16 Dec

 

16 December 2022

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 51 Day 350 \ Ave. Sky Cover 5% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 35° \6° 
Wind 9mph \ Gusts 14mph  Air Quality: Fair \Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 345mi \ Nearest Lightning 1408mi
Dec Averages for Flagstaff: 43° \ 17° `
Chilly with Sunshine

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

Andisop (Meteorological Fiddling): 5-24   Link
Human Rights Week: 10-17
Christmas Bird Count Week: 14-1/5 Link 
Halcyon Days: 14-28 
Halcyon Days: 14-28 
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over: 15 - 1/1/23  Link 
Posadas: 16-24

Daily Observations

Barbie and Barney Backlash Day
National Chocolate-covered Anything Day  Link
National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day Link 
Stupid Toy Day
Underdog Day 
Zionism Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Another cold night and chilly day. The sunshine is nice, but it is too cold to melt the snow.

In a few days, Title 42 ends. That is the rule to prevent the spread of Covid from Sep 2020 that addresses immigrants. Congress has had over two years to make a plan that deals with our border. Shame on Congress for not averting the surge that has been expected when Title 42 ended. Living in a border state, I am so worn out from all the finger-pointing and blaming.

Favorite Memes

Did you Know?

Tarantula bites are about as painful as bee stings.

Despite their incredibly scary reputation, it turns out that tarantulas have a bite that is about as painful and as venomous as a bee sting. And according to Burke Museum, "None of the North American species or those commonly kept as pets are considered to pose even a mild bite hazard."

In fact, the museum's website says, "Hollywood is squarely to blame for these spiders' toxic-to-humans reputation. Tarantulas are large, photogenic and many are easily handled, and therefore they have been very widely used in horror and action-adventure movies."   

Slang Origins

1937: Dirt-poor

Even as the economy began to recover from the Depression, American families were suffering. Upper-middle-class professionals saw their income drop by up to 40%, and everyone was forced to make lifestyle changes to get by. While it’s often claimed that “dirt-poor” originated in 1500s England, this is actually an Americanism coined during one of the poorest times in U.S. history.

Corny jokes

How did the dead brother and his dead brother resemble each other?

They were dead ringers.

…

Why are there gates around cemeteries?

Because people are dying to get in.

…

Why shouldn’t you write with a broken pen?

Because it’s pointless.

Historical Events

1773 – The Boston Tea Party: Members of the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawk Indians, dumped hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.
1944 – The Battle of the Bulge
1947 – William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain built the first practical point-contact transistor.
1950 -US President Harry S. Truman declares a state of emergency after Chinese troops enter the fight in support of communist North Korea.

Birthdays Today

@90 – Arthur C. Clarke, British science fiction writer (d. 2008)
“Perhaps it is better to be un-sane and happy, than sane and un-happy. But it is the best of all to be sane and happy. Whether our descendants can achieve that goal will be the greatest challenge of the future. Indeed, it may well decide whether we have any future.”– Arthur C. Clarke
81 – Lesley Stahl, American journalist
76 – Benny Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter, ABBA
@76 – Margaret Mead, American anthropologist author (d. 1978; cancer)
@73 – Noël Coward, English actor, playwright, composer (d. 1973; heart failure)
“The higher the building the lower the morals.”– Noël Coward
61 – Shane Black, American actor, director, screenwriter
59 – Benjamin Bratt, American actor
“The one thing for an actor that is death, is if you’re bored. The boredom will show in your work. It’s an amazing blessing to do something you love.”– Benjamin Bratt
@56 – Ludwig van Beethoven, composer (d. 1827; fever)
@50 – Catherine Of Aragon, Queen (d. 1536; banished)
@41 – Jane Austen, novelist (d. 1817; Addison's Disease)
41 – Krysten Ritter, American actress