Nov 14, 2012

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 46/ Day: 319   

Today: High   49°…Low 15°

Records: High   72°(1967)…Low -3°(2000)

Averages: High  51° Low 24°

Wind: average:   6mph; Gusts:  23mph

Today’s average humidity:  44%

Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical Highlights:

"Moby Dick," by Herman Melville, published—1851

"National Turn in Your Draft Card Day" features draft card burning—1968

1st US professional librarian, Louis Timothee, hired in Phila—1732

Albert Einstein presents quantum theory of light—1908

Disney's "Lion King" sets Broadway record of $2,700,000 daily sale—1997

FDR proclaims Philippine Islands a free commonwealth—1935

German planes destroy most of Coventry, England—1940

Maya King K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I (Ruler 1) ascends to the throne in 

     Piedras Negras, Mexico—603

OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), forms—1960

Power plant at Niagara Falls begins operation—1896

US government sends 90,000 soldiers to Vietnam—1965

Yale University announces it is going co-educational—1968

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

How many can you identify?…answers in Today’s Birthdays

Free Rambling Thoughts:   

Started the day off at the dentist…getting my new crown. Fits fine. I told him my tooth was sore for almost a week after the temporary was put on. He said he wasn’t surprised. I told him I was. He is an experienced dentist, who just bought the practice and I have yet to decide if I will stay with him. Not sure why…just a gut feeling.

 

Gonna buy my Chicago ticket tomorrow morning…when there might be some lower prices. Can’t believe it is $700 as it was about $560 last year. Only good thing is ‘our’ motel is still at $91/night.

 

Got my roommate’s ticket to Uganda…NBD…I talked to him and we will simply trade them at the airport in Houston. I talked to Hamdy and another cool stop will be ‘on the equator’ where there is a stop that has a bucket of water. They put the bucket on the equator and no swirling, put it on either side and the water swirls in opposite directions…should be cool. I’ve been south of the equator before and seen the difference. This will just be cool, right on the equator.

 

I’m am freaking out with my GFI outlets. In this crazy place there are two GFI’s in the kitchen and one in the downstairs bath…however, somehow they are connected to the other two outlets in the kitchen and the two upstairs bathrooms. I have a regular outdoor front outlet that I shorted out on Halloween night. That somehow also shut off all the GFI’s. After resetting the breaker, some of the kitchen GFI’s and outlets work, others don’t. I finally called the maintenance guy and he came right over. He looked, shook his head, tripped all the breakers and turned them back on, shook his head and said that he would have to call an electrician friend to see what was going on. For me to be baffled is understandable. For him to be baffled is a little disconcerting. He’ll be back, hopefully tomorrow with some answers.

Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)

Anagram Sentences: 6 letter anagrams

What are the missing words?

It wasn't the ______ thing the entomologist said, but at least we learned sometimes ______ occurred in the ______ world.

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Unusual Uses for Everyday Things: TEA BAG

• After staying up all night fighting zombies you'll need to freshen up your eyes. Put a wet tea bag on each eye for 20 minutes to freshen them up!
• If your gums are bleeding, you can press a tea bag onto the bleeding area to stop the bleeding.
• Every day, to prevent foot rot, you should soak your feet everyday in a tea bath to keep the healthy and fresh!
• If your inoculation area hurts too much hold a tea bag there for 20 minutes to soothe the area.
• Help cool down razor burn with a wet tea bag on the affected areas.

Old Saying Explained:

CUT AND RUN…In an emergency rather than haul up an anchor the sailors would cut the anchor cable then run with the wind.

Ok, then?

TV Theme Songs you may remember:

Rawhide - Ned Washington and Dimitri

Read This Headline Carefully!!

NJ Judge To Rule On Nude Beach

 Sacred Mountains Around the World:

Celtic Music:

THE CELTS!

Harper’s Index:         

• Rank of rhinoplasty among the most common cosmetic surgical procedures performed on British men: 1
• Rank of breast reduction: 2

Ruminations:

Why does the waitress expect a bigger tip when the meal was more expensive? Was it more effort to bring me a steak that it was to bring me a hamburger?

Unusual Fact of the Day:

You can actually get nicotine poisoning from absorbing the chemical through your skin (from wet tobacco leaves). The phenomenon is called Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS).

