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Today’s Historical
Highlights
1496 - Leonardo da
Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine
1825 - Scottish
factory owner Robert Owen buys 30,000 acres in Indiana as site for New Harmony
utopian community
1861 - Delaware
legislature rejects proposal to join Confederacy
1899 - The first
known use of the word automobile, was seen in an editorial in The New York Times
1924 - British
Egyptologist Howard Carter finds sarcophagus of Tutankhamen
1961 - US breaks
diplomatic relations with Cuba
1988 - Margaret
Thatcher becomes longest-serving British PM this century
♫Happy Birthday To: ♫
Free Rambling
Thoughts
What a great day it was…it
started off with opening a DVD from my trip to Ethiopia. Al and Nancy did an
amazing job. Watching the video was just like taking the trip all over again. They
had some great video and really blended it very well. The still shots were also
amazing. I am always enthralled at how different people in the group went to
the same places I did, but put a different spin on what they saw. Then I looked
at Focus Travel for 2013 and there is a trip to Uganda—to see the gorilla in
January, 2013. I called and thankfully I’m in. I took the last spot. Just like
so many things these days, number of permits is extremely limited and 14 is all
our group can hold. Next I got a call from Greg, the river runner, and he wants
me to help him with some computer stuff so he can design a T-shirt for the ‘Sandra’.
There is a company that does T-shirts and other stuff print-on-demand. It will be
great for his clients and river running friends. Then I caught up on the
newspaper…and low and behold, the weather service has decided that the
Flagstaff bad drought of over 10 years has ended…with the last two years well
above the ‘drought’ determination. We are not yet a rain forest by any means,
but Flagstaff and a small strip along our Mogollon Rim is no longer ‘abnormally
dry’ or ‘exceptionally dry’. We are still very dry, but the worst seems to be
over. That is good news for all of us. A great way to being 2012!!!
In crazy stuff…I got
another bill from a Dr. who assisted in January throat surgery. I got the first
bill in October after the insurance paid. I paid the bill electronically. In
November, they sent me a nasty letter. I called and they said they hadn’t been
paid. I checked and it showed paid. Then last week I got another bill. I really
started researching and discovered that they were actually paid twice…on the
same day at exactly the same time. The bank can’ help..since I didn’t catch it
sooner…and I get that. Somehow either I
hit pay twice, or something else happened. By now the two checks for $17.55
have been cashed. So now they owe me $17.55. They were closed today, but just
wait until tomorrow…I left a message on their answering machine. This is so
stupid, I never saw the assistant, unless I saw him after the versed and before
I was alert again. He just has a crappy billing service.
Game Center
(answers
at the end of post)
NEW—Brain Game
NPR Sunday Puzzle
Every
answer is a familiar two-word phrase, name or title containing the consecutive
letters I-N-D, as in "independent." For example, given the clue
"19th-century British prime minister," the answer would be
"Benjamin Disraeli."
1.
A
ceremony performed by native American to end a drought:
2.
Beauty
is only this:
3.
Roosevelt’s
given names:
4.
Title
character in a Chas Dicken’s mystery:
5.
Fast
Food Franchise that sells baked goods and coffee:
6.
Action
star in ‘Fast and Furious’ and ‘XXX’ :
7.
A
RR station:
8.
Coke,
Pepsi, etc sold at a fast food restaurant:
9.
Made
by Pepsi:
10. Clevaland’s leading newspaper:
11. Duke Ellington Jazz Standard:
12. Person who interrupts news to his advantage:
13. Departure of scientists and
intellectuals from one country to abroad:
14. An entrée:
15. A book in which you look up ‘anno domini
‘or ‘e pluribus unum’:
Wuzzles What concept or
phrase do these suggest?
Lifestyle Substance
AZ Centennial is in
days: Did you know?…
Found on You Tube
Harper’s Index
- Portion of all 800-numbers held by one Philadelphia company that redirects calls to phone-sex lines: 1/4
Joke-of-the-day
Teacher: Now, Sam, tell
me frankly do you say prayers before eating?
Sam: No sir, I don't have to, my mom is a good
cook.
--BONUS—
Little Johnny's
kindergarten class was on a field trip to their local police station where they
saw pictures tacked to a bulletin board of the 10 most wanted criminals. One of
the youngsters pointed to a picture and asked if it really was the photo of a wanted
person.
'Yes,' said the
policeman. 'The detectives want very badly to capture him.
'Little Johnny asked, 'Why didn't you keep him
when you took his picture?’
Old-er people in the
News
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida
(AP) -- A 70-year-old woman survived a nine-story fall from a condominium tower
Wednesday when she landed on a canopy, officials said.
Gloria Jummati was
cleaning her balcony at Coral Ridge Towers when she fell and landed on a
first-floor canopy, according to the Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue. Jummati was
alert and talking when rescuers arrived.
She was transported to
Broward General Medical Center with a broken arm and other non-life-threatening
injuries, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
Rules of Thumb
Easy shortcuts to make
an ‘educated’ guess
- If a politician mentions "special interests," he or she is discussing something, someone or some group with whom they disagree. On the contrary, the term "public interest" signals something with which they are in complete agreement.
Somewhat Useless
Information
- Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison were all 27 years old when they died.
- Little Jackie Paper was the name of Puff the Magic Dragon's human friend.
- Mickey Mouse is known as 'Topolino' in Italy.
- In 1987 Playtex premiered the first US TV commercials with real lingerie models displaying their bras and underwear on national television.
- In the movie Casablanca Rick never says "Play it again, Sam." He says: "You played it for her, you can play it for me. Play it!". Ilsa says "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By"'.
