Today in history, greetings, and social banter here. (More)
The Treaty of Roskilde was signed today (1658). Also, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from Elba (1815), the Japan-Korea Treaty ended Korea’s tributary to China status (1876), motion pictures in Kinemacolor debuted at London’s Palace Theater (1909), the Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded the first jazz record (1917), President Woodrow Wilson signed an act of Congress creating Grand Canyon National Park (1919), Robert Watson-Watt demonstrated the principle of radar (1935), Finnish observers began reporting “ghost rockets” (1946), Vincent Massey became the first Canadian-born Governor-General of Canada (1952), and Secretary General U Thant signed a United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day (1971). And the Tower Commission report criticized President Ronald Reagan for a “lax managerial style” that allowed the Iran-Contra Scandal (1987).
Good morning! ::hugggggs::
Yesterday on Campus
Morning Feature – The Fox Effect, Part III: Changing the Story (Non-Cynical Saturday)
Campus Question – Was Mrs. Albo really sneaking off to collect her Uterati ‘Just Say No’ Award?
Today on Campus
Morning Feature – Exactly Wrong? (Ask Ms. Crissie)
Furthermore! – Winning Progressive with Weekend Reading
Noontime News at noon
Midday Matinee – winterbanyan with Hawks and Squirrels
Campus Question at 6pm ET
Evening Focus at 7pm ET – Silly Sunday: When Are We?
Our Earth at 8pm ET – Eco News Roundup
Good morning! It’s currently 12 degrees, and we had about 5″ of snow yesterday and into last night. The wind made some drifting, but not bad. It’s supposed to get up around 40 tomorrow, after a very cold night tonight.
One of the things about living around here is that sometimes it’s like your own personal soap opera. In the paper, they’re talking about the dog catcher in one of the near-by towns. She’s a nutcase to begin with – at some point over the years she’s sued half the town – so it was a shock when she was hired as the animal control officer. Now she quit, then changed her mind, and the town board said “No, you’re fired.”
That’s something about the dog catcher. I bet a lot of people are laughing. That’s one of the things I miss about small-town life: knowing everyone and their quirks.
Of course, being in a bedroom community seems to help protect me from others knowing my quirks. 😉
In terms of politics, at least on the pragmatic side, living in a small town means that everyone has to figure out – more or less – how to get along and work with each other.
That’s an excellent point, Norbrook. Smaller communities have to be more tolerant, and it’s a good thing.
When I lived in a small mining town, we had a man who was schizophrenic. He’d go along fine for a while, running a dance studio out of a shocking pink church he’d bought. Then would come a blizzard of full-page ads in the paper about how the government was using satellites to control him, etc.
The nice thing about it was everyone shrugged it off (with maybe a few titters) and left him alone. When he felt well enough again to emerge, no one said a negative thing to him.
There is the notion that when quitting a job, one should not burn any bridges. Seems the animal control officer is all about burning bridges. At least she provides copy for the local paper.
Considering that she had been figuratively conducting bombing raids on the bridges for years, it was a shock to most of the people in the region she was hired in the first place. Once she was, most of us who don’t live in that town started getting the popcorn ready. 😆
I think most communities have those kinds of soap operas, Norbrook. Before moving to Casa Crissie, I lived near two beach communities – each of only a few hundred people – whose mayors were always feuding over slights real or imagined. One even blocked the other’s car into a parking spot, as I recall. I think their constituents got tired of the local media humor, as both mayors were voted out in the same election cycle.
Good morning! ::hugggggs::
Yesterday was spent carting boxes to storage. Running a business from the home inevitably results in huge mountains of paper. Then there’s the author copies of my books. Fifty at a time. Every so often stuff has to be carted out of here. I’m even going to get a closet back, because I’d forgotten I had boxes of books stored in there, and son says he will take them away next week.
Perhaps the funniest thing about all of this is that I can never find a particular book when I need it. Hah!
Hugggs and good morning, everyone!
Not sure if you use it, but the Heap Storage Algorithm only works for so long. Sooner or later, the heaps get too numerous and too deep, and you activate the I Know I Saw Those Around Here Somewhere Dammit Subroutine.
Good morning! ::hugggggs::
😆 I’ve been in that subroutine for a long time now!
One of the funny stories from my time in Colorado was when the son of the person who’d owned the business before me stopped by. He was wondering if I’d found a certain key – it apparently was the door key to his parent’s RV, and no one could find it. We went through everything, and no, it wasn’t to be found. A year later, as I was closing up the business and packing stuff to be moved, there it was. 😆
Good morning. It is 26 degrees with a 70% chance of snow and a winter weather advisory. Unfortunately, all the blue blotches on the radar are north of here and moving away. We’ll see about the snow. 70% looked promising until I looked at the radar.
