Happy 2013--1 Jan

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 01/ Day: 01   

Today: H   27°…L 14° Averages: H  42° L 17° Records: H   62°(1945)…L -16°(1911)

Wind: ave:   7mph; Gusts:  18mph  ave. humidity:  80%

Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical Highlights:

International Peace Year begins: 1986

International Year of Elderly: 1999

International Year of Family: 1994

International Youth Year begins: 1986

International Year of Tolerance: 1995

Year of the Reader begins: 1988

Year of the Young Reader begins: 1989

Julian calendar takes effect for the first time: 45BC

World Communications Year begins 1985 

Origin of Christian Era: 1

1st day of the Gregorian calendar in Holland & Flanders: 1583

Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of 25 March: 1600

1st newspaper to microfilm its current issues, NY Herald Tribune: 1936

1st Rose Bowl game (Pasadena, California) (U of Mich-49, Sanford-0): 1902

1st Sugar Bowl & 1st Orange Bowl: 1935

1st time, ball signifying new year dropped at Times Square: 1908

1st Tournament of Roses (Pasadena California) : 1886

Rose Bowl played in NC due to Japanese threat-Oregon 20, Duke 16: 1942

Prophet Muhammad sets out toward Mecca with the army that captures it bloodlessly: 630

United States Navy SEALs established: 1962

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

How many can you identify?…answers in Today’s Birthdays

 Returns tomorrow

Free Rambling Thoughts:   

A busy day…doing laundry, cleaning up, and right in the middle of that, some TC friends stopped by. Good visit. Other stuff can just wait till the New Year.  

So, our kindergarten congress let us go over the fiscal cliff. Now they are calling this ‘the first round’…really?!?…The new story now is that the tax cuts will die, then the Republicans will agree to them and try to get points for lowering taxes…really?!?. I guess we will all suck it up and deal with it, for no apparent reason. These are the guys who made the mess, and sadly, they don’t want to fix it..and they took the evening off. When I was growing up, there were filibusters where many stayed up all night to get a bill passed. It was messy for sure, but made us a better country. Now they don’t work as many days, seldom stay after hours, and still get very little done. I’m just bored with the whole thing.

I am ready for 2013…hoping for stability in our country, stability in other countries, and a whole lot less killing everywhere. I’m not going to the local Pine Cone drop in downtown. I’ve been there for several years and some years have frozen my various body parts off. It is supposed to be around 8° tonight, and I’m just not ready for that…especially when the wind chill drops that by about 10°. I did call the appropriate people to let them know to go ahead without me. They were upset, but said that if that’s what I wanted, that is what they would do.

Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)

Hidden Countries

Find two countries in the sentence

Extra tuition will help an amateur to improve his painting. 

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today:

• Del Reeves-Girl on the billboard

• Bronco Layne - A Short Video Tribute

Ok, then?

Read This Carefully!!

Airline ticket office, Copenhagen:

WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS.

Picture of the Day:

Bet You Didn’t Know…from History Channel

In 1901, New York became the first state to require automobiles to have license plates, which were handmade by owners. Two years later, Massachusetts released the first state-issued plates.

Harper’s Index:         

• Portion of Russians who believe that ‘most people can succeed if they are willing to work hard’: 1/3

• Of Americans who do: 3/4  

Unusual Fact of the Day:

Though it's rarely used, the word used to reference half a computer byte is a "nibble."

Joke-of-the-day:

A women’s lib speaker was addressing a large group and said, “Where would man be today if it were not for woman?”

She paused a moment and looked around the room. “I repeat, where would man be today if it were not for woman?”

From the back of the room came a voice, “He’d be in the Garden of Eden eating strawberries.”

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

TIMING YOUR GARAGE SALE

Hold a garage sale the first weekend of the month because people who get paid monthly have more money to spend then.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

GAINSVILLE, Fla. - Score one for man's best friend: Barking dogs chased a would-be robber targeting Christmas gifts out of a Florida home, police said. Timothy Devon Lawrence, 36, of Gainsville, Fla., broke into a home around 3 a.m. as the homeowners were asleep upstairs and was allegedly ready to boost some 18 packages, police said. That's when the victim's alert pooches awoke and began barking, the Gainsville (Fla.) Sun said Wednesday. When the victim opened her bedroom door, the dogs raced downstairs and chased Lawrence out of the house. The woman called police who used canines of their own to track the suspect to a nearby residence where Lawrence had also tried to break in, officers said. He allegedly was found hiding in nearby bushes and charged with burglary, grand theft and possession of a concealed firearm, police said.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Many European countries believed that spirits, both good and evil, were active during the Twelve Days of Christmas. These spirits eventually evolved into Santa's elves, especially under the influence of Clement C. Moore's The Night Before Christmas (1779-1863) illustrated by Thomas Nast (1840-1902).

