4/11/13

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Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 15/ Day: 101   Today: H 48°…L 28°

Wind: ave:   9mph; Gusts:  37mph  Ave. humidity:  64%

*Averages: H  56° L 27° Records: H 74°(1989)…L 7°(2011)

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

40 tornadoes strike US Midwest killing 272 & injuring 5,000…1965

Adolf Eichmann trial begins in Israel…1961

American Indian Civil Rights Act is passed…1968

Apollo 13 launched to Moon; unable to land, returns in 6 days…1970

Einstein introduces his Theory of Relativity…1906

Ellis Island designated as an immigration station…1890

George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion," premieres…1914

Harlem (NYC) voters defy Congress & reelect Adam Clayton Powell Jr…1967

Last execution for witchcraft in Germany takes place…1775

Lincoln urges a spirit of generous conciliation during reconstruction...1865

Pres Harry Truman fires Gen Douglas McArthur…1951

Pres Johnson signs 1968 Civil Rights Act…1968

Singer Nat Cole attacked on stage of Birmingham theater by whites…1956

Ugandan dictator Idi Amin overthrown; Tanzania takes Kampala…1979

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

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

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Busy day here in Flagstaff. Our grounds crew was here about 7a with new rocks, a bobcat, and a front loader. The crew began clearing out the small pebbles we have had in our front areas and are replacing them with larger chunky rocks. It actually will look nice, once they finish. Change is good now and then. They took up most of the parking lot with their machines and had four guys doing the shoveling of old stuff. Can’t wait for them to finish.

 

As I mentioned, I called the CVS comment line a couple of days ago to let them know I was unhappy about not having prescriptions ready twice. Well last night, about 8pm, the district manager called and apologized and said he was working on it. Today about 9am the store manager called and said that he too was sorry and that changes in policy had been made. Then he offered me a $25 card for my time. I declined the card, telling him that my call was to get a change and I would be happy if that happened. I figured my refusal might carry more weight with them. And I really don’t buy anything there except my prescriptions…and the card isn’t good for those. Hopefully this will bring some changes. If nothing else, the pharmacy department probably has my name neatly posted somewhere so they will treat me with ‘extra care’…their tag line.

 

I’m beginning to feel a little sorry for the USPS. When I was growing up they were part of the Federal system, then they became an independent entity, but still under Congress control. I never really understood that. Then congress told them that they had to pay huge amounts of money for future pensions, something no other entity in the US has to do. Then Congress told them to save money. So after much hemming and hawing, the post office said they would stop Saturday delivery. I must say that most of my mail is ‘junk’ mail. I communicate with friends via email or phone calls or instant messages. Lack of Saturday delivery would only mean one less trip to the mailbox each week. Nothing I get in the mail couldn’t wait until Monday. So today, Congress said that Saturday delivery is essential to the well being of our citizens and the PO can’t stop it without Congressional approval. From my point of view, Congress is so dysfunctional already; this is just one more example of the mess they have created. They are saying, in true DC fashion, Save money but don’t make any changes and Congress has no idea how you will do it, just do it, and if we don’t like your plan, we’ll tell you.

 

Finally, I downloaded IE10 about a week ago. Gotta keep up with technology. My computer started acting a little crazy. When I do this blog, I do a lot of cut and paste. The cut and paste functions were frustrating…hard to highlight, hard to copy. I figured out some work arounds, but they were less than satisfactory. A friend mentioned on FB that they too were having problems with IE10, so I decided to get rid of it today. Before dong that, I checked for any updates. There were seven to download. After doing that, everything seems to be working much better. Seven updates in a week shows that IE really wasn’t ready to release IE10, but it works now, so life goes on.

 Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

These word pairs are not in relation to each other, but if you find their synonyms, the two words will rhyme. Example : Over-sized Feline = Fat Cat

1. Kiss Dog
2. Funny Cat
3. Movie Monster 
4. Unusual Rabbit
5. Copper Teapot
6. Wedding Limo
7. Untamed Minor

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Kurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories

• Dolores del Río - "Ramona" Vals (1928)

Origins of Phrases

Between a rock and a hard place

Meaning

In difficulty, faced with a choice between two unsatisfactory options.

Origin

This phrase originated in the USA in the early part of the 20th century. It is the American manifestation of a phrase that exists in several forms in other cultures.

The dilemma of being in a position where one is faced with two equally unwelcome options appears to lie deep in the human psyche. Language always reflects people's preoccupations and there are several phrases that express this predicament. The first of these quite literally conveys the uncomfortable nature of the choice between two lemmas (propositions), i.e. 'on the horns of a dilemma'. Other phrases that compare two less than desirable alternatives are 'the lesser of two evils', 'between the devil and the deep blue sea', 'between Scylla and Charybdis', 'an offer you can't refuse' and 'Hobson's choice'.

The earliest known printed citation of 'between a rock and a hard place' is in the American Dialect Society's publication Dialect Notes V, 1921:

"To be between a rock and a hard place, ...to be bankrupt. Common in Arizona in recent panics; sporadic in California."

The 'recent panics' referred to in that citation are undoubtedly the events surrounding the so-called US Bankers' Panic of 1907. This financial crisis was especially damaging to the mining and railroad industries of the western states.

In 1917 the lack of funding precipitated by the earlier banking crisis led to a dispute between copper mining companies and mineworkers in Bisbee, Arizona. The workers, some of whom had organized in labour unions, approached the company management with a list of demands for better pay and conditions. These were refused and subsequently many workers at the Bisbee mines were forcibly deported to New Mexico.

It's tempting to surmise, given that the mineworkers were faced with a choice between harsh and underpaid work at the rock-face on the one hand and unemployment and poverty on the other, that this is the source of the phrase. The phrase began to be used frequently in US newspapers in the late 1930s, often with the alternative wording 'between a rock and a hard spot'.

A more recent example of the use of the expression, and one for which it seems gruesomely apt, is recounted in the 2010 film 127 Hours, which is based on Aron Ralston's book Between a Rock and a Hard Place. The memoir recounts the 127 hours that Ralston spent alone and trapped by a boulder in Robbers Roost, Utah, after a climbing accident in April 2003, eventually opting for the 'hard place' of freeing himself by cutting off part of his right arm.

Ok, then?

Harper’s Index    

Portion of US workers age 50 or above who plan to delay retirement because of the financial crisis: 1/2

Picture of the Day: Rainforest Medicines

Unusual Fact of the Day

Colonel Sanders’ finger-lickin’ formula is locked away in a bank vault in Louisville, KY. In fact, the KFC people are so serious about keeping the ingredients under wraps that two separate companies are used to blend the spices, so neither possesses the complete recipe.

Joke-of-the-day

Late one night a mugger wearing a ski mask jumped into a path of a well-dressed man and stuck a gun in his ribs "give me your money," he demanded. Indignant, the affluent man replied, "you can't do this – I am a United States congressman!" "In that case," replied the mugger, "give me MY money."                                  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

FINDING WHERE TO PUT YOUR MOUTH ON A CLARINET

To find the correct place to put your mouth on a clarinet reed, put a piece of paper between the reed and the mouthpiece. Where the paper stops is the correct place for your mouth.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

SALT LAKE CITY - Police in Utah allege a man showed up at a Utah state trooper's home drunk to complain about his being turned in for drunken driving last year. Salt Lake City police said Gordon Tye Bell, 37, was allegedly drunk and had a beer in his hand when he showed up about 7 p.m. Sunday at the home of a neighbor who is a Utah Highway Patrol trooper, the Deseret News in Salt Lake City reported Tuesday. Police said the neighbor had called 911 last year to say he suspected Bell of driving while intoxicated. Members of the trooper's family called the on-duty officer, who rushed home. Police said Bell tried to walk away when the trooper told him police were on the way and the trooper ended up taking Bell into custody himself while waiting for city police. Bell was arrested on suspicion of witness tampering, trespassing, public intoxication and resisting arrest.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

The dead zone is caused by nutrient enrichment the Mississippi River, particularly nitrogen and phosphorous. Watersheds within the Mississippi River Basin drain much of the United States, from Montana to Pennsylvania and extending southward along the Mississippi River.

In a natural system, these nutrients aren't significant factors in algae growth because they are depleted in the soil by plants. However, with anthropogenically increased nitrogen and phosphorus input, algae growth is no longer limited. Consequently, algal blooms develop, the food chain is altered, and dissolved oxygen in the area is depleted.  

Most of the nitrogen input comes from major farming states in the Mississippi River Valley, including Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Nitrogen and phosphorous enter the river through upstream runoff of fertilizers, soil erosion, animal wastes, and sewage. from 

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                                                                      

Barbershop Quartet Day
Eight-Track Tape Day

International "Louie Louie" Day

National Pet Day
World Parkinson's Disease Day 

Today’s Events through History  

"Miss Saigon," opens at Broadway Theater NYC…1991

Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks organizes…1876

French government decides to sends 200,000 reservists to Algeria…1956

Halley's Comet makes closest approach to Earth this trip, 63 M km…1986

Shogunate is abolished in Japan…1868

William III & Mary II crowned as joint rulers of Britain…1689

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 80’s

Joel Grey, [Joe Katz], actor (Cabaret, Remo Williams, 7% Solution) is 81

Ethel Kennedy, wife of Bobby is 85

In their 70’s

Louise Lasser, actress (Mary Hartman! Mary Hartman!) is 74

Remembered for being born today

Dean G Acheson, statesman/US Secretary of State [1893-1971]

Oleg Cassini, Paris France, fashion designer (Jackie Kennedy) [1913-2006]

Charles Evans Hughs, 11th Chief Justice of Supreme Court [1862-1948]

Johnny Sheffield, actor (Boy-Tarzan Finds a Son) [1931-2010]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Luther Burbank, American botanist…complications of heart attack…1926…at 77

Dolores Del Rio, actress (Cheyenne Autumn)… cirrhosis…1983…at 78

John Galt, Scottish writer (Last of the Lairds)…1839…at 59

Llywelyn ab Iorwerth the Great, monarch of Wales…stroke…1240…at 59

Joseph Merrick, "The Elephant Man"… neurofibromatosis…1890…at 27 

Kurt Vonnegut, American author…2007…ay 84

Answer: Brain Teasers

1. Smooch Pooch
2. Witty Kitty
3. Feature Creature
4. Rare Hare
5. Metal Kettle
6. Marriage Carriage
7. Wild Child

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  §