11/30/13


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Flagstaff Almanac:
Week: 48 / Day: 334   
Today: L 20°…H 48°… Ave. humidity: 63%
Wind: ave:   8mph; Gusts:  11mph  
Average Low: 19° Record Low:  -3° (1975)
Average High: 46° Record High:  66° (1995)

Quote of the Day


Today’s Historical Highlights
16,000 inhabitants of Venice died this month of plague…1630
1st commercially successful AC electric power plant opens, Buffalo…1886
1st use of videotape on TV (Douglas Edwards & the News)…1956
Beijing hit by Earthquake; about 100,000 die…1731
Britain signs agreement recognizing US independence…1782
Cnut (or Canute), king of Denmark, claims the English throne the death of 
     Edmund 'Ironside'…1016
Folies Bergère stages its first revue…1886
Impeachment trial of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase begins…1804
Jackie Robinson charges NY Yankees with racism…1952
Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings finally loses, leaving with $2,520,700 USD, 
     television's all-time biggest game show haul…2004
Lucy, Australopithecus, most complete early human skeleton is discovered in Ethiopia…1974
Pike Place Market dedicated in Seattle…1907
Senator Eugene McCarthy begins run for US presidency…1967
UN General Assembly (151-2) censures US for refusing PLO's Arafat visa…1988
US Pres Harry Truman threatens China with atom bomb…1950

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   
How many can you identify? Answers in Today’s Birthdays
 
My Free Rambling Thoughts   
So glad I am old-er and no longer have to worry about Black Friday craziness. I did do some shopping today, around 11am and this little mountain town didn’t seem to have crowds or any more crazies than usual. I read on the internet machine where the term ‘Black Friday’ came from…maybe. It is said to have started by the Philadelphia Police Dept in the late 1960’s who were talking about the dark side of the day…the crowds, the accidents, hassles. The retail machine then turned it around so that people began to believe it was called that because that was the day that retail business went from red to black on their profit statement. I also heard CNN calling Thanksgiving as ‘Gray Thursday’ with the number of stores opening on the holiday to get more sales. I have to say that it is time for the stores to give their employees a break and let them have this holiday. Some workers had to work 11 hours yesterday (last night into early this morning). What kind of memories are the kids of these workers going to have of Thanksgiving? I’m sure they will hear crazy stories about the people who actually showed up at midnight to shop.  Change is difficult for all of us, and as long as shoppers show up and even campout for days ahead of time, the stores will keep opening earlier and earlier…and for the most part, the owners, CEO’s, and top management of those stores will continue to have Thanksgiving with their families, while those at the bottom will continue to work. Good news from all this…last week Pizza Hut fired a store manager who refused to open on Thanksgiving so that his employees could be with family. Thanks to the internet machine, Pizza Hut rehired him yesterday.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
What's the rebus shown by this display below? My---------Your 10:30
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

Very Strange Laws…Delaware
  • “R” rated movies shall not be shown at drive-in theaters.
  • It is illegal to fly over any body of water, unless one is carrying sufficient supplies of food and drink.
  • Lewes--It is illegal to wear pants that are “firm fitting” around the waist. \ Getting married on a dare is grounds for an annulment.
  • Rehoboth Beach--No person shall change clothes in his or her vehicle. \ On Halloween, children may only “trick-or-treat” from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and if Halloween falls on a Sunday, they must “trick-or-treat” on October 30 during this same time interval. \ One may not whisper in church. \ No person shall pretend to sleep on a bench on the boardwalk. \ Changing into or out of a bathing suit in a public restroom is prohibited. \ Six-year-old girls may not run around without being fully clothed. \ Alcohol may not be served in nightclubs if dancing is occurring on the premises at the same time.
  • South Bethany--All persons must carry a bag with them at all times when they walk their dog in case said dog “poops”, or risk a $100 fine.

OK Then…
 
Harper’s Index 
  • Percentage of Americans who believe journalists contribute ‘not very much’ or ‘nothing at all’ to society: 37
  • Percentage who say that using social media hs never made them better about themselves: 60

Unusual Fact of the Day
Al Capone estimated that he spent $30 million a year to pay off judges, police, elected officials, and newspapermen.


Joke-of-the-day
A man enters his local bar holding a frog and an iguana. He sets them down on the bar and says to the bartender, "I bet you $1000 that my frog here can sing any song you can think of."
"Ok," says the bartender. "How 'bout 'Blue Moon'?"
The man whispers something to the frog, and the frog starts singing blue moon.
"That's amazing," says the bartender as he slaps down $1000.
"I'll bet ya another $1000 that my iguana here can do that to."
"Ok, I can believe a frog, but not an iguana. You're on. Have him sing the Star Spangled Banner."
The man whispers something to the iguana and it sings the Star Spangled Banner.
As the bartender hands over another $1000, a businessman comes up and says, "I just saw that and I was amazed. I want to buy your iguana for $100,000."
The man said ok, and he exchanged the iguana for the money and the businessman left.
The bartender said "What are you nuts?! You could have made millions with that iguana!"
The man said "Oh, the iguana can't sing. The frog's a ventriloquist."  
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
CONSULTING
A consultant should never charge for less than half a day of work.    
Yeah, It Really Happened
MINNEAPOLIS - A Minneapolis doctor preparing to celebrate her birthday on Thanksgiving Day said her parents, "hippies," named her Happy Thanksgiving Reynolds. Reynolds, 43, a family physician, said her parents gave her the unusual name when she was born on Thanksgiving when the holiday fell on the same date 43 years ago, the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press reported Monday. "I was the child of hippies," Reynolds said. She said they decided the universe was helping them name their newborn. "It was total universe magic time for them," Reynolds said. Reynolds said she has learned to love her name, which she described as an "unintentional gift." She said she has gotten job interviews just because employers were curious to meet someone named Happy Thanksgiving. "I'm someone you're not going to forget based on the name," she said.  
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • The last reel-to-reel tape manufacturer in America closed its doors in January 2005.
  • According to Billboard magazine, the number one single of the 1960s was "Hey Jude," by the Beatles.
  • Music videos were originally known as telerecords.
  • Mick Jagger had the emerald filling on his front tooth replaced with a diamond because people kept telling him he had spinach in his teeth.
  • Deborah Harry of Blondie worked briefly as a Playboy bunny. And in case you didn't suspect, she's really a brunette.
  • In 2004 Congress passed a $388 billion spending bill that included $25,000 for the study of mariachi music.

Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
22-28: National Farm-City Week
24-30: Better Conversation Week / Church-State Separation Week / National Bible Week / National Family Week  /National Game & Puzzle Week

Today Is                                                                      
·        Computer Security Day
·        National Meth Awareness Day
·        Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Annual Lighting
·        Small Business Saturday
·        Stay Home Because You're Well Day
~~~~~
·        Barbados: Independence Day (1966 from UK)

Today’s Events through History  
109 U boats sunk this month (729,000 ton)…1942
Protests against the WTO meeting In Seattle, catch police unprepared; force the 
     cancellation of opening ceremonies…1999
Roman Catholics banned from English parliament…1678
U Thant of Burma elected 3rd Secretary-General of UN unanimously…1962

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
Efren Zimbalist Jr, actor (77 Sunset Strip, FBI, Scruples) is 95
Robert Guillaume, [Williams], actor (Benson, Soap) is 86
Paul Stookey, singer (Peter, Paul & Mary-Wedding Song) is 76
Paul Westphal, NBA guard (Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns)/coach is 63
Mandy Patinkin, actor/singer (Yentl, Alien Nation) is 61
Billy Idol, [William Broad], rocker (White Wedding) is 58
Bo Jackson, baseball/football player (KC Royals, LA Raiders) is 51
Ben Stiller, actor (Ben Stiller Show) is 48
Clay Aiken, American Idol winner is 35

Remembered for being born today
Jonathan Swift, Dublin, satirist (Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal) [1667-1745)
Mark Twain, [Samuel L Clemens], author (Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn) [1835-1910]
Winston Churchill, (C) British Prime Minister (Nobel 1953) [1874-1966]
Allan Sherman, parody singer/songwriter (Hello Muddah, Hello Fardah) [1924-1973]
Richard Crenna, LA Cal, actor (Rambo, Summer Rental, Sand Pebbles) [1926-2003]
Shirley Chisholm, (Rep-D-NY) 1st black congresswoman/pres candidate [1924-2005]
Virginia Mayo, actress (Out of the Blue, White Heat) [1920-2005]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Zeppo Marx, [Herbert], US comic (Marx Brothers)…cancer…1979…@78
Norman Cousins, editor (Saturday Review)…heart failure…1990…@75
Tiny Tim, [Herbert Khaury], entertainer (Tip Toe)…heart attack…1996…@71
Robert Craig ‘Evel’ Knievel, motorcycle daredevil…long illnesses…2007…@69
Oscar Wilde, Irish author…meningitis…1900…@46

Brain Teasers
Time is on my side.
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  §
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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.