• Each year there are approximately 20,000 "rent-a-Santas" across the United States. "Rent-a-Santas" usually undergo seasonal training on how to maintain a jolly attitude under pressure from the public. They also receive practical advice, such as not accepting money from parents while children are looking and avoiding garlic, onions, or beans for lunch.

• Evergreens (from the Old English word aefie meaning "always" and gowan meaning "to grow") have been symbols of eternal life and rebirth since ancient times. The pagan use and worship of evergreen boughs and trees has evolved into the Christianized Christmas tree.

• Christmas stockings allegedly evolved from three sisters who were too poor to afford a marriage dowry and were, therefore, doomed to a life of prostitution. They were saved, however, when the wealthy Bishop Saint Nicholas of Smyrna (the precursor to Santa Claus) crept down their chimney and generously filled their stockings with gold coins.

• The earliest known Christmas tree decorations were apples. At Christmastime, medieval actors would use apples to decorate paradise trees (usually fir trees) during "Paradise Plays," which were plays depicting Adam and Eve's creation and fall.

• The poinsettia is native to Mexico and was cultivated by the Aztecs, who called the plant Cuetlaxochitl ("flower which wilts"). For the Aztecs, the plant's brilliant red color symbolized purity, and they often used it medicinally to reduce fever. Contrary to popular belief, the poinsettia is not poisonous, but holly berries are.

Calendar Information        

This Month’s Observances:

Happening This Week:

1-7

New Year's Resolutions Week

Celebration of Life Week

Diet Resolution Week

Silent Record Week

Today Is                                                                      

First Foot Day—

In Scottish and Northern English folklore, the first-foot, also known in Manx Gaelic as quaaltagh or qualtagh, is the first person to cross the threshold of a home on New Year's Day and a bringer of good fortune for the coming year

Ellis Island Day—

First Ellis Island Immigration Station was officially opened

Euro Day—

2002 with beginning of current EU

Global Family Day

Mummer's Parade—

oldest folk festival in the US

New Years Day

New Year's Dishonor List Day—

The Unicorn Hunters is a group of people that decide which words and phrases are dishonorable to the English language, and every year on New Year's Dishonor List Day, they release a list of words/phrases that they've decided should be deleted from the English language

Polar Bear Plunge or Swim Day

Saint Basil's Day—Greece—

supported the Nicene Creed  

Z Day—

Mankind fighting Zombies

Today’s Events through History  

"Daily Universal Register" (Times of London) publishes 1st issue: 1785

12 member European Economic Community set up vast free trade zone: 1993

1st color newsreel filmed (Pasadena, California) : 1948

1st homestead under the Homestead Act claimed, near Beatrice, Nebr: 1863

1st US public bath opens, in NYC: 1852

1st woman formally ordained an Episcopal priest:1977 

Albany replaces NYC as capital of NY: 1797

Alcatraz officially becomes a federal prison: 1934

All US cigarette packs have to carry "Caution Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health": 1966

Canada begins using decimal currency system: 1858

Cigarette advertisements banned on TV: 1971

Compulsory education in Netherlands goes into effect: 1900

Dwarf planet Ceres is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi: 1801

Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government: 1890

First traveler's cheques go on sale in London, can be used in 90 European cities: 1772

Gen George Washington hoists Continental Union Flag: 1776

Ho Chi Minh begins offensive against French troops in Indo China: 1950

Irish Parliament votes to join the Kingdom of Great Britain, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: 1801

Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit attacks Brookeborough RUC barracks in one of the most famous incidents of the IRA's Operation Harvest: 1957

Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar: 1893

Johnny Cash plays 1st of many free concerts behind bars: 1960

Last gladiator competition in Rome: 404

Lewis & Clark attend a party with the local Indians: 1805

Official reopening of the White House: 1818

Papal Chancery adopts Jan 1 as beginning of the year (was Mar 25) : 1622

Portuguese navigators discover Rio de Janeiro: 1502

Pres Ford signs 1st major revision of copyright law since 1909: 1978

Pres Theodore Roosevelt shakes a record 8,513 hands in 1 day: 1907

President Lincoln declares slavery in Confederate states unlawful: 1861

Protestant Western Europe (except England) begin using Gregorian calendar: 1700

Quakers in Pennsylvania emancipate their slaves: 1788

Regular mail delivery begins between NY & Boston: 1673

Russia begins using the Anno Domini era and no longer uses the Anno Mundi "in the year of the world" era of the Byzantine Empire:  1700

Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence" reaches #1: 1966

Suicide car bomb detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100: 2010

Tokelau (Union) Islands declared part of New Zealand: 1949

Venezuela nationalizes oil fields: 1976

Wovoka has a ghost dance vision: 1889

Yucatan declares independence from Mexico: 1846

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 80’s

Ty Hardin, NYC, actor (Riptide, Bronco) is 83

In their 70’s

Country Joe McDonald, California, rock guitarist/vocalist (& the Fish) is 71

Remembered for being born today

Dana Andrews, Collins Miss, actor (Battle of the Bulge, Laura) (1909-1992)

Rocky Graziano [Thomas Rocco Barbella ], Middleweight champ and entertainer (1919-1990)

J Edgar Hoover, first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1895-1972)

Lorenzo de 'Medici (The Magnificent), Florentine statesman (1449-1492)

Paul Revere, silversmith/US patriot (British are coming) (1735-1818)

Betsy Ross [Elizabeth Griscom], seamstress widely credited with the first American flag 

(1752-1836)

J[erome] D[avid] Salinger, NYC, novelist (Catcher in the Rye) (1919-2010)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Victor Buono, actor (Mr Schubert-Man from Atlantis)— heart attack—1982—at 43

Jacques Cartier, French explorer (Canada)— typhus—1557—at 65

Del Reeves, American country singer— emphysema—2007—at 74

Answer: Hidden Countries

 Extra tuition will help an amateur to improve his painting. 

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.

All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

§    And That Is All for Now  §

Dec 31 New Year's Eve

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 52/ Day: 366   

Today: H   30°…L 10° Averages: H  42° L 17° Records: H   62°(1917)…L -16°(1911)

Wind: ave:   4mph; Gusts:  25mph  ave. humidity:  62%

Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical Highlights:

1st Huguenots depart France to Cape of Good Hope: 1687
1st New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square, then known as      Longacre Square: 19041st time a ball drops at Times Square to signal new year: 1907
22,990 mm [901.5”] of rain falls in Cherrapunji Assam, India world record: 1861
60 U boats sunk this month (330,000 ton) :1942Bank of North America, 1st US bank opens: 1781
Cartoonist Bill Watterson ends his "Calvin & Hobbes" comic strip :1995
Charles Darrow patents Monopoly :1935
CNN Headline News debuts: 1981
Cornerstone laid for Honolulu's Iolani Palace (only royal palace in US) : 1879
Jockeys W Shoemaker & Joe Culmone set record of 388 wins in a year: 1950
Willie Shoemaker shatters record, riding 485 winners in a year: 1953
Window tax is imposed in England, many shopkeepers brick up windows      to avoid the tax: 1695

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

How many can you identify?…answers in Today’s Birthdays

 Returns in the new year

Free Rambling Thoughts:   

Well, it’s that last day of 2012. Looking forward to 2013. Personally, it was a good year all around but I certainly feel for the poor, the sick, and the hungry. Here’s some stuff others remember of 2012:Top Googled stories of 2012

1. Hurricane Sandy2. Kate Middleton pictures released3. Olympics 20124. SOPA debate5. Costa Concordia crash6. Presidential Debate7. Stratosphere jump8. Penn State scandal9. Trayvon Martin shooting10. Pussy Riot

Yahoo year in review

#1 Election 2012#2 Whitney Houston#3 Hurricane Sandy#4 Gas prices#5 Trayvon Martin case#6 Colorado shooting#7 Jerry Sandusky trial#8 Joran van der Sloot#9 Connecticut school shootings#10 Miami cannibal attack

It was a good day for the Broncos as they heard to the playoffs…not a good day for the Cards as they head for the showers. Snow is just starting to fall on our little mountain town.

Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)

Hidden Countries

Find two countries in the sentence

 The children put on galoshes to go out in the rain. 

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today:

• Floyd Cramer - Last Date

• Ricky Nelson - Travelin' Man 1961

• Henri Matisse

Ok, then?

Read This Carefully!!

Advertisement for donkey rides, Thailand:

WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?

Picture of the Day:

Bet You Didn’t Know…from History Channel

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who built India's Taj Mahal as a memorial for his favorite wife, intended to build his own grand mausoleum next to the Taj, but he was overthrown and imprisoned by one of his sons before construction began.

Harper’s Index:         

• Date on which Grum , a Russian spambot, was taken offline: 7-18-2012

• Percentage of the world’s spam for which Grum was responsible at its peak: 17

Unusual Fact of the Day:

If your morning commute to work is 20 minutes or less, it's below the national average. New Yorkers have some of the longest commutes, averaging 40 minutes.

Joke-of-the-day:

One reason the Military Services have trouble operating jointly is that they don't speak the same language. For example, if you told Navy personnel to "secure a building," they would turn off the lights and lock the doors. The Army would occupy the building so no one could enter. Marines would assault the building, capture it, and defend it with suppressive fire and close combat. The Air Force, on the other hand, would take out a three-year lease with an option to buy.

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

SIMULATION COMPLEXITY

If your simulation has N parameters it needs to produce at least N+1 nontrivial    

Yeah, It Really Happened

MOSCOW - A Russian woman told police two other women robbed her by using hypnotism to trick her into handing over $40,000. The Moscow woman told police the thieves approached her after she withdrew the money from her bank account and hypnotized her to convince her to hand over the cash to break a spell placed on her husband and son, RIA Novosti reported Friday. Police said the thieves could face a possible 10 years in jail if they are caught and convicted.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Frank Sinatra always carried a roll of dimes.

• On December 16, 1811, an earthquake caused parts of the Mississippi to appear to flow backwards. 

• The body creates and kills 17 million red blood cells per second.

• The eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano in November 2004 blasted gas emissions so high that airlines were forced to divert their flights.

• The tin can was invented by Peter Durand in 1810. The modern can opener was not invented until 1856. Before the can opener, people used a chisel and hammer to open cans.

• Cows are one of the main contributors to global warming. In the United States, cattle release some 5.5 million metric tons of methane annually.  

Calendar Information        

Happening Next Week:

1-7

New Year's Resolutions Week

Celebration of Life Week

Diet Resolution Week

Silent Record Week

Today Is                                                                       

Leap Second Time Adjustment Day
Make Up Your Mind Day
New Years Eve
No Interruptions Day
Universal Hour of Peace Day
World Peace Meditation Day

Today’s Events through History  

100,000 Jews expelled from Sicily: 1492
1st performance of Beach Boys: 1961
25 U boats sunk this month (81,000 ton) : 1939
37 U boats sunk this month (213,000 ton) :1940Alabama becomes 1st state to license dental surgeons: 1841
BBC begins using Big Ben chime ID :1923Bonnie Prince Charlies army meets with de Esk: 1745
Congress authorizes Eisenhower dollar coin :1970General Motors Corporation becomes the first U.S. Corp to make over      $1 billion USD in a year: 1955
Import of African slaves banned by all of the Northern states:1783
Indian and British forces, under General Phineas, will attack Buffalo,      New York today. They will burn the small village to the ground. Settlers      will return soon, and rebuild: 1813
James I of Aragon the Conqueror enters Medina Mayurqa (now known as      Palma, Spain) thus consummating the Christian conquest of the island      of Majorca: 1229
Marie Curie receives her 2nd Nobel Prize: 1911
Official opening of Taipei 101, the current tallest skyscraper in the world,      standing at a height of 509 meters (1,670 feet) :2004President Lincoln signs act admitting West Virginia to the Union: 1862
Ratification of UN Charter completed :1945Sci-Fi Channel on cable TV begins transmitting :1990Ted Bundy escapes from jail in Colorado: 1977
USSR, last day of existence: 1991

Today’s Birthdays                                                            

In their 70’s

Anthony Hopkins, actor (Elephant Man, QB VII, Magic, Bounty) is 75

Andy Summers, Blackpool England, rock guitarist (Police-Roxanne) is 70

In their 60’s

Ben Kingsley [Krishna Pandit Bhanj], actor (Gandhi, Betrayal, Maurice) is 69

Tim Matheson, actor (Animal House, Fletch, Up the Creek) is 65

In their 50’s

Val Kilmer, actor (Top Secret, Top Gun, Willow) is 53

Bebe Neuwirth, actress (Lilith-Cheers, Damn Yankees) is 54

Remembered for being born today

Rex Allen, American actor, singer, and songwriter (1920-1999)

Elizabeth Arden, Canadian Cosmetic businesswoman (1878-1966)

Pat Brady, Toledo Ohio, actor (Roy Rodgers Show) (1914- alcoholism-1972)

Jacques Cartier, French explorer (1491-1557)

John Denver, NM, singer (Rocky Mt High, thank God he's a country boy) (1943-exp. Plane crash-1997)

Odetta, [Holmes], Birmingham Ala, folk singer (Sanctuary) (1930- heart disease-2008)

Henri Matisse, French impressionist painter (Odalisque), (1869-1954)

Donna Summer, singer (Love to Love You Baby, On the Radio), (1948-lung cancer from 9/11-2012)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

1985 - Rick Nelson, singer/actor (Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet)at 45

1997 - Floyd Cramer, pianist (Nashville Sound): cancer: 1997: at 64

2000 - José Greco, Italian-born American flamenco dancer and choreographer: 2000: at 82

Answer: Hidden Countries

 The children put on galoshes to go out in the rain. 

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.

All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

§    And That Is All for Now  §