HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY
Mar 17, 2021 Week: 12 Day: 76 Visibility:
10 miles
Local: H 45°\
L 19° Ave.
Sky Cover: 50%
Wind: 5mph/ Gusts:
7mph Nearest Lightning:275mi.
Very Low Risk of Fire: Active fire: 536mi
Record: 72°[2007] Record: 3°[1991] Mar.
Averages: 53°/23° (6 days with moisture)
Today’s Quote
Drink is the curse of the
land.
It makes you fight with
your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at
your landlord, and it makes you miss him.
Irish Saying
Random Tidbits
The Irish have observed
the feast day of St. Patrick for centuries, usually by attending church in the
morning and celebrating in the afternoon, but the global popularity of the
festival is largely a result of the United States' adoption of it.
When a wave of Irish
immigrants came to the U.S. in the 18th century, there were no shamrocks
growing in New York or Boston or San Francisco. So, while they celebrated their
heritage with parties and parades, they substituted the color green and images
of the shamrock for the plant itself.
The three-leaf clover, a
type of trefoil plant, has been considered the unofficial national flower of
Ireland for centuries. Irish legend says that Saint Patrick used the shamrock
as an educational symbol to explain the Holy Trinity to nonbelievers as he
converted the Irish to Christianity in the fourth century. This folklore
solidified in the public conscience in the centuries after Patrick's death
(which is presumed to have happened on March 17).
A Little Something to Think About
If adults commit adultery, do infants commit infantry?
If pro and con are opposites, is congress the opposite of progress?
If olive oil is made from olives, corn oil from corn and vegetable oil
from vegetables, what do they make baby oil from?
True Things
Evaluation Ordered for
Accused Stuffed Doll Assailant
A judge ordered a
psychological evaluation to help determine the competency of a Florida Man
charged with having sexual contact with a pair of large stuffed animals at a
Target store, court records show. Judge Cathy Ann McKyton appointed a psychologist
to examine Cody Meader, 22, who has been charged with criminal mischief and
exposure of sexual organs. A Target loss prevention officer told police that he
watched as Meader took a stuffed unicorn to the children's bedding department,
where he exposed himself and "took the unicorn and placed it against his
penis and began a sexual motion." Meader, wearing shorts and a Star Wars
t-shirt, then went to the front of the store and "picked up an Olaf
snowman stuffed animal and began having sex with that." According to the
Target worker's witness statement. "The subject finished having sex with
the stuffed animal and ejaculated on it and then wiped it off." Upon being
read his rights, Meader "admitted to doing 'stupid stuff' and admitted
that he had 'nutted' on the Olaf stuffed animal," according to an arrest
affidavit.
Weekly Observations
Lent [Christian] |
Thru 4/3 |
Campfire USA
Birthday Week Teen Tech Week |
14-20 |
Native American
Awareness Week Link |
15-19 |
Act Happy Week |
15-21 |
International
Listening Association Week |
17-20 |
Today’s Observations
Campfire Day
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Day
Green Beer Day
Small Business
Development Day Link
Submarine Day
My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts
My place got about 2” of new snow last night. I woke up to a clear sky
which lasted until about 10am. Now it is very cloudy with a light snow is
falling. This reminds me of one of my mother’s favorite platitudes: If you
don’t like the weather, just wait 5 minutes.
Yo-Yo-Ma, the famous celloist, played for the volunteers while he was
waiting after his shot. Very cool.
There are some Peraguine Falcons that nest just outside Flagstaff near
the road to our local ski area. Annually the forest service stops rock-climbing
in the area to protect the nests and the little ones. The hiking ban starts
today and ends in mid-august. Very cool.
As a retired Dept. of Interior employee, I was incredibly happy to see
a Native American finally confirmed by the Senate late yesterday afternoon.
When I stated working for the Bureau in 1971, I was surprised that there was
not a Native heading the Department, not a Native heading our Bureau, and no
natives in high decision-making positions. There were many discussions back
then about why the Buffalo, the National Parks, and many forests were also part
of the Department that oversaw everything to do with Native tribes. Many younger people saw this as dehumanizing the
tribes. Over the years, more and more Natives moved into leadership roles. I am
happy that a Native is heading the Department, even though I am sure she will
make some controversial decisions.
Daily Puzzle
Answer: bottom of the page
If five cats can catch five mice in five minutes, how long will it
take one cat to catch one mouse?
Historical Events
461 – Saint Patrick died
in Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland.
1762 – The first parade
Saint Patrick (the patron saint of Ireland) was held by Irish soldiers serving
in the British army in New York City.
1885 – The medical report
of the deformities of Joseph Carey Merrick – The ‘Elephant Man’ – was presented
to the Pathological Society of London by Dr. Frederick Treves.
1947 – First flight of
the B-45 Tornado strategic bomber.
1958 – The United States
launched the Vanguard 1 satellite.
1973 -After it was released, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon
album stayed on the Billboard 200 chart for 736 weeks, the most consecutive
number of weeks any album was ever on the chart.
1980 – The Supreme Court
concerning whether a patent could be issued for a genetically-engineered
bacterium in the case of Diamond vs. Chakrabarty. On June 16th, they decided
yes, it could be patented.
1901 – 11 years after his
suicide, 71 paintings by Vincent van Gogh were shown at the Bernheim-Jeune
gallery in Paris.
1958 – The US launched
the Vanguard I satellite, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
1992 – A referendum to
end apartheid in South Africa was passed from 68.7% to 31.2%.
1995 Sinn-Fein leader
Gerry Adams visits White House
1995 US approves 1st
chicken pox vaccine, Varivax by Merck & Co
2001 OPEC decides to cut
output by 4% or 1 million barrels per day, effective April 1
2014 The Republic of
Crimea is declared
2016 Archaeologists
announce the discovery of an 2,500 year old iron age warrior king burial
ground, with 75 graves in Pocklington, Northern England
2020 Chad begins repaying a $100 million debt to Angola with
cattle, as more than 1,000 cows arrive in Luanda
Birthdays Today
77 – John Sebastian,
American singer-songwriter (Lovin’
Spoonful)
72 – Patrick Duffy,
American actor
70 – Kurt Russell,
American actor
66 – Gary Sinise,
American actor
@60 – Samuel ‘Shemp’ Howard, Stooge #4
(d. 1955; heart attack)
57 – Rob Lowe, American
actor
@54 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-French dancer, choreographer
(d. 1993; AIDS)
48 – Mia Hamm, American
soccer player
@45 – Nat King Cole,
American singer, pianist, television host (d. 1965; cancer)
Puzzle Answer
Answer: Five minutes. Using the information we know, it would take one
cat 25 minutes to catch all five mice (5×5=25). Then working backward and
dividing 25 by five, we get five minutes for one cat to catch each mouse.