4-13-13

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Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 15/ Day: 103   Today: H 59°…L 27°

Wind: ave:   7mph; Gusts:  26mph  Ave. humidity:  45%

*Averages: H  57° L 28° Records: H 75°(1904)…L 7°(1953)

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

1st elephant arrives in US from India…1796

 Apollo 13 announces "Houston, we've got a problem!" en route to Moon…1970

Best view of Halley's Comet in 2000 years…837

Due to lack of funds, Saturday mail delivery in US is temp halted…1957

Establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea…1919

FDR dedicates Jefferson Memorial…1943

J C Penney opens his 1st store in Kemmerer, WY…1902

Nelson Mandela announces he will seek divorce from Winnie…1992

North Korean long range rocket testing ends in failure after the rocket broke up 
     after launch…2012

Seventh Crusade is defeated in Egypt, Louis IX of France is captured…1250

Sherman's march through Georgia begins…1865

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

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

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Day started out great, but the afternoon clouds sure put a damper on outside activity. The guys got finished with their rocks early today, and I was able to take some time to put my planters and stuff back where they belong. I’ve got a few ideas to ‘personalize’ the area a little more, but will see how that all works out when the threat of rain and or wind diminishes.

I’m having lunch with one of my old bosses next week. He is still working for Navajo Nation. Haven’t heard from him or his wife for a couple of months, then today is his wife’s b-day, so I posted a note on FB. She responded with an invitation to lunch. Seems they have been in Flag for a couple of weeks and he had an operation. I’ll find out more about that when we meet, as she didn’t seem to want to talk about it yet. Always scary when someone says ‘they took out a small tumor’.  Sure hope he is OK.

The gun violence debate is coming. Thanks to the families of the Sandy Hook kids who were killed. I have to wonder if it was just the ‘right time’ for the debate, or why the parents of Columbine, the Aurora theater survivors, or any others who suffered from this kind of violence didn’t show up in Congress. To me the amazing thing about the Sandy Hook people is their calmness is speaking about losing a child. Even when confronted by naysayers, they remain calm in their message. They seem to offer so much hope for our country. How they moved from anger so quickly is certainly something that should be studied to help others. These families are certainly driven to bring change.

Somehow a French art dealer had possession numerous Hopi and Zuni religious objects and decided to auction them off. The Hopi, Zuni, and most Native Americans are outraged. From the point of view of the Hopi, these ‘religious objects’ are so much more than that, they are actually the sacred beings. For those how haven’t lived around Hopi, I’m sure it is hard to understand. The Hopi, the Zuni, and the Dept. of State had requested the dealer not to auction these sacred things. The Hopi say they were ‘stolen’ during the early 1900’s, the art dealer says he has appropriate paperwork. The fear of many in the museum community is that if the objects were returned it would open floodgates worldwide and devastate their collections. A Hopi posted that selling these secret and sacred objects would be like going to Israel, taking the cross used to crucify Jesus and using it as a fence post. The dealer and the French government did not stop the sale and somebody paid $1.2million for the collection. The Hopi did not bid as they do not have that kind of money and they didn’t see it appropriate to buy things that were already part of their culture and history. Most of the news media respected the Hopi request that these sacred objects not be photographed and stated that in their news stories around the auction. I am so naive, as I thought that museum community had long ago agreed that ‘stolen’ artifacts or art objects would be returned to an owner who could prove they were stolen. Guess that is not the case. I am pleased that Northern AZ Museum, our world famous local museum, took the side of the Natives. So sad that money plays such a big role in our culture.

Flag is in the National news…in a good way. Last night an alert Postal inspector at our local PO found a package bomb that was addressed to Sheriff Joe in Phoenix. Took a long time for news to get out, although many were posting on FB about the number of police, ambulances, and fire trucks blocking the road that leads to the main post office. Finally news came out, and all was well here in Flagstaff. Still a very scary story. We also learned that our PO have an X-ray machine to test suspicious packages, that our PO employees are vigilant, the Bomb Squad knows what to do, and while we are a small town, things happen.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

When you curtail a word, you remove the last letter and still have a valid word. You will be given clues for the two words, longer word first. Example: Begin -> Heavenly body Answer: The words are Start and Star.
1. Bend out of shape -> Armed conflict
2. Muscle contraction -> Pack to capacity
3. Pass over; omit -> Glide on snow
4. Wet -> Large water barrier
5. Marsh; bog -> Moved through water
6. Waterproof canvas -> Pitch; oily residue
7. Cry; shed tears -> Very small
8. Assume a slouching posture; decrease suddenly -> Run-down part of a city

*****

Hint

The words start with these letters:
1. W
2. C
3. S
4. D
5. S
6. T
7. W
8. S

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Eudora Welty

• The Story of Guy Fawkes

Origins of Phrases

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

Meaning

A small amount of knowledge can mislead people into thinking that they are more expert than they really are.

Origin

'A little knowledge is a dangerous thing' and 'a little learning is a dangerous thing' have been used synonymously since the 18th century.

The version 'a little learning' is widely attributed to Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744). It is found inAn Essay on Criticism, 1709, and I can find no earlier example of the expression in print:

A little learning is a dangerous thing;
drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
and drinking largely sobers us again.

The similarity of the two phrases is demonstrated by what appears to be an impromptu coining of 'a little knowledge is a dangerous thing' in a piece in The monthly miscellany; or Gentleman and Lady's Complete Magazine, Vol II, 1774, in which the writer misquoted Pope:

Mr. Pope says, very truly, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."

