Sunday August 29

This is Week 34 of 2010►Day 241 with 124 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I know it’s the weekend in Flag, it rained yesterday and today was windy all day. I decided to clean the house, as going outside was not real pleasant. I also caught up on some of the favorite DVR recorded series that I didn’t see this week. It worked out well, and tonight is comfort food—beef and noodles.

The news today was filled with the Glenn Beck thing at the Lincoln Memorial on the 47th anniversary of the “I Have A Dream” speech. He seemingly claimed that it was not a political rally, but a rally to return America to God. He certainly has become a voice for many conservatives who are not happy with DC politics. Many conservatives want smaller government, less taxes, fewer social programs, and little or no government interference in their daily lives—except for little stuff, like Social Security, Medicare, a working highway system, safe bridges, safe water, clean air, and similar things. Mr. Beck sure has made a name for himself since his rehab. Somehow his rally appeared to me to be delusional. He titled the whole thing as “Restoring Honor”. He has admitted that he is an entertainer and not a journalist. His daily entertainment is all about distorting history to fit his agenda. How is that honorable? Sadly, many of his followers don’t realize that he takes obscure historical events and makes them historical landmarks. He takes actual historical landmarks and turns them into footnotes that had no importance to our history. He is hoping that in the future he will be seen as a genius who really understood America. Sane people can only hope that he is wrong. When I hear the name Glenn Beck many adjectives come to mind, but honorable is not one of them.

NPR ran a great piece today about the games on social networking sites. I must admit I have played the free version of Mafia Wars and Farm Town. I have not and will not ‘buy’ things on at these games if they cost real money. It turns out I may in the minority of players, since last year these companies got $1.6 billion real dollars from real people for imaginary things. I’m not talking about buying some video game disk, I’m talking about imaginary cows, imaginary stolen gold, hiring an imaginary hit man to kill an imaginary adversary. Insane. A few years ago the ‘shadow economy’ was talking about hiring someone to clean your house, or take care of your garden or nanny your children without reporting the pay to the IRS. The IRS is full of bean counters, and soon they will be probably figuring out a way to collect tax on the imaginary crop you harvested. Actually they will find a way to tax the real money people are spending on these sites for the imaginary mansion just bought. The other downside to these games is that they can take up hours and can become highly addictive—even if you are playing for free. Some crops rot if not harvested every couple of hours, imaginary money builds up in your Mafia account and it can all be stolen if you don’t put it in the bank every few hours. In Mafia Wars they take 10% of your imaginary deposit as a laundering fee. Wonder how much the IRS will take in real money?

As I said, Flag was windy today. The 20+ mph winds were pretty steady most of the day. I did go out to empty the trash and watched the clouds move quickly across the sky…upper level winds must have been much stronger because them those clouds were really hustlin’ across our blue sky. My deck was 72° but the wind made it feel closer to 60°. My windows and deck door had to remain closed most of the day. There was no rain, but it sure smelled and felt like it could rain at any time.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

W. Somerset Maugham: Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1896 Chop suey invented in NYC by chef of visiting Chinese Ambassador

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION about Cars

§The first Cadillac, which was produced in 1903, cost less than the original Model T Ford. Their prices, respectively, were $750 and $875.

§The fastest street-legal car on the road is the Bugatti Veyron. Only thirty are to be built this year, five of which can reach up to 267 mph! The British vehicle is $1.7-$2.5 million American.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers

$100-She talked to Arnold's class about drugs on TV's "Diff'rent Strokes"

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$200-One of her early suitors was her husband's arch rival, Stephen A. Douglas

---

$300-Teddy's niece, her married & maiden names were the same

---

$400-Her tough Texas husband preferred her nickname to calling her Claudia Alta

---

$500-She was expelled from Society of Friends for marrying non-Quaker 4th president

---

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

Cincinnati, OH-- a 36-year-old Cincinnati woman was simultaneously masturbating with a sex toy and watching a porno while driving last week, according to cops who arrested her on assorted criminal charges. Colondra Hamilton was pulled over when cops noticed she was driving a car with overly tinted windows.

That's when officers noticed that Hamilton's pants were unbuttoned and she had a vibrator in her lap. After questioning admitted that she had also been watching a porno that was playing on a laptop in the passenger seat. Then they noticed her roach clip on the console. Ms. Hamilton was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

A LITTLE LAUGH

Tips to live better in 2010

--Old telephone books make ideal personal address books. Simply cross out the names and addresses of people you don't know.

--Avoid parking tickets by leaving your windshield wipers turned to fast wipe whenever you leave your car parked illegally.

--Fool other drivers into thinking you have a cell phone 'texting' on an old TV or video remote control and occasionally swerving across the road and mounting the curb.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

The police found a dead body inside a car. It was obvious that the woman was shot to death. There was no gun powder inside the car, so that meant that the murderer shot the woman from outside the car. But the windows were intact and rolled up and the doors were locked. How did the shooter kill the woman?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Mormon Tabernacle Choir - "Battle Hymn of the Republic" Click Here to Hear!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

25-31: Be Kind To Humankind Week

29-9/4: Minority Enterprise Development Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

More Herbs, Less Salt Day

According to Hoyle Day

National Sarcoidosis Awareness Day: Besnier-Boeck disease, a disease in which swelling (inflammation) occurs in the lymph nodes, lungs, liver, eyes, skin, or other tissue

Slovakia: Slovak National Uprising Anniversary (1944 against Nazis)

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

1897 ...The Stars and Stripes Forever...Sousa's Band

1927 ... Me and My Shadow..."Whispering" Jack Smith

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

1957 ...Tammy...Debbie Reynolds Click Here to Hear!

1967 ...Ode to Billie Joe...Bobbie Gentry Click Here to Hear!

1977 ...Best of My Love...The Emotions Click Here to Hear!

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Sir Richard Attenborough, 87, filmmaker (In Which We Serve, The Great Escape), born Cambridge, England

Charlie "Bird" Parker, famous African-American jazzman…born 1920…Kansas City, KS

William Friedkin, 71, filmmaker (Oscar for The French Connection; The Exorcist)…born Chicago, IL

