3-14-14

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Flagstaff Almanac: Day: 073   / Week: 11  

Today: L 23°…H 52°… Ave. humidity: 44%

     Wind: ave:   10mph; Gusts:  22mph  

     Average Low: 23° Record Low:  -4° (1990)

    Average High: 50° Record High:  69° (2007)

Quote of the Day

 

Today’s Historical Highlights

1493 - Columbus writes a letter describing the generous nature of the Indians 

     he has encountered. He will describe them as "men of great deference and kindness."

1743 - 1st American town meeting (Boston's Faneuil Hall)

1794 - Eli Whitney patents cotton gin

1812 - Congress authorizes war bonds to finance War of 1812

1885 - Gilbert & Sullivan's comic opera "Mikado" premieres in London

1900 - US currency goes on gold standard

1913 - John D Rockefeller gives $100 million to Rockefeller Foundation

1931 - 1st theater built for rear movie projection (NYC)

1936 - Federal Register, 1st magazine of the US government, publishes 1st issue

1958 - South Africa government prohibits the African National Congress

1964 - Dallas, Texas; Jack Ruby sentenced to death for Lee Harvey Oswald's murder

1983 - OPEC cut oil prices for 1st time in 23 years

1984 - Gerry Adams, of Sinn Féin, is seriously wounded in an assassination attempt-Belfast

1992 - Soviet newspaper "Pravda" suspends publication

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

Nice morning, then overcast this afternoon…hopefully some rain drops will be falling on my head before dark.

 

Cheryl and I had a good lunch. Her son and his family are headed for a 7 day cruise around Mexico’s west coast. I caught her up on my visit with our old boss. I had a great Rueben sandwich. Mary is down in Phx with her daughter and grandkids, having a great time.

 

OK, where is Rod Serling when we really need him? This whole Malaysia Airline mystery is really like an episode of Twilight Zone. Every day, even every few hours, we get new wrong information. This is so horrific for the families of those on that flight. Other international travelers must be wondering if it is safe to fly on a 777…the most commonly used plane on long haul flights. Without answers as to where the plane is, and why it can’t be found must have some travelers reconsidering their flights until answers are found. I’m glad we are not flying on a 777 when I travel to Cuba. A couple of days ago some news guy was interviewing some ‘expert’ on these kinds of searches. Basically the reporter said: we really don’t know much, except that the plane was not plucked out of the air by little green men in a spaceship. The ‘expert’ answered, with a grin: We don’t even know that for sure.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

In this teaser, I have given you a 9-letter word. Your job is to break up this word into 9 separate letters and place them on the dashes to spell a 7-letter word, a 5-letter word, and a 3-letter word. You can use each letter only once.

IMPASSIVE
_ E _ T _ G _ _ R _ S _ _ P _

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Albert Einstein on God

• Gerry Adams speaks in the Dáil

• Human Greed, Edward Abbey

• Make the Connection - J. Fred Muggs

• Quincy Jones – Exodus

• The Mikado (Finale)

• Wild kingdom. Anaconda!!

Remembering TV’s great shows

"The Golden Girls"--Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia proved that senior citizens can still swing.

Bizarre Facts about World’s Dictators

Bashar Al Assad, Computer Geek And Ophthalmologist

Bashar Al Assad is the enigmatic president of Syria. However, a look into the history and nature of the man in question raises some strange discoveries. Assad was the lesser-known brother in the family, overshadowed by his flashier older brother, who was to succeed as president. Assad studied computer sciences in his spare time and became head of the Syrian Computer Club as an unabashed “geek.”After graduating from high school, Assad proceeded to medical studies at the University of Damascus, conducting his residency in ophthalmology at the Tishreen military hospital. In 1992, the Syrian-born eye doctor began working at the Western Eye Hospital in London. Upon the death of his brother in a car crash in 1994, the pressure of succession fell to Assad. Although he had no political aspirations, Assad took the seat in 2000. A sham election was held and Assad switched from London eye doctor to the Syria’s new president and dictator.

Misconceptions of Medieval Figures

Joan Of Arc Didn’t Actually Fight In Battle

An unexpected but extraordinarily successful leader, Joan of Arc provided the French with some much needed morale during the Hundred Years’ War. Allegedly inspired by voices of saints, Joan was captured by the English and burned for heresy in 1431, but the French finally won the conflict around 30 years after her death. Joan of Arc never killed anyone. She didn’t even actually fight. Sure, she was on the front lines—and was wounded as a result—but she served as an inspirational figure for the French army, not a combatant. Donned in a specially-crafted suit of armor, Joan would raise aloft her iconic battle standard during combat to rally her troops on to victory. Joan of Arc was born around 1412 in Domremy, France, the daughter of a peasant farmer. Domremy itself was actually on the border between France and Burgundy, a hotbed of conflict. Joan visited a nearby town, Vaucouleurs, where she convinced a captain to allow her to travel to Chinon to visit the dauphin (heir to the throne), Charles. Whether he believed her testimony or not, Chinon put his trust in Joan. Joined by her brothers and French general La Hire, Joan and the French army liberated Orleans. She went on to inspire the French to several other major victories, ultimately leading to the coronation of Charles in Reims. Joan was also heavily involved in reforming the army. She expelled prostitutes and mandated church attendance and confession. She banned swearing, looting, and harassing. She played a major role in the army’s tactical decisions as well.Joan of Arc was canonized in 1920. Remembered as a national icon in France, her life is celebrated every second Sunday in May. She is also honored with a feast on May 30.