Maybe you’ll get some blue blotches later in the day?
I went to the Weather Channel site and drew some blew blotches on my screen over where I think you are. If it’s not snowing yet, I probably drew the blotches in the wrong place…. 😉
Good morning! ::hugggggs::
I have clear blue skies. Perhaps you have a more royal blue that you could use on the weather screen. Thanks for trying though. 🙄
Understatement of the day:
Reading that made me think of Grover Norquist saying they didn’t need a leader. They have had figure heads for a long time.
Excellent point, addisnana. The Tower Commission could not prove that President Reagan knew about the secret deals that sold weapons to Iran (under embargo and fighting the Iran-Iraq War) to raise off-the-books money to fund the Nicaraguan Contra rebels (in defiance of Congress) and, they hoped, convince Iran to aid in the release of U.S. hostages (in Lebanon). However, the Tower Commission also found that “If the president did not know what his national security advisers were doing, he should have.”
The political excuse of “plausible deniability” stretches only so far….
Good morning! ::hugggggs::
St. Ronnie raised the bar on bumbling way, way high! 😉
Good morning,
Must be something about animal control officers that leads to local headlines. We’ve had similar issues in southampton town.
Yesterday, Ms Li Mike and I visited the Morakami Garden and Museum in Delray Beach. Interesting history. A museum and garden now, it was once farmland. At the turn of the last century, Japanese farmers petitioned the state of Fla to establish a farm in So Fla, their petition was granted. Unfortunately, WWII ensued and with the combination of poor farming results anf the anti-Japanese backlash land was confiscated and used as an army training site. By the time the land was returned no one had any interest in farming. One of the more successful farmers, George Sukeji Morakami, however, became a fruit and vegetable wholesaler. Eventually, he donated his land to various people and groups including Palm Beach County with the stipulation to use his land as a park to commemorate the farming community. Palm Beach County did so and created Morakami Museum and Garden.
A description from the Master Garden Designer:
My favorite was the Chie no Wa Wisdom Ring. I hung out there for a while to see if I would become wiser. Maybe a return trip will help. 🙂
That sounds like a wonderful garden, Mike. 🙂 I hope I can visit some day.
I lived in Japan for a year and loved visiting Japanese gardens. While I’m not sure they made me any wiser, they were visually and psychologically restful. My favorite was a shallow koi pond with rocks of comparable relative sizes placed in the same configuration as the islands of Japan. So simple and yet so … soothing.
Good morning! ::hugggggs::
Beltway Blogistan weather.
Two degrees above normal. I wish I could say that about our politicians.
Time to squeegee off the screen…. 😆
Good morning! ::hugggggs::
Could you please define normal?
Good morning!
A 32 degree frosty start with 60 later on, oh yes! Hope everyone has a decent day, time to get the oatmeal on….. 🙂
Best. G
On a 32° morning, I might just eat oatmeal. More likely I’d have grits, but oatmeal would be … possible. 🙂
Good morning! ::hugggggs::
G, do you use the quick cooking Quaker Oats? Have you ever tried steel cut and do you think they are worth the price?
I use the Old Fashioned, and have not tried steel cut. Hmmmm…… ‘Course I add raisins or cherries and top with maple syrup. Often I sink a PBJ in it for the protien…..
Addisnana, I am eating steel cut oats as I write, and I think it’s worth it. They’re healthier, and it tastes good. How we prepare ours is:
-Boil a few cups of water on the stove
-Add 1 cup oats to the boiling water (we also add nuts, and sometimes dried banana
-Boil for 3 minutes
-Shut off stove, cover pan of oats and leave on stove overnight
-In the morning, add water if necessary, stir oats, and warm up (we pop them in the microwave for a minute or so per serving. We add sugar free syrup and cinnamon, sometimes brown sugar.
Thanks trs. I like my oatmeal with real Maple syrup. I am a syrup snob. Of course, I have an acquaintance who makes it as a job for a couple months every spring.
Good (late) Morning. Slept in this morning, and going to the theatre this afternoon.
Foot update: had it checked on Friday, and the report is good. Swelling has gone away, and the wound looks good. Will continue soaking in 50/50 peroxide and water until the wound closes up completely and scabs over.
Have a good one, folks!
I’m glad to hear that your foot is healing, trs. Sorry to have missed you this morning. 🙂
Good afternoon! ::hugggggs::