12/7/13

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Flagstaff Almanac:

Week: 49 / Day: 341   

Today: L 4°…H 27°… Ave. humidity: 64%

Wind: ave:   11mph; Gusts:  21mph  

Average Low: 17° Record Low:  -19° (1978)

Average High: 45° Record High:  66° (1958)

Quote of the Day

 

Today’s Historical Highlights

Chiang Kai-shek flees to Taiwan…1949

Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways in the U.S. is completed to Trumbull…1696

Delaware becomes 1st state to ratify constitution…1787

Japanese attack on the US at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii…1941 

Lewis & Clark go on a buffalo hunt with Big White…1804

Microwave oven patented…1945

Otis Redding records "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay"…1967

Pres Jean-Claude Duvalier flees Haiti…1986

Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London…1732

US becomes 13th country to declare war on Austria during World War I…1917

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

Sure was frigid when I got up about 6am. It warmed up but not enough to spend a lot of time outside. Decided it was a good day to do some laundry and cleaning. Flag may be a little chillier than normal, but not as bad as many places around the US. Others are much colder and having a much harder time.

 

I am shocked to find that Nelson Mandela was on the terrorist watch list until 2008. Really?!? The man brought true bipartisan rule to his nation. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Congress gave him a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. He was honored around the US and throughout the world. Yet in 2003 the list was created after the events of 9/11 and basically consolidated a lot of US government agency watch lists into one. I have no idea when Mandela was put on the list, but surely when it was consolidated in 2003 his name should have been removed, since no bureaucrat had removed it before that. Certainly in his early days he was labeled by many in his country and around the world saw him as a ‘terrorist’. But after his release from prison and his great work, someone should have removed his name. Since the current terrorist list has almost 1 million names, one has to wonder how many other great leaders are on the list. Embarrassed to be part of the system right now.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

In each sentence below, two words are incomplete. The two words end in the same three letters, so they look like they should rhyme, but they don't. See if you can figure out the missing letters in each sentence. Example: One symptom of bronchitis is a ro___ co___. (The two words are: rough & cough.)

1. A pig farmer's job could be called p___ w___. 2. A dog injury could be called a ho___ wo___. 3. For racing, a mixed ho___ is wo___ than a thoroughbred. 4. I he___ your be___ has been shaved into a goatee.

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Louis Prima Just a Gigolo & I Ain't Go Nobody

• Ted Knight's genius

• Col Potter (Harry Morgan)

• Dee Clark – Raindrops

Very Strange Laws…New Jersey

• All motorists must honk before passing another car, bicyclist, skater, and even a skateboarder.

• Automobiles are not to pass horse drawn carriages on the street.

• Car dealerships are forbidden from opening on Sunday.

• Drivers must warn those who they pass on highways before they do so.

• Handcuffs may not be sold to minors.

• If you have been convicted of driving while intoxicated, you may never again apply for personalized license plates.

• In an attempt to “foster kindness” in the citizens of New Jersey, the month of May is designated “Kindness Awareness Month”.

• It is against the law for a man to knit during the fishing season.

• It is against the law to “frown” at a police officer.

• It is illegal to delay or detain a homing pigeon.

• It is illegal to wear a bullet-proof vest while committing a murder.

• One must yield a phone line to a person if it is an emergency.

• Spray paint may not be sold without a posted sign warning juveliles of the penalty for creating graffiti.

• The third Thursday of October is designated as “New Jersey Credit Union Day” and citizens of the state should observe the day with “appropriate activities and programs”.

• You cannot pump your own gas.

• You may not slurp your soup.

• Blairstown--
  Shooting ranges are outlawed. \ No street-side trees may be planted that “obscure the air”. \ It is illegal to throw ashes on the sidewalk.

• Caldwell--
  You may not dance or wear shorts on the main avenue.

• Cranford--
  Citizens are not permitted to park their own boat on their lawn.

• Cresskill--
  All cats must wear three bells to warn birds of their whereabouts.

• Elizabeth--
  It is forbidden for a woman, on a Sunday, to walk down Broad Street without wearing a petticoat.

• Mount Laurel--
Climbing trees is prohibited in all city parks. \ It is illegal to get drunk and annoy others in your house.

• Newark--
  It is illegal to sell ice cream after 6pm, unless the customer has a note from his doctor.

• Trenton--
  You may not throw a bad pickle in the street. \ Pickles are not to be consumed on Sundays.

OK Then…

 

Harper’s Index 

• Date on which the Lebanese Psychiatric Society declared that homosexuality is not an illness: 7/11/2011

• Year in which the Iowa Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage: 2009

Unusual Fact of the Day

The cashew is in reality a seed. Native to Brazil, the cashew is the seed of a cashew apple and contains an irritant toxin in its shell similar to poison ivy. This requires it to be deshelled before being shipped off to market.

