11-5-14

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Almanac: Week: 45 \ Day: 309 
November Averages: 51° \ 22°

Holiday Observances Today:
Gunpowder Day
Guy Fawkes Day
**
Eid-Al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice - Islamic
Day of the First Shout for Freedom (El Salvador-1811)
All Saints Day (Sweden)
Guy Fawkes Day (England)
           
Quote of the Day

 Historical Highlights for Today
1872 - Ulysses S. Grant re-elected US President
1912 - Woodrow Wilson (D) defeats Theodore Roosevelt (Prog) & President Taft (R)
1940 - Pres FDR (D) wins unprecedented 3rd term beating Wendell Willkie (R)
1968 - Nixon (R) beats VP Humphrey (D) & George C Wallace for presidency
**
1492 - Christopher Columbus learns of maize (corn) from Indians of Cuba
1500 - Astronomer Copernicus observes a lunar eclipse in Rome
1605 - Gunpowder Plot; attempt to blow up King James I - leader Guy Fawkes tortured\executed
1639 – 1st post office in the colonies is set up in Massachusetts
1872 - Women's right to vote advocate Susan B Anthony votes for Ulysses S. Grant
1895 - 1st US patent granted for auto (George B Selden) for gasoline driven car
1895 - US state Utah accepts female suffrage
1912 - Arizona, Kansas & Wisconsin vote for female suffrage
1930 - Nobel for literature awarded to Sinclair Lewis for "Babbitt"
1930 - 3rd Academy Awards - "All Quiet on the Western Front"
1935 - Parker Brothers launches game of Monopoly
1973 - BART starts SF-Daly City train shuttle service
1974 - Ella Grasso (Ct) 1st woman US governor not related to previous governor
1992 - Bobby Fisher beats Boris Spassky to with Chess title in Belgrade
2006 - Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq sentenced to death
2007 - China's first lunar satellite, Chang'e 1 goes into orbit around the Moon.

·        •  •
  Birthdays Today:
How many can you identify? Answers below in Birthday’s Today



My Rambling Thoughts
A little chilly as I walked over to the polling place, about 2 blocks from my place. No line, my accountant was there voting too. Being on the liberal side of the scale and living in a very conservative state, my candidates don’t usually win, but I have stated my preference and do not fear retaliation for being against any certain candidate. I do live in a ‘liberal’ pocket of the state, but with the most recent gerrymandering of districts, our sane liberal voice is not always heard. I will be watching the results tonight and hope for the best.
With all the controversy over the Navajo Tribal election, the tribe has postponed the election of a new President until the language issue can be resolved. Sad commentary because the final decision didn’t come until late last week. They won’t be counting the early ballots for the President, but assume they will count the rest of the offices. The ruling had the 3rd place candidate to go against the 1st place candidate. Less than a day after that announcement, a lawsuit was filed to get the 3rd place candidate off the ballot. The new election is currently set for TBA. That in itself is a little frightening for the tribal citizens.
One of the couples in our discussion group needed to move a couple of pieces of furniture owned by my former financial advisor from the garage of their old house to the moving company that is taking stuff to SC. Easy job, took about an hour. Both items easily fit into my SUV and there was another guy there to help me load and unload the two pieces of a computer table.
When I left to vote I saw a city truck parked next to a water leak in our little street. Water was running out of the street. When I left to help my friends, there were three trucks at various locations on my street and on the side street to the highway. When I got back about 2 there was a note on my door that said the water would be turned off from 1p-5p and to get needed water for the day NOW. Well, I got back at 2pm so it was too late. Oh well, guess it is fixed because the barriers are down and no water is coming out onto the street.
·        •  •
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
I'm called by three letters
Though I have a long name.
I'm in all of you,
But I'm never the same.

I'm all coiled up
So that I am quite small,
But if you stretch me out
I'll be really tall.

I could be the root 
Of certain disease;
If man can unlock me
He'll solve many mysteries.         

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today




           
OK Then…

·        •  •
Paraphernalia 4 the Brain:     
Brief History…
The United States Won World War II against Germany.
Often portrayed as the mighty and unstoppable land and air forces that swamped hapless German defenders and bombed German cities to rubble, the facts show that the Soviet Union bore by far the biggest responsibility for defeating Nazi Germany in World War II.  Despite the American and British bombing campaign, German industry managed to actually increase production every month of the war until the last couple months.  The Soviets suffered perhaps 10 million military deaths (out of 26 million or so total) compared to 407,000 American military deaths (and that includes the Pacific).  Germany lost about 93% of their casualties fighting the Soviet Union!  Sure, we had a big role, but the fact is the Soviet Union beat the Germans. 

Dog Facts
-A group of pugs is called a grumble.
-Caucasian Mountain Dog (aka Russian Bear Dog) males reach over 200lb and have historically been used to hunt bears.

Educator’s Answers…
“How hard can it be? You have all summer off.”
A longer summer break is one of the benefits of choosing teaching as a career. But keep in mind, it’s not all summer. I spend weeks every July and August on professional development and curriculum planning. And during the school year, I work 12 hours a day all week long and at least one day every weekend. Add it up and our vacation days are about the same.

Flagstaff, AZ History…
From 1889
A number of citizens have not paid their School Tax. It is due by Nov. 8 and has not been “dropped,” as some would like to believe.
           
Gender Facts…
-According to a study, women ages 22 to 30 with no children and no spouse earned a higher median income than comparable men in 39 of the 50 largest U.S. cities in 2008.
-Men fall in love faster than women do.

Harper’s Index…
-Percentage of midterm campaign advertisements that have mentioned health care : 43
-That have mentioned women’s rights: 4
           
That’s Outrageous from Reader’s Digest…
911: the number called by a Texas women requesting that someone buy her cigarettes.

Religious Facts…
It's a common practice in southern India for a man to marry his elder sister's daughter.
The Bible is the most-shoplifted book in the world.

Rules of Thumb…
HOURLY SALARY VS YEARLY SALARY
An employee's salary in thousands of dollars a year is nearly equal to double their salary per hour. ($20/hour = $40,000/year.)
           
Unusual Fact of the Day…
The U.S. Census reports that Americans consume 150 million hot dogs over the average Fourth of July holiday.
·        •  •

Joke-of-the-day
There once was a "smart guy," a "not that smart guy," and an all-around "not smart at all guy." They were going to cross the Sahara Desert.
The "smart guy" says, "meet here in an hour with something useful to cross the desert with!"
Later on an hour passes. The "smart guy" says I brought some ice packs to keep our heads cool, the "not so smart guy" says I brought a pail of water to keep us hydrated.
The "not smart at all guy" says, "I brought a car door so I can roll the window down when it gets hot!"
Yep, It Really Happened
New York Times, 10-23-2014
Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks publisher of state secrets who remains holed up in the embassy of Ecuador in London, has signed on with an Icelandic licensing agent to sell Assange-branded high-end clothing, shoes and various household goods in India and much of Europe, and is negotiating to put his logo on apparel in Japan and the U.S. The agent told The New York Times in October that "WikiLeaks" and "Assange" "can be as big as Coca-Cola." A 46-page book sets out licensing standards (e.g., no tacky slogans, such as "We Steal Secrets") and includes the one approved Assange portrait (an "idealized line drawing" of him "gazing soulfully into what is presumably a better future," wrote the Times.  

Somewhat Useless Information
Eight sensational female murderers
The fact that someone can be shocked at the case of a woman murderer does not mean that women murderers are not many, but that those women are relatively less than men murderers.
Below there’s a list of eight sensational female murderers from History:
Marie Manning, a Swiss domestic servant, born in 1821, who was sentenced to death.
Constance Kent from England, born in 1844, who confessed to the murder of her four-year-old brother.
Belle Gunness, a Norwish wife and mother, born around 1870s. She used to kill er victims with strychnine or a meat cleaver, then dismember their bodies before burying them.
Dagmar Overbye, a Danish businesswoman, born around 1900s. She confessed to have killed more than 16 babies.
Jane Toppan, admitted to have killed 31 people and having been proud of her killings.
Mary Ann Cotton back in 1870s was found guilty of the death of her stepson and was promptly hanged.
Amelia Dyer, a trained nurse from England, born in 1837, arrested for having murdered infants.
Tillie Klimek, a psychic from Chicago, attempted the murder of her husband around 1920s.    
·        •  •
Check Your Calendar
Observances This Week:
National Fig Week; National Patient Accessibility Week; World Communication Week: 1-7 
National Radiologic Technology Week; Drowsy Driving Prevention Week: 2-9 

