sandrewn

September 1st 2023 - Holidays and Observances (click on the day for details) Christian feast day: Constantius (Costanzo) of Aquino David Pendleton Oakerhater (Anglican Communion) Giles Loup (Lupus) of Sens Nivard (Nivo) Sixtus of Reims Terentian (Terrence) Verena Vibiana The beginning of the new liturgical year (Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Church) September 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Knowledge Day (Former Soviet Union) Anniversary of Al Fateh Revolution (Gaddafists in Libya) Wattle Day (Australia) Observances (click on the day, BD, or week for details) American Chess Day Bring Your Manners To Work Day Building and Code Staff Appreciation Day Cherry Popover Day Chicken Boy Day College Colors Day Ginger Cat Appreciation Day National Tofu Day National Acne Positivity Day National Chianti Day National Child Identity Theft Awareness Day National Food Bank Day National Lazy Mom’s Day Pink Cadillac Day National Little Black Dress Day National Monterey County Fair Day Slovakia Constitution Day Uzbekistan Independence Day World Letter Writing Day Rapunzel ASMR’s Birthday Zendaya’s Birthday Gloria Estefan’s Birthday Jungkook’s Birthday Dr. Phil’s Birthday Chanel West Coast’s Birthday Barry Gibb’s Birthday Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.’s Birthday Aleksandr Vitaly’s Birthday Observances (click on the month for details) National Guide Dog Month Whole Grains Month International Square Dancing Month Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month National Suicide Prevention Month Read A New Book Month National Piano Month Sepsis Awareness Month Sourdough September Friendship Month National Honey Month National Chicken Month National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month National Mushroom Month Chiari Awareness Month National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month National Sewing Month Happy Cat Month National Preparedness Month National Library Card Sign-up Month Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month Shake Month Hunger Action Month Fun Observances (2) Emma Nutt Day Emma Nutt Day on September 1 celebrates the world’s first female telephone operator, Emma M Nutt. Like almost all professions, telephone services began as a man's world. The first telephone operators were all men, though very soon managers and customers realized that they were often impatient and rude with their customers. To avoid more unhappy customers, the Edwin Holmes Telephone Dispatch Company in Boston, Massachusetts decided to hire women. So on September 1, 1878 Alexander Graham Bell himself appointed Emma as the world's first female telephone operator. Her trailblazing career lasted for almost 35 years. Pioneering Women Emma's appointment was pathbreaking in many ways. She spearheaded a drastic change in the face and the tone of the telecommunications industry in the United States - by the mid 1900s, a majority of telephone operators in the country were women. Additionally, her employment strengthened the slowly pervading notion that women could work outside their homes and also contribute to the society and economy. Other annual holidays that celebrate pioneering women around the world include Helen Keller Day, The Duchess Who Wasn’t Day, Frankenstein Day, Ada Lovelace Day, and Jane Addams Day. How to Celebrate? Like Emma, there are many other women who paved the path for future generations of girls to opt for careers and professions generally only reserved for men. Learn about their lives and their contribution to the society. Read more about the telephone industry and the science behind telecommunications. Pick up the phone and call the women who inspire you, and let them know that they are your role models. Did You Know… …that Emma Nutt and her sister Stella were the world's first sister duo to work as telephone operators? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No Rhyme or Reason Day September 1 is No Rhyme or Reason Day. The unofficial holiday is dedicated to the English language idiom, no rhyme or reason, which means something that occurs without any purpose or explanation. The idiom is thought to have first found its way in the English language through the 1460 book The Boke of Nurture by John Russell, though it is most famous for its appearance in the 1590 Shakespearean play Comedy of Errors. It once again showed up in Shakespeare's 1600 play, As You Like It. The holiday is also known in the United States as National No Rhyme or Reason Day or National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day. How to Celebrate? Do you need a rhyme or a reason to celebrate this fun holiday? Here are some ways you can honor this expression: What about celebrating this holiday by tapping into your creative side? Spend the day writing free verse - poetry without any rhyme. Have a no rhyming contest with a friend or a co-worker. Find words that do not rhyme with anything else. Whoever finds the most words wins a copy of a thesaurus or a dictionary! Do something nice for someone for no rhyme or reason. Sometimes the most generous gestures are the ones that are undertaken without any cause or purpose. Did You Know... ...that in literature and poetry, words that are spelled similarly but pronounced differently are called eye rhymes? *** A man vacations on a tropical 
island, and the first thing he hears 
is drums. He goes to the beach 
and hears the drums; he eats lunch, he hears the drums; he tries to sleep, he can’t—drums. Finally he storms over to the manager. “I’ve had it! Can’t you stop those drums?” he begs. “No!” says the manager. “It’s very bad if the drums stop.” “Why?” “When the drums stop, the bass solo begins.” *** My husband was driving home from work when he was pulled over for not wearing a seat belt. Two days later—same ticket, same cop. “So,” the officer said, “have you learned anything?” “Yes, I have,” said my husband. “I’ve learned I need to take a different way home from work.” *** After 12 years in prison, a man 
finally breaks out. When he 
gets home, filthy and exhausted, 
his wife says, “Where have 
you been? You escaped eight hours ago!” *** One spring day I was taking the roll in my secretarial class at our local technical college. One of the sun worshipers was absent. "Cindy won't be here this afternoon?" I asked. "She went home to lay in the sun," a young woman in the front row answered. Trying to correct her grammar without embarrassing her before the class, I whispered, "Lie." "Okay," she replied in astonishment. "Cindy got sick and went home." *** In case you needed any more arguments in favor of buying a car and taking it alone everywhere you go for the rest of your life. *** I don't know about you, but I'm pinning all my hopes on 2038!! *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ( Reposted by Popular Demand! ) sandrewn

Just in case any of you were wondering? I think she is ' Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet, if you please) ' from the British sitcom, Keeping Up Appearances. As a tie in, her husband, Richard, would have been a great example for the Wednesday(23rd) - Word of the Day - henpeck(ed). Toodeloo,

