Saturday October 23

This is Week 42 of 2010►Day 296 with 69 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I had some annual blood work done on Monday and went to the Dr. today for the results. One test showed that my blood was too thick, and another showed that I might have sleep apnea. I went to the hospital lab for a blood draw, and thankfully my thick blood is back down. Now I have to go do a sleep test. That should be a lot of fun…going to a clinic, hooking up wires, and sleeping. I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, however, all this started when I returned from 3 ½ weeks in Borneo’s rainforest, at sea level. When I returned from nearly 100° temps with 100% humidity, I was back to night temps in the 30’s with about 40% humidity and a 14 hour time difference. Of course my body was a little confused. The sleep apnea thing is a little scary, but the doctor says that can be related to the thick blood too. I mentioned my problem with getting back into the right sleep pattern, which could be the travel or could be apnea. Hmm. Since Tuesday, I have been sleeping just fine, waking up at 6:30a, ready to go. I will see how this all plays out. For most of the day, I was fairly concerned—I’m too young, but when the blood thing came back and in 5 days is almost back to normal, and the fact that I see myself as fairly healthy, I am not nearly as concerned. I will get the tests, walk more for more exercise, and see what happens.

Blood drawing is always a hassle for me. My veins are deep and hard to find. There was a student who was going to draw my blood. She had trouble finding a vein, as do all people drawing blood. She decided not to poke me. The nurse checked me out—well she checked out my veins—and found a vein. We both tried to get the student to try, but to no avail. The nurse tried twice and couldn’t get any blood. By policy she had to get another nurse to do it. The new nurse was all of 5’2” and probably was drawing blood during the Truman administration. I tried joking with her, and while she was not mean, she certainly was not a go-getter. I heard lots of sighs, lots of ‘hmmmm’, and she checked my hand, my arm, my other hand, my other arm and finally with one big sigh, chose a vein in my arm. She used a syringe to pull my blood out—something I don’t recall ever happening before. Then she started filling up the vials with the blood from the syringe—three of them. Somehow she spilled some of my blood during the process. “Damn” was all I heard. I asked her if a clean-up crew was going to suddenly appear to clean up those two drops of blood. She smiled and said, “Nope, I made the mess, I have to clean it up.” After about a 20 minute wait, the first nurse came out to tell me that my count was good and they wouldn’t have to take anymore blood. I headed home, grateful.

I spent the afternoon finishing up some of my travel videos and started to download them. Then I found out that my Qwest DSL was uploading at about 85% of what I’m paying for. I don’t do much uploading—taking information from my computer and loading it to another site. Really the only time I do that lately has been with this blog. I haven’t noticed any problems in speed. However, today, the little bar that shows up when you are uploading said that my 7 minute movie would take ‘about 2hrs and 42 minutes’. I called Qwest and while speaking to a very nice lady in India or Pakistan, I was told that my upload speed was at 85%. She had me disconnect, unplug, reconnect, and plug in all the cords that have anything has to do with the telephone, computer, modem, etc. Since she was looking at my speed from India, I knew it had nothing to do with my computer—she was the one that told me I was at 85%. She decided that my connection server must be really busy and she would turn in a work request to move me to another server. This simple unplug and plug in one connection will take 24-48 hours. When I was working in Tuba, this issue took about 35 seconds. I asked her what I do, in 48 hours, if the speed is still slow. I had to ask the question at least 5 times during the conversation, and she finally said that if it is still slow in 48 hours to call them back. Well, duh. I have been thinking about putting my videos on YouTube, but that means getting yet another screen name and password. I really want to avoid that if possible. I really enjoy sharing my experiences and will find a way…hopefully sometime soon.

During all time at the hospital, Martha had called—my cell phone was in the car. Her jeep needed immediate care and needed a ride back home. We met up, and I took her home. It was good to know that I was not the only person in Flagstaff having problems. Her vehicle will be ready about the time I go back to see the doctor. She does have another vehicle, I don’t have an extra body.

Our wet weather continued throughout most of the day. It was always cloudy and showers came and went. I headed to my doctor’s appointment about 8:30 and didn’t take a jacket. By the time I got home at noon, I realized this was not one of my brightest choices. It was wet, it was cool, and it was definitely ‘light jacket’ weather. The bigger birds have emptied my bird feeders each day for the past two days. The finches must have already headed south as their food is not disappearing nearly as fast.

Flag…H—49°; L—36°; RH—93%; and 8 mph breeze with rain.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY—Pablo Picasso

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1897 1st frontier days rodeo celebration (Cheyenne, WY)

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—odd and ends

→Ducks are never male. The males of the species are called drakes. In a casino, however, ducks is a nickname for a pair of deuces.

→Shoemakers are commonly called cobblers but correctly speaking a cobbler is a shoe repairmen. A shoemaker is a cordwainer – they also made leather bottles and harnesses.

→The device at the intersection of two railroad tracks to permit the wheels and flanges on one track to cross or branch for the other is called a frog.

→In the early days of film making, people who worked on the sets were called movies. The films were called motion pictures.

→The little lump of flesh just forward of your ear canal is called a tragus – it also aids in capturing sounds that come from behind you.

→The ear-splitting sound produced by the high notes of a bagpipe is called a skirl.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers (1984 games)

$100-They "rush in where angels fear to tread"

$200-Some of the badges she can earn are: Horse Lover, Dabbler & Ms. Fix-it

$300-Hemingway wrote the book, Rogers & Parton sang the song: Click Here to Here Song!

$400-If the item is colored yellow & you use a red dye, the resulting color is this

$500-Filing an IRS form 4868 gets you a 4-month extension from this date

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

LONDON — A new British nuclear-powered submarine was towed free after running aground off the coast of northwest Scotland on Friday.

HMS Astute, the first of a new class of nuclear-powered submarines that was undergoing sea trials, became snagged on rocks off the Isle of Skye in an embarrassing incident for the Royal Navy. The Navy had to wait for hours for high tide before tugs could tow the advanced submarine to deeper water. "Two tugs attached lines to her and pulled her free at high tide," a Royal Navy spokesman said.

The submarine will be closely examined for any damage, he said.

HMS Astute, commissioned into the Navy in August, is nuclear-powered but does not carry nuclear weapons. Britain's nuclear missiles are carried aboard four Vanguard-class submarines.

"This is not a nuclear incident," a Ministry of Defense spokesman said earlier. "There are no injuries to personnel and the submarine is watertight."

The submarine got stuck, for unknown reasons, during a routine exchange of crew members. "At some point she touched the rudder on the bottom and they weren't able to get her off immediately," a Navy spokesman said. "There are no nuclear issues, no environmental impact, no injuries to people -- potential damage to the rudder, that's about it," the spokesman said.

The submarine's skipper, Cmdr. Andy Coles, chose not to force the vessel off the rocks, the U.K. Daily Telegraph reported, as that might have damaged the hull which the newspaper said was fitted with "some of the most advanced acoustic tiles that make Astute virtually undetectable beneath the seas."

The Telegraph said the $1.88 billion HMS Astute was the "world's most advanced nuclear submarine." Its nuclear reactor will not need refueling during the sub's life time in service.

The design, development and manufacture of the first three Astute-class submarines cost $6.1 billion.

A LITTLE LAUGH

Although I knew our commanding officer hated doling out weekend passes, I thought I had a good reason.

"My wife is pregnant and I want to be with her," I told the C.O.

Much to my surprise he said, "Permission granted."

Inspired by my success, a fellow soldier also requested a weekend pass. His wife wasn't pregnant, so when the C.O. asked why he should grant him permission, my friend responded, "My wife is getting pregnant this weekend and I want to be with her."

