Tuesday, June 23, 2026

June 23 - Typing out a treaty on a console

June 23rd has a few interesting facts.

The patent for the QWERTY typewriter was received by Christopher Soles, Carlos Glidden and Samuel Soule in 1868.


The Antarctic Treaty (which has come up in a bunch of my youtube algorithm feeding me the hilarious videos where scientists have to deal about debunking flat earthers) was signed in 1959 but went into effect on this day in 1961.

And this one, realizes I'm old, and I was even a little too old for this; the Nintendo 64 came out in 1996.

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

June 17 - Never look a French gift in the mouth

 Did you know that when the French gifted the US the Statue of Liberty, that it came disassembled?  I have no idea why that sounds 'new' to me, but it makes sense, right?  They wouldn't just float over an entire statue that size

It arrived in New York today in 1885



Tuesday, June 16, 2026

June 16 - Woman Space Driver

Okay, extra special day (for me), but did you know also that today was the day the Ford Motor Company incorporated in 1903 and officially the first woman was in space - Valentina Tereshkova - flew a solo mission in 1963 on the Vostok 6




Monday, June 15, 2026

June 15 - Flying the Law

In today's bit of history - there's 1752 where Ben Franklin was said to have flown his kite with a key... there's some clarification on what he actually did, but it happened.

Also in 1215 one of the first major 'laws' came out to help limit the rule of law, to tamp down the over reach of the king and set limits; the Magna Carta




Friday, October 24, 2025

October 24 - Jumping Jays Info

So in 2025 the Blue Jays just made it into the World Series and today is going to be game 1, and it was a reminder for those of us who remember the '92 and '93 back to back World Series winners, and on today in 1992 was the first time they won the full series -- and it was the first time a non-US team had won.

From J(ay)s to Ks, today is also World Kangaroo Day.

Lovable creatures from down-under.

Connecting from North America to Down-Under requires a good deal of tech and international agreements needed to be developed, and in light of that Information Tech needed, today is also World Development Information.

Sunday, June 16, 2024

I'm 47

It's been a crazy busy few weeks and I haven't really had the time to reflect on my latest birthday.  I like being busy.

Work, football, band...

Work is... well, it's still a new role and figuring it out.

Football - we're continuing to grow and have more opportunities for kids so it really means keeping up and not a lot of down time (I can't complain, parents and coaches are committing way more time to it than I am, so I can't let them down).

Band - so many graduations, and then readying for competition, on top of a parade season.

It's a lot going on.

All the while I've turned 47.  What does that mean.  I'm that inch closer to retirement I guess, the far off horizon seems much more measurable.

But, as I've done on these posts for birthdays, I want to focus on the number.  What is 47

It's not even, and not a divisible by 4 which I like... it's close.  

But, it's prime.  That's neat.  Gives you the 'prime year' feel.  Maybe this is it.

It's the atomic number of silver.  Silver... 2nd place.  That's not bad (tho' some will tell you 2nd place is 1st place loser).

Some also say that 47 is '42' adjusted for inflation, and you know how much I like 42

In the game Hitman, the player is 'Agent 47'

Also interestingly enough, 47 was once touted as the 'quintessential random number'.  Asked to pick a random number 1-100 and it comes up pretty often; and it was an inside joke on Star Trek that they tried to work the number into every episode.  Maybe I should dedicate separate articles to every instance.

Well, back to your standard programming!  Time to go celebrate them dads.

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

October 3 - Technical Drumming

It's October 3rd and well, according to a website in the USA it's "National Techies Day".

Now, a techie... is that someone who works specifically in tech?  Or is just any tech enthusiast?  I think I fall into the latter category.

It's also the birthday of one of the ... well I'll call techie drummer.  Tommy Lee.

Growing up as a Crue fan, just loved the driving beat of the band and if you'd seen them in concert, Tommy really did some 'funky stuff'.  Putting himself in a cage and spinning it, or rotating the drums etc... that's some techie stuff right there.

This year, Tommy turns 61.