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MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
Well, the jump start didn’t help on my vehicle. I took the battery to Auto Zone…as I thought, bad battery. I bought a new one, brought it home and hooked it up…nada, nothing, zip, zilch, zero. No lights, no noise, nuttin. So I call the dealership. The wonderful company has a safety lock somewhere. If the battery is removed to any period of time the entire car shuts down, so no one can start it without taking it to the dealership and having the key reprogrammed. WTH? If someone steals my battery, I have to have the vehicle towed to a dealer to be able to drive it? I must be missing something here. Maybe the designer watched too many UFO Sci-Fi movies. When the alien ship appears in the desert and abducts you, just before you are beamed up, the car’s electronics go crazy. So, when you are returned, your car won’t start and you have to wait for the military to find you. Nissan makes sure you won’t drive away. Thankfully the tow is only $50, since I live about 2 miles from the dealership. I remember back in the 80’s, my timing belt broke on the highway between Tuba and Tonalea. It was towed to Tuba, where they couldn’t fix it and then to Flagstaff. That bill was $400 and I had a few months of fighting with the Insurance company because it was two tows and they didn’t think that was necessary. I finally came into town, sat down with my agent, pulled out a map and showed him that the stop in Tuba was more of a rest stop that took the vehicle off the most direct route to Flagstaff by 30 yards. They paid. I thought about having a friend just tow me, but that can be more hassle than necessary and could lead to more problems since I don’t have any tow driver friends here in Flag. So tomorrow I should have my vehicle back and running.
I watched some more Egypt In Crisis and things are not going well. There are always two sides to any incident, and I am not surprised that there are some Egyptians who are glad to live under Mubarak. It is odd that only the Pro people are the ones burning and injuring. It is odd that historically this regime has paid unemployed ‘thugs’ to break up demonstrations. It is odd that Mubarak has always told his people that all their problems are caused by the Anti groups within and outside Egypt. Mubarak is trying his best to blame all the violence on foreigners—especially the press. The right wing news media is saying it is the left American that radicals are behind all the American demonstrations here. Somehow, these American radicals are behind the actual demonstrations in Egypt. Hopefully the international press realizes that our Freedom of Speech means that one can say just about anything.
It was cold again today. Last night it was minus 64° up on the peaks. At 7am the wind chill in Flg was -14°. It did warm up, but with the wind chill it was always felt about 15° colder than the thermometer. This can end anytime soon. We are cold, but not as cold as other places around the country. I almost threw my shoe at the TV today when the talking heads in Phx were complaining about their cold temps—around 20° last night. The complaining wasn’t bad, but they keep saying “Arizonians just aren’t used to temperatures below 40°.” I agree that the Phx and Tucson people aren’t used to it, but many in AZ are used to cold—and not just Flagstaff. There are many mountain communities throughout the state and many Navajo areas that are used to temperatures around zero. But, sadly, when one lives in Phx or Tucson, they assume that the whole state lives and thinks just like they do. I realize that most major media markets have the same ethnocentric attitudes. I think what is bothering me is that all the Phx stations now have morning and afternoon local programming that is ‘hip’—using FB and the driving force of the show. I watched a few when they started in January. They require no thinking, everything is black and white, they comment of news with no background, just personal opinion. They are broadcasting to the lowest common denominator and those people actually send in comments that are read off their cute little iPads. I don’t watch them anymore.
SuperBowl Trivia: What does the “G” on the Green Bay Helmets stand for?
Answer: ‘Greatness’
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DID YOU KNOW THAT…
○ Pour 1/4 cup alcohol-based mouthwash into the toilet bowl and let sit for a half hour. The alcohol will make it sparkle, while the antiseptic ingredients will kill germs!
○ Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…
○ The oceans cover 71% (and rising) of the Earth's surface and contain 97% of the Earth's water. Less than 1% is fresh water, and 2-3% is contained in glaciers and ice caps (and decreasing).
