to be outside. There were a few clouds and they actually were helpful while I was waxing my vehicle. Just as I was ready to start on the sunny side of the vehicle, it went behind a cloud and stayed behind the cloud until I finished. I didn’t have to move the vehicle. Good, but strange day.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Isaac Asimov: The human brain, then, is the most complicated organization of matter that we know.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1966 Daylight meteor seen from Utah to Canada. Only known case of a meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere & leaving it again

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION

>More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.

>Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers: State Capitals

Until 1875 its dual capitals were New Haven & Hartford

This N.M. town is the oldest city that's a state capital

Crossing the Delaware on Xmas, 1776, Washington defeated the Hessians at this N.J. capital

It actually is 5,280 feet above sea level

The name shows its founder, Roger Williams, believed God led him there.

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

AP--Police say a JetBlue flight attendant who got into an altercation with a passenger on a plane arriving in New York City and deployed an emergency exit slide so he could flee has been arrested.

They say Steven Slater was arrested on charges including criminal mischief and reckless endangerment following Monday's incident at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Slater faces up to 7 years in prison if convicted, according to WNBC.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police say Slater was working on a JetBlue Airways Corp. flight from Pittsburgh when he got into a heated argument with the passenger about baggage. They say as the plane was landing Slater used the public-address system to berate the passenger. They say he then activated the slide, slid down and went to his car.

The New York Daily News reported that he took over the intercom and called the passenger a 12-letter epithet beginning with 'm' and then told everyone, "I've been in the business 28 years. I've had it. That's it."

A LITTLE LAUGH

The summer after college graduation, I was living at home, fishing in the daytime, spending nights with my friends—generally just hanging out. One afternoon my grandfather, who never went to college, stopped by. Concerned with how I was spending my time, he asked about my future plans. I told him I was in no hurry to tie myself down to a career.

"Well," he replied, "you better start thinking about it. You'll be thirty before you know it."

"But I'm closer to twenty than to thirty," I protested.

"I won't be thirty for eight more years."

"I see," he said, smiling. "And when will you be twenty again?"

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

I can only move forward, but always moving backward. What am I?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Smithsonian National Museum of American History—one of the many museums: Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

8-14: Assistance Dog Week

…Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week

…National Resurrect Romance Week

10-16: Elvis Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

Lazy Day

National Duran Duran Appreciation Day

Perigean Spring Tides

Smithsonian Day

S'mores Day

Ecuador: Independence Day (1809 from Spain)

Missouri: Admission Day (1821 as 24th state)

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

My Wild Irish Rose Albert Campbell 1899

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

Some Enchanted Evening Perry Como 1949

A Big Hunk O' Love Elvis Presley 1959

In the Year 2525 Zager & Evans 1969

Bad Girls Donna Summer 1979

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Ian Anderson, 63, musician, lead singer (Jethro Tull)…born Black-pool, England

Eddie Fisher, 82, singer (Oh My Papa, Lady of Spain) …born Philadelphia, PA

Rachel Simmons, 36, American feminist and author: Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls…born in Rockville, MD

~~~

Rosanna Arquette, 51, actress (Desperately Seeking Susan, New York Stories)…born New York, NY

Antonio Banderas, 50, actor (Spy Kids, The Mask of Zorro, Desperado)…born Malaga, Spain

Noah Beery Jr, actor (Rockford Files, Quest, Doc Elliot) …born in 1913…NYC, NY

Jack (John Joseph) Haley, actor: The Wizard of Oz…born in 1898…Boston, MA

• Athletics

Riddick Bowe, 43, boxer…born Brooklyn, NY

James (Tod) Sloan jockey, created monkey crouch riding style…born in 1874…Bunker Hill, IN

• Business & Education

Jimmy Dean, actor/singer (Jimmy Dean Show, Diamonds are Forever), sausage king …born in 1928…Plainview, TX

• Politics

Viscount Dunrossil, Gov Gen of Australia (1959-61) …born in 1893… Torinturk, Argyllshire, Scotland

Herbert Clark Hoover, (R) 31st Pres…born in 1874…West Branch, Iowa

Anwar Ibrahim, 63, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia…born in Cherok Tok Kun, Penang,Malayan Union

Laura Spurr, Tribal Chair, Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi…born in 1945…Battle Creek, MI

• Science/Religion

Gaudencio Rosales, 78, Filipino cardinal and Archbishop of Manila…born in Batangas City, Batangas, Philippines

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Robert Goddard, father of American rocketry, [“Every vision is a joke until the first man accomplishes it; once realized, it becomes commonplace.”] cancer @ 63 in 1945

Ray "Crash" Corrigan, cowboy (Crash Corrigan's Ranch), @74 in 1976

Clara Peller, actress (Where's the Beef), @ 86 in 1987

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1948 Allen Funt's "Candid Camera" TV debut on ABC

• Athletics

1743 Earliest recorded prize fighting rules formulated

1984 Mary Decker (US) and Zola Budd (Great Britian) collide in the 3,000-meter run @ LA Summer Olympics

• Business & Education

1985 Michael Jackson buys ATV Music (every Beatle songs) for $47 million

• Indigenous People

1680 The Pueblo Rebellion takes place in New Mexico under the leadership of a Tewa named Popé.

• Politics (US)

1827 Race riots in Cincinnati (1,000 blacks leave for Canada)

1831 Former slave Nat Turner led violent insurrection against slavery

1833 Chicago incorporates as a village of about 200

1846 Congress charters the "nation's attic," the Smithsonian Institution

1893 Chinese deported from SF under Exclusion Act

1995 Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were indicted (11 counts each) for bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City

2000 The California State Legislature approved a bill to make March 31, the birthday of the late labor leader Cesar Chavez (he died in 1993), a holiday for state workers.

• Politics (International)

1792 Mobs in Paris attack the palace of Louis XVI

1911 Parliament Act reduces power of House of Lords

1961 England applies for membership in the European Common Market

• Science / Religion

1869 O.B. Brown of Malden, MA patented the motion-picture projector

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

Until 1875 its dual capitals were New Haven & Hartford: What is Connecticut?

This N.M. town is the oldest city that's a state capital: What is Santa Fe?

Crossing the Delaware on Xmas, 1776, Washington defeated the Hessians at this N.J. capital: What is Trenton?

It actually is 5,280 feet above sea level: What is Denver?

The name shows its founder, Roger Williams, believed God led him there. What is Providence?

↔ 2

An antlion—an insect.

↔ Picture

The trigger of a gun

TODAY’S PHOTO SHOT

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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

--

• Politics

--

• 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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