Nov 28. 2012

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Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 48/ Day: 333

Today: H   56°…L 19° Averages: H  ° L °

Records: H   68°(1949)…L -5°(1984, 1952)

Wind: ave:   6mph; Gusts:  12mph Today’s ave. humidity:  %

Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical Highlights:

"Hopalong Cassidy" premieres on TV—1948

1st million copy record prior to release "I Want to Hold Your Hand"—1963

1st Polaroid camera sold—1948

1st pulsating radio source (pulsar) detected—1967

220 Indians, and 400 French attack the settlement of Saratoga, NY—1745

Bear Bryant wins his 315th game to out distance Alonzo Stagg & become

     college football's winningest coach—1981

FDR, Churchill & Stalin met at Tehran to map out strategy—1943

Ferdinand Magellan begins crossing Pacific Ocean—1520

Olympia forms as capital of Washington Territory—1853

Times in London is for the first time printed by automatic, steam powered

     presses built by the German inventors Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Friedrich

    Bauer, signaling the beginning of the availability of newspapers to a mass 

    audience—1814

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

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

Free Rambling Thoughts:   

So frustrated…Tax bill from 2006-2008, corrected in 2010. Today I get a call from a collection agency saying that they will start garnishment on Thursday. Lots of calls, lots of lies, each call lasting no less than 20 minutes…sometimes with me alone, sometimes with my tax man. Thankfully he was at his office, doing early loans on expected returns. Am very frustrated and can’t do anything until Thursday. I know I don’t owe the money, and proving it is simple, it’s the timeline that has me freaking out. The biggest problem is getting a hold on the collection agency and have them understand. One lady says yes, the next says it can’t be done, the third tells us it can be done, another says it can’t be done. We all know that collection agencies lie and I know they can’t touch my money until they notify me in writing. But that will ruin my credit rating. What a stupid mess. And of course, everyone assumes that my tax guy and I are both telling lies.

 

I learned today, before the call, the problems with our local elections. Turns out there are strict guidelines on handling ballots between the ballot box and the actual counting. A guy went to the council with a presentation of numerous mistakes…like not always having two people with the ballots between the precinct and the office that counts. Also always having two people present as the ballots are actually counting. Only one member of our city council voted against certification since none of the board had the legal knowledge to challenge it. According to our mayor, the certification is simply a formality and that individuals can still protest the vote. Really? Lots of people will be watching to see if the council actually follows through with the new Recorder to prevent these problems in the future…even after they were given information that it has occurred during several of the last elections. Time will tell who will get their act together.

Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)

Duplicate Letter Puzzles

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

 _ C L L C

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Old Saying Explained:

GET THE SACK…This comes from the days when workmen carried their tools in sacks. If your employer gave you the sack it was time to collect your tools and go.

Ok, then?

TV Theme Songs you may remember:

The Olympic Games on NBC - "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" by John Williams

Read This Headline Carefully!!

Nicaragua Sets Goal to Wipe Out Literacy

Beautiful Scotland:

Bet You Didn’t Know…from History Channel

Money: As of 2012, there are 167 different currencies used around the world.

Harper’s Index:         

Estimated number of indecency complaints currently in the Federal Communications Commission’s backlog: 1,500,000

Ruminations:

Let’s hope that the Olympics has taught kids and parents that in real life, you don’t get a trophy for participation.

Unusual Fact of the Day:

The Hard Rock Café got its name from a now-defunct bar that appeared on the back of the Doors’ album Morrison Hotel.

Found on You Tube: 

 Chinese Man Builds Noah's Ark Ball

Joke-of-the-day:

A pipe burst in a doctor's house. He called a plumber. The plumber arrived, unpacked his tools, did mysterious plumber-type things for a while, and handed the doctor a bill for $600.

The doctor exclaimed, "This is ridiculous! I don't even make that much as a doctor!."

The plumber quietly answered, "Neither did I when I was a doctor."

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

DRIVING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC…When stopped at a red light with a long line of traffic ahead of you, if your car begins to move before the light turns red, you'll make it through the light on the next cycle.   

Yeah, It Really Happened

Worried about the impending 2012 "Mayan apocalypse," a man in China has reportedly spent his life savings on the construction of his very own "Noah's Ark."

According to China News Service, Lu Zhenghai, from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China, has already spent about $160,000 on the boat. The vessel, designed by Lu himself, measures about 65 feet in length and will, when completed, weigh about 80 tons, the report states.

Lu said he began building his so-called ark in 2010 out of fear that an impending "doomsday" flood would threaten his and his family's survival.

"I'm afraid that when the end of the world comes in 2012, flood waters will destroy my house," Lu told the Chinese News Service, according to a HuffPost translation.

"So I took all my savings and invested in the construction of this boat," he continued. "When the time comes, everyone can take refuge in it."

Chinese news website FMN reports that Lu's "ark" was built with 10 tons of timber and 60 tons of steel. Due to lack of funds, however, it has yet to be completed.