○ The pressure at the deepest point in the ocean is more than 22 thousand pounds, or the equivalent of one person trying to support 50 jumbo jets.
○ The highest tides in the world are at the Bay of Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia. At some times of the year the difference between high and low tide is taller than a three-story building.
○ The lowest known point on Earth, called the Challenger Deep, is 36,201 feet deep, in the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific. To get an idea of how deep that is, if you could take Mt. Everest and place it at the bottom of the trench there would still be over a mile of ocean above it.
○ The Pacific Ocean, the world's largest water body, occupies a third of the Earth's surface. The Pacific contains about 25,000 islands (more than the total number in the rest of the world's oceans combined), almost all of which are found south of the equator.
○ A mouthful of seawater may contain millions of bacterial cells, hundreds of thousands of phytoplankton and tens of thousands of zooplankton.
PUZZLE: Who Wants To Be a Millionaire […answers at bottom…]
1. Which of these numbers has a greater value than 93?
17,388 12 7 36
2. In the U.S., what is a Republican?
State Political party County A can the public drinks out of
3. Why can't you safely drink out of the ocean?
Ships have travelled across the water It's salty The fish need it It's against the law
4. How many hours are in a day?
28 36 24 12
5. To what kingdom do mushrooms belong?
Protist Kingdom Monera Kingdom Animal Kingdom Fungi Kingdom
6. What were most of the first spearheads made out of?
Flint Steel Bronze Copper
7. Who wrote 'Treasure Island'?
Shel Silverstein Harper Lee Robert Louis Stevenson J. R. R. Tolkien
8. What is the capital of West Virginia?
Charleston Hartford Richmond Columbia
9. What was the first mammal sent into space?
Cat Dog Monkey Mouse
10. What is Antarctica's highest point of elevation?
Mt. Elbus Olympus Mons Vinson Massif Mt. Kosciusko
11. In the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, what are the names of Calvin's parents?
Mom and Dad Bill and Jill John and Sue Max and Roselyn
12. The Toronto Raptors' logo has a logo of a raptor dribbling a BASKETBALL of what color?
White Black Orange Gray
13. By definition, what adjective can be used to describe a tree with many branches?
Rale Rallentando Raglan Ramose
14. Who was the first president of Czechoslovakia?
Thomas Gerrigue Masaryk Jan Masaryk Pietro Mascagni Piet Arnoldus Cronge
15. The Silurian time period came in which era?
Precambrian Cenozoic Mesozoic Paleozoic
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM…Los Angeles…follow-up
"The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is very pleased that all parties, the District, the PTA, and the legal representatives for the student were able to resolve the situation and come to an agreement so that the PTA program at Superior Elementary School can continue as planned on Friday with full participation by this student."
According to the initial lawsuit, the boy auditioned before a panel of PTA members to land a place in the talent show.
A few days after his audition on Jan. 14, the fifth-grader's parents were informed that their son would not be allowed to perform in the show because of the religious nature of the song he chose, the Daily News reported.
According to the lawsuit documents, Superior Elementary Principal Jerilyn Schubert said the dance routine was "offensive" and would violate the separation of church and state.
A LITTLE LAUGH…
As a realtor, I deal with all types of people. Recently, I showed a home to a couple who seemed eager to check out the fantastic view from the living room. But when I dramatically pulled back the drapes, the disappointed husband asked, "Where is the view? Those mountains must be blocking it."
TOP 10 HISTORICAL FINDS… 6...Pompeii Discovery Channel Feature
Pompeii was an ancient city that had been founded in the 6th century BC by Oscan-speaking descendants of the Neolithic inhabitants of Campania, later coming under Greek, Etruscan, Samnite and finally Roman control. As a Roman colony it prospered as a port and as a resort destination, evidence of which can be found in the many villas, temples, theaters and baths built throughout the city. Pompeii also had an amphitheater, a forum, and a basilica and was home to around 20,000 citizens. In 63 AD an earthquake caused extensive damage to Pompeii and in the years that followed there were attempts to repair some of the damage. Then terror struck on August 24, 79 AD when the nearby volcano of Mount Vesuvius erupted and blanketed the city in cinders and ash. Pompeii was discovered in 1599 by Domenico Fontana while he was working on a hydraulics project, but remained unexcavated until it was rediscovered in 1748 by Spanish military engineer Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre.
