Jan 15

 

2021…at last

Jan  15, 2021  Week: 2  Day: 15	Local:  H 54°\ L 26°\Ave. Sky Cover: 15%
Wind:   6mph\Gusts:  15mph	Today’s Ave. Temp.: H 42°\ L 17°
Nearest lightning: 1542mi.; Active fire: 59mi	Moderate  Risk of Fire           Visibility:  10mi
Record: 65°[1943]   Record: -12°[1937]	Jan Averages: 44°/16° (4 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

Colors are the smiles of nature.

Leigh Hunt

 

Random Tidbits

According to legend, tea was discovered in 2737 B.C. by Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung, known as the "Divine Healer." Purportedly, he discovered the beverage when tea leaves accidentally blew into his pot of boiling water.

China is the world's largest producer of tea. In 2009, China produced 1,359,000 tons; India was second with 979,000 tons.

A Little Humor

After I changed my car horn to ‘gun shots’, people get out of my way a lot faster

Quarantine: I ate 11 times and took 5 naps and it is still today.

True Things

Be Careful What You Ask For

If you give a woman a taser and ask her to use it on you, don't be surprised when she tasers you! A Utah man is accused of assaulting a woman he allegedly asked to use a taser on him when he had panic attacks, police reported. Ashten Lawrence, 20, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on charges of assault aggravated assault according to a probable cause affidavit. During an argument Lawrence began to have a panic attack. A woman told police that Lawrence had got her a taser for Christmas and "told her to use it on him if he ever went into a panic attack because he would become violent during said panic attacks," the affidavit states. The woman said she feared for her safety and used the taser on the back of Lawrence's neck. The affidavit states Lawrence became angry and allegedly hit her multiple times.

Interestng facts about AZ

Ø If you cut down a protected species of cactus in Arizona, you could spend more than a year in prison.

Ø South Mountain Park/Preserve in Phoenix is the largest municipal park in the country.

Ø Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, located about 55 miles west of Phoenix, generates more electricity than any other U.S. power plant.

 

Weekly Observations

National Mocktail Week	10-16
Cuckoo Dancing Week	11-17
No Tillage Week	15-21

 

Today’s Observations

Alpha Kappa Alpha Day
Bagel and Lox Day

Bean Day Link
Humanitarian Day 

International Fetish Day
National Bagel Day Link  
National Booch Day Link
National Fresh Squeezed Juice Day
National Hat Day

National Strawberry Ice Cream Day

Thank Your Mentor Day Link

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Politics is just getting dirtier and dirtier. A Representative is saying that the panic button in her office was removed just before the insurgence. It had been placed there after she had received threats. Hmmm

There will be 20,000 National Guard at the inauguration. That is more soldiers than we currently have in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iran. This is very serious.

After this impeachment Trump made a video to end the violence. I hope it works.

Here we must sign up for the vaccine. All appointments for January and February are filled. I hope my PCP has a plan when I have my appointment next week.

It has warmed up nicely today…easy to take a walk in the neighborhood.

Daily Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

What invention lets you look right through a wall?

Historical Events

1759 – The British Museum, in Bloomsbury, London, the world’s oldest public national museum, opened to the public.

1861 – The Steam elevator was patented by Elisha Otis.

1863 – Woodpulp paper was first used in the US for a printed newspaper by the Boston Morning Herald of Boston.

1870 – The Donkey was 1st used as symbol of Democratic Party, in Harper’s Weekly, drawn by Thomas Nast.

1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, was incorporated in Atlanta.

1895 – Tchaikovsky’s ballet “Swan Lake” premiered in St. Petersburg.

1919 – The Boston Molasses Disaster – a huge vat of molasses broke open at the Purity Distilling Company and flooded a Boston neighborhood. 21 were killed.

1936 – The first building to be completely covered in glass, two stories built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, was completed in Toledo, Ohio.

1951 – The US Supreme Court ruled that “clear and present danger” of incitement to riot is not protected speech and can be a cause for arrest.

1967 – The inaugural Super Bowl was simulcast on CBS and NBC. The National Football League (NFL) champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American Football League (AFL) champion Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 35 – 10.

1967 – The Rolling Stones appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, and did not sing “Let’s Spend Some time Together” as planned.

1975 – Space Mountain opened at Disney World (Florida)

1977 – The Coneheads debuted on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Also, Bill Murray joined the cast of SNL, replacing Chevy Chase

1978 – Superbowl XII aired on CBS, the first night-time Superbowl

2001- Wikipedia debuted online.

2009 – US Airways flight 1549 landed safely in the Hudson River, NY, thanks to Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.

2016 American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan unveils newest exhibit replica skeleton of a Titanosaur dinosaur (found 2010 Argentina), largest known dinosaur at 70 tons, 37m

2018 Pope Francis arrives in Chile for a three-day visit amid child sexual abuse claims against church clergy

2019 Beginning of humanity's largest gathering, the Kumbh Mela Hindu festival with 15 million people bathing at the joining of Ganges and Yamuna rivers, India. 120 million expected over next 49 days.

2019 Witness in El Chapo trial claims former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto accepted $100 million bribe from the drug cartel head

2019 Plastic will outweigh fish in the world's oceans by 2050 according to report by the World Economic Forum

Birthdays Today

@95 – Edward Teller, Hangarian-American physicist (died in 2003)

@51 (baptized) – Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin), French actor, playwright (d. 1673; TB)

42 – Drew Brees, American football player

40 – Pitbull (Armando Christian Pérez), American rapper and producer

@39 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American minister, activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968; assassinated)

Puzzle Answer

A window.

 

Jan 14

 

2021…at last

Jan 14, 2021  Week: 2  Day: 14	Local:  H 50°\ L 25°\Ave. Sky Cover: 35%
Wind:  2 mph\Gusts:  4mph	Today’s Ave. Temp.: H 42°\ L 17°
Nearest lightning:2044mi.; Active fire:  59mi	High Risk of Fire           Visibility:  10mi
Record: 65°[1943]   Record: -15°[2017]	Jan Averages: 44°/16° (4 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.

-Hal Borland

Random Tidbits

Deadly Plant: Oleander

This extremely common evergreen shrub is one of the most poisonous plants in the world. The leaves, flowers and fruit contain cardiac glycosides, which have therapeutic applications but are likely to send someone into cardiac arrest should he eat part of the plant.

 

Deadly Plant: Mala Mujer

Mala mujer, which translates to "bad woman," can be found in parts of the southwest and Mexico and is covered with nasty thorns, which could be turned into makeshift barbwire if needed. The real danger, however, comes from the caustic, milky sap that can leak from the plant. The sap, a common feature among many plants in the Euphorbia genus, can cause painful skin irritations and unsightly discoloration.

A Little Humor

You come from dust, you return to dust…that’s why I don’t dust, it might be someone I knew.

 

I just stepped on a cornflake. Now I’m an official cereal killer

Interestng facts about AZ

Ø The world's largest to-scale collection of miniature airplane models is housed at the library at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona.

Ø The only place in the country where mail is delivered by mule is the village of Supai, located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Ø Located on Arizona's western border, Parker Dam is the deepest dam in the world at 320 feet.

Weekly Observations

National Mocktail Week	10-16
Cuckoo Dancing Week	11-17

 

Today’s Observations

Asarah B'Tevet: 12-14

Caesarean Section Day
Dress Up Your Pet Day Link 
International Kite Day
National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day

Organize Your Home Day Link
Ratification Day
World Logic Day

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Mid-week and it is finally warming up.

Lots of people are talking about the impeachment…that is about all that is on TV’s alphabet channels. Sadly, this is not uniting the country. The division in our country continues to grow. Sad. As this goes on the current administration is working overtime to get rid of environmental and immigration rules. Even sadder.

Pelosi ordered metal detectors at the door into the House chambers after the breech last week. Republicans were outraged, and some refused a search after setting off the alarm. Despicable.

The AIA (AZ Interscholastic Assoc] met yesterday and reversed it’s decision on canceling winter sports. Games and matches will be held, with only 2 parents of the home team allowed to be in attendance. Masks are required. Good news for HS senior athletes, I hope it works.

