Saturday

346 days so far this year…19 days remain in 2009
13 shopping days remain until Christmas
***Provocative Quote***
Dreams are the touchstone of our character.
~Henry David Thoreau
***Free Ramblings***
Another weekend is upon us. Time sure flies. I ventured out to do some Christmas shopping. I am a last minute guy and am still not in the mood, as hard as I try. I keep looking and thinking, well I still have time, I’ll keep looking. It has always worked in the past, and I hope it continues to work this year.
I have been messing around for a few days to make a DVD of my Southern Africa trip. When I made the one for Egypt, I put all the stories on the disk with no problem. Now, I can’t figure out what program I used to do this fairly simple task. I have tried several that were on my computer. Nothing would work. Today I finally got them on a disk, after about six tries. The problem with the disk is that it didn’t make Chapters, so each of the four stories just play one after another. It will work in a pinch, but I really wanted to have them separated. Maybe tomorrow it will come together. Gotta just love technology. Something it works, then it doesn’t work, then it kinda works, then it finally works again. Sheeeesh.
We had a warm night last night…it was 7°--much warmer than the last few days. Today we made it to 38° but the 15mph winds made it feel about 30°. Then it started snowing about 3pm with flurries. A lot is not expected—only an inch. I can handle that. As expected, the Letters to the Editor started today, complaining about the lack of snow removal. One letter did remind everyone that we are in financial crisis here in Flagstaff and that they did the best they could under the circumstances. I am certainly happy that our HOA keeps our street fairly clear and does a decent job of keeping the common sidewalks clear. I can understand how hard it is for people with long driveways and roads that aren’t plowed. Then again, this is a mountain community and one expects snow. It is not the best place to have a low clearance vehicle, or to be without some kind of 4 wheel or all wheel drive. If one doesn’t have that kind of vehicle, the people within the city have the advantage of a very good public transportation system for a town this small. It was running all day during the storm and continues to move people in the aftermath. I used to ride the city bus to my orthodontist and to my Grandma’s house when I was a pre-teen and early teen. It was not my favorite type of transportation, but sure got me to where I was going, and I didn’t have to have a parent tagging along. Each trip I took, I saw as an adventure into the world. So, for the next few days, the paper will print letters about how hard it is to move around in Flag when it snows. I just remember that we are in a mountain community and we have snow. We need the moisture. The forest needs the moisture. Deal with it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
± Quotes from Values.com—Confidence
“The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.” Ayn Rand Writer, Philosopher

± Unusual Christmas Stuff…
-In Belgium, St. Nicholas pays two visits to each house.
-Brazilians celebrate Christmas partly by enjoying the balmy weather outdoors.
-Christians in China call Santa Claus Dun Che Lao Ren, which means Christmas Old Man.
-In Mexico, the pastorelas are reenactments of Mary and Joseph's search for an inn.
-Greece is home to the killantzaroi, goblins that appear only during the 12-day period between Christmas and Epiphany.

± Random Fact
Diet Coke was only invented in 1982.
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§ December Month Long Observances
Birthstone: Blue Topaz…Flower of the Month: Narcissus

Colorectal Cancer Education and Awareness Month + Hi Neighbor Month + National Write A Business Plan Month + National Tie Month + Rising Star Month + Safe Toys and Gifts Month + Spiritual Literacy Month + Stress Free Family Holiday Month + Universal Human Rights Month + Read A New Book Month+ World Aids Month

§ Week of 12 December
Chanukah (Hanukkah) Week 12th-19th

§ 12 December Observances
Day Of The Horse (since 2004)
National Ding-A-Ling Day
Pennsylvania : Ratification Day (1787)
Poinsettia Day
International Shareware Day (since 2007)
-El Salvador : Day of the Indians
-Kenya : Independence Day/Jamhuri Day (from Britain: 1963)
-Turkmenistan – Neutrality Day (since 1995)
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~ Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1925…The first Motel opens the Milestone Mo-Tel of San Luis Obispo, California as the midpoint stop between Los Angeles to San Francisco and costing $1.25 per night per room.

