Apr 29

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Apr 29, 2019 Week: 18 \ Day: 119

86004:   H 71° \ L ° \ Average Sky Cover: 20% 

Wind:   8mph\Gusts:  15mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest wildfire:  120mi. Nearest lightning:  237mi

Record High: 78°[1992]   Record Low: 7°[1970]

Mar Averages: 59°\28° (3 days with rain)

Today’s Quote

There is always one moment in childhood when

the door opens and lets the future in.

Graham Greene

Random Tidbits

Most historians believe that the Dutch were the first to introduce the modern doughnut to North America in the form of olykoeks, or "oil cakes" as early as the mid-19th century. These early doughnuts were balls of cake fried in pork fat.

Today over 10 billion doughnuts are made in the U.S. each year.

Observances This Week

National Scoop The Poop Week: 24-30
World Immunization Week: 24-30
National Tattoo Week: 24-29 Link
National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW): 27-5/4  Link
Air Quality Awareness Week: 29-5/3  Link 
International Coaching Week: 29-5/5 Link
Screen-Free Week (Digital Detox Week) : 29-5/5 Link  

Observances for Today

Greenery Day

International Dance Day Link
National Shrimp Scampi Day

"Peace" Rose Day  (The flower)
World Wish Day Link
Zipper Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Great spring weather. So nice to have things greening up. So nice to be able to open windows throughout the day.

The discussion group was very good last night. The new President of Mexico is bringing about lots of reforms. He is developing policy that helps the people of Mexico. Between the drug cartels and the oil cartels, who steal petroleum products for black-market sales, he has his work cut out. It is too bad our leader doesn’t see the many advantages of having Mexico as a friend. Our group has two people who volunteer at Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was discovered. This last week Lowell had a special luncheon for 10 of the long-time volunteers. Each of the volunteers had an asteroid named after them. The astronomer who works at Lowell had discovered each of these asteroids and a bunch more. The 10 volunteers each got a plaque and a picture of the solar system with their asteroid marked. Very cool.

Fareed had an interesting segment of Spain. Sadly, things are not going well over there. They are the brink of a civil war.

I just saw a FB post that one of my classmates from high school was killed in that horrific I-70 crash outside of Denver. I remember him as a good guy. He leaves behind his wife.

PUZZLE OF THE DAY

Answer at the bottom of this page

There are three playing cards in a row.

There is a two to the right of a king.

There is a diamond to the left of a spade.

There is an ace to the left of a heart.

There is a heart to the left of a spade.

Identify the three cards.

Today’s Significant Historical Events

1400’s

1429 Joan of Arc arrives at the siege of Orleans

1500’s

1553 Flemish woman introduces practice of starching linen into England

1700’s

1769 Scottish engineer James Watt's patent for a steam engine with a separate condenser enrolled (Patent 913)

1800’s

1852 1st edition of Peter Roget's Thesaurus published

1864 Battle of Gate Pa (Pukehinahina): 1,700 British troops suffer their worst defeat of the New Zealand Wars at the hands of 230 entrenched Maori warriors in Tauranga

1900’s

1902 Congress extends the Chinese Exclusion Act (of 1882) prohibiting immigration of Chinese laborers from territories to the mainland, a rule clearly aimed at Chinese in the Philippines

1916 Irish republicans abandon the post office in Dublin and surrender unconditionally, marking the end of the Easter Rising

1920 Duke Kahanamoku wins his 2nd gold medal of the day in the winning American 4 x 200m freestyle relay team with Perry McGillivray, Pua Kealoha and Norman Ross in world record 10:04.4

1939 Whitestone Bridge connecting the New York boroughs of Bronx and Queens opens

1962 16th Tony Awards: "A Man For All Seasons" & "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" win

1975 Vietnam War: US begins to evacuate its citizens from Saigon in Operation Frequent Wind in response to advancing North Vietnamese forces, bringing an end to US involvement in the war

1983 Harold Washington sworn in as Chicago's 1st African American mayor

1986 800,000 books destroyed by fire in Los Angeles Central Library

1992 Jury acquits LA police officers of beating Rodney King, riots begin

1994 Last day of voting in 1st multi-racial elections in South Africa

1997 Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 comes into force, outlaws production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons among its signatories

2000’s

2002 The United States is re-elected to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, one year after losing the seat it had held for 50 years

2004 Dick Cheney and George W. Bush testify before the 9/11 Commission in a closed, unrecorded hearing in the Oval Office

2015 German Measles is declared eradicated from North and South America - 1st world region to do so

Birthdays Today

1863 William Randolph Hearst,

 (d. 1951: @88)

