Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 18 Day: 118  Ave. sky cover: 5% \ Visibility: 10 miles Flagstaff Today 69° \35°  
Wind: 5mph \ Gusts: 16mph
Extreme risk of fire \ Nearest active fire: 15mi \ nearest Lightning: 300mi
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

25-29  National Playground Safety Week Link National Youth Violence Prevention Week Link

27-30   American Quilters Society Week Link

28-30  Gathering of the Nations Powwow: Link

28-29  National Medical Cannabis Week  Link

 

Daily Observations

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

A nice day. My phlebotomy was a huge success. It only took 18 minutes.

I headed to Sam’s for gas…price has dropped only a few cents. If you include inflation, that is about the price I was paying in 1974. Hmmm

Putin is cutting off gas to Poland and others. They do not approve of his attack on Ukraine, and they refuse to pay for fuel in Rubles. Putin is really playing dirty.

A prisoner swap has gotten Marine Trevor Reed released from a Russian prison so all it not lost.

There is always a twist, especially when an action is done in haste. Florida legislature ended Disney’s special status. This seems to have occurred because Disney made statements against the ‘Don’t say Gay’ law recently enacted. Disney is going to court because they believe such action can’t happen until about $1 billion in bonds are paid by Florida. Watch this space.

Dr. Fauci says that the US is out of the Covid-10 pandemic phase. That is not to say Covid is over, just that it is no longer a pandemic. We still need to be smart and be wary when at large indoor activities.

There is a full investigation into the local Tunnel fire that burned 21,000 acres and destroyed many buildings. There are questions about how it started. The Forest Service arrived and put out the flames. Then they left. The next morning, they returned, and the fire was alive and burning. The wind picked up and the fire spread quickly and was soon out of control. The biggest question is why they did not leave a small crew there overnight, a very common practice, that might have stopped the spread. I sure hope the investigation finds ways to prevent this situation in the future. So sad. 

Favorite Memes

 

A bit of Humor

What vegetable needs a plumber?

A leek.

Country Names

·        Argentina

Argentina was originally called "Tierra Argentina," which translates to "Land beside the Silvery River." The "Silvery River" refers to the Rio de la Plata, and "Argentina" translates to "Silvery."

·        Papua New Guinea

"Papua" can be traced back to the Malay "papuah," a descriptor of the naturally frizzy hair of Melanesians. "New Guinea" came from explorers, as the locals reminded them of Guineans from Africa.

·        Kenya

Kenya is a shortened name for "Kirinyaga," a Kikuyu word which comes from the Swahili "kere nyaga," which apparently means "Mountain of Whiteness."

Historical Events

Ø  1788 – Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution.

Ø  1789 – The HMS Bounty was taken over in a mutiny led by Fletcher Christian, the first mate. Captain William Bligh and 18 of his loyal supporters were set adrift in a small boat.

Ø  1923 – Wembley Stadium opened, named initially as the Empire Stadium.

Ø  1967 – World boxing champion Muhammad Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.) refused to be inducted into the US Army and was immediately stripped of his heavyweight title.

Ø  1975 – Tom Snyder interviewed ex-Beatle John Lennon on The Tomorrow Show.

Ø  1988 – Over Maui, Hawaii, flight attendant Clarabelle “C.B.” Lansing was blown out of Aloha Airlines Flight 243, a Boeing 737, and fell to her death when part of the plane’s fuselage ripped open in mid-flight.

Ø  2001 – Dennis Tito became the first tourist in space, paying the Russian Space Agency a reputed $20,000,000 to join the crew of Soyuz TM.

Birthdays Today

@89 – Harper Lee, American novelist (d. 2016)

81 – Ann-Margret, Swedish-American actress, singer, and dancer

@76 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, businessman (d.1993)

@76 – Lionel Barrymore, American actor (d. 1954; heart attack)

@76 – Oskar Schindler, German industrialist and humanitarian (d. 1974; liver failure)

@73 – James Monroe, 5th President of the United States (d. 1831; heart failure)

72 – Jay Leno, American comedian and talk show host

@69 – Saddam Hussein, Iraqi general, 5th President of Iraq (d. 2006; hung)

48 – Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress

41 – Jessica Alba, American actress