Dec 9

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Dec. 9, 2019 Week: 50  Day: 343

86004:   H 42° \ L 29° \ Average Sky Cover: 90%

Nearest lightning:  1870mi

Nearest active fire:  478mi.  

Wind:   5mph\Gusts:  8mph  Visibility: 8 mi

Record High: 62°[1977]   Record Low: -9°[2013]

Dec. Averages: 44°\17° (5 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

“Man has responsibility,

not power.”

~ Tuscarora Proverb

Random Tidbits

In France, where tennis first became popular, a big, round zero on scoreboard looked like an egg and was called 'l'oeuf,' which is French for 'egg.'

When tennis was introduced in the U.S., Americans pronounced it 'love

Observances This Week

1-7

Cookie Cutter Week Link

National Hand Washing Awareness Week Link 

Recipe Greetings For The Holidays Week

Older Driver Safety Awareness Week  Link 

3-10

Clerc-Gallaudet Week Link

3-24

Andisop (Meteorological Fiddling  Link

Observances for Today

Cremation Day
Christmas Card Day

Green Monday Link 
International Anti-corruption Day
International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of National Pastry Day

The Victims of The Crime of Genocide and The Prevention of This Crime
Weary Willie Day  Link
World Techno Day Link

My Rambling Thoughts

A day of rain for this Sunday. Overcast, drizzle…not a day to be outside.

Slept very well on my new bed. Amazed at how high it is, but works great. It is not a bed to sit on while dressing, but is a bed for sleeping. Happy camper.

I grew up in Wheat Ridge, CO and learned from a young age that winter means snow. Recently read about the 25 Snowiest cities. Turns out Flagstaff @ 101.7” is 2^nd on the list; Denver is 25^th with 53.8”; Lakewood is 21^st with 55.8”; and Boulder, my alma mater, is 6^th with 88.5”. The bad news is that AZ is the 33^rd best run state with the 6^th highest unemployment at 4.8%; the 15^th highest poverty rate at 10.4%. Flagstaff has been known as ‘Poverty with a View’ for its high cost of living and beautiful scenery.

I downloaded Spotify and have great traditional Christmas music on my phone and wireless speaker. And it’s free.

Glad to hear the Broncos won. Had to follow it on the internet machine.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of this page

A farmer has 5 chickens, two horses, and a wife. How many feet are on his farm?

Historical Events

1531 – The Virgin of Guadalupe first appeared to Juan Diego at Tepeyac, Mexico City.

1793 Noah Webster establishes New York's 1st daily newspaper, the "American Minerva"

1851 – The first YMCA in North America opened in Montreal, Canada.

1854 Alfred Tennyson's poem "Charge of the Light Brigade" is published in "The Examiner"

1868 The first traffic lights are installed outside the Palace of Westminster in London. Resembling railway signals, they use semaphore arms and are illuminated at night by red and green gas lamps.

1872 – P.B.S. Pinchback (Republican) became the first African-American governor of a US state, Louisiana.

1884 - The US patent (#308990) for ball-bearing roller skates, was issued to Levant M. Richardson.

1907 - Christmas Seals, an outreach from the American Lung association, went on sale for the first time, in the Wilmington, Delaware, post office.

1935 – The Downtown Athletic Club Trophy (now the Heisman Trophy) was awarded for the first time. The winner was halfback Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago.

1958 - In Indianapolis, the John Birch Society formed.

1960 - The Sperry Rand Corporation demonstrated the UNIVAC 1107 computer; the first to use thin film magnetic technology. The secret was the few millionths of an inch of iron-nickel alloy.

1962 – The Petrified Forest National Park was established in Arizona.

1965 - A Charlie Brown Christmas premiered on CBS.

1972 - #1 Hit: Helen Reddy - I Am Woman

1975 - President Gerald R. Ford signed a $2.3 billion loan authorization to prevent New York City from having to default on its debts.

1978 - #1 Hit: Chic - Le Freak

1979 -The eradication of the smallpox virus was certified

1983 - Based on the 1932 film, Scarface, starring Al Pacino, was released in theaters.

1989 - #1 Hit: Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire

1990 Lech Wałęsa wins Poland's 1st direct presidential election in Poland

1992 - Prince Charles and Princess Diana formally announced their separation.

1993 - Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavor completed repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope.

1997 - Microsoft Windows 2.0 was released.

2005 - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Memoirs of a Geisha and Brokeback Mountain debuted in theaters.

2008 The Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, is arrested by federal officials for a number of alleged crimes including attempting to sell the United States Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama's election to the Presidency

2015 German Chancellor Angela Merkel named Time Magazine's Person of the Year, for her handling of debt and refugee crises

Birthdays Today

103 - Kirk Douglas, American actor

89 - Buck Henry, American actor and screenwriter

85 - Judi Dench, English actress

@85 - Grace Hopper, American admiral and computer

           scientist, designed COBOL

           (died in 1992)

@83 - Joseph Pilates, German-American fitness expert, developer of Pilates

      (died in 1967)

@81 - Tip O'Neill, American lawyer and politician,

          55th Speaker of the House of Representatives

          (died in 1994)

78 - Beau Bridges, American actor, director, producer

77 - Dick Butkus, football player, sportscaster, and actor

@74 - Tabitha Babbitt, Shaker, American inventor

           (died in 1853)

@68 - Redd Foxx, American actor

           (died in 1991; heart attack)

@68 - Morton Downey Jr., American singer-songwriter,

            actor, and talk show host

            (died in 2001; lung cancer)

67 - Michael Dorn, American actor

66 - John Malkovich, American actor

@65 - John Milton, English writer and philosopher

           (died in 1674)

62 - Donny Osmond, American singer and actor

57 - Felicity Huffman, American actress

53 - Kirsten Gillibrand, American politician

24 - McKayla Maroney, American gymnast

Puzzle answer:

Just four. His wife has two feet, he has two feet, each chicken has two claws, each horse has four hoofs.