14 Aug

 

 
Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 34 Day 226 \ Ave. Sky Cover 50% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 72° \54° 
Wind 2mph \ Gusts 4mph  Air Quality Fair
Moderate Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 26mi \ Nearest Lightning 0mi
Aug Averages for Flagstaff: 79° \ 50° (9days of moisture)

 

Today’s Quote 

Weekly Observations

Thru Sep.5 National Marina Days (From Memorial Day to Labor Day)  Link

5-14  Sturgis Rally Link Twins Day  Link

8-14   World Karaoke Championships Link

9-16  Elvis Week Link

11-14  National Hobo Week Link

14-20 National Motorcycle Week Link (2nd Week) Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week Link  Link   National Resurrect Romance Week National Resurrect Romance Week Weird Contest Week National Aviation Week

Daily Observations

Creamsicle Day
Bagel Day Link 
Military Marriage Day 
National Navajo Code Talkers Day
Social Security Day
V-J Day
World Calligraphy Day Link

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Stormy day. I did some shopping before the storm hit. Now I’m just enjoying the rain and getting several alerts about flooding in the burn areas. Highway 89 closed again!

I guess the thing about a Fatwa is that there is no expiration date. Author Salman Rushdie was stabbed as he was preparing to give a speech. He is on a respirator and will have long term life changes. A suspect has been arrested. Very sad and unnecessary.

One of the reasons Trump was elected was that many Americans wanted an ‘outsider’, with no government experience to run the country. The recent FBI event at Mar-A-Lago is just one of thousands of examples of what happens when an ‘outsider’ is elected. As a career Federal employee, I understand many of the seemingly strange statues that keep our government operating.   Since the 1800’s the Bureau of Indian Affairs has required that the school records of every student be kept. After they graduate or leave the school system, those records are kept in a salt mine somewhere in the US. I recall two situations where a former student from the 1950’s needed to get of copy of their records. One needed to prove she had graduated from 8^th grade, the other needed to get a corrected birth certificate so he could retire.  In both cases it started at my office, then to our HR office on campus. Forms were filled out and sent to the Agency, then to our regional office, at the time in Gallup. In the first case, copies of the records were obtained after about 6 months. In the second, it took almost a year. But both were very happy to have them.

Records documentation is taken very seriously in the government and for good reason. Also, the President is the only one who can de-classify or lower or raise the classification. It appears from some reports that Trump did look at stacks of documents and said they were now declassified. The problem seems to be that no one did the necessary paperwork and follow through to have them actually declassified. Each document should have been stamped, dated, and signed by the President. That didn’t happen. Oops!

Favorite Memes

One Hit Wonders

  Jeannie C. Riley: 'Harper Valley P.T.A.'

This 1968 country song, written by Tom T. Hall, inspired a movie eight years after the song's release as well as an early ’80s sitcom. In the tune, the judgmental Harper Valley P.T.A. writes a letter to the mother of one of the students at Harper Valley Junior High asking her to stop wearing short skirts and to set a better example for her daughter. The 1978 movie marked the film debut of actor Woody Harrelson in an uncredited role.

Historical Events

1592 – The Falkland Islands were discovered by John Davis.
1888 – An audio recording of English composer Arthur Sullivan’s “The Lost Chord”, one of the first recordings of music ever made, was played during a press conference introducing Thomas Edison’s phonograph in London, England.
1893 – France became the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration.
1935 – Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, creating a government pension system for the retired.
1945 – Japan accepted the Allied terms of surrender in World War II. V-J Day. Be sure to thank Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson and Martha Quinn for their service to our country.
1975 – The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the longest-running release in film history, opened at the USA Theatre in Westwood, Los Angeles, California.
1975 – The Gager’s Diner softball team played the Bend’n Elbow Tavern team for 365 innings, to raise money for the Monticello Community General Hospital (NY) for the construction of a softball field. The Gagers won, 491-467. It remains the longest softball game of all time.
1989 – Sega Mega Drive/Genesis was released, Video Game Console
1980 – Lech Walesa led the first strike at the Gdansk, Poland shipyards.
2000 – Dora the Explorer premiered on Nick Jr
2010 – The first-ever Youth Olympic Games were held in Singapore.
2013 – Egypt declared a state of emergency as security forces killed hundreds of demonstrators supporting former president Mohamed Morsi.

Birthdays Today

@90 – Buddy Greco, American singer, and pianist (d. 2017)
@84 – Alice Ghostley, American character actress (d. 2007)
81 – David Crosby, American singer-songwriter
77 – Steve Martin, American actor, comedian and screenwriter
76 – Susan Saint James, American actress
75 – Danielle Steel, American author
72 – Gary Larson, American cartoonist, The Far Side
66 – Jacqueline ‘Jackee’ Harry, actor
63 – Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, American basketball player
56 – Halle Berry, American model, and actress, Miss World United States 1986
@55 – William Hutchinson, founder of Rhode Island (d. 1642)
54 – Catherine Bell, English-American actress
39 – Mila Kunis, Ukrainian-American actress
@36 – John Henry ‘Doc’ Holliday, American dentist, and gambler (d. 1887; alcohol)
35 – Tim Tebow, American football and baseball player