Welcome
- November 1, 2022
- National Authors Day 2022
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When I was a kid I was a big fan of the literature by Isaak Yudovich Ozimov aka Dr Issac Asimov (1920-1992). I felt that his insights into the scientific world gave a depth to his science fiction which imparted relevancy — and he was that intersection of both science fiction and science fact that naturally appealed to my early diffuse interests.
Dr Asimov fell victim to a serious heart attack. In December 1983 he underwent a triple bypass surgery at NYU Medical Center, during which he contracted HIV from a blood transfusion.
His HIV status was kept secret because he and his family feared the anti AIDS prejudice which might be directed at both him and his family members.
He died in Manhattan on April 6, 1992, and was cremated with a reported cause of death as heart and kidney failure.
What a tragic ending for one of the greatest minds the world has ever produced.
He remained the favorite author of this wayward manchild thoughout the greater proportion of my lifetime.
Today is National Author’s Day. It is a day to spend with those works by your favorite author. I will likely spend the day reading either The Positronic Man, or I, Robot, or perhaps even Fantastic Voyage for the umpteenth time.
However you choose to spend the day I hope you'll consider the sadness I have over the loss of my favorite author so many years ago.
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- November 1, 2022
- All Saints Day 2022
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I've lost so many relatives over the years. It is sometimes overwhelming to think of how alone I actually am these days.
I try to remember those who have passed this earthly existence. Not all of them are saints, but some of them are in my limited mortal mind.
Today is All Saints Day aka All Hallows' Day aka the Feast of All Saints aka the Feast of All Hallows aka the Solemnity of All Saints aka Hallowmas.
The day is a Christian solemnity or feast day of the highest rank and is celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are known or unknown.
The day is meant for attending Church services and involves the visitation of cemeteries and praying for the dead.
Hallelujah !
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- October 31, 2022
- Halloween 2022
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- October 30, 2022
- Buy a Doughnut Day 2022
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Yes, ladies and gentlemen I have been known to purchase a donut or two over the years.
There was a time in my life where I viewed them as satisfactory ... if not fattening nutrition.
Upon evaluation of the standard Krispy Kreme glazed yeast donut I came to understand the folly of this and radically decreased the amount of those I consumed.
However, I did buy many more than I ate primarily as a function of work related endeavors.
Once I bought six dozen donuts and set them on the counter at work. It seems that the man handling the paper recycling came in and absconded with all six dozen by placing them on top of the paper in his bin as he left the floor.
As it turns out he became increasingly brazen and made the mistake of robbing purses in City Hall whereby he was captured on security video and fired. My good friend Sam looked far and wide for those six dozen Krispy Kremes as well. Luckily several in the department saw me put them on the counter and this became an item of contention with the fired thief who did not contest the accusations ...
Because as we all know it's not character defamation WHEN IT'S TRUE.
Buy a Doughnut Day occurs on October 30.
Time to go to your favorite dispensary of those lovely sugary pastry creations and gobble down a few.
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- October 29, 2022
- National Internet Day 2022
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It's National Internet Day. Held each 29th of October it offers a time we can sit back and consider the internet ... what it is, what it was, and where it's going.
The internet has it's origins in Arpanet — which even predates me in the field. The lifespan of The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network was from 1969 til 1990. I entered the computer field in 1973. It was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first networks to implement the now ubiquitous TCP/IP protocol stack.
This precursor was the beginnings of what became the technical foundation of the Internet.
The internet is a global network of computers and communications gear which provide information and communications between networks internationally using standardized communication protocols which acts as a set of standards by which disparate networks may communicate and therefore interoperate with each other.
A common denominator crossing international boundaries between systems if you will.
The topology of the internet has evolved traversing copper, wireless, fiberoptic, and satellite media operations and who knows what quantum modality may find it's way to mainstream use in the future.
So while some surf using a cell phone I prefer a full node with multiple addresses, a functional server cluster, and several multihomed workstations and printers in the mix. Though I did occasionally over the years utilize a cell phone for internet access ... that was then and this is now. Cell phone internet access just offends my sensibilities.
I like a fairly late generation processor in the I7 or later family, a large set of dual monitors and a strong backlit mechanical keyboard at my disposal.
Actually, I have considered blocking my resources from cell phones altogether but that didn't go over too well with some of my cohorts.
After going through all the trouble to implement a mobile site I continue to have contempt for cell phone web surfing which I consider to be the domain of juveniles and other low tech individuals. However, to each their own.
Happy National Internet Day to you regardless.
