6 Aug

 

 

6 Aug

Weather Expectations Week 32  Day 218      Flag Today  85°/55°                            

Wind 8 mph Gusts 9 mph

Risk of fire: Extreme  Active Fire: 64 miles away

Nearest Lightning: 522 miles away Humidity:  35%

Air Quality: Fair Moderate Sunshine Partly Cloudy  

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

Today’s Observances:

Hiroshima Day
India Pale Ale Beer Day Link  
Moms' Equal Pay Day Link
National Fresh Breath (Halitosis)  Day
National Root Beer Float Day  
National Social Engineering Day Link

Weekly Observances:

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
International Lace Week: 2-7  Link  

International Psychic Week: 2-8 Link 
National Exercise With Your Child Week: 2-8 Link 
Single Working Women's Week: 2-8
Knights of Columbus Family Week: 2-8
National Farmers' Market Week: 2-8 Link 

National Health Center Week: 2-8 Link 

International Assistance Dog Week:  2-8 Link 
Stop on Red Week:  2-8 Link 
Old Fiddler Days: 3-8 Link

National Bargain Hunting Week: 3-9 
National Hobo Week: 6-9

Fresh Quotation:

 

Today’s Reflection:

I’m enjoying a nice summer day.    

My brother got really good news that the growth on his neck lymph node is not cancer. Now they will just check it every so often.

A couple of days ago I mentioned that our neighborhood youth are using kick scooters. I should have also mentioned that almost all are wearing helmets.

It should be noted that the UFC lost $30million in the 4^th of July fight on the White House grounds. They spent $60 million to hold it. Hmmm.

When will news media stop listing polls regarding upcoming elections? They are usually wrong. Just look at the polls for El Sayed victory.  The polls were way off.

It is being reported that our military missile stockpile has been severely depleted and it will take years to build it back up. Oops.

The Navajo Times is a weekly paper that is very popular of the Navajo Rez. This year it is celebrating its 66^th year. Good job.

The month of July had the highest number of arrests for ICE in its history. Too bad most of the arrests were not the ‘worst of the worst’.

Historical events

6 Aug History video

Cool to know:

The largest known living organism is an aspen grove.

Pando (Latin for "I spread out") is a group of genetically identical quaking aspens in Utah with an interconnected root system. It's an estimated 80,000 years old and takes up more than 100 acres.

Today in Science:

The Amazon’s lush rainforest harbours a hidden world of tiny creatures, nearly all of them unknown to science. But now hundreds of scientists in Brazil are collaborating on a quest to count every species of insect in one expanse of the Amazon — the largest insect-biodiversity study ever to explore the forest from the ground to the canopy.

Preliminary data suggest that the number of insect species could surpass 40,000, which is almost 0.7% of the widely accepted estimate of six million living insect species worldwide. And that 40,000 figure is for a single location in the Amazon. “If we start sampling other parts of the forest, the number of new species will likely increase almost exponentially,” says José Rafael, an entomologist at the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) in Manaus, Brazil, and one of the scientists leading the megaproject.

The project is unique, says Rudolf Meier, an entomologist at the Museum of Natural History in Berlin, because it is collecting insects high above the ground, in layers that have remained largely unexplored. He adds that the megaproject is also one of the largest to use DNA barcoding in insects, a method which identifies a species on the basis of a short fragment of its DNA, enabling researchers to sequence parts of the genome of thousands of specimens in a small amount of time.

An overview of the campaign was presented in a video poster as part of the online programme of the annual meeting of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science in Niterói last week.

 

Picture of the Day:

Winner of the “Wildlife” category – 2021 Drone Photo Awards
Title: Back to Adventure Description: 

“A green turtle heading back to the water after laying down eggs in her peaceful nest on the Oman coastline between Ras Al Jinz and Rashad turtle reserve.” Qasim Al Farsi

 

Today’s Birthdays:

JonBenet Ramsey Pageant Contestant [1990-1996] @6…still unsolved

Birthplace Atlanta, GA

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Leslie Odom Jr. Stage Actor 45 years old

Birthplace Queens, NY

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Lucille Ball TV Actress [1911-1989] @77 years old abdominal aortic aneurysm

Birthplace Jamestown, NY

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Andy Warhol Pop Artist [1928-1987] @58 years old  cardiac arrhythmia

Birthplace Pittsburgh, PA

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Soleil Moon Frye TV Actress 50 years old