GIANT SPIDERS – MONSTROUS MYTH, OR TERRIFYING TRUTH? Model of Shelob from Tolkien's classic trilogy of fantasy novels The Lord of the Rings (© Dr Karl Shuker) Monstrous spiders of gargantuan size are perennially popular subjects in science fiction 'B' movies as well as in classic fantasy novels such as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit, but could such beasts exist in reality? The current record-holder for the title of world's largest spider is Rosi - a 12-year-old captive female specimen of South America's goliath bird-eating spider Theraphosa blondi (click here for a separate ShukerNature blog article revealing the outcome when T. blondi was formally challenged recently for its title as world's largest spider species by a near-legendary competitor). Rosi boasted a leg-span of 11.25 in (big enough to cover a dinner plate), a body weighing 6.17 oz (which is as heavy as six house sparrows Passer domesticus) and as big as a tennis ball, plus a total body length of 4.75 in. An adult female Theraphosa blondi (public domain) Although these are impressive statistics, they are far from monstrous. In contrast, as I reveal in this present ShukerNature blog article, there are some remarkable yet currently-unresolved modern-day reports on file hinting that certain truly astonishing arachnids whose size very dramatically surpasses this latter species' stature lurk in shadowy zoological anonymity within various regions of our world. A PUPPY-SIZED SPIDER IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA The Kokoda Track (or Trail) is a predominantly straight, single-file foot thoroughfare running 60 miles through inhospitable terrain across the Owen Stanley mountain range of Papua New Guinea, and from July 1942 to January 1943 it was the site of a series of World War II battles between Australian and Japanese forces known as the Kokoda Track Campaign. In 2001, Australian cryptozoologists Peter and Debbie Hynes revealed that it was also here, while serving as a soldier in the Australian Army, that the father of one of Debbie's friends had a brief but unforgettable encounter with a mystery mega-spider: "One day he had to take himself off into the scrub in answer to a call of nature. While thus engaged he noticed he was crouched down next to a very large cobweb - not the classic "fishing-net" sort but the fine, snow-white cottony stuff that spread all over the ground and tree trunk etc. His eye followed it one way and then the other - seems it was very extensive, like 10 to 15 ft either way. Then he noticed the spider itself, only a foot or so away from his face. It was a real horror - the body, i.e. thorax+abdomen, he described as the "size of a small dog or puppy", it was coloured jet black, the legs were thick and hairy but not as long as the classic "dinner plate tarantula" type spider that owes its size to the spread of its legs. This thing had more body bulk than spread. Needless to say he backed out of there very slowly and carefully." In spiders, the 'body' is actually just the abdomen (opisthosoma), not the thorax plus abdomen (although it can look like that to laymen unfamiliar with spider anatomy), because the thorax section is combined with the head, yielding the prosoma or cephalothorax. So, judging from the above description, the Papuan 'puppy spider' must have been at least the size of an adult chihuahua! With a model of a giant spider (© Dr Karl Shuker) This is not the only report of a giant mystery spider encountered in New Guinea during World War II. During an interview with cryptozoologist Rob Morphy of AmericanMonsters.com on the U.S. radio show 'Coast To Coast AM' a couple of years ago, a telephone caller named Craig recounted how his grandfather, while serving in New Guinea during WW2, encountered a monstrous spider in a web that scared him so much he hacked it to death with his machete. According to Craig's grandfather, the spider measured an immense 3 ft from tip to tip, and, unexpectedly, was not hairy like many big spiders are. Instead, it was shiny, and was emerald green in colour. This nightmarish arachnid was encountered near Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. J'BA FOFI – 'GREAT SPIDER' OF THE CONGO Yet even this monster pales into insignificance alongside the horrifying j'ba fofi ('great spider') claimed by the Baka pygmy tribe and also the local Bantu hunters to exist amid the central African jungles of Cameroon and also the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly the Belgian Congo). This eight-legged terror was first brought to attention in 2001, when cryptozoological explorer Bill Gibbons told me of a very frightening close encounter that had occurred one day back in 1938. This was when explorers Reginald and Margurite Lloyd were driving along a jungle path in the Belgian Congo's interior. Suddenly, a figure stepped out onto the path just ahead of them, resembling a monkey or a small, stooped human. Reginald Lloyd stopped the car to let the figure pass, and was astonished to see that it was a huge brown tarantula-like spider, with a leg-span of 3-4-ft! As he turned to grab his camera, however, the giant spider scuttled into the undergrowth and disappeared. Reginald and Margurite Lloyd, Congolese giant spider observers (public domain) In November 2003, during an expedition to Cameroon seeking a mysterious long-necked water beast called the mokele-mbembe, Gibbons mentioned to the Baka pygmies the Lloyds' sighting (originally recounted to him by their daughter, Margaret). They were familiar with such creatures and provided him with additional information. The Baka claimed that these colossal spiders were once quite common in this area but are rarer now (due to modern deforestation here?), although one was reputedly sighted by them as recently as June 2003. They used to construct hut-like lairs from leaves near to the pygmies' villages, and by spinning mighty webs between adjacent trees, with trip lines running across game trails, they ensnared and devoured victims as sizeable as duiker (small antelopes). Moreover, they were said by the Baka to be powerful and venomous enough to kill humans too, but are themselves killed by the pygmies if encountered by them. The j'ba fofi supposedly lays white peanut-sized eggs, from which yellow spiderlings with purple opisthosomas emerge, turning brown as they mature. SOUTH AMERICAN MEGA-SPIDERS Reports of comparably massive spiders have also been recorded from the rainforests of Venezuela in South America. In 2008, the American television series 'MonsterQuest' sent tarantula expert Rick C. West to investigate such stories in the field via a short, filmed expedition to some Venezuelan jungle villages near to the Orinoco River and the border with Colombia. During his three-day foray, he was accompanied by a team of local helpers and an experienced Amazon guide, Juan Carlos Ramirez, who has worked here for over 20 years. West began his quest by visiting the village of San Rafael de Manuare. Here, one villager attested that as a child he had seen a giant tarantula-like spider capture a small dog from the village and drag it off into the jungle. Its opisthosoma was as big as a basketball, and when it reared up it was the size of a human. If such a gigantic spider existed, and its fangs (chelicerae) were in proportion to the rest of its body, they would probably measure 6-9 in long. Although such claims would incite considerable scientific scepticism, Ramirez was convinced of the villagers' veracity, stating that they know the local fauna very well, and would not mistake something familiar, such as a monkey or a sloth on the ground, for a giant spider. Don't look now, but… (© Dr Karl Shuker) West and his team also visited Pandari, a village deeper in the mountains. Here, two inhabitants, Antonio and his son Simoni, spoke of a small child who had disappeared, never to return – which had been blamed upon giant spiders. In addition, so real is the Pandari villagers' fear of such creatures that they even engineer their huts specifically to keep them out, building thatched roofs that extend all the way down to the ground, thus yielding dense tightly-interwoven barricades. On the third day of West's expedition, they headed back into the jungle and found an extremely large spider lair in the ground, inside which they placed a videoscope. This revealed the presence there of a very big tarantula, which they captured alive. Although nothing like as sizeable as the reputed chicken-killing, dog-devouring, child-abducting specimens feared by the villagers, it was roughly the same size as the biggest tarantulas on record and was 2 oz when weighed inside a plastic specimen bag. Sadly, West's expedition ended without finding conclusive evidence for Venezuela's fabled giant spiders. However, he was sufficiently impressed by the size of their captured spider to consider it possible that bigger ones did exist in the jungle, and stated that he planned on returning to continue the search for one. Bird-eating spider, illustrated by Louis Prang in 1885 In 2011, British cinematographer Richard Terry sought horse-killing, child-abducting giant spiders in Colombia's rainforest, for the television series 'Man v Monster'. He didn't find any either, but villagers claimed that these dreaded beasts inhabited subterranean lairs opening onto the forest floor via huge holes. MONSTER SPIDERS IN VIETNAM On 8 April 2013, American cryptozoologist Craig Woolheater posted on the Cryptomundo website a fascinating communication that he'd lately received from an American correspondent publicly identified only by their Cryptomundo user name, mrmaxima. This person stated that their father-in-law claims that while serving in the jungles of Vietnam during the Vietnam War as part of a five-man unit conducting scout work there, he encountered spiders with bodies the size of dinner plates, and, with their legs, yielding a total span of 20-30 in. These terrifying arachnids were always spied near to creeks or other water sources, and were so tough that even after being shot by him and the other men with their M16s and unloaded full magazines, they were still moving around. Weird Tales magazine cover, June 1925 issue GIANT SPIDERS IN SUBURBIA One of the most startling giant spider reports comes from Leesville in Louisiana, USA. According to William Slaydon, it was here, while walking northwards along Highway 171 to church one cool night in 1948, that he, his wife, and their three young grandsons had spied a gigantic spider - hairy, black, and memorably described as "the size of a washtub". It emerged from a ditch just ahead of them and crossed the road before disappearing into some brush on the other side. Not surprisingly, the family never again walked along that particular route to church at night! A very erudite arachnid of the extra-large variety? (© Dr Karl Shuker) Nor is that the only report of a giant spider in suburbia. On 11 February 2013, Adam Bird from Nottingham, England, shared the following remarkable, never-before-publicised account on Facebook. It was related to him by a local librarian, Sheila, who had encountered the spider in question about 12 years earlier. One evening, Sheila was driving along Nottingham's Stone Bridge Road, on one side of which was a farm (still there today) and on the other side a disused factory (now demolished). As she approached the factory, her car's headlights lit up what she thought at first was a hedgehog, crawling towards the factory site. As she drove nearer, however, she realised to her horror that it was a huge, hairy, tarantula-like spider. Sheila estimated that its body alone was the size of a large dinner plate, and when the length of its legs were added, she deemed its total width to be about 2 ft. She continued to watch as it scuttled across the road and through the fence into the factory, then she quickly drove away, but, not surprisingly, the memory of this spine-chilling encounter has remained with her ever since. PHYSIOLOGICAL SIZE LIMITATIONS So, could immense spiders truly exist? Other than Leesville and Nottingham, the areas where they have been reported are all sufficiently impenetrable, inhospitable, and little-explored to be potentially capable of hiding some notable zoological surprises. However, the fundamental problem when considering giant spiders is not one of zoogeography but rather one of physiology. Their tracheal respiratory system (consisting of a network of minute tubes carrying oxygen to every cell in the body) prevents insects from attaining huge sizes in the modern world, because the tracheae could not transport oxygen efficiently enough inside insects of giant stature. During the late Carboniferous and early Permian Periods, 300 million years ago, huge dragonflies existed, but back in those primeval ages the atmosphere's oxygen level was far greater than it is today, thereby compensating for the tracheal system's inefficiency. Moreover, until quite recently prehistory offered a truly spectacular, fully-confirmed super-spider too - the aptly dubbed Megarachne servinei, formally described in 1980 from a 300-million-year old Upper Carboniferous fossil specimen discovered by Argentine palaeontologist Mario Hünicken in the Bajo de Veliz Formation at San Luis, Argentina. Its body measured roughly 16 in long, and is estimated to have possessed a leg span of some 20 in. In 2005, conversely, the identity of Megarachne as a mega-spider was challenged in a Biology Letters of the Royal Society paper by Manchester University zoologist Dr Paul Selden and Hünicken, who proposed that it had actually been a very different chelicerate creature – not a spider but rather a sea scorpion or eurypterid. This identity has since been confirmed – exit Megarachne as a giant spider! Megarachne model constructed when Megarachne was thought to have been a giant spider (© Markus Bühler) Some of the modern world's largest known spiders utilise a tracheal respiratory system, whereas smaller spiders employ flattened organs of passive respiration called book lungs. Yet neither system is sufficiently competent to enable spiders to attain enormous sizes, based upon current knowledge at least. So if a giant spider does thrive in some secluded, far-off realm, it must have evolved a radically different, much more advanced respiratory system, not just a greatly enlarged body. GIANT CRABS, NOT GIANT SPIDERS? Interestingly, there is a notable precedent for the development of a novel respiratory organ among large land-dwelling arthropods. The largest of all such species living today is the coconut crab Birgus latro, which sports a body length of up to 16 in, a weight of up to 9 lb, and a leg span of more than 3 ft. Indigenous to various islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, despite being a crab it is exclusively terrestrial (it cannot swim and will drown if immersed in water for over an hour), and has evolved a unique respiratory organ known as a branchiostegal lung that enables it to exist entirely on land, and which developmentally can be seen as midway between gills and true lungs. So who knows: if crustaceans (which are predominantly aquatic arthropods) can achieve this during evolution, maybe spiders (which are predominantly terrestrial anyway) have also achieved something comparable. Moreover, it has suggested that perhaps some reports of so-called giant spiders are actually sightings of giant land crabs, but crabs are very different in appearance from spiders, due in no small way to their instantly visible chelae (pincers), and no such crabs are known to exist in any of the regions from which the giant spiders documented here have been reported. Coconut crab, depicted in Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle (1849) In any case, all of this is sheer speculation, and is likely to remain so – unless, for instance, in the not-too-distant future a Baka pygmy should happen not only to kill a j'ba fofi but also to preserve its body afterwards, and duly alert scientific attention to it. Then at last we might have the long-awaited solution to this fascinating mystery – although arachnophobes might be more than happy for it to remain unsolved indefinitely! This ShukerNature blog article is excerpted from an entire and exceedingly extensive chapter on giant mystery spiders – indeed, the most comprehensive coverage of such cryptids ever compiled and published – in my book Mirabilis: A Carnival of Cryptozoology and Unnatural History (Anomalist Books: New York, 2013), which contains several additional examples. So be sure to check it out (unless of course you're seriously arachnophobic, in which case it may not be a good idea to do so!). Two caterpillars are escaping a spider. They climb up a branch and get to the edge, but realize they are now trapped… "Hold on tight!" says the first caterpillar and he quickly chews through the branch. It snaps and they begin to fall, but he grabs two protruding twigs and uses them to steer the branch through the air with grace and finesse. "That's *amazing!!"* says the second caterpillar. "How in the hell are you doing that?!" The first caterpillar scoffs. "Am I the only one in the whole damn forest who knows how to drive a stick!?"

