Vacations
The years 2000-2008
The years 2009 through the present
There are a lot of things that are common to both of the periods above. Today I'm focused on one issue. The members of the partisan party not in the Oval Office take cheap shots at the President for the amount of time they spend away from the White House. "Bush spends too much time in Texas." "Obama spends too much time playing golf."
With all of the issues going on in the world right now, do we need to worry about whether or not the president is playing golf? I can't imagine any job in the world having as consistently high stress as being president. There are certainly jobs where people experience brief periods of stress that may be more intense that what the president has to deal with. However, when you're the most powerful man in the world, your stress runs 24/7/365. You don't get the night or the weekend off. When you're playing golf and a terrorist incident happens, you don't get to wait until you finish the round to deal with it.
* * *
Over 20 years ago, the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino installed 50 new slot machines known as "Lion's Share." These machines had a progressive jackpot that no one ever seemed able to win. Slowly, the casino winnowed down the number of machines until there was just one left. However, because they had set this up with a progressive jackpot, they couldn't get rid of the last machine until someone hit the jackpot.
A retired couple from New Hampshire finally got the machine to pay off. They won $2.4 million (before taxes of course). They said they're going to put their grandkids through college. Good for them.
I point this out because it is an interesting story, and to remind all of us that we need to remember that once we commit to doing something, we have to live with that commitment until we fulfill it. With his flaws, this was something my father pointed out to me before I signed the contract to join the Air Force. "Read it carefully before you sign it, and remember, you're stuck with it once you sign it."
We can be sure that the MGM Grand will continue to offer progressive jackpots. But management will remember this. Just like the casino that used to be downtown that had a bank of penny slot machines at a time when no other casinos did. There was a progressive jackpot that no one was ever able to win. When someone finally hit the jackpot, the new jackpot was a car. Funny thing is, if you have a slot machine where there's a non-cash prize, it is no longer a progressive jackpot. So you can pull those slots out anytime you like.
* * *
Dirty politics are going on behind the Orange Curtain in the race for a State Senate seat. Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen is the Republican candidate against Jose Solorio, who is the President of the Board of Trustees for the Rancho Santiago Community College District.
Why are the unions spending so much money to try to defeat a Republican in Orange County, one of the state's strongest GOP bastions? Because the Democratic "super-majority" in the State Senate is in jeopardy.
Solorio's campaign is running ads claiming Nguyen is corrupt, allows her staff to earn high salaries while spending little time in the office and so on. But she has a big lead. Even more interesting is that the newspaper that is the source of the information for these negative advertisements endorsed Nguyen over Solorio.
* * *
I'm binge-watching the first season of L. A. Law and I just finished the episode where "Sid Hershberg" takes his own life in a courtroom, after delivering a closing argument. Only ten or so people showed up for his funeral. That's really sad.
None of us are going to get out of here alive. We will all ultimately die, and go on to whatever is next (if anything). Different faiths have different death rituals. But is it a bad thing that the people who cared about the deceased while he or she was alive don't come to the funeral?
I hate funerals. I can count on one hand the funerals I've been so in the last quarter-century. Four. The two for my maternal grandparents, one for my mother's second husband, and one for a very good friend. I didn't get to my father's funeral as I couldn't afford to fly to Ohio at that moment. I didn't go to the funerals of my paternal grandparents because in one case I was only five or so and in the other I was in the military. I was in the middle of some specialized training that couldn't be easily rescheduled. I felt bad for not being there for my own father at his mother's funeral, but I was secretly relieved.
However, as I've aged, I've also learned that sometimes we have to do things we don't enjoy. It's a sign of respect and affection for those we love to show up as they are honored. So I guess I'll need more hands and/or feet to count on from this point.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
I like President Obama's promise to create a new "culture of accountability" regarding the Veterans Administration.
Giuliana Rancic seems to think that anyone on the red carpet is "gorgeous" and it seems a bit excessive.
The World Health Organization wants to curb e-cigarette use. Can't say that I disagree.
I'm not going to be patronizing Burger King again. Not in light of their decision to move their corporate HQ to Canada to lower their tax bill. I patronize American firms first. I'm very disappointed that Warren Buffett is helping make this deal happen.
