August 24

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Flagstaff Almanac…  

Week: 34 / Day: 237   Today: High   70°…Low 53°

Records: High   90°(1985) …Low 24°(1968)

Averages: High   78°…Low 49°

Wind:   4mph;  Gusts: 24mph

Afternoon Rain  Today’s humidity:  94%

Quote of the Day…

Today’s  Historical  Highlights…

1998 - The Netherlands is selected as the site for the trial of the two Libyan 

            suspects of the 1988 Pan Am bombing

1995 - Windows 95 debuts

1992 - Diplomatic relations are established between the People's Republic 

            of China and South Korea

1987 - Announcement of possible Martian tornadoes

1960 - -127°F (-88°C), Vostok, Antarctica (world record until 1983)

1949 - North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) goes into effect

1912 - NYC ticker tape parade for Jim Thorpe & victorious US Olympians

1853 - 1st potato chips prepared by Chef George Crum

1847 - Charlotte Bronte finishes manuscript of "Jane Eyre"

♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪.. 

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

 

Free Rambling Thoughts…   

I had a great lunch with Cheryl. There is a nice, fairly new restaurant where you get soup, big salad, and ½ sandwich for about $10. The Minestrone soup was very good…and like everyone knows, one never knows exactly what will be in that kind of soup. Plenty to last the rest of the day. Somehow we talked about the stupidity of many politicians this week, and agreed this insanity can’t go on.

We had a lot of horizon clouds this morning, and later in the day it really clouded up. Then about 4pm the rain came…hard and heavy. We also had lots of rain last night…along with enough thunder to wake me up several times. I’m sure when the stats come out for this monsoon season, which isn’t over, it will set some records for moisture….at least for the last 10 years.  The greater Metro Phoenix area is getting a lot of rain too and therefore a lot of flash flooding. In AZ we have a ‘stupid motorist’ law that places fines and rescue costs on any ‘idiot’ who drives around roadblocks and into running water on the road. Even so, on the news every night there is some ‘idiot’ who has driven into running water and gotten stuck and having to be rescued. Today was the craziest…a medical van, carrying a wheel chaired patient to dialysis went around road blocks and got stuck in almost 4 feet of water. The fire department had to use their ladder truck and basket to get the patient out of the van…and then about 4 hours later, with the water still running fairly hard, kids from a local elementary school were photographed trying to cross the water on foot, while the van still sat in the middle of the road. Thankfully, no one was hurt as none of the children crossed after walking in the slower hip deep water. They turned around and somehow found another way to get home.  Only in AZ

Game   Center: (answers at the end of post)

What is the answer?

Answer the following clue in two rhyming words (e.g. an obese feline is a fat cat) If only one number is given, the answer is a word featuring internal rhyme (e.g. voodoo)

astonished male deer (13,4)

Rebus…

Can you figure out what this means?

Lifestyle  Substance…     

Do you remember this?

Read Carefully!!

If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile

Do you know what this word means?

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

Burgee

Historic Flagstaff, AZ—…

60’s music…:

•  Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival

•  Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding

•  When A Man Loves A Woman - Percy Sledge

•  I Want To Hold Your Hand - Beatles

Harper’s Index…         

Factor by which the World Health Organization expects the number of people suffering from dementia to increase by 2050: 3

Unusal Fact of the Day…

After going into heat, an un-spayed female ferret can actually die if she does not mate. She will remain in heat until she mates, and if she does not, the excess estrogen will cause anemia and eventual death.

Found on You Tube… 

  What's my Line? E.G Marshall

Joke-of-the-day…

A juggler, driving to his next performance, is stopped by the police.“What are those knives doing in your car? Asked the officer.“I use them in my juggling act,” says the juggler.“Oh yeah?” “Let’s see you do it.” Says the policeman.So the man starts tossing and juggling the knives.A guy driving by sees this and says, “Wow, am I glad I stopped drinking. Look at the test they’re making you do now!”

Rules of Thumb…   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

DRIVING IN FREEZING RAIN: When driving in freezing rain crack your window slightly to listen for the sound of water splashing from the tires. When the splashing ceases the road conditions have changed to ice.

Yeah, It Really Happened…

HENLEY BEACH, Australia - An Australian artist's beachfront installation employed sharply dressed volunteers to sit on toilets to highlight a local restroom controversy. Andrew Baines said his Saturday installation in Henley Beach, which was titled "Coalition of the Constipated" and involved several volunteers in black suits and bowler hats sitting atop a row of toilets placed at the beach, was inspired by a local debate over whether to put a restroom on the beach, The Advertiser reported Monday. "I've been a long-time resident of Henley and Grange and what I didn't realize, brooding in the background, is there has been an ongoing debate amongst residents, the local council and the cafes about the building of a toilet on the beach-front," Baines said. "Some people want it, some people don't. Hopefully by doing this today, we will highlight the issue and the wider community will come forward and we'll have a solution." Baines said it is his "job as an artist to bring these things to the forefront."               

Somewhat Useless Information…   

• Highest temperature recorded on Earth's surface: 135.8 degrees F - Al Aziziyah, Libya, September 13, 1922 (57.7 degrees C); lowest temperature recorded: -128.5 degrees F - Vostok, Antarctica, July 21, 1983 (-89.2 degrees C).

