Mar 19, 2013

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Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 12/ Day: 78   Today: H 59°…L 28°

Averages: H  51° L 24° Records: H 68°(2004)…L -1°(1954)

Wind: ave:   14mph; Gusts:  36mph  Ave. humidity:  50%

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

1st museum devoted exclusively to atomic energy, Oak Ridge, Tn►1949

4 people buried by avalanche for 37 days, 3 survive (Italy) ►1775

800 killed as Kamikaze attacked USS Franklin off Japan►1945

Arizona outside of Phoenix begins using new area code 520►1995

Chicago 8 indicted in aftermath of Chicago Democratic convention►1969

FDR orders men between 45 & 64 to register for non military duty►1942

Nevada legalizes gambling►1931

Wendy's overtakes Burger King to become the second best selling hamburger chain►2012

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

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

Free Rambling Thoughts   

A decent Monday…not great…just decent. Weather continues to be good. Glad I’m not in NYC…my brother posted some pretty wet pictures of rain and snow.

 

Life is certainly crazy sometimes. Last night on The Bible, Satan was in the cast. Many on the internet machine are saying that the actor looks a lot like our President. The people who made the series say that it is stupid and nothing was intended. Yet conspiracy people on both sides are claiming it was not accident. I’ll let the media fight this one out. I’m sure the far right will be using it to their best advantage.

 

So happy to hear that people are moving away from much of the mainstream media, as it is no longer producing news programming. We hear what they want us to hear, when they want us to hear it. 24/7 news isn’t meeting the challenge. Newspapers have their lowest staff in decades, and on TV, if it doesn’t make money, forget it.  Sad indeed.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

A cat had three kittens: Mopsy, Topsy and Spot. What was the mother's name. ***Hint: Consider the punctuation.

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• William Jennings Bryan's Cross of Gold Speech

• Remembering Edgar Rice Burroughs

from Cracked.com

Famous People With Creepy Secret Obsessions

Sammy Davis Jr. Worshiped the DevilThe Lincolns Summoned the DeadJoan Rivers: GhostbusterDaryl Hall Is a WarlockThe Reagans Ruled Through the Power of Numerology

Ok, then?

Harper’s Index    

• Percentage of public US colleges and universities whose tuition has increased by more than half in the past five years: 15

• Portion of its campuses that the University of Phoenix, a for profit institution, plans to ‘phase out’ beginning this year: 1/2

Picture of the Day: Mammals of the Sea

Unusual Fact of the Day

The book Bambi: A Life in the Woods, on which the Disney movie was based, was translated from German to English by Whittaker Chambers, the famous Soviet spy.

Joke-of-the-day

A new miracle doctor was in town. He could cure anything and anybody, and everyone was amazed. Everyone except for Mr. Smith, the town’s grouch. So Mr. Smith went to this 'miracle doctor' to prove that he wasn't anybody special. So he goes and tells the doctor, "Hey, doc, I have lost my sense of taste. I can't taste nothing', so what are you going to do?"

The doctor scratches his head and mumbles to himself a little, then tells Mr. Smith, "What you need is jar number 43."

Jar number 43? Mr. Smith wonders. So the doctor brings the jar and tells Mr. Smith to taste it. He tastes it and immediately spits it out, "This is gross!" he yells.

"I just restored your sense of taste Mr. Smith," says the doctor.

So Mr. Smith goes home very mad. One month later, Mr. Smith goes back to the doctor along with a new problem, "Doc," he starts, "I can't remember!"

Thinking he got the doctor, the doctor scratches his head and mumbles to himself a little and tells Mr. Smith, "What you need is jar number 43..."

Before the doctor finished his sentence, Mr. Smith fled the office.

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

GETTING THINGS DONE

Make a new "to do" list every day from your larger list of projects, goals, and things to do. If an item gets transferred from one daily list to the next ten times, drop it. There's a reason you're avoiding the item, and your time would be better spent reassessing your motives.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

Police were dispatched to the Sun and Surf Motel after getting a report about a distraught and armed woman who had threatened suicide.

