►Provocative Quote
"The best prophet of the future is the past."
~Lord George Gordon Byron
►Free Ramblings
What a great day here in Flagstaff. We made it to 54° according to the weather service, but I only showed 49° on this side of town. Still, a very pleasant day. Since there was basically no breeze, I could spend some time outside, without having to be bundled. It was very nice to be able to enjoy the sunshine, something I have hardly seen since before Christmas. Now it is time to deal with the ice on the sidewalk. I think the warmth is all a trick, since we will be dropping to about 7° tonight. Winter can be so confusing.
►Quotes from Values.com—LIVE LIFE
“One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying.”
~Joan of Arc
►Unusual News
MISSOULA, Mont. - Authorities in Montana said a groom will have to walk down the aisle with a monitoring bracelet due to allegations of misconduct at his bachelor party. Missoula police said Jordan B. Iddings, 24, will have to wear the bracelet as a condition of his release from jail while awaiting trial on charges of assault on a peace officer, a felony, and misdemeanor counts of sexual assault, disorderly conduct and assault. Iddings and five other men participating in his bachelor party were arrested Nov. 19.
Iddings allegedly groped a woman at a bar and punched her in the face when she slapped him. The men moved to another bar, where they were refused service for fighting with bartenders, and police approached them while they were shouting profanities outside of the business, investigators allege. Iddings allegedly head-butted an officer during his arrest. Lance Lovell, Iddings' attorney, said his client has been granted permission to travel to Alaska next month to work on a fishing boat until his April trial. However, he will have to wear the monitoring bracelet at all times during his release and submit to random drug and alcohol tests. Ryan Schnabl, a co-defendant in the case, was barred from contact with Iddings, but was granted permission to attend his wedding, which is scheduled for Saturday.
►Random Fact
A cat’s ability to see well at night is due to its taptum, a membrane that reflects the light from the back of the cat’s eye. It’s also what causes the weird “glowing” effect in the dark.
§ Interesting Statistics
*Note: I realize that statistics can be made to say just about anything. The average human has one breast and one testicle. ~Des McHale; Torture numbers, and they'll confess to anything. ~Gregg Easterbrook; Statistics can be made to prove anything - even the truth. ~Author Unknown
~40% of China’s stimulus spending will go toward infrastructure projects
~12.5% of US stimulus spending will go toward infrastructure projects.
§ January Month Long Observances
Birthstone: Garnet …Flower: Carnation
Book Blitz Month * Bath Safety Month * Birth Defects Month * California Dried Plum Digestive Month * Celebration of Life Month * Cervical Cancer Screening Month * Financial Wellness Month * High Tech Month * International Creativity Month * International Quality of Life Month * International Wayfinding Month * International Wealth Mentality Month * National Be On-Purpose Month * National Bird Feeding Month * National Clean Up Your Computer Month * National Get Organized Month * National Glaucoma Awareness Month * National Hot Tea Month * National Mail Order Gardening Month * National Mentoring Month * National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month * National Poverty in America Awareness Month * National Radon Action Month * National Skating Month * National Soup Month * National Volunteer Blood Donor Month * Oatmeal Month * Rising Star Month * Self-help Group Awareness Month * Senior Women’s Travel Month * Shape Up US Month * Thyroid Awareness Month
§ Observance Weeks in January
Celebration of Life Week: 1-7
Diet Resolution Week: 1-7
National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week: 1-8
Someday We'll Laugh About This Week: 2-9
Home Office Safety and Security Week: 3-9
§ 3 January Observances—US/UN/World
Festival of Sleep Day—to catch up on sleep missed during the holidays
Alaska : Admission Day (1959)
J.R.R. Tolkien Day
National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
§ 3 January Observances—by country
No big observances listed anywhere I could find.
► Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1921…The Studebaker Corporation has decided to no longer manufacture farm wagons. This company had been making these wagons since the year 1852. In 1902, the company had begun producing electric cars and then in 1904 they started producing gas-powered vehicles.
►Who was born on this day?
~ The Arts
Mel (Columcille) Gibson in 1956 -Academy Award-winning director; actor
Victoria Principal in 1950 -actress: Dallas
Stephen Stills in 1945 -singer/songwriter/guitarist
J.R.R. (John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien in 1892 -writer
~Athletics
Darren Daulton in 1962 -catcher (Phillies)
Bobby Hull in 1939 –Canadian hockey player
Eli Manning in 1981 –American football player
~Business, Education, Politics
Cicero in 106 B.C -Roman statesman
Grace Coolidge in 1879 –First Lady of the United States
~Science/Religion
Lucretia Coffin Mott in 1793 -teacher/minister/abolitionist/feminist
►Who Died on this day?
Josiah Wedgwood in 1795 British, ceramic craftsman woodworker @ 64
Jack Ruby in 1967 assassin who killed assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, lung cancer @ 55
Conrad Hilton in 1979 US founder (Hilton Hotels), @ 91
►What happened on this day?
1431…Joan of Arc handed over to the bishop
1521…Martin Luther excommunicated by Roman Catholic Church
1847…California town of Yerba Buena renamed San Francisco
1871…Henry W. Bradley patented oleomargarine
1872…1st patent list issued by US Patent Office
1888…Marvin C. Stone patented the drinking straw
1924…British Egyptologist Howard Carter finds sarcophagus of Tutankhamen
1938…Franklin Delano Roosevelt himself a victim of polio, founds the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which was later renamed the March of Dimes Foundation.
1952…"Dragnet" with Jack Webb premieres on NBC TV
1958…Edmund Hillary reaches South Pole overland
1967…Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys is indicted for draft evasion
1977…Apple Computer incorporated
►Rhyme & Reason Puzzle
Answer the following clue in two rhyming words (e.g. an obese feline is a fat cat) If only one number is given, the answer is a word featuring internal rhyme (e.g. voodoo)
1. bring acclaim, or bring down the house (5,8): 2. Sputnik vs. Apollo? (5,4):
3. constructed a canopy for your boat (5,4):
4. anger on the twelve-person judicial panel (4,4):
5. pessimistic hypothesis (6,6):
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ANSWERS
1. bring acclaim, or bring down the house (5,8): cause applause
2. Sputnik vs. Apollo? (5,4): space race
3. constructed a canopy for your boat (5,4): built tilt
4. anger on the twelve-person judicial panel (4,4): jury fury
5. pessimistic hypothesis (6,6): dreary theory
