July 26

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Flagstaff Almanac

Week: 30 Day: 208

Today: High   76°…Low 55° Averages: High   81°…Low 52°

Records: High   92° (1931)…Low 41° (1913)

Wind:   18mph;  Gusts: 24mph

Cloudy with very light rain in afternoon  Today’s humidity:  40%

Quote of the Day

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

2005 - Mumbai, India receives 99.5cm of rain (39.17 inches) within 24 hours, bringing

           the city to a halt for over 2 days

1992 - Nolan Ryan strikes out his 100th batter for 23rd consecutive seasons

1971 - Apollo 15 launched (Scott & Irwin) to 4th manned landing on Moon

1953 - Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle orders an anti-polygamy law enforcement 

            crackdown on residents of Short Creek (now Colorado City), Arizona, which 

            becomes known as the Short Creek Raid

1947 - National Security Act establishes CIA

1946 - President Harry Truman orders desegregation of all US forces

1822 - Secret meeting of Simon Bolivar & Jose de San Martin

1805 - Naples/Calabria struck by Earthquake; about 26,000 die

1775 - United States Post Office (U.S.P.O.) created in Philadelphia under Benjamin

            Franklin

1519 - Pizarro receives royal charter for the west coast of South America

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪ 

                      

Free Rambling Thoughts   

I spent the morning working on my photos from my recent trip. I had no idea I had so many animal pictures….and so many close ups. It will take a little longer to get these pictures posted. Amazing what great things one can do with a digital picture…without altering the picture very much. I also still have to figure out a theme for the pictures…my dilemma…do I put all the elephant pictures together or do I keep them in the order they were taken. I leaning toward the order taken, since animals were seen on every drive, and placing them together by species might take something away from the sheer awesomeness of the area we covered. The ‘cat’ pictures are helping me get to this decision. On my first safari, we only had two lion sightings. On this safari we had two sightings a day for at least four days…different lions each time. Even more amazing, each sighting was a story in itself…not just a lion or two laying under a tree. In one sighting we watched two young females chase another lion away from the pride, then return to find the cubs they had hidden before the chase began. Then the male appeared and enjoyed sitting with his pride. Another time, several full and tired lionesses rested in the shade of another safari vehicle. What an adventure.

Chick-Fil-A is in the news. We had one at our local mall, before the mall remodeled. Most malls in the US charge their stores a fine when they are not open during all the mall hours. The Chick-Fil-A was never open on Sunday and I’m sure had to pay a hefty fine. At the time, I thought it was an interesting stand to take. Now the CEO/owner of the company has made statements about non-traditional marriage. City officials around the country are coming out to say they won’t allow the chain into their city. The bigot who runs the company has made his statement and the consumers will decide. I must say I enjoyed their unique sandwich and their waffle fries but do not plan on supporting their chain with my money. Our country is supposed to be all about freedom and we all have the freedom to not support bigots.

I had a nice talk with Bob, my family friend from Colorado. He is leaving next week for a hike along Hadrian’s Wall with some friends. I had planned to go, but it was too close to my safari and couldn’t find a roommate, so would have had to pay the single supplement. It should be a great trip. Now he is talking about Copper Canyon in Mexico and ocean kayaking in the spring. We’ll see if I can join him on that one. REI has a trip and it sure sounds like fun.

Game   Center: (answers at the end of post)

What is the answer?

Rearrange the following letters to give two different 11-letter words. A C D E E I N O R S T

5X5 Word Boxes

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? Each answer is 5 letters.

1.      wanderer
2.      big
3.      deserve
4.      Shakespearean remark to audience
5.      Redirect
HINT: Upper left to lower right letters are N-B-R-D-R

Lifestyle  Substance     

Do you remember this?

