Marilyn's Photos - July 31st 2026 - The Weather Report is Late

 

What an interesting Globe and Mail story today on the problems being experienced with the U.S. National Weather Service no longer launching their noon and midnight weather balloons on time. The is an activity done simultaneously worldwide at noon and midnight GMT.  Doing this provides supercomputers with a uniform, three-dimensional snapshot of the atmosphere.   There are 900 - 1,300 meteorological stations across the globe and they are supposed to launch weather balloons twice each day at exactly the same time.  There are even ships at sea who participate in the maritime observation networks. One of the questions that AI wants to answer is How high do the balloons fly before the pop? They fly to altitudes between 20,000 and 30,000 metres before they pop.  As the balloon rises it starts to expand and reaches the size of a two-storey house.  Eventually the latex stretches to its limit and bursts. A small orange parachute opens automatically to bring the instrument package safely back to earth.   There are 30 to 31 upper-air monitoring stations across Canada and that means 60 - 62 balloons a day are released.  The U.S. has around 92 weather stations. However, the U.S. has cut staffing and budget so severely that many of their balloons can't be launched on schedule so the synchronization isn't happening.  The National weather service has suspended or delayed launches at over 25 stations - either stopping them or delaying their launches to later in the day.  So if you want to complain about the weather forecast, you now have the answer as to why it isn't as accurate as it might have been or should be or could be.   What would be the risks?  Predicting sudden thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, and tornadoes in real time, receiving less advanced notice of dangerous weather events, and degrading forecast accuracy for neighbouring regions and downwind areas. I found the first cartoon on a cartoon stock website - isn't is excellent for us old-timers. The second comes from a previous post about the "worst" beginning sentences of famous novels.   Here's a "storm coming" sort of sky!  Wouldn't that make a weather balloon pop. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - July 30 2026 - Out of office replies

 

Do you remember the "out-of-office" phone and email messages?  I say "remember" as we don't leave the phone on its own anymore.  It has no down time, no vacation moments of its own.   But there are still very funny automated reply messages to enjoy.  Maybe because people are natural humourists. "I am driving right now, or at least staring blankly at the road while listening to a true crime podcast that makes me trust no one." "Auto-reply activated because reality became too overwhelming and I chose to ignore it." "I can't answer right now because my emotional support snacks required immediate attention." "Your message has been received and is currently being ignored with care." "I'm busy right now, but I still like you." "My social battery just entered low-power mode. Please try again next year." "I will get back to you as soon as I figure out whose unsaved number this is." "I'm not ignoring you, I'm just giving your text time to marinate."   And here's a cartoon from FunnyTimes.com Here's a colourful version of a watercolour of dandelion seed heads.  The seed heads are made by putting salt on wet watercolours.   Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - July 29 2026 - Cartoon of the Day

 

Remember that song?  Be Happy.  How do we add a portion of "happy" each day.  I suggest some additional cartoons.  We used to have a page of cartoons in the newspapers, but that dwindled down and down to just a small grouping in the Globe and Mail.  Mind you, they are good cartoons.  How do I know this?  I found the site Humortimes.com and have checked out more than a dozen cartoonists.  The Globe and Mail's chosen few are definitely some of the best.  I am looking for cartoons similar to what is in The Globe and Mail - Cornered by Mike Baldwin, Speed Bump by Tyson Cole and Piraro/Bizarro. Here's one I found at the Funnytimes site. Here's the link to FunnyTimes https://funnytimes.com/category/cartoon-of-the-week/ it says it is America's Funniest Newspaper since 1985. It contains categories such as Politics, Love, Cat, Friendship, and Chuckles. This looks like the source for  finding some daily humour.  It is like finding an entirely new sort of Library. Along the way, I find out there are many activities and events in the cartoon industry/profession. This is a busy field -  there's the International Editorial Cartoon Awards HERE. Editorial does mean political, so these aren't going to get to the Happy List each day.  Tthe humour cartoonist of the year is Emily Flake - that's the 2026 Thurber Prize in Cartoon Art - a U.S. award. I think she's the artist of the raccoon cartoons that are so popular now. There's the Eisner Awards and there's the top 40 caricature influencers of 2026. Social Media has opened up the profession significantly. In all, this investigation has been an interesting experience - it is like carrying out a google search years ago, where I did the research and came up with the short list. And AI wasn't pushing in trying to give all the answers.  I don't seem to have succeeded in turning off AI permanently. The search for daily cartoons will continue.  Here's another addition to the Happy List.  Here's a showstopper garden in Grimsby this year.  All these flowers blooming beautifully in pots! Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - July 28 2026 - What's in a Name

