8-1-15

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Almanac: Week: 31 \ Day:
August Averages: 78°\50°
86004 Today: H 82° \ L 52° Average Sky Cover: 60% 
Wind ave:   7mph\Gusts:  19mph
Ave. High: ° Record High: °[] Ave. Low: ° Record Low: °[]
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Observances This Month:
American Adventures Month
American Artists Appreciation Month Link
American Indian Heritage Month Link  
American History Essay Contest  
Black Business Month
Boomers Making A Difference Month
Bystander Awareness Month
Children's Eye Health & Safety Month
Child Support Awareness Month Link
Children's Vision & Learning Month
Get Ready for Kindergarten Month
Happiness Happens Month Link
Motor Sports Awareness Month
National Breastfeeding Month Link
National Catfish Month Link
National Goat Cheese Month Link
National Immunization Awareness Month Link
National Panini Month  Link 
National Minority Donor Awareness Month
National Read A Romance Month
National Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month
National Traffic Awareness Month
National Truancy Prevention Month Link
National Water Quality Month Link
National Win With Civility Month
Neurosurgery Outreach Month
Psoriasis Awareness Month Link
Rye Month Link
Shop Online For Groceries Month Link
Tomboy Tools Month Link
What Will Be Your Legacy Month
World Mutt-i-grees Rescue Month  Link

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Observances This Week:
1-7 International Clown Week Link
National Scrabble Week
Simplify Your Life Week Link
World Breastfeeding Week Link

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Observances Today:
Girlfriend's Day
India Pale Ale Beer Day Link
Girlfriend's Day

Lughnasadh (Wiccan) Link
Mead Day Link 

National Minority Donor Awareness Day

Respect For Parents
Rounds Resounding Day
Sandcastle Day 
Spider-Man Day 
US Air Force Day Link
World Lung Cancer Day
World Wide Web Day
World Scout Scarf Day

Admission Day\Colorado Day (Colorado-1876-38th state)
Emancipation Day (Bahamas, Trinidad, Tobago)
Abolition of Slavery Day (Jamaica)
Independence Day (Benin-1960-from France)
Youth Day (Zambia)
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Quote of the Day 

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US Historical Highlights for Today
1794 - Whiskey Rebellion begins in western Pennsylvania
1852 - SF Methodists establish 1st black church, Zion Methodist
1881 - US Quarantine Station authorized for Angel Island, SF Bay
1896 - George Samuelson completes rowing Atlantic (NY to England) 1941 - The first Jeep is produced.
1942 - Race riots in Harlem, New York
1943 - Race riot in Harlem NYC
1944 - University of Arizona regained possession of Old Main as the U.S. Navy's training program prepared to evacuate 26 classrooms.
1946 - US President Harry Truman establishes Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
1950 - American Bowling Congress ends all-white-males rule
1953 - California introduces sales tax (for education)
1957 - 1st commercial building heated by Sun (Albuquerque NM)
1957 - US & Canada create North American Air Defense Command (NORAD)
1960 - Aretha Franklins 1st recording session
1960 - Chubby Checker releases "The Twist"
1966 - Charles Whitman wounds 31 & kills 16 at University of Texas
1969 - Mariner 6 sends close-up photos of Mars
1972 - 1st article exposing Wategate scandal (Bernstein-Woodward)
1976 - Flash flood in Big Thompson Canyon Colo on Route 34, kills 139
1982 - Greg Louganis, US becomes 1st diver to score 700 (752.67) in 11 dives
1986 - Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia release from hospital after 3 week coma
2001 - Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has a Ten Commandments monument installed in the judiciary building, leading to a lawsuit to have it removed and his own removal from office.
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World Historical Highlights for Today
1711 - Surrounded Tsar Peter the Great flees Azov
1785 - Caroline Herschel becomes 1st woman discoverer of a comet
1793 - France becomes 1st country to use the metric system
1861 - Brazil recognizes Confederacy
1907 - First Scout camp opens on Brownsea Island, in Poole Harbour, Dorset
1936 - Adolf Hitler opens 11th Olympic Games in Berlin
1954 - In South Africa, The Natives Resettlement Act empowers the Government to remove Africans from any area within and next to the magisterial district of Johannesburg; less than a year after the Act was passed Sophiatown residents were forcefully removed to Meadowlands in Soweto
1976 - 21st Olympic games close at Montreal Canada
1987 - In New Zealand, the Maori Language Act comes into force, making te reo Māori an official language of New Zealand; it can now be used in some legal proceedings.
2000 - First patient to receive the Jarvik 2000, the first total artificial heart that can maintain blood flow in addition to generating a pulse
2012 - Typhoon Saola kills elven people and displaces over 150,000 in the Philippines 2013 - Robert Mugabe continues to maintain power after winning 142 out of 210 seats in the Zimbabwean election
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Birthdays Today:
How many can you identify? Answers below in Birthdays Today 

