Oct 21

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Oct. 20, 2019 Week: 43  Day: 294

86004:   H 63° \ L 27° \ Average Sky Cover: 5% 

Nearest active fire:  87mi.  Nearest lightning:  920mi

Wind:   8mph\Gusts:  13mph  Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 75°[2003]   Record Low: 5°[1949]

Oct. Averages: 63°\32° ( 4 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

Writing, to me,

is simply thinking through my fingers.

Isaac Asimov

Random Tidbits

Acronyms

FAO Schwartz stands for Frederick August Otto Schwarz, who founded the toy company with his brothers.

Disney’s EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow.

SOS… doesn’t stand for anything! It was chosen as a sign of distress for its unmistakable Morse code representation—three dots, three dashes, three dots.

Observances This Week

17-24

Food & Drug Interactions and Awareness Week

18-24

Apple Butter Stirrin' Week

19-26

INVICTUS Games

20-26

Asexuality Week Link  Link
Freedom From Bullies Week
National Business Women's Week  Link
National Character Counts Week
National Chemistry Week
National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week Link 
National Forest Products Week
National Friends of Libraries Week:
National Nuclear Science Week
National Pharmacy Week
National Save For Retirement Week Link 
National School Bus Safety Week
National Teen Drivers Safety Week Link 
National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week Link  
National Massage Therapy Week Link  
National Respiratory Care Week Link 
Pastoral Care Week Link  
Pro Bono Week  Link
Rodent Awareness Week
Spiritual Care Week

21-25

National Health Education Week Link
Medical Assistants Recognition Week Link

21-27

Freedom of Speech Week  Link

Observances for Today

Babbling Day

Celebration of the Mind Day Link
Count Your Buttons Day

Global Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD) Prevention Day
Lung Health Day Link  
National Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day 
National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day

Reptile Awareness Day Link
Xterra World Championships

My Rambling Thoughts

It’s a little cool with the breeze outside. I decided it was a good day to rearrange furniture in the living room.  When I moved in here, over a decade ago, I bought an electric fireplace with mantle. The last time I rearranged furniture it ended up in a place where I couldn’t enjoy it as much. As winter is approaching, I put it next to my TV so I can enjoy it all winter long.

The CU Buffalo football team had a really bad day. After half-time, I only watched it during commercials on the channels I was watching. The AZ Cards are looking good today. So this week brought me 1 win and 2 losses.

Yesterday I mentioned that one of our Wal-Mart stores was closed. I live in a medium sized town and news about time is sometimes sketchy. About 4p yesterday I got an alert on my phone about Wal-Mart. It’s an open 24 hrs store. About 3am a fire broke out in the back part of the store, someone was seen running from the store, and now, due to smoke and water damage, the place is closed indefinitely. It’s only been open about 5 years and the city placed very strict guidelines about size and environmental impact. Part of the parking lot is covered to put in the solar panels for the store’s electricity needs and they just put in 5 electric car charging stations…one for each electric car in our town (haha). I don’t shop there very often, but they sure worked hard to get the project approved and I’m sorry to see it in such dire circumstances…not to mention the many employees who are still not sure if they still have jobs.

When I heard about the fire, my old mind immediately went back to Wheat Ridge in the mid-1960’s. There was a big-box store…Spartan…about 10 blocks from our house. One sunny summer day the volunteer fire department siren went off. My Boy Scout Troop leader was the Fire Chief…Ken Hoyt. They were unable to save that building and the lot sat empty except for the cement slab for decades before they built a strip mall. Memories!

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of this page

You are a cyclist in a cross-country race.

Just before the crossing finish line, you overtake the person in second place.

In what place did you finish?

Historical Events

335 Roman Emperor Constantine the Great rules that Jews are not allowed to purchase and circumcise Christian slaves

1520 - Ferdinand Magellan discovers a strait now known as Strait of Magellan in South America.

1797 - In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution was launched. It was the third such vessel completed for the US Navy.

1854 - Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are sent to the Crimean War.

1921 - The Sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino, premiered in Los Angeles

1921 - President Warren G. Harding delivered the first speech by a sitting US President against lynching in the Deep South.

1940 - For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway was published.

