12-13-14

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Almanac: Week: 50 \ Day:  347
December Averages: 44°\17°
86004 Today: H 51°\L 35°
Ave. humidity: 88%     Average Sky Cover: 70%
Wind ave:   7mph\Gusts:  26mph
Ave. High: 44° Record High:  66° (1921)
Ave. Low: 17° Record Low:  -19° (1931)

Holiday Observances Today:
Republic Day (Malta-1974)
Santa Lucia Day (Sweden)

  ָ¤
Day Of The Horse
Gingerbread Decorating Day
Ice Cream Day Pick A Pathologist Pal Day
International Shareware Day
Noughts and Crosses Day (aka Tic Tac Toe Day)
Violin Day

Observances This Week:
7-13
National Hand Washing Awareness Week
Recipe Greetings For The Holidays Week
Computer Science Education Week

10-17
Human Rights Week
• • • • • • •
Quote of the Day
 


Historical Highlights for Today
1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months; Celestine hoped to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit
1636 - The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. This organization is recognized today as the founding of the United States National Guard
1759 - First music store in America opens (Phila)
1769 - Dartmouth College in New Hampshire received its charter
1774 – 1st incident of American Revolution - 400 attack Ft William and Mary, NH
1903 - Italo Marcioni patents ice cream cone mound (NJ)
1903 - Wright Bros make 1st flight at Kittyhawk
1916 - Avalanche kills 10,000 Austrian & Italian troops in 24 hrs in Tyrol
1924 - KOA-AM in Denver CO begins radio transmissions
1928 - Clip-on tie designed
1928 - George Gershwin's "An American In Paris" premieres (NYC)
1938 - Los Angeles freezes at 28°F
1950 - James Dean begins his career with an appearance in a Pepsi commercial
1966 - 1st US bombing of Hanoi
1967 - San Diego, CA records snow at a zero elevation after temperatures plunge 19 degrees (F) in eight hours.
1969 - Arlo Guthrie releases "Alice's Restaurant"
1988 - Arafat addresses UN in Geneva
1990 - South African President De Klerk meets with Nelson Mandela to talk of end of apartheid
1995 - US Federal Court votes that Cable companies must carry local stations
2003 - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit (Operation Red Dawn).
• • • • • • •
  Birthdays Today:
How many can you identify? Answers below in Birthday’s Today


My Rambling Thoughts
Weatherman says a winter storm is brewing. Yesterday he predicted 2-3”, now is saying 4-8”…guess I’ll have to anxiously await tomorrow to see what happens.
I have a coin jar where I toss change when I get home. About once a year I take it to a Coin-star machine and get some money. Today, after waiting a little over a year, I got $225. Not bad. Then I cashed in my Freedom Card bonus and got $250 for this year. Not bad for a day. I bought groceries and some other stuff and tried really hard to buy some new reusable bags. I have Albertson’s and Walmart bags among others. Both cashiers said they usually have bags but neither knew where they were in the store. I’ll try again with a manager next time. Flag City Council is ‘studying’ a possible ban on plastic bags. Can’t happen too soon for me, but I guess the stores I shop at are not big on advertising the alternatives. Too bad. It saves them money and is better for the environment…and they get some free advertising too. I like the reusable bags so much better than those plastic bags.
• • • • • • •
Brain Teasers
(answers at the end of post)
A man escapes from jail with help from his girlfriend. Four girls are accused of being the man's girlfriend. His girlfriend is lying. Two girls are innocent and telling the truth. The other girl is the man's sister who is helping the girlfriend lie. Who is the man's sister?

Amanda: "Melinda is his girlfriend."
Vanessa: "Eva is lying."
Eva: "Amanda is lying."
Melinda: "Vanessa is not his sister."       

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today




OK Then…


• • • • • • •
Paraphernalia 4 the Brain:     
December Holiday Facts
*Christmas-Christian
¤ A Yule log is an enormous log that is typically burned during the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25-January 6). Some scholars suggest that the word yule means “revolution” or “wheel,” which symbolizes the cyclical return of the sun. A burning log or its charred remains is said to offer health, fertility, and luck as well as the ability to ward off evil spirits.
¤ Because of their pagan associations, both the holly (associated with the masculine principle) and the ivy (the feminine) and other green boughs in home decoration were banned by the sixth-century Christian Council of Braga.

