Mar 27, 2013



FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 13/ Day: 86   Today: H 58°L 26°
Averages: H  53° L 25° Records: H 73°(1988)L -8°(1902)
Wind: ave:   21mph; Gusts:  33mph  Ave. humidity:  38%

Quote of the Day


Today’s Historical Highlights
1st English child born in Canada at Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland to Nicholas Guy1613
1st Japanese cherry blossom trees planted in Wash DC1912
39 cult members in California commit mass suicide (Hale-Bopp)1997
Charlie Chaplin receives France's distinguished Legion of Honor1931
Earthquake strikes Alaska, 8.4 on Richter scale, 118 die1964
M L Byrn patents "covered gimlet screw with a 'T' handle" (corkscrew)1860
Pres Johnson vetoes civil rights bill; it later becomes 14th amend1866
Sacheen Littlefeather refuses Marlon Brando's Oscar as a protest against 
     media and governmental mistreatment of American Indians1973
Supreme Court rules, 8-1, cops can't randomly stop cars1979
UN Commission on Human Rights holds its final meeting2006

     Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   
How many can you identify?…answers in Today’s Birthdays


Free Rambling Thoughts   
Had a good check up at the dentist today. Still have to be thinking about two crowns, but will wait a while. Everything else was good. Six months till next cleaning. Good for me.
 
Tomorrow is my tax day…think I’ve waited long enough. So hate to do this. Not so much for paying my fair share of taxes, but knowing that people who make more than I do pay less in actual dollars and that many pay a lower percentage. Reagan had suggested an end to IRS as we know it, and that each American would receive a bill for the tax owed. It didn’t get very far because of big business…the tax lobby…and the churches and other tax free groups that feared their contributions would dwindle. We are a nation that says we have a separation of church and state. Churches like that crazy one in Florida pay no taxes, but disrupt funerals of fallen military do not pay taxes.
 
We say we have separation of church and state, but today the Supreme Court heard two cases deal with marriage in the US. Marriage is supposed to be based on love between two people…not determined by a church belief. No way is anyone asking for a forced church wedding for two men or two women. Some churches allow that already. The people who want to get married realize that certain tax benefits, retirement benefits, death benefits, etc. come with that government document. There are too many stories of people being denied these benefits they want. I know many couples…some are married, some are not. One couple divorced after 30 years of marriage…they had a ‘shotgun’ wedding 42 years ago when the girl got pregnant. After the divorce, she will get about 1/2 of his retirement, though both have worked the entire marriage. Another couple was together for about 25 years, but never married. When they separated, they spilt up the stuff and moved on. She made less money than he did and could probably have gotten more in court, but did not persue it. One of my teachers at one of my schools was ‘involved’ with another teacher. After I left that school, one of the ladies got very ill. Because of their ‘secret’ relationship, the healthy lady could not get any information from the hospital, was unable to take ‘family’ leave to care for her lover, and unable to assist in any way at the hospital. The ill woman recovered, both left the school and moved to a state where they could get some, but not all rights. If the Christian God is a loving God, it is time to let people in love get married. If our country is a country of equality, it is time to open up and provide equality for all in our country.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
This teaser is in honor of man's quest to quench his thirst with non-alcoholic beverages. Can you figure out what drinks are depicted below?
1. Joint between thigh and lower leg + having great elevation + yielding readily to pressure + swallowing liquid contents.
2. A practitioner of medicine + spicy hot pod like fruit that grows on plants.
3. Dried and powdered rhizome used as spice + another name for beer.
4. Underground portion of a plant + another name for ale.
5. A natural elevation of the earth's surface having considerable mass and a height greater than that of a hill + water droplets condensed from the air.
6. A powder made from cacao seeds + tropical African evergreen plant having reddish fragrant nutlike seeds


******
Hint for those who need it:
Think about soda pop.
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

 from Cracked.com
Design Flaws That Annoy You Every Day (And Why They Exist)

Wrap Rage clamshell packaging
The Reason: Package Pilferage
Airline Delays
The Reason: They've Reached Maximum Capacity
Waiting for the Cable Guy
The Reason: Maximizing Work, Minimizing Employees
Ketchup Packets
The Reason: The People Who Pay for Them Aren't the Ones Using Them

Ok, then?


Harper’s Index    
Square footage of a proposed $35 million animal-holding center to be build at JFK: 172,165
Picture of the Day: Dine’ Land [Navajo]


Unusual Fact of the Day
World Famous Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey is made in only one place: the small town of Lynchburg, Tennessee, population 361. Though the town supplies the world with the famous libation, not a drop may be purchased for consumption anywhere in town. Moore County is a "dry" county, meaning that the sale and consumption of alcohol is illegal.
Joke-of-the-day
Little Johnny comes downstairs crying. His mother asked, “What’s the matter now?”
“Dad was hanging pictures, and just hit his thumb with hammer,” said little Johnny through his tears. “That’s not so serious,” soothed his mother. “I know you are upset, but a big boy like you shouldn’t cry at something like that. Why didn’t you just laugh?
“I did!” sobbed Johnny.
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
TESTIFYING IN COURT
When testifying before a jury, remember that the other side's attorney wants to make you look flustered. Always sound like you're calm and sure of yourself, regardless of how fast your heart is pounding. Even if the other attorney has exposed a weakness in your testimony, your calm demeanor can minimize the damage caused by that. Also remember that the jury is probably confused by all those competing claims. The best thing you can do is make your story sound simple.    
Yeah, It Really Happened
 PITTSBURGH — An Ohio prosecutor who light-heartedly filed a criminal indictment against the famous Pennsylvania groundhog who fraudulently "predicted" an early spring said he may consider a pardon now that the animal's handler is taking the blame.
Bill Deeley, president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, told The Associated Press on Monday that the animal rightly predicted six more weeks of winter last month, but he mistakenly announced an early spring because he failed to correctly interpret Phil's "groundhog-ese."
"I'm the guy that did it; I'll be the fall guy. It's not Phil's fault," Deeley said.
Butler County, Ohio, prosecutor Mike Gmoser told the AP that he's reconsidering the charges in light of the new evidence and may issue a full pardon.
"Frankly, he is a cute little rascal, a cute little thing," Gmoser said. "And if somebody is willing to step up to the plate and take the rap, I'm willing to listen."
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • The United States Chess Federation (USCF) awards the Title of National Master to anyone who achieves a USCF rating of 2200, and the title of Senior Master to anyone who achieves a USCF rating of 2400. The USCF also awards the Life Master title to anyone who holds a 2200 rating for a total of 300 or more games in his or her lifetime
  • The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life.
  • Blindfold chess is real and documented in world records. It is as it sounds: a player makes all of his or her moves without looking at a board. Usually there is a 'middle man' of sorts to give and receive moves for the game.
  • Blindfold chess is an impressive skill that many stronger chess players possess. It certainly requires a keen ability to see the board clearly, which can get difficult after many moves. The record was set in 1960 in Budapest by Hungarian Janos Flesch, who played 52 opponents simultaneously while blind folded; he won 31 of those games.

Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
21-27
Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination
24-30 
Tsunami Awareness Week
Pediatric Nurse Practioner Week
National Protocol Officer's Week
National Cleaning Week
Termite Awareness Week
31-4/6
National Week Of The Ocean

Today Is                                                                      
Celebrate Exchange Day
Education and Sharing Day
Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day
Summer Daylight Savings Time (Europe & UK)
Viagra Day

Today’s Events through History  
1st long-distance telephone call, Boston-NY1884
1st Mormon temple dedicated (Kirtland Ohio)1836
Battle at Horseshoe Bend: General Andrew Jackson defeats the Red Sticks, 
     part of the Creek Indian tribe near Dadeville,
Havana Hilton opens1958
Iwo Jima occupied, after 22,000 Japanese & 6,000 US killed1945
Modern shoestring (string and shoe holes) invented in England1790
Polythene discovered by Reginald Gibson & Eric William Fawcett1933
Spain losses Menorca & Gibraltar1713
US  establishes a permanent navy and authorizes the building of six frigates1794

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
In their 70’s
 Cale Yarborough, auto racer (Daytona 500-1968, 77, 83, 84) is 74

In their 50’s
Quentin Tarantino, director/screenwriter (Pulp Fiction) is 50

In their 40’s
Mariah Carey, singer (Love Takes Time, Hero) is 43
Pauley Perrette, actress [CSI-Abby] is 44

Under 30
Brenda Song, Disney actress is 25

Remembered for being born today
Michael Bruce, Scottish poet [1746-1767]
Nathaniel Currier, lithographer (Currier & Ives) [1813-1888]
Patty Smith Hill, author songwriter (Happy Birthday To You) [1868-1946]
David Janssen, [Meyer], actor (Fugitive, Harry O) [1930-1980]
Gloria Swanson, actress (Sunset Boulevard, Queen Kelly) [1899-1983]
Sarah L Vaughan, jazz scat singer (Broken Hearted Melody) [1924-1990]
Otto Wallach, Germany, chemist (Nobel 1910) [1847-1931]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Alexander E Agassiz, US businessman/biologist/geologist1910at 74
Maurits C Escher, Dutch lithograph carver (Praedestinatie)1972at 73
Yuri Gagarin, 1st man to orbit Earthplane crash1968at 34
Diana Hyland, actress (Peyton Place, 8 is Enough)breast cancer1977at 41
Dudley Moore, British actor pneumonia2002at 66
Aldo Ray, western actor (Battle Cry) cancer 1991at64
James I Stuart, king of Scotland (1567)/England (1603-25)dysentery1625 at 58

Answer: Brain Teasers
1. Nehi Soft Drink. (Knee + high + soft + drink.)
2. Dr Pepper. (Doctor + pepper.)
3. Ginger Ale. (Ginger + ale.)
4. Root Beer. (Root + beer.)
5. Mountain Dew. (Mountain + Dew.)
6. Coca-Cola. (Cocoa + Kola.)
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  §

No comments:

Post a Comment

Followers

Total Pageviews

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
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.