1945 Women in France allowed to vote for 1st time

1949 Author of 'Brave New World' Aldous Huxley writes to congratulate George Orwell on his new novel '1984'

1959 -The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in New York City.

1967- #1 Hit: Lulu - To Sir With Love

1971 Nobel Prize for literature awarded to Pablo Neruda

1972 - #1 Hit: Chuck Berry - My Ding-a-ling

1973 - John Paul Getty III's ear was cut off by his kidnappers and sent to a newspaper in Rome, with a note - "This is Paul's ear. If we don't get some money within 10 days, then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits."

1976 Nobel Prize for literature awarded to American Saul Bellow

1978 - Frederick Valenteich (flying a Cessna 182 airplane) disappeared over Melbourne, Australia right after describing a UFO to the control tower. The last seventeen seconds of his transmission were described as 'metallic scraping.'

1991 - The Apple PowerBook was released.

1994 - North Korea and the United States signed an agreement that required North Korea stop its nuclear weapons program and agree to inspections. On October 9, 2006, North Korea announced it had successfully conducted its first nuclear test.

2012 Kateri Tekakwitha (Mohawk) canonized as the 1st Native American saint by Pope Benedict XVI

2013 The Parliament of Canada confers Honorary Canadian citizenship on women's rights and education activist Malala Yousafzai

2017 Spanish government suspends Catalonia's autonomy in the face of a deepening political crisis over the region's push for independence

Birthdays Today

Judge Judy Sheindin, TV judge (77)

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, jazz trumpet

(d. 1993 @75; pancreatic cancer)

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister (70)

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English romantic poet

(Rime of Ancient Mariner)

(d. 1834 @61; heart failure)

Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist,

invented dynamite and founder of Nobel Prize

(d. 1896 @61; stroke)

Carrie Fisher, actor (d. 2016 @60; cardiac arrest)

Kim Kardashian, reality TV (39)

Kane Brown, country singer (26)

Puzzle answer:

Second Place. If you pass the person in second, you take second place, and they become third.

Oct 20

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

Oct. 20, 2019 Week: 43  Day: 293

86004:   H 66° \ L 31° \ Average Sky Cover: 5% 

Nearest active fire:  38mi.  Nearest lightning:  551mi

Wind:   4mph\Gusts:  10mph  Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 77°[2003]   Record Low: 4°[1949]

Oct. Averages: 63°\32° ( 4 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

When all else is lost,

the future still remains.

Christian Nestell Bovee

Random Tidbits

Arby’s is a play on RB, for the chain’s founders, the Raffel brothers. In the ‘80s, an ad campaign came up with the delightful (but fake) acronym, America’s Roast Beef, Yes Sir!

NERF stands for Non Expandable Recreational Foam.

3M, the company that makes Post-Its and most office supplies, stands for Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing.

Observances This Week

12-20

Bone and Joint Health National Awareness Week Link

17-24

Food & Drug Interactions and Awareness Week

18-24

Apple Butter Stirrin' Week

19-26

INVICTUS Games

20-26

Asexuality Week Link  Link
Freedom From Bullies Week
National Business Women's Week  Link
National Character Counts Week
National Chemistry Week
National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week Link 
National Forest Products Week
National Friends of Libraries Week:
National Nuclear Science Week
National Pharmacy Week
National Save For Retirement Week Link 
National School Bus Safety Week
National Teen Drivers Safety Week Link 
National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week Link  
National Massage Therapy Week Link  
National Respiratory Care Week Link 
Pastoral Care Week Link  
Pro Bono Week  Link
Rodent Awareness Week
Spiritual Care Week

Observances for Today

Brandied Fruit Day

International Chefs Day Link
International Sloth Day

Miss American Rose Day
National Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day 
World Toy Camera Day 

My Rambling Thoughts

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY YOUNGER BROTHER, RICHARD.

A really great fall day. Took a nice drive over the mountain along with a nice hike/walk to enjoy the fall colors. While most of our mountain is various evergreen trees, there are several huge areas of Aspen trees. They are bright yellow right now and breathtaking. Nothing puts me in the mood for fall as Aspen with their brilliant color.

