Wed 5-19

≈Week 20 of 2010: 139 days this year… 226 days remain≈

≈ Something To Think About  

The three best things: to be humble amidst the vicissitudes of fortune; to pardon when powerful;to be generous with no strings attached.

~Attributed to the Prophet Muhammad

≈ Random Fact    

Roosters have to extend their necks in order to crow.

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1964 ►The State Department told the press that 40 hidden microphones had been found in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

≈ Free Ramblings    

I took off about 9am to vote and to run some errands. I didn’t have to wait in a line and it didn’t take long for them to find my name, then I had to listen to this poor person read a form on how to vote, then I got my ballot. I filled it out quickly, stuck it in the machine, got my sticker and headed out. The mayoral election will determine our future to some degree, the council seats will help with that vision. The tax measures were different. Prop 100 will save our schools and our first responders—or it will move us from the 28th place in taxes to the 8th place in taxes. Small business owners say this tax will hurt them as people won’t be buying as much. We also voted on the BBB tax to be extended. BBB tax comes from hotel rooms, booze, and restaurant food—BBB= bed, booze, board. If you live in a tourist area, you should look into this tax. It is one of the best examples of taxation without representation I have ever seen. Tourists pay the majority of the tax received. Locals don’t usually get a room at the local hotel, tourists usually eat out while on vacation, and locals and tourists buy booze at restaurants and bars. We have had this tax for about 20 years and now it is considered ‘part of the budget’ and without it our tourist town will be in more financial trouble. The drop in tourist dollars during the recession has already hurt our town. APS (our electric company) is trying to get blanket access to all city property to do its work. For that ability, they will charge all customers in the city a 2% franchise fee for every customer’s bill. Of course, they will add that fee to our bills. Many claim this is not a tax—it is a franchise fee based on every monthly bill that is given to the city. Hmm. This local election has used fear based politics---if Prop 100 fails, schools will close, teacher jobs will be lost, first responder jobs will be lost. If the franchise fee doesn’t pass, it will take longer to get your electricity repaired or to get new electricity to new buildings. We should know in a couple of hours how all this plays out.

I saw the video of the BP disaster as oil has now entered the Mississippi Delta Wetlands, and the beaches in Key West, and more fishing areas closed. One reporter talked about the stench like kerosene as he took a boat out into the Gulf. It was also reported that if all the off-shore drilling had not been done, the price of gasoline would have risen 3¢ per gallon this year. I also learned that this well had not produced any oil for sale. The rig that sank had just completed drilling the well and BP was capping the well while it waited for another rig to come in and actually start pumping oil. The rig that sank was set to move to another site and start a new drill. The capping went horribly wrong and simply opened up the continuous ‘plume of oil’ that doesn’t seem to be able to be stopped.

Much of this is also falling on DOI, my former employer. Over my years, I learned that DOI jobs have never been seen as the best jobs in the government. Teachers in DOI-BIA (Indian Schools) were not easily transferred to DOD (military schools). DOI is responsible for way too many areas. Other departments, over the years, have split to form new departments. DOI, one of the oldest departments has not split. It has always been a catch-all department. DOI includes Indian Affairs, Indian Education, Land Management, Reclamation (dams), Mineral Management, National Park Service, Surface Mining, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Geological Survey. Many Natives have always had a problem with being lumped in with this group. The DOI logo is that of a buffalo. While the buffalo was important to many Native tribes, it may not exemplify the needs of Tribes. Congress needs to look at DOI and determine if this catch-all department has too much non-overlapping responsibility.

Voting day started out quite nice. We were at 55° when I went to vote. Then my friend the wind returned with 20mph steady winds with gusts to 40mph. That kept our high down to 58° and made being outside less than pleasant. The wind basically stopped as the sun set about 7pm and the temperature stayed at 58°. I had dinner on the deck, a first for the season. I guess no matter what happens with the election tonight, I will still enjoy to beauty and quiet of Flagstaff.

≈ A Quick Smile…    

With airlines adding fees to fees, The Week magazine asked its readers to predict the next surcharge they'll levy for something previously free.

1. In the unlikely event of loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will drop down. To start the flow of oxygen, simply insert your credit card...

2. $100 On-Time Departure Fee; $25 Delay Complaint Fee.

3. View seating (formerly window seats), $10; Access seating (formerly aisle seats), $10 $20 to use roll-away stairs to enter or exit the aircraft in lieu of no-charge rope-ladder alternative.

4. $9 fee for bumping your head on the overhead bin as you take your seat; $3 additional penalty for looking up at the bin after you bump into it.

Note: I sure hope the airlines don’t read The Week Magazine. These are no more bizarre than some of the current fees.

≈ Puzzle 1    

When you curtail a word, you remove the last letter and still have a valid word. You will be given clues for the two words, longer word first.

Example: Begin -> Heavenly body Answer: The words are Start and Star.

1. Local region of land -> Determine the number

2. Small -> A metallic element

3. Sarcasm -> A metallic element

4. Red gem -> Cause friction

5. Slick -> Foot covering

6. Prepared -> Understand something written

7. Analyse; learn -> House frame upright

8. Paralysis of a body part with uncontrolled tremors -> Friends

≈ Side Show Stories    

Lincoln, Neb. (AP) --Police said they suspect they've captured the "toilet paper bandit." A man who concealed his face by wrapping his head with toilet paper robbed a Lincoln convenience store last month. Police said the man was armed with a knife, but no one was hurt in the robbery.