Found on You Tube: 

• Claude Monet Documentary

• P.J. O'Rourke on Gay Marriage, Marijuana Laws

Joke-of-the-day:

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

SPOTTING FOOT PROBLEMS…A sneaker sole worn along the outer edge indicates flat feet. A sole worn along the inner edge indicates a high arch.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

Japanese contemporary artist Tatzu Nishino has transformed a public restroom in Osaka's Nakanoshima Park into a one-room hotel, Rocket News 24 reports. The newly-named "Nakanoshima Hotel" is part of the Osaka Canvas Project, a prefectural art event, and costs 10,000 yen (US $125) per night.

The luxurious-looking 22-square-meter room includes a shower, bed, and its own separate bathroom, according to Hotel Chatter.

The public restroom that surrounds the room is fully functional, and all the corollary sounds are fully audible to guests.

Even so, the one-room hotel is fully booked for the duration of the installation, primarily by hardcore fans of Nishino.

Fear not, though, there are plenty of other bizarre accommodations available worldwide. At the Jailhotel Löwengraben in Switzerland, you can settle in for the night inside a former prison cell.

And in Finland's Hotel Kakslauttanen & Igloo Village, you can put your feet up inside a glass igloo 250 miles inside the Arctic Circle.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Newer U.S. cities that have had room to "spread out" tend to have fewer (and smaller) skyscrapers. The tallest building in Phoenix, the sixth-most-populous American city with 1.5 million inhabitants, is only 40 stories tall.

• Chinese architects have been reaching for the sky over the last two decades. In 1988, none of the nation's buildings ranked in the top 20 worldwide. Today, China claims 10 of the 20 tallest skyscrapers on the planet.

• Besides the Sears Tower, Chicago is home to three other buildings more than 1,000 feet tall: the Aon Center, the John Hancock Center, and the AT&T Corporate Center. A fourth, Two Prudential Plaza, misses the cut by only 5 feet.

• Laws dictate that no structure in the District of Columbia can stand taller than the 555-foot-tall Washington Monument.

• When viewing a list of the 20 tallest buildings on Earth, the Empire State Building stands out because of its age. The structure was completed in 1931, nearly 40 years before the next-oldest skyscraper on the list.

• The height of the Empire State Building stretches from 1,250 feet to 1,455 feet when you include its antenna. At the very top is a mast that was intended to anchor dirigibles but was never used for that purpose.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

11-17 

American Education Week ►Geography Awareness Week ►National Hunger & Homeless Awareness Week

12-18  

National Global Entrepreneurship Week ►World Kindness Week ►National Young Reader's Week

Today Is                                                                      

International Girls Day
Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day
National American Teddy Bear Day
National Educational Support Professionals Day
Operation Room Nurse Day
Spirit of NSA (National Speakers Association) Day
Universal Children's Day
World Diabetes Day
World Orphans Day
~India Children's Day

Today’s Events through History  

1st streetcar (horse-drawn) (John Mason) debuts in NYC; fare 12 cents rode on 

     4th Avenue between Prince and 14th Sts—1832

Afghan Northern Alliance fighters takeover the capital Kabul—2001

Belgium threatens to leave UN due to criticism on its Congo-policy—1960

Communist Party of Spain is founded—1921

Don Shula becomes winningest coach in NFL history—1993

Doubleday Publishing sells NY Mets to Nelson Doubleday & Fred Wilpon—1986

Henry Aaron wins NL MVP—1957

Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane), New York World reporter, began her attempt 

     to surpass fictitious journey of Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg by traveling 

     around world in less than 80 days She succeeded, finishing the trip in 

     January in 72 days and 6 hours—1889

Paul 'Bear' Bryant ties Amos Alonzo Stagg with 314 football wins—1981

Pizarro's begins 1st great expedition, near Colombia—1524

Samuel Pepys reports on 1st blood transfusion (between dogs) —1666

The last direct-current distribution by Con Edison was shut down—2007

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 60’s

P J O'Rourke, writer (Easy Money) is 65

In their 50’s

Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State is 58

D B Sweeney, actor (Cutting Edge, Fire in the Sky, Day in October) is 51

Yanni, new age musician (Live at the Acropolis, Sand Dance) is 58

In their 40’s

Josh Duhamel, actor(Transformers)is 40

Curt Schilling, Anchorage AK, pitcher (Philadelphia Phillies) is 46

Remembered for being born today

Rosemary DeCamp, Prescott Az, actress (Love That Bob, That Girl) (1910-2001)