• The tallest mountain on Earth from base to peak - Mauna Kea, Hawaii: 33,480 feet (rising to 13,796 feet above sea level).

Calendar Information…        

Happening This Week:

17-26

Little League Baseball World Series

19-25

Minority Enterprise Development Week

Today Is…                                                                      

Knife Day: to learn knife safety

National Waffle Day

Pluto Demoted Day: 2006

Vesuvius Day: 79 - erupts, buries Pompeii & Herculaneum, 15,000 die

Liberia: Flag Day
Ukraine: Independence Day (1991 from USSR)  

Today’s Events Through History…  

2000’s

2006 - The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" 

             such that Pluto is considered a Dwarf Planet

2001 - Air Transat Flight 236 runs out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean (en route 

            to Lisbon from Toronto) and makes an emergency landing in the Azores

1900’s

1998 - First RFID human implantation tested in the United Kingdom

1994 - Kieren Perkins swims world record 1500m free style (14:41.66) and 

             world record 800m free style (7:46.00)

1989 - Voyager 2 flies past Neptune

1989 - Pete Rose is suspended from baseball for life for gambling

1981 - Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 yrs to life for Lennon's murder

1959 - Hiram L Fong sworn in as 1st Chinese-American senator while Daniel K 

            Inouye sworn in as 1st Japanese-American Rep (Both from Hawaii)

1936 - FDR gives FBI authority to pursuit fascists & communists

1912 - US passes Anti-gag law, federal employees right to petition government

1909 - Workers start pouring concrete for Panama Canal

1800’s

1857 - The Panic of 1857 begins, setting off one of the most severe economic 

            crises in U.S. history

1835 - The United States signs a treaty (7 Stat., 474.) with the Choctaw, Comanche, 

             Creek (Muscogee), Cherokee, Osage, Quapaw, Seneca and Witchita at Camp

             Holmes "on the eastern border of the Grand Prairie, near the Canadian River." 

             Governor Montfort Stokes, Brigadier-General M. Arbuckle, represent the U. S. 

              Many Indians sign the treaty.

1818 - The Quapaw Indians sign a treaty (7 stat. 176) at St. Louis covering lands 

             along the Arkansas and Red Rivers

1814 - British forces captured Washington, DC, & burned down many landmarks

1600’s

1662 - Act of Uniformity requires English to accept book of Common Prayer

1500’s

1561 - Willem of Orange marries duchess Anna of Saxon

1400’s

1456 - The printing of the Gutenberg Bible is completed

1300’s

1349 - Jews of Cologne Germany set themselves on fire to avoid baptism

1200’s

1215 - Pope Innocent III declares Magna Carta invalid

Today’s Birthdays…                                                           

In their 30’s

Dave Chappelle, American actor and Comedian is 39

Chad Michael Murray, American actor (One Tree Hill) is 31

In their 40’s

Marlee Matlin, deaf actress (Children of Lesser God-Acad Award) will be 47

Reggie Miller, Riverside California, NBA guard (Ind Pacers, Oly-gold-96) is 47

In their 50’s

Steve Guttenberg, Bkln NY, actor (Police Academy, Short Circuit) is 54

Mike Huckabee, American politician, Governor/conservative talk show host is 57

David Koechner, comedian is 50

Craig Kilborn, late night comedian is 50

Cal Ripken, Jr, Havre de Grace Maryland, shortstop (Balt Orioles, game streak) is 52

In their 60’s

Vince McMahon, American professional wrestling promoter is 67

Mike Shanahan, American football coach is 60

In their 70’s

Mason Williams, Abilene Tx, writer (Smother Brothers Hour) is 74

Remembered for being born today

King Alexander II of Scotland b. 1198

Yasser Arafat, Paris France, PLO-leader (Achille Lauro, Nobel 1994) b. 1933

Richard Cardinal Cushing, archbishop of Boston b. 1895

Duke Kahanamoku, Hawaii, swimmer (Olympics-3 gold/2 silver-12, 20, 24) b. 1890

Durward Kirby, Indianapolis Ind, TV announcer (Garry Moore Show) b. 1911

Louis Teicher, pianist (Ferante & Teicher-Exodus) b. 1924

William Wilberforce, British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade b. 1759

Today’s Historical Obits…                                                           

Thomas Blood, Irish-born thief of the British crown jewels dies in 1680 at 62 

Bernard Castro, patented convertible couch, dies in 1991 at 87

Henry J Kaiser, industrialist (Boulder Dam, Liberty ship), dies in 1967 at 85

E.G. Marshall, American actor dies in 1998 t 84

Kate Douglas Wiggin, author (US kindergarten movement), dies of pneumonia 

      in 1923 at 66

Answers…                                                                                                                                            

Do you know what this word means?

Is the little triangular flag that flutters on a sailing dinghy, traditionally at the top of the main mast. As well as giving a useful indication of the direction of the wind, the burgee often proclaims membership of a particular yacht club.

What is the answer?

Thunderstruck buck

Rebus

 side show

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  ☺