Good morning!
It’s Wednesday! Because many of us are inherent optimists, we like to say, “Only two days until the weekend!” Thus completely ignoring Wednesday. C’mon it’s a nice day! Give it a little recognition!
On the other hand, is it a good idea to wish our lives away as such? A day here, three days there and pretty soon a chunk of a lifetime builds up and has disappeared. Not that anyone cares what I think but, while the weekends can sometimes be a perk ( for a reporter, not always. A lot happens on the weekends around here), I actually like my job. So Wednesday is a good day. I hope it is for you, too.
Today’s weather: OK, here’s a surprise! It might rain today! But it might not! In fact the odds are against it! The folks dedicated to keeping us safe from potentially lethal weather at the National Weather Service Office in Ruskin: have this to say:
“Scattered showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Heat index values as high as 97. East wind 5 to 8 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%”
Chances of rain actually decrease somewhat during the evening hours as we head towards a low of 74 degrees.
Personal forecast: The bright thing in the sky is the sun! Do NOT be afraid if you happen to see it! Do not stare into it in wonder! It is supposed to be there!
Eye on the tropics: Yep, we’re in hurricane season. This isn’t exactly a threat to us yet but this time of year, being aware is best for staying alive. According to the National Hurricane Center:
For the North Atlantic…Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:
A strong tropical wave over the far eastern Atlantic Ocean is producing a large area of showers and thunderstorms well south of the Cabo Verde Islands. Development, if any, of this system is expected to be slow to occur over the next several days while the wave moves westward at 15 to 20 mph over the low-latitude tropical Atlantic.
* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…10 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…20 percent.
A broad area of low pressure is expected to form over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and adjacent land areas by the weekend. Some gradual development of this system is possible thereafter while it moves slowly northwestward toward the southwestern Gulf of Mexico.
* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…20 percent.
What to do?
The older we get, it seems the faster time goes. Perhaps consider spending some time learning about cool little things with the highest metabolism of any known animal in the world (seriously, they have tiny little bodies and a metabolic rate that is a hundred times that of an elephant). Surely time flies differently for hummingbirds, right? Regardless, the Riverview Garden Club meets the second Wednesday of every month (that would be today!) at the Riverview Civic Center, 10 a.m., 11020 Park Drive. The program today involves learning how to attract those speedy little hummingbirds to your garden. And yes, they are cool. And our lives seem absolutely leisurely in comparison.
If you’d rather slow down a little in reality, head out to the SouthShore Regional Library at 10:30 this morning for the Rug Hooking Club. In all honesty, I’m not sure what rug hooking is but it sounds cool. According to the site: “Join other rug hookers to share techniques, tips, and experiences about rug hooking. Bring a project and ask questions.”
If you have a tyke or two under the age of five looking for something fun to do, hit the library at 1 p.m. for “Leggo My Magic Show!” According to the description, “Learn about all kinds of building through comedy, magic, music and audience interaction.” Seriously, Leggos, magic and music? That ticks all of the boxes! Unfortunately its for grades K-5. The program will also take place at 2:30 p.m.
At 2 p.m. at the library, the SouthShore Readers gather with a book discussion on The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews.
Back to Leggos for a moment, kids build robots out of the things these days. While the children’s robotics class at the library today is full, I feel compelled to, once again, ask parents to not, under any circumstances, let your kids build robots that will take over the world. You know they can — something in our brains have changed. You could hand an infant an iPhone and they’d be hacking into the NSA with it.
Finally at the SouthShore Regional Library, from 6 to 8 p.m., teens are invited to learn tech skills with Teen Tech, a program offered by Computer Mentors Group, Inc. A lot is involved,, from Microsoft Office Certification to mobile app development. And, unspoken but no doubt all too real: the eventual possibility to program Leggo robots to take over the world. Yeah, that’s right — y’all are worried about zombies and will simply not be prepared when a Leggo robot shows up at your door. At least zombie body parts that fall off are relatively soft. Leggo Robots? You step on one of those little pieces barefoot at night and you’ll never forget it.
Wait. It’s Lego, not Leggo? Never mind.
The SSRL calendar is found here: http://hcplc.evanced.info/signup/calendar?lib=10
MOSI, the Museum of Science and Industry, 4801 E. Fowler Ave. in Tampa is offering free admission to exhibit galleries to active duty military personnel and up to five immediate family members from today through Aug. 13. Proof of service is required. https://www.mosi.org/explore-mosi/plan-your-visit/special-offers/
Wednesday! Relatively low chances of rain, nor the swampy aftermath thereof. A great night to catch a flick at the Ruskin Family Drive-In.
