25 July 2020 - Plague Journal Day 135

Micah 6:8
Genesis 1:26-27
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

All the talk, but lack of discussion, these days has reminded me of a great song from a great CD by dc Talk.

I don't think it needs any commentary. Please watch, enjoy, and reflect.

You're welcome.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.

24 July 2020 - Plague Journal Day 134

Micah 6:8
Proverbs 14:13
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today is Amelia Earhart Day, celebrated on the birthday of the celebrated aviatrix (see what I did there?). Although I don't actually remember Amelia nor her partner, Captain Noonan, I do know that there's a beautiful, beautiful field far away, in a land that is fair. Farewell, first lady of the air!

Also, today is National Tell An Old Joke Day, and who am I to ignore such an important occasion? According to the University of Wolverhampton (Go Wolves!), this is the eighth oldest joke in the world

The Emperor Augustus was touring the Empire, when he noticed a man in the crowd who bore a striking resemblance to himself.

Intrigued he asked: "Was your mother at one time in service at the Palace?"

"No your Highness," he replied, "but my father was."

plus ça change....

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.

23 July 2020 - Plague Journal Day 133

Micah 6:8
Matthew 15:26-28
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?


There's something special about dogs. They not only bring out the best in us, but they often serve as good examples to us of how we ought to live.
Just a few days ago we were commemorating the first men to walk on the moon. I wonder how many of us recall that the Soviets sent a dog into space on Sputnik 2 - her name was Laika (Лайка if you prefer) - less than a month after they had launched Sputnik 1 and sparked the great Space Race. She was the first living Earth creature to orbit the Earth.
Less well remembered is Otis, the first American dog on the Moon (Luna if you prefer) who was sent there just before Apollo 11 in order to determine the composition of the lunar soil. He found it to be very pleasant to dig in, and reported that finding to Houston with a merry wag of his tail.
Here's some rare archival footage from his exploration. A bit of potentially useful trivia is that the first command issued from NASA to a dog on the moon was a palindrome: "Sit, Otis." Alas, there is no evidence that Otis ever sat - he was too busy expressing the terrier aspect of his heritage.





Otis, a grateful nation sends you its thanks and appreciation. Good dog.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.

22 July 2020 - Plague Journal Day 132

Micah 6:8
Acts 28:12-14
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today, 22nd July or 22/7, is Pi Approximation Day (sometimes called Casual Pi Day - that sounds like a good name for a bakery, doesn't it? Casual Pi?). Celebrate the day by celebrating the circles in your life.

Possibly more importantly, depending on your neighbourhood, today is National Rat Catcher's Day. I plan to celebrate by listening to some recordings by Marc-André Hamelin. (get it?)

Just a passing note - today marks the 11 dozenth day of the plague, counting from the day our company started to work from home. That's the longest two weeks I can remember, especially without any contractors involved.

Just another passing note. I was at a Pizza Hut in Fort Wayne, Indiana when we heard that Harry Chapin had died. The pizza and company were good, the news was not.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.

21 July 2020 - Plague Journal Day 131

Micah 6:8
1 Samuel 8:19-22
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Roger Miller was a really good songwriter. His lyrics are clever when that's what he was after, and very deep and moving when that was appropriate. I remember seeing him on the Tonight Show (with Johnny Carson - this was a long time ago indeed!) where he was talking about his life in general. He told Johnny that, having started life as a poor nobody, "I always wanted to grow up to be somebody. Now I realize I should have been more specific." Well, in his honor, today is https://www.checkiday.com/cd12f64da72a80bb5d9e7c3e2a4c6cd0/national-be-someone-day. (full disclosure - it's nothing to do with Roger Miller, nor that quote)

In international news, today is Independence Day in Belgium! Leopold I was elected the first King of the Belgians, and swore allegiance to the constitution on 21 July 1831 after independence from the Netherlands had been asserted in October of 1830. Yes, Belgium is a much younger country than these United States of America, despite there being Belgians there (brewing beer and making cheese) for centuries before we were founded.
An interesting bit of information I came across the other day is that the Fir Bolg (or Firbolg or a variety of other spellings) of Irish legend may have either been, been descended from, or possibly just been named after the Belgae of Julius Caesar fame. I wonder if Asterix knew any of them.
Now you know.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
lb Si

20 July 2020 - Plague Journal Day 130 - UPDATED

Micah 6:8
Psalm 136:1-9
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

July 20. To those of us of a certain age, that can mean only one thing: the Apollo Moon Landing.
Yes indeed, I remember sitting on the floor of our living room in front of that big-screen TV (certainly in the 20" range!) watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin kangaroo hop around on the surface of Luna in glorious black and white! (Here's one place where our staying well behind the leading edge of technology didn't really hold us back much - there wasn't a lot of color to be seen in that transmission. The patches on the spacesuits, the US flag, and any pictures of the Earth were the only areas of color we had to fill in with our built-in cerebro-colorizers (that's our imaginations, I suppose).
Anyway, I don't remember ever making this connection before, but July 20 is also my maternal grandmother's birthday. It's odd, but I've never noticed that we landed on the Moon on Grandma E's birthday. Quite a present! (or maybe not - who would have paid attention to her birthday when there were men on the moon?!)

So, celebrate Moon Day responsibly - please keep your trousers at full staff!

UPDATE:
I came across this project today. It's a short film using archival footage of the Apollo 11 mission and then the latest deepfake technology to show then-President Nixon reading the speech that was written in case the mission failed and Armstrong and Aldrin were not coming back to Earth.
Watch it here. It's actually pretty good, and the speech, written by William Safire, was at least excellent. I'm glad I heard it, but I'm gladder I didn't hear it in 1969.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.

19 July 2020 - Plague Journal Day 129

Micah 6:8
John 4:23-24
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

It's Sunday again, the day we come together to worship God - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Join us at GPUMC if you're able, but please join our live stream here if you're not. (note - That's a direct link to the live stream which won't actually be live until around 9:30AM EDT. Check out past services and such at our YouTube channel.)

A fun side note about today's worship is that my Dad is singing and playing his guitar as the special music. Since we can't have choirs and congregational singing, we're trying to make sure we still praise the Lord in song each week as we come together.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.