Famous First Words: The right of citizens of the United States to vote... The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution
It's National Engineers Week. Engineer: Someone who does precision guesswork based on unreliable data provided by those of questionable knowledge. See also: wizard, magician. ++ My dad is fixing some electric wires in our house. I'm his 22 year old son who is an electrical engineering student who is holding this flashlight for him.
Things I'd rather do than watch the State of the Union Address: Give my 4 cats a bath – all at once
..........Make up your mind, honey.........Janis Joplin …..Move Over
We are star stuff. --Neil deGrasse Tyson
Our Constitution was not written in the sands to be washed away by each wave of new judges blown in by each successive political wind. --Hugo Black
It is a bright, warm (42°F) Friday morning. The sun is shining across a clear light blue sky. There are no clouds to hide the sky and only a light breeze that barely moves the willow branches and allows the other trees to remain still and stately. Here and there early spring flowers are peeking out of the soil looking for rain. Squirrels and birds silently come and go on the patio nibbling sunflower seeds and peanuts. Puck has been out and returned. Veronica is still asleep somewhere in the house. It is so quiet that the furnace coming on gives me a small startle. Ah, the coffee is fresh and hot and welcome. It tickles my nose with steam and aroma; it warms my tongue and gives me joy. Wow, birdsong picked up just as I set the cup down. Tweet, tweeter, tweet. A magic morning, indeed, and now I get to write to you. Better and better.
Hope your weekend is beautifully designed and wonderfully executed, ePistliers
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Knitting is impossible with two kittens. That's why I like to use needles. --submitted by Writers, Readers and General Tomfoolery
Spiritual Joke of the Week: My blood type is technically 0-positive, but spiritually it's Dark Roast. https://www.facebook.com/maythecoffeebewithyou
A Layman's Guide to Engineering Terms: Percussive Maintenance...Hit it and hope it works. ++ Rosie was a software engineer turned surgeon until the day she shut down all of the patient's body functions then started them up again.
Things I'd rather do than watch the State of the Union Address: Pass a kidney stone
..........And when you walk around the world, babe.........Janis Joplin …..Cry Baby
The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff. --Carl Sagan
Trivia Questions: Happy National Retro Day! Can you name these retro items that are still in use?
This product featured a cocoa bean shaped bottle and tried to replace coffee. What is it?
What was the first product to use a barcode?
How long has The Weather Channel been around?
When or where did the first Burger King open?
How long have people been talking about “Pop(ular) Culture”?
Pre-Blasphemy of the Week: Pam Bondi: Patron saint of pedophiles. --Submitted by sd of ks
Big Hello: Xewani – Tsonga (a Bantu language spoken in South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and
Swaziland. https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Maître de to single female diner: We're going to relocate you to the bar. Your contentment is unnerving the couples. --submitted by Writers, Readers and General Tomfoolery
Image of the Week: State of the Union Address
Engineers don't panic; they recalculate. ++ A mathematician, a physicist and an engineer are all trying to find the volume of a yellow bouncy ball. The mathematician gets his calipers out and measures the ball and evaluates the integral. The physicist fetches a bowl of water, drops the ball in and measures the displacement. The engineer strolls up with a book in hand, checks the serial number and looks up the volume in his yellow bouncy ball table.
Things I'd rather do than watch the State of the Union Address: Sit on my tv and watch my couch
..........Honey, she doesn't understand, no no no no.........Janis Joplin …..A Woman Left Lonely
There is stardust in your veins. We are literally, ultimately children of the stars. --Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Put Down of the Week: State of the Swamp, you mean.
Moonbeam: This is certainly the Will of the Supreme...that the whole human race should agree together and be joined in a certain affectionate union by, as it were, a mutual embrace. --St. Constantine-the-Great
Blasphemy of the Week: I hope your 40 days of shame, penitence, and self=denial are going well. --Submitted by MMS
Coffee Joke of the Week: What do chocolate, men, and coffee have in common? They are all better rich.