Birthplace Glendora, CA

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That’s All for Now

5 Aug

 

 

5 Aug

Weather Expectations Week 32  Day 217   Flag Today  89°/57°                            

Wind 10 mph Gusts 11 mph

Risk of fire: Extreme  Active Fire: 132 miles away

Nearest Lightning: 170 miles away Humidity:  19%

Air Quality: Low Sunshine Breezy

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

Today’s Observances:

Campfire Day Link
Dolly Parton Day  Link
National Oyster Day 
National Electric Traffic Light Day  Link  
National Underwear Day Link

Weekly Observances:

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
International Lace Week: 2-7  Link  

International Psychic Week: 2-8 Link 
National Exercise With Your Child Week: 2-8 Link 
Single Working Women's Week: 2-8
Knights of Columbus Family Week: 2-8
National Farmers' Market Week: 2-8 Link 

National Health Center Week: 2-8 Link 

International Assistance Dog Week:  2-8 Link 
Stop on Red Week:  2-8 Link 
Old Fiddler Days: 3-8 Link

National Bargain Hunting Week: 3-9 

Monthly Observances:

Romance Awareness Month Link
Rye Month Link
Tomboy Tools Month (Pink Tools)
What Will Be Your Legacy Month
World Mutt-i-grees Rescue Month  Link

Fresh Quotation:

 

Today’s Reflection:

Just another nice summer day. I was happy to rad that Flag got 3.63” of rain after months of less than 1.5”.

I ordered some groceries, did a little washing and then relaxed.

Just enjoying these great summer days. I’m stronger and better every day.    

I get that the bombing of Iran and the closing of Hurmuz would cause gas prices to rise. What I don’t understand is why the major oil producers had a record profit during the last month. This should not be a get rich quick scam by the oil companies. Congress needs to investigate this and punish those who are making millions off our backs.

Historical events

7 Aug History video

Cool to know:

The voices of Mickey and Minnie Mouse got married in real life.

Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor were married for 18 years until Allwine's death in 2009.

Today in Science:

Your DNA is under constant assault. Ultraviolet light, environmental toxins, reactive molecules made during run-of-the-mill metabolism and many other disruptors muck with the instructions that keep life humming along. Thankfully, repair crews are at the ready.

A typical cell can acquire up to a whopping 100,000 lesions each day. “The vast, vast majority are repaired,” says Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, a translational geroscientist at the University of Copenhagen. “We have very, very efficient repair.”

That’s a good thing for a couple of reasons. First, unrepaired or poorly repaired damage can introduce mutations, which can contribute to cancer. And second, DNA damage seems to be one of the main drivers of ageing.

Researchers are amassing evidence that this type of damage underlies many of the hallmarks of ageing, including chronic inflammation, metabolic malfunctions and protein-folding problems¹. Such damage triggers cellular alarm bells that can promote inflammation, force cells into an ‘undead’ state known as senescence and even kill them. These responses help the body to grow and thrive, but they become more problematic as we age. The accumulation of beleaguered cells over time is associated with many age-related conditions, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s.

That raises a question: if DNA damage is at the root of ageing, can boosting DNA repair slow the process, keeping people healthy for longer? For the first time, this is starting to look like a promising approach, say researchers who study DNA repair².

Their new optimism comes from studying relatively long-lived species, such as bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus)³ and naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber)⁴, and looking at the genetics of human centenarians. These studies are pointing to the existence of a great variety of molecular maintenance workers that make for a long and healthy life. A ‘master regulator’ of repair, discovered in 2023, also suggests that these fix-it systems could be enhanced in unison⁵.

Such findings come alongside a booming interest in longevity more generally, propelled by biotechnology companies, health influencers and governments overseeing ageing populations.

“If you can reduce DNA damage, you would probably have a dramatic effect on the ageing process,” says Paul Robbins, who directs the Nathan Shock Center on Genome Integrity and Aging, which opened last year at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. “There are tricks that we can do. But it’s not simple.”