There's no way on Earth that an outdoor grill for an individual's backyard is worth $18,000.
Nine year old girls shouldn't be firing Uzi's, especially on full auto mode.
How nice of Governor Moonbeam to make it clear that illegal immigrants are welcome in California as long as he is he Governor.
I did not watch the Emmys or the various red carpet coverage. But I saw a photo of Lena Dunham on the red carpet, and I have to say that it wasn't a good look for her.
Why in the world would the Compton Unified School District Police force need AR-15 rifles?
If I had money and wanted to take a stock market gamble, I'd be selling shares of WWE short right now.
I have no trouble considering TMZ to be a "legitimate" tabloid/entertainment outlet, but every time I see one of their stories tagged as being from TMZ Sports, I have to laugh.
I think it's petty of George Lucas to refuse to release any copies of the original 1977 version of Star Wars as it was shown in theaters.
* * *
August 27th in History:
410 – The sacking of Rome by the Visigoths ends after three days.
1172 – Henry the Young King and Margaret of France are crowned as junior king and queen of England.
1232 – The Formulary of Adjudications is promulgated by Regent Hōjō Yasutoki. (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 1232)
1593 – Pierre Barrière fails in his attempt to assassinate King Henry IV of France.
1689 – The Treaty of Nerchinsk is signed by Russia and the Qing Empire (Julian calendar).
1776 – Battle of Long Island: in what is now Brooklyn, New York, British forces under General William Howe defeat Americans under General George Washington.
1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: the city of Toulon revolts against the French Republic and admits the British and Spanish fleets to seize its port, leading to the Siege of Toulon by French Revolutionary forces.
1798 – Wolfe Tone's United Irish and French forces clash with the British Army in the Battle of Castlebar, part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, resulting in the creation of the French puppet Republic of Connacht.
1810 – Napoleonic Wars: The French Navy defeats the British Royal Navy, preventing them from taking the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France.
1813 – French Emperor Napoleon I defeats a larger force of Austrians, Russians, and Prussians at the Battle of Dresden.
1828 – Uruguay is formally proclaimed independent at preliminary peace talks brokered by the United Kingdom between Brazil and Argentina during the Cisplatine War.
1832 – Black Hawk, leader of the Sauk tribe of Native Americans, surrenders to U.S. authorities, ending the Black Hawk War.
1859 – Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania leading to the world's first commercially successful oil well.
1896 – Anglo-Zanzibar War: the shortest war in world history (09:00 to 09:45), between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.
1914 – Battle of Étreux: a British rearguard action by the Royal Munster Fusiliers during the Great Retreat.
1916 – The Kingdom of Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary, entering World War I as one of the Allied nations.
1918 – Mexican Revolution: Battle of Ambos Nogales — U.S. Army forces skirmish against Mexican Carrancistas and their German advisors in the only battle of World War I fought on American soil.
1921 – The British install the son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali (leader of the Arab Revolt of 1916 against the Ottoman Empire) as King Faisal I of Iraq.
1922 – Greco-Turkish War: The Turkish army takes the Aegean city of Afyonkarahisar from the Kingdom of Greece.
1927 – Five Canadian women file a petition to the Supreme Court of Canada, asking, "Does the word 'Persons' in Section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, include female persons?"
1928 – The Kellogg–Briand Pact outlawing war is signed by the first 15 nations to do so. Ultimately sixty-one nations will sign it.
1933 – The first Afrikaans Bible is introduced during a Bible Festival in Bloemfontein.
1939 – First flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft.
1943 – World War II: Japanese forces evacuate New Georgia Island in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.
1957 – Malaysia's constitution comes into force.
1962 – The Mariner 2 unmanned space mission is launched to Venus by NASA.
1971 – An attempted coup d'état fails in the African nation of Chad. The Government of Chad accuses Egypt of playing a role in the attempt and breaks off diplomatic relations.
1975 – The Governor of Portuguese Timor abandons its capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel group.
1979 – A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb kills British retired admiral Lord Mountbatten and three others while they are boating on holiday in Sligo, Republic of Ireland. Shortly after, 18 British Army soldiers are killed in an ambush near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland.
