12/12/13

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Flagstaff Almanac:

Week: 50 / Day: 346    

Today: L -8°…H 32°… Ave. humidity: 57%

Wind: ave:   12mph; Gusts:  8mph  

Average Low: 17° Record Low:  -16° (1961)

Average High: 44° Record High:  64° (1921)

Quote of the Day

 

Today’s Historical Highlights

1st Canadian coins circulated (1 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent & 20 cent)…1858

1st case of plague on Oahu, Hawaii…1899

1st Crusaders capture & plunder Mara Syria…1098

Arthur Ashe becomes 1st black to be ranked #1 in tennis…1968

Batang Kali Massacre - 14 members of the Scots Guards allegedly massacre 24 unarmed civilians and set fire to the village…1948

Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, is founded…1897

Carlos the Jackal, "professional revolutionary" goes on trial in Paris…1997

Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India…1911

Frank Sinatra Jr returned after being kidnapped…1963

Hebrew language officially used to teach in Palestinian schools…1913

Japanese train builders (Maglev) claim world speed record at 332 MPH…1997

Joseph Pulitzer begins publishing "St Louis Dispatch"…1878

Ludwig Von Beethoven (22) receives 1st lesson in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn…1792

Martin Luther King Jr & 700 demonstrators arrested in Albany Ga…1961

Mexico officially recognized as an independent nation by US…1822

NYC Subway system adds new stations (Z line)…1988

Tide detergent introduced…1946

Washington DC established as capital of US…1800

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

Finally got into the Christmas spirit. Spent the morning shopping. Got a lot done with just a few things left to pick up. I always work better with a deadline. I’m leaving for Chicago in 9 days and with several Christmas lunches that last week, and getting my new glasses, the days are slipping by quite quickly. Ho! Ho! Ho!

 

I have three apple products…an old iPod, an iPad, and an iPhone. I have one apple ID for all three, and one password for all three. One would think I could keep that straight, but when Apple told me someone had tried to hack my gmail account, I changed that password. Now for some reason, I can’t keep any of the passwords straight. Every time I try to download something, it asks and I have to keep getting a new password. Driving me crazy. Sure hope I figure it out pretty soon.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

Mr. Jones filed a lawsuit against the company he worked for. He claimed that the company he worked for was drugging him to make him a better worker. He claimed that the coffee the company provided contained a drug called Trimethylxanthine. Trimethylxanthine is an addictive drug that increases alertness, improves concentration, and gives you a euphoric feeling. It operates using the same mechanisms that amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin use to stimulate the brain only to a lesser degree. When the coffee was tested it was found that it did contain large amounts of Trimethylxanthine. But, Mr. Jones did not win his lawsuit. Why?

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Connie Francis - Everybody's Somebody's Fool

• Dionne Warwick - Walk on by (1964)

• TCM Tribute to Edward G Robinson

• Everybody Loves Raymond - best of Peter Boyle

• Batang Kali remembered

Very Strange Laws…North Carolina

• A bill has been passed that restricts local planning agencies’ ability to use climate change science to predict sea-level rise.

• A three dollar tax must be paid on all white goods sold.

• A marriage can be declared void if either of the two persons is physically impotent.

• All couples staying overnight in a hotel must have a room with double beds that are at least two feet apart.

• Bingo games may not last over 5 hours unless it is held at a fair.

• Elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields.

• If a man and a woman who aren’t married go to a hotel/motel and register themselves as married then, according to state law, they are legally married.

• It is a felony to steal more than $1000 of grease

• It is illegal to have sex in a churchyard.

• It’s against the law to sing off key.

• No one may be a professional fortune-teller, and if one wishes to pursue the practice as an amateur, it must be practiced in a school or church. Repealed 2004

• Oral sex is considered a crime against nature.

• Organizations may not hold their meetings while the members present are in costume.

• Persons in possession of illegal substances must pay taxes on them.

• Serving alcohol at a bingo game is not allowed.

• The mere possession of a lottery ticket is illegal in North Carolina and may result in a $2,000 fine. Repealed 2009

• While having sex, you must stay in the missionary position and have the shades pulled.

• Barber--
Fights between cats and dogs are prohibited.

• Chapel Hill--It is a misdemeanor to urinate or defecate publicly.

• Charlotte--Women must have their bodies covered by at least 16 yards of cloth at all times.

• Dunn--Cars may not be driven on sidewalks. \ It is illegal to throw rocks at a city street.

• Forest City--You must stop and call City Hall before entering town in an automobile.

• Greensboro--Restaurants “with on sidewalk dining” must post their menu so that it is clearly readable from the sidewalk, but is not readable from the street.

• Kill Devil Hills--You may not ride a bicycle without having both your hands on the handle bars.

• Rocky Mount--It is required that you must pay a property tax on your dog.

• Zebulon--No person may walk on top of the water tank of the city.

OK Then…

 

Harper’s Index 

The last year the World Series winning team didn’t have at least one player implicated in performance-enhancing-drug use: 2005

Unusual Fact of the Day

Tattoos have been around for a long time. Ancient Greeks used them to brand spies, Romans used them to mark slaves, Mori (Japan) used them as symbols of rank and lineage, and Ainu women were tattooed as a prerequisite for marriage and the afterlife.

Joke-of-the-day

Bob Hill and his new wife Betty were vacationing in Europe, as it happens, near Transylvania. They were driving in a rental car along a rather deserted highway. It was late, and raining very hard. Bob could barely see 20 feet in front of the car.

Suddenly the car skids out of control! Bob attempts to control the car, but to no avail! The car swerves and smashes into a tree. Moments later, Bob shakes his head to clear the fog. Dazed, he looks over at the passenger seat and sees his wife unconscious, with her head bleeding! Despite the rain and unfamiliar countryside, Bob knows he has to carry her to the nearest phone.

