Random and Fun Tuesday

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.) 

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Tuesday is the day for Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Tuesday Fun with Sandee of Comedy Plus.

Let me begin with a shout-out to Cathy of Curious as a Cathy.  No matter what, i cannot comment on your blog!  The fact is, Wordpress hates me even though i have an account.  Just know that i am reading, and if you want to contact me at my email, messymimi at live dot com, i will try to send you my comments via email.

On Saturday, i posted about #1 Son needing to pay a bill.  It was a rather complicated situation.

This month, he and his roommate recommended a third person to live in their apartment.  Most apartments at his complex have three rooms, which are rented out separately, each person has his/her own lease, bedroom, bathroom, and they share the kitchen and living area.  #1 Son and roommate had an empty room, which means the complex is not making money on that room.  

According to the way that apartment complex is run, if you recommend a person to move in and s/he is accepted, you get $200 off on your rent.  #1 Son had paid his rent on June 30, minus the $200, and the manager who took the money order from him said that was right.

Last Tuesday, the 10th, #1 Son got a call asking why he was late on $200 of his rent.  He told the female manager what had happened, and she told him that the discount applies the second month after the person has moved in, so he was technically late and would have to pay a $50 late fee.  

He responded that not only was it not noted in the lease or any of the promotional materials that the discount was the second month, he was told by the manager on duty that he'd paid the correct amount.  He insisted that the fee be waived.

She said she didn't have the authority to do that, and he told her to find out who did and take care of it, because he was not paying the late fee.  The money order he bought that day was for the $200, the male manager who had originally taken his rent back on June 30 admitted he was at fault, and they have not yet asked for the late fee.  So far, he seems to have won this, we are hoping.

For a few funnies, this is how i feel right now about the management of that apartment complex:

This is how i feel when i think about our cars:

Finally, this is how i feel some days when i'm having trouble remembering stuff:

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

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Today is:

Air Conditioner Day -- the first modern electrical air conditioning unit, invented by William Carrier, began working on this day in 1902

Constitution Day -- South Korea

Feast of St. Kenelm -- saint mentioned in "The Nun's Priest's Tale" of The Canterbury Takes

Feast of the Clockless NowEver -- can't find any confirmation on what this one is, but it sounds like fun if i don't have to bother with a clock or schedule

Festival for Victoria and Virtus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of victory and god of bravery in warfare)

Gion Matsuri -- Yakasa Shrine, Kyoto, Japan (one of the largest and best Gion festivals)

King Letsie III's Birthday -- Lesotho

National Peach Ice Cream Day

Petal-Hopping for Hopeless Cases -- Fairy Calendar

St. Alexius Day (Patron of Alexians, beggars, belt makers, nurses, pilgrims, travellers)

Wear Crazy Socks to Work Day -- at your own risk

World Day for International Justice

Wrong Way Corrigan Day -- anniversary of the flight of Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan, who was supposedly heading for California from New York and ended up in Ireland instead

Yellow Pig Day -- mathmatics festivals at various universities, celebrating the number 17 and the yellow pig with 17 eyelashes, created by mathematicians Michael Spivak and David C. Kelly

Birthdays Today

Tash Hamilton, 1982

Alex Winter, 1965

Dawn Upshaw, 1960

Mark Burnett, 1960

Aaron Lansky, 1955

J. Michael Straczynski, 1954

David Hasselhoff, 1952

Phoebe Snow, 1952

Lucie Arnaz, 1951

Camilla Parker Bowles, 1947

Diahann Carroll, 1935

Donald Sutherland, 1934

Phyllis Diller, 1917

Art Linkletter, 1912

James Cagney, 1899

Berenice Abbott, 1898

Erle Stanley Gardner, 1889

John Jacob Astor, 1763

Elbridge Thomas Gerry, 1744

Isaac Watts, 1674

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Yellow Submarine(Animated film), 1968

Punch(Magazine, first publication), 1841

Today in History

Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians, the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world, 180

Zhu Di, better known by his era name as the Yongle Emperor, assumes the throne over the Ming Dynasty of China, 1402

Catherine II (the Great) becomes tsar of Russia upon the murder of Peter III of Russia, 1762

Londoner Thomas Saint patented the first sewing machine, 1790

The first issue of Punch magazine was published, England, 1841

The Harvard School of Dental Medicine is established in Boston as the first dental school in the U.S, 1867

