February 23rd, 2023
“ Dobroho ranku”, or “Good Morning!” in Ukrainian, an Eastern Slavic language spoken mainly in Ukraine. I have decided that the UJT will remain focused on Ukraine until we can all rejoice in the end of hostilities. It has been 364 days since Russia invaded Ukraine.
This week I learned some stuff:
• The Prostate Adventure continues. The treatments are starting to affect me more this week. It seems I get 2 hours in the morning where I almost feel my normal energy level. The rest of my day before and after my treatments are spent in some kind of exhausted haze. Also, I seem to have lost my ability to nap. I try but I never quite get to sleep. On the good news side, I have elongated my normal sleep schedule from 4-5 hours/night to much closer to 8 hours which has been one of my goals for this year.
• Our dramatic moments with our pond were resolved by my ingenious pond guy. He pumped out all the water from above and below the liner. Then he power-washed it as usual, but this time he inspected the liner from end to end and found a number of small leaks and used a sealer to close them up. Viola! Our pond has been saved again and the Koi are no worse for wear.
• February 23 is the 54th day of 2023! Just 313 days till Christmas! Today in 1455, traditionally the date of publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type; Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an anti-trust law today in 1883; On that same day, but in 1886, Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of aluminium from the electrolysis of aluminium oxide, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister, Julia Brainerd Hall;Today in 1910, Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States “in perpetuity: U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill by Congress establishing the Federal Radio Commission (later replaced by the Federal Communications Commission) which was to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States today in 1927; Today in 1941, Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg; Japanese submarines fire artillery shells at the coastline near Santa Barbara, California today in 1942, prompting West Coast Invasion fears and the subsequent internship of US-Japanese citizens in California; Today in 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag; The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh today in 1954; Today in 1980, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran’s parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages; Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old African-American citizen, is shot and murdered by three white men after visiting a house under construction while jogging at a neighborhood in Satilla Shores near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia today in 2020; George Frideric Handel, German-English organist and composer was born today in 1685; Also born today but in 1868, W. E. B. Du Bois, American sociologist, historian, and activist; Peter Fonda, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter was also born today in 1940: Johnny Winter, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer was born today in 1944; Today in 1946, Poco’s Rusty Young, American sinMichael Dell, American businessman; Dakota Fanning, American actress was born today in 1994; John Keats, English poet passed away today in 1821; John Quincy Adams, American politician, 6th President of the United States died today in 1848; Dickinson W. Richards, American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate passed away today 1973; Today in 2003. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Howie Epstein, American bass player, songwriter, and producer died; And lastly, Katherine Helmond, (AKA Jessica Tate on Soap) American actress passed away today in 2019.
This week’s Website Update:
• Last week for our Vocabulary Quiz
• A new Musical Trivia Quiz!!!!
• This week did a lot of cooking but no new recipes. I made the BLT Pasta Salad again and everyone loved it. I am not sure how you cook your bacon, but I bake it and have been for years. Fans of super crispy bacon are not typically fans of baked bacon. My daughter Jess is a crispy bacon person and she learned a new technique for baking bacon that makes the results crispier. And it worked. Just twist the strips of bacon 3-4 twists before you put it on the cookie sheet and in the oven,
• The Home Page quote for this week is another gem from Albert Einstein, “If you don’t do stupid things when you are young, you will have nothing to laugh about when you are old”.
Writing, Ceramics, Bonsai Trees, Stained Glass, and Painting Update:
• My energy levels, creative juices, and generally my “Get Up and Go” just got up and went this week. I will try to do better.
• I am continuing my streak of slacking off on the paper edits of Grandpa Stories. I just haven’t carved out any time for more chapters.
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
My eldest granddaughter, Darrian, started her new job and career last Tuesday! She has been trying to land a job in a lab doing biochemistry for a living since before graduation. Her new job is in a lab (she wears the white lab coat too) and is just what she was looking for. We are all so happy for her! Her uncle, aunt, and cousins sent a lovely bouquet of roses to celebrate. As always, I am proud of all of them! The only disturbing thing about all this is that all seemed to grow up so fast!
Music Update:
This week I am celebrating my good fortune with some remarkable music that I hope you will enjoy:
This week’s UJT Radio Program:
• Peter Gabriel — In Your Eyes — I dreamed about this song this week. Every time I hear it, I smile. I enjoy the way it makes me feel. This one is from his album, “So” released in 1986.
• Venice — Everybody’s Changing — This one is a cover of a pretty song by Keane from their “Brunch Buffett” released in 2016. I have always loved these boys’ harmonies!
• Sting — Englishman New York — From his release of 1987, “Nothing Like the Sun”. He has such an amazing voice and I love the arrangement of this song.
• ZZ Top — Tush — This is the song that introduced me to these 3 boys from Texas. Like some of Zappas’s work, these boys skirt the edge of propriety but there is no mistaking the ass-shaking hard rocking pulse that flows out of this song. This one is from their iconic album, “Fandango” released in 1975.
• Matchbox Twenty — Long Day— The amazing thing to me, is when I searched to see when I featured this song on UJT, I got zero hits! It’s one of my favorites from their iconic compilation album, ”Exile on Mainstream” and was released in 2007.
• Funkadelic — I Miss My Baby (1972 Version) — From their incredible “Maggot Brain” album released in 1972. Just old-fashioned funky R&B music for you.
That’s it… Do the best you can; Laugh every chance you get; Always remember… The best is yet to come! As always, thank you for being my friend!