Mar 27, 2013

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Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 13/ Day: 86   Today: H 58°…L 26°

Averages: H  53° L 25° Records: H 73°(1988)…L -8°(1902)

Wind: ave:   21mph; Gusts:  33mph  Ave. humidity:  38%

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

1st English child born in Canada at Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland to Nicholas Guy►1613

1st Japanese cherry blossom trees planted in Wash DC►1912

39 cult members in California commit mass suicide (Hale-Bopp) ►1997

Charlie Chaplin receives France's distinguished Legion of Honor►1931

Earthquake strikes Alaska, 8.4 on Richter scale, 118 die►1964

M L Byrn patents "covered gimlet screw with a 'T' handle" (corkscrew) ►1860

Pres Johnson vetoes civil rights bill; it later becomes 14th amend►1866

Sacheen Littlefeather refuses Marlon Brando's Oscar as a protest against 

     media and governmental mistreatment of American Indians►1973

Supreme Court rules, 8-1, cops can't randomly stop cars►1979

UN Commission on Human Rights holds its final meeting►2006

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

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

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Had a good check up at the dentist today. Still have to be thinking about two crowns, but will wait a while. Everything else was good. Six months till next cleaning. Good for me.

 

Tomorrow is my tax day…think I’ve waited long enough. So hate to do this. Not so much for paying my fair share of taxes, but knowing that people who make more than I do pay less in actual dollars and that many pay a lower percentage. Reagan had suggested an end to IRS as we know it, and that each American would receive a bill for the tax owed. It didn’t get very far because of big business…the tax lobby…and the churches and other tax free groups that feared their contributions would dwindle. We are a nation that says we have a separation of church and state. Churches like that crazy one in Florida pay no taxes, but disrupt funerals of fallen military do not pay taxes.

 

We say we have separation of church and state, but today the Supreme Court heard two cases deal with marriage in the US. Marriage is supposed to be based on love between two people…not determined by a church belief. No way is anyone asking for a forced church wedding for two men or two women. Some churches allow that already. The people who want to get married realize that certain tax benefits, retirement benefits, death benefits, etc. come with that government document. There are too many stories of people being denied these benefits they want. I know many couples…some are married, some are not. One couple divorced after 30 years of marriage…they had a ‘shotgun’ wedding 42 years ago when the girl got pregnant. After the divorce, she will get about 1/2 of his retirement, though both have worked the entire marriage. Another couple was together for about 25 years, but never married. When they separated, they spilt up the stuff and moved on. She made less money than he did and could probably have gotten more in court, but did not persue it. One of my teachers at one of my schools was ‘involved’ with another teacher. After I left that school, one of the ladies got very ill. Because of their ‘secret’ relationship, the healthy lady could not get any information from the hospital, was unable to take ‘family’ leave to care for her lover, and unable to assist in any way at the hospital. The ill woman recovered, both left the school and moved to a state where they could get some, but not all rights. If the Christian God is a loving God, it is time to let people in love get married. If our country is a country of equality, it is time to open up and provide equality for all in our country.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

This teaser is in honor of man's quest to quench his thirst with non-alcoholic beverages. Can you figure out what drinks are depicted below?

1. Joint between thigh and lower leg + having great elevation + yielding readily to pressure + swallowing liquid contents.

2. A practitioner of medicine + spicy hot pod like fruit that grows on plants.

3. Dried and powdered rhizome used as spice + another name for beer.

4. Underground portion of a plant + another name for ale.

5. A natural elevation of the earth's surface having considerable mass and a height greater than that of a hill + water droplets condensed from the air.

6. A powder made from cacao seeds + tropical African evergreen plant having reddish fragrant nutlike seeds

******

Hint for those who need it:

Think about soda pop.

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Sarah Vaughan - Black Coffee

• The Mathematical Art Of M.C. Escher

 from Cracked.com

Design Flaws That Annoy You Every Day (And Why They Exist)

Wrap Rage clamshell packaging

The Reason: Package Pilferage

Airline Delays

The Reason: They've Reached Maximum Capacity

Waiting for the Cable Guy

The Reason: Maximizing Work, Minimizing Employees

Ketchup Packets

The Reason: The People Who Pay for Them Aren't the Ones Using Them

Ok, then?

Harper’s Index    

Square footage of a proposed $35 million animal-holding center to be build at JFK: 172,165

Picture of the Day: Dine’ Land [Navajo]

Unusual Fact of the Day

World Famous Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey is made in only one place: the small town of Lynchburg, Tennessee, population 361. Though the town supplies the world with the famous libation, not a drop may be purchased for consumption anywhere in town. Moore County is a "dry" county, meaning that the sale and consumption of alcohol is illegal.

Joke-of-the-day

Little Johnny comes downstairs crying. His mother asked, “What’s the matter now?”

“Dad was hanging pictures, and just hit his thumb with hammer,” said little Johnny through his tears. “That’s not so serious,” soothed his mother. “I know you are upset, but a big boy like you shouldn’t cry at something like that. Why didn’t you just laugh?

“I did!” sobbed Johnny.

