29 October 26

Wearing my cats tie for National Cat Day! None of our three cats was interested in being photographed for this occasion. I am sending Happy Birthday greetings to my EKU faculty friend Jennifer Fairchild. In technology history, today marks the 57th anniversary of the first computer-to-computer electronic message (1969, UCLA). "The message text was the word login; on an earlier attempt the l and the o letters were transmitted, but the system then crashed. Hence, the literal first message over the ARPANET was lo. About an hour later, after the programmers repaired the code that caused the crash, the SDS Sigma 7 computer effected a full login.”

28 October 26

President Grover Cleveland presided over the dedication of the Statue of Liberty on 28 October 1886, 140 years ago today. This event is celebrated today on the Bracket City online game! My tie shows a map of New York City with images of the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty.

The tablet in her hand is inscribed with the date July IV MDCCLXXVI. Inside the statue, near the base, is a bronze plaque (installed in 1903) displaying the poem "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus. The most famous lines are these:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

27 October 26

My zigzag tie was knitted by Beth and is most often associated with Christmas. Today its green, white and red are for the flag of Mexico, because I'm enjoying lunch at our local-est Mexican restaurant, Doña Maria's Tamales. I learned that October 27 is celebrated in Mexico and elsewhere as Day of the Dead for Pets (Día de las Mascotas y los Animales Difuntos), serving as the opening day of the wider Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) season before human spirits are honored on November 1 and 2.

26 October 26

Today's piano keyboard tie was last worn 25-30 years ago by either Jonathan or Ben for a piano recital. I found it in their rooms last week and will keep it in my collection! I'm wearing it today to help celebrate the birthday of more than a score (haha) of musicians: Hans Buchner (1483), Domenico Scarlatti (1685), Johan Helmich Roman (1694), Joaquin de Oxinaga (1719), Ernest Louis Muller (1740), Louis Charles-Joseph Rey (1758), Joseph Mayseder (1789), Nicolaos Mantzaros (1795), Henry Thomas Smart (1813), Stefano Golinelli (1818), Polibo Fumagalli (1830), Hendrick Waelput (1845), Arthur Friedheim (1859), Joseph Moorat (1864), Hermann Lohr (1871), Gustav Hermann Unger (1886), Beryl Rubinstein (1898), Giovanni Salviucci (1907), Mahalia Jackson (1911), Hans Peter Haller (1929), Hans-Joachim Rödelius (1934), Dietmar Polaczek (1942), Keith Hopwood (1946), Bootsy Collins (1951) and Keith Urban (1967). Three other celebrities not known for music are Felix the Cat (1917), Pat Sajak (1946) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (1947).

25 October 26

Yesterday's tie was GREEN because that was grandson B's favorite color -- until a month ago when he switched to RED! Today we're having a family party for him, so he asked me to wear this solid red tie. I've accessorized it with my thermometer tie clip, which has RED liquid to measure the temperature!

24 October 26

Today is grandson B's birthday! It's a strange Saturday when I wear a tie, but this one is special: his favorite color has been GREEN and he gave me this green tie a few years ago. So I'm wearing it to honor him! His party is at a local pumpkin patch where there are many activities for kids, and we will all have a good time.

23 October 26

Happy Mole Day! Chemists around the world celebrate Mole Day on October 23 (10-23) because those digits match the exponential part of Avogadro's Number, 6.02 X 10²³. A's Number is very special because it helps compare the amounts of substances that react. It's a much more meaningful measurement than weight or volume. My tie shows elements on the Periodic Table, where the atomic weights show how many grams of each element contain one mole of those atoms. The mole unit is fundamental in chemistry because it counts the number of items (atoms, ions or molecules) in one reacting unit of that substance. In the extra photo I am holding 58 grams (roughly 2 ounces) of table salt, which contains one mole of sodium atoms (23 grams) and one mole of chlorine atoms (35 grams). Another example is water, where 18 grams of H₂O (a little more than one tablespoon) contains one mole of water molecules.

21 October 26

When I asked my friend Lisa Middleton which tie I should wear for her mid-century birthday (which was yesterday), she requested lighthouses! Lisa teaches in the biology department at Eastern Kentucky University and regularly joins our Friday morning doughnuts group when her class schedule permits!

20 October 26

This evening I hope to meet Zach Dembo in person! He's a candidate for Kentucky's Sixth District in the House of Representatives. Since the House and Senate meet in the U. S. Capitol, I think my tie is appropriate! Last night we watched a debate between the Senate candidates Andy Barr and Charles Booker; they both lived up to expectations and exchanged some lively give-and-take. It's definitely campaign season for Election Day 2026.

18 October 26

October 20 is World/International Sloth Day. I'm celebrating a few days early because I have several other things coming up on Tuesday! My cute sloth is accompanied by the words "don't hurry . . . be happy." Ben and Amanda gave me this tie five years ago. I've worn it for World Sloth Day each year since then!

16 October 26

Friday's tie, covered with nutritious foods, celebrates World Food Day (every 16 October). I enjoy most of the foods pictured here except rabbit. But in the spirit of world food I'll recognize that it's common in Chinese culture (62% of the world's consumption).

13 October 26

Happy Birthday to my nibling Matt Lang! He often asks me to wear a tie related to trains, but this time he chose one featuring shades of his favorite color, teal. I framed the photo to include some robin's eggs. Matt and Carter live in Asheville, NC.

10-11 October 26

National Chess Day is celebrated on the second Saturday in October every year. "President Ford declared National Chess Day on October 9th, 1976 as part of the nation's bicentennial celebration." I'm wearing my chess board tie (and "kingly" tie bar) on Sunday to recall my own history with chess: my father and brother taught me the rules when I was very young! I was briefly involved with a chess club in high school. I haven't played a full game in years -- I've tried some online versions but they are missing the visual geometry and tactile "presence" of the board game.

9 October 26

"Every year on October 9th, we celebrate National Curious Events Day. This odd day is dedicated to the strange, the unexplained, and the wonderfully weird occurrences that defy easy explanation. It’s a time to embrace our inner detective, question the world around us, and dive headfirst into the mysteries that have puzzled humanity for ages." I think wearing my "cac-tie" is a very curious event, so it suits this day nicely. (The tie originally belonged to Allan Stephens (1940-2010), and was given to me unexpectedly by his wife Mary Lou. He was a fan of the Western musical comedy team "Riders in the Sky," whose bass player wears a cactus tie.)

4 October 26

The fourth of October is the Feast of St. Francis, and it is also celebrated as World Animal Day, in honor of St. Francis' love for animals. I chose my "bears" tie for this occasion, because bears certainly represent animals (although St. Francis is traditionally associated with birds, rabbits, fish and wolves, not bears), because we have a new "house bear" named Opal (discovered while cleaning out Wilma Wollenweber's car), and because I haven't worn this tie since 2023!

The extra image is from a Web site offering a plush "St. Francis of Assisi Bear."