Sep 29

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Sep. 29, 2019 Week: 40 Day: 272

86004:   H 65° \ L 47° \ Average Sky Cover: 10% 

Nearest active fire:  21mi.  Nearest lightning:  344mi

Wind:   12mph\Gusts:  17mph  Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 83°[2010]   Record Low: 22°[1902]

Sep Averages: 74°\42° (5 days with rain)

Today’s Quote

There are people who have money

and people who are rich.

Coco Chanel

Random Tidbits

The day have actually been getting shorter since after the Summer Solstice. We will lose almost 3 minutes of daylight each day until the Winter Solstice.

Equinoxes are not day-long events, even though many choose to celebrate all day. Instead, they occur at the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator - the imaginary line in the sky above Earth's Equator.

Observances This Week

20-29

National Ballroom Dance Week  Link
Farm Animal Awareness Week  

27-10/6

International Sand Sculpting Championships  Link

29-10/5

National Chimney Safety Week

National Fall Foliage Week  Link 

Observances for Today

Confucius Day

Gold Star Mother's Day 
International Coffee Day Link
International Day of The Deaf 
MAGS Day  Link
Michaelmas Link
Mutation Day (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) Link
National Attend Your Grandchild's Birth Day
National Biscotti Day
National Coffee Day

National Mocha Day

Priesthood Sunday Link  
Rosh Hashanah (Sundown)
VFW Day 
World Heart Day  Link

My Rambling Thoughts

A day of straightening and cleaning. Flipped my mattress, put on clean linens. Cleaned the inside of the fridge. Found a few things in the back that didn’t look like food anymore. It’s an old-er fridge, but now is sparkling like new. It’s a seasonal thing I have done for decades.

I am expecting wind this afternoon. The weather app sez to expect 45-50mph wind from 3p-sometime tomorrow. Not excited about that.

APS [Arizona Public Service] is the major provider of electricity to AZ. When I was on the Rez, it was NTUA [Navajo Tribal Utility Authority], until I got to Tuba, where for some reason it was APS. AZ voters elect a commission of 5 people who regulate APS. A few year ago Pinnacle West purchases APS, and let them keep their name. The vast majority of their revenue comes from APS. There have been calls the last decade that the Commission overseeing APS is little more than an APS arm…whatever they want, they get. Last year, there was a fight between teachers and the Governor over salary and other dollars coming to education in our state. It was called the ‘Red for ED’ movement. It convinced the Governor to increase salaries by a lot more than the 1% he had promised. Today it was no shock that Pinnacle West had spent $450,000 to debunk the ‘Red for ED’ movement. Dirty politics, and maybe illegal. PW claims 2 things: ‘the vast majority of our money comes from APS’ and ‘no APS money was spent on the ads.’ As the little Russian Guy used to say on Laugh-in: Very interesting!

So our President told 2 guys from Russia, back in a 2017 White House meeting where he slipped and gave a way a few Israeli secrets, that any interference in the US election didn’t bother him because the US has done the same thing in other countries. ‘Very interesting!’  

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of this page

I turn my head, and you may go where you want.

I turn it again, and you’ll stay till you rot.

I have no face, but I live or die,

By my crooked teeth.

Who am I?

Historical Events

480 BC - Battle of Salamis: The Greek fleet under Themistocles defeats the Persian fleet under Xerxes I. This was a few weeks after the famous Battle of Thermopylae (with King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans).

1829 -Scotland Yard went on patrol for the first time.

1938 - The Treaty of Munich was signed by Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Daladier & Chamberlain. Contrary to some overly optimistic high hopes, it did not prevent World War II.

1957 - Kyshtym Disaster at Plutonium Production Plant, USSR

1958 - #1: Tommy Edwards - It's All in the Game

1960 - My Three Sons debuted on ABC.

1963 - The Judy Garland Show debuted on CBS

1963 - Rolling Stones 1st tour, opening for Bo Diddley and The Everly Brothers.

1966 - The Chevrolet Camaro was introduced.

1969 - Love American Style premiered on ABC.

1973 - #1 Hit: Grand Funk - We're an American Band

1975 - Singer Jackie Wilson had a heart attack on stage, resulting in a 9-year coma. (He died in 1984)

1979 - Gold hit $400/ounce for the first time.

1982 - Cheers premiered on NBC.

