7 Jan

January 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 1 Day 7 \ Ave. Sky Cover 5% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 40° \17°  Wind 7mph \ Gusts 16mph 
Air Quality: Fair\Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 375mi \ Nearest Lightning 888mi
Jan Averages for Flagstaff: 44° \ 16° \5 Days of moisture
Sunshine

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

1-7
Diet Resolution Week 
National Folic Acid Awareness Week   Link
Dating & Life Coaches Recognition Week
National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week
Silent Record Week
2-8
International Consumer Electronics Show
Someday We'll Laugh About This Week
3-6
No Tillage Week
6-9
Elvis' Birthday Celebration Week
6-Feb 21
Carnival Season
7-14
National Personal Trainer Awareness Week

Daily Observations

Bald Eagle Appreciation Days
Harlem Globetrotter's Day
I'm Not Going To Take It Anymore Day
International Programmers Day
Invisible Pain Day
National Bobblehead Day
National Old Rock Day  Link
National Pass Gas Day
National Play Outside Day Link 
Orthodox Christmas
National Bobblehead Day 
Orthodox Christmas
National Bobblehead Day Link
National Tempura Day Link

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

The expected snow never arrived. Still chilly, but lots of sunshine too.

Ellie called and her son, Jeff, wants to put the Focus Travel club website back up. I emailed him to see what we can do to make that happen.

It is interesting to be watching the vote in the House and at the same time the remembrance of Jan 6^th. Our country has sure gone through a lot since that day, and we still haven’t settled the conflict in our government.  Vote 14 will happen tonight and may be possible for McCarthy to win.

When the new year begins, insurance companies make changes for the new year. I learned that one of my meds is no longer covered. Thankfully my PCP found one that will also work. Insurance companies are in the business of making money. This is the first time it has affected my directly. Now I understand what many go through. For me, it all worked out, but for many others the outcome is not that positive.

Waterfalls around the world

Facts…

In The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Ernest Hemingway opens with the words: “Close to the western summit there is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude.” But Hemingway only viewed Kilimanjaro from its base. His inspiration for this short story came from a photograph taken by a prolific climber named Richard Reusch. In 1926, Reusch stumbled across the animal Hemingway describes at about 18,500 feet above sea level on the crater rim, and captured the moment in a famous photograph. Today, the part of the crater where the creature was spotted is nicknamed Leopard Point.

In September 2014, a group of international cricketers set a world record for the highest-altitude cricket match when they played at Kilimanjaro’s Crater Camp. Among the players who participated were fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, who represented South Africa during his career, and former England spinner Ashley Giles. A few years later, women’s soccer reached new heights with a game played at 18,700 feet above sea level. The 30 players — hailing from 20 different countries — carried goal posts and nets up the mountain and marked out the pitch with flour to minimize harm to the mountain’s precious ecosystem. The 90-minute game ended in a goalless draw.

To advertise the opening of the first Pizza Hut in Tanzania in 2016, pepperoni pizza was delivered to employees and guides waiting at the summit of Kilimanjaro. The pizza was cooked in a Dar Es Salaam restaurant and flown to a local airport before being carried up the mountain on foot. An official representing Guinness World Records approved the feat as the highest-altitude pizza delivery ever made. Even straightforward climbs of Kilimanjaro haven’t always been, well, straight forward. Sanjay Pandit from Nepal reached the summit and returned to the foot of the mountain walking backward the entire way.

More importantly, climbing Kilimanjaro can be an effective way of highlighting worthy causes in the media and raising money for charity, particularly when celebrities are involved. Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, climbed dressed as a rhino to raise awareness for the Save the Rhino Foundation. And each year, members of Wings of Kilimanjaro climb Kilimanjaro and paraglide back down to raise money for causes such as digging wells and building schools in Tanzania. 

Slang Origins

1957: Fantabulous

Meaning: wonderful; marvelously good

The blend of two words—in this case, “fantastic” and “fabulous”—is known as a portmanteau. This is a common way to create new slang words; think of “ginormous” and or “guesstimate.” In the digital age, these have become even more popular, leading many to use them without even realizing it.

Historical Events

1927 -The first transatlantic telephone service was established between NYC and London.
1929 – Tarzan the Apeman, Comic Strip debuted
1934 – Flash Gordon, Comic Strip debuted
1999 – The Senate trial in the impeachment of U.S. President Bill Clinton began.

Birthdays Today

@103 – Adolph Zukor, Hungarian-American film producer, co-founded Paramount Pictures (d. 1976)
@85 – Alan Napier, English actor (d. 1988)
@84 – Butterfly McQueen, American actress, dancer (d. 1995)
@76 – Charles Addams, created The Addams Family (d. 1988; heart attack)
“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.”– Charles Addams
75 – Kenny Loggins, American singer-songwriter
“Courage is always rewarded.”– Kenny Loggins
@74 – Millard Fillmore, American politician, 13th President of the United States (d. 1874)
“The whole country is full of enterprise. Our common schools are diffusing intelligence among the people and our industry is fast accumulating the comforts and luxuries of life. … It is not strange, however much it may be regretted, that such an exuberance of enterprise should cause some individuals to mistake change for progress and the invasion of the rights of others for national prowess and glory.”– Millard Fillmore
67 – David Caruso, American actor
@66 – Juan Gabriel, Mexican musician (d. 2016; heart attack)
66 – Katie Couric, American television journalist
“A boat is always safe in the harbor, but that’s not what boats are built for.”– Katie Couric
60 – Rand Paul, American ophthalmologist, politician
59 – Nicolas Cage, American actor
52 – Jeremy Renner, American actor