Paraskavedekatriaphobia

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia, a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a phobia (fear) of the number thirteen.

It's almost 11:00 pm here in the United States Eastern Time Zone, and it appears that my family and I have made it safely through Friday the 13th. Not that I'm prone to superstition. In fact, I didn't realize it was Friday the 13th today until I started writing this post just a few moments ago.

In preparing to write this entry, I read up a little about the history of para-..... parask-..... parasi-..... the fear of Friday the 13th. There are nearly as many supposed reasons for this irrational fear as there are websites that discuss it. From having religious roots (though the Bible nowhere describes 13 as an unlucky number, and the Friday on which Christ was crucified is called "Good Friday), to ties to Norse mythology, to just about everything else in between, you could probably take your pick at any one of the supposed roots to this ridiculous fear.

The bottom line is, Friday the 13th is just another day on the calendar. There really is nothing to fear about it. Well, I guess there is one logical fear you could have: the fear of yet another Friday the 13th movie sequel.

But if you actually want to have a little fun with this baseless fear that reportedly afflicts from nine to ten percent of the American population, try taking the Phobia Quiz at Infoplease.com. It's quick, and it, too, is meaningless, but I scored ten out of eleven. If you take it, drop me a note and let me know which question you think I answered incorrectly.

Joe

Vacation Time

The countdown has reached zero and it's finally time for a little vacation. For the next six days, I'll be getting a little rest and relaxation, taking a few day trips with my family, and probably doing a million "projects" for my wife. If the posting gets light, bear with me.

Joe

Podcast of the Week

I don't listen to much radio at all anymore. There are several podcasts I listen to on a regular basis -- many of which I have mentioned here before. I get my music, news, and tech updates through these podcasts.

One of the musicians I've heard in some of these podcasts is Matthew Ebel, and in addition to being an independent musician, he's also a podcaster. High Orbit, Ebel's podcast, is both entertaining and unique.

High Orbit features selections from other podsafe musicians (and occassionally some of Ebel's own music). But unlike many other music podcasts out there, High Orbit puts Matthew Ebel at the helm of the UTF Revolution, an intergalactic freight ship staffed by droids and Captained by the musician/podcaster himself. In addition to some great music selections, you get to share the experience as Ebel suffers a bout of Galactic Biodiesel Plague (it will teach you a whole new respect for rats), and be there when Ebel's droid, Prodo 1, mutinously assumes command of the ship while Ebel floats in space attached only by a tether.

It may sound cheesy, but it's actually quite entertaining. It beats the drivel-filled music podcasts so popular these days. Give it a chance before you write it off.

You can subscribe here, or for a quick sample, download a recent episode. And don't forget to visit Matthew Ebel on the web and support him by purchasing a CD.

Joe

And by the way: episodes 13 and 14 -- they're keepers.

The Daily Gripe #36 - Time Travel

Not travel THROUGH time, but the travel OF time. It's just too slow! Time files when you're having fun. We all know that. But what happens when you're looking FORWARD to something? Something a few days away, for example. Like vacation. Then time seems to come to a screeching halt! Or even move BACKWARDS for that matter.

Friday I begin a short (six-day) vacation. What does that mean? Naturally, it means that the past two days have lasted a week, and the next two days will last a month! And when Friday finally arrives and I get an opportunity to settle down and enjoy some time off with my family, the week that follows will be over in an hour. Doesn't that gripe you? It gripes the heck out of me.

After working fifty-hour weeks and driving twenty hours a week for the past fifty weeks, you'd think a person could enjoy a little time off without feeling like he's counting down the days to his pending execution like notches on the wall of a death row cell.

We won't be doing any major traveling. Just taking a few day trips, spending some family time together, and (knowing my wife) getting some things done around the house (but that's a gripe for another day).

Speaking of time, maybe I should stop calling this the DAILY Gripe, since it hasn't been a regular daily posting for quite some time.

Joe

What Else Happened Today?

With Columbus Day and Leif Erikson Day both occurring on this date this year, I did a quick search on Wikipedia to see what else of note occurred on this date.

Events

• 1000 - Leif Ericson lands at Vinland (Newfoundland), becoming the first known European to set foot in Canada. His father, Erik the Red, was previously the first European to set foot in North America when he landed in Greenland in 982.
• 1075 - Dmitar Zvonimir was crowned as king of the Croatia.
• 1238 - James I of Aragon conquered Valencia and founded the Kingdom of Valencia.
• 1446 - The Hangul alphabet is published in Korea.
• 1514 - marriage of Louis XII of France and Mary Tudor
• 1582 - Due to the implementation of the Gregorian calendar October 9 does not exist in 1582 in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
• 1604 - Supernova 1604, the most recent supernova to be observed in the Milky Way.
• 1635 - Founder of Rhode Island Roger Williams is banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony as a religious dissident after he spoke out against punishments for religious offenses and giving away Native American land.
• 1701 - The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later renamed Yale University) is chartered in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
• 1771 - The Dutch merchant ship Vrouw Maria sinks near the coast of Finland.
• 1776 - Father Francisco Palou founds Mission San Francisco de Asis in what is now San Francisco, California.
• 1799 - Sinking of HMS Lutine with the loss of 240 men and a cargo worth £1,200,000.
• 1812 - War of 1812: In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships; the HMS Detroit and the HMS Caledonia.
• 1820 - Guayaquil declared independence from Spain.
• 1831 - Capo d'Istria was assassinated.
• 1845 - The eminent and controversial Anglican, John Henry Newman, was received into the Roman Catholic Church.
• 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Tom's Brook - Union cavalrymen in the Shenandoah Valley defeat Confederate forces at Tom's Brook, Virginia.
• 1871 - The Great Chicago Fire is brought under control.
• 1874 - General Postal Union was created as a result of the Treaty of Berne.
• 1888 - The Washington Monument officially opens to the general public.
• 1914 - World War I: Siege of Antwerp - Antwerp, Belgium falls to German troops.
• 1919 - Black Sox scandal: The Cincinnati Reds "win" the World Series.
• 1934 - Regicide at Marseille: The assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou, Foreign Minister of France.
• 1936 - Generators at Boulder Dam (later renamed to Hoover Dam) begin to transmit electricity from the Colorado River 266 miles to Los Angeles, California.
• 1940 - World War II: Battle of Britain - During a nighttime air raid by the German Luftwaffe, St. Paul's Cathedral is pierced by a bomb.
• 1942 - Statute of Westminster Adoption Act formalizes Australian autonomy.
• 1957 - Neil H. McElroy was sworn in as the 6th Secretary of Defense of United States.
• 1962 - Uganda becomes a republic.
• 1963 - In northeast Italy, over 2,000 people are killed when a large landslide behind the Vajont Dam causes a giant wave of water to overtop it.
• 1967 - A day after being caught, Che Guevara is executed for attempting to incite a revolution in Bolivia.
• 1969 - In Chicago, the United States National Guard is called in for crowd control as demonstrations continue in connection to the trial of the "Chicago Eight" (trial started on September 24).
• 1970 - The Khmer Republic is proclaimed in Cambodia.
• 1983 - Rangoon bombing: attempted assassination of South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan during an official visit to Rangoon, Burma. Chun survived but the blast killed 17 of his entourage, including four cabinet ministers, whilst 17 others were injured. Four Burmese officials also died in the blast.
• 1986 - United States District Court Judge Harry E. Claiborne becomes the fifth federal official to be removed from office through impeachment.
• 1986 - The FOX Network begins broadcasting.
• 1989 - An official news agency in the Soviet Union reports the landing of a UFO in Voronezh.
• 1989 - In Leipzig, East Germany, 70,000 protesters demand the legalization of opposition groups and democratic reforms.
• 1991 - Ecuador becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
• 1992 - A 13 kilogram (est.) meteorite lands in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York, destroying the family's 1980 Chevrolet Malibu.
• 1995 - An Amtrak Sunset Limited train is derailed by saboteurs near Palo Verde, Arizona.
• 2001 - Second mailing of anthrax letters from Trenton, New Jersey in the 2001 anthrax attack.
• 2002 - After losing a massive amount of ground during the summer of 2002, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 7,286.27, its lowest level in five years. The NASDAQ also hit a six-year low of 1,114.11.
• 2004 - Democratic elections held for the first time in Afghanistan.
• 2004 - The tri-annual federal election is held in Australia and Liberal Party of Australia leader, John Howard, wins a fourth term as Prime Minister in a landslide victory over opponent, Mark Latham of the Australian Labor Party.
• 2005 - China's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping officially announces the new accurate height of Mount Everest is 8848.43 m.
• 2005 - When Tropical Depression 23 strengthens into Hurricane Vince it makes the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season the first season on record to use a name beginning with V.
• 2005 - Smoking is fully banned on the UK rail network.

Births

• 1201 - Robert de Sorbon, French theologian and founder of the Sorbonne (d. 1274)
• 1221 - Salimbene di Adam, Italian chronicler
• 1261 - King Dinis of Portugal (d. 1325)
• 1328 - King Peter I of Cyprus (d. 1369)
• 1581 - Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician (d. 1638)
• 1585 - Heinrich Schütz, German composer (d. 1672)
• 1586 - Archduke Leopold V of Austria (d. 1632)
• 1757 - King Charles X of France (d. 1836)
• 1796 - Joseph Bonomi the Younger, English Egyptologist (d. 1878)
• 1835 - Camille Saint-Saëns, French composer (d. 1921)
• 1840 - Simeon Solomon, British artist (d. 1905)
• 1852 - Hermann Emil Fischer, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
• 1859 - Alfred Dreyfus, French military officer (d. 1935)
• 1871 - George Gauthier, Bishop of Montreal and rector of the University of Montreal (d. 1940)
• 1873 - Karl Schwarzschild, German physicist and astronomer (d. 1916)
• 1873 - Charles Walgreen, American entrepreneur (d. 1939)
• 1873 - Carl Flesch, Hungarian violinist (d. 1944)
• 1874 - Nicholas Roerich, Russian painter (d. 1947)
• 1879 - Max von Laue, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1960)
• 1886 - Rube Marquard, baseball player (d. 1980)
• 1888 - Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin, Russian politician (d. 1938)
• 1890 - Aimee Semple McPherson, American evangelist (d. 1944)
• 1892 - Ivo Andrić, Serbo-Croatian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
• 1892 - Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (d. 1941)
• 1893 - Mário de Andrade, Brazilian writer and photographer (d. 1945)
• 1900 - Alastair Sim, Scottish actor (d. 1976)
• 1903 - Walter O'Malley, American baseball executive (d. 1979)
• 1906 - Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegalese poet and politician (d. 2001)
• 1907 - Quintin Hogg, British politician (d. 2001)
• 1908 - Jacques Tati, French filmmaker (d. 1982)
• 1909 - Donald Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 2000)
• 1911 - Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (d. 2006)
• 1915 - Clifford M. Hardin, United States Secretary of Agriculture
• 1918 - Lila Kedrova, Russian-born actress (d. 2000)
• 1920 - Jens Bjørneboe, Norwegian author (d. 1976)
• 1921 - Michel Boisrond, French film director (d. 2002)
• 1923 - Fyvush Finkel, American actor
• 1925 - Johnny Stompanato, American organized crime figure (d. 1958)
• 1926 - Danièle Delorme, French actress