*Hanukkah-Jewish
¤ Hanukkah for Jews is as important as Christmas for Christians.
¤ Hanukkah is spelt differently by different people. Some name it as Chanukkah while the majority of people name it as Hanukkah.

*Kwanza-African-American
Principles
Kuumba (koo-OOM-bah) or creativity. To improve the community and make it a better and more beautiful place.

*12 Days of Christmas
Eleven Pipers Piping
The eleven Faithful Apostles: 1) Simon Peter, 2) Andrew, 3) James, 4) John, 5) Philip, 6) Bartholomew, 7) Matthew, 8) Thomas, 9) James bar Alphaeus, 10) Simon the Zealot, 11) Judas bar James. (Luke 6:14-16). The list does not include the twelfth disciple, Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders and the Romans.

Flagstaff, AZ History…
25 YEARS AGO
The city and W. L. Gore have agreed that the city will annex 50 acres on Woody Mountain Rd where Gore will build an additional 30,000 sq. ft. facility. They will also install water and sewer lines attached to city services thus avoiding need for more septic tanks and additional wells.
           
Flagstaff’s Iconic 50…
Riordan Mansion
Riordan Mansion State Historic Park includes two almost identical homes built in 1904 by Michael and Timothy Riordan. The homes are connected by a rendezvous room and altogether contain 13,000 square feet of floor space and sit atop Kinlichi Knoll in Flagstaff. The Riordan brothers were members of a prominent Arizona family who played a significant role in the development of Flagstaff and northern Arizona and were involved in lumber, railroads, cattle, banking, and politics.
The architect for the Riordan homes was Charles Whittlesey, who was also the architect for the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon. Some of the similarities between the structures include massive stone arches at porch corners and rustic exterior consisting of log planks, wood shingles, and native stone.
The contents consist of an incredible array of original artifacts associated with the families of Timothy A. Riordan (east side) and Michael J. Riordan (west side). The artifacts consisted of furnishings, household accessories, clothing, personal items, photographs, documents, maps, letters, books, and magazines. A number of the pieces of furniture are fine period items designed and constructed by Gustav Stickly, recognized as the Father of the American Arts and Crafts movement. Some of the other furniture is turn of the century, custom made Flagstaff products from Douglas fir and Arizona walnut.

Harper’s Index…
Amount the federal government has budgeted this year for IT maintenance: $83,400,000,000
Percentage of federal agencies whose servers have failed in the past 12 months: 94
           
Rules of Thumb…
DEALING WITH A DRUNK
The Bouncer's Rule of Six: If you're explaining something to an intoxicated person that a sober person would understand after being told once, expect to repeat yourself five times.    

Unusual Fact of the Day…
In 1865, six-year-old Teddy Roosevelt watched Abraham Lincoln’s funeral procession in NYC.
• • • • • • •
Joke-of-the-day
Little Billy wanted $100 badly and prayed for two weeks but nothing happened. 
Then he decided to write God a letter requesting the $100. When the postal authorities received the letter addressed to God, USA, they decided to send it to President Bush. 
The President was so impressed, touched, and amused that he instructed his secretary to send Billy a $5.00 bill. 
President Bush thought this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy. 
Billy was delighted with the $5.00 and sat down to write a thank you note to God, which read: 
Dear God, 
Thank you very much for sending the money, however, I noticed that for some reason you had to send it through Washington D.C. and, as usual, those crooks deducted $95.00.
Thanks,
Billy   


