8-14-14

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Flagstaff Almanac: Day: 226 / Week: 33 
August Averages: 78° \ 50°
Today:
    Average Sky Cover: 90%
    H 64° L 52° Ave. humidity: 93%
    Wind: ave:   5mph; Gusts:  17mph 
    Average High: 80° Record High:  89° (2002)
    Average Low: 50° Record Low:  33° (1976)
         
Quote of the Day
Historical Highlights for Today
1457 - Oldest known exactly dated printed book (c 3 years after Gutenberg)
1678 - Battle of Mons - French repulse William of Orange
1765 - Massachusetts colonists challenge British rule by an Elm (Liberty Tree)
1842 - Second Seminole War Indians go on to be removed from FL to OK
1846 - Henry David Thoreau jailed for tax resistance
1848 - Oregon Territory created
1873 - "Field & Stream" begins publishing
1882 - Queen Victoria recieves Zulu chief Cetewayo
1893 - France introduces motor vehicle registration, includes a driving test
1912 - 2,500 US marines invade Nicaragua; US remains until 1925
1925 - Mount Rushmore 1st proposed
1932 - 10th Olympic Games at Los Angeles closes
1935 - Social Security Act becomes law
1941 - FDR and Churchill issue the joint declaration-Atlantic Charter
1964 - Egypt/Iraq/Jordan/Kuwait/Syria form common market
1967 - Radio Scotland & Radio Swinging Holland go off the air
1973 - US ends secret bombing of Cambodia
1976 - 10,000 Northern Ireland women demonstrate for peace in Belfast
1979 - Rainbow seen in Northern Wales for a 3 hours duration
1980 - Democratic Convention in NYC nominates  Carter & Mondale
1990 - Denver vote for a 1% sales tax to pay for a baseball franchise
1994 - Space telescope Hubble photographs Uranus with rings
  Birthdays Today:   
How many can you identify? Answers in Birthday’s Today below
My Rambling Thoughts   
It started raining early last evening and we had some hard rain throughout the night. Thunder woke me a couple of times. When I got up at 6a, it was pouring. We even had a small river in our parking area. Late in the afternoon it stopped, at least for a while. The weatherman says we got about 1.75” since yesterday. Very good news for our drought and for the forest. Our sink pond in the commons area now has green grass all along the bottom. Haven’t ever seen that here since I moved in.
As I was finishing up my blog last night, I saw two cops walking along the sidewalk near the older units. Turned off the stuff in the office and went downstairs for dinner. Another cop came to my door and rang the bell. When I got to the door he asked if I had seen a man walking around carrying a rifle. Seems he had been asking people if they had any work for him. I told the cop I had been upstairs and had a good view of the commons and hadn’t seen anything. He left, and I locked both the front security door and the main door. Then I went into the back room and locked the deck door and closed the blinds. Nothing appeared in the police log or on FB, so I guess it was a scary false alarm.  
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
I am periodically the number 79. Long ago some attempted to make me from 29, but learned it couldn't be done. If you add me to 80 I appear to be 47 temporarily.
What am I?
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today
 OK Then…
<> <> <> <> <>
Paraphernalia 4 the Brain :     
Brief History…
The Soviets Were So Clever Their Rifles Could Use US Ammo but not the Reverse.
This myth is heard over and over in the military, that the AK-47 can use US 7.62 mm caliber ammunition (M-14 rifle and medium machine gun fodder), but that the US weapons could not use the Soviet 7.62 X 39 mm ammunition.  This is false!  Despite what you may have heard over and over, the AK-47 was invented (as was its ammo) long before NATO went to the 7.62 X 51 mm standard round.  The US/NATO rounds are ½ inch longer than the AK rounds, meaning the US ammo will not properly fit the rifle magazines nor chamber properly.  The NATO ammo is also higher pressure and cannot be safely used in Soviet weapons.
Common Sayings from the Bible…
By the sweat of your brow
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return
Gen 3:19
Computer Facts…
Google was originally called "BackRub".
Earth Facts…
Due to Earth’s distance from the Sun, it takes about 8 minutes and 19 seconds for light to reach the planet from the Sun.
Flagstaff, AZ History…
75 YEARS AGO
Police Chief C. T. Pulliam warns that cars parked on paved streets after midnight will be ticketed. Owners must appear in the Magistrate’s Court for violation of the city ordinance. Our new street sweepers need to have the streets clear so they can sweep and keep the dust down.
++
The water in City Lake is low, full of fish and is now open to all fishermen, not just the children. Don’t forget your license.
Harper’s Index
Factor by which a person in the developoing world is more likely to be diabetic if he or she has a television, computer, and car: 2.5 
Language Facts…
Before the English speaking world was exposed to the fruit, the color orange was referred to as “geoluhread” which is Old English for red-yellow.
Rules of Thumb…   
THE MARKETING RULE OF THREE
Any new product should have at least three easily recognizable advantages over its competition.
Superstitions…
An acorn should be carried to bring luck and ensure a long life.
Unusual Fact of the Day…
In 1914 and 1915, two Boston baseball teams beat two Philadelphia teams in the World Series. In 1914, it was the Boston Braves defeating the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1915, the Boston Red Sox emerged victorious against the Philadelphia Phillies.
World Heritage Sites…
This delta in north-west Botswana comprises permanent marshlands and seasonally flooded plains. It is one of the very few major interior delta systems that do not flow into a sea or ocean, with a wetland system that is almost intact. One of the unique characteristics of the site is that the annual flooding from the River Okavango occurs during the dry season, with the result that the native plants and animals have synchronized their biological cycles with these seasonal rains and floods. It is an exceptional example of the interaction between climatic, hydrological and biological processes. The Okavango Delta is home to some of the world’s most endangered species of large mammal, such as the cheetah, white rhinoceros, black rhinoceros, African wild dog and lion.
Joke-of-the-day
Hoss rode into town to buy a bull. Unfortunately, when he bought it, he was left with one dollar. Hoss needed to tell his wife to come with the truck and get the bull, but telegrams cost one dollar per word. Hoss said to the telegram man, "OK. I have my one word-'comfortable'." Why do you want to tell her that?” asked the telegram man. "Oh, she's not the best reader," Hoss said. "She'll read it really slowly". (Com-for-ta-ble, get it?)
Yeah, It Really Happened
SEATTLE (UPI) - A suspected cell phone thief in Washington may want to re-evaluate things the next time she feels inclined to call 911 for emergency assistance. The female suspect reportedly called 911 to get in touch with the Seattle Police Department because the man she allegedly stole a cell phone from wouldn't leave her alone. When officers responded to the call at a gas station, they found the 20-year-old suspect standing with a 21-year-old man who had multiple cuts and bruises. The suspect told SPD officers that the man was napping on a Metro bus when he awoke and accused the woman and her boyfriend of taking his phone. The man corroborated that he had been on the bus, but told police he started chasing the suspect and her boyfriend after they grabbed his phone and took off. When he asked them to return the phone, the pair allegedly punched and kicked him in the head. According to the man, the boyfriend kept on going when the suspect stopped to call 911. Officers searched the woman and found the victim's phone and three grams of crack, KOMO reported. They booked her into King County Jail for investigation of robbery and drug possession.
Somewhat Useless Information   
Haribo has been run by a Hans Riegel for almost a century. It was founded by Hans Riegel Sr. in the '20s, and passed down to Hans Riegel Jr. after WWII. He stayed the (very active) head of the company until his death late last year at 90 years old.
Gummy bears are actually called Gold-Bears, and they're not actually gold, they come in five different colors. As it turns out, "gummibar" in German means "rubber bear", and after 1967 they decided to rename them something slightly more appetizing.
Riegel Sr. started a tradition in the '30s whereby children could swap acorns (used to feed animals at a local wildlife sanctuary) for Gold-Bears at the factory every year in late October, and the tradition persists today.
The slogans & commercials were all written by Riegel. Riegel Jr. notoriously didn't believe in ad agencies, and wrote the slogans ("Kids and grown-ups love it so -- the happy world of Haribo") and TV commercials himself.
In the '30s, they produced a line of "Teddy Bear" gummies named for Roosevelt, presumably because of his habit of eating actual bears.
Originally, all Gold-Bears had a frown (presumably because they knew what was coming), and it wasn’t until 2007 that Haribo slapped a smile on their faces.
Check Your Calendar
Observances This Week:
9-16
Gay Games
National Scrabble Week
10-16
Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week  
National Resurrect Romance Week 
Elvis Week  
Weird Contest Week 
14-24
Little League Baseball World Series
Today Is  
National Creamsicle Day
National Navajo Code Talkers Day
V-J Day - which date do you mark the end of WWII?
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Festival of Hungry Ghosts (China-Tao & Buddhist-honors deceased)
Independence Day (Pakistan-1947-from British Indian Empire)
                                                         
Today’s Events through History  
1281 - During Kublai Khans 2nd Invasion of Japan his invading fleet of 3,500 vessels disappears in a typhoon near Japan
1900 - 1st electric tram in Netherland (Leidseplein-Brouwersgracht)
1936 - 1st Olympic basketball game (Berlin)
1993 - Reggie Jackson Day - NY Yanks retire 13th # (#44)
2010 - 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games, first ever Youth Olympics, officially starts in Singapore.
Birthday’s Today                                                        
Buddy Greco, jazz singer (Away We Go) is 88
Betsy Cullen, LPGA golfer is 76
David Crosby, rocker (Crosby, Stills & Nash) is 73
Steve Martin, comedian (Parenthood, Jerk, Roxanne) is 69
Antonio Fargas, Bronx, actor (Huggy Bear-Starsky & Hutch) is 68
Susan Saint James, [Miller], LA CA, actress (McMillian & Wife) is 68
Danielle Steel, novelist (Wanderlust, The House) is 67
Gary Larson, Tacoma, Washington, cartoonist (Far Side) is 64
Jackee [Harry], Winston-Salem NC, actress (Sandra-227) is 58
Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Forward (Lakers/Olympic-gold-92) is 55
Halle Berry, Miss World USA (1986)/actress (Boomerang) is 48
Tim Tebow, American football player is 27
Remembered for being born today
Doc Holliday, gambler, dentist and gunfighter (Gunfight -O.K. Corral) (1851-1887)
John Ringling North, circus director (Ringling Bros) (1903-1985)
Alice Ghostley, actress (Bewitched, Designing Women) (1926-2007)
Historical Obits Today                                                           
Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnel, Irish rebel, apoplexy, 1691, @61
David Farragut, Admiral ("Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"), 1870,  @69
William Randolph Hearst, newspaper publisher, 1951, @88
Patrick Magee, Irish actor (Clockwork Orange, King Lear), 1982, @60
Enzo Ferrari, Italy, sportscar manufacturer (Ferrari), 19588, @90
Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player, 1999, @81
Brain Teasers                                         
Gold
Gold is represented by the number 79 on the Periodic table of elements. Long ago alchemists tried to make gold from copper (number 29). If you add gold to mercury (number 80) it will appear to be silver for a time.

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  §

 

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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.