Dec 16, 2012

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Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 51/ Day:    

Today: H   29°…L 26° Averages: H  ° L °

Records: H   63°(1929)…L -14°(1931)

Wind: ave:   10mph; Gusts:  23mph Today’s ave. humidity:  91%

Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical Highlights:

1st credit union in US forms—1908 

1st White House Press Conference (Pres Eisenhower & 161 reporters) —1953

Albert Einstein publishes his "General Theory of Relativity"—1915

Don McLean's 8+ minute version of "American Pie" released—1971

Last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan—1707

Majestic Theater, NYC, becomes 1st in US to employ women ushers—1903

Napoleon Bonaparte divorces Empress Josephine by French Senate—1809

New Madrid earthquake takes place today on the Mississippi River. Many tribes will tell tales of this event for generations—1811

Republic of South-Africa forms—1880

Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, later knows as SAAB, is founded in Sweden—1949

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

How many can you identify?…answers in Today’s Birthdays

Returns tomorrow

Free Rambling Thoughts:   

A winter wonderland, and then more of a winter wonderland. Our HOA has had the snow plow here three times today, and the sidewalk guys have been here twice. Enough already!!! I had planned on going to a Christmas Party with the local bagpiping band. It was to be in Williams, a mere 30 miles west. Sadly it was postponed until January, since I-40 was first a mess, and then finally closed. Bummer. The temperatures above are a little deceiving as the wind chill drops it about 10 more degrees. I had been a little concerned about my wild birds. They just disappeared about a week ago. I figured there was something in a neighbor’s yard that was keeping them away. It must have been the warm weather we’ve been having as today they were back in droves. So whatever it was, this cold and wind has them not caring.

 

I read with sadness the names and ages of those who were slaughtered yesterday. America has a very short memory and at some point things have to change in Congress. I posted a picture on FB yesterday—the Statue of Liberty covering her eyes and weeping. I added…’It’s time for some laws to change’ I was surprised when a colleague got all up about this is not the time for gun control. My response: If not now, when? The story now is that the kid stole the guns from his mom. I get that she might have one or maybe even two handguns, but an assault rifle…in a ‘sleepy close knit town’ where she was a kindergarten teacher. Are they awaiting an alien invasion, a zombie apocalypse, a foreign invasion of their small town? Our citizens do not need assault rifles.

Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)

Duplicate Letter Puzzles

Find common words with certain letters duplicated in the given positions. V stands for a duplicated vowel, C stands for a duplicated consonant, L stands for any duplicated letter, and _ stands for any letter

C V _ V C V V

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Old Saying Explained:

LILY LIVERED

Means cowardly. People once believed that your passions came from you liver. If you were lily livered your liver was white (because it did not contain any blood). So you were a coward.

Ok, then?

Movie Theme Songs you may remember:

Fame

Read This Headline Carefully!!

Tokyo hotel's rules and regulations:

GUESTS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE, OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIOURS IN BED.

Winter-ish cartoons:

Bet You Didn’t Know…from History Channel

Ancient Athens is regarded as the birthplace of democracy, but fewer than 20 percent of its residents could actually participate in the political process.

Harper’s Index:         

Number of human brains compromoised after a freezer failure at the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center: 147

Unusual Fact of the Day:

Most teddy bears are manufactured with a neutral expression on their face so that children can project their own emotions onto the stuffed creatures.

• Found on You Tube: 

• Run For The Roses By Dan Fogelberg

• Gary Stewart She's Acting Single

Joke-of-the-day:

The man charged into the jewelry shop, slammed his fists angrily on the showcase, removed a wristwatch from his pocket and shook it under the nose of the owner. “You said this watch would last me a lifetime,” he yelled.

