2-7-14

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Flagstaff Almanac:

Week: 06 / Day: 038   

Today: L 16°…H 34°… Ave. humidity: 68%

Wind: ave:   10mph; Gusts:  14mph  

Average Low: 18° Record Low:  -18° (1903)

Average High: 45° Record High:  66° (1963)

Quote of the Day

 

Today’s Historical Highlights

1795 - 11th Amendment to US Constitution ratified, affirms power of states

1812 - 8.2 earthquake shakes New Madrid, Missouri

1818 - 1st successful US educational magazine "Academician," begins (NYC)

1839 - Henry Clay declares in Senate "I had rather be right than president"

1876 - War Department authorizes General Sheridan to start operations against the Indians.

1894 - The Cripple Creek miner's strike in CO

1914 - Charlie Chaplin debuts "The Tramp" in "Kid Auto Races at Venice"

1940 - Walt Disney's 2nd feature-length movie, "Pinocchio," premieres (NYC)

1943 - Shoe rationing begins in US (may purchase up to 3 more pairs in 1942)

1958 - Dodgers officially become the Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc

1959 - Castro proclaims new Cuban constitution

1962 - President Kennedy begins blockade of Cuba

1964 - Beatles land at NY's JFK airport, for 1st US tour

1964 - Cassius Clay becomes a black Moslem

1991 - The IRA launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street during a cabinet meeting.

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

Storm seems to be on track as it has started lightly snowing…as we are expecting up to 5” by morning. We got together for lunch and caught up on latest stuff.  Mary and I both had pics of our amaryllis that Cheryl got us for Christmas. We both planted them after the holiday, so we could enjoy. The only strange thing is that Mary’s was labeled as ‘pink’ and mine was labeled as ‘white’…and they are both a deep red. Cheryl said she bought 4 for people, and spent quite some time deciding on what color to get each recipient.  Then carefully wrapped each one with the right color. Everyone planted their plant and everyone had red flowers. Hmmm. I am very happy with mine, as is everyone else.  We are also very fed up with our state legislature…the newest bill they are pushing is one that lets any business to refuse service to anyone they feel are against the owner’s religious views. They claim it is about forcing business to provide contraceptive pills to women if the owner’s religion is against such things. But due to their inability to provide clear wording, it could mean that a store could refuse service to just about anybody, by claiming that customer doesn’t meet their religious or ethical standards. A woman could be refused service for buying underwear for her husband if the owner thinks she is buying them for herself. The owner could refuse to sell junk food to someone who is obese, believing that obesity is ethically wrong. Such a state we live in.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

If a bull swallows a bomb, which word is the most appropriate?  Shocking, abominable, terrifying, or scandalous?

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Beatles Arrive in USA February 7, 1964

• Chris Rock - Message for White Voters

• Henning – Metamorphosis

• Movie Legends - Buster Crabbe

• Pinocchio (1940) Trailer

• Ravi Shankar Hollywood Palace 1967

• THE REBEL, REMEMBERING NICK ADAMS

Remembering TV’s great shows:

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" For 25 years, Oprah created a safe space for both weighty issues and celebrity chat from the City of Broad Shoulders.

Phrases Shakespeare invented:

Barefaced Hamlet Ace 3 Scene 1

Words Shakespeare invented

RantDefinition: To talk loudly and in a way that shows anger: to complain in a way that is unreasonable
Origin: Derived from the Dutch "randten," meaning "talk foolishly."
Quote:"I'll rant as well as thou." – Hamlet

OK Then…

 

Harper’s Index 

• Average number of years an American suffering from depression waits before seeking treatment: 8

• Chance a middle aged American woman takes antidepressants: 1 in 4

Unusual Fact of the Day

Carly Simon’s dad is the Simon of Simon and Schuster.

Joke-of-the-day

Little Johnny and a friend were closely examining bathroom scales on display at the department store. “What’s it for?’ his friend asked.

“I don’t know,” little Johnny replied. “I think you stand on it and it makes you mad. At least it does that for my Mom and Dad.”  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

COMMUTING IN TOKYO

In Tokyo, a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips of less than 50 minutes. The same is true against trains, except during rush hours; then the break point is about 30 minutes. A motorcycle, ridden carefully but without regard for the law, is twice as fast as a car.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

Mexican public health officials in the northern state of Sonora have confirmed the first case of krokodil in the city of Nogales, which borders Arizona.

In January, Leticia Amparano Gamez, the state's director of mental health, said that an adult male who sought medical attention at a public clinic came in with skin lesions associated with intravenous use of krokodil, Mexican magazine Proceso reported.