American newspaper publisher (San Francisco Examiner, Seattle P-I),

born in San Francisco, California

1899 Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington,

(d. 1974: @75: lung cancer)

American bandleader, composer and pianist (Take the A Train),

born in Washington, District of Columbia

1933 Rodney "Rod" McKuen,

(d. 2015: @81)

American poet, singer-songwriter and actor (Jean, Alone, Beatsville),

born in Oakland, California

80’s

85- Willie Nelson,

country singer

81- Bernard "Bernie" Madoff,

American fraudster and financier (committed largest fraud in US history,

born in Queens, New York

70’s

75- Richard Kline,

American actor and director

60’s

65- Jerome "Jerry" Seinfeld,

American comedian and actor (Seinfeld, Bee Movie),

born in Brooklyn, New York

64- Kate Mulgrew,

actress (Capt Janeway-Star Trek Voyager)

born in Dubuque Iowa,

62- Daniel Day-Lewis,

English actor (Last of the Mohicans, Gangs of New York),

born in London

61- Eve Plumb,

actress (Jan-Brady Bunch, I'm Gonna Get You Sucka),

born in Burbank, California

61- Michelle Pfeiffer,

American actress (Scarface, Batman Returns, Hairspray),

born in Santa Ana, California

40’s

49- Uma Thurman,

American actress (Baron Munchausen, Pulp Fiction),

born in Boston, Massachusetts

Historical Obits Today

90’s

@97-2006 John Kenneth Galbraith,

Canadian economist (Affluent Society-58 Hillman Award)

80’s

@80-1980 Alfred Hitchcock,

English director (Psycho, Birds, Rear Window)

60’s

@66-1864 Abraham Gesner,

Canadian geologist (inventor of kerosene)

Puzzle answer:

The cards are an Ace of Diamonds, a King of Hearts, and a Two of Spades.

Apr 28

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Apr 28, 2019 Week: 18 \ Day: 118

86004:   H 73° \ L ° \ Average Sky Cover: 5% 

Wind:   10mph\Gusts:  15mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest wildfire:  129mi. Nearest lightning:  301mi

Record High: 80°[1992]   Record Low: 13°[1970]

Mar Averages: 59°\28° (3 days with rain)

Today’s Quote

Ten people who speak make more noise

than ten thousand who are silent.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Random Tidbits

Washington Irving used the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon when he published The Sketch-Book, a collection of short stories and essays, including "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle."

Alice Binney, wife of company co-owner Edwin Binney, coined the word Crayola by joining craie, from the French word meaning chalk, with ola, from oleaginous, meaning oily.

Observances This Week

National Dance Week: 19-28 Link 
National Park Week: 20-28  Link
International Dark Sky Week: 22-28
National Scoop The Poop Week: 24-30
World Immunization Week: 24-30
National Tattoo Week: 24-29 Link
Fiddler's Frolic: 25-28
AFRMA (Fancy Rat & Mouse) Days: 26-28 Link
Interstate Mullet Toss:  26-28
National Dream Hotline:  26-28
National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW): 27-5/4  Link

Observances for Today

Biological Clock Day
Brave Hearts Day  Link
Great Poetry Reading Day

Kiss Your Mate Day

Mother, Father Deaf Day 
National Blueberry Pie Day

National Pet Parent's Day  Link   Link
National Superhero Day  Link
Pinhole Photography Day Link 
Workers Memorial Day
World Pinhole Photography Day

World Day for Safety and Health at Work Link

My Rambling Thoughts

Spring has certainly sprung here at 7000’. Sat on my deck this morning to read my articles for tonight’s discussion.

The articles were very informative about our relations with our southern neighbor. There is a solution to our differences. One would be to a better understanding of the why we have so many drugs coming from Mexico and why we have so many illegals coming to the US for work. The US policy on the hiring of illegals is not working. Businesses are finding many ways to get around the several systems we have set up. And the war of drugs and other US policy on drugs are not working. It is not just a Mexico problem, it is a US problem. So many Americans look at the illegal immigration problem as ‘How to we control it’ rather than ‘Why are they coming?’. And on drugs the US needs to ask, “Why are so many Americans buying the drugs?” Without demand, there would be no supply.

Over the years I have had bird poop dropped on my various vehicles. This morning, I was shocked. About half of the rear window were hit with lots of it. The roof had even more. The bumper even got hit with the dribbles. None of the other vehicles that were parked overnight had any. At first, I thought someone had walked by my vehicle and slung a milkshake on the window. It’s a nice day outside, so the 20+ minute cleanup was not that disgusting.

PUZZLE OF THE DAY

Answer at the bottom of this page

A train just leaves a station and enters a tunnel. Where is the best place for a claustrophobic person to sit?