Yep, It Really Happened
Air traffic control must be a little different in Korea than it is in the United States. In the U.S. passengers can't order planes to delay their flights because of bad cabin service, no matter who the passenger is, but in Korea...
A Korean Air executive has resigned from some of her duties after she ordered a flight to be turned around to the gate and a flight attendant off the plane because she was served nuts in a bag instead of on a plate.
Heather Cho, whose Korean name is Cho Hyun-ah, resigned from the airline's catering and in-flight sales business, and its cabin service and hotel business divisions, an airline spokesman said.
But she is keeping her title as a vice president of the national carrier.
The incident occurred at New York's JFK airport on a flight due to take off for South Korea's Incheon International Airport, outside Seoul.
Cho reportedly demanded that the plane go back to the gate so the crew member who served her macadamia nuts out of a bag rather than on a plate in First Class could be kicked off the flight.
Although her role put her in charge of in-flight service, she was only a passenger on this flight and was not flying in an official capacity.
According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, Cho is the eldest daughter of Korean Air's chairman, Cho Yang-ho.
He apologized Tuesday for any inconvenience caused to passengers and said the incident would be investigated.
           

Somewhat Useless Information
¤ Abigail Adams was the 1st first lady to live in the White House.
¤ Lucy Hayes was once the only female student at Ohio Wesleyan University.
¤ Dolly Madison initiated the inaugural ball.
¤ Sarah Polk hosted the first annual Thanksgiving dinner at the White House.
¤ Lou Hoover spoke fluent Chinese.
¤ Eleanor Roosevelt was known to serve scrambled eggs on unmatched dishes at White House lunches.        

• • • • • • •
Today’s Events through History
1577 - Sir Francis Drake sets sail from England to go around world
1920 - League of nations establishes Intl Court of Justice in The Hague
1944 - Japanese kamikaze crashes into US cruiser Nashville, kills 138
1961 - Jimmy Dean's Big Bad John album is country music 1st million $ seller
• • • • • • •
Birthday’s Today
George Shultz, US Secretary of State is 94
Dick Van Dyke, actor (Rob Petrie-Dick Van Dyke Show) is 89
Christopher Plummer, Toronto, actor (Sound of Music) is 85
John Davidson, TV host (Hollywood Squares, That's Incredible) is 73
Ted Nugent, guitarist (Cat Scratch Fever) is 66
Wendie Malick, actress (Just Shoot Me) is 64
Steve Buscemi, actor (Fargo) is 57
Billy Van Zandt, playwright\actor is 57
John Whitaker, actor (Family Affair) is 55
Jamie Foxx, comedian (In Living Color) is 46
Taylor Swift, singer/songwriter (Our Song) is 25

Remembered for being born today
Clark Mills, US, sculptor (Freedom, Armed Liberty) [1810-1893]
Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln and First Lady [1818-1832]
Phillips Brooks, bishop/composer (Little Town of Bethlehem) [1835-1893]
Carlos Montoya, Madrid, guitarist [1903-1993]
Van Heflin, actor (Madame Bovary) [1910-1971]
Archie Moore, light-heavyweight boxing champ, [1916-1998]
Yitzhak Zuckerman, Jewish resistance hero WWII [1915-1989]
Richard Darryl Zanuck, film producer/executive, [1934-2012]
• • • • • • •
Historical Obits Today
Samuel Gompers, organizer (American Federation of Labor), diabetes, 1924, @74
Thomas A. Watson, American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell, 1934, @83
Tim Moore, actor (Kingfish-Amos 'n' Andy), TB, 1958, @70
Grandma Moses [Anna Moses], US painter, 1961, @101
Leora Dana, actress (Amityville II), cancer, 1983, @60
Allen Breed, US inventor (automotive airbag sensor), heart attack, 1999, @ 72
Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Sioux actor/singer, leukemia, 2007, @71
Park Tae-joon, South Korean founder of steel giant Posco, 2011, @84
• • • • • • •

Brain Teasers Answers
If Amanda is telling the truth, then Melinda is lying. If Melinda is lying, then Vanessa is his sister. If Vanessa is his sister, then she's lying about Eva lying. If Eva isn't lying, then Amanda is lying, which would contradict the fact that Amanda's telling the truth. That means Amanda is lying and could be his girlfriend or sister.
Eva must be telling the truth since Amanda has to be lying. So Vanessa must also be lying, and Melinda is telling the truth. Since Melinda's telling the truth, Vanessa isn't his sister and must be his girlfriend. Amanda is the other liar, so she must be his sister.

• • • • • • •
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…§


No comments:

Post a Comment

Followers

Total Pageviews

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
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.