9/21/13


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Almanac: Flagstaff:  Week: 38/ Day: 264   
Today: H 73°…L 40°…Ave. humidity:  54%
Wind: ave:   3mph; Gusts:  31mph  
Average Low: 41°  Record Low: 23° (1971)
Average High: 72° Record High: 83° (2000)

Quote of the Day



Today’s Historical Highlights
"Monday Night Football" premieres on ABC - Browns 31, Jets 21…1970
"My Weekly Reader" magazine made its debut…1928
"Star Spangled Banner" published as a poem…1814
1st daily newspaper in America (Pennsylvania Packet & General Advertiser)…1784
Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa orders Jews of Holland to wear a badge…1451
English king Richard I the Lion hearted, captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria…1192
J. R. R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' is published…1937
Nathan Hale, spied on British for American rebels, arrested…1776
NY Sun runs famous "Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus," editorial…1897
Sandra Day O'Conner becomes 1st female Supreme Court Justice…1981
USA Basketball announces "Dream Team" for the 1992 Olympics…1991

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



My Free Rambling Thoughts   
A really nice day and spent some time outside. Tried to get my haircut, but my cutter didn’t show up at work, so made an appointment for tomorrow.  Hate to get haircuts on Saturday, but it’s her fault for not being there last Monday or today. Live and learn. My mom passed away in 2008 on this day in 2008 at 89, 14 years and one day after my dad. Still greatly missed.
 
While I was busy doing things, I plugged in my iPad to update to the new ios7. I thought the phone took a long time, the iPad connected immediately with a download time of 3 hours. It is still worth it. Much sharper graphics, much easier to read. As a PC person, I see this like switching to Windows7 without the learning curve…Apple does have has it’s sh*t together…always making it easier for the user.
 
I’m going to try really hard not to bitch about the politics in DC for the next few weeks. This is a political game where only the American people lose. One would think that after 41 votes in the House to defund Obamacare, they would try another tactic…but the far right is so dug in, vote 42 has been sent to the senate to be stopped again. Something I remember about doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity. Of course Obamacare will continue to be a sticking point and the far right might even have the US default on our debts because they won’t raise the debt ceiling. Sadly my state senator, a really far right lady, has been posting a lot of bad mouthing the President. She is a state senator and needs to deal with state issued instead of keeping her supporters happy with her idiotic posts. Why do I read them? Easy, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
 
I have to laugh a little when it comes to some of the stories on the news. The USIS is a company that does the background checks for most Federal agencies. I dealt with them during my career. As Federal employees we needed a low level security clearance. These people were pretty intimidating when they did a background check. They would show up at my office, show me a badge…much like an FBI badge, and inform me they were doing a background check on one of my employees or friends. We had all filled out a form knew that every 5 years or so, these guys would be showing up. I got it, even before 911 since the BIA had a history of hiring a few very shady people who continued to work with children and in a few cases done some very sick things to children. So I accepted the checks as a way to protect children. If a teacher or aide was being checked questions included ‘Have you ever seen this person do anything on duty or off duty that would concern you about them working with children?’ ‘Have you ever been inside this person’s home?’ ‘What interaction have you had with this person outside the workplace?’ ‘Are you aware of the police or social services ever investigating this person?’ ‘How does this person get along with their spouse?’ ‘with their in-laws?’ After the first interview, I expected the questions and dealt with it. They would also go door to door and ask neighbor’s the same questions. For those employees who lived off the campus, this was very upsetting. We lived in small communities that thrived on gossip. There was lots of jealousy towards people who had good jobs. Not only did some of the non-government employees give false information about the employee, they also started rumors about the employees asking anyone who would listen why the government was ‘investigating’ the employee. Now it is being learned by the general public that these ‘investigators’ are little more than people off the street who are subcontracted to do these checks. They get some basic training, and are making decisions about a person’s employment. And when something goes wrong, like the two in the news, the government agency has used the line that they ‘passed the background check’. Now we are learning that these checks are not nearly as thorough as they are made to sound.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
What common household item wouldn't have became popular if it wasn't for another invention in 1928 (it didn't take off until 1930)?
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

Hmmmm…Fearsome Phobias
If you have an irrational fear of... Darkness
You're suffering from... Achluophobia: Greek Achluo (meaning to darken)
If you have an irrational fear of... Dawn
You're suffering from... Eosophobia: Greek eos 'dawn'
Privileges granted to people in the U.S. (and many western nations) for being Christian…
Without special effort, your children will have a multitude of teachers who share your faith.
Ok, then?



Harper’s Index    
Estimated number of seconds by which fiber optic cable will reduce the time to make a trade between NY and London: 0.0049
Unusual Fact of the Day
Fish cough.
Joke-of-the-day
A boy was teaching a girl arithmetic, he said it was his mission. He kissed her once; he kissed her twice and said, "Now that's addition."
In silent satisfaction, she sweetly gave the kisses back and said, "Now that's subtraction."
Then he kissed her, she kissed him, without an explanation. And both together smiled and said, "That's multiplication."
Then her Dad appeared upon the scene and made a quick decision. He kicked that boy three blocks away and said, "That's long division!"  
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
BARBEQUING FATTY FOODS
For fatty foods, leave 40 percent of the grill exposed to avoid flare ups.    
Yeah, It Really Happened
FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth, Texas woman, 78, was shot in the foot when her shotgun discharged after her dog walked past it and knocked it over, police said. The unidentified woman told police she was watching television in her home Saturday night with the shotgun by her side, and it fired when the dog bumped it. She sought treatment for her injured left foot the following morning, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Monday.
"The victim advised it was an accident and the dog was not to blame," said officer Sharron Neal, a police spokeswoman. Police did not identify the breed of the dog. "He has the right to remain silent," Neal said.  
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • Elephants use the skin folds on their backs to crush mosquitoes.
  • A flamboyance is a group of flamingos.
  • The sleeve on the outside of a coffee cup is called a "zarf."
  • "Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia" is the scientific term for brain freeze.
  • Armadillos give birth only to quadruplets.
  • It's impossible to hum while holding your nose.


Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
 15th-21st
Balance Awareness Week
Build A Better Image Week
Dating and Life Coach Recognition Week
National Clean Hands Week
National Farm & Ranch Safety and Health Week
National Indoor Plant Week
National Love Your Files Week
National Rehabilitation Awareness Week
National Singles Week
Pollution Prevention Week
Prostate Cancer Awareness Week
17th-23rd
Constitution Week

Today Is                                                                      
·        Big Whopper Liar Day
·        Boys' and Girls' Club Day for Kids
·        Clean Up The World Weekend
·        International Banana Festival
·        International Day of Peace
·        International Eat An Apple Day
·        International Coastal Cleanup Day
·        National POW/MIA Recognition Day
·        National Tradesmen Day
·        Puppy Mill Awareness Day
·        Responsible Dog Ownership Day
·        World Gratitude Day
·        World's Alzheimer's Day
~~~~
·        Armenia: Independence Day (1991 from USSR)
·        Belize: Independence Day (1981 from UK)
·        Malta: Independence Day (1964 from UK)

Today’s Events through History  
"Perry Mason" with Raymond Burr premieres on CBS-TV…1957
"Texaco Star Theater" with Milton Berle premieres on NBC-TV…1948
1st cowboy film "Kit Carson" premieres in US…1903
Federal Republic of [West] Germany created under 3-power occupation…1949
Jackson Pollock’s painting "Blue Poles" sold for $2,000,000…1973
John & Nicolaas van der Heyden patents fire extinguisher…1677
Joseph Smith, Jr. claims the angel Moroni gave him a record of gold plates, one-third 
     of which Joseph translated into The Book of Mormon…1827
Michael Spinks beats Larry Holmes in 15 to become Heavyweight Boxing Champion…1985
New York Times starts first modern op-ed page….1970
NFL players begin a 57 day strike…1982
Pope Benedictus XV donates 1 million lire to feed Russians…1921
Rocky Marciano KOs Archie Moore in 9 for heavyweight boxing title…1955
Singapore admitted as a part of the United Nations…1965

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
Fannie Flagg, actress/comediene (Candid Camera) is 69
Stephen King, sci-fi/horror author (Carrie, Shining, Kujo) is 66
Bill Murray, actor/comedian (Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters) is 63
David James Elliott, Toronto, actor (Lt Harmon Rabb-Jag) is 53
Rob Morrow, actor (Dr Fleishman-Northern Exposure) is 51
Faith Hill, country pop  singer is 46
Ricki Lake, actress (Hairspray)/talk show host (Ricki) is 45
Nicole Richie, fashion designer, author, actress is 32

Remembered for being born today
Maurice Barrymore, Indian-born patriarch of the Barrymore family [1849-1905]
H. G. Wells, Kent, , English writer (War of the Worlds, Kipps) [1866-1946]
Allen Lane, English publisher/founder (Penguin Books) [1902-1970]
Jay Ward, cartoonist (Rocky & his Friends, Bullwinkle) [1920-1989]
Rand Brooks, actor (Cpl Boone-Rin Tin Tin) [1918-2003]
Henry Gibson, comedian (Nashville, Laugh-In's poet) [1935-2009]
Larry Hagman, TV actor (I Dream of Jeannie, JR-Dallas) [1931-2012]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Virgil, Roman poet (Aeneid)…fever…19BC…@50
Walter Scott, Scottish attorney/poet/writer (Ivanhoe)…1832…@61  
Chief Joseph (Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt), Nez Perce chief…broken heart…1904…@64
Jacqueline Susann, author (Valley of the Dolls) breast cancer…1974…@53
Walter Brennan, actor (Real McCoys)…1974…@80
Florence Griffith Joyner (Flo-Jo), Olympic athlete…seizure…1998…@38
Alice Ghostley, American actress…2007…@81

Brain Teasers
The toaster.
The first electric toaster was invented in 1893 in Great Britain by Crompton and Co (UK) and re-invented in 1909 in the United States. It only toasted one side of the bread at a time and it required a person to stand by and turn it off manually when the toast looked done. Charles Strite invented the modern timer, pop-up toaster in 1919. 
Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented the bread slicer, which he started working on in 1912. At first, Rohwedder came up with the idea of a device that held the slices together with hat pins (not a success). In 1928, he designed a machine that sliced and wrapped the bread to prevent the sliced bread from going stale. Pre-sliced bread was popularized by Wonder Bread in 1930, helping to spread the toaster's popularity further. 
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.