The war between Hazelnut and the kittens.
Not literal war. And not on Hazelnut's part.
But the kittens are not enamored with huge slobbery dog kisses and her trying to get into their nest with them.
If i turn my back, i'll sometimes find kittens on the floor in various spots and the dog occupying their bed.
Hazelnut really does love them, but she gets excited, and starts to paw at them, and scares them, and so they just really want her to stay away.
She looks for every opportunity to sneak around the barriers, like a secret agent, and get into the kitchen with them.
It's funny to watch her, and when she does get in, first stick her nose in their nest bed, then her head, then wiggle her way all the way in as they wiggle their way out.
Mikey, the black and white kitten, has also decided his favorite place to sleep is on my foot, anyway, so maybe he doesn't care as much.
Datsig is quite obvious in his objection, hissing at Hazelnut if she gets all the way in.
Hazelnut's puppy enthusiasm is not waned in the least by these objections.
How this will play out over the next few weeks, well, i can hazard a guess. The kittens will get used to Hazelnut, and, as they get bigger, be more willing to actually play with her. Then they will leave to get adopted, and we will start again with more tiny bottle feeds, and it comes full circle.
It's nice to know some things never change. Much.
Today is:
Ayathrem -- Zoroastrianism (feast of bringing the herds and flocks home, a five day feast, dates approximate)
Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day (At your own risk.)
Children's Day / Feast of Our Lady of Aparecida -- Brazil
Cloud-Stamping Pentathlon -- Fairy Calendar
Columbus Day -- US Traditional Date
Cookbook Launch Day
Day of Fortuna Redux -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of lucky homecomings, favored by travelers and soldiers)
Day of Giving the Black Land to Horus and the Red Land to Set -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar
"Discovery" of America by Columbus observances:
Descubrimiento de América -- Mexico
Día de la Hispanidad or Fiesta Nacional de España -- Spain
Dia de la Raza -- Latin America (Day of the Race, or Day of the Natives)
Día de la Resistencia Indígena -- Venezuela (Day of Indigenous Resistance)
Dia de las Americas -- Uruguay
Dia de las Culturas -- Costa Rica (Day of the Cultures)
Discovery Day -- Bahamas
Emergency Nurses Day
Fortuna Redux -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of successful journeys & safe returns)
Freethought Day -- celebration of the effective ending date of the Salem witch trials
Global Scream Day (30 second scream at 1200 hours GMT) a/k/a Moment of Frustration Day a/k/a International Moment of Frustration Scream Day (No matter what you call it, we all get a free yell at the universe for life's little frustrations.)
Independence Day -- Equatorial Guinea
International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
International Top Spinning Day
Mother's Day -- Malawi
National Gumbo Day
Native American's Day -- often celebrated on both the observed and the traditional Columbus Day; a day to mourn Native American victims of conquest and oppression, make peace, and celebrate the empowerment of Native Americans
St Edwin of Northumbria's Day (Patron of converts, hoboes, homeless people, kings, parents of large families, and tramps)
St. Ethelburga's Day
Sukkot -- Jewish (begins at sundown)
Birthdays Today:
Kirk Cameron, 1970
Hugh Jackman, 1968
Carlos Bernard, 1962
Susan Anton, 1950
Chris Wallace, 1947
Luciano Pavarotti, 1935
Dick Gregory, 1932
Today in History:
The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon, BC539
King John of England loses his crown jewels in The Wash, 1216
Nichiren, Japans Buddhist monk who founded Nichiren Buddhism, inscribes the Dai-Gohonzon, 1279
Christopher Columbus' expedition makes landfall in the Bahamas, 1492
Massachusetts discontinues all witch trials, 1692
America's first asylum for "Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds" opens in Virginia, 1773
Bavarian royalty invites the citizens of Munich to join the celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen; this celebration becomes the founding of the first Oktoberfest, 1810
Charles Macintosh, of Scotland, sells the first raincoat, 1821
Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) is enacted by British rule in India, which named over 160 local communities 'Criminal Tribes', i.e. hereditary criminals, 1871*
President Theodore Roosevelt officially renames the "Executive Mansion" to the White House, 1901
An iron lung respirator is used for the first time at Children's Hospital, Boston, 1928
The Soviet Union launches the Voskhod 1 into Earth orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew and the first flight without space suits, 1964
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the first of five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction series by Douglas Adams is published, 1979
The lowest recorded non-tornadic atmospheric pressure, 87.0 kPa (870 mbar or 25.69 inHg), occurred in the Western Pacific during Typhoon Tip, 1979
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit the People's Republic of China, 1986
NASA loses radio contact with the Magellan spacecraft as the probe descends into the thick atmosphere of Venus, 1994
The proclaimed 6 billionth living human in the world is born, 1999
The second Chinese human spaceflight Shenzhou 6 is launched, 2005
*Not repealed until India's independence in 1949
As i was heading out to pick the kids up from school yesterday, i saw someone next door mowing the lawn.
