Jun 1

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Jun 1, 2020 Week: 23 Day: 153

86004: H 83° \ L 48° \ Average Sky Cover: 60%

Wind: 8mph\Gusts: 16mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 167mi.; Nearest active fire: 96mi.

Extreme Risk of Fire

Record High: 88°[1977] Record Low: 24°[1923]

Jun Averages: 80°\43° (3 days with rain)

Today’s Quote

"Many of life's failures are people

who did not realize how close they were

to success when they gave up."

-Thomas A. Edison

Random Tidbits

“Mary Had a Little Lamb” is based on a true story

Mary was indeed a real person and she did in fact have a little lamb. Mary Sawyer was born in 1806 and her lamb followed her to school one day around 1816. When Mary arrived at school, she wrapped the lamb in a blanket that she placed at her feet until it made a noise, informing the teacher of its company. John Roulstone had just arrived in town and witnessed Mary sneaking the animal into school, so he wrote a poem about the incident and delivered it to Mary. See some more weird facts most people don’t know.

Have a smile

True conversations while flying

Tower: "Delta 351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock, 6 miles!"

Delta 351: "Give us another hint! We have digital watches!"

Observations This Month

Adopt-A-Cat Month Link  Link
Adopt A Shelter Cat Month
African-American Music Appreciation Month Link
Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month Link
Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome Awareness Month (APS) Link
Audio Book Appreciation Month
Beautiful in Your Skin Month Link
California Avocado Month  Link
Cancer From The Sun Month
Caribbean-American Heritage Month
Cataract Awareness Month
Celibacy Awareness Month
Child Vision Awareness Month
Children's Awareness Month

Observations This Week

National Backyard Games Week: 25-6/1
Black Single Parents Week: 28-6/3

Hemp History Week: 1-7 Link

Observations for Today

Baby Boomers Recognition Day
CNN Day
Dare Day

Flip a Coin Day

Global Day of Parents Link
Heimlich Maneuver Day
International IGBO Day
International Table Top Day Link Canceled due to COVID-19
National Dare Day Link  
National Go Barefoot Day
National Hazelnut Cake Day

National Nailpolish Day Link
National Olive Day Link
National Pen Pal Day Link
National Thank God It's Monday Day
Oscar The Grouch Day Link
Say Something Nice Day  Link
Stand For Children Day Link
Superman's Birthday (Comic Book)
World Milk Day Link
World Narcissistic Abuse Day Link
World Reef Awareness Day Link

My Rambling Thoughts

Ready for a new month. The time from March to June seems like a whole year. The college students, my next door neighbors, have moved out. The three were geology students and are now heading out into the real world.

I watched the live docking at the space station. Again, it was awesome. Each time it is an amazing scientific achievement. I still hate parallel parking, on earth, at a very low speed.

I understand that the destruction in so many US cities is a very difficult undertaking for law enforcement. Just dismayed that they use tear gas and/or rubber bullets on the media when the only people in the line of fire are media with badges. I get shooting those non-lethal projectiles into unruly crowds that are not following police orders.

It is hard to understand the frustration of people that leads to vandalism. This morning on CNN they gave some frightening statistics that helped me understand. Look at the statistics of minority deaths by police; minority incarceration; length of sentences given to minorities; minority arrests and compare that to the same criteria for whites. Our judicial system is not treating whites and non-whites the same. A white college student is convicted of having drug paraphernalia on his person: 20 hours community service. A Black, the same age with the same paraphernalia: 5 years in prison.

The AZ governor just issued a statewide curfew of 8p to prevent further problems. The curfew starts tonight and lasts for a week. There was some looting in the Scottsdale suburb last night when demonstrations turned ugly. He has not yet called out the National Guard. So much for my late night partying this week. Haha.

Flagstaff received a little over $1million from the CARES Act. The council just gave grants to many local organizations to assist the most vulnerable in our city. Cool.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

There are five identical looking bags of gold coins. Four of the bags contain coins made of real gold and one of the bags contains coins made of fool’s gold.

All of the coins in all of the bags look identical. They are the same size, color and shape. The only difference is their weight. Real gold coins weigh 10 grams and coins made of fool’s gold weigh 11 grams.

