SON DAY

Yes, today belongs to the Son.  

From Genesis 2: 1-3  Thus the heavens and the earth were all completed in their vast array.  And by the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.  Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.

Eons later, God's son was murdered by His own people while teaching them about God - and on the seventh day, God raised him from the dead so that you would know that Jesus was the Son of God.   

Respect the day!

.

DERBY DAY

 It's the first Saturday in May and time for the Kentucky Derby.  Did you ever wonder where we got that word Derby for a contest?  

The etymology of the word dates it to a town called Deorby in England;  meaning "Deer Village."  Eventually, there was a county called Derbyshire.   In the 18th century, the 12th Earl of Derby founded a horse race at Epsom Downs that he called the Derby.  In the 19th century, all kinds of sporting events began being called "Derby".

Now you know.  

If you want me to pick a horse today, I'll take Commandment.  As for Renegade, the favorite hasn't won from the rail in almost 40 years.  

MAY DAY

Here's an entry I made 14 years ago and part of another I made just 7 years ago.  Notice that the first was about six weeks before I retired.

5/01/2012

MAY DAY

The first of May is May Day and in many countries it is a holiday.  It celebrates the start of Spring and all that goes with it. 

In many other countries, May Day is the equivalent of our labor day.  A day off work to celebrate the worker. 

In the US, we work.  If you are working today, be mindful that most of the rest of the world is not.

I don't plan on working on this date next year.
:)

5/01/2019

MAYDAY

May Day.  Mayday!  This has nothing to do with May Day.

Verbal "Mayday" is the same as SOS by Morse Code.  It means you are in trouble! Deep shit!  . . . but why "mayday"?

It's all because of the French.  In French, "m'aider" means "help me".  Believe it or not, the French pronounce "m'aider" as "mayday."

If you're in peril, say it three times: "Mayday, mayday, mayday, identify yourself and your vehicle, describe the problem, your location, then the actions you are taking and plan to take."   After this, a short prayer is in order.

WISDOM

Almost everyone falls into this trap.  Be aware!

People tend to overestimate what they can accomplish in the short run 

and 

underestimate what they can accomplish in the long run.  

The short run is an hour, a day, a week, a season.  Some things are just hard.  Don't get discouraged because everything doesn't happen quickly.  Don't restrict your goals to short time-limits.  Persist!  Keep at it!  You CAN do it!

... and, don't forget that I love you.

MIDWEEK PRAYER

 Let's be thankful this week.  We have so much to be thankful for.

Heavenly Father,

I come before You with a heart full of gratitude.

Thank You for the gift of life, for the breath in my lungs,

and for the countless blessings—both seen and unseen—that You pour into my days.

Thank You for the strength to face challenges,

for the lessons learned through trials,

and for the joy that comes in moments of peace.

I am grateful for the people You’ve placed in my life—

those who encourage, guide, and love me.

Thank You for Your unfailing mercy,

for Your provision in times of need,

and for the hope that anchors my soul.

May my life be a reflection of Your goodness,

and may my words and actions bring glory to Your name.

Today and always, I give You thanks.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

BEES

You gotta love bees.  It's not hyperbole to say we would eventually all starve if we didn't have bees.  There are a few other creatures that assist in the fertilization of most plant life but not many.  Pollinators are so very important.  

That said, this time of year you might see bees hanging around outside your house.  These might be carpenter bees or bumble bees.  

Carpenter bees look for new places to live and raise a family this time of year.  They like wood best but sometimes any crevice will do.  Yes, they nibble on the wood but not so much that your house will fall down.  Old wood is their favorite. Carpenter bees are solitary creatures who don't live in large colonies. Still, it is a good idea to discourage them from living too close to where you or children live and play. 

Bumble bees look for places to live underground.  It's not good to have them too close to where you live and play either.  They live in moderate sized colonies so you could see a lot of them.  None of these bees are a big risk of stinging you unless you threaten their home.  

Honey bees are the ones who live in hives - large colonies.  Their whole life is all about honey and taking care of "honey".  They are great polinators.  Honey bees are hairy and golden/brown.  Bumble bees are larger and very fuzzy.  You can be distinguished the bumble bee from carpenter bees by a close inspection of the thorax - main body.  Place this little diddy in your memory bank - bumble bees have a fuzzy fanny while carpenter bees have a shiny heinie.  

Good luck with bees this Summer.   

Carpenter bee 👉

Bumble bee 👇

QUIZZZZ

How often does our Sun light up exactly half of the moon?  

Please answer by comment.  Don't be afraid.  Identify yourself.  I won't make fun of your incorrect answers.  You idiots.  

TIDBITS

 TID BITS

Did you know that USB stands for Universal Serial Bus? ... and that a USB-A and a USB-C are different.  They are.  USB-A is the original - the old standard.  It must be plugged in a certain way.  The USB-C is a newer, smaller connector that can be installed in either direction,  It can handle more information and do it more quickly than the orginal.  Newer computers and cars have both available.  

By the way, what is a "tid"?  

