8-19-15

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Almanac: Week: 34 \ Day: 231
August Averages: 78°\50°
86004 Today: H 88° \ L 53° Average Sky Cover: 15% 
Wind ave:   6mph\Gusts:  25mph
Ave. High: 78° Record High: 88°[1973] Ave. Low: 50° Record Low: 35°[1979]
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Observances Today:
"Black Cow" Root Beer Float Day Frank J. Wisner, Cripple Creek Brewing Co., CO
National Medical Dosimetrist Day Link
National Men's Grooming Day
World Humanitarian Day Link  

Independence Day (Afghanistan-1919-from UK)
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Observances This Week:
15-21 National Aviation Week
18-24 Minority Enterprise Development Week
19-23 National Massage Therapy Week
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Quote of the Day 

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US Historical Highlights for Today
1607 - English settlers officially found "the other" English colony on North America. Unlike Jamestown, Popham is settled by just men and boys. Popham, northeast of modern Portland, Maine
1692 - Five more people hanged for witchcraft (20 in all) in Salem, Massachusetts
1791 - Benjamin Banneker published his 1st Almanac
1849 - NY Herald reports gold discovery in California
1875 -Without firing a shot, Navajos seized the Agency at Fort Defiance in protest over inaction by the Commissioner to remove their agent, W.F.M. Arny, whom they had twice petitioned to be removed. They also threatened to kill Arny should he return to the fort from Washington, D.C. Arny resigned on the 25th of August, 1875.
1934 - The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio
1960 - Francis Gary Powers convicted of spying by USSR (U-2 incident)
1960 - The first commercial atomic energy reactor, owned by the Yankee Atomic Electric Company, achieves a self-sustaining nuclear reaction in Rowe, Deerfield River, Massachusetts
1993 - George Tiller, abortion doctor, shot in his arms by Rachelle Shannon
1993 - Mattel & Fisher Price toy companies merge
2010 - Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait.
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World Historical Highlights for Today
1561 - Mary Queen of Scots arrives in Leith, Scotland to assume throne after spending 13 years in France
1826 - Canada Co chartered to colonize Upper Canada (Ontario)
1839 - Details of Louis Daguerre's 1st practical photographic process released in Paris
1897 - 1st electric taxis drive in London
1960 - Sputnik 5 carries 2 dogs, 3 mice into orbit as the first animals launched on a round trip into space (later recovered alive)
1965 - Auschwitz trials end with 6 life sentences
1998 - South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission chairperson, Archbishop D. Tutu, releases documents revealing an alleged plot by Western countries to assassinate United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden
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Birthdays Today:
How many can you identify? Answers below in Birthdays Today 

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My Rambling Thoughts
Another very warm summer day. Flagstaff has some harsh winters. Therefore on nice summer days, the roads need to be repaired. US89 is the main road from the North coming into Flagstaff. Lots of people live in the outlying areas and work in our little mountain town. So when it is time to work on US89, traffic can be a challenge. The somewhat visionary city workers told everyone to ‘use alternative routes’ during the repaving. I’m sure all the central Flag people who never drive 89, smile and say ‘good, they forewarned people’. The issue is, there are no ‘alternative routes’ around the current work. Side streets either end up ending or lead back to 89 in the construction area. My drive to the west side took twice as long as usual, and I take the Interstate to get across town. But 89 from my house to the Interstate was a parking lot. The return was a little faster as I took back roads before getting on 89. I have to say that the local cops did a good job of directing traffic but it was still very slow going. I saw lots of locals letting vehicles into the one lane of traffic. I also saw lots of out of state vehicles ignore the ‘one lane ahead’ signs and pass all of us then slam on their brakes when the lane ended and force their way into the one lane. Not a scientific survey for that, but I did have about 30 minutes to watch. It should be over by Thursday and I don’t have to go into town tomorrow, so all is good.
Hammering continues on the roof project…day 4 or 5 of hammering and they are still on building one of two. These guys are very slow. When someone did three newer buildings roofs a few years ago, it was all done in 3 days.
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Brain Teasers
(answers at the end of post)
Abuse me for I will not care.
Curse me when I stray from fair.
Brute force won't put me in my place.
Smooth and even wins the race.
Envy colors where I rest.
No sandy beaches for the best.

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Found on You Tube with some relevance to today
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…Flagstaff, AZ History…
100 YEARS AGO-1915
J. W. Weatherford has secured a right of way good for 30 years from the federal government to build a toll road from Flagstaff to The Peaks. As soon as competent gangs can be secured work will begin.

August Johnson, Santa Fe section man, fell from a cattle car into stock yards on Wednesday. He was seriously injured with deep gash in his head and a severely damaged back. He has been taken to Los Angeles for treatment.
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…Harper’s Index…
$172,000,000,000 –amount Greece’s ruling Syriza party believes that German owes Greece in war reparations
1/2 – portion of the current Greek debt this number represents
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…Instagram Photo of the Day… 

Natgeo Children play on a sand dune near the village of Gabar, Senegal. Gabar is a farming community near Potou, a small agricultural hub in northern Senegal. The region is part of the Millennium Villages Project, an initiative that works to end extreme poverty through community-led programs in rural development.
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…Foreigners Find These American Customs Offensive…
2. Sitting in the back of a cab
While it's customary for Americans to hop into the back of a cab, in Australia, New Zealand, parts of Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands, it's considered rude not to ride shotgun. Whereas cabbies in the US will sigh and reluctantly move their newspapers and lunches from the front seat, in other countries it's a matter of egality.
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…Nelson Mandela Inspiring Quote …
·         “I am the captain of my soul.”
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…USA Facts…
Abraham Lincoln was a licensed bartender.