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My Rambling Thoughts
Ah, a new month…2015 is slipping by very quickly.
The monsoon has returned to our little mountain town and brings much needed moisture to our town and our forests.  My memory tells me that most of our monsoons are really afternoon storms with lots of lightning and thunder. This year it seems that many more are coming at night…like last night, where it rained most of the night. Not a lot of lightning and thunder either. It got overcast this afternoon and I am awaiting the rain, which will again, come after the sun sets. Moisture is moisture in a desert, and night rains certainly don’t interrupt plans during the day.
Geez, I just paid off my Cuba trip this week and got an email that it was time to make the first deposit for the River trip from Barcelona to Paris in January. Time flies. So glad I can make these wonderful trips.
When I did my first safari to South Africa a few years ago, I had to say ‘photo-safari’ every time, because many of my friends assumed it was a shooting safari. Thanks to Hollywood in the black and white days, Africa usually meant killing animals and keeping away from various tribes of killers. After my second safari, I did get a few emails from various ‘Adventure groups’ with prices for a hunt/kill safari. That said, I could never imagine going on such a safari; however I certainly know they exist, know they are very expensive, know they are legal, and know that there are enough hunters to keep the vendors in business for decades. Social media is going bonkers over the recent dentist who killed a treasured lion in Zimbabwe. Many in social media and some in the traditional media seem surprised and shocked that such hunts even take place. My grandfather, my father, and I have all hunted deer and elk. I quickly learned that someone in our hunting group had to do a lot of background work before the hunt. Where were the legal hunting areas, when is the hunt legal, what areas are off limits. Several times we hunted near the Grand Canyon. For those who have never hunted, the Park does NOT have a fence around the park. One has to use a topo map and a compass to be certain you haven’t accidently entered the Park and that you are in a legal area. While I have seen hunters who ‘bait’ deer and elk, we always left the area if we saw that occurring. ‘Baiting’ is not hunting. I will add that one has to trust the person who did the background work. The stupid dentist paid big bucks to a licensed hunt group, but didn’t do his background work on the hunt groups ethical hunting practices. Or the dentist just didn’t care. Many of the animals that can be legally hunted have very small populations. Zimbabwe’s government allows legal hunts of many animals, because of the big payoff they receive. But even Zimbabwe does not allow ‘baiting’, as was done in this hunt. The horrific death of Cecil, the lion has brought to the media several things that are good. First it has informed the world that these hunts happen. And as many have said, these hunts need to be made illegal. Second, it has shown that even ‘legal’ hunts do not always follow the rules…another reason to stop the hunts. Many have also learned that the death of this Alpha male lion will disrupt the entire pride and that because of this, many of the cubs will be killed by other male lions trying to take over the vacancy of this pride. The Zimbabwe hunt group need to be put on trial as they are really just poachers. The dentist needs to return to Zimbabwe, tell his story about ‘trusting’ the men he paid and face the consequences, whatever they will be. In the US when you are with a group that commits a crime, you too are guilty and stupidity is not an excuse.   I will never forget my African safaris and may someday do another. My camera is all I need to enjoy the wildlife of the safari. I do not need to kill and stuff an animal for my home to enjoy their beauty.
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Brain Teasers
(answers at the end of post)
This word has 10 letters namely

1234567890

1234 - carries heredity
456 - is a period of time
567 - is a pest 
and 890 - is a charged particle
What is the word?

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Found on You Tube with some relevance to today
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…Cool Facts…
Evanston Township High School in Illinois played Justin Bieber's 'Baby' as a fundraiser between classes. Students had to pay to stop it. $1,000 was collected in 3 days.

In the case of an emergency, a Crayola crayon can be used as a candle and will burn for about 15 minutes.
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…Flagstaff, AZ History…
50 YEARS AGO-1965
Coconino County is to receive $20,000 in tax revenue from the Western Equities Uranium mine following lengthy negotiation with the Arizona Tax Commission.

The sale of city water to the Ponderosa Paper Mill has been OKed by the city until such time as the new well being drilled at the mill is tested and fully operational. If the water had been cut off, 200 men would be out of work.

The Coconino Country Club has approved the sale of its facilities to a Phoenix firm that will expand the golf course to a full 18 holes within two years. It is to be a full grass course with clubhouse and associated facilities.
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…Harper’s Index…
70,000,000 – Estimated number of genetically modified mosquitoes released since 2012 to combat dengue and chickungunya

16  - number of African countries with vaccination rates higher that the US
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…Instagram Photo of the Day… 

natgeoPhoto taken by @stevemccurryofficial in Bojonegoro, Java, Indonesia // With the sudden cloudbursts, torrential downpours and subsequent flooding, the monsoon season makes everyday activities incredibly difficult. Yet, with the duckweed-covered water lapping gently against the white picket fence and the calm expression on the girl's face, life continues much the same.
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 **NEW**…Nelson Mandela Inspiring Quote…
  • “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
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…USA Facts…
In the US, it is legal for women to be publicly topless in 33 states. Male toplessness became legal in 1936.

