Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Stuff

    
 
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Here I am out East of Tucson again, in the scattered scrub near the mountains. Eva and I will be spending the week taking care of things while the folks are away on business.

I hope to get some new and interesting pictures while I am out here in the wild.

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P.Z. Myers has written a short essay for The Washington Post titled An atheist’s guide to the good life and it is so easy to understand that any thinking person can see clearly the simple truths contained within it.

One must necessarily be a half-wit to ignore or deny the logic.

Of course, committed Christians deny logic all the time.

LINK

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TRIVIA

The word volcano originally comes from the name of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day. August 27 in 1883, the most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurred on Krakatau (also called Krakatoa), a small, uninhabited volcanic island located west of Sumatra in Indonesia,. Heard 3,000 miles away, the explosions threw five cubic miles of earth 50 miles into the air, created 120-foot tsunamis and killed 36,000 people.

Excitement turned to horror as Krakatau literally blew itself apart, setting off a chain of natural disasters that would be felt around the world for years to come. An enormous blast on the afternoon of August 26 destroyed the northern two-thirds of the island; as it plunged into the Sunda Strait, between the Java Sea and Indian Ocean, the gushing mountain generated a series of pyroclastic flows (fast-moving fluid bodies of molten gas, ash and rock) and monstrous tsunamis that swept over nearby coastlines. Four more eruptions beginning at 5:30 a.m. the following day proved cataclysmic. Fine dust from the explosion drifted around the earth, causing spectacular sunsets and forming an atmospheric veil that lowered temperatures worldwide by several degrees.

Of the estimated 36,000 deaths resulting from the eruption, at least 31,000 were caused by the tsunamis created when much of the island fell into the water. The greatest of these waves measured 120 feet high, and washed over nearby islands, stripping away vegetation and carrying people out to sea. Another 4,500 people were scorched to death from the pyroclastic flows that rolled over the sea, stretching as far as 40 miles, according to some sources.

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WORD FOR TODAY

volcano
noun
A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot magma, volcanic ash and gases to escape from the magma chamber below the surface.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
 

Paul Reubens
(born August 27, 1952)
Paul Reubens is an American actor, writer, film producer, game show host, and comedian, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman. In 1982, Reubens introduced The Pee-wee Herman Show and it ran for five sold-out months.

Pee-wee became an instant cult figure and for the next decade Reubens would be completely committed to his character, doing all of his public appearances and interviews as Pee-wee. In 1985 Pee-wee's Big Adventure was a financial success and, despite receiving mixed reviews, it developed into a cult film. Big Top Pee-wee, 1988's sequel, was less successful than its predecessor. Between 1986 and 1990, Reubens starred as Pee-wee in the CBS Saturday-morning children's program Pee-wee's Playhouse.

In July 1991, Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult theater in Sarasota, Florida. The arrest set off a chain reaction of national media attention that changed the general public's view of Reubens and Pee-wee.



Sarah Chalke
(born August 27, 1976)
Sarah Chalke is a Canadian actress known for portraying Dr. Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC comedy series Scrubs, Rebecca "Becky" Conner on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, and Stella Zinman in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. She has also had a recurring role in the third season of ABC sitcom Cougar Town.



Lyndon Baines Johnson
(Aug 27, 1908 - Jan 22, 1973)
Lyndon Baines Johnson, often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States (1963–1969)

After campaigning unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 1960, Johnson was asked by John F. Kennedy to be his running mate for the 1960 presidential election.

Johnson succeeded to the presidency following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, completed Kennedy's term and was elected President in his own right, winning by a large margin over Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election.



Tuesday Weld
(born August 27, 1943)
Tuesday Weld is an American actress. She began acting as a child, and progressed to mature roles in the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960. Over the following decade she established a career playing dramatic roles in films.

As a featured performer in supporting roles such as Play It As It Lays (1972), Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1978), The Winter of Our Discontent (1983), and Once Upon a Time in America (1984).

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There is very little carbon in magma; human activity produces more greenhouse gases in one week than the combined volcanic eruptions of the last 50 years
--Unknown

NASA TV

    

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