Jan 31 2012


FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

Today’s  Historical  Highlights
1627 - Spanish government goes bankrupt
1855 - Western railroads blocked by snow
1871 - Millions of birds fly over western SF, darkens sky
1876 - The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations
1915 - 1st (German) poison gas attack, against Russians
1919 - The Battle of George Square takes place in Glasgow, Scotland
1958 - James van Allen discovers radiation belt
1990 - The first McDonald's in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow, USSR

Happy Birthday To:                      
 
Free Rambling Thoughts   
Got my haircut…feel much better. Then ran some errands. Then did the first payment for Uganda. So excited…it’s not till January…but reservations gotta be made.

A nice cool day to be out and about. Gotta love Flagstaff.

I’m ready for the Republican Primaries to END. I guess it was a long season back in ’08 with both parties trying to get the best candidate…but I’m just not interested.

Some days I post a lot of links, other days, not so many. As a certified visual learner I need to see it.  I am constantly amazed at the things are available on You Tube. I was amazed to find the actual pictures of the Battle of George Square from 1919, the video of Ham---the first US primate in space, and the cute video of JD Salinger's short story. I hope everyone enjoys at least one of them.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)
Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle
Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase in which the first word ends in the letter M and the second word starts with C. For example, given "Lysol or Comet product," the answer would be "bathroom cleaner."
1.     It might wake you up in the morning:
2.     Manhattan or NE food item:
3.     Part of a s’more:
4.     A constant brat:
5.     Below ground shelter during a tornado:
6.     A Hoover product:
7.     PE:
8.     Title for a woman who heads a meeting:
9.     Cocktail made with gin and lemon juice:
10.  What’s seen after a nuclear test:
11.  Spread for a bagle:
12.  Place in the house to keep a mop:
13.  Table salt chemically:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     
AZ Centennial – Feb 14:  Did you know?…
  • At one time camels were used to transport goods across Arizona.

In 1855 Sec. of War Jefferson Davis dispatched Major Henry Wayne to Europe and the Middle East to learn about camels and purchase some for use in Arizona. Major Wayne made the trip and returned home with 33 camels which were used to create the U.S. Army Camel Corps. Actually, the camel idea did work for the Army and, for a few years before the Civil War the Camel Corps did roam the deserts of Arizona as well as the deserts of California, Nevada and Utah. In fact camels proved to be so reliable as beasts of burden in the desert that the Army imported some more and mining companies also acquired some for use in remote desert mines.
However, with the start of the Civil War, the War Department had other needs besides camels and, as troops were pulled from the West to the battle grounds of the East the camels were left behind. Some were sold and used by mining companies or circuses while others ended up being abandoned in the desert and reverting to a wild state.
  • Between the years 1692 and 1711 Father Eusebio Kino focused on area missionary work. During the time many grain and stock farms began.

New:  Daffynitions: :-)
  • BARGIN — Something that makes you think you’re saving money when you’re spending it.
  • COMMITTEE: A body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.
Found on You Tube         
Jackie Robinson Tribute
Harper’s Index         
Percent increase in armed robberies at pharmacies since 2006: 81
Joke-of-the-day
Q. How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?      A. Just one, but that light bulb really has to want to change!
Planet Earth

Rules of Thumb   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
If you are setting aside space to grow herbs for your own family, figure two square feet for each variety you plan to grow.
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • In a 2005 study, taxfoundation.org found that of the 32 states which receive more than they contribute in federal tax per dollar, 84% were Republican. Of the 18 states which contribute more than they receive in federal tax per dollar, 78% were Democratic states.
  • Roughly 90% of the tax filers who would pay more under President Obama's tax plan aren't millionaires, and 99.99% aren't billionaires.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 
After years of enduring sexist jokes and taunts from their male counterparts, women drivers can finally take heart -- a new study suggests they’re actually better at parking than men.Covert surveillance of car parks across the United Kingdom shows that, while women may take longer to park, they are more adept than men at maneuvering into a parking space, and when they park they are more likely to leave their vehicles in the middle of a parking bay.The month-long study, conducted by the U.K.’s National Car Parks, was carried out amongst 2,500 drivers and looked at various aspects of parking -- including technique, accuracy and time taken to park -- in order to produce a “parking coefficient” -- an overall score of how well a driver parks.The overall score for women drivers was higher than for male drivers. Women also fared better when it came to finding empty spaces, were more accurate in lining themselves up before starting a parking maneuver, and were more likely to use a driving instructor’s favored method of reversing into a parking spot.“Women fared better in many areas of the scoring,” the report said. “This is despite the fact that, when questioned about their beliefs, only one fifth (18%) thought they were better parkers than men and less than a third (28%) of women believed they were better parkers than their partners.”
Calendar Information        
…Happening This Week:
20-30
Sundance Film Festival
29-2/5
Catholic Schools Week
Meat WeekIntimate Apparel WeekNational Cowboy Poetry Gathering WeekInternational Hoof Care Week
Today Is                                                                       
  • Appreciate Your Social Security Check Day
  • Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day
  • Child Labor Day
  • Inspire Your Heart with the Arts Day
  • National Popcorn Day
  •  Nauru: Independence Day [from Australia—1968]


Today’s Other Events                                                             
1600’s
1646 - Jesuits "predict" a lunar eclipse for the Huron of Ossossane. This accurate prediction, made with the use of an almanac, will lead to many religious conversions.
1696 - Revolt of undertakers after funeral reforms (Amsterdam)
1700’s
1747 - The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.
1800’s
1842 - John Tyler's daughter Elizabeth marries in White House
1851 - SF Orphan's Asylum, 1st in California, founded
1865 - Congress passes 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in America (121-24)
1870 - The first acts are taken to establish the White Mountain-San Carlos-Camp Apache Reserve in western Arizona territory, by the Military Division of the Pacific. Major engineer H.M.Robert forwards a map of the proposed reserve to military headquarters in San Francisco for consideration.
1900’s
1905 - 1st auto to exceed 100 mph (161 kph), A G MacDonald, Daytona Beach
1918 - A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.
1928 - Scotch tape 1st marketed by 3-M Company
1936 - "Green Hornet" radio show is 1st heard on WXYZ Radio in Detroit
1948 - J D Salinger's "A Perfect Day for Banana Fish" appears in NY
1949 - 1st daytime soap on TV "These Are My Children" (NBC in Chicago)
1961 - David Ben-Gurion resigns as premier of Israel
1961 - Ham is 1st primate in space (158 miles) aboard Mercury/Redstone 2
1971 - "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison hit #1 on UK pop chart
1972 - Aretha Franklin sings at Mahalia Jackson's funeral
1980 - Police storm occupied Spanish embassy in Guatemala City, killing 41
1982 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Hamilton
1985 - South African president PW Botha offers to free Mandela if he denounces violence
2000’s
2001 - In the Netherlands a Scottish court convicts a Libyan and acquits another for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which crashed into Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
2007 - Suspects are arrested in Birmingham in the UK, accused of plotting the kidnap, holding and eventual beheading of a serving Muslim British soldier in Iraq.
2009 - In Kenya, at least 113 people are killed and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
In their 90’s
Carol Channing, actress (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hello Dolly) is 91
In their 80’s
Ernie Banks, "Mr Cub" Chicago Cubs, Hall-of-Famer (1st baseman) is 81
In their 70’s
Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, queen of Netherlands (1980- ) is 74
James G Watt, US Secretary of Interior (1981-83) is 74
In their 60’s
Nolan Ryan, pitcher (Mets, Angels, Astros) (7 no-hitters, 5,714 Ks) is 65
In their 50’s
Johnny Rotten, [John Lydon], rocker (Sex Pistols-God Save the Queen) is 56
In their 40’s
Minnie Driver, actor (Good Will Hunting) is 41
In their 30’s
Portia De Rossi, actor—partner of Ellen is 39
Remembered for being born on this day
Tallulah Bankhead, actress (Lifeboat, Die Die Darling) in 1903
Eddie Cantor, comedian (Eddie Cantor Comedy Theater) in 1892
James Franciscus, actor (Mr Novak, Longstreet, Hunter) in 1934
Zane Grey, American West novelist (Riders of the Purple Sage) in 1872
Benjamin Hooks, civil rights leader in 1925
Mario Lanza, actor/singer (Great Caruso, Toast of New Orleans) in 1921
Norman Mailer, NYC mayoral candidate/novelist (Naked & the Dead) in 1923
Garry Moore, [Thomas Garrison Morfit], host (I've Got a Secret) in 1915
Antonia Minor, daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor in 36 BCE
Theodore William Richards, chemist (atomic weights, Nobel-1914) in 1868
Jackie Robinson, 1st black major league baseball player (Dodgers) in 1919
Franz Peter Schubert, Austrian composer (Unfinished Symphony) in 1797
Jean Simmons, actor in 1929
Stewart L Udall, St Johns Ariz, US Secretary of Interior (1961-69) in 1920

Today’s Obits                                                           
A. A. Milne, English author dies at 74 in 1956
Guy Fawkes, convicted in the "Gunpowder Plot", executed at 35 in 1606
Samuel Goldwyn, Polish/English/US film magnate (MGM), dies at 91 in 1974
Rashad Khalifa, Egyptian-born imam assassinated  at 5 in 1990
Moira Shearer, Scottish actress (The Red Shoes) and ballerina dies at 80 in 2006
PVT Eddie Slovik, 1st US executed for desertion since Civil War at 25
[Bonnie Prince] Charles E Stuart, English pretender, dies in exile at 67 in 1788
Answers                                                                                                                                            
Brain Game
First equation: 25-8-2 = 6+4+5Second equation: 9-37+23+5 = 2-2
NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.     It might wake you up in the morning: alarm clock
2.     Manhattan or NE food item: clam chowder
3.     Part of a s’more: graham cracker
4.     A constant brat: problem child
5.     Below ground shelter during a tornado: storm cellar
6.     A Hoover product: vacuum cleaner
7.     PE: gym class
8.     Title for a woman who heads a meeting: madam chair
9.     Cocktail made with gin and lemon juice: Tom Collins
10.  What’s seen after a nuclear test: mushroom cloud
11.  Spread for a bagle: Cream cheese
12.  Place in the house to keep a mop: broom closet
13.  Table salt chemically: sodium chloride
Wuzzle
  • A pair of pants
  • Seven Up cans
  • Five pounds overweight

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 

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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.