1 Aug

 

1 Aug

Weather Expectations Week 31  Day 213     Flag Today  89°/63°                            

Wind 8 mph Gusts 8 mph

Risk of fire Extreme Active Fire: 22 miles away

Nearest Lightning: 146 miles away Humidity:  29%

Air Quality: Fair Sunshine Partly Cloudy Breezy

July Averages: Temps: 82°\51° 9 days with rain

Today’s Observances:

Girlfriend's Day
Home Fermentation Day Link 
International Alberino Day Link
International Blues Music Day
International Can-It-Forward Day (Mason Jars)
International Hangover Day 

Lammas Day (Merry Loafmas) 
Lughnasa or Lughnasadh [1^st grain harvest] Link
National Clown Day
National Disc Golf Day Link
National Jamacian Patty Day Link 
National Mustard Day Link
National Minority Donor Awareness Day  
National Pinball Day  Link Link
National Play Outside Day Link
National Spritz Day - 1 Link
National Summit Day Link  
National Sunflower Day Link 
National VFR Day Link 
Satchmo Days: thru 2^nd
Sandcastle Day
Respect For Parents
Rounds Resounding Day
Spider-Man Day
US Air Force Day Link
World Lung Cancer Day
World Wide Web Day Link
World Scout Scarf Day

Weekly Observances:

Quilt Odyssey Week: 30-8/1

Lollapalooza: 30-8/2 Link 
Satchmo Week: 1-2 Link

International Clown Week: 1-7 Link
National Cleanse Your Skin Week: 1-7  Link
National Minority Donor Awareness Week: 1-7
Simplify Your Life Week: 1-7
World Breastfeeding Week: 1-7 Link

Monthly Observances:

American Adventures Month
American Artists Appreciation Month Link
American History Essay Contest (8/1 - 12/15) 
Arrr-gust: International Pirate Month  Link
Back to School Month Link
Black Business Month
Boomers Making A Difference Month
Bystander Awareness Month
Children's Eye Health & Safety Month
Child Support Awareness Month Link

Fresh Quotation:

 

Today’s Reflection:

It another nice summer day. Weather guy said no rain, but I’ll sit back and wait. It looks like showers are coming.

I know that my neighbors drink. Last night, around 9:30, it got a little rowdy and one drunk guy was outside yelling profanities that all he wanted to do was go to sleep. It is hard to hear the yelling, but this was the first time, so I just went to bed. If it happens again, I’ll talk to the Hopi father who lives there.    

Mary called this morning and she and Mike are coming up to Flag for the weekend…we will probably do lunch tomorrow. I haven’t seen them since my illness, so this will be a good time to catch up.

Historical events

1 Aug History Video

Cool to know:

Some cats are allergic to people.

FYI for all you people allergic to cats: they might be allergic to you, too! It's pretty uncommon due to the fact that we bathe ourselves more often than other species and don't shed as much hair or dead skin, but yes, it does happen.

Today in Science:

Ice sampling: Researchers are spending six weeks camped out in front of the Isunnguata Sermia glacier in Greenland to research the carbon content of meltwater. Their analysis of melted-ice and sediment samples has revealed that bacteria under the ice consume organic matter and produce greenhouse gases. When the ice melts, these gases escape into the atmosphere. The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting at a rapidly accelerating rate, increasing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Picture of the Day:

Winner of the “Sports” category – 2021 Drone Photo Awards
Title: Gold at the End of the Rainbow

Description: 

“I found gold at the end of this rainbow as surfer, Ollie Henry, escapes a monster wave off the coast of South Western Australia.” Phil De Glanville

Captured off the coast of Australia, Phil De Glanville’s category-winning shot is magnificent for quite a few reasons. For starters, the sheer scale of the wave, compared to the surfer, requires a moment for pause. And the surfer’s calm demeanor and red wetsuit add a nice contrast to the surroundings. Lastly, the tiny rainbow, likely formed from the ocean’s spray, adds something extra special to the composition. This one may be our overall favorite of the bunch.

 

Tricky US Trivia:

Question: During the Gilded Age, who was the richest American and the country’s first billionaire?