Mamie G Doud Eisenhower, 1st lady (1896-1979)

Robert Fulton, Little Britain, Pen., inventor and engineer (1st commercial 

    steamboat), (1765-1815)

Veronica Lake, [Constance Ockleman], actress (I Married a Witch) (1922-1973)

Joseph R McCarthy, (Sen-R-Wisc), anti-communist (1908-1957)

Claude Monet, Paris, impressionist (Water Lilies), (1840-1926)

Jawaharlal Nehru, 1st Indian PM (1889-1964)

Dick Powell, Mt View Ark, actor (Cry Danger, Dick Powell Theater) (1904-1963)

Sherwood Schwartz, Passaic NJ, TV creator (Brady Bunch, Gilligan Is) (1916-2011)

Ray Sharkey, Brooklyn NY, actor (Wise Guys, Wired, Caged Fear) (1952-1993)

McLean Stevenson, Normal Ill, actor (M*A*S*H, Hello Larry) (1929-1996)

Adam Walsh, American murder victim (America’s Most Wanted) (1974-1981)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Jacobus Houbraken, engraver/illustrator—1780—at 81

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of ISKCON—1977—at 81

T'ai tsu, emperor of China/founder of Sung-dynasty—976—at 49

Robert Trout, American journalist—2000—at 91

Booker T Washington, educator/organizer— hypertension—1915—at 59

Answer: Anagram sentence

It wasn't the nicest thing the entomologist said, but at least we learned sometimes incest occurred in the insect world.

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  §

Nov 13, 2012

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 46/ Day: 318   

Today: High   41°…Low 22°

Records: High   70°(1967)…Low 3°(1898)

Averages: High  52° Low 24°

Wind: average:   3mph; Gusts:  21mph

Today’s average humidity:  57%

Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical Highlights:

"Sheik," starring Rudolph Valentino, is released—1921
1st modern sit-down strike, Hormel meat packers, Austin, MN—1933
American Revolutionary forces capture Montreal—1775
America's 1st saint, Mother Frances Cabrini, beatified—1938
Black Renaissance begins Harlem NY—1922
Cyclone kills estimated 300,000 in Chittagong Bangladesh—1970
False fingernails 1st sold—1952
Final Al Capp comic strip of "Li'l Abner" (1934-77) —1977
Minimum draft age lowered from 21 to 18—1942
Mt Rainier in Washington State erupts—1843
US issues 1st gold certificates—1865
VP Spiro Agnew calls TV executives "impudent snobs"—1970
Walt Disney's "Fantasia" released—1940
World Wide Web first began—1987

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

How many can you identify?…answers in Today’s Birthdays

Free Rambling Thoughts:   

A chilly ‘holiday’ Monday.

 

Slowly, very slowly, the election results are being published for our two largest and slowest counties. One Congressional race is still in question. Lots of finger pointing that all boils down to our complicated voting system with early ballots and provisional ballots. Anything it seems to make the voting process more difficult for many.

 

Alert! If you are going to do something wrong…don’t use any e-mail service to discuss it. Seems logical but so many high profile people just don’t get it.

 

I don’t know if this is an OMG story or a WTF story: today twenty states filed citizen driven petitions to President Obama to ‘peacefully secede’ from the US. Thankfully, AZ is not in the list but Colorado is.  It doesn’t really mean anything legal, but sure is crazy. Turns out similar things happened after the 2004 and 2008 elections.

Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)

Anagram Sentences: 6 letter anagrams

What are the missing words?

The ______ saw the ______ after it landed on the barbed wire and let out a loud ______ .

