Monday OT: October 21 is Trafalgar Day

October 21 is day 294 of the Gregorian Calendar year,
Prickle-Prickle, The Aftermath 2, 3185 YOLD (discordian),
And let us not forget 13.0.6.16.15 by the Mayan Long Count

Image taken from page 182 of 'Sea Pictures, drawn with pen and pencil'
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On this day in history:

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On October 21, 1520, Ferdinand Magellan "discovered" the strait now known as the Straits of Magellan.
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On October 21, 1797, the "frigate" USS Constitution was launched.

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On October 1805, a British Fleet of 27 ships of the line commanded by Admiral Lord Nelson defeated a combined Spanich and French fleet of 33 ships of the line commanded by Admiral Villeneuve of France at the Battle of Trafalgar. Actually, the Franco-Spanish fleet was annihilated, though a storm played a role in that too. Nelson's victory seemingly fulfilled Lord St. Vincent's Quip to the House of Lords that "I do not say the French cannot come, I only say they cannot come by sea". This particular battle is one of which one writes little, or very great amounts. I'll chose the former course, but will address Hardy's failure to anchor. Hardy was Nelson's Flag Captain and though Nelson had instructed him to anchor while he lay dying, Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood then assumed command of the combined fleet and instructed him not to. It is really that simple, orders is orders and all that. All of the speculation about the impact of that decision is speculative, duh. History has a finality to it, such that we cannot perfectly re-create the exact original conditions and then change a single detail and run the experiment again. There is only one actual test case, and in it, the British did not anchor.

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On October 21, 1824, Portland Cement was patented

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On October 21, 1854, Florence Nightingale was sent off to the Crimean wr with a staff of 38 nurses.

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On October 21, 1867, The Medicine Lodge Treaty was signed. I don't know enough about it to speak on it.

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On October 21, 1879, Thomas Edison applied for a patent of his version of an electric light bulb.

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On October 21, 1940, For Whom the Bell Tolls was published

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On October 21, 1967, The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam organized a march on the Pentagon. %0 thousand or so marched and nobody listened or cared except those who were already peaceniks.

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On October 21, 1983, The meter was re-defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. This was part of a growing push to redefine certain basic units in terms of fundamental physical constants culminating in the redefinition of the SI bse units in 2019. This (r)evolution in our measurement system also, at long last, resulted in the inclusion of the gopher mole and one of ur basic units of measurement.

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On October 21, 2005, pictures of the dwarf planet later named Eris were taken and later used to document its discovery. Eris was not amused, I mean, even the ncient Greeks knew she could be touchy if disrespected. Damn. GWB's re-election soon followed, and everything since.

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Born this day in:

1772 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, poet, philosopher, and critic
1914 – Martin Gardner, mathematician, logician, and author
1917 – Dizzy Gillespie, trumpet player, composer, and bandleader
1921 – Jim Shumate, fiddler and composer
1925 – Celia Cruz, singer
1929 – Ursula K. Le Guin, author and critic
1940 – Manfred Mann, keyboardist and producer
1941 – Steve Cropper, guitarist, songwriter, producer, and actor
1942 – Elvin Bishop, Pigboy Crabshaw, guitarist, singer and songwriter
1946 – Lux Interior, singer and songwriter
1946 – Lee Loughnane, singer, songwriter, and trumpet player
1950 – Leela Vernon, musician, "Queen of Brukdown", and cultural conservationist
1953 – Marc Johnson, bassist, composer, and bandleader
1955 – Fred Hersch, pianist and composer
1957 – Steve Lukather, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer

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Died this day in:

1805 – Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, awesome British Admiral
1965 – Bill Black, bass player and bandleader
1969 – Jack Kerouac, novelist and poet
1980 – Hans Asperger, physician and psychologist
1984 – François Truffaut, actor, producer, director and screenwriter
2015 – Sheldon Wolin, philosopher, theorist, academic and fabulous instructor. Once held class on a picket line.

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Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

Apple Day (UK)
Trafalgar Day (UK +??)

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Music goes here, iirc, well, With apologies Wink

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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Dizzy Gillespie

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Jim Shumate

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Celia Cruz

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Manfred Mann

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Steve Cropper

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Elvin Bishop

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Lux Interior

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Lee Loughnane

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Leela Vernon

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Marc Johnson

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Fred Hersch

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Steve Lukather

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Bill Black

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Jack Keroac

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BONUS Elvin Bishop(et al)

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Gratuitous Encryption Zone
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Image is Trafalgar

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It's an open thread, so do your thing

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The first thing that made me laugh after I got a cancer diagnosis last year was this essay by an unknown author that floats around at the cancer treatment forum boards, so I thought I'd paste it in here for everyone else to enjoy:

What it's like to go thru cancer and treatment

What’s it like to go through cancer treatment? It’s something like this: One day, you’re minding your own business, you open the fridge to get some breakfast, and OH MY GOD THERE’S A MOUNTAIN LION IN YOUR FRIDGE. Wait, what? How? Why is there a mountain lion in your fridge? NO TIME TO EXPLAIN. RUN! THE MOUNTAIN LION WILL KILL YOU! UNLESS YOU FIND SOMETHING EVEN MORE FEROCIOUS TO KILL IT FIRST!

