1 May

  
Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 19 Day: 121 \ Ave. sky cover: 5% \ Visibility: 10 miles Flagstaff Today 69° \28° 
Wind: 5mph \ Gusts: 9mph
Extreme risk of fire \ Nearest active fire: 12mi \ nearest Lightning: 686mi
May Averages for Flagstaff: 68° \ 34°  (3 days of moisture)

Today’s Quote

Monthly Observations

ALS Awareness Month  Link
(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's Disease) 
American Cheese Month  Link (Moved from October in  2019)
America's Wetlands Month  Link
Apraxia Awareness Month   Link
APS Awareness Month Link
Aramanth Month Link
Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Asthma Awareness Month
Awareness of Medical Orphans Month

Weekly Observations

Thru 5/1 Ramadan Preservation Week Link (re: Libraries) Stewardship Week   Interstate Mullet Toss  National Dream Hotline  National & Global Youth Service Days

Thru 5/2 Festival of Ridvan: Baha'i community

May 1-7   Spring Astronomy Week  Be Kind To Animals Week  Dating and Life Coach Recognition Week  Link  Drinking Water Week  Link  Flexible Work Arrangement Week  Geek Week  Link  (First Week) Goodwill Industries Week   Hurricane Preparedness Week   Link International Clitoris Awareness Week    National Alcohol & Drug Related Birth Defects Awareness Week  National Anxiety & Depression Awareness Week National Correctional Officer's Week    National Family Week     National Hug Holiday Week National Root Canal Appreciation Week  Link   National Small Business Week National Tourism Week  National Small Business Week National Tourism Week Link   North American Occupational Safety & Health Week   Link Public Service Recognition Week   Link National Pet Week  Link   Update Your References Week

 

Daily Observations

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

A nice Saturday. I spent much of the morning cleaning my deck after the long winter. I am finally ready for spring. My one pine tree in the back can produce more cones and dead needles than anyone can imagine. Then the really windy days also break off small new growth branches that land on the deck.

I have lots of non-tracking programs on my computer and my phone. Yet, whenever I search for something, it appears as ads in every site I visit. If these jerks can beat my non-tracking software, why can’t they turn it off when I buy the item? I really like my air-fryer. I wanted to one with larger capacity with more bells and whistles. One popped up on Morning Save, so I bought it online. It will replace my toaster oven & my air fryer. Three days later, ads for Air Fryers are still popping up. There is NO privacy on the internet.

Everyone knows I am a Jeopardy! fan. The current champion is setting records for wins, she  is only 23 years old and is from Canada. Mattea Roach is the youngest person to win 17+ games and still going. The NBC website wanted to recognize her. Their post said ‘Mattea Roach is a lesbian tutor from Canada….’ One can image the instant backlash from that introduction. Does that mean she tutors individuals to become lesbian? Many didn’t realize that was a career.

Favorite Memes

 

Myths that are not true

Drinking coffee stunts growth

While excess caffeine is not the healthiest thing for a child, drinking coffee has no link to growth. Stature and height are determined by genes.

We only use 10% of our brain

This common misconception is far from the truth. While you may not be using every bit of the brain at any given time, you do use your entire brain over the course of the day.

A full moon alters behavior

The most research has ever been able to do is prove correlations between a full moon and abnormal or altered behavior, which as we all (should) know, does not equal causation.

Country Names

Saudi Arabia

The word "Saudi" refers to the Sa'ūd ibn Muhammad ibn Muqrin dynasty. The word actually means "good fortune," making the country's literal translation, "Land of Good Fortune."

Thailand

"Thai" means "Free," which makes Thailand's translation "Land of the Free."

Australia

It was the Greeks who came up with the name "Terra Australis Incognita," which means "Unknown Southern Land." Australia then, translates to mean "Southern Land."

Historical Events

Ø    1707 – The Act of Union, uniting England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain took effect.

Ø    1759 – Josiah Wedgwood founded the Wedgwood pottery company in Great Britain.

Ø    1884 – Construction of the world’s first skyscraper began in Chicago. At 10 stories high, the Home Insurance Company building opened in 1885.

Ø    1893 – The influential Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago.

Ø    1899 – Bayer introduced aspirin in powder form, in Germany. The pill came about in 1915.

Ø    1939 – Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27

Ø    1941 – Citizen Kane premiered in New York City, at the RKO Palace.

Ø    1956 – The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk was made available to the public.

Ø    1958 – “A national day set aside to celebrate the rule of law. Law Day underscores how law and the legal process have contributed to the freedoms that all Americans share.”

Ø    1958 – The discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts that surround Earth by James Van Allen was published in the Washington Evening Star.

Ø    1960 – American U-2 spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union.

Ø    1961 – Fidel Castro, proclaimed Cuba a socialist nation and abolished elections.

Ø    1964 – The BASIC computer program was used for the first time at Dartmouth University by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz. The name is an acronym for ‘Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code’.

Ø    1971 – Amtrak took over the operation of the American passenger rail service.

Ø    1989 – Disney/MGM Studios opened at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.

Ø    1999 – The body of British climber George Mallory was found on Mount Everest, 75 years after his disappearance in 1924.

Ø    2009 – Same-sex marriage was legalized in Sweden.

Ø    2011 – Osama bin Laden was reported killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan.

Birthdays Today

@92 – Louis Nye, American comedic actor (d. 2005)

@90 – Glenn Ford, Canadian-American actor (d. 2006)

@85 – Jack Paar, American comedian, author and talk show host (d. 2004)

83 – Judy Collins, American singer-songwriter

@79 – Kate Smith, American singer and actress (d. 1986; diabetic complications)

77 – Rita Coolidge, American singer-songwriter

55 – Tim McGraw, American singer-songwriter

@53 – Calamity Jane [Martha Jane Cannary], American frontierswoman, professional scout (d. 1903; alcohol related)

 

Apr 30

 

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 18 Day: 120  Ave. sky cover: 5% \ Visibility: 10 miles Flagstaff Today 70° \35° 
Wind: 11mph \ Gusts: 18mph
Extreme risk of fire \ Nearest active fire: 12mi \ nearest Lightning: 497mi
Apr Averages for Flagstaff: 59° \ 28°  (3 days of moisture)

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

3- 5/1 Ramadan

21-5/2 Festival of Ridvan: Baha'i community

22-30    International Dark Sky Week Link

23-30  International Wildlife Film Week Link

24-30  Administrative Professionals Week National Dance Week  Link  National Infertility Awareness Week Link Medical Laboratory Professionals Week  Link National Crime Victims Rights Week Link National Pediatric Transplant Week  National Scoop The Poop Week Sky Awareness Week                                                                          World Immunization Week Fibroid Awareness Week   National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) Link

24-5/1  Preservation Week Link (re: Libraries) Stewardship Week

27-30   American Quilters Society Week Link

28-30  Gathering of the Nations Powwow: Link

29-5/1   Interstate Mullet Toss  National Dream Hotline  National & Global Youth Service Days

 

Daily Observations

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

A nice sunny day so I took a long walk in the forest. Very nice!

The Tunnel fire near Flagstaff is no 90% contained. Hopefully this good news will continue.

When Dr. Fauci said ‘not a pandemic phase’ simply meant that we are in a phase of COVID that is not pandemic. That does not mean that the pandemic is over, just that it is not pandemic currently. Things can change.

Putin fired missiles on Kyiv, Ukraine yesterday. This is while the Secretary-General of the UN was in Kyiv. Many are seeing this as a middle finger to diplomacy by Russia. In another part of Ukraine, a retired Marine was killed after going to Ukraine to help the citizens.

I was in Beijing before the Pandemic. Now, Beijing is starting to lockdown the city with 22 million people. After seeing pictures of the barriers put up, I am concerned about the tour guides and drivers we showed us that amazing city. 

Favorite Memes

 

Myths that are not true

Sitting too close to the television damages your eyes

Sitting too close to the television is not known to harm eyesight. The myth most likely comes from the color TV-sets in the 1960s that emitted unsafe amounts of radiation.

If you make a silly face, it will freeze like that

Your facial muscles are elastic and will always return to their normal state.

Dogs see in black and white

Dogs can see color, just not to the same extent as humans.

Country Names

Japan

The English word for Japan actually comes from the Chinese name for the country, "Cipangu." The country's name apparently means "Land of the Rising Sun."

Malaysia

Malaysia's name perhaps comes from the Tamil words "malali" and "ur," meaning "mountain" and "city." Together: mountain city.

England

Land of the angels? No, England actually means "land of the Angles," referring to the Old English "Engla land."

Historical Events

Ø    1789 – In New York City, George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States.

Ø    1803 – The Louisiana Purchase from France, for 15 million dollars, also included much (if not all of) of Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Ø    1812 – The Territory of Orleans became the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.

Ø    1894 – Antarctic iceberg fragment was sighted at a latitude 26.50 degrees south, approximately parallel to to Rio de Janeiro, the nearest to the equator that an Antarctic iceberg that has been seen.

Ø    1900 – Casey Jones died in a train wreck in Vaughan, Mississippi, while trying to make up time on the Cannonball Express.

Ø    1900 – Hawaii became a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.

Ø    1938 – The cartoon short Porky’s Hare Hunt debuted in movie theaters, introducing ‘Happy Rabbit’ (a prototype of Bugs Bunny).

Ø    1939 – The 1939/1940 New York World’s Fair opened.

Ø    1939 – Franklin Roosevelt became the first US President to appear on Television, while appearing at the New York World’s Fair.

Ø    1947 – Nevada’s Boulder Dam was renamed the Hoover Dam.

Ø    1948 – The Land Rover, a British-made all-terrain vehicle, debuted at an auto show in Amsterdam.

Ø    1992- A Time Capsule was put in the ground in front of the Nickelodeon Building. However, on the same exact day 13 years later, Nickelodeon’s studios closed. It’s now underneath the entrance to the Nickelodeon Resort. It will be opened April 30th, 2042.

Ø  1993  Tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed by Gunter Parchein Hamburg, Germany.

Birthdays Today

@94 – Cloris Leachman, American actress (d. 2021)

@89 – Alice B. Toklas, American memoirist (died in 1967)

@82 – Eve Arden, American character actress (d. 1990)

@74 – Gary Collins, American actor and talk show host (d. 2012)

@73 – Bobby Vee [Robert Thomas Velline], singer-songwriter (d. 2016; dementia)

@66 – Jill Clayburgh, American actress (d. 2010; leukemia)

47 – Johnny Galecki, American actor

41 – Kunal Nayyar, TV Actor

40 – Kirsten Dunst, American actress

37 – Gal Gadot, Israeli actress and model

31 – Travis Scott, American rapper and producer