August 31st 2023 - Holidays and Observances (click on the day for details) Baloch-Pakhtun Unity Day (Balochs and Pashtuns, International observance) Christian feast day: Aidan of Lindisfarne Aristides of Athens Cuthburh Dominguito del Val Joseph of Arimathea Nicodemus Paulinus of Trier Raymond Nonnatus Wala of Corbie Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria August 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Day of Solidarity and Freedom (Poland) Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Kyrgyzstan from the Soviet Union in 1991. Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Malaya from the United Kingdom in 1957. Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Trinidad and Tobago from the United Kingdom in 1962. Romanian Language Day (Romania) Our Language (Moldova) North Borneo Self-government Day (Sabah, Borneo) Observances (click on the day, BD, or week for details) National Trail Mix Day Birth Anniversary of President Ramon Magsaysay International Cabernet Day International Day for People of African Descent International Overdose Awareness Day La Tomatina Love Litigating Lawyers Day National Dan Day National Diatomaceous Earth Day National Matchmaker Day National South Carolina Day National Zoo Awareness Day We Love Memoirs Day World Distance Learning Day Daffodil Day Van Morrison’s Birthday Richard Gere’s Birthday Maria Montessori’s Birthday Joe Budden’s Birthday Dreka Gates’s Birthday Debbie Gibson’s Birthday Fun Observances Eat Outside Day August 31 is Eat Outside Day. So, pack up a lunch, head on over to the park and commune with nature while you eat your meal under the Sun. This unofficial holiday of unknown origins encourages eating outside as an excuse for people to go outdoors and take in some fresh air and enjoy some time under the Sun. The day is also known as Eat Outdoors Day or National Eat Outside Day in the US. How to Celebrate? Pack up a picnic lunch and enjoy it with family and friends in the park. Grill outside in the yard or take a portable grill to the park. If you usually have lunch at your desk at work, what about going out for your lunch break and having your meal under the Sun? Did You Know… …that picnics began as a meal break for hunters while hunting? *** I asked my brother-in-law, the 
father of four boys, “If you had to do it all over again, would you still have kids?” “Yes,” he said. “Just not these four.” *** Here is the best-ever backhanded compliment from a kid about a present: “Dear Genie, thanks for the toy. I’ll play with it when I’m bored.” *** My young son declared, “When 
I grow up, I’m going to marry you, Mommy.” “You can’t marry your own mother,” said his older sister. “Then I’ll marry you.” “You can’t marry me either.” He looked confused, so I explained, “You can’t marry someone in your own family.” “You mean I have to marry a total stranger?!” *** Two doctors and an HMO manager die and line up together at the Pearly Gates. One doctor steps forward and tells St. Peter, "As a pediatric surgeon, I saved hundreds of children." St. Peter lets him enter. The next doctor says, "As a psychiatrist, I helped thousands of people live better lives." St. Peter tells him to go ahead. The last man says, "I was an HMO manager. I got countless families cost-effective health care." St. Peter replies, "You may enter. But," he adds, "you can only stay for three days. After that, you can go to hell." *** Final instar Shield-backed Bug Nymphs (Poecilocoris rufigenis, Scutelleridae) *** *** *** *** *** *** Each link in this anchor chain weighs 500 pounds *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** sandrewn

