Jan 11

 

2021…at last

Jan 11, 2021  Week: 2  Day: 11	Local:  H 35°\ L 15°\Ave. Sky Cover: 10% Feels like 25°
Wind:   10mph\Gusts:  15mph	Today’s Ave. Temp.: H °\ L °
Nearest lightning:1470mi.; Active fire:59mi	Low Risk of Fire           Visibility:  10mi
Record: 63°[1990]   Record: -12°[1913]	Jan Averages: 44°/16° (4 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

How beautiful the leaves grow old; how full of light and color are their last days.

- John Burroughs

Random Tidbits

Chess has a very long and distinguished history. It is believed to originate out of India during the Gupta empire, and subsequently made its way to the West in the 9th century. Today it is estimated 605 million people worldwide play chess.

There are 400 different possible positions after one move each. There are 72,084 different possible positions after two moves each. There are over 9 million different possible positions after three moves each. The number of distinct 40-move games in chess is far greater than the number of electrons in the observable universe.

A Little Humor

A side effect of quarantine, it is really hard to end phone calls. Twice today I almost said ‘OK I’ve got to run’ before realizing I had nowhere to go

True Things

Those cell phone towers are suspicious. Are they connecting phone calls? Or are they broadcasting subliminal microwave transmissions designed to brainwash the public into believing the government isn't really a race of alien lizard people in disguise? One man wasn't going to wait around to find out. When a crew of utility workers began working on a tower in his neighborhood he took hold of a Bobcat skid-steer, and then he took action.

The man is in custody after allegedly using a skid-steer in a confrontation with utility workers in Minnesota. The Meeker County Sheriff's Office reports that the 67-year-old used a skid-steer to threaten workers at a cell tower site, attempting to flip over equipment the utility workers were using, then threatening to overturn their work trucks.

Deputies responding to the report located the man while he was on his way back to his house. The perpetrator, who was believed to be under the influence of alcohol, was arrested and booked into the Meeker County Jail on pending charges of second-degree assault, disorderly conduct and DUI.

According to the sheriff's office, the man was "upset the workers were out there so he confronted them."

 

Interestng facts about AZ

Ø The world's largest solar telescope is located at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Sells, Arizona..

 

Ø Bisbee, Arizona is known as the Queen of the Copper Mines because during its mining heyday it produced nearly 25 percent of the world's copper and was the largest city in the Southwest between Saint Louis and San Francisco.

 

Ø Billy the Kid killed his first man, Windy Cahill, in Bonita, Arizona.

 

Weekly Observations

National Mocktail Week	10-16
Cuckoo Dancing Week	11-17

 

Today’s Observations

      Cigarettes Are Hazardous To Your Health Day

      Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day Link

      National Clean Off Your Desk Day 

      National Hot Toddy Day

      National Human Trafficking Awareness Day Link

      National Milk Day

      Plough Monday Link 

      Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend's Day

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

A chilly day…wind makes it too cold for a walk.

Attention 2021: I have completed my free 10-day trial of the enhanced 2021 year. To be honest, I am not impressed. Please revert my app for 2021 back to the standard edition. I read all the tiny print, and the standard version has only good surprises; whereas the enhanced version simply states ‘surprises’ will be added throughout the year. I had the enhanced version of 2020, and at least 75% of the surprises were not good ones. Thank you and have a great 2021.

The NFL playoffs are in full swing. To be honest, I have no team in the playoffs and can’t get into any of the games. I’ve tried, but can’t.

I am hoping for a great week ahead, not that I have accepted the standard version of 2021.

Daily Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

They fill me up and you empty me, almost every day; if you raise my arm, I work the opposite way. What am I?

Historical Events

1908 – The Grand Canyon National Monument was created.

1922 – Leonard Thompson (1908-35) was the first person to receive an injection of insulin as a treatment for diabetes.

1927 – Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), announced the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at a banquet in Los Angeles, California.

1935 – Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.

1949 – It snowed in Los Angeles for the first time (that we know of)

1964 – US Surgeon General Dr. Luther Leonidas Terry, M.D., published the first governmental report saying that smoking may be hazardous to health.

1973 – Major League Baseball owners voted to approve of the American League adopting the designated hitter position.

1995 – The WB Television Network was launched.

2005 – The iPod Shuffle (1st generation) was released.

2007 Author J. K. Rowling finishes the 7th and last Harry Potter novel in room 552 of the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh

2018 In China's first significant #MeToo moment Beihang University in Beijing fires a professor for sexual misconduct

2018 US President Donald Trump causes worldwide controversy when it is reported he called African countries "shitholes" during immigration meeting

2020 Diego the giant 100 year old tortoise retires to the Galapagos islands after his high libido is credited with saving his species

Birthdays Today

@102 – Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist, academic, discoverer of LSD (d. 2008)

@85 – James Paget, English surgeon, pathologist (d.1899)

@82 – David L. Wolper, American director, producer (d. 2010)

75 – Naomi Judd, American singer-songwriter actress

@58 – Darryl Dawkins, basketball player, coach (d. 2015; heart attack)

50 – Mary J. Blige, American singer-songwriter

@47 – Alexander Hamilton, 1st Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1804; lost duel)

37 – Matt Mullenweg, American web developer, co-created WordPress

Puzzle Answer

A mailbox.