Sunday 3-14

♣ 14 March 2010--Week 11 of 2010: 73 days this year…292 remain ♣

♣ Two Quotes to think about…Today ♣

“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."

~Thomas Jefferson

"To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men."

~ Abraham Lincoln

♣ Free Ramblings ♣

Spring Break is here. A much needed break for students, teachers, and administrators alike. Today, four little kids, around 6 or 7 decided that the snow banks in front of my main window and the snow banks in front of all the adjoining snow banks were there for their enjoyment. Even though I have been around kids all my life, and know that they are just having fun, I was concerned that one or more of them might slip and come slamming though my window. It didn’t happen, and I must say, their playfulness did help pack down the snow bank quite a bit. Their ‘fun’ only lasted about 30 minutes between the five or six snow banks in the row. Either they got wet and cold or a mom came out and stopped it. I didn’t see the end, since they were constantly climbing, jumping, sliding from one bank to another. Suddenly, they were there, than they just never returned. They had fun and I can see a little better out the window. Good for all of us.

I got a call from Cheryl this afternoon. She is on her way to Salt Lake and was stuck in traffic just before crossing Hoover Dam. She called to tell me she had already not moved her vehicle for 2 hours, that she had a great view of the dam from where she was sitting, and wondered if there was anything on the news about why she had to wait so long. There had been a couple of cop cars, a couple of ambulances, and a fire truck rush past the vehicles that were stopped. She had also seen a helicopter land somewhere in front of her. I had to tell her I hadn’t heard anything, then I checked the internet, and again nothing. She said it was OK cause she had her Kindle, the weather was nice, and she had planned to spend the night in Vegas anyway. Sure hope she made it. Every time I have driven across the dam, there is always a wait—not usually that long. After 911 for quite a few months every SUV, big rig, and station wagon was stopped and searched before going onto the dam. There is always a bypass to miss the dam, but you have to take it early, and you add about 50 miles to the trip. Cheryl probably wishes she had taken that bypass.

Most of the country is switching to Daylight time tonight. Here in Flagstaff we don’t change our clocks. The Navajo Rez does. That means many will spend the next 6 months wondering what time it is when they need to know the time. It means that my out of state friends on the east coast are now three hours different in time. My West coast friends are now on the same time I am. My biggest complaint about all this is that some, but not all TV program times change. If I am watching a Phoenix station, the shows still come on at the same time they always have. However, if I watch a cable show, it is one hour earlier each day. The cable networks are all in states that honor DST, so for most of the nation, programming doesn’t change with the change of the clock, but for those few places that don’t change their clocks, we have to adjust our watching times. The only good thing out of all this is that The Daly Show will be coming on at 11pm, instead of midnight, and I can watch it then, rather than having to watch it the next day in the afternoon. For some reason I enjoy Jon more at night than the afternoon.

Public Service Announcement: Reminder to all, batteries don’t last forever. If you change your batteries on your smoke alarm, remotes, and clocks when you switch to or from DST, you will never have to go searching for a battery when the item no longer works properly because the battery went dead. For those of us who use rechargeable batteries, this is still a good time to switch them out and recharge the ones you have been using. While thinking about safety, you should also check your cell phone address book and make sure the ICE number you are using is still correct. ICE (In Case of Emergency) is the number you program into your cell phone that is the number of your emergency contact. Instead of putting the person’s name, you type in ICE. EMT’s and Emergency Room workers will check your cell phone if you are unable to communicate with them. The first number they look for is the ICE number. If it isn’t there, they may call other numbers, wasting valuable time to find someone who can give them vital information. This ends the Public Service Announcement.

It was a great day to be outside, except for the wind. We melted a lot of snow with our 48°. Gusts were up to 36mph, and that did drop the temp about 10°, but luckily the wind didn’t start until about noon and stopped about 4pm. It was supposed to blow in another, wait for it…snowstorm. This storm is to drop about 2” of snow, but the wind has stopped and the sky is clear. Maybe we will dodge the bullet on this one.

