9/28/13

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Almanac: Flagstaff:  Week: 39/ Day: 271   

Today: H 58°…L 39°…Ave. humidity: 57%

Wind: ave:   8mph; Gusts:  20mph  

Average High: 69° Record High:  83°  (2009)

Average Low: 38° Record Low:  23°  (1900)

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

1st Lady Betty Ford undergoes a radical mastectomy…1974

1st recording session in Nashville (Warmack's Gully Jumpers)…1928

1st reports appear of death from cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules…1982

Abyssinia (Ethiopia) leaves League of Nations…1923

Bonnie Prince Charlie becomes king of Scotland…1745

Maryland allows divorce if wife mispleases clergyman/preacher…1704

Nigeria suspends flights to Saudi Arabia after hundreds of Nigerian women travelled 

      without a male escort…2012

Record 23,000 start in a marathon (Mexico City)…1986

Toronto becomes capital of Ontario…1867

United States takes control of Midway Island…1867

US Navy abolishes flogging as punishment…1850

William the Conqueror invades England landing at Pevensey Bay, Sussex…1066

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

Late last night the wind finally slowed down and we got a little rain. Today was just much cooler, but the major winds have subsided for the time being. Flag had snow on its highest peaks today, so winter is just around the corner. Amazed at the number of Flag people who posted our snow capped peaks on FB.

 

Got ready for the weekend by doing laundry today. I am always amazed at how much laundry one guy can have. I guess it’s because I have plenty of clothes so when I run out, I have two weeks worth of stuff to wash….and dry….and put away. It’s getting time to move from my polo shirts and shorts to long sleeved shirts and long pants. I’m not quite ready to do this, but am getting prepared for that day.

 

Good news that Obama had a phone call with the Iranian President Rouhani today. This world has changed so much since 1979, the last time the leaders of Iran and the US spoke. Looks like things in Iran are really changing. Iran is filled with historical sites and I recall when Hamdy told me that within 5 years he would probably be doing trips to Iran. That was last year. Looks like he knew what he was talking about. And then the UN voted to gather Syria’s chemical weapons..That is all good news.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

What is the link between the following countries? Argentina Australia Brazil Chile Colombia Liechtenstein Madagascar Slovenia Czechoslovakia also shared this link, although neither the Czech Republic nor Slovakia do individually.

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Ed Sullivan Show: Top 10 Musical Performances

• Harpo Marx in Horse Feathers [1932]

• Rawhide--Riding for a Fall

• Openings :: Queen for a Day 

• Paul Wamack & His Gully Jumpers,Little Red Caboose

Hmmmm…Fearsome Phobias

If you have an irrational fear of... Doctors
You're suffering from... Iatrophobia Greek:  combining form of iātrós  healer

If you have an irrational fear of... Dogs (or rabies)
You're suffering from... Cynophobia Greek: κύων kýōn "dog" 

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

You can dismiss the idea that identifying with your faith bears certain privileges.

Interesting Disney

Harper’s Index    

• Average annual costg of detaining an inmate at the Guantanamo Bay: $900,000

• At a Super-max prison in the US: $65,000

Unusual Fact of the Day

In the Peanuts comic strip, Peppermint Patty's real name is Patricia Reichardt.

Joke-of-the-day

Two fish in a tank one says to the other "How do you drive this thing?"

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

MOWING YOUR LAWN

When mowing a lawn, if you cut off no more than 1/3 of the length of the grass you can safely leave the clippings on the lawn.   

Yeah, It Really Happened

NENAGH, Ireland - Ireland's first community-owned wind farm was connected to the grid this week in County Tipperary, bringing praise from Irish Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte. The Templederry Community Wind Farm, which was first envisioned in 1999, Monday began producing green electricity and selling it into the national grid system operated by EirGrid. It produces about 15 gigawatt-hours of power per year, sufficient for 3,500 homes in the city of Nenagh. Common in Germany and Denmark, community-owned wind farms are rare elsewhere in Europe, and Rabbitte said the Templederry effort could help set an example for the idea Ireland and elsewhere. "I commend the local community here in Templederry for their initiative and resolve in successfully establishing Ireland's first community-owned wind farm," he said. "Developed and owned by ordinary members of the local community, this enterprise is already streaming benefits in the form of dividends into the local community." The project, he said, "demonstrates the potential of local communities to harness their own local resources for their own benefit as well as contributing to important national goals -- Ireland has signed up to demanding commitments at EU-level and beyond as to the use of green energy in our overall energy mix." The Templederry project, he added, is "a template for the future and I fully expect to see many more of these community-led projects, where local people seize the initiative in powering Ireland for the 21st century." The project has 32 community shareholders from all walks of life, including a parish priest, its backers say. Tipperary Energy Agency Chief Executive Paul Kenny said the wind farm's long gestation process shows such projects aren't easy to get off the ground, the Tipperary Star reported. "Developing wind farms is a real challenge for any small organization," he said. "Costly studies and consultants are often a barrier to communities and farmers. A new model like Templederry is needed. "In Denmark and Germany most wind farms have an aspect of community ownership. Even if it is only 10 percent, it is still vital. The key challenge in Ireland is to engage communities in ownership or co ownership of wind developments." The wind farm boasts a pair of 2.3-megawatt turbines built by Germany's Enercon atop 210-foot steel towers. Besides erecting the tower and installing the machine, Enercon says it was also in charge of managing the foundation work as well as part of the electrical installation of the project. Since the Templederry project was handed over to the local agency in December, it has already achieved an excellent yield in the first few months of operation due to the "outstanding wind conditions" at the site. The Tipperary site is rated Class I, meaning turbines installed there should be able to withstand annual gusts of 115 mph and 50-year gusts of 154 mph. Robin Borgert, Enercon's regional manager for Northern Europe, said the company hopes the wind farm will serve as a "launching pad for other projects of this kind. "This community-owned wind farm could be a trailblazer for Ireland," he said.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• There are eight main Hawaiian islands: Ni'ihau, Kaua'i, O'ahu, Moloka'i, Lana'i, Maui, Kaho'olawe, and Hawaii.