AZ is very slow in distributing the vaccine. Looks like 65–74-year-olds will start getting it in February. Disappointed, but not surprised.

Daily Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

My voice is tender, my waist is slender, and I’m often invited to play. Yet wherever I go I must take my bow or else I have nothing to say. What am I?

Historical Events

1690 – The Clarinet was invented in Nurnberg, Germany

1878 – U.S. Supreme Court rules that race separation on trains is unconstitutional

1914 – Henry Ford opened his assembly-line Model-T factory

1952 – NBC’s Today Show debuted.

1954 – NY Yankee Joe DiMaggio married actress Marilyn Monroe.

1954 – The Hudson Motor Car Company merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the American Motors Corporation.

1967 – The Summer of Love took place, starting at San Francisco’s ‘The Human Be-In.’

1973 – The Miami Dolphins complete the first undefeated season by winning Superbowl VII.

1973 – Elvis Presley’s Aloha From Hawaii Special, was seen by over 1 billion viewers. Since it was on the same day as Superbowl VII, it was shown later (April 3, 1973) in the US.

1981 – FCC ended limitation on TV commercials.

1989 1,000 Muslims burn Salman Rushdie's' "Satanic Verses" in Bradford, England

1995 Mexico pledges profits from state-owned Pemex's $7-billion-per-year oil revenues in an effort to secure US congressional approval of loan guarantees; President Clinton approves a $20-billion U.S. aid package for Mexico

2007 Legendary Russian test pilot Marina Popovich is awarded the honorary title "The Hero of the Nation" by the Russian Federation

2019 US President Donald Trump denies he is a Russian agent after NY Times article states the FBI started an investigation and the Washington Post raised issues over a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin

2020 US game show Jeopardy "greatest of all time" tournament won by Ken Jennings

 

Birthdays Today

@100 – Hal Roach, American director, producer (d. 1992)

@92 – Andy Rooney, journalist, critic, television personality (d. 2011)

@90 – Albert Schweitzer, French-Gabonese physician, philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)

83 – Jack Jones, American singer, actor

80 – Faye Dunaway, American actress

78 – Holland Taylor, TV actor

@77 – Mark Goodson, American game show producer, created Family Feud and The Price Is Right (d. 1992; cancer)

@75 – Julian Bond, American academic, politician (d. 2015; vascular disease)

69 – Maureen Dowd, American journalist and author

@60 – Benedict Arnold, American-British general (d. 1801; dropsy)

57 – Shepard Smith, American television journalist

@53 – Mark Antony, Roman general and politician (d. 30 BCE; suicide)

53 – LL Cool J (James Todd Smith), American rapper and actor

52 – Dave Grohl, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer

Puzzle Answer

A violin.

 

Jan 13

 

2021…at last

Jan 13, 2021  Week: 2  Day: 13	Local:  H 37°\ L 7°\Ave. Sky Cover: 5%
Wind:   5mph\Gusts:  6mph	Today’s Ave. Temp.: H 42°\ L 1°
Nearest lightning: 1152mi.; Active fire: 59mi	Moderate Risk of Fire           Visibility:  10mi
Record: 59°[2000]   Record: -7°[2013]	Jan Averages: 44°/16° (4 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

We build statues out of snow, and weep to see them melt.

-Walter Scott

Random Tidbits

The knight's role has been stable over time. Even in the earliest versions of the game, it represented the cavalry and had the unique ability to leap over its opponents.

Blindfold chess is real and documented in world records. It is as it sounds: a player makes all of his or her moves without looking at a board. Usually there is a "middleman" of sorts to give and receive moves for the game.

Blindfold chess is an impressive skill that many stronger chess players possess. It certainly requires a keen ability to see the board clearly, which can get difficult after many moves. The record was set in 1960 in Budapest by Hungarian Janos Flesch, who played 52 opponents simultaneously while blindfolded - he won 31 of those games.

A Little Humor

Whiskey Wednesday…it’s like Taco Tuesday for the badasses.

Day 12 without chocolate…Lost hearing in my left eye.

The 12 steps of the chocoholic program: Never be more than 12 steps from chocolate

True Things

What else could Covid possibly ruin?

