Feb 21, 2013

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Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 08/ Day: 52   

Today: H 30°…L 23° Averages: H  46° L 20° Records: H   65°(1977)…L -11°(1955)

Wind: ave:   11mph; Gusts:  33mph  Ave. humidity:  79%

Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical Highlights:

1st American Indian newspaper in US, "Cherokee Phoenix," published—1828

1st instant developing camera demonstrated in NYC, by E H Land—1947

1st issue of "New Yorker" magazine published—1925

1st locomotive, Richard Trevithick's, runs for 1st time, in Wales—1804

AIDS patient Ryan White returns to classes at Western Middle School—1986

England begins trial against Joan of Arc—1431

Last Carolina parakeet dies in captivity—1918

Navaho choose Herrero Grande as chief—1861

Richard Nixon becomes 1st US president to visit China—1972

US congress resolves establishment of a US mint—1782

Washington Monument dedicated (Wash DC) —1885

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

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

Free Rambling Thoughts:   

Snowy day in our little town. And probably national news for our neighbor’s in Page. We’ve gotten about 8” on snow here, and it’s still coming down…light at times; heavier at others. The storm should be moving out early tomorrow, leaving us with a winter wonderland. Now about Page…US 89 is the highway to get from Flag to Page through the Rez. This morning about 5am there was ‘event’ that destroyed about 150 yards of the highway.  Two cars were damaged and one person was airlifted to the Page hospital with minor injuries. As we listen, the road will be closed for the ‘foreseeable future’. Lots of scientists and others are showing up to determine what the ‘event’ really was. The closure adds about 50-75 miles for anyone trying to get from Page to Flagstaff and points south. There are two paved roads to get around the mess…one is from Page to Shonto to Tuba to Flag; the other is from Page to Kaibeto to Tonalea to Tuba with some dirt road involved The highway is the major way to get to the North Rim, and many use it to get to Laughlin and or Vegas. Of course many use this highway to get to Lake Powell. It was first reported as a ‘buckled’ highway, then changed to a ‘sinkhole’ and now a ‘fissure’ that can be seen for 350 yards beyond the highway into a canyon. I’m glad I don’t live up in that area anymore. Not only for the inconvenience of the road, but until they find out what caused it, the fear that it could happen again, in another area nearby. While the area looks quite isolated to the tourist, there are hundreds of families in the area.

 

Phoenix and Tucson also got some ‘snow’, especially in the mountains around each town.

 

Mary and I are waiting until tomorrow morning to decide it we will do lunch on Thursday or Friday. All depends on the weather. It really isn’t that bad, but one never knows if it will get worse.

 

Turns out that our city council is much more aware that many of us thought. Last night they unanimously passed a resolution of non-discrimination for the LGBT community in our city with fines attached. It has been discussed for almost a decade, but this council finally did something. While many have been saying it wasn’t necessary, the time was right and now it is on the books.  

Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

The following sentences have two blanks that can be filled with two words that are anagrams of each other. Please find those words. 

1. Mark's math __________ was a mild-mannered man. But one thing he would not tolerate was a __________. He would immediately fail anyone caught doing so. 

2. The patient __________ his pain through physical therapy. He had seen enough __________ surgeries to know that too many people elected surgery when they shouldn't have. 

3. After a long and successful career of serving his country, the nation was in shock as the highly regarded __________ was arrested and tried for __________.

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today:

• Nina Simone- I Put Spell On You

• Mary Chapin Carpenter - Shut Up And Kiss Me

• AZDOT footage of US 89
 

Ok, then?

Read This Carefully!!

Barbershop Singers Bring Joy to School for Deaf

Picture of the Day: Native American Art

Harper’s Index:         

Percentage of US children who save their allowance money according to a survey of American parents: 1

Unusual Fact of the Day:

The state with the longest official name is also the smallest. The winner is the "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations."

Joke-of-the-day:

A sign posted in a Dentist's office said:

"Please be nice to our dentists. They have fillings too."  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

FIGURING OUT A MOVIE

In a thriller, you can be certain that any road detour is just a trick to kidnap the occupants of the car.  

Yeah, It Really Happened

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Florida Highway Patrol said a driver lost control of her car while getting "amorous" with her boyfriend and crashed the vehicle through a vacant house. Patrol spokeswoman Kim Montes said Asia Walker, 30, was at the wheel Friday when her car hit the house in Daytona Beach, WESH-TV, Orlando, Fla., reported Monday.