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- October 28, 2022
- Wild Foods Day 2022
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When I was a kid a man named Euell Gibbons was on television pitching a bunch of foodstuffs like Post Grapenuts cereal with his expertise based on the acquisition of wild foods and foraging in the uncultivated areas of the country.
I recall reading how he suffered stomach cancer and couldn't help but feel that he had sustained this as the result of his "stalking" of the wild asparagus and other things consumed raw in the wild.
Most assuredly I could be wrong.
Be all of this as it may, aside from various mushrooms which I feel warrant particular attention and identification I think that eating a berry or two from a plant in the wild is okay.
However, I do prefer organically grown cultivated fruits and vegetables as opposed to the wild produce that Mr Gibson preferred.
Today is Wild Foods Day. It is observed annually each October 28 by those attuned to eating from the things that grow wild.
It is also a time to celebrate wildflowers as well as fruit, and vegetables.
People have eaten plants as food items from the wild for millenia.
They are also finding their way into the menus of gourmet establishments as well as raw food places as part of the trendy froth of human existence.
While they indeed may be free of preservatives the pesticides may sometimes quite questionable particularly on foodstuffs found in right of ways and along railroad tracks.
While consuming them may add to some environmentally conscious lifestyle, remember Euell Gibbons.
He developed stomach cancer and died from a diet rich in those wild uncultivated food items he hunted and ate then about which he wrote books.
Be careful.
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- October 27, 2022
- Boxer Shorts Day 2022
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Over the years, sometimes the question of the hour has been "boxers or briefs?" to which I typically respond "briefs" because those are indeed my preferred style of foundation garments.
Though I have occasionally been known to wear boxers their configuration finds me typically ending up with most or all of my package hanging out the fly and it's pretty much an uncomfortable arrangement for one as bashful me.
So I keep everything swathed in an underwear which keeps everything inside and my stuff covered adequately.
Today is Boxer Shorts Day. It is a US observance said to be that day to make known a preference for the undergarments known as Boxers — in an effort to sway the public I suppose.
Be all of this as it may each October 27 finds me still preferring briefs for the aformentioned reasons and I'd just as soon not be on display should I find myself in some compromising situation.
God help me if I ever end up in prison and have to shuck down like they depict on the documentaries of entry into incarceration processing.
I dare say I prefer death to following some of those instructions I've heard barked by some dullard correctional officer to new inmates.
This may be the underlying thing which keeps me conforming to the law and order orientation I've had in place for as long as I remember.
It is said that most of the men and women in the United States like boxers.
I'm quite happy to continue to be contrary thank you.
The topic is one too personal for me to allow most to pursue.
Briefs. Not Boxers.
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- October 26, 2022
- Day of the Deployed 2022
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My brothers and I all enlisted in the Navy.
Actually, I was the last to enlist which is strange being the oldest. I came to a fork in the road which was actually that space between a rock and a hard place.
I recall how glad my daddy was that I had enlisted and he even took me down there to see to it all.
Of my brothers and I none made a career of the navy.
I'm sorry that my daddy didn't live to see my nephew make Chief Petty Officer.
He is better than halfway through a 20 year enlistment and he seems to have taken to it quite nicely.
Today is National Day of the Deployed. It happens on October 26 and is the day to say Thank You to all military serving outside the US and to their families who keep things running at home in their absence.
My nephew is deployed overseas while his family remains stateside.
So in the vernacular of the Navy I say Bravo Zulu.
Well done and smooth sailing.
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- October 25, 2022
- National I Care About You Day 2022
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The concept of caring about another has many permutations. I care for others indeed, but likewise care for some of them more than others.
Take Chiefie. There is nothing she could ask of me that I wouldn't attempt my utmost to make reality.
I have others in my life for whom I care as well. However, not as much as the woman I would have for my very own. Certain rights come with that territory and she holds the key to my heart.
Today we observe National I Care About You Day.
It happens on October 25 and bids you take pause and consider those most important to your feelings and orientation to the planet.
We should plan something special for them that they might know the depth of our caring and consideration of them.
And for no other reason than she is in my life I declare to her and the rest of the world that I am very grateful.
We have a healthy relationship and lifestyle. We don't get together as much as I might like but unlike the Dave of the past I am now more socially aware and sensitive to the needs of others.
So Happy National I Care About You Day and I hope you care for someone as much as I care for Chiefie.
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- October 24, 2022
- Take Back Your Time Day 2022
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The act of taking back your time is an effort by the lazy bones in the workplace whining about being overworked.
My complaints regarding work was not the amount of work nor the hours ...
They were all about my perception of the incompetence surrounding me.