Today’s Significant Historical Events

1200’s

1253 Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, propounds Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for the first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.

1600’s

1611 Establishment of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines, oldest existing university in Asia and largest Catholic university in the world

1700’s

1789 Fletcher Christian leads a mutiny on HMS Bounty against its captain William Bligh in the South Pacific

1800’s

1818 US President James Monroe proclaims naval disarmament on Great Lakes and Lake Champlain

1855 1st veterinary college in US incorporated in Boston

1919 1st jump with US Army Air Corps (rip-cord type) parachute (Les Irvin)

1947 Thor Heyerdahl & "Kon-Tiki" sail from Peru to Polynesia

1967 The Douglas Aircraft Company behind schedule with deliveries of the DC-8 and DC-9 and close to bankruptcy agrees to merge with the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation to form McDonnell Douglas

1973 Over 6000 Mk. 82 500 pound bombs detonate over 18 hrs in a railyard in northern California. 5500 structures damaged, town of Antelope destroyed, with every building reduced to foundations. Leads to Transportation Safety Act (1974)

1994 Aldrich Ames, former CIA officer & wife Rosario plead guilty to spying

2000’s

2001 Millionaire Dennis Tito becomes the world's first space tourist.

2004 Shrek the sheep from Tarras, Central Otago, New Zealand, is finally shorn live on TV after 6 years avoidance; the fleece weighed 27 kg (60 lb)

2018 Indian government announces electricity has now reached every Indian village

Birthdays Today

1758 James Monroe,

(d. 1831: @73)

5th US President (1817-25),

 born in Monroe Hall, Virginia

1878 Lionel Barrymore [Blythe],

 (d. 1954: @76: heart attack)

American actor (Free Soul, Dr Kildare),

born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1908 Oskar Schindler,

(d. 1974: @66)

Austrian businessman and subject of the novel "Schindler's Ark" and the film "Schindler's List",

born in Zwittau, Austria-Hungary

1916 Ferruccio Lamborghini,

(d. 1993: @76)

Italian automobile manufacturer,

born in Cento, Ferrara

1926 [Nelle] Harper Lee,

(d. 2016: @89)

American author (To Kill a Mockingbird),

born in Monroeville Alabama

1928 Eugene M. Shoemaker,

(d. 1997: @69: car crash)

American planetary scientist and geologist (Shoemaker-Levy comet),

 born in Los Angeles, California

1930 Carolyn Jones,

(d. 1983: @53: colon cancer)

American actress (Morticia-Addams Family),

born in Amarillo, Texas

1937 Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti,

(d. 2006: @69: executed)

President of Iraq (1979-2003),

born in Al-Awja, Iraq

1964 L'Wren Scott

[Laura Bambrough],

(d. 2014: @49: suicide by hanging)

American fashion designer and partner of Mick Jagger,

born in Salt Lake City, Utah

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70’s

78- Ann-Margret,

Swedish-American actress (Bye Bye Birdie, Tommy),

born in Valsjöbyn, Sweden

60’s

69- Jay Leno,

American comedian and TV talk show host (Tonight Show),

born in New Rochelle, New York

50’s

59- Elena Kagan,

American Supreme Court Judge,

born in NYC, New York

40’s

45- Penélope Cruz,

Spanish actress (Vanilla Sky, Waking Up in Reno),

born in Madrid, Spain

30’s

38- Jessica Alba,

American actress (Dark Angel, Sin City) and

businesswoman (The Honest Company),

born in Pomona, California

Historical Obits Today

90’s

@90-2007 Robert "Dabbs" Greer,

American actor (Gunsmoke, The Green Mile, Little House on Prairie)

70’s

@78-2007 Tommy Newsom,

American saxophonist and bandleader (Tonight Show),

dies of bladder/liver cancer

@77-1999 Arthur Leonard Schawlow,

American physicist who shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering work with lasers,

dies of leukemia

@76-1999 Rory Calhoun

[Francis Timothy McCown],

American actor (Blue & Gray, How to Marry a Millionaire),

dies of emphysema

60’s

@61-1945 Benito Mussolini

[Il Duce],

Fascist Italian dictator (1922-43),

shot by communist partisans

30’s

@35±-1721 Mary Read,

English pirate who operated in the Caribbean,

dies of a violent fever while in prison and likely still pregnant

@30-1980 Tommy Caldwell,

American rocker (Marshall Tucker Band),

dies in a jeep crash

Puzzle answer:

In the back. See, the train is still accelerating as it is leaving the station, so the train will be moving faster when the back of the train enters the tunnel.