1982 – Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altıkat is shot and killed in Ottawa, Canada's capital city. Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide claim responsibility, saying they are avenging the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in the 1915 Armenian Genocide.
1985 – The Nigerian government is peacefully overthrown by Army Chief of Staff Major General Ibrahim Babangida.
1991 – The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
1991 – Moldova declares independence from the USSR.
1992 – Super Mario Kart is released in Japan for the Super Famicom, which starts the entire Mario Kart series.
1993 – The Rainbow Bridge, connecting Tokyo's Shibaura and the island of Odaiba, is completed.
2000 – The 540-metre (1,772 ft)-tall Ostankino Tower in Moscow catches fire, three people are killed.
2003 – Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing 34,646,418 miles (55,758,005 km) distant.
2003 – The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.
2006 – Comair Flight 5191 crashes on takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky bound for Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta. Of the passengers and crew, 49 of 50 are confirmed dead in the hours following the crash.
2009 – The Burmese military junta and ethnic armies begin three days of violent clashes in the Kokang Special Region.
2011 – Hurricane Irene strikes the United States east coast, killing 47 and causing an estimated $15.6 billion in damage.
2013 – The riots between two religious communities started at Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Famous Folk born on August 27th:
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Hannibal Hamlin
Charles G. Dawes
C. S. Forester
Lyndon B. Johnson (One of his aides, talking about what it was like working for LBJ said that he wished Johnson was the Pope instead of being the President. When asked why, the aid said "because if he was Pope I'd only have to kiss his ring.)
Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg
Martha Raye
Leo Penn
Ira Levin
Antonia Fraser
Daryl Dragon
Bob Kerrey (American Hero, Medal of Honor Recipient)
Edward Patten (he was a Pip)
Tommy Sands
Tuesday Weld
G. W. Bailey
Barbara Bach
Sgt. Slaughter
Neil Murray
Paul Ruebens
Peter Stomare
Stalking Cat
Downtown Julie Brown
Tom Ford
Cesar Millan
Chandra Wilson
Jim Thome
The Great Khali
Sarah Chalke
Aaron Paul
Patrick J. Adams
The years 2009 through the present
There are a lot of things that are common to both of the periods above. Today I'm focused on one issue. The members of the partisan party not in the Oval Office take cheap shots at the President for the amount of time they spend away from the White House. "Bush spends too much time in Texas." "Obama spends too much time playing golf."
With all of the issues going on in the world right now, do we need to worry about whether or not the president is playing golf? I can't imagine any job in the world having as consistently high stress as being president. There are certainly jobs where people experience brief periods of stress that may be more intense that what the president has to deal with. However, when you're the most powerful man in the world, your stress runs 24/7/365. You don't get the night or the weekend off. When you're playing golf and a terrorist incident happens, you don't get to wait until you finish the round to deal with it.
* * *
Over 20 years ago, the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino installed 50 new slot machines known as "Lion's Share." These machines had a progressive jackpot that no one ever seemed able to win. Slowly, the casino winnowed down the number of machines until there was just one left. However, because they had set this up with a progressive jackpot, they couldn't get rid of the last machine until someone hit the jackpot.
A retired couple from New Hampshire finally got the machine to pay off. They won $2.4 million (before taxes of course). They said they're going to put their grandkids through college. Good for them.
I point this out because it is an interesting story, and to remind all of us that we need to remember that once we commit to doing something, we have to live with that commitment until we fulfill it. With his flaws, this was something my father pointed out to me before I signed the contract to join the Air Force. "Read it carefully before you sign it, and remember, you're stuck with it once you sign it."
We can be sure that the MGM Grand will continue to offer progressive jackpots. But management will remember this. Just like the casino that used to be downtown that had a bank of penny slot machines at a time when no other casinos did. There was a progressive jackpot that no one was ever able to win. When someone finally hit the jackpot, the new jackpot was a car. Funny thing is, if you have a slot machine where there's a non-cash prize, it is no longer a progressive jackpot. So you can pull those slots out anytime you like.
* * *
Dirty politics are going on behind the Orange Curtain in the race for a State Senate seat. Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen is the Republican candidate against Jose Solorio, who is the President of the Board of Trustees for the Rancho Santiago Community College District.