Not a bit strange.
He was using a riding mower.
Again, not a bit strange.
It was not the neighbor, although his wife was at the door watching the proceedings. Since he generally does most of his own yard work, that might be considered unusual, but not exceedingly so, as many people around here hire lawn services, or use entrepreneurial neighborhood teens to do it.
What made me look twice was that it's the first time i've ever seen anyone, anywhere, mowing a lawn on a riding mower while wearing a full business suit.
Today is:
Buffalo Races -- Chon Buri, Thailand (through the 17th; lots of water buffalo contests, including fancy dress!)
Full Hunter's Moon/Full Blood Moon/Full Sanguine Moon (some also consider this the true Harvest Moon, if last month's came too early)
General Pulaski Memorial Day -- US
It's My Party Day -- so go have one!
Meditrinalia -- Roman Imperial Calendar (in honor of Meditrina, goddess of health, longevity, and wine)
National Face Your Fears Day -- US
National Sausage Pizza Day
Old Michaelmas Day -- Celtic Calendar
Revolution Day -- Republic of Macedonia
Sunbeam Sliding Sunday -- Fairy Calendar (only occasionally on a Sunday)
St. Gomar's Day (Patron of woodcutters, cowherds, & those unhappily married)
"You Go Girl!" Day -- in honor of Kathy Sullivan, first American woman to walk in space
Birthdays Today:
Joan Cusack, 1962
Steve Young, 1961
Dawn French, 1957
Elmore Leonard, 1925
Art Blakey, 1919
Jerrome Robbins, 1918
Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884
Henry John Heinz, 1844
George Williams, 1821 (founder, YMCA)
Today in History:
Massive earthquake strikes Aleppo, Syria, 1138
Columbus' ship sites land on the horizon (the Bahamas), 1492
Huldrych Zwingli is killed in battle with the Roman Catholic cantons of Switzerland, 1531
Peter the Great becomes tsar of Russia, 1689
Explorer Meriwether Lewis dies under mysterious circumstances along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee at the Grinder's Stand Inn, 1809
The first steam powered ferryboat, the Juliana, begins operation, 1811
Australia's oldest university, University of Sidney, is inaugurated, 1852
Dorr Eugene Felt receives a patent for his Comptometer, the first adding machine known to be accurate at all times, 1887
The Great Chicago Fire is finally extinguished, 1871
David Houston patents roll film for cameras, 1881
First female FBI "special investigator", Alaska Davidson, appointed, 1922
With the opening of store # 1252, in Milford, Delaware, J.C. Penney becomes a nationwide company, with stores in all 48 states, 1929
CBS's mechanical color system is the first to be licensed for broadcast by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, 1950
Pope John XXIII convenes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years, Vatican II, 1962
NASA launches Apollo 7, the first successful manned Apollo mission, 1968
The NBC sketch comedy/variety show Saturday Night Live debuts with George Carlin as the host and Andy Kaufman, Janis Ian and Billy Preston as guests, 1975
The Mary Rose, a Tudor carrack which sank on July 19 1545, is salvaged from the sea bed of the Solent, off Portsmouth, 1982
The record high of the Dow Jones Industrial Average occurs at 14,198.10 points, 2007
The Twinkies, of all things.
