Friday

8 days so far this year…357 days remain in 2010
►Provocative Quote                                                   
"Someone whom you reject today, will reject you tomorrow."
~unknown
►Free Ramblings
I had my semi-annual check-up with my PCP today. He let me know I am getting older, I am doing well for my age, and that it is time for annual blood tests. All this took an hour. He has an unusual style as a physician. He types everything he says and everything I say into his computer and then he complains that the program doesn’t do what he wants it to do. He is also loves to show his patients that he is up on the very latest. I always leave a little better educated about the medical system in the US and of course, with a better understanding of my own health condition. I’m sure he was very liberal in college, and was probably a pain in the ass to his teachers. You know the kind…he knows more than everyone else around and wants to be sure that everyone knows it. TMI sometimes plays a role. Usually he throws in something about his wife, and her nursing at the hospital. Today he mentioned his small apartment in downtown Flagstaff and how he walks the 1.8 miles to and from work. Then he mentioned that his girl friend lives in Country Club. Hmmm. I don’t know, I don’t need to know, nor do I want to know about his personal life.

Obama talked to the American people, again this afternoon. He didn’t pull any punches. He let the buck stop at his office for the Underwear Bomber for allowing him to get on the plane. He has made changes, and will continue to make changes. He reminded us all that we are at war and that there are people who want us to lose. We have to unite to stop the terrorists. Good point.

Every culture in the world is different in the way the culture handles different situations. A friend of mine, a Navajo, just had a gall bladder operation. She is fine, and I asked her husband if he was taking her flowers. He said he was getting her a balloon and teddy bear, because flowers are too much like a funeral. Interesting. Then I heard the news and the commentary was on why the many non-terrorist Muslims are not speaking out against terrorism. I have a theory…the devote don’t like to tell others how to live their lives. Many cultures, and many religions, believe the same thing. They are usually considered pacifists. They live their lives, and let others live their lives. They will share their beliefs, when asked, but don’t force others to follow their way, nor do they condemn others for not following their beliefs. Changing deep seeded cultural beliefs is not something most people want to tackle.

I thought the 44° today was a little chilly, until I looked at the weather in the middle part of the country. No complaints here in Flagstaff. We are having great weather for January.