On the orders of the Bolshevik Party carried out by Cheka, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his immediate family and retainers are murdered at the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, Russia, 1918

The RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued the 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic, is sunk off Ireland by the German SM U-55; 5 lives are lost, 1918

An Armed Forces rebellion against the recently-elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain begins the Spanish Civil War, 1936

After being denied permission to make a transatlantic crossing, Douglas Corrigan takes off from Brooklyn to fly the "wrong way" to Ireland and becomes known as "Wrong Way" Corrigan, 1928

Disneyland televises its grand opening in Anaheim, California, 1955

An American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock with each other in orbit marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations, 1975

The opening of the Summer Olympics in Montreal is marred by 25 African teams boycotting the New Zealand team, 1976

The F.W. Woolworth Company closes after 117 years in business, 1997

A tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake destroys 10 villages in Papua New Guinea killing an estimated 3,183, leaving 2,000 more unaccounted for and thousands more homeless, 1998

A diplomatic conference adopts the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, establishing a permanent international court to prosecute individuals for genocide, crime against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression, 1998

South Korea develops a long range cruise missile, 2010

Astronauts, Sunita Williams of the United States, Yuri Malenchenko of Russia and Aki Hoshide of Japan, arrive at the International Space Station for a three-month long mission, 2012

In an effort to curb obesity rates, the United Arab Emirates offers its citizens one gram of gold for every kilogram of weight they lose, 2013

It’s been a week — Random and Fun Tuesday

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)

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It's time once again for a random and fun Tuesday, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Sandee at Comedy Plus.  

Well, let's see, what has happened this past week?  Lunceford went in for work again, as noted on Saturday.  You just can't trust an 18-year-old alternator, can you?

Grandma had me come and clean her house.  Her housekeeper took a week off because of a serious cut on her hand, and then skipped again because of Independence Day.  (Yes, i worked on Independence Day.)  

The whole time i was there, every time i would pick something up to clean under it i would mutter under my breath, i wonder when was the last time this got cleaned.  One time Grandpa heard me and said he often wondered the same thing.

In the end, the place was clean, even Grandpa's room that he tries to put off limits.  It's easy, i just wait until he is busy in his office or running an errand and then i sneak in.  He doesn't like it, but i got my stubborn from him, so he can't complain.

Sunday was another session with the grand-dogs.  That little Jezzie just goes and goes until she flops down to sleep.  Pepe has taken to hiding from her when they are here, she can't climb the stairs yet so he runs up to get away.  He's going to be one sad dog when she figures out how to climb.

Dr. D put me to work researching alternative pain therapies, including low level light therapy.  It turns out she has one of the infrared heat lamps the book she bought was talking about, so we hauled it out of storage and cleaned it up, and she is going to use it.  It certainly can't hurt is what i figure.

We also had a discussion about having some things "hanging over your head," and how you live with that.  We both came to the conclusion that in life, it's always something, and the sooner you get used to that and learn to live with it, the better.

Besides, we will have all eternity in heaven trouble-free, what do we expect down here?

After spending so much time cleaning other people’s houses, this is rather how i feel:

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

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Today is:

Alpenfest -- Gaylord, MI, US (a Swiss inspired festival for the whole family that includes "The World's Largest Coffee Break"; through Saturday)

Armed Forces Day -- Mauritania

Carnival Tuesday -- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Clerihew Day -- in honor of the poetic form he invented, the clerihew:

    Edmund's middle name was Clerihew

    A name possessed by very few

    But verses by Mr. Bentley

    Succeeded eminently!

Cow Appreciation Day® -- sponsored by Chick-fil-A; wear any kind of cow apparel and get a free entree!

Don't Step On A Bee Day -- Wellcat Holidays wants to remind you, when going barefoot this time of year, watch out!

