23 May

 

23 May 2023

Flagstaff Almanac

Week 21 Day 143	Ave. Sky Cover 50%\ Visibility  ami.	Flagstaff Today  73° \ 40°
Wind  3mph \ Gusts  7mph	Nearest active fire: 322miles	Nearest Lightning:  5mi
Air Quality: Moderate Risk of fire: High	May Averages: Flagstaff: 68° \ 34° May Average: 3 Days of moisture	Sunshine and monsoon rain

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

16-27 Cannes Film Festival 17-23  National Medical Transcription Week Link World Orienteering Days Link

21-27 National Medical Transcription Week Link World Orienteering Days Link EMS (Emergency Medical Service)Week Link  Internat’l New Friends, Old Friends Week   National Unicycle Week   National Backyard Games Week   National Safe Boating Week World Schizophrenia Awareness Week Link Healthy and Safe Swimming Week) Link 22-6/4   National Seat Belt Reinforcement Week Link 23-25 Display Week  Link 23-28  Mule Days  Link

Daily Observations

Declaration of the Bab Day International Day to End Obstetric Fistula National Best Friend-in-Law Day

Neighbor Day National Taffy Day Link Taffy Day World Turtle Day

Today’s Thoughts

The weather guy sez this is the last day of our early monsoon rain….I’ll see if he is right tomorrow.

More politicians are entering the Republican bid for the 2024 election. At least it will be interesting.

I worked for the Federal government for my career. The new revelation that the procurement process is not working is nothing new. It has been reported that DOD (Defense) is being price gouged by many vendors. In the early 90’s DOD helped many companies merge so there could be faster output and they also cut oversight of contracts to save even more money. It is generally understood that a 20% or less profit should be the norm. The consolidation of companies has left several monopolies. Some of these monopolies have raised their profit by 400%. Our tax dollars are paying these high prices. In some cases only one vendor can provide needed replacement parts when a machine breaks. This means that company can and does say ‘pay our price or give up using that whole machine’. (for example: if a replacement washer was needed to be used in a missile launcher, you might pay for high priced washer or not use the missile launcher ever again.) That is insane. When I was working, at the end of every fiscal year Interior would check all our accounts and give us a figure of what had to be spent in the last week or so of the fiscal year. The idea was that any unspent money would not be carried over to the new fiscal year, so if it wasn’t spent, it was lost AND that amount would be deducted for the new year’s allocation. I thought that was crazy.

Enjoy

 

Ocean Trivia

The Barracuda, known as a “cuda” for short, is a large saltwater fish of genus Sphyraena.

Origins of State Names

Oregon

The story behind Oregon’s name is as murky as the state’s muddy banks along the Pacific Ocean. The first written record of the name appeared in 1765 by English army officer Major Robert Rogers, who stated that a local river was called Ouragon by Native Americans. Other theories were once popular enough to be printed in school textbooks, including that the name had Spanish roots and was adapted either from oregano, or orejon, a word meaning “big ears.” Though we may never be sure of Oregon’s true namesake, it’s certain that Oregon boasts an incredible natural beauty unique to the Pacific Northwest region.

Historic Events

• 1430 – 1430 – Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians
• 1788 – South Carolina officially became the eighth US state.
• 1995 – The first version of the Java programming language was released.
• 1873 – The Canadian Parliament established the North-West Mounted Police, later named the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Birthdays with some quotes

@91 – Betty Garrett, American comedic actress, singer, dancer (d. 2011)
90 – Joan Collins, English actress
“The problem with beauty is that it’s like being born rich and getting poorer.”– Joan Collins
@76 – (Benjamin Sherman )’Scatman’ Crothers, American actor and comedian (d. 1986; cancer)
“We are all stars in this galaxy. All of us. No one’s greater than the other.”– Scatman Crothers
@74 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002; lung cancer)
“No matter how great a man is, the size of his funeral usually depends on the weather.”– Rosemary Clooney
@73 – Helen O’Connell, American singer (d. 1993; cancer)
65 – Drew Carey, American comedic actor and game show host
“Learn how to set goals. That’s the key to everything. That includes designing your own success. You define what the goal is, it’s not somebody else’s goal, it’s yours.”– Drew Carey
“Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? There’s a support group for that. It’s called everybody, and they meet at the bar.”– Drew Carey
62 – Karen Duffy, American actress
58 – Melissa McBride, American actress
@55 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter and academic (d. 1890; cancer)
49 – Jewel (Jewel Kilcher), American singer-songwriter
“Suffering is everywhere. Don’t ever think it isn’t. So are miracles. Don’t ever think they aren’t.”– Jewel 49 – Ken Jennings, Jeopardy winner and host.