It’s Civil at the Civic Association, a Random and Happy Tuesday Post

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

The time has come for another civic association meeting.  Hooray.

We do not, thank heaven, live where there is a homeowner association.  You know, where Mr. and Mrs. Barney Fife have nothing better to do that snoop in everyone else’s business, and have a bunch of rules they can enforce.

We do have a civic association that cannot enforce anything other than the actual rules passed by the parish council that apply to every neighborhood.  No one having to approve our choice of paint color or fussing if our mailbox gets a dent in it is a nice thing.

The meeting itself is always at the Baptist church across the highway.  It starts with a prayer from the pastor and the Pledge of Allegiance, and no one complains about either one.

As far as such meetings go, it is pretty standard stuff, but we all look forward to the door prizes at the end of the evening.  Not that i ever win, but hope springs eternal.

And now, to top it off with some of the pictures Grandma sent.  No, i don’t know who takes these, but they get passed on to her and she passes them to me, and they are too good to just keep to myself.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

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Today is:

Army Day -- Armenia

Data Privacy Day -- International

Festival of the Lenaia to Dionysus -- Ancient Greek Calendar, end January through early February

Jackhammer Day -- US (the pneumatic jackhammer was patented this day in 1894 by Charles Brady King of Detroit, MI)

National Blueberry Pancake Day

National Kazoo Day -- because anyone can play one!

National Speak Up and Succeed Day -- become one of those people who aren't afraid of public speaking, practice! originally sponsored by Polished Presentations International, but they no longer have a website, but i'm sure Toastmasters International can help 

National Spieling Day -- internet generated, and whatever your area of expertise, spiel about it today

Rinkydinks Annual Snowball Fight -- Fairy Calendar

Runic Half-month Elhaz (elk) commences

St. Charlemagne's Day (Patron of the University of Paris)

St. Thomas Aquinas's Day (Patron of academics, apologists, book sellers, chastity, colleges, learning, pencil makers, philosophers, publishers, scholars, schools, students, theologians, universities; Aquino, Italy; Belcastro, Italy; Falerna, Italy; University of Vigo; all Catholic academies, schools, and universities; against lightning, storms)

Telephone Exchange Day -- US (the first telephone exchange was set up in New Haven, CT with 22 subscribers on this day in 1878)

Up-Helly-AA Day -- Lerwick, Shetland (the largest fire festival in Europe, with tomorrow as a day off so everyone can recover)

Anniversary Today:

Adoption of the Great Seal of the United States, 1782

Birthdays Today:

Elijah Wood, 1981

Nick Carter, 1980

Joey Fatone, Jr. 1977

Kathryn Morris, 1969

Sarah McLachlan, 1968

Harley Jane Kozak, 1957

Nicolas Sarkozy, 1955

Rick Warren, 1954

John Beck, 1943

Susan Howard, 1943

Alan Alda, 1936

Susan Sontag, 1933

Claes Oldenburg, 1929

Jackson Pollack, 1912

Robert Stroud, 1890 (The Birdman of Alcatraz)

Arthur Rubenstein, 1887

Auguste Piccard, 1884

Jean Felix Piccard, 1884

Colette, 1873

Jose' Marti, 1853

Henry Morton Stanley, 1841

Alexander Mackenzie, 1822

Peter the Great of Russia, 1775

St. Thomas Aquinas, 1225

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Fantasy Island"(TV), 1978

"Barnaby Jones"(TV), 1973

"Symphony No. 1/Jeremiah"(Bernstein), 1944

Today in History:

The Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor is lifted by Pope Gregory VIII, 1077

The first Crusaders begins siege of Hosn-el-Akrad Syria, 1099

Pope Alexander VI gives his son Cesare Borgia as hostage to Charles VIII of France, 1495

Edward VI, age nine, succeeds his father Henry VIII as king of England, 1547

By the Edict of Orleans, the persecution of French Huguenots is suspended, 1561

Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland, 1573

Sir Thomas Warner found the first British colony in the Caribbean, on St. Kitts, 1624

The Russian Academy of Sciences was founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented in the Senate decree (it was called St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917), 1724

Horace Walpole, in a letter to Horace Mann, coins the word serendipity, 1754

London's Pall Mall is the first street lit by gaslight, 1807

Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom, 1813

The first locomotive runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean on the Panama Railway, 1855

In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the world's largest snowflakes are reported, being 15 inches (38 cm) wide and 8 inches (20 cm) thick, 1887

Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent became the first person to be convicted of speeding in an automobile. He is fined 1 shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thus exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h), 1896

The Carnegie Institution is founded in Washington, D.C. with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie, 1902

An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard, 1915

The first Jewish  US Supreme Court justice, Louis Brandeis, appointed by Wilson, 1916