Yes, really. The toxic waste of junk food. That's how i've always thought of them, especially as the original package of Twinkies brought to the first snack food convention over 20 years ago are still brought each year. They are perfectly preserved, although probably quite stale inside that cellophane sleeve.
Gives credence to my children who say that if there is ever a nuclear war, the only survivors will be cockroaches and Twinkies, and the roaches will starve to death.
Although the younger two love the things.
Thus, when i set out the other day to buy Twinkies as a prop for Sunday School -- yes, really, the parrot puppet was supposed to mistake the word twinkle for Twinkies, and throw a pack off the stage -- i was in for a surprise.
First stop, the mom and pop store around the corner. No luck. The regional chain that carries some snack food, but mostly other stuff, that is next door to the mom and pop. Nope.
Everyone kept saying Wal-Mart, but it was one of those occasions where i just didn't have time to fight my way over to the Wally world parking lot, stand in an express line for 20 minutes, and then have the aggravation of trying to get back out of that ill designed lot.
So, on to the chain drug store. Nada. Then, 3 different convenience stores later, i finally settled for Dolly Madison Zingers instead. They look a lot like the real thing, and, in my mind, because of their early association as one of the sponsors of all of the Peanuts specials on TV in my childhood, a bit more wholesome.
Amazing about that early branding, what they now do on purpose and call "kiddie branding," but that's another post.
The children at church didn't care, especially as everyone got a Zinger to eat as part of the snack that day.
So, when did the Twinkies disappear from every store but the Behemoth? It's an interesting question, but i'm not interested enough to go dig up the answer.
*************************************************************************************
A blessed and beautiful Thanksgiving to all in Canada! May your harvests be plentiful, your winter an easy one.
Today is:
Aashurah -- Muslim (commemoration of the death of Hussain bin Ali, grandson of the Prophet, in battle)
Alex Kivi Day a/k/a Kivi Day -- Finland (The Day of Finnish Literature)
Ana-hachimangu Yabusame -- Tokyo, Japan (demonstration of ancient art of horseback archery)
Arbor Day -- Poland
Bonza Bottler Day
Columbus Day -- US (obs.)
Double Tenth Day -- Taiwan (In remembrance of the revolution against the Imperial Manchu Dynasty.)
Festival of Juno Moneta -- Ancient Roman Calendar
Health-Sports Day -- Japan
Independence Day / Deed of Cession Day -- Fiji
Kruger Day -- South Africa
Moi Day -- Kenya
Mop Fair -- Twekesbury, England (through tomorrow; festival dating back to the 12th century, originally a fair in which prospective employers came to find laborers)
Naha Festival -- Okinawa, Japan (tug-of-war involving a 27 ton rope)
National Angel Food Cake Day
National Cake Decorating Day -- some websites say today, some say the 17th
National Kick-Butt Day -- a day to kick yourself in the rump, jump start yourself to doing something you've been wanting to do and making excuses for not doing
National Women's Day -- Morocco
Native Americans' Day -- US
Naval Academy Day -- US
St. Francis Borgia's Day (patron of Portugal; against earthquakes)
St. Paulinus of York's Day
Thanksgiving Day -- Canada
Virgin Islands - Puerto Rico Friendship Day
World Day Against the Death Penalty -- International
World Mental Health Day -- International
World Rainforest Week begins -- International
Anniversaries Today:
The United States Naval Academy opened with 50 midshipmen and 7
professors, 1845
Birthdays Today:
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., 1974
Brett Favre, 1969
Tanya Tucker, 1958
Charles Dance, 1946
Ben Vereen, 1946
Harold Pinter, 1930
Richard Jaeckel, 1926
Thelonious Monk, 1917
Edward D. Wood, Jr., 1924
Helen Hayes, 1900
Giuseppe Verdi, 1813
Henry Cavendish, 1731 (discovered hydrogen)
Today in History:
The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000 to 30,000 in the Caribbean, 1780
The first non-Native American settlement is founded in Oklahoma, 1802
William Lassell discovers Neptune's moon Triton, 1846
The first "Dinner Jacket" is worn to the Autumn Ball at Tuxedo Park, NY, 1886
President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike thus ending construction on the Panama Canal, 1913
Ho Chi Minh enters Hanoi after the French pull out of the city, 1954
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to the finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbdemah, after he is refused service in a Dover, Delaware restaurant, 1957
The Windscale fire in Cumbria, U.K. is the world's first major nuclear accident, 1957
The opening ceremony at The 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is broadcast live in the first Olympic telecast relayed by geostationary communication satellite, 1964
The Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, comes into force, 1967
In Montreal, Quebec, a national crisis hits Canada when Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte becomes the second statesman kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group, 1970
Sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, London Bridge reopens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, 1971
After having closed borders for about two hundred years, Armenia and Turkey sign protocols in Zurich, Switzerland to open their borders, 2009
Small things that bug me.
