9/8/13

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Almanac: Flagstaff:  Week: 37/ Day: 251   

Today: H 73°…L 56°…Ave. humidity:  61%

Wind: ave:   3mph; Gusts:  10mph  

Average Low: 45°

Average High: 76°

Record Low: 35° (1970)

Record High: 89° (1977)

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

"USA Weekend's" 1st issue, appears in 255 newspapers…1985

1st appearance of "Pledge of Allegiance" (Youth's Companion)…1892

1st appearance of comic strip "Blondie"…1930

1st permanent settlement in US forms (St Augustine, Florida)…1565

Cartier reaches Stadacone, where the modern city Quebec is located…1535

Ellis Island Historical Site opens on Ellis Island NYC…1990

Ernest Hemmingway's "Old Man & Sea" published…1952

Michelangelo's David is unveiled in Florence…1504

US Air Mail service begins (NYC to SF)…1920

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

So it is a nice Saturday with a few clouds. I decide to walk up into the forest. On the walk through the neighborhood there are a couple of yard sales that slow me down. Didn’t buy anything and head up into the forest. It has gotten a little darker with the clouds. I decide it might rain and head back home. Out of almost nowhere the lightning and thunder start and then the clouds open up with a cloudburst we haven’t seen here in a couple of weeks. Needless to say, I got very wet and there are no shortcuts to my place, unless I want to go though someone’s yard, climb a 6 foot fence, and get chased by dogs. The storm lasted about 20 minutes and the fast walk home was about 15 minutes. After drying off, changing clothes, and getting ready to relax, another storm with more thunder and lightning hit, this one lasting about 30 minutes. I felt a little dumb as I looked like a soaked rat, but after all, I live in the high DESERT and never carry an umbrella or rain jacket. This might be a good lesson, especially since the third storm of the day just arrived.

 

As a follower of the Olympics I was surprised that they picked Tokyo for the 2020 games. I was hoping for Istanbul which would have been the first time the Olympics were held in an Arabic country. The news was saying that Tokyo was a tough choice since one of the worst nuclear disasters is less than 100 miles away. That was 2 years ago and now the fresh fruits and vegetables coming into Tokyo are no longer being checked for radiation. The plants leaks have gotten worse over time and the company in charge of the cleanup has kept, or attempted to keep that a secret. Just last week the Japanese government announced it was taking over the cleanup. Guess some of the athletes may be wearing special radiation suits during their competition.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

Complete the words below using each letter of the alphabet once only:

li_ _t _o_an pu_ _ le _-r_ _ e_ _l _ _eer _cie_ _e g_ _ let _u_ge _ac_et pu_zl_ _rai_

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• "Just Like A Pill" (Live) – Pink

• Richard Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra

• The Producers (1968) – Intro

• Does your dog bite?

• Patsy Cline – Crazy

• Sid Caesar- Health Food Restaurant

Hmmmm…Fearsome Phobias

If you have an irrational fear of... Cats
You're suffering from... Ailurophobia [Greek αἴλουρος (aílouros), "cat"]

If you have an irrational fear of... Celts
You're suffering from... Celtophobia

It is Illegal…

Donkeys Cannot Sleep In Bathtubs In Arizona

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

Politicians can make decisions citing your faith without being labeled as heretics or extremists.

Ok, then?

Harper’s Index    

• Number of publicly traded companies at which directors lost shareholder elections in the past 3 year: 175

• Number of those directors who subsequently stepped down: 9

Unusual Fact of the Day

Lucky siblings? The RMS Olympic (sister ship to the Titanic) and the HMS Mauretania (sister ship to the Lusitania) both had long and distinguished service careers, ending with the scrappers torch rather than on the bottom of the ocean.

Animals with the strongest jaws…

Lion 600 psi

A surprise placing for the “king of the jungle” (though it has never lived in a jungle). Lions are the only social cat in the world. They are so cooperative when they hunt that this might be one of the reasons they have a evolved to have the weakest bite of the genus Pathera or big cat. Another reason might be that their hunting habit, strangling its prey by biting its trachea, lacks the need of a strong bite. Lions hunt at any time but usually hunt for large prey at night. They also drink water daily if they can but can go five days without.

