Mar 26, 2013


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 13/ Day: 85   Today: H 59°…L 18°
Averages: H  52° L 25° Records: H 72°(1988)…L 1°(1913)
Wind: ave:   6mph; Gusts:  7mph  Ave. humidity: 37 %

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights
"Ballad of Davy Crockett," becomes the #1 record►1955
1st cremation in England►1886
500th nuclear explosion announced by the US since 1945►1970
Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York►1830
Dr Jonas Salk announces vaccine to prevent polio[myelitis]►1953
Earthquake destroys 90% of Caracas Venezuela; about 20,000 die►1812
 US forbid immigration to criminals, anarchists, paupers & the sick►1910 
William Caxton printed his translation of Aesop's Fables►1484

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

Free Rambling Thoughts   
A really nice day in Flag…not much wind, warm-er temperatures…Nice.
 
Got up and finished my reservations for my cruise. On-line check in required for ship. Lots of questions to answer, asked everything but blood type. They will not let you on the ship unless you check in on-line and print your boarding pass. They even needed my flight information…guess they want to be sure I will be there on time. Now they know more about me than many of my friends. Oh well. I also made my reservations for the flight to Denver, which was a joy…the flight…round trip is only $180 and as of now there are lots of empty seats on both flights. Cool. While doing all this, my clothes arrived that I ordered with my brother’s gift card…nice. I had also closed a bank account in Denver last week and the check arrived today…cool. It came certified mail with $2.55 postage due…really…they only paid 1/2 of the postage…with an automated machine. Not cool. I’ll be calling them tomorrow. Since it is exactly 1/2 the postage, I figure it ‘bank policy’ when closing an account. So hard to believe that the bank is holding my money and charges me to get my money. I’m an old-er guy who remembers when banks and savings and loans gave free gifts to open an account, didn’t charge for services except bounced checks and usually knew your name when you came into the bank. Now you are little more than a dollar sign when you walk in, and they want to get as much from you as possible. I’m waiting for the banks to have locked doors that require your pin number to open the door, for a charge of a couple of bucks.
 
Michelle Bachmann…back in the news…I’m still wondering how she ever got elected…or even reelected. Now her campaign ethics are in question. She has given a lot of speeches, sprinkled with truth, and ‘liberally’ filled with made up facts. Her speech on Benghazi wandered off to lies about Obama’s dog walker. When I see her name, I usually just scroll past it, but this ethics thing might finally shut her up.
 
I am so glad I am an avid 60 minutes viewer. Last night when Anderson Cooper went diving with crocs in Botswana…I was very impressed. Lot of good information…but his underwater shots were amazing. I’ve seen crocs in the water and out of the water on the Nile, and a couple of other rivers. I’ve seen swimming alongside our boat, I’ve seen them on the shore about 15’ away. These are not an animal I would want to be anywhere near in the water. Sure the guy he was visiting admitted that he only does it when the water is ‘cold-er’ and they are more sedate…they are cold blooded. Yet, the idea was to go deep quickly and get into a cave where the crocs rest. Amazing for sure.
 
Today in History Dr. Jonas Salk announced a polio vaccine. He did not patent it, and never made any money from its sale or use. What a guy!
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
A man wanted to encrypt his password but he needed to do it in a way so that he could remember it. His password is 7 characters long. The password consists of letters and numbers only (no symbols like ! or <). In order to remember it he wrote down "You force heaven to be empty." Can you guess what his password is?
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

from Cracked.com
Insane Things You Can Buy on the Internet
A Celebrity: 
 
If you have obscene amounts of disposable income, and a propensity for mistaking your peers' disdain for admiration, the Millionare's Concierge will rent you celebrities like Pamela Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio for your private events.
The Ability to Walk on Water: 
Developed by the aptly named company Water Walking Ball, the water walking ball allows you to walk on water... in a ball. For $500.
Someone to Stand in Line for You
A Jetpack
Uranium:
the heavy radioactive isotope that turned Hiroshima and Nagasaki into craters and poisoned subsequent generations of their people, can be yours for about $200, which you may notice is less than the cost of an Xbox 360 and at least twice as bad for you.

Ok, then?

