Good morning, Whitewater.
A bit of snow overnight, and just a dusting ahead, with a high of twenty-six: that’s our Sunday weather in town. Sunrise is 7:15 AM and sunset is 4:59 PM, for 9h 43m 59s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 32% of its visible disk illuminated.
The FW poll for Friday asked if a man, who torn down house his over a supposedly bad foundation house without telling his wife was a thoughtful spouse or a soon-to-be ex-spouse. Responses to FW polls often fall heavily one way, but even so, this was one of the most lopsided responses ever, with 94.59% of respondents saying that James Rhein was a soon-to-be ex-spouse.
Embedded below is a video where Rhein talks to a local NBC New York reporter about destroying the house. His answers to the reporter’s questions are flippant; I’ll leave it to readers to decide whether he’s mentally ill or merely malicious.
On this day in 1905, an excavation superintendent finds the world’s largest diamond:
Photo of the Cullinan diamond the largest gem quality diamond ever found, in its rough form. It is 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g, 1.37 lb), about 10 cm (3.9 inches) tall in its longest dimension. It was found January 26, 1905 in the Premier mine, near Pretoria, South Africa. Via Wikipedia.
The Cullinan diamond was the largest non carbonado and largest gem-quality diamond ever found, at 3106.75 carat (621.35 g, 1.37 lb) rough weight.[1] About 10.5 cm (4.1 inches) long in its largest dimension, it was found on 26 January 1905, in the Premier No. 2 mine, near Pretoria, South Africa.
The largest polished gem from the stone is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, and at 530.4 carats (106.08 g)[2] is the largest polished white diamond in the world. It was the largest polished diamond of any colour until the 1985 discovery of the Golden Jubilee Diamond, 545.67 carats (109.134 g), also from the Premier Mine.
Cullinan I is now mounted in the head of the Sceptre with the Cross. The second largest gem from the Cullinan stone, Cullinan II or the Second Star of Africa, at 317.4 carats (63.48 g), is the fourth largest polished diamond in the world. Both gems are in the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
That man thinks he’s clever and funny. He’s a putz. He endangered his neighbors by knocking down that house with without permits for digging: electrical, gas, phone lines, etc. A complete and total idiot. Throw the book at him.
I completely agree – listening to his explanation is infuriating. It’s much worse, no doubt, to be in that neighborhood and have had this risk and its aftermath. He’s entirely unsympathetic.