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Existence is mandatory. Understanding it is optional. Enjoying it is unlikely. --Submitted by Club42
A Layman's Guide to Engineering Terms: High Impedance Air Gap...It's not plugged in. ++ Days after the successful Moon landing engineers at NASA were still trying to land at least one high-five.
Things I'd rather do than watch the State of the Union Address: Fold fitted bed sheets into perfectly flat squares
..........Yeah, you fill me like the mountains.........Janis Joplin …..Half Moon
We are made out of stardust. The iron in the hemoglobin molecules in the blood in your right hand came from a star that blew up 8 billion years ago. The iron in your left hand came from another star. --Jill Tarter
1) Coca-Cola was first marketed in 1886 and never actually replaced coffee.
Almanac: It is Friday, February 27, 2026. The moon will be full (Worm) on Tuesday (3/3) and is in Cancer. Today is Anosmia Awareness Day, International Polar Bear Day, National Kahlua Day, National Retro Day, Pokemon Day, and World NGO Day. Because it is the fourth Friday it is also Skip the Straw Day.
Among those born on this day were Constantine the Great (280), Rembrandt (1622), Silverius Muller (1745), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807), Hugo L. Black (1886), William Demarest (1892), Marian Anderson (1902), Joan Bennett (1910), Lawrence Durrell (1912), Irwin Shaw (1913), Joanne Woodward (1930), Elizabeth Taylor (1932), Ralph Nader (1934), Howard Hesseman (1940), Mary Frann (1943), Tony Gonzalez (1976), and Chelsea Clinton (1980),
On February twenty-seventh Russia opened an embassy in London (1557), Henry IV was crowned king of France (1594), Washington DC was placed under Congressional jurisdiction (1801), the first federal vaccination legislation was enacted (1813), New Orleans celebrated its first Mardi Gras (1827), the Dominican Republic became independent (1844), the first black woman graduated from Harvard Law (Charlotte Ray, 1872), Holst debuted "The Planets" (1919), the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the 19th amendment (1922), the Supreme Court outlawed sit-down strikes (1939), the 22nd amendment to the constitution was ratified limiting president to 2 terms (1951), Heartbreak Hotel was released (1956), and the American Indian Movement occupied Wounded Knee (SD, 1973).
Night Sky, 2/27: The waxing moon shines near the planet Jupiter and the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux.
Fraternal Picture of the Week: Olympic Doubles Tricycling
Dad Jokes of the Week: Once upon a time, there lived a king who was only 12 inches tall. He was a terrible king but he made a great ruler. --Submitted by Puns
This Week: Saturday, February 28 – Floral Design Day & National Public Sleeping Day & World Sword Swallowers Day
Night Sky, 2/28: A rare planetary alignment will light up the pre-dawn sky. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will appear along the same arc, following the ecliptic. Venus will shine brightest, Mars glows red, and Jupiter and Saturn beam steadily. Uranus and Neptune will need binoculars or a small telescope to spot. This is your chance to witness multiple worlds in a single sweeping view, a reminder of the solar system’s precise cosmic dance. Look east before sunrise and experience the magic! https://x.com/NightSkyToday/status/2016870947827962181
Sunday, March 1 – Black Women's Day & World Compliment Day & Zero Discrimination Day
Monday, March 2 – Dr Seuss Day & Ta'Anit Esther & World Teen mental Illness Day
Night Sky, 3/2: Orion is the center of the constellations in the southern sky. Taurus and Gemini are both located near Orion and Canis Major can be found below Orion.
Tuesday, March 3 – I Want You To Be Happy Day & Simplify Your Life Day & World Wildlife Day
Night Sky, 3/3: Total Lunar Eclipse features deep red and orange-red colors visible from Central and Western North America Best viewing 5-6 am CST Details (best around 5:33 pm in Lawrence, KS)
Wednesday, March 4 – Brain Injury Awareness Day & March Forth Do Something Day & World Obesity Day
Night Sky, 3/4: Sunrise: 6:47 am Sunset: 6:17 pm (11 Hours and 30 minutes of daylight) Moonrise 7:16 am Moonset 7:51 pm
Thursday, March 5 – Mars Day & Slam The Scam Day & World Book Day
Beware of becoming a software engineer. You'll be fixing every family member's devices until you die. ++ It takes 2 engineers to change a light bulb; one to change the bulb and one to buy the six-pack.
