9/15/13

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Almanac: Flagstaff:  Week: 38/ Day: 257   

Today: H 71°…L 46°…Ave. humidity:  64%

Wind: ave:   7mph; Gusts:  14mph  

Average Low: 43°  Record Low: 29° (1988)

Average High: 74° Record High: 88° (2000)

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

"Bachelor Father" with John Forsythe premieres…1957

"Lone Ranger" premieres on ABC-TV…1949

"Lost in Space" premieres…1965

1st broadcast of "Columbo" on NBC-TV…1971

1st issue of "USA Today" published by Gannett Co Inc…1982

1st non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy…1616

1st person to be run over by a railroad train (William Huskisson, England)…1830

Japan announces that it will phase out nuclear energy by the 2030s…2012

Moslem fundamentalists kidnap & behead 16 citizens in Algeria…1994

US Department of Foreign Affairs, renamed Department of State…1789

XXVII Olympics Opening ceremony in Sydney, Australia…2000

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

The day’s weather started out fine. Then this afternoon it all went to hell. First it clouded up, then for the first time in recent memory my place had pea sized hail for about 15 minutes, then rolling thunder, another thing I don’t hear too often. Then about 3 storms of heavy rain. Someone on FB posted picture of a funnel cloud a few miles south of Flagstaff. When I turned on the news, I watched the CO flood stories and realized that as weird as our Flag weather was, we really have nothing to complain about.

 

I’m glad to hear that there is some kind of deal about Syria. From my point of view, it doesn’t matter who brokered the deal, just that there is a deal. The Hawks are so worried that this will place the US in a weaker position and don’t seem to spout their feelings. The goal was to get rid of the poisonous gas…someone needs to tell them to keep their eye on the prize.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

I know a word of letters three. Add two, and fewer there will be. What is it?

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Tommy Lee Jones' Official 'Lincoln' Interview

• BRETT SOMERS Queen of Match Game

• Bill Anderson and Roy Acuff "I Wonder If God Likes Country Music"

• Agatha Christie

Hmmmm…Fearsome Phobias

If you have an irrational fear of... Clouds
You're suffering from... Nephophobia: Greek nephos 'cloud'

If you have an irrational fear of... Cold
You're suffering from... Cheimaphobia

It is Illegal…

It is Illegal to Have Christmas Decorations Up After January 14 In Maine

Privileges granted to people in the U.S. (and many western nations) for being Christian…

Your faith can be an aspect of your identity without being a defining aspect (e.g., people won’t think of you as their “Christian” friend)

Ok, then?

Harper’s Index    

Portion of Americans who are unaware that Obamacare is law: 2/5

Unusual Fact of the Day

Pythagoras, the philosopher and mathematician, did not discover the Pythagorean Theorem. Many math historians now believe that the Egyptians used the same theorem in their construction projects a hundred years before Pythagoras was born.

Animals with the strongest jaws…

American Alligator 2125 psi

The American Alligator is one of only two species of Alligator left in the world, the other being the Chinese Alligator. With an estimated population of 5 million; 1.2 million live in the state of Florida. Its range includes: Florida, Texas, Louisiana, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. They share territory with the crocodile. Their diet consists mainly on fish turtles and small mammals. In a recent study by National Geographic, American Alligators tested at 2125 psi, yet they did not test the larger alligator, so this number could be higher. Yet this problem arises with the three members of the crocodilian superfamily mentioned here.

Joke-of-the-day

A kindergarten teacher handed out a coloring page to her class. On it was a picture of a duck holding an umbrella. The teacher told her class to color the duck in yellow and the umbrella green, however, Bobby, the class rebel, colored the duck in a bright fire truck red.

After seeing this, the teacher asked him: "Bobby, how many times have you see a red duck?"

Young Bobby replied with "The same number of times I've seen a duck holding an umbrella."

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

GETTING EMOTIONALLY INVOLVED

Wait at least a year after a divorce before becoming emotionally committed to someone else. Some psychologists say that a person needs one year to resolve a divorce for every five years of marriage.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

BOULDER, Colo. - University of Colorado police said a man accused of drunken horseback riding told officers he was traveling to Utah to attend a wedding. CU police spokesman Ryan Huff said police received calls Monday about a man on a horse wandering into traffic in Boulder and some witnesses said they saw the man strike the horse, the Daily Camera, Boulder, reported Tuesday. Police stopped Patrick Neal Schumacher, 45, of Colorado Springs, who was found to be carrying a pug in a backpack. He also had beer and a black powder pistol in one of his saddlebags, police said. Schumacher, who failed field sobriety tests, told officers he was attempting a 600-mile trip to Bryce, Utah, for his brother's wedding. Schumacher was charged with a traffic infraction of riding a horse while under the influence of alcohol and misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, prohibited use of weapons and reckless endangerment.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Shakespeare’s tombstone in Stratford’s Holy Trinity Church bears this inscription, said to have been written by him: Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear to dig the dust enclosed here. Blest be the man that spares these stones, and curst be he that moves my bones”.

• The Hindus of India once believed that the Earth was a huge bowl (to keep the oceans from falling off) held up by giant elephants standing on long pillars. No one back then ever thought to ask what the pillars were standing on!

• The first black surgeon to do open heart surgery was Dr. Daniel Hale Williams. In 1893, he saved a man who was knifed by opening his chest and sewing together the wound, which was only a fraction of an inch from his heart. He was one of the first to do this. He accomplished this without any modern medical devices, such as x-rays.

• Thomas Crapper developed the flush toilet. In 1884, he simulated the materials a toilet would normally handle, to create “a super-flush which had completely cleared away: 10 apples, 1 flat sponge, 3 air vessels, Plumbers Smudge coated over the pan, 4 pieces of paper adhering closely to the soiled surface.” A fantastic feat of flushing!

• Vincent Van Gogh only sold 1 painting his whole life and that was to his brother!

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

8th-15th

International Housekeepers Week
National Assisted Living Week 
National Historically Black Colleges & Universities Week
Substitute Teacher Appreciation Week 

Suicide Prevention Week

12th-15th

Hummingbird Celebration

 15th-21st

Balance Awareness Week
Build A Better Image Week
Dating and Life Coach Recognition Week
National Clean Hands Week
National Farm & Ranch Safety and Health Week
National Indoor Plant Week

National Love Your Files Week

National Rehabilitation Awareness Week
National Singles Week
Pollution Prevention Week
Prostate Cancer Awareness Week

Today Is                                                                      

·        Felt Hat Day

·        Greenpeace Day

·        International Day of Democracy

·        International Dot Day

·        LGBT Center Awareness Day

·        Costa Rica~~Independence Day (1821 from Spain)

·        El Salvador~~Independence Day (1821 from Spain)

·        Guatemala~~Independence Day (1821 from Spain)

·        Honduras~~Independence Day (1821 from Spain)

·        Nicaragua~~Independence Day (1821 from Spain)

·        UK~~Battle of Britain Day (1940)

Today’s Events through History  

1st broadcast of "LA Law" on NBC-TV…1986

Benito Mussolini forms a rival fascist government in Italy…1943

Boers & Afrikaners win 1st general elections in Union of South-Africa…1910

Gemini XI (Conrad/Gordon) returns to Earth…1966

Lillehammer, Norway upsets Anchorage to host 1994 Winter Olympics…1988

Mayflower departs from Plymouth England with 102 pilgrims…1620

Muhammad Ali beats Leon Spinks in 15 for heavyweight boxing title…1978

US Marines march out of Vera Cruz, Mexico…1914

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Tommy Lee Jones, actor (Men in Black, Lincoln) is 67

Oliver Stone, director (Wall St, Good Morning Vietnam, Platoon) is 67

Heidi Montag, American reality television star is 27

Remembered for being born today

James Fenimore Cooper, 1st major US novelist (Last of Mohicans) [1789-1851]

William Howard Taft, 27th pres (1909-13), chief justice [1857-1930]

Agatha Christie, Torquay, Devon, mystery writer (Murder on Orient Express) [1890-1976]

Jean Renoir, French director (Madame Bovary, Nana, Grand Illusion) [1894-1979]

Roy Acuff, country musician (Hee Haw) [1903-1992]

Penny Singleton, actress (Blondie) [1908-2003]

Fay Wray, Alberta Canada, actress-King Kong's main squeeze [1907-2004]

Merlin Olsen, NFL tackle (Rams)/sportscaster/actor (Father Murphy) [1940-2010]

Jackie Cooper, actor and director (Our Gang, Superman) [1922-2011]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Jumbo, P. T. Barnum's circus elephant…hit by a train…1885…@24

Willy Messerschmitt, German aircraft builder…1978…@80

Johnny Ramone, lead guitarist punk rock band The Ramones…cancer…2004…@55  

Brett Somers, Canadian-born actress/Match Game panelist…2007…@83

Thomas Wolfe, US writer (Enigma)…TB…1938…@37

Brain Teasers

The word is "few".

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  §