Harper’s Index    
  • Estimated value of marijuana plants fourd growing on a single lot in Chicago’s South Side last October: $5,443,000
  • Percentage by which the drug and alcohol-test failure rates of Amtrak workers are higher than the industry average: 51

Picture of the Day: Dine’ Land [Navajo]

Unusual Fact of the Day
Michael Jackson wanted to do a Harry Potter musical. J.K. Rowling said no.
Joke-of-the-day
An acquaintance of mine who is a physician told this story about her then-four-year-old daughter. On the way to preschool, the doctor had left her stethoscope on the car seat, and her little girl picked it up and began playing with it. Be still, my heart, thought my friend, gee, my daughter wants to follow in my footsteps and be a doctor!
Then the child spoke into the instrument: "Welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order?"
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
CUTTING YOUR HAIR
 People who wear their hair short will generally need a haircut within a week after their hair looks perfect.    
Yeah, It Really Happened
In April 2010, McNeely got into a fight after an arm wrestling match and was stabbed five times. So far a pretty typical Saturday night in Canada.
Doctors at the local accident and emergency room stitched him up but never took an x-ray. Seeking subsequent treatment for the lingering discomfort, he was told he had suffered nerve damage.
But this week, McNeely was scratching his back when his fingernail caught on something. His girlfriend took a look.
"I told Billy: 'There's a knife sticking out of your back.' I was scared. I was ready to pull it out with tweezers."
Upon going to the hospital a doctors removed 3 inches of knife blade from McNeely's back.
"I've done some jail time in the past," McNeely said. "The guards rub over you with a metal wand detector, and every time it hit my back... it went off."
McNeely is considering whether to file a lawsuit against the local health department.
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • Helium is the second lightest element and next to hydrogen, it is the second most abundant in the universe. In fact, all natural gas contains some traceable quantity of helium.
  • In 1965, helium use in the United States was more than eight times the peak wartime consumption.
  • Helium is a very light, inert, colorless gas and has the lowest melting point of any element. No matter how low the temperature, helium is the only liquid that cannot be solidified and remains a liquid to absolute zero.
  • Helium is often mixed with oxygen for deep sea diving to help reduce the effects of narcosis. The mixture is called cold heliox.
  • Helium is named for the Greek God of the Sun, Helios. It was first detected as an unknown yellow spectral line signature in sunlight during a solar eclipse in 1868 by French astronomer Jules Janssen.
  • Helium can be transported in small supplies in heavy steel cylinders. Larger amounts are shipped in insulated containers in liquid form.

Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
21-27
Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination
24-30 
Tsunami Awareness Week
Pediatric Nurse Practioner Week
National Protocol Officer's Week
National Cleaning Week
Termite Awareness Week

Today Is                                                                      
American Diabetes Association Alert Day
Legal Assistants Day
Make Up Your Own Holiday Day
National Cherry Blossom Festival
Bangladesh: Independence Day (1971 from Pakistan)

Today’s Events through History  
1st lip-reading tournament held in America►1926
Bonnie Blair skates world record 500 m ladies (38.99 sec) ►1994
Congress passes Naturalization Act, requires 2-year residency►1790
Eastman Film Co manufactures 1st commercial motion picture film►1885
Ground-breaking in Washington, DC for Vietnam Veterans Memorial►1982
La Salle first meets the NATCHEZ-first recorded meeting with Europeans►1682
Native American mass will be held in New York City at Saint John the Divine 
     Cathedral. Almost 4,000 people will attend►1973
UCLA wins their 7th straight NCAA basketball title►1973
US Army launched America's third successful satellite, "Explorer III"►1958

Today’s Birthdays                                                            
In their 80’s
Leonard Nimoy, actor (Spock-Star Trek, Mission Impossible) is 82
Sandra Day O'Connor, 1st woman Supreme Court Justice is 82

In their 70’s
Alan Arkin, actor (Catch 22, In-Laws, Simon, Wait Until Dark) is 79
James Caan, American actor (Misery, Godfather) is 73
Robert Woodward, investigative reporter (Watergate, CIA crimes) is 70

In their 60’s
Johnny Crawford, LA California, actor (Mark-The Rifleman) is 67
Vicki Lawrence, actress (Carol Burnette, Mama's Family) is 64
Diana Ross, [Earle], singer (Supremes, Lady Sings Blues, Mahogany) is 69
Martin Short, comedian (SNL, SCTV, 3 Amigos) is 63
Steven Tyler, NYC, rock vocalist (Aerosmith-Janie Got a Gun) is 65

In their 50’s
Marcus Allen, NFL running back (LA Raiders, KC Chiefs, Heisman 1981) is 53
Leeza Gibbons, TV host (Entertainment Tonight, Leeza) is 56
Jennifer Grey, actress (Dirty Dancing) is 53
John Stockton, NBA guard (Utah Jazz, Olympics-gold-96) is 51

Under 30
Keira Knightley, actress (Bend It Like Beckham, Pirates of the Caribbean) is 28

Remembered for being born today
Duncan Hines, US, restaurant guide writer (Out of Kentucky Kitchens) [1880-1959]
Betty MacDonald, [Anne E Campbell Bard], US writer (Egg & I) [1908-1958]
George Smith, London England, assyriologist (cuneiform (script)) [1840-1876]
William Westmoreland, army general (Vietnam era) [1914-2005]
Tennessee Williams, playwright (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) [1911-1983]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
1657 - Jacob van Eyck, Dutch blind flautist/carillonneur, dies at 69
1827 - Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer (Appassionata), dies at 56
1892 - Walt Whitman, poet, dies in Camden, NJ at 72
1962 - Marjorie Colton, inventor of wax paper, dies at 64
1973 - Noel Coward, English playwright (Private Letters), dies at 73
2004 - Jan Berry, American musician (Jan and Dean)seizure 2004 at62
2011 - Geraldine Ferraro, Congresswoman and VP nomineecancer 2011 at 75 