Importance: The ruins of Pompeii give archeologists a unique perspective into Roman life: the daily workings of a living city. We can get a clear snapshot of a city in crisis because the ash has preserved everything so well- including families huddling together, criminals still in chains, animals left where they stood and perfectly preserved frescoes.
CLOSEUP PICTURE…
Can you identify this close up picture
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
♫ Rock Anthems ♫
Click on Song Title to see and hear
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DAYBOOK INFORMATION
¤…THIS WEEK…¤
Jan 24-Feb 4 ► Clean Out Your Inbox Week
Jan 30- Feb 5 ► Catholic Schools Week ♥ Meat Week ♥ Intimate Apparel Week
1-7 ► Children's Authors & Illustrators Week ♥ National Patient Recognition Week ♥ Solo Diners Eat Out Weekend ♥ Women's Heart Week
3-9 ► Boy Scout Anniversary Week
4-6 ► International Snow Sculpting Week
¤…TODAY IS…¤
Create A Vacuum Day ♥ Bubble Gum Day ♥ Give Kids A Smile Day ♥ Liberace Day ♥
Quacker Day ♥ USO Day* ♥ Wear Red Day ♥ World Cancer Day
Angola: Outbreak of Fighting Against Portuguese
Canada: Winterlude (Bal de neige: Outdoor festival with skating, ice sculptures, …)
Sri Lanka (Ceylon): Independence Day (1948 from UK)
US: Kosciuszko Day: to honor Lithuanian who assisted George Washington
* USO: the Salvation Army, the YMCA and YWCA, the National Catholic Community Services, the National Travelers Aid Association and the National Jewish Welfare Board pooled their resources, at the request of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to form a new organization. The United Service Organizations was created to provide unduplicated recreational services to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who were on leave.
Today’s Births
○ AUTHORS/COMPOSERS
1921 - Betty Friedan (Goldstein) feminist author: The Feminine Mystique; founder of the National Organization for Women [NOW]
○ ATHLETES
Oscar De La Hoya, 38, boxer
Lawrence Taylor, 52, Hall of Fame football (Giants)
○ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1802 Mark Hopkins US, educator/philosopher (Williams College)
1902 Charles Lindbergh ‘Lucky Lindy’: aviator: first to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean: flew The Spirit of St. Louis from NY to Paris [May 1927]; a major name in politics and business
○ ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS/…)
Clint Black, 49, country singer, songwriter
David Brenner, 66, comedian
Alice Cooper, 63, singer, songwriter, born Vincent Damon Furnier
1909 Robert Coote British actor (Timmy-Rogues, Theodore-Nero Wolfe)
1918 - Ida Lupino actress: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, On Dangerous Ground, My Boys Are Good Boys; director: The Bigamist, The Hitch-Hiker
John Schuck, 71, actor (“McMillan and Wife”)
○ POLITICIANS
1868 Constance Gore-booth Markiewicy Irish patriot/playwright/MP
1913 Rosa Lee Parks civil rights leader: triggered 1955 boycott of Montgomery AL bus system by refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger
J. Danforth (Dan) Quayle, 64, 44th vice president of US
1885 Cairine Ray Wilson 1st female Canadian senator (appointed)
○ SCIENCE & RELIGION
1841 Clément Ader French inventor (1st to fly a heavier-than-air craft)
1893 Raymond Dart Australian paleoanthropologist (Australopithecus)
1903 Alexander Oppenheim mathematician
1906 Clyde William Tombaugh US, astronomer (discovered Pluto)
Today’s Obituaries…
1968 Ed Baker actor (Keystone Kops), emphysema @ 70
1983 Karen Carpenter singer/drummer (Carpenters), anorexia @ 32
1987 Wladziu Valentino Liberace pianist (Liberace Show, Evil Chandell-Batman), emphysema and AIDS@ 67
1969 Thelma Ritter actress (All About Eve, Pillow Talk), heart attack @ 63
Today’s Events…
○ ARTS
2004 Facebook, a mainstream online social network is founded by Mark Zuckerberg.
○ ATHLETICS
1924 1st Winter Olympics games close at Chamonix France
1932 3rd Winter Olympics games open in Lake Placid NY
○ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1824 J W Goodrich introduces rubber galoshes to the public
1865 Hawaiian Board of Education formed
1957 1st electric portable typewriter placed on sale (Syracuse NY)
1971 British car maker Rolls Royce declared itself bankrupt
1974 Benzine (carcinogenic gas additive) rationing ends in Netherlands
○ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1847 General Sterling Price returns to the fortified TAOS Pueblo, and 2 hours of cannonade are, again, unsuccessful.
1861 John Ward's step-son Feliz Tellez is kidnapped by Indians from his rancho on Sonoita Creek in Arizona. Ward complains to the army, and they send Second Lt.George Bascom, and 54 soldiers to find him. Today, Chiricahua Apache Chief Cochise is invited to talk with Bascom in Apache Pass, in southwestern Arizona. Cochise brings some family with him to the parlay in Bascom's tent. Cochise is shocked when Bascom accuses him of kidnapping the boy. Cochise denies his involvement, but Bascom does not believe him. Bascom then tells Cochise he is under arrest. Cochise cuts a hole in the tent, and escapes. Bascom will keep Cochise's relatives as hostages. Cochise will quickly seize several whites has hostages
○ POLITICS (US)
1789 1st electoral college chooses Washington & Adams as President & Vice President
1887 Interstate Commerce Act authorizes federal regulation of railroads
1941 United Service Organization (USO) founded
1964 24th Amendment abolishes Poll tax
1974 The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.
1993 The “Family and Medical Leave Act” was passed by the U.S. Congress
○ POLITICS (International)
1657 Oliver Cromwell grants residency to Luis Caravajal
1782 British garrison surrenders to French & Spanish fleet
1822 Free American Blacks settle Liberia, West Africa
1945 FDR, Churchill & Stalin meet at Yalta
○ SCIENCE & RELIGION
1787 1st Anglican bishops of New York & Pennsylvania consecrated in London
1846 Mormons leave Nauvoo MO for settlement in the west
1987 President Reagan's veto of Clean Water Act is overridden by Congress
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ANSWERS
Millionaire ANSWERS…
1. Which of these numbers has a greater value than 93? 17,388
2. In the U.S., what is a Republican? Political party
3. Why can't you safely drink out of the ocean? It's salty
4. How many hours are in a day? 24
5. To what kingdom do mushrooms belong? Fungi Kingdom
6. What were most of the first spearheads made out of? Flint
7. Who wrote 'Treasure Island'? Robert Louis Stevenson
8. What is the capital of West Virginia? Charleston
9. What was the first mammal sent into space? Monkey Hailing from the United States, Albert II, a Rhesus monkey, was launched on June 14, 1949. It died as a result of parachute failure. In 1957 Laika, the Russian dog was sent into space and was the first animal to orbit the earth.
10. What is Antarctica's highest point of elevation? Vinson Massif
11. In the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, what are the names of Calvin's parents? Mom and Dad
12. The Toronto Raptors' logo has a logo of a raptor dribbling a BASKETBALL of what color?
Gray
13. By definition, what adjective can be used to describe a tree with many branches? Ramose: A rale is an abnormal respiratory sound; a raglan is a garment with slanted sleeves; and rallentando is a musical term meaning to gradually slow down in tempo
14. Who was the first president of Czechoslovakia? Thomas Gerrigue Masaryk
15. The Silurian time period came in which era? Paleozoic
Close up Picture…
Soap Suds
« AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW »
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