It wasn't exactly suicide on her mind since the report says the incident started with an argument she had with her boyfriend over another woman.

The woman, Heather D. Beaver of Sylvania, GA., and her boyfriend had been out drinking most of the day when the argument happened. After the couple returned to their hotel room, Beaver reportedly continued to argue with her boyfriend, who decided to call the cops.

That is when Beaver began throwing bullets. Apparently she is not very familiar with how handguns work.

Despite the minimum risk from the low-velocity bullets he wisely decided to leave the room. When police arrived things started to escalate. Beaver barricaded herself inside the room and started to fire off rounds, occasionally opening the door to scream and threaten suicide.

Cops responded with four canisters of tear gas. Beaver then made the mistake of firing several more rounds in the direction of police.

Finally, Beaver threw the gun down and gave up. She is now facing charges including Attempted Murder of Law Enforcement Officers.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Irish soda bread gets its name and distinctive character from the use of baking soda rather than yeast as a leavening agent.

• The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in the United States on March 17, 1762, when Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City.

• In Ireland on St. Patrick's Day, people traditionally wear a small bunch of shamrocks on their jackets or caps. Children wear orange, white and green badges, and women and girls wear green ribbons in their hair.

• The harp is the symbol of Ireland. The color green is also commonly associated with Ireland, also known as "the Emerald Isle."

• The name "lephrechaun" has several origins. It could be from the Irish Gaelic word "leipreachan," which means "a kind of aqueous sprite." Or, it could be from "leath bhrogan," which means "shoemaker." 

• Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

17-23

Campfire USA Birthday Week
Consider Christianity Week
Health Information Professionals Week
National Animal Poison Prevention Week
National Inhalant and Poisons Awareness Week
Root Canal Awareness Week
18-24

Act Happy Week
American Chocolate Week
Flood Awareness Week
Wellderly Week
Wildlife Week
World Folktales & Fables Week

Today Is                                                                       

National Agriculture Day

National Chocolate Caramel Day

National Quilting Day

Operation Iraqi Freedom Day

Swallows Return to San Juan Capistrano Day

~Iran: National Day of Oil

~US: Florida: Save the Florida Panther Day

Today’s Events through History  

1st US bank robbery (City Bank, NY/$245,000) ►1831

Britain's 1st planetarium opens at Madame Tussaud's in London►1958

Congress authorizes time zones & approves daylight saving time►1918

Invasion of Iraq by American and British led coalition begins without 

     United Nations support►2003 

Massachusetts colony founded by Englishmen►1628

Penn is 1st state to allow girls to compete with boys in HS sports►1975

Pluto photographed for 1st time (although unknown at the time) ►1915

PTL leader Jim Bakker resigns after sex scandal with Jessica Hahn►1987

Winnie Mandela divorces Nelson after 38 years of marriage►1996

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 70’s

Ursula Andress, actress (She, Sensuous Nurse) is 77

In their 60’s

Glenn Close, actress (The Big Chill, Fatal Attraction) is 66

In their 50’s

Bruce Willis, actor (Moonlighting, Die Hard) is 58

Remembered for being born today

Tige Andrews, actor (Capt Adam Greer-Mod Squad) [1920-2007]

William Jennings Bryan, "The Great Commoner" orator/statesman [1860-1925]

Richard F. Burton, explorer/translator (Arabian Nights) [1821-1890]

Wyatt Earp, sheriff (OK Corral) [1848-1929]

Adolf Eichmann, Nazi Gestapo officer [1906-1962]

David Livingstone, Scotland, explorer (found by Stanley in Africa) [1813-1873]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Louis Broglie, French physicist (Nobel 1929) ►1987►at 94

Edgar Rice Burroughs, sci-fi author (Tarzan of the Apes)►heart attack►1950►at 74

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, English science fiction author [2001:Space Odyssey] 

     and inventor►2008►at 90

Anne Klien, fashion designer►breast cancer►1974►at 50

Randy Rhoads, heavy metal guitarist (Ozzy Osbourne) ►air crash►1982►at 25

Answer: Brain Teasers

 What

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  §