Oliver Wendell Holmes, physician/author (Old Ironsides) …born 1809…Cambridge, MA

Michael Jackson, singer (Thriller, Bad)…born 1958… Gary IN

Peter Jennings, news anchor (ABC TV) …born 1938… Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Robin Leach, 69, television host (“Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”)…born London, England

~~~

Ingrid Bergman, actress (Casablanca, Cactus Flower) …born 1915… Stockholm, Sweden

Richard Gere, 61, actor (Chicago, An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman)…born Philadelphia, PA

Elliott Gould (Elliott Goldstein), 72, actor (M*A*S*H, The Long Goodbye)…born Brooklyn, NY

• Athletics

Pablo Mastroeni, 34, soccer player…born Mendoza, Argentina

• Business & Education

Charles F Kettering, inventor (auto self-starter) …born 1876…Londonville, OH

John Locke, empiricist philosopher; disproved substance…born 1632… Wrington, Somerset, England

• Politics

John Sidney McCain III, 74, US Senator (R, Arizona)…born Panama Canal Zone

• Science/Religion

Henry Bergh, founder of American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals…born, 1811…NYC,NY

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Ingrid Bergman, academy award winning actress, dies on 67th birthday

John the Baptist, beheaded ( Note: Actual date is questionable ), about 40 in 29AD

Edmond Hoyle, games expert, @ 97 in 1769

Lee Marvin, actor, heart attack @ 63 in Tucson, AZ in 1987

Lowell Thomas, newscaster (High Adventure), @ 89 in 1981

Brigham Young, 2nd president of Mormon Church, @ 76 in 1877

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1967 Final TV episode of "The Fugitive"

• Athletics

1844 1st white-indian lacrosse game in Montreal, Indians win

1904 3rd modern Olympic Games opens in St Louis

1984 Edwin Moses won the 400-meter hurdles in track competition in Europe, his 108th consecutive victory.

• Business & Education

1896 Chop suey invented in NYC by chef of visiting Chinese Ambassador

1958 Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs, CO

• Indigenous People

1758 The First State Indian reservation, in Brotherton New Jersey, is established. It is primarily for the Lenni Lenape

• Politics (US)

1708 Haverhill, Mass destroyed by French & Indians New Jersey by the New Jersey Colonial Assembly.

1862 2nd Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) begins

1862 US Bureau of Engraving & Printing begins operation

• Politics (International)

1930 The last 36 remaining inhabitants of St Kilda are voluntarily evacuated to other parts of Scotland due to illness and death

1991 Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union suspends all activities of the Soviet Communist Party.

2003 Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, is assassinated in a terrorist bombing, along with nearly 100 worshippers as they leave a mosque in Najaf.

• Science / Religion

1883 Seismic sea waves created by the Krakatoa eruption create a rise in the English Channel 32 hrs after the explosion

2005 Hurricane Katrina moved into the Gulf of Mexico and grew into one of the most devastating hurricanes in US history

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

She talked to Arnold's class about drugs on TV's "Diff'rent Strokes": Who is Nancy Reagan?

One of her early suitors was her husband's arch rival, Stephen A. Douglas: Who is Mary Todd Lincoln?

Teddy's niece, her married & maiden names were the same: Who is Eleanor Roosevelt?

Her tough Texas husband preferred her nickname to calling her Claudia Alta: Who is Lady Bird Johnson?

She was expelled from Society of Friends for marrying non-Quaker 4th president: Who is Dolley Madison?

↔ 2

The car was a convertible!

↔ Picture

Contacts on a smart card, e.g. credit card or satellite TV card

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Lassen Volcanic National Park: 14th National Park, in California as of August 9, 1916” Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world, is joined by all three other types of volcanoes in this park: shield, cinder dome, and composite. Other than the volcano, which last erupted in 1915, the park has hydrothermal areas, including fumaroles, boiling pools, and steaming ground, heated by molten rock under the peak.

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Saturday, August 28

This is Week 34 of 2010►Day 240 with 125 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I hope that readers enjoy the videos I have been adding to each blog. The songs are usually the original musicians, and certainly bring back memories. All one has to do is click on the blue “Click Here” or “Hear It Hear” and you should go right to the video. When I find the video, I am always surprised as how quickly a memory will pop into my mind. Much of the memories from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s are mine—a party, an event, a situation. Any songs before my memory will remind me of something my parents talked about, or listened to. A few of the songs are such time honored classics that I may have ever known they were number one on Billboard. Yesterday’s list is a good example. I learned the song as “Bicycle Built for Two” but now know it was “The Band Played On”. As a pre-teen I took piano lessons. My piano teacher believed that her students should learn music theory, learn to play the piano, learn composer history, and perform twice a year. Mrs. Williams had a large room with two pianos and chairs for about four. Once a week we had a private lesson and once a week we had ‘theory’ with about four students. That room opened out into living room. When her 10 or so students had a recital, the parents sat in the living room as we played. I never became a great pianist. I never even became a very good pianist. I did learn to appreciate many kinds of music—classical through the years, jazz, folk, and many more. My mom became good friends with Reba and they stayed friends for many years after the piano lessons stopped. When I entered college one of the course requirements was Music Appreciation. We had to take a pre-test to see what level class we would be in—beginning appreciation, intermediate appreciation, or advanced appreciation. After taking the test, the instructor called me in to see if I was planning on becoming a music major. I wasn’t. However, my test results exempted me from all three levels of the class and I just got the credits. She was very disappointed that I didn’t want to become a music major. I never found out how many of the thousands of liberal arts freshman were fully exempted, but I do know that none of my freshman friends were. All those hours of class, of practice, of theory have paid off my entire life. As an Elementary teacher or a Jr. High English teacher I could always find some piece of music that fit into many of my lessons. If I were still a teacher, finding those pieces of music would be so much easier. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the music as much as I do.

I helped Martha with her mailings again today. She is doing so much better, but still can’t carry the books from her vehicle to the PO window. It is no big deal for me, and I am getting to know the desk crew at the PO. It takes time for them to weigh and stamp some 25 books each trip, and they have the tedious task down to an art, so there is some conversation while they stamp away. By the time I head for Malaysia, Martha should be ready to return to her pre-operation state of doing it alone. I won’t be needed anymore, but for now, it is an interesting way to spend an hour.

Over a week ago Ellie had mailed me my name tags, luggage tags, and other stuff I didn’t get at the pre-departure party. It only had to come from Denver. As of yesterday I still hadn’t received it. The luggage tags are really important, so that the baggage carriers at all of our stops can spot them on the luggage carousel. We, the travelers, don’t have to stand at the carousel and grab our bags. The tour guys know what tag to grab so we can converse and enjoy the airport hubbub. When they have all our bags, we simply walk over to be sure our bag is there. It sure makes travel much easier. So this morning about 9am I called Ellie to let her know I was tagless. I told her that I was sure it would come, just as soon as I called. She reprinted and re-mailed all the stuff. I called because I was sure she would have to call back east for the luggage tags and we are leaving soon. I checked the mail about noon, and sure enough, the package was there. I called her back but she had already mailed me a new set. I asked if that meant I could go twice. She said ‘probably not.’

I picked up my broad band hat, a mosquito net for the hat, some strong bug spray and other travel stuff today. I’m still searching for anti-leech socks. We don’t have an REI here and it is too late to order them without paying more for shipping than the socks cost. Neither of our local sporting goods stores had any. All the clerks looked at me like I was crazy—AZ is not exactly leech country and the sporting goods stores are not that big. They have lots of camping and hiking stuff, but it is for the mountains or for the sandy desert, not a rain forest. The clerks were interested in my trip and seemed have a genuine interest.

Today I started my ‘take’ pile for the trip. As I use something that I don’t use regularly, it goes in the pile. When I finally pack, some at that stuff will go and I find that it helps so I don’t forget anything.

Flag had a real nice thundershower just after noon, and another one about 3pm. The second storm set off the emergency notice on TV to watch for flash flooding. I haven’t heard yet if the fire area was spared, yet again. I think the darkness and rain helped me get in the mood to start getting ready for my trip. We made it to 78° before the first storm, but quickly dropped to the mid 60’s where stayed cool the rest of the day. It is still overcast and sure looks like more rain tonight. I had to close downstairs windows as it got a little cool.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Charles Dubois: The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1963 Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream speech" at Lincoln Memorial

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION

The tallest bird of all time was the moa, a flightless inhabitant of New Zealand that became extinct over 400 years ago. It grew to be 11 feet tall.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers: Horse Sense

Horse racing was a sport at these ancient Greek contests

Collective name of Kentucky Derby, Preakness, & Belmont Stakes

Billy the Cobbler, or a famous jockey

Since 1936, because of this, horses "say cheese" at the end of races

All U.S. thoroughbreds are officially born on this day of the year

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM: Five Accidental Inventions

1. Percy Spencer, an engineer at Raytheon after his WWI stint in the Navy, was known as an electronics genius. In 1945, Spencer was fiddling with a microwave-emitting magnetron — used in the guts of radar arrays — when he felt a strange sensation in his pants. A sizzling, even. Spencer paused and found that a chocolate bar in his pocket had started to melt. Figuring that the microwave radiation of the magnetron was to blame (or to credit, as it would turn out), Spencer immediately set out to realize the culinary potential at work. The end result was the microwave oven — savior of eager snackers and single dudes worldwide.

2. In 1879, Ira Remsen and Constantin Fahlberg, at work in a laboratory at Johns Hopkins University, paused to eat. Fahlberg had neglected to wash his hands before the meal — which usually leads to a quick death for most chemists, but led to him noticing an oddly sweet flavor during his meal. Artificial sweetener! The duo published their findings together, but it was only Fahlberg's name that made it onto the (incredibly lucrative) patent, now found in pink packets at tables everywhere. That is to say, Remsen got screwed—he later remarked, "Fahlberg is a scoundrel. It nauseates me to hear my name mentioned in the same breath with him."

3. In 1943, Navy engineer Richard James was trying to figure out how to use springs to keep the sensitive instruments aboard ships from rocking themselves to death, when he knocked one of his prototypes over. Instead of crashing to the floor, it gracefully sprang downward, and then righted itself. So pointless — so nimble — so slinky. The spring became a goofy toy of many childhoods—that is before every kid inevitably gets theirs all twisted up and ruins it. 300 million sold worldwide!

4. Before being found ground into the rugs of child-rearing homes everywhere, Play-Doh was ironically created to be a cleaning product. The paste was first marketed as a treatment for filthy wallpaper — before the company that produced it began to go down the tubes. The discovery that saved Kutol Products — headed for bankruptcy — wasn't that their wall cleaner worked particularly well, but that schoolchildren were beginning to use it to create Christmas ornaments as arts and crafts projects. By removing the compound's cleanser and adding colors and a fresh scent, Kutol spun their wallpaper saver into one of the most iconic toys of all time — and brought mega-success to a company headed for destruction. Sometimes, you don't even know how brilliant you are until someone notices for you.

5. In what have been a very messy moment of discovery in 1942, Dr. Harry Coover of Eastman-Kodak Laboratories found that a substance he created — cyanoacrylate (super glue) — was a miserable failure. It was not, to his dismay, at all suited for a new precision gun sight as he had hoped — it infuriatingly stuck to everything it touched. So it was forgotten. Six years later, while overseeing an experimental new design for airplane canopies, Coover found himself stuck in the same gooey mess with a familiar foe — cyanacrylate was proving useless as ever. But this time, Coover observed that the stuff formed an incredibly strong bond without needing heat. Coover and his team tinkered with sticking various objects in their lab together, and realized they had finally stumbled upon a use for the maddening goop. Coover slapped a patent on his discovery, and in 1958, a full 16 years after he first got stuck, cyanoacrylate was being sold on shelves.

A LITTLE LAUGH

When Adam stayed out very late for a few nights, Eve became upset. "You're running around with other women," she told her mate.

"Eve, honey, you're being unreasonable," Adam responded. "You know you're the only woman on earth."

The quarrel continued until Adam fell asleep, only to be awakened by a strange pain in the chest. It was his darling Eve poking him rather vigorously about the torso.

"What do you think you're doing?" Adam demanded.

"Counting your ribs," said Eve.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

Why do naughty kids throw butter out the window?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Canada Horse Racing Photo Finish: Click Here to See!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

25-31: Be Kind To Humankind Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

World Sauntering Day

Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day

Crackers Over The Keyboard Day: Live it up. Be free. Take some crackers and cookies to work and eat right over top of the keyboard. Show ‘em you’re still a free thinker.

Hong Kong: Festival of Hungry Ghosts

Jordon: Arab Renaissance Day

Republics of Macedonia, Serbia, and Georgia: Assumption of Mary (Eastern Orthodox Church, a public holiday)

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

1916 ...America...Columbia Mixed Double Quartet

1946...To Each His Own...Freddy Martin: Original not available: Click Here to Hear!

1956...Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel...Elvis Presley

Click Here to Hear! Hound Dog;  Click Here to Hear! Don't Be Cruel

1966...Sunshine Superman...Donovan Click Here to Hear!

1976…Don't Go Breaking My Heart…Elton John & Kiki Dee Click Here to Hear!

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

LeAnn Rimes, 28, singer, born Jackson, MS

Shania Twain, 45, country singer, born Eileen Twain at Windsor, ON, Canada