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Around the time your toddler reaches 18 months of age they'll begin learning words at an astonishing rate. This communication phenomenon is known as the language explosion. Click Here to View!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

¤ Weekly Observances ¤

17-23: Food and Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week ^ Getting The World To Beat A Path To Your Door Week ^ International Credit Union Week ^ Teen Read Week ^ National Chemistry Week ^ National Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Week ^ YWCA Week without Violence ^ National Character Counts Week ^ National Forest Products Week ^ National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week ^ National School Bus Safety Week

18-24: Freedom From Bullies Week ^ Freedom of Speech Week ^ Medical Assistants Recognition Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Infertility Awareness Week ^ National Massage Therapy Week ^ National Businesswomen's Week

24-31: Disarmament Week ^ Give Wildlife a Break Week ^ Pastoral Care Week ^ Peace, Friendship and Good Will Week ^ Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week ^ International Magic Week ^ National Respiratory Care Week

27-11/3: World Hearing Aid Awareness Week

¤ Today’s Observances ¤

National Mole Day: commemorates Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 10^23), which is a basic measuring unit in chemistry—Mole being short for Molecule.

Make A Difference Day
Hungary: National Day (since 1989--prior since 1956-Revolution Memorial Day)

Puerto Rico: Grito de Lares Day (1868)

Saudi Arabia: Unification Day (1932)

Republic of Macedonia: Day of the Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle (1893)

Thailand: Chulalongkorn Day (for death of King in 1910)

Wyoming: Frontier Day

¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤

1890...The Thunderer / U.S. Marine Band (not available)Click Here to View Update!

1900...Because / Haydn Quartet (not available)

1910...Every Little Moment / Harry MacDonough & Lucy Isabelle Marsh (not available)

1920...The Love Nest / Art Hickman Click Here To View!

1930...Body and Soul / Paul Whiteman (not available)

1940…Only Forever / Bing Crosby Click Here To View!

1950…Goodnight Irene / Gordon Jenkins & the Weavers Click Here To View!

1960…I Want to Be Wanted / Brenda Lee Click Here To View!

1970…I'll Be There / The Jackson 5 Click Here To View!

1980…Woman in Love / Barbra Streisand Click Here To View!

¤ Today’s Births ¤

╬ THE ARTS

John Coltrane, saxophonist (Round Midnight), born in 1926

Ray Charles, singer/pianist (Georgia), born in 1930

Euripides, Greek playwright (Trojan Women), born in 484BC

Ang Lee, 56, director (Oscars for Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)

♦♦♦♦♦♦

Paul Petersen, 65, actor (Jeff Stone-Donna Reed Show)

(Milton) ‘Gummo’ Marx, theatrical agent; vaudeville with his four brothers (Marx Brothers)

Alfred Matthew “Weird Al” Yankovic, 51, singer, satirist

Dwight Yoakam, 54, country singer, actor

╬ ATHLETICS

Douglas Richard (Doug) Flutie, 48, sportscaster, former football player (NFL, CFL & USFL)

Pelé, 70, former soccer player, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento

Juan “Chi-Chi” Rodriguez, 76, former golfer

Keith Van Horn, 35, basketball (Nets, 76er's, Nicks, Bucks, Mavericks) 

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

Johnny Carson, Emmy Award-winning comedian, TV host

Nancy Grace, 52, talk show host

William H McGuffey, educator (McGuffey Readers), born in 1800

╬ POLITICS

Octavian (Augustus Ceasar), 1st Roman emperor (27 BC-14 AD), born in 63BC

Adlai Ewing Stevenson, 23rd Vice President of the U.S. [1893-1897], born in 1835

Victoria Chaflin Woodhull, feminist/reformer/free love/1st female presidential candidate, born in 1838

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

Samuel Morey, American inventor with 20 steamboat patents, born in 1762

Randy Pausch, American computer science professor, author “The Last Lecture”, born in 1960

¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤

Cliff Arquette, comedian "Charlie Weaver", stroke @ 68 in 1974

Sigmund Freud, created psychoanalysis, @ 83 in 1939

Al Jolson (Asa Yoelson), actor, singer, heart attack @ 64 in 1950

Urbain JJ Leverrier, codiscoverer of Neptune, @ 66 in 1877

¤ Today’s Events ¤

╬ THE ARTS

1958 Russian poet and novelist Boris Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature (Dr. Zhivago), however, was forced to refuse the honor because of negative Soviet reaction.

1961 1st movie to become a TV series-How to Marry a Millionaire

1962 ABC's 1st color TV series-The Jetsons

╬ ATHLETICS

1845 1st baseball team, NY Knickerbockers organize, adopt rule code

1926 Gene Tunney defeats Jack Dempsey for world heavyweight boxing title

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1642 Harvard College in Cambridge, Mass, 1st commencement

╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1823 According to Cherokee records, Creek Chief William McIntosh, representing United States Indian commissioners, will attempt to bribe Cherokee leaders. For $12,000 McIntosh hopes that Chiefs John Ross and Charles Hicks, and Council Clerk Alexander McCoy will try to convince the Cherokees to cede lands to the United States. The Cherokee leaders will refuse the offer with a show of indignation.

╬ POLITICS (US)

1779 John Paul Jones' "Bon Homme Richard" defeats 'HMS Serepis'

1806 Lewis & Clark return to St Louis from the Pacific Northwest

1862 Lincoln's Emancipation is published in Northern Newspapers

1952 Richard Nixon makes his "Checker's" speech

╬ POLITICS (International)

1978 100,000 cheering Egyptians welcome Sadat home from Camp David summit

1983 Suicidal terrorists drove a truck loaded with TNT into the U.S. Marines headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon killing 240 U.S. personnel.

1990 Saddam Hussein says he will destroy Israel

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

1910 Blanche S. Scott became the first woman aviator. Blanche was known, not as an aviator, but an aviatrix

1938 Time capsule, to be opened in 6939, buried at World's Fair in NYC (capsule contained a woman's hat, man's pipe & 1,100' of microfilm)

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1 Jeopardy

$100-They "rush in where angels fear to tread": What are Fools?

$200-Some of the badges she can earn are: Horse Lover, Dabbler & Ms. Fix-it: What is a Girl Scout?

$300-Hemingway wrote the book, Rogers & Parton sang the song: What is “Island in the Stream?”

$400-If the item is colored yellow & you use a red dye, the resulting color is this: What is orange?

$500-Filing an IRS form 4868 gets you a 4-month extension from this date: What is April 15?

↔ PICTURE

Top of a soda bottle

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Friday, October 22

This is Week 42 of 2010►Day 295 with 70 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

Our lunch group headed out to Cameron today for Navajo Tacos at the Cameron Restaurant. I haven’t been on that road for a long time and not much has changed. One new thing was the across the road highway sign at one of the bead stands. I’m sure it is there for ADOT highway messages and not for the bead stand. The bead stand was open, but the sign wasn’t lit so it makes one wonder. As we were paying our bill, a former student from TCBS took our money. She remembered us, but we couldn’t place her. We had a nice chat. Cheryl wanted to look for a beaded key chain and a lamp. The key chains were priced at $20 and the only discount she could get was 5% and she was reminded that she had to pay tax. We used to get those for $7-$10 from the people who came to the school. Back when we worked at the school, one could get a 30-50% discount on Cameron prices. I was never a Trading Post buyer and always preferred buying directly. Those days are long gone. In fact, the trading post concept is long gone. They have lots of non-Indian made stuff—properly marked, and stuff from many tribes. Walking though the store there was stuff from many Indian Nations. Most of the tourists buying there really don’t know that there even different tribes. They did have a Navajo lady weaving a huge rug. She was about 40, wearing jeans, and doing a nice job. I used to know all the weavers they had there, but didn’t recognize her. It rained most of the way up and back and the clouds were really spectacular. I didn’t see any Navajo Pottery but must say that the sand paintings have really become modern and intricate. A 6” x 6” sand painting was $150. The Taco was amazing…it’s been way too long since I had one. The restaurant was packed—we got there at noon—with mostly tourists. When we arrived the parking lot was fairly full, but there were no tourist busses. They really do a big business.

