29 Dec

 

29 December 2022

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 53 Day 363 \ Ave. Sky Cover 95% \ Visibility 4miles Flagstaff Today 45° \29° 
Wind 4mph \ Gusts 5mph  Air Quality: Fair\Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 266mi \ Nearest Lightning 112mi
Dec Averages for Flagstaff: 43° \ 17° `
Snow

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

Christmas Bird Count Week: 14-1/5 Link 
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over: 15 - 1/1/23  Link 
It's About Time Week: 25-31
Kwanzaa: 26-1/1

Daily Observations

National Pepper Pot Day
Still Need To Do Day
Texas Admission Day (28th state)
Tick Tock Day
YMCA Day (Organization not The Song)

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Snow has arrived. So far about 5” on the ground. Glad I had no plans to be out and about today. This storm should continue until 2023.  Over 4200 have lost power in West Flagstaff. They are saying it should be back on after 5 hours without power. Some days will get snow, others will be just cloudy. On the upside…it is not that cold. Hopefully the full storm will only bring a few more inches.

Good news on Navajo…Both Shiprock and Tuba City have gotten Federal funds to fund a domestic violence shelter in each town. This is much needed as victims have had to leave the reservation to find a shelter. I recall a Navajo teacher and her K daughter who were abused. She came to me one night after her boyfriend threatened her and her daughter with a knife. I found her a shelter in Flagstaff. She stayed there for almost a year before returning. It was very difficult for her to be that far from family, but she was safe.

As the Supreme Court looks at Title 42, I encourage the Congress to do its job and deal with the immigration crisis. 

Favorite Memes Winter Wonderland Part 3

Facts…

Located in the Mariana Trench southwest of Guam, the Challenger Deep — named for the first crew to record its depth — measures an astounding 36,200 feet deep, which is three times deeper than the average depth of the ocean floor. Using a sounding rope, the HMS Challenger calculated the trench’s depth to be 26,850 feet in 1875. As more teams flocked to the western Pacific over the years, researchers used advanced sonar techniques to measure the current recorded depth. To this day, the Challenger Deep is the deepest known point on Earth.

While they may appear similar, marshes and swamps are technically quite different. Although they both are a type of wetland, a swamp can also be compared to a lowland forest, as it is classified based on the type of tree that grows in its ecosystem. For example, depending on the predominant tree, a swamp can be classified as a hardwood swamp, a cedar swamp, or a cypress swamp (like South Florida’s Big Cypress Swamp). On the other hand, a marsh has no trees and instead is dominated by plants and grasses that thrive on the waterlogged soil. Although many people believe the Everglades to be a swamp, it is actually the largest marsh system in the U.S. — before it was partially developed, it took up an astonishing 4,000 square miles of the Florida landscape. 

Slang Origins

1949: Beefcake

Meaning: an attractive display of an unusually muscular male physique

A “beefcake” may actually have been a food during the 1940s, but that definition has long since been eclipsed by the displays of men in very little clothing showing off their muscles. It was based on the female equivalent of these displays, a "cheesecake." Today, it’s used to refer to actors and bodybuilders who may have been in one of these athletic demonstrations back in the day.

Mysteries…

IS THE COPPER SCROLL TREASURE REAL?

Another treasure tale that will probably never be resolved is more ancient. In 1952 a copper scroll was found by archaeologists in a cave, along with other Dead Sea Scrolls, at the site of Qumran. As its name suggests, the writing was engraved onto a copper scroll. The scroll records a vast amount of hidden gold and silver treasure — so much, in fact, that some scholars believe that it is impossible for it to exist.

The scroll dates back more than 1,900 years to a time when the Roman Empire controlled the Qumran area. There were a number of revolts against Roman rule at the time the scroll was written, and scientists have hypothesized that the treasure was hidden to prevent its capture by Roman forces. Whether the treasure is real, where exactly it was hidden, whether it was ever found and whether it could still exist today are all mysteries that will likely never be solved.

Historical Events

1851 – The first American YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) opened in Boston, Massachusetts.
1890 – The US Cavalry killed 146 Sioux at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota.
1916 – James Joyce’s book Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was published

Birthdays Today

@88 – William Ewart Gladstone, British politician
“Here is my first principle of foreign policy: good government at home.”– William Ewart Gladstone
84 – Jon Voight, American actor
@80 – Mary Tyler Moore, American actress (d. 2017)
“Pain nourishes courage. You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.”– Mary Tyler Moore
76 – Marianne Faithfull, English actress and singer
“If you analyze the bad times you find that it’s because you wanted to have a bad time.”– Marianne Faithfull
75 – Ted Danson, American actor
@66 – Andrew Johnson, American politician, 17th President (d. 1875; stroke)
“If I am shot at, I want no man to be in the way of the bullet.”– Andrew Johnson
63 – Paula Poundstone, American comedian
“It’s funny that we think of libraries as quiet demure places where we are shushed by dusty, bun-balancing, bespectacled women. The truth is libraries are raucous clubhouses for free speech, controversy, and community. Librarians have stood up to the Patriot Act, sat down with noisy toddlers, and reached out to illiterate adults. Libraries can never be shushed.”– Paula Poundstone
@60 – Ed Flanders, American actor (d. 1995; suicide)
@59 – Charles Goodyear, American chemist, and engineer (d. 1860; grief)
50 – Jude Law, English actor
46 – Danny McBride, American actor
43 – Diego Luna, Mexican actor
40 – Alison Brie, American actress
37 – Alexa Ray Joel, American singer-songwriter