Edmonton International Street Performers Festival -- Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (the finest street performers anywhere; through Sunday)

Feast Day of Knut the Reaper, Hela, Holda, and Skadi -- Norse deities whose celebration this day is due to their later association with Danish King Canute the Great

Independence Day -- Bahamas(1973)

Lady Godiva Day -- tradition says she took her famous ride on this day in 1040

National Pina Colada Day

Pick Blueberries Day -- variously set on different days in July depending on the website; with blueberries being so good for you, find a day to go gather or buy some soon

Silence Day -- followers of Meher Baba

St. Amalburga's Day (Patron of people with fever; Ghent, Belgium; against arm pain, bruises, and fevers)

Teddy Bear Picnic Day -- no idea why today, especially when the author of the song, Jimmy Kennedy, was born on July 20

Uniwaine / Unaine Day -- Kiribati (Senior Citizens' Day, specifically Elderly Men's Day / Elderly Women's Day)

Anniversaries Today

Wyoming becomes the 44th US State, 1890

Birthdays Today

Jessica Simpson, 1980

Andre Nolan Dawson, 1954

Arlo Guthrie, 1947

Sue Lyon, 1946

Ron Glass, 1945

Virginia Wade,1945

Arthur Ashe, 1943

Lawrence Pressman, 1939

Jerry Herman, 1933

David Norman Dinkins, 1927

Fred Gwynne, 1926

Jean Kerr, 1923

Jake LaMotta, 1921

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 1921

David Brinkley, 1920

Don "Mr. Wizard" Herbert, 1917

John Gilbert, 1897

Edmund Clerihew Bentley, 1875

Mary Jane McLeod Bethune, 1875

Marcel Proust, 1871

Nikola Tesla, 1856

Adolphus Busch, 1839

James Whistler, 1834

George Mifflin Dallas, 1792

William Blackstone, 1723

John Calvin, 1509

Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Fox And The Hound(Animated film), 1981

"Your Hit Parade"(TV), 1950

Today in History

Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia at the Battle of Dyrrhachium, BC48

The most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground, 1212

Lady Jane Grey takes the throne of England, 1553

Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Mackenzie River delta, 1789

The Vellore Mutiny is the first instance of a mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company, 1806

The United States takes possession of its newly bought territory of Florida from Spain, 1821

Big Ben, the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, rings for the first time, 1859

The eruption of Tarawera volcano destroys the famous pink and white calcium carbonate hot-spring terraces of North Island, New Zealand, 1886

Meher Baba, self declared Avatar of the Age, begins his silence of 44 years; his followers observe Silence Day on this date in commemoration, 1925

In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called "Monkey Trial" begins with John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher accused of teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act, 1925

Howard Hughes sets a new record by completing a 91 hour airplane flight around the world, 1938

Telstar, the world's first communications satellite, is launched into orbit, 1962

Boris Yeltsin begins his 5-year term as the first elected President of Russia, 1991

In London scientists report the findings of the DNA analysis of a Neanderthal skeleton which supports the "out of Africa theory" of human evolution, 1997

Spain opens its first mosque since the Moors were expelled in 1492, in Granada, 2003

France O'Grady is appointed the first female General Secretary by Britain's Trade Union Congress, 2012

Kittens and Cars and Brave(r) Dogs on a Random and Fun Tuesday

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.) 

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Hello, Tuesday!  It’s the day for Random Thoughts with Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, and Tuesday Fun with Sandee of Comedy Plus.

Speaking of fun, our weekend kittens are back with their other foster now, but they were fun while they were here:

When i brought them back to her, i asked what she’d named them.  She said she didn’t have names yet, so i told her about how i’d nicknamed them Eenie, Meenie, Miney, and Maureen.  She laughed and said she loved that, so those names might stick.

The Jalopy is home, with a new gas tank and tail light assembly, just in time for Sweetie to spend the next week house-watching and garden tending for The Big Boss.  The garden is producing plenty at this time, and we’ve been told to take whatever ripens while The Big Boss and his wife are out of town so that it won’t go bad.  That means home grown cucumbers and tomatoes in our future.

The borrowed Tahoe will be thoroughly washed and vacuumed and wiped down and filled with gas and returned to the wonderful client who loaned it to us.  That vehicle is a tank!  Someone dropped a shopping cart on the freeway a couple of days ago, and Sweetie clipped it with the edge of a tire and pushed it out of the road so no one would get hurt.  Didn’t put a mark on the Tahoe or damage the tire at all, although i wouldn’t give you a plugged nickel for that shopping cart now.

We've been having trouble getting our bathtub to drain, so with great trepidation and much consultation with a contractor friend, Sweetie performed some surgery on the tub drain mechanism.  It is beyond repairing, so he threw it away, put the plate back on, and bought one of those flat rubber stoppers.  The tub now works, just like the one at great-grandma's house.