1984 - #1 Hit: Prince and The Revolution - Let's Go Crazy

1985 - The first of seven cyanide-laced Tylenol victims died. This event is what made manufacturers begin using tamper-proof packaging.

1988- The space shuttle Discovery was launched- the first since the Challenger disaster.

1989 - Zsa Zsa Gabor was convicted of slapping a police officer in Beverly Hills. The assault occurred on June 14, 1989.

1990 - #1 Hit: Nelson - (Can't Live Without Your) Love And Affection

1990 - Millie's Book, written by 1st Lady Barbara Bush, about the president's dog, a best-selling non-fiction book, was released.

1992 - Magic Johnson came out of retirement to play for the Los Angeles Lakers after retiring less than a year earlier. He retired again in 1996.

1994 - The 304 jurors and alternate jurors were chosen for O.J. Simpson's murder trial.

1996 - Nintendo 64 released, Video Game Console

2007 - #1 Hit: Kanye West - Stronger

2008 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 777.68 points, the largest single-day point loss by that time in history.

2012 - #1 Hit: Maroon 5 - One More Night

2013 16 people are killed by a Syrian Army air strike that hit a secondary school in Raqqa, Syria

2017 Mysterious sonic attacks on US diplomats prompt US to warn citizens not to travel to Cuba and pull some embassy staff

Birthdays Today

Gene Autry, singing cowboy

(d. 1998 @91)

Oail Andrew ‘Bum’ Phillips, NFL coach

(d. 2013 @90)

Stanley Kramer, film director, producer

(d. 2001 @87)

Jerry Lee Lewis. Rock singer (84)

Lech Walesa, pro-democracy politician (76)

Mike Post, TV Theme composer (75)

Bryant Gumbel, sportscaster (71)

Andrew Dice Clay, comedian (62)

Madeline Kahn, comedian

(d. 1999 @57; ovarian cancer)

Puzzle answer:

KEY.

Sep 28

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Sep. 28, 2019 Week: 39  Day: 271

86004:   H 68° \ L 46° \ Average Sky Cover: 20% 

Nearest active fire:  21mi.  Nearest lightning:  775mi

Wind:   5mph\Gusts:  11mph  Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 83°[2010]   Record Low: 21°[1900]

Sep Averages: 74°\42° (5 days with rain)

Today’s Quote

A person's a person,

no matter how small.

Dr. Seuss

Random Tidbits

The September equinox occurs the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator - the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth's Equator - from north to south.

The Earth's axis is always tilted at an angle of about 23.4 degrees. On any other day of the year, either the southern hemisphere or the Northern Hemisphere tilts a little towards the Sun. But on the two equinoxes, the tilt of the Earth's axis is perpendicular to the Sun's rays.

Observances This Week

20-29

National Ballroom Dance Week  Link
Farm Animal Awareness Week  

22-28

Banned Books Week
Deaf Dog Awareness Week Link 
International Interpreters and Translators Week
National Dog Week  Link and  Link
National Employ Older Workers Week Link 
National Keep Kids Creative Week
Remember to Register to Vote Week
Sea Otter Awareness Week Link   
Tolkien Week 
World Hearing Aid Awareness Week   Link 
World Reflexology Week 

23-28

International Week of the Deaf Link 
International Women's E-Commerce Days

27-10/6

International Sand Sculpting Championships  Link

Observances for Today

Ask a Stupid Question Day

Fish Amnesty Day 
Fish Tank Floorshow Night
Family Health and Fitness Day USA  
International Day for Universal Access To Information
International Lace Day  Link    
International Rabbit Day Link  
International Right To Know Day Link
National Drink Beer Day Link
National Ghost Hunting Day:  28  Link
National Good Neighbor Day
National Hunting and Fishing Day
National Public Lands Day Link 
Nickelodeon's Worldwide Day of Play  Link 
R.E.A.D. in America Day  
Responsible Dog Ownership Day Link
Save Your Photos Day Link  
World Rabies Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Busy day yesterday. Our retirement group met for a great lunch. The new place was about 6 miles from my home. I decided to wear long pants as things are cooling off. I got within ½ mile of the restaurant and realized I didn’t have my wallet. Headed home and was therefore about 25 minutes for lunch. I texted Mary to tell her I would be late. She had left her phone at home, so Cheryl called about 3 minutes before I arrived on the cell she never uses. We had a nice long lunch, with great conversation. Mary is spending over $1000 to drain and repair her pool and another $600 to kill termites. Cheryl suddenly had wet carpet in her hallway. The plumber found a pin-hole leak in the line to her outside faucet, only $150 for the plumber on a Sat. and $200 for the carpet cleaner to tell her to set up fans and to return in 2 weeks to be sure the padding is dry before removing the water stains on the carpet.

