The Daily Dose/Monday, March 27, 2023
The Daily Dose/March 27, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
Leading Off will return.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow gets a phone call from the alarm company advising there’s an alarm going off at the hotel. Today’s Diary.
He advises they’re getting an alarm from Zone 304, however the great regret of his life is that he doesn’t know where Zone 304 is, giving him something in common with me…
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———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1975 – Construction begins on the Alaska pipeline, built to move oil from Alaska’s North Slope south to the port at Valdez. The project survived environmental, Native American, and legal challenges and ended up costing $8 billion for 800 miles of pipeline, a terminal, and twelve pump stations. The first oil began flowing in July 1977, the pipeline is 48 inches in diameter, and 32 people died during its construction.
In 1998 – The Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks establish a new NBA record for the highest attendance in an 89-74 Chicago win at the Georgia Dome. The game drew 62,046 fans to break the record of 61,983 by the Boston Celtics at the Detroit Pistons in January 1988, and the record is now 68,623 by the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs at the Alamodome this past Jan 13. The unofficial record is 108,713, for the 2010 NBA All-Star at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
In 1976 – The Four Seasons are at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the third and final consecutive week with December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night). The song also went to #1 in South Africa, Canada, and Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 4th-biggest song of the year. It was their 13th and final Top 10 hit and was their fifth and final #1 song. The song returned to the Hot 100 in 1994, peaking at #14.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
An Apache admired the virtues he himself needed in the life he led.
Louis L’Amour
The Lonely Men
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Elbridge Gerry served in the Continental Congress, the Congress of the Confederation, the US House, and as vice president under James Madison. He is the only signer of the Declaration of Independence who is buried in Washington, DC.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Where was the first NBA All-Star Game played? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/Sunday, March 2, 2022
The Daily Dose/March 26, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.
1. Florida Atlantic – A #9 seed that is going to its first Final Four…School no stranger to football Bottom Ten fan(s), and B-10 pollsters – just now coming out of winter hibernation – officially “shocked” as they thought FAU sucked at everything.
2. Idaho – Noted US state so hell-bent on executing probably-guilty killers that legislature recently authorized prison authorities to resume firing squads, a method used once in US in last 50 years…Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters “pretty sure” if they had a choice they’d choose to be shot as some who have been shot say it doesn’t really hurt that much, and we don’t know if that is true or not with lethal injection.
3. USA! USA! – The 3-hole staple…News taking back seat nowadays to people’s reaction to news as television, social media, news/sports stories now showing the witless reacting to things instead of showing us what is actually happening/has happened…Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters “strongly suspect” that how Twitter reacts to something really isn’t newsworthy.
4. NCAA Sports Notre Dame AD said this week that NCAA is in danger of breaking up…Good riddance…He also advocated Congress getting involved with NCAA-favorable legislation, though why Congress should get involved in cleaning up college sports not immediately clear.
5. California – Noted US state suffering through cataclysmic winter with bomb cyclones, atmospheric rivers, 20 feet of snow, tornados, LA Aqueduct breaking, floods, all of which could not be happening to a nice state…At least the drought is over, though.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
Sure, it’s Read Free Sunday (RFS) at The Diary.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has a caller do a cost/benefit analysis after he quotes him a room rate. Today’s Diary.
He paused – probably deciding if the chick he was with was worth $250, plus tax – before allowing that he would have to call us back…
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Click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available.
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1812 – The term “gerrymander” is inspired by a political cartoon in the Boston Gazette describing state senate districts designed to favor incumbents. The name is derived from two sources: the bizarre shapes of some districts, which some said resembled salamanders, and from Elbridge Gerry, the Massachusetts governor at the time. The cartoon was likely drawn by Elkanah Tisdale, a Boston artist, and engraver, and History neglected to note the person who first used the term.
In 1972 – The Los Angeles Lakers establish a new NBA record for most wins in a season in a 124-98 win over the Seattle SuperSonics. It was the 69th win of the season for the Lakers, breaking the record of 68 by the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers, the mark was broken by the Chicago Bulls in 1995-96 with 72 and is now held by the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors who won 73. Earlier in the season the Lakers won an NBA-record 33 consecutive games and would defeat the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
In 1983 – John Anderson is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then known as the Hot Country Singles chart – for the only week with Swingin’. It was the eighth of 20 Top 10 country hits for Anderson and was his second of five #1s in a chart career that lasted from 1977-2006. The song also peaked at #43 on the Hot 100 – his only Hot 100 appearance – and was Billboard’s 9th-biggest country song of the year. In 2010 a version by LeAnn Rimes peaked at #57 on the country chart.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…Clevenger, the corporal, and Colonel Korn agreed that it was neither possible nor necessary to educate people who never questioned anything.
Joseph Heller
Catch-22
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The NHL record for most points in a season by someone not named Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux is 155 by Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings in 1988-89. It is good for 14th on the all-time list.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What positions in the federal government did Elbridge Gerry also serve in? – Answer next time!
The Diary of a Nobody/March 25
It’s Read Free Sunday (RFS) at The Diary.
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Saturday, March 25
The big question coming into tonite’s shift at the hotel was whether or not both boxes of coffee – French roast and European blend – would need to be replaced in the back coffee room…We actually started thinking not a whole hell of a lot about this Wednesday morning before we left for what we pass off as a weekend…Both boxes were getting toward the bottom and it was a close call as to whether or not we’d replace them…Ultimately, we decided no; there was plenty for the rest of the day and tomorrow and probably for the following day, too, and if Chris didn’t replace them, we’d be happy to…Besides, regular readers of this crap know we simply do not tolerate gratuitously changing out coffee boxes, merely so we can get the knife some use…We’re better than that…But we gotta be honest, if Chris doesn’t need to change the boxes out on his two nites, well, we’d be thrilled to get the knife some use tonite.
The Daily Dose/Saturday, March 25, 2023
The Daily Dose/March 25, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
Leading Off will return.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has good strength in the gym. Today’s Diary.
Everything but the bench press was stronger…
———
Click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available.
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1979 – The space shuttle Columbia is delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, to be prepared for its first launch, scheduled later that year. Assorted delays put this off until April 1981 and its first operational mission came on its fifth mission in November 1982. Columbia would spend 300 days in space over the course of its 28 missions until it disintegrated upon re-entry in February 2003.
In 1982 – Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers becomes the first player to score 200 points in a season in a 7-2 victory over the Calgary Flames. Gretzky’s 200th point came on a first-period assist and he later added another assist and two goals. Gretzky would finish the season with NHL records in both goals (92) and assists (120) and the goal record still stands. Gretzky would set the single-season assists (163) and points (215) records in 1985-86.
In 1972 – America is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of three consecutive weeks with Horse With No Name. The song also went to #1 in Finland and Canada and peaked at #3 in Great Britain. It was the first chart single for the group, their first of seven Top 10 hits, and their first of two #1s. Their self-titled debut album was also in its first of five consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
One must show the truth to posterity with boldness, and to his contemporaries with circumspection.
Will and Ariel Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol X: Rousseau and Revolution
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The Billboard all-chart record for most weeks at #1 is 132, done by You Say by Lauren Daigle, on the Hot Christian Songs chart from 2018-2021.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Who holds the NHL record for most points in a season by someone not named Wayne Gretxky or Mario Lemieux? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/Friday, March 24, 2023
The Daily Dose/March 24, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
HERE WE GO AGAIN: It’s not a bulletin to read in the On This Date segment that research into a particular matter was “inconclusive”. This means either we weren’t able to do all the required research or that we could and the desired knowledge couldn’t be found.
Dry, Technical Matter: Inconclusive research reared its ugly head yesterday when we noted that yesterday in 1946 Frank Carle and his Orchestra, with his daughter Marjorie Hughes singing, was at #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart with Oh! What It Seemed To Be.
Fly In The Ointment: That same research showed that Frank Sinatra had a version of the song at #1 on the Most Played by Disc Jockeys chart. This source, however, wasn’t able to tell us where Frank’s version was on the Best Sellers chart, but we have a source that could and a check showed that Sinatra’s version was at #2 and you do not have to be Casey Kasem to know that two versions of the same song at #1 and #2 is a rarity.
Uh, Can We Pick This Up A Little Bit?: How rare, though? It might well have happened before because different charted versions of the same song were fairly common back then, so we dove in. Unfortunately, our research was stopped about two-thirds of the way through due to technical constraints.
The Bottom Line: But even if our research hadn’t been stopped, it would still have been inconclusive because this was an era when Billboard published more than one chart each week. For this week in 1946, for example, there was not only the Best Sellers and the Most Played by Jockeys charts, but also the Most Played in Jukeboxes chart. For any research to have any authority, these charts would have to be consulted as well, research that probably would have challenged even our glee at research of this sort.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow makes a meatloaf. Today’s Diary.
The result was something that was neither too good nor too bad, which is a pretty good working definition of bachelor cooking.
———
Click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available.
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow projectile during battle in France, which leads to his death on April 6. Richard had ascended the throne in 1789, after the death of his father, Henry II, and Richard was succeeded by his brother, John. Some accounts give the date as March 26, History sometimes refers to Richard as Richard the Lionheart, and portions of his body were buried in three different places.
In 1936 – The Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Maroons establish a new NHL record for the longest game in a 1-0, 6-overtime game in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup semifinals. The winning goal was scored 16 minutes and 30 seconds into the sixth overtime, breaking the record of 4 minutes, 46 seconds of the sixth overtime established when Toronto defeated Boston 1-0 in April 1933 and the record still stands. Detroit won the series 3 games to zero and would later defeat Toronto for the Stanley Cup.
In 2018 – Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line are at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then and now known as the Hot Country Songs chart – for the 16th of a record 50 consecutive weeks with Meant To Be. The song also peaked at #2 on the Hot 100, was Billboard’s biggest country song of 2018, its 10th-biggest of 2019, and was its #1 country song of the decade. The song was the first #1 country hit for Rexha and the sixth for Florida Georgia Line and the 50 weeks at #1 remains a record for a major Billboard singles chart.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…the only real liberation is education, the only real freedom is intelligence.
Will and Ariel Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol X: Rousseau and Revolution
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
One member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition died during the trip to the Pacific Ocean and back, Army Agt. Charles Floyd, on Aug 20, 1804, apparently from appendicitis.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What is the Billboard all-time, all-chart record for most weeks at #1? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/Thursday, March 23, 2023
The Daily Dose/March 23, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
Leading Off will return.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has the latest news from the hotel. Today’s Diary.
In other cash drawer news, the right drawer – ol’ Sparrow’s home drawer – had 20 pennies in it!!!…
———
Click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available.
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1806 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition leaves their winter quarters at Fort Clatsop on the Oregon side of the mouth of the Columbia River, to head back to St Louis. The expedition had set out on May 14, 1804, charged by President Thomas Jefferson to explore western lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase via the Missouri River. The expedition had reached the Pacific Ocean on Nov 15, 1805, took to winter quarters on Dec 7, and returned to St Louis on Sept 23, 1806, 2 years, 4 months, 10 days, and 8,000 miles after they had left.
In 1952 – Bill Mosienko of the Chicago Blackhawks establishes a new NHL record for the fastest hat trick in a 7-6 victory over the New York Rangers. Mosienko scored three goals in 21 seconds, breaking the record of 60 seconds established by Jack Darragh of the Ottawa Senators in January 1919 and the record still stands. Mosienko’s first goal came at the 6:09 mark of the third period and Gus Bodnar had assists on all three goals.
In 1946 – Frankie Carle and his Orchestra with Marjorie Hughes is at #1 on Billboard’s Best Selling Popular Retail Records chart – a predecessor to the Hot 100 – for the second of six consecutive weeks with Oh! What It Seemed to Be. A version by Frank Sinatra was at #2 on the chart – it was also at #1 on the Most Played by Jockeys chart – and research into other instances of different versions of the same song occupying the #1 and #2 spots on the same chart was inconclusive.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
John Wooden
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Sonny James’ biggest hit on the Hot 100 was Young Love, which spent one week at #2 in 1957.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
How many members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, died during their trip? – Answer next time!