4-3-13

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Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 14/ Day: 93   Today: H 58°…L 25°

Averages: H  54° L 26° Records: H 72°(1966)…L -2°(1975)

Wind: ave:   10mph; Gusts:  33mph  Ave. humidity:  51%

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

1st airplane flight over Mt Everest…1933

1st portable cell phone call is made in New York City, United States…1973

American Old West: Outlaw Jesse James is killed by Robert Ford…1882

Fidel Castro's rebels attacked Havana…1958

Harry Harry Truman signs Marshall Plan ($5B aid to 16 European countries)…1948

North Atlantic Treaty, pact signed by US, Britain, France & Canada…1949

Pony Express began between St Joseph Mo & Sacramento…1860

Revenue Marine Service (US Coast Guard), created…1790

Spanish unemployment reaches record high, youth unemployment stands at 50%...2012

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

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

Free Rambling Thoughts   

A good spring day. Wind gusts were thankfully few and far between.

 

I was reminded today of my life in the 1960’s. Back then, while I was working, I would get a check and deposit into my savings account with some put in my checking account. I would always be reminded by the teller that the money would not be available for about a week. I thought then, that was a little crazy, but, after working as a manager of the grocery store, I sort of understood why. We would get lots of ‘bad checks’, usually for ‘lack of funds’ Today I went to an ATM and deposited two cashier’s checks into the machine. On the receipt it said the money would not be available until April 11. I should have walked inside and deposited them with the teller. Had I done that, and been told the same thing, I would have had someone to argue with. First, they were cashier’s checks and second, it is 2013 and the checks should be able to clear faster than 10 days. Oh well. I’m sure it is just that the computer pops that out on every check deposited and they will clear much faster.

 

Last night I decided to use my DVR to copy Dancing with the Stars. I enjoy the dancing, but don’t watch the ‘story’, the commercials, or the endless babbling. In the past I have jumped between two shows to miss all the stuff I don’t like. So about ½ way through, the Phoenix channels stop working. I was watching another show, but had switched to a Phoenix channel during a commercial. After about 15 minutes it was still off, so I called the cable company. They answered right away…with a recording. I put in my phone number and was told that my cable box wasn’t working and that I could press 1 to schedule an appointment or press 2 to sign up for insurance. Pressing 1 means I pay $40 for a visit, pressing 2 means I pay $4/month with unlimited visits. I could press 3 to talk to a technician. I then had to wait 20 minutes for a techie. Thank goodness I have a speaker phone. The guy has no idea how long the Phoenix stations will be out. I told him I didn’t like the choices, since I knew my cable box was working as I was watching TV. His response was that it was a new system and needed tweaking. He assured me that had I pressed 1, the tech would have called to see if my box was working before coming out and I wouldn’t be charged. Of course if I had pressed 2 I would be charged for ever to the insurance. What a scam. If I didn’t have so many trees, I would have satellite TV.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

What's the rebus, here: J, ____ & Titanic

****

Hint: See the first two items (J & ___) in terms of what they look like and not what they are, necessarily, as keyboard characters.

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Jane Goodall: A Retrospective

• Pinky Lee 1950s Kids TV Star

Origins of Phrases

As happy as a clam

Meaning: 

Very happy and content.

Origin: 

Why would clams be happy? It has been suggested that open clams give the appearance of smiling. The derivation is more likely to come from the fuller version of the phrase, now rarely heard - 'as happy as a clam at high water'. Hide tide is when clams are free from the attentions of predators; surely the happiest of times in the bivalve mollusc world. The phrase originated in the north-eastern states of the USA in the early 19th century. The earliest citation that I can find is from a frontier memoir The Harpe's Head - A Legend of Kentucky, 1833:

"It never occurred to him to be discontented... He was as happy as a clam."

The first record that I can find of the 'high water' version is from the Pennsylvania newspaper The Adams Sentinel, August 1844:

"Crispin was soon hammering and whistling away as happy as a clam at high water."

The expression was well-enough known in the USA by the late 1840s for it to have been included in John Russell Bartlett's Dictionary Of Americanisms - A Glossary of Words And Phrases Usually Regarded As Peculiar To The United States, 1848:

"As happy as a clam at high water," is a very common expression in those parts of the coast of New England where clams are found.

Also in 1848, the Southern Literary Messenger from Richmond, Virginia expressed the opinion that the phrase "is familiar to everyone".

Ok, then?

Harper’s Index    

• Estimated minimum cost to make and market Pert Jackson’s film trilogy adaptation of The HObbitt: $1,000,000,000
• Amount New Zealand’s tourism board has spent to promote the nation as ‘100 percent Middle Earth’: $8,200,000

Picture of the Day: Rainforest Primates

Unusual Fact of the Day

The city of Austin, Texas, was originally named "Waterloo."