♣Random Fact: ♣

Ginger is a plant native to Asia. The warm, pungent, fragrant rhizome (enlarged underground stem) of this plant is used as a spice, either fresh or dried and powdered. Research has shown that ginger is more effective than Dramamine in combating motion sickness.

♣Side Show Stories—♣

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Police in Florida said a man who was angry about the size of his water bills found a way to stop the bills entirely -- he blew up his mobile home.

Investigators quoted witnesses as saying Johnny Dossey, 43, coated his Fort Lauderdale mobile home in gasoline Wednesday and the residence exploded only moments after he ignited the flames, the Miami Herald reported Thursday. Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue spokesman Matt Little said firefighters arrived at about 12:30 p.m. and found the home engulfed in flames. He said Dossey's home was destroyed but no neighboring structures were damaged.

Dossey was arrested and charged with arson of a structure. Police said he may have been intoxicated at the time of the incident. Neighbor Luis Alvarez, 43, said Dossey was arguing with his father about the size of his $70 water bill prior to setting fire to the home. "I guess he got fed up with it," Alvarez said, "and that's the only way he saw out of it."

♣ Puzzle ♣

Word Boxes are like miniature crossword puzzles, except that each word is filled in across AND down the grid. That is, the answer to 1 across is the same word as the answer to 1 down; 2 across is the same as 2 down; etc. Can you solve these Word Boxes? To solve: draw a square that has 5 X 5 sections.

1 declare by oath (HINT: S - - - -)

2 product of inefficiency (HINT: - A - - -)

3 obstruct (HINT: - - T - -)

4 redeem oneself (HINT: - - - N -)

5 drive away (HINT: - - - - L)

♣ Calendar Information ♣

• March’s Month Long Observances •

BIRTHSTONE: aquamarine and bloodstone (courage) FLOWER: Narcissus [daffodil, jonquil] (vanity)

National Cheerleading Safety Month • National Clean Up Your IRS Act Month • National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month • National Craft Month • National Ethics Awareness Month •National Eye Donor Month • National Frozen Food Month • National Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month •National Kidney Month• National Nutrition Month • National Social Work Month • National Umbrella Month • National Women's History Month • Optimism Month • Play The Recorder Month • Poison Prevention Awareness Month • Red Cross Month • Save Your Vision Month • Sing With Your Child Month • Small Press Month •Spiritual Wellness Month • Women's History Month • Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month • Youth Art Month

• Observance Weeks in March•

6-21 •Iditarod Race

8-14•Universal Women's Week

14-20•Campfire USA Birthday Week

       •National Poison Prevention Week

       •National Agriculture Week

       •National Animal Poison Prevention Week

14-21•National Toad Hollow Week:

• 14 March Observances—US/UN/World •

Pi Day..3.1415...

National Potato Chip Day

Check Your Batteries Day

Daylight Saving Time Begins

International Ask A Question Day

•14 March Observances—by country •

Albania – Spring Day

Andorra – Constitution Day

Japan and Korea – White Day, similar to Valentine's Day (men give gifts to women)

