5 Dec

 

Flag Today  50°/23°   Week 48  Day 340 Air Quality: Fair  Sunshine Wind 9 mph Gusts 10 mph  Light Breeze Active Fire: 132 miles away  Risk of fire Moderate Nearest Lightning: 927 miles away Dec. Averages: Temps: 45°\18° Moisture:  5 Days

Weekly Observations

1-7 Cookie Cutter WeekLink National Hand Washing Awareness Week Link  Recipe Greetings For The Holidays Week 2-6 Older Driver Safety Awareness Week Link

3-10 Clerc-Gallaudet Week 4-24 Andisop (Meterological Fiddling) Link

Daily Observations

AFL-CIO Day Link (1955) Bathtub Party Day Link Columbian International Day of The Reef  Link International Ninja Day Link  Photo Photo International Volunteer Day for Economic & Social Development

International Volunteer Day Krampusnacht Link National Blue Jeans Day National Commute with your Baby Day National Repeal Day Link Sachertorte Day Link World Soil Day Link

Today’s Quote                                                       

 

Today’s Meme

 

Thoughts for the day

Blue sky as it warms up very gradually.

I took my vehicle to the car wash. It’s all shiny and new again. I decided to do that instead of shopping today. Good choice.

Our retirement group is back in Flag, so lunch tomorrow will be enjoyable.

I realized this morning that I forgot to pick up a couple of small poinsettias on Black Friday. I’m sure I’ll find at least one when I go shopping.

Trivia Time

 

Christmas Traditions

Yule Logs

Throwing a yule log on the fire is another tradition that is said to predate Christianity. As part of winter solstice celebrations, Gaels and Celts burned logs decorated with holly, ivy, and pinecones to cleanse themselves of the past year and welcome the next one. They also believed the ashes would help protect against lightning strikes and evil spirits. The practice was scaled down over time, and eventually, it morphed into a more delicious tradition—cake! Parisian bakers really popularized the practice of creating yule log-shaped desserts during the 19th century, with various bakeries competing to see who could come up with the most elaborately decorated yule log.

If you prefer a wood yule log to one covered in frosting, but find yourself sans fireplace, you can always tune in to Yule Log TV.

Random Thoughts…

Happiness is a path, not a destination.

In 1830 students at Yale revolted over the introduction of chalk boards.

Tweety is and has always been a male character, in spite of what many people think.

Frank Lloyd Wright was specifically left off the architecture commission for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair due to his ‘inability to work well with others.’

Never attempt to put out a grease fire with water. Doing so spreads it and makes it worse. If grease catches fire you have to smother it and cut off its supply of oxygen to put it out.

Ancient Roman Life

Fire insurance – and insurance fraud – has seemingly been around since Roman times

It is not surprising that Romans began to invest in fire insurance, considering the frequency of fires throughout Ancient Rome. It was still a luxury option that was only available to those who could afford it. This also means that insurance fraud could have been a problem for Romans.

People would often invest in houses and have their contents insured against fire. Then they would mysteriously go up in flames. People were often given more money to cover their homes and other items than they were worth. They quickly realized that the fire may not have been as innocent after all.

Historic Events

1455 (Earthquake) Naples, Italy, killing an estimated 40,000 people.

1854 – Aaron H. Allen of Boston received U.S. patent# 12,017 for a folding chair as an “Improvement in Self-Adjusting Opera-Seat” for theatres or other public buildings. You have probably sat on his invention if you have gone to a movie theater.

1876 – Daniel Chapman Stillson patented the Stillson wrench. The device was the first practical pipe wrench; the design is still in use today. (Patent #184,993)

1933 – Prohibition ended, thanks to the 21st amendment. Utah was the last state needed to ratify it. When the 21st Amendment was passed to end Prohibition, American journalist H. L. Mencken celebrated with a glass of water, calling it “my first in 13 years.”

2005 – In the UK, the Civil Partnership Act granted civil partnerships “which include same-sex partnerships” in the United Kingdom with rights and responsibilities identical to civil marriage.

2008 – O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted for the well-known double murder in Los Angeles, was sentenced for up to thirty-three years in prison for robbing a pair of memorabilia dealers. 

Birthdays

Frankie Muniz, 39 TV Actor Catherine Tate, 55 TV Actress

@100 – Strom Thurmond, American politician, 103rd Governor of South Carolina (d. 2003) @87 – Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman), American singer-songwriter, pianist, actor @85 – Fritz Lang, Austrian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1976) @80 – Otto Preminger, Austrian-American actor, director, and producer (d. 1986)@79 – Martin Van Buren, 8th President (d. 1862) @74 – J.J. Cale (John Weldon Cale), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013; heart attack) @65 – Walt Disney, American animator, director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founder of The Walt Disney Company (d. 1966; cancer) @36 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (d. 1876; @ Little Big Horn)

…The End for today…