Krokodil, which was first used in Russia, is made by cooking crushed codeine pills with household chemicals like paint thinner. The homemade drug contains impurities that damage the user's circulatory system, leaving scaly green scabs and causing flesh to rot off the bone.

Some experts believe the widely-reported spread of krokodil in the United States is overstated. They claim that injuries associated with the drug are actually caused by dirty needles.

Gamez said that the patient in question also used crystal meth, cocaine and heroin, according to Mexican news website Aristegui Noticias.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• There are several acronyms in our computer, such as MSF (Maintenance Source File) or (FFS) Flash File System. However, have you ever wondered while transferring files from your camera to your computer for what does the DCIM file stand? DCIM is a directory name in the Design rule for Camera File system, part of the file system for a digital camera and stands for ‘Digital Camera IMages”.

• The first photograph in the world was taken by Nicéphore Niépce between 1826 and 1827 in Le Gras in Eastern France. The title of the photo was “View from the window” and it was found by the historian Helmut Gernsheim, who discovered the photo in 1952 claiming that Nicéphore Niépce is the inventor of photography. It is said that Niépce took the photo in a dark room using a small disk covered with a specific photosensitive mix.

• “Pentheraphobia” is the disease related to the fear of a man for his mother-in-law. The word is derived from the Greek word ‘pethera’ which means mother-in-law. Some of the symptoms of ’Pentheraphobia’ are trembling, transpiration, nausea, fear of death, lack of control and too much stress. Doctors do not recommend drug treatment but alternative kind of treatment such as hypnosis or psychotherapy.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

☼1-7☼

African Heritage & Health Week

Solo Diners Eat Out Weekend
Women's Heart Week

☼2-8☼
Boy Scout Anniversary Week
Children's Authors & Illustrators Week
Dump Your Significant Jerk Week
International Coaching Week
Just Say No to PowerPoint Week
Publicity for Profit Week

☼3-7☼
International Networking Week
International Friendship Week 
National School Counseling Week 
☼7-14☼

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week 
Have A Heart for A Chained Dog Week  
Risk Awareness Week
Winter Olympics
Love Makes the World Go Round; But, Laughter Keeps Us From Getting Dizzy Week

Today Is                                                                      

·        Ballet Day

·        Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

·        Bubble Gum Day

·        "e" Day (math)

·        Girl Scout Cookie Day

·        Give Kids A Smile Day

·        Wave All Your Fingers At Your Neighbor's Day

·        Wear Red Day

+++++

·        Independence Day (Grenada-1974-from UK)

·        US: Cordova, Alaska: Ice Worm Weekend

Today’s Events through History  

1301 - Edward of Caernarion (later Edward II) becomes first (English) Prince of Wales

1891 - Great Blizzard of 1891 begins in England

1949 - Joe DiMaggio becomes 1st $100,000/year baseball player (NY Yankees)

1950 - Sen Joe McCarthy finds "communists" in US Ministry of Foreign Affairs

1970 - "Hollywood Palace," last airs on ABC TV

1983 - INUIT Circumpolar Conference is held at the United Nations.

1999 - Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan 

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Miguel Ferrer, Santa Monica CA, actor (Robocop) is 59

James Spader, actor (Endless Love, Wall St, Blacklist) is 54

Garth Brooks, country vocalist (No Fences, Double Live) is 52

Eddie Izzard, British actor and comedian is 52

Chris Rock, comedian (SNL, CB4, Boomerang) is 49

Steve Nash, NBA guard (Phoenix Suns/Lakers) is 40

Ashton Kutcher, actor (That 70’s Show, 2-1/2 Men) is 36

Remembered for being born today

1478 - Sir Thomas More, English statesman, humanist, and author

1804 - John Deere, blacksmith, founded Deere & Company

1812 - Charles Dickens, England, novelist (Oliver Twist, Tale of 2 Cities)

1867 - Laura Ingalls Wilder, Wisc, kid book author (Little House on Prairie)

1883 - Eubie Blake, ragtime composer/pianist (Memories of You)

1885 - Sinclair Lewis, novelist/social critic (Main Street, Nobel 1930)

1910 - Buster Crabbe, 400m US swimmer (Olympics-gold-1932), Capt Gallant

1917 - Dick Emery, London England, actor (Yellow Submarine, Loot, Baby Love)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Anne Morrow Lindbergh, author and aviator, wife of Charles, 2001, @94

Dale Evans, American actress and singer), 2001, @88

King Hussein of Jordan, lymphoma, 1999, @63

Ann Radcliffe (Ward), English poet/author of horror novels, asthma, 1823, @58

Doug Henning, Canadian magician, cancer, 2000, @52

Nick Adams, actor (The Rebel), ODs, 1968 @36

Brain Teasers

Abominable (a bomb in a bull) would be most appropriate.

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  §