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Unusual Uses for Everyday Things: Mayonnaise

• Just dab a little onto the dull key and leave it for five minutes or so. Then wipe off the mayo, and buff with a different cloth until the ivory shines.
• Mayonnaise has some delightfully emollient qualities. It’ll soften and smooth hair for a sleek and chic look that can go straight from the runway to the kitchen.
• Apply a little mayo to problem areas like the elbows, knees, or your face. Leave it on for ten to fifteen minutes, then buff off with a damp towel or washcloth. Then use your normal moisturizer or lotion to lock in the freshness.
• Rub a little bit of mayo onto the crayon mark and let it sit for five to ten minutes. Then watch it magically disappear when you wipe it away with a damp cloth.
• Try dipping your nails into a mayo bath. Soak your nails, cuticles, and the rest of your fingertip in some mayonnaise. Then rinse. Voila! Stronger nails. You'll be opening bottles and clamshell packaging bare-handed from now on.
• Removing tar, sap, and sticker residue…Cover the mess with some mayonnaise and let it sit for several minutes. Then wipe it off with a soft, vehicle-approved cloth
• If your wooden furniture is covered in water rings, try to buff them out with some mayonnaise. 
• Rub a little bit of mayo onto your matte and dull leaf. Buff it to a shine, then you'll have the shiniest ficus leaf in the world.

Old Saying Explained:

CROCODILE TEARS…These are an insincere display of grief or sadness. It comes from the old belief that a crocodile wept (insincerely!) if it killed and ate a man.

Ok, then?

TV Theme Songs you may remember:

Laverne & Shirley - "Making Our Dreams Come True" by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox

Read This Headline Carefully!!

Panda Mating Fails - Veterinarian Takes Over

Sacred Mountains Around the World:

Celtic Music:

Paul Mounsey-Celtic Music

Harper’s Index:         

Number of bullets fired at human targets by German police in 2011: 36

Ruminations:

Never trust a woman who uses a baby voice to talk to anything other than a baby.

Unusual Fact of the Day:

Charles Lindbergh was named Time magazine’s first “Man of the Year” in 1927. But what turned into an annual tradition for the publication actually started as an apology: Time had embarrassingly left Lindbergh off the cover after his landmark solo flight and "Man of the Year" was their apology.

Found on You Tube: 

• The Sheik (1921) Rudolph Valentino

• Walt Disney - Fantasia - Mickey The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Joke-of-the-day:

After 17 years of marriage, a man dumped his wife for a younger woman. The downtown luxury apartment was in his name and he wanted to remain there with his new love so he asked the wife to move out and then he would buy her another place. The wife agreed to this, but asked that she be given 3 days on her own there to pack up her things.

While he was gone the first day, she lovingly put her personal belongings into boxes and crates and suitcases. On the second day she had the movers come and collect her things. On the third day she sat down for the last time at their candlelit dining table, soft music playing in the background, and feasted on a pound of shrimp and a bottle of chardonnay. When she had finished, she went into each room and deposited a few of the resulting shrimp shells into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.

The husband came back with his new girl and all was bliss for the first few days. Then it started, slowly but surely. Clueless, the man could not explain why the place smelled so bad. They tried everything; cleaned and mopped and aired the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents, carpets were steam cleaned, air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in, the carpets were replaced, and on it went.

Finally, they could take it no more and decided to move. The moving company arrived and did a very professional packing job, taking everything to their new home...including the curtain rods.  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

CODE BLUE…In war, you don't hear the bullet that gets you. In the hospital, if you hear a code blue, it's not for you.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

On November 17 Jennifer Hoffman and Marisa Gallegos, founders of Esme & Eve Photography, along with five other brave women, plan to jump from an airplane near Lake Elsinore, California, wearing nothing but parachutes and their lingerie. The jump is part of Esme & Eve's "Be Bold. Take the Leap" initiative, in which they urge women "to face their fears, take a risk and push against whatever is holding them back from carrying out their dreams."

This will be the second skydive Hoffman and Gallegos are taking together, and this time around, they wanted to do it on a larger scale by inviting others to join. Gallegos admitted, however, that the idea to skydive in nothing but their skivvies was never part of their original plan.

When the pair arrived at the skydive location for their first jump last May, it was more than 100 degrees outside. Neither of the women was particularly excited about putting on the heavy, bulky jumpsuits, so they decided to go without.

"When we landed, it just hit us how powerful the experience was," Gallegos said. "We needed to come back and do it in a big way with a bunch of other women that have all faced certain fears and insecurities and moved past them. It's all about empowering them. Life is about evolving and moving past things so we can move forward."