Being a morning person has its advantages.
Except on Saturday.
Every other day of the week, i can get up early and go to the store, or bank, or whatever, rather early.
On Saturday, some things have to wait.
So, on Saturday, i went to the bank. They don't open, either the lobby or the drive through, until 9am on Saturday. Since i needed one dollar bills as well as fives and tens (kids allowances), i would either have to wait, or just go to the ATM and try to get change later.
No way i could wait, too much else to do that day.
Get to the ATM, which is a drive-up version. No one else is anywhere near the place when i pull up, so i figure i have time to add and count and make sure i have everything right. Nope.
The moment i pull up, two other cars pull in right behind me.
Natch.
Rush job as usual.
When i rush, i forget stuff.
The best thing about heaven may not be the things everyone else talks about. It may be never having to hurry again.
Today is:
Aaron the Patriarch's Day and Abraham the Patriarch's Day -- Christian
Burgoo Festival -- North Utica, IL, US (come enjoy the festival and taste the Burgoomeister's secret recipe)
Cirio de Nazare -- Belem, Para, Brazil (two week festival in honor of St. Mary of Bethlehem)
Clergy Appreciation Day
Curious Events Holiday -- Fairy Calendar
Establishment of the Samitang in Norway -- Sami People's Parliament
Felicitas Festival-- Old Roman Calendar (goddess of good luck and joy)
Fire Prevention Week begins -- Canada; US (and a great idea everywhere, feel free to join in)
Give Peace a Chance Day / Instant Karma Day -- in honor of the birth of John Lennon
Grandmother's Day -- Florida, US
Independence Day -- Uganda
International African Diaspora Day
Korean Alphabet Day -- Korea (Hangul Nal)
Leif Erickson Day -- Iceland; Norway; Minnesota and Wisconsin, US
Messenger Appreciation Day -- 10/9 in radio talk is a request to repeat information
Moldy Cheese Day (Sorry, but I do not like the stinky, moldy cheeses, at least not the heavier ones.)
National Day of Honor -- Peru (sometimes translated as Day of Dignity)
National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust -- Romania
National Metric Week -- US (yes, it's no fun to switch; get over it and learn, it's good for your brain!)
National Submarine/Grinder/Hoagie/Hero/PoBoy/Pierogi Day -- each of these has its own special day, but today you get to pick which one you want
St. Denis' Day (Patron of France; against frenzy, headaches)
St. Dionysius of Paris' Day (Protector from headaches & the devil)
St. Ghislain's Day (patron against twitching)
St. Louis Bertrand's Day (patron of Columbia)
Takayama Matsuri Autumn Festival -- Takayama, Japan (ancient, elaborate floats parade through the old city; through tomorrow)
White Sunday -- Samoa; American Samoa (children wear white to church and run the church services, are served a special meal, and receive new church clothes for the upcoming year)
Windsor Pumpkin Regatta -- Windsor, NS, Canada (come out and watch the pumpkin boat races)
World Post Day / Universal Postal Union Day -- International
Anniversaries Today:
King Louis XII of France marries Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII of England, 1514
Birthdays Today:
Eddie Guerrero, 1967
Tony Shalhoub, 1953
Scott Bakula, 1954
Sharon Osbourne, 1952
Jackson Browne, 1948
John Entwistle, 1944
Brian Lamb, 1941
John Lennon, 1940
Jacques Tati, 1908
Bruce, Catton, 1899
Camille Saint-Saens, 1835
Mary Ann Shadd Cary, 1823 (with her husband, the first black newspaper
publishers in the US)
Robert de Sorbon, 1201 (founded Sorbonne University, Paris)
Today in History:
Leif Ericson discovers "Vinland" (somewhere in New England or Nova Scotia, possibly?), 1000
Leif Ericson lands in L'Anse aux Meadows, Canada, a definitive European landing in the "New World", 1003
The Korean Hangual alphabet is devised, 1446
Founder of Rhode Island Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a religious dissident after he speaks out against punishments for religious offenses and giving away Native American land, 1635
Collegiate School of CT (Yale University) is chartered in New Haven, 1701
Father Francisco Palou founds Mission San Francisco de Asis in what is now San Francisco, California, 1776
City of Hobart, Tasmania, founded, 1804
Official opening of the University of Ghent, 1817
Isaac Singer patents the sewing machine motor, 1855
Joshua Stoddard of Worcester, Mass., patents the first Calliope, 1855
The first US underground pipeline for carrying oil is laid in Pennsylvania, 1865
Aaron Montgomery starts the mail order business that will later become Montgomery Ward, 1872
The Universal Postal Union is created as part of the Treaty of Berne, 1874
The first 2-way telephone conversation over outdoor wires occurs, 1876
Washington Monument opens to the public, 1888
Woodrow Wilson becomes the first US president to attend a World Series Game, 1915
National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) forms, 1926
Hoover Dam begins transmitting electricity to L.A., 1936
A day after being captured, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara is executed for attempting to incite a revolution in Bolivia, 1967
The Khmer Republic is proclaimed in Cambodia, 1970
Abolition of capital punishment in France, 1981
A 13 kilogram (est.) fragment of the Peekskill meteorite lands in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York, destroying the family's 1980 Chevrolet Malibu, 1992
North Korea allegedly tests its first nuclear device, 2006
First lunar impact of the Centaur and LCROSS spacecrafts as part of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program, 2009
"Oh, yuck! Oh, yuck! Oh, yuck!" #1 Son came running out of #2 Son's bedroom with half of the missing silverware in the house and an expression of utter disgust on his face.
"I'm not going back in there!" Usually he spends at least a bit of his free time in there each day on his brother's CubeStationXthingWiiWhatever the current device is that they share ownership of.
What's wrong?
"He took a can of ravioli in there, and it's not ravioli any more!"
Call him here, i said, and when he came, gave him a plastic bag and firm instructions to grab the can with the bag, turn it inside out, tie it off, and dispose of it outside immediately.
"There's a spoon in it," #1 Son noted, and i said to get rid of it, too.
Yes, a few days ago, we had no spoons in the drawer. Doesn't matter. If it's that far gone, i'm not going to try to salvage it, even if i am a tightwad.
#2 Son appeared a few moments later with the tied off bag and headed for the front door.
That room is one part of the nest that, when it is empty, is going to have to be fumigated, if not bulldozed.
So i went to college so i could have a teenage boy who is a slob? No, i'm not the neatest or most organized person. Yes, my floors leave a lot to be desired when we have only partially trained kittens in the house and i can't find their messes fast enough. Green food is entirely another matter.
Or maybe this is the punishment for getting married.
Anybody want to try to reform a slob teen for me?