Bob carefully picks his wife up and begins trudging down the road. After a short while, he sees a light. He heads towards the light, which is coming from an old, large house. He approaches the door and knocks. A minute passes. A small, hunched man opens the door. Bob immediately blurts, "Hello, my name is Bob Hill, and this is my wife Betty. We've been in a terrible accident, and my wife has been seriously hurt. Can I please use your phone?"

"I'm sorry," replied the hunchback, "but we don't have a phone. My master is a doctor; come in and I will get him!"

Bob brings his wife in. An elegant man comes down the stairs. "I'm afraid my assistant may have misled you. I am not a medical doctor; I am a scientist. However, it is many miles to the nearest clinic, and I have had a basic medical training. I will see what I can do. Igor, bring them down to the laboratory."

With that, Igor picks up Betty and carries her downstairs, with Bob following closely. Igor places Betty on a table in the lab. Bob collapses from exhaustion and his own injuries, so Igor places Bob on an adjoining table. After a brief examination, Igor's master looks worried.

"Things are serious, Igor. Prepare a transfusion." Igor and his master work feverishly, but to no avail. Bob and Betty Hill are no more.

The Hills' deaths upset Igor's master greatly. Wearily, he climbs the steps to his conservatory, which houses his grand piano. For it is here that he has always found solace. He begins to play, and a stirring, almost haunting, melody fills the house.

Meanwhile, Igor is still in the lab tidying up. His eyes catch movement, and he notices the fingers on Betty's hand twitch, keeping time to the haunting piano music. Stunned, he watches as Bob's arm begins to rise, marking the beat! He is further amazed as Betty sits straight up! Unable to contain himself, he dashes up the stairs to the conservatory. He bursts in and shouts to his master: "Master, Master! The Hills are alive with the sound of music!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

THE TRASH RULE OF THREE

You have to look through a wastebasket three times to find a missing piece of paper.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

DOUGLAS, Mich. - The manager of a Michigan motel said a trio of "well-dressed grandmas" were behind the theft of more than 100 cookies baked for a contest. Rusty Ross, general manager of the Blue Star Motel in Douglas, said the cookies were made for a "best cookie" competition among 18 local motels, but the Blue Star's first foray into competitive cookies was canceled when three women pulled off a heist, WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids, reported Tuesday. "A spritz butter cookie is what it was," Ross said. "A group of ladies showed up. One of the ladies asked if they could see a room, so I showed her the room." Ross said the other two women made off with the cookies while he was showing the room. He said the woman who asked to see the room left without booking a reservation or even giving her name. "If it was kids, maybe you'd say it was funny because the kids took it, but these were well-dressed grandmas, older-looking women," he said. Police are investigating and Ross said the motel is offering a free stay to anyone who offers information leading to the suspects.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Marcel Marceau's greatest-hits album consisted of 40 minutes of silence, followed by applause.

• When he needed inspiration, Ludwig van Beethoven poured water on himself.

• Mozart wrote a piano piece that required the player to use both hands and his nose.

• The original jukeboxes came with earphones - only one person could listen at a time.

• Singer Wayne Newton is a descendant of Pocahontas.

• The musical Cats ran on Broadway for 18 years.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

10-17: Human Rights Week

Today Is                                                                      

·        Gingerbread House Day

·        National 12-hour Fresh Breath Day

·        National Ding-a-Ling Day

·        Poinsettia Day

~~~~~

·        Russia: Constitution Day (1993)

·        Mexico: Guadalupe Day (1531)

·        Turkmenistan: Neutrality Day (1995)

Today’s Events through History  

"Hello Dolly" with Barbra Streisand premieres…1969

Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek declares war on Japan…1936

National Negro Anthem, "Lift Every Voice & Sing", composed…1900

Pennsylvania becomes 2nd state to ratify US constitution…1787

QB Joe Namath last game as a NY Jet…1976

Sara Jane Moore pled guilty to trying to kill US President Gerald Ford…1975

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Bob Barker, game show emcee (Price is Right) is 90

Connie Francis, singer/actress (Where the Boys Are) is 75

Dionne Warwick, singer (Solid Gold, Way to San Jose) is 73

Sheree J Wilson, actress (Our Family Honor, Dallas) is 55

Remembered for being born today

John Jay, American statesman, 1st US Chief Justice [1745-1829]

Henry Wells, founder (American Express Co & Wells Fargo & Co) [1805-1878]

Edward G Robinson, [Goldenberg], Romania, actor (10 Commandments) [1893-1973]

Frank Sinatra, Hoboken New Jersey, American singer/actor (old blue eyes) [1915-1998]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Van Johnson, American actor…2008…@92

John Craig, Scottish church reformer/James VI's court vicar…1600…@88

Robert Browning, English poet (Ring & Book)…1889…@77

Ike Turner, American singer, abusive husband of Tina Turner…OD…2007…@76

Mo Udall, AZ Representative…1998…@76

Peter Boyle, actor (Everybody Loves Raymond)…cancer…2007…@71

Johnny Lee, actor (Calhoun-Amos 'n' Andy)…heart attack…1965…@67

Tallulah Bankhead, actress (All Star Revue)…pneumonia…1968…@66

Anne Baxter, actress (Myra-Marcus Welby, Victoria-Hotel)…stroke…1985…@62

Jack Cassidy, actor (Oscar/Jetman-He & She)…fire…1976…@49

Ian Stewart, keyboardist/road mgr (Rolling Stones)…heart attack…1985…@47

Brain Teasers

Trimethylxanthine is also known as caffeine.

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  §