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

TESTIFYING IN COURT

When testifying before a jury, remember that the other side's attorney wants to make you look flustered. Always sound like you're calm and sure of yourself, regardless of how fast your heart is pounding. Even if the other attorney has exposed a weakness in your testimony, your calm demeanor can minimize the damage caused by that. Also remember that the jury is probably confused by all those competing claims. The best thing you can do is make your story sound simple.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

 PITTSBURGH — An Ohio prosecutor who light-heartedly filed a criminal indictment against the famous Pennsylvania groundhog who fraudulently "predicted" an early spring said he may consider a pardon now that the animal's handler is taking the blame.

Bill Deeley, president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, told The Associated Press on Monday that the animal rightly predicted six more weeks of winter last month, but he mistakenly announced an early spring because he failed to correctly interpret Phil's "groundhog-ese."

"I'm the guy that did it; I'll be the fall guy. It's not Phil's fault," Deeley said.

Butler County, Ohio, prosecutor Mike Gmoser told the AP that he's reconsidering the charges in light of the new evidence and may issue a full pardon.

"Frankly, he is a cute little rascal, a cute little thing," Gmoser said. "And if somebody is willing to step up to the plate and take the rap, I'm willing to listen."

Somewhat Useless Information   

• The United States Chess Federation (USCF) awards the Title of National Master to anyone who achieves a USCF rating of 2200, and the title of Senior Master to anyone who achieves a USCF rating of 2400. The USCF also awards the Life Master title to anyone who holds a 2200 rating for a total of 300 or more games in his or her lifetime

• The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life.

• Blindfold chess is real and documented in world records. It is as it sounds: a player makes all of his or her moves without looking at a board. Usually there is a 'middle man' of sorts to give and receive moves for the game.

• Blindfold chess is an impressive skill that many stronger chess players possess. It certainly requires a keen ability to see the board clearly, which can get difficult after many moves. The record was set in 1960 in Budapest by Hungarian Janos Flesch, who played 52 opponents simultaneously while blind folded; he won 31 of those games.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

21-27

Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination
24-30 

Tsunami Awareness Week
Pediatric Nurse Practioner Week
National Protocol Officer's Week
National Cleaning Week
Termite Awareness Week

31-4/6

National Week Of The Ocean

Today Is                                                                      

Celebrate Exchange Day

Education and Sharing Day

Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day

Summer Daylight Savings Time (Europe & UK)

Viagra Day

Today’s Events through History  

1st long-distance telephone call, Boston-NY►1884

1st Mormon temple dedicated (Kirtland Ohio) ►1836

Battle at Horseshoe Bend: General Andrew Jackson defeats the Red Sticks, 

     part of the Creek Indian tribe near Dadeville, ►

Havana Hilton opens►1958

Iwo Jima occupied, after 22,000 Japanese & 6,000 US killed►1945

Modern shoestring (string and shoe holes) invented in England►1790

Polythene discovered by Reginald Gibson & Eric William Fawcett►1933

Spain losses Menorca & Gibraltar►1713

US  establishes a permanent navy and authorizes the building of six frigates►1794

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 70’s

 Cale Yarborough, auto racer (Daytona 500-1968, 77, 83, 84) is 74

In their 50’s

Quentin Tarantino, director/screenwriter (Pulp Fiction) is 50

In their 40’s

Mariah Carey, singer (Love Takes Time, Hero) is 43

Pauley Perrette, actress [CSI-Abby] is 44

Under 30

Brenda Song, Disney actress is 25

Remembered for being born today

Michael Bruce, Scottish poet [1746-1767]

Nathaniel Currier, lithographer (Currier & Ives) [1813-1888]

Patty Smith Hill, author songwriter (Happy Birthday To You) [1868-1946]

David Janssen, [Meyer], actor (Fugitive, Harry O) [1930-1980]

Gloria Swanson, actress (Sunset Boulevard, Queen Kelly) [1899-1983]

Sarah L Vaughan, jazz scat singer (Broken Hearted Melody) [1924-1990]

Otto Wallach, Germany, chemist (Nobel 1910) [1847-1931]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Alexander E Agassiz, US businessman/biologist/geologist►1910►at 74

Maurits C Escher, Dutch lithograph carver (Praedestinatie) ►1972►at 73

Yuri Gagarin, 1st man to orbit Earth►plane crash►1968►at 34

Diana Hyland, actress (Peyton Place, 8 is Enough) ►breast cancer►1977►at 41

Dudley Moore, British actor► pneumonia►2002►at 66

Aldo Ray, western actor (Battle Cry) ►cancer ►1991►at64

James I Stuart, king of Scotland (1567)/England (1603-25)►dysentery►1625► at 58

Answer: Brain Teasers

1. Nehi Soft Drink. (Knee + high + soft + drink.)
2. Dr Pepper. (Doctor + pepper.)
3. Ginger Ale. (Ginger + ale.)
4. Root Beer. (Root + beer.)
5. Mountain Dew. (Mountain + Dew.)
6. Coca-Cola. (Cocoa + Kola.)

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  §