In downtown Churchill, Manitoba, it's illegal to lock your car doors in case someone needs to escape from a polar bear.
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…Unusual Fact of the Day…
The tip of a fencing weapon is the second fastest moving object in the Olympics. The fastest is a bullet.
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2 jokes for the day
Q. What has one horn and gives milk?
A A milk truck.

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While sports fishing off the Florida coast, a tourist capsized his boat.
He could swim, but his fear of alligators kept him clinging to the overturned craft.
Spotting an old beachcomber standing on the shore, the tourist shouted, "Are there any gators around here?"
"Naw," the man hollered back, "they ain't been around for years!"
Feeling safe, the tourist started swimming leisurely toward the shore.
About halfway there he asked the guy, "How'd you get rid of the gators?"
"We didn't do nothing,'" the beachcomber said.
"Wow," said the tourist.
The beachcomber added, "The sharks got 'em."           

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Yep, It Really Happened
Rio de Janerio, Brazil – according to the mayor it appears that some of the 2016 Summer Olympics aquatic events will take place among floating household trash and raw sewage in Guanabara Bay. The mayor noted they are being held “in the cleanest part of the Bay.” To acquire the games, organizers had promised a massive cleanup but now, with 500 days to go, the mayor conceded that the goals will not be met and that indeed, infrastructure improvements still have not halted the daily sewage flow into the bay. 
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Somewhat Useless Information
Developing dangerous blood clots. Compared to shorter control groups, taller people are more likely to develop potentially life-threatening blood clots in the deep veins of their legs and other body parts, report researchers in Norway. In particular, the risk is heightened among men and women who are tall and obese. 
While deep vein blood clots are common among tall folk, the risk of cardiovascular disease in general is greater among short people. In fact, a systematic review of 52 studies found that shorter men and women are approximately 1.5 times more likely to develop symptoms and die from cardiovascular disease than taller people.

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Earning more money. On the upside, taller men may earn more money on average than shorter men, according to research conducted in Australia. It may be that shorter men experience discrimination in response to their stature, suggest the authors, while taller men may enjoy a boost in social status.
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Birthdays Today
58 - Bart Conner, US, parallel bars gymnist (Olympic-gold-1984)
52 - Coolio [Artis Leon Ivey Jr.], Monessen Pennsylvania, rapper (Gangsta Paradise)
41 - Tempestt Bledsoe, actress (Vanessa Huxtable-Cosby Show)
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 Born this day…Died in __@__
Mary ‘Mother’ Jones, American labor organizer-1930@93
Dom DeLuise, Brooklyn comedian (End, Cannonball Run, Fatso)-2009@75
Maria Mitchell, 1st US woman astronomer on Nantucket Island-1889@72
Herman Melville, New York, author (Moby Dick, Billy Budd)-1891@72
Yves Saint-Laurent, Oran Algeria, fashion designer (Opium, Obsession)-2008@71
William Clark, Charlottsville VA, 2nd lt of Lewis & Clark Expedition-1838@68
Richard Wilson, Welsh landscape painter-1782@67
John F Mahoney, developed penicillin treatment of syphilis-1957@67
Claudius, Lugdunum Gaul, Roman Emperor-54AD@63
Francis Scott Key, lawyer\composer "Star-Spangled Banner"-1843@63
Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov, Russian Biologist who perfected the artificial insemination of animals and showed that his technology allowed one stallion to fertilize up to 500 mares-1932@61
Henry Darwin Rogers, American Geologist (theory of mountain building, first geological mapping of Pennsylvania)-1866@57
Jerry Garcia, SF, rocker (Grateful Dead)-1995@53
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Historical Obits Today
William Robert Grove, Welsh inventor of the first fuel cell-1896@85
Corazon Aquino, President of the Philippines (1986-1992), cancer-2009@76
John Ross (Kooweskoowe), Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation-1866@75
Paddy Chayefsky, screenwriter (Network, Hospital) cancer-1981@58
Mark Antony, Roman Politician and General, commits suicide after he is defeated by Octavian at the Battle of Actium -30BC@53
Calamity Jane [Martha Jane Canary], frontierswoman, pneumonia-1903@51
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Brain Teasers Answers
GENERATION

1234 carries heredity - gene
456 - is a period of time - era
567- is a pest - rat
890 is a charged particle - ion

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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.