Happy, Happy, Happy

Red-Headed Alec had a problem.

Thanks to the combination of old wiring and territorial cats around here, his phone ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Liquid was knocked over during a loud cat cussing session and his plugged in phone ceased to be able to charge up.

The phone itself still worked, but it would no longer charge the battery when plugged in, and the battery was running low.  He took the battery out and charged it in someone else's similar phone, but it wouldn't charge in his phone.

For his birthday, when i asked what he wanted, he said he needed help with the phone.  His current one is customized, and he's with Verizon which would charge him a good bit to switch everything from his phone to a new one (one of the good things about AT&T, a SIM card moved is plenty good enough, you don't have to pay extra when your phone breaks and you have to buy a phone anyway).  Verizon also would charge him more monthly to have a plan for a new phone, as the plan he has is no longer offered when you buy new phones.  

So he wanted a similar phone simply to leave it plugged in, charging up a battery for him at all times.  He would then just switch batteries into and out of his phone and the "charging phone" as needed.

That's what we did, i took him and bought him the phone that was the closest match, and it worked.  The battery is interchangeable, so he will be leaving the new phone at home to work as both his alarm to wake him for work and to keep one battery charged at all times.

"I have to say it, I have a 'ghetto MacGyver phone' now!" he told me gleefully.

If he's happy, i'm happy.  After all, it's his birthday gift.

Today is

Arlington National Cemetary Day -- US (the first serviceman to be interred here was Private William Henry Christman, on this date in 1964

Bun Bung Fai (Rocket Festival) -- Yasothon, Thailand (through the 14th, teams compete to build the highest flier, with no regard for safety!)

Cannes Film Festival -- through the 24th

Celtic Tree Month Huath (hawthorn) commences

Donate a Days Wages to Charity Day 2015 -- onedayswages.org

Fairy King and Queen Jumping Competition -- Fairy Calendar

Frog Jumping Day -- original date for celebrating Twain's short story

Garland Day -- Abbotsbury, Dorset, England

King Norodom Sihamoni's Birthday -- Cambodia

Lailat al Miraj -- Islam (observance of Mohammed's night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem; began at sundown yesterday, local customs and dates may vary)

Lemuralia -- Ancient Roman Empire (third day)

Leprechaun Day -- spread around the internet, presumably by the little people themselves, as since St. Patrick gets a day, so should they!

National Apple Pie Day

National Fruit Cocktail Day

National Nightshift Workers Day/Third Shift Workers Day -- US (remembering those intrepid souls who keep things running smoothly through the night)

National Receptionist Day -- US (because that first impression is important; National Receptionists Association)

Royal Windsor Horse Show -- Windsor, England (through the 17th)

St Julian of Norwich's Day (Author of what is believed to be the first book written by a woman in the English language, Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love, around 1393)

St. Servatus' Day (3rd Ice Saint, Patron for success; against foot problems, lameness, leg problems, mice, rats, rheumatism, vermin)



Birthday Today:

Debby Ryan, 1993
Robert Pattinson, 1986
Samantha Morton, 1977
Darius Rucker, 1968
Darius Rucker, 1966
Stephen Colbert, 1964
Julianne Phillips, 1962
Dennis Rodman, 1961
Frances Barber, 1957
Stevie Wonder, 1950
Bobby Valentine, 1950
Franklyn Ajaye, 1949
Tim Pigott-Smith, 1946
Mary Wells, 1943
Ritchie Valens, 1941
Harvey Keitel, 1939
Beatrice Arthur, 1923
Joe Louis, 1914
Arthur Sullivan, 1842
Maria Theresa, 1717


Debuting/Premiering Today;

Let It Be(Film), 1970
"Paint It Black"(Single release), 1966
"The Pajama Game"(Musical), 1954
Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque for Violoncello and Orchestra (Bloch concerto), 1917
"Apollo et Hyacinthus"(opera, Mozart K 38), 1767


Today in History:

The forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, are defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her half-brother, 1568
A major earthquake in Santiago, Chile, kills 1/3 of the population, 1643
Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England  with eleven ships full of convicts (First Fleet) to establish a penal colony in Australia, 1787
Ecuador  gains its independence from Gran Colombia, 1830
The first performance of Finland's national anthem, 1848
Queen Victoria declares Britain neutral in the US Civil War, 1861
The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia, 1861
Thomas Edison performs the first test of his electric railway, 1880
The Royal Flying Corps (now the Royal Air Force) is established in the United Kingdom, 1912
Igor Sikorsky becomes the first man to pilot a four-engine aircraft, 1913
The first commercial FM radio station in the United States (WDRC-FM) is launched in Bloomfield, Connecticut, 1939
Winston Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons, 1940
The trade mark Velcro is registered, 1958
The Free Speech Movement is born at UC Berkeley, 1960
Dr. Zakir Hussain becomes the third President  of India and the first Muslim President of Indian Union, 1967
Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike, 1989
Johnny Carson makes his last television appearance on Late Show with David Letterman, 1994
A 33 years old British mother Alison Hargreaves, became the first woman to conquer Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas, 1995
Star Trek: Enterprise broadcasts its final show in the U.S., 2005
Construction of the Calafat-Vidin Bridge between Romania and Bulgaria begins, 2007
In Belize, a construction company requiring road fill gravel destroys a 2,300 year-old Mayan pyramid, 2013