OK Then…

 

Harper’s Index 

Replacement cost of the munitions used by the US military in the first nine days of intervention in Libya: $25-,200,000

Unusual Fact of the Day

The winning word at the 1940 National Spelling Bee was "therapy."

Joke-of-the-day

True story from a Novell NetWire SysOp:

Caller: "Hello, is this Tech Support?"

Tech: "Yes, it is. How may I help you?"

Caller: "The cup holder on my PC is broken and I am within my warranty period. How do I go about getting that fixed?"

Tech: "I'm sorry, but did you say a cup holder?"

Caller: "Yes, it's attached to the front of my computer."

Tech: "Please excuse me if I seem a bit stumped. It's because I am. Did you receive this as part of a promotional, at a trade show? How did you get this cup holder? Does it have any trademark on it?"

Caller: "It came with my computer, I don't know anything about a promotional. It just has '4X' on it. “At this point the Tech Rep had to mute the caller, because he couldn't stand it. The caller had been using the load drawer of the CD-ROM drive as a cup holder, and snapped it off the drive!

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

IDENTIFYING A SEDGE

Sedges have edges (round rushes have none).    

Yeah, It Really Happened

Authorities say two students at a New York state college were charged with animal abuse after a dog was held upside down over a keg and forced to drink beer.

Police say one of the College at Brockport students held the black Labrador retriever over a keg and apparently forced the animal to drink from the tap during an off-campus party at a house in the village located 17 miles west of Rochester.

Another student took a photo and posted it on a Twitter account featuring stories and pictures from parties thrown by students enrolled at state colleges in New York.

The two men, both 20, were charged with torturing and injuring an animal. They were issued appearance tickets for town court.

The dog was taken by the local dog warden.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. She is from fictional Willows, Wis., and went to high school there.

• Barbie's boyfriend, Ken, showed up two years after Barbie in 1961. Ken and Barbie broke up on Valentine's Day in 2004 after being together more than 43 years. They rekindled their relationship on Valentine's Day 2011.

• The best-selling doll ever was the Totally Hair Barbie in 1992.

• She is 11.5 inches tall and weighs 7.35 ounces.

• Barbie has three sisters: Skipper, Stacie and Chelsea.

• Barbie's first pet was a horse named Dancer.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:
1-16

Iditarod Race
8-14
National Procrastination Week
Universal Women's Week
National Agriculture Week

9-15

Teen Tech Week
Girl Scout Week

International Brain Awareness Week
Stand Up! LGBT Awareness Week
11-17

Turkey Vultures Return to the Living Sign

Today Is                                                                      

·        International Ask A Question Day  

·        Potato Chip Day

·        Pi Day (as in the math pie = 3.14159265 etc.)

·        World Sleep Day

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·        Commonwealth Day (UK—since 1904)

Today’s Events through History  

1647 - Thirty Years' War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm.

1967 - JFK's body moved from temporary grave to a permanent memorial

1993 - 3,000th performance of "Nunsense"

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Frank Borman, astronaut (Gem 7, Ap 8)/CEO (Eastern Airline) is 86

Michael Caine, [Maurice J Micklewhite], actor (Alfie) is 81

Quincy Jones Jr, composer/singer (We Are The World) is 81

Billy Crystal, actor, writer, producer (Soap, City Slickers) is 66

Jerry Greenfield, American co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream is 64

J Fred Muggs, chimp (Today show) is 62

Chris Klein, actor (American Pie) is 35

Remembered for being born today

1804 - Johann Strauss, the Elder, Viennese violinist and composer (Radetzky March)

1864 - [John] Casey Jones, RR engineer (Ballad of Casey Jones)

1879 - Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate (theory of relativity)

1916 - Horton Foote, author, playwright and screenwriter

1920 - Hank Ketcham, cartoonist (Dennis the Menace)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Peter Graves [Aurness], actor (MI), 2010, @83

Marlin Perkins, TV host (Wild Kingdom), 1986, @80

George Eastman, US industrialist (Kodak-camera), suicide, 1932, @77

Murat B "Chic" Young, US comic strip artist (Blondie), 1973, @72

C V Wood Jr, theme park developer (Disneyland), cancer, 1992, @71

Ralph James, actor (Orson-Mork & Mindy), 1992, @67

Karl Marx, German philosopher (Communist Manifesto), pleurisy, 1883, @64

Edward Abbey (environmental author), after surgery, 1989, @62

Brain Teasers

1. VESTIGE 2. PRISM 3. SPA

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  §