After my travel I stopped at Wally World to pick up some Gatorade. There were three big Stanley Steamer vans parked outside the entrance and the parking lot was wet. After parking and heading for the door, an employee yelled that they were closed today. Curious for sure. My guess is a broken pipe in the store, since they have no areas of carpeting. Guess I’ll find out the next time I stop by. I ended up going to Circle K for my drinks. I didn’t want to deal with weekend traffic going to the other Wally World across town.

As a Democrat through and through, I am not pleased that Hillary is making negative comments about some Dem candidates having Russian influence. She lost the Electoral College, she has had shady dealings, she needs to stay in her lane and enjoy her retirement.

Navajo rugs are world famous for their designs and artistry. Any Navajo-style rug, not made by Navajo people must be clearly marked as to where they are made. If not, the seller faces stiff fines. The weavers, almost exclusively women, have the design in their head and do not follow a pattern. There are many traditional stories about the origin. There is now a place in Albuquerque selling ‘hand-woven rugs that are East Meets West’ to honor the tradition. The rugs are made in Pakistan. They claim to sell for much less than Navajo-made rugs. I’m sure the people who buy these fakes do not realize the disservice they are doing to the Navajo weavers. I guess it’s like buying a piece of furniture made of wood-fiber and finished to look like real wood, at a much cheaper price and hoping no one will notice. After a few years, everyone notices!

CU plays at 4p today so my late afternoon will be watching the game. Hope it is a good one for the Buffs.

My internet is acting up but hopefully I’ll be able to post this later this afternoon.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of this page

I have no voice, yet I speak to you.

I tell of all things in the world that people do.

I have leaves, but I am not a tree.

I have pages, but I am not a bride.

I have a spine, but I am not a man.

I have hinges, but I am not a door.

I have told you all. I cannot tell you more.

What am I?

Historical Events

1720 - Caribbean pirate Calico Jack Rackham, one of the first pirates to use the "Jolly Roger", was captured by the Royal Navy.

1803 - The United States Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase.

1818 - The Convention of 1818 was signed between the US and the UK which settled the Canada/United States border on the 49th parallel for most of its length.

1864 US President Abraham Lincoln formally establishes Thanksgiving as a national holiday

1873 - Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Rutgers universities drafted the (American) Football rules.

1944 - Liquid natural gas exploded from storage tanks in Cleveland, killing 130 people.

1944 US forces under General Douglas MacArthur return to the Philippines with the landing of the US 6th army on Leyte

1951 - CBS began using the "Eyeball" logo.

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

1968 - Jacqueline Kennedy married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.

1973 - #1 Hit: The Rolling Stones - Angie

1977 - Lynyrd Skynyrd members Ronnie Van Zandt, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines died in a plane crash. None were aged 27.

1979 - #1 Hit: Herb Alpert - Rise

1981 - Two police officers and a Brinks armored car guard are killed during an armed $1.6 million robbery in Rockland County, New York, carried out by members of the Black Liberation Army and Weather Underground.

1990 - #1 Hit: James Ingram - I Don't Have the Heart

1991 - Microsoft Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions was released.

1991 - The Oakland Hills, California firestorm killed 25 people.

2001 - Concert For New York: A Tribute To Heroes was broadcast on VH1, and other networks. It raised funds for the families of those killed by the September 11 terrorist attacks.

2015 US Vice President Joe Biden confirms he will not run for President

2017 Pollution linked to 1 in 6 deaths worldwide or 9 million in 2015 in report published in "The Lancet"

2018 12,000 year old fossil called "Luzia", oldest known fossil in South America announced found mostly intact after devastating fire at Brazil's National Museum

2018 President Trump threatens to pull the US out of an arms control agreement with Russia because Russia has violated its terms

Birthdays Today

Art Buchwald, American humorist  

(d. 2007 @81)

Bela Lugosi, actor

 (d. 1956 @73; heart attack)

Jerry Orbach, actor (Law & Order)

(d. 2004 @69; cancer)

Tom Petty, rock singer

(d. 2017 @66; accidental OD)

Mickey Mantle, baseball player

(d. 1995 @63; cancer)

Viggo Mortensen, movie actor (61)

Snoop Dogg 'Calvin Broadus', rapper (49)

Puzzle answer:

A book