Today is:
Air Force Day -- India
American Touch Tag Day -- go outside and remember how much fun it is to play tag
Anti-Columbus Day
Cosmopolite's Day -- a day to treat yourself to an indulgence you don't generally get
Feast of St. Bridget -- Sweden (traditional date, others who recognize the saint celebrate on July 23)
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
Jack-O-Launch -- DeLaney Farm, Aurora, CO, US (including the official Punkin Chunkin Contest, a free festival for the whole family)
Marching Band Festival -- Blinn College, Brenham, TX, US (if you love marching bands, this is the place to be; 37th annual, 36 high school bands participating, 3,500+ musicians)
Monster Myths by Moonlight -- Milford, KS, US (learn the truth about Hallowe'en "monsters" like bats, spiders, snakes, vultures, owls, and other fabulous creatures)
Natchitoches Historic Pilgrimage -- Natchitoches, LA, US (tour historic homes in the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Territory; through tomorrow)
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 -- Peru
San Ernesto Day -- celebration of Che Guevera as a saint among Bolivian campesinos
Sawara Festival -- Chiba, Japan (through the 10th)
Sergeant Alvin C. York Day
St. Demetrius' Day (Patron of Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia)
St. Pelagia's Day (Patron of actresses)
St. Thais' Day (Patron of fallen women)
St. Triduana's Day (Patron against eye disease)
Tube Top Day -- if you dare; i don't
Universal Music Day -- celebrate music as the universal language
Warai Festival -- Wakayama, Japan (laughing festival)
Yom Kippur -- Jewish (began last night at sundown)
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
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
Today, i'll keep it simple.
Rest in peace, Steve Jobs.
You changed our world.
His 2005 Commencement Address at Stanford is here.
The text only is here.
Today is:
Apple Butter Makin' Days -- Mt. Vernon, MO, US (through the 9th; making apple butter on the courthouse lawn, and lots of other fun)
Bathtub Day -- can't confirm this one, but it's as good a day as any to be glad you have one!
Composer Day -- Brazil
Feast Day of Ma'at -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar
Festival of the Deerk Toes -- Fairy Calendar
Festival of Juno Cutitis and Jupiter Fulgor -- Ancient Roman Calendar
Hull Fair -- Hull, England (through the 15th, closed Sunday; a fair that dates back over 700 years)
Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest -- Kitchener and Waterloo, ON, Canada (through the 15th; second largest Oktoberfest in the world)
Lee's National Denim Day
Lepanto Day -- Greece
Nagasaki Kunchi -- Nagasaki, Japan (harvest festival, through the 9th)
National Diversity Day -- vow tolerance, embrace how differences make the world a better place
National Frappe Day
Our Lady of the Rosary -- Catholic Christian
St. Justina of Padua's Day
Tennessee Valley Old-Time Fiddlers Convention -- Athens, AL, US (200 contestants, 18 categories, all crammed into two music filled days; if you love old time fiddle music, this is the place for you)
Victoria, Lady of Victories Day a/k/a Pallas Athena -- Ancient Roman/Greek Calendar (goddess of triumph; date approximate)
World Smile Day / Send A Smile Day -- do one act of kindness, help one person smile
Yom Kippur -- Jewish (begins at sundown)
Birthdays Today:
Simon Cowell, 1959
Michael W. Smith, 1957
Yo-Yo Ma, 1955
Vladimir Putin, 1952
John Cougar Mellencamp, 1951
Bishop Desmond Tutu, 1931
R. D. Laing, 1927
June Allyson, 1917
Vaughn Monroe, 1911
Andy Devine, 1905
Niels Bohr, 1885
James Whitcomb Riley, 1849
Today in History:
The epoch of the modern Hebrew calendar (Proleptic Julian calendar), BC3761
The first public burning of books in Louvain, Netherlands, 1520
Ralph Wedgewood patents carbon paper in London, 1806
The first chartered railway in the US, the Granite Railway, begins operations, 1826
Spain abolishes slavery in Cuba, 1886
Henry Ford institutes the moving assembly line, 1913
Georgia Tech defeats Cumberland college in the infamous 222-0 football game, 1916
160 consecutive days of 100*F+ temperatures begin at Marble Bar, Australia, 1924
Beat poet Allen Ginsberg reads his poem "Howl" for the first time at a poetry reading in San Francisco, 1955
U.S.S.R. probe Luna 3 transmits first ever photographs of the far side of the moon, 1959
Nigeria joins the United Nations, 1960
Oman joins the United Nations, 1971
Cats opens on Broadway and begins a run of nearly 18 years, 1982
The Great Flood of 1993 ends at St. Louis, Missouri, 103 days after it began, 1993
Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, is found tied to a fence after being savagely beaten, 1998
The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan begins, 2001
...to effectively deal with cat "messes" (euphemism intended to be spoken with a very wry look on the face indeed), i came across yet another nifty idea that i figured i could do one better, and a bit cheaper.
Until the time when i can afford a real cat toilet -- yes, they have them, they are called the Cat Genie, and they work, according to my friend Mouse -- i keep trying new solutions to the age old problem of dealing with cat "waste" (see above parenthetical).
We now also have a puppy in the house, and puppies are notorious for being into everything, including the cat's litter boxes.
So, while the litter box that you turn upside down to scoop itself is still working well, and is where Hazelnut doesn't bother it, the other box was a different story. It has to be where the cats of larger avoirdupois (now that is a word!) can access it without having to jump over the items we put up to block the kittens into the kitchen. Yes, we need a playpen for the kittens, but that's another issue altogether, meanwhile, they are blocked into here where they are under my feet all day.
The other box was tempting to Hazelnut, so when i saw one at the pet store that looks like a big Rubbermaid style box with a hole in the lid for access, it got me thinking.
They wanted $35 for a Rubbermaid style box with a hole in the lid. Nope. Instead, i waited until an even larger version of Sterilite box went on sale at a different store, bought that, and cut a hole in the top.
It is bigger than the original design, and less than half the cost.
So far, at least two of the cats are using it.
Hazelnut can't get down into it.
It keeps litter from scattering everywhere, mostly. They do track a bit up on the lid, but i lift that and dump it back in.
Until i get the Cat Genie, it's a good option. It won't stop me from continuing the quest.
Today is:
Armed Forces Day -- Egypt; Montenegro
Chicago International Film Festival -- Chicago, IL, US (oldest competitive international film festival in North America; through the 20th)
Dussehra -- Hindu (a/k/a Dasara, Dashara, or Navaratri; a festival of joy)
Festival of the Other Five Toes -- Fairy Calendar
German Pioneer Day -- Pennsylvania
Ig Noble Prize Ceremony -- Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, US
Ivy Day -- Ireland
Mad Hatter Day (A second crazy day in the year, to balance April Fool's Day)
National German-American Day -- US
National Noodle Day
National Student Day -- US
Physician Assistant Day -- US
St. Faith's Day (Patron of prisoners, soldiers)
St. Bruno's Day
Tshcechu Festival -- Thimphu, Bhutan (masked dance rituals and praying monks are featured in the capital city's colorful festival; through the 8th)
Anniversaries Today:
American Library Association founded in 1876
Birthdays Today:
Elisabeth Shue, 1963
Britt Ekland, 1942
Thor Heyerdahl, 1912
Carole Lombard, 1908
Le Corbusier, 1887
George Westinghouse, 1846
Jenny Lind, 1820
Today in History:
The Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman Republic army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus in the Battle of Arausio, BC105
Founding of Germantown, Pennsylvania by 13 Mennonite families from Germany, 1683
The Americans and French begin the siege of Cornwallis at Yorktown, which becomes the last battle of the American Revolutionary War, 1781
Benjamin Hanks patents a self-winding clock, 1783
Louis XVI accedes to the demands of the women of Paris and returns to that city, 1789
Great Fire of Newcastle and Gateshead begins shortly after midnight, leads to 53 deaths and hundreds of injuries, 1854
The American Chess Association is organized and holds the first major US chess tournament, in NYC, 1857
The American Library Association is organized in Philadelphia, 1876
Thomas Edison shows his first motion picture, 1889
Nabisco Foods debuts its Cream of Wheat, 1893
Beatrix Van Rijk becomes the first licensed Dutch woman pilot, 1911
Opening of The Jazz Singer, the first prominent talking movie, 1927
Egypt launches a coordinated attack against Israel to reclaim land lost in the Six Day War, 1973
Massacre of students gathering at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand to protest the return of ex-dictator Thanom, 1976
Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit the White House, 1979
President of Egypt, Anwar al-Sadat is assassinated, 1981
51 Pegasi is discovered to be the first major star apart from the Sun to have a planet (and extrasolar planet) orbiting around it, 1995
Jason Lewis completes the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe, 2007