Joke-of-the-day

“I’ve never flown before, said the nervous old lady to the pilot. “You will bring me down safely, won’t you?

“All I can say ma’am,” said the pilot, “is that I’ve never left anyone up there yet!”

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

BUILDING A HOUSE

An odd-angled wall will cost twice as much as a wall built with 90-degree corners.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

WASHINGTON - U.S. government security experts say they are increasingly worried about the threats to law enforcement agencies using older versions of Android. A document prepared by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security marked "for Police, Fire, EMS and Security Personnel" was obtained by Public Intelligence, a group focused on releasing government information to the public. The document said upwards of 44 percent of Android users worldwide are still using Android versions 2.3.3 to 2.3.7, which still contain security vulnerabilities fixed in later versions, the document said, CNET reported Tuesday. The document does not state how many U.S. government agencies are using Android, whether older or newer versions, on their networks. Android is a "primary target for malware attacks due to its market share and open source architecture," the document states, and increasing use of mobile device use by government workers "makes it more important than ever to keep mobile [operating systems] patched and up-to-date."  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• The largest bird egg ever laid was laid millions of years ago by the Madagascar, or the elephant bird.

• Today, the ostrich is the bird that lays the largest eggs.

• Scallops swim with jet-propelled speed by clapping its shell open and shut.

• Some ducks and geese can fly as much as 332 miles a day!

• The lung fish can live out of water for as long as four years!

• The Egyptian vulture uses stones to smash ostrich eggs.

• Birds save energy by flying in a “V” formation.

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

Today Is                                                                      

·        Date Nut Bread Day

·        International Drive Your Studebaker Day

·        International Literacy Day

·        National Grandparent's Day

·        National Hug Your Hound Day

·        Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day

·        World Physical Therapy Day National

~~~~

·        Macedonia: Independence Day (1991 from Greece)

·        US: Nixon Pardon Day (1974 by Pres Ford)

Today’s Events through History  

"Funny Girl" with Barbra Streisand premieres…1968

Italy surrenders to Allies in WWII…1943

Jim Ryan (US) & Billy Fordjour (Ghana) collide & fall in qualifying competitions 

     for 1,500m finals, ending Ryan's chances for gold…1972

Northern Pacific RR's last spike driven at Independence Creek, Mont…1883

SE Asia Treaty Org (SEATO) forms to stop communist spread in SE Asia…1954

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Sid Caesar, comedian (Your Show of Shows) is 90

Sam Nunn, politician (Sen-D-Georgia) is 75

Sergio Casal, Spanish tennis player is 51

Heather Thomas, actress, screenwriter, author and political activist, is 56

David Arquette, actor, director and producer (Scream, Kiss & Tell) is 42

Pink [Alecia Beth Moore], singer (Get the Party Started, Just Like a Pill) is 34

Jonathan Taylor Thomas, actor (Randy-Home Improvement) is 32

Remembered for being born today

Frank Cady, actor (Mr Drucker-Green Acres) [1915-2012]

Patsy Cline, country singer (Crazy) [1932-1963]

George Crook, Major General (Union volunteers) [1829-1890]

Antonín Dvořák, composer (New World Symphony) [1841-1940]

Claude D Pepper, (Rep-D-FL), old people's advocate [1900-1989]

 [James Charles] Jimmie Rodgers, country singer/singing brakeman [1897-1933]

Peter Sellers, England, actor (Kato, Bobo, Pink Panther) [1925-1980]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Dorothy Dandridge, actress (Island in the Sun)…accidental overdose…1965…at 42 

Huey P Long, (Sen-La) assassinated…1935…at 42  

Zaki Naguib Mahmoud, Egyptian philosopher/author/diplomat…1993…at 88

[William] Bill Moggridge, British designer…cancer…2012…at 69

Zero [Samuel J] Mostel, US actor (Fiddler on the Roof)… aortic aneurysm…1977…at 62

Adam Opel, German manufacturer (motorcars)…1895…at 58

Francisco Gomez Quevedo y Villegas, Spanish author/poet…frailty…1645…at 64

Richard Strauss, German composer (Also sprach Zarathustra)…1949…at 85

Frank Thomas, Disney animator…2004…at 90

Brain Teasers

light woman purple x-ray evil queer science goblet fudge jacket puzzle trail

 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  §