Both Pope's original verse and the misquotation of it were predated by an anonymous author, signing himself 'A B', in the collection of letters published in 1698 as The mystery of phanaticism:

"Twas well observed by my Lord Bacon, That a little knowledge is apt to puff up, and make men giddy, but a greater share of it will set them right, and bring them to low and humble thoughts of themselves.

Again, there is a degree of misquotation here; what 'my Lord Bacon', the English politician and philosopher Francis Bacon, Viscount St Alban, actually said, in The Essays: Of Atheism, 1601, was:

"A little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion."

So, who coined the phrase? It appears to have been a group effort. Bacon can be credited with the idea, Pope with the 'learning' version and the mysterious 'A B' with the 'knowledge' version.

Ok, then?

Harper’s Index    

Portion of the French who are pessimistic about the future: 7/10

Picture of the Day: Rainforest Medicines

Unusual Fact of the Day

Big Ben doesn’t refer to a clock; it's actually the name for the bell inside that famous clock tower! 

Joke-of-the-day

Anytime you see a young man open a car door for his girlfriend, either the car is new or the girlfriend is.

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

SAGGING HOUSES

There is cause for concern if the ridge of a house sags more than 1/2 inch per year.

Yeah, It Really Happened

A father from Hastings, Minnesota could face charges after his 2-year-old was found wandering on a busy street holding two bottles of hard lemonade.
The 42-year-old father is being held in the Dakota County Jail.
Hastings police say a couple from Prescott, Wisconsin found the toddler, without shoes or socks, in the middle of the road Sunday afternoon. Authorities say the father called police a couple hours later to report his son missing. Officers arrested the man after they arrived at his house, saying he was intoxicated and uncooperative.
The toddler was returned to his mother, who doesn't live with the father.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• In South East Asia, the banana leaf is used to wrap food (in the place of plastic bags and cling wraps), providing a unique flavor and aroma to nasi lemak and the Indian banana leaf rice. 

• Mineral deposits in caves growing upward are stalagmites, the ones growing downward are stalactites.

• Sea water, loaded with mineral salts, weighs about a pound and a half more per cubit foot than fresh water at the same temperature.

• The most abundant metal in the Earth's crust is aluminum. It is also one of the most difficult to extract. 

• The Chinese were using aluminum to make things as early as 300 AD Western civilization didn't rediscover aluminum until 1827.

• The United States government keeps its supply of silver at the US Military Academy at West Point, NY. Erected in 1937 as the West Point Bullion Depository, this was originally a storage facility for silver bullion and was nicknamed "The Fort Knox of Silver." 

 

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

7-13

National Animal Control Appreciation Week

National Blue Ribbon Week
National Public Health Week

National Week of the Ocean
National Window Safety Week: 7
American Indian Awareness Week

11-14
The Masters Tournament
YoYo & Skill Toy Weekend

Today Is                                                                      

Blame Somebody Else Day

Baby Massage Day

Scrabble Day
Thomas Jefferson Day

~Sri Lanka: Sinhala and Tamil New Year

Today’s Events through History  

1st Pony Express reaches Sacramento CA…1860

Congress will create the Indian Claims Commission to hear and decide claims 
     made by Indians based on land losses from treaties…1946

Final episode of Pat Sajak's late night TV show on CBS…1990

Hindustani Lal Sena (Indian Red Army) is formed and vows to engage in 
     armed struggle against the British…1939

Steam power brake patented (George Westinghouse)…1869

US boycotts Summer Olympics in Moscow…1980

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 80’s

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Native politician (Sen-D Colorado) is 80

In their 70’s

Paul Sorvino, actor [Good Fellas] is 74

Lyle Waggoner, actor (Carol Burnette Show, Wonder Woman) is 78

In their 60’s

Tony Dow, Hollywood California, actor (Wally-Leave it to Beaver) is 68

Ron Perlman, actor (Quest for Fire, Beauty & the Beast) is 62

In their 50’s

In their 40’s

Caroline Rhea, actress/stand up comedianne is 49

Rick Schroder, actor [Silver Spoons, The Champ] is 43

Remembered for being born today

Don Adams, American actor and comedian [1923-2005]

Jonathan Brandis, actor (Lucas Wolenczak-seaQuest DSV) [1976-2003]

Butch Cassidy, [Robert LeRoy Parker], American desperado (Wild Bunch Passage)[1866-1908?]

Guy Fawkes, English Catholic conspirator [1570-1606]

Thomas Jefferson, Virginia, (D-R) 3rd President of the United States [1743-1826]

Philippe de Rothschild, Paris, manager (Bordeaux Vineyard) [1902-1988]

Jon Stone, co-creator of Sesame Street [1931-1997]

Eudora Welty, Jackson Ms, novelist (Optimist's Daughter-Pulitzer) [1909-2001]

F.W. Woolworth, American businessman [1852-1919]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Robert Fortune, Scottish botanist…1880…at 68  

Charles Leslie, Irish controversialist…1722…at 72

John Wheeler, American physicist and educator…2008…at 96

Answer: Brain Teasers

1. Warp -> War
2. Cramp -> Cram
3. Skip -> Ski
4. Damp -> Dam
5. Swamp -> Swam
6. Tarp -> Tar
7. Weep -> Wee
8. Slump -> Slum

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  §