Showing posts with label events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label events. Show all posts
September 11, 2018
September 2, 2018
Half-Staff Widget
What with the recent passing of John McCain and the overblown controversy revolving around the half-staff status of flags on govt. facilities, I did some research about the rules/regulations in regards to just when the flags are lowered and stumbled across this half-staff widget:
Click the widget to get one for your own website or blog.
Click the widget to get one for your own website or blog.
August 21, 2017
April 1, 2017
plisky
plisky noun [plis-kee]
1. Scot. and North England. a mischievous trick; practical joke; prank.
2. Scot. and North England. mischievous; playful.
I've seen a plethora of April Fools jokes today, but I won't try to pull a fast one over on any of my small but devoted number of loyal readers. After all, you're all far too clever to be taken in by something like that, right?
April Fools!
January 20, 2017
Hail to the Chief
Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation,
Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all.
Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation
In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.
Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander,
This you will do, that's our strong, firm belief.
Hail to the one we selected as commander,
Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief!
Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all.
Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation
In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.
Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander,
This you will do, that's our strong, firm belief.
Hail to the one we selected as commander,
Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief!
December 2, 2016
August 23, 2016
May 21, 2016
Maybellene - Chuck Berry
On this day in history: A part-time construction worker visits the studios of Chess Records and cuts his first record, a souped-up version of a traditional fiddle tune given new lyrics, a new title, and an unforgettable guitar riff. A smash crossover hit, ‘Maybellene’ will make Chuck Berry an overnight sensation and lead Rolling Stone magazine to later write, “Rock & Roll guitar starts here.”
March 20, 2016
Spring Has Sprung!
Happy Vernal Equinox!
Summer, fall, winter, spring
The seasons rotate as each brings
Its special beauty to this Earth of ours.
Winter's snow and summer's flowers;
Frozen winters will flow come spring.
There is a renewal of everything.
- Edna Frohock
American poet (1906-97)
Everything you need to know: Vernal equinox 2016
March 12, 2016
All in a Day
Yep, it's that time of year again to start out the old mnemonic "Spring forward, Fall back". I usually hear nothing but complaints about losing an hour of sleep, but good grief, it happens on a Saturday night and the next day is Sunday. The only people who it seems like it would really inconvenience are the church goers...and I'd like to know what percentage of them sleep through church anyway. I'd think people who worked the graveyard shift would be happy, having to work only 7 hours.
When I worked on rigs, we usually got paid for the nine hours we were out there during this time change and generally when the fall change of advancing the clock ahead an hour, we got paid for eight, despite having only worked seven hours, but I did have a few companies who refused to do that, saying we got the extra hour in the spring, so it was only fair. The trouble with that was I sometimes hadn't been working for the company then and when that was the case - when I had to be out there for nine hours and only got paid for eight - I'd make a point- if I could- to do absolutely nothing for an hour. If I couldn't, then I'd do it some other night . Don't get me wrong, I was a good hand and conscientious about my job, but it was the principal of the thing.
Enough about my roughnecking days (or nights), here's some day trivia:
The total time between sunrise and sunset is the "day length". This can vary with latitude.
Day length at the equator is about 12 hours every day.
Day length at the poles ranges between 24 and 0 hours every six months.
Why aren’t there exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness on the spring and fall equinoxes?
On the equinoxes, the very center of the Sun sets just 12 hours after it rose. But the day begins when the upper edge of the Sun reaches the horizon (which happens a bit before the center rises), and it doesn’t end until the entire Sun has set. Not only that, but the Sun is actually visible when it is below the horizon, as Earth’s atmosphere refracts the Sun’s rays and bends them in an arc over the horizon.
When I worked on rigs, we usually got paid for the nine hours we were out there during this time change and generally when the fall change of advancing the clock ahead an hour, we got paid for eight, despite having only worked seven hours, but I did have a few companies who refused to do that, saying we got the extra hour in the spring, so it was only fair. The trouble with that was I sometimes hadn't been working for the company then and when that was the case - when I had to be out there for nine hours and only got paid for eight - I'd make a point- if I could- to do absolutely nothing for an hour. If I couldn't, then I'd do it some other night . Don't get me wrong, I was a good hand and conscientious about my job, but it was the principal of the thing.
Enough about my roughnecking days (or nights), here's some day trivia:
The total time between sunrise and sunset is the "day length". This can vary with latitude.
Day length at the equator is about 12 hours every day.
Day length at the poles ranges between 24 and 0 hours every six months.
Why aren’t there exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness on the spring and fall equinoxes?
On the equinoxes, the very center of the Sun sets just 12 hours after it rose. But the day begins when the upper edge of the Sun reaches the horizon (which happens a bit before the center rises), and it doesn’t end until the entire Sun has set. Not only that, but the Sun is actually visible when it is below the horizon, as Earth’s atmosphere refracts the Sun’s rays and bends them in an arc over the horizon.
March 1, 2016
February 29, 2016
February 7, 2016
Super Bowl Prediction
Not that anyone really cares what I think...and truth be told, even I don't much care about who wins it.
I will be rooting for the Broncos. I'm not a big fan of Denver, but I AM a fan of Peyton Manning and DeMarcus Ware. I'd love to see Ware finally get a ring after all those frustrating years in Dallas and I'd also enjoy seeing Manning go out on top. (I think he'll retire after this game, no matter the outcome.)