As I travel, I still have trouble being a tourist at a tourist destination store. I have known for years that Cameron offers tourist companies a cut of money spent when they stop their bus at the store and the driver always gets a free meal. They offer a tourist ‘discount’ of 5% to boost their sales. Well, as I travel outside the US, the same system is in play. In each country, we drive into a town or a city and stop at a small shop selling local items. Many times we are the only customers in the store. We are greeted, offered tea or soda, allowed to shop, ask questions, and haggle the price. Most of our stops have led to 40-50% price cut. Knowing how this all works, I’m sure they simply have outlandish prices and expect the haggling. It is hard to know if you are really getting a good deal—especially when you only go to one business. My philosophy for buying Indigenous items has always been—it is unique?, do I like it?, am I happy with the price?, am I buying from the maker? I have to answer yes to the first three questions or it is no sale. Buying from the maker is sometimes impossible, so I have to compromise and hope that the artisan gets a fair share. While I was in Taiwan and Malaysia, I didn’t buy very many items to bring home. Much of time, I really felt like I was at a flea market, with mass produced items. We were not visiting places that were really tourist destinations, especially for Americans. The markets were for locals, except for the pottery factory, where we saw the pottery being made, and I did buy several nice pieces. I also got a nice print at the Indigenous tribal resort. At both places I was able to buy and answer positively to all my questions.

As a single tax payer I have always felt that I pay more than my fair share. I have seldom been able to itemize my Federal taxes, so just get the standard deduction. Many of the Republicans are campaigning to reduce corporate taxes. Makes sense that the companies would then have more money to hire more people, have more money for stockholders, and all would be well again. But wait, it has come out that many large corporations, based in the US, operating under US law paid no net tax last year. Google paid none, Bank of America paid none, CITI paid none. I am sure there are many more. While the politicians babble about how the US 35% corporate tax rate--higher than any nation—is the reason for this recession, they want to cut the rate to about 12%, more in line with other developed nations. I’ll bet those other nations don’t have all the loopholes. If the tax rate is cut, and a huge corporation is already paying zero, does that mean that the government will have to give the corporation money to make up the difference? Before we give any big business a lower tax rate, let’s close the loopholes and make them pay their fair share.

Flag…H—50°; L—29°; RH—87%; and 10 mph It rained on and off most of the day. It was sure a day where a light jacket was needed when I was outside.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY—Albert Einstein

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.

HOLY MACKEREL: 4004-BC Universe created at 8:00 PM, according to the 1650 pronouncement of Anglican archbishop James Ussher

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—Dragonflies

→Dragonflies have a very short lifespan. They usually only live for about a month or less. However, some dragonflies can exist for up to half a year.

→Dragonflies begin their lives in water, and because they have such a short lifespan, you will usually see them near water. Some dragonflies do wander off into forest and fields to search for food, but will return to the water to mate and lay eggs.

→Dragonflies are often hunted by spiders, snakes, birds, frogs and other animals. They are often eaten in mid-air by birds. They can also become the meals for spiders when they get trapped in a spider web.

→The majority of dragonflies have an average wingspan of about three to four inches. Some have a wingspan of about six inches long. Some of the smallest dragonflies have a wingspan of only 7/10 of an inch.

→Etymologists have discovered over 5,000 species of dragonflies. Some bug experts believe there may be as many as 6,500 types of dragonflies in the world.

→Dragonflies go through three separate stages in a process called incomplete metamorphosis.

Interesting video of the metamorphosis: Click Here to View!

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers (1984) World Leaders

$100-During '80s hostage crisis, dart boards bearing his face were a big seller

$200-Britain's first female P.M., her popularity soared after Falklands war

$300-Ronald Reagan was also president of this union

$400-D'Aubisson claimed Duarte fixed his election win in this country

$500-Olympic pullout was ordered by this successor to Andropov

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

NEW RICHMOND, WI — Talk about a great gourd: Guinness World Records has confirmed that a massive pumpkin grown in Wisconsin is officially the world's heaviest.

The pumpkin grown this year by Chris Stevens of New Richmond tips the scales at 1,810.5 pounds. That's 85 pounds heavier than the previous record, a 1,725-pound pumpkin grown last year in Ohio.

Stevens' pumpkin has a circumference of 186.5 inches, or more than 15 feet. When turned on its side, the pumpkin is more than waist-high to an average-size person.

Stevens unveiled his pumpkin earlier this month at the Stillwater Harvest Fest in Minnesota. He said at the time his secret is a precise mixture of sunshine, rain, cow manure, fish emulsion and seaweed.

A LITTLE LAUGH

"I bet your girlfriend would love it if you bought her something." she suggested.

"I don't have a girlfriend," I answered.

"No girlfriend? Why not?"

"My wife won't let me."

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Two of our guides were in Toastmasters. Here is the world winner: Click Here to View!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

Hint:  Think back to the 1990's

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

¤ Weekly Observances ¤

17-23: Food and Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week ^ Getting The World To Beat A Path To Your Door Week ^ International Credit Union Week ^ Teen Read Week ^ National Chemistry Week ^ National Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Week ^ YWCA Week without Violence ^ National Character Counts Week ^ National Forest Products Week ^ National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week ^ National School Bus Safety Week

18-24: Freedom From Bullies Week ^ Freedom of Speech Week ^ Medical Assistants Recognition Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Infertility Awareness Week ^ National Massage Therapy Week ^ National Businesswomen's Week

24-31: Disarmament Week ^ Give Wildlife a Break Week ^ Pastoral Care Week ^ Peace, Friendship and Good Will Week ^ Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week ^ International Magic Week ^ National Respiratory Care Week

27-11/3: World Hearing Aid Awareness Week

¤ Today’s Observances ¤

National Nut Day: To honor the people who are just a little crazy.

Caps Locks Day: Only used to show anger

International Stuttering Awareness Day

India, Mauritius, Singapore: Deepavali Day: Hindi celebration

Japan: Jidai Matsuri/Festival of the Eras (1895)

Puerto Rico: Veterans Day

Vatican City: National Day

¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤

1899...Curse of the Dreamer / Dan Quinn

1909...I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now / Henry Burr Click Here to View!

1919...I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles / Ben Selvin's Novelty Orchestra  Click Here to View!

1929...Tip Toe Through the Tulips / Nick Lucas Click Here to View!

1939...Over the Rainbow / Glenn Miller Click Here to View!

1949…That Lucky Old Sun / Frankie Laine Click Here to View!

1959…Mack the Knife / Bobby Darin Click Here to View!

1969…I Can't Get Next to You / The Temptations Click Here to View!

1979…Rise / Herb Alpert Click Here to View!

1989…Miss You Much / Janet Jackson Click Here to View!

¤ Today’s Births ¤

╬ THE ARTS

Jan De Bont, 67, director (Speed, Twister)

Franz Liszt, romantic composer/virtuoso pianist, born in 1811

Leslie West [Weinstein], rocker (Mountain-Mississippi Queen), born in 1945

♦♦♦♦♦♦

Sarah Bernhardt, silent film actress (Camille, Queen Elizabeth), born in 1845

Catherine Deneuve, 67, actress (Repulsion, Indochine), born Catherine Dorleac

Joan Fontaine (de Havilland), Academy Award-winning Actress: Suspicion [1941], born in 1917

Annette Funicello, 68, singer, actress (“Mickey Mouse Club,” Beach Party movies)

Jeff Goldblum, 58, actor (The Big Chill, The Fly, Jurassic Park)

Jerome Lester "Jerry" Horwitz Curly Howard, comedian, actor: The Three Stooges, born in 1903

Christopher Lloyd, 72, actor (“Taxi,” Back to the Future films)

Carlos Mencia, 43, comedian (“Mind of Mencia”)

╬ ATHLETICS

Brian Anthony Boitano, 47, Olympic gold medal figure skater

Ichiro Suzuki (鈴木 一朗, Suzuki Ichirō), 37, baseball player, born Kasugai, Japan

Harry (William) Walker, ‘Harry the Hat’: baseball: Cardinals Phillies, Cubs, Reds; manager: Astros, born in 1918

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

Timothy Leary, Harvard prof, LSD taker, born in 1920

╬ POLITICS

Lynette Fromme, 62, American attempted assassin of Gerald Ford

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

George Beadle, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine [1958]: genetic research, born in 1903

Charles Glenn King, biochemist (discovered vitamin C), born in 1896

¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤

Red Barber, American sportscaster @ 82 in 1992

Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd shot dead by FBI @ 29 in 1934

Soupy Sales, American comedian and television personality, born Milton Supman @ 83 in 2009

¤ Today’s Events ¤

╬ THE ARTS

1883 Original Metropolitan Opera House (NYC) grand opening (Faust)

1964 Jean-Paul Sartre is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, but turns down the honor.

╬ ATHLETICS

1975 World Football League disbands

1976 Rick Barry (SF), begins then longest NBA free throw streak of 60

1984 NFL quarterback Ken Stabler retires

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1746 Princeton University (NJ) received its charter

1924 Toastmasters International is founded.

1936 1st commercial flight from mainland to Hawaii

1938 1st Xerox copy made

1979 Walt Disney World's 100-millionth guest

╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1784 Richard Butler, Arthue Lee, and Oliver Walcott, representing the United States, and 12 Iroquois Indians sign a treaty today ceding much of their lands in New York, Pennsylvania, and west of the Ohio River, and reestablishing peace after the Revolutionary War. The treaty signed at Fort Stanwix, near modern Rome, New York, will be repudiated by most of the Iroquois.

1804 Lewis & Clark visit a SIOUX war party today.

╬ POLITICS (US)

1836 Sam Houston inaugurated as 1st elected pres of Republic of Texas

1928 Pres Hoover speaks of "American system of rugged individualism"

1962 U.S. President John F. Kennedy informed the world that the Soviet Union was building secret missile bases in Cuba

╬ POLITICS (International)

2007 Raid on Anuradhapura Air Force Base is carried out by 21 Tamil Tiger commandos. All except one died in this attack. Eight Sri Lankan Air Force planes are destroyed and 10 damaged.

2008 India launches its first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-1.

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

1797 Andr‚-Jacques Garnerin makes 1st parachute jump from balloon (Paris)

1976 Red Dye No. 4 is banned by the US Food and Drug Administration after it is discovered that it causes tumorsin the bladders of dogs.

1978 Pope John Paul II was inaugurated as Universal Pastor of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the first non-Italian Pope since Adrian VI (1522-1523), the first Polish Pope, and the youngest Pope since Pius IX (1846-1878).

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1 Jeopardy

$100-During '80s hostage crisis, dart boards bearing his face were a big seller: Who was Ayatollah Khomeini?

$200-Britain's first female P.M., her popularity soared after Falklands war: Who was Thatcher?

$300-Ronald Reagan was also president of this union: What is the Screen Actor's Guild?

$400-D'Aubisson claimed Duarte fixed his election win in this country: What is El Salvador?

$500-Olympic pullout was ordered by this successor to Andropov: Who is Chernenko?

↔ PICTURE

"Write Protect Tab" from Floppy Disk
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Thursday October 21

This is Week 42 of 2010►Day 294 with 71 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

Time passes and so many times, we forget to follow up. I was shocked by the Haiti earthquake, and the destruction is caused. Yesterday I read a very disturbing report on what is happening in Haiti—the capital Port-au-Prince. Remember all those tarp cities, all those mansions that had been severely damaged, all those volunteers helping. That was way back in January. Well, homes are being rebuilt or built. Cost--$900K each. The rebuilding and building is slow, very slow. Most of those natives are still living under tarps. Most still don’t have jobs. Most still don’t have any money. There is limited ‘rental’ space. There was little rental space before the quake, now there is less. Two relief organizations have moved out of the capital into smaller towns several miles from the need. Why? Because the very limited rental space monthly rental has skyrocketed to prices similar to Manhattan. My brother and sister-in-law are subletting their small one bedroom (the $4K/month is just too much and they have a lease that they can’t break or negotiate), to share an apartment in Queens with her sister. American news media spent millions to show us instant pictures of the damage in Haiti. It was not ‘newsworthy’ anymore, so the media packed up their bags, their cameras, and everyone returned home. Now I learn that the pain is not getting any better because so many want to make big bucks. I wish I had a solution, but I don’t. Money is not the answer, as so much of the money is going to ruthless people who are making big bucks. Volunteering is not the answer, as the volunteers are now spending a good portion of their time traveling to and from the city. Another story that left the media fairly quickly was the Gulf Oil Spill. Again, the locals are still suffering, the wildlife is still suffering. But the media doesn’t see it as a necessary news story. Our country seems to show empathy on many issues, until the rubber hits the road and the real work has to be done.

Many Americans, me included sometimes, have very short attention spans. Previous generation’s leadership seemed to have a better handle on helping humankind than our current leaders. Look at what our nation did after WWII throughout Europe and Japan. Look at the programs that pulled us out of the 1929 mess. So many politicians today don’t walk the walk. Our non-elected governor has made her case that Obama and the stimulus is bad. Yet this week she came to Flagstaff to give a check of several million stimulus $$ to two groups. The ceremony was closed to the public and closed to the media. Talk: the stimulus has ruined our country. Walk: This money will help you a lot—just don’t make a big deal about it. Even Obama is struggling. He talks about ending ‘DADT’. Walk: When a federal judge blocked its enforcement, his administration moved to overturn her decision. We need politicians who will talk the talk AND walk the walk. We have always led the world by example. In 2010 we are not setting a very good example.

Today my brother celebrated #59. He is having a good day, and I talked to him twice. Being a CFO he has to work on his birthday, but they are going out for ‘a surprise’ tonight. I’ll find out tomorrow exactly what that meant. To keep up with our family tradition, I mailed his b-day present to him today. We have been known to wait up to four months before sending the gift. So actually, I am very early this year.

It rained a lot after midnight and continued through the early morning. It remained cloudy most of the day and the rain was able to soak the ground, rather than just runoff. I was out running errands much of the morning, including getting a card and mailing the b-day present. The PO was actually a good experience as I used a flat rate Priority box. So easy and they even let me use their tape to seal the box…not bad.

Flag…H—57°; L—34°; RH—87%; and 3mph breeze with some rain.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY—Harold Evans-British journalist

Propaganda is persuading people to make up their minds while withholding some of the facts from them.

Bonus Quote: If we believe a thing to be bad, and if we have a right to prevent it, it is our duty to try to prevent it and damn the consequences. Lord Milner-British administrator of South Africa

HOLY MACKEREL: 1849 The tattooed Irishman, James F. O’Connell, was put on exhibition at the Franklin Theatre in New York.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—Apples

→America's longest-lived apple tree was reportedly planted in 1647 by Peter Stuyvesant in his Manhattan orchard and was still bearing fruit when a derailed train struck it in 1866.

→Apples have five seed pockets or carpels. Each pocket contains seeds. The number of seeds per carpel is determined by the vigor and health of the plant. Different varieties of apples will have different number of seeds.

→Newton Pippin apples were the first apples exported from America in 1768; some were sent to Benjamin Franklin in London.

→Apples ripen six to ten times faster at room temperature than if they were refrigerated.

→A bushel of apples weighs about 42 pounds and will yield 20-24 quarts of applesauce.