~~~

Ben Gazzara, 80, actor (Anatomy of a Murder, “Run for Your Life”), born New York, NY

Nancy Kulp, actress (Beverly Hillbillies) …born 1921…Harrisburg, PA

Donald (David Dixon) O’Connor, dancer, singer, actor: Singin’ in the Rain, Francis the Talking Mule series…born 1925…Chicago, IL

Jason Priestley, 41, actor (“Beverly Hills 90210,” Tombstone), born Vancouver, BC, Canada

Rokie Roker, actress (Helen-Jeffersons) …born 1929… Miami FL

David Soul, 64, actor (“Starsky and Hutch,” Salem’s Lot), born Chicago, IL

• Athletics

Scott Hamilton, 52, Olympic gold medal figure skater, born Toledo, OH

Tony (Andres Antonio) Gonzalez, 74, baseball: Reds, Phillies, Braves, Padres, Angels…born Cunagua, Cuba

Carlos Quentin, 28, baseball White Sox, born Bellflower, CA

Mike (Michael Augustine) Torrez, 64, baseball: pitcher: Cardinals, Expos, Orioles, Athletics, Yankees [World Series: 1977], Red Sox, Mets…born Topeka, KS

• Business & Education

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, social philosopher (Faust)…born 1749… Frankfurt, Germany

C Wright Mills, sociologist, writer (The Power Elite) …born 1916…Waco, TX

• Politics

Lucy Ware Webb Hayes, 1st lady…born 1831… Chillicothe, OH

• Science/Religion

Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, 1st American Catholic saint…born 1774…NYC, NY

George Hoyt Whipple, astrophysicist (Nobel-1934) …born 1878…Ashland, NH

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Gracie Allen (Mrs George Burns),comedian (Burns & Allen), heart attack @ 62 in 1964

Ruth Gordon, actress, stroke in her sleep @ 88 in 1985

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1811 Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley eloped with Harriet Westbrook.