Happenings in Hillsborough:
There is a meeting of the Public Transportation Commission at County Center in downtown Tampa this morning at 9 a.m. Would be fun to go just to see if the members ride the bus to the meeting! Visit: http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/calendar/05-publicmeetings/2017/ptc
Also at 9 a.m., The Entrepreneur Collaborative Center (ECC) in 2101 E. Palm Ave. in Tampa is offering “1 Million Cups of Coffee.” No, not literally for any caffeine junky out there reading this. It is a free presentation, part of a national program designed to educate, engage and connect entrepreneurs. Bring your own coffee. Visit: http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/calendar/02-business/2017/20170614-1-million-cups
Also at the ECC at 10:30 a.m. is another free program called the “Inventor’s Launchpad Roadmap.” According to the event site: “This seminar will be hosted by Carmine Denisco, he will be discussing the topic of a step-by-step product development roadmap. Taking a product from an idea in your head to a sale in the market can be a long, difficult and expensive project, unless you know the way. This seminar will outline the journey from beginning to end. Come with questions, issues and concerns about your own product development experiences.” I hope one of those inventions is an actual launchpad. In fact, I think Tampa Bay is ripe for its own launchpad. Visit: http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/calendar/02-business/2017/20170614-inventors-launchpad-roadmap
Happenings in Manatee:
For those with quadruped family members — make plans for this tomorrow:
Bishop Animal Shelter SPCA is kicking off summer by celebrating their 59th anniversary and you’re invited! On Thursday, June 15th the animal shelter will be hosting their anniversary celebration from 9am-4:30pm with $10 adoptions all day. The shelter invites the public to enjoy free snow cones and hotdogs and a pet photographer on premises to photograph you and your pet for free. The One Blood bus will be at the shelter from 11-4pm giving out vouchers for a free adoption with every blood donation. This pet-friendly celebration will have a splash zone for dogs to cool off from the summer heat.
- Free snow cones from Kona Ice of NW Bradenton, 11am-3pm
- Free hot dogs from Jays Hot Dog Cart, 11am-2pm
- One Blood bus at the shelter from 11am-4pm
- Free pictures with your pet from Photography by Lisa E., 9:30am-1:30pm
Bishop Animal Shelter has been helping pets and people in the community since 1958 and operates out of its 38-acre property in West Bradenton where it houses its adoption facility, animal turn-in center and provides outreach programs for the community. Bishop Animal Shelter was founded in 1958 by two special people—Edward & Lillian Bishop. Their love and caring for animals resulted in their establishing Bishop Animal Shelter.
The shelter houses a variety of animals including dogs, cats, rabbits, reptiles, birds, guinea pigs, hamsters and much more. All adoptions are only $10 on Thursday, June 15th. Bishop Animal Shelter encourages the community to come to the anniversary celebration even if they’re not looking to add an animal to their household. Guests can walk their dog along the wooded trails on the property, get their photograph taken and enjoy a refreshing snow cone while their dog plays in the sprinklers.
For more information on Bishop Animal Shelter SPCA and their history in our community visit their website at www.BishopSPCA.org. Bishop Animal Shelter SPCA is located at 5718 21st Ave West, Bradenton across from Blake Medical Center.
Free pet photos! Free snow cones! It doesn’t get better than that! The shelter is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that receives no funding from tax dollars. Check ’em out.
And, in the end:
This flag was given to my mom at my dad’s funeral by the U.S. Navy. Due to a shoulder injury, his service was short but the Navy did not forget about him. It is far too big to fly from my boat’s staff so I had to fly it from the mast itself. You can’t help but to feel pride in seeing it anywhere she flies. Mitch Traphagen Photo
Today is Flag Day! Today commemorates the Flag of the United States adopted by the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. Yeah, that’s a long time ago but the U.S. Flag is as fresh as ever. Flag Day became a “Day” by an Act of Congress in 1949…however, it remains at the American President’s discretion as to whether or not to officially proclaim the observance.
But given that it’s our flag and all, a day just isn’t enough. It’s actually Flag Week, this year running from June 11 -17. The President is expected to encourage Americans to fly their flags and flags should be flying high on all government buildings. You probably shouldn’t expect major news coverage of it, though.
Most people know but just in case… the U.S. Flag has 50 stars, representing the 50 states. There are thirteen stripes of red and white, representing the original 13 colonies that declared independence from Britain.
The first official American Flag to fly in battle was on August 3, 1777, carried by Massachusetts reinforcements to the Battle of Fort Stanwix. To create more, soldiers cut up their shirts for the white and borrowed red flannel from the petticoats worn by officer’s wives. The blue came from a reportedly fine jacket owned by Capt. Abraham Swartwout. Congress eventually repaid the good captain for the cost of his coat.
The flag that we all know and love today is actually the 27th iteration: it has been modified 26 times since 1777. The last change, adding the 50th star, was ordered by President Eisenhower on August 21, 1959 and officially adopted in July 1960.
On a closing note…yeah, the world sometimes feels like it’s on fire. Terrorists to the right, regional wars to the left. But when we think Argentina, our distant southern neighbor, we don’t often think about wars these days. Particularly not a war with a nation that once lorded over us, got driven out of our country and is now one of our greatest allies. But yep, it happened and it ended on this day in 1982: Argentina surrendered to Britain ending the 74-day war over the Falkland Islands. And it all happened without us firing a single MOAB (Mother Of All Bomb (warning: the Pope really doesn’t like the word “Mother” associated with the word “Bomb”)) into anyone!
It was a serious war for both parties but one that we tend to forget about. It also shows that you never know what could happen. So don’t be surprised should Canada try to invade Iowa or something. Possibly with Lego robots.
See you tomorrow!