This is Week 46 of 2010►Day 320 with 45 days left.
Flagstaff Weather: H—52°; L—29°; RH—40%; —clear sky and wind— 8 mph
QUOTE FOR THE DAY—Abraham Lincoln
He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help.
FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
TSA and security scans are staying in the news. A guy in Ohio refused the full body scan and also the pat down. There is video of him being escorted out of the security area. Now he has to pay a fine as there is also a policy that if someone leaves the security area without clearance, they may be fined. The grassroots group is starting to take hold. I also heard today that there have been no studies by the FDA or any government agency on the possible long term effects of the x-rays being sent through all our bodies. Time will tell how long we will be standing in security lines at Christmas.
Flag School District is in the national spotlight, the state spotlight, and the local spotlight. The district is sending letters to parents who have children who are outside the ‘normal’ range of mass body index. It seems they have been gathering such information for several years. Now they are sending letters to parents with the raw data for their child along with how to enroll in programs to have the child back in the normal range. The letter will also go to parents who have a child that is under the normal range. It will be interesting to hear what happens when the letters actually go out. Right now, the state and local news stations are interviewing parents, administrators, and citizens in our mountain town. The people I have seen interviewed have two characteristics in common, first, none were either overweight or underweight and so far they have only interviewed women. It is easy for parents to say it’s a good idea now, but I wonder how they will feel if they receive a letter. Certainly there are many factors that lead to body mass concerns. One of the factors is a sedentary v active lifestyle. The district has cut its PE programs, after school programs—including intramural sports, and even recess. I remember a couple of teachers who used ‘recess’ as discipline technique and as an administrator, it was a constant battle with a few. In every school I worked I pushed to have non-competitive physical activity for all children and PE classes for every grade. Both of these were not as easy as one might think. Administrators were concerned about liability issues, teachers felt that they could drop recess if the kids had PE. Again time will tell exactly how parents will react to the letters.
Ah, the State of AZ now allows for medical marijuana by prescription. The AZ Health Dept came out today saying not to get too excited for a while. They say they won’t be able to have a secure system in place until late summer or later. They also said that the current budget does not give them the resources they need to put a secure system in place, so their answer will be to cut other health programs. Of course, they were silent before the vote. Of course, they didn’t plan ahead with how they would handle this new law. Typical short sightedness. There is no word from them on the patients who are suffering.
Finally, our mountain forest town has another big issue to deal with. Beginning in December our state will allow the legal sale of sparklers and other non-exploding fireworks. Our governor signed the bill last summer, at the height of the forest fire season. Our neighbor, Prescott, just passed an ordinance that the legal fireworks can be sold in the city, but can’t be used on any land inside the city. It looks like Flagstaff will be doing a similar ordinance. Hopefully the Forest Service will figure out a similar ban before we have another big fire. As I was growing up we always did fireworks in our back yard or a friend’s back yard. It was a lot of fun. The fireworks were way too dangerous, and at about 12 years old, we still had our cookout, then we loaded up in several cars and headed to a fireworks display. These were also very cool. There were bands, the Shriners on horses, the Shriners with their fez’s and ground and aerial fireworks to patriotic music. So much safer and still a lot of fun. The desert communities in AZ have had city wide displays since I got here 40 years ago. The towns located in the middle of the forest have tried and succeed in wet years. That was not enough for our lawmakers or our governor. Hopefully, this stupid law will not burn down any of our many forests.
HOLY MACKEREL: 1958»Six inches of snow fell on Tucson, Arizona
JEOPARDY PUZZLE—(Final Jeopardy Answers) from 1984
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY Automaker that introduced the alternator, power steering & electric ignition
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY Country that manufactures the most cars per year (1984)
GOVERNMENT Decade the last amendment to the Constitution was ratified in
THE CALENDAR The only day of the week named for a Roman god
EUROPE The Soviet army was welcome in this capital in May of '45 but unwelcome in August '68
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—
»The oldest reference that can be found regarding a fruitcake dates back to Roman times, during the first century A.D. The recipe included pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and raisins mixed into a barley mash. During the Middle Ages, recipes appear with honey, spices and preserved fruits.
»It wasn't until the 1400s, when dried fruits from the Mediterranean first arrived in the British Isles, that the Brits began their love affair with fruitcake.
»One custom in Europe involved a ceremonial type of fruitcake baked at the end of the nut harvest, then saved and eaten the next year to celebrate the beginning of the next nut harvest.
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM
Bay Area, CA - The pilgrims may not have been into nude girls dancing around a pole, but that doesn't mean nude girls dancing around a pole can't be into the pilgrims. San Francisco's Market Street Cinema gets into the Thanksgiving spirit every year by encouraging men to do more than just stare at nude women.
The adult theater is once again pushing its holiday turkey promotion, where patrons who bring in a turkey for charity will receive free admission to the theater.
The promotion, which runs through Nov. 24, has gone up on the marquee with colorful plays on words. And as far as we can tell, you're still responsible for the dollar bills.
A LITTLE LAUGH
At the supermarket, I noticed a woman with four boys and a baby. Her patience was wearing thin as the boys called out,
"Mommy! Mommy!" while she tried to shop.
Finally, she blurted out, "I don't want to hear the word mommy for at least ten minutes!"
The boys fell silent for a few seconds. Then one tugged on his mother's dress and said softly, "Excuse me, miss."