• Athletics

1941 The Football Writers Association of America was organized.

• Business & Education

1609 Delaware Bay explored by Henry Hudson for the Netherlands

1907 United Parcel Service begins service, in Seattle

• Indigenous People

1565 Leading an expedition of 1,500 soldiers and colonists, Pedro Menendez de Aviles lands on the coast of Florida. His mission is to defeat the Protestants in the area, and to claim the land for Spain. Next month he establishes the town of St. Augustine.

1833 Assiniboine attack Piegan Indians at Fort McKensie

• Politics (US)

1655 New Amsterdam & Peter Stuyvesant bars Jews from military service

1949 Riot prevents Paul Robeson from singing near Peekskill NY

1963 200,000 demonstrate for equal rights in Washington, DC

• Politics (International)

1867 US occupies Midway Islands in the Pacific

1916 Italy declares war against Germany during WW I

1990 Iraq declares Kuwait its 19th province

• Science / Religion

1789 Sir William Herschel discovers Saturn's moon Enceladus

1884 1st known photograph of a tornado is made near Howard SD

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

Horse racing was a sport at these ancient Greek contests: What are the Olympics?

Collective name of Kentucky Derby, Preakness, & Belmont Stakes: What is the Triple Crown?

Billy the Cobbler, or a famous jockey: Who was Willie Shoemaker?

Since 1936, because of this, horses "say cheese" at the end of races: What is the Photo Finish?

All U.S. thoroughbreds are officially born on this day of the year: What is January 1st?

↔ 2

Because they want to see butterfly.

↔ Picture

Brake handle on a bicycle

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Haleakala National Park, 12th National Park since August 1, 1916: The Haleakalā volcano on Maui has a very large crater with many cinder cones, Hosmer's Grove of alien trees, and the native Hawaiian Goose. The Kipahulu section has numerous pools with freshwater fish. This National Park has the greatest number of endangered species.

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Friday August 27

This is Week 34 of 2010►Day 239 with 126 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

It’s time to start getting serious about my Borneo Adventure. It is only 12 days away. I need to get up to date on current events in the areas we are visiting. Malaysia, it turns out has over a dozen on line newspapers. Cool. I enjoy learning from the local papers, and also see how the papers view international issues. The most educational part of this endeavor is finding that every paper has its own bias. It takes about a week to figure out where the paper’s leanings are. Malaysia is a very diverse country with indigenous tribes, Malay, Chinese, and a few Brits and Dutch. While most see it as a Muslim Nation, it has religious freedom and has Buddhists, Christians, and traditional Chinese religions. Tourism is their 3rd largest economic industry. It will be interesting to see how that plays out on our visit. In Scotland, Egypt and South Africa tourism is much more important to their economies. I have my new camera, I have a new battery for my net book. I don’t have an international phone and am not getting one. I can easily live without text messages or phone calls for the trip.

We had our weekly lunch today. It was nice to just relax and talk politics, family, and how glad we all are that we live here in Northern Arizona. We all have our issues, but when we talk about people we know from afar, our issues become very small. One thing we all agree on is that it is embarrassing to tell people we are living in Arizona. Our non-elected governor and some of the far-right politicians have certainly sent out the word that we seem to have more than our share of crazies. The bright spot for us is that many of these people turned out to be all words with no following. The exceptions—Brewer and Quayle—will remain in the headlines until November. Quayle is running for Congress in the Scottsdale and Mesa area, so not much we can do about his campaign. Brewer is another story, and we can only hope and work hard that when it comes to the general election, the Tucson and Flagstaff area will be able to defeat her. We still have no official results for a couple of state wide offices. Sadly, on about 25% of the voters actually voted in our county. It was not a record low, but very close. I really think that all the negative ads had many in our county just throwing up their hands in disgust. I’m hoping they are more interested in November. The ads for November have already started, and I will be happy to miss all of them in September.

Flagstaff had another very nice weather day. We were 81° with 40% humidity and a nice cooling breeze. My neighbor’s hot tub construction has come to a halt since Sunday. She must be using people who can only work on weekends. That made my time on my deck quite nice. They are building a nice lattice work area, which is not the brightest thing to have with all the snow we got last winter. I sure help it survives the winter.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

David Sarnoff, Former CEO of RCA: Nobody can be successful unless he loves his work.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1961 Francis the Talking Mule is the mystery guest on "What's My Line" Click Here to See Francis

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION

§It is commonly believed that the 4 suits in a deck of playing cards -- spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs, derive from French decks of cards. In French decks, the suits represent the four classes: Spades represent nobility, hearts stand for the clergy, diamonds represent merchants, and clubs are peasants.

§The standard deck of cards had a fifth suit added to it in 1937 but was eventually discarded since not enough people were willing to buy whole new decks. The new suit, Royals, used a crown and was usually green.

§Ex-President Richard Nixon won $6000 during his first two months in the U.S. Navy in World War II, playing poker. His winnings were used to fund his first (and successful) campaign for Congress.

§When Columbus landed in 1492 in North America, his men plucked wide leaves from trees, drew pictures on them and played cards.

§The earliest known game of Texas Hold’em was played in Robstown, Texas, in the early 1900s. The game was brought to Las Vegas by a group of Texan gamblers and card players, including Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson, Crandell Addington, and Amarillo Slim.

§Groucho Marx got his nickname because he used to carry all of his poker money in a Grouch Bag-- a bag that hangs around your neck to keep your possessions in.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers: Begins with ‘J’

The first Mrs. Bonaparte

A puzzle people go to pieces over

The police say "fine" for crossing the street this way

The only "J" in the Pledge of Allegiance

Event an Olympian throws

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Lovers of the world's most expensive coffee, found half-digested in the dung of the wild civet, fear that its unique taste may be spoiled by planned farming of the animals.

Collectors hunt for the coffee cherries in the droppings of civets in Indonesian plantations to make a brew enriched by the bushy-tailed, cat-like animal's stomach that sells for as much as $770 a kg in London.

But as demand rises, producers have spotted an opportunity to increase supply by breeding the civets in cages and feeding them the coffee cherries. Production has started on a small scale.

Experts say the flavor relies on the civet's finicky feeding habits and varied diet to create the enzymes that enrich fermentation of the beans, so caged animals would produce a different coffee.