→Two-thirds of an apple's fiber and lots of antioxidants are found in the peel. Antioxidants help to reduce damage to cells, which can trigger some diseases.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Double Jeopardy Answers (1984)--Sculpture

$200-His only signed work is the "Pieta" in the Vatican

$400-A gold statue of Prometheus towers over the ice rink of this N.Y.C. landmark

$600-"Disarming" statue unearthed by peasant of Greek island of Melos in 1820

$800-The Berlin museum is home to the famous bust of this Egyptian queen

$1000-Though it represents a woman, his 5-story Chicago structure has been called a baboon

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

San Diego, CA-Border Patrol agents busted a man allegedly trying to hide over $300,000 worth of liquid methamphetamine in his windshield washer fluid reservoir.

Agents arrested the 21-year-old around 9:50 p.m. Tuesday night. They say he was acting nervous and gave inconsistent answers when he showed up at a checkpoint on Interstate 8 near Pine Valley, Calif..

A K-9 team was brought in to check out the suspect’s Trailblazer. Once they were let loose, the dogs headed toward the front of the vehicle, which prompted agents to look into the vehicle’s interior.

They found 19.2 pounds of liquid methamphetamine inside the windshield washer fluid reservoir.

The meth was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

A LITTLE LAUGH

One of our clients brought in his massive Doberman pinscher to be spayed. As a veterinary assistant, I escort the patient into the doctor's office.

Before taking this dog's leash, I glimpsed those large teeth of hers and asked the owner, "Is she friendly?"

"Friendly?" said the man. "Friendly? She's had five litters! How much 'friendlier' than that can she get?"

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Architectural Wonder of Guggenheim Museum: Click Here to View!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

¤ Weekly Observances ¤

17-23: Food and Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week ^ Getting The World To Beat A Path To Your Door Week ^ International Credit Union Week ^ Teen Read Week ^ National Chemistry Week ^ National Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Week ^ YWCA Week without Violence ^ National Character Counts Week ^ National Forest Products Week ^ National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week ^ National School Bus Safety Week

18-24: Freedom From Bullies Week ^ Freedom of Speech Week ^ Medical Assistants Recognition Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Infertility Awareness Week ^ National Massage Therapy Week ^ National Businesswomen's Week

24-31: Disarmament Week ^ Give Wildlife a Break Week ^ Pastoral Care Week ^ Peace, Friendship and Good Will Week ^ Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week ^ International Magic Week ^ National Respiratory Care Week

27-11/3: World Hearing Aid Awareness Week

¤ Today’s Observances ¤

Babbling Day

England: Trafalgar Day (1805-Nelson’s victory @ Cape Trafalgar, Spain)

Honduras: Army Day (1956)

Hong Kong: Kite Flying Festival

Laos: Full Moon Holiday

Mexico and USA: International Day of the Nacho (Nachos first created circa 1943 by Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya, the original consisted of fried corn tortillas covered with melted cheddar cheese and pickled jalapeño peppers. )

Republic of China: Overseas Chinese Day

Somali/Sudan: Revolution Day (1964)

Thailand: National Nurses' Day

United Kingdom: Apple Day

¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤

1898...She Was Happy Till She Met You / Dan Quinn

1908...Cuddle Up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine / Ada Jones & Billy Murray Click Here to View!

1918...Over There / Enrico Caruso Click Here to View!

1928...Sonny Boy / Al Jolson Click Here to View!

1938...Change Partners / Jimmy Dorsey

1948…A Tree in the Meadow / Margaret Whiting

1958…It's All in the Game / Tommy Edwards Click Here to View!

1968…Hey Jude / The Beatles Click Here to View!

1978…Kiss You All Over / Exile Click Here to View!

1988…Groovy Kind of Love / Phil Collins Click Here to View!

¤ Today’s Births ¤

╬ THE ARTS

Malcolm Arnold, composer (Bridge over River Kwai), born in 1921 Click Here to View!

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet (Rime of the Ancient Mariner), born in 1772

Dizzy Gillespie, trumpeter, a creator of modern jazz, born in 1917

Ursula K. LeGuin, 81, author (The Wind’s Twelve Quarters, A Wizard of Earthsea)

Manfred Mann (Manfred Sepse Lubowitz), 70, rocker (The Mighty Quinn), born in Johannesburg, South Africa

♦♦♦♦♦♦

Carrie Fisher, 54, actress (Star Wars, Shampoo), novelist (Postcards from the Edge)

Edward Charles “Whitey” Ford, 82, Hall of Fame baseball player

Joyce Randolph, actress (Trixie-Honeymooners)

Ken Watanabe, 51, actor (The Last Samurai), born Kansaku Watanabe

╬ ATHLETICS

Ted (Theodore Otto) Uhlaender, baseball: Twins, Indians, Reds, born in 1939

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

Frances Fitzgerald, 70, journalist, author (The Fire in the Lake)

╬ POLITICS

Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, 41, crown prince of Bahrain

Benjamin Netanyahu, 61, 9th Prime Minister of Israel

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

Martin Gardner, Scientific American math & puzzles columnist, born in 1914

Ronald E. McNair, physicist, astronaut: mission specialist aboard the ill-fated Challenger Space Shuttle, born in 1950

Alfred Bernhard Nobel, Swedish inventor of dynamite & Peace Prizes, born in 1833

¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤

Gertrude Hoffman, actress (Mrs Odetts-My Little Margie), @ 95 in 1966

Adm Horatio Nelson, British war hero,in the Battle of Trafalgar @ 47 in 1805

Nat Turner and 19 associates, hung—Nat was 47 in 1831

¤ Today’s Events ¤

╬ THE ARTS

1959 Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens (NYC)

1976 American Saul Bellow wins Nobel Prize for Literature “for the human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture that are combined in his work.”

╬ ATHLETICS

1989 1st black owners (Betram Lee & Peter Bynoe) to own a major sports team, purchasing Denver Nuggets for $65m

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1869 1st shipment of fresh oysters comes overland from Baltimore

1879 Thomas Edison perfects the carbonized cotton filament light bulb

1908 A Saturday Evening Post advertisement offered a chance to buy, for the first time, a two-sided record.

1918 Margaret Owen sets world typing speed record of 170 wpm for 1 min

╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1769 The Spanish arrive in San Francisco Bay.

╬ POLITICS (US)

1797 US Navy frigate Constitution, Old Ironsides, launched in Boston

1917 1st Americans to see action on the front lines of WW I

1925 The U.S. Treasury Department announced that it had fined 29,620 people for (alcohol) prohibition violations. The fines totaled $5,000,000.

1960 JFK & Nixon clashed in 4th & final presidential debate (NYC)

1967 Thousands opposing Vietnam War try to storm the Pentagon

1971 Nixon nominates Lewis F Powell & William H Rehnquist to US Supreme Court, following resignations of Justices Hugo Black & John Harlan

╬ POLITICS (International)

1945 Women in France allowed to vote for 1st time

1950 Chinese forces occupy Tibet

1969 Bloodless coup in Somalia

1977 US recalls William Bowdler, ambassador to South Africa

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

2137 -BC- 1st recorded total eclipse of the sun China

1520 Magellan entered the strait which bears his name

1553 Volumes of the Talmud are burned

1970 777 Unification church couples wed in Korea

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1 Jeopardy

$200-His only signed work is the "Pieta" in the Vatican: Who is Michelangelo?

$400-A gold statue of Prometheus towers over the ice rink of this N.Y.C. landmark: What is Rockefeller Center?

$600-"Disarming" statue unearthed by peasant of Greek island of Melos in 1820: What is Venus de Milo?

$800-The Berlin museum is home to the famous bust of this Egyptian queen: Who is Nefertiti?

$1000-Though it represents a woman, his 5-story Chicago structure has been called a baboon: Who is Picasso?

↔ PICTURE

A domino

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Wednesday October 20

This is Week 42 of 2010►Day 293 with 72 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

Running errands today I had to take a detour. After misreading the paper, I had to drive to the airport on I-17 to get back on I-40, some 10 miles out of my way. Even GPS wouldn’t have helped. Oh well, it was a pleasant drive—and I wasn’t alone. The five cars in front of me and some behind me all took the airport exit, then right back on I-17 and back to I-40.