“Yeah,” admitted the owner. “But you looked pretty sick the day you bought it.”  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

PICTURING AN OIL WELL

A deep oil well has the same proportions as a human hair ten feet long.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

49-year-old Fitzgerald told deputies he was searching for his lost dog Tuesday morning when they found him cruising around a golf course in a golf cart while in possession of a high powered rifle and handgun, in case he encountered coyotes, he said. Deputies said Fitzgerald fired several rounds from his golf cart. Deputies also say Fitzgerald also appeared intoxicated.

Authorities say he hit a water tower which holds about a million gallons of water. Water has apparently been draining from the bullet hole.

Fitzgerald was charged with felony criminal mischief, discharging a firearm, and use of firearm while under the influence.

 No word on whether the dog was ever found.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

A 1,200-pound horse eats about seven times it's own weight each year.

A bird requires more food in proportion to its size than a baby or a cat.

A capon is a castrated rooster.

A chameleon can move its eyes in two directions at the same time.

A chameleon's tongue is twice the length of its body.

A chimpanzee can learn to recognize itself in a mirror, but monkeys can't.

A Cornish game hen is really a young chicken, usually 5 to 6 weeks of age, 

     that weighs no more than 2 pounds.

A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

14-18> Halcyon Days

16-1/5> Christmas Bird Count Week

16-24> Gluten-free Baking Week; Posadas

Today Is                                                                      

Barbie and Barney Backlash Day

National Chocolate-covered Anything Day

Underdog Day

~Bangladesh: Victory Day (1971 over Pakistani Army)

~Kazakhstan: Independence Day (1991 for Soviet Union)
~South Africa: Reconciliation Day (1994-end of apartheid)
~US: Anniversary - Boston Tea Party 1773

Today’s Events through History  

• 1st broadcast of "One Day at a Time" on CBS TV —1975

• Andrew Young named Ambassador & Chief US Delegate to UN
—1976

• Battle of Nashville ends after 4400 causalities—1864

• Charlie Chaplin began his film career at Keystone for $150 a week
—1913

• Fire consumes over 600 buildings in NYC
—1835

• General Monck demands free parliamentary election in Scotland
—1659

• Iraq disarmament crisis: Operation Desert Fox - The US and UK bomb targets in Iraq
—1998

• Mount Vesuvious, Italy erupts, destroys 6 villages & kills 4,000
—1631

• O J Simpson becomes 1st NFLer to rush 2,000 yard in a season
—1973

• Signed at Potawattimie Mills, Indiana, today, a treaty ceding 2 parcels of land for $700 and the canceling of some outstanding debts by the Potawatomi Indians and William Marshall
—1834

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 70’s

Leslie Stahl, newscaster/correspondent (CBS) is 71

Liv Ullmann, actress (Cries & Whispers, 40 Carats) is 73

In their 60’s

Steven Bochco, prod (Hill St Blues, LA Law, St Elsewhere, NYPD Blue) is 69

In their 40’s

Benjamin Bratt, actor (Det Reynaldo Curtis-Law & Order) is 49

Remembered for being born today

Catherine of Aragon, Madrid, Spanish princess/1st wife of Henry VIII, (1485-1536)

Jane Austen, Winchester, Hampshire, novelist (Pride and Prejudice), (1775-1817)

Ludwig van Beethoven, Bonn, Germany, composer (5th Symphony, Ode to Joy), (1770-1827)

George Santayana, Spain, philosopher/poet/humanist (Last Puritan) (1863-1952)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Melvin E. Biddle, American soldier and Medal of Honor recipient—2010—at 87

Roy E. Disney, American businessman—cancer—2009—at 79

Dan Fogelberg, American singer/songwriter—cancer—2007—at 56

Wilhelm Grimm, writer— infection—1859—at 73

William Somerset Maugham, English author (Razor's Edge)—1965—at 91

Gary Stewart, American musician and songwriter— pneumonia—2003—at 59

Lee Van Cleef, US actor (Good, Bad & Ugly)— heart attack—1989—at 64

Answer: Duplicate Letter Puzzles

 REFEREE

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  §