"I think wild civets offer more variants to the taste," said specialty coffee expert Edi Sumadi. "Inside the cage, the civets' diet is regulated, they're not free to pick following their instincts, so the enzyme inside their digestive system is monotonous."

Perkebunan Nusantara XII sells the civet coffee for $130 a kg from factories or $250 a kg in cafes on Indonesia's main island of Java, though the price multiplies as exports reach countries such as Korea, Japan, Italy and the United States.

"It's far tastier than any other coffee," said the firm's Danu Rianto. "To maintain high standards we have a standard operating procedure."

The coffee does not appeal to everyone. Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took some as a gift on a visit to former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, only to find local media dubb it "crappucino".

But now that Indonesia's highest Islamic authority has certified the brew as no longer "haram", or banned for Muslims, in the world's most populous Muslim nation — so long as the beans are well washed — producers, including Perkebunan Nusantara XII, are eyeing a bigger market.

In Jakarta's cafes, a cup of civet coffee, known as "kopi luwak", sells for around $9 to $11, and is attracting more interest.

"The taste is very smooth, the smell nice, and hey, it's not entirely haram after you wash it," said Andrea Guna, a first-time taster.

"The price is double that of Starbucks, but the taste is way more than double."

A LITTLE LAUGH

A teenager was always asking his father if he could borrow the family car. Pushed to the limit, the father asked his son why he thought "The Almighty" had given him two feet.

Without hesitation, the son replied, "That's easy, one for the clutch and one for the accelerator."

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

if one teRrIble day all the autumn leaves are on the Vine and the nExt day the leaves have fallen of and aRe nowhere to be seen where could they have gone? Look at the question closely, it might help you.

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Jay Leno is hilarious with his Jaywalking segment:Click Here to See It!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

23-27: National Safe at Home Week

25-31: Be Kind To Humankind Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

Global Forgiveness Day

Oil and Gas Industry Appreciation Day also Petroleum Day

Moldova: Independence Day, independence from the USSR in 1991

Texas: Lyndon Baines Johnson Day

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

1895 ...The Band Played On…Dan Quinn Click Here to Hear It!

1925 ...If You Knew Susie…Eddie Cantor Click Here to Hear It!

1945 …On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe…Johnny Mercer

1955…Rock Around the Clock…Bill Haley & His Comets Click Here to Hear It!

1965…I Got You Babe…Sonny & Cher Click Here to Hear It!

1975…Get Down Tonight…K.C. & the Sunshine Band Click Here to Hear It!

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Daryl Dragon, 68, musician (Captain and Tennille), songwriter, born Studio City, CA

C.S. Forester (Cecil Louis Troughton Smith), historical novelist, created Horatio Hornblower…born 1899… Cairo, Egypt

Ira Levin, writer: Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil, A Kiss Before Dying…born 1929…Bronx, NY