Give Wildlife A Brake! Week; National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week: 3-9 
·        •  •
Today’s Events through History
1781 - John Hanson elected first "President of US in Congress assembled"
1889 - Louisa Woosley 1st women ordained minister in any Presbyterian denomination
1917 - Supreme Court (Buchanan v Warley) strikes down KY ordinance requiring blacks & whites to live in separate areas
1945 - Colombia joins the United Nations
1946 - John F Kennedy (D, Mass) elected to House of Representatives
1996 - Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is the unanimous choice as AL Rookie of Year
·        •  •
Birthday’s Today
Elke Sommer, [Elke Schletz], actress (A Shot in the Dark) is 74
Art Garfunkel, singer/actor (Sounds of Silence, Carnal Knowledge) is 73
Peter Noone, rocker (Herman-Herman's Hermits) is 67
Bill Walton, NBA center (Trailblazers, Celtics) is 62
Kris Jenner, TV personality is 59
Tatum O'Neal, actress (Paper Moon)\ex-wife of John McEnroe is 51

Remembered for being born today
Philippe de Mornay (or Philippe Du-Plessis-Mornay), French writer (1549-1623)
Ella Wheeler Wilcox, American author and poet (1850-1919)
Eugene V. Debs, labor leader and Socialist presidential candidate (1855-1926)
Will Durant, US, author/historian (Story of Civilization) (1885-1981)
Strom Thurmond, (Sen- SC) (1902-2003)
Joel McCrea, actor (Marshal-Wichita Town) (1905-1990)
Roy Rogers (Leonard Slye), cowboy (Roy Rogers Show) (1911-1998)
John McGiver, actor (Patty Duke Show) (1913-1975)
Vivien Leigh, (Gone With Wind) Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn (1913-1967)
Ike Turner, guitarist (A Fool in Love) (1931-2007)
Jon-Erik Hexum, Tenafly NJ, actor (Voyager, Cover-up) (1957-1984)
·        •  •
Historical Obits Today
Fred MacMurray, actor (My Three Sons), 1991, @83
Guy Lombardo, orchestra leader (Auld Lang Syne), heart attack, 1977, @75
Christiaan Eijkman, Dutch physician, Nobel Prize Medicine, 1930, @72
Al Capp, US cartoonist (Li'l Abner), emphysema, 1979, @70
Jill Clayburgh, American actress, cancer, 2010, @66
George M Cohan, father of musical comedy, cancer, 1942, @64
Bobby Hatfield, singer (Righteous Brothers), OD/heart attack, 2003, @63
Ward Bond, actor (Wagon Train), heart attack, 1960, @57
Barry Sadler, singer (Green Berets), murdered, 1989, @49
Johnny Horton, country singer, auto accident, 1960, @33
·        •  •
Brain Teasers Answers
DNA 
DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is in every living thing, but its pattern is never exactly identical in anyone, even twins. Normally, DNA is coiled up inside chromosomes; however, if you were to stretch out a single strand, it would be between 2-3 meters (6-9 feet) long! Scientists believe that many diseases occur because of imperfections in DNA. If DNA were to be completely understood, we might be able to cure lots of diseases, and we would understand our bodies far better. 
DNA is the blueprint to all life. It controls our hair and eye color and literally every feature of our bodies, both physical and genetic. 
The title may have been the biggest clue; DNA is double-stranded and resembles a twisted ladder.           

·        •  •
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 contains mistakes and sadly once 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.