Dec 21, last post until after the holiday

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out! Last Blog until Dec 28

Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 51/ Day: 356   

Today: H   31°…L -9° Averages: H  ° L °

Records: H   61°(1917)…L -12°(1924)

Wind: ave:   9mph; Gusts:  10mph Today’s ave. humidity:  61%

Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical Highlights:

103 Mayflower pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock—1620

1st crossword puzzle (with 32 clues) printed in NY World—1913

1st feature-length color & sound cartoon premieres (Snow White) —1937

1st feature-length silent film comedy, "Tillie's Punctured Romance" released—1914

1st junior high school established (Berkeley California) —1909

3 white NY teens convicted of manslaughter in death of a black man—1987

City of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control—1995

Fox signs Shirley Temple, 5, to a studio contract—1933

Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers, 1st joint movie (Flying Down to Rio) —1932

Geneva Conference on the Arab-Israeli conflict opens—1973

John Jay becomes 1st US secretary of state—1784

NY bound Pan Am jumbo jet explodes over Scotland all 

     258 aboard die-Lockerbie bombing—1988

State of Eire (formerly Irish Free State) declares its independence—1948

Tom Landry accepts coaching job with Dallas Cowboys—1959 

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

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

  Returns after break

Free Rambling Thoughts:   

Sure was cold this morning…stayed inside all day and got ready for my trip…paper stopped, check…mail hold, check…plants watered, check…tickets, check, packed, check. I’ll be leaving about 6am tomorrow and won’t return until the 27^th. Blog will probably start up again on the 28^th. Ready for a great week with my brother and the Chicago in-law family.

 

I hope everyone has a good holiday, with friends and family. I am hoping for more sanity in 2013, less political hoopla, more people caring about people, less hatred, more compromise, and a whole lot more peace in this world.

 

I was in the education field for my whole career. I started teaching when we taught 3R’s, science and social studies. As the years progressed more and more was added to the classroom teacher’s assignments…lessons in character building, lessons in sex education, lessons on family responsibility, drug-free education, counselor and family arbitrator, social service reporter of abuse and family violence, and mountains or paperwork to the front office that show they are teaching and the list just kept growing. Now people who haven’t been in a classroom as anything but a student back in the day are trying to change their responsibility again…by adding being trained in shooting a gun and having one in the classroom to make the children safe. Others are suggesting that administrators receive the training and have them at the ready. At the same time, some of these ‘gun in every classroom’ people were out there just a few weeks ago degrading teacher’s unions and saying that teachers need to be in the classroom teaching and not picketing for better working conditions and better pay packages. From my point of view, teachers and administrators of schools did not go into education to be armed protectors of their students. While not every teacher who enters their first classroom will make it a career, and not every teacher goes into education to be the best teacher in the school, those who stay work long hours and try very hard to help kids prepare for the world out there. One final thought…if the first responders who are called to a school incident do not need to be concerned that any of the staff is carrying a loaded weapon. Their job is difficult enough without adding the scenario that some of the people with guns are also good guys. I sure hope this insanity is stopped in its tracks.

Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)

Duplicate Letter Puzzles New Puzzle when blog returns

Find common words with certain letters duplicated in the given positions. V stands for a duplicated vowel, C stands for a duplicated consonant, L stands for any duplicated letter, and _ stands for any letter

 L _ V C V C L

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Old Saying Explained:

LONG IN THE TOOTH

When a horse grows old its gums recede and if you examine its mouth it looks 'long in the tooth'.

Ok, then?

Movie Theme Songs you may remember:

The Lion King ''Circle of Life''

Read This Headline Carefully!!

In the lobby of a Moscow Hotel, across from a Russian Orthodox Monastery:

YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY, WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS, ARTISTS AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY, EXCEPT THURSDAY.

Winter-ish cartoons:

Harper’s Index:         

• Ratio of the value of Obama contributions to Rmoney contributions among education workers: 6 to 1
• Among for-profit education workers: 1 to 4

Unusual Fact of the Day:

Andre Agassi's father represented Iran in boxing in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics.