You have an accurate scale that you can use only one time to determine which bag contains the fool’s gold. How do you do it?

Historical Events

495 - John Cor made a note referring to the first known batch of Scotch whiskey.

1215 Beijing, under control of Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Beijing

1792 Kentucky admitted as 15th US state

1813 - James Lawrence, the mortally-wounded commander of the USS Chesapeake, gave the now famous line: "Don't give up the ship!"

1831 - James Clark Ross discovered the Magnetic North Pole.

1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition opens in Portland, Oregon

1843 Sojourner Truth leaves NY to begin her career as antislavery activist

1886 - Thomas Edison received his first patent (#90646). It was for an "electrographic vote recorder."

1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition opens in Portland, Oregon

1946 - The BBC started to grant television licenses, for legal access to broadcast TV, costing £2 annually.

1947 - The Doomsday Cock first appeared, on the cover of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. It was initially s et at 7 minutes until midnight.

1961 - Regular FM stereo radio broadcasting with a multiplexed signal began in Schenectady, NY, on WGFM.

1962 SS officer Adolf Eichmann is executed in Israel after being found guilty of war crimes

1965 (Explosion) A coal mine explosion in Fukuoka, Japan at the Yamano mine killed 236 people.

1967 - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles was released.

1968 - Blind and Deaf popular icon Helen Keller died @87

1974 - The Heimlich maneuver, named after Dr. Henry Heimlich, was published in the journal Emergency Medicine.

1979 - The Apple II Plus was released.

1980 - The Cable News Network (CNN) began broadcasting

1991- The Comedy Network became Comedy Central

1994 - FX Network made its debut. It was the first cable TV network owned by FOX.

2009 - General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

2017 US President Donald Trump announces the US is withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement

2018 US unemployment rate falls to 3.8%, lowest since 2000

Birthdays Today

@86-Actor Andy Griffith (d. 2012)

86-Actor, singer Pat Boone

83-Actor Morgan Freeman

47-Model Heidi Klum

39-Comedian Amy Schumer

@36-Actor Marilyn Monroe (d,1962; OD)

Puzzle Answer

Take one coin from the first bag, two from the second bag, three from the third bag, four from the fourth bag, and five from the fifth bag. If the weight on the scale ends in 1 you know its the first bag, 2 the second, 3 the third, 4 fourth, and 5 the fifth bag.

May 31

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May 31, 2020 Week: 23 Day: 152

86004: H 85° \ L 50° \ Average Sky Cover: 75%

Wind: 10mph\Gusts: 23mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 35mi.; Nearest active fire: 147mi.

Extreme Risk of Fire

Record High: 89°[2002] Record Low: 23°[1988]

May Averages: 68°\34° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

"Never let the fear of striking out

keep you from playing the game."

-Babe Ruth

Random Tidbits

Peter the Great kept the head of his wife’s lover in her bedroom

Once Peter the Great discovered his wife Catherine’s unfaithfulness to their marriage with William Mons, the ruler had the man beheaded. He asked that the head of William be placed in a jar with alcohol. It was required that the jar remains in Catherine’s bedroom until Peter’s death so that she could be constantly reminded of her affair.

Observations This Week

National Backyard Games Week: 25-6/1
Week of Solidarity With The People of Non-Self-Governing Territories: 25-31
Black Single Parents Week: 28-6/3
BookCon: 31 Cancelled due to COVID-19

Observations for Today

Bay to Breakers Race Link Note: Oldest Footrace in America! 9/20 
Macaroon Day

National Smile Day  Link Cancelled due to COVID-19
Necrotizing Fasciitis Awareness Day Link Link
Pentecost
Save Your Hearing Day

What You Think Upon Grows Day
WhitSunday
World No Tobacco Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Another very warm day here. Clouds are helping and bringing hope for moisture.

What a great launch live. So many on-board cameras. Awesome.

I was fortunate enough to have visited Hong Kong with Focus a few years ago. Lots of changes since our visit. Now Trump says that Hong Kong is Chinese because China broke the treaty. Hong Kong and its citizens have had special consideration in trade and travel since they were turned over to China. Those considerations are now gone. Not a message I was happy to hear. In the same speech he pulled US funding from the WHO right in the Codid19 world-wide pandemic. Not happy with that one either.

