Jan 8

 

2021…at last

Jan 8, 2021  Week: 1  Day: 8

Local:  H 52°\ L 23°\Ave. Sky Cover: 5%

Ave Temps for today 42°  17°

Wind:   4mph\Gusts:  7mph                       

Nearest lightning:1283mi.; Active fire:59mi

Moderate Risk of Fire          

Visibility:  10mi

Record: 62°[2002]   Record: -12°[1989]              

Jan Averages: 44°/\16° (4 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.

William Blake

Random Tidbits

Some historical names for January include "Wulfmonath," which came from the Anglo-Saxons because it was the month hungry wolves would come scavenging. King Charlemagne would call it "Wintermanoth" meaning 'winter/cold month.'

One of the most influential events in U.S. happened in January - on January 1st, 1892, Ellis Island opened, allowing for the immigration of over 20 million people!

The earliest Latin calendar was a 10-month one, beginning with March; thus, September was the seventh month, October, the eighth, etc. July was originally called Quintilis, meaning fifth; August was originally called Sextilis, meaning sixth.

A Little Humor

Q: What has 3 legs & 3 eyes? Three pirates.

Generally- all generalizations are false

True Things

Remember the scare film from 1939; Reefer Madness? It was propaganda designed to show parents that if they let their kids smoke 'Mary-Jane' they would turn into sex-addicted, violent sociopaths. Even back then the movie was laughable to all but the most naive audiences, and now we are able to look back on it as the ignorant paranoia that it is... except that it totally isn't! A recent incident in South Dakota makes the mayhem depicted in Reefer Madness look like mischievous hijinks.

The story starts with a teenager smoking pot with two friends in the basement of his father's house. Mistake no. 1; don't smoke pot indoors if there is a risk of being detected. That smell is impossible to hide.

So the father discovered them and ordered the two friends to leave, but when his son wanted to leave with his friends his father refused to let him go. That's when a scuffle broke out.

Dad was able to hold both of them while he called the police, but no arrests or report was made because he just wanted his son's friends to leave.

You would think that narrowly avoiding arrest for possession and consumption of marijuana would be enough adventure for a couple of teens for one night, but these two, cranked up on the sticky-icky, immediately went to round up 20 of their watery-eyed friends and laid in wait for the dad.

When he went outside to move a car parked in his driveway, the mob surrounded the car and started beating on it and smashing the windows.

Finding himself in a scene out of a horror movie, the victim threw that hooptie in gear and took off across the lawn.

One neighbor said, "All of a sudden, I saw a car going 30 to 40 mph hit the curb. All you could see is headlights and kids running all over, then I saw a kid get hit while he was coming off the curb. That's when they switched to start chasing each other in their cars."

The neighbor called police to report the incident. He tried to get the plates of the vehicles the teens were in but was unsuccessful.

"Then it was just constant cars flying down these roads. They were hitting and swerving at each other. You don't even see this stuff on TV."

Eventually, the mob dispersed. The victim was able to identify a few of the teens but didn't know most of them.

Interestng facts about AZ

Ø Arizona has the largest contiguous stand of Ponderosa pines in the world stretching from near Flagstaff along the Mogollon Rim to the White Mountains region.

Ø Yuma, Arizona is the country's highest producer of winter vegetables, especially lettuce.

Ø Arizona is the 6th largest state in the nation, covering 113,909 square miles.

Weekly Observations

Diet Resolution Week

1-7 

Silent Record Week

1-7

New Year's Resolutions Week

1-8  Link

Someday We'll Laugh About This Week

2-8

National Personal Trainer Awareness Week [cancelled]

2-9 

Home Office Safety and Security Week Link
National Folic Acid Awareness Week 
Link
Dating & Life Coaches Recognition Week
National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week

3-9 

Elvis' Birthday Celebration Week
International Consumer Electronics Show

National Soccer Coaches of America Week

6-10 

 

Today’s Observations

Argyle Day
Bubble Bath DayLink
Earth's Rotation Day

I Am A Mentor Day Link
National English Toffee Day 
Link
Male Watcher's Day

Midwife's Day or Women's Day
National Joy Germ Day
National Winter Skin Relief Day
 Link
Show and Tell Day at Work
War on Poverty Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Our democracy survived an insurrection yesterday. I am glad for that. However, this showed the world the division in our country and how our country handles our issues. Most of the mob were white. Police were not as present as they should have been. When Blacks of BLM or Native Americans of Stop the Pipeline, the Federal troops acted much differently. I saw no tear gas yesterday. I saw no violent arrests yesterday. Now a day later there have been few arrests compared to other demonstrations. Four died during the chaos…one was shot, 3 had medical emergencies. Reports say 14 officers were injured. The world is watching and right now, the US does not look good.

When my 50th HS reunion occurred, I picked up some people on FB who were in my graduation class. It was nice to see how their lives were going. More than a few are Trump supporters. A few have posted outlandish conspiracy theory reposts. I usually read them and scroll on.  Today several of them have announced that they are leaving FB for other social media because FB banned Trump. I just don’t get it. I guess they just want a site that believes everything they post.

Now that Georgia has been decided, the Senate is now 50-50 for voting purposes, since the two independents vote Democrat, who will be the majority and minority leaders in the Senate? I’m sure there is a presidence, but can’t seem to recall it.

Have you seen thediscoverer.com? It started showing up in my email box. Anyway, every day or so they offer a list of fascinating, spectacular places around the world and here in the US. Pictures included are amazing. If you check it out, you must give an email address. I don’t remember signing up, but whatever happened, I am a happy camper. If you don’t like it you can always unsubscribe.

 

Daily Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

How many of each species did Moses take on the ark with him?

 

Historical Events

1790 – George Washington gave the first ‘State of the Union’ message, urging the opening of the US Patent Office.

1815 – Andrew Jackson won the “Battle of New Orleans”

1828 – The Democratic Party of the United States was organized.

1889 – Dr. Herman Hollerith received the 1st U.S. patent for a tabulating machine, technically this was the first computer patent!

1918 – Mississippi was the 1st state to ratify the 18th amendment (prohibition)

1963 – Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was exhibited in the United States for the first time, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

1964 – US President Lyndon Johnson declared ‘War on Poverty’

1996 – Jacques Cousteau’s Calypso was accidentally rammed by a barge and sank in Singapore Harbour. It was raised, and is now a museum in France.

2002 – President George W. Bush signed into law the bi-partisan No Child Left Behind Act.

2004 RMS Queen Mary 2, the largest passenger ship ever built, is christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II

2016 Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto announces the recapture of drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, six months after he escaped prison

2020 Duke and Duchess of Sussex announce they are stepping back as "senior" royals, will work towards becoming financially independent

Birthdays Today

98 – Larry Storch, American comedic actor

88 – Charles Osgood, American journalist

84 – Shirley Bassey, Welsh singer

@83 Soupy Sales [Milton Supman], comedian, actor (d. 2009)

@80José Ferrer, Puerto Rican-American actor (d. 1992)

@76Stephen Hawking, English physicist and author (died in 2018; ALS)

@69David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, producer, actor (d. 2016; liver cancer)

63 – Betsy DeVos, American businesswoman, and politician

63 – Rey Misterio, Sr., Mexican wrestler

@59Gypsy Rose Lee [Rose Louise Hovick], actress, dancer (d. 1970; lung cancer)

@42Elvis Presley, American singer, The King

@48Graham Chapman, English actor, Monty Python member (d. 1989; cancer)

37 – Kim Jung un, N. Korean leader

Puzzle Answer

None, Moses wasn’t on the ark. Noah was.

 

Followers

Total Pageviews

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
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.