- MTV (Music Television) made its debut at 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981 The first music-video shown on the rock-video cable channel was, appropriately, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. MTV's original five veejays were Martha Quinn, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson and Alan Hunter.
Yeah, It Really
Happened
LONDON - A British TV
listings said "a temporarily overzealous profanity checker" censored
innocuous program titles, including changing the film "Hancock" to
"HanC**k." Virgin Media said the titles were fixed after visitors to
the listings Web site noticed "Hancock" had been changed along with
the children's show "Dick and Dom," which became "D**k and
Dom," and the panel game "Never Mind the Buzzcocks," which was
listed as "Never Mind the BuzzC**ks,"
The Sun reported
Tuesday. The Web site even changed the name of soccer team Arsenal to
"A***nal," the British tabloid said. A Virgin Media representative
said the changes were the work of an employee described as "a temporarily
overzealous profanity checker."
Calendar Information
…Happening
This Week:
1-7
- Celebration of Life Week
- Diet Resolution Week
- Silent Record Week
- National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week
- Someday We'll Laugh About This Week
- New Year's Resolutions Week
Today
Is
- Congress Assembles Day
- Drinking Straw Day
- Earth at Perihelion
- Festival of Sleep Day
- J.R.R. Tolkien Day
- Memento Mori :"Remember You Will Die" Day
- National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
- National Thank God Its Monday! Day
- Russia : Passport Presentation Day
Today’s
Other Events
1400’s
1431 - Joan of Arc
handed over to the bishop
1500’s
1521 - Martin Luther
excommunicated by Pope Leo X from the Roman Catholic Church
1541 - On this
date, de Soto visits the main Chickisaw town. He wants to visit
Caluca, and he gets guides and interpreters from the Chickisaw
1700’s
1780 - Danish
national anthem Kong Kristian... 1st sung
1800’s
1847 - California
town of Yerba Buena renamed San Francisco
1852 - 1st Chinese
arrive in Hawaii
1871 - Oleomargarine
patented by Henry Bradley, Binghamton, NY
1879 - U.S.Army
Captain Henry Wessells at Fort Robinson, in northwestern Nebraska, receives
orders from General Sheridan and Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz which
states that Dull Knife and his CHEYENNEs return to their reservation.
1888 - 1st wax
drinking straw patented, by Marvin C Stone in Washington DC
1900’s
1918 - US employment
service opens as a unit of Dept of Labor
1938 - March of
Dimes established to fight polio
1939 - Gene Cox
becomes 1st girl page in US House of Representatives
1944 - World War II:
Top Ace Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington is shot down
1952 - "Dragnet"
with Jack Webb premieres on NBC TV
1953 - Frances
Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve
simultaneously in the U.S. Congress
1956 - A fire
damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower
1967 - Carl Wilson
of the Beach Boys is indicted for draft evasion
1977 - Apple
Computers incorporate
1990 - Panama's
leader Gen Manuel Noriega surrenders to US authorities
1991 - LA King Wayne
Gretzky scores his 700th goal against NY Islanders
1997 - The People's
Republic of China announces it will spend $27.7 billion USD to fight erosion
and pollution in the Yangtze and Yellow river valleys
2000’s
2009 - Israeli
ground forces invade Gaza
Today’s
Birthdays
In their 30’s
- Eli Manning, American football player is 31
In their 40’s
- Cheryl Miller, basketball player (Olympic-gold-1984) is 48
In their 50’s
- Mel Gibson, actor is 56
In their 60’s
- John Paul Jones [John Baldwin], rock bassist (Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven) is 66
- Stephen Stills, songwriter/guitarist (Cosby Stills & Nash) is 67
- Robert Loggia, actor is 82
- Cicero, Roman statesman and philosopher in 106 BC
- Betty Furness, actress/journalist/consumer activist (Studio 1) in 1916
- Ray Milland, Welsh actor (Lost Weekend-Acad Award 1945) in 1905
- ZaSu Pitts, American actress in 1894
- John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, S Afr, philologist/writer (Lord of Rings) in 1892
- William Tucker, 1st Black child born in Americain 1624
Today’s
Obits
- Juan Cabrillo, conqueror of Cen America, discoverer of CA, dies of gangrene at 45 in 1543
- Conrad Hilton, US founder (Hilton Hotels), dies at 91 in 1979
- Edgar Cayce, American psychic, dies of stroke at 67 in 1945
- Pat Hingle, American actor dies at 85 in 2009
- Jack Ruby, assassin who killed assassin Oswald, dies of pulmonary embolism at 55 in 1967
Brain Game
NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.
A
ceremony performed by native American to end a drought: rain dance
2.
Beauty
is only this: skin deep
3.
Roosevelt’s
given names: Franklin Delano
4.
Title
character in a Chas Dicken’s mystery: Edwin Drew
5.
Fast
Food Franchise that sells baked goods and coffee: Dunkin’ Donuts
6.
Action
star in ‘Fast and Furious’ and ‘XXX’ : Vin Diesel
7.
A
RR station: train depot
8.
Coke,
Pepsi, etc sold at a fast food restaurant: fountain drink
9.
Made
by Pepsi: Mountain Dew
10. Clevaland’s leading newspaper: Plain
Dealer
11. Duke Ellington Jazz Standard: Satin
Doll
12. Person who interrupts news to his advantage:
spin doctor
13. Departure of scientists and
intellectuals from one country to abroad: brain drain
14. An entrée: main dish
15. A book in which you look up ‘anno domini
‘or ‘e pluribus unum’: Latin dictionary
Wuzzle
- United States—I agree, a little lame
- Tuesday
- Upset stomach
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 ☺
