Feb 13

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Feb. 13, 2020 Week: 7  Day: 44

86004:   H 46° \ L 15° \ Average Sky Cover: 5%

Nearest lightning:  1990mi.; Nearest active fire:  1131mi. 

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

Record High: 68°[1977]   Record Low: -18°[1905]

Feb. Averages: 47°\19° (5 days with moisture)

Today’s LOVE Quote

Love is everything it's cracked up to be…

It really is worth fighting for, being brave for,

risking everything for.

Erica Jong

Random Tidbits

Nikola Tesla died in January 1943. Tesla is considered America's greatest electrical engineer, credited with inventing radio, and for whom the tesla (unit of magnetic flux density) is named. The impact of his work is felt by everyone, every single day.

Sometimes known as the father of modern electricity, Nikola Tesla was a Croatian-born immigrant who revolutionized the production and transmission of electricity with his alternating current motor and systems. Up until around 1900 electricity was dominated by Thomas Edison's direct current systems.

Observations This Week

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week: 7-14 Link
Have A Heart for A Chained Dog Week: 7-14  Link
National Marriage Week: 7-14  Link  Link
Risk Awareness Week: 7-14
Love Makes the World Go Round; But, Laughter Keeps Us From Getting Dizzy Week: 8-14
Children of Alcoholics Week: 9-15 Link 
International Flirting Week: 9-15 
Jell-O Week: 9-15 
Love a Mensch Week: 9-15
National Secondhand Wardrobe Week: 9-15
Freelance Writer Appreciation Week: 10-15
American Camp Week: 11-14 Link
World AG Expo: 11-13
American Association For The Advancement of Science Week: 13-16  Link

Observations for Today

Desperation Day Link
Employee Legal Awareness Day
Galentine's Day  Link
Get a Different Name Day
International Condom Day Link
Madly In Love With Me Day
National Break Up With Your Carrier Day Link
National Cheddar Day Link
National Giving Hearts Day
National Tortellini Day

National “Italian Food” Day

National Wingman's Day
Self-Love Day
World Radio Day Link

My Rambling Thoughts

A cold night last night, and still a little chilly today. Made a quick trip for some essentials and then back home.

Looking forward to Tahiti and all the other places in a very warm climate. Plane reservations…check, hotel in Denver…check. All that’s left is the shuttle to the airport. Plenty of time for that.

Sure glad I did Hong Kong a few years ago and Beijing this past year. American Airlines just cancelled all flights to/from China until April 24. Happy that Focus is not dealing with that mess. Also hope that Tumlare doesn’t have any customers over there right now.

Our local Police Department was awarded a grant from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) totaling $61,002.00 to be used for a variety of initiatives that will increase roadway safety and efficiency throughout Flagstaff. The award will be used to purchase scanners and printers for each patrol vehicle so officers can utilize the Arizona Traffic and Criminal Software (AZTraCS) records system. The system will be used while conducting traffic enforcement and/or accident investigations in the field.  The system will be integrated with the department’s existing records management system. The system will improve the accuracy and timeliness of traffic related data.

As in every election cycle I have one question about the money. News talks constantly about much each campaign chest has, but who is getting that money? It is the corporate owners of the campaign venues, the poster makers, the hundreds of restaurant/café owners where candidates ‘visit’, the corporate owners of the radio and television stations, the corporate owners of the security people, and many more. Does any of that money, beyond regular salary, get to the people who are actually doing the work? As the corporations rake it in, do they give big bonuses to their employees? Is there any ‘trickle down’ during these times? Or, is ‘trickle down’ just a concept the Republicans talk about, but seldom happens?

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Romeo and Juliet are found dead on the floor in a bedroom. When they were discovered, there were pieces of glass and some water on the floor. The only furniture in the room is a shelf and a bed. The house is in a remote location, away from everything except for the nearby railroad track. What caused the death of Romeo and Juliet?

Historical Events

1633 - Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome to face charges of heresy by the Catholic Church for advocating Copernican theory, which held that the Earth revolved around the Sun.

1689 - William and Mary were proclaimed co-rulers of England.

1741 - The first magazine was published in America - The American Magazine.

1866 - Jesse James committed the first daylight armed bank robbery in the United States during peacetime, at the Clay County Savings Association in the town of Liberty, Missouri

1895 - Oscar Wilde's final play, The Importance of Being Earnest, opened at the St. James' Theatre in London.

1906 -The patent (#812,554) was issued to Alfred Einhorn for his synthesis of procaine, which was given the tradename of Novocain.

1914 -The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) was established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.

1937 - Prince Valiant, Comic Strip debuted

1946 - The world's first electronic digital computer, ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator) was first demonstrated at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, by John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert.

1961 - # 1 Hit: Lawrence Welk - Calcutta

1965 - Sixteen-year-old Peggy Fleming won the ladies senior figure skating title at Lake Placid, NY.

1971 - # 1 Hit: The Osmonds - One Bad Apple

2000 - Two days after Charles M Schulz died, February 11, the last original Peanuts comic strip was printed in newspapers.

2002 - Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.

2004 - Astronomer Travis Metcalfe of the Harvard - Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics believed he discovered the largest diamond in the known universe at the center of the white dwarf star, BPM 37093. Observations claim that the core of the star is a diamond crystal 4000 km in diameter.

2007 Taiwan opposition leader Ma Ying-jeou resigns as chairman of the Kuomintang party after being indicted by Taiwan High Prosecutors Office on charges of embezzlement when mayor of Taipei; Ma also announces his candidacy for 2008 presidential election.

2008 Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes an historic apology to the Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations.

2017 US President Donald Trump accepts the resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn over his dealings with Russia

2018 South Africa declares a three-year drought a National Disaster, though pushes Cap Town's "Day Zero" to June 4

2018 Israeli Police report recommends Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be prosecuted on bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust charges

2019 Iran marks 40th anniversary of the Islamic revolution with huge street marches and protests against the US

Birthdays Today

@97 - Bess Truman, American wife of US President Harry S Truman (died in 1982)

96 - Chuck Yeager, American general and pilot, first pilot to break the sound barrier

87—Marilyn Kim Novak, American actress

86 - George Segal, American actor

79 - Bo Svenson, Swedish-American actor

@77 - Peter Tork, American singer-songwriter, bass player and actor (died in 2019; rare cancer)

76 - Stockard Channing, American actress

76 - Jerry Springer, English-American television host

@72 - Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and actor (died in 1991; liver damage from drinking)

70 - Peter Gabriel, English singer-songwriter, musician

@50 - Grant Wood, American painter (died in 1942; cancer)

Puzzle Answer:

Romeo and Juliet are fish. The rumble of the train knocked the tank off the shelf, it broke and Romeo and Juliet did not survive.