Tommy Sands, 73, singer, born Chicago, IL

~~~

Paul Reubens, 58, actor, writer (Pee-wee’s Playhouse, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure), born Peekskill, NY

Martha Raye [Margaret Reed], , actress (Martha Raye Show) …born 1908…Butte MT

Tuesday Weld (Susan Kerr), 67, actress (The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Looking for Mr Goodbar), born at New York, NY

• Athletics

Carlos Moya, 34, tennis player, born Palma, Majorca, Spain

• Business & Education

Walter W Heller, economist (Old Myths & New Realities) …born1915 …Seattle, WA

• Politics

Charles Gates Dawes (R) 30th VP (1925-29, Nobel 1925) …born 1865… Marietta, OH

Hannibal Hamlin, (R) 15th VP (1861-65) …born 1809…Paris, ME

Lyndon B Johnson, (D) 36th Pres (1963-1969) …born 1908…Stonewall, TX

• Science/Religion

Confucius (K’ung Fu-tzu), philosopher…born 551 BC … Qufu, Zhou Dynasty

Mother Teresa [Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu], Yugoslavia (Nobel 1979) …born 1910… Üsküb, Ottoman Empire (today's Skopje, Republic of Macedonia)

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Bennett Cerf, (Random House)/panelist (What's My Line), @ 73 in 1971

W E B Du Bois, scholar/founder (NAACP), @ 95 in 1963

Brian Epstein, Beatles' manager, OD @ 33 in 1967

Sir Rowland Hill, introduced postage stamps, @ 84 in 1879

Dr Ernest O Lawrence, inventor (Cyclotron-Nobel 1939), colitis @ 57 in 1958

Earl Mountbatten, British adm of the Fleet, assassinated by IRA @ 79 in 1979

Haile Selassie, depossed Ethiopian emperor, @ 83 in 1975

Stevie Ray Vaughan, blues guitarist, helicopter crash @ 35 in 1990

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1660 John Milton’s books were burned in London, because of the author’s attacks on King Charles II.

1889 Charles G. Conn of Elkhart, IN patented the metal clarinet

1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs' publishes Tarzan

• Athletics

1889 Boxer Jack Dempsey was defeated for the first time in his career as George LaBlanche used the pivot punch to knock Dempsey into nighty-night land. The punch was later banned from boxing.

1975 Veronica & Colin Scargill (England) complete tandem bicycle ride, a record 18,020 miles around the world

• Business & Education

1859 1st successful oil well drilled, near Titusville, Penn

• Indigenous People

1878 Captain James Egan, and Troop K, Second Cavalry, are following a group of Bannocks, who have been stealing livestock along the Madison River.

• Politics (US)

1776 British defeat Americans in Battle of Long Island

• Politics (International)

1896 Zanzibar loses to England in a 38 minute war (9:02 AM-9:40 AM)

1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact, where 60 nations agree to outlaw war

• Science / Religion

1984 President Reagan announces the Teacher in Space project

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

The first Mrs. Bonaparte: Who was Josephine?

A puzzle people go to pieces over: What is a jigsaw?

The police say "fine" for crossing the street this way: What is Jaywalking?

The only "J" in the Pledge of Allegiance: What is justice?

Event an Olympian throws: What is the javelin?

↔ 2

Did I mention the vine was next to a river? Also if you read the question you might notice the code. You might have found that the capital letters spell out river!The 'R' from terrible, the 'I' from terrible, the 'V' from vine, the 'E' from next and the 'R' from are spell out 'RIVER'. The leaves fell in the river and were swept away by the river's current.

↔ Picture

Brass Y-adapter for a water spigot

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Rocky Mountain National Park, 11th National Park since January 26, 1915: This section of the Rocky Mountains has ecosystems varying in elevation from the over 150 riparian lakes to Montane and subalpine forests to the alpine tundra. Large wildlife including mule deer, bighorn sheep, black bears, and cougars inhabit these igneous mountains and glacier valleys. The fourteener Longs Peak and Bear Lake are popular destinations

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Thursday August 26

This is Week 34 of 2010►Day 238 with 137 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

Ah, the AZ primary season is over, well almost anyway. Several elections are still in question. AZ has early voting and it has ‘provisional’ voting—voting when not on the list and you have five days to prove who you are. The machines don’t count the early voting ballots and the ‘provisional’ ballots until the day after the election. This is a real pain in close elections as the official results don’t come out for five days after the election. We waited almost two weeks in our close Mayoral election earlier this year. With all this technology, I sometimes wonder if my vote is even counted. There is no way to find out. If my ballot is ‘invalid’ because I didn’t fill in the bubbles correctly or the ballot is misread and becomes ‘invalid’ I will never know. Anyway, AZ history was made last night. The November ballot will have a Navajo from LeChee on the ballot for Secretary of State—the second highest office in the state. This is the first time any tribal Native has run for this office. Good luck Chris…he may just win.

I am pleased that McCain will be on the ballot, since JD, his primary opponent, is so conservative he would have caused havoc in DC, with both his party and everyone else. I heard about some other interesting election results for congress. On a conservatives website it said “I will shut down the Dept of Education” but now that she will be on the November ballot her website now says “Education will be one of my priorities.” She hasn’t changed her view, just the way she presents it. Another race winner changed his website from “end social security” to “revamp social security”. It’s all about how you say something so that everyone can believe in you and therefore vote for you.

Flag was really nice today. We got to 79° with 52% humidity and a slight breeze. There were no clouds most of the day, and when they came in they didn’t bring me any moisture. My morning walk was very nice…sunflowers everywhere along the trail. So nice to live in the mountains of Flag.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

William Shakespeare: We know what we are, but know not what we may be.

HOLY MACKEREL:1920 The 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was certified by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby 

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION on lots of stuff

§Chicago's Lincoln Park was created in 1864. The original 120 acre cemetery had most of its graves removed and was expanded to more than 1,000 acres for recreational use.

§Captain Cook lost 41 of his 98 crew to scurvy (a lack of vitamin C) on his first voyage to the South Pacific in 1768. By 1795 the importance of eating citrus was realized, and lemon juice was issued on all British Navy ships.

§Former President Cleveland defeated incumbent Benjamin Harrison in 1892, becoming the first (and, to date, only) chief executive to win non-consecutive terms to the White House.

§Martha Washington, Pocahontas, and Susan B. Anthony are the only three women to have been represented on U.S. currency. Martha was on the front of the $1 silver certificate of 1886 and 1891.

§From the Middle Ages up until the end of the 19th century, barbers performed a number of medical duties including bloodletting, wound treatment, dentistry, minor operations and bone-setting. The barber's striped red pole originated in the Middle Ages, when it was a staff the patient would grip while the barber bled the patient.

§Armored knights raised their visors to identify themselves when they rode past their king. This custom has become the modern military salute.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers—Trios

--D'Artagnan's best buddies

--With them under foot, Uncle Donald's life wasn't duck soup

--"Candy Man" who began with the Will Mastin Trio

--Classic TV puppet show which also featured Beulah Witch & Delores Dragon

--Apollo II trio; while Collins circled Moon, these 2 landed

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

HADDONFIELD, N.J. — For anyone who's ever entered the wrong number on a tax return and been denied a refund, or accidentally over tipped, here's some consolation: A silly error on New Jersey's application for the highly competitive Race to the Top education grants might have cost the state $400 million.

On Tuesday, the federal government announced that nine states and the District of Columbia had won the coveted grants. New Jersey was the top runner-up.

A panel judged the lengthy applications on a 500-point scale. New Jersey finished just three points behind Ohio, which received the grant — and was only barely ahead of Arizona and Louisiana, which didn't.

But New Jersey lost all five points on one section in which officials were asked to show that the state gives a consistent percentage of its revenue to education. The application called for using data from 2008 and 2009 to make the case. New Jersey used figures from the 2010 and 2011 state budgets.

It's not certain that the state would have aced the section if the right numbers had been used — but it certainly would have done better.

The gaffe was first reported by the Star-Ledger of Newark. It appears that the governor's administration made the error just before it submitted the application on June 1, according to differences between a draft of the application and the form that was submitted.

State Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, a Democrat, called it "a stunning mistake that is going to hurt New Jersey's children."

Republican Gov. Chris Christie said in a news conference Tuesday that it was one error in a document that ran hundreds of pages, and that it was more significant for the state's score that the state's main teachers union didn't endorse his plan.

Before the deadline, Education Commissioner Bret Schundler worked out some compromises with the union, the New Jersey Education Association, to get the union's support.

Dawn Hiltner, a union spokeswoman who was on the committee, provided a draft of the application that included the budget data from the right years. But before that application was submitted, Christie said he wouldn't abide by the compromises — most of which dealt with how merit pay for teachers would work.

The reworked application used numbers from the wrong years.

A LITTLE LAUGH

My father was extremely nervous about his first funeral service as a Navy chaplain, but the undertaker assured him that he would prompt him. All went well until, at the close, the undertaker whispered to him to instruct the family to come up and view the body. "Will the family now come forward and pass around the bier," said my father.

He cringed inwardly when he heard his own words. Later, as my father was leaving, he overheard two of the cemetery workers talking. "I didn't get any beer," one said. "Did you?"

"You heard the chaplain," the other replied. "It was just for the family."

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

A woman is sitting in her bed reading a book. She then closes the book, turns off the light, and goes to sleep. The next morning, the woman reads the daily newspaper and discovers a boat had crashed and sunk the night before, and all of its passengers had died as well. The woman then kills herself.

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Namibia National Anthem:Click Here to Hear It!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

23-27: National Safe at Home Week

25-31: Be Kind To Humankind Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

National Dog Day

Susan B Anthony Day from 1920-1973: now Women's Equality Day

Namibia: Heroes' Day for those who fought against South Africa domination

Zanzibar : Sultan's Birthday

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

1914 ... By the Beautiful Sea...Heidelberg Quintet

1934 ...Love in Bloom...Bing Crosby

1944 ...Swinging on a Star...Bing Crosby Hear It Here!

1954... Sh-Boom...The Crew-Cuts Hear It Here!

1964... Where Did Our Love Go...The Supremes Hear It Here!

1974... (You're) Having My Baby...Paul Anka with Odia Coates Hear It Here!

1984... What's Love Got to Do with It...Tina Turner Hear It Here!

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Earl Biggers, author ("Charlie Chan" detective series) …born 1884…Warren, OH

Bob Cowsill, 61, singer: group: The Cowsills: The Rain, the Park and Other Things

Hear It Here! …born Newport, RI

Vic Dana, 68, singer: Red Roses for a Blue Lady Hear It Here! …born Buffalo,NY

Branford Marsalis, 50, musician…born Beaux Bridge, LA