They thought it was best to do the jump in their underwear because "it was more about baring your soul, and being OK with it, and not being ashamed," Hoffman said.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• The rockets mentioned in "The Star Spangled Banner" were less effective than bombs. They had a shorter range and were so inaccurate that they had to be abandoned as weapons after the War of 1812. Not until World War II did rockets become important.

• The Pentagon is the world's largest office building, a city in itself. With an area of 6,500,00 square feet the Pentagon has a Main Street lined with shops, restaurants and its own post office.  

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

7-13

Dear Santa Letter Week ►Pursuit of Happiness Week

11-17 

American Education Week ►Geography Awareness Week ►National Hunger & Homeless Awareness Week

12-18  

National Global Entrepreneurship Week ►World Kindness Week ►National Young Reader's Week

Today Is                                                                      

National Indian Pudding Day
National Young Reader's Day

Today’s Events through History  

1st artificial snow produced from a natural cloud, Mt Greylock, MA—1946

1st condom commercial on BBC TV—1990

1st modern elastic brassiere patented by Mary Phelps Jacob—1913

1st shipment of canned pineapple from Hawaii—1895

Ben Franklin writes "Nothing . . . certain but death & taxes"—1789

Bob Petit (St Louis Hawks) becomes 1st NBAer to score 20,000 points—1964

Carl B Stokes sworn-in as 1st major city black mayor (Cleveland OH) —1967

Conference regarding alliances is held for the next four days between 

     representatives of the British in Pennsylvania and the Miami, Shawnee 

     and "Six Nations" tribes. —1747

English Lady Jane Grey/Bishop Cranmer accused of high treason—1553

James Braid first sees a demonstration of animal magnetism, which leads 

     to his study of the subject he eventually calls hypnosis—1841

Phenomenal meteor shower just before sunrise is seen all over North America. 

     This event is recorded on Kiowa picture calendars as the most significant 

     event of the year—1833

Ronald Reagan in NY announces his candidacy for president—1979

Significant battle at Sheriffmuir during Jacobite rebellion. Battle inconclusive 

     but Government forces able halt advance of Jacobite army lead by Scottish 

     Earl of Mar—1715

War on Terrorism: In the first such act since World War II, US President George W. 

     Bush signs an executive order allowing military tribunals against foreigners 

     suspected of connections to terrorist acts or planned acts on the United 

     States. —2001

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 70’s

Garry Marshall, NYC, producer (Laverne & Shirley) is 78

In their 60’s

Joe Mantegna, actor (Criminal Minds) is 65

In their 50’s

Whoopi Goldberg[Caryn Johnson], actress, comedian (Color Purple, Ghost, The View) will be 57

Christopher Noth, actor (Sex in the City, Law & Order) is 58

In their 40’s

Gerard Butler, Scottish actor is 43

Jimmy Kimmel, late night TV host is 45

Vinny Testaverde, NFL quarterback (Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens) is 49

Steve Zahn, actor is 45

Remembered for being born today

John AB Dahlgren, US Union lt adm/inventor (Civil war Dahlgren-cannon) (1809-1870)

Jack Elam, Miami AZ, actor (The Dakotas, East Street, Rio Lobo)(1920-2003)

John Lowry, Mount Vernon NY, NYC builder (Radio City Music Hall) b. 1882

Richard Mulligan, Bronx NY, actor (Soap, Empty's Nest, Big Bus) (1932-2000)

Dack Rambo, Delano California, actor (Guns of Will Sonnett, Dallas) (1941-1994)

Robert Louis Stevenson, Edinburgh, Scotland, author (Treasure Island), (1850-1894)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Thomas Chippendale, English furniture maker— tuberculosis—1779—at 61

Vine Deloria, Jr., Native American author, theologian, historian, and activist— aneurysm—2005—at 72

Henry the Navigator, prince of Portugal—1460—at 66

"Alvin" Junior Samples, country singer (Hee Haw)— heart attack—1983—at 56

Karen Silkwood, labor union activist—car crash under suspicious circumstances—1974—at 29

Answer: Anagram sentence

The hikers saw the shrike after it landed on the barbed wire and let out a loud shriek .

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  §