That is indeed, a weighty(less?) matter to ponder upon.

August 30th 2023 - Holidays and Observances (click on the day for details) Christian feast day: Alexander of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodoxy) Blessed Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster Blessed Eustáquio van Lieshout Blessed Stephen Nehmé (Maronite Church / Catholic Church) Charles Chapman Grafton (Episcopal Church) Fantinus Felix and Adauctus Fiacre Jeanne Jugan Narcisa de Jesús Pammachius August 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Constitution Day (Kazakhstan) Constitution Day (Turks and Caicos Islands) Independence Day (Tartarstan, Russia not formally recognized) International Day of the Disappeared International Whale Shark Day Popular Consultation Day (East Timor) Victory Day (Turkey) Observances (click on the day, BD, or week for details) National Beach Day International Cabernet Sauvignon Day National Grief Awareness Day National Harper Day National Holistic Pet Day National Toasted Marshmallow Day Raksha Bandhan Santa Rosa De Lima - 1 Santa Rosa De Lima - 2 Slinky Day Spirit Festival Ullambana Amagwinya Day Warren Buffett’s Birthday T-Rex’s Birthday Tyler Funke’s Birthday Sarah Stevenson’s Birthday Erin Napier’s Birthday Cameron J. Wright’s Birthday Cameron Diaz’s Birthday Brayden Ledford’s Birthday Fun Observances Frankenstein Day August 30 is Frankenstein Day. The unofficial holiday celebrates the life and times of English author Mary Shelley who wrote one of the word’s most read monster novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. Born on August 30, 1797, Shelley published Frankenstein in 1818 anonymously at the young age of 22. Early Science Fiction Considered to be a predecessor of modern day science fiction, Frankenstein recounts the story of scientist Victor Frankenstein and his experiment that ends with the creation of a human-like creature. In the novel, the creature who is hated and rejected by everyone due to its appearance does not have a name. In popular culture, however, it is mistakenly referred to as Frankenstein after its creator. Although everyone in the novel believes him to be a monster, he is also an intelligent and emotional being who is looking to be accepted by others. The holiday is also known as National Frankenstein Day. How to Celebrate? Fan of the macabre, the strange, and the scary? Here are some ways you can celebrate this literary holiday: Pick up a copy of the book and spend the day reading it. Watch the many TV and film adaptations of the book. Halloween may be 2 months away, but that doesn't mean you can't celebrate Frankenstein Day by hosting a Frankenstein themed party. Decorate your venue as a lab, serve green colored food, and bake a cake with Frankenstein's face on it. Think of this as a dress rehearsal for your Halloween party! Frankenstein isn't Mary Shelley's only literary work. She wrote a number of short stories, travelogues, historical novels, and even a novel, The Last Man that depicted a apocalyptical world. Honor her by reading one of her works. Did You Know… …that a similar holiday called Frankenstein Friday is celebrated every year on the last Friday in October? *** Did you hear about the new e-reader? Reader’s Digest and Amazon created software that will condense books when you download them. It’s called the Dwindle. *** Q: How many sheep does it take to make one sweater? A: Depends how well they can knit. *** Q: What did Adam say the day before Christmas? A: It’s Christmas, Eve! *** Would You Like to Join … The Yoko Club? Oh no. The German Philosophy Club? I Kant. The Compulsive-Rhymers Club? Okey-dokey. The Codependence Club? Can I bring a friend? The Procrastinators Club? Maybe next week. *** Father of The Bribe When I announced that I was getting married, my excited mother said, “You have to have the rehearsal dinner someplace opulent, where there’s dancing.” My father, seeing where this was heading, said, “I’ll pay you a thousand dollars to elope.” “And you have to have a breakfast, for the people who are coming from out of town.” “Two thousand.” “We’ll need a photographer. Oh, and what colors do you want for the reception?” “Five thousand!” We eloped to Spain. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** sandrewn

Do as much as you can, as long as you are able, never give up. It means everything to her now. It will mean that much more to you in the years to come. sandrewn (From one son, to another)

You have GA as your location?? Distribution: Bolas spiders are found in America, Africa including Madagascar, and Australasia northwards into Asia. They do not occur in temperate Eurasia. About half of the known Mastophora species occur in South America. The genus is distributed from southern Chile to the northern US (to 45° north latitude in Minnesota). M. archeri, M. bisaccata, M. hutchinsoni and M. phrynosoma occur widely in the US east of the Great Plains. M. cornigera occurs from Alabama to California, as well as in northern Mexico. Bolas spider - Wikipedia

Bolas Spider - Mastophora phrynosoma hunting Julie Metz Wetlands, Woodbridge, Virginia Caribena versicolor tarantula babies