Found on You Tube: 

• Little Drummer Boy- Harry Simeone Choir

• Bing Crosby - Silent Night

• Littlest Angel
  I listened to this as a child many, many, many times

Joke-of-the-day:

There once was an old man who was about to die. He told his wife to put a bag of money in the attic "When I die I'll get it on my way up." chuckled the old man. Well when the old man died the wife went up to the attic and found that the bag of money was still there. "I knew I should have put that money in the cellar!" said the old woman.  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

MARKETING A NEW PRODUCT

Americans will not buy something they cannot pronounce.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

CHICAGO - Officials at the University of Chicago said an apparent Indiana Jones fan sent a replica movie prop to the school addressed to "Henry Walton Jones Jr." Admissions counselor Grace Chapin said workers were left scratching their heads when no "Henry Walton Jones" could be found in the school directory, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday. "We gave it to a student worker, and the kid came back laughing once he Googled it," Chapin said.

"Some of us are in a haze with finals, you know, so he said it was Indiana Jones' name. Then we opened it, and it was very bizarre. There was no explanation as to why it was with us, so we talked about it and decided to put it online."

Workers said they opened the package and discovered an elaborate replica of fictional professor Abner Ravenwood's journal from the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" film. Chapin said Lucasfilm, the studio that made the Indiana Jones films, said it does not know where the journal came from. She said some have theorized the faux postmark on the journal itself may have confused the U.S. Postal Service if it fell out of its original packaging. Chapin said the journal may also be part of an unusual admissions project. "I don't want to get everyone sending us elaborate Indiana Jones creations, though," she said.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Approximately 800 tornadoes are reported in the United States each year, causing eighty fatalities and 1,500 injuries. A tornado can happen in any season and at any hour, from mountains to urban areas.

• Lightning is a leading cause of weather-related injury and even death in the United States. Lightning strikes the Earth more than 5,000 times every minute. Your odds of being struck by lightning in America are 1 in 700,000 in any given year. About 10 percent of lightning-strike victims are killed.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

16-1/5> Christmas Bird Count Week

16-24> Gluten-free Baking Week; Posadas

17-23> Saturnalia

Today Is                                                                      

Crossword Puzzle Day
Forefathers Day
Hamburger Day
Humbug Day
Look At The Bright Side Day
National French Fried Shrimp Day
National Flashlight Day
National Homeless Persons' Remembrance Day
Phileas Fogg Win A Wager Day
Underdog Day
World Peace Day/Winter Solstice

Today’s Events through History  

1st stone arch railroad bridge in US dedicated, Baltimore—1829

1st US skating club formed—1849

2 treaties the Cherokee signed with Return Meigs are sent to the Senate 

     today for consideration. The Cherokee will give up over four million 

     acres for almost $20,000—1804

Cheyennes, Arapho's, Sioux, Fetterman Massacre—1866

Conference covering peace and the resumption of trade is held for the 

     next 8 days between representatives of the British in North Carolina 

     and the Cherokee—1759

Flanders adopts Gregorian calendar, tomorrow is Jan 1 1583—1582

Nepal changes from British protectorate to independent nation—1923

Scientists Pierre & Marie Curie discovers radium—1898

UN General Assembly passes a resolution declaring 1979-Year of Child—1976

Vince Lombardi (Redskins) coaches his last football game, losing—1969

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 80’s

Ed Nelson, New Orleans La, actor (Peyton Place, A Long Came a Spider) is 84

In their 70’s

Phil Donahue, talk show host (Phil Donahue Show) is 77

Jane Fonda, actress (Barbarella, Klute), physically fit is 75

In their 60’s

Samuel L Jackson, Washington DC, actor (Pulp Fiction) is 64

In their 50’s

Jane Kaczmarek, actress: Malcolm in the Middle is 57

Ray Romano , actor (Ray Barone-Everybody Loves Raymond) is 55

In their 40’s

Andy Dick, actor (Matthew-Newsradio) is 47

Remembered for being born today

Florence Griffith Joyner, LA California, runner (Olympic-3 gold-1988) 

     (1959- severe epileptic seizure-1998)

Hermann A J Kees, German Egyptologist (Problems of Egyptology) (1886-1964)

Joe Paterno, football coach (Penn State, SI Sportsman of 1986) (1924-2012)

Donald Regan, White House staffer/US Secretary of Treasury (1918-2003)

Paul Winchell, NYC, ventriloquist (Jerry Mahoney, Knucklehead Smith) (1922-2005)

Frank Zappa, Baltimore, rocker (Mothers of Invention, Catholic Girls) (1940-1993)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Rod Cameron, actor (Santa Fe Passage, Stampede)—1983—at 73

