Mar 5, 2013


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 10/ Day: 64   
Today: H   53°…L 36° Averages: H  48° L 22° Records: H   68°(1910)…L -16°(1966)
Wind: ave:   10mph; Gusts:  18mph  Ave. humidity:  47%

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights
"King Kong," 1st televised►1956 1,000 US marines land in China to protect 
     American property►1927
1st old age pension plans in US established by Montana & Nevada►1923
Phoenix offers a $200 bounty for dead Indians►1891
Congress appropriates $30,000 to ship camels to western US►1845
Elvis Presley ends 2-year hitch in US Army►1960
FDR proclaims 10-day bank holiday►1933
Graves of czar Nicholas & family found in St Petersburg►1995
Italian forces are the first to use airships for military purposes►1912
Largest milkshake (1,955 gallons of chocolate-Nelspruit South Africa) ►1994
Mother-in-law's day 1st celebrated (Amarillo, Tx) ►1934
Mexico attacks Alamo►1836
Russian spacecraft Venera 14 lands on Venus sends back data►1982
SDS Weathermen terrorist group bomb 18 West 11th St in NYC►1970
Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech►1946

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   
How many can you identify?…answers in Today’s Birthdays

Free Rambling Thoughts   
Quite a busy day for me here in Flagstaff…and for a Monday, I can’t imagine what the rest of the week will bring. It started off with a great lunch and conversation with a former colleague. John is doing well, keeping busy with several part time jobs and watching the grandkids grow. Good to see him and hearing about his adventures in retirement. Then a call to the State of Colorado. My friend Margaret is at her wits end….as am I. Turns out, the State of Colorado has 2 checks for me, that I didn’t deserve…and the ‘interest’ on those checks plus the checks explain the bill they sent me. So after talking to some other bureaucrat, the checks had not been mailed to me. Since I didn’t claim the checks they didn’t send to my address, they sent them to…ready…to the State of AZ unclaimed property. Somehow they knew I lived in AZ but didn’t know my address that was on the friggin Income Tax form. So I called AZ and they could only tell me they were holding ‘unclaimed property’ and couldn’t tell me how much or what is was until I filled out the necessary paperwork. I did get the bureaucrat to say that my guess that they were State of Colorado refund checks was a ‘good guess.’ He could email me or snail me the forms. I opted for snail mail so I would at least have a postmark to work with. Dear Margaret said that she would erase the penalty charges and that I could just pay the amount of the two checks. To end my day I got a call from Bob, my neighbor from CO and my roommate on my upcoming cruise. He is doing fine. We are both looking forward to our trip. He too had a CO Dept of Revenue story, much like mine, that took him a year and two visits to downtown Denver and at least 10 mailings the same forms to the office. Glad to hear it wasn’t just me. We also may be going to Cuba as roommates when that trip comes up. His kids and grandkids are doing great. His granddaughter is expecting her first child, his grandson is still teaching ESL in China and loving it. So nice to hear from such a good neighbor and friend.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

Ok, then?

Getting old-er
I was performing rounds at the hospital one morning and while checking up on a man I asked . . . ' So how's your breakfast this morning? '
'It's very good except for the Kentucky Jelly. I can't seem to get used to the taste,' Bob replied.
I then asked to see the jelly and Bob produced A foil packet labeled ' KY Jelly. 'Submitted by Dr. Leonard Kransdorf ,Detroit
Picture of the Day: Mountains of the world

Harper’s Index         
  • Percentage increase since 2008 in the protion o Americans who call themselves ‘lower class’: 28
  • In the portion earning more that $100,000 who do: 20

Unusual Fact of the Day
There is actually a specific area of the brain known as the bilateral vomitation center. It notes when our tummy is upset and makes the final decision whether to barf or not to barf.
Ancient Things
In Ancient Greece’s complex poetic traditions, Maenads were consorts of Dionysus. Son of Zeus, Dionysus was the Greek god of wine, ecstasy and liberation from one’s every daily consciousness. As followers of Dionysis, Maenads played loud music and took part in ecstatic dances and orgies. They dressed in thin flowing robes, panther skins, and wore wreathes of ivy or even snakes on their heads.  
Joke-of-the-day
A monastery decided to start a fish and chips store. When the store opened, a client comes in, and asks one of the clerics: are you the fish fryer?
Oh, no, the cleric answers, I'm the chip monk!
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
WRITING A SCREENPLAY
One page of an average screenplay equals about one minute of screen time. Therefore, the script for a typical feature film should be about a hundred pages long. In fact, many studios and producers won't look at screenplays much longer than a hundred pages.   
Yeah, It Really Happened
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - A thief in South Carolina's Spartanburg County allegedly stole nearly $19,000 worth of Girl Scout cookies from a storage facility, police said. An incident report filed this week said the thief made off with 450 cases of Girl Scout cookies -- worth an estimated $18,900 -- from Carey Moving and Storage, Inc., WSPA-TV, Spartanburg, S.C., reported Wednesday.
The cases contained about 5,400 boxes of cookies. Brian Carey, the owner of the storage company, said surveillance footage from the facility has been handed over to investigators, adding that his company performs strict drug and background checks and if it turns out that one of his employees was involved in the theft, such behavior won't be tolerated. Carey also he would order more cookies to help reimburse the Girl Scouts for the loss. A spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of South Carolina said the cookies would have been sold at cookie booths across the 22 counties throughout the state. Proceeds from the cookie sales would have gone to help local scouts plan trips and organize community events.
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • Humans can see less than 1 percent of the electromagnetic spectrum and hear less than 1 percent of the acoustic spectrum.
  • The existence of the rainbow depends on the conical photoreceptors in your eyes. To animals without cones the rainbow does not exist. So you don't just look at a rainbow, you create it.

Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
1-7
National Cheerleading Week:
National Ghostwriters Week
National Write A Letter of Appreciation Week
Universal Human Beings Week

2-5
American Council on Education:
2-19
Iditarod Race
3-9
 
Severe Weather Preparedness Week
Celebrate Your Name Week
National Consumer Protection Week
National Procrastination Week
National Schools Social Work Week

National Sleep Awareness Week
National Words Matter Week
Professional Pet Sitters Week
Save Your Vision Week
Telecommunicator Appreciation Week
Read an E-Book Week

Return The Borrowed Books Week
Women in Construction Week

Newspaper in Education Week
National School Breakfast Week
Share A Story - Shape A Future Week

Today Is                                                                      
Crispus Attucks Day 
     Boston Massacre, British troops kill 5 in crowd. Crispus Attackus 
     becomes 1st black to die for American freedom 1770
Peace Corp Day
Unique Names Day
~Brazil:  ~French West Indies: ~Malta: Carnival

Today’s Events through History  
1st American temperance law enacted, Virginia►1623
1st US religious journal, The Christian History, published, Boston►1743
English king Henry VII hires John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) to explore►1496
Ethic committee votes to reveal congressmen who bounced checks►1992
Georgia becomes 1st state to regulate railroads►1856
Haifa: 17 Israeli civilians are killed by a Hamas suicide bomb in the 
     Haifa bus 37 massacre►2003
Mecca: 35 Muslim pilgrims are crushed to death during the annual Hajj pilgrimage►2001
Mexican authorities find the body of US drug agent Enrique "Kike" Camarena Salaazar►1985
Nikola Tesla describes the process of the ball lightning formation►1904
Samuel Colt manufactures 1st pistol, 34-caliber "Texas" model►1836
Smoking tobacco introduced in Europe by Francisco Fernandes►1558
Stapler patented in England by C H Gould►1868

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
In their 70’s
Dean Stockwell, actor (Werewolf of Washington, Blue Velvet) is 77
James Sikking, actor (Hill St Blues, Star Trek 3, Doogie Howser) is 79
In their 50’s
Penn Jillette, magician (Penn & Teller-Penn & Teller are Dead) is 58
Marsha Warfield, comedian/actress (Roz-Night Court) is 59

Remembered for being born today
David II Bruce, King of Scots [1324-1371]
Jack Cassidy, Richmond Hill VA, actor (Oscar/Jetman-He & She) [1927-1976]
Emmett J Culligan, founder of water treatment organization [1893-1970]
Zhou Enlai, Premier of the People's Republic of China [1898-1976]
Andy Gibb, Manchester England, singer/TV host (Solid Gold) [1958-1988]
Rex Harrison, England, actor (My Fair Lady, Dr Doolittle) [1908-1990]
Gerardus Mercator, map maker [1512-1594]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
John Belushi, comedian (Sat Night Live)-drug overdose-1982-at 33
Patsy Cline, country singer (Crazy)-plane crash-1963-at 30
Billy DeWolfe, actor (Good Morning World)- lung cancer-1974-at 67
Richard Kiley, American actor- bone marrow disease-1999-at 76
Joseph Stalin, Premier of the Soviet Union (1941-53)-stroke-1953-at 73
Henry Wharton, English writer-1695-at 31

Answer: Brain Teasers
Concrete floors are very hard to crack!
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  §

Mar 4, 2013


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 10/ Day: 63    
Today: H   53°…L 22° Averages: H  48° L 22° Records: H   66°(1910)…L -9°(1915)
Wind: ave:   22mph; Gusts:  40mph  Ave. humidity:  54%