A symbolic Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is installed beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to honor the unknown dead of World War I, 1921

The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhary Rehmat Ali Khan and is accepted by the Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence, 1933

The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today, 1958

The current design of the Flag of Canada is chosen by an act of Parliament, 1965

Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in southern Mozambique, eventually causing 214 deaths and some of the most severe flooding so far recorded in the region, 1984

Supergroup USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) records the hit single We Are the World, to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief, 1985

Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart after liftoff killing all seven astronauts on board, 1986

Hundreds of thousands of protesters filled up the Egyptian's streets in demonstrations referred to as "Friday of Anger" against the Mubarak regime, 2011

DNA analysis confirms that the 6th C Plague of Justinian was caused by a variant of Yersinia pestis, which is the same bacteria for the Black Death, 2014

Seven survivors from the missing Kiribati ferry carrying 100 people are rescued after week at sea, 2018

A draft framework for a peace agreement to end the 17-year conflict in Afghanistan is agreed upon by US and Afghan negotiators, 2019

Platforms and Meetings and The Same Old Stuff, a Random Tuesday Post

And now, some random items and bits of news from around here, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked.  

There is a quandary in my brain right now, the whole Blogger versus Wordpress issue.

Many people have been having trouble with Blogger.  At first, it was the time that Blogger said they "cannot upload pictures to your blog."  That's bad when the whole post is based on a picture, such as on a Feline Friday (which that was).

Then it was taking forever to post replies.  That's okay, i have figured out that if i press reply and leave it alone, it posts the response.

There's no doubt that Blogger does not work very well with tablets, though.  Over the years i have learned to work around it, and mostly i just adapt.

Last year i joined Wordpress just for the ability to more easily reply to Wordpress blogs.  Now i see many friends moving to this platform, and i am not so sure that i want to go completely one way or the other.

For the last three days or so, i've been publishing at both.  My Wordpress posts get no views or replies, and i could not post Sandee's linkup on the Wordpress blog.

(By the way, Annie from McGuffy's Reader, you asked me to email you about this issue, and i cannot figure out how to find your email address, i am that much of a tech klutz.  Mine is my name - messymimi - at gmail.com, if you want to let me know how to get in touch with you!)

Right now i think i will post on both for a bit, see if i can figure out how to work Wordpress, and maybe eventually just put a teaser on Blogger pointing to my Wordpress blog the way The Chubby Chatterbox used to do with his first site.  Or the other way around, i haven't decided yet.

On to other great topics.  Last night was the annual Civic Association meeting.  Madame President of the Association posted on our neighborhood website the agenda, answered a lot of questions there ahead of time, and said the meeting would last from 7pm to 8:15pm.  It did, and we elected new officers with no objections or problems.

Our Fire Chief came and talked to us about fire safety and reminded us to replace our smoke detectors.  The crime prevention district officers gave their report, we have fewer crimes in our district in a year than some places have in a week.  It's a good neighborhood, but i could have told them that.

As a follow up to my "stolen" wallet, it turns out it was not stolen.  My thought was i dropped it outdoors somewhere while at work on that Thursday and someone found and kept it.  Turns out it was under one of the beds at Ms. SE's house.  Maybe i need a wallet with a chain attached to a belt loop like #2 Son has.

Because i've already replaced everything in it, i was trying to update my card on Paypal.  Turns out if your credit card has an expiration date of 2023, that's not a valid date and you can't use that card.  Paypal has been contacted, but we all know how long it takes to get these things resolved, so i'm not holding my breath.

This last week or so has been quiet and i am not sure whether to call it boring or relaxing.  The electricity did go out yesterday morning when a tree limb took out a power line, but that's about the most excitement we've had.  Now that all of the children but Bigger Girl are moved out, and she is moving soon, it's rather a letdown from the constant racket and nuttiness i'm used to. 

Then again, i'm sure something insane will happen soon enough, i seem to draw that sort of thing.

Today is:

Bounty Day -- Pitcairn Island (celebrates the burning of the HMS Bounty in 1790)

Cold, Cold, Cold Day -- coldest temp ever recorded in the US, -79.8°F (-62.11°C), this day in 1971 at Prospect Creek Camp, Alaska

Day of Hathor -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Lenaia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (three day Dionysian festival to arouse the sleeping vegetation and bring spring; date approximate)

Measure Your Feet Day -- one can only ask...."Why!?!"