 

Picture of the Day:

Commended entry from the “People” category – 2021 Drone Photo Awards
Title: Floating People
Description: “This image shows people in inner-tubes while they are attending a concert on a floating stage.” Raf Willems

 

Today’s Birthdays:

Gavi Soccer Player {Barcelona] 22 years old

Birthplace Los Palacios y Villafranca, Spain

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Neil Armstrong Astronaut [1930-2012] @82

Birthplace Wapakoneta, OH

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Patrick Ewing Basketball Player 64 years old

Birthplace  Kingston, Jamaica

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That’s All for Now

4 Aug

 

 

4 Aug

Weather Expectations Week 32  Day 216      Flag Today  56°/63°                            

Wind 12 mph Gusts 239 mph

Risk of fire Extreme  Active Fire: 64 miles away

Nearest Lightning: 153 miles away Humidity:19%

Air Quality: Fair Sunshine Breezy

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

Today’s Observances:

Coast Guard Day
International Clouded Leopard Day Link
National Chocolate Chip Day Link
National Night Out  
National White Wine Day
Single Working Women's Day
Raisin Bran Day  Link

Weekly Observances:

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
International Lace Week: 2-7  Link  

International Psychic Week: 2-8 Link 
National Exercise With Your Child Week: 2-8 Link 
Single Working Women's Week: 2-8
Knights of Columbus Family Week: 2-8
National Farmers' Market Week: 2-8 Link 

National Health Center Week: 2-8 Link 

International Assistance Dog Week:  2-8 Link 
Stop on Red Week:  2-8 Link 
Old Fiddler Days: 3-8 Link

National Bargain Hunting Week: 3-9

Monthly Observances:

National Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month
National Traffic Awareness Month
National Truancy Prevention Month Link
National Water Quality Month  Link 
National Wellness Month
National Win With Civility Month
Neurosurgery Outreach Month
Personalized Learning Month
Psoriasis Action Month Link
Read-A-Romance Month

Fresh Quotation:

 

Today’s Reflection:

The weather is great…a tad warm, but very nice.

This week is starting out great. I did a little shopping online to get some necessities.

I am really enjoying these nice summer days. So much nicer when I’m home and not laying around a hospital or rehab center.   I took a little walk one the sidewalk around my place. Nice to be outside and enjoying the beauty.  

Historical events

4 Aug History video

Cool to know:

The Crown Jewels contain the two biggest cut diamonds on Earth.

They both came from the Cullinan Diamond, a 3,106-carat gem found in South Africa in 1905. The largest stone, called the Great Star of Africa, is in the Sovereign's Sceptre, while the second largest is mounted in the Imperial State Crown

Today in Science:

Thomas Platts-Mills develops a rash if he eats red meat. The immunologist is one of thousands of people who are diagnosed each year with tick-induced α-gal allergy — a life-threatening allergy that is on the rise.

People can develop the allergy after being bitten at least twice by ticks that carry a sugar molecule called α-gal (galactose α-1,3 galactose) in their saliva. Ticks are often carried on deer and can be transmitted to a human host when people walk through grasses or past shrubs that contain the parasites.

Cases of α-gal allergy are increasing in many countries. Researchers say climate change and rising deer populations are contributing factors, but there is much that scientists don’t understand about the disease. Even diagnosing it is difficult because people mostly experience vague symptoms, such as stomach pain or vomiting, hours after eating meat, and sometimes months after a tick bite. For this reason, the allergy is probably under-diagnosed. There is currently no treatment or cure.

“We’re still casting in the dark, but it is our responsibility to find something that works for people” in need of treatment, says Benjamin Casterline, an immunology researcher at the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia.

Picture of the Day:

Highly commended entry from the “Abstract” category – 2021 Drone Photo Awards
Title: Duoyishu Terraces
Description: “A spectacular aerial view of the famous Duoyishu terraces where rice is grown. The shades of colors of the different levels of the rice fields create a unique effect.” Ran Tian

Ran Tian’s shot of rice terraces in China is one of those images. Not only does it make us want to visit the location, but it’s also easily one of the most beautiful photographs from the entire contest.

Today’s Birthdays:

Barack Obama US President 65 years old

Birthplace Honolulu, HI

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Meghan Markle Duchess 45 years old

Birthplace Los Angeles, CA

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Louis Armstrong Trumpet Player [1901-1971] @69 heart attack

Birthplace New Orleans, LA

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Elizabeth The Queen Mother  Queen [1900-2002] @101

Birthplace Hitchin, England

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Daniel Dae Kim TV Actor 58 years old

Birthplace Busan, South Korea

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Billy Bob Thornton Movie Actor 71 years old

Birthplace Hot Springs, AR

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Louis Vuitton Fashion Designer [1821-1892] @70

Birthplace France

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That’s All for Now