HUMMINGBIRDS

Okay, you're going to think I'm crazy.  I searched my blog for the word hummingbird and all of these came up.  Just so you can see what happens when you search a word.  (Some images didn't copy)

10/10/2019

THIS N THAT

Mr. and Mrs. Oss should never have named their daughter Kay.



When we sent the Voyager satellites on a never-ending journey into space, we sent along a metalic phonograph record that would tell alien recipients all about Earth and Earthlings.  It includes Chuck Berry's recording of "Johnny Be Good."  No wonder they stopped visiting us. 


The State of Ohio instituted the 20 mph speed limit in school zones on August 14, 1937.  Did cars go that fast back then?

🚗🚗🛺🛺🚘

Only one bird can fly backward - the hummingbird . . . unless the wind is real strong.

Did you realize that the Alphabet Song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star have the same melody?
ABCDEFG ⭐⭐⭐⭐

5/28/2020

THIS N THAT

In the spirit of the season, listen to Admiral William McRaven's address to University of Texas at Austin graduates of 2014.  Even if you've heard it before - do it again.  Share it with your children.  You'll easily find it on YouTube.


My personal go-to name for people (mostly drivers) who disappoint me is "idiot"; much to my wife's chagrin.  My father liked to call people "numb skulls".  I don't hear that descriptive used any more.


A hummingbird cannot walk or hop.  Their legs are used for standing/perching only.  On the other hand, they can fly straight up, straight down and backwards.  Who needs to walk?
 
Do young people ever slow dance any more?  If they do, I'm not aware.  If they don't, it's a big mistake.  Seems like courting, these days, skips over a lot of the good parts.  Dancing cheek to cheek.

When I walk regularly at Sharon Woods, I'm always thrilled by the sight of the Great Blue Heron which reside there.  I hear that some young have been hatched high in the trees.  The fledglings won't fly for at least two months. 

3/08/2018

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING

The horn of a rhinoceros is made of hair...and no, mothers, they have no horn at birth.  Ouch!

In the famous opera by Puccini, Madama Butterfly's real name is Cio-Cio San.   The text of an opera, the words that go with the music, is called the libretto.

At one time, Carthage was the most powerful city in the world.   The great general of the Carthaginian army was Hannibal.  Then came the rise of Rome, the Roman Empire and the Punic Wars.  Did you know Carthage was in Tunisia?

The hummingbird is the only bird that can really fly backwards...and no, they don't hum.

Ferdinand Magellan is the 'elementary school' answer to who completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth.  Not quite true.  He did lead the expedition westward from Spain but was killed in the Philippines.  In all, about 232 sailors died trying to make it around the world that first time.  Not every place they visited was happy to see them.
😆

5/07/2020

THIS N THAT

Among others, hummingbirds are now migrating northward.  The first ruby throated variety have been spotted in Ohio.  Feed them, they need help.  Boil 1 cup of water and then dissolve 1/4 cup of white sugar in it.  After it cools, set it out - they will find it.


The system of reading and writing used by the visually impaired was actually named after it's inventor Louis Braille - a French educator from the first part of the 19th century.  Note: it's more than an alphabet.

Wisdom from strange places this week:  from a bad movie  "Getting married so you can have sex is like buying an airplane so you can eat the peanuts."


In 19th century America, venereal disease was rampant and commonly called "the calamity."   Some think that's how Jane got her name. 


A year ago on 6/6/2019, I made note of the Space-X launch of multiple communications satellites into low Earth orbit.  More have been placed in orbit and seeing them can be spectacular - it's like a train crossing the sky - easily visible with the naked eye.  Dial up www.findstarlink.com on your trusty device and input your location.  They'll tell you when they will be visible to you.  You can even sign up for email notifications. Nice people!

2/03/2022

THIS N THAT

Advice gleaned from things I've recently heard. 

"Are you trying to be perfect in what you do?  Don't let Perfection get in the way of Great."

👍

Happiness is not diminished by being shared. 

- - Buddha 

The smallest of all birds is the 'bee hummingbird'.  It is native to Cuba.  

🐝

The late John Lennon had a cat he called "Jesus".  

🐈

Crimea is a peninsula extending into the Black Sea from Ukraine.  It is a land of 2.4 million people most of whom have Russian heritage.  Yalta is it's major city.  Russia has taken control of this area since 2014.  It is considered part of the Russian Federation by Putin's government.  The only land access to Crimea is thru Ukraine.  If there is an invasion of Ukraine by the Russians, Crimea is a big reason.

😡

3/18/2025

THINGS I'VE LEARNED RECENTLY

Recently I've learned that:

A hummingbird's tongue is twice as long as it's beak.

Would you have guessed that?  Do they really like those bell-shaped flowers we see them frequenting  or, do they go to them because no other creature has a tongue that long?  

Do we feed them just so we can watch them eat?  How weird is that?  

Wonder what they feasted on before we taught them to eat/drink sugar water.  There may be baby hummingbirds who think all flowers are plastic.  Could it be that we've ruined this creature?  

Did you know that these birds have no knees.  You've heard the expression "bee's knees" of course.  Well, hummingbirds have no knees.  The can't walk.  They can stand or hop, but not walk.  No wonder they fly while they eat.  

