National Lighthouse Day, Amber Alert, and Enjoy!

National Lighthouse Day - It was on this day in 1789, that Congress approved an Act for the establishment and support of lighthouse, beacons, buoys and public piers.

In Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the signing of the Act and the commissioning of the first Federal lighthouse, Congress passed a resolution which designated August 7, 1989 as National Lighthouse Day.

Senator John H. Chafee (Rhode Island) sponsored a joint resolution that was introduced to Congress on April 28, 1988 designating the day of August 7, 1989 as "National Lighthouse Day."
The summary of the resolution stated, "Designates August 7, 1989, as National Lighthouse Day and calls for lighthouse grounds, where feasible, to be open to the public."

The resolution passed the Senate on July 26, 1988 and the House (sponsored by Representative William J. Hughes, New Jersey) on October 21, 1988. President Ronald Reagan signed the Bill into public law (No. 100-622) on November 5, 1988.

Amber Alert - An Amber Alert was in effect early Tuesday for the two missing children of a woman whose body was found inside a burned rural house near the U.S.-Mexico border, and authorities said the man suspected of killing the woman may have abducted the kids.

This Amber Alert got a lot of attention from people who were surprised to get the message on the cellphones. For many that came late at night, along with a loud alert sound.

If your cellphone is capable of receiving these messages—as well as your service provider—then you will receive these messages when they come out here in California.

Laura and I were awakened unceremoniously by a loud screech from my Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone. I determined this would not happen again and disabled Amber Alerts. If you wish to disable Amber Alerts, open Messaging, select Settings / Emergency Alerts, and un-check Amber Alerts.

This varies a bit with different smartphones and service providers, but all Android-based phones should have similar settings options.

If you have an iPhone, simply drive to the nearest body of water, toss the vile creature into the water, and buy an Android smartphone.

Enjoy - Relax and enjoy these images and videos!

Hiroshima Day, In-N-Out Burger, and Enjoy!

Hiroshima Day - 2013 August 6 and 9 sees 68th Anniversary of the Atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

This event was the opening chapter on the nuclear age and the threat of nuclear weapons worldwide.

Under the slogan "Hiroshima never again" the Sydney Hiroshima Day Committee has campaigned for nuclear weapons to made illegal and to be never again used or threatened to be used.

The need is just as great now as ever it was.

In-N-Out Burger - Laura sent me a photograph from her Motorola Droid M. The image indicated she was driving her Dodge Challenger toward In-N-Out Burger! I knew from experience this meant a burger for ME upon Laura's arrival at our nest!

Later that day, she sent me another photograph from her smartphone. My burger was on its way to me! Drive carefully, Laura! You are carrying precious cargo!

Upon Laura's arrival at our nest, she found me seated at the dining room table, smiling, drooling, twitching with anticipation. She handed me my burger!

Within a brief period of time, it looked like this!

Shortly thereafter, there was no trace of the burger remaining. It was delicious!

Enjoy! - Relax and enjoy these images and videos!

WARNING: This video contains some foul language near the end. I hesitated to include it here, but the balance of the video is just altogether TOO FUNNY not to share it!

CollegeHumor's Favorite Funny Videos

International Assistance Dog Week, Laura's Birthday Week, and Enjoy!

International Assistance Dog Week - International Assistance Dog Week (IADW) was created to recognize of all the devoted, hardworking assistance dogs helping individuals mitigate their disability-related limitations.

Assistance dogs transform the lives of their human partners with debilitating physical and mental disabilities by serving as their companion, helper, aide, best friend, and close member of their family.

During International Assistance Dog Week, we recognize and honor the hardworking assistance dogs; raise awareness and educate the public about how these specially trained animals are aiding so many people in our communities; honor the puppy raisers and trainers of assistance dogs; and recognize heroic deeds performed by assistance dogs in our communities. The celebration takes place each year, starting on the first Sunday of August. In 2013, International Assistance Dog Week will be August 4 – 10.

International Assistance Dog Week was established due to the efforts of Marcie Davis, a paraplegic for over 35 years and CEO of Davis Innovations, a consulting firm based in Santa Fe, NM.