While on my errands I ran into Maggie, one of our discussion group. She looks great after her heart surgery and the flooding. I was concerned that they might leave Flagstaff, but are in the process of using the concrete flood barriers as the foundation for a new retaining wall and are redesigning their driveway so it won’t be remain an easy conduit for the water coming off the neighbor’s property. She was really upbeat, looking great after losing some weight, and still working hard with her grant business. Good news all the way around. Klaus, her husband, is visiting his 94 year old mother in Canada. I’m so glad they are doing so well, and we all look forward to our discussions which will start up in January.

Bullying has been around for a long time. We have known for decades that a bully has low self-esteem and tries to build self-esteem by picking on someone weaker. It happens in schools, it happens on the way to and from school. Kids are afraid to say anything for fear of greater retaliation. Many adults and many more children become bystanders to bullying. Many see it as part of the ‘growing up’ process. Bullying has really changed. Now there is cyber-bullying, where the bully posts their actions on the internet. They post lies. They post photos and videos. In today’s world, the bullying can easily become 24/7. Our schools are still not able to deal with the problem. As a teacher and as an administrator I had to deal with bullying of students and adults. Every child is different, and someone seems to always find a way to make a difference a bad thing. In Tuba, the non-Navajo kids were bullied by the Navajo kids. In Pine Ridge, the full bloods were bullied by the biracial. Any child who is taller, shorter, faster, slower, heavier, lighter, or different in any way is subjected to bullying. Some teachers bullied other teachers with gossip. Many times the bully came from a family with a bully mom or dad. Many times the bullied child came from a victim mom or victim dad. There has to be more than coming up with a punishment for the bully and telling the bullied child to ignore the bully’s words and report the bully’s actions. The past few weeks have taken a very dark turn. Several bullied youth have decided to end the bullying, once and for all—by ending their life. The laws are so out of date. So many still believe that it is just part of growing up. So many recall growing up and being bullied and surviving, or watching someone be bullied and doing nothing, or being on the sidelines when a friend was a bully or was being bullied. They don’t understand that bullying in 2010 is not the bullying they knew when growing up. I don’t have any real answers, but I do know that if someone doesn’t come up with some real programs, the bullying will continue and the bullied will continue to take their own lives. This is YWCA Week without Violence, National Character Counts Week, National School Bus Safety Week and Freedom From Bullies Week. That alone should say something. Lots of words, lots of awareness, but sadly, not very many answers.

It was cloudy all day in Flag. We did get a little rain during the night, but none today. Probably will come later. Lee, the Weatherman says to hold on to our hats and get out our raincoats for Wednesday night and all day Thursday. Our lunch group is headed to Cameron for lunch, so I hope there isn’t too much rain.

Flag…H—63°; L—36°; RH—44%; and 10mph breeze. Fall is certainly in the air.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY—Georg W. Hegel, German Philosopher (1770-1831)

What experience and history teach is this - that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.

Bonus Quote: Confucius: Study the past if you would define the future.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1774 The new Continental Congress, the governing body of America’s colonies, passed an order proclaiming that all citizens of the colonies “discountenance and discourage all horse racing and all kinds of gaming, cock fighting, exhibitions of shows, plays and other expensive diversions and entertainment.” Since this proclamation included acting, dancing, singing, and the playing of music, all forms of entertainment and all theatre productions ceased.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—Birthdays

→The earliest birthday parties were held because it was believed evil spirits were particularly attracted to people on their birthdays. To protect them from harm, friends and family would to come be with the birthday person and bring good thoughts and wishes. Giving gifts brought even more good cheer to ward off the evil spirits.

***

→One theory about the origin of the birthday cake is that it originated with the Greeks, who baked round cakes representing the full moon for their moon goddess, Artemis. They placed candles on the cake to make it glow, like the moon.

***

→The Germans are also credited with the first cakes and candles. They used a sweet, layered cake and they put a large candle in the center of the cake to represent "the light of life." Some people believe the smoke from extinguished candles carries their birthday wishes up to heaven. The Happy Birthday song was written in 1893 by two sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill, who were schoolteachers in Louisville, Kentucky. The tune was originally a morning greeting to their students entitled "Good Morning To All." The lyrics were copyrighted in 1935, 11 years before Patty's death, and the ownership has swapped hands in multi-million dollar deals ever since.

***

→The birth stones tradition can be traced back to the first century. The stones were used in the breastplate of Jewish High Priests. The breast plate full of stones, symbolized 12 Israel tribes. Each stone was dedicated to one of the 12 months.

***

→The tradition of sending birthday cards started in England about 100 years ago. Originally cards were often sent as an "apology" when a person couldn't visit somebody in person.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers (1984)—“Nick” names

$200-You can call me "merry" or you can call me "hairy" but you doesn't has to call me "Santa"

$400-When John Wayne always arrived with the cavalry

$600-Things are never "hoop" less for this Manhattan team

$800-He was Eddie Murphy's partner for 48 hours

$1000-Gambler who paid the "Brice" for marrying a famous Fanny

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

Miami-Police in South Florida say it'll be easy to identify the man suspected of serial iPhone thefts: He's the one with the "I'm Me" tattoo on his forehead.

Joseph Eric Williams, 19, is on the run from Broward sheriff's deputies, who were able to identify him by the tattoo.

Apparently, one of those "Hello. My name is" stickers wasn't stylish enough for Williams, who has robbed as many as 15 AT&T stores in the past two months, police say. He also has a teardrop and a money bag tattooed on his face.

Williams usually walks into the store, finds the iPhone display case and snatches out two or three phones before running out of the store, police say.

His crime spree started in Tamarac and Deerfield Beach, police say, but victims in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties have also identified Williams as the "I'm Me" iPhone thief.

Crimestoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to Williams' arrest

A LITTLE LAUGH

These two girlfriends are very close, allowing them to be totally honest with each other.

As one fidgeted in front of the mirror one evening before a date, she remarked, "I'm fat."

"No, you're not," the other scolded.

"My hair is awful."

"It looks just fine."

"I've never looked worse," she whined.

"Yes, you have," her friend replied.

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Bullying is a worldwide problem, here is a possible answer: Click Here to View!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

¤ Weekly Observances ¤

17-23: Food and Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week ^ Getting The World To Beat A Path To Your Door Week ^ International Credit Union Week ^ Teen Read Week ^ National Chemistry Week ^ National Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Week ^ YWCA Week without Violence ^ National Character Counts Week ^ National Forest Products Week ^ National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week ^ National School Bus Safety Week

18-24: Freedom From Bullies Week ^ Freedom of Speech Week ^ Medical Assistants Recognition Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Infertility Awareness Week ^ National Massage Therapy Week ^ National Businesswomen's Week

24-31: Disarmament Week ^ Give Wildlife a Break Week ^ Pastoral Care Week ^ Peace, Friendship and Good Will Week ^ Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week ^ International Magic Week ^ National Respiratory Care Week

27-11/3: World Hearing Aid Awareness Week

¤ Today’s Observances ¤

National Brandied Fruit Day

Guatemala: Revolution Day/Dia de la Revolucion (1944)

Kenya: Kenyatta Day (for Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first President)

¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤

1897...There's a Little Star Shining for You / Dan Quinn (Original Not Available) 

1907...Harrigan / Billy Murray Click Here to View!

1917...Over There / American Quartet Click Here to View!

1927...Charmaine! / Guy Lombardo (Original Not Available)

1937...That Old Feeling / Shep Fields (Original Not Available)

1947…Near You / Francis Craig Click Here to View!

1957…Jailhouse Rock / Elvis Presley Click Here to View!

1967…To Sir, with Love / Lulu Click Here to View! – opening movie credits

1977…You Light Up My Life / Debby Boone Click Here to View!

1987…Bad / Michael Jackson Click Here to View!

¤ Today’s Births ¤

╬ THE ARTS

Danny Boyle, 54, filmmaker, director (Slumdog Millionaire, Train-spotting)

Art Buchwald, columnist/author (Have I Ever Lied to You), born in 1925

Frederic Dannay (Ellery Queen ), author: mystery series [w/Manfred B. Lee], born in 1905

Snoop Doggy Dogg (Cordozar Broadus), 39, rapper

Arlene Francis, radio/TV hostess, born in 1908

"Grandpa" Louis M Jones, country singer/banjoist (Hee Haw), born in 1930

Tom Petty, 57, singer, songwriter

♦♦♦♦♦♦

William Christopher, 78, actor (“M*A*S*H,” With Six You Get Egg-roll)

Earl Hindman, actor: Home Improvement

Martin Landau, actor (Mission Impossible, Space 1999, Tucker), born in 1934

Bela Lugosi (Blasko). actor: Dracula, born in 1882

Jerry Orbach, actor (Promises! Promises!, Dirty Dancing), born in 1935

╬ ATHLETICS

Keith Hernandez, 57, former baseball player, (Cardinals, Indians, Mets)

Mickey Mantle, NY Yankee, home run slugger (1956 Triple Crown), born in 1931

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

Connie Chung, 46, news anchor (NBC, CBS)

John Dewey, philosopher, educational theorist/writer (Learn by doing), born in 1859

Richard W. Frazier, 59, CFO of TruDesign and my brother

╬ POLITICS

Bobby Seale, 74, political activist: cofounder: Black Panthers

Hilda Solis, 53, US Secretary of Labor

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

Austin Flint, 19th century heart research pioneer, born in 1812

Sir Christopher Wren, astronomer/great architect, born in 1632

¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤

Arthur Henderson, Scottish politician, Nobel Peace Prize for Geneva Disarmament Conference @ 72, in 1935

Herbert Hoover, 31st president of US, @ 90, in 1964

Burt Lancaster, American actor @ 81

Harlow Shapley, discoverer of the Sun's position in the galaxy @ 87 in 1972

Anne Sullivan, American teacher—Helen Keller, coma @ 70

Jane Wyatt, American actress @ 96 in 2006

¤ Today’s Events ¤

╬ THE ARTS

1955 “Day-O. Day-ay-ay-ay-o!” One of the most popular of the Harry Belafonte hits was recorded -- for RCA Victor

1977 3 members of rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd die in charter plane crash

╬ ATHLETICS

1891 1st International 6 day bike race (NY MSG) begins

1899 Columbia (US) beats Shamrock (England) in 11th America's Cup

1910 1st appearance of cork centered baseball in World Series (World Series #7)

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1817 1st Mississippi showboat leaves Nashville on maiden voyage

1973 OPEC oil embargo begins

╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1774 Georgia Governor James Wright signs a treaty with the Creek Indians in Savannah. They agree to reestablish trade, which the Creeks want. The Creeks agree to give up some land along the Ocmulgee and Oconee Rivers, and to execute 2 Creek warriors accused of killing some settlers.

╬ POLITICS (US)

1803 US Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase

1944 US forces under Gen Douglas MacArthur return to the Philippines

1987 Subway gunman Bernhard Goetz sentenced to 6 months in jail

╬ POLITICS (International)

1600 Battle of Sekigahara sets Tokugawa clan as Japan's rulers (shoguns)

1818 49th parallel established as the border between US & Canada

1818 US & Britain agree to joint control of Oregon country

1930 British White Paper restricts Jews from buying Arab land

1963 S Africa begins trial of Nelson Mandela & 8 others on conspiracy

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

1548 The city of Nuestra Senora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace) was founded byCaptain Alonso de Mendoza by appointment of the king of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.

1781 Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved in Habsburg Monarchy (Austria).

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1 Jeopardy

$200-You can call me "merry" or you can call me "hairy" but you doesn't has to call me "Santa": Who is St. Nicholas?

$400-When John Wayne always arrived with the cavalry: What is ‘a nick of time’?

$600-Things are never "hoop" less for this Manhattan team: Who are the NY Knicks?

$800-He was Eddie Murphy's partner for 48 hours: Who is Nick Nolte?

$1000-Gambler who paid the "Brice" for marrying a famous Fanny: Who is Nick Arnstein?

↔ PICTURE

Postage stamps—very cool ones at that!!!

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Tuesday October 19

This is Week 42 of 2010►Day 292 with 73 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I believe I am not losing it. I seem to be having quite a problem knowing what numbered week it is. I use a word template for this blog. I designed it and that allows me to follow the right order, and not to forget anything. For those who read it, you will know that things move around every month, some new things are added, some old things disappear. Every Saturday, while preparing the Sunday blog, I change the ‘This is week ?? of 2010’. When I returned from Malaysia, I looked a calendar, counted the weeks and used that number. While I was waiting for some downloads today, I used the web to find out for sure if I was correct. It might have people wonder about my credibility if we get to December 31 and I am posting it’s the 51st or 53rd week of 2010. So now it is correct. This is the 42nd week of this year. I won’t get into when the new decade will, or did start.

Still not losing it...My sleeping habits have changed since I went to Asia. It looks likes the days of going to bed about 11pm and getting up about 6:30am just don’t want to return. I go to bed about 11 and watch some TV, I’m not asleep by 1:30 so I get up and walk around our work on my computer pictures. Then about 2:30 I go back to bed and am asleep within minutes. My alarm sounds at 6:15am every morning, but I never hear it. In fact I don’t wake up until about 9am. Before the trip I took a power nap—about 15-30 minutes about 2:30p. I haven’t taken any of those since I returned. I still have hope of returning to my old pre-trip habits, but that may be lost.

My computer has been busy today. I now have a ‘movie’ of my time in Taiwan, a video of cruising the river, (with cuts from Taiwan and Malaysia along with the Borneo cruise), and a video of clips showing the entertainment we had on board the ship. They are each about 7 minutes, and I will be posting them, hopefully this week. I still have at least 4 ‘movies’ and a couple of compiled videos. I am not the best videographer, but they sure bring back memories for me. My still shot ‘movies’ have some great shots and even traditional Chinese Music. I was also compiling my Asian experience, with pictures, from this blog. One would think—well at least I think—that moving pictures from one blog to another blog from the same provider should be little more than ‘cut and paste’. Alas, that is not the way it is. Each picture has to be downloaded to the new blog while the text simply is ‘cut and paste’. With the first blogs about the trip, I could download a series of photos to the blog with a couple of clicks. Today, for some reason, only one picture at a time would load. All the pictures are high resolution and even though the blog site compresses them—which I fully understand—they take forever to download. A smarter geek would have copied the picture files into a new folder and then used a program to mass shrink them for posting. Maybe next time.

Some in Flag are celebrating when the latest numbers came out on home prices—the median cost of a home in Flag has fallen just below $300K for a single detached house. It is now a bargain @ $283K. Prices have dropped about 15% since the National housing crisis began. This, of course, is not good news for current homeowners. Our current banking system does not really help those homeowners who bought at or near the top of the market. They still have to pay that highly inflated price or, as many already have, do a short sale or just walk away. Flag does have a lot to offer, but what it doesn’t offer, and never really has offered, is good paying jobs for the middle class. Many homes in the newer areas are ‘second homes’, which means that these owners don’t spend a lot of their money in Flagstaff retail. ‘Second home’ owners really don’t help the middle class of Flagstaff. Another big part of our population are college students. They don’t have a lot of extra cash either. To get our Flag economy out of the red, our leaders must find other ways—not more property taxes and sales taxes—to build our city. This means a lot of change, and big change is hard to bring to any town.

Flag…H—63°; L—32°; RH—66%; and 9mph breeze. We have the clouds, and some areas have seen rain today, my area had one early evening shower. It was just a dreary fall day.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY-- Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish writer/diplomat

No one has ever succeeded in keeping nations at war except by lies.