My Latest Adventure—

One Hit Wonders of the 1960’s

• In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)
…Zager and Evans…1969

• Israelites
…Desmond Dekker and the Aces…1969

• Love (Can Make You Happy)
… Mercy…1969

• Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'
…Crazy Elephant…1969

Harper’s Index         

Value of loose change left at TSA checkpoints in 2010: $409,085.56

Found on You Tube 

• The original Coke TV commercial

• Coke Commercial – Philippines

• Coca-Cola HILLTOP I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing

• Coca-Cola Commercial.....Mean Joe Green (1979)

• Coke commercial features Special Olympics athletes

Joke-of-the-day

Bill, Jim, and Scott were at a convention together and were sharing a large suite on the top of a 75-story skyscraper. After a long day of meetings they were shocked to hear that the elevators in their hotel were broken and they would have to climb 75 flights of stairs to get to their room. Bill said to Jim and Scott, let's break the monotony of this unpleasant task by concentrating on something interesting. I'll tell jokes for 25 flights, and Jim can sing songs for 25 flights, and Scott can tell sad stories the rest of the way. At the 26th floor Bill stopped telling jokes and Jim began to sing. At the 51st floor Jim stopped singing and Scott began to tell sad stories.
"I will tell my saddest story first," he said. "I left the room key in the car!"

*Bonus*:

The strong young man at the construction site was bragging that he could outdo anyone in a feat of strength. He made a special case of making fun of one of the older workmen. After several minutes, the older worker had had enough. "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is," he said. "I will bet a week's wages that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to that outbuilding that you won't be able to wheel back."
"You're on, old man," the braggart replied. "Let's see what you got."
The old man reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then, nodding to the young man, he said, "All right. Get in."

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

A good liar will look his victim in the eyes in an attempt to be convincing. Two tip-offs are an increase in his rate of blinking and overly complicated explanations.

Yeah, It Really Happened

FLYKALEN, Sweden - Police in Sweden said a man who wandered away from a party became lost in the woods and came face to face with a bear. Officers said Robin Engstrom, 20, was attending a party Saturday in Flykalen and decided to take a walk in the woods with some beer and cigarettes, The Local.se reported Monday.
Engstrom became lost in the woods about four miles from the village and soon found himself being chased by a brown bear, police said.
The man climbed a hunting tower and pounded on the roof to scare the animal away. Police said Engstrom was rescued after spending about three hours atop the tower. Engstrom said he tried to stay calm during his ordeal. "I drank up the last of the beer and then I sat and smoked. One shouldn't get unnecessarily stressed," Engstrom said.                 

Somewhat Useless Information   

The exact formula of Coca-Cola's natural flavorings (but not its other ingredients, which are listed on the side of the bottle or can) is a trade secret. The original copy of the formula was held in SunTrust Bank's main vault in Atlanta for 86 years.The Coca-Cola Company only produces a syrup concentrate, which it sells to bottlers throughout the world, who hold Coca-Cola franchises for one or more geographical areas. The bottlers produce the final drink by mixing the syrup with filtered water and sweeteners, and then carbonate it before putting it in cans and bottles.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

18-25

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week:

27-29 

Garlic Days
World Lumberjack Championships

Single Working Women's Week

Today Is                                                                      

All Or Nothing Day

First Quarter Moon

National Chili Dog Day

One Voice (people all over the world unite to read the  Universal Peace Covenant  

                       in one voice)

Cuba: National Day (1953 - Assault of the Moncada garrison (Official name means 

                                        "Day of the National Rebellion"))  

Curacao: Curacao Day (founding by the Spanish sailor Alonso de Ojeda - 1499)
Liberia: Independence Day (1847 from American Colonization Society)
Maldives: Independence Day (1965 from Britain)
US: NY: Ratification Day (1788-11^th state: Constitution)

Today’s Events Through History  

2000’s

2005 - Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission - Launch of Discovery, NASA's first 

            scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003

1900’s

1990 - President Bush signs Americans With Disabilities Act

1957 - USSR launches 1st intercontinental multistage ballistic missile

1956 - Egypt seizes Suez Canal

1953 - Fidel Castro begins rebellion, the "26th of July Movement," against Fulgenico

            Batista's regime

1926 - National Bar Association incorporates

1908 - Predecessor of the FBI is created by the Department of Justice Office of the 

            Chief Examiner 

1800’s

1891 - France annexes Tahiti

1878 - In California, the poet and American West outlaw calling himself "Black Bart" 

            makes his last clean getaway when he steals a safe box from a Wells Fargo 

           stagecoach. The empty box will be found later with a taunting poem inside

1824 - Seminole Principal Chief Neamathla (also called Eneah Emathla) has managed 

            to avoid removing his people from Florida to the west. Florida Governor William

            Duval has become convinced that Neamathla is planning another uprising. The

            Governor officially removes Neamathla from his position as Chief.