Estonia – Estonian language day, based on birth of Kristjan Jaak Peterson

Grenadines – Heroes' Day

♣ Number One Songs in…

1945•Accentuate the Positive - Johnny Mercer

1953•Doggie in the Window - Patti Page

1961•Where the Boys Are - Connie Francis

1969•Everyday People - Sly & The Family Stone

1977•Fly like an Eagle - Steve Miller

1985•Material Girl - Madonna

• Holy Mackerel: 1968•After two seasons on television, ABC-TV showed the last episode of Batman, starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Robin. Through the two seasons, the ‘Dynamic Duo’ welcomed these stars to the cast: Art Carney (The Archer), Tallulah Bankhead (Black Widow), Eartha Kitt (Catwoman), Julie Newmar (Catwoman), Lee Meriwether (Catwoman), Liberace (Chandell), Vincent Price (Egghead), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Rudy Vallee (Lord Phogg), Milton Berle (Louie the Lilac), Shelley Winters (Ma Parker), David Wayne (The Mad Hatter), Zsa Zsa Gabor (Minerva), Van Johnson (The Minstrel), Otto Preminger (Mr. Freeze), Burgess Meredith (The Penguin), John Astin (The Riddler), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler), Cliff Robertson (Shame), Joan Collins (The Siren) and Anne Baxter (Zelda the Great). Finally, a partial list of official Bat-Noises: Aargh!, Clash!, Crunch!, Klonk!, Pow!, Splat!, Clunk! Eee-Yow! Ooof!, Powie! Swoosh!, Biff!, Conck! Ouch!, Qunkk!, Thunk! Boff! Crash!, Uggh!, Zam!, Zap! and others. Wow!

• Born on this day •

     …The Arts

Authors, Artists and Composers

Quincy Jones, 77, composer, producer

Hank Ketcham, 1920, cartoonist (Dennis the Menace)

John P Strijbos, 1891, Dutch writer (Wandering through South-Africa)

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

Michael Caine (Maurice Micklewhite), 77, actor (Oscars for The Cider House Rules and Hannah and Her Sisters)

Billy Crystal, 63, actor (“Soap,” When Harry Met Sally …, City Slickers)

J Fred Muggs, 1952, chimp (Today show)

     …Athletes

William Clay Ford, Sr., 85, American owner of the Detroit Lions

Lee Petty, 1914, American race car driver

     …Business, Education

(John Luther) Casey Jones, 1864, railroad engineer

     …Politics

Thomas Riley Marshall, 1854, 28th Vice President

     …Science/Religion

James Bogardus, 1800, US inventor/builder (made cast-iron buildings)

Frank Borman, 82, former astronaut, airline executive

Paul Ehrlich, 1854, 1908 Nobel Prize in Medicine; founded chemotherapy, discovered Salvarsan - a remedy for syphilis, developed antitoxin for diphtheria

Albert Einstein, 1879, (Germany), (E=mc²/Theory of Relativity, Nobel 1921)

Peter Musschenbroek, 1692, Dutch physician/physicist (Leyden jar)

Lucy Hobbs Taylor, 1833, 1st US woman dentist (1866)

•Today’s Obits •

Edward Abbey, 1989, environmental author, after surgery at 62

Walter Camp, 1925, father of American football, @ 65

George Eastman, 1932, US industrialist (Kodak-camera), suicide @ 77

Susan Hayward (Edythe Marrenner), 1975, actress (Young & Willing), brain cancer @ 56

Karl Marx, 1883, German philosopher (Communist Manifesto), @ 64

Marlin Perkins, 1986, TV host (Wild Kingdom) @ 80

•What Happened on this Day •

     …The Arts

1931•1st theater built for rear movie projection (New York NY)

     …Athletics

1954•Braves Henry Aaron homers in his 1st exhibition game

     …Business, Education.

1913•John D Rockefeller gives $100 million to Rockefeller Foundation

     …Politics

1493•Columbus writes a letter today describing the generous nature of the Indians he has encountered. He will describe them as "men of great deference and kindness."

1689•Scotland dismisses Willem III & Mary Stuart as king & queen

1743•1st American town meeting (Boston's Faneuil Hall)

1812•War Bonds were authorized by the United States government for the first time

1833•The Secretary of War has the Indian Department issue orders, again, to U.S. Marshals to remove whites from CREEK lands.

1950•FBI's "10 Most Wanted Fugitives" program begins

1984•The Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams (Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh), is shot in a street attack in central Belfast, and was hit in the neck, shoulder and arm as several gunmen riddled his car with bullets by UFF (Ulster Freedom Fighters).

     …Science/Religion

1794•Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin

♣ANSWERS to puzzle ♣

SWEAR

WASTE

ESTOP

ATONE

REPEL

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