5 Jan

 

January 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 1 Day 5\ Ave. Sky Cover 50% \ Visibility 13 miles Flagstaff Today 48° \23°  Wind 3mph \ Gusts 11mph 
Air Quality: Fair \Very Low Risk of fire \0 \ Nearest Lightning 1288mi
Jan Averages for Flagstaff: 44° \ 16° \5 Days of moisture
Mostly cloudy

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

Dec 14-Jan 5 
Christmas Bird Count Week: Link 
1-7
Diet Resolution Week 
National Folic Acid Awareness Week   Link
Dating & Life Coaches Recognition Week
National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week
Silent Record Week
2-8
International Consumer Electronics Show
Someday We'll Laugh About This Week
3-6
No Tillage Week

Daily Observations

Kappa Alpha Psi Day
National Bird Day Link
National Keto Day Link
National Screenwriters Day 
Monopoly Game Day  Link 
Twelfth Night
Whipped Cream Day  
Twelfth Night
Whipped Cream Day  Link

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Clouds coming in to prepare for the next storm which should arrive tomorrow. They say this will only bring about 1” of snow. Hmmm

The recent snow has driven a herd of about 50 Elk into our town. Yesterday they were blocking traffic on a major road in East Flagstaff.

The circus in DC continues...I am confused…again. Eli Crane is my newly elected Representative. I haven’t heard that they have been sworn in, but he is voting on the speaker. This district was redrawn so people in Tucson and Flagstaff are in the same district. Crane is a Republican who had joined the crazies regarding the Trump vote in 2020. I am embarrassed. I have to wonder how much longer this is going to go on, while important business can not be conducted.  

Waterfalls around the world

Facts…

Mount Kilimanjaro actually consists of three stratovolcanoes running from northwest to southeast, and its three peaks are volcanic cones. Kilimanjaro’s highest peak, Uhuru, is found on one of these cones, named Kibo. Though the other two cones, Mawenzi and Shira, are extinct, Kibo is technically dormant. Volcanologists believe the last major eruption of Kilimanjaro took place several thousands of years ago in the Pleistocene era, but fumarolic activity within some of Kibo’s summit craters proves that there’s still a slim chance of a future eruption.

In 2016, New Scientist reported that a 267-foot-tall Entandrophragma excelsum tree was discovered in a remote valley on Kilimanjaro, making it the tallest known tree in Africa. Fertile volcanic soils coupled with warm temperatures and ample rainfall have allowed the specimen, and others near it, to thrive. Though it’s dwarfed by the tallest trees in North America and Australia, such heights aren’t the norm in Africa. Scientists are now advocating that territory covered by nearby Kilimanjaro National Park be expanded to include the valley, to better protect the extraordinary trees from threats such as logging.

Slang Origins

1955: Idiot box

Meaning: television

While today society is worried about the effects of social media and smartphones on children, in the 1950s, they were worried about the television. TV ownership exploded over this decade, and soon became central to American life, with presidential debates and beloved shows like “I Love Lucy” broadcast side by side. Still, some feared that this passive and possibly addictive product could make viewers, especially children, dumber.

Historical Events

1914 – The Ford Motor Company announced an eight-hour workday and that it would pay a “living wage” of at least $5 for a day’s labor.

1957 – In a speech given to the United States Congress, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced the establishment of what became The Eisenhower Doctrine, an anti-communist agenda.

Birthdays Today

@93 – Jeane Dixon, American astrologer and psychic (d. 1997)
We must realize our own talents and, having realized, accept them; and play on them like a symphony in which all other instruments are harmonized to make a better universe.
– Jeane Dixon
@93 – Walter Mondale, soldier, lawyer, politician, 42nd Vice President (d. 2021)
92 – Robert Duvall, American actor
We’re all travelers in this world. From the sweet grass to the packing house. Birth ’til death. We travel between the eternities.– Robert Duvall
@90 – Jane Wyman, American actress (d. 2007)
@77 – King Camp Gillette, American businessman, founded the Gillette Company (d. 1932)
@79 – Phil Ramone, South African-American songwriter, and producer, co-founded A & R Recording (d. 2013; aneurysm)
81 – Charlie Rose, American journalist, talk show host
79 – Ed Rendell, American politician
If I lose, I lose. I’ll do it on my terms.– Ed Rendell
77 – Diane Keaton, American actress
I think that people who are famous tend to be underdeveloped in their humanity skills.
– Diane Keaton
73 – Chris Stein, American guitarist, and songwriter
70 – Pamela Sue Martin, American actress
70 – George Tenet, American civil servant
55 – Carrie Ann Inaba, American actress, and dancer
54 – Marilyn Manson, American singer-songwriter, AKA Brian Hugh Warner
When all of your wishes are granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed.– Marilyn Manson
48 – Bradley Cooper, American actor
Being in ‘Us Weekly’ does not make you famous.– Bradley Cooper
@45 – George Reeves, American actor, director (d. 1959; gunshot)
45 – January Jones, American actress
42 – Deadmau5 (Joel Thomas Zimmerman), Canadian musician
You don’t have to give up to let go.– Deadmau5