Seeing Red

Okay, #2 Son, you got some 'splainin' to do, to channel Ricky Ricardo.

In the mail on Monday, i was given the unpleasant surprise of a red light violation ticket.  The kind where they just have a picture of your vehicle going through the light, and your license plate.

Since i try very, very hard not to do such things, i somehow figured there was a rat i was smelling, and there was.

In fact, the violation happened on Wednesday, October 25 at 10:13pm.

At that time, Ninja and i were checking in to a hotel in Kentucky, right outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Busted, Buster.

So, you got some 'splainin' to do.  And you have $117 to cough up, and i have to go to the trouble of filing to prove that it wasn't me.  Let's hope they will accept my debit card being used out of state on that day as proof.

Think i'm seeing red, and i'm seeing a lot more chores in your future.


Today is:

Air Force Day -- India

American Touch Tag Day -- go outside and remember how much fun it is to play tag

Children's Day -- Iran

Face Your Fears Day -- Stephen Hughes(hityourstride.com) encourages you to use this as a day to try to do something you've always been afraid to do

Feast of St. Bridget -- Sweden (traditional date, others who recognize the saint celebrate on July 23; Patron of widows; Europe; Sweden)

Feast of St. Keyne -- Celtic Saint, patroness of the spring and tree arbor that bear her name; the first to drink of her water after being newly married will have the upper hand in the marriage

Independence Day -- Croatia

Lovable Lawyers Day -- internet generated, and if you love one, good for you

National Fluffernutter Day

National Pierogi Day -- this day in 1952, Ted Twardzik, Sr., produced Mrs. T's Pierogies samples and took them to a local grocery store; eat a pierogi today in his honor

Navy Day/Battle of Angamos Day -- Peru

San Ernesto Day -- celebration of Che Guevera as a saint who answers prayers for rain among Bolivian campesinos

Sergeant Alvin C. York Day -- US (the feats for which he earned the Medal of Honor in 1918 were accomplished on this date)

St. Demetrius' Day (Patron of Belgrade, Serbia; Salonica, Greece; Thessaloniki, Greece; against evil spirits)

St. Pelagia the Penitant's Day (Patron of actresses)

St. Thais' Day (Patron of fallen women)

Tube Top Day -- if you dare. i don't

Warai Festival -- Wakayama, Japan (a laughing festival, in which wine flows and this place earns its name as one of the happiest places on earth)


Birthdays Today:

Matt Damon, 1970
Stephanie Zimbalist, 1956
Sigourney Weaver, 1949
Chevy Chase, 1943
R. L. Stine, 1943
Jesse Jackson, 1941
Paul Hogan, 1939
Rona Barrett, 1936
Juan Peron, 1895
Eddie Rickenbacker, 1890
Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro, 1676


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Ozzie and Harriet Radio Program, 1944


Today in History:

Constantine, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, defeats Licinius, Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, at the Battle of Cibalae, 314
Great standing on the Ugra river, a standoff between the forces of Akhmat Khan, Khan of the Great Horde, and the Grand Duke Ivan III of Russia, which resulted in the retreat of the Tataro-Mongols and eventual disintegration of the Horde, 1480
The supernova "Kepler's Nova" is first sighted, 1604
The Massachusetts Bay Colony forms its first government, 1633
First recorded eruption of Galunggung (volcano of West Java, Indonesia) sends boiling sludge into the valley (this volcano would later erupt at such a time as to cause passenger jets to be damaged and forced into emergency landings), 1822
The first Hawai'ian constitution is proclaimed, 1840
The telegraph line from LA to SF opens, 1860

A gas explosion causes the Peshtigo Fire, in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, which killed between 1,200 and 2,500 people and consumed the entire town of Peshtigo and surrounding forests and several other villages -- the deadliest fire in American history, it covered 1.5 million acres, and occured on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire, 1871

The Great Chicago Fire, which consumed 4 square miles, killed 200, and destroyed the original Emancipation Proclamation, began, 1871

The first women's prison run by women opens at the Indiana Reformatory Institute, 1873
Dow Jones begins reporting an average of selected industrial stocks, 1896
Edmonton, Alberta and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan are incorporated as cities in Canada, 1904
New York Yankees's Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series; one of only 20 perfect games in MLB history, 1956
Algeria joins the United Nations, 1962
Guerrilla leader Che Guevara and his men are captured in Bolivia, 1967
Australia's Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 317.60mph at Blowering Dam, Australia, 1978
A deadly earthquake hits Pakistan, 2005

Love 'Em or Hate 'Em, You Gotta Tolerate 'Em

The red light cameras, i mean.

