Oct 13

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Oct. 13, 2019 Week: 42  Day: 286

86004:   H 63° \ L 29° \ Average Sky Cover: 5% 

Nearest active fire:  87mi.  Nearest lightning:  1179mi

Wind:   9mph\Gusts:  13mph  Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 79°[1950]   Record Low: 12°[1969]

Oct. Averages: 63°\32° ( 4 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

We forget that the water cycle

and the life cycle are one.

Jacques Yves Cousteau

Random Tidbits

Volcanoes

Scientists have described the giant pool of magma sitting just under surface of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming as a super volcano.

Exactly how giant this super volcano is has been the subject of much speculation until recently.

A team from the University of Utah have told the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco that Yellowstone's magma chamber is 2.5 times larger than previously thought.

It is an underground cavern that measures some 55 miles by 20 miles and runs between 3 and 9 miles below the earth.

If it blows it would wipe out America - and have enormous impacts on the rest of the world.

Observances This Week

5-13

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Link

7-13

Spinning & Weaving Week Link  

10-17

Take Your Medicine Americans Week

11-13

Apple Butter Days

12-20

Bone and Joint Health National Awareness Week Link

12-18

World Rainforest Week

13-19

Bullying Bystanders Unite Week
Drink Local Wine Week  
Earth Science Week
National Chestnut Week
International Infection Prevention Week Link
Mediation Week Link  
National Food Bank Week
Teen Read Week
Veterinary Technicians Week Link

Observances for Today

English Language Day Link
Father-Daughter Day  
I Love Yarn Day  Link 
Clergy Appreciation Day (or Pastor Appreciation Day or Ministry Appreciation Day)
International Day for Disaster Reduction
International Day for Failure Link
International Skeptics Day

Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day Link
National Chess Day Link 
National M&M Day

National No Bra Day Link  
National Peanut Festival

National Pumpkin Festival

Navy Birthday  Link
Silly Sayings Day
Sukkot (Sundown)

World Thrombosis Day  Link
Yorkshire Pudding Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Fall’s cooler temperature have certainly arrived. Jacket weather, no precipitation, amazing blue sky.

I try to watch a couple of journalists on their daily shows. During lunch I usually watch Shephard Smith on the Fox channel. He really does/did give a balanced look at the news. I was shocked yesterday when he announced he was not only leaving Fox, but would not be doing the news in the near future. I will miss his reporting and wish him good luck in whatever he ends up doing.

Yesterday I gave some opinions on Indigenous People’s Day. Several readers reminded me that just naming a day does not make up for the horrendous treatment that Natives have received since the colonization began. In fact, there will be a demonstration here in town against Indigenous People’s Day because this town is not addressing the past and current issues regarding Natives in Flagstaff. I agree with many of those points. Change takes time, and this renaming of a holiday is one tiny step towards equality. Hopefully, as more and more people hear the term, they will do some research and learn the importance of Native contributions to our country. Hopefully schools will teach students the value Indigenous people have given our country and learn of the many civilizations that were here before colonization began. The renaming is only the beginning.

Believe it or not, Congress is returning from another break next week. Not sure what the new week will bring. Some are saying the floodgates will not open. Others are saying it is just a continuation of an illegal inquiry.  

FYI; The Kurds did assist the allies during WWII, and should not have been abandoned by the US at the Turkey/Syria border.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of this page

I have a face but no eyes and hands but no arms. What am I?

Historical Events

1773 - The Whirlpool Galaxy, almost 25 million light years away, was discovered by Charles Messier.

1775 - The United States Continental Congress ordered the establishment of the Continental Navy (later renamed the United States Navy).

1843 - B'nai B'rith was founded in New York City.

1917 - The 10-minute "Miracle of the Sun" was witnessed by an estimated 70,000 people in the Cova da Iria in Fátima, Portugal.

1958 - Paddington Bear made his debut in A Bear Called Paddington.

1963 (Volcano Eruption) Kuril Islands

1979 - #1 Hit: Michael Jackson - Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough

1984 - #1 Hit: Stevie Wonder - I Just Called to Say I Love You

1990 - #1 Hit: George Michael - Praying For Time

2010 - The 2010 Copiapo mining accident in Copiapo, Chile ended as all 33 miners came to the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground.

2015 Marlon James is the first Jamaican writer to win the Man Booker Prize for his novel "A Brief History of Seven Killings"

2017 Archaeologists announce the discovery of Arabic characters "Allah” and “Ali” on Viking funeral costumes from a grave in Gamla Uppsala, Sweden

2018 Pope Francis defrocks two Chilean bishops for alleged sexual abuse of minors

Birthdays Today

Margaret Thatcher, UK politician

(d. 2013 @87)

Paul Simon, singer (78)

Sammy Hagar, rock musician (72)

Marie Osmond, TV Host, musician (60)

Kate Walsh, actor (Grey’s Anatomy) (52)

Sasha Baron Cohen, movie actor (48)

Lenny Bruce

Leonard A. Schneider, standup comic, social activist

(d. 1966 @40; morphine OD)

Ashanti 'Ashanti Douglas', R&B singer (39)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, US House Rep. (30)

Puzzle answer:

A Clock