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights
1793 - Washington's 2nd inauguration, shortest speech (133 words)
1801 - 1st president inaugurated in Washington DC (Thomas Jefferson)
1809 - Madison becomes 1st president inaugurated in American-made clothes
1829 - Andrew Jackson inaugurated as 7th president Unruly crowd mobs 
            White House during Pres Jackson inaugural ball
1841 - Longest inauguration speech (8,443 words), William Henry Harrison
1861 - Lincoln's inaugurated as 16th pres; 1st time US has 5 former pres
1885 - Grover Cleveland inaugurated as 1st Democratic pres since Civil War
1901 - President William McKinley inaugurated for 2nd term as president 
            1st advanced copy of inaugural speech
1909 - President Taft inaugrated at 27th president during 10" snowstorm
1925 - Pres Coolidge's inauguration broadcast live on 21 radio stations
1929 - Charles Curtis (R-Kansas) becomes 1st native AmericanVP
***
"Happy Birthday To You" published by Claydon Sunny►1924
1st US law regulating the shooting of migratory birds passed►1913
Confederate States adopt "Stars & Bars" flag►1861
Coolidge Dam in Arizona dedicated►1930
Gilbert & Sullivan's opera "Mikado," premieres in London►1865
Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title princeps 
     iuventutis (head of the youth)►51
President Clinton bans federally funded human cloning research►1995

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   
How many can you identify?…answers in Today’s Birthdays

Free Rambling Thoughts   
After living in AZ for 40+ years, I should know that while spring brings nice warmer days and a desire to spend lots of time outside, I would also remember that spring brings never ending wind….and lots of it. The last couple of days really started my spring fever. Today brought wind. While the temperature made it nice to be outside, the wind destroyed almost any enjoyment of being outside. This high winds also brought in lots of dark gray clouds, but so far no moisture. Really, after suffering through the wind, the least we could get is a little rain.
 
The Sunday morning talk shows had every Tom, Dick, and Harry pointing fingers at the latest DC crisis. While all agreed the sequester was stupid and that both the President and the congress told us that it would be so bad there was no way it would ever happen, it did. Now it appears the hype of how bad it will be is not true.  As Gomer Pyle would say: Surprise, Surprise.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
The following clues lead to two words or phrases that are the phonetic reverse of each other. When you answer the first clue and flip the syllables, you get the second answer. (Phonetic only, not letters.)Using the clues below, please find the words/phrases in question.
Example: Impertinent * Teetertotter
Answer: Saucy/Seesaw
1. A clock or watch * Period between wars (2 words) 2. Fabulous * Chase after 3. Have faith in * Not disturb (2 words) 4. European weight, informally * Understated (Hyphenated) 5. Student, say, with a summer office job * Go to bed (2 words)

Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

Ok, then?

Getting old-er
While acquainting myself with a new elderly patient, I asked, ' How long have you been bedridden? '
After a look of complete confusion she answered, 'Why, not for about twenty years - when my husband was alive.' Submitted by Dr. Steven Swanson-Corvallis , OR
Picture of the Day: Deserts of the world

Harper’s Index         
  • Percentage of recruiters or hiring managers who find applicants with  non-felony criminal records ‘very difficult’ to place: 31
  • Who find this about applicants unemployed for more than two years: 44

Unusual Fact of the Day
The amazingly popular drink Guinness is not black. It is actually a very dark shade of ruby.
Ancient Things
Illustrating the New World Through a European LensThe peoples of the Americas, descendants of the last of man's migrations eastward, had developed civilizations long isolated from Western influence. 
Joke-of-the-day
Three visitors to London climb up the tower that houses Big Ben and decide to have a contest. They're going to throw their watches off the top, run down the stairs and try to catch the watches before they hit the ground.
The first tourist throws his watch, takes three steps and hears his watch crash. The second throws his watch and takes only two steps when he hears his watch shatter.
The third tosses his watch off the tower, jogs down the stairs, goes to a candy store, buys a snack, walks back to Big Ben and catches his watch. "How did you do that?" asks one of his friends.
"My watch is 30 minutes slow."
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
BUYING A BICYCLE LOCK
The lighter the bicycle, the heavier the lock should be.   
Yeah, It Really Happened
 SEBRING, Fla. - Memo to pet owners: Don't leave a gun on the floor of a truck where a dog could kick it and shoot you -- which is what happened to a Florida, man, police said.
Sebring police said Gregory Dale Lanier, 35, of Frostproof was traveling in his truck when his dog kicked a gun on the truck's floor, shooting him in the leg, the Tampa Highlands Today reported. Sebring police ruled the shooting accidental. Lanier was not seriously injured. The dog wasn't arrested, pending an investigation, Sebring Police Cmdr. Steve Carr said, adding he never heard of a case like this. Lanier told investigators he thought the gun in his pickup truck was empty, Highlands Today said. He said that he was driving "when his dog kicked his ... .380 pistol causing it to fire and the bullet struck his leg. Lanier said he heard boom, saw smoke and felt a burning in his leg," the police report said.
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • The patron saint of dentists is St. Apollonia. She reportedly had her teeth pulled out in 249 AD by an anti-Christian mob.
  • The seven archangels are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Chamuel, Jophiel, and Zadkiel.
  • The Seven Deadly Sins are lust, pride, anger, envy, sloth, avarice and gluttony.
  • The seven virtues are prudence, courage, temperance, justice, faith, hope and charity.
  • The shortest verse in the Bible consists of two words: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35).
  • The Three Wise Men of the East brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus. Frankincense is a gum resin used as a base for incense. Myrrh, also a gum resin, was valued as a perfume and unguent used in embalming.

Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
1-7
National Cheerleading Week:
National Ghostwriters Week
National Write A Letter of Appreciation Week
Universal Human Beings Week

2-5
American Council on Education:
2-19
Iditarod Race
3-9
 
Severe Weather Preparedness Week
Celebrate Your Name Week
National Consumer Protection Week
National Procrastination Week
National Schools Social Work Week

National Sleep Awareness Week
National Words Matter Week
Professional Pet Sitters Week
Save Your Vision Week
Telecommunicator Appreciation Week
Read an E-Book Week

Return The Borrowed Books Week
Women in Construction Week

Newspaper in Education Week
National School Breakfast Week
Share A Story - Shape A Future Week

Today Is                                                                      
Benjamin Harrison Day
Courageous Follower Day
Fun Facts About Names Day
International Scrapbooking Industry Day
March Forth-Do Something Day
National Day of Unplugging
National Grammar Day
Toy Soldier Day
World Day Of Prayer
~US: Old Inauguration Day
~US: Vermont: Admission Day (1791-14th)

Today’s Events through History  
Presidential inaugurations:
1797 - John Adams inaugurated as 2nd president of US
1825 - John Quincy Adams inaugrated as 6th president
1837 - Martin Van Buren inaugrated as 8th president
1845 - James K Polk inaugrated at 11th president
1865 - President Lincoln inaugurated for his 2nd term as president
1881 - James A Garfield inaugurated as 20th president
1889 - Benjamin Harrison inaugurated as 23rd president
1893 - Grover Cleveland (D) inaugrated as 24th US president (2nd term)
1897 - William McKinley inaugurated as 25th president of US
1913 - Woodrow Wilson inaugurated as 28th president
1929 - Herbert Hoover inaugurated as 31st president
1933 - FDR inaugrated as 32nd pres
***
1st Congress declares constitution in effect (9 senators, 13 reps) ►1789
1st sighting of Orion nebula (William Herschel) ►1774
200th episode of "All in the Family"►1979
Chicago becomes incorporated as a city►1837
Dept of Commerce & Labor split into separate departments►1913
English king Charles II declares war on Netherlands►1665
Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services: The Supreme Court of the 
     United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment 
     also apply when both parties are the same sex►1998
Hot Springs National Park created in Arkansas►1921
King John of England makes an oath to the Pope as a crusader to gain the 
     support of Innocent III►1215
Michael Johnson runs world record 400m indoor (44.63 sec) ►1995
Territory of Idaho established►1863

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
In their 70’s
Paula Prentiss, [Ragusa], actress is 75
 In their 60’s
Rick Perry, Governor of Texas is 63
 In their 50’s
Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, boxer is 52
Patricia Heaton, actress (Debra-Everybody Loves Raymond) is 55
Steven Weber, actor (Brian Hackett-Wings) is 52
In their 40’s
Chaz Bono [Chastity Sun Bono], actor is 44
Kevin Johnson, NBA guard (Phoenix Suns) is 47
  
Remembered for being born today
Karl Bayer, Austrian chemist [1847-1904]
Henry the Navigator, Prince/sponsors Portuguese voyages of discovery [1394-1460]
Knute Rockne, Norwegian/US football player/coach (Notre Dame) [1888-1931]
Antonio Vivaldi, Venice, Baroque violin virtuoso/composer (4 Seasons) [1678-1741]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Arthur Babbitt, animator (Mr Magoo, Goofy)-1992-at 84
Wesley Bolin, former Governor of the U.S. State of Arizona-1978-at 68
Harry Blackmun, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court-1999-at 90
Ed Manning, American basketball player and coach-2011-at 67
Minnie Pearl, country comedienne (Grand Ole Opry)-1996-at 84
Stephen Sprouse, American fashion designer-lung cancer-2004-at 50

Answer: Brain Teasers
1. Timepiece / Peace Time 2. Super / Pursue 3. Believe / Leave be 4. Kilo / Low-key 5. Intern / Turn in
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  §

Followers

Total Pageviews

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.