As the Daily Mail notes, experts have long been trying to convince people that the so-called Mayan apocalypse, slated to strike on Dec. 21, will not occur. Still, Lu is not alone in his survivalist struggle.

In August, the New York Daily News reported that another Chinese man had spent two years creating his own "Noah's Ark" in the form of a sturdy, buoyant yellow ball.

Even if the apocalypse fails to take place, however, Lu still has plenty of plans for his boat. According to FMN, Lu said he hopes the vessel will attract tourists who will want to take sightseeing tours. He also said that the boat could be used as a ferry.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Alaska has more caribou than people. 

• Endocarp is the edible pulp inside a lemon. 

• A turkey can run 20 miles-per-hour. 

• The world's largest flower is also one of the worst smelling flowers. Rafflesia Arnoldii is often over 3 feet wide and its petals are almost an inch thick. You wouldn't want it in your garden, however, because it smells like a rotting animal. The flower is attempting to attract flies for pollination. 

• Zsa Zsa Gabor was the first - and only - recipient of a Golden Globe Award for "Most Glamorous Actress." She won the peculiar award in 1958. The category was deleted thereafter. 

• In 1926, when a Los Angeles restaurant owner with the all-American name of Bob Cobb was looking for a way to use up leftovers, he threw together some avocado, celery, tomato, chives, watercress, hard-boiled eggs, chicken, bacon, and Roquefort cheese, and named it after himself: Cobb salad.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

21-28

National Deal Week

22-26

Church/State Separation Week

Today Is                                                                      

International Day of Solidarity With The Palestinian People
Albania: Independence Day (1912-from Ottoman Empire)
Chad: Republic Day (1958)
~Mauritania: Independence Day (1960 from France)

Today’s Events through History  

2nd Continental Congress formally establishes US Navy—1775

Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire kills 602 (Boston Mass) —1942

Ernest Davis is 1st black to win Heisman Trophy—1961

Grand Ole Opry premieres as WSM Barn Dance on WSM radio Nashville Tn—1925

Groucho Marx performed on radio for 1st time—1932

Ka Lahui: Hawaiian Independence Day - The Kingdom of Hawaii is officially recognized by the United Kingdom and France—1843

Male Poʻo-uli (Black-faced Honeycreeper) dies of Avian malaria in the Maui Bird

      Conservation Center in Olinda, Hawaii before it could breed, making the 

     species in all probability extinct—2004

Natchez Indians massacre 138 Frenchmen, 35 French women, and 56 

     children at Fort Rosalie, near the site of modern-day Natchez, Mississippi—1729

Natchez Indians are very upset with the new commander at Fort Rosalie. Commander 

      Etcheparre Chepart is incapable of command—1729 

Norway votes against joining European Union—1994

Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci flees to Hungary—1989

US-born Lady Astor elected 1st female member of British Parliament—1919

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 80’s

Berry Gordy Jr, Detroit, record company owner (Motown) is 83

In their 70’s

Gary Hart, (Sen-D-Co, 1975-86) is 76

In their 60’s

Ed Harris, actor (Right Stuff, Swing Shift, Walker, Coma) is 62

S Epatha Merkerson, Saginaw MI, actress (Jacob's Ladder, Terminator 2, Law & Order) is 60

Randy Newman, New Orleans, vocalist (Short People, Love LA, Raindrops) is 69

Paul Shaffer, Thunder Bay Ont, orchestra leader (SNL, David Letterman) is 63

In their 50’s

Judd Nelson, actor (Breakfast Club, Jack-Suddenly Susan) is 53

Jon Stewart, TV: The Daily Show is 50

Remembered for being born today

Henry Bacon, architect (Lincoln Memorial) (1866-1924)

William Blake, London, poet/painter (Songs of Innocence & Experience), (1757-1827)

John Bunyan, England, cleric/author (Pilgrim's Progress) (1628-1688)

Gloria Grahame, LA California, actress (Sue-Rich Man Poor Man) (1923-1981)

Hope Lange, Redding Ridge Ct, actress (Ghost & Mrs Muir) (1931-2003)

John Palfijn, Flemish physician/inventor (forceps) in 1650

John Stephens, US archaeologist; founded study of Central America (1805-1852)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

`Abdu'l-Bahá, Persian leader of the Bahá'í Faith—1921—at 77

Dwight Davis, donator of tennis' Davis cup—1945—at 66

Enrico Fermi, Italian/US physicist (Nobel 1938)— stomach cancer—1954—at 53

Christopher George, actor (Chisum, Heist)—heart attack—1983—at 52

James Naismith, creator of basketball— brain hemorrhage—1939—at 78

Garry Moore, TV host (I've Got A Secret)—emphysema—1993—at 78

Leslie Nielsen, Canadian actor [Airplane…]—2010—at 84

Rosalind Russell, actress (Mame)—breat cancer—1976—at 68

Answer: Duplicate Letter Puzzles

 Freer

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  §