• 1928 - Einojuhani Rautavaara, Finnish composer
• 1933 - Peter Mansfield, British physicist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate
• 1935 - Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, member of the British Royal Family
• 1936 - Brian Blessed, English actor
• 1938 - Heinz Fischer, Austrian politician
• 1940 - John Lennon, British musician and songwriter (The Beatles) (d. 1980)
• 1941 - Trent Lott, American politician
• 1941 - Chucho Valdés, Cuban musician
• 1944 - John Entwistle, British musician (The Who) (d. 2002)
• 1944 - Nona Hendryx, American singer (LaBelle)
• 1944 - Peter Tosh, Jamaican musician (d. 1987)
• 1946 - Tansu Çiller, Prime Minister of Turkey
• 1947 - France Gall, French singer
• 1948 - Jackson Browne, American musician
• 1950 - Jody Williams, American teacher and aid worker, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
• 1952 - Sharon Osbourne, English music manager and wife of Ozzy Osbourne
• 1953 - Tony Shalhoub, American actor
• 1954 - Scott Bakula, American actor
• 1957 - Don Garber, American sports commissioner
• 1958 - Michael Pare, American actor
• 1960 - Kenny Garrett, American jazz saxophonist
• 1962 - Jorge Burruchaga, Argentinian footballer
• 1964 - Bobby Flay, American celebrity chef and restaurateur
• 1966 - David Cameron, British politician
• 1967 - Eddie Guerrero, Mexican professional wrestler (d. 2005)
• 1969 - P.J. Harvey, English musician
• 1970 - Kenny Anderson, American basketball player
• 1970 - Savannah, American actress (d. 1994)
• 1970 - Annika Sörenstam, Swedish golfer
• 1971 - Simon Atlee, British photographer (d. 2004)
• 1971 - Michael Manna, American professional wrestler
• 1973 - Steven Burns, American actor and musician
• 1973 - Fabio Lione, Italian musician (Rhapsody)
• 1973 - Terry Balsamo - American guitarist
• 1975 - Sean Lennon, English musician
• 1975 - Mark Viduka, Australian footballer
• 1978 - Nicky Byrne, Irish musician (Westlife)
• 1978 - Juan Dixon, American basketball player
• 1979 - Gonzalo Sorondo, Uruguayan footballer
• 1979 - Brandon Routh, American Actor
• 1980 - Henrik Zetterberg, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1981 - Zachery Ty Bryan, American actor
• 1981 - Darius Miles, American basketball player
• 1982 - António Mendonça, Angolan footballer
• 1986 - Laure Manaudou, French swimmer
• 1992 - Tyler James Williams, American actor
• 1994 - Jodelle Ferland, Canadian actress