Like most birds - the males are most pretty.  Pretty, but - - - sex occurs in the air between hummingbirds and lasts 3-5 seconds.  Who said, "So?"   Luckily, they can fly upward and downward and backward - they're the only bird that can do that.  

Enough!  Try to see the tongue working at your feeder this summer.

MIDWEEK PRAYER

"Give us this day our daily bread."  This is the start of the second half of the prayer we call the "Lord's Prayer" because it is the one Jesus taught us.  To many, it is known by it's first two words; the "Our Father".  

The second half of the prayer is the asking part.  That's the part most people think is prayer. Gimme, gimme, gimme.  

Do you recognize the first part as a prayer?  "Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name."  To hallow is to make holy, to venerate, to give the greatest respect.  Is that a prayer?  Sure, we are wishing that God's name is always respected.  That is a prayer.   

What else?  We are wishing the this Earth becomes like Heaven; "Thy kingdom come and Thy will be done."  

So the first part of the prayer that Jesus taught us says nothing about what we need; only that we want what God wants.  That is praying. 

The next time you repeat this common prayer, think about the first part - it's more important than the second.  Think about what you can do to make it happen. 

CHASE

 Ja'Marr Chase

Chase Brown

Salmon Chase

Chase Burns

Police Chase  

Chase Bank

It's all part of Cincinnati!

If you're not familiar with Salmon Chase, check out my entry of 2/23/20.  

OH MON

Oh Mon.  That sounds like something you would hear in Jamaica.  Here in the States, we say "Oh Man."  Chris Columbus was the first Euro to see the beautiful island and the Spanish owned it until the 1600s when Great Britian took it away and taught the locals to speak with a British accent.  Thus, they say "Mon" instead of "Man".  In 1962, the Jamaican people had enough of the Brits and achieved their independence.  The still say "Mon."  

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, here's the unrelated story.  There is a country in the Middle East called Oman.  It is pronounced, "Oh mon'" and it is a sultanate i.e. governed by a Sultan in the capital city of Muscat.  It sits on the Arabian Peninsula and is boardered by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emerites (UAE), Yemen, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman.  Just like we have Alaska disjointed from the original 48 by Canada, Oman has two little exclaves separated from the main country by UAE.  Significantly, one of those, called Musandam, sits at the tip of the peninsula and it the promontory land extending into the Strait of Harmuz. 

Now my madness is coming clear, isn't it?  Isn't it?  Oh Mon Oman!  Luckily, we are friendly with the Omanis.  Sadly, the Omanis are friendly with the Iranis.  Oman is 86% Muslim and Iran is 99% but the Sunni and Shia mix is different.  From Oman to Iran is just a few miles swim.  Where does their loyalty lie?  That is an important question.  Oh mon, I'm confused.  

Remember this:  Oman has been governed by the same family since 1744;  the Al Bu Said dynasty. Their motto is:  Whatever Al Bu Said was the law. 

Now that I've played with words quite enough, let's all try to figure out if the strait of Harmuz is open or closed to traffic.  That answer has changed so often and so quickly that I've gotten a sore neck trying to keep up with it.  I'm so amused by this Harmuz business and Trump trying to smooze all involved.  Get me outta here.  

TIDBITS

 TID BITS

Here's a fact you can stump your friends with.  The Masters Championship played last week at Augusta National Golf Course is the premiere event in the long golf season.  Anyway, who holds the record for lowest score on that course?  Amazingly, it is an amateur and not one you're likely to have heard of.  His name is Jefferson B.A. Knox.  Jeff is a club member there and is considered the best amateur golfer in the state of Georgia.  They use Jeff to play with the pros at the Masters when there is an odd number of players on a Saturday -  as a pacer.  Anyway, he has recorded a 61 on the course, 11 under par.  No pro has done that. 

*

I'm embarrassed at how many times I have placed a half cup of coffee in the microwave for 30 seconds to warm it and find the cup there the next day.  Talk about short term memory!  Talk about being easily distracted!  If you have done it, you're not alone.

*

Hope everyone got their taxes submitted to the IRS by yesterday.  When the Federal Income Tax was first introduced in 1913, the taxes had to be submitted by March 1 of the following year.  In 1918, they changed the date to March 15.  In 1955, the date was changed to April 15.

*

By the way, what is a "tid"?   If you don't know, ask a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or Latin student.  

WORDS

When I was a kid, the purported longest word in the English language was Antidisestablishmentarianism.  It meant that a state church, (at the time it was the Church of England) should not be disestablished or broken away or separated from the state.  It's a word that is still in use.  I count 28 letters.  

This may not be legal but there is a lake on the common border between Connecticut and Massachusetts with this name:  Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaug Lake.  I'm not sure if I spelled it correctly but who could challenge me?  The person who coined the name evidently had a stuttering problem or some mental block that wouldn't let him stop.  My guess is that this has Indian origin.  If I counted correctly, there are 44 letters.  Whatever peoples used this language must have perished trying to teach their children to read and write.  I'm told the locals call it Webster Lake (maybe because there is a whole Websters dictionary included in the name).   The name is in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

SMILE, IT'S THURSDAY.   YOU'RE OVER THE HUMP!