So you take off running, and the mountain lion is right behind you. You know the only thing that can kill a mountain lion is a bear, and the only bear is on top of the mountain, so you better find that bear. You start running up the mountain in hopes of finding the bear. Your friends desperately want to help, but they are powerless against mountain lions, as mountain lions are godless killing machines. But they really want to help, so they’re cheering you on and bringing you paper cups of water and orange slices as you run up the mountain and yelling at the mountain lion - “GET LOST, MOUNTAIN LION, NO ONE LIKES YOU” - and you really appreciate the support, but the mountain lion is still coming.

Also, for some reason, there’s someone in the crowd who’s yelling “that’s not really a mountain lion, it’s a puma” and another person yelling “I read that mountain lions are allergic to kale, have you tried rubbing kale on it?”

As you’re running up the mountain, you see other people fleeing their own mountain lions. Some of the mountain lions seem comparatively wimpy - they’re half grown and only have three legs or whatever, and you think to yourself - why couldn’t I have gotten one of those mountain lions? But then you look over at the people who are fleeing mountain lions the size of a monster truck with huge prehistoric saber fangs, and you feel like an asshole for even thinking that - and besides, who in their right mind would want to fight a mountain lion, even a three-legged one?

Finally, the person closest to you, whose job it is to take care of you - maybe a parent or sibling or best friend or, in my case, my husband - comes barging out of the woods and jumps on the mountain lion, whaling on it and screaming “GODDAMMIT MOUNTAIN LION, STOP TRYING TO EAT MY WIFE,” and the mountain lion punches your husband right in the face. Now your husband (or whoever) is rolling around on the ground clutching his nose, and he’s bought you some time, but you still need to get to the top of the mountain.

Eventually you reach the top, finally, and the bear is there. Waiting. For both of you. You rush right up to the bear, and the bear rushes the mountain lion, but the bear has to go through you to get to the mountain lion, and in doing so, the bear TOTALLY KICKS YOUR ASS, but not before it also punches your husband in the face. And your husband is now staggering around with a black eye and bloody nose, and saying, “Can I get some help, I’ve been punched in the face by two apex predators and I think my nose is broken,” and all you can say is “I’M KIND OF BUSY IN CASE YOU HADN’T NOTICED I’M FIGHTING A MOUNTAIN LION.”

Then, IF YOU ARE LUCKY, the bear leaps on the mountain lion and they are locked in epic battle until finally the two of them roll off a cliff edge together, and the mountain lion is dead. Maybe. You’re not sure - it fell off the cliff, but mountain lions are crafty. It could come back at any moment.

And all your friends come running up to you and say, “That was amazing! You’re so brave, we’re so proud of you! You didn’t die! That must be a huge relief!”

Meanwhile, you blew out both your knees, you’re having an asthma attack, you twisted your ankle, and also you have been mauled by a bear. And everyone says “Boy, you must be excited to walk down the mountain!” And all you can think as you stagger to your feet is “Fuck this mountain, I never wanted to climb it in the first place.”

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enhydra lutris's picture

@Reverend Jane Ignatowski
have never been there, though I did get misdiagnosed once. If they had them back in my youth, my whole environment would've been plastered with those "known to cause cancer" signs, yet here I sit. Life is weird.

Have a good one.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Lily O Lady's picture

@Reverend Jane Ignatowski

to middling mountain lion after him. He hasn’t started treatment yet, since he’s still getting tests and a second opinion.

Take care.

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"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

@Lily O Lady

All my very best wishes to you, him, and your support network/family for the best possible outcome!

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Lily O Lady's picture

@Reverend Jane Ignatowski

we have Medicare and Tricare. That alone relieves a lot of stress. I wish everyone had Bernie’s Medicare 4 All.

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"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

Granma's picture

@Reverend Jane Ignatowski

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Anja Geitz's picture

@Reverend Jane Ignatowski

Helps me to understand what my Sister went through last year when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She's cancer free now, but she still worries that the mountain lion didn't actually die when he went over the cliff.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Lookout's picture

at least it is foggy here. They are calling for a 1-2 inch rain tonight and tomorrow. That will be our first real rain in quite awhile. We did get 1/2 inch this weekend which provided a little relief and settled the dust.

Funny how we define time in terms of the wars we've fought. Seems most history revolves around our conflicts. Well thanks for the stroll through time, the songs, and the OT.

Have a good one!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

enhydra lutris's picture

@Lookout
down below my reply to Wally. I'll try to fix it, but that has never worked before.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Lily O Lady's picture

@Lookout

Saturday. Oh, and there better not be any tornadoes!

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"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

Wally's picture

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enhydra lutris's picture

@Wally
corrupt and sleazy today's press has become. They really make no effort to conceal how one-sided their coverage is.