The organizers of the No Pants Subway Ride, an annual January event held on public transport in more than a dozen cities worldwide, announced the 2021 event has been canceled. Improv Everywhere, the performance art group that has organized the No Pants Subway Ride since the first event was held in 2002 in New York City, said this year's sans-pants public transit trek has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are canceling the annual No Pants Subway Ride this year," Improv Everywhere said on the event's official website. "We look forward to hosting more large-scale events once it is safe to do so again." Previous years have seen organized groups of subway riders taking per-determined commuter train routes in their underwear in cities including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Boston, Berlin, Calgary, Dallas, Mexico City, Tokyo, London, Lisbon, St. Peterburg, Melbourne and San Francisco.

Interestng facts about AZ

Ø When England's famous London Bridge was replaced in the 1960s, the original was purchased, dismantled, shipped stone by stone and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where it still stands today.

Ø Mount Lemmon, Tucson, in the Santa Catalina Mountains, is the southernmost ski resort in the United States.

Ø Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch in Picacho, Arizona is the largest privately-owned ostrich ranch in the world outside South Africa.

Weekly Observations

National Mocktail Week	10-16
Cuckoo Dancing Week	11-17

 

Today’s Observations

Asarah B'Tevet: 12-14
Clean Off Your Desk Day
Korean American Day  Link
Make Your Dreams Come True Day

International Skeptics Day

Make Your Dream Come True Day

National Gluten-Free Day
National Rubber Duckie Day

National Sticker Day  Link
National Take the Stairs Day 

National Take the Stairs Day 

National Peach Melba Day

Public Radio Broadcasting Day
Rubber Ducky Day
Stephen Foster Day

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

It is certainly still winter here. Just wish there was some moisture to go with these cold temps.

Now I read that all 50 state capitols are on heightened alert for the inauguration. This is getting profoundly serious. During the attack on the capitol, some of the Republican Representatives that were put in a safe room for a couple of hours refused to wear their masks. Now several Dems are claiming they tested positive because of their colleagues weren’t wearing masks. So sad. In prep for the inauguration, the Washington Monument has closed for tours. I’m guessing this happens at most inaugurations. 

Daily Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

What fastens two people yet touches only one?

Historical Events

1854 – US patent (#11062) for an accordion was issued to Anthony Faas of Philadelphia, Pa.

1863 – Thomas Crapper invented the portable toilet.

1888 – National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, D.C.

1930 – Disney’s ‘Mickey Mouse’ newspaper strip first appeared.

1959 – Motown Records is formed in Detroit.

1962 – Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored 73 points against Chicago

1978 – United States Food and Drug Administration began requiring all blood donations to be labeled “paid” or “volunteer” donors.

1986 – Johnny Cash performed his famous Folsom County Jail show.

2005 – US Surgeon General, Richard H. Carmona, issued a national health advisory to warn the public about the risks of breathing indoor radon.

2007 Two thirds of the Venus's southern hemisphere suddenly brightened as something triggered aerosols to form at a furious rate.

2012 Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia runs aground at Isola de Giglio, Italy, causing 32 deaths

2020 Oldest material existing on earth at 7.5 billion years old revealed by scientists studying the Murchison meteorite that fell to earth in Australia in 1960s

Birthdays Today

@91 – Michael Bond, English soldier, author, created Paddington Bear (d. 2017)

@90 – Sophie Tucker, Russian-born American singer and actress (d. 1966)

@88 – Alfred Fuller – American businessman: Fuller Brush Man (d. 1973)

@88 – Rip Taylor, American comedic actor (d. 2019)

@84 – Robert Stack, American actor (d. 2003)

@76 – Charles Nelson Reilly, American comedic actor (d.2007; pneumonia)

@67 – Horatio Alger, Jr, American author (d. 1899)

60 – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress

58 – Trace Adtkins, American singer/songwriter

55 – Patrick Dempsey, actor

@48 – Brandon Tartikoff, American screenwriter, producer (d. 1997; cancer)

46 – Andrew Yang, Entrepreneur, politician

44 – Orlando Bloom, English actor

43 – Nate Silver, American journalist and statistician

30 – Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor

Puzzle Answer

A wedding ring.