United States Presidential Inauguration Day on January 20

Inauguration Day: In many countries a newly elected leader takes power within a couple weeks or - as in the case of Great Britain - even the day following an election. In the United States, though, more than 11 weeks can pass between Election and Inauguration Days in order to give an incoming president time to choose a cabinet and plan for a new administration. The result is a lengthy lame-duck period, but it used to be even longer.

The Congress of the Confederation set March 4, 1789, as the date “for commencing proceedings” of the new government established by the U.S. Constitution. While a particularly bad winter delayed the inauguration of George Washington by eight weeks, subsequent incoming presidents and vice presidents took their oaths of office on March 4. The four-month gap was needed in part because of the time it took to count and report votes and to travel to the nation’s capital. However, the lengthy lame-duck period caused problems such as in the aftermath of the 1860 election when seven states left the Union during the long “Secession Winter”. President-elect Abraham Lincoln had no power to act, and outgoing President James Buchanan took no action, leaving the issue for his successor.

As technological advances greatly reduced the times to tabulate votes, report the results and travel, such a long lame-duck period was no longer logistically necessary. As a result, the 20th Amendment, which was ratified on January 23, 1933, moved up Inauguration Day to January 20 and the first meeting of the new Congress to January 3. The 20th Amendment didn’t take effect until October 1933, after the long lame-duck period once again proved problematic. With the U.S. in the throes of the Great Depression, incoming President Franklin D. Roosevelt had to wait four months to implement his New Deal while uncertainty further roiled financial markets. January 20 first served as Inauguration Day in 1937 when Roosevelt was sworn in for a second term. (On years when January 20 is a Sunday, a private swearing-in ceremony occurs with the public oath of office taken on January 21.)

History Channel / Wikipedia / Encyclopedia Britannica / Washington.org / Smithsonian / United States presidential inauguration (YouTube search)

World War II: Germany begins evacuation from East Prussia on January 20, 1945

World War II: Germany begins the evacuation from East Prussia: The evacuation of East Prussia was the movement of the German civilian population and military personnel from East Prussia between 20 January 1945 and March 1945, that was initially carried out by state authorities but later evolved into a chaotic flight from the Red Army.

Although organized at the beginning, the East Prussian evacuation quickly turned into a chaotic flight due to Soviet advances. A part of the evacuation of German civilians towards the end of World War II, these events are not to be confused with the expulsion from East Prussia that followed after the war had ended. The area that was evacuated was not the Gau East Prussia, but the inter-war East Prussia where most people already held a German citizenship. German citizens in Memel and other regions with proximity to East Prussia also took part in the evacuation, wishing to escape by sea, even though in their regions there was no official evacuation announced.

The evacuation, which had been delayed for months, was initiated due to fear of the Red Army advances during the East Prussian Offensive. Some parts of the evacuation were planned as a military necessity, Operation Hannibal being the most important military operation involved in the evacuation. However, many refugees took to the roads on their own initiative because of reported Soviet atrocities against Germans in the areas under Soviet control. Both spurious and factual accounts of Soviet atrocities were disseminated through the official news and propaganda outlets of Nazi Germany and by rumors that swept through the military and civilian populations.

Despite having detailed evacuation plans for some areas, the German authorities, including the >Gauleiter of East Prussia, Erich Koch, delayed action until 20 January, when it was too late for an orderly evacuation, and the civil services and Nazi Party were eventually overwhelmed by the numbers of those wishing to evacuate. Coupled with the panic caused by the speed of the Soviet advance, civilians caught in the middle of combat, and the bitter winter weather, many thousands of refugees died during the evacuation period. The Soviet forces took control of East Prussia only in May 1945.

According to a 1974 West German government study an estimated 1% of the civilian population was killed during the Soviet offensive.

Wikipedia / Encyclopedia Britannica / Spiegel.de International / Eaton - UC Berkeley / World War II: Germany begins evacuation from East Prussia on January 20, 1945 (YouTube)

Understanding Military Terminology - Mounting area

(DOD) A general locality where as signed forces of an amphibious or airborne operation, with their equipment, are assembled, prepared, and loaded in ships and/or aircraft preparatory to an assault. See also embarkation area.

Joint Publications (JP 3-02.1) Amphibious Embarkation and Debarkation.

The Old Salt’s Corner

“Navy Blue”

My shipmate sleeps in his coat of Navy blue;

In a watery grave at sea lies the heart that beat so true.

He sank faint and weary among the honored brave,

As we laid him sad and lonely into his watery grave.