August 29th 2023 - Holidays and Observances (click on the day for details) Christian feast day: Adelphus of Metz Beheading of St. John the Baptist Eadwold of Cerne Euphrasia Eluvathingal (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church) John Bunyan (Episcopal Church) Sabina Vitalis, Sator and Repositus August 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) International Day against Nuclear Tests Miners' Day (Ukraine) Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine (Ukraine) Municipal Police Day (Poland) National Sports Day (India) Slovak National Uprising Anniversary (Slovakia) Telugu Language Day (India) Observances (click on the day, BD, or week for details) National Lemon Juice Day Founding Anniversary of the Senate Individual Rights Day More Herbs, Less Salt Day National Chop Suey Day Onam Potteries Bottle Oven Day Newton Pittman’s Birthday William Levy’s Birthday Liam Payne’s Birthday Michael Jackson’s Birthday John Locke’s Birthday John Fish’s Birthday Iris Apfel’s Birthday GG Allin’s Birthday Chelsea DeBoer’s Birthday Fun Observances According to Hoyle Day On August 29, honor expertise, authority, and the rules because it is According to Hoyle Day. Named after the English language phrase, according to Hoyle, the unofficial holiday celebrates the life and times of Englishman Edmond Hoyle, who died on this day in 1769. A lawyer by trade, Edmond Hoyle is best known for publishing books detailing the rules and regulations of many popular card and board games of his time, including chess and backgammon. He is also known for writing an authoritative pamphlet on the card game of Whist. Game of Skills Whist is a trick card game played by two teams of two players each. The card game evolved from a previous game called Ruff and Honors and is the predecessor of Bridge. Popular in the 18th and the 19th century, the game required mathematical and logical skills. Appeal to Authority The phrase according to Hoyle came from the authoritative books Hoyle wrote on the rules and regulations of games. When people played these games and made a play that was questioned, they could invoke Hoyle's rules by saying “according to Hoyle...”. Today, the phrase is used generally to suggest expertise or the highest authority on a subject matter. How to Celebrate? Play a game of Whist by following Hoyle's rules. Don't know how? Today is a good excuse to learn! Are you an expert on a subject? Why not spend the day jotting your thought about the subject? Did You Know… …the word Whist comes from whisk, from whisking or moving the cards during the game? *** Crossword Puzzle Answers You’d Never get Right: • Star of Gravity (Newton) • You say potato, I say __(carbsmakemefat) • Turned water into wine (ernestandjulio) • Number of wheels on an 18-wheeler (goingtoofasttocount) • Etsy, Russian (nyetsy) *** News that her third child was going to be a girl thrilled my cousin, who already had two boys. "My husband wants to call her Sunny," she told me, "and I want to give her Anna as her middle name in memory of my mom." I thought they might want to reconsider their decision, since their birth announcement would herald the arrival of Sunny Anna Rainey. *** My niece bought her five-year-old daughter, Kayleigh, a hamster. One day he escaped from his cage. The family turned the house upside down and finally found him. Several weeks later, while Kayleigh was at school, he escaped from his cage again. My niece searched frantically but never found the critter. Hoping to make the loss less painful for Kayleigh, my niece took the cage out of her room. When Kayleigh came home from school that afternoon, she climbed into her mother’s lap. “We’ve got a serious problem,” she announced. “Not only is my hamster gone again, but this time he took the cage.” *** A man won an $8,000 settlement from Disneyland after he got stuck on the It’s a Small World ride. He said he’ll use the money to cut out the part of his brain that won’t stop playing “It’s a Small World After All.” Conan O’Brien *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** sandrewn

Salticid - Belize Twig Spider (Ariamnes sp.) Fish-eating spiders are the stuff of nightmares This adult Ancylometes spider feasts on a fish in Ecuador. Fishing spiders often consume prey much larger than themselves.

August 28th 2023 - Holidays and Observances (click on the day for details) Christian feast day: Alexander of Constantinople Augustine of Hippo Edmund Arrowsmith Hermes Moses the Black August 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) National Grandparents Day (Mexico) Observances (click on the day, BD, or week for details) Crackers Over The Keyboard Day Emirati Womens Day Late Summer Bank Holiday - 1 Summer Bank Holiday (England and Wales) - 2 National Cherry Turnover Day National Heroes Day of Philippines - 1 National Heroes' Day - 2 National Power Rangers Day Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day National Red Wine Day Radio Commercials Day Shania Twain’s Birthday Tanisha Thomas’s Birthday Leo Tolstoy’s Birthday Roxie Roker’s Birthday LeAnn Rimes’s Birthday John Allen Nelson’s Birthday Jack Black’s Birthday Honey Boo Boo’s Birthday Florence Welch’s Birthday Fun Observances Bow Tie Day August 28 is Bow Tie Day, an annual holiday that celebrates the elegant fashion accessory usually worn by men at formal occasions. A type of necktie, the bow tie became a part of a fashionable man's wardrobe in the early 19th century. It is believed that tie evolved from another type of male neckwear called the cravat. The cravat originated in Croatia in the 17th century as a band of cloth that was wrapped around the neck and was possibly worn as a way for soldiers to close the fronts of their shirts or to hide any stains on the front of their shirts. By the 18th century, the cravat had become popular among fashionable circles in France and Europe. No Longer Formal Wear In the early days, the bow tie was specifically reserved for formal occasions. Black tie attire became a term synonymous with tuxedos worn with black bow ties. Outside of formal events, bow ties gained a reputation of being associated with stodgy intellectualism, thought to be worn by people who did not care much about what others thought of them. In recent years, bow ties have become cool again. Today, they are part of the daily attire of many men and women. How to Celebrate? If you have never worn a bow tie before, today is the day to procure one and spend some time learning how to tie it. Host a bow tie party. Decorate the venue with bow ties and require all your guests to come wearing a bow tie. Serve cookies and cakes in the shape of bows and give out bow ties as favors or prizes for party games. Do you have a creative side? Why not then hand knit, crochet, or sew your own unique bow tie to wear to your next event? Did You Know… …that a very fashionable person is known as a clotheshorse? *** On vacation my nine-year-old son, Ryan, and I were at the pool, where two attractive young women wearing thong bikinis were sunning themselves. I noticed that Ryan kept staring at them, but he would occasionally glance back at me. When they got up to leave, Ryan watched them particularly closely. I was bracing myself for questions he might have when he turned to me and whispered, "Dad, can I take that candy bar those girls left behind?" *** A friend of mine has an adopted son who, at six-foot-one, loves to play basketball. The boy was applying to basketball camp, and a section of the application called for him to write a brief essay about himself. My friend got a lump in his throat as he read his son's words: "Most of all I am thankful that I am adopted…" Then my friend got a cold dose of reality as he continued: "because my dad is so short." *** My wife, a real estate agent, wrote an ad for a house she was listing. The house had a second-floor suite that could be accessed using a lift chair that slid along the staircase. Quickly describing this feature, she inadvertently made it sound even more attractive: "Mother-in-law suite comes with an electric chair." *** When I stepped on the scale at 
my doctor’s office, I was surprised 
to see that I weighed 144 pounds. “Why don’t you just take off 
that last four?” I joked to the nurse’s 
aide as she made a notation on 
my chart. A few moments later, my doctor came in and flipped through the chart. “I see you’ve lost weight,” he said. “You’re down to 14 pounds.” *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** sandrewn

Velvet Spider (Eresidae) Taken April 30th, 2010, Shefela, Israel. Jail Stripe Spiders Make a Break For it Using Bromeliads Jail Stripe Spiders, as I've affectionately dubbed them, utilize their host bromeliad plants to make a quick escape from danger. Jail Stripe Spiders Make a Break For it Using Bromeliads | Featured Creature Golden orb weaver (Nephila sp.) Candy cane in the forest. Ridiculously common spider but displaying a brilliant combination of orange and yellow when fresh out of her moult.

