Feb 20

 

Week: 9 Day: 51	Ave. Sky Cover:  % Visibility: 10 miles
Local Temp:   48°\ 17° Wind: 5mph\ Gusts: 6mph	Moderate risk of fire Active fire: 166mi. \ Lightning: 1502mi.
Feb Averages: 46°\19° (5 days w/moisture)

 

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

 

4-20	Winter Olympics XXIV
11-20	Date (Fruit) Week
14-21	National Condom Week National Nestbox Week NCCDP Alzheimer's & Dementia Staff Education Week
17-20	American Association For The Advancement of Science Week
18-21	Great Backyard Bird Count Link
18-19	Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering
19-26	National FFA Week Link
20-26	National Sauna Week Link    Bird Health Awareness Week  Link   Build A Better Trade Show Image Week National Eating Disorders Awareness Week  National Engineers Week National Justice for Animals Week Link  Link Through With The Chew Link

 

Daily Observations

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

A nice winter day…I took a nice walk around the neighborhood.

The Beijing Olympics end on Sunday. A couple of years ago I did the Trans-Siberian RR and thought it would be nice to go to the Beijing Olympics. Then came Covid, more news of the Chinese gov’t treatment of minorities. I’m glad I didn’t go. This will certainly be an Olympics to remember…but not in a good way. There has certainly been some great competition. I have to say the ROC mess will be my searing memory. I am disappointed that the People of China were not able to enjoy the games in person. Thousands of Chinese people built these great venues. Thousands of Chinese were involved in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Thousands had hoped to work at the venues during the games. Very little of the Olympics helped the Chinese people. The Chinese government had hoped to be on the world stage and getting recognition for their government’s efforts to have a great Olympics. That didn’t happen.

One good thing out of the Olympics is that the skating organization is going to vote soon and is expected to raise the age to participate to 17. That is a good move.

There is a cargo ship on fire in the middle of the ocean. It has $100 million in luxury vehicles...Porsche, Lamborghini, etc. The crew was safely evacuated. Story is that the fire started from one of the electric car batteries. Wow!

I read this morning that Colorado will have Daylight Savings Time on the ballot this November. Much of my life was with Daylight time during the summer and beyond. AZ decided to not have DST back in the 1970’s. Basically Phoenix metro didn’t want an extra hour of daylight…and heat…during the summer. When that happened I lived on the Navajo Reservation where there was Daylight time…because much of the Rez is in NM and they had Daylight time. When I retired to Flagstaff, I was happy to lose the necessity of changing clocks when I left home. I have enjoyed not having the sudden light or sudden darkness when the clocks changed. I hope Colorado makes a good decision on DST…I’m interested in seeing how the vote goes.

Favorite Memes

 

A bit of Humor

What do you call a fish wearing a bowtie?

Sofishticated

Trivia

Q: Which musician has collaborated with American producer Porter Robinson and released the 2016 song "Shelter"?

 

Q: Which director directed Interstellar?

 

Q: On What Japanese City Was The First Atomic Bomb Dropped?

 

Q: Who Was The First Woman To Fly Solo Across The Atlantic Ocean?

 

 

 

 

ANSWERS:

Answer 1: Madeon

Answer 2: Christopher Nolan

Answer 3: Hiroshima

Answer 4: Amelia Earhart

 

Historical Events

W                 1491 – An unnamed comet came within 860,000 miles of Earth, the closest we know of.

W                 1792 – The United States Post Office became a cabinet position under President George Washington. In 1971, the Post Office became an independent corporation.

W                 1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened in New York City.

W                 1877 – Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake gave its premiere performance at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

W                 1962 – While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes.

W                 1979 – This Old House premiered on PBS.

W                 1986 – The Soviet Union launched the Mir spacecraft.

W                 2013 – The smallest extrasolar planet, Kepler-37b was discovered.