~~~

Macaulay Culkin, 30, actor (Home Alone, My Girl)…born New York, NY

Chris Pine, 30, actor (Star Trek)…born Los Angeles, CA

• Athletics

Alex (Alejandro Castro) Trevino, 53, baseball: catcher: Mets, Reds, Braves, Giants, Dodgers, Astros…born Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

• Business & Education

Irving R. Levine, broadcast journalist; author…born 1922… Pawtucket, RI

• Politics

Geraldine Ferraro, 75, first woman vice-presidential candidate…born Newburgh, NY

• Science/Religion

Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, father of modern chemistry (Oxygen)…born 1743…Paris, France

Lee De Forest, inventor (Audion vacuum (radio) tube) …born 1873… Council Bluffs, IA

Dr Albert B Sabin, polio vaccine discoverer…born 1906… Białystok, Russia (now Poland)

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Roger Nash Baldwin, founder of the ACLU, @ 97 in 1981

Charles Boyer, actor (The Rogues), @ 78 in 1978

Ted Knight, actor (Mary Tyler Moore Show), cancer @ 62 in 1986

Charles Lindbergh, aviator, @ 72 in 1974

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

1498 The master artist, Michelangelo, was commissioned to make the Pieta

1907 Houdini escapes from chains underwater at Aquatic Park in 57 sec

• Athletics

1939 Red Barber announced the first televised baseball games

1947 1st black baseball pitcher Don Bankhead (Hit a HR on 1st at bat)

1972 Summer Olympics open in Munich, West Germany

• Business & Education

1957 The Ford Motor Company rolled out the first Edsel automobile

• Indigenous People

1842 The Caddoes sign a treaty in Texas. They agree to visit other tribes and try to convince them to also sign treaties with Texas.

• Politics (US)

1842 The U.S. Congress established the fiscal year, which begins on July 1st

1987 President Ronald Reagan proclaims September 11, 1987 as 9-1-1 Emergency Number Day.

• Politics (International)

55BC Roman forces under Julius Caesar invade Britain

1992 A no-fly zone was imposed on southern Iraq.

• Science / Religion

1883 Krakatau erupts with increasingly large explosions kills 36,000

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

D'Artagnan's best buddies: Who were the three musketeers?

With them under foot, Uncle Donald's life wasn't duck soup: Who are Huey, Dewey, and Louie?

"Candy Man" who began with the Will Mastin Trio: Who was Sammy Davis, Jr.?

Classic TV puppet show which also featured Beulah Witch & Delores Dragon: Who were Kukla, Fran,and Ollie?

Apollo II trio; while Collins circled Moon, these 2 landed: Who were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin?

↔ 2

The woman is a lighthouse keeper. When she had turned off the light the night before, the boat had no light to see through the darkness, so it crashed and sank. The woman killed herself out of guilt of causing the deaths of all those passengers.

↔ Picture

A turkey neck

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Glacier National Park, 10th Park since May 11, 1910, Montana: Part of Waterton Glacier International Peace Park, this park has 26 remaining glaciers and 130 named lakes under the tall Rocky Mountain peaks. There are historic hotels and a landmark road in this region of rapidly receding glaciers. These mountains, formed by an overthrust, have the world's best sedimentary fossils from the Proterozoic era

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Wednesday August 25

This is Week 34 of 2010►Day 237 with 138 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

Some in Arizona are suggesting that AZ have non-partisan primary election. That would mean that every registered voter would be eligible to vote in any primary election. The top two candidates would then move on to the general election. The idea is that the two best candidates would be running against each other. It might be two Republicans, two Democrats, two Libertarians, or any combination. Our state already has this non-partisan system for Mayoral elections throughout the state—party affiliations are not listed on the ballot. We currently have what is called an open primary which means that registered Democrats vote for Democrats, registered Republicans vote for Republicans and registered Independents can vote with either a Democrat or Republican ballot. Somehow, Libertarians do not allow Independents vote with their Primary ballot. It is certainly an interesting concept. If the system were to work like the Mayoral elections, the party affiliation would never be on the ballot. While this system seems to be working well in local Mayoral and city council elections, for some strange and unknown reason, the legislature is not embracing this system. It would mean that legislatures would not be running with a party platform and probably wouldn’t be running with party money. The Party is very careful now when two or more candidates from their party are running for an office. Careful about supporting one of their own against another of their own. This would get very interesting when it comes to National Office primaries—House and Senate. This cycle, if this system were in place, could easily have all Arizonans choosing between McCain and Hayworth in November—we are a heavily dominated Republican state. I’ll try an follow this concept to see how it plays out.

This has been one of the dirtiest campaigns in years for Arizona. The Tea Party has been very vocal about who they want as the Republican candidate in just about every primary in the state. Commercials, robo-calls, mailings that fill mailbox daily started back in late July and have only increased. Today I got 11 political mailings—I had already voted by the time they arrived. Interestingly, I voted about 9am this morning and I was voter number 26. The news in Phoenix is no better, one polling place, at 5pm today had been overwhelmed by the 9 voters who had been to the polling place since it opened early this morning. One lesson hopefully learned is that all that money spent on getting the word out just didn’t get voters to the polls. The money spent on the robo-calls, the TV and radio commercials and the mailings could have just been tossed in the trash bin.

One last thing I learned today. While I was on my morning walk, I discovered that the church about a block from my house is a polling place. I have to drive about three miles to my polling place. I did know that a friend who lives about 3 blocks from my polling place also has to go about 3 miles to his polling place. One would think that a polling place would be in the middle of the polling district. I had always envisioned the county recorder pulling out a map of the city, pulling out their trusty compass and drawing circles with the polling place being at the center of the circle. Then she would draw lines, using the streets to make the polling districts. Certainly a few people would find that they were 3 miles from their polling place while there is another polling place only 2.94 miles from their home. The difference would never allow a polling place 3 miles away, when another was 1 block away…unless there was a huge canyon or an interstate highway blocking the closer polling place. I realize that population plays a role in this and a highly populated area will need either bigger or more polling places. I guess my idea makes too much sense for government.

Votes are slow in coming in, but McCain beat the crazy JD easily.

Flag had another dry day, with some high clouds. We made it to 83°, had 30% humidity, and a slight breeze. I am used to these 80°+ days and it really didn’t seem very hot.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

George Washington: I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1902 The first Arabic daily newspaper in the U.S., Al-Hoda, began publication in New York City.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION about Pets

§The United States Humane Society estimates that between 2,500 and 3,000 cats and dogs are born every hour in this country. By comparison, about 450 humans are born every hour in America, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

§The Labrador retriever has been America’s most popular purebred dog breed for 19 years, according to the American Kennel Club.

§According to the American Kennel Club, German Shepherds, which came in second place in 2009 registration statistics, were the most popular dog in America in the 1920s.

§American consumers spent about $45.5 billion on products and services for their pets in 2009, according to the American Pet Products Association. This was a 5.4 percent increase over 2008 numbers.

§The average cost paid per veterinarian visit by American pet owners in 2009 was $203, according to the American Pet Products Association.