Davis is the author of Working Like Dogs: The Service Dog Guidebook, a resource book that captures personal stories, checklists and practical tips to provide the reader with an A-Z guide about service dogs and she is the host of the Internet radio program, Working Like Dogs, at Pet Life Radio. As a member of a service dog team, she founded Working Like Dogs to honor assistance dogs around the world and is sponsoring International Assistance Dog Week.

Laura's Birthday Week - Although Laura's birthday was Wednesday, we waited until the weekend to celebrate it. We enjoyed a very festive sushi dinner—followed in the morning with home-made Potatoes O'Brien and scrambled eggs with sausage.


The Potatoes O'Brien featured several hot peppers—including a plump habanero. It was a very spicy dish!


Now, I am watching for the Big Brown Truck. It will bring Laura's Nexus 7 2013—her birthday present from me!

Enjoy! - Relax and enjoy these images and videos.

National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, Mia Bella's Gourmet Candles, and TGIF!

National Ice Cream Sandwich Day - Today is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day!

On the beach or in an ice cream shop, these sweet sandwiches are always delicious.

Ice cream sandwiches come in many varieties. In their traditional form, vanilla ice cream is tucked between two thin layers that resemble chocolate cake. Other versions include chipwiches—ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies.

Mia Bella's Gourmet Candles - Mia Bella Gourmet Candles represent the first innovation in candle-making in 150 years. Mia Bella Candles are a safer alternative for both you and the environment.

Mia Bella's Cleaner Burning Gourmet Candles are clean burning and virtually soot free, double wicked and triple scented, burn longer and more evenly, smell amazing right to the last flicker, have a tremendous scent throw, are all natural and non-toxic, hand poured in the USA with renewable products grown in the USA, and clean up with hot water and soap!

I was given two Mia Bella Gourmet Candles by a local distributor who asked me to evaluate them. I was very favorably impressed. I highly recommend Mia Bella's Gourmet Candles. For additional information, I recommend that you visit the Light Your World Web site

TGIF - This has been a long, tiresome week. TGIF!!!

World Wide Web Day, Laura Gets a Nexus 7 2013, and Enjoy!

World Wide Web Day - Today is World Wide Web Day! World Wide Web Day celebrates opening the World Wide Web to the public. The World Wide Web ("WWW" or simply the "Web") is a global information medium which users can read and write via computers connected to the Internet. The term is often mistakenly used as a synonym for the Internet itself, but the Web is a service that operates over the Internet, just as e-mail does. The history of the Internet dates back significantly further than that of the World Wide Web.

The hypertext portion of the Web in particular has an intricate intellectual history; notable influences and precursors include Vannevar Bush's Memex, IBM's Generalized Markup Language, and Ted Nelson's Project Xanadu.

The concept of a home-based global information system goes at least as far back as "A Logic Named Joe," a 1946 short story by Murray Leinster, in which computer terminals, called "logics," were in every home. Although the computer system in the story is centralized, the story captures some of the feeling of the ubiquitous information explosion driven by the Web.

Laura Gets a Nexus 7 2013 - Laura showed no interest in my Nexus 7 2012. When my Nexus 7 2013 arrived last week, she was similarly disinterested. Last evening, I started the video demo of "Asphalt 8: Airborne" and handed her my Nexus 7 2013. As she watched the video, she quickly fell under the thrall of the HD display and simulated surround sound. Her eyes took on a glassy appearance. Her pulse became rapid and irregular. She became weak and groped for a chair to aid her stability. She fell into the chair and continued watching the video.

"Asphalt" is a legendary racing franchise and "Asphalt 8: Airborne" promises to live up to the name with jaw-dropping console-grade graphics and adrenaline boosting gameplay.

By the time the trailer had ended, it was apparent to me that Laura had fallen fully under the thrall of the Nexus 7 2013. She remained in this zombie-like state, and I realized nothing but personal ownership of the creature would restore Laura fully. In order to save her, then, I ordered one for her. It shall arrive on Monday. I declared it a birthday gift. Yesterday was her birthday.

Enjoy - Relax and Enjoy these photos and videos!