National Pie Day -- US, sponsored by the American Pie Council   

National Handwriting Day -- US, on the birth anniversary of John Hancock, to encourage the dying art of legible handwriting by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association 

National Rhubarb Pie Day

National Speak Up and Succeed Day -- become one of those people who aren't afraid of public speaking, practice! originally sponsored by Polished Presentations International, but they no longer have a website, but i'm sure Toastmasters International can help   

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti -- TR and WB, India (birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose)

Ragwort Dance -- Fairy Calendar (Pixies only)

Rid The World of Fad Diets and Gimmicks Day -- always the Tuesday of Healthy Weight Week and includes the announcement of the Slim Chance Awards, highlighting the worst fad diets of the prior year   

Sioux Empire Farm Show -- Sioux Falls, SD, US (great winter farm show, since you can't be planting, come out and have fun; through Saturday)

Snowplow Mailbox Hockey Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; plow drivers, see how far you can make those rural mailboxes go!

St. John the Almoner's Day (Patron of Knights Hospitaller; known for his generosity to the poor, "If we are able to enter the church day and night and implore God to hear our prayers, how careful we should be to hear and grant the petitions of our neighbor in need.")

Women in Medicine Day -- Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman awarded the degree of Medical Doctor on this date in 1849

Anniversaries Today:

The founding of Georgetown University, the first US Catholic college, 1789

Birthdays Today:

Tito Ortiz, 1975

Tiffani Thiessen, 1974

Mariska Hargitay, 1964

Gail O'Grady, 1963

Princess Caroline of Monaco, 1957

Antonio Villaraigosa, 1953

Pat Haden, 1953

Richard Dean Anderson, 1950

Rutger Hauer, 1944

Gil Gerard, 1943

Chita Rivera, 1933

Jeanne Moreau, 1928

Ernie Kovacs, 1919

John M. Browning, 1855

Edouard Manet, 1832

Stendhal(Marie-Henri Beyle), 1783

John Hancock, 1737

Joseph Hewes, 1730

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The A-Team"(TV), 1983

"Roots"(TV miniseries), 1977

"Barney Miller"(TV), 1975

"King Family Show"(TV), 1965

"After the Fall"(Miller's Play), 1964

"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"(Film), 1948

Today in History:

Epoch (origin) of the Kali Yuga (Hindu Iron Age of the Gods), BC3102

In China, the war elephant corps of the Southern Han are soundly defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops, 971

The first printing of Ramban's Sha'ar ha-Gemul, 1490

The first printing of the Pentateuch, 1492

The second version of Book of Common Prayer becomes mandatory in England, 1552

What is probably the most deadly earthquake in history kills 830,000 in Shensi Province, China, 1556

Queen Elizabeth I opens the Royal Exchange in London, 1571

Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales, 1656

Joseph Pease, a Quaker, is admitted to Parliament on his affirmation, 1833

Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first female physician in the US, 1849

The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1855

Alesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Alesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless an one person dead, 1904

Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American US senator, 1907

Pianist Ignaz Paderewski becomes premier of the Polish government in exile, 1940

Duke Ellington plays at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time, 1943

The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 m (35,798 feet) in the Pacific Ocean, 1960

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, 1986

Final communication between Earth and space probe Pioneer 10, 2003

Six Venezuelan cable television channels are taken off the air by the Venezuelan government after refusing to transmit government messages, 2010

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is crowned King of Saudi Arabia, on the death of this half-brother King Abdullah, 2015

Taxing Meetings or Taxing and Meetings

It was that time of year again, the two things we all look forward to eagerly (she says with as straight a face as she can keep).

The annual Civic Association meeting for the neighborhood was held at the Baptist church across the highway last night.

With the usual mixture of sheriff's reports, monetary accountings, and to add to the fun this year, a nice, long speech about the sewer work that will be done in the neighborhood soon, i cannot say a good time was had by all, but it was certainly informative.

Now i know more than i ever did before about how the phone tree works, as well as who has taken over it since Ms. Lily died.

We do have a great neighborhood, and a great Civic Association, so i go to the meetings even though it's not my idea of a fun way to spend the evening after work.

The other thing is tax season, which means Brother-in-Law, The Mouth, is already on me about when i will get his taxes done.  No, he can't do it himself.  Like Sweetie, numbers make his eyes roll back in his head, and like Bigger Girl, he can get lost in a shoe box, literally and figuratively.  To prevent mayhem, and to keep from having to answer seventy-seven questions per hour from him about it, i do it for him.  He wants it done as fast as possible, because he always gets a refund that he immediately spends on getting his old truck repaired.

This year will see no difference in that, i'm sure.

For those who may be interested, Rory Bore of Ink Interrupted is holding a coffee chat this week, but i chose not to participate (although i will eagerly read her post).  That's because i do not have a theme song, at least not that i know of, although perhaps i should consider the Looney Tunes theme to be mine.  Sometimes my life sure seems like it would fit.

