Micah 6:8
Ecclesiastes 1:9-10
Yes, your life matters.
Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?
Today is Diesel Engine Day! On 23 February 1893, Rudolf Diesel received a patent for his improvement to the Otto engine - removing the spark ignition and replacing it with high compression to adiabatically heat the air/fuel mixture to its ignition point. A brilliant idea - more power can be obtained than with the gasoline/spark ignition, although with a generally less clean exhaust. Nice job, Rudolf! (The illustration above shows it wasn't just a simple thing to imagine!)
Today's freewrite prompt word is Precedent
Two things come to mind here. First, I just noticed that an unprecedented event happened on 23 February 1886: “The Times” of London published the first classified ad. Imagine that - until then the papers didn't have listings of yard sales, help wanted, and home organizers/declutterers. Unless they had good cartoons and crossword puzzles, there really wasn't much reason to subscribe.
The other thing is I've recently seen posted on Facebook a picture of Mount Rushmore before its carving. The caption of the photo notes that before John Borglum did his work, the beauty of the mountain was unpresidented. I love a good pun, and that one's not bad.
I have seen it said that the pun is the lowest form of humor, but I totally disagree. Anything that depends on language is far from a low form. I like a good slapstick bit as much as the next guy, but wordplay is far funnier and more challenging. Maybe that's why I like the Marx Brothers so much - they supply all the styles of humor anyone could want. (So does Gallagher.)
Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our insane lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.
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