Joke-of-the-day

One day the first grade teacher was reading the story of Chicken Little to her class. She came to the part of the story where Chicken Little tried to warn the farmer. She read, ".... and so Chicken Little went up to the farmer and said, "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!"

The teacher paused then asked the class, "And what do you think that farmer said?"

One little girl raised her hand and said, "I think he said: 'Holy Mackerel! A talking chicken!'"

The teacher was unable to teach for the next 10 minutes.

Rules of Thumb:   

 PLANNING PARTIES

 Only half of those you invite to a large social gathering, such as a wedding or retirement party, will come. But expect a 90 percent turnout if you're inviting a small, select group of friends or family. If it's a child's party, plan on at least one uninvited brother or sister tagging along.

Yeah, It Really Happened

A flagrantly fragrant New Jersey man was arrested after he allegedly stole $117,000 worth of perfume.Juan Bernal, 52, allegedly employed a 17-year-old boy to help him pull off the haute heist. The two are accused of loading thousands of bottles swiped from Cosmetics Essence Innovations in Holmdel into an SUV, according to Patch.
The unidentified juvenile was reportedly enlisted to help Bernal load the bottles into the back of the SUV, NJ.com reports. It's unclear how the two got caught, but they were both arrested that night.
Bernal was held in the Monmouth County jail on $100,000 bail.
If that's not the weirdest heist of the year so far, this is: in January, two storage workers in Georgia allegedly stole $65,000 worth of chicken wings, just days before the Super Bowl and amid a nationwide chicken wing shortage.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Most landfilled trash retains its original weight, volume, and form for 40 years.

• New Jersey, with 96, is the US state with the greatest number of hazardous waste sites.

• Quito in Ecuador, South America, is said to have the most pleasant climate in the world. It is called the 'Land of Eternal Spring.' The temperature rarely drops below 46 degrees Fahrenheit during the night, or exceed 72 degrees Fahrenheit during the day.

• St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest city in the US.

• Talking on a cellular phone while driving is against the law in Israel.

• The 1st US zoo was built in Philadelphia, PA, in 1876.

• The abbreviation 'ORD' for Chicago's O'Hare airport comes from the old name 'Orchard Field.'

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

31-4/6

National Week Of The Ocean

1-7

The APAWS Pooper Scooper  Week
Explore Your Career Options
Golden RuleWeek 
Laugh at Work Week
Medication Safety Week

Today Is                                                                      

Find A Rainbow Day
Pony Express Day
Tweed Day
Weed Out Hate: Sow The Seeds of Greatness Day
Whole Grain Sampling Day

World Party Day 
National Day of Hope
National Walking Day
Paraprofessional Appreciation Day

Don't Go To Work Unless It's Fun Day

Today’s Events through History  

Egyptian Pres Anwar Sadat 1st meeting with President Jimmy Carter…1977

House of Reps accepts American Creed written by William Tyler…1918

Union forces occupy Confederate capital of Richmond Va & Petersberg…1865

Vic Elliot pocketed 15,780 pool balls in 24 hours in London…1985

Washington receives honorary Ll.D. degree from Harvard College…1776

White settlers have started moving onto SIOUX lands, near New Ulm, Minnesota. 

     In an effort to improve their illegal standing, today, they petition President 

     Lincoln for protection against the Indians…1861

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 90’s

Doris Day, Cincinnati Oh, "girl next door" actress (Pillow Talk) is 91

In their 70’s

Jane Goodall, London England, ethologist (studied African chimps) is 79

Wayne Newton, American singer is 71

In their 60’s

Tony Orlando, NYC, singer (& Dawn-Tie a Yellow Ribbon) is 69

In their 50’s

Alec Baldwin, actor is 55

Eddie Murphy, actor (SNL, 48 Hours, Beverly Hills Cop, Raw) is 52

In their 40’s

Picabo Street, skier (Olympic-gold-94) ia 42           

Remembered for being born today

Marlon Brando, actor (Superman, Godfather) [1924-2004]

Iron Eyes Cody, actor (Black Gold, Ernest Goes to Camp) [1904-1999]

John Demjanjuk, Ukrainian-born American auto worker, Nazi convicted war 

     criminal [1920-2012]

Bud Fisher, cartoonist (Mutt & Jeff) [1885-1954]

George Jessel, toastmaster general/entertainer (Diary of Young Comic) [1898-1991]

Washington Irving, US writer (Legend of Sleepy Hollow) [1793-1859]

William Macy "Boss" Tweed, corrupt political boss (NYC) [1823-1878]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Betty Furness, actress/ consumer reporter news (WNBC)…stomach 

     cancer…1994…at 78

Pinky Lee, kiddie host (Pinky Lee Show)…heart attack…1993…at 85

Terence McKenna, American writer and philosopher…brain cancer…2000…at 53

Jean Petitot, Swiss enamel painter…1691…at 84

Sarah Vaughn, jazz singer…lung cancer…1990…at 66

Answer: Brain Teasers

Hook, line and sinker.

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  §