 

Answer: John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil

Today’s Birthdays:

Jason Momoa Movie Actor 47 years old

Birthplace Honolulu, HI

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Coolio [Artis Leon Ivey Jr. ] Rapper [1963-2022] @59 OD

Birthplace Monessen, PA

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Jack O'Connell Movie Actor 36 years old

Birthplace Derby, England

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Catherine Parr Queen (last queen consort of the House of Tudor) (1512-1548) @36

‘childbirth fever’

Birthplace London, England

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John Carroll Lynch Movie Actor 63 years old

Birthplace  Boulder, CO

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Jerry Garcia Rock Singer [1942-1995] @53 heart attack in rehab

Birthplace San Francisco, CA

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 That’s All for Now

31 Jul

 

31 Jul

Weather Expectations         Week 31 Day 212  Flag Today  84°/62°                            

Wind 7 mph Gusts 8  mph

Risk of fire: High     Active Fire: 22 miles away

Nearest Lightning: 199 miles away Humidity:  28%

Air Quality: Fair Sunshine Partly Cloudy

July Averages: Temps: 82°\51° 9 days with rain

Today’s Observances:

National Avocado Day  Link
National Get Gnarly Day 
National Mutt Day  Link  
National Orgasm Day Link 
National Talk in An Elevator Day Link
System Administrator Appreciation Day Link  Link 
Uncommon Instruments Awareness Day Link
World Ranger Day Link

Weekly Observances:

Quilt Odyssey Week: 30-8/1

Lollapalooza: 30-8/2 Link 

Fresh Quotation:

 

Today’s Reflection:

A little cloudy but the weather guy says no rain. I’ll wait and see.

I had a good lunch and good conversation with Faith and Andy. Good times for sure.

I have now been home from Rehab for a month. Getting better every day. I started growing body hair when I was 14, shaving daily by the time I was 15. My arms, legs and torso were covered with hair.  When I was teaching, one of my nicknames was ‘walking carpet’ as Navajo seldom have any body hair.  Since my illness, my legs and arms are without any hair. Interesting for sure.

I wonder if a new Attorney General will be appointed or if we will wait until January to get a new one. This is not how our government is supposed to work, but that is exactly what is happening. So sad.   

Historical events

31 Jul History video

Cool to know:

The longest wedding veil was longer than 63 football fields.

If you thought Meghan Markle's wedding veil was long, get this: there's a woman in Cyprus who set the Guinness World Record for the longest wedding veil. How long was it, you ask? Nearly 23,000 feet, which is the same length as about 63.5 football fields.

Today in Science:

Fires in Europe are breaking records: here’s what the future holds

Countries such as Spain and France can expect fire regimes more like those of California as climate change favours hot, dry conditions, scientists suggest. 

Fueled by an unprecedented heatwave, the powerful fires scorching France and Spain are breaking records or are on the verge of doing so — and there are still months to go in the fire season.

“We have been telling society this is going to happen, that we are going to have larger, more catastrophic, more dangerous fires,” says Cristina Santín, who studies wildfires and is at the University of Oviedo in Mieres, Spain. “And now they are here.”

Satellite data show that 91,000 hectares have burnt in France as of 29 July (see ‘Europe ablaze’), smashing the previous record of just over 66,000 hectares burned during the entire fire season, which generally lasts from March until the end of October. In Spain, more than 200,000 hectares have burnt — well above average this early in the season — and a fire close to Madrid has become the largest single fire in the country’s history.

 

Picture of the Day:

Winner of the “Urban” category – 2021 Drone Photo Awards
Title: Metaphorical Statement About City and Winter

Description: 

“A 500-year-old monastery in the Moscow region of Russia sits in the foreground, with a large power plant in the background. The steam from the cooling towers is particularly dense due to severe frost.” Sergei Poletaev

Another one of our favorite images came from Sergei Poletaev. He captured the contrast of a 500-year-old Russian monastery against the backdrop of powerplant cooling towers as they churn out steam and fill the sky with dark ominous clouds. It’s a nightmarish-looking photo that makes the landscape appear almost dystopian.

 

Tricky US Trivia:

Question: What fashion trend was born out of the Suffrage Movement in the 1850s?

 

Answer: Bloomers, aka loose trousers that gathered at the ankles

Today’s Birthdays:

J.K. Rowling Young Adult Author 61  years old

Birthplace Yate, England

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Mark Cuban Entrepreneur 68 years old

Birthplace Pittsburgh, PA

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Zac Brown Country Singer 48/ years old

Birthplace Atlanta, GA

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Dean Cain TV Actor 60 years old

Birthplace Mount Clemens, MI

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That’s All for Now

30 Jul

 

30 Jul

Weather Expectations         Week 29  Day 211  Flag Today  84°/60°                            

Wind 10 mph Gusts 13 mph

Risk of fire: Moderate     Active Fire: 22 miles away

Nearest Lightning: 35 miles away Humidity:  47%

Air Quality: Fair Sunshine Partly Cloudy Breezy

July Averages: Temps: 82°\51° 9 days with rain

Today’s Observances:

Cheesecake Day Link 
Earth Overshoot Day Link
Father-In-Law Day
Friendship Day Link Link Link Link Link Link
Health Care Now!  Medicare's Birthday  Link
International Day of Friendship Link  Link  Link
National Chicken and Waffles Day
National Chili Dog Day Link  
National Intern Day Link 
National Share A Hug Day
National Whistleblowers Appreciation Day  Link
Paperback Book Day
World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

Weekly Observances:

International Congress of Mathematics: 23-30

National Tequila Week: 24-30  Link
Quilt Odyssey Week: 30-8/1

Lollapalooza: 30-8/2 Link 

Fresh Quotation:

 

Today’s Reflection:

I’m still not sure why I couldn’t log in to my blog…it is working today.

The cheapest gas in Flag is $4.29 @ Sam’s.

Yesterday was a day of gentle rain. I enjoyed it a lot.

The young children in our neighborhood…under 10 years old…have at least one kick scooter each where they chase each other them in our street and on our sidewalks. The parents of the youngest are always outside watching their broods. The kids seem to enjoy it a lot. It’s fine with me.

Today was a big day…I went to Sam’s Club for the first time since my episode. I needed AA batteries and they have the best price. My handicapped placard was used. I got the batteries and some peanut brittle. It was a lot of walking, but I did well. I’m not  plus member at Sam’s and their delivery charge is outrageous so an in-store visit was necessary.

I was scheduled for a dental cleaning tomorrow. I got the 2^nd reminder and they changed the time from 10am to noon. I called, they apologized but couldn’t do anything but change the appointment.  I was not happy as they couldn’t get me in until near the end of August. I accepted the appointment, but they knew I was not a happy camper.

Dr. Fauci was interrogated at the Congressional hearing this morning.  Knowing this was a Republican set-up he used the 5^th amendment over 100 times today. Good for him.

Last night I watched Chris Cumo’s Town Hall ‘The Future is Now’. It was all about AI and was very informative. It will replay I’m sure. I hope lots of people spend the 2 hours to learn from it.

Historical events

30 Jul History video

Cool to know:

The 100 folds in a chef's hat represent 100 ways to cook an egg.

Yes, that tall, pleated white hat that chefs wear — technically called a toque — has 100 folds for a reason! According to Reclutant Gourmet, the pleats used to signify a chef's level of experience, like the number of ways he or she knew how to prepare eggs.

Today in Science:

It’s 35 °C in the shade, amid Europe’s June heatwave, and Alexander Janas has just emerged from Hohle Fels Cave in southwestern Germany, where the mercury reads 9 or 10 °C. “It’s wonderful to be inside,” says Janas, an archaeologist at the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment in Tübingen, Germany.

It isn’t just the cool cave air that draws Janas and other archaeologists into Hohle Fels each summer. Over the past three decades, they have dug up one jaw-dropping find after another. These include expertly crafted objects such as the world’s oldest human figurine — the 40,000-year-old ‘Venus of Hohle Fels’ — and the earliest known musical instruments.

The artworks provide a window into the minds of some of Europe’s earliest Homo sapiens. Associated with a period called the Aurignacian, they are among the first humans known to leave behind depictions of their world. “We can almost look through the eyes of the Aurignacian people and see how they viewed the environment around them,” says Amy Clark, a palaeolithic archaeologist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

 

Picture of the Day:

Runner up from the “Series” category – 2021 Drone Photo Awards
Title: Abstract nature
Description: “This canvas is actually a pond of toxic waste from a copper mine, located in the province of Huelva, Spain. These ephemeral formations will disappear with the next torrential rains and new waste inputs. After an initial human intervention, it never ceases to amaze me how nature molds and paints, with different minerals and colors, combine to create these abstractions worthy of the best abstract painters.” Manuel Enrique González Carmona

 

Tricky US Trivia:

Question: Which state is Juan Ponce de León credited with discovering?

 

Answer: Florida

Today’s Birthdays:

Terry Crews TV Actor 58 years old

Birthplace Flint, MI

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Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie Actor Governor 79 years old

Birthplace Thal, Austria

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Christopher Nolan Director 56 years old

Birthplace London, England

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Lisa Kudrow TV Actress 63 years old

Birthplace Los Angeles, CA

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Hilary Swank Movie Actress 52 years old

Birthplace Lincoln, NE

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Laurence Fishburne Movie Actor  65 years old

Birthplace Augusta, GA

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Henry Ford Entrepreneur [1863-1947] @ 83 years old

Birthplace Greenfield, MI

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Vivica A. Fox Movie Actress 62 years old

Birthplace South Bend, IN

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That’s All for Now