Yesterday the main road in East Flag was closed for the day. All three High schools had a car parade for their grads. Each principal stood on the road and handed each graduate their diploma as the vehicle passed. Everyone was masked. Each high school had a designated time for their school's parade. Very cool!

Spring always brings demonstrations. Flagstaff had one such demonstration on the murder of George Floyd. About 100 peaceful demonstrators were at city hall then moved to the town square center. Other towns and cities have not been so lucky. It is important to remember there is a difference between a demonstration and those outsiders who are looting and burning down buildings. Sadly there are people who see looting and burning the way to show their disapproval. City leaders are saying these are people from other areas, and do not represent their town or their citizens. I agree, but those cities need to identify these people and let everyone know where they came from. This has become a National Security Issue and we need leadership that will step up and correct the many underlying issues.

This morning the Lt. Gov. of Minnesota, an enrolled member of the Ojibwa Nation, gave a very moving speech calling for peace. She introduced herself to the crowd in Ojibwa before she began her speech. She has been an activist for decades and was telling the citizens that they should stay home and not demonstrate so that the people inciting violence can be arrested. The state wants peaceful demonstrations, but this is impossible right now.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Assume there are exactly 7 billion (7,000,000,000) people alive on the planet. What would be the sum if you multiplied together the number of fingers each person had on their left hand?

For this brain teaser, all thumbs count as fingers.

Historical Events

1279 BC - Ramesses II became pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. He may have been the pharaoh involved with Moses. He was the subject of Percy Bysshe Shelly's Ozymandias. "King of Kings am I, Osymandias. If anyone would know how great I am and where I lie, let him surpass one of my works."

1223 Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River - Mongol armies of Genghis Khan lead by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus and Cumans

1578 - The Catacombs of Rome were discovered.

1790 - The United States enacted the Copyright Act of 1790.

1859 - Big Ben, located at the top London's 320-foot-high St. Stephen's Tower, began operating.

1879 Madison Square Garden opens in New York, named after 4th President James Madison

1909 National Conference on the Negro holds its first meeting in United Charities Building, New York (earlier form of the NAACP)

1911 RMS Titanic launched in Belfast

1927 - The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles. Henry took the last one home, to be with the first one and the prototype.

2005 - W. Mark Felt's family announced that assistant FBI director Felt, was in fact, 'Deep Throat' - the insider who told reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein the details about President Nixon's Watergate scandal.

2008 Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7m/s) 9.72 seconds

2019 US President Donald Trump threatens to impose extra 5% tax on Mexican goods if country does not increase its efforts to curb immigration

Birthdays Today

90-Actor/Director Clint Eastwood

@85-Actor Don Ameche (d. 1993)

77-Athlete Joe Namath (1943)

77-Actor Sharon Gless (1943)

@72-Poet-Walt Whitman (d. 1892)

59-Actor Lea Thompson

44-Actor Colin Farrell

55-Actor Brooke Shields

@32-Drummer John Bonham Led Zepplin (d. 1980; alcohol OD)

Puzzle Answer:

The sum would be zero. All it would take is for one person to have no fingers on their left hand. Any number multiplied by zero equals zero.

May 30

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May 30, 2020 Week: 22 Day: 151

86004: H 88° \ L 52° \ Average Sky Cover: 15%

Wind: 9mph\Gusts: 15mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 17mi.; Nearest active fire: 351mi.

Extreme Risk of Fire

Record High: 88°[2002] Record Low: 51°[1939]

May Averages: 68°\34° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count.

It's the life in your years."

-Abraham Lincoln

Random Tidbits

Urine was used as a mouthwash by ancient Romans

Human urine was so valuable to ancient Romans that it was collected from public urinals and even taxed when sold. Urine was used for many purposes, but most amusingly, it was used for dental hygiene. Romans used the urine to clean and whiten their teeth. The active ingredient being ammonia, which is a proven stain remover.

