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  ☺