12 Jan

 

January 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 2 Day 12 \ Ave. Sky Cover 5% \ Visibility 22 miles Flagstaff Today 45° \20°  Wind 6mph \ Gusts 10mph 
Air Quality: Fair\Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 319mi \ Nearest Lightning 1149mi
Jan Averages for Flagstaff: 44° \ 16° \5 Days of moisture
Sunshine

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

6-Feb 21
Carnival Season
7-14
National Personal Trainer Awareness Week
8-14
Home Office Safety and Security Week  
National Mocktail Week
11-17
Cuckoo Dancing Week
11-20
Take A Friend Snowmobiling Week Link

Daily Observations

Curried Chicken Day
Kiss A Ginger Day Link (Red Heads)
National Hot Tea Day

National Kiss a Ginger Day
National Marzipan Day
Pharmacist Day
National Hot Tea Day
National Kiss a Ginger Day
National Marzipan Day
Pharmacist Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Last night’s storm brought about 1” of wet snow. Now it is sunshine from the rest of the week. Roads are wet.

I can’t believe the price of a dozen eggs. If this continues, people will be using potatoes to hide at Easter.

An FAA computer glitch grounded all flights in the US for several hours this morning. This is just after the Holiday travel delays are returning to normal. The issue is being blamed on outdated infrastructure.  Hmmm, where have I heard that before….roads, bridges, dams, and now flights. Ugh.

Local NY politicians are calling for Santos to resign after his ‘unique’ biography. I wonder if this will actually happen.

Prince Harry says that he is a ‘spare.’ This is not a term I had heard in that context before, but it makes sense. He means a ‘spare’ King is something happens to his older brother. Now that I think about it, Prince Andrew was also a ‘spare’ for King Charles. Maybe that explains his rather bizarre behavior over the years.

Waterfalls around the world

 

Facts…

The earliest known full-sized electric car was designed by Robert Anderson, a Scottish inventor who built his version in the 1830s, though that car (and many of its successors) didn’t go very far; at the time, batteries were rudimentary and couldn’t be recharged. It would take about three decades for electric car batteries to improve, and starting in 1881, battery-operated buses began ferrying passengers in Paris, Berlin, London, and New York. A few years later, Iowa chemist William Morrison applied for a patent for his electric carriage, which could travel around 50 miles on one charge at a top speed of 20 miles per hour. By 1897, the top-selling car in the U.S. was powered by battery, though electric vehicles would hold the market for a relatively short time. By 1913, manufacturer Henry Ford had fine-tuned the mass production of gas-powered cars, dropping their price and helping to usher in a new era of private transportation. 

Slang Origins

1963: Bummer

Meaning: a huge disappointment

Another word popularized by hippies, “bummer” had a much different meaning in the previous century. Coming from the German slang word “bummler,” it once meant a loafer or idle person before taking on the meaning we know today.

Historical Events
1991 – Congress authorized the use of military force against Iraq.
1932 – Hattie W. Caraway (D Arkansas) was the first female United States Senator.
2004 – The world’s largest ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, made its maiden voyage.

