3-19-14

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Flagstaff Almanac: Day: 078   / Week: 12  

Today: L 25°…H 49°… Ave. humidity: 32%

     Wind: ave:   5mph; Gusts:  24mph  

     Average Low: 23° Record Low:  1° (1963)

    Average High: 51° Record High:  71° (1907)

Quote of the Day

 

Today’s Historical Highlights

1279 - Mongolian victory ends the Song Dynasty in China.

1644 - 200 members of Peking imperial family/court commit suicide in loyalty to the Emperor

1748 - Naturalization Act passes granting Jews right to colonize North American colonies

1822 - Boston, Mass, incorporated as a city

1895 - Los Angeles Railway established to provide streetcar service

1931 - Nevada legalizes gambling

1942 - FDR orders men 45-64 to register for non military duty

1945 - 800 killed as Kamikaze attacked USS Franklin off Japan

1945 - Adolf Hitler issues "Nero Decree" to destroy all German factories

1991 - NFL strip Phoenix of 1993 Super Bowl- AZ not recognizing Martin Luther King Day

1995 - Arizona outside of Phoenix begins using new area code 520

2013 - NASA's Mars rover Curiosity discovers further evidence of water-bearing minerals

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

Thankfully there was a lot less wind today, and things were much nicer today.

 

Busy getting ready for my trip to Cuba…got a lot to do before we go, the biggest thing is my taxes, a haircut and a trip to my less than favorable bank to get some cash to take on the trip…and of course packing. I’ll be ready…somehow.

 

I am getting a little burned out with the CNN coverage of the missing Malaysian airline. Every day they interview new people for hours who have no idea what happened but sure have their guesses. I still can’t imagine what the poor relatives must be going through. They seem to be holding out some hope, but can’t really move on with their lives until this is resolved. They can’t return to their daily lives, they can’t plan for funerals, they can’t make business plans or family plans with no answers. Many of the passengers were the breadwinner of the family and now it is all on hold. Such a tragedy. I am still surprised that no one is checking the flight attendants backgrounds and they keep talking about the pilot and the co-pilot. Guess we will all just have to wait to find out what happened.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

(Estimate/Never)^(+Thinking) - 2

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Conspiracy Science: Earth is FLAT

• Sir Arthur C Clarke

• Remembering Edgar Rice Burroughs

• Good Old Days - Moms Mabley

***NEW*** Books that Changed the World

From promoting learning to establishing morality, books have had a huge impact on the development of culture, law, science, and more. In some cases, books make such a big impact – whether good or bad – that they become significant pieces of history.

1984 by George Orwell

Published in 1949, George Orwell’s 1984 saw the world turn into a surveillance state run by the terrifying Big Brother. Many of the novel’s major themes have had a huge effect on modern society and vocabulary.

In an age where our communications aren’t always as secure as we think, Orwell’s 1949 novel reads like a warning to some and a possible look at the future for many others. Whether you love it or hate it, it was undeniably one of the 20th century’s most influential books.

Breakthroughs that Changed the World

Printing press, 1430s

The printing press was nominated by 10 of our 12 panelists, five of whom ranked it in their top three. Dyson described its invention as the turning point at which “knowledge began freely replicating and quickly assumed a life of its own.”

OK Then…

 

Harper’s Index 

Returns tomorrow

Unusual Fact of the Day

Since 1932, only Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush have failed in their bids for re-election to a second presidential term. Gerald Ford was not elected into the office.

Joke-of-the-day

A police officer sees a man driving around with a pickup truck full of penguins. He pulls the guy over and says, "You can't drive around with penguins in this town! Take them to the zoo immediately."

The guy says okay, and drives away. The next day, the officer sees the guy still driving around with the truck full of penguins -- and they're all wearing sunglasses. He pulls the guy over and demands, "I thought I told you to take these penguins to the zoo yesterday?"

The guy replies, "I did. Today I'm taking them to the beach!"  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

LISTENING TO YOUR ENGINE KNOCK

If your engine knocks during acceleration, it's probably the connecting rod. If the engine knocks during deceleration, it's probably the piston wrist pin. If you have piston slap (too much room between the piston and cylinder wall), the knock will be loudest when the engine is cold and idling.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

-- Logical: (1) John Rogers of Geneva, Fla., recently acquitted in a shooting death (using Florida's "stand your ground" defense), convinced a judge in February to return his guns, which police had confiscated when they arrested him. Rogers said he needs the guns for protection because he is particularly vulnerable -- in that he is blind. (2) Rogerio Scotton, challenging federal charges in January that he lied to immigration officials about his "marriage" to a Cuban woman (a "sham," said prosecutors), offered to prove the matrimony's bona fides by showing the couple's conjugal-bed videos in open court. (The judge instructed Scotton to find a "less intrusive" way to make the same point.) [WESH-TV (Orlando), 2-21-2014] [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 1-22-2014]  

• Somewhat Useless Information   

• The ideal dimension for ship stability is a length six times that of the width.

• Female mosquitoes are non- vegetarian in nature and continue their existence by taking the blood of human-beings and other animals.

• Female mosquitoes are responsible for the spreading of the infectious diseases like Malaria, Dengue fever and Chikungunia etc.

• Only in the last century have we discovered that there are towering mountains and deep trenches in the depths of the sea.

• Washing soda: chemically it is Hydrated Sodium Carbonate.

• Chemically Cooking soda is Sodium Bicarbonate.

• Ornaments prepared with pure gold (24 karat) do not give much brightness and also not so attractive, that is why, copper is added to the gold to prepare the ornaments (making it 22 karat), which are very shiny. These are more popular in India.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:
16-22 

American Chocolate Week

Campfire USA Birthday Week
Health Information Professionals Week
National Animal Poison Prevention Week
National Inhalant and Poisons Awareness Week
Termite Awareness Week
Flood Safety Awareness Week
17-23

Act Happy Week
Flood Awareness Week
Wellderly Week
Wildlife Week
World Folktales & Fables Week

Today Is                                                                      

·        Client's Day

·        Goddess of Fertility Day

·        Kick Butts Day

·        National Chocolate Caramel Day

·        National Quilting Day

·        Operation Iraqi Freedom Day

·        Swallows Return to San Juan Capistrano Day

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·        National Day of Oil (Iran)

·        Save the Florida Panther Day (US: Florida)

Today’s Events through History  

1571 - Spanish troops occupy Manila

1915 - Pluto photographed for 1st time (although unknown at the time)

1928 - "Amos & Andy" debuts on radio (NBC Blue Network-WMAQ Chicago)

1965 - Indonesia nationalizes all foreign oil companies

1984 - "Kate & Allie," premieres

2012 - Wendy's overtakes Burger King to become the second best selling hamburger chain

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Ursula Andress, actress (She, Sensuous Nurse) is 78

Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, LBJ's daughter is 70

Sirhan Sirhan, Palestinian-born assassin (RFK) is 70

Glenn Close, actress (The Big Chill, Fatal Attraction) is 67

Bruce Willis, actor (Moonlighting, Die Hard) is 59

Remembered for being born today

1813-1873 - David Livingstone, Scotland, explorer (found by Stanley in Africa)

1848-1929 - Wyatt Earp, sheriff (OK Corral)

1860-1925 - William Jennings Bryan, "The Great Commoner" orator/statesman

1894-1975 - Jackie "Moms" Mabley, comedienne (Merv Griffin Show)

1906-1962 - Adolf Eichmann, Nazi Gestapo officer

1920-2007 - Tige Andrews, actor (Capt Adam Greer-Mod Squad)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, English science fiction author and inventor, 2008, @90

Charles K. Johnson, President of the Flat Earth Society, 2001, @77

Edgar Rice Burroughs, sci-fi author (Tarzan of the Apes), heart attack, 1950, @74

King Alexander III of Scotland, fall from horse, 1286, @45

Rene-Robert Cavelier La Salle, Fren explorer (Louisiana), killed, 1687, @43

Brain Teasers

Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

"Never" is under "estimate", and this is raised "to the power of positive thinking." The "to" is removed by subtracting it at the end.

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  §