August 27th 2023 - Holidays and Observances (click on the day for details) Christian feast day: Baculus of Sorrento Caesarius of Arles Decuman Gebhard of Constance Euthalia John of Pavia Lycerius (or: Glycerius, Lizier) Máel Ruba (or Rufus) (Scotland) Margaret the Barefooted Monica of Hippo, mother of Augustine of Hippo Narnus Our Lady of La Vang Phanourios of Rhodes Rufus and Carpophorus Syagrius of Autun Thomas Gallaudet and Henry Winter Syle (Episcopal Church) August 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Independence Day (Republic of Moldova), celebrates the independence of Moldova from the USSR in 1991. Lyndon Baines Johnson Day (Texas, United States) Observances (click on the day, BD, or week for details) International Lottery Day Notting Hill Carnival Crab Soup Day National Just Because Day National Petroleum Day National Pots De Creme Day Social Justice Sunday National Tug of War Day Pony Express Day International Bat Night National Banana Lovers Day Rod Wave’s Birthday Savannah James’s Birthday Mase’s Birthday Mario Barrett’s Birthday Lyndon B. Johnson’s Birthday Calvin Millan’s Birthday Aaron Paul’s Birthday Fun Observances The Duchess Who Wasn't Day The Duchess Who Wasn’t Day on August 27 celebrates the life, times and works of Irish author Margaret Wolfe Hungerford. Born in 1855, Hungerford wrote anonymously under the pen name, The Duchess. She is most well known for her book Molly Bawn. It is unclear why August 27 was chosen by the unknown creators of this unofficial holidays to honor Hungerford, but some people speculate that the day is called the Duchess Who Wasn’t Day because of the anonymity in which Hungerford spent her life as a writer. Anonymous Female Writers History is full of women writers who spent their lives writing and publishing books and novels anonymously. This was because in the past, it was believed that women could not write. Books published under a female name were either rejected for publication or did not do well in the bookstores. This forced talented writers like Hungerford to publish under pen names or male sounding names. Some examples of now famous authors who wrote under pseudonyms because they were women are: the Brontë sisters, who wrote under the names Currer Bell (Charlotte), Ellis Bell (Emily), and Acton Bell (Anne); Jane Austen, who wrote as The Lady; and Mary Ann Evans, who wrote Middlemarch as George Elliot. The Dutchess Who Wasn't Day also celebrates these and many other women authors who were unable to be themselves because of societal constraints. How to Celebrate? Celebrate the day by reading some of Hungerford’s work. In addition to Molly Bawn, her other works include A Little Rebel, Phyllis and Faith and Unfaith. Read books by other anonymous women authors and read about their lives as women trying to break societal expectations of what they could and could not do. Did You Know... ...that Hungerford is attributed for making the phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” famous? *** At the nudist colony for communists, two men are sitting on the front porch. One turns to the other and says, "I say, have you read Marx?" The other replies, "Yes … I believe it's these wicker chairs." *** It had been a long time—seven years to be exact—since my friend Brian had been to see his doctor. So the nurse told him that if he wanted to make an appointment, he would have to be reprocessed as a new patient. "Okay," said Brian, "reprocess me." "I'm sorry," she told him. "We're not accepting any new patients." *** Ever wonder what medical personnel scribble on those clipboards attached to the foot of the bed? Here are some incredible comments taken from hospital charts: "The patient refused autopsy." "The patient has no previous history of suicides." "She has had no rigors or shaking chills, but her husband states she was very hot in bed last night." "She is numb from her toes down." "Patient has two teenage children but no other abnormalities." "Discharge status: Alive but without my permission." *** I went to a restaurant that serves “breakfast at any time,” so I ordered French toast during the Renaissance. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** sandrewn

She is so beautiful like a jewel, Latrodectus are the most gorgeous of the arachnids I will call it Timmy

August 26th 2023 - Holidays and Observances (click on the day for details) Christian feast day: Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia (Eastern Orthodox Church) Alexander of Bergamo (Roman Catholic Church) Blessed Ceferino Namuncurá David Lewis Jeanne-Elisabeth Bichier des Ages Mariam Baouardy (Melkite Greek Catholic Church) Melchizedek Our Lady of Częstochowa Simplicius, Constantius and Victorinus Teresa Jornet Ibars Zephyrinus August 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Herero Day (Namibia) Heroes' Day (Namibia) Repentance Day (Papua New Guinea) Women's Equality Day (United States) Observances (click on the day, BD, or week for details) National Cherry Popsicle Day National Kelly Day National Logan Day National Spark the World Day National Toilet Paper Day National WebMistress Day Pride Cymru International Cosplay Day National Franchise Appreciation Day Macaulay Culkin’s Birthday Mother Teresa’s Birthday King Cid’s Birthday Lil Tecca’s Birthday Keke Palmer’s Birthday John Mulaney’s Birthday James Harden’s Birthday Dylan O'Brien’s Birthday Ayla Woodruff’s Birthday Chris Pine Birthday Melissa McCarthy Birthday Fun Observances Dog Appreciation Day August 26 is Dog Day or Dog Appreciation Day, a day to appreciate your best friend on four legs. Founded in 2004 by pet and family lifestyle expert and animal behaviorist Colleen Paige, the day honors dogs for all that they do to enrich our lives and communities. The holiday also aims to raise awareness about dog adoption and the importance of providing rescue dogs with a safe and loving environment. Man's Best Friend Often known as man's best friend, dogs were the first animals to be domesticated by humans and they were often used for guarding property, herding stock, and for hunting game. Today, dogs are used as companions and are considered to be a member of the family in many parts of the world. The unofficial holiday is also sometimes called World Dog Day, National Dog Appreciation Day, or International Dog Day. How to Celebrate? Adopt a dog and give it a loving home. If you have a dog, treat them with their favorite treats. If you are unable to have a dog in your family, celebrate the day by donating your time and money to the local animal and dog shelter. Did You Know… …that Dalmatians are born without any spots? Their characteristic spots appear as they grow older. *** The public safety officer came up to a large mob of people outside a department store and asked, “What’s happening?” A mall officer replied, “These people are waiting to get the new Barbie doll.” The public safety officer shook his head and muttered, “Who can resist a Barbie queue?” *** A termite walks into a bar and says, "Where is the bar tender?" *** I put all my spare cash into an origami business. It folded. *** Did you hear about the mathematician who was afraid of negative numbers? He'd stop at nothing to avoid them. *** Someone sent ten different puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did. *** “How is your long distance relationship going?” “So far, so good.” *** Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, but when they lit a fire in the craft it sank -- proving once and for all that you can't have your kayak and heat it, too. *** In ancient Rome, deli workers were told that they could eat anything they wanted during the lunch hour. Anything, that is except the smoked salmon. Thus were created the world's first anti-lox breaks. *** Confucius say, man who runs behind car will get exhausted, but man who runs in front of car will get tired. *** Q: With pointed fangs I sit and wait; with piercing force I crunch out fate; grabbing victims, proclaiming might; physically joining with a single bite. What am I? A: A stapler *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** sandrewn

I am still looking for more info on this(these) spider robot(s). This is all I have so far. UK's Moon-walking space spider to lead landmark lunar mission Spacebit Mission One: UK's 1st Moon Rover to Launch in 2021 - YouTube

These incredible close-ups of spiders are beautiful, but they still might make you squirm. A Spider's Web Is Part of Its Mind, New Research Suggests The UK is sending a robot spider to the moon UK to send robot spider to the moon in first ever lunar mission | The Independent | The Independent (I don't think it ever went.)

August 25th 2023 - Holidays and Observances (click on the day for details) Christian feast day: Æbbe of Coldingham Aredius Genesius of Arles Genesius of Rome Ginés de la Jara (or Genesius of Cartagena) Gregory of Utrecht Joseph Calasanz Louis IX of France Blessed Ludovicus Baba Blessed Ludovicus Sasada Blessed Luis Sotelo Menas of Constantinople Blessed Miguel de Carvalho Patricia of Naples Blessed Pedro Vásquez Thomas de Cantilupe (or of Hereford) August 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Day of Songun (North Korea) Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Uruguay from Brazil in 1825. Soldier's Day (Brazil) Observances (click on the day, BD, or week for details) National Banana Split Day National Park Service Founders Day National Secondhand Wardrobe Day National Whiskey Sour Day Sean Connery’s Birthday Tim Burton’s Birthday Gene Simmons’s Birthday China Anne McClain’s Birthday Blake Lively’s Birthday Billy Ray Cyrus’s Birthday Andrew Hussie’s Birthday Alexander Skarsgård Birthday Fun Observances Kiss and Make Up Day August 25 is Kiss and Make Up Day, a day to let go of resentment, grudges, anger, and indignation. The unofficial holiday encourages people to make up and reconcile with anyone they are estranged with - at work, school, or in their family. Conflict is one of the biggest truths in life. No matter how much we may try, disagreements are a big part of our relationships with others. Most of the times, these differences can be easily set aside and forgotten. Sometimes, however, arguments and misunderstandings can take an ugly turn, estranging and isolating people from each other. Kiss and make up is an English language idiom that means to forgive someone and be friends again with them. A Second Chance Kiss and Make Up Day provides a second chance - it is a day to set aside all difference and let people in our lives know that despite all the quarrels and the disagreements, they mean a lot to us. How to Celebrate? Staying angry with a loved one can be harmful not only to a relationship but to one’s own mental and physical health. So, take this day to let go of all the anger and make up with someone you have quarreled with. Did You Know... ...that in many cultures kissing on the cheek is a sign of respect and friendship? *** When a music student brought his French horn to my shop for repair, he complained that the instrument “felt stuffy” and he couldn’t blow air through it. It’s not unusual to find partial blockages in brass instruments if small items get lodged in the tubing, but when I tested the instrument, the horn was completely blocked. After much probing and prodding, a small tangerine dropped out of the bell. “Oh,” said the musician when I handed him the fruit. Seeing the bewildered look on my face, he explained, “My mom used the horn for a cornucopia in a Thanksgiving centerpiece.” *** A Briton flies into Australia 
and is asked by the immigration 
officer, “Do you have any felony 
convictions?” The Briton replies, “Sorry. I didn’t realize that was still a requirement.” *** I had spent the late winter months waiting impatiently for signs of spring. When the first warm, sunny Saturday arrived, I eagerly unlocked the storm door and stepped onto our patio deck. I was pleased by the sight of green sprouts and the sounds of singing birds. More than anything else, I delighted in the sweet aroma of the spring air. Knocking on the kitchen window, I beckoned to my wife to join me in enjoying the pleasures of the season. She quietly brought me back to earth when she reminded me that I was standing over the dryer vent, inhaling the scent of fabric softener. *** We had just finished tucking our five kids into bed when three-year-old Billy began to wail. Turns out, he had accidentally swallowed a penny and was sure he was going to die. Desperate to calm him, my husband palmed a penny that he had in his pocket and pretended to pull it from Billy’s ear. Billy was delighted. In a flash, he snatched it from my husband’s hand, swallowed it, and demanded, “Do it again!” *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** sandrewn

Desert Wolf Spider from Australia Black and yellow spider March 7, 2010 Myself and Haylee went spider hunting during an overnight stay in the bush near Cocklebiddy in WA, Australia . We found a few of these spiders and Haylee managed to get some good pictures of one of the few that didn’t dissapear down its burrow when we approached. Charlie and Haylee Feather-Legged Spider (Uloborus plumipes?) Found in a taxi...! Portia jumping spider

August 24th 2023 - Holidays and Observances (click on the day for details) Christian feast day: Abbán of Ireland Aurea of Ostia Bartholomew the Apostle (Roman Catholic, Anglican) Jeanne-Antide Thouret Maria Micaela Desmaisieres Massa Candida (Martyrs of Utica) Owen (Audoin) August 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Flag Day (Liberia) Independence Day or Den' Nezalezhnosti, celebrates the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union in 1991. International Strange Music Day National Waffle Day (United States) Nostalgia Night (Uruguay) Willka Raymi (Cusco, Peru) Kobe Bryant Day, a proposed federal holiday in the United States, in reference to his 2 jersey numbers, as well as the day after his birthday Observances (click on the day, BD, or week for details) Melaka Governor's Birthday National Burger Day National Danny Day National Emory Day National Knife Day National Peach Pie Day National SKAM Artist Day Vesuvius Day William Wilberforce Day Internaut Day Vince McMahon Birthday Rupert Grint’s Birthday Dave Chappelle’s Birthday Catherine Paiz’s Birthday Chad Michael Murray’s Birthday Callum The Dragon’s Birthday Fun Observances Pluto Demoted Day Pluto Demoted Day on August 24 commemorates the day in 2006 when Pluto's status was downgraded from a full sized planet to a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, Pluto was the Solar System's 9th planet for 76 years. Given the name of the ancient Greek ruler of the underworld, Pluto was named by an 11-year-old girl called Venetia Burney. 250 Year Orbit Because Pluto is very far from us - on average it is about 6 billion kilometers (4 billion miles) from Earth, little is known about the dwarf planet. In size, Pluto has a diameter of about 2250 kilometers (1400 miles), which is about two-thirds the size of Earth's Moon. Pluto's orbit is highly eccentric. In other words, its orbit around the Sun is not perfectly circular. This means that the distance between it and the Sun varies over time. It takes Pluto about 250 Earth years to orbit once around the Sun, and about 6.5 Earth days to make a full rotation around its axis. Demotion to Dwarf Planet The IAU defines a planet as a celestial body that "orbits around the Sun, has a nearly round shape and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit." Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet because it does not meet the third criteria to be a full-sized planet. It is not the dominant object on its orbit around the Sun - other bodies can be found in the region around its neighborhood. How to Celebrate? Celebrate Pluto's previous status as a planet by spendings some time in the day reading about planets and their characteristics. Have children? Take them on a visit to your local planetarium and introduce them to the joys of astronomy. Teach them everything you know about the Solar System and about planets. Maybe you could make a model of the Solar System with them in order to understand how it works? Learn more about dwarf planets and other astronomical objects like comets, asteroids and meteor showers. Did You Know… …that Pluto has 5 moons: Charon, Kerberos, Nix, Hydra, and Styx? *** My nephew, a flight attendant, split the back of his pants one day during a flight. To save embarrassment, he decided to work in front of the beverage cart, facing forward. The arrangement worked perfectly until he got to the last row and a passenger leaned over to him and said in a low voice, "Your fly is open." *** Security and peace of mind were part of the reason we moved to a gated community. Both flew out the window the night I called a local pizza shop for a delivery. "I'd like to order a large pepperoni, please," I said, then gave him the address of our condominium. "We'll be there in about half an hour," the kid at the other end replied. "Your gate code is still 1238, right?" *** My sister Darlene has the courage—but not always the skills—to tackle any home-repair project. For example, in her garage are pieces of a lawn mower she once tried to fix. So I wasn't surprised the day my other sister, Jesse, and I found Darlene attacking her vacuum cleaner with a screwdriver. "I can't get this thing to cooperate," she explained. "Why don't you drag it out to the garage and show it the lawn mower?" Jesse suggested. *** I hide photos on my computer of me petting animals at the zoo, in 
a file named Fireworks and vacuums so my dog won’t find them. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** sandrewn

