Mar 16, 2013

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Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 11/ Day: 75 Today: H 66°…L 29°

Averages: H  ° L ° Records: H  50°()…L 24°()

Wind: ave:   11mph; Gusts:  24mph  Ave. humidity:  45%

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

1st annual National Book Awards►1950

1st performance at new Grand Ole Opry House at Opryland in Nashville►1974

23rd Regiment of Foot or Royal Welch Fusiliers is founded►1689

Congress passes Migratory Bird Conservation Act►1934

Federal Trade Commission organizes►1915

London's re-organized police force (Scotland Yard) ►1830

Members of Irish Gay & Lesbian Organization march in NYC parade►1991

Pope John Paul II asks God for forgiveness for the inactivity and silence of

     some Roman Catholics during the Holocaust►1998

Samoset meets the Pilgrims►1621

US Senate ratifies treaty establishing the Red Cross►1882

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

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

Free Rambling Thoughts   

A great spring day, with some high clouds, but still very nice. Getting ready for St. Patty’s Day by getting my corned beef and cabbage. Will be great to smell it cooking all day Sunday. It was a short pants, short sleeved shirt, and Teva day…the first one in a long time.

 

Just had a nice long talk with my brother in NYC. Things are going great for them…stressful but improving. His business is improving. As we have lived apart for short annual visits for a long time, it is amazing how our politics and views are so very similar. We talked about a bunch of stuff, and agreed on everything. And our views do not always fit into the mainstream. He is having dinner with a friend I met in Mexico, and was so happy to hear that every time they get together, I am asked about. He also mentioned how much another friend enjoys my FB comments on her page and she also is always asking about me. Cool.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

When you behead a word, you remove the first letter and still have a valid word. You will be given clues for the two words, longer word first.
Example: Begin -> Sour, acidic
Answer: The words are Start and Tart.

1. Firm earth -> Circular 2. Tomb; serious -> Talk wildly or madly 3. Dead spirit -> Person who entertains guests 4. Spectacles -> Young maidens 5. Happy, joyous -> Youth; boy 6. Precious metal -> Advanced in years 7. Increase in size -> Move a boat with oars 8. Large boat with oars -> Narrow back street

****

Hint if needed:

The shorter words start with these letters:
1. R
2. R
3. H
4. L
5. L
6. O
7. R
8. A

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Aint No Mountain High Enough

• Royal Welch Fusiliers Corps of Drums

from Cracked.com

Terrifyingly Accurate Prediction by Edgar Allan Poe

In 1838, future horror-god Edgar Allan Poe released a book called The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, his only full novel. The book was such a bomb that Poe eventually agreed with his critics that it was "a very silly book" (yet still good enough to inspire heavyweights like Jules Verne and Herman Melville to write Moby Dick and An Antarctic Mystery--yes, Poe was a badass).

Where it Gets Weird:

Poe did a Blair Witch thing with his novel, which claimed to be based on true events. This turned out to be a half-truth: The real life events simply had not happened yet.

One scene in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket visits a whaling ship lost at sea, taking with it all but four crewmen. Out of food, the men drew lots to see who would be eaten, the unfortunate decision landing on a young cabin boy named Richard Parker.

Forty-six years later, there was an actual disaster at sea involving the Mignonette. It became famous due to the legal consequences of some gruesome events on board, specifically the way the men drew lots and decided to eat their cabin boy...

Where it Gets Even Weirder: ...who was named Richard Parker.

The bizarre story was discovered decades later by Nigel Parker, a distant cousin of the Richard Parker who got eaten. You can only imagine what went through his mind when he stumbled upon the connection.

Ok, then?

Harper’s Index    

Ratio of US farmers age 65 and older to those under the age of 35: 7:1

Picture of the Day: Mammals of the Sea

Unusual Fact of the Day

Roy Roger's Trigger was Maid Marion's horse in the Errol Flynn version of Robin Hood.

Joke-of-the-day

So one day, Gramma sent her grandson Johnny down to the water hole to get some water for cooking dinner. As he was dipping the bucket in, he saw two big eyes looking back at him. He dropped the bucket and high tailed it for

Gramma's kitchen. "Well now, where's my bucket and where's my water?" Gramma asked him. "I can't get any water from that water hole, Gramma" exclaimed Johnny. "There's a BIG ol' alligator down there!"

"Now don't you mind that ol' alligator, Johnny. He's been there for a few years now, and he's never hurt no one. Why, he's probably as scared of you as you are of him!"

"Well, Gramma," replied Johnny, "if he's as scared of me as I am of him, then that water ain't fit to drink!"  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

ACTUAL COST OF HOMEOWNERSHIP

Homeowners should plan on paying about $100 a month for a repair fund. Total net housing cost can be 40-45 percent more than the base mortgage.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

Toucet, who hails from Puerto Rico and doesn't speak or write English, claims that he "received no orientation or other formalized instruction or training in preparation for his temporary work assignment as a peeler machine helper."

According to the complaint report, Toucet was put to work at the peeler machine which uses a spinning razor-sharp blade to cut carpet foam.

The peeler machine apparently requires two people to operate, although according to the report it is unclear if Toucet was operating the machine by himself, per safety precautions. What is clear is that both is penis AND testicles were removed by the machine.

Toucet is seeking damages for gross negligence in a lawsuit suing the temp agency, and hopefully Future Foam Manufacturing and anybody else remotely related to the incident.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

Watermelon is thought to have originated in the Kalahari Desert of Africa. The first recorded watermelon harvest occurred nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt and is depicted in Egyptian hieroglyphics on walls of their ancient buildings.

Watermelon is 92% water.

Watermelon's official name is Citrullus Lanatus of the botanical family Curcurbitaceae. It is cousins to cucumbers, pumpkins and squash.

The first cookbook published in the U.S. in 1776 contained a recipe for watermelon rind pickles.

Watermelons were often placed in the burial tombs of kings to nourish them in the afterlife.

Southern food historian, John Egerton, believes watermelon made its way to the United States with African slaves as he states in his book, "Southern Food."

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

10-16 

Girl Scout Week
National Agriculture Week
Teen Tech Week
Turkey Vultures Return to the Living Sign
Flood Safety Awareness Week
International Brain Awareness Week
15-17

 Sherlock Holmes Weekend

Today Is                                                                      

Curlew Day Traditional arrival date for the long-billed curlew at the Umatilla (Oregon) National Wildlife Refuge

Goddard Day 1926. Commemorates first liquid-fuel-powered rocket flight launched by Robert Hutchings Goddard

International Sports Car Racing Day

Lips Appreciation Day

National Quilting Day

St. Urho's Day Patron Saint of Finland

Today’s Events through History  

1st launching of Titan 2-rocket►1962

Arizona Territory votes to leave the Union►1861

Babylonians capture Jerusalem►597BC

Battle of Boroughbridge takes place in the First War of Scottish Independence►1322

Largest coordinated worldwide vigil takes place, as part of the global protests 

     against Iraq war►2003

My Lai massacre occurs (Vietnam War); 450 die►1968

Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reaches Philippines►1521

Robert Kennedy announces presidential campaign►1968

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 80’s

Jerry Lewis [Levitch], comedian/fund raiser (MDA) is 87

In their 70’s

Chuck Woolery, TV game show host (Love Connection) is 72

In their 60’s

Erik Estrada, actor (CHiPs) is 64

Remembered for being born today

James Madison, Port Conway Va, (D-R), 4th US president [1751-1836]

Mike Mansfield, (Sen-D-Mont) majority whip [1903-2001]

Clive Morton, London England, actor (Goodbye Mr Chips, Moonraker) [1904-1975]

Daniel Patrick Moynihan, US ambassador to UN/Sen-D-NY [1927-2003]

Patricia Nixon, [Thelma Catherine], Ely Nevada, 1st lady [1912-1993]

Georg Simon Ohm, physicist (discovered Ohm's Law) [1787-1854]

Henny Youngman, London England, comedian (Take my wife please) [1906-1998]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Roy Bean, American jurist-1903-at 77ish

Thomas E Dewey, US president candidate (R 1944, 48)- heart attack-1971-at 68

John J R Macleod, Scot/Canadian physiologist (Nobel 1923)-1935-at 58

Tammi Terrell, soul singer (You're All I Need)-brain tumor-1970-at 24

T-Bone Walker, blues guitarist (Funky Town, Well Done)- pneumonia-1975-at 64

Answer: Brain Teasers

1. Ground -> Round 2. Grave -> Rave 3. Ghost -> Host 4. Glasses -> Lasses  5. Glad -> Lad 6. Gold -> Old 7. Grow -> Row 8. Galley -> Alley

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  §