Joke-of-the-day

Answering the phone, the priest was surprised to hear the caller introduce herself as an IRS auditor.

“But we do not pay taxes,” the priest said. “It isn’t you, Father, it’s one of your parishioner, Sean McCullough. He indicates on his tax return that he gave a donation of $15,000 to the church last year. Is this, in fact, the truth?”

The priest smiled broadly. “The check hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m sure I’ll have it when I remind dear Sean.”

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

LISTENING TO STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

"Stairway to Heaven" lasts exactly as long as it takes to smoke a regular Marlboro (box not soft pack.)    

Yeah, It Really Happened

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Authorities in South Carolina said they arrested a 20-year-old man accused of assaulting his father during an argument about macaroni and cheese. The Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office said Brian Rossi, 54, told deputies the incident began Sunday when he was "trying to make some macaroni and cheese for dinner" and he "discovered that there was only pasta and no more cheese packets" left in the package. The sheriff's office report said Rossi told his son, Alex, 20, to "stop using all of the cheese packets" and the two men then engaged in an argument. Alex allegedly "ran after" his father during the argument "and began to punch him in the face and head," deputies wrote. The son "eventually took Brian to the ground and continued to hit him," the report said. Deputies said "Brian had a fresh laceration beneath his left eye with bruising and swelling" when they arrived at the home and Alex confirmed he and his father "were arguing over macaroni and cheese." The report said Alex told deputies he "did punch Brian in the face, but that Brian also punched him in the face." Alex Rossi, who had no visible injuries, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery. He was jailed in lieu of $1,097 bond.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Sir Isaac Newton invented the swinging door for the convenience of his cat.

• In ancient Rome it wasn't "officially" dark until you could no longer tell the difference between a dog and a wolf howling in the distance.

• A Persian cat named Precious survived for 18 days without food. She was found when rescue crews heard her cries - across the street from the site of the World Trade Center.

• Toy-breed dogs live an average of seven years longer than large breeds.

• Most dogs run an average of 19 mph.

• Ancient Egyptians could be put to death for mistreating a cat.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

1-7: Clerc-Gallaudet Week~~Cookie Cutter Week~~International Coelenterate Biology Week~~National Handwashing Awareness Week~~Recipe Greetings For The Holidays Week~~Tolerance Week

Today Is                                                                      

·        Cotton Candy Day

·        Earmuff Day or Chester Greenwood Day

·        International Civil Aviation Day National

·        Letter Writing Day

·        National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

·        Pearl Harbor Day

·        Skywarn Recognition Day

Today’s Events through History  

James Madison elected 4th US President and George Clinton Vice-President…1808

Leo Baekeland, Yonkers, patents 1st thermosetting plastic (Bakelite)…1909

Martin Van Buren elected 8th president…1836

Thomas A Edison demonstrates the gramophone…1877

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Eli Wallach, Brooklyn, actor (Magnificent 7, Misfits, People Next Door) is 98

Noam Chomsky, linguist (founded transformational grammar) is 85

Ellen Burstyn, actress (Exorcist, Alice Doesn't Live Here) is 81

Johnny Bench, baseball catcher (Reds) is 66

Priscilla Barnes, actress (License to Kill, 3s Company) is 58

Larry Bird, NBA star (Boston Celtics, 12-time NBA All Star) is 57

C Thomas Howell, actor (Red Dawn, Tank, Soul Man) is 47

Aaron Carter, singer and actor is 26

Remembered for being born today

Saint Columba, Irish Christian missionary to Scotland [521-597]

Rod Cameron, Calgary Alberta, actor (City Detective, State Trooper) [1910-1983]

Louis Prima, New Orleans, musician (That Old Black Magic) [1910-1978]

Ted Knight, actor (Mary Tyler Moore) [1923-1986]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Harry Morgan (Harry Bratsberg), actor (Colonel Potter-M*A*S*H)…2011…@96

Rube Goldberg, US cartoonist (Mike & Ike, Pulitzer 1948)…1970…@87

Jeane Kirkpatrick, American ambassador…heart failure…2006…@79

George Darwin, theorized Moon was pulled out of Pacific Ocean…1912…@67

Elizabeth Edwards, American lawyer and wife of John Edwards…cancer…2010…@61 

Delecta "Dee" Clark, US singer (Raindrops)…heart attack…1990…@52

Brain Teasers

1. pork work 2. hound wound 3. horse worse 4. heard beard

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  §