When Spiders Go Airborne, It's Electric — Literally Many spiders fly long distances by riding "balloons" of silk, and a new study suggests that they're propelled by more than just the wind. Electric fields at strengths found in nature can also trigger the spiders' ballooning behavior. And electrostatic forces can lift up the spiders even when the air is still, according to a newly published report in the journal Current Biology. Ballooning spiders have long fascinated scientists because they fly high — they've been found more than 2 miles up — and far. These spiders land on ships in the middle of the ocean, and they're often the first colonizers of new volcanic islands, says Erica Morley of the University of Bristol. "Although they don't have wings, they're actually pretty good at flying," says Morley. She explains that a spider will go to a high branch on a tree or to the top of a tall blade of grass and stand on tiptoe with its abdomen pointing up. It then releases long strands of silk and becomes airborne. Curiously, Morley says, spiders balloon only when the winds are very low, like a light breeze. And some larger spiders manage to get up in the air even when it seems like there's not enough wind to make that happen. Scientists also wonder what triggers mass ballooning events — when thousands of spiders suddenly take to the air. All of those are hints that spiders rely on something more than just the wind. What's more, ballooning silk is made of lots of strands that are released at the same time, "and these sort of splay out, as though there's a repulsive force present," Morley says. The idea that atmospheric electric fields might affect flying spiders has been around since the 1800s, but until now, there's been no evidence that spiders could detect or use them. Morley and her colleague Daniel Robert got interested in this after reading a recent paper that showed electrostatic spider flight was theoretically possible. "There wasn't actually any empirical data to support or dispel this hypothesis so that's what we tackled," Morley notes. They rigged up a box with two metal plates, one on the top and one on the bottom. The top plate was connected to a voltage, and the bottom one was electrically grounded. "So between the two plates was an electric field," says Morley. "And the spiders were then put in this electric field, and we could switch it on and off and look at changes in their behavior." The spiders reacted when the electric field was switched on. "They try to balloon. They perform this tiptoeing behavior, and try to balloon," Morley says. "I was delighted when I saw them responding. It's very surprising. It needs a lot more investigation." Some spiders even became airborne in the lab. "And you can change their altitude by switching the electric field on and off," Morley adds. "If they manage to become airborne, and you switch the electric field off, they will then slowly fall. And then you can switch it back on again and they will rise. So you can see that this electric field is providing enough force to lift them against gravity." She says there's a lot more work that needs to be done to see how this plays out in a natural environment, and how this relates to their use of wind. "Wherever there's an electric field in the spider's natural environment," she says, "there is also likely to be some air movement."

August 23rd 2023 - Holidays and Observances (click on the day for details) Battle of Kursk Day (Russia) Christian feast day: Ascelina Asterius, Claudius, and Neon Éogan of Ardstraw Lupus (Luppus) of Novae Philip Benitius Quiriacus and companions, of Ostia Rose of Lima Tydfil Zacchaeus of Jerusalem August 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Day of the National Flag (Ukraine) European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism or Black Ribbon Day (European Union and other countries), and related observances: Liberation from Fascist Occupation Day (Romania) International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition National Day for Physicians (Iran) Umhlanga Day (Eswatini) Observances (click on the day, BD, or week for details) Find Your Inner Nerd Day Health Unit Coordinators Day National Sponge Cake Day Cheap Flight Day Day for Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition International Blind Dog Day National Cuban Sandwich Day National Levi Day National Valentino Day Trixie Mattel’s Birthday William Ernest Henley’s Birthday Rick Springfield’s Birthday River Phoenix’s Birthday Kobe Bryant’s Birthday Jennelle Eliana’s Birthday James Tucker’s Birthday Francesca Reale’s Birthday Badda TD’s Birthday Fun Observances Ride Like the Wind Day August 23 is Ride Like the Wind Day, a day to well, ride like the wind if you can. The day also commemorates the first time the Kremer Prize was awarded in 1977. The prize is awarded to people who pioneer human powered flight. Human powered flights are aircraft that use human muscle power to run. Due to technological issues - they are unable to fly for long distances or for a considerable amount of time - human powered flights are usually flown for experimental and recreational purposes. The first authenticated human powered flight that was successful in taking off and flying for a significant distance took place in 1961. Derek Piggott, a glider pilot in the British Royal Air Force flew Southampton University's Man Powered Aircraft on November 9, 1961, for about 600 meters. Running Away The holiday is a play on the English language phrase run like the wind, which means to run very fast. It is sometimes used in the context of running away from someone or something - the 1980 song Ride Like the Wind, by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross, recounts the story of an outlaw who runs away to Mexico to avoid punishment. Ride like the wind is also sometimes used to refer to the act of doing things without purpose. Just like the wind can change direction at any time, someone riding like the wind can change the course of their lives without any warning and do things without any rhyme or reason. How to Celebrate? Learn more about the history and science of human powered flight. Take flying lessons and ride like the wind. Take your bike out for a spin and feel the wind in your hair. Did You Know… …that Jacqueline Cochran was the first woman to break the sound barrier on May 18, 1953? *** When I enlisted in my teens, I took up smoking cigars to make myself look more mature. Did it work? Well, one time, as I proudly puffed away at our NCO club, an older 
sergeant growled, “Hey, kid, your candy bar’s on fire.” *** Sign above the toilet in a women’s latrine at Camp Ripley in Minnesota: “If you are reading this sign while using this latrine, you are in the wrong one.” *** Few civilians know what a quartermaster does. So during my aircraft carrier’s Family Day, I demonstrated a procedure called semaphore—I grabbed my flags and signaled an imaginary ship. Then I asked a little girl, “Now do you know what I do?” She said, “You’re a cheerleader.” *** Q: Why should the number 288 never be mentioned? A: It's two gross. *** I put my root beer in a square glass. Now it's just beer. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** sandrewn

Big-Headed Bark Spider, Caerostris sp. An orb-weaver spider (family Araneidae) Ceratogyrus marshalli Pocock, 1897 Ceratogyrus marshalli Pocock, 1897, also known as “Straight horned baboon” or “Great horned baboon”, is a very beautiful bird spider due to its remarkable horn on the centre of her carapace from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. African bird spiders are commonly given the title of baboon spider, which title theoretically only belongs to the subfamily of the Harpactirinae. Therefore Ceratogyrus can be considered a real baboon spider. Ceratogyrus darlingi was the first species of the genus to be discribed in 1897, together with the male Ceratogyrus marshalli. De Wet & Dippenaar-Schoeman were able to describe Ceratogyrus cornuatus in 1991, which turned out later to be the female Ceratogyrus marshalli. The Ceratogyrus-genus is well known for their beautiful horns, but in fact only half of the genus is blessed with it. Except for Ceratogyrus paulseni, however, all species do have a subabdominal band in the booklung region. Jewel Spider