Why are the unions spending so much money to try to defeat a Republican in Orange County, one of the state's strongest GOP bastions? Because the Democratic "super-majority" in the State Senate is in jeopardy.
Solorio's campaign is running ads claiming Nguyen is corrupt, allows her staff to earn high salaries while spending little time in the office and so on. But she has a big lead. Even more interesting is that the newspaper that is the source of the information for these negative advertisements endorsed Nguyen over Solorio.
* * *
I'm binge-watching the first season of L. A. Law and I just finished the episode where "Sid Hershberg" takes his own life in a courtroom, after delivering a closing argument. Only ten or so people showed up for his funeral. That's really sad.
None of us are going to get out of here alive. We will all ultimately die, and go on to whatever is next (if anything). Different faiths have different death rituals. But is it a bad thing that the people who cared about the deceased while he or she was alive don't come to the funeral?
I hate funerals. I can count on one hand the funerals I've been so in the last quarter-century. Four. The two for my maternal grandparents, one for my mother's second husband, and one for a very good friend. I didn't get to my father's funeral as I couldn't afford to fly to Ohio at that moment. I didn't go to the funerals of my paternal grandparents because in one case I was only five or so and in the other I was in the military. I was in the middle of some specialized training that couldn't be easily rescheduled. I felt bad for not being there for my own father at his mother's funeral, but I was secretly relieved.
However, as I've aged, I've also learned that sometimes we have to do things we don't enjoy. It's a sign of respect and affection for those we love to show up as they are honored. So I guess I'll need more hands and/or feet to count on from this point.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
I like President Obama's promise to create a new "culture of accountability" regarding the Veterans Administration.
Giuliana Rancic seems to think that anyone on the red carpet is "gorgeous" and it seems a bit excessive.
The World Health Organization wants to curb e-cigarette use. Can't say that I disagree.
I'm not going to be patronizing Burger King again. Not in light of their decision to move their corporate HQ to Canada to lower their tax bill. I patronize American firms first. I'm very disappointed that Warren Buffett is helping make this deal happen.
There's no way on Earth that an outdoor grill for an individual's backyard is worth $18,000.
Nine year old girls shouldn't be firing Uzi's, especially on full auto mode.
How nice of Governor Moonbeam to make it clear that illegal immigrants are welcome in California as long as he is he Governor.
I did not watch the Emmys or the various red carpet coverage. But I saw a photo of Lena Dunham on the red carpet, and I have to say that it wasn't a good look for her.
Why in the world would the Compton Unified School District Police force need AR-15 rifles?
If I had money and wanted to take a stock market gamble, I'd be selling shares of WWE short right now.
I have no trouble considering TMZ to be a "legitimate" tabloid/entertainment outlet, but every time I see one of their stories tagged as being from TMZ Sports, I have to laugh.
I think it's petty of George Lucas to refuse to release any copies of the original 1977 version of Star Wars as it was shown in theaters.
* * *
August 27th in History:
410 – The sacking of Rome by the Visigoths ends after three days.
1172 – Henry the Young King and Margaret of France are crowned as junior king and queen of England.
1232 – The Formulary of Adjudications is promulgated by Regent Hōjō Yasutoki. (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 1232)
1593 – Pierre Barrière fails in his attempt to assassinate King Henry IV of France.
1689 – The Treaty of Nerchinsk is signed by Russia and the Qing Empire (Julian calendar).
1776 – Battle of Long Island: in what is now Brooklyn, New York, British forces under General William Howe defeat Americans under General George Washington.
1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: the city of Toulon revolts against the French Republic and admits the British and Spanish fleets to seize its port, leading to the Siege of Toulon by French Revolutionary forces.
1798 – Wolfe Tone's United Irish and French forces clash with the British Army in the Battle of Castlebar, part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, resulting in the creation of the French puppet Republic of Connacht.
1810 – Napoleonic Wars: The French Navy defeats the British Royal Navy, preventing them from taking the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France.
1813 – French Emperor Napoleon I defeats a larger force of Austrians, Russians, and Prussians at the Battle of Dresden.
1828 – Uruguay is formally proclaimed independent at preliminary peace talks brokered by the United Kingdom between Brazil and Argentina during the Cisplatine War.