Birthdays Today

@95 – Gloria Vanderbilt, American actress, fashion designer, socialite (died in 2019)

@94 – Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor (d. 2022)

@89 – Gale Gordon, American actor (died in 1995)

@87 – Bobby Unser, American race car driver (d. 2021)

@82 – Ansel Adams, American photographer, environmentalist (d. 1984)

@81 – Robert Altman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2006)

81 – Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer-songwriter

76 – Sandy Duncan, American actress, singer, dancer

73 – Ivana Trump, Czech-American socialite, model

@69 – William Prescott, American soldier, coined the term “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes.” (d. 1795; dropsy)

68 – Patty Hearst, American actress, author

59 – Charles Barkley, American basketball player and sportscaster

58 – French Stewart, American actor

56 – Cindy Crawford, American mode

35 – Miles Teller, American actor

38 – Trevor Noah, comedian

34 – Rihanna, Barbadian-American singer-songwriter

@27 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1994; )

 

Feb 19

 

Week: 8 Day: 50	Ave. Sky Cover:  5% Visibility: 10 miles
Local Temp:   42°\ 12° Wind: 9mph\ Gusts: 14mph	Moderate risk of fire Active fire: 347mi. \ Lightning: 1631mi.
Feb Averages: 46°\19° (5 days w/moisture)

 

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

 

4-20	Winter Olympics XXIV
11-20	Date (Fruit) Week
12-19	National Entrepreneurship Week Link
13-19	Children of Alcoholics Week Link  International Flirting Week    Jell-O Week Love A Mensch Week National Secondhand Wardrobe Week Random Acts of Kindness Week Link
14-21	National Condom Week National Nestbox Week NCCDP Alzheimer's & Dementia Staff Education Week
17-20	American Association For The Advancement of Science Week
18-21	Great Backyard Bird Count Link
18-19	Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering
19-26	National FFA Week Link

 

Daily Observations

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Wintery like day, with a blue sky. Nice.

The coroner finally released the name of the suicide at the jail. Probably wasn’t the jury I was on. This suicide was from Page and was charged with fraud. So, I guess I’ll never know why the trial was cancelled.

The Olympics got a real black eye. First was the doping charge on a 15-year-old, then letting her skate, then her horrible routine, then the lack of compassion or empathy from her coach, and finally having the whole incident replayed in prime time. I worked with 15-year-old athletes/students for years. No good coach or coaching team would have ever allowed her to skate under the circumstances. After her awful performance, the cameras stayed on her as her coach criticized her and showed no empathy for this child. Then the cameras stayed on her as the scores were announced. Everyone involved is this unnecessary spectacle should be ashamed.

The former Minnesota police officer who shot and killed a man by mistaking her gun for a taser only got 2 years in prison. The prosecution had asked for 7 years and 2 months, while her attorneys asked for a lesser sentence because she had no prior criminal history and showed remorse for his death. This is not justice, in my opinion.

Favorite Memes

 

A bit of Humor

When is the moon the heaviest?

When it's full!

Trivia

Q: The likeness of which president is featured on the rare $2 bill of USA currency?

 

Q: Who is depicted on the US hundred-dollar bill?

 

Q: What geometric shape is generally used for stop signs?

 

Q: Area 51 is located in which US state?

 

 

 

ANSWERS:

Answer 1: Thomas Jefferson

Answer 2: Benjamin Franklin

Answer 3: Octagon

Answer 4: Nevada

Historical Events

W                 1847 – Of the 89 original members of the Donner Party, only 45 reached California. They had been trapped, with no provisions and little survival skills since late October of 1848, about 13 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe.

W                 1881 – Kansas became the first state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.

W                 1963 – The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan was published.

W                 1968 – Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, created by Fred Rogers (1928-2003), premiered on NET (later PBS).

W                 1987 – A controversial, anti-smoking public service announcement aired for the first time on television, featuring Yul Brynner shortly before he died of lung cancer.

W                 2006 – The Rolling Stones performed in front of the largest open show for the public in Copacabana Beach in Brazil,1.3 Million people attended

W                 2010 – Golfer Tiger Woods admitted to having several affairs, which were brought to light after an incident in Windermere, Florida, an Orlando suburb, around 2:30 a.m. on November 27, 2009. His car crashed, reportedly, but several eyewitness accounts said it looked like it was attacked by someone with a golf club. Ironically, his wife, Elin Nordegren, was reportedly informed about his infidelities shortly before the ‘crash.’

Birthdays Today

82 – William ‘Smokey’ Robinson, R&B Singer

79 – Lou Christie, American singer-songwriter

@79 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician, astronomer (d. 1543; apoplexy)

70 – Amy Tan, American novelist

67 – Jeff Daniels, American actor

@63 – Lee Marvin, American actor (d. 1987; heart attack)

62 – Prince Andrew, Duke of York

59 – Seal (Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel), English singer-songwriter

55 – Benicio del Toro [Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez], Puerto Rican actor, director, producer

37 – Haylie Duff, American actress