18 Feb

 

18 February 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 7 Day 49 \ Ave. Sky Cover 40% \ Visibility 18 miles Flagstaff Today 43° \13°  Wind 10mph \ Gusts 18mph 
Air Quality: Moderate \Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 249mi \ Nearest Lightning 3023mi
Feb. Averages for Flagstaff: 47° \ 19° \5 Days of moisture
Sunshine with clouds

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

  11-20
  Date (Fruit) Week
  11-18  
  National Entrepreneurship Week Link
  12-18 
  Children of Alcoholics Week Link 
  International Flirting Week
  Jell-O Week
  Love A Mench Week
  National Secondhand Wardrobe Week
  Random Acts of Kindness Week Link 
  14-21
  14-21
  National Condom Week
  National Nest box Week 
  NCCDP Alzheimer's & Dementia Staff Education Week
  14-16
  World AG Expo
  17-22
  Carnival
  17-23 
  Great Backyard Bird Count Link
  17-18
  Isra Al Mi'Raj
  Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering
  18-25 
  National FFA Week Link 

 

Daily Observations

Battery Day (Volta's birthday)
Cow Milked While Flying In An Airplane Day
Crab Stuffed Founder Day
National Battery Day
National Drink Wine Day Link
National Hate Florida Day Link
Pluto Day (Planet is Discovered by Clyde Tombaugh)  
Thumb Appreciation Day
World Pangolin Day  Link 
World Whale Day 
World Whale Day Link

National Airboat Day 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Another chilly day.

I had lunch with Faith and Andy. They are on their way to Laughlin for the long weekend. I reminded them that after retirement, every week is a long weekend. Good conversation and good food.  

I thought I slept well last night. When I woke up the bottom fitted sheet had popped out at the foot of the bed and was wrapped around my legs. It took a minute to figure out why I was trapped in the bed.

Lesson learned: On my way home from lunch the frozen snow on the roof of my car slide off, onto the front windshield and I could barely see out. I turned on my flashers and drove slowly, looking for a turn off of the road. There was a stop light, so I jumped out to clear the windshield. The guy behind me ran to the passenger side and helped. Great to live in a town with courteous drivers.

Enjoy…

Facts…

The First Australian Police Force Was Assembled of Convicts

When the colonization of Australia began in the late 1700s, there was no recognized formal police force. As a penal colony of Great Britain, there were more convicts than people with non-criminal backgrounds. Upon arrival in New South Wales in 1788, the Royal Navy Marines were given the task of policing, although it wasn’t a role that they wanted. Soon after, Governor Arthur Phillip selected 12 of the most upstanding convicts and created a civilian law enforcement department called the Night Watch. They continued as the Sydney Police until 1862, when they merged with other New South Wales colonial forces. 

Slang Origins

1996: All that and a bag of chips

Meaning: even better; sometimes negatively (as in too much)

Context matters here; the Oxford English dictionary said “all that” began being used to mean good in the late ‘80s, and adding “a bag of chips” means it’s even better. But it can also refer to a person or thing who is stuck-up or conceited. The 1999 teen movie "She’s All That" uses the first definition.

Trivia…

France covers more time zones than any country on the planet

France is famous for many things, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Cathedral of Notre Dame. But it also happens to hold the world record for the country with the most time zones. France covers 12 time zones, mostly due to its various territories all around the world. Even the Unites States and Russia, two of the world's largest nations, only cover 11 different time zones.

Historical Events

1865 – Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman set the South Carolina State House on fire during the burning of Columbia, near the end of the Civil War.
1885 – Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published for the first time.
1929 – The first Academy Awards were announced in 1929 for 1928’s films.
February 18, 1966 Birthday (fictional) Jack Bauer, TV, 24
1977 – The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle had its maiden “test flight” on top of a Boeing 747.

Birthdays Today

@91 – George Kennedy, American actor (d. 2016)
90 – Yoko Ono, Japanese-American singer-songwriter
A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.– Yoko Ono
@90 – Helen Gurley Brown, American journalist, author (d. 2012)
Never fail to know that if you are doing all the talking, you are boring somebody.– Helen Gurley Brown
@90 – Enrico Ferrari, entrepreneur (d. 1988)
@88 – Toni Morrison, American novelist (d. 2019)
At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint or even remember it. It is enough. No record of it needs to be kept and you don’t need someone to share it with or tell it to. When that happens- that letting go- you let go because you can.– Toni Morrison
@87 – Jack Palance, American actor (d. 2006)
@84 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, American stained glass artist (d. 1933)
God has given us our talents, not to copy the talents of others, but rather to use our brains and imagination in order to obtain the revelation of true beauty.– Louis Comfort Tiffany
@77 – Charles M. Schwab, American businessman, co-founded Bethlehem Steel (d. 1939)
The difference between getting somewhere and nowhere is the courage to make an early start. The fellow who sits still and does just what he is told will never be told to do big things.– Charles M. Schwab
@74 – George Peabody, American merchant, philanthropist (d. 1869)
@74 – Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician, academic (d. 1980)
@70 – Bill Cullen, American game show panelist and host (d. 1990; lung cancer)
@72 – John Hughes, American director, producer, screenwriter (d. 2009)
73 – Cybill Shepherd, American actress
71 – Judith Kay ‘Juice’ Newton, American singer-songwriter
69 – John Travolta, American actor
66 – Vanna White, American model and game show host
59 – Matt Dillon, American actor
58 – Dr. Dre (Andre Young), American rapper and producer
55 – Molly Ringwald, American actress
@52 – Wendell Willkie, American politician (d. 1944; heart disease)
49 – Jillian Michaels, American fitness trainer and author
@49 – Qin Shi Huang, Chinese emperor (d. 210 BC; poisoned?)
I have collected all the writings of the Empire and burnt those which were of no use.– Qin Shi Huang

 

 

17 Feb

 

17 February 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 7 Day 48 \ Ave. Sky Cover 5% \ Visibility 18 miles Flagstaff Today 30° \-5°  Wind 5mph \ Gusts 10mph 
Air Quality: Fair \Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 240mi \ Nearest Lightning 1110mi
Feb. Averages for Flagstaff: 47° \ 19° \5 Days of moisture
Sunshine

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

  11-20

  Date (Fruit) Week
  11-18  

  National Entrepreneurship Week Link
  12-18 

  Children of Alcoholics Week Link 

  International Flirting Week
  Jell-O Week
  Love A Mench Week
  National Secondhand Wardrobe Week
  Random Acts of Kindness Week Link 
  14-21

  National Condom Week

  National Nest box Week 
  NCCDP Alzheimer's & Dementia Staff Education Week
  14-16

  World AG Expo
  17-22

  Carnival
  17-23 

  Great Backyard Bird Count Link
  17-18

  Isra Al Mi'Raj
  Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering

 

Daily Observations

Analog to Digital TV Day
Café au Lait Day (Coffee with Milk Day)
Flip Flop Day  Link 
Girl Scout Cookie Sales-3/26  Link 
Human Spirit Day
My Way Day
National Cabbage Day
National Caregivers Day Link 
National PTA Founders Day Link
No One Eats Alone Day  Link 
Public Science Day
Random Acts of Kindness Day  Link  
World Human Spirit Day 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

It is still too cold for my liking. I headed out this morning, after clearing off my vehicle. I’m not sure why but neither the key fob or the internet start worked this morning. Not a big deal since I still had to clear off the snow. First I got in and started the engine  so the vehicle was warm when I was ready to travel.   This reminded me of my pioneering days before remote start.

A new law proposed in AZ: ‘Once a decade, every voter would be purged from the voting roles and then have to register to be able to vote.' It won’t pass, but still has to be dealt with by the voters in AZ.

I am amazed that the rescue crews are still finding survivors in the horrific Turkey/Syria earthquake. Thanks to all who are on those rescue crews.

Ellie sent out a notice about a trip in Canada. Sounds interesting for sure. Still thinking.

I am more than curious as to why there is so much concern over where Black History and what Black History is taught and there is no discussion about those concerns regarding other minority groups. Every group has a verbal history of their encounters with others in the past. All history should be taught in schools.

Travel…

Facts…

Highway 1 Is One of the Longest Highways on the Planet

With wide open roads running along meandering coastlines, cutting through vast deserts, and crossing mountainous terrain, Australia is a dream destination for a road trip. Highway 1 (nicknamed the Big Lap) is a 9,010-mile-long road that follows the coastline in one enormous loop. It connects almost all of Australia’s major cities, including Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, and Brisbane. It’s also the second-longest highway in the world, after the Pan-American Highway. One of the many fascinating sections of the highway is the “90 Mile Straight.” This perfectly straight stretch passes through the flat, tree-less landscapes of the Nullarbor Plain between Balladonia and Caiguna, in Western Australia. 

Slang Origins

1995: As if

Meaning: yeah, right; I doubt it.

"Clueless" remains a perennial favorite in part because of the many words and phrases it added to America's cultural lexicon. Director Amy Heckerling studied real Beverly Hills high schoolers and asked auditioning actors for slang in order to make sure she was capturing how teens actually talked; she discovered “as if,” used in the lesbian community, this way.

Trivia…

The United States of America has gotten its fair share of criticism recently. One of the reasons behind this is the movement towards universal healthcare, which is common in nearly all first-world countries and is seen as a massive positive in powerful countries, but the U.S. has not come to the same decision as some of the rest of the world. While that has gotten a lot of attention, another pressing concern for America is they do not have any required pay for sick days or holidays. This has lead to a rise in the power of unions in America.

Historical Events

1865 – Columbia, South Carolina surrendered to General Sherman’s Union forces. Fort Sumpter was also returned to Union control.
1897 – The National Parent Teacher Association was formed.
1929 – The League of Latin American Citizens (LULAC) was founded.
1936 – The Phantom, Comic Strip debuted.

Birthdays Today

@96 – Hal Holbrook, American actor (d. 2021)
87 – Jim Brown, football player
@85 – Mary Carson Breckinridge, founded Frontier Nursing Service (d. 1965)
@84 – Walter ‘Red’ Barber, American sportscaster (d. 1992)
“Whenever you have a tight situation and there’s a close pitch, the umpire gets a squawk no matter how he calls it.”– Walter ‘Red’ Barber
@68 – Thomas Malthus, English demographer (d. 1834)
“I think it will be found that experience, the true source and foundation of all knowledge, invariably confirms its truth.”– Thomas Malthus
@81 – Otto Stern, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
@75 – [Clarence Linden Crabbe II ]Buster Crabbe, American Olympian, actor (d. 1983; heart attack)
@70 – Aaron Montgomery Ward, founded Montgomery Ward (d. 1913)
@77 – Mary Ann Mobley, Miss America 1959 (d. 2014; Crohn’s disease)
@66 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006; heart attack)
61 – Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor
60 – Michael Jordan, American basketball player
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”– Michael Jordan
60 – Larry the Cable Guy (Daniel Whitney), American comedian
58 – Michael Bay, American director, producer
52 – Denise Richards, American model and actress
“There are always two or three or four sides to every story.”– Denise Richards
51 – Billie Joe Armstrong, American singer-songwriter
49 – Jerry O’Connell, American actor
@47 – Huey P. Newton, co-founded the Black Panther Party (d. 1989; murdered)
“My fear was not of death itself, but a death without meaning.”– Huey P. Newton 42 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor, director, and producer
“If you’re going to put yourself above everybody else, you might end up alone.”– Joseph Gordon-Levitt
42 – Paris Hilton, American model, media personality
“The way I see it, you should live every day like it’s your birthday.”– Paris Hilton
32 – Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter