Jan 27, 2012

FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1825 - U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the "Trail of Tears."

1924 - Lenin placed in Mausoleum in Red Square

1948 - 1st locomotive to carry 1,000,000 pounds (450,000 kg) operates

1961 - "Sing Along with Mitch" [Miller] premieres on NBC TV

♫Happy Birthday To: ♫                     

Free Rambling Thoughts   

A really good lunch…but not at the hamburger joint…The place was a little too loud for the ladies taste. I’ll try it later. We went to a nearby restaurant, Busters, and had a great lunch, along with good conversation, and some of the best service I’ve had in a long time. The Soup of the Day was ‘mushroom and barley’ which sounded a little odd, but it was actually very good. It was in a beef broth with lots of mushrooms, some fresh veggies, and barley….Yummmmmmy.

It was a nice day to be out and about. We could actually stand outside, in the sun, without a jacket while we waited for one in our party to arrive. I did have on a long sleeve shirt, but it was very nice. I made a couple of stops after lunch, and again, nice to walk across the various parking lots without freezing. The high clouds made one of the best sunsets in a long time….bright orange clouds with a light blue background. Flag is a great place to live.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

Every answer is a familiar, two-word phrase with the initials I-D. For example: "A fake gem for a ring." The answer is "Imitation Diamond."

1.     July 4th:

2.     Theory as alternative to evolution:

3.     Cause of anemia:

4.     Water, oil, vinegar, spices for salad:

5.     Cocaine, heroin:

6.     Classic song ‘to fight the unbearable sorrow’:

7.     Plastic girl you have to blow up:

8.     Lawyer’s plead to avoid death penalty:

9.     Person who chooses fabric, accessories for a room:

10.  It is approximately 180° longitude:

11.  Something dug to carry water to crops:

12.  Things listed on IRS forms to lower taxes:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

AZ Centennial is in 19 days:  Did you know?…

• The battleship USS Arizona was named in honor of the state. It was commissioned in 1913 and launched in 1915 from the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
• World War II brought many military personnel to train at Luke and Thunderbird fields in Glendale.
• Rising to a height of 12,643 feet, Mount Humphreys north of Flagstaff is the state's highest mountain
• Arizona, among all the states, has the largest percentage of its land set aside and designated as Indian lands

Found on You Tube         

75 mph wind on Mt. Humphreys
Top of Mt. Humphreys

Harper’s Index         

Percentage of US college grades that are ‘A’: 43

Joke-of-the-day

A man placed some flowers on the grave of his departed mother and started back for his car, parked on the cemetery road. His attention was diverted to a man kneeling at a grave.The man seemed to be praying with profound intensity, and kept repeating, "Why did you die? Why did you die?"The first man approached him and said, "Sir, I don't want to interfere with your private grief, but this demonstration of hurt and pain is more than I've ever seen before. For whom do you mourn so deeply? Your Child? A parent? Who, may I ask, lies in that grave?"The mourner answered, "My wife's first husband! ... Why did you die? Why did you die?"

Planet Earth

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

A spark needs 25,000 volts for every inch of air it has to jump.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Bamboo is the fastest-growing woody plant on the Earth, growing as fast as 47.6 inches in a 24-hour period.
• Many bamboos only flower at intervals as long as 60 or 120 years, and the flowering occurs simultaneously with all plants in the population. Subsequently, the plants produce flowers, which then produce seeds, and then die off. A new crop requires ten years to grow to full maturity.
• Some of the world's top inventors found uses for bamboo. Thomas Edison tried over 100 varieties of bamboo for the filament in his first electric bulb, and the only one that worked was the Kyoto bamboo. Also, the needle in Alexander Graham Bell's first phonograph was made of bamboo.
• Research in China's Qinling Mountains showed giant pandas can consume, on average, 40 pounds of fresh bamboo leaves per day.
• The shakuhachi, a Japanese end-blown flute, was traditionally made from bamboo. It means "1.8 feet," referring to its size, and was used in classic Japanese music often associated with Zen Buddhism or meditation.
• Because the bamboo is made up of more water than normal trees, it releases 35% more oxygen than trees.

Yeah, It Really Happened                
PARIS - A French presidential hopeful said he witnessed allied troops landing in Normandy but the event happened 17 years before he was born. The problem with the account Herve Morin delivered to supporters in Nice was that the invasion took place in 1944 and he wasn't born until 1961, France 24 reported Tuesday."You, some among you with gray hair, witnessed the storming of the Provence beach," Morin told supporters. "I saw the landing of the allied troops in Normandy." Morin's blooper made him the talk of the micro-blogging site Twitter.
Comments used the hashtag #MorinMcFly in a reference to the time traveling Marty McFly played by Michael J Fox in the "Back To The Future" movies, The Local reported. "Herve Morin will be seeing President Abraham Lincoln today for a working meeting" joked one tweeter. Morin registers only 1 percent in opinion polls and some members of his own New Centre party want him to quit the presidential race and back President Nicholas Sarkozy, the report said.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

20-30

Sundance Film Festival

21-27

World Leprosy WeekNational Activity Professionals WeekKid Film FestivalNational Nurse Anesthetists WeekClean Out Your Inbox WeekNational Handwriting Analysis WeekNational Medical Group Practice WeekNational Nuclear Science WeekNo Name Calling WeekNational Take Back Your Time Week

Today Is                                                                      

Auschwitz Liberation Day
Fun at Work Day
Holocaust Memorial Day [1945 liberated by Russia]
International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
Mozart DayNational Pre-school Fitness Day
Punch the Clock Day
Thomas Crapper Day
Viet Nam Peace Day

Today’s Other Events                                                             

1300’s

1302 - Dante becomes a Florentine political exile

1500’s

1556 - Willem of Orange becomes knight of Guilder Flies

1600’s

1662 - 1st American lime kiln begins operation (Providence RI)

1700’s

1710 - Czar Peter the Great sets 1st Russian state budget

1785 - 1st US state university chartered, Athens Georgia

1800’s

1823 - Pres Monroe appoints 1st US ambassadors to South America

1870 - After accepting 15th amendment, VA is readmitted to Union

1880 - Thomas Edison patents electric incandescent lamp

1888 - National Geographic Society organizes (Wash DC)

1900’s

1915 - US Marines occupy Haiti

1918 - "Tarzan of the Apes," 1st Tarzan film, premieres at Broadway Theater

1926 - US Senate agrees to join World Court

1944 - Leningrad liberated from Germany in 880 days with 600,000 killed

1945 - Nazi occupiers forbid food transport to West (The Netherlands)

1948 - 1st tape recorder sold

1964 - Margaret Chase Smith (Sen-R-Maine) tries for Republican Pres bid

1967 - Apollo 1 fire kills astronauts Grissom, White & Chaffee

1970 - Movie rating system modifies "M" rating to "PG"

1976 - "Laverne & Shirley" spinoff from "Happy Days" premieres on ABC TV

1983 - World's longest subaqueous tunnel (53.90 km) opens, Honshu-Hokkaid

1984 - Michael Jackson is burned during filming for Pepsi commercial

1989 - Kevin Johnson (Phoenix) begins NBA free throw streak of 57 games

1991 - Superbowl XXV: NY Giants beat Buffalo Bills, 20-19 MVP: Ottis Anderson

1992 - Pres candidate Bill Clinton (D) & Genifer Flowers accuse each other of lying over her assertion they had a 12-year affair

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 40’s

Bridget Fonda, actor is 48

In their 50’s

Keith Olbermann, American news presenter is 53

Mimi Rogers, actor is 56

Richard Young, singer (Kentucky Headhunters-Davy Crockett ) is 57 [ Theme I grew up with]

Remembered for being born on this day

Abbas I, "the Great," shah of Persia (1587-1629) in 1556

Lewis Carroll, [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], auth (Alice in Wonderland) in 1832

Soong Ching-ling, Chinese wife of Sun Yat-sen in 1893

Troy Donahue, actor (Surfside Six, Cockfighter, Hawaiian Eye) in 1936

Samuel Gompers, Dutch/US 1st president (American Federation of Labor) in 1850

William Randolph Hearst Jr, newspaper publisher (Hearst Publishing) in 1908

Skitch Henderson, Birmingham England, orchestra leader (Tonight Show) in 1918

Jerome Kern, Broadway composer (Showboat, Roberta) in 1885

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austria, musical prodigy/composer (Figaro) in 1756

Joe Perry, AAFC/NFL Hall of Fame fullback (SF 49ers, Balt Colts) in 1927

Donna Reed, actor (From Here to Eternity, Wonderful Life) in 1921

Art Rooney, NFL team owner (Pittsburgh Steelers) in 1901

Sabu, [Dastagir], India, actor (Elephant Boy, Drum) in 1924

David Seville, [Ross Bagdasarian], Fresno California, (Alvin & Chipmunks) in 1919

Today’s Obits                                                           

Ali, the final Sunni Rashidun and first Shia Imam in 661

John James Audubon, conservationist (Audubon Society), dies at 65 in 1851

Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer (He Got the Whole World), dies of diabetes and heart failure at 60 in 1972  

L Ron Hubbard, novelist/founder (Church of Scientology), dies at 74 in 1986

Jack Paar, American television show host dies at 86 in 2004

Tige Andrews, American actor dies at 87 in 2007

John Updike, American Novelist dies at 77in 2009

J. D. Salinger, American novelist dies at 91 in 2010

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.     July 4th: Independence Day

2.     Theory as alternative to evolution: intelligent design

3.     Cause of anemia: iron deficiency

4.     Water, oil, vinegar, spices for salad: Italian dressing

5.     Cocaine, heroin: illegal drugs

6.     Classic song ‘to fight the unbearable sorrow’: Impossible Dream

7.     Plastic girl you have to blow up: inflatable doll

8.     Lawyer’s plead to avoid death penalty: insanity defense

9.     Person who chooses fabric, accessories for a room: interior designer

10.  It is approximately 180° longitude: International Dateline

11.  Something dug to carry water to crops: irrigation ditch

12.  Things listed on IRS forms to lower taxes: itemized deductions

Wuzzle

Upside down cake

Long underwear

White elephant

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.

All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

☺    And That Is All for Now  ☺

Jan 26, 2012

FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1838 - Tennessee becomes 1st state to prohibit alcohol

1875 - Electric dental drill is patented by George F Green

1913 - Jim Thorpe relinquishes his 1912 Olympic medals for being a pro

1954 - Ground breaking begins on Disneyland

1957 - India annexes Kashmir

1980 - Mary Decker became 1st woman to run a mile in under 4½ minutes

Abner Doubleday, Union general-major/inventor (baseball) born in 1819; dies on 74th birthday in 1893

♫Happy Birthday To: ♫                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

A good day…started gathering my income tax stuff, to see what I am still waiting for. Complicated but no way to avoid it.

My brother sent me a link to some of the photos from the Hacienda Weekend. These are ones that Laura took with her iPhone…the professional ones won’t be ready for a couple of weeks. So cool. What a great weekend. Here are two cool pics.

I also spent some time with a couple of CD’s I got from fellow travelers on our Ethiopian trip. Very cool indeed. It’s always amazing to me how each photographer sees our trip through different eyes. Makes the trip more memorable.

Our retirement group is meeting tomorrow at a new hamburger joint here in town…supposed to be some of the best burgers on the planet. Guess I’ll find out tomorrow.

 Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

You are given two words and must provide a third word that can go in between them. The answer will follow the first word and precede the second to complete two familiar two-word phrases. In addition, the answer must fall in between the two words alphabetically. For example, given "last" and "lines," the answer would be "laugh" as in "last laugh" and "laugh lines."

1.     Beer, button:

2.     Chemistry, clown:

3.     Calling, catalogue:

4.     Bad, brother:

5.     Shelf, suit:

6.     Cabin, cut:

7.     Safe, symbol:

8.     Banana, box:

9.     Bed, bunny:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

AZ Centennial is in 20 days:  Did you know?…

• The state's precipitation varies. At Flagstaff the annual average is 18.31 inches; Phoenix averages 7.64 inches; and Yuma's annual average is 3.27 inches.
• The Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake is perhaps the most beautiful of all eleven species of rattlesnakes found in Arizona.
• The colors blue and gold are the official state colors.
• Located in Fountain Hills is a fountain believed to be the tallest in the world.

Found on You Tube         

Halley's Comet

Harper’s Index         

Chance that a person will remember something if he thinks he can look it up later: 1 in 5

Joke-of-the-day

The drunken defendant appears yet again before the tired judge, who says, "You have been constantly appearing before me for the past twenty years."

Replied the drunk: "Can I help it if you can't get promoted?"

Planet Earth

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

If you are giving a party and you live in the suburbs, invite two times the number of people you want to attend. If you live within range of public transportation, invite one and a half times the number of people you want. If you are in the heart of the city, invite one and a quarter times the number of people you want.

Somewhat Useless Information 

• Ballet emerged in the late 15th century Renaissance court culture of Italy, as a dance interpretation of fencing. It was eventually further developed in the French court from the time of Louis XIV in the 17th century.
• The word "tutu" may be a corruption of "cucu," French baby talk for "cul-cul" meaning roughly "botty-wotty" (for bottom). Alternatively, it may derive from tulle, the material from which tutus are often made.
• For its first 100 years, ballet was performed exclusively by male courtiers as an amateur entertainment.
• The largest ballet class involved 989 participants in an event organized by Andrew Warth in Canal Walk Shopping Centre, Cape Town, South Africa, on August 24, 2008.
• A fouette is like a pirouette where the dancer flicks their leg around to spin. New Yorker Leigh Zimmerman twirled a new world record by completing 38 complete spins at the Pineapple Dance Studios in London.
• Anna Pavlova, the renowned prima ballerina, died of pneumonia three weeks before her 50th birthday. Following an old ballet tradition, on the day she was to have next performed, the show went on as scheduled, with a single spotlight circling an empty stage where she would have been. The Pavlova dessert was named after her.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The world's most expensive hot dog has debuted in Vancouver, Canada, costing $100 for the foot-long dog infused with cognac along with lobster and Kobe beef. The founder of dougieDog Hot Dogs, dougie luv, said in a release his brainchild uses 100-year-old Louis XIII cognac that costs more than $2,000 a bottle. He named the creation the Dragon Dog in honor of the Chinese New Year, which this year celebrates the year of the dragon. The dog is nestled in Japanese Kobe beef from hand-massaged cows that is seared in olive and truffle oils, lobster shreds and a picante sauce whose ingredients Mr. luv wouldn't disclose. He said he intends to contact the Guinness Book of Records to unseat the previous most-expensive hot dog at New York's Serendipity restaurant, which sells for $69. The release said the new hot dog would be a regular menu item and not a limited offer.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

20-30

Sundance Film Festival

21-27

World Leprosy WeekNational Activity Professionals WeekKid Film FestivalNational Nurse Anesthetists WeekClean Out Your Inbox WeekNational Handwriting Analysis WeekNational Medical Group Practice WeekNational Nuclear Science WeekNo Name Calling WeekNational Take Back Your Time Week

Today Is                                                                      

Lotus 123 Day (1983 spreadsheet program goes on sale] 

National Peanut Brittle Day

Toad Hollow Day of Encouragement [a day to connect with others through the heart, it stresses the importance of sharing a kind word with fellow man. Although the name conjures thought of childhood storybooks and amusement park rides, Toad Hollow Day of Encourangement is actually rooted in 1800s era school house located in Kalamazoo, Michigan]

Australia Day [arrival of first fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788]
India: Republic Day [1830, Declaration of Independence]
US: Michigan: Admission Day [1837, 26th state]

Today’s Other Events                                                             

Before 1000CE

66 - 5th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet

1500’s

1531 - Lisbon hit by Earthquake; about 30,000 die

1700’s

1784 - Ben Franklin expresses unhappiness over eagle as America's symbol

1800’s

1802 - Congress passes an act calling for a US Capitol library

1808 - Rum Rebellion, the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in Australia.

1861 - Louisiana becomes 6th state to secede

1863 - American Civil War: Massachusetts Governor receives permission from Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent

1900’s

1907 - 1st federal corrupt election practices law passed

1910 - Heavy rains cause floods in Paris

1915 - Rocky Mountain National Park, CO established

1918 - Pres Hoover calls for "wheatless" & "meatless" days for war effort

1926 - Television 1st demonstrated (J L Baird, London)

1948 - Executive Order 9981, end segregation in US Armed Forces signed

1956 - 7th Winter Olympic games open in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy

1965 - South Vietnam milt coup under General Nguyen Khanh

1971 - Charles Manson convicted of murder

1977 - Soviet figure skaters Sergei Shakrai & Marine Tcherkasova are 1st to perform a quadruple twist lift , Helsinki

1979 - "Dukes of Hazzard" premieres on CBS

1986 - Superbowl XX: Chicago Bears beat NE Patriots, 46-10 MVP: Richard Dent

1989 - US computer security expert warns of catastrophic virus

1992 - Americans with Disabilities Act went into effect

1992 - Superbowl XXVI: Wash Red Skins beat Buffalo Bills, 37-24 MVP: Mark Rypien

1997 - Superbowl XXXI: Green Bay Packers beat NE Patriots, 35-21 MVP: Desmond Howard 

1998 - Intel launches 333 MHz Pentium II chip

1998 - Pres Clinton says  "I want to say one thing to the American people I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky"

2000’s

2005 - Condoleezza Rice is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State, becoming the first African American woman to hold the post

2006 - Western Union discontinues use of its telegram service

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Under 30 years old

Suleman octuplets [Noah Angel Solomon , Maliyah Angel Solomon , Isaiah Angel Solomon , Nariyah Angel Solomon , Jonah Angel Solomon , Josiah Angel Solomon , Jeremiah Angel Solomon , and Makai Angel Solomon ]are 3 years old

In their 50’s

Ellen DeGeneres, actor and TV host is 54

Wayne Gretzky, Brantford Ont, NHL great scorer (Oiler, King, Rangers) is 51

Eddie Van Halen, Nijmegan Neth, rock guitarist (Van Halen-Jump, 1984) is 55

In their 70’s

Bob Uecker, catcher/actor (Mr Belvedere) is 77

Remembered for being born on this day

Alexander Carlyle, Scottish church leader in 1722

Juan Pablo Duarte, Dominican founding father in 1813

Benjamin Robert Haydon, Plymouth, painter (Waiting for The Times) in 1786

Eartha Kitt, singer/actress (Catwoman-Batman) in 1928

Douglas MacArthur, general (WW II) in 1880

Paul Newman, Cleve, racer/popcorn mogul/actor (Hud, Hombre, Hustler) in 1925

George Shiras Jr., U.S. Supreme Court justice in 1832

Gene Siskel, movie critic (Siskel & Ebert) in 1946

Today’s Obits                                                           

Paul "Bear" Bryant, college football coach (Alabama), dies of heart attack at 69 in 1983

José Ferrer, Puerto Rican actor/director (Cyrano de Bergerac), dies at 80 in 1992

Victor Fleming, director (Wizard of Oz, Gone With Wind), dies of heart attack at 65 in 1949

Edward Jenner, discoverer (vaccination), dies at 75 in 1824

Charles "Lucky" Luciano, NYC Mafia gangster, dies of heart attack at 65 in 1962

Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician dies at 57 in 1697

Nicholaus Otto, auto pioneer (internal combustion engine) dies at 58 in 1891

Edward G Robinson, [Goldenberg], actor (Little Caesar), dies at 79 in 1973

Nelson Rockefeller, former VP & (4X Gov-R-NY), dies of heart attack at 70 in 1979

William K Wrigley, owner (Wrigley Gum, Chicago Cubs), dies of heart disease at 71 in 1932

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

Animals on the left are WILD, animals on the right are DOMESTICATED

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.     Beer, button: belly

2.     Chemistry, clown: class

3.     Calling, catalogue: card

4.     Bad, brother: blood

5.     Shelf, suit: space

6.     Cabin, cut: crew

7.     Safe, symbol: sex

8.     Banana, box: bread

9.     Bed, bunny: bugs

Wuzzle

• An A in history
• Tidal waves
• Paradox

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.

All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

☺    And That Is All for Now  ☺