1700’s

1790 - US passes Assumption bill making US responsible for state debts

1763 - Detroit is also being besieged. Captain James Dalyell and almost 300 soldiers

            arrive on the southern shore of Lake Erie. They find many bodies and the 

            remnants of structures. His forces immediately march against a Wyandot village 

            near modern Fremont

1600’s

1656 - Rembrandt declares he is insolvent

1500’s

1579 - Francis Drake leaves SF to cross Pacific Ocean

1200’s

1267 - Inquisition forms in Rome under pope Clement IV

Before 1000CE

920 - Rout of an alliance of Christian troops from Navarre and Léon against the 

           Muslims at Pamplona

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 30’s

Kate Beckinsale, actress: Underworld is 39

In their 40’s

Sandra Bullock, actress (Speed, Net, Love & War) is 48

Jeremy Piven, actor (Spence-Ellen, Grosse Pointe Blank) is  47

In their 50’s

Kevin Spacey, actor (Dad, Henry & June, Darrow) Jeremy is 53

In their 60’s

Susan George, actress (Straw Dogs, Mandingo) is 62

Mick Jagger, English, rock vocalist (Rolling Stones) is 69

Helen Mirren, [Eleni Mironova], England, actress (Cook Thief Wife, Madness of King 

     George) is 66

In their 90’s

Marjorie Lord, American actress (Make Room for Daddy) is 94

Remembered for being born today

Gracie Allen, SF California, Mrs George Burns/comedian (Burns & Allen) - 1895

George Catlin, US, author/painter (American Indian scenes) - 1796

George Clinton, NY, (D-R) 4th VP (1805-12) - 1739

Blake Edwards, OK, writer/director (10, SOB, Breakfast at Tiffany's) - 1922

Robert Graves, London England, writer/poet (I Claudius) - 1895

Aldous L Huxley, Surrey England, author (Brave New World) - 1894

Carl Gustav Jung, Switzerland, doctor (founded analytic psychology) - 1875

Mary Jo Kopechne, Ted Kennedy's car crash - 1940

Stanley Kubrick, Bronx NY, director (2001, Dr Strangelove, Lolita) - 1928

Jason Robards Jr, Chicago, actor (A Thousand Clowns, Any Wednesday) - 1922

George Bernard Shaw, Dublin Ireland, dramatist (Pygmalion-Nobel 1925) - 1856

Vivian Vance, Cherryvale Kansas, American actress (Ethel Mertz-I Love Lucy) - 1909

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

William Jennings Bryan, lawyer (Scopes-monkey trial), dies of diabetes and 

          fatigue—5 days after verdict, in 1925 at 65

Eva Peron-Duarte, Argentina's 1st lady, dies of cancer in 1952 at 33

George Gallup, pioneer of public opinion polls, dies in 1984 at 82

Ed "Psycho" Gein, mass murderer (Psycho based on him), dies in 1984 at 78

Averell Harriman, statesman, dies in 1896 at 94

Samuel Houston, 1st Pres of Rep of Texas (1836-38, 41-44), dies of pneumonia in 

        1863 at 70

George Romney, politician, dead Heart attack, dies in 1995 at 88

Mary Wells, US soul singer (My Guy), dies of cancer in 1992 at 49

Answers                                                                                                                                            

What is the answer?

Considerate; Desecration

5X5 boxes

NOMADOBSESEMERITASIDEDETER

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.

All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

☺    And That Is All for Now  ☺