Birthdays Today

@87 – Kreskin (George Joseph Kresge), American mentalist
@67 – Joe Frazier, American boxer (d. 2011; liver cancer)
@87 – Ray Price, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
@75 – Charles Perrault, French author, academic (d. 1703)
73 – Sheila Jackson Lee, American politician
@71 – Kirstie Alley, American actress (d. 2022; cancer)
Through history, people look for something spiritual. The greatest scientists in the world were men of religion and faith, too.– Kirstie Alley
71 – Ricky Van Shelton, American country singer-songwriter
@70 – Rush Limbaugh, American talk show host (d. 2021; lung cancer)
69 – Howard Stern, Radio personality
@68 – Edmund Burke, Irish philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1797)
Whenever a separation is made between liberty and justice, neither, in my opinion, is safe. ~
– Edmund Burke
@68 – Tex Ritter, American actor and singer (d. 1974)
They say that Virginia is the mother of Texas. We never knew who the father was, but we kinda suspected Tennessee.– Tex Ritter
@64 – Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist physician (d. 1644)
@61 – John Winthrop, English lawyer, 2nd Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (d. 1649)
59 – Jeff Bezos, American businessman, founded Amazon.com
58 – Rob Zombie (Robert Bartleh Cummings), American singer-songwriter
49 – Melanie C (Melanie Jayne Chisholm), English singer-songwriter, Spice Girls
43 – Amerie, American singer-songwriter
@44 – Tim Horton, Canadian ice hockey player, founded Tim Hortons (d. 1974; car crash)
@40 – Swami Vivekananda, Indian philosopher (d. 1902; reached Mahāsamādhi)
To succeed, you must have tremendous perseverance, tremendous will. “I will drink the ocean”, says the persevering soul; “at my will mountains will crumble up”. Have that sort of energy, that sort of will; work hard, and you will reach the goal.– Swami Vivekananda
@40 – Jack London, American novelist, journalist (d. 1916; dysentery?)
I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.
– Jack London
38 – Issa Rae, American actress
30 – Zayn Malik, English singer-songwriter, One Direction
@32 – Ira Hayes, American soldier (d. 1955; exposure/alchohol)
How could I feel like a hero when only five men in my platoon of 45 survived, when only 27 men in my company of 250 managed to escape death or injury?– Ira Hayes

 

11 Jan

 

11 January 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 2 Day 11 \ Ave. Sky Cover 50% \ Visibility 17 miles Flagstaff Today 52° \23°  Wind 5mph \ Gusts 10mph 
Air Quality: Fair \Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 325mi \ Nearest Lightning 273mi
Jan Averages for Flagstaff: 44° \ 16° \5 Days of moisture
High clouds

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

6-Feb 21
Carnival Season
7-14
National Personal Trainer Awareness Week
8-14
Home Office Safety and Security Week  
National Mocktail Week
11-17
Cuckoo Dancing Week
11-20
Take A Friend Snowmobiling Week Link

Daily Observations

Cigarettes Are Hazardous To Your Health Day
Girl Hug Boy Day
Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day Link
National Hot Toddy Day
National Milk Day
Secret Pal Day
Stomp in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day (weather permitting)
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day Link
World Sketchnote Day Link

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

A fast-moving storm is headed my way. They say it will be gone by noon tomorrow and leave an inch of so of the white stuff. I am patiently waiting.

I was glad to see that the House approved its rules for this session without too much hassle.

Just as things were calming down, Biden’s VP office discovered classified documents and notified the National Archives. After that, the media broke the story. Now some Republicans are out there wondering why the FBI didn’t raid Biden’s old office, how long the current President should be allowed to remain in office, and how soon he can be impeached. I am patiently waiting.

Great news that Damar Hamlin is back in Buffalo just one week after the incident. Thanks to all who assisted in his quick recovery.

Last summer I was following the trek of BearSun as he walked from LA to NYC to raise money for mental health, \Autism, cancer, the environment, and the disabled community. He has returned to Flagstaff to donate his moccasins to the Museum of Northern AZ. Very cool.

Just after I finished yesterday’s blog, the AZ Cardinals announced the firing of the Head Coach and General Manager. Probably the right move after a pathetic season.  

Today the Navajo Nation inaugurated a new President (Buu Nygren) and the first ever female VP (Richelle Montoya). President Nygren is the youngest President for the Navajo Nation, elected at 35 years old. Congrats.

Waterfalls around the world



 

Facts…

In 1900, about a third of vehicles were electric.