Answer: Brain Teasers
U472BMT: Try pronouncing the answer "U Four Seven Two B M T".
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 25, 2013


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 13/ Day: 84   Today: H 52°…L 16°
Averages: H  52° L 25° Records: H 70°(1956)…L 0°(1904)
Wind: ave:   9mph; Gusts:  25mph  Ave. humidity:  27%

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights
1st demonstration of pancake making (Dept store in NYC) ►1882
1st Easter, according to calendar-maker Dionysius Exiguus►31
1st horse race in America takes place►1668
Home of vaudeville, Palace Theatre, opens (NYC) starring Ed Wynn►1913
Martin Luther King Jr led 25,000 to state capitol in Montgomery►1965
Mount Etna in Sicily erupts, destroying Nicolosi, killing 20,000►1669
Percy Bysshe Shelley is expelled from the University of Oxford for his publication 
     of the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism►1811
Supreme Court rules Air Force could ban wearing of yarmulkes►1986
US Customs seizes copies of Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl" as obscene►1955

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

Free Rambling Thoughts   
A very chilly night last night…wasn’t really expecting that cold a temp. The day turned out OK after it finally warmed up.
 
A really great discussion group last night. Norm, a new member, has had extensive contact with Persians and Iranians during his college teaching. He provided us with some great insights in the issues facing the US and Iran. It is still so hard for me to understand the political mess over there…mostly based on religion. If God loves all his/her children, why does he allow this to continue? The Christians certainly have their share of violence in the name of God. Those of Islam also have a history of violence against non-believers. I still don’t understand most of what is going on over there. Current politics seems to have both sides drawing a line in the sand, letting the other side walk up to that line, then making a finer line in the sand. So much of this goes partially back to the days of colonization. Conquering countries drew boundaries that divided historical groups, put historical enemies in the same country, tried to turn time into believing in their religion, their government form, and their culture. It reminds me of a lesson I thought we learned when the ‘boat people’ came to America after the Viet Nam War. In California schools the newly arrived were put into ESL classes. No one could understand why there was so much violence from the teenagers and the growth of gangs, until they found out that many of the ‘boat people’ had been historical enemies and were being put into the same ESL classes. The schools saw a bunch of Asians who didn’t speak English, but the students saw that they were being put into classes with their historical enemies. When the groups were put in separate ESL classes the violence dropped substantially. The same is true with the political boundaries in the Middle East.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
When you behead a word, you remove the first letter and still have a valid word. You will be given clues for the two words, longer word first.
Example: Begin -> Sour, acidic
Answer: The words are Start and Tart.
1. To be required to pay -> Married 2. Allowing access -> Enclosure; writing implement 3. Organ that produces eggs -> Change with time 4. Fruit; colour -> Scope; the extent of something 5. Fruit; colour -> Exist; reside; seeing in real time 6. Colourless gas; a form of oxygen -> Area or region 7. Leaving something out -> Special assignment 8. Public speaking -> Daily food allowance

***Hint, if needed
The shorter words start with these letters:
1. W
2. P
3. V
4. R
5. L
6. Z
7. M
8. R

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

from Cracked.com
Things Hollywood Thinks Computers Can Do
You Can Blow Up Anything At Will With Hacking Hacking Will Let You Steal Any Damned Thing You WantYour Personal and Social Life Can Be Permanently Dismantled By People Who Know Stuff About ComputersA Computer Might Become Self-Aware At Any MomentComputers Can Talk to Any UFOs
Harper’s Index    
Percentage increase in Chicago homicides lat year: 18Amount n health-care spending on shooting victims that local officials hope to recoup through a new firearms tax: $600,000+
Picture of the Day: Dine’ Land [Navajo]

