18 Feb

 

18 February 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 7 Day 49 \ Ave. Sky Cover 40% \ Visibility 18 miles Flagstaff Today 43° \13°  Wind 10mph \ Gusts 18mph 
Air Quality: Moderate \Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 249mi \ Nearest Lightning 3023mi
Feb. Averages for Flagstaff: 47° \ 19° \5 Days of moisture
Sunshine with clouds

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

  11-20
  Date (Fruit) Week
  11-18  
  National Entrepreneurship Week Link
  12-18 
  Children of Alcoholics Week Link 
  International Flirting Week
  Jell-O Week
  Love A Mench Week
  National Secondhand Wardrobe Week
  Random Acts of Kindness Week Link 
  14-21
  14-21
  National Condom Week
  National Nest box Week 
  NCCDP Alzheimer's & Dementia Staff Education Week
  14-16
  World AG Expo
  17-22
  Carnival
  17-23 
  Great Backyard Bird Count Link
  17-18
  Isra Al Mi'Raj
  Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering
  18-25 
  National FFA Week Link 

 

Daily Observations

Battery Day (Volta's birthday)
Cow Milked While Flying In An Airplane Day
Crab Stuffed Founder Day
National Battery Day
National Drink Wine Day Link
National Hate Florida Day Link
Pluto Day (Planet is Discovered by Clyde Tombaugh)  
Thumb Appreciation Day
World Pangolin Day  Link 
World Whale Day 
World Whale Day Link

National Airboat Day 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Another chilly day.

I had lunch with Faith and Andy. They are on their way to Laughlin for the long weekend. I reminded them that after retirement, every week is a long weekend. Good conversation and good food.  

I thought I slept well last night. When I woke up the bottom fitted sheet had popped out at the foot of the bed and was wrapped around my legs. It took a minute to figure out why I was trapped in the bed.

Lesson learned: On my way home from lunch the frozen snow on the roof of my car slide off, onto the front windshield and I could barely see out. I turned on my flashers and drove slowly, looking for a turn off of the road. There was a stop light, so I jumped out to clear the windshield. The guy behind me ran to the passenger side and helped. Great to live in a town with courteous drivers.

Enjoy…

Facts…

The First Australian Police Force Was Assembled of Convicts

When the colonization of Australia began in the late 1700s, there was no recognized formal police force. As a penal colony of Great Britain, there were more convicts than people with non-criminal backgrounds. Upon arrival in New South Wales in 1788, the Royal Navy Marines were given the task of policing, although it wasn’t a role that they wanted. Soon after, Governor Arthur Phillip selected 12 of the most upstanding convicts and created a civilian law enforcement department called the Night Watch. They continued as the Sydney Police until 1862, when they merged with other New South Wales colonial forces. 

Slang Origins

1996: All that and a bag of chips

Meaning: even better; sometimes negatively (as in too much)

Context matters here; the Oxford English dictionary said “all that” began being used to mean good in the late ‘80s, and adding “a bag of chips” means it’s even better. But it can also refer to a person or thing who is stuck-up or conceited. The 1999 teen movie "She’s All That" uses the first definition.

Trivia…

France covers more time zones than any country on the planet

France is famous for many things, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Cathedral of Notre Dame. But it also happens to hold the world record for the country with the most time zones. France covers 12 time zones, mostly due to its various territories all around the world. Even the Unites States and Russia, two of the world's largest nations, only cover 11 different time zones.

Historical Events

1865 – Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman set the South Carolina State House on fire during the burning of Columbia, near the end of the Civil War.
1885 – Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published for the first time.
1929 – The first Academy Awards were announced in 1929 for 1928’s films.
February 18, 1966 Birthday (fictional) Jack Bauer, TV, 24
1977 – The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle had its maiden “test flight” on top of a Boeing 747.

Birthdays Today

@91 – George Kennedy, American actor (d. 2016)
90 – Yoko Ono, Japanese-American singer-songwriter
A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.– Yoko Ono
@90 – Helen Gurley Brown, American journalist, author (d. 2012)
Never fail to know that if you are doing all the talking, you are boring somebody.– Helen Gurley Brown
@90 – Enrico Ferrari, entrepreneur (d. 1988)
@88 – Toni Morrison, American novelist (d. 2019)
At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint or even remember it. It is enough. No record of it needs to be kept and you don’t need someone to share it with or tell it to. When that happens- that letting go- you let go because you can.– Toni Morrison
@87 – Jack Palance, American actor (d. 2006)
@84 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, American stained glass artist (d. 1933)
God has given us our talents, not to copy the talents of others, but rather to use our brains and imagination in order to obtain the revelation of true beauty.– Louis Comfort Tiffany
@77 – Charles M. Schwab, American businessman, co-founded Bethlehem Steel (d. 1939)
The difference between getting somewhere and nowhere is the courage to make an early start. The fellow who sits still and does just what he is told will never be told to do big things.– Charles M. Schwab
@74 – George Peabody, American merchant, philanthropist (d. 1869)
@74 – Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician, academic (d. 1980)
@70 – Bill Cullen, American game show panelist and host (d. 1990; lung cancer)
@72 – John Hughes, American director, producer, screenwriter (d. 2009)
73 – Cybill Shepherd, American actress
71 – Judith Kay ‘Juice’ Newton, American singer-songwriter
69 – John Travolta, American actor
66 – Vanna White, American model and game show host
59 – Matt Dillon, American actor
58 – Dr. Dre (Andre Young), American rapper and producer
55 – Molly Ringwald, American actress
@52 – Wendell Willkie, American politician (d. 1944; heart disease)
49 – Jillian Michaels, American fitness trainer and author
@49 – Qin Shi Huang, Chinese emperor (d. 210 BC; poisoned?)
I have collected all the writings of the Empire and burnt those which were of no use.– Qin Shi Huang