 

A names identifies a person.  We spend a lot of time choosing a first name to go with a surname.  That's to make it personal.  So what about your name becoming a noun or a verb.  I wouldn't be bothered about that if I was the Earl of Sandwich.  He went from gambler to lunch meal.  He invented the "sandwich" so he could keep on gambling without interruption.  I wonder if it started out as a derisive term for the Earl.  For other people, it can be a mostly positive story.  Look at these words: Saxophone - after Adolphe Sax 1846 Mesmerise - Franz Mesmer who claimed the "Mesmer effect" was real in the late 1700s Nicotine - after Jean Nicot in 1559 Mausoleum - after Mausolus 2300 years ago because his burial chamber was so big Lynching - Charles or WIlliam Lynch both fans of vigilante justice in the 1780s Dunce - John Duns Scotus - centuries after he died in the 1200s people decided his philosophy was for stupid people Diesel - after Rudolf Diesel in the late 1800s who named the engine after himself Mentor - after Odysseus' friend Mentor who looked after Odysseus' son Telemachus while he was off creating the kind of legends that turn into IMAX movies  There are lots more HERE. And what about Caesar salad, Nachos, Graham crackers, Fettucine, Omelette, Bechamel sauce, Eggs Benedict, Chateaubriand, and many more.  Food is particularly attracted to being named after people.  In reverse, there is a theory - nominative determinism - in which people tend to gravitate towards areas of work or interest that fit their names.  These have occurred by chance over time.  For example, Mr. Filin was a substitute teacher, a piano teacher was named Patience Scales and the Vatican's spokesman on the evils of rock n roll was Cardinal Rapsong.  Remember food industry consultant Faith Popcorn? These are examples of aptronyms.  Take this exquisite example - Robin Mahfood was CEO and president of the nonprofit organization Food For the Poor.    Here's my latest watercolour/digital drawing pictures. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - July 27 2026 - Insiders Reports

 

Insider Reports. It seems to me to be a worrisome thing when it is stock trading - wondering what executives are buying and selling as they have made the decisions that will affect the stock price of the company they run. But it is an entirely happy thing when it is the name of a grocery chain newsletter.  The PC President's Choice Insiders Report was a very fun and interesting newsletter 40 years ago.  Dave Nichol went far and wide in search of food to turn into grocery items that would entice us into the store.  Dave Nichol described the Report as a cross between Mad Magazine and Consumer Reports.  It combined "zaniness and food tips in a comic book format." It was launched in 1984 when I worked at Imperial Oil Limited at St. Clair and Yonge.  That was the location of the corporate headquarters of Loblaw and Dave Nichol.  That made for a very happy food time.  They had a small grocery store located on the street level and it was packed with Dave's food finds. Along with things he wanted for his own home kitchen - great fish, meat and cheese. He named things "Memories of..." as he would find foods on his trips. Then he have the staff replicate the item and then name it after the place he visited, as in Memories of Szechwan Peanut Sauce & Dressing - which outsold ketchup in some stores. And there was his love of chocolate chip cookies and ice cream.  Many good products there. The Loblaw test kitchen was next door to his office.  He would go into the test kitchen and taste test things and give the approval himself.  He was it - all the consumer input you could get through focus groups or marketing surveys really came from Dave Nichol himself.  We, the public, knew this.  He was a retail food celebrity.  Maybe Martha Stewart achieved a similar celebrity status. She had a broader lifestyle influence, bringing home decor, holiday and party planning into the cooking and food world.  She too had a perfect chocolate chip cookie.  This seems to be one of the most beloved foods (after pizza) as there are many celebrity chefs now with their special chocolate chip genius.    Doesn't the chocolate chip cookie explain some of the success of last year's Chocolate Tree at the Fantasy of Trees?  I think so.  The tree looked very yummy.  Dave Nichol would have liked it. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com