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Flag Today 47°/14° Week 48 Day 335 Air Quality: Fair Sunshine Wind 3 mph Gusts 9 mph Light
Breeze Active Fire: 132 miles away Risk of fire: Moderate Nearest
Lightning: 2185 miles away Dec. Averages: Temps: 45°\18° Moisture: 5 Days |
Monthly Observations
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Adopt A Turkey
Month Link Link (Oct.-Dec.) |
Car Donation
Month Link |
Weekly Observations
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24-12/1 National Bible Week |
1-7 Cookie Cutter WeekLink |
Daily Observations
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Antarctica Day |
International Maratheftiko Day Link World Aids Day Link |
Today’s Quote
Today’s Meme
Thoughts for the day
The temperature say it is time for
December…so here I go.
Yesterday I got to watch the CU Buffs
really beat OK State University. Good game.
Every year the TV commercials for Part
C Medicare arrive just after Thanksgiving. It seems like every commercial break
on Cable TV is about researching Advantage coverage. I must wonder where the
money is coming from for these constant commercials. My guess is that everyone
who has a Part C plan is helping pay for these commercials through their monthly
premiums. The older I get, the less I want to spend time reading insurance
policy gibberish to see if I can get a better deal. It also seems a little like
a scam when the policy can change every single year. Sounds like they delete any
much-used high cost coverage, increase less-used coverage and still raise the
monthly cost.
Do you know about Elon Musk? He grew
up in South Africa until he was 18. That time was during Apartheid which ended
when he was 15. He claims to have been anti-apartheid. He left South Africa to
avoid mandatory military service. He moved to Canada, where is mother was from.
He later moved to the US. He now holds three active passports.
Trivia Time
Christmas Traditions
Using Evergreens as
Christmas Trees
Before
Christianity was even conceived of, people used evergreen boughs to
decorate their homes during the winter; the greenery reminded them that plants
would return in abundance soon. As Christianity became more popular in Europe,
and Germany in particular, the tradition was absorbed into it. Christians
decorated evergreen trees with apples to represent the Garden of Eden, calling
them “Paradise Trees” around the time of Adam and Eve’s name day—December 24.
Gradually, the tradition was subsumed into Christmas celebrations.
The tradition spread as immigrants did, but the practice really took off when
word got around that England’s Queen Victoria decorated a Christmas
tree as a nod to her German husband’s heritage (German members of the British
royal family had previously had Christmas trees, but they never caught on with
the wider public). Her influence was felt worldwide, and by 1900, one in five
American families had a Christmas tree. Today, upwards of 30
million real Christmas trees are sold in the U.S. every year.
Random Thoughts…
·
The
word ‘pyrokinesis’ was coined by horror novelist Stephen King in his 1980 novel
Firestarter to describe the ability to create and control fire with the mind.
·
A
couple sued AC/DC in 1981 for
$250,000 because their telephone number is in the song “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt
Cheap” resulting in hundreds of prank calls
·
Henry
VIII of England agreed to marry Anne of Cleves after seeing a portrait that he
commissioned of her. After meeting in person, Henry realized she wasn’t as
attractive as the painting suggested and annulled the marriage. The portrait is
now displayed in the Louvre.
·
I’m
playing hide and seek with the neighborhood kids right now. They’ll never find
me because they aren’t old enough to drive or get into this bar.
·
Natalie
Portman skipped the film premiere for Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
because she had to study for her high school finals.
Ancient Roman Life
Ancient Roman Beauty Routines for Women
Women in ancient Rome strived for beauty standards that signified
status and class, focusing on a pale, unblemished complexion with a subtle
blush. Achieving this look required an array of natural cosmetics, such as
foundations made from white lead and blush from various organic and inorganic
materials.
Elaborate hairstyles embellished with ropes or golden threads
displayed wealth and artistry. Icons like Poppaea Sabina exemplified these
ideals. These beauty rituals went beyond vanity, embodying the wealth and
societal roles of Roman women, and were integral to their identity in the
public and private spheres.
Historic Events
1783 –
The first manned voyage of a lighter-than-air hydrogen balloon left Paris
carrying Professor Jacques Alexander Cesar Charles and Marie-Noel Robert to
almost 500 feet and landed 28 miles away after about 2 hours in the air.
1841
– The first steamboat engine built in America for a screw-propelled vessel,
designed by John Ericsson and built by Captain Sylvester Doolittle, installed
on the ship Vandalia, was launched.
1913
– The Ford Motor Company introduced the continuously moving assembly line,
producing a complete automobile every two-and-a-half minutes. It was the first
true “mass production” system.
1913
– The first U.S. drive-in automobile service ‘filling station’ opened at the
traffic intersection of Baum Boulevard and St. Clair Street in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
1952
– The New York Daily News reported that Christine Jorgensen
was the first case of sexual reassignment surgery.
1953 –
The first issue of Playboy was
published.
1955 –
Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
1958
– A fire at Our Lady of Angels School elementary school in Chicago killed 90
children.
1990
– The Chunnel between England and France was connected and celebrated when an
Englishman and Frenchmen broke their respective sides. It was officially opened
by Queen Elizabeth II and the French president, François Mitterrand, in a
ceremony held in Calais on May 6, 1994.
1994
– The Game Show Network, the 24-hour channel dedicated to game shows, made its
debut
1994
– Home & Garden Television (HGTV) made its debut.
Birthdays
|
Zoë
Kravitz, 36 Movie Actress Woody Allen (Allan Stewart Konigsberg), 90, American actor, director, screenwriter Lee Trevino, 85, American golfer |
@88 – Marie Tussaud, French-English sculptor, founder of
Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum (d. 1850) @63 – Dick Shawn, American actor (d. 1987; heart attack on stage)
@44 – Pablo
Escobar, Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist (d. 1993; shot/suicide?) |
…The End for today…