He escaped on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.

Capt. David Beggs said 29-year-old Joshua Nelson was arrested Saturday night. Beggs said a prescription pill bottle found near the store gave officers a clue to pursue. But he said it took until Saturday for officers to find enough evidence for an arrest.

≈ Puzzle 2: Brain Food  

What goes up and down the stairs without moving?

≈ Calendar Information

• Observance Weeks in May•

16-22

National Dog Bite Prevention Week

National New Friends, Old Friends Week

National Transportation Week

World Trade Week

17-23

EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Week

National Effectiveness Week

National Bike to Work Week

National Medical Transcription Week

National Backyard Games Week

• Today’s Observances—US/UN/World •

Frog Jumping Jubilee Day: Thanks to Mark Twain and Calaveras County

Boys Club Day

May Ray Day—to celebrate the warm sun rays of May--hope you are having them 

National Employee Health & Fitness Day

Turn Beauty Inside Out Day

• Today’s Observances—by country •

Finland : Flag Day of the Army

Turkey : Youth & Sports Day

Vietnam : Ho Chi Minh's Birthday (1890), birth name (Nguyen That Thanh)

• Today’s Number One Songs in…

For anyone interested, all these songs are available on iTunes.

"Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies." ~ Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

1924 ►California, Here I Come!; Al Jolson

1934 ►Cocktails for Two; Duke Ellington

1944 ►I Love You; Bing Crosby

1954 ►Wanted; Perry Como

1964 ►My Guy; Mary Wells

1974 ►The Streak; Ray Stevens

1984 ►Hello; Lionel Richie

• Today’s Happenings•

In The Arts

1897 ►Oscar Wilde is released from Reading Gaol Prison

In Athletics

1991 ►Willy T Ribbs becomes 1st black driver to make Indianapolis 500

In Business or Education

1857 ►William F. Channing and Moses G. Farmer patented the electric fire alarm system in Boston, MA

1884 ►Ringling Brothers circus premieres

1892 ►Charles Brady King invents pneumatic hammer

1898 ►Post Office authorizes use of postcards

In Politics

1848 ►México gives Texas to US, ending the war

1856 ►Senator Charles Sumner, Massachusetts, spoke out against slavery

1921 ►Congress sharply curbs immigration, setting a national quota system

1976 ►Gold ownership legalized in Australia

1986 ►South African troops launch multiple raids on Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana in an effort to destroy bases purportedly used by the anti-apartheid organization the African National Congress (ANC).

1992 ►27th Amendment ratified, prohibits Congress from raising its salary

In Science/ Religion

1780 ►About midday, near-total darkness descends on much of New England to this day its cause is still unexplained

1997 ►The first victim of Avian Flu A(H5N1) a three-year-old boy has died in Hong Kong.

• Today’s Births •

Artists, Writers, and Composers

Nora Ephron, 69, writer, screenwriter, director (You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle), born New York, NY

Athletes

Kevin Garnett, 34, basketball player: Timberwolves, Celtics, born Mauldin, SC

William (Bill) Laimbeer, Jr, 53, basketball coach, former basketball player: Cavaliers, Pistons, born Boston, MA

Elisha Archibald "Archie" Manning III, 61, former football player: Saints, Oilers, Vikings, born Drew, MS

Entertainers

James Fox, 71, actor (A Passage to India, The Russia House, Patriot Games), born London, England

David Hartman, 73, actor, broadcaster (Emmy for “Good Morning America”; Hello Dolly), born Pawtucket, RI

Grace Jones, 58, model, singer, actress (A View to a Kill), born Spanishtown, Jamaica

Nancy Kwan, 71, actress (Flower Drum Song) born in Hong Kong

Pete Townshend, 65, musician (The Who), born London, England

Business, Education Persons

Dorothy Buffum Chandler Los Angeles cultural patron; Dorothy Chandler Pavillion named for her born 1901 in La Fayette, Illinois

Johns Hopkins philanthropist, founded Johns Hopkins University born 1795 in Whithall, MD

James 'Jim' Lehrer, 76, journalist, anchor (“The Newshour with Jim Lehrer”), born Wichita, KS

Political Persons

Malcolm X [Little] Omaha NE, assassinated leader of black muslims born 1925 in Omaha, NE

Pol Pot dictator/mass murderer born 1915 in Prek Sbauv, Cambodia

Scientists /Religious Persons

Max Perutz, Molecular biologist, recipient of theNobel Prize in Chemistry: born 1914 in Vienna, Austria

• Today’s Obits •

Anne Boleyn Queen of England/wife of Henry VIII, beheaded @ 29 or 36 in 1536

Nathaniel Hawthorne US, writer (Scarlet Letter), in his sleep @ 60 in 1864

Thomas E Lawrence (of Arabia) motorcycle crash @ 47 in 1935

Ogden Nash poet/TV panelist (Masquerade Party), Crohn's disease @ 68 in 1971

Henry Morgan TV panalist (To Tell the Truth), cancer @ 74 in 1994

Jacqueline [Lee Bouvier] Kennedy Onassis 1st lady, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma @ 64 in 1994

≈ ANSWERS to Puzzle 1    

1. County -> Count

2. Tiny -> Tin

3. Irony -> Iron

4. Ruby -> Rub

5. Slippery -> Slipper

6. Ready -> Read

7. Study -> Stud

8. Palsy -> Pals

≈ ANSWERS to Brain Food  

A rug.

   ≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