No more the bugle calls the weary one,

Rest, noble spirit, In thy grave below!

I’ll find you and know you, Among the good and true,

When a robe of white is giv’n for the coat of Navy blue.

He cried, give me water and just a little crumb,

And my mother she will bless you thro’ all the years to come;

Oh! tell my sweet sister, so gentle, good and true,

That I’ll meet her up in heaven, in my coat of Navy blue.

No more the bugle calls the weary one,

Rest, noble spirit, In thy grave below!

I’ll find you and know you, Among the good and true,

When a robe of white is giv’n for the coat of Navy blue.

Long, long years have vanished, and though he comes no more,

Yet my heart will startling beat with each footfall at my door;

I gaze o’er the dock where he waved a last adieu,

But no gallant lad I see, in his coat of Navy blue

No more the bugle calls the weary one,

Rest, noble spirit, In thy grave below!

I’ll find you and know you, Among the good and true,

When a robe of white is giv’n for the coat of Navy blue.

~ Author Unknown

“I’m Just Sayin”

“What the people want is very simple.

They want an America as good as its promise.”

~ Barbara Jordan

“Thought for the Day”

“When man learns to respect even the smallest being of Creation,

whether animal or vegetable,

nobody has to teach him to love his fellow man.

Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of

character,

and it may be confidently asserted that

he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.”

~ Albert Schweitzer

“What I Learned”

“Mistakes are a great educator

when one is honest enough to admit them

and willing to learn from them.”

~ Anonymous

Second Hand News (Links to Articles from Week 3 - January 14, 2019 - January 20, 2019)

FEDERAL COURT ORDERS DISCOVERY ON CLINTON EMAIL, BENGHAZI SCANDAL: TOP OBAMA-CLINTON OFFICIALS, SUSAN RICE AND BEN RHODES TO RESPOND TO JUDICIAL WATCH QUESTIONS UNDER OATH • On Watch: Pandemic Influenza & U.S. Public Health Readiness with Dr. Steven Hatfill, M.D. • U.S. Doles Out Millions During Shutdown - Vulnerable Costa Rican Youth, AIDS in Mozambique • The Murders in Indian Country Judicial Watch

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen pushes back against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s assertion that her Department and the Secret Service are ill-prepared to support and secure top Government Officials during the State of the Union • Maxine Waters, D-Calif, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y, and Democrats prepare to push Financial Services Committee into social issues • Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, believes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a big mistake to postpone or disinvite President Trump from delivering State of the Union address • House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer D-Md. walks back 'The State of the Union is off' declaration • Trump signs bill guaranteeing back pay for federal workers Washington Examiner

A Very British Thrashing (Parliament stomps on May's Brexit dreams) • The Beginning of the End of Britain’s Brexit Fantasy (Maybe the worst part of the Brexit boondoggle is that the “better” trade deals the U.K. wanted were probably never going to happen) • The Golan Heights Should Stay Israeli Forever (At least one of Israel’s occupations will be permanent, whether anyone else likes it or not) • The Patriarchy Strikes Back in China (Attempts to crush feminists and labor activists linking up show what the Communist Party fears most) • The Old Regime and the Yellow Revolution (France’s protest movement has become a crisis of legitimacy for Emmanuel Macron—and the country’s constitutional order) Foreign Policy

'We're NOT going back till it's over! We're going to build this wall!' Trump doubles down on shutdown in private conference call demanding Democrats cave on funding his border barrier • ANOTHER caravan bound for the U.S. is formed by Salvadoran migrants - as 1,700 Hondurans cross the border into Guatemala after being granted visas • Donald Trump signs bill guaranteeing 800,000 federal workers WILL get back pay to cover the government shutdown • Biggest EVER collection of breached data including 770 MILLION email addresses and passwords is posted online to a hacking forum Daily Mail UK

China’s first lunar leaf dies after scientists are forced to cut power • China Premier invites biting comments on the state of the economy • China, U.S. to hold trade talks in Washington on January 30-31 • Huawei founder on why he joined the Chinese Communist Party South China Morning Post

Mr. Answer Man Please Tell Us: Why Are Humans Ticklish?

There are a few ideas about why humans experience ticklishness and there are also two kinds of tickling. One of them is a defense mechanism or warning sign that something moving is on you. Think parasites on your skin or ... no, don’t think about that. The fancy name for that is knismesis. This is the kind of tickling you feel when something soft brushes up against you. Usually, this type of tickling doesn’t make you laugh; It tends to give you goosebumps, and feel a bit uncomfortable.

