19 Apr

 

April 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 16 Day 109 \ Ave. Sky Cover 5% \ Visibility 26 miles Flagstaff Today 65° \34°  Wind 13mph \ Gusts 30mph 
Air Quality: Moderate \ Extreme Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 413mi \ Nearest Lightning 388mi
Apr. Averages for Flagstaff: 60° \ 27° \3 Days of moisture
Sunshine

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

3/22-4/20  Consider Christianity Week
                         International Phace Syndrome Awareness Week
                          National Cleaning Week

15-22      International Dark Sky Week

15-21     Money Smart Week

              National Volunteer Week

16-22     Animal Cruelty/Human Violence Awareness Week

              Chemists Celebrate Earth Week

              National Paperboard Packaging Week

              National Pet ID Week  

              Numismatic Week (National Coin Week)

16-23      Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week

17-21     Undergraduate Research Week

     National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week

18-24     Cleaning For A Reason Week

     Consumer Awareness Week

     Police Officers Gave Their Lives In The Line of Duty

19-23    International Mariachi Week

Daily Observations

Amaretto Day
Banana Day Link 
Bicycle Day Link
Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Action Day  Link
Garlic Day 
John Parker Day
National Garlic Day Link
National Hanging Out Day
National High Five Day
National Poker Day  Link
National Stress Awareness Day
Oklahoma City Bombing Commemoration Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Wind gusts are increasing at an hourly rate. Spring in the high desert.

Arizona Republican Congressman Paul Gosar on Sunday promoted an antisemitic website that denies the Holocaust, praises Adolf Hitler as “a man of valor” and features many admittedly false articles. He was a local dentist, then our congressman, then the district boundaries changed, thank goodness, and he ran in another district.

The anti-CRT efforts to restrict how race is taught have clashed with initiatives in several states, including South Dakota, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, to teach Native American history — which has often been left out of instruction — more accurately and fully. Anti-CRT is a cute catch-phrase but it is doing damage to the education of our youth.

As I was browsing the internet this morning, I was happy to see that the Discoverer website picked Flagstaff’s Heritage Square downtown as one of the country’s prettiest town squares in the US. It is a nice venue for sure. The only problem not mentioned in the article, is that parking anywhere within many blocks is expensive.

Dominion has settled its lawsuit against FOX news for $787.6 million, well shy of the $26 billion they had asked for. I guess the $$ talked and the principle was forgotten.

Enjoy…

Geography…

Egypt Isn’t Only Located in Africa

Sure, Egypt is part of the African continent, but it’s technically considered to be a transcontinental country.

While the Suez Canal divides Asia and Africa, there’s actually a small peninsula in Egypt that transcends the canal and toes the line between the two continents. 

Moon Facts…

The craters are always named after people

Ever wondered how the multitude of lunar craters get their names? Traditionally they have been named after scientists or philosophers, such as Copernicus, Archimedes or the Aristarchus crater shown here. The current guidelines for naming newly discovered craters is that they must be named after a scientist or explorer who has made important contributions to astronomy—and especially to the study of the Moon and our solar system—and has been deceased for at least three years. In addition, the name cannot be the same as any existing lunar location.

State Names Origins…

Alaska

Long before Russian explorers first landed in Alaska in 1741, the native Unangan people of the Aleutian Islands and the Sugpiaq people of the Alaska Peninsula called the region home. Those groups were collectively dubbed as the Aleut by the Russians, and it’s the Aleut language that we thank for Alaska’s name. Natives referred to the Alaska Peninsula and mainland as alaxsxag, a word that’s also sometimes spelled as alyeska. That word translates to “great land,” which is perhaps the most appropriate phrase to describe Alaska, as the state’s impressive breadth makes it larger than Texas, California, and Montana combined. This “great land” of the American northwest is also home to the largest national park in the United States, where you can witness Alaska’s ethereal and expansive beauty firsthand.

Historical Events

  v 1770 – Captain James Cook discovered the eastern coast of what is now Australia.
v 1987 – The Simpsons first appeared as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show,
v 1993 – The Branch Davidian Fire, caused by federal agents at Waco, killed 86 people.
v 1995 – The Oklahoma City Bombing

Birthdays Today

@91 – Hugh O’Brian, American actor (d. 2016)
77 – Tim Curry, English actor
“The dreams of youth are the regrets of maturity.”– Tim Curry
@72 – Roger Sherman, lawyer, politician, Founding Father (d. 1793; typhoid fever)
@66 – Dudley Moore, English comedic actor, pianist (d. 2002; brain cancer)
58 – Suge Knight, record producer, co-founded Death Row Records
“If you wanna cross somebody, then do that. Don’t act like it wasn’t you.”– Suge Knight
55 – Ashley Judd, American actress
@54 – Eliot Ness, American law enforcement agent (d. 1957; heart attack)
45 – James Franco, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
“I used to care about how I looked. Now I don’t care as much. Maybe it’s because I’m so handsome.”– James Franco
44 – Kate Hudson, American actress
“You don’t wear stuff for other people; you’ve got to wear it for yourself.”– Kate Hudson
35 – Maria Sharapova, Tennis start 
@34 – Jayne Mansfield, American actress (d. 1967)
“If you want the best things in life you have to earn them for yourself.”’– Jayne Mansfield