Jan 4

 

2021…at last

Jan 4, 2021  Week: 1  Day: 4	Local:  H 42°\ L 21°\Ave. Sky Cover: 5%
Wind:   10mph\Gusts:  19mph	Nearest lightning:  1945mi.; Active fire:  59mi
Low Risk of Fire	Visibility:  10mi
Record: 64°[1927]   Record: -22°[1971]	Jan Averages: 44°/\16° (4 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

Nature was here a series of wonders, and a fund of delight.

Daniel Boone

Random Tidbits

Perhaps the eeriest tradition out there, locals in this South American country burn scarecrows, or effigies, to dispel any bad vibes from the past year. Sometimes, they are dressed to resemble people that they dislike and are then burned as a symbol of “forgiving and forgetting”. Families make their scarecrows together as a fun bonding activity and the atmosphere is light-hearted — even if the effigies look terrifying. The scarecrows are often accompanied by photographs or messages of negative things that represent the past year. Besides the fires, every city in Ecuador throws high-energy parties with music, drinks and dancing late into the night. Whether you’re visiting picturesque Quito or bustling Guayaquil, you’re sure to have the most unique New Year’s Eve celebration yet.

Circle Obsessed in the Philippines

In this Southeast Asian country, they are obsessed with all things round on New Year’s Eve. Circular objects are thought to be sacred and to bring good fortune to your household in the new year. Coins in pockets, polka-dotted clothes and round foods like grapes and oranges are all examples of things you will find in every household during this holiday. There is much more to see here than just coins and grapes. Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, is home to beautiful Spanish colonial architecture and an awesome fireworks show on New Year’s Eve that you won’t want to miss.

A Little Humor

Q: What do you call a small dog? A subwoofer!.

 My sensitive toothpaste can't stop crying

True Things

French man hid Russian wife in suitcase

A Frenchman was detained by Polish border guards after a search of his suitcase revealed shocking contents -- his Russian bride. Polish Border Guard officers at the Terespol border crossing from Belarus said they searched the luggage of a French train passenger in his 60s and discovered his large suitcase was concealing his Russian wife, who is in her 30s. The guards said the couple told them the woman was hiding in the suitcase because they feared she would not be allowed to cross the border from Belarus to Poland due to her lack of European Union citizenship. Dariusz Sienicki, spokesman for Polish Border Guard, said the woman "was in good shape and wasn't in need of any medical attention." Sienicki said the man was unaware that his wife would have been allowed to cross the border because he possessed the proper documentation showing their marital ties. "If she had traveled sitting next to her husband, she would have gone through smoothly," Sienicki said. The man and woman were detained on a charge of attempting to evade border control. They could each face up to three years in prison if convicted. "This was the first time I've seen someone travel like this. She very well could have been a victim of human trafficking," Sienicki said.

Monthly Observations

 

Oatmeal Month Link Self-help Group Awareness Month Self-Love Month Shape Up US Month Teen Driving Awareness Month Train Your Dog Month Link   Link Thyroid Awareness Month Link Unchain A Dog Month Link Walk Your Pet Month Link  Link Worldwide Rising Star Month

 

Weekly Observations

Christmas Bird Count Week Link	Thru 1/5
Diet Resolution Week	1-7
Silent Record Week	1-7
New Year's Resolutions Week	1-8  Link
Someday We'll Laugh About This Week	2-8
National Personal Trainer Awareness Week [cancelled]	2-9
Home Office Safety and Security Week Link National Folic Acid Awareness Week Link Dating & Life Coaches Recognition Week National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week	3-9

 

Today’s Observations

Blue Monday 
Congress Assembles 
Dimpled Chad Day
Divorce Monday Link 
Handsel Day Link 
National Spaghetti Day

National Weigh-In Day   
Pop Music Chart Day
"Thank God It's Monday" Day 
Tom Thumb Day
Trivia Day
World Braille Day  Link
World Hypnotism Day  Link

 

My Sometmes-Long-Winded Thoughts

It was very chilly last night.  Weather guy says we will soon be warming up. I can’t wait. I have self-quarantined for 8 days and need to get things on Monday. Fresh veggies are at the top of the list.

I checked my account, and I got my $600. I am not in financial trouble like so many others, but I don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. I’ll spend it buying local.

Flagstaff had its driest year since records were kept (1898). There was only 9.59” which is far below the average 12”. To make it worse, 2020 was the 5^th warmest year.

There are crazies everywhere. It is unusual that both Mitch McConnell’s home and Nancy Pelosi’s home were vandalized on the same night. Our democracy is in deep trouble.

In AZ: a twitter battle between Meagan McCain and Kelly Ward (head of GOP in AZ). Ward tweeted that the Republican party has changed and gone are the days of McCain…and others. An insensitive tweet for sure.

My maternal grandmother was a pre-insulin diabetic and a schoolteacher. She lost her sight in the mid 1950’s. I remember her learning Braille and reading to me from those bumpy pages. Today is the birthday of Louis Braille and I say thanks. Yesterday I put a quilt her mother [my great-grandmother] made in the mid-1930’s and put it on my bed. It is very warm.

Daily Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

I have a big mouth and I am also quite loud, I get involved in everyone’s dirty business but I do not gossip. What am I?

Historical Events

1865 – The New York Stock Exchange opened its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York City.

1903 – Thomas Edison filmed the electrocution of a murdering elephant, Topsy, to show the dangers of Alternating Current electricity.

1958 NZ team led by Edmund Hillary reaches the South Pole, the 1st to reach the Pole overland using motor vehicles and the 1st since Amundsen in 1911 and Scott in 1912

1959 – The USSR’s Luna 1 became the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.

1965 LBJ's "Great Society" State of the Union Address

1989 George H. W. Bush is 1st Vice President since Martin Van Buren to declare himself President of the United States

2007 The 110th United States Congress convenes and elects Nancy Pelosi as the 1st female Speaker of the House

2020 Australian bushfires death toll reaches 23 as PM Scott Morrison announces national defense force will be employed to help fight the more than 200 fires, amid criticism of his leadership

 

Birthdays Today

@84 – Isaac Newton, English mathematician, and physicist (d. 1727)

@78 – Jacob Grimm, German writer, Grimm’s Fairy Tales (d. 1863)

@71 – Floyd Patterson, boxer (died in 2006; Alzheimer’s/Prostate cancer)

@45 – General Tom Thumb [Charles Stratton], circus performer (d. 1883; stroke)

@43 – Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (d. 1852; TB)

 

Puzzle Answer

A vacuum cleaner.