1832 – Black Hawk, leader of the Sauk tribe of Native Americans, surrenders to U.S. authorities, ending the Black Hawk War.
1859 – Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania leading to the world's first commercially successful oil well.
1896 – Anglo-Zanzibar War: the shortest war in world history (09:00 to 09:45), between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.
1914 – Battle of Étreux: a British rearguard action by the Royal Munster Fusiliers during the Great Retreat.
1916 – The Kingdom of Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary, entering World War I as one of the Allied nations.
1918 – Mexican Revolution: Battle of Ambos Nogales — U.S. Army forces skirmish against Mexican Carrancistas and their German advisors in the only battle of World War I fought on American soil.
1921 – The British install the son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali (leader of the Arab Revolt of 1916 against the Ottoman Empire) as King Faisal I of Iraq.
1922 – Greco-Turkish War: The Turkish army takes the Aegean city of Afyonkarahisar from the Kingdom of Greece.
1927 – Five Canadian women file a petition to the Supreme Court of Canada, asking, "Does the word 'Persons' in Section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, include female persons?"
1928 – The Kellogg–Briand Pact outlawing war is signed by the first 15 nations to do so. Ultimately sixty-one nations will sign it.
1933 – The first Afrikaans Bible is introduced during a Bible Festival in Bloemfontein.
1939 – First flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft.
1943 – World War II: Japanese forces evacuate New Georgia Island in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.
1957 – Malaysia's constitution comes into force.
1962 – The Mariner 2 unmanned space mission is launched to Venus by NASA.
1971 – An attempted coup d'état fails in the African nation of Chad. The Government of Chad accuses Egypt of playing a role in the attempt and breaks off diplomatic relations.
1975 – The Governor of Portuguese Timor abandons its capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel group.
1979 – A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb kills British retired admiral Lord Mountbatten and three others while they are boating on holiday in Sligo, Republic of Ireland. Shortly after, 18 British Army soldiers are killed in an ambush near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland.
1982 – Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altıkat is shot and killed in Ottawa, Canada's capital city. Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide claim responsibility, saying they are avenging the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in the 1915 Armenian Genocide.
1985 – The Nigerian government is peacefully overthrown by Army Chief of Staff Major General Ibrahim Babangida.
1991 – The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
1991 – Moldova declares independence from the USSR.
1992 – Super Mario Kart is released in Japan for the Super Famicom, which starts the entire Mario Kart series.
1993 – The Rainbow Bridge, connecting Tokyo's Shibaura and the island of Odaiba, is completed.
2000 – The 540-metre (1,772 ft)-tall Ostankino Tower in Moscow catches fire, three people are killed.
2003 – Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing 34,646,418 miles (55,758,005 km) distant.
2003 – The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.
2006 – Comair Flight 5191 crashes on takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky bound for Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta. Of the passengers and crew, 49 of 50 are confirmed dead in the hours following the crash.
2009 – The Burmese military junta and ethnic armies begin three days of violent clashes in the Kokang Special Region.
2011 – Hurricane Irene strikes the United States east coast, killing 47 and causing an estimated $15.6 billion in damage.
2013 – The riots between two religious communities started at Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Famous Folk born on August 27th:
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Hannibal Hamlin
Charles G. Dawes
C. S. Forester
Lyndon B. Johnson (One of his aides, talking about what it was like working for LBJ said that he wished Johnson was the Pope instead of being the President. When asked why, the aid said "because if he was Pope I'd only have to kiss his ring.)
Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg
Martha Raye
Leo Penn
Ira Levin
Antonia Fraser
Daryl Dragon
Bob Kerrey (American Hero, Medal of Honor Recipient)
Edward Patten (he was a Pip)
Tommy Sands
Tuesday Weld
G. W. Bailey
Barbara Bach
Sgt. Slaughter
Neil Murray
Paul Ruebens
Peter Stomare
Stalking Cat
Downtown Julie Brown
Tom Ford
Cesar Millan
Chandra Wilson
Jim Thome
The Great Khali
Sarah Chalke
Aaron Paul
Patrick J. Adams
posted by me at 11:22 AM
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