Observations This Week

National African Violet Week: 24-30
Healthy and Safe Swimming Week: 25-30 Link
National Backyard Games Week: 25-6/1
Week of Solidarity With The People of Non-Self-Governing Territories: 25-31
Black Single Parents Week: 28-6/3
BookCon: 30-31 Cancelled due to COVID-19

Observations for Today

Artichoke Days: Thru 31  Link  Moved to August 8-9 due to COVID-19

Indianapolis 500 Anniversary
Loomis Day
Memorial Day (Traditional)
Mike, The Headless Chicken Day Link

Mint Julep Day
My Bucket's Got a Hole Day

National Creativity Day Link
National Nail Tech Day Link

Water a Flower Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Another hot day. I couldn't stand it any longer, so I got my haircut today. Last haircut was Feb. 19. All went well, everybody wearing masks. Feel so much better. And I am no longer shaggy. Yeah! While I was out I did my weekly grocery shopping and that too went well. I now have all the windows open with a very slight breeze helping keep me cool. Haha...I'm always cool, the breeze is helping to keep my body cool.

A grizzly bear attacked a hiker in Montana back in early April. She was killed by Rangers. Turns out she had 3 small cubs. Thankfully they were rescued and now have a new home at Bearizona, a rescue facility just outside Williams, AZ. Very cool.

Before taking off I watched CNN and saw the arrest of one of their reporters while on the air by state police in Minnesota. There was no violence during the arrest, but it sure looked like a police state. He and his crew were released a few hours later. The Governor held a press conference and apologized for the cops behavior. I'm beginning to understand that cop violence is only being in the news because of videos taken by passersby. So shameful. I also heard a guest on FOX news say: To build community trust the good cops have to stand up when they see fellow officers doing wrong. WOW! TRUE!!

Someone hacked into Ellie, our Focus Travel Club leader's email and sent emails to all her contacts asking for $$$. She spent several hours on the phone, changing her passwords, getting computer help to change everything, and has notified all her contacts that is isn't her. Several called her and a couple of people responded to the email and sent money. This is so sick and depraved. The lesson, never respond to an email from a friend asking for money without calling them to verify it is really them. These hackers are very sneaky and could care less who they hurt.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

You are driving in your car at night when magically three doors appear in front of you. A voice from them loudly tells you that behind the first door you will find diamonds. Behind the second door you will find gold and behind the third door you will find money. What door do you open first?

Historical Events

1431 Hundred Years' War: 19 year old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal in Rouen, France

1539 Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto's expedition of 10 ships and 700 men lands in Florida

1631 - Gazette de France, the first French newspaper, began publication.

1806 - Future US President Andrew Jackson participated in a duel, killing Charles Dickinson. Dickinson shot first, wounding Jackson, but Jackson's shot at Dickinson was fatal. Most of Andrew Jackson's duels were for the questioned honor of his wife, Rachel.

1898 - Chemist Morris William Travers discovered the element krypton (Kr), the element, not the planet.

1906 Hersheypark, founded by Milton S. Hershey for the exclusive use of his employees, is opened

1922 Completed Lincoln Memorial dedicated by US Chief Justice William H. Taft in front of 50,000

1911 - The inaugural Indianapolis 500 was run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana.

1922 - The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington DC.

1966 - Launch of Surveyor 1, the first US spacecraft to land on an extraterrestrial body (the Moon).

1967 Robert "Evel" Knievel's motorcycle jumps 16 automobiles in Gardena, California

1967 Argentinian author Gabriel García Márquez's most important work "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is published in Buenos Aires

2005 - American student Natalee Holloway disappeared while on a high school graduation trip to Aruba. Most people believe that Joran van der Sloot had something to do with it.

2019 Two new studies find eating processed foods leads to an early death and ill health published in "British Medical Journal"

Birthdays Today

@81- Voice Actor Mel Blanc (d. 1989)

77-Football Star Gale Sayers (1943)

@77-Jazz Clarinetist Benny Goodman (d. 1986; heart attack)

56-Country Singer Wynonna Judd [Christina Claire Ciminella]

45-R&B Singer CeeLo Greeen

Puzzle Answer:

Your car door.