18 Jan

 

January 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 3 Day 18 \ Ave. Sky Cover 85% \ Visibility 9 miles Flagstaff Today 42° \20°  Wind 5mph \ Gusts 16mph 
Air Quality: Fair \Very Low Moderate High Extreme Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 570mi \ Nearest Lightning 2984mi
Jan Averages for Flagstaff: 44° \ 16° \5 Days of moisture
More Snow

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

14-22
International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week
15-21
Healthy Weight Week
Hunt For Happiness Week
Idiom Week
National Activity Professionals Week
Sugar Awareness Week
16-20
No Name Calling Week Link
17-23
National Fresh Squeezed Juice Week
18-25
Week of Christian Unity
National Soccer Coaches of America Week

Daily Observations

Gourmet Coffee Day
Hot Heads Chili Days
Maintenance Day
National Disc Jockey Day Link  or Link 
National Peking Duck Day
Thesaurus Day 
National Peking Duck Day
Thesaurus Day Link
Winnie The Pooh Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

The snow just keeps piling up. It has been many a decade since my place has had this much snow. It is going to keep coming until Wednesday evening…then a new storm comes in Friday. This moisture is great for the forest and hopefully for the lakes nearby. I cleared off my vehicle…AGAIN! I don’t need to go anywhere and it will take some time to dig it out when I do have to move it. I’m sure we are close to 30” and still building more.

I was ready to make my Mom’s meatloaf last night. Discovered I didn’t have any Campbell’s Tomato soup, so I added Ragu Spaghetti sauce. It added some nice flavor. Will probably do it again.  

And now it begins…working to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security. Shaking my head.

The Big 5 of Africa…lions, leopards, elephants, African buffalo, & rhinoceroses

Facts…

Year Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes became a national monument (later a national park)
1932
Approximate size (in acres) of Great Sand Dunes National Park
150,000
Tons of sand and gravel used globally each year, mostly for construction and manufacturing
50 billion
Year sci-fi novel “Dune” was released, followed by film adaptations in 1984 and 2021
1965
Bing Crosby’s 1942 recording “The Singing Sands of Alamosa” was inspired by the Great Sand Dunes’ song. 

Slang Origins

1968: Can you dig it?

Meaning: Do you understand?

The African American slang of the 1930s continued to be a source of inspiration even 30 years later. It traces its roots to the more literal use of “digging,” getting below the surface of the ground to the metaphoric knowledge beneath. The Monkees used the phrase as a song title in their 1968 feature film “Head,” marking the term's transition past jazz and into the thriving rock 'n' roll scene.

UNESCO sites…

Taos Pueblo Features the Oldest Continuously Inhabited Structures in the U.S.

The oral history of the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico and its people is still largely unknown, but ancient ruins indicate that the pueblo has existed for almost 1,000 years, and the main structures were most likely constructed between 1000 and 1450. The pueblo is the only living Native American community that is designated both as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a National Historic Landmark. Taos Pueblo is made entirely of adobe with walls that are several feet thick. The exteriors of the buildings are maintained through regular re-plastering with thin layers of mud, while interior walls are coated with thin layers of white earth to keep them clean and bright.

Historical Events

1788 – The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from Great Britain to Australia arrived at Botany Bay.
1967 – Albert DeSalvo, the “Boston Strangler”, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
1993 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day was officially observed for the first time in all 50 states.

Birthdays Today

82 – Bobby Goldsboro, American singer-songwriter
@80 – Thomas A. Watson, American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (d. 1934)
@80 – Ray Dolby, American engineer, businessman, founded Dolby Laboratories (d. 2013)
@65 – Oliver Hardy, American actor, comedian, partner of Stan Laurel (d. 1957; strokes)
If you must make a noise, make it quietly.– Oliver Hardy
@82 – Cary Grant, English-American actor (d. 1986)
I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally, I became that person. Or he became me.– Cary Grant
@76 – Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1987; heart failure)
Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.– Danny Kaye
@74 – A.A. Milne, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1956)
Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.– A.A. Milne
@70 – Daniel Webster, American lawyer, politician (d. 1852; cirrhosis)
68 – Kevin Costner, American actor, director, and producer
54 – Jesse L. Martin, American actor, singer
@50 – David Ruffin, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1991; OD)
43 – Jason Segal, American actor