12/1/13


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Flagstaff Almanac:
Week: 49 / Day: 335   
Today: L 31°…H 38°… Ave. humidity: 69%
Wind: ave:   3mph; Gusts:  8mph  
Average Low: 18° Record Low:  -7 (1905)
Average High: 46° Record High:  63° (1926)

Quote of the Day
 
Today’s Historical Highlights
"The Great Train Robbery", the 1st Western film, released…1903
1st American school to offer manual training courses opens, Md…1750
1st Christmas Club payment made, to Carlisle Trust Co, Pa…1909
1st color photograph of Earth from outer space…1959
1st drive-up gasoline station opens (Pitts)…1913
1st US helium-filled dirigible makes 1st flight…1921
1st White House telephone installed…1878
50th Heisman Trophy Award: Doug Flutie…1984
AIDS virus is officially recognized…1981
Airlift of refugees from Cuba to US began…1965
Benazir Bhutto named 1st female Prime Minister of a Moslem country (Pakistan)…1988
Boys Town founded by Father Edward Flanagan west of Omaha Neb…1917
Empress Elisabeth orders expulsion of all Jews from Russia…1742
Game of Bingo invented by Edwin S Lowe…1929
Gasoline rationed in US…1942
Golden Gate Bridge closes due to high winds…1951
Hans Christian Andersen published his 1st book of fairy tales…1835
James Naismith creates the game of basketball…1891
Michael Jackson releases his album "Thriller"…1982
Pres Carter more than doubles national park system size…1978
Rosa Parks (black) arrested for refusing to move to the back of bus…1955
Sherlock Holmes 1st appears in print: "Study in Scarlet"…1887

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   
How many can you identify? Answers in Today’s Birthdays
 
My Free Rambling Thoughts   
Ah, December is here. Strange weather day for us…last night was smoky and foggy. While the weatherman said the fog would burn off, it didn’t…it has been foggy and overcast most of the day. A nearby neighborhood is called Smokerise. Well, today that didn’t. We have lots of residences with fireplaces and they too have been blazing away today, adding to the messy day. The weather bureau just issued a ‘heavy freezing fog warning’ until 11am on Sunday.  WTF? This is a high desert.
 
Relaxing day around the house. No need to be outside in this dreary weather. Caught up on some DVR series, but not as many as usual as most shows are repeats during the holidays or won’t start up again until after the new year.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
Find an anagram for each word in Group A. Each anagram will answer one of the clues in Group B.
Group A               Group B 1. Optic                1. Painter's stand 2. Civet                2. Singing voice 3. Toner               3. Golf clubs 4. Rosin                4. Subject 5. Lease               5. Throw out


Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

Very Strange Laws…Alabama
  • Bear wrestling matches are prohibited.
  • Incestuous marriages are legal.
  • It is illegal to impersonate a person of the clergy.
  • It is illegal to maim oneself to escape duty.
  • It is illegal to wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church.
  • Putting salt on a railroad track may be punishable by death.
  • Boogers may not be flicked into the wind.
  • It is legal to drive the wrong way down a one-way street if you have a lantern attached to the front of your automobile.
  • You must have windshield wipers on your car.
  • You may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time.
  • Masks may not be worn in public.
  • It is considered an offense to open an umbrella on a street, for fear of spooking horses.
  • Women are able to retain all property they owned prior to marriage in the case of divorce. However, this provision does not apply to men.
  • It is illegal to sell peanuts in Lee County after sundown on Wednesday.
  • It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.
  • Dominoes may not be played on Sunday.
  • Anniston--You may not wear blue jeans down Noble Street.
  • Auburn--No person may spit on the floor of a church. Men who deflower virgins, regardless of age or marital status, may face up to five years in jail.
  • Lee County--It is illegal to sell peanuts in Lee County after sundown on Wednesday.
  • Mobile--Women may not wear a ‘lewd dress’ in public. \ Bathing in city fountains is prohibited.  \ No person within the city may possess confetti. \ ‘Spray String’ is banned. \ If one wishes to read palms in the city, they must first pay $10 for a permit. \ It is unlawful to wear women’s pumps with sharp, high heels.
  • Montgomery--It is considered an offense to open an umbrella on a street, for fear of spooking horses.


OK Then…


Harper’s Index 
  • Chance that an American with a smart-phone has used it during sex: 1 in 10

Unusual Fact of the Day
  • On Scooby Doo, Shaggy's real name is Norville Rogers.

Joke-of-the-day
The manager of a large office asked a new employee to come into his office. "What is your name?," was the first thing the manager asked.
"John," the new guy replied.
The manager scowled. "Look, I don't know what kind of a namby-pamby place you worked at before, but I don't call anyone by their first name! It breeds familiarity and that leads to a breakdown in authority," he said. "I refer to my employees by their last name only - Smith, Jones, Baker - that's all. Now that we got that straight, what is your last name?"
The new guy sighed and said, "Darling. My name is John Darling."
The manager said, "Okay, John, the next thing I want to tell you..." 
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
RULE OF SIX
A six-inch telescope looking at a sixth magnitude star will receive 10^6 (i.e. 1 million) photons per second.   
Yeah, It Really Happened
It seems a Tennessee man gave his entire estate to his two cats instead of his family.
And we're not talking some ratty old furniture in a retirement condo that smells like Metamucil and cat pee. Leon Sheppard Sr. left behind a 4,270-square-foot house and $250,000 for his two cats, Frisco and Jake. His will outlines that the money is to care for his cats and the maintenance of the home.
"If their owner sees fit, they can create a trust for the welfare and benefit of the cats and their care," attorney Randy Fishman said.
Fishman, who has practiced law for almost 35 years, explains that this is a rare case.
"I don't know if I've ever come across one," Fishman said.
The family could see some money from the estate eventually. When Frisco dies, whatever is left of the estate including the home can be passed to Sheppard's human heirs, but Jake must be cared for still.
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • Did you know that one of the biggest ranches in the world is in South Texas and comprises 825,000 acres (3,340 km2; 1,289 sq mi)?  This ranch is bigger than the state of Rhode Island. However, the largest ranch in the world is in Australia and comprises 6,000,000 acres!
  • Did you know that Europe has 163, 000 suicide incidents annually? According to the World Health Organization (WHO) it is the highest rate in the world.The most popular suicide site in Europe in the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  least four to five suicide incidents happen annually. However, there’ s something funny about that. A woman jumped off the Eiffel Tower, landed on a car, survived and got married to the owner of the car!
  • Arianna Huffington, the famous Greek-American entrepreneur and journalist and president and editor-in-chief of the ‘Huffington Post’ wrote the biography of a very famous singer. Who’s that singer? In 1981 Huffington wrote the biography of Maria Callas  ”Maria Callas – The Woman Behind the Legend”. In 1989, she also wrote a biography of Pablo Picasso, Picasso: Creator and Destroyer.
  • The word “sphinx” refers to the mythical creature with the body of a lion and a human head. 
    • The word “sphinx” has a Greek origin (Greek: Σφίγξ) and the plural  is “sphinges”.


Calendar Information        
Happening This Month:
  • Awareness Month of Awareness Months Month  
  • Bingo's Birthday Month
  • National Drunk & Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month
  • National Write A Business Plan Month
  • National Tie Month 
  • Operation Santa Paws (1-24)
  • Quince and Watermelon Month 
  • Root Vegetables and Exotic Fruits Month 
  • Safe Toys and Gifts Month \ Spiritual Literacy Month
  • Tomato and Winter Squash Month 
  • Universal Human Rights Month 
  • World AIDS Month  \ Worldwide Food Service Safety Month


Happening This Week:
1-7: Clerc-Gallaudet Week~~Cookie Cutter Week~~International Coelenterate Biology Week~~National Handwashing Awareness Week~~Recipe Greetings For The Holidays Week~~Tolerance Week

Today Is                                                                      
·        Advent begins for Christians
·        Bifocals at the Monitor Liberation Day-to acknowledge people who use computers and wear bifocals
·        Civil Air Patrol Day
·        Day With(out) Art Day
·        Eat a Red Apple Day
·        Rosa Parks Day
·        World Aids Day
·        World Aids Awareness Day
>>>>> 
·        Portugal–Independence Day (1640 dissolving of Iberian Union)
·        Romania–National Day (1918 unification with Transylvania)

Today’s Events through History  
Continuous moving assembly line introduced by Ford (car every 2:38)…1913
Exxon announces a $73.7 billion deal to create Exxon-Mobil, world's largest company…1998
Jacques Charles & Nicolas Roberts make first untethered ascension with gas hydrogen
     balloon in Paris…1783
Mass becomes 1st colony to give statutory recognition to slavery….1641
US Civil Air Patrol (CAP) organizes…1941

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
Woody Allen, [Allen Konigsberg], Bkln, actor (Zelig, Annie Hall) is 78
Bette Midler, Honolulu, actress/singer (Beaches, Wind Beneath my Wings) is 68
Richard Keith, actor (Little Ricky-I Love Lucy) is 63
Charlene Tilton, actress (Lucy Ewing-Dallas) is 55

Remembered for being born today
Rex Stout, mystery writer (Nero Wolf novels) (1886-1975)
Charles Finney, US, author (Circus of Dr Lao) (1905-1984)
Dick Shawn, actor (Producers, Maid to Order, Angel) (1923-1987)
Mary Martin, actress (Peter Pan) Larry Hagman's mom (1913-1990)
David Doyle, actor (Charlie's Angels, Rugrats) (1929-1997)
Matthew Shepard, American murder victim (1975-1998)
Richard Pryor, comedian (1940-2005) 
Lou Rawls, vocalist (Dean Martin, Golddigers, Natural Man) (1933-2006)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Joseph B. Wirthlin, [LDS] Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, businessman…2008…@91
David Ben-Gurion, founding father of Israel…1973…@87
James Arthur Baldwin, writer (Another Country)…cancer…1987…@63

Brain Teasers
1. Easel (5)
2. Tenor (3) 3. Irons (4) 4. Topic (1) 5. Evict (2)
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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11/30/13


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Flagstaff Almanac:
Week: 48 / Day: 334   
Today: L 20°…H 48°… Ave. humidity: 63%
Wind: ave:   8mph; Gusts:  11mph  
Average Low: 19° Record Low:  -3° (1975)
Average High: 46° Record High:  66° (1995)

Quote of the Day


Today’s Historical Highlights
16,000 inhabitants of Venice died this month of plague…1630
1st commercially successful AC electric power plant opens, Buffalo…1886
1st use of videotape on TV (Douglas Edwards & the News)…1956
Beijing hit by Earthquake; about 100,000 die…1731
Britain signs agreement recognizing US independence…1782
Cnut (or Canute), king of Denmark, claims the English throne the death of 
     Edmund 'Ironside'…1016
Folies Bergère stages its first revue…1886
Impeachment trial of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase begins…1804
Jackie Robinson charges NY Yankees with racism…1952
Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings finally loses, leaving with $2,520,700 USD, 
     television's all-time biggest game show haul…2004
Lucy, Australopithecus, most complete early human skeleton is discovered in Ethiopia…1974
Pike Place Market dedicated in Seattle…1907
Senator Eugene McCarthy begins run for US presidency…1967
UN General Assembly (151-2) censures US for refusing PLO's Arafat visa…1988
US Pres Harry Truman threatens China with atom bomb…1950

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   
How many can you identify? Answers in Today’s Birthdays
 
My Free Rambling Thoughts   
So glad I am old-er and no longer have to worry about Black Friday craziness. I did do some shopping today, around 11am and this little mountain town didn’t seem to have crowds or any more crazies than usual. I read on the internet machine where the term ‘Black Friday’ came from…maybe. It is said to have started by the Philadelphia Police Dept in the late 1960’s who were talking about the dark side of the day…the crowds, the accidents, hassles. The retail machine then turned it around so that people began to believe it was called that because that was the day that retail business went from red to black on their profit statement. I also heard CNN calling Thanksgiving as ‘Gray Thursday’ with the number of stores opening on the holiday to get more sales. I have to say that it is time for the stores to give their employees a break and let them have this holiday. Some workers had to work 11 hours yesterday (last night into early this morning). What kind of memories are the kids of these workers going to have of Thanksgiving? I’m sure they will hear crazy stories about the people who actually showed up at midnight to shop.  Change is difficult for all of us, and as long as shoppers show up and even campout for days ahead of time, the stores will keep opening earlier and earlier…and for the most part, the owners, CEO’s, and top management of those stores will continue to have Thanksgiving with their families, while those at the bottom will continue to work. Good news from all this…last week Pizza Hut fired a store manager who refused to open on Thanksgiving so that his employees could be with family. Thanks to the internet machine, Pizza Hut rehired him yesterday.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
What's the rebus shown by this display below? My---------Your 10:30
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

Very Strange Laws…Delaware
  • “R” rated movies shall not be shown at drive-in theaters.
  • It is illegal to fly over any body of water, unless one is carrying sufficient supplies of food and drink.
  • Lewes--It is illegal to wear pants that are “firm fitting” around the waist. \ Getting married on a dare is grounds for an annulment.
  • Rehoboth Beach--No person shall change clothes in his or her vehicle. \ On Halloween, children may only “trick-or-treat” from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and if Halloween falls on a Sunday, they must “trick-or-treat” on October 30 during this same time interval. \ One may not whisper in church. \ No person shall pretend to sleep on a bench on the boardwalk. \ Changing into or out of a bathing suit in a public restroom is prohibited. \ Six-year-old girls may not run around without being fully clothed. \ Alcohol may not be served in nightclubs if dancing is occurring on the premises at the same time.
  • South Bethany--All persons must carry a bag with them at all times when they walk their dog in case said dog “poops”, or risk a $100 fine.

OK Then…
 
Harper’s Index 
  • Percentage of Americans who believe journalists contribute ‘not very much’ or ‘nothing at all’ to society: 37
  • Percentage who say that using social media hs never made them better about themselves: 60

Unusual Fact of the Day
Al Capone estimated that he spent $30 million a year to pay off judges, police, elected officials, and newspapermen.


Joke-of-the-day
A man enters his local bar holding a frog and an iguana. He sets them down on the bar and says to the bartender, "I bet you $1000 that my frog here can sing any song you can think of."
"Ok," says the bartender. "How 'bout 'Blue Moon'?"
The man whispers something to the frog, and the frog starts singing blue moon.
"That's amazing," says the bartender as he slaps down $1000.
"I'll bet ya another $1000 that my iguana here can do that to."
"Ok, I can believe a frog, but not an iguana. You're on. Have him sing the Star Spangled Banner."
The man whispers something to the iguana and it sings the Star Spangled Banner.
As the bartender hands over another $1000, a businessman comes up and says, "I just saw that and I was amazed. I want to buy your iguana for $100,000."
The man said ok, and he exchanged the iguana for the money and the businessman left.
The bartender said "What are you nuts?! You could have made millions with that iguana!"
The man said "Oh, the iguana can't sing. The frog's a ventriloquist."  
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
CONSULTING
A consultant should never charge for less than half a day of work.    
Yeah, It Really Happened
MINNEAPOLIS - A Minneapolis doctor preparing to celebrate her birthday on Thanksgiving Day said her parents, "hippies," named her Happy Thanksgiving Reynolds. Reynolds, 43, a family physician, said her parents gave her the unusual name when she was born on Thanksgiving when the holiday fell on the same date 43 years ago, the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press reported Monday. "I was the child of hippies," Reynolds said. She said they decided the universe was helping them name their newborn. "It was total universe magic time for them," Reynolds said. Reynolds said she has learned to love her name, which she described as an "unintentional gift." She said she has gotten job interviews just because employers were curious to meet someone named Happy Thanksgiving. "I'm someone you're not going to forget based on the name," she said.  
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • The last reel-to-reel tape manufacturer in America closed its doors in January 2005.
  • According to Billboard magazine, the number one single of the 1960s was "Hey Jude," by the Beatles.
  • Music videos were originally known as telerecords.
  • Mick Jagger had the emerald filling on his front tooth replaced with a diamond because people kept telling him he had spinach in his teeth.
  • Deborah Harry of Blondie worked briefly as a Playboy bunny. And in case you didn't suspect, she's really a brunette.
  • In 2004 Congress passed a $388 billion spending bill that included $25,000 for the study of mariachi music.

Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
22-28: National Farm-City Week
24-30: Better Conversation Week / Church-State Separation Week / National Bible Week / National Family Week  /National Game & Puzzle Week

Today Is                                                                      
·        Computer Security Day
·        National Meth Awareness Day
·        Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Annual Lighting
·        Small Business Saturday
·        Stay Home Because You're Well Day
~~~~~
·        Barbados: Independence Day (1966 from UK)

Today’s Events through History  
109 U boats sunk this month (729,000 ton)…1942
Protests against the WTO meeting In Seattle, catch police unprepared; force the 
     cancellation of opening ceremonies…1999
Roman Catholics banned from English parliament…1678
U Thant of Burma elected 3rd Secretary-General of UN unanimously…1962

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
Efren Zimbalist Jr, actor (77 Sunset Strip, FBI, Scruples) is 95
Robert Guillaume, [Williams], actor (Benson, Soap) is 86
Paul Stookey, singer (Peter, Paul & Mary-Wedding Song) is 76
Paul Westphal, NBA guard (Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns)/coach is 63
Mandy Patinkin, actor/singer (Yentl, Alien Nation) is 61
Billy Idol, [William Broad], rocker (White Wedding) is 58
Bo Jackson, baseball/football player (KC Royals, LA Raiders) is 51
Ben Stiller, actor (Ben Stiller Show) is 48
Clay Aiken, American Idol winner is 35

Remembered for being born today
Jonathan Swift, Dublin, satirist (Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal) [1667-1745)
Mark Twain, [Samuel L Clemens], author (Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn) [1835-1910]
Winston Churchill, (C) British Prime Minister (Nobel 1953) [1874-1966]
Allan Sherman, parody singer/songwriter (Hello Muddah, Hello Fardah) [1924-1973]
Richard Crenna, LA Cal, actor (Rambo, Summer Rental, Sand Pebbles) [1926-2003]
Shirley Chisholm, (Rep-D-NY) 1st black congresswoman/pres candidate [1924-2005]
Virginia Mayo, actress (Out of the Blue, White Heat) [1920-2005]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Zeppo Marx, [Herbert], US comic (Marx Brothers)…cancer…1979…@78
Norman Cousins, editor (Saturday Review)…heart failure…1990…@75
Tiny Tim, [Herbert Khaury], entertainer (Tip Toe)…heart attack…1996…@71
Robert Craig ‘Evel’ Knievel, motorcycle daredevil…long illnesses…2007…@69
Oscar Wilde, Irish author…meningitis…1900…@46

Brain Teasers
Time is on my side.
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.