Walker was injured by falling debris and taken to Halifax Medical Center to be checked out; her boyfriend, Charles Phillips, was not hurt, the spokeswoman said. "She told the investigating trooper that her and the boyfriend were getting a little amorous and the trooper suspects that's probably why she lost control of the vehicle," Montes said. Police said the vehicle went all the way through the unoccupied house, causing major damage. Walker was charged with careless driving.  

• Somewhat Useless Information   

•  
Most vitamins are provided by the food we eat, but Vitamin D is different. Some foods (notably dairy products) are typically fortified with Vitamin D, but the human body can produce its own when the skin is exposed to the proper amount of sunlight.

• Much ado was made about the fact that, for more than 25 years, Betty Rubble was the only main character from The Flintstones who didn't appear in bottles of Flintstones Vitamins. She was finally added to the mix in 1996.

• The B-complex is made up for 16 different vitamins.

• The short-lived "colorful" versions of Heinz ketchup, first introduced in 2000, only added two things to the condiment's original formula: food coloring and Vitamin C.

• Casimir Funk is legendary as the man who coined the word "vitamin," but it was really one big mistake. The name was derived from the Latin vita- ("life") and amine, since Funk believed them to be nitrogen compounds (amines) that were required for all living creatures to survive.

• Most mammals can synthesize Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in their own bodies, meaning that they are not susceptible to the diseases and conditions that can result from a deficiency. Human beings are a notable exception, meaning we must get our Vitamin C from fresh fruits and vegetables.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

14-21
National Condom Week
National Nestbox Week
NCCDP Alzheimer's & Dementia Staff Education Week

15-24
National Date (fruit) Week
National Entrepreneurship Week
National FFA Week
Brotherhood / Sisterhood Week
Build A Better Trade Show Image Week
National Engineers Week
National Justice for Animals Week

21-23
National Conference on Education

21-25
Read Me Week

Today Is                                                                      

Card Reading Day: a day to read all kinds of cards

International Mother Language Day

Introduce A Girl to Engineering Day

~Bangladesh: Language Movement Day (1952 to keep language official)

Today’s Events through History  

1st telephone book issued, 50 subscribers—1878

Congress outlaws foreign currency as legal tender in US—1857

Egypt-Syria as UAR elect Nasser president (99.9% vote) —1958

Freedom of worship established in France under constitution—1795

Lucy B Hobbs (Taylor) becomes 1st US woman to earn a DDS degree—1866

Televangelist Jimmy Swaggert confesses his sins to his congregation—1988

Yemen voters go to the polls for a presidential election; only candidate on the 

     ballot paper is vice-president Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi—2001

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 80’s

Robert Mugabe, president Zimbabwe is 89

In their 60’s

Tricia Nixon Cox, Richard Milhaus' daughter is 67 

Tyne Daly, actress (Cagney & Lacey, Angel Unchained) is 67

William L Petersen, actor (Return to Lonesome Dove) is 60

In their 50’s

Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Princeton NJ, country vocalist (This Shirt) is 55

In their 40’s

Mark E Kelly, Orange NJ, Lt USN/astronaut is 49

Under 30

Corbin Bleu, Disney actor is 24

Remembered for being born today

Erma Bombeck, Dayton Ohio, humorist (Grass is Always Greener...) (1927-1996)

Barbara Jordan, Houston, Tx, (Rep-D-Tx, 1972-78) (1936-1996)

Murray "the K" Kaufman, NYC DJ (5th Beatle) (1922-1982)

Rue McClanahan, Healdton Oklahoma, actress (Maude, Golden Girls) (1934-2010)

Anaïs Nin, French writer (1903-1977)

Sam Peckinpah, Fresno CA, film director (Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs) (1925-1984)

Charles Scribner, US, music publisher (Scribner Catalog) (1821-1871)

Ann Sheridan, actress (Dodge City, Another World) (1915-1967)

Nina Simone, [Eunice Waymon], Tyron NC, vocalist/pianist (Porgy) (1933-2003)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

King James I of Scotland—assasinatd—1437—at 42

Malcolm X, [Little], black Moslem leader—assassinated—1965—at 39

Quanah Parker, Comanche Chief, eventually buried at Fort Sill, in south-central Oklahoma. His headstone reads, "resting here until day breaks and darkness disappears is Quanah Parker, the last Chief of the Comanches—1911—at 59ish

Answer: Brain Teasers

1. Mark's math TEACHER was a mild-mannered man. But one thing he would not tolerate was a CHEATER. He would immediately fail anyone caught doing so. 

2. The patient LESSENED his pain through physical therapy. He had seen enough NEEDLESS surgeries to know that too many people elected surgery when they shouldn't have. 

3. After a long and successful career of serving his country, the nation was in shock as the highly regarded SENATOR was arrested and tried for TREASON

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  §