Things I'd rather do than watch the State of the Union Address: Clean all the cat litter boxes on my block
..........'Cause how could anything ever go wrong.........Janis Joplin …..My Baby
We are stardust, we are golden. We are billion-year-old carbon --Joni Mitchell Woodstock
2) In 1974 Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum was the first item to get its barcode scanned.
Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: The real question of life after death isn't whether or not it exists, but even if it does what problem does this really solve. --Ludwig Wittgenstein
Moonbeam: Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection. --Lawrence Durrell
Philosophy Quote of the Week: That's the whole problem with science. You've got a bunch of empiricists trying to describe things of unimaginable wonder. --Calvin i.e. Bill Watterson
Fun Fact of the Week: Crickets are basically tiny thermometers. Count the number of chirps they make in 15 seconds, add 40, and you'll get the ambient temperature in Fahrenheit. --Submitted by Laughing Librarian
Video of the Week: Marian Anderson singing Go Down, Moses. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lebh64WKUOM
The Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to bare the secrets of government and inform the people. --Hugo Black
Things I'd rather do than watch the State of the Union Address: Clean out the septic tank
A Layman's Guide to Engineering Terms: Cycle Power To The Panel...Turn it off and on again. ++ Kim decided to become an engineer when he realized he didn't have the charisma to be an undertaker.
….......I was playin' soft while Bobby sang the blues, yeah.........Janis Joplin …..Me And Bobby McGee
Never forget your real identity. You are a luminous, conscious stardust being forged in the crucible of cosmic fire. --Deepak Chopra
3) The Weather Channel was founded in 1980 by meteorologist John Coleman and billionaire Frank Batten.
Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: The more I get to know people, the more I realize why Noah only let animals on the boat. --Liz Ann
Weird Word of the Week: Numinous: Something that is spiritual, mysterious, or awesome. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/numinous
Dragon of the Week: Homemade Dragon
Science Joke of the Week: Science Teacher: Did you know, protons have mass? Me: I didn't even know they were Catholic. --Submitted by Wittenburg Door
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Clean hard water stains, lime scale, or calcium build-up from a teakettle. Fill the teakettle with Coca=Cola and let it sit overnight. The phosphoric acid and ascorbic acid dissolve the mineral build up, and all you need to do is rinse the teakettle in the morning. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/cocacola.html
Things I'd rather do than watch the State of the Union Address: Water my lawn with an eye dropper.
Project Manager: Engineer without a degree. ++ My engineering friends said I couldn't build a joke that lasts. So I reinforced it with steel sarcasm.
The atoms of our bodies are traceable to stars that manufactured them in their cores and exploded these enriched ingredients across our galaxy, billions of years ago. For this reason, we are biologically connected to every other living thing in the world. We are chemically connected to all molecules on Earth. And we are atomically connected to all atoms in the universe. We are not figuratively, but literally stardust." ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson
...........Dialing For Dollars is trying to find me.........Janis Joplin …..Mercedes Benz
4) Inst-Burger King opened in 1953 in Jacksonville, FL. Kramer and Burns founded it. A year later, McLamore and Edgerton bought it. In 1957 they introduced the Whopper. And in 1959 changed the name to Burger King.
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Canada may not have a gold for women's hockey but we also don't have a pedophile for a president so I'd say we are still winning. --Sam G
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Apparently there are no conventions this weekend so here's some jokes to tide you over. Science fiction jokes put your laughs light-years ahead of the convention crowd. / The alien brought a telescope to the convention because she wanted to get a closer look at the Terrans.
Math Joke of the Week: Using fractions instead of decimals is pointless. --Submitted by LanguageNerds
Excuse of the Week: Of course I talk to myself because sometimes I need expert advice. --Submitted by ff of ks
Spark of Joy of the Week: Yūgen (n) a profound, mysterious sense of the beauty of the universe that triggers a deep emotional response. https://traditionalkyoto.com/culture/yugen/
Things I'd rather do than watch the State of the Union Address: Root Canal
A Layman's Guide to Engineering Terms: Thermally Reconfigured...It melted. ++ This Lot Reserved For Engineer Parking Only...Violators Will have Their Cars Redesigned.
The cosmos is within us. We are made of stars. --Carl Sagan
..........My love is like a seed, baby, just needs time to grow.........Janis Joplin …..Trust Me
5) Popular Culture was first mentioned in 1818 in a speech by educator, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. I was unable or perhaps unwilling to work hard enough to find a copy of the speech. Apparently, Johann meant it to signify “the people's culture”, the ways of the poor, the workers, the uneducated, etc.
Protest Sign of the Week: We're Not Being Governed, We're Being Looted
Quote of the Week: Bless you, wherever you are, windswept child of a shooting star. --John Lennon
Unnecessarily Complicated Word of the Week: Colonel: How is pronounced kernel? --Submitted by Laughing Librarian
Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Somewhere a dying star is putting more effort into its final moments than I put into my morning routine. --Submitted by Club42
Today's Peace of History: : February 27, 1973: Hundreds of Oglala Lakota Sioux and members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) occupied the village of Wounded Knee, South Dakota. They were angered over a long history of violated treaties, mistreatment, family dismemberment, cultural destruction, discrimination, and impoverishment through confiscation of resources and they controlled the city for 71 days.
Things I'd rather do than watch the State of the Union Address: Pour habanero sauce in my eyes
Architects: Engineers who can't do math. ++ 1% of the engineering students are there because they want to help solve society's big problems; 3% like physics; 6% want to make big money; the rest want to build an Ironman suit.
You and I are made of stardust. We are the stuff of exploded stars. We are therefore, at least 1 way that the Universe knows itself. That, to me, is astonishing. --Bill Nye
..........Don't turn your back on love, no, no.........Janis Joplin …..Get It While You Can
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, February 27, 2026: Not the Train Kind ePistle . Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.
Warning of the Week: Don't believe what you see in the cartoons. No matter how hard you throw a toilet plunger, it won't actually stick to someone's face. Don't ask me how I know this. --Submitted by INRITH
Moonbeam: I once said to my father, when I was a boy, “Dad, we need a third political party.” He said to me,”I'll settle for a second one.” --Ralph Nader
Cost of War: War and the Pentagon Spending as of 2/25/26: $415,908,360,851 https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/category/military/
The National Priorities Project has updated and changed its Cost Of War counters. This is the very nice note I got from them about the change. “We just did an update to the counters. The new counter shows how quickly we are spending the $1 trillion budget for war. The War on Terror counters were outdated. Many of those expenses have slowed down or stopped, and others are no longer being reported by the sources we used to estimate them. I hope the new counter is useful - we'll be introducing more in the coming months, but for now, it feels important to show how the country is spending $1 trillion for the Pentagon and war.”
A union of government and religion tends to destroy government and degrade religion. --Hugo Black
Famous Last Words: Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite (I told you I was ill) Spike Milligan who died 2/27/02 ~~It's Irish and it's on his tombstone.
We are made of stardust; why not take a few moments to look up at the family album? --Natalie Angier
..........Just a little bit harder.........Janis Joplin …..Try ~~On 22/17/71 Janis' album Pearl hit #1 on the charts and stays for 9 weeks. She had died in October of '70. Try is actually a song that was added to a re-release of Pearl later. One of the songs, Buried Alive In The Blues, is an instrumental on the original.
Things I'd rather do than watch the State of the Union Address: Pop bubble wrap
A Layman's Guide to Engineering Terms: Kinetic Disassembly...it blew up. ++ I have one last engineering joke, but it's still under construction.
May Peace design your days
And Joy devise your nights
prairie mama
christine
Last Laugh:
