August 7

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Flagstaff Almanac

Week: 32 / Day: 220

Today: High   79°…Low 52°

Records: High   90°(1983)…Low 36°(1953)

Averages: High   79°…Low 52°

Wind:   13mph;  Gusts: 19mph

Light Afternoon Shower  Today’s humidity:  32%

Quote of the Day

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

2007 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks baseball great Hank Aaron's 

            record by hitting his 756th home run

1994 - 1st telephone link between Israel & Jordan

1988 - Writer's Guild end their 6 months strike

1970 - 1st computer chess tournament

1964 - US Congress approves Gulf of Tonkin resolution

1961 - Cosmonaut Gherman Titov circles Earth for a full day in Vostok 2

1959 - The Lincoln Memorial design on the U.S. penny goes into circulation. 

            It replaces the "sheaves of wheat" design

1914 - Lord Kitchner says "Your country needs you," poster spreads over UK

1820 - 1st potatoes planted in Hawaii

1802 - Napoleon orders re-instatement of slavery on St Domingue (Haiti)

1606 - The first documented performance of Macbeth performed at the Great 

             Hall at Hampton Court

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪  How many can you identify…answers in Today’s Birthdays

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Laundry Day…boring. Gotta do it, I know, but it’s still boring. As I was loading and unloading the machines I remembered when my mom did the laundry with a wringer on the outside of the machine and hung the laundry on the line to dry. Sure glad I don’t have to do that.

How very cool…Curiosity has landed and sent back pictures. An amazing triumph for our space program. I didn’t stay up to watch it live, but saw the photos as soon as I got up, just after sunrise.  I really can’t comprehend the distance and the technology but sure enjoy the story. NASA has a great site that interviews the people responsible. While they are mostly pretty geeky they sure can’t hide their excitement.

So stunned to hear of the shootings at the Sikh Temple. I recall that several Sikhs here in Flagstaff were harassed after the 9-11 situation. There was even an article in the local paper, letting people know that the Sikhs had nothing to do with what had happened in NYC. These haters are so uneducated and violent. The shooter seems to be a member of a White Supremacy group…really?...in 2012. I don’t have answers, but I sure have a lot of questions.

I watched more Olympics while waiting on the laundry. There were some great track and field events today. I really enjoy watching the excitement. I’m not into favorites, just watching the outstanding performances by young athletes who are attempting to perform at the top of their sport.     

Game   Center: (answers at the end of post)

What is the answer?

What do the following words have in common?BACK  BREAK  DISH  RAIN  UNDER

6X6 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 6 letters.

1.      North American deer
2.      keenness of judgment
3.      finger- or sock-
4.      ascribe
5.      waver precariously
6.      Dilbert joke target
HINT: Upper left to lower right letters are: W-C-P-U-E-R

Lifestyle  Substance     

Do you remember this?

Read Carefully!!

In a London department store:  BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS

Do you know what this word means?

What is this not so common name of a common object? Semantic Satiation

London 2012—

Female Artist Folk Songs: Melissa Etheridge

• I'm the Only One

• I Want To Be In Love

• Fearless Love

• Come To My Window

Harper’s Index         

Percentage of doctors who will make an abesity diagnosis if a patient’s weight is equal to or greater than their own: 93

Found on You Tube 

Top 10 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR History

Joke-of-the-day

- EVER WONDER

Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?

Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?

Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

Why is it that to stop Windows 98, you have to click on "Start"?

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it?

Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes?...Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

When choosing a mate, consider not only what kind of spouse he or she will make, but also what kind of ex-spouse he or she will be.

Yeah, It Really Happened

HOKOTA, Japan - Police in Japan said they arrested a 69-year-old man accused of stealing $755 worth of melons from a farm. Police said a CCTV camera recorded the man entering a greenhouse at the Hokota, Ibaraki Prefecture farm twice June 26 to steal the 30 valuable melons, Japan Today reported Monday. Investigators said they are looking into whether the man stole fruit from any other farms after 79 melons were recovered from his home.               

Somewhat Useless Information   

• NASCAR owes everything to William France Sr., who organized the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing in Daytona, Florida, in 1948. Son Bill Jr. took the reins of the organization in 1972 before handing it over to his own son, Brian, in 2003.

• Nearly every level of NASCAR competition has corporate sponsorship. The three most popular are the NEXTEL cup (became Sprint Cup in 2008), the Busch series, and the Craftsman Truck Series. The NEXTEL Cup was originally known as the Grand National Series, but became the Winston Cup after R.J. Reynolds took over sponsorship of the series in 1972.

• In 1977, Cale Yarborough successfully defended his Winston Cup championship and did something en route that no driver before him had ever accomplished - he finished every race that season.

• After NASCAR required shatterproof plastic windshields, drivers complained that they became dirty and scratched too easily during races. As a solution, clear plastic sheets are placed on the windshield that crew members can peel off one-at-a-time if they become soiled.

• The NASCAR races you don't see on television or in person tend to be as dangerous as the ones you do. Three of the last four fatalities to occur in the Winston Cup/NEXTEL Cup series occurred during practice runs.

• Over the last two decades (ending in 2007), Chevrolet has dominated the Daytona 500. Drivers behind the wheels of Chevys have won 15 of 20 races. During that span, the winner's purse has grown from $200,000 to a staggering $1.5 million.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

1-7 

International Clown Week
Simplify Your Life Week
Rock for Life Week

5-11

Assistance Dog Week
Knights of Columbus Family Week

National Farmers' Market Week
National Resurrect Romance Week

6-12

Exercise with Your Child Week
Exhibitor Appreciation Week

National Fraud Awareness Week
National Hobo Week

Psychic Week
Single Working Women's Week
Sturgis Rally

World Breastfeeding Week

Today Is                                                                      

Lighthouse Day- 1789, that Congress approved an Act for the establishment 

            and support of lighthouse, beacons, buoys and public piers

National Night Out- a community-police awareness-raising event in the US

Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day-for all those hard to open

          bottles and packages

Professional Speakers Day

Purple Heart Day-G. Washington began the Badge of Military Merit-1782

Sea Serpent Day- creatures lurk in the murky waters of the Northern Atlantic 

          or near the Mariana Trench. Though uncertain, there are certainly things living

          in these places; unusual sea creatures, with long sinewy bodies and razor 

          sharp teeth; sea serpents  

Sisters' Day

US:Iowa: Herbert Hoover Day
Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast): National Day (1960-from France)  

Today’s Events Through History  

2000’s

2008 - Georgia launches a military offensive to surround and capture the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, from Russian control, starting the South Ossetia War

1900’s

1985 - Baseball players end a 2 day strike

1984 - Japan beats US for olympic gold medal in baseball

1970 - 4, including presiding judge, killed in courthouse shootout in San Rafael, 

            California (Police charge Angela Davis provided weapons)

1963 - Jac Kennedy becomes 1st, 1st lady to give birth since Mrs Cleveland

1960 - Students stage kneel-in demonstrations in Atlanta churches

1955 - Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, begins selling

            its first transistor radios in Japan

1944 - IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence

            Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I)

1934 - US Court of Appeals upheld lower court ruling striking down government's

            attempt to ban controversial James Joyce novel Ulysses

1933 - The Iraqi Government slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Sumail. 

            The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day

1912 - Progressive (Bull Moose) Party nominates Theodore Roosevelt for pres

1904 - Train derailed on bridge in Eden Colo during a flash flood, kills 96

1800’s

1882 - Hatfields of south WV & McCoys of east Ky feud, 100 wounded or die

1819 - Battle of Boyacá; Bolívar defeats Spanish in Colombia

1700’s

1760 - Ft Loudon, Tennessee surrenders to Cherokee Indians

1758 -Peace conference is held for the next two days between representatives 

           of the British in New Jersey and the Minisink Indians.

1750 - Slave uprising on Curacao

1714 - The Battle of Gangut: the first important victory of the Russian Navy

1600’s

1670 - Apache or Navajos attack the ancient Zuni Pueblo of Hawikuh. 

            They burn the church, and kill the resident missionary.

1500’s

1573 - Francis Drakes fleet returns to Plymouth

1400’s

1461 - the Ming Dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin stages a coup against the Tianshun Emperor

Before 1000CE

322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death 

                of Alexander the Great

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 30’s

Charlize Theron , Transvaal, South Africa, actress (The Cider House Rules, Monster)

     is 37

In their 50’s

David Duchovny, NYC, actor (Fox Mulder-X Files) is 52

Alberto Salazar, marathoner (NYC Marathon Winner) is 54

In their 60’s

John Glover, Kingston NY, actor (52 Pick-Up, Something Special) is 68

In their 70’s

Garrison Keillor, Minn, PBS radio personality (Prairie Home Companion) is 70

B J Thomas, Houston TX, singer (Raindrops, Growing Pains Theme) is 70

In their 80’s

Stan Freberg, LA California, satirist/ad executive/cartoon voice (Bertie) is 86

Remembered for being born today

Ralph Bunche, Detroit Michigan, founder/diplomat (UN) (Nobel 1950), – b. 1903 or 04

Billie Burke, Washington DC, actress (Glinda-Wizard of Oz) – b. 1884

Mata Hari, [Margaretha G Zelle], dancer/courtesan/spy (WW I) – b. 1876

John Paul Hogan, Lowes, Kentucky, chemist (discovered methods of producing 

     polypropylene) – b. 1919

Louis Leakey, Kabete Kenya, anthropologist (1964 Richard Hooper Medal) – b. 1903

Carl Ritter, cofounder of modern science of geography – b. 1779

Georg Stiernhielm, "father of Swedish poetry" (Hercules) – b. 1598

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Red Adair, American oil field firefighter dies in 2004 at 89

John Bacon, English sculptor (Westminster Abbey), dies in 1799 at 58

Oliver Hardy, comedian of Laurel & Hardy, dies of cancer in 1957 at 65

Peter Jennings, Canadian-born news anchor dies of lung cancer in 2005 at 67

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Do you know what this word means?

What happens when you say a word for so long that it loses its meaning. Limit limit limit limit limit limit limit limit limit.

What is the answer?

Each can be followed by WATER to form a new word.BACKWATER  BREAKWATER  DISHWATER  RAINWATER  UNDERWATER

6X6 boxesc

WAPITI

ACUMEN

PUPPET

TEETER

INTERN

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  ☺