Today is Take Back Your Time Day.
It is observed each October 24th and is one of those trifling little humanist things that try to claim that the time requirements of a paycheck overtaxes our existence.
So while I feel there is NO epidemic of "overwork" in the United States; here we have a sniveling crybaby observance to the contrary.
Shutup stupid lazy people.
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- October 23, 2022
- World Priest Day 2022
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When I was a much younger man just having recently left the navy I knew a fair number of people.
Some were friends, others acquaintances, and others ... well either frenemies ... or not.
Two of my acquaintances were Mr and Mrs Del Priore who lived off Elmwood Avenue in a large beautiful home Mr Del Priore was refurbishing.
The Del Priore family had a number of artisans who were all highly talented and skilled — and he was simply one of them.
I dare say his remodeling skills are second to none and I was always impressed with his work.
They had a precocious curly red headed child named Dorian I would have the opportunity to observe periodically and this child had a few insightful moments in my presence which were surprising to me personally.
I always enjoyed seeing him to just experience whatever happened next. He was full of surprises.
A few years back I learned he had grown up to become an Episcopalian Priest and is now Reverend Dorian Del Priore. The last time I checked he was in the St Peter's Episcopal Church in Greenville.
So there you have it. A success story of a child who grew up to be a man of profound faith and followed that faith into a calling of leadership within the body of Christ.
I think of him today because it is World Priest Day.
The day is celebrated and affirms those who commit their lives to God and His Church. The day provides an opportunity to express your support for these people who place us before themselves.
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- October 22, 2022
- Smart is Cool Day 2022
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I recall having a pretty good record with intelligence during my school years.
Often times this was not reflected in my grades.
So perhaps I was likely the worst student you ever encountered in your life but I surprised my teachers and others repeatedly with knowledge they didn't have a reason to think was there.
Like scoring highest on standardized tests with Fs on your report card.
Later there was technical subject matter expertise that likewise took others by surprise and the workplace by storm.
The entire notion of my teaching college as full time permanent faculty and a 20 year tenure was the subject of protracted doubt among some of my peers.
I had a couple of people from high school in my classes and they too said they were astounded.
Be all of this as it may I never viewed IQ as a bragging right or otherwise.
I simply played the hand that I was dealt and history records that I was a smart person by all measured metrics.You are what you are and you is what you is.
Frank Zappa
From You Are What You Is is
1981
Today is Smart is Cool Day. It is held on October 22 and recognizes, appreciates, and celebrates being smart.
I never received accolades for my work which went to to others farther up the totem pole. The geek factor was also a thing with which I had to contend sometimes.
However, I did pack away a very healthy paycheck when I showed them what I can do.
Happy Smart is Cool Day and I hope you wow your cohorts daily !
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- October 21, 2022
- Celebration of the Mind Day 2022
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Today is known as Celebration of the Mind Day.
It is observed on October 21.
This corresponds to the birthday of the famous mathematician, Martin Gardner.
It was initiated under the auspices of Developed by the Gathering 4 Gardner Foundation and is meant to unite people for a day to explore puzzles, games, math, and magic.
Martin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer who became very popular during his heyday.
He published in excess of 100 books. His areas included puzzles and recreational mathematics.
He was born October 21, 1914 and died May 22, 2010.
His favorite authors were Lewis Carroll, L. Frank Baum, and G. K. Chesterton and he was considered a subject matter expert on Lewis Carroll.
He was a respected skeptic and debunked all manner of pseudoscience as well as pursuing the veracity of extrordinary claims during his lifetime.
He was also skilled at magic and illusion and was an influential magician in the 20th century.
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- October 20, 2022
- Office Chocolate Day 2022
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My life became that of a chocoholic.
I appear to be "allergic" to chocolate. Every time I consume any I break out in severe acne.
The medical literature has repeatedly stated that chocolate has absolutely no effect on acne.
Someone probably forgot to tell all of the zits on my face resulting from eating chocolate that fact. I don't get them otherwise.
I used to be a voluntary participant in Office Chocolate Day.
Prior to being run off from my place of employment I indulged all of the traditional chocolate holidays. I even pursued flavored creamer supplies for the office which included chocolate.
I purchase Ghiradelli’s Premium Hot Chocolate mix by the case and hand it out as well still.
It is reported that the phenylalanine in chocolate has been proven to lift moods and alleviate stress.
It's reputation as a mood lifter is the stuff of legend.
But alas my workplace did not appreciate me and decided to subject me to an unacceptable work environment.
So I departed never to look back or return. With me went my office chocolate.
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