Unusual Fact of the Day
Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue” was written by Shel Silverstein
Joke-of-the-day
A man lying on his deathbed called to him, his lawyer, his doctor, and his pastor. "I am going to die tonight," and I want to prove that when you go to heaven you can take it all with you. So to my three most trusted friends, you three of course, I am leaving 50,000 dollars in these envelopes. When I die you must come to my funeral and put the envelopes in my coffin with me." The man handed the three men identical envelopes.
A day later they each received news that, that night the old man had died . So each knew they must go to his funeral and fulfill his death wish.
Standing over the coffin one week later the pastor confessed, " I can't hide what I've done. I took 10,000 dollars from the envelope because the church needed to be painted."
Then as he did so the doctor also started to fidget then finally confessed “I took 30,000 dollars from my envelope because the hospital needed a new wing."
Ten the lawyer said plainly “You bunch of crooks! I wrote him a check for the full amount!"
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
ADJUSTING BICYCLE HANDLEBARS
 The distance from the front of your seat to the handlebar cross member should equal the length of your forearm from elbow to fingertip.   
Yeah, It Really Happened
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Officials at a California aquarium said a couple of young penguins have taken a liking to a mouse-chasing iPad app designed to amuse cats. The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach said penguins Jeremy and Newsom, who are still too young to get caught up in the excitement of the upcoming mating season, have found "enrichment" with the free "Game for Cats" iPad app, ABC News reported Friday. The game features a mouse running around the screen that lets out a squeak when tapped by a paw -- or in this case, a beak. "Newsom set the penguin high score of 1,600 for the game," the aquarium said on its website. A YouTube video of Newsom playing the game has been viewed more than 167,000 times.  
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • James Buchanan was the only US president never to be married.
  • Libra, the Scales, is the only inanimate symbol in the zodiac.
  • Maine is the only state in the United States whose name is just one syllable.
  • Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature.
  • Notables who were the only child in their families include Ansel Adams, Hans Christian Andersen, Carol Burnett, Raymond Chandler, Eric Clapton, Linda Ellerbee, Louis Gossett, Jr., Robert Englund, Charlton Heston, James Earl Jones, Ted Koppel, Ivan Lendl, Barry Manilow, Maria Montessori, Jack Nicholson, Flannery O'Connor, Al Pacino, Charlie "Bird" Parker, Robert Edwin Peary, Lisa Marie Presley, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jean-Paul Sartre, Frank Sinatra, Robin Williams, and Tiger Woods.
  • Ohio is the only US state without a rectangular flag. Ohio's flag is a pennant.
  • Only one foreign country--Liberia in Africa--has a capital city named after an American president. The capital is Monrovia, named after James Monroe.


Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
21-27
Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination
24-30 
Tsunami Awareness Week
Pediatric Nurse Practioner Week
National Protocol Officer's Week
National Cleaning Week
Termite Awareness Week

Today Is                                                                      
International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and The Transatlantic Slave Trade
 National Day of Celebration of Greek & American Democracy
National Medal of Honor Day
Old New Year's Day
Pecan Day
Tolkien Reading Day
Vaffeldagen (Waffle Day) Swedish holiday celebrated world wide
><
~Greece: Independence Day
(1821 as beginning of long war of Independence-Ottoman Empire)
~US: Maryland: Maryland Day (1634 for landing of 1st settlers)

Today’s Events through History  
1st railway passenger service began in England►1807
Elvis Presley performs live on the USS Arizona►1961
European Union's Veterinarian Committee bans the export of British beef and its 
     by-products as a result of mad cow disease (BSE) ►1996
Jimmy Durante & Garry Moore premiere on radio►1943
Modern Olympics began in Athens, Greece►1896
Peter Cruddas, treasurer of Britain's Conservative Party, resigns after being caught 
     on film selling access to British Prime Minister David Cameron►2012
Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France which leads to his 
     death on April 6►1199
Robert the Bruce crowned King of Scots►1306
Scottsboro Boys (accused of raping a white woman) arrested in Alabama►1931
Turtle's "Happy Together" goes #1►1967

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
In their 80’s
James A Lovell Jr, astronaut (Gemini 7, 12, Apollo 8, 13) is 85

In their 70’s
Anita Bryant, homophobe/singer is 72
Aretha Franklin, Soul Sister #1/singer (Respect) is 71
Paul Michael Glaser, actor (Starsky-Starsky & Hutch) is 70
Gloria Steinem, US feminist/publisher (Ms Magazine) is 79

In their 60’s
Mary Gross, actress/comedian (SNL, Club Paradise, Feds) is 60
Elton John, [Reginald Kenneth Dwight], England, singer is 66

In their 50’s
Brenda Strong, actress and yoga instructor is 53

In their 30’s
Danica Patrick, race car dirver is 31

Remembered for being born today
Hoyt Axton, actor (Black Stallion, Junkman, Rousters) [1938-1999]
Béla Bartok, Hungary, composer/pianist (Concerto for Orchestra) [1881-1945]
Andy Clyde, Scotland, actor (George-Real McCoys, Cully-Lassie [1892-1967]
Howard Cosell, Winston-Salem NC, sportscaster (Monday Night Football) [1918-1995]
Louis Moréri, French encylopedist [1643-1680]
Jack Ruby, killer of Lee Harvey Oswald [1911-1967]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
John Drinkwater, English poet/playwright (Bird in Hand)►1937►at 54
Paul Henning, TV/film producer and writer [Beverly Hillbillies] ►2005►at 93 
Ishi ("the last of his Yahi tribