12-15-14

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Almanac: Week: 51 \ Day: 348 
December Averages: 44°\17°
86004 Today: H 40°\L 29°
Ave. humidity: 85%     Average Sky Cover: 80%
Wind ave:   4mph\Gusts:  28mph
Ave. High: 44° Record High:  66° (1946)
Ave. Low: 16° Record Low:  -14° (1972)

Holiday Observances Today:
Admission Day (Alabama-1819-22nd)
¤   ¤
International Children's Day
Monkey Day
World Choral Day
Worldwide Candle Lighting Day 

Observances This Week:
10-17
Human Rights Week
14-20

Gluten-free Baking Week
14-28
Halcyon Days- the seven days in winter when storms never occur
• • • • • • •
Quote of the Day

 Historical Highlights for Today
1287 - During St. Lucia's Flood in Northwest Netherlands the Zuiderzee seawall collapses with loss of over 50,000 lives. Fifth largest recorded flood in history
1656 - Artificial pearls 1st manufactured made of gypsum pellets covered with fish scales
1793 - 1st state road authorized, Frankfort, Ky to Cincinnati
1896 - The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company
1915 - Jack Johnson is 1st black world heavyweight boxing champion
1944 - Congress establishes rank of General of Army (5-star General)
1947 - The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is founded
1950 - UN Gen Assembly establishes High Comm for Refugees (Nobel 1954)
1962 - Mariner 2 makes 1st US fly-by of another planet (Venus)
1967 - DNA created in a test tube
1969 - Jackson Five made their 1st appearance on "Ed Sullivan Show"
1980At 2 PM EST there is 10 minutes of silence in memory of John Lennon
1980 - Nancy Lopez/Curtis Strange wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
1984 - Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires from Monday Night Football
1995 - AIDS patient Jeff Getty receives baboon bone marrow transplant
2003 - President George W. Bush announces the capture of Saddam Hussein.
• • • • • • •
  Birthdays Today:
How many can you identify? Answers below in Birthday’s Today


My Rambling Thoughts
Strange weather day for sure. At 6a it was raining, and had been for many hours. At 7a the wind was really blowing. At 7:45 it was snowing. At 9a the sky was clear and blue. At 1:30 it was snowing again. By 3p it was overcast with no snow. Just a dusting of snow stuck to the ground. Not sure if the weatherman’s forecast of 8” is going to happen today.
It took the clear blue sky as a sign from somewhere that I better finally put up the outside lights. They are even set on a timer to glow from 6p-11p every evening. So now I am finished with decorating and ready for the season to continue. Maybe that will bring the snow.
• • • • • • •
Brain Teasers
(answers at the end of post)
My creator is a mystery,
One that's set in stone.
My origins, my history,
Still totally unknown.

Tests of time I've had to face,
My strength and my endurance
Cause of weakness; it's your race,
But I'm free of all life currents.

Was I a calendar, a tomb, a shrine?
We've all wondered it before.
We don't know... but I'm a wonder!
I can tell you that for sure.

What am I?

           
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today





OK Then…


• • • • • • •
Paraphernalia 4 the Brain:     
December Holiday Facts
*Christmas-Christian
¤ The poinsettia is native to Mexico and was cultivated by the Aztecs, who called the plant Cuetlaxochitl (“flower which wilts”). For the Aztecs, the plant’s brilliant red color symbolized purity, and they often used it medicinally to reduce fever. Contrary to popular belief, the poinsettia is not poisonous, but holly berries are.
¤ Christmas has its roots in pagan festivals such as Saturnalia (December 17-December 23), the Kalends (January 1 -5, the precursor to the Twelve Days of Christmas), and Deus Sol Invictus or Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun (December 25). The Christian church heartily disapproved of such celebrations and co-opted the pagans by declaring December 25 as Christ’s day of birth, though there is no evidence Christ was born on that day.

*Hanukkah-Jewish
¤ As per the Western calendar, the date for the commencement of Chanukah varies every year.
¤ Lighting of Menorah is the main Hanukah tradition.

*Kwanza-African-American
Principles
Imani (ee-MAH-nee) or faith in the leaders and the community.

*12 Days of Christmas
Twelve Drummers Drumming
The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles' Creed: 1) I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. 2) I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 3) He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. 4) He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell [the grave]. 5) On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of power. 6) He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 7) I believe in the Holy Spirit, 8) the Church, 9) the communion of saints, 10) the forgiveness of sins, 11) the resurrection of the body, 12) and life everlasting.

Flagstaff, AZ History…
FROM 1889
E. H. Witherall, the contractor for the United Verde Mines, informs us that he is in need of more freight teams to haul between Verde Junction on the P. & A. Railroad and Jerome. He pays $8 a ton each way           

Flagstaff’s Iconic 50…
Flagstaff’s “Bottomless Pit”
A 1997 seismic reflection survey shows a maze of faults, fractures and caves in the area reaching to depths of 2,000 feet under the surface.
The Bottomless Pit lies at the intersection of a long, linear fault and a graben — a trench that has been created by two landforms moving away from each other. Historical reports of the area show that it has long been a floodplain, which regularly featured a lake during flood times.
One thing that is clear: The pit has drawn rumors and intrigue since around 1888. That’s when the pit most likely opened up, according to FEMA references, the Coconino Sun and oral history interviews with local ranchers.

Harper’s Index…
Value of a cloud-computing contract awarded by the CIA to Amazon last year: $600,000,000
           
Rules of Thumb…
NOT GETTING DOORED
Allow about 4 feet between your bicycle and the parked car on your right to keep from running into a door or person getting out of it.
           
Unusual Fact of the Day…
Pandas are notoriously reluctant to mate in captivity. This has led breeders to create "panda porn"—videos of pandas copulating.
• • • • • • •
Joke-of-the-day
Four people are in an airplane, the pilot, the smartest man in the world, the richest man in the world, and a punk teenager. The airplane experiences some difficulties, and the pilot informs the three passengers that the plane is going to crash, and there are only three parachutes on the plane.
The richest man in the world takes one, because he says that his lawyers will sue everyone else on the plane if he doesn't survive.
The smartest man in the world takes a parachute, because he thinks that the world would be a worse place without him.
The pilot says to the punk "There's only one parachute left, I'll fight you for it."
"That won't be necessary," said the punk, "The smartest man in the world took my backpack."           

Yep, It Really Happened
TOKYO (UPI) - A Tokyo restaurant announced couples will not be welcome at the eatery on Christmas Eve because the sight of them would make single customers feel lonely.
The PiaPia restaurant posted a note in its window featuring a hand-drawn couple and a heart that have been crossed out with an explanation stating, "We will be refusing entry to all couples on December 24, with no exceptions!"
The note says couples would serve as a reminder of loneliness for single patrons on Christmas Eve and romantic pairs "would cause severe emotional trauma to members of our staff" who have to work on the holiday.
PiaPia worker Takashi Kyozuka said the sign was posted because eatery staff don't want customers to "feel sad that they are by themselves."
"To start with, someone said we should ban couples as a bit of a joke, but then we realized that it's true," he told The Telegraph. "If you are single on Christmas Eve, then it's easy to get down." 
           

Somewhat Useless Information
Something you didn’t know about Detroit parking fines
If someone spends an afternoon driving through Detroit, it is clear that there are more parking garages, street meters and surface lots downtown than people who actually want to park there.
But… did you know that the city of Detroit spends more money issuing parking fines than it collects from them?
In the Detroit News there’s the following paragraph: “The city is paying $32 to issue and process a $30 parking violation, and it hasn’t adjusted rates since 2001. On top of that, about half of Detroit’s 3,404 parking meters are not operating properly at any given time, says [Emergency Manager Kevyn] Orr’s spokesman, Bill Nowling”.
+++
Which was the basis for all aboriginal religious beliefs?
Dreaming or Dreamtime was the most important aspect of Aboriginal Mythology and the basis for all Aboriginal religious beliefs.
According to these beliefs, spirits, or Ancestral Beings, created the world during the Dreamtime.
Sometimes, the spirits were invisible supernatural forces. Other times, they took a physical form with human and animal characteristics.
+++
Which film does NASA use as training?
In order for NASA to ensure the high knowledge of new recruits, it uses a film as part of its management training program.
This film is “Armageddon in which there are 168 inaccuracies, more than one per minute and new recruits have to find as many as possible.
• • • • • • •
Today’s Events through History
1782 - Charleston, SC evacuated by British
1901 - 1st table tennis tournament is held (London Royal Aquarium)
1946 - Togo made a trusteeship territory of UN
• • • • • • •
Birthday’s Today
Patty Duke, [Anna Marie], actress (Miracle Worker) is 68
Vanessa Hudgens, singer and actress is 26

Remembered for being born today

Nostradamus, [Michel de Nostre-Dam],  astrologist/prophet [1503-1566]@62
Morihei Ueshiba "the founder" Japanese martial art of aikido [1883-1969]@85
King George VI of the United Kingdom [1895-1952]@56
James Doolittle, USAF General (Raid on Tokyo 1942) [1896-1993]@96
Margaret Chase Smith, (Rep/Sen-Maine) [1897-1995]@97
Frances Beauvier, actress (Aunt Bea-Andy Griffith Show) [1902-1989]@86
Morey Amsterdam, comedian (Buddy-Dick Van Dyke Show) [1908-1996]@86
Dan Dailey, dancer\actor (Gov Drinkwater-Governor & JJ) [1915-1978]@62
June Taylor, American choreographer [1917-2004]@86
Don Hewitt, CBS news executive producer (60 Minutes) [1922-2009]@86
Charlie "Silver Fox" Rich, vocalist (Behind Closed Doors) [1932-1995]@62
• • • • • • •
Historical Obits Today
Myrna Loy, [Williams], US actress (Jazz Singer), 1993, @88
Walter Lippmann, American journalist (Public Opinion), 1974, @85
Peter O'Toole, Irish actor, 2013, @ 81
Arthur Treacher, TV announcer (Merv Griffin Show), 1975, @81
Stubby Kaye, actor (Guys & Dolls, Sweet Charity), cancer, 1997, @79
Norman Fell, actor (3s Company), cancer, 1998, @74
Jock Mahoney, actor (Dallas, Tarzan), stroke, 1989, @70
Andrei Sakharov, Russian physicist/dissident (Nobel 1975), heart attack, 1989, @ 68
George Washington, 1st president USA (1789-97), bloodletting, 1799,,@67
J Louis R Agassiz, Swiss geologist/paleo-biologist), 1873, @66
William Bendix, actor (Life of Riley), pneumonia, 1964, @58
Roger Maris, HR hitter (61 in 61, NY Yankees), cancer, 1985, @51
Albert, Prince consort of England\husband of Queen Victoria, typhoid, 1861, @42
James V, King of Scots, fever, 1542, @30
• • • • • • •

Brain Teasers Answers
Stonehenge.
The first verse describes the mystery that is Stonehenge. Although there are theories, we're still not absolutely positive who built it, how it was built, or why.
The second verse refers to the body of Stonehenge and the damage humans have caused. Each of the vertically-set stones weigh roughly over 5 tons, but tourists and passers-by have damaged and vandalized some smaller boulders also part of Stonehenge. There may also have been even more stones that were part of the broken circle that have now gone. Of course, rocks are lifeless, which explains the "life currents" mention.
The final verse explains some of the different theories developed for the purpose of Stonehenge. Some have said it was used to mark dates with the help of the sun's alignment, it may have been a burial ground, or even a temple of worship.
• • • • • • •

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 contains mistakes and sadly once 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.