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
GREY MATTER PICTURE
This is a close up of what object?
SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION
¤ Weekly Observances ¤
14-20: American Education Week, Geography Awareness Week, National Hunger & Homeless Awareness Week, National Global Entrepreneurship Week
19-25:National Farm-City Week
21-28: National Bible Week, National Family Week, National Game & Puzzle Week, National Teens Don't Text and Drive Week, Better Conversation Week, Church/State Separation Week
¤ Today’s Observances ¤
Button Day
International Day for Tolerance
US: Oklahoma : Admission Day (1907) 46th state
Estonia: Day of Declaration of Sovereignty
Day of Repentance and Prayer or Buß- und Bettag (the Protestant church bodies of Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist)and United. A school holiday in Saxony and Bavaria)
Iceland: Icelandic Language Day or Dagur íslenskrar tungu
¤ Top 10 songs of 1957 ¤
Click on Song Title to see and hear the original
¤ Today’s Births ¤
╬ THE ARTS
Michael Arlen, English writer (An American Verdict)—in 1895
Daws Butler, cartoon voice (Elroy Jetson)—in 1916
W.C. (William Christopher) Handy, composer: ‘Father of the Blues’: St. Louis Blues—in 1873
George S. (Simon) Kaufman, playwright: The Cocoanuts, A Night at the Opera, [w/Moss Hart]: The Man Who Came to Dinner, You Can’t Take It with You—in 1889
♦♦Actors♦♦
Lisa Bonet, 43, actress (“The Cosby Show,” “A Different World,” Angel Heart)
Clu Gulager, 82, actor (Virginian, Survivors, Tall Man)
Marg Helgenberger, 52, actress (“CSI,” “China Beach”)
David Leisure, 60, actor (Joe Isuzu, Airplane, Charley-Empty Nest)
Burgess Meredith, actor (Mr Novak, Penguin-Batman, Rocky)—in 1908
Guy Stockwell, actor (Chris-Adventures in Paradise)—in 1933
╬ ATHLETICS
Oksana Baiul, 33, Olympic gold medal figure skater, born in Dniepropetrovsk, Ukraine
Dwight Eugene ‘Doc’ Gooden, 46, baseball (Mets, Indians, Yankees, Astros, Devil Rays)
Harvey Martin, football: Dallas Cowboys DE: Super Bowls X, XII, XIII; in 1950
Amare Stoudemire, 28, basketball (Suns, Knicks)
╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
Elizabeth Drew, 75, journalist
Clinton Golden, founder (United Steelworkers of America)—in 1888
╬ POLITICS
Ann Dore McLaughlin, 69, US Secretary of Labor 1987-1989
╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION
Gene Amdahl, 88, American computer scientist—mainframe computer
Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, Iraqi-born Lebanese Shiite Muslim cleric and Hezbollah mentor—in 1935
¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤
Clark Gable, actor, heart attack @ 59 in 1960
Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House for 17 years, @ 79 in 1961
Louis Riel, French rebel who fought against Canada, executed @ 41 in 1885
¤ Today’s Events ¤
╬ THE ARTS
1864»To celebrate General Sherman’s march to the sea, Henry Clay wrote the song, Marching Through Georgia.
1908»Conductor Arturo Toscanini made his debut in the United States
1932»The Palace Theatre in New York City closed its doors to vaudeville
╬ ATHLETICS
1955»1st speed-boat to exceed 200 mph (322 kph) (D.M. Campbell)
1975»Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears rushed for 105 yards in a game against the San Francisco 49ers. It was Payton’s first game of 100 plus yards.
╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1973»President Nixon authorizes construction of the Alaskan pipeline
1986» Gerber Products announced intentions to produce baby food in plastic jars, instead of glass -- a first for the industry.
╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1532»Pizarro seizes Incan emperor Atahualpa after victory at Cajamarca
1811»According to some sources, Tecumseh predicts a "light across the sky" tonight. It is supposed to have appeared, as predicted.
╬ POLITICS (US)
1676»1st colonial prison organized, Nantucket, Massachusetts
1798»Kentucky becomes 1st state to nullify an act of Congress
1864»Union Gen William T Sherman begins march to the sea during Civil War
1914»Federal Reserve System formally opens
1933»Roosevelt establishes diplomatic relations with USSR
╬ POLITICS (International)
1894»6,000 Armenians massacred by Turks in Kurdistan
╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION
1925»American Association for the Advancement of Atheism formed in NY
1875»Dr. William G. Arlington Bonwill of Philadelphia, PA was issued a patent for his dental mallet used to impact gold into cavities.
GREY MATTER ANSWERS
↔ JEOPARDY
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY Automaker that introduced the alternator, power steering & electric ignition
What is Chrysler?
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY Country that manufactures the most cars per year (1984)
What is Japan?
GOVERNMENT Decade the last amendment to the Constitution was ratified in
What are the 1970’s? (26th allowing 18 year olds to vote—1971
(or the 27th, passed in the 1990’s that set change in Congressional salaries to take place with the next Congress--in 1992)
THE CALENDAR The only day of the week named for a Roman god
What is Saturday?
EUROPE The Soviet army was welcome in this capital in May of '45 but unwelcome in August '68
What is Prague, Czech.
↔ PICTURE
California roll sushi
◄.► ◄.► ◄.►◄.►