[edit]

Deaths

• 1047 - Pope Clement II (b. 1005)
• 1253 - Robert Grosseteste, English statesman and bishop
• 1390 - King John I of Castile (b. 1358)
• 1555 - Justus Jonas, German protestant reformer (b. 1493)
• 1562 - Gabriele Falloppio, Italian anatomist (b. 1523)
• 1569 - Vladimir of Staritsa, Russian prince (b. 1533)
• 1597 - Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Japanese shogun (b. 1537)
• 1691 - William Sacheverell, English statesman (b. 1638)
• 1709 - Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, English mistress of Charles II of England (b. 1640)
• 1729 - Richard Blackmore, English physician and writer (b. 1654)
• 1793 - Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, French missionary (b. 1718)
• 1797 - Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi (b. 1720)
• 1806 - Benjamin Banneker, American astronomer (b. 1731)
• 1831 - John Capodistria, Governor of Greece (b. 1776)
• 1924 - Valery Bryusov, Russian writer and critic (b. 1873)
• 1934 - King Alexander I of Yugoslavia (assassinated) (b. 1888)
• 1934 - Louis Barthou, Prime Minister of France (assassinated) (b. 1862)
• 1940 - Wilfred Grenfell, medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador (b. 1865).
• 1941 - Helen Morgan, American singer and actress (b. 1900)
• 1943 - Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
• 1950 - George Hainsworth, National Hockey League goaltender (b. 1895)
• 1955 - Theodor Cardinal Innitzer, Austrian Catholic archbishop (b. 1875)
• 1956 - Marie Doro, American actress (b. 1882)
• 1958 - Pope Pius XII (b. 1876)
• 1962 - Milan Vidmar, Slovenian electrical engineer and chess player (b. 1885)
• 1967 - Che Guevara, Argentine revolutionary and guerilla leader (executed) (b. 1928)
• 1967 - Cyril Norman Hinshelwood, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
• 1967 - André Maurois, French author (b. 1885)
• 1968 - Pierre Mulele, Congolese revolutionary
• 1972 - Miriam Hopkins, American actress (b. 1902)
• 1974 - Oskar Schindler, German businessman (b. 1908)
• 1978 - Jacques Brel, Belgian singer and actor (b. 1929)
• 1987 - Guru Gopinath, Indian classical dancer (b. 1908)
• 1987 - Clare Boothe Luce, American diplomat (b. 1903)
• 1987 - William Parry Murphy, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1892)
• 1989 - Penny Lernoux, American journalist and author (b. 1940)
• 1995 - Alec Douglas-Home, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1903)
• 1996 - Walter Kerr, American theater critic (b. 1913)
• 1999 - Milt Jackson, American jazz vibraphonist (b. 1923)
• 2000 - David Dukes, American actor (b. 1945)
• 2000 - Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1918)
• 2001 - Dagmar, American television personality (b. 1921)
• 2001 - Herbert Ross, American film director and producer (b. 1927)
• 2005 - Louis Nye, American comedian and actor (b. 1913)

I guess that pretty much covers it.

Joe

Leif Erikson Day

This month seems to be filled with observances of the accomplishments of great European explorers. Today is not only Columbus Day. Today is also Leif Erikson Day.

From wikipeida.com:

Leif Erikson Day is a United States observance occurring on October 9. It honors Leif Erikson, who led the first Europeans believed to have set foot on North American soil. ... October 9 is not associated with any particular event in Leif Erikson's life. The date was chosen because the ship Restauration arrived in New York Harbor on October 9, 1825 at the start of the first organized immigration from Norway to the United States.

There's little else to say about Leif Erikson Day, and I only found it notable and worthy of mention in light of it's proximity on the calendar to Columbus Day. Columbus Day is officially designated as the second Monday in October each year. Leif Erikson Day was authorized by Congress in 1964 and, depending upon an annual Presidential proclamation, occurs on October 9 each year. This year, those two days happen to coincide.

Joe

Columbus Day

Whether you believe it's possible for someone to "discover" a land that is already inhabited by other human beings (Native Americans), it is a fact that Christopher Columbus discovered one thing: and that is that the earth is round. And he made this discovery by landing somewhere in the Americas on October 12, 1492.

He is often credited with discovering America, though the name "America" stuck after German cartographer Martin Waldseemuller created a map in 1507 labelling the South American content "America," after Italian merchant, cartographer, and explorer Amerigo Vespucci, who discovered that the South American content extended much further south than was previously known by Europeans.

Christopher Columbus is often credited with discovering America, though prior to reaching the "New World," tools that appeared to have been crafted by hand were found floating in the ocean, and Native Americans already inhabited the continent "discovered" by Columbus.

Columbus is often credited with discovering America, although Nordic Vikings are known to have sailed up and down the coast of the Americas some 500 years before Columbus' historic voyage.

No matter what you believe, Christopher Columbus was among the first Europeans to land in the New World, and was the first to bring European culture to the Americas. His voyage proved his unpopular belief that the earth was not flat, and that one would not fall off the edge of the earth if one sailed far enough into the Atlantic ocean.

Today is Columbus Day. You don't have to believe the he "discovered" America to believe that he was a great explorer and a great contributor to making the world what it is today.

Joe