Aug 12

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Aug 12, 2018 Week: 33\ Day: 224

86004 Today: H 78° \ L 53° \ Average Sky Cover: 15% 

Nearest Lightning:  191 miles away

Wind ave.:   6mph\Gusts:  15mph Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 92°[1944]   Record Low: 36°[1999]

Aug Averages: 80°\49°

Today’s Quote

Act as if what you do makes a difference.

It does.

  William James

Harper’s Index

-59

Percentage change last year in the number of federal inmates who earned a GED

Observances This Week

3-12

Gallop International Tribal Indian Powwow Link
Sturgis Rally Link

4-12

Gay Games

6-12

National Bargain Hunting Week
National Psychic Week Link   
Old Fiddlers' Week

9-16

Elvis Week Link
National Hobo Week Link
National Scrabble Week  Link  

12-18

National Motorcycle Week Link 
Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week  Link  Link 
National Resurrect Romance Week 
Weird Contest Week 

Observances for Today

Kool-Aid Day thru 12^th  Link 
IBM PC Day
International Youth Day
Middle Child's Day

Milkman Day Link 
Sewing Machine Day
Vinyl Record Day
World Elephant Day Link

Today’s Significant US Historical Events

Today’s Significant International Historical Events 

1800’s                                         

1851 American inventor Isaac Singer patents the sewing machine

1865 Joseph Lister performs 1st antiseptic surgery

1879 1st National Archery Association tournament (Chicago)

1898 Hawaii is formally annexed to US

1900’s                                         

1908 Henry Ford's company builds the first Model T car

1915 "Of Human Bondage" by William Somerset Maugham, published

1928 9th Olympic Games close in Amsterdam

1930 Clarence Birdseye is granted a patent for method for quick freezing food (patent US 1773079 A)

1936 American diver Marjorie Gestring wins 3m springboard gold at the Berlin Olympics, youngest Olympic gold medalist (13 years 268 days)

1955 US President Eisenhower raises minimum wage from 75 cents to $1 an hour

1988 Nelson Mandela is treated for tuberculosis at hospital

1992 Canada, Mexico, and the United States announce completion of negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

2000’s                                         

2012 30th Olympic Games closes at London, United Kingdom

2013 Whitey Bulger is found guilty on 31 of 32 counts, and is found to have been involved in 11 murders

2014 Ebola outbreak death toll exceeds 1000

2015 Former US President Jimmy Carter reveals that he has cancer

2016 American swimmer Katie Ledecky's medal tally of 4 golds, 1 silver make her the most decorated US female athlete at one Olympics, highest female of Rio games and 1st swimmer to win 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle at same Olympics since 1968

2017 US President Donald Trump at a press conference at Trump Tower says “there is blame on both sides” about Charlottesville violence, provoking widespread condemnation

My Rambling Thoughts

I got my haircut yesterday. Also, my stylist gave me some shampoo and conditioner to try that is supposed to get rid of the ‘yellow’ tinge my hair recently developed. I’ve never had this issue before, so I’m blaming it on the shampoo and conditioner I’ve been using about a month. Something about its chemicals might be causing it. Sure hope it is that easy.

It’s a nice Saturday and I got in an early morning walk. It was a nice cool walk in the forest before it heated up.

I’m a tad confused. When I fly, I must take off my shoes, have everything, including me scanned before I can get on a plane. At the Sea-Tac airport a low-level guy who cleans planes is able to hook up a plane to a trailer, back it out, unhook it, taxi to a runway at this fairly busy airport and take off and fly around about 90 minutes before crashing on a small island. My favorite quote was from some airport official…we are working with NTSB and the FBI to see if any of our procedures need to be tweaked…. Well duh. My favorite ‘expert’ on cable news, a retired NTSB guy said that it looks to him like the guy learned to fly on a video game. His reasoning for this conclusion was that the guy seemed really surprised at how fast the plane used fuel, something that doesn’t happen in video games. I am waiting for the final report to see if they suggest that flight simulator games be banned from crazy people.

Birthdays Today

@-  indicates age at death

90’s

@96- Jane Wyatt, American actress (Father Knows Best, Star Trek), born in Mahwah, New Jersey (d. 2006)

80’s

87- George Soros [György Schwartz], Hungarian-American investor and political activist (Open Society Foundation), born in Budapest, Hungary

@81- Cantinflas [Mario Moreno], Mexican actor (Around World in 80 Days, Pepe), born in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico (d. 1993)

@80- Porter Wagoner, country singer, discovered Dolly Parton (Y'All Come), (d. 2007)

70’s

@77- Cecil B. DeMille, American filmmaker (The Ten Commandments), born in Ashfield, Massachusetts (d. 1959) heart failure

@76- b, [Alvis Edgar], Sherman Texas, country singer (Hee Haw) (d. 2006) heart attack

@73- Robert Mills, American architect (Washington Monument) (d. 1855)

40’s

47- Pete Sampras, American tennis player (14 Grand Slam titles), born in Washington, D.C.

43- Casey Affleck, American actor (Manchester by the Sea, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), born in Falmouth, Massachusetts

Historical Obits Today

80’s

@89-2014 Lauren Bacall, American actress and singer named the 20th greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema (Dark Passage, Key Largo)

@87-2000 Loretta Young, American actress (Farmer's Daughter, Stranger)

@82-2007 Merv Griffin, American television host and game show creator

@80-1955 Ian L Fleming, German writer (Dr Faustus, Nobel 1929)

70’s

@79-1989 William Shockley, American physicist who helped invent the transistor (1956 Nobel), who was also known for his racist eugenics views, prostate cancer

@77-1982 Henry Fonda, actor (On Golden Pond), heart disease

60’s

@69-1827 William Blake, English poet and artist (Songs of Innocence & Experience)

@67-1848 George Stephenson, English engineer known as the "Father of Railways" (Locomotion No. 1, Standard Guage), pleurisy

50’s

@56-1964 Ian L Fleming, British journalist/writer (James Bond) heart attack

30’s

@39±-30 BC Cleopatra VII Philopator, the last ruler of the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty, commits suicide allegedly by inducing an asp (Egyptian cobra) to bite her

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.

All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site contains mistakes and sadly once the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

☼☼☼☼…And That Is All for Now…☼☼☼☼

Aug 10

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Aug 10, 2018 Week: 32\ Day: 222

86004 Today: H 83° \ L 56° \ Average Sky Cover: 25% 

Nearest Lightning: 82 miles away

Wind ave.:   9mph\Gusts:  0mph Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 89°[2002]   Record Low: 40°[1900]

Aug Averages: 80°\49°

Today’s Quote

  The future belongs to those who believe  

  in the beauty of their dreams.

      Eleanor Roosevelt

Harper’s Index

  3.4

Percentage of Florida homicides deemed ‘justifiable’ before the 2005 enactment of the state’s ‘stand your ground’ law

  8.7http://retired-not-dead.blogspot.com/2018/08/aug-9.html

Of Florida homicides that have since been deemed ‘justifiable

http://retired-not-dead.blogspot.com/2018/08/aug-9.html
Observances This Week

3-12

Gallop International Tribal Indian Powwow Link
Sturgis Rally Link

4-12

Gay Games

5-11

Assistance Dog Week  Link  Link   
Exercise With Your Child Week
Knights of Columbus Family Week  
National Farmers' Market Week  Link 
National Fraud Awareness Week Link   
National Health Center Week Link 
Stop on Red Week Link

6-10

Exhibitor Appreciation Week

6-12

National Bargain Hunting Week
National Psychic Week Link   
Old Fiddlers' Week

9-16

Elvis Week Link
National Hobo Week Link
National Scrabble Week  Link  

Observances for Today

Kool-Aid Day thru 12^th  Link  

Lazy Day

National Duran Duran Appreciation Day
National Shapewear Day Link
Paul Bunyan Day Link Link 
Skyscraper Appreciation Day  Link
Shop Online For Groceries Day 
Smithsonian Day
S'mores Day Link
World Lion Day

Today’s Significant US Historical Events

Today’s Significant International Historical Events 

600’s                                           

610 In Islam, the traditional date of the Laylat al-Qadr, when Muhammad began to receive the Qur'an

1600’s                                         

1680 In New Mexico, Popé leads rebellion of Pueblo Indians against Spaniards

1800’s                                         

1821 Missouri admitted as 24th US state

1833 Chicago incorporates as a village of about 200

1846 US Act of Congress passes establishing the Smithsonian Institution, now world's largest museum and research complex

1900’s                                         

1900 1st Davis Cup: USA beats British Isles at Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Massachusetts (3-0)

1945 Japan announces willingness to surrender to Allies, provided Emperor Hirohito's status remains unchanged

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

1960 Los Angeles premiere of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh

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

1977 US & Panama sign Panama Canal Zone accord

1981 Coca-Cola Bottling Co agrees to pump $34 million into black business

1983 1st World Championships in Athletics: Carl Lewis wins gold in Men's Long Jump

1994 Ruth Bader Ginsburg sworn in as US Supreme Court Justice

1994 Last British troops leave Hong Kong (been there since Sept 1841)

2000’s                                         

2001 US and UK reject a proposal by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to permit the Iraqi government to use $1 billion per year to fund infrastructure improvements and to increase oil production capacity

2014 Unrest breaks out in Ferguson, Missouri after the death of African American Michael Brown by a policeman.

2015 Google announces its restructure as Alphabet, a holding company with Google, YouTube, Android and Chrome as subsidiaries

My Rambling Thoughts

Thankfully the monsoon has returned. Late yesterday afternoon we had a nice shower that cooled thing off very nicely. Looks like more rain today. Yeah!

As I pulled in to my place this morning, a City Water Services truck, with lights flashing, was pulling in to our area. I watched as he slowly drove around the street. He never stopped, just drove slowly and I’m assuming that is why he had his lights flashing. After one pass he left the area. Wonder what he and his driving buddy were looking for?

I was a tad shocked when Apple came out with the 10 for $1000. Now Samsung has a new phone for $1250. Really?!?

Birthdays Today

@-  indicates age at death

90’s

@90- Herbert Hoover, 31st US President (R: 1929-1933), born in West Branch, Iowa (d. 1964)

80’s

@81- Noah Beery Jr, American actor (Rockford Files, Quest, Doc Elliot, Gung Ho!, Heaven With a Gun), born in NYC, New York (d. 1994)

@81- Jimmy Dean, American country music singer, television host, actor, and businessman (Jimmy Dean Show, Diamonds are Forever), born in Plainview, Texas (d. 2010)

@81- Jack Haley [John Joseph], American actor (The Wizard of Oz, Ford Star Revue), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1878)

70’s

@75- Henri Nestlé, German-Swiss industrialist (founder of Nestlé), born in Frankfurt, Germany (d. 1890)

71- Ian Anderson, Scottish-born musician, singer, and songwriter (Jethro Tull), born in Fife, Scotland

60’s

@63- Bobby Hatfield, Wisc, rocker (Righteous Bros-Unchained Melody) (d. 2003) OD

50’s

59- Rosanna Arquette, actress (Desperately Seeking Susan, After Hours), born in NYC, New York

58- Antonio Banderas, Spanish actor (Philadelphia, Evita, Zorro), born in Malaga, Spain

40’s

48- Vicente Guerrero, Mexican revolutionary hero, general and 2nd President of Mexico (1829), born in Cuilapan, Oaxaca, Mexico (d. 1831) executed by firing squad

20’s

28- Lucas Till, actor (MacGyver-reboot)

21- Kylie Jenner, American model, TV and social media personality (Keeping Up with the Kardashians), born in Los Angeles

Historical Obits Today

80’s

@84-2013 Eydie Gorme, American singer

60’s

@65-2008 Isaac Hayes, American musician and actor. stroke

@62-1945 Robert H. Goddard, rocket pioneer (invented and built the first liquid-fueled rocket), throat cancer

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.

All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site contains mistakes and sadly once the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

☼☼☼☼…And That Is All for Now…☼☼☼☼

Aug 9

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Aug 9, 2018 Week: 32\ Day: 221

86004 Today: H 86° \ L 56° \ Average Sky Cover: 5% 

Nearest Lightning:  68 miles away

Wind ave.:   4mph\Gusts:  19mph Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 89°[1980]   Record Low: 44°[1999]

Aug Averages: 80°\49°

Today’s Quote

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

  Leonardo da Vinci

Harper’s Index

58

Minutes after refusing to debate an assult weapons ban that the Florida Legislature declared port a ‘public health risk’

Observances This Week

3-12

Gallop International Tribal Indian Powwow Link
Sturgis Rally Link

4-12

Gay Games

5-11

Assistance Dog Week  Link  Link 
Exercise With Your Child Week
Knights of Columbus Family Week  
National Farmers' Market Week  Link 
National Fraud Awareness Week Link 
National Health Center Week Link 
Stop on Red Week Link

6-10

Exhibitor Appreciation Week

6-12

National Bargain Hunting Week
National Psychic Week Link  
Old Fiddlers' Week

9-16

Elvis Week Link
National Hobo Week Link
National Scrabble Week  Link  

Observances for Today

Book Lover's Day

International Day of The World's Indigenous People
Veep Day

Today’s Significant US Historical Events

Today’s Significant International Historical Events 

1800’s                                         

1898 Rudolf Diesel of Germany patents the diesel internal combustion engine

1900’s                                         

1905 Mistaking her husband for a burglar, Ty Cobb's mother kills him

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

1936 Jesse Owens is part of the American 4 x 100m relay team that wins gold in world record (39.8) at the Berlin Olympics; his 4th gold medal of the Games

1944 Smokey Bear debuts as spokeman for fire prevention

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

1965 Singapore separates from the Federation of Malaysia and gains its independence

1969 Manson family commits Tate-LaBianca murders

1974 Richard Nixon resigns as US President and VP Gerald Ford swears the oath of office to take his place as the 38th US President

1992 Future 6-weight boxing world champion Oscar De La Hoya of the US beats German Marco Rudolph on points to win the lightweight gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics

2000’s                                         

2000 South African President Thabo Mbeki unveils the Women's Monument commemorating the role of women in the anti-apartheid struggle

2001 US President George W. Bush announces his support for federal funding of limited research on embryonic stem cells.

2012 Usain Bolt becomes the first person to win the 100m and 200m sprint in back to back Olympics

2017 Giant inflatable chicken resembling US President Donald Trump placed outside US White House as a political protest

2017 North Korea says it plans to fire rockets on US territory Guam in continuing escalation of tension between it and the US

My Rambling Thoughts

Middle of the week and it’s still hot. Wish the monsoon would return here sooner. More smoke this morning, this time from AZ fires south of Flagstaff. These fires were lightning caused and being allowed to burn and smoke just works its way to town.

I’ve been in need of a hair trim for about a week, but my stylist isn’t back until Friday. Maybe my longer hair makes me uncomfortable during this heat wave.

A possible crook in the House of Representatives. Big surprise. A long trial, lots of coverage, and probably not much else.

Birthdays Today

@-  indicates age at death

90’s

@97- Elizabeth Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton’s wife (d. 1854)

@96- Pamela Lyndon Travers, Queensland, Australia, writer (Mary Poppins), (d. 1996)

80’s

@86- Daniel Keyes, American author (Flowers for Algernon), born in Boca Raton, Florida (d. 2014)

@84- Jean Piaget, Swiss pioneer developmental psychologist and zoologist, born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland (d. 1980)

@82- Leo Tolstoy [Lev Nikolayevich], Russian novelist (Anna Karenina, War and Peace), born in Yasnaya Polyana, Russia (d. 1910)

70’s

74- Smokey the Bear, named after NYC fireman Smokey Joe Martin

74- Sam Elliott, actor (Big Chill, Fatal Beauty), born in Sacramento, California

60’s

@65- Robert Aldrich, American director and producer (Dirty Dozen), born in Cranston, Rhode Island (d. 1983) kidney failure

61- Melanie Griffith, actress (Working Girl, Milk Money, Now & Then)

50’s

@59- Chris Haney, Canadian journalist who created the board game "Trivial Pursuit", born in Welland, Ontario (d. 2010) long illness

59- Michael Kors, American fashion designer and Project Runway judge, born in Long Island, New York

54- Hoda Kotb, TV host

50- Gillian Anderson, actress (The X-Files, Bleak House), born in Chicago, Illinois

50- Eric Bana, Australian actor (Time Traveler’s Wife)

40’s

@48- Whitney Houston, American singer (One Moment in Time, Bodyguard), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2012) drowned in bathtub

Historical Obits Today

80’s

@85-2014 Edwin "Ed" Nelson, American actor (Peyton Place, A Long Came a Spider), dies of heart failure at 85

@85-1962 Hermann Hesse, German-Swiss novelist and poet (Steppenwolf, Nobel 1946)

50’s

@57-2003 Gregory Hines, American actor and dancer, liver cancer

@53-1995 Jerry Garcia, American rock musician (Grateful Dead), heart attack

@50-2008 Bernie Mac, American comedian, actor.(b. 1957) cardiac arrest

20’s

@26-1969 Sharon Tate, actress (Valley of Dolls), murdered by Manson's gang

@25-1969 Abigail Folger, American coffee magnate (Folgers), murdered by Manson gang

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.

All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site contains mistakes and sadly once the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

☼☼☼☼…And That Is All for Now…☼☼☼☼