10 May

 

 
Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 20 Day: 130 \ Ave. sky cover: 5% \ Visibility: 10 miles Flagstaff Today 67° \39° 
Wind: 8mph \ Gusts: 16mph
Extreme risk of fire \ Nearest active fire: 12mi \ nearest Lightning: 963mi
May Averages for Flagstaff: 68° \ 34°  (3 days of moisture)

 

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

3-11  (World) Dystonia Awareness Week Link

6-12  National Nurses Day and Week: Link  Link

6-15 National Public Gardens Week  Link

8-14   Food Allergy Awareness Week  Link National Nursing Home Week National Return To Work Week   National Women's Health Week  Tick Awareness Week

8-15 Reading is Fundamental Week  Link   Salvation Army Week   Salvation Army Week   Work At Home Moms Week

9-13   Economic Development Week  Link National Etiquette Week

9-15  National Hospital Week  Link National Stuttering Awareness Week

10-12   Community Health Improvement Week (CHI) Link

 

Daily Observations

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Another warm and windy day.

I headed out to get a pedicure this morning. The place I go was closed for ‘cleaning’. Guess I have to wait until tomorrow. I will do some checking, to be sure this was routine or if there was a problem.

I want to remain positive, but it is hard when thinking about technology. Biden announced a partnership with Internet providers to lower the costs for low-income households.  The deals would give some superfast internet (100+mps) to eligible households for around $30/mo. I probably won’t qualify. Further, I have lived the internet provider’s hype ever since I signed up for dial-up with AOL. I am currently paying about $50/month for internet that is bundled with my landline. Their promise is ‘up to 80mps’. I get about 50mps most of the time. Due to all the problems with the cookies added my websites that then send numerous emails and ads, I also have a VPN…virtual private network. That causes other problems. First it slows my internet to about 30mps. Second, some sites only let me log in to my account when I turn off the VPN. My bank is one of those, so if I try to access my account, the bank says it doesn’t recognize me and must send me a code to my phone so I can log on. Credit Karma says to turn off the VPN to access my account. It can get very tiresome very quickly. There doesn’t seem to be a workaround to keep the VPN on. My brother also has crappy internet in Mexico. He checked into Elon Musk’s satellite connection. It isn’t that expensive and promises very high speed…not ‘the up to’ of other providers. The problem is it is a 6 month. He signed up, waited 6 months. He called and they said it would be another 6-8 months. He cancelled the request. A week later he called to reclaim his cancellation. They said sorry, once you are cancelled you must sign up again and get in at the end of the line. As my mom would say: You just can’t win for losing.

US Marshalls have recaptured the guard and prison who escaped in Alabama. The former guard shot herself during capture. I’m sure this story will continue.

Favorite Memes

	Sturdy Tree!

 

Safest Cities in the World

8. Vienna, Austria

The riverside Austrian capital boasts imperial palaces, art galleries, museums, and oozes modern culture that appeals to travelers from every corner of the world. Vienna was also the home of Mozart and Beethoven, giving it even more clout. The icing on the cake is that visitors can enjoy the charms of the city in peace. Violent crimes and muggings are rare here. Just take the normal precautions against pickpockets and be logical when it comes to bargaining with locals and you’ll easily avoid getting robbed or scammed.

9. Niagara Falls, Canada

One of the most internationally recognized places in North America is also one of the safest. The locals are very friendly to visitors and violent crime is practically nil. The only thing tourists really need to be careful of is the water and mist around the famous falls, which can cause slippery conditions. Keep your footing and a holiday here is all gravy. By the way, the city of Niagara Falls isn’t just a pretty (waterfall) face – it’s also renowned for its breweries, wineries, boutiques, casinos, and festivals. Is there any reason not to visit this Canadian wonderland?

State Trivia

Maine: it has a desert

Forests, sandy beaches, lakes, and lighthouses are all things we'd expect to find in Maine, but it also has its own desert. Just a 20-minute drive from Portland you'll find the 40-acre Desert of Maine. Surrounded by coastal forest, the discovery of the glacial sand dunes was the result of over-farming. As the soil became depleted of essential nutrients, the topsoil erosion exposed the sand lying underneath. Turned into a tourist attraction in 1925, it's not a true geological desert as it still receives precipitation.

Maryland: you must pay for using your own bathroom

In a bid to improve sewage treatment plants and stop oxygen-destroying algae from blooming in the Chesapeake Bay, a 2004 Maryland law, also dubbed the flush tax, was signed. The $30-a-year fee (now $60) was imposed on all Maryland residents who own a property with a building on it and applies whether they use public water and sewer systems or septic tanks. This means that Maryland residents pay $5 a month for using the toilet.

Massachusetts: it has the longest place name in the US

Webster Lake in Massachusetts is a charming spot, with summer cottages dotting the shoreline and lush greenery hugging its coast. However, Webster Lake is also not its name at all. The third longest place name in the world and the longest in the United States, the lake is actually called Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg. That is Algonquin for "Fishing Place at the Boundaries—Neutral Meeting Grounds" Fun fact? The name has more letters G (15) than the lake's average depth, which is 13 feet (3.9m).

Historical Events

Ø    1774 – Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette became King and Queen of France
Ø    1824 – The National Gallery in London opened to the public.
Ø    1876 – The Centennial Exposition opened in Philadelphia
Ø    1877 – US President Rutherford B. Hayes has the White House’s first telephone installed in the ‘telegraph room.’
Ø    1975 – Sony’s Betamax, the first home videocassette recorder, went on sale in Japan
Ø    1980 – The US Government gave Chrysler a $1.5 billion loan.
Ø    1994 – Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was sworn in as the first black president of South Africa.
Ø    2013 – One World Trade Center became the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, at 1,776 feet.

Birthdays Today

@88 – Fred Astaire, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1987)

@63 – David O. Selznick, American director, producer (d. 1965; heart attacks)

@69 – Nancy Walker, American character actress (d. 1992; lung cancer)

62 – Bono [Paul David Hewson], Irish singer-songwriter, musician, activist

43 – Kennan Thompson, comedian [SNL]

@26 – John Wilkes Booth, actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1865; shot)

@21 – Sid Vicious [Simon John Ritchie], English singer and bass player (d. 1979; OD)