Today is:

Ati-Atihan Festival -- Aklan, Kalibo, Panay Island, Philippines (main feast and final day of the vivid religious carnival/feast dating back to the 13th century to honor Santo Nino [Baby Jesus])

Australia Day -- Australia (National Day); Christmas Island; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Norfolk Island; (Commemorates Captain Arthur Phillip's arrival at Sydney Cove with the First Fleet, on January 26, 1778.)
     Australia Day Cockroach Races -- Brisbane, Queensland (the greatest gathering of thoroughbred cockroaches anywhere, with competition proceeds going to charity)

Dental Drill Day -- George F. Green, of Kalamazoo, MI, US, patents the electric dental drill, 1875

Duarte Day -- Dominican Republic

End of the Fifth Quarter of the Ninth Dozen of the Thirteenth Set -- Fairy Calendar

Liberation Day -- Uganda

Lotus 1-2-3 Day -- released this day in 1983

National Peanut Brittle Day

National Pistachio Day

National Speak Up and Succeed Day -- become one of those people who aren't afraid of public speaking, practice! originally sponsored by Polished Presentations International, but they no longer have a website, but i'm sure Toastmasters International can help 

Republic Day -- Delhi, India (pompous and splendid celebrations through the 29th)

Sailing of Anubis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (celebration of the god of the dead; date approximate)

Spouse's Day -- an internet generated reason to tell your SO how much he/she means to you

St. Paula's Day (Patron of widows)

St. Timothy's Day (Patron against stomach and intestinal disorders)

St. Titus' Day (Patron of Crete)

Toad Hollow Day of Encouragement -- begun at Toad Hollow School in Kalamazoo, Michigan in the 1800s, a day to encourage your friends

Up-Helly-AA Day -- Lerwick, Shetland (the largest fire festival in Europe, with tomorrow as a day off so everyone can recover)



Anniversaries Today:

Establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park, 1915
Michigan becomes the 26th US state, 1837



Birthdays Today:

Kherington Payne, 1990
Kirk Franklin, 1970
Andrew Ridgeley, 1963
Wayne Gretzky, 1961
Anita Baker, 1958
Ellen DeGeneres, 1958
Eddie Van Halen, 1955
Lucinda Williams, 1953
David Strathairn, 1950
Gene Siskel, 1946
Angela Davis, 1944
Scott Glenn, 1942
Bob Uecker, 1935
Father George Harold Clements
Jules Feiffer, 1929
Paul Newman, 1925
Anne Jeffreys, 1923
Jimmy Van Heusen, 1913
Maria Augusta von Trapp, 1905
Bessie Coleman, 1893
Douglas MacArthur, 1880
Mary Mapes Dodge, 1831
Julia Dent Grant, 1826
Emperor Go-Nara of Japan, 1497


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Phantom of the Opera"(Musical), 1988
"The Dukes of Hazzard"(TV), 1979
"Duchess of Padua"(Oscar Wilde play), 1891
"Cosi Fan Tutte"(Mozart Opera), 1790
"Esther"(Racine play), 1689


Today in History:

The fifth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet, 66
Vicente Yáñez Pinzón becomes the first European to set foot on Brazil, 1500
The Council of Trent issues its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, 1564
Isaac Newton receives Jean Bernoulli's 6 month time-limit problem, and solves the problem before going to bed that same night, 1697
The magnitude 9 Cascadia Earthquake took place off the west coast of the North America, as evidenced by Japanese records, 1700
The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on the continent of Australia, 1788
The Rum Rebellion, the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in Australia, 1808
Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States, 1838
Hong Kong is proclaimed a sovereign territory of Britain, 1841
The first US income tax, passed to raise funds for the Civil War, is repealed, 1871
Muhammad Ahmed ("Mahdi") rebels conquer Khartoum, Sudan, 1885
The World's largest diamond, the 3,106-carat Cullinan, is found, 1905
The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III is officially introduced into British Military Service, and remains the oldest military rifle still in official use, 1907
Glenn H. Curtiss flies the first successful American seaplane, 1911
Richard Strauss' opera Der Rosenkavalier receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera, 1911
Former Ford Motor Co. executive Henry Leland launches the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer, 1920
Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses, 1952
Danny Heater sets a worldwide high school basketball scoring record when he records 135 points for Burnsville High School (West Virginia), 1960
Ranger 3 is launched to study the moon, but misses its target by 22,000 miles (35,400 km), 1962
Hindi becomes the official language of India, 1965
The Great Blizzard of 1978, a rare severe blizzard with the lowest non-tropical atmospheric pressure ever recorded in the US, strikes the Ohio – Great Lakes region with heavy snow and winds up to 100 mph (161 km/h), 1978
Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations, 1980
An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, causing more than 20,000 deaths, 2001
President Hamid Karzai signs the new constitution of Afghanistan. 2004
The 41st World Economic Forum convenes in Davos, Switzerland, 2011