I finally got answers on my CPAP. Turns out the mask I have uses its own special tube, which gets replaced every 6 months, instead of the every 3 months for the regular tubing. The insurance won’t pay if I do it sooner. After tjat visit I emailed the owner to tell him I got great info from a very friendly Branch Manager at the store. When I got home I had a note on the doorknob that the CPAP guy had come to check my O2 machine. I called, as I was scheduled for Oct. 25. Turns out I’m still scheduled for 10/25 but the guy grabbed the wrong paperwork. All I can say is ‘Whatever!’

This morning I had my annual Medicare Wellness appointment. I’m not depressed so most of the visit was telling her about my great trip on the Trans-Siberian. I had told her I was going on my last visit. It moved up on her bucket list after my visit. And I got my flu shot. The nurse asked and I said it was too early. Then the Dr. came in and convinced me it ain’t too early. Now I have to remember to not try and get another one at Walgreen's in November.

After my Dr. appointment, I decided, since I am doing good I decided I probably needed to get a haircut. The stylist grew up on Grey Mountain, so we had a good conversation and I’m not all shaggy anymore. Many of my Tuba students were from Grey Mountain.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of this page

I give you a group of three. One is sitting down, and will never get up. The second eats as much as is given to him, yet is always hungry. The third goes away and never returns. What is this group of three?

Historical Events

1850 - Flogging (whipping) in the Navy and Merchant Marines was abolished by the US.

1889 - The first General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defined the length of a 'meter' ('metre') as the distance between two lines on a standard bar of an alloy of platinum with ten percent iridium, measured at the melting point of ice. Since 1983, it has been defined as "the length of the path traveled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second," about 39.370 inches.

1920 - Eight Chicago White Sox players were indicted for fixing the 1919 World Series in the "Black Sox scandal."

1951 - The science-fiction classic film, The Day the Earth Stood Still, was released.

1955 - First MLB World Series color TV was broadcast on NBC. Yankees beat the Dodgers.

1957 - #1 Hit: The Crickets - That'll Be The Day

1963 - Tennessee Tuxedo cartoon debuted on CBS.

1967 - Walter Washington became the first mayor of the District of Columbia (DC).

1968 - #1 Hit: The Beatles - Hey Jude

1974 - #1 Hit: Andy Kim - Rock Me Gently

1980 - Carl Sagan's 13 part Cosmos premiered on PBS.

1984 - Miami Vice premiered on NBC

1987 - Star Tek: The Next Generation premiered, in syndication

2006 - The City Council of Reykjavik and neighboring municipalities agreed to turn off all the city lights in the capital area for half an hour, while a renowned astronomer talked about the stars and the constellations on national radio.

2012 Nigeria suspends flights to Saudi Arabia after hundreds of Nigerian women traveled without a male escort

2013 - #1 Hit: Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball

2013 27 villagers are killed by Boko Harem in northeast Nigeria

2015 NASA scientists announce the discovery of flowing water on Mars

2016 Hurricane Matthew forms near the Windward Islands, will go on to kill over 1000 in Haiti, the Caribbean and the US

2018 Up to 50 million Facebook accounts hacked due to a code weakness

Birthdays Today

Brigitte Bardot, movie actor (85)

Ben E. King, soul, R&B singer

(d. 2015 @76, coronary issues)

Ed Sullivan, promoter, TV Host

(d. 1974 @73; cancer)

Janeane Garofalo, comedian, activist (55)

Mira Sorvino, actor (52)

Naomi Watts, actress, producer (51)

Gwyneth Paltrow, actor, writer, business woman (48)

Bam Margera, reality show (40)

Melody Thornton. Pussycat Dolls (35)

Hilary Duff, actor (32)

Esmee Denters, Dutch singer on You-Tube (31)

Puzzle answer:

STOVE, FIRE, SMOKE.