The Cincinnati Zoo reported (Tuesday) that Fiona weighs 130 pounds. This is what she does when she’s dreaming.
Monday was Opening Day in Cincinnati. Based on the morning weather reports, we decided to stay dry by not attending downtown festivities … and it didn’t rain a drop! … Damn Obama!
Congratulations of the North Carolina Tar Heels for representing ABK with distinction in the men’s basketball tournament. For those who don’t know, that’s Anybody But Kentucky.
Although their winning streak was surprisingly snapped, a tip of the cap to the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team. Wow – winning 111 games in a row is unbelievable … so I imagine a new streak will start sometime in November.
I enjoy celebrating milestones with a numbers tribute – as the last post was for our 40th wedding anniversary. Our schedule dictated that we go out for a nice dinner the evening before, and it was wonderful. Thanks again for the anniversary wishes.
Count me in on the outcry that penalties should not be based on communication from spectators. The PGA and the LPGA need to put an end to the nonsense!
I can’t recall ever seeing ads on television supporting a Supreme Court nominee. I remain standing firm on my stance of Last Judge Standing, and will continue that position until I feel it is no longer necessary – but I wonder if that will happen in my lifetime.
I continue to avoid watching Chris Matthews, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and Rachel Maddow. I very seldom read columns by EJ Dionne, George Will, Charles Krauthammer, and Eugene Robinson. Why? … I can think for myself and do not need partisans to verify my position. After all, I have it even better because I have all the partisans to prove my point.
Senate Majority Leader McConnell (JA/R-KY) is threatening to impose the rule change known as the Nuclear Option. I say go right ahead because we citizens need more dysfunction based on partisanship. After all, Former Majority Leader Reid (JA/D-NV) did his share to lead the way by setting an example. Follow the lead, jackasses!
Cheers to Stephen Colbert who makes me laugh at the political chaos. I know he’s a partisan, but he still makes me laugh.
April has a way of being hectic. Better weather gets us outside. Golf league for both of us will ramp up. Working hours will increase at the golf course. Taxes to be filed. The handbell choir prepares for Easter Sunday. Dances are to be done. The Masters golf tournament is a must-watch event. Baseball season has started. A room painting project in the near future. Vacations to plan, and more.
This blog has been very steady for almost 6 months, so it’s time for a blog break. Not sure how I will spend it, so don’t be surprised if I go visiting. For the record, more Beach Walks are to come.
To send you into my blog break, this song goes out to the dreaming Fiona. In the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.
This post is about the number forty, quaranta, veertig, cорок, keturiasdešimt, Minn erbgħin, XL, and many more … can you add any?
40 – As forty, the only English number with the letters of its correct spelling are in alphabetical order
In Mathematics
40 – a composite number, an octagonal number, a semiperfect number, a Harshad number, a Stormer number
40 – divisible by 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 20, and 40
In Science
40 – the atomic number of zirconium, whose neutrally charged atom has 40 protons and 40 electrons
40 – the number of weeks for an average term of pregnancy
M40 – a star in the constellation Ursa Major
NGC 40 – a planetary nebula in the constellation Cepheus
In Religion
Photo from pexels.com
Judaism
40 – a commonly used time period (days, nights, years) – (many references)
40 – the number of days and nights during the Flood
40 – the number of se’ah in a mikvah of water (approximately 200 gallons/757 liters)
40 – the number of lashes as a punishment
Christianity
40 – the number of days and nights Jesus fasted
40 – the number of days between the resurrection of Jesus to the ascension of Jesus
40 – the number of days of Lent preceding Easter (but Eastern and Western Christianity count it differently)
Islam
40 – Muhammad’s age when he first received the revelation delivered by the archangel Gabriel
40 days – the official length of mourning
Hinduism
40 – the number of stanzas (shlokas or dohas) in some popular HIndu prayers
40 – number of days fasting
In Sports
Photo from pexals.com
40 – number of players allowed under contract for each MLB baseball team
40/40 Club – Players achieving 40 stolen bases and 40 home runs in a season (only been done 4 times)
40 – the maximum number of horses in the grand national
40 yards – (36.5 meters): the distance dash as a metric in scouting American football players
The distance run in the 40 yard dash, an important metric in American football scouting.
40 – the third point in a tennis game … and 40-40 is called “deuce”
40 – the number of cars in a NASCAR Nationwide race
40 – the number of a NASCAR car that has won 9 races by drivers Sterling Marlin (4), Pete Hamilton (3), Tommy Thompson (1), and Jamie McMurray (1)
40 – a jersey number retired in this professional sports:
MLB: Don Wilson (Astros), Danny Murtaugh (Pirates)
NBA: Byron Beck (Nuggets), Bill Laimbeer (Pistons)
NFL: Pat Tillman (Cardinals), Gale Sayers (Bears), Mike Haynes (Patriots), Joe Morrison (Giants), Tom Brookshier (Eagles)
In Entertainment
40 – the number of spaces in a standard Monopoly game board
40 -the highest number ever counted to on Sesame Street
In Music
Crush 40 – an American-Japanese hard rock band
“40” – a song by Dave Matthews Band, UC, and Franz Ferdinand
“Forty Shades of Green” – a song by Johnny Cash
40 – the name of Canadian hip hop producer Noah Shebib
Symphony No. 40 – by Haydn and Mozart
40 – the number of song on popular weekly radio programs as American Top 40, Rick Dees’ Weekly Top 40, and American Country Countdown – #1 40 years ago today
In Television
$40 – the spending limit for chefs on “Chef on a Shoestring”
$40 – the per day spending limit on $40 a Day, a travel/eating show originally on Food Network hosted by Rachael aye
In Literature
40 – the number of thieves involved with Ali Baba in Arabian Nights
In Culture
To understand a people, you must live among them for 40 days. ~Arabic proverb
40 hours – the customary number of hours in a regular workweek in some countries
40 days – Russian folklore regarding the length of time ghosts of the dead linger at the site of their death
40 years – an age milestone
40th wedding anniversary – Ruby is the traditional gift
In US History
40 acres and a mule – a plan to offer freed slaves after the US Civil War
40th US President – Ronald Reagan
STS-40 – the 11th mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia (June 1991)
Federalist Paper No. 40 – written by James Madison about the authority of the Constitutional Convention
In World History
40 – During the Bubonic plague, the number of days ships isolated in the harbor before passengers could go ashore
40 – another name for The Tessarakonteres, the largest ship of antiquity, constructed by Ptolemy IV of Egypt
40 CE
Korean calendar year 2373, Holocene calendar year 10040, Discordian calendar year 1206
A leap year starting on Friday
Roman Emperor Caligula starts on a campaign to conquer Britain (which failed)
The Vietnamese Trưng Sisters rebel against the rule of the Chinese Emperor Guangwu of Han
Philo teaches that all men are born free.
Christianity comes to Egypt
40 BC
Assyrian calendar year 4711, Berber calendar year 911, Buddhist calendar year 505
Either a common year starting on Thursday, Friday or Saturday or a leap year starting on Thursday or Friday
Lucius Antonius surrenders to Octavian
Treaty of Brundisium: The treaty is cemented by the marriage of Mark Antony and Octavia, sister of Octavian
Athenodorus a philosopher, encounters a ghost in Athens
Parthians conquer Jerusalem
Births: the twins of Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Mark Antony
In Geography
Photo from pexels.com
I-40 – a U.S. interstate connecting California to North Carolina
40 – National highways in Argentina, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, UK, and USA
40th Parallel South – crosses land in Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and Argentina
40th Parallel North – crosses land in Spain, Italy, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, North Korea, Japan, USA, and Portugal
40th Meridian West – crosses Greenland, Brazil, and Antarctica
4oth Meridian East – crosses Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Antarctica
40-Step Stairway – historical place in Busan, South Korea
Forty Foot – a promontory on the southern tip of Dublin Bay, Ireland where people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for hundreds of years
Forty Shades of Green is a visual term for rural Ireland
Miscellaneous
40 – the code for direct dial international phone calls to Romania
WD-40 – a popular penetrating oil whose name stands for the 40th formula of Water Displacement
Here’s #2 on the Billboard Charts from 40 years ago today – April 2, 1977 – our wedding day
