11/4/13

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Flagstaff Almanac:

Week: 45/ Day: 308   

Today: L 33°…H 56°… Ave. humidity: 50%

Wind: ave:   12mph; Gusts:  38mph  

Average Low: 25° Record Low:  -1° (1922)

Average High: 55° Record High:  73° (1975)

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

1856 - James Buchanan elected 15th US president

1884 - Grover Cleveland (D) beats James G Blaine (R)

1924 - US president Calvin Coolidge re-elected

1952 - General Dwight Eisenhower (R) elected 34th pres beating Adlai Stevenson (D)

1980 - Ronald Reagan (R) defeats President Jimmy Carter (D) by a landslide

2008 - Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to be elected US President

~~~~~~~

1st air conditioned automobile (Packard) exhibited…1939

1st nationally observed uniform election day in US…1845

1st stadium built specifically for football (Harvard Stadium)…1904

1st wagon train arrives in California…1841

63 Americans taken hostage at US Embassy (Teheran, Iran) 500 Iranian "students" 

    seize US embassy, take 90 hostages (444 days)…1979

Lighthouse built on Alcatraz Island…1854

Massachusetts uses death penalty for denying that Holy Bible is God's word…1646

TS Eliot wins Nobel Prize for literature…1948

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

How many can you identify? Answers in Today’s Birthdays

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

Thankfully not as windy as predicted…windy yes, but not that bad.

 

So my Sunday started off oddly. When I went out to get my paper at about 7a, it wasn’t there. I waited until 8a before I called. The person said that there was a ‘production problem’ and they had no idea when the paper would be delivered. I checked again about 10a and it was there…noting that it usually there around 6a. In another surprise, they called back about 10:30 to see if my paper arrived. Nice touch. Not a big deal since all my Sunday morning shows are one hour later for the next 6 months.

 

Some interesting things about time. In China the entire country is in one time zone “China time” as decided in 1949 when the Communists took over. They say it makes it easier for commerce and everyone else in the country….and the biggest time shift from one country to a neighboring country is between China and Afghanistan with a 3.5 hour time change. Also I was also reminded that Ethiopia, near the equator, doesn’t do Daylight time but their ‘date’ change on the calendar happens at 6a every day. As my Ethiopian guide said “I don’t get why you change to the new day at midnight, in the middle of the night. We change at sunrise, which makes more sense.”

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

Down below the shining moon Around the trees, a sacred gloom Running with the midnight sky Knowing the thing that makes you cry Night is full with my essence Eternal light betrays my presence Soaring through my endless task Shadows are my faithful mask

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• THE KARATE KID 1983 FIRST AUDITIONS

• Doris Roberts " My Success Is My Enemy"

• Will Rogers on Congress

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLATBz1RKio

• Walter Cronkite announces death of JFK

Very Strange Laws…NM

• Nudity is allowed, provided that male genitals are covered.

• Idiots may not vote.

• State officials ordered 400 words of “sexually explicit material” to be cut from Romeo and Juliet.

• Albuquerque
: Women may walk in public topless provided they have their nipples covered.

• Carrizozo
: It’s forbidden for a female to appear unshaven in public.

• Deming
: Persons may not spit on the steps of the opera house. Hunting is prohibited in Mountain View Cemetery.

• Las Cruces
: You may not carry a lunchbox down Main Street.

OK Then…

 

Harper’s Index 

Percentage of reported US military assaults in which the victim was male: 53

Unusual Fact of the Day

Churchill Downs, Yankee Stadium, the Rose Bowl, the Roman Colosseum, and Vatican City could all fit inside Indianapolis Motor Speedway – at the same time!

Joke-of-the-day

 Mrs. Sullivan and her little daughter Patty were outside the church watching all the comings and goings of a wedding. After the photographs had been taken, everyone had driven off to the reception, and all the excitement was over. Patty asked her mother, “Why did the bride change her mind, Mommy?

“How do you mean, change her mind?” asked Mrs. Sullivan.

“Well said the child, “she went into the church with one man and came out with another!”

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

STAYING PROFICIENT AS A PILOT

You should fly at least 100 hours a year to stay proficient as a fair-weather pilot. If you're flying on instruments, or IFR, make that 200 hours a year.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. - A student at a suburban Chicago high school who wore a Jesus costume Thursday for Halloween was told to remove it by school officials. The student at Highland Park High School was allowed to resume wearing his toga, cross and crown of thorns after officials decided he did not select the costume to offend, the Chicago Tribune reported. The school in Highland Park on the North Shore has guidelines for Halloween costumes that try to bar anything offensive or provocative. Students are warned to avoid props that suggest drinking or smoking and anything that would stereotype culture, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion. A photo that appears to show the teen in costume was posted Wednesday on Facebook, the Tribune said. "OH MY GOD(literally), please don't be afraid if u see BLACK JESUS munchin on some pasta tomorrow! HAPPY HALLOWEEN," the accompanying message said.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Did you know that the male figure on Pringles logo is commomly known as ‘Julius Pringles’ and that he did not always look like that? The figure was designed by Louis R. Dixon and had originally a large moustache and parted bangs, which were removed in 1998. His face was widened a bit, as well.  Up to 2001 Julius Pringles had also eyebrows and his bow tie framed the product.

• David Glashee, a 65-year-old former businessman, bought his own island in Australia and has been living there for over 20 years. He acquired an interest on the island after the stock market crash in 1987  and he traded in his suit for a loincloth after losing most of his money.

• There are certain actions like showering, fishing, exercising, which are considered to be monotonous and do not require much thought. In these cases, our unconscious works automatically on something else and it is then, when our inner genius can be released and come up with a great idea!

• Do you find clowns funny? Do you dress up like a clown during the carnival? There are many people throughout the world that certainly don’ t and believe it or not many people are afraid of clowns.

• If someone googles the phrase “I hate clowns” he or she may find several results related to clown’s haters, such as websites, email accounts or even Facebook pages. A word, which is extensively used to express the fear of clowns, is ‘Coulrophobia’.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

1-3: Sherlock Holmes Weekend
1-7: National Fig Week / National Patient Accessibility Week / World Communication Week
3-9:  Health Information and Technology Week / International Fraud Awareness Week / National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week / National Nurse Practioner's Week / National Radiologic Technology Week / Give Wildlife A Brake! Week / Intimate Apparel Week

Today Is                                                                      

·        Fill Our Staplers Day

·        Job Action Day

·        Mischief Night

·        National Chicken Lady Day honor of Dr. Marthenia "Tina" Dupree. Dr. Dupree worked for 12 years for the second largest chicken restaurant in the world and became a nationally known trainer/motivator.

·        National Medical Science Liaison (MSL) Awareness and Appreciation Day

·        Traffic Directors Day

·        Use Your Common Sense Day

~~~~~~~~~                        

·        Panama: Flag Day (since 1903)

·        Italy: Victory Day (victory over Austria-Hungary in WWI)

Today’s Events through History  

Benjamin Palmer patents artificial leg…1846

California legalizes professional boxing (illegal since 1914)…1924

Genie, a 13 year old feral child was found in Los Angeles, having been locked in 

     bedroom for most of her life…1970

James Ritty patents 1st cash register, to combat stealing by bartenders…1879 

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Doris Roberts, actress (Angie, Maggie, Emmy 1983) is 88

Loretta Swit, actress (Hotlips Houlihan-M*A*S*H) is 76

Laura Bush, U.S. First Lady is 67

Charles Frazier, author (Cold Mountain) [no relation] is 63

Markie Post, [Marjorie],  actress (Christine-Night Court) is 63

Kathy Griffin, comedienne (My Life on the D-List) is 53

Ralph Macchio, actor (Karate Kid, 8 is Enough) is 51

Jeff Probst, television host (Survivor) is 52

Sean Combs [Puff Daddy], New York City, rapper/record producer is 44

Remembered for being born today

Augustus Montague Toplady, English author of hymn "Rock of Ages" [1740-1778]

Will Rogers, Cherokee humorist and actor (Judge Priest) [1879-1935]

James Fraser, designed buffalo nickel [1876-1953]

Robert Mapplethorpe, US photographer [1946-1989]

Martin Balsam, NYC, actor (Murray-Archie Bunker's Place, Catch 22) [1919-1996]

Art Carney, actor (Ed Norton-Honeymooners) [1918-2003]

Walter Cronkite, news anchor (CBS Evening News) [1916-2009]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Andy Rooney, radio and television writer…2011…@92

Cy Young, American baseball player…1955…@88

George Peabody, philanthropist Peabody Trust and Peabody Institute…1869…@74

Yitzhak Rabin, PM of Israel…assassinated…1995…@73

H Richard Hornberger, surgeon (inspired M*A*S*H)… leukemia…1997…@73

Sheree North, actress and singer…during surgery…2005…@73

Brain Teasers

Darkness (the first letter of every sentence spells out "DARKNESS")

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  §