BIRTHS ON THIS DAY
~ The Arts
Bob Barker in 1923 Darrington WA, game show emcee (Price is Right)
Gustave Flaubert in 1821 (France) novelist (Madame Bovary)
Connie Francis (Concetta Franconero) in 1938 singer/actress (Where the Boys Are) anti-gay activist
Frank Sinatra in 1915 singer/actor
Edward G Robinson [Goldenberg] in 1893 (Romania) actor
Karl Edward Wagner in 1945 sci-fi author (Bloodstone, Night Winds)
Dionne Warwick I 1940 singer (Way to San Jose)

~Athletics
Orlando Brown in 1970 NFL tackle (Browns, Ravens)
Jesse Owens in 1913 Olympic track star (4 golds 1936)
Cathy Rigby McCoy in 1952 Olympic gymnast

~Business / Education / Politics
Edward I Koch in 1924 Mayor NYC
Henry Wells in 1805 founder (American Express Company & Wells Fargo & Company)

~Science / Religion
Sherburne W Burnham in 1838 astronomer (binary stars)

In Remembrance~
Tallulah Bankhead actress pneumonia @ 65
Robert Browning English poet @ 77
Jack [John Joseph Edward] Cassidy actor (Oscar-He & She, Eiger Sanction), in fire @ 49
John Craig Scottish church reformer/James VI's court vicar,
Douglas Fairbanks actor heart attack @ 56
Johnny Lee actor (Calhoun-Amos 'n' Andy), @ 67

Historical Events on this day
1098…1st Crusaders capture & plunder Mara Syria 1791 Bank of the US opens
1800…Washington DC established as capital of US
1822…México officially recognized as an independent nation by US
1858…1st Canadian coins circulated (1¢, 5¢, 10¢ & 20¢)
1870…Joseph Rainey (South Carolina) became 1st black sworn into House of Representatives
1899…George F Grant of Boston )first black graduate of Harvard College, and a dentist) patents the wooden golf tee
1900…National Negro Anthem, "Lift Every Voice & Sing" is composed
1900…Charles M. Schwab formed the United States Steel Corporation
1906…Oscar Straus, 1st Jewish cabinet member, appointed Secretary of Commerce
1913…"Mona Lisa", recovered after being stolen from the Louvre Museum in 1911
1917…Father Edward Flanagan founds Boys Town dedicated to the care of at-risk children, with national headquarters in the village of Boys Town, Nebraska
1946…Tide detergent introduced
1953…Chuck Yeager reaches Mach 2.43 in Bell X-1A rocket plane
1959…UN Committee on Peaceful Use of Outer Space is established
1969…"Hello Dolly" with Barbra Streisand premieres
1980…The U.S. Congress amended the Copyright Act in 1980 to explicitly recognize that computer programs were protected as literary works
1997…Carlos the Jackal, "professional revolutionary" goes on trial in Paris
2000…The United States Supreme Court hands out it's ruling over the counting of ballets in Florida
2003…Keiko the Orca (or killer whale) made famous by the "Free Willy" movies, died in the Norwegian fjord that had become his home
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§ Double Play
In order to make sense of the letters below, you need to add a letter at the start of the expression, divide the string of letters, and insert the same letter again. The result will be an alliterative familiar phrase of two words.

Take "eachall" an example, add a 'b' before the 'e', divide the expression between the 'h' and 'a' and add the 'b' again. The result is BEACH BALL.

1 . aretched
2 . ecoyuck
3. olflove
4. amar
5. eaveo
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Hint: 1-f, 2d, 3-g, 4-j, 5-h
Scroll down for answers
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ANSWERS
1. far fetched
2. decoy duck
3. golf glove
4. jam jar
5. heave ho.