F Scott Fitzgerald, author (Zelda)—heart attack—1940—at 44

Frank Kellogg, US Secretary of State and Nobel laureate—1937—at 80

Richard Long, actor (Nanny & Professor)— several heart attacks—1974—at 47

James Parkinson, English physician, geologist, paleontologist, political

     activist— severe stroke—1824—at 67 

George S Patton, US General (Sicily/Normandy)—car crash—1945—at 60

Dick Schaap, American sports journalist—surgery complications—2001—at 67

Answer: Duplicate Letter Puzzles

 GAINING

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  §

Dec 20, 2012

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

Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 51/ Day:     

Today: H   28°…L 17° Averages: H  42° L 16°

Records: H   62°(1958)…L -14°(1924)

Wind: ave:   12mph; Gusts:  34mph Today’s ave. humidity:  93%

Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical Highlights:

"Graduate," starring Dustin Hoffman & Anne Bancroft, premieres—1967

"Harvey," starring James Stewart, premieres in NY—1950

1st international dogsled mail leaves Minot, Maine for Montreal, Que—1928

1st successful US cotton mill to spin yarn—1790 

Bob Hope became an American citizen—1920

Canadian Natl Railways established (N America's longest, 50,000 KM) —1919

Elvis Presley given draft notice to join US Army—1957

Ethiopia becomes socialist one-party state—1974

Hawaiian post office established—1850

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever monarch 

     of the United Kingdom—2007

Missouri imposes a $1 bachelor tax on unmarried men between 21 & 50—1820

Richard the Lionhearted captured in Vienna—1192

SC votes 169-0 for Ordinace of Secession, 1st state to secede—1860

Trial against 21 camp guards of Auschwitz begins—1963

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

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

Free Rambling Thoughts:   

Got our snow…about 5”. Clear and sunny all day. Wind chill drops the temps about 15°…not a day to spend much time outside. No more storms predicted for a while, so I should be able to get out of town easily on Friday.

 

I’ve been getting some great Holiday cards and letters. Much appreciated for sure. My Colorado tax story continues. Today I got a letter from the collection agency, giving me 30 days to pay up. Hmmm. Called Colorado Tax and Margaret said not to worry. Still no timeline available. This is so dumbfounding.

Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)

Duplicate Letter Puzzles

Find common words with certain letters duplicated in the given positions. V stands for a duplicated vowel, C stands for a duplicated consonant, L stands for any duplicated letter, and _ stands for any letter

C V L _ V L C

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Old Saying Explained:

A LONG SHOT

A long shot is an option with only a small chance of success. In the past guns were only accurate at short range. So a 'long shot' (fired over a long distance) only had a small chance of hitting its target.

Ok, then?

Movie Theme Songs you may remember:

Once ''Falling Slowly''

Read This Headline Carefully!!

Hotel, Japan:

YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

Winter-ish cartoons:

Bet You Didn’t Know…from History Channel

Ethiopia and Liberia are the only two African nations that have never been under European colonial rule.

Harper’s Index:         

Percentage change in Chief Justice John Robert’s  approval rating among Republicans since his 2005 conformation: -60

Unusual Fact of the Day:

"Sternutation" is a fancy word for the act of sneezing.

Found on You Tube: 

• Arthur Rubinstein at 90 – INTERVIEW

• URI GELLER - Seeing is Believing

 Joke-of-the-day:

Holidays around the precinct are always lively, especially in the 911 areas.

One particular night, a drunk calls in, and the following communication began: 

"911, what is your emergency?"

"Osifer, I've been robbed!"

"Can you be more specific sir?"

"Osifer, someone stole my steering wheel, my gas pedal and my brake pedal."

"Could you please repeat that sir?" By now there's a crowd gathering around the dispatcher's chair.

"Yes, shur. Someone stole my gas pedal, my brake pedal and my steering wheel."

"Sir, what is your location?"

"I'm in my car."

"Sir, could you explain to me exactly where your car is located?"

"Yes, shur. I'm on Baker Street. Uh, 488 Baker!"

"Alright, sir, we'll send officers out to investigate it. Try to stay calm."

The phone call ends at this point but not five minutes later another call comes in. 

"911, what is your emergency?"

"Osifer?"

"Yes, what is your emergency please?"

"Osifer, this is me again. I just found my steering wheel, my gas pedal and my brake pedal."

"Okay, sir. Are you still needing assistance?"

"No, shur, I was just in the back seat."

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

USING PULLEYS

Two pulleys connected by a belt should be separated by at least the difference between their individual diameters.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

MUNICH, Germany - A German pool complex said a drunken guest biting police officers was the last straw leading to a three-drink limit for visitors. The Erding Thermal baths near Munich, which features a bar in a warm water pool, said it has had problems with drunken guests for years, but the last straw was a 35-year-old Austrian man who was naked and causing a disturbance in one of the saunas, The Local.de reported Tuesday. The complex said the man pushed a security guard into a pool and pulled out a chunk of the other man's hair. Police arrived and the man bit a female officer in the thigh and a male officer in the arm. Police said the man injured a third officer's shoulder. Officials at the resort said the incident has resulted in the imposition of a three-drink limit for guests. "This was the final straw," said Jorg Wund, manager if the Erding Thermal Baths. "Self control does not work."  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Theree are 32 species of marine dolphins, four types of river dolphins, and six types of porpoises. The distinction between dolphin and porpoises is often blurred, but generally porpoises have spade-shaped teeth and blunt rounded faces. Dolphins have teeth shaped like rounded cones set in jaws that extend in a snout or beak.

• A baby dolphin is born tail-first to prevent drowning. After the mother breaks the umbilical cord by swiftly swimming away, she must immediately return to her baby and take it to the surface to breathe.

• A dolphin's body has adapted to avoid the bends (the formation of air bubbles in blood and tissue as a diver returns to the surface of the water) by completely collapsing its ribcage, forcing the air under pressure out of its lungs and into the windpipe and the complex air chambers that lie below the blowhole.

• Dolphins don't have a sense of smell, but they do have a sense of taste and, like humans, can distinguish between sweet, sour, bitter, and salty tastes.

• Dolphins also "see" with sounds. They emit a series of clicks and pings that travel long distances through water. When the sound hits an object, echoes are bounced back to the dolphin, enabling it to literally hear distance, shape, density, movement, and texture of an object.

• A dolphin can produce whistles for communication and clicks for sonar at the same time, which would be like a human speaking in two voices, with two different pitches, holding two different conversations.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

16-1/5> Christmas Bird Count Week

16-24> Gluten-free Baking Week; Posadas

17-23> Saturnalia

Today Is                                                                      

Cathode-Ray Tube Day
Games Day
International Human Solidarity Day
National Re-gifting Day
Mudd Day: Dr. who helped JW Booth born in 1833

Today’s Events through History  

1669 - 1st jury trial in Delaware; Marcus Jacobson condemned for insurrection

     & sentenced to flogging, branding & slavery—1669

1st Space walk made by G Grechko from Salyut—1977

Bonnie Prince Charlie's army meets de Esk—1745

First same sex civil partnerships in Scotland are celebrated—2005

Ian Anderson & Glenn Cornick form rock group Jethro Tull—1967

Intl cantilever railway bridge opens at Niagara Falls—1883

Louisiana Purchase formally transferred from France to US for $27M—1803

NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia—1995

Tom Edison privately demonstrated incandescent light at Menlo Park—1879

US House of Representatives restricts immigration—1919

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 60’s

Uri Geller, Tel Aviv, Israel, psychic (bends forks) is 66

Dick Wolf, television series creator (Miami Vice, Law & Order) is 66

Under 30

Jonah Hill, actor, producer, screenwriter, comedian is 29

Remembered for being born today

Walter S Adams, US astronomer/director of Mount Wilson (1876-1956)

Irene [Marie] Dunne, Louisville, actress (Show Boat, I Remember Mama) (1898-1990)

Harvey Firestone, Industrialist, where the rubber meets the road, (1868-1938)

Samuel A Mudd, doctor, convicted of giving medical aid to JW Booth (1833-1883)

John Spencer, actor (Tommy Mullanney-LA Law) (1946=heart attack-2005)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Richard J Daley, (Mayor-D-Chicago)—1974—at 74

Bobby Darin, singer (Mack the Knife)—heart failure—1973—at 37

Robert Knox, Scottish surgeon, anatomist and zoologist—1862—at 71

Steve Landesberg, actor and comedian (Barney Miller)— colon cancer—2010—at 74

Max Robinson, 1st black network (ABC) TV anchor—AIDS—1988—at 49

Arthur Rubinstein, pianist (My Young Years)—1982—at 95

Dean Rusk, US Sect of State (1961-69)—1994—at 85

Sacagawea, Shoshone interpreter for Lewis & Clark—1812—at 24

Carl Sagan, scientist (Contact)— pneumonia—1996—at 62

John Steinbeck, author (Grapes of Wrath, Nobel 1940, 62)— heart disease—1968—at 66

Answer: Duplicate Letter Puzzles

 SERVERS

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  §