There have been changes in the traffic lights in recent years.  When lights turn red now, the other side does not simultaneously turn green.  There is a second or so of delay, the lights are red on all sides, then the other side gets a turn.  It's for safety, i'm told, and i guess it helps.

We also have, at a few select lights in town, cameras that snap your picture if you run a red light.  The corners that have these are notorious for traffic building up horribly and the light being green on the cross street for only a very limited time.  Waits to cross the major artery at these cross streets can be six or more light cycles, and that's on a good day.  That's why so many people were running those lights.

So, did they increase the amount of time the lights are green so more people could get through?  Only a little, their main answer was to install the red light cameras.

The cameras were supposed to help stop the number of people running the lights, and reduce the number of t-bone crashes at those intersections.  The threat of getting a ticket in the mail apparently works, because the number of such collisions, what i once heard an officer call "a yellow light accelerator introducing himself to a green light anticipator", have been drastically reduced at those intersections.

Rear ending collisions have replaced them.  Why does this not surprise me?

To quote Joshua, the computer in the movie War Games, "The only way to win the game is not to play!"


Today is

Adonia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (date approximate, but always in July, a ritual to honor Adonis)

Carnival Tuesday -- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Distressed Elves' Creditors' Day -- Fairy Calendar

Flag & Anthem Day -- Curacao

Freedom Days -- Farmington, NM, US (the Four Corners region celebrates freedom and The 4th in a big way; through Sunday)

Freedom From Fear of Public Speaking Day

I Forgot Day (the day to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, or other special days that you forgot during the first half of the year)

Mineral Collecting Field Trips -- Bancroft, ON, CA (every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday this month and next, geologists lead mineral collecting field trips, educating participants about mineral identification, collecting techniques, and earth sciences)

National Anisette Day

Palio di Provenzano -- Siena, Italy (horse race and pageant, named after the Madonna di Provenzano, whose church is in Siena)

Rebild Festival/American Independence Day Celebration -- Aalborg, Denmark (the town dresses in red, white and blue, celebrating with BBQ, American beer, and more; through the 4th)

Remember to Feed the Hummingbirds Day -- internet reminder to be nice to these beautiful creatures


Sata-Hame Accordion Festival -- Ikaalinen, Finland (one of the worlds biggest and best accordion festivals; through Sunday)
 

St. Swithin's Day (Patron against drought; of Stavenger, England; Winchester, England)

Try to Find Your Slinky Day -- the weird holiday of the day!

Unity Day -- Zambia

Violin Lovers' Day

World UFO Day -- unfortunately, a real day observed by many around the world (on the "anniversary" of the UFO crash in Roswell, if such a thing even happened, which i doubt*)

*i believe that if there's life elsewhere, it shows its intelligence by staying away from us!


Birthdays Today

Lindsay Lohan, 1986
Johnny Weir, 1984
Jose and Ozzie Canseco, 1964
Ron Silver, 1946
Richard Petty, 1937
Polly Holiday, 1937
Dave Thomas, 1932
Medgar Evers, 1925
Dan Rowan, 1922
Ken Curtis, 1916
Thurgood Marshall, 1908
Hermann Hesse, 1877


Today in History

Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine, 1698
Vermont  becomes the first American territory to abolish slavery, 1777
Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James Garfield, who eventually dies from an infection on September 19, 1881
Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 rebelling African slaves led by Joseph Cinque take over the slave ship Amistad, 1893
Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi obtains patent for radio in London, 1897
The first zeppelin flight takes place on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany, 1900
Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight 1937
The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas, 1962
North and South Vietnam, divided since 1954, reunite to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 1976
The AbioCor  self contained artificial heart is first implanted, 2001
Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon, 2002