Have a good one.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Lily O Lady's picture

@Wally

Duchess Megan and family. Takes our minds off democracy and fixes them firmly on monarchy where they belong. /snark

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"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

enhydra lutris's picture

@Lookout
reminds me to get cracking on my radiative cooling experiments before we start getting those foggy, foggy mornings. No rain here this week. low eighties today, mid eighties Tue & Wed, and High eighties on into next weekend.

Making bread today, got two loaves worth of overnight rise out in the kitchen almost ready to fold and start proofing. Two hours of proofing and 45 minutes baking and I might get the oven back off before it gets too warm. First, however, I have to be sure I'm ready at the 'puter to reserve a campsite next April because of the Cal State Parks insane reservation system. 8 am is a magic for campers out here.

As to defining time by wars, you got that right. I take it easy with these Monday columns. Most Mondays are the anniversary of multiple battles in multiple wars plus the introduction of multiple new weapons or weapon systems, plus the births of a ton of major and minor nobility, tyrants, kniggits and warriors of every ilk and more. I try to downplay it all, but it is amazing the number of really history changing battles that are out there.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

smiley7's picture

Good and varied tunes, thanks for those. A misty day in the mountains, and very colorful. Decided to change up today's schedule as sleep was laborious and i've other catching-up chores in need.

Remember well the double-decker bus of twenty minutes ride to Trafalgar Square, a trip i made often from Highgate and Muswell Hill to enjoy the fruits of central London. Taking the advise of someone, i would wander streets looking up and was rewarded with cool architecture. Sadly, during that period, the first McDonald's opened on a side-street between Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar, Colonel chicken had already invaded and the first Hard Rock cafe had just opened, i did frequent the Hard Rock because they had French's mustard and American ketchup for a taste of home. The great Greek restaurants, fish and chips and English breakfasts kept me going as most, in those days, British restaurants served bland food.

Admiral Nelson apparently enjoyed the praise of Spanish sailors who cried when learning of his death. As we know, he and his deputy, Admiral Collingwood's victory paved the way for a century or more of colonizing dominance for the English.

Nelson split his fleet in two sailing straight at the French and Spanish lines an unorthodox battle plan at the time of usual broadsiding engagements; a rendering:

Admiral Collingwood wrote to his children that he had written a song for his dog:

Tell the children that Bounce is very well and very fat, yet he seems not to be content, and sighs so piteously these long evenings, that I am obliged to sing him to sleep, and have sent them the song: https://www.historyhit.com/12-facts-about-the-battle-of-trafalgar/

Sigh no more, Bouncey, sigh no more,
Dogs were deceivers never;
Though ne’er you put one foot on shore,
True to your master ever.
Then sigh not so, but let us go,
Where dinner’s daily ready,
Converting all the sounds of woe
To heigh phiddy diddy.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@smiley7
Collingswood's poem. Nelson's tactic was revolutionary for the time, and a great idea given the range, accuracy and rate of fire of the day's armaments, even given the slow forwrd progress of the British fleet. A lack of skill and practice on the part of the French and Spaniards also helped. Today, such a move would be suicide, and, actually, for a long time now. It is the opposite of "crossing the T", a decisive naval maneuver only successfully performed once, by the Japanese at the battle of Tsushima Strait, where they destroyed the opposing Russian fleet. In Nelson's case, the raking fire of the few enemy ships that could bring their weapons to bear on his ships was not that effective, whereas the raking fire at point blank range of successive British broadsides into the French and Spanish ships as successive Britsh ships passed through their line was devastating.

Enjoy your misty colorful day and have a great one.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@smiley7
[video:https://youtu.be/kAl5jucOgro]

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

enhydra lutris's picture

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

continues, more shut-downs threatened this week.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

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enhydra lutris's picture

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Bollox Ref's picture

is a distant cousin, several times over.

The Franco-Spanish Combined Fleet was such a shambles, he knew his 'particular' tactics would cause havoc, divide the two lines and create ship-on-ship actions that the smaller fleet would win.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

enhydra lutris's picture

@Bollox Ref
already proved to be no match for him, at the Nile (Aboukir Bay), iirc.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Bollox Ref's picture

@enhydra lutris

played havoc with the French naval officer class. By 1805, there were very few decent fleet commanders who had the experience of managing large numbers of ships for long periods of time at sea.

De Brueys was the commander at the Nile. Villeneuve a subordinate. By 1805 he was just about the only choice Napoleon had (and Napoleon had no 'feel' for sea warfare).

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

magiamma's picture

Et al

Another busy day. Big event this Thursday for Climate Next-Steps. Lots of planning but mostly done. These people work so hard on so many different fronts. A privilege to work with them. We all get how unbelievable it all is and as unbelievable as it is, we know it is very real. And that it may not be possible to do enough, or even remotely enough, still we are trying. For me, better than not trying. Having said that it seems impossible, saving a miracle. (said the scientist, she who is well grounded in ‘reality’.) heh... (make it so)

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

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enhydra lutris's picture

@magiamma
ethical or moral dilemma. Depending upon how one view's it, to stop trying is to either concede, acquiesce, or consent. Those are not acceptable options, regardless of any seeming futility.

Thanks for dropping in.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --