7/10/13

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Almanac: Flagstaff:  Week: 28/ Day: 191   Today: H 86°…L 59°

Wind: ave:   1mph; Gusts:  11mph  Ave. humidity:  50%

*

Average Low	Average High	Record Low	Record High
49°	82°	37° (1926)	94° (2003)

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

1st practical rectangular TV tube announced-Toledo…1949

1st sitting US president to visit South America, FDR in Colombia…1934

American Episcopal Church becomes the first to approve a rite for blessing gay 

     marriages…2012

Bobbie Gentry records "Ode to Billie Joe"…1967

Bonnie Prince Charlie flees in disguise to Isle of Skye…1746

British tabloid News of the World publishes its last edition after 168 years…phone 

     hacking scandal…2011

Coca-Cola Co announces it will resume selling old formula Coke…1985

Death Valley, CA hits 134 °F (~56.7 °C), highest temperature US recorded ….1913

Lady Godiva rides naked on horseback to force her husband to lower taxes…1040

Most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground…1212

Telstar, 1st geosynchronous communications satellite, launched…1962

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

A very warm day with little breeze, so the old cooler had to come on for a little while this afternoon. I started my letter to the HOA today, but still needs some punching up, maybe be finished tomorrow. So sad that people see blooming flowers at my place and a couple of Adirondack chairs at another place to be ‘unsightly’. Also reread the letter and my door wreath is also in violation. My family has always had a wreath on the door of our houses since I was a toddler. I expect the next violation to be me hanging the American Flag in my front area on Federal holidays…another thing our family has always done.

 

Turned on the TV about 11am this morning and all the Phoenix channels were giving full, uninterrupted coverage of the memorial service for the Granite Mountain Hot Shots. It was very well executed with so many people involved. Vice President Biden is a very good speaker. One of his lines, ‘they were heroes before we knew their names’ will stick with me for a long time. In total the service reminded me that the fireman have really dangerous jobs and do it anyway. Not sure I could have had that kind of dedication to my career. Every time the bell goes off, the firemen realize they might not come back. As so many pointed out, we don’t even know what hot shots really do, or who they are. Unless it is our property or our loved ones involved in an incident, we don’t stop and realize what they did. This was the greatest loss of fire fighters since 9/11.  Thousands from around America made it to the service to honor these men who gave all to save the forest, save other’s lives, and property. Sad. Very glad I spent the 2+ hours watching the event.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

What does this represent?

Ag Ag Ag Ag Ag  Ag CIRRUS Ag  Ag Ag Ag Ag Ag 
Ag Ag Ag Ag Ag  Ag CUMULUS Ag  Ag Ag Ag Ag Ag 
Ag Ag Ag Ag Ag  Ag STRATUS Ag  Ag Ag Ag Ag Ag

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• 92Y Podcast: From the Poetry Center Archive: Saul Bellow

• Arlo Guthrie /City of New Orleans

• "Your Hit Parade"

Hmmmm…Oxymorons

Paid volunteer Paperless ofice Passive aggression

Ok, then?

Harper’s Index    

Percentage change in the amount of money awarded to winners of the Nobel Peace Prize since 2011: -20

Picture of the Day: Street Markets

Unusual Fact of the Day

A Mercurian day is longer than its year.

Joke-of-the-day

A guy drove to the beach and parked his car close to the water's edge - not realizing it was Low Tide - then he went for a long hike up into the mountains. During his excursion, High Tide came and then receded - completely submersing his car for a period of time in the process. When he finally returned to his car - he became very concerned when he found out that he had Tuna in his Mercury!

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

INSPECTING SPECTACLES

 When trying on glasses put them on and look at your feet. If they start to slip off your face, they are too loose.   

Yeah, It Really Happened

Decades after a mysterious swastika formation was discovered in a German forest, questions remain over the origins of such patterns rumored to have been planted across the country.

The swastika symbol in the German forest near Brandenburg was first noticed by accident. The Nazi formation -- created from a patch of about 140 larch trees -- was discovered in 1992 by a landscaping company intern who was examining aerial photographs for irrigation lines, according to German site Der Spiegel.

The ingenious, albeit offensive, pattern was revealed in autumn as the larch trees were beginning to change color, contrasting starkly with the surrounding pines trees, which remained a lush green.

Throughout the years many people have attempted to unravel the mystery of this and other forest swastikas, but Der Spiegel notes that concrete answers remain elusive.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Ghosts appear in 4 Shakespearian plays; Julius Caesar, Richard III, Hamlet and Macbeth.

• Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was published March 20, 1852. It was the first American novel to sell one million copies.

• John Milton used 8,000 different words in his poem, "Paradise Lost."

• Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone with the Wind between 1926 and 1929. In her early drafts, the main character was named "Pansy O'Hara" and the O'Hara plantation we know as Tara was called "Fountenoy Hall."

• Of the 2200 persons quoted in the current edition of "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations," only 164 are women.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

4-10

Freedom Week: 4-10 
7-13 
Be Nice To New Jersey Week
Creative Maladjustment Week
National Farriers Week
Nude Recreation Weekend

Today Is                                                                      

·        Clerihew Day:  a whimsical, four-line biographical poem

·        Don't Step On A Bee Day

·        Hot Dog Night

·        Piña Colada Day

·        Teddy Bears' Picnic Day

^^

·        Bahamas: Independence Day (1973 from UK)

·        US: Wyoming: Admission Day (1890-44^th state)

Today’s Events through History  

"Your Hit Parade" premieres on NBC (later CBS) TV…1950

1st concrete-paved street built (Bellefountaine, Ohio)…1892

According to Indian Agent, 200 Sacs and Foxes, are attacked by a force of 1500

      Comanches, Kiowas, Osage, and Apaches near Smoky Hill, 100 miles west of 

      Fort Riley, Kansas…1854

City of Dublin is founded on the banks of the river Liffey…988

Diocese of Dallas agrees to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys sexually 

     abused by former priest …1998

Emperor Napoleon corpse leaves Netherlands for France…1810

Millard Fillmore sworn-in as president of US (replacing Taylor)…1850

Peter Paul Rubens' painting The Massacre of the Innocents is sold for £49.5million 

     (US$76.2 million) …2002

Rolling Stones score their 1st #1, "I Can't Get No Satisfaction"…1965

US issues newer, smaller-sized paper currency…1929

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 90’s

Jake LaMotta, middleweight boxing champ (Raging Bull) is 91

In their 60’s

Ron Glass, actor (Harris-Barney Miller, Frank's Place) is 68

Arlo Guthrie, singer (Alice's Restaurant, City of New Orleans) is 66

In their 40’s

Sofia Vergara, Spanish language TV star is 41

In their 30’s

Jessica Simpson, singer and popstar ("I Wanna Love You Forever") is 33

Remembered for being born today

Nick Adams, Nanticoke Pa, actor (Johnny Yuma-Rebel) [1931-1968]

Arthur Ashe, tennis pro (1968 US Open, 1975 Wimbledon) [1943-1993]

Saul Bellow, Quebec, novelist (Nobel 1976-Mr Samler's Planet) [1915-2005]

David Brinkley, NBC news anchor (Huntley-Brinkley) [1920-2003]

Adolphus Busch, German-born brewer [1839-1913]

John Calvin, Protestant religious reformer/theologian [1509-1564]

Alvan Graham Clark, American telescope maker and astronomer [1832-1897]  

Owen Chamberlain, physicist/co-discoverer (antiproton, Nobel-1959) [1920-2006]

Jack "Legs" Diamond, American bootlegger [1897-1931]

Fred Gwynne, actor (Car 54 Where Are You, Munsters) [1926-1993]

Reg Smyth, English cartoonist (Andy Capp) [1917-1998]

George "Slim" Summerville, actor (Keystone Cops) [1892-1946]

Nikola Tesla, Croatian physicist, engineer. inventor, developed alternating 

     current [1856-1943]

James A McNeill Whistler, US/British painter (Whistler's Mother) [1834-1903]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Mel Blanc, cartoon voice (Warner Bros cartoons)…1989…at 81

Arthur Fiedler, orchestra leader (Boston Pops)…1979…at 84

Clement Clarke Moore, ('Twas the Night Before Xmas)…1963…at 83

Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton, pioneer jazz pianist…respiratory problems…1941…at 50

George Stubbs, British painter of horses…1806…at 81

William I "the Silent", [William of Orange], earl of Nassau…assassinated…1584…at 51

Answer: Brain Teasers

Every cloud has a silver lining.

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  §