May 5

 

 
Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 19 Day: 125 \ Ave. sky cover: 5% \ Visibility: 10 miles Flagstaff Today 65° \28° 
Wind: 5mph \ Gusts: 6mph
High risk of fire \ Nearest active fire: 12mi \ nearest Lightning: 446mi
May Averages for Flagstaff: 68° \ 34°  (3 days of moisture)

 

Today’s Quote

Monthly Observations

National Allergy/Asthma Awareness Month Link
National Arthritis Awareness Month
National Barbeque Month
National Better Hearing Month Link
National Bike Month Link
National Chamber Music Month Link
National Egg Month Link  Link
National Electrical Safety Month  Link
National Foster Care Month Link
National Good Car Keeping Month
National Hamburger Month  Link  Link
National Hepatitis Awareness Month
National High Blood Pressure Education Month  Link
National Inventors Month Link
Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month (aka NF Month) Link
(World) Lyme Disease Awareness Month Link

Weekly Observations

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

2-6  Air Quality Awareness Week: Link  Construction Safety Week  Link National Safety Stand Down Week (Constuction Falls) Link PTA Teacher Appreciation Week Teacher Appreciation Week

2-8    Children's Book Week Link  (Also Nov. 7-13) National Sun Safety Week Link Peripheral Neuropathy Awareness Week  Link National Wildflower Week  Screen-Free Week (Digital Detox Week) Link

3-11  (World) Dystonia Awareness Week Link

6-12  National Nurses Day and Week: Link  Link

6-15 National Public Gardens Week  Link

Daily Observations

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

The first non-windy day of May. Very nice.

Happy Cinco de Mayo…a big party in the US, not so much in Mexico. Originally commemorating the Mexican Army’s (outnumbered 3 to 1) victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla, on May 5, 1862, Cinco de Mayo has become an American celebration of Mexican culture and heritage. Today, alcohol sales are on par with Superbowl Sunday and Mardi Gras.

I had an 8am appointment this morning. I drove by an elementary, middle, and high school to get to the appointment. Lots of kids heading for a school day with many on bikes. I was amazed to see every child riding a bike had on a helmet. When I was in school, we rode our bikes to school without helmets…guess they hadn’t been invented yet.

I have been sending this blog to a colleague forever. Last week, I kept getting notices that no such address existed. I tried calling, but the phone was an old phone number and had been disconnected. Yesterday I got an email that technology had won…she had simply gotten a new email address after her old one broke. Good news.

Being adopted or being empathic, I keep listening to the Abortion debate. I do not understand the problem. No law is requiring a woman to get an abortion, just like there is no law that requires a woman to take birth control or a man to get a vasectomy…except in very rare circumstances. It is a choice. If the anti-abortion crowd would become more empathetic, they would be working to find a way to protect those children, when they are unwanted. Adoption is one way. Yes, I know many adoptees. Most have good lives and are happy. Some had a difficult time accepting that their birth mother gave them away. Even fewer had a bad experience growing up with difficult adoptive parents. If abortion becomes illegal, several things will happen: Mothers may return to the old days with an illegal and dangerous abortion. Mothers may raise a child they do not want or love. Mothers may put up the child for adoption. From my experience, adoption has the best odds. Yes, there will be some children who still must grow up in a bad situation, but the vast majority will be happy and functional in society. The anti-abortion people need to put their money and their lives into improving the adoption option before forcing mothers to make sometimes disastrous decisions. The same is true for those who are pro-abortion.

Favorite Memes

 

Myths that are not true

Salt makes water boil faster

Not only is this one completely false, it actually accomplishes the complete opposite. Salt increases the boiling point of water, actually making it take longer to boil.

If you sneeze with your eyes open, they will fall out

We naturally close our eyes when we sneeze, but if we force them to stay open, there is no way they will fall out. There is a slight elevation in blood pressure behind the eyes, but not nearly enough to cause anything resembling them popping out of their sockets.

It is impossible for someone to lick their own elbow

While rare, a very flexible and hypermobile person is capable of this feat.

If you go outside with wet hair, you'll get sick

Colds are caused by viruses, not from being physically cold. Often, cold or flu viruses are more common in the winter, increasing the overall likelihood of getting sick, which may have resulted in this myth.

State Trivia

Arizona: cutting down a cactus can result in jail time

The saguaro is the largest American cactus and one that we associate Arizona very closely with. Its blossom is the official state flower, but the impressive spiny flora also takes a really long time to grow so the state has taken extra steps to protecting its iconic cactus. Cutting saguaros down, even on your own property, can result in substantial fines or even jail time. The maximum time given for such offenses is a jaw-dropping 25 years. Fines for damaging the cactus in any way, including scratching in initials, can reach as much as $5,000.

Arkansas: it's the diamond state

Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only operational diamond mine in America and it's also the only one in the world that allows the public to hunt for the precious gems so if you find one, you're allowed to keep it. The most valuable and largest diamonds ever discovered in the US were also found in this state park. The 8.52-carat Esperanza gem was discovered in 2015 and is estimated to be worth around a million dollars, while the largest diamond, the 40.23-carat Uncle Sam, was found here in 1924.

California: it's both the highest and the lowest state

Amazingly, California's terrain is extremely varied. At 14,494 feet (4,418m), the highest point in the contiguous United States is Mount Whitney, while the lowest point in the lower 48 states is the Bad Water Basin (pictured) in Death Valley, which is 282 feet (86m) below sea level. What makes this extreme terrain even more surprising and impressive is the fact that the two points are just 85 miles (137km) apart as the crow flies.

Historical Events

Ø    1260 – Kublai Khan became the ruler of the Mongol Empire.
Ø    1809 – Mary Kies became the first woman awarded a US patent (#X01043), for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.
Ø    1847 – The American Medical Association (AMA) met for the first time in the Hall of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Ø    1862 – General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated a French army led by General Charles Latrille de Lorencez that was attempting to capture Puebla de Los Angeles, a small town in east-central Mexico. This was the initial Cinco de Mayo cause for celebration.
Ø    1891 – The Music Hall in New York City (now known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Pyotr Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
Ø    1893 – Stock Market Crash of 1893, the second-worst economic crisis in American history, so far.
Ø    1987 – Congressional televised hearings in the United States began over the Iran-Contra Affair.
Ø    1904 – Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball, against the Philadelphia Athletics.
Ø    1961 – Navy Commander Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. was launched into space aboard the Freedom 7 space capsule, the first American astronaut to travel into space.
Ø    1965 – The Warlocks, later known as The Grateful Dead, made their first public appearance at Magoo’s Pizza located at 639 Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park, California.
Ø    1994 – American teenager Michael P. Fay was caned in Singapore for theft and vandalism

Birthdays Today

95 – Pat Carroll, American actress

@81 – James Beard, American chef and author (d.d 1985)

79 – Michael Palin, English actor, screenwriter

@64 – Karl Marx, German philosopher and sociologist, wrote The Communist Manifesto (died in 1883)

@57 – Nellie Bly, American journalist, author (d. 1922; pneumonia)

@55 – Tammy Wynette, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998; blood clot)

41 – Danielle Fishel, American actress

39 – Henry Cavill, English actor

34 – Adele, English singer-songwriter

33 – Chris Brown, American singer-songwriter

23 – Nathan Chen, Olympic figure skater