That said, I think the Panthers will win. Cam Newton is a great player, but it's hard for me to root for him, especially over Manning. Denver has a great defense, but Carolina's isn't too far behind. I think it will come down to the Panther's offense being just a little better than Denver's defense.
I hope I'm wrong, but that's how I see it. I wouldn't bet on the game, though.
My prediction:
Carolina 27 Denver 17
February 3, 2016
The Day the Music Died
December 7, 2015
A Date Which Will Live in Infamy
December 7, 1941Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a pre-emptive military strike on the United States Pacific Fleet base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Empire of Japan's Imperial Japanese Navy, on the morning of Sunday 7 December, 1941. Two attack waves, totaling 350 aircraft were launched from six IJN aircraft carriers which destroyed two U.S. Navy battleships, one minelayer, two destroyers and 188 aircraft. Personnel losses were 2,333 killed and 1,139 wounded. Damaged warships included three cruisers, a destroyer, and six battleships. Of those six, one was deliberately grounded and was later refloated and repaired. Two sank at their berths but were later repaired and both rejoined the fleet late in the war. Vital fuel storage, shipyards, and submarine facilities were not hit. Japanese losses were minimal at 29 aircraft and five midget submarines, with 65 Japanese servicemen killed or wounded.
For text and audio: FDR Asks for a Declaration of War
Also, Pearl Harbor survivor back for 1st time since war
Pearl Harbor artifact rediscovered 68 years after attack
More information with photos and videos at National Geographic.
August 8, 2015
A Question of Balance
The Moody Blues album A Question of Balance was released 45 yrs. ago today.
Question - The Moody Blues
(From a French TV show)
(From a French TV show)
June 20, 2015
Tough Teddy
On October 14, 1912,
Theodore Roosevelt was shot, and then went on to give a 90 minute speech while covered in blood, the bullet still lodged in him.
June 6, 2015
D-Day, the 6th of June
Note: A "bump" from 2008.
All day today the History Channel had several programs (three, I think, repeated) on D-Day. It's one of the most important days of the 20th century and arguably the most important of the war. It's a wonder the death toll wasn't much higher, almost a "perfect storm" towards success.
Churchill had all hospitals emptied because he feared the worst and according to one program, told his wife before she went to bed that night that "when you wake up, 20,000 men may have died while you slept."
There was Ike's decision to postpone the invasion for one day and immediately after the landings, the weather turned impossible again, absolutely no chance of postponing it again.
There was something like 5000 bombers that dropped their bombs well inland, killing nothing but cows and scaring only French farmers out of their warm beds.
There was Rommel, taking off for his wife's birthday because he thought there was no way the allies would attack in such weather and low tides.
Hitler was asleep and no one else could give the order to move the Panzers forward.
The paratroopers were dropped all over the place, far from the intended drop zones....so many things that could've led to defeat.
The only thing I can attribute the ultimate victory to is the Hand of God.
I have a cartoon strip saved, but cannot find it to scan and post. I don't even remember what the normally funny and light-hearted strip was, but it was in '94, the 50th anniversary. A boy was asking his mother why the butcher looked so sad today and she told him he remembered his buddies who died that day 50 years ago and how he had to wade through their blood to get to the beach. To be honest, it made me tear up then and still does at this moment, thinking about all of those brave young men.
Do you remember then-President Clinton on Omaha Beach during the ceremony that year? That was when he was walking along the beach and when he saw the cameras on him, he quickly kneeled down in the sand and made a cross with some rocks. Whatever little respect I had left for him disappeared in that moment because I knew why he was doing it, not out of respect for the fallen, but merely for a photo-op.
I feel guilty bringing him up in a thread devoted to REAL heroes, God Bless them all.
God Bless US all.
All day today the History Channel had several programs (three, I think, repeated) on D-Day. It's one of the most important days of the 20th century and arguably the most important of the war. It's a wonder the death toll wasn't much higher, almost a "perfect storm" towards success.
Churchill had all hospitals emptied because he feared the worst and according to one program, told his wife before she went to bed that night that "when you wake up, 20,000 men may have died while you slept."
There was Ike's decision to postpone the invasion for one day and immediately after the landings, the weather turned impossible again, absolutely no chance of postponing it again.
There was something like 5000 bombers that dropped their bombs well inland, killing nothing but cows and scaring only French farmers out of their warm beds.
There was Rommel, taking off for his wife's birthday because he thought there was no way the allies would attack in such weather and low tides.
Hitler was asleep and no one else could give the order to move the Panzers forward.
The paratroopers were dropped all over the place, far from the intended drop zones....so many things that could've led to defeat.
The only thing I can attribute the ultimate victory to is the Hand of God.
I have a cartoon strip saved, but cannot find it to scan and post. I don't even remember what the normally funny and light-hearted strip was, but it was in '94, the 50th anniversary. A boy was asking his mother why the butcher looked so sad today and she told him he remembered his buddies who died that day 50 years ago and how he had to wade through their blood to get to the beach. To be honest, it made me tear up then and still does at this moment, thinking about all of those brave young men.
Do you remember then-President Clinton on Omaha Beach during the ceremony that year? That was when he was walking along the beach and when he saw the cameras on him, he quickly kneeled down in the sand and made a cross with some rocks. Whatever little respect I had left for him disappeared in that moment because I knew why he was doing it, not out of respect for the fallen, but merely for a photo-op.
I feel guilty bringing him up in a thread devoted to REAL heroes, God Bless them all.
God Bless US all.
May 23, 2015
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