91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving.
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…Unusual Fact of the Day…
Napoleon was a big fan of suspenders; he even had a pair decorated with bumblebees, the symbol of his native Corsica.
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2 jokes for the day
A very exited mother asked her daughter:
Well, what happened when you showed the girls in the office your new engagement ring? Did they all admire it?
Her daughter replied: Better than that, four of them recognized it.

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Merv was in a terrible accident at work. He fell through a floor tile and ripped off both of his ears.
Since he was permanently disfigured, he settled with the company for a rather large sum of money and went on his way.
One day, Merv decided to invest his money in a small, but growing telecom business called Plexus Communications.
After weeks of negotiations, he bought the company outright. But, after signing on the dotted line, he realized that he knew nothing about running such a business and quickly set out to hire someone who could do that for him. The next day he had set up three interviews.
The first guy was great. He knew everything he needed to and was very interesting.
At the end of the interview, Merv asked him, "Do you notice anything different about me?"
And the gentleman answered, "Why yes, I couldn't help but notice you have no ears." Merv got very angry and threw him out.
The second interview was with a woman, and she was even better than the first guy.
He asked her the same question, "Do you notice anything different about me?"
and she replied: "Well, you have no ears." Merv again was upset and tossed her out.
The third and last interview was the best of all three.
It was with a very young man who was fresh out of college. He was smart. He was handsome. And he seemed to be a better businessman than the first two put together.
Merv was anxious, but went ahead and asked the young man the same question:
"Do you notice anything different about me?" And to his surprise, the young man answered: "Yes. You wear contact lenses."
Merv was shocked, and said, "What an incredibly observant young man. How in the world did you know that?"
The young man fell off his chair laughing hysterically and replied, "Well, it's pretty hard to wear glasses with no ears!"        

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Yep, It Really Happened
Burger King Japan commenced an April rollout-limited in duration and only in Japan—of Burger King branded cologne (mimicking the Whopper’s savory ‘flame-grilled scent’). Early review were favorable, even though the launch date, suspiciously, was April 1. 
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Somewhat Useless Information
The Cullinan Diamond is the largest rough diamond ever found – at 3,106.75 carats. It was found in South Africa in 1905 and had to be transported from South Africa to England to be presented to King Edward VII. Can you guess how it was transported? 
When the world’s largest diamond was transported from Africa to England, an elaborate & secure journey by sea was publicized – as a rouse, according to gilletts.com.
The real diamond was simply posted by mail!
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Birthdays Today
“()” indicates age at death
(87) - Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, French fashion designer (Chanel) d. 1971
(86) - Charles Hires, Inventor and Manufacturer of the Hires Root Beer d.1937
 81 - Renee Richards, [Richard Rankind], trans-sexual tennis player
 77 - Diana Muldaur, actress (McCloud, Star Trek Next Gen, LA Law)
 76 - Ginger [Peter] Baker, England, drummer (Cream-White Room)
(76) - Orville Wright, Dayton OH, aviator (Wright Brothers), d. 1957
 75 - Jill St John, [Oppenheim], actress (Diamonds are Forever)
 73 - Fred Thompson, senator (R-Tenn)/actor (In the Line of Fire)
(73) - Seth Thomas, American pioneer in mass production of clocks d1859
(72) - Willie Shoemaker, jockey (won 8,833 of 40,350 starts) d.2003
(70) - Malcolm Forbes, Brooklyn, publisher (Forbes Magazine), d. 1990
(70) - Gene Roddenberry, El Paso Texas, executive producer (Star Trek) d.1990
 69 - Bill Clinton [William Jefferson], 42nd United States President
(68) - John Dryden, 1st poet laureate of England (All for Love) d.1700
(68) - Ogden Nash, Rye NY, humorous poet (I'm a Stranger Here Myself) d.1971
 68 - Gerald McRaney, Collins Miss, actor (Simon & Simon, Major Dad)
 67 - Tipper Gore, wife of vice president Al Gore (1993-01)
 52 - John Stamos, Cypress California, actor (General Hospital, Full House)
 50 - Kyra Sedgwick, actress (Phenomenon, Singles, Julia-Another World)
 46 - Matthew Perry, Canadian/American actor (Chandler Bing on Friends)
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Historical Obits Today
Linus Pauling, Nobel prize scientist (Vitamin C advocate)-1994@93
Groucho Marx, NYC, comedian (Marx Bros)-1977@86
Don Hewitt, creator of 60 Minutes-2009@86
Jacob Epstein, US/English sculptor/painter-1959@78
John Wesley Hardin, American gunfighter, shot-1895@42
Augustus Caesar, first Roman Emperor-14@40
Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, TB\cancer-1662@39
George Smith, English assyriologist (cuneiform script), fever-1876@36
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Brain Teasers Answers
Golf ball
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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.