Another aspect of tickling has to do with the specific spots that are ticklish. The fancy name for this one is gargalesis. This kind of tickling is more intense and leads to uncontrolled laughter. Gargalesis isn’t as straightforward as knismesis, and most likely serves some kind of social aspect and helps us bond.

There are specific spots that are ticklish in this latter way, and those are important for parents and children to form bonds. When we grow up those same spots are also erogenous zones, which help with mating, another social activity we engage in.

That these spots are also vulnerable areas on our bodies is probably no coincidence. Some experts think there is an aspect of tickling behavior meant to teach youngsters to protect their most vulnerable areas.

But other animals tickle, too. Our close cousin the chimpanzee tickles during play, though they make more of a panting, out-of-breath sound when they are laughing. They enjoy it, which they show by not leaving you alone afterward because they want you to keep going.

Elephants can be tickled as well, but a rat?

There was a study where it was someone’s job to tickle rats (that must look amazing on your resume). The researchers in question were like, “Come tickle rats with me.” Fun aside, this was serious research. It was known that rats make specific high-frequency noises when they play or have sex, noises of enjoyment (kind of like laughing). When they tickled the rats they made the same noises, indicating that the rats were enjoying being tickled, similar to the way humans do. It activates brain areas and pathways that also light up when humans experience joy (at least, the areas analogous to ours).

But a note must be made here: We are often quick to ascribe human emotions to animals, which can be dangerous. Animals like chimps and rats seem to enjoy tickling, so there’s reason to think they experience it in a positive way. But not all animals are like that—so experts aren't 100 percent sure they really like being tickled all that much. (Unfortunately, we can’t ask them.)

A tragic example of misinterpretation is the slow loris. These critters can be tickled, but they don’t like it. What humans interpret as enjoyment is actually fear, making the playful behavior in humans or primates literal torture for this cute-looking animal

Tickling likely serves as a warning signal and training to protect ourselves. It has a secondary feature in humans, other primates, and rats it seems: to facilitate social bonding. But be careful who you tickle—not all animals experience the same enjoyment (some humans don’t like it either).

Health Line • Medical News Today • Quara • Wikipedia • Why Are Humans Ticklish? (YouTube Search)

NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang

Blue Falcon: (Also known as a “Bravo Foxtrot”) Slang term for "Buddy Fucker", also, "Noble Order of the Blue Falcon" for those who are true masters of Blue Falconry.

Bluejacket: An enlisted sailor below the rank of E-7 (Chief Petty Officer).

Bluejacket's Manual: The handbook of seamanship issued to recruits.

Bluenose: An individual who has crossed the Arctic Circle.

Blue Dick: The Navy, AKA (I've been f-ed by the Blue Dick again).

Blue on Blue:.

(1) Fratricide, friendly fire, so called because blue is the color associated with friendly forces during “workups” and exercises, while the fictional enemy country is usually orange.

(2) (in port) A girl-on-girl stripper scene, porn scene, etc.

Blue Roper (also: Blue Rope): A sailor that is in training to be a Recruit Division Commander, so called because of the blue rope they wear on the right sleeve.

Blue Shirt: Aviation Boatswain's mate, usually seen chocking and chaining birds to the deck. Precursor to Yellow Shirt. Same as Bluejacket, referring to the blue utility shirt worn by those personnel.

Blue Side: The figurative side one is stationed at if one is stationed at a Naval Command; contrasted with the “Green Side” (Marine Corps Command)..

Blue Tile: An area of the aircraft carrier on the starboard main passageway, O-3 level, where the Battle Group (now called Carrier Strike Group) admiral and his staff live and work. As the name implies, the deck is indeed blue tile there. Passing through, especially by junior enlisted sailors, is highly discouraged. During wartime, armed guards may be posted on both sides of the blue tile. Pictures of bare-assed drunken aviators standing on the blue tile during port calls are highly prized keepsakes.

Blue Water: Deep water far from land. Only larger, self-sufficient ships can operate on these waters. Also called the “high seas”. See “Brown Water”.

Just for you MARINE

Blue Falcon: A buddy-fucker (see below).

Blues or Dress Blues: Blue Dress uniform.

BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front.

Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

Patrol Squadron Forty Five (VP-45) - nicknamed the “Pelicans”

United States Navy - Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida - Established November 1, 1942.

Where Did That Saying Come From?

“Go down like a lead balloon:”  Meaning: Fail completely and be considered a flop by the public.

History: 'Go over like a lead balloon' is the U.S. version of this phrase. In the UK a complete failures 'go down like a lead balloon'.

The phrase is American in origin and the first mention of a lead balloon with the meaning of something that fails comes from a Mom-N Pop cartoon that was syndicated in several US newspapers in June 1924. Actually, that coinage went over like a lead balloon itself and the phrase didn't appear again until after WWII; for example, this piece from The Atchison Daily Globe, May 1947:

“But occasionally a column or comic strip will 'go over' like a V-1 rocket in one community and, for inexplicable reasons, a lead balloon in another.”

That's when the phrase can be said to have entered the language and there are many examples in print from U.S. sources of ventures which went down like a lead balloon from that date onward.

The most celebrated use of the term is the part played in the naming of the English heavy-metal band Led Zeppelin. The story goes that Jimmy Page had completed a Scandinavian tour with the New Yardbirds - an impromptu band that was formed from the popular rapidly disintegrating Yardbirds. Keith Moon is reputed to have said the new band would go down like a lead balloon - some reports say go over like a lead balloon (or zeppelin). Moon is said to have borrowed the term from John Entwistle, who had previously used it to describe bad gigs. Moon and Entwistle, both being English, would have been more likely to have used the English 'go down' version. The details of this are difficult to verify as the anecdotal comment wasn't recorded or put into print at the time and, as Moon and Entwistle are deceased, we can't ask them. Jimmy Page has confirmed the essence of the story in several subsequent interviews (although, as we all know, 'If you can remember the 1960s, you weren't really there.').

The irony and the association with the heavy metal lead was too good to miss for an aspiring heavy metal band. They even made sure that people got the point that they were referring to the metal by changing the spelling to Led and avoiding any possible mispronunciation as lead - as in leader (reputedly at the suggestion of their manager, Peter Grant).

The choice of Zeppelin in the band's name was surely influenced by the Hindenberg disaster of 1937. The newsreel of the event, complete with Herbert Morrison's famous "Oh, the humanity" line, was commonly seen footage in English cinemas during the 1950s and 60s and Page would certainly have been familiar with it. The band used an image of the crash for the cover of their first album. Moon's prediction could hardly have been more wrong. Led Zeppelin became one of the most popular, arguably the most popular, musical act of the first half of the 1970s and reputedly have sold more than 300 million albums.

Phrases.org UK

Science & Technology

Paleontologists discover new sauropod species in Argentina • Researchers find new pathway to regulate immune response, control diseases • New flexible, transparent, wearable biopatch, improves cellular observation, drug delivery • Tying the knot: New DNA nanostructures • Cheesy music: Swiss experiment with sound to make cheese tastier • Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease share common genetics in some patients • Molecular virologist fights influenza at the molecular level • New insights on comet tails are blowing in the solar wind

Phys.org / MedicalXpress / TechXplore

Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good – real news story)

Stephen Hawking's PhD Thesis, Wheelchair Sell in Multi Million-Dollar Auction

Stephen Hawking's wheelchair has sold for more than $387,000 (£296,750) at auction in the U.K., according to Christie's.

The motorized, red leather chair - which Hawking used between the late 1980s and mid 1990s, several decades after he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) but before he lost use of his hands - was part of a large collection of Hawking and other scientific memorabilia sold via an online auction running between October 31 and November 8.

The auction, titled “On the Shoulders of Giants”, also included handwritten documents penned by Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein. In total, the auction raised more than £1.8 million (more than $2.35 million) - however, it was Hawking's artifacts that drove the highest bids.

The big winner of the day was Hawking's hand-signed PhD thesis, “Properties of Expanding Universes”, which sold for £584,750 ($763,819). Hawking submitted this thesis to the University of Cambridge in October 1965, following a period of depression when he was first diagnosed with ALS (known as motor neurone disease in the U.K.). In 1962, doctors predicted Hawking would live for only another two years (in fact, he lived for another five decades, dying at the age of 76 March 2018).

Other Hawking memorabilia sold at the auction included the script from an episode of “The Simpsons” in which Hawking appeared as a guest star (sale price: £6,250 / $8,164), a copy of Hawking's “A Brief History of Time” signed with the author's thumbprint (£68,750 / $89,803), a collection of awards and medals (£296,750 / $387,624), the black bomber jacket he wore in a 2016 documentary (£40,000 / $52,249) and an artist's proof of an invitation to Hawking's famous 2009 party where only time travelers were invited (£11,250 / $14,695).

Proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Live Science (11/08/2018)