Dec 3

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Dec 4, 2018 Week: 49 \ Day: 337

86004 Today: H 32° \ L 12° \ Average Sky Cover: 5% 

Wind:   12mph\Gusts: - mph Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 67°[1977]   Record Low: -2°[1968]

Nov Averages: 43°\17°

Today’s Quote

Conflict cannot survive

without your participation.

Wayne Dyer

Random Tidbits

Walking Under A Ladder: Early Christians felt the triangle was a sacred sign that represented the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When a ladder was pushed against a building, it would form the shape of a triangle, and thus, by walking under it, you were breaking the triangle. This was such a bad thing to do that early Christians would often label anyone who walked under a ladder to be a witch in league with Satan.

***

Black Cats: While most Western cultures consider black cats to be bad luck, many areas of the UK consider them to be a good omen. In fact, it's likely because the Pagan groups from these areas considered them to be good luck for so long that early Christians started spreading stories of the cats being evil. Specifically, these stories often tied black cats to witches, which makes a lot of sense given that they also accused Pagans of being witches.

Observances This Week

           

1-7

Cookie Cutter Week Link
National Hand Washing Awareness Week Link  
Recipe Greetings For The Holidays Week
Computer Science Education Week  Link

2-6
International Coelenterate Biology Week Link
Older Driver Safety Awareness Week Link  

3-24
Andisop (Meteorological Fiddling)   Link

3-10
Clerc-Gallaudet Week

Observances for Today

           

International Day of Persons With Disabilities

Make a Gift Day

National Peppermint Latte Day

National Roof over Your Head Day

Today’s Significant Historical Events

1800’s

1818 Illinois becomes 21st state USA (Admission day)

1833 Oberlin College in Ohio, the first truly coeducational college, opens

1834 First US dental society organized (NY)

1847 Frederick Douglass publishes first issue of his newspaper "North Star"

1881 Henry Morton Stanley founds Leopoldville (now Kinshasa)

1900’s

1911 Willis Carrier presents his influential "Rational Psychrometric Formulae" on air conditioning to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers

1926 Detective novelist Agatha Christie mysteriously disappears for 11 days

1931 Alka Seltzer goes on sale

1947 Tennessee Williams' "Streetcar Named Desire" premieres in NYC

1969 John Lennon is offered role of Jesus Christ in Jesus Christ Superstar

1971 US President Richard Nixon commutes Jimmy Hoffa's jail term

1984 Bhopal disaster: Union Carbide pesticide plant leak 45 tons of methyl isocyanate and other toxic compounds in Bhopal, India, kills 2,259 (official figure) - other estimates as high as 16,000 (including later deaths) and over half a million injured

1989 Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H. W. Bush, declare the Cold War over

2000’s

2015 US Defense Secretary Ash Carter announces all combat roles in US armed forced will be opened to women

My Rambling Thoughts

Woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland. Early there was lots of snow and lots of wind. It left a couple of inches then blew out of here. Now the sun is shining. Had to shovel my front walk as the HOA sidewalk guys didn’t arrive until after 10a. Still chilly and expected to stay cold for a couple of days.

The second NYC adventure begins today for Focus Travel Club, just as the first one ends. Group two will have a hard time beating the first group’s great pics and commentary on Facebook. Have a great time.

Got to watch the Cardinals win today. Doesn’t happen much so always nice to watch. And the Broncos won but wasn’t on TV in AZ. Glad they won too.

Sunday news shows had great memories of Bush I. Nice to remember the days when one could disagree and still have a civil conversation.

Birthdays Today

@-  indicates age at death

80’s

@86- John Wallis,

English mathematician and cryptographer who introduced ∞ as a symbol for infinity, born in Ashford, England (d. 1703)

@84- Andy Williams,

Wall Lake Iowa, singer (Moon River, Andy Williams Show) (d. 2012)

70’s

70- Ozzy Osbourne,

English heavy metal vocalist and songwriter (Black Sabbath), born in Birmingham, England

60’s

@66- Joseph Conrad,

Polish novelist (Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness), born in Berdychiv, Poland (d. 1924) heart attack?

50’s

58- Daryl Hannah,

American actress (Splash, Blade Runner), born in Chicago, Illinois

58- Julianne Moore,

American actress (Magnolia, The Kids are Alright), born in Fayetteville, North Carolina

@56- Charles Alfred Pillsbury,

American industrialist (d. 1899) heart disease

Historical Obits Today

@-  indicates age at death

90’s

@95-2017 John B Anderson,

American Republican politician and presidential candidate (1980)

80’s

@89-1910 Mary Baker Eddy,

founder (Christian Science (Monitor))

@80-1815 John Carroll,

first Roman Catholic archbishop in the US, also known as the founder of Georgetown University

70’s

@78-1919 Pierre A Renoir,

French painter/sculptor

50’s

@57-1999 Madeline Kahn,

American actress (b. 1942) ovarian cancer

40’s

@44-1894 Robert Louis Stevenson,

Scottish novelist (Treasure Island), stroke