§The Cat Fanciers’ Association, the feline counterpart to the American Kennel Club, has registered more than 2 million pedigreed cats since its inception in 1906.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers: American Lit

--Melville's white whale tale

--Lincoln called it "the book that caused the big war"

--Steinbeck novel dubbed "the Uncle Tom's Cabin of the Depression"

--He gave Hester a scarlet "A"

--Great-grand nephew of Francis Scott Key, he was the voice of the Jazz Age

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

MANHATTAN, KS— A 56-year-old chimpanzee has surprised officials at a zoo in northeast Kansas by giving birth.

Officials at Sunset Zoo in Manhattan announced Monday that Suzie the chimp gave birth to a female on Aug. 18 and that the mother and baby are in good health.

Zoo director Scott Shoemaker says Suzie was taken off birth control because of medical concerns — and because zoo officials didn't think she would get pregnant at her age.

Zoo curator Mark Ryan says he hasn't heard of any older chimpanzee who has given birth anywhere in the country. The Manhattan Mercury says Suzie is the third oldest chimpanzee among zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

Chimpanzees in captivity usually live to about 60 years of age.

A LITTLE LAUGH

The world is full of willing people: some willing to work and some willing to let them.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

Name three animals that can travel far and wide fast and maybe slow but NEVER not even a little inch, get far away from their home. What are those three animals?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Cute Cartoon for Pets: Click Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

♦ Weekly Observances ♦

23-27: National Safe at Home Week

25-31: Be Kind To Humankind Week

♦ Today’s Observances ♦

Kiss and Make Up Day

National Second-hand Wardrobe Day

France: Liberation Day (1944)

Paraguay: Constitution Day (1967)

Uruguay: Independence Day (1825 from Brazil)

♦ Hit Songs on this date ♦

1913 ... When Irish Eyes Are Smiling ...Chauncey Olcott

1923 ... Swingin' Down the Lane...Isham Jones

1933 ... Love Is the Sweetest Thing...Ray Noble

1943... In the Blue of Evening...Tommy Dorsey

1953... Vaya con Dios (May God Be with You) ... Les Paul & Mary Ford Hear it Here!

1963... My Boyfriend's Back...The Angels

1973... Stories... Brother Louie Hear it Here!

1983…Every Breath You Take...The Police

♦ Today’s Births ♦

• The Arts

Martin Amis, 61, author (The Information, London Fields), critic, born Oxford, England

Leonard Bernstein, conductor: New York Philharmonic Orchestra; composer: West Side Story, On the Town, My Sister Eileen, On the Waterfront, Jeremiah, The Age of Anxiety, Kaddish, Chichester Psalms, Mass, Songfest…born 1918… Lawrence, MA

Tim Burton, 52, director (Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas), born Burbank, CA

Elvis Costello (Declan McManus), 56, singer, songwriter, born London, England

Billy Ray Cyrus, 49, country singer (Achy Breaky Heart), actor (Hannah Montana), born Flatwoods, KY

Frederick Forsyth, 72, author (The Day of the Jackal), born Ashford, Kent, England

Monty Hall, 87, former game-show host (Let’s Make a Deal), born Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Walter Clifford ‘Walt’ Kelly, cartoonist, creator of Pogo…born 1913…Philadelphia, PA

Regis Philbin, 77, television personality (Live with Regis & Kelly, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?), born New York, NY

Rachael Ray, 42, chef, cookbook author, television personality (30 Minute Meals, $40 a Day), born Cape Cod, MA

Gene Simmons (Chaim Witz), 61, cofounder of KISS, actor, born Haifa, Israel

~~~

Clara Bow, silent movie actress…born 1905…Brooklyn, NY

Sean Connery, 80, actor (James Bond movies; The Man Who Would Be King), born Edinburgh, Scotland

Mel Ferrer, actor (Longest Day, Eaten Alive, 5th Floor) …born 1917… Elberon NJ

Michael Rennie, actor (The Robe, Klatuu-Day the Earth Stood Still) …born 1909… Bradford, Yorkshire, England

• Athletics

Rollie (Roland Glen) Fingers, 64, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher: Athletics, Padres, Brewers /CY Young Award…born Steubenville, OH

Althea Gibson, 1st black tennis champion in a major event…born 1927… Clarendon County, SC

• Business & Education

Allan Pinkerton, founded Chicago detective agency…born 1819… Glasgow, Scotland

• Politics

William J Brennan, US Supreme Court justice…born 1906…Newark NJ

Ivan IV (the Terrible), 1st tsar of Russia…born 1530… Kolomenskoye, near Moscow

George C Wallace, (Gov-Ala) pres candidate…born 1919…Clio, AL

• Science/Religion

--

♦ Today’s Obituaries ♦

Truman Capote, author (In Cold Blood), liver disease @ 59 in 1984

William Herschel, discovered Uranus, dies at 85 in 1822

Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher, stroke @ 56 in 1900

George Lincoln Rockwell, head of American Nazi Party, assassinated @ 49 in 1967

♦ Today’s Events ♦

• The Arts

--

• Athletics

1875 Matthew Webb becomes 1st to swim English Channel (21h 45m)

1920 1st US woman to win in Olympics (Ethelda Bleibtrey)

1960 17th summer olympics opens in Rome

• Business & Education

1925 Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters organizes (Harlem NY)

1984 Transformers replace The Cabbage Patch Kids and Trivial Pursuit as latest fad toys

• Indigenous People

1868 Acting Governor Hall of Colorado telegraphs to the military that 200 Indians are "devastating southern Colorado." The military also receives a report of Indians killing an animal herder near Fort Dodge, in southwestern Kansas.

• Politics (US)

1718 Hundreds of French colonists arrive in Louisiana; New Orleans, founded

1916 National Park Service established in the Dept of the Interior

• Politics (International)

1830 Belgium revolts against Netherlands

• Science / Religion

1609 Galileo demonstrates his 1st telescope to Venetian lawmakers

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

Melville's white whale tale: Who was Moby Dick?

Lincoln called it "the book that caused the big war": What is Uncle Tom’s Cabin?

Steinbeck novel dubbed "the Uncle Tom's Cabin of the Depression": What is The Grapes of Wrath?

He gave Hester a scarlet "A": Who was Nathanial Hawthorne?

Great-grand nephew of Francis Scott Key, he was the voice of the Jazz Age: Who was F. Scott Fitzgerald?

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They are, a turtle, a snail, and a fish. A turtle's house is a shell which is on top of its back so it takes it everywhere, so does the snail and the fish's house is the water which can be everywhere in water.

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A pepper shaker or maybe a salt shaker

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Mesa Verde, 8th Park, Colorado, since June 29, 1906: This area has over 4,000 archaeological sites of the Ancestral Pueblo, who lived here for 700 years. Cliff dwellings built in the 12th and 13th centuries include Cliff Palace, which has 150 rooms and 23 kivas, and the Balcony House, with passages and tunnels

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