►Quotes from Values.com—LIVE LIFE
“Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries.”
~Sister Corita Kent Artist, Educator
►Side Show Stories
PORTLAND, Ore. - Two U.S. men convicted on federal vandalism charges for fixing typos on public signs said they have landed a book deal to write about their adventures. Benjamin Herson of Oregon and Jeff Deck of Massachusetts said they were given a $150,000 advance to write "The Great Typo Hunt," which is due out Aug. 3, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported. The men were sentenced to probation and ordered to stay out of national parks for a year for correcting the grammar on a 70-year-old sign at the Grand Canyon's South Rim during their 2008 cross-country typo trek. They credited the case's publicity with helping them land the book deal. "The overreaction of the government probably helped us a lot in terms of getting this deal," Herson said. "It's one of those true lemonade-out-of-lemons stories."
►Random Fact
The World’s Tallest Ferris wheel is the Singapore Flyer: 165m [541’ 4”]. The first Ferris Wheel was built for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and was 80m [262’ 5”]
§ Interesting Statistics
*Note: I realize that statistics can be made to say just about anything.
~DHHS set a goal of a 15% obesity rate for the US by 2011. In 2009 obesity in the US was at 33% for adults and 18% for children under 18.
~Only one state had a rate below 20% in 2008.
§ January Month Long Observances
Birthstone: Garnet …Flower: Carnation
Book Blitz Month * Bath Safety Month * Birth Defects Month * California Dried Plum Digestive Month * Celebration of Life Month * Cervical Cancer Screening Month * Financial Wellness Month * High Tech Month * International Creativity Month * International Quality of Life Month * International Wayfinding Month * International Wealth Mentality Month * National Be On-Purpose Month * National Bird Feeding Month * National Clean Up Your Computer Month * National Get Organized Month * National Glaucoma Awareness Month * National Hot Tea Month * National Mail Order Gardening Month * National Mentoring Month * National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month * National Poverty in America Awareness Month * National Radon Action Month * National Skating Month * National Soup Month * National Volunteer Blood Donor Month * Oatmeal Month * Rising Star Month * Self-help Group Awareness Month * Senior Women’s Travel Month * Shape Up US Month * Thyroid Awareness Month
§ Observance Weeks in January
National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week: 1-8
Someday We'll Laugh About This Week: 2-9
Home Office Safety and Security Week: 3-9
Women's Self Empowerment Week: 4-10
Universal Letter Writing Week: 8-14
§ 8 January Observances—US/UN/World
Bubble Bath Day
Learn to Ski Day
Louisiana : Battle of New Orleans/Old Hickory Day/ Jackson Day (1815)
National English Toffee Day
Man Watcher’s Day
Midwife's Day or Women's Day
National JoyGerm Day: To spread Joy & yes it is one word
Show and Tell Day at Work
►8 January Observances—by country
Northern Mariana Islands: Commonwealth Day (since 1978: part of US] [15 small islands]
► Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1806…Lewis & Clark find skeleton of 105' blue whale in Oregon
►Who was born on this day?
     ~ The Arts
Shirley Bassey in 1937 Cardiff Wales, singer (Goldfinger, Moonraker)
David Bowie [Jones] in 1947 singer/actor
William Wilkie Collins in 1824 English novelist (The Woman in White, The Moonstone)
Bob Eubanks in 1937 TV host (Newlywed Game)
José Ferrer (Cintron) in 1912 - Academy Award-winning actor
Stephen Hawking in 1942 - author: A Brief History of Time
Charles Osgood in 1933 news anchor (CBS Weekend News)
Elvis (Aaron) Presley in 1935 - singer
Soupy Sales [Milton Hines] in 1926 comedian
Larry Storch in 1923 comedian (F Troop)
     ~Athletics
Kent Jones in 1967 golfer
     ~Business, Education, Politics
Frank Nelson Doubleday in 1862 publisher/founder (Doubleday & Co)
Fannie M Jackson in 1836 pioneer & educator, 1st US Black woman college grad
     ~Science/Religion
Alfred Russel Wallace in 1823 British zoologist/co-discoverer (evolution)
Joseph Wiezenbaum in 1923 artificial intelligence pioneer
►Who Died on this day?
John Baskerville in 1775 English printer/type designer, @ 68
Lord Robert Baden-Powell in 1941 founder of the Boy Scout movement @ 83
Menachim Begin in 1992 Israeli PM, heart attack @ 78
Walter Diemer in 1998 inventor (bubble gum 1928), heart failure @ 93
Francois Mitterrand 1996 President of France (1981-95), cancer @ 79
Stark Young in 1963 US writer (So Red the Rose), @ 81
►What happened on this day?
1656…Oldest surviving commercial newspaper begins (Haarlem, Netherlands)
1746…Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops occupy Stirling
1790…George Washington delivers 1st "State of the Union" address
1798…11th Amendment ratified, judicial powers construed
1870…US mint at Carson City NV begins issuing coins
1894…Columbus World's fair in Chicago destroyed by fire
1918…Mississippi becomes 1st state to ratify 18th amendment (prohibition)
1940…Britain's 1st WWII rationing (bacon, butter & sugar)
1951…Thought extinct since 1615, a Cahow (a bird) is rediscovered in Bermuda
1958…Bobby Fischer, at 14 won the United States Chess Championship for the first time.
1964…President Lyndon B Johnson declares "War on Poverty"
1968…Jacques Cousteau's 1st undersea special on US network TV
1996…The last native speaker of the CATAWBA language, Red Thunder cloud, dies today in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is 76 years old.
►Rhyme & Reason Puzzle
Answer the following clue in two rhyming words (e.g. an obese feline is a fat cat) If only one number is given, the answer is a word featuring internal rhyme (e.g. voodoo)
1 abstruse opposing evidence (6,8):
2. spoil an even round at the links (3,3):
3. points blame on the choir (7,7):
4. ratites are this (6-5):
5. a connected ruminant mammal (moooooodem's ON) (7,6):
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ANSWERS
1 abstruse opposing evidence (6,8): subtle rebuttal
2. spoil an even round at the links (3,3): mar par
3. points blame on the choir (7,7): finger singers
4. ratites are this (6-5): ground bound
5. a connected ruminant mammal (moooooodem's ON) (7,6): online bovine