EDITORIAL NOTE: Due to my ongoing computer problems, I haven't read much news this week so I don't have as many items this week, I didn't have time for random web wandering and worst, my safety, backup list of good items is stuck in the broken computer. So today's offering is skimpy and leans heavily on animals. Maybe we all need some lighthearted Interesting Stuff.

A BEAR OF A HOT DAY

It's been hot, hot, hot in southern California. On the first night of the World Series, the temperature was above 100F. Apparently it was even too hot for a bear family in the San Gabriel Mountains who strolled down to a backyard swimming pool in the town of Monrovia.

ONLY PERSON BURIED ON THE MOON

Well, they surprised me. I didn't know anyone was buried there, but a scientist named Eugene Shoemaker is:

”Shoemaker enjoyed a celebrated career combining his main discipline of geology with more astronomical applications, helping to create the field of planetary science,” Atlas Obscura tells us.

“He studied a number of craters here on Earth, and in the early 1960s, he founded the Astrogeology Research Program within the United States Geological Survey. Shoemaker used his knowledge to train a number of Apollo mission astronauts about what they could expect to find on the surface of the moon, in terms of terrain.”

”A close colleague of Shoemaker’s, Carolyn Porco, had decided to try and finally get the deceased scientist, who had wanted to be an astronaut in life but was disqualified for medical reasons, to the moon. Luckily, NASA also liked the idea of honoring Shoemaker by getting his ashes all the way to the lunar surface...”

You can read how that was accomplished at Atlas Obscura.

WHERE DID HE PARK HIS DONKEY?

At least, when you lose your car in a parking lot, there are different colors to help you find it. This poor guy, looking for his parked donkey, has only one color to deal with.

Okay, okay, I know it's just a joke video but it gave me a good giggle.

EVEN REPUBLICANS WANT TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is beginning a push to further criminalize marijuana. He's on the wrong side of history and as Gallup reported this week, even a majority of Republicans was legalization:

More information and slightly larger graph at Gallup.

DOGGIE/KITTIE SLUMBER PARTY

Anyone who needs a respite from the daily drumbeat of horrible political news might be restored a bit by this lovely, short, little vid.

HONOLULU BANS CROSSING ROAD WHILE USING PHONE

On 1 October this year, new stiffer penalties went into effect in Oregon for people caught red-handed uses telephones in their cars:

”When House Bill 2597 takes effect Sunday, drivers will no longer be able to hold or touch their cell phones or any other electronic device while driving, reported KPKTV.com.”That means you’ll need to be hands-free and using options like Bluetooth or a mounted device. Drivers under the age of 18 can’t use phones or other electronic devices under any circumstances.”

This past week, Honolulu became the first city in the United States to ban using cell phones while walking across a street:

”Under the legislation, people caught manipulating a mobile electronic device while crossing a road or highway can be fined up to $35 for their first offense, as much as $75 for the second, and up to $99 for a third infraction.

“Pedestrians are still allowed to talk on the phone while crossing the street, Honolulu Police Department Sgt. James Shyer said to BuzzFeed News.

"'Looking down and manipulating the phone, like texting, means your eyes are off the road, you are distracted, you are not making eye contact with the drivers, and that's when you're subject to being cited,' Shyer said about enforcing the new law.”

More at Buzzfeed.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

I had something wonderful for this Halloween weekend, but it's stuck inside the broken computer and I don't know where to find it online again, so this instead: I first published it in about 2007, maybe even earlier. I still think it's funny.

Interesting Stuff is a weekly listing of short takes and links to web items that have caught my attention; some related to aging and some not, some useful and others just for fun.

You are all encouraged to submit items for inclusion. Just click “Contact” at the top of any Time Goes By page to send them. I'm sorry that I won't have time to acknowledge receipt and there is no guarantee of publication. But when I do include them, you will be credited and I will link to your blog IF you include the name of the blog and its URL.