19,032 Days Straight

After 19,032 days straight, world record holder Ron Hill calls time on longest recorded running streak

The longest recorded running streak in history ended on Saturday when England's Ron Hill completed a one-mile run. The 78-year-old former Olympian did not run on Sunday for the first time in 52 years and 39 days - a streak that dates back to December 21, 1964.

-- Headline and snippet from the Sydney Morning Herald, 31 January 2017


http://www.smh.com.au/sport/athletics/after-19032-days-straight-world-record-holder-ron-hill-calls-time-on-longest-recorded-running-streak-20170131-gu24re.html

The Homeless, Tempest-Tost

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

-- Excerpt from Emma Lazarus's sonnet "The New Colossus" (1883), inscribed since 1903 on a plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty

The Smarter You Get

The more injuries you get, the smarter you get.

-- Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov (27 January 1948-), Soviet-born Russian American dancer, choreographer, and actor, in an interview with Barbara Isenberg, "To Mikhail Baryshnikov, time is a great teacher", Los Angeles Times, 30 August 2009

I Can't Imagine

Absolutely not.  Moreover, I can't imagine that I would be asked that.

-- Now-CIA Director Mike Pompeo, when asked at his confirmation hearing, "If you were  ordered by the President to restart the CIA use of enhanced interrogation techniques that fall outside of the Army Field Manual, would you comply?",  12 January 2017

Pain Nourishes Courage

Pain nourishes courage.  You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you.

-- Mary Tyler Moore (29 December 1936 - 25 January 2017), American actress and comedian, as quoted in The Reader's Digest, Vol. 128 (1986), p. 137

3,391 Guns

3,391 guns

You cannot bring guns onto an airplane in a carry-on bag.  That line in the airborne social contract was apparently news to the flyers responsible for the 3,391 guns confiscated by the Transportation Security Administration in 2016.  That’s a record and up 30 percent from 2015.  Eighty-three percent of them were loaded.

-- Walt Hickey, in FiveThirtyEight's "Significant Digits" newsletter, 17 January 2017, citing USA Today as its source

USA Today does note that TSA screen 738 million passengers in 2016, up just 6 percent from 2015

Alt Right Alt Facts Alt Reality

A fact is a piece of information presented as having objective reality.

-- @MerriamWebster on Twitter, noting "Lookups for 'fact' spiked after Kellyanne Conway used the phrase 'alternative facts.'" 11:32 AM 22 January 2017

POTUS 45

From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land.  ... The time for empty talk is over.  Now arrives the hour of action.

-- Donald J Trump, 45th President of the United States, in his inaugural address, 20 January 2017

Present

I am confident that my vote represents the view of the vast majority of my constituents.  In that respect, the decision was easy.  Unfortunately, I have learned that what is popular with constituents does not always align with what is popular in Springfield.

-- Illinois Representative Scott Drury (D-Highwood), on voting "Present" on Michael Madigan's reelection as House Speaker, 11 January 2017

Change Them Yourself

They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.

-- Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987), American painter, filmmaker, publisher, actor, and major figure in the Pop Art movement, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (1975) Ch. 7: Time

The Time Is Always Right

The time is always right to do what’s right.

-- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968), American Baptist minister, doctor, civil rights activist, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize of 1964, Speech delivered in Finney Chapel at Oberlin College (22 October 1964), as reported in "When MLK came to Oberlin" by Cindy Leise (The Chronicle-Telegram, 21 January 2008)

First Essential Step

The Information Age offers much to mankind, and I would like to think that we will rise to the challenges it presents.  But it is vital to remember that information -- in the sense of raw data -- is not knowledge, that knowledge is not wisdom, and that wisdom is not foresight.  But information is the first essential step to all of these.

-- Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (1917 – 2008), British author, inventor, and futurist, as quoted in "Humanity will survive information deluge -- Sir Arthur C Clarke" in OneWorld South Asia (5 December 2003)

Not You

Not you.  Your organization is terrible. ...  I'm not going to give you a question.  You are fake news.

-- President-elect Donald Trump, to CNN reporter Jim Acosta during a press conference, 11 January 2017

None Of This Happens On Its Own

Our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted.  All of us, regardless of party, should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions.  When voting rates in America are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should be making it easier, not harder, to vote.  When trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service.  When Congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our congressional districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes.  But remember, none of this happens on its own.  All of this depends on our participation, on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which way the pendulum of power happens to be swinging.

-- President Barack Obama in his farewell address, 10 January 2017

One Pair Of Pants

You can only wear one pair of pants at a time.

-- Charles F. Feeney (1931-), Irish-American businessman and philanthropist, named by Forbes as the #1 most generous philanthropist, based on giving as a percentage of current net worth, with lifetime giving of $7.5 billion (373,000% of current net worth)

To Be Art

I don’t want life to imitate art.  I want life to be art.

-- Carrie Frances Fisher (21 October 1956 - 27 December 2016), American actress, screenwriter and novelist, most famous for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars films; daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, Postcards from the Edge (1987)

Non-Sponsored Sleepovers

We appreciate that people are interested in Ikea and want to create fun experiences. However, the safety and security of our co-workers and customers is our highest priority and that's why we do not allow sleepovers in our stores.

-- Ikea UK spokesperson in a statement to the BBC after about 10 "non-sponsored sleepovers", prompted by an August YouTube video which now has 1.7 million views, 21 December 2016

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38390497

No Cuts

I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid.  Huckabee copied me.

-- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) in a tweet from 10:38 AM, 7 May 2015 quoted on the floor of the Senate by Bernie Sanders (I-VT), 4 January 2017

#9, Courtesy of #4

I'd like to declare a big Hello, World! on behalf of Delilah Daix (pronounced Day) Rickard, born 6:55AM today, weighing 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 20 inches long.  She is grandkid #9.