For centuries, getting around by horse and cart was the standard mode of transportation. By the 1800s, however, these hay-powered haulers were causing problems on busy city streets. As more people moved into cities, the number of horses dramatically increased, and with so many equines on the roads — New York City had around 150,000 horses in 1890 — came public health concerns over disease and mountains of manure. Horse travel, frankly put, was relatively dirty in comparison to making way by horseless carriage, aka the first electric vehicles. Marketed as clean, quiet, and easy to drive, early electric cars, which resembled traditional carriages, became so popular that by 1900 they accounted for around one-third of all automotive vehicles on roadways. 

Slang Origins

1962: Chrome dome

Meaning: a bald person

The hippie movement encouraged men in the movement to wear their hair long or in afros. “Chrome dome” became an insult for those not in the movement, especially those serving in the Vietnam War, who had to get their hair buzzed short to meet military requirements.

Historical Events

1759 – First American life insurance company incorporated, founded by the Presbyterian Synod of Philadelphia.

1908 – Grand Canyon National Monument was created. It became a National park in 1919.

1964 – Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Luther Terry, M.D., publishes the landmark report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smoking efforts.

Birthdays Today

@102 – Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist and academic, discoverer of LSD (d. 2008)
@84 – James Paget, English surgeon and pathologist (d. 1899)
@89 – Carroll Shelby, American race car driver, engineer, and businessman (d. 2012)
I’m not going to take this defeatist attitude and listen to all this crap anymore from all these people who have nothing except doomsday to predict.– Carroll Shelby
@82 – David L. Wolper, American director and producer (d. 2010)
@76 – Naomi Judd, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2022; suicide)
@65 – Abraham Joshua Heschel, Jewish theologians (d. 1972)
There is a realm of time where the goal is not to have but to be, not to own but to give, not to control but to share, not to subdue but to be in accord. Life goes wrong when the control of space, the acquisition of things of space, becomes our sole concern.– Abraham Joshua Heschel
@58 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball player, coach (d. 2015; heart attack)
52 – Mary J. Blige, American singer-songwriter
@49 – Alexander Hamilton, 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1804; lost duel)
The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.– Alexander Hamilton
39 – Matt Mullenweg, American web developer, co-created WordPress
36 – Scotty Cranmer, American Professional BMX rider
I learned my lesson after seeing what guys like TJ Lavin, Ty Pinney, Stephen Murray and Mikey went through. And honestly, I feel like I’m disrespecting them by not wearing a helmet while riding at this level. I wish kids would start appreciating life and realize how everything can change in that one split second just because you’re not going to wear a helmet.– Scotty Cranmer

 

10 Jan

10 January 2023
Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 2 Day 10 \ Ave. Sky Cover 15% \ Visibility 19 miles Flagstaff Today 52° \25°  Wind 2mph \ Gusts 3mph 
Air Quality: Moderate \Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 313mi \ Nearest Lightning 1001mi
Jan Averages for Flagstaff: 44° \ 16° \5 Days of moisture
Sunshine

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

6-Feb 21
Carnival Season
7-14
National Personal Trainer Awareness Week
8-14
Home Office Safety and Security Week  
National Mocktail Week

Daily Observations

Houseplant Appreciation Day Link 
League of Nations Day
National Bittersweet Chocolate Day

National Booch (Kombucha) Day 
League of Nations Day
National Bittersweet Chocolate Day
National Booch (Kombucha) Day Link
National Cut Your Energy Costs Day
National Oysters Rockefeller Day  Link
National Poetry at Work Day
National Shop For Travel Day  Link
Peculiar People Day
Save The Eagles Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Starting a new week with a nice winter day.

The Broncos ended their season with a win over the Chargers. The Cards ended their season with another loss, this time to the 49ers. I am expecting coaching changes in the near future.

Brazil is experiencing vote denial and is more violent that what happened here in the states. It is sad to see.  What has happened to democracies that when a candidate loses, they lick their wounds and move on?

Biden visited the border in El Paso, but the far right still isn’t happy. Now they are claiming the area was cleared before the President arrived.

Waterfalls around the world

 

 

Facts…

It’s not just the immense scale of the reef that makes the Great Barrier Reef visible to astronauts in space. The contrast between the dark blue of the deeper parts of the ocean and the light turquoise of the lagoons on the other side of the reef makes it relatively straightforward to identify with the naked eye. But the pictures taken from space are valued for more than their aesthetic appeal. The MERIS sensor used on the Envisat satellite mission was a useful tool in mapping the extent of coral bleaching, the term given to stressed coral which has rid itself of algae.

Scientists are continually studying the Great Barrier Reef, but the discovery of a 1,640-foot-tall reef off the North Queensland coast was an exceptional find, the largest discovery in more than a century. By comparison, the Empire State Building measures 1,454 feet from sidewalk to tip. Researchers from the Schmidt Ocean Institute in California were using an underwater robot to create a 3D map of the seafloor when they made the discovery. The submarine landform, which is about a mile wide, is right off the northern tip of the Great Barrier Reef. 

Slang Origins

1960: Groovy

Meaning: hip, trendy; marvelous or excellent

Occasionally, a slang word is born that defines a generation, and groovy is one of them. It started as jazz slang in the 1930s, referring to the grooves in a record, before exploding in popularity during the 1960s and ‘70s during the hippie movement. Today, the word has become the relic of another era, a catch-all used to describe anything that comes from the decade, even baby names.

Historical Events

1776 – “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine was published.
1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil.
1878 – The first (Susan B. Anthony Woman) Woman’s Suffrage Amendment was offerd to congress by Senator Arlen A. Sargent of California.
1927 – Fritz Lang’s futuristic film Metropolis was released in Germany.
1946 – The United Nations’ General Assembly (51 countries) met for the first time in London.

Birthdays Today

@91 – Jerry Wexler, American music producer (d.2008)
@87 – Philip Levine, American poet (d.2015)
@83 – Max Roach, American drummer and composer (d.2007)
@83 – Ray Bolger, American actor (d.1987)
I was brought up on the books of The Wizard of Oz and my mother told me that these were great philosophies. It was a very simple philosophy, that everybody had a heart, that everybody had a brain, that everybody had courage. These were the gifts that are given to you when you come on this earth, and if you use them properly, you reach the pot at the end of the rainbow. And that pot of gold was a home. And home isn’t just a house or an abode, its people, people who love you and that you love. That’s a home.– Ray Bolger
@83 – David Horowitz, American activist and author
@79 – Roy E. Disney, American businessman (d.2009; cancer)
It’s not hard to make decisions once you know what your values are.– Roy E. Disney
78 – Rod Stewart, English singer-songwriter
@75 – (John) Robinson Jeffers, American poet (d.1962)
75 – Donald Fagen, American singer-songwriter, musician
It’s great to know that our old stuff still sounds good to our fans, just as it’s wonderful to think that we’ve turned a few people on to jazz over the years.– Donald Fagen
74 – George Foreman, Boxer, Grill-guy
@73 – Scott McKenzie, American singer-songwriter (d.2012)
73 – Roy Blunt, American politician
@72 – Frank James, American criminal (d.1915)
I have been hunted for twenty-one years. I have literally lived in the saddle. I have never known a day of perfect peace.– Frank James
@72 – Frank Sinatra, Jr., American singer and actor (d.2016; heart attack)
70 – Pat Benatar, American singer-songwriter
You can’t change the past so don’t let it haunt you. You can change the future but first you’ve got to want to.– Pat Benatar
@66 – Charles Phillip Ingalls, the father of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d.1902; heart disease)
@63 – Johnnie Ray, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d.1990; liver disease)
@57 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (d.1931)
@53 – Linda Lovelace, American actress (d.2002; auto accidnet)
50 – Félix Trinidad, Puerto Rican-American boxer
42 – Jared Kushner, American businessman political figure
@37 – Sal Mineo, American actor (d.1976; murdered)


  

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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.