Bonus Quote: Ambrose Bierce: Diplomacy: The patriotic art of lying for one's country.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1960 The US imposes an embargo on exports to Cuba

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—

returns tomorrow

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Double Jeopardy Answers (1984 games)--Inventions

$200-"The mother of invention"

$400-Country credited with invention of pasta, porcelain, & paper

$600-Tissue originally used as a WWI gas filter, but now literally something to sneeze at

$800-1st developed for the blind, they've become the most widely used business machine

$1000-Printing press inventor associated with the world's most valuable book

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

FORT WALTON BEACH, FL - A Florida woman said a potted violet containing her grandmother's ashes was mistakenly sold at a yard sale. Piper Gaffrey of Fort Walton Beach said her husband was running the sale before she arrived last week and she soon found the potted violet holding the ashes of her grandmother, Marjorie Potts Gaffrey, who died in February at age 99, had been sold, the Northwest Florida Daily News reported Thursday. Gaffery said she posted a message on her Facebook page asking whoever purchased the flower to take good care of it and she was surprised to receive a message in return from the buyer.

"Fortunately, it was (bought by) someone who knew me," Gaffrey said. "I was just glad to have her back."

A LITTLE LAUGH

*Murphy's First Law for Wives: If you ask your husband to pick up five items at the store and then you add one more as an afterthought, he will forget two of the first five.

* Kauffman's Paradox of the Corporation: The less important you are to the corporation, the more your tardiness or absence is noticed.

* The Salary Axiom: The pay raise is just large enough to increase your taxes and just small enough to have no effect on your take-home pay.

* Miller's Law of Insurance: Insurance covers everything except what happens.

* First Law of Living: As soon as you start doing what you always wanted to be doing, you'll want to be doing something else.

* Weiner's Law of Libraries: There are no answers, only cross-references.

* The Grocery Bag Law: The candy bar you planned to eat on the way home from the market is hidden at the bottom of the grocery bag.

* Lampner's Law of Employment: When leaving work late, you will go unnoticed. When you leave work early, you will meet the boss in the parking lot.

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Not the first, but the world’s largest discothèque: Click Here to View!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

¤ Weekly Observances ¤

17-23: Food and Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week ^ Getting The World To Beat A Path To Your Door Week ^ International Credit Union Week ^ Teen Read Week ^ National Chemistry Week ^ National Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Week ^ YWCA Week without Violence ^ National Character Counts Week ^ National Forest Products Week ^ National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week ^ National School Bus Safety Week

18-24: Freedom From Bullies Week ^ Freedom of Speech Week ^ Medical Assistants Recognition Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Infertility Awareness Week ^ National Massage Therapy Week ^ National Businesswomen's Week

24-31: Disarmament Week ^ Give Wildlife a Break Week ^ Pastoral Care Week ^ Peace, Friendship and Good Will Week ^ Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week ^ International Magic Week ^ National Respiratory Care Week

27-11/3: World Hearing Aid Awareness Week

¤ Today’s Observances ¤

Evaluate Your Life Day

Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity

Mauritania (Islamic Republic of Mauritania) : Independence Day (1960 from France)

Virginia: Yorktown Day (1781)

Albania: Mother Teresa Day

Niue: Constitution Day, in honor of the country's independence (self-governing in free association with New Zealand) in 1974. (a small island off the coast of Tonga)

¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤

1896...On the Benches in the Park / George J. Gaskin (Original Not Available)

1906...Love Me and the World Is Mine / Albert Campbell (Original Not Available)

1916...If I Knock the 'L' Out of Kelly (It Would Still Be Kelly to Me) / Marguerite Farrell (Original Not Available)
1926...Baby Face / Jan Garber Click Here to View!

1936...The Way You Look To-night / Fred Astaire Click Here to View!

1946,,,Rumors Are Flying / Frankie Carle Click Here to View!

1956… Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog / Elvis Presley Click Here to View!

1966…Reach Out I'll Be There / The Four Tops Click Here to View!

1976…If You Leave Me Now / Chicago Click Here to View!

1986…True Colors / Cyndi Lauper Click Here to View!

¤ Today’s Births ¤

╬ THE ARTS

Leigh Hunt, British writer (Lord Byron), born in 1784

John LeCarré, 79, author (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Constant Gardener)

Peter Max, 73, artist, designer

Ty Pennington, 45, carpenter, television personality

♦♦♦♦♦♦

Divine (Harris Glenn Milstead) ,film actor, born in 1945

John Lithgow, 65, actor (Don Quixote, Harry & the Hendersons, “3rd Rock from the Sun”)

LaWanda Page, actress (Aunt Esther-Sanford & Sons), born in 1920

Robert Reed, actor (Mike-Brady Bunch, Nurse), born in 1932

╬ ATHLETICS

Evander Holyfield, 48, boxer

Annie Peck, mountain climber,@ 45, she gained international recognition by climbing the Matterhorn, born in 1850

Michael Young, 34, baseball (Rangers)

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

Jack Anderson, newspaper columnist (Wash Post), born in 1932

John McLoughlin, Hudson's Bay Co pioneer in Oregon Country, born in 1784

Charles Merrill, stock company mogul: founded Merrill-Lynch, born in 1885

╬ POLITICS

Patricia Ireland, 65, feminist, social activist

Martha Jefferson (Wayles), wife of 3rd U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, born in 1748

Bertha Landes, 1st woman elected mayor of a major US city (Seattle), born in 1868

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, physicist (Nobel 1983), born in 1910

¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤

Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet, heart attack @ 58 in 1950

Martha Raye, American comedian and actress, Alzheimer’s & pneumonia @ 78 in 1994

Jonathan Swift, Irish author @ 78, in 1745

Gig Young, actor, kills his bride of 3 weeks & then commits suicide @ 64, in 1978

¤ Today’s Events ¤

╬ THE ARTS

1959 The first discothèque opens. Scotch-Club in Aachen, GermNY

╬ ATHLETICS

1933 Basketball was introduced to the 1936 Olympic Games

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1937 A staple at checkout racks in supermarkets everywhere, Woman’s Day, was first published

1953 1st jet transcontinental nonstop scheduled service

1968 Golden Gate Bridge charges tolls only for southbound cars

1970 One World Trade Center was ready for its first tenants

╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1818 Chickasaw treaty: Andrew Jackson and Isaac Shelby will represent American interests. The Chickasaws will cede their claims to lands in Tennessee.

1836 Lt.Col.John Lane, with 690 CREEK warriors, and 90 soldiers, reach Fort Drane northwest of present day Ocala, Florida. They are there to fight the Seminoles

╬ POLITICS (US)

1864 Approx 25 Confederates make surprise attack on St Albans, Vermont

1870 1st (4) blacks elected to House of Reps

1919 1st Distinguished Service Medal awarded to a woman

1988 Senate passes bill curbing ads during children`s TV shows

╬ POLITICS (International)

1781 Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown at 2 PM; Revolutionary War ends

1988 Britain bans broadcast interviews with IRA members

1988 S African anti-apartheid leader Sisulu wins $100,000 Human Rights prize

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

1512 Martin Luther becomes a doctor of theology (Doctor in Biblia)

1872 World's largest gold nugget (215 kg) found in New South Wales

1901 Santos-Dumont proves airship maneuverable by circling Eiffel Tower

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1 Jeopardy

$200-"The mother of invention": What is necessity?

$400-Country credited with invention of pasta, porcelain, & paper: What is China?

$600-Tissue originally used as a WWI gas filter, but now literally something to sneeze at: What is Kleenex?

$800-1st developed for the blind, they've become the most widely used business machine: What is the typewriter?

$1000-Printing press inventor associated with the world's most valuable book: Who was Guttenberg?

↔ PICTURE

A bicycle seat cushion

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