Daughter-in-Law Becky and Pepe the Chihuahua came for a visit, and i think Pepe is realizing the cats are all bark and no bite, so to speak.  When i fed him, and Enigma SissyCat came and stood right next to him, he did not give up his food as he would have in the past.  He stood his ground and kept eating, and she waited until he was done and licked the tiny bit of gravy he'd left behind.  She probably was not happy that she didn't get more, but i am glad he's not letting them intimidate him.

He even helps himself to a cat bed now!

That's about all the news, i hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

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Today is:

Alexandra Rose Day -- anniversary of the tradition started by Queen Alexandra on this day in 1912, in which roses and rose emblems were sold in London and the UK, with the money going to smaller charities that are not usually in the national spotlight; also by tradition, the Lord Mayor of London bought the first rose

    Alexandra Rose Charities still exists, but uses other forms of fundraising and now supports healthy eating initiatives among lower income mothers and children

Armed Forces Day -- Azerbaijan

Barcode/UPC Day -- the first scanner, at Marsh's Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, scanned its first item, a pack of Wrigley's gum at 8:01am this day in 1974

Beautician's Day -- on a couple of websites, while other list other days; if yours puts the "beauty" in beautician, remember her next time you go have your do tended to

Birthday of Cheng Huang -- Taiwan (the gods that are city guardians are celebrated with a procession of actors on stilts doing dragon and lion dances on this 13th day of the fifth moon)

Handing Back of Tiger-Get-By's Presents -- Fairy Calendar

Guan Sheng Di Jun Dan -- Taoism (Heavenly Sage Guan Di's Birthday [god of war])

Holiday for the Shemsu of Heru -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Independence Day -- Madagascar[Fetin'ny Fahaleovantena]; Somalia

International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking -- UN

International Day in Support of Victims of Torture -- UN

National Canoe Day -- Canada

National Chocolate Pudding Day

National Columnists' Day -- on the fourth Tuesday of June each year, set aside some time to thank your favorite newspaper columnists, whether local or syndicated

St. Pelayo's Day (Patron of abandoned people, torture victims; Castro Urdiales, Spain; Torreira, Portugal) 

Sunthorn Phu Day -- Thailand (celebration of the country's best-known Royal Poet)

Ziua Tricolorului -- Romania (Flag Day)

Birthdays Today:

Jennette McCurdy, 1992

Jason Schwartzman, 1980

Derek Jeter, 1974

Gretchen Wilson, 1973

Chris O'Donnell, 1970

Paul Thomas Anderson, 1970

Sean P. Hayes, 1970

Harriet Wheeler, 1963

Greg LeMond, 1961

Chris Isaak, 1956

Claudio Abbado, 1933

Eleanor Parker, 1922

Charlotte Zolotow, 1915

"Babe" Didrikson Zaharias, 1914

Colonel Tom Parker, 1909

Peter Lorre, 1904

Pearl S. Buck, 1892

Sir Robert Laird Borden, 1854

Lord Kelvin, 1824

Abner Doubleday, 1819

Arthur Middleton, 1742

Debuting/Premiering Today:

For Your Eyes Only(Film), 1981

"Absurd Person Singular"(Play), 1972

"A Hard Day's Night"(Album, US version, release), 1964

"The Valkyrie"(Opera, WWV 86B), 1870

Today in History:

Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire; General Jovian is proclaimed Emperor by the troops on the battlefield, 363

The legendary Pied Piper leads 130 children out of Hamelin, German, 1284

Richard III is crowned king of England, 1483

Francisco Pizarro is assassinated in Lima, 1541

W. K. Clarkson patents the first bicycle, 1819

The Christian  holiday of Christmas is declared a federal holiday in the United States, 1870

The Science Museum in London comes into existence as an independent entity, 1909

The United Nations Charter is signed in San Francisco, 1945

William Shockley files the original patent for the grown junction transistor, the first bipolar junction transistor, 1948

The Berlin Airlift begins, 1948

The Saint Lawrence Seaway opens, opening North America's Great Lakes to ocean-going ships, 1959

The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley's chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, 1974

Indira Gandhi establishes emergency rule in India, 1975

The CN Tower, the world's tallest free-standing structure on land, is opened to general public, 1976*

Biologists J. Craig Venter and Francis S. Collins announced that their research groups had mapped the human genome, 2000

Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, the four thousand year-old ridge-top monastery in Bhutan catches fire and is destroyed; no relics were lost in the fire because the monastery was under renovation, 2012

*It is still the tallest in the Western Hemisphere