• The earliest written account of surfing tells of Hawaiians surfing on wooden planks. Surfing was an integral part of the society, religion, and myth of Hawaii.

• The islands were formed by volcanoes which were created when the tectonic plate moved over a hot spot. One of the volcanoes on the Big Island, Kilaue'a, is the longest erupting volcano in the world having continuously flown for nearly 30 years.

• Hawaii does not observe Daylight Savings Time.

• After the beginning of World War II, the island of Kaho'olawe was used by the military to conduct live ammunition testing. 

• The state motto is "Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono," which means "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

22nd-29^th

Banned Books Week
Deaf Awareness Week
International Women's E-Commerce Days

National Dog Week
National Keep Kids Creative Week

Remember to Register to Vote Week
Sea Otter Awareness Week
Tolkien Week

Today Is                                                                      

·        Ask A Stupid Question Day

·        Fish Amnesty Day

·        Fish Tank Floorshow Night

·        International Lace Day

·        Love Note Day

·        National Good Neighbor Day

·        National Hunting and Fishing Day

·        National Museum Day National

·        Public Lands Day

·        World Heart Day

·        World Rabies Day

~~~~

·        Taiwan: Teacher's Day

·        USA: Family Health and Fitness Day

·        USA: Kids Day (Kiwanis Clubs)

·        USA: R.E.A.D. in America Day

Today’s Events through History  

"Baseball" TV Miniseries last airs on PBS…1994

"Doctor Kildare," debuts on NBC-TV…1961

"Hazel," starring Shirley Booth debuts on NBC-TV…1961

"Hennesey," debuts on CBS-TV…1959

"I'm Dickens, He's Fenster," debuts on ABC-TV…1962

"Millionaire," last airs on CBS-TV…1960

"My Friend Irma" is 1st of 12 films starring Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis…1949

"Queen For A Day," moves to ABC-TV…1960

"Shari Lewis Show," last airs on NBC-TV…1963

Carl Sagan's 13 part "Cosmos" premieres on PBS…1980

KOAT TV channel 7 in Albuquerque, NM (ABC/PBS) begins broadcasting…1953

Walt Disney's movie "Grey Friars Bobby" premieres…1961

~~~

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovers California, at San Diego Bay…1542

Pompey the Great is assassinated on orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt…48BC

Spanish fleet sinks in Florida hurricane; about 380 die…1528

Venetians take Athens from the Turks…1687
Divorce legalized in Maryland, USA…1701

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Brigitte Bardot, sex kitten (And God Created Women) is 79

Naomi Watts, actress and film producer is 45

Hilary Duff, actress and singer (Lizzie McGuire) is 26

Remembered for being born today

Confucius, Chinese philosopher (founder of Confucianism) 551BC-479 BC]

Richard Bright, English physician (Bright's Disease/nephritis) [1789-1858]

Ed Sullivan, TV variety show host/gossip columnist (Ed Sullivan Show) [1901-1974]

(Frederick George) Peter (Ingle) Finch, London, actor (Network) [1916-1977]

Al Capp, [Alfred Gerald Caplin], cartoonist (Li'l Abner) [1909-1979]

Marcello Mastroianni, Italian actor [1924-1996]

William Windom, actor (Farmer's Daughter, Murder She Wrote) [1923-2012]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Geoffrey Beene (Samuel Albert Bozeman, Jr.), fashion designer…cancer…2004…@77

Harpo [Arthur] Marx, comedian (Marx Bros)...in open heart surgery…1964…@75

Herman Melville, writer (Billy Budd, Moby Dick)…heart disease…1891…@72

Louis Pasteur, French bacteriologist (Pasteurization)…strokes…1895…@72

Ferdinand E Marcos, president of Philippines…kidney failure…1989…@72

John Paul I, [Albino Luciano], 263rd Pope…heart attack after 33 days…1978…@65

Edwin Hubble, astronomer, designer of telescopes…heart attack…1953…@63

Gamal' Abd al-Nassar, Egypt Pres…heart attack…1979@52

Richard Sears, businessman (Sears, Roebuck)…Bright’s Disease…1914…@50

Eric Fleming, actor (Gil-Rawhide)…drowned…@41

Brain Teasers

They all have internet top-level domains that are chemical symbols.

Argentina - .ar - argon Australia - .au - gold Brazil - .br - bromine Chile - .cl - chlorine Colombia - .co - cobalt Liechtenstein - .li - lithium Madagascar - .mg - magnesium Slovenia - .si - silicon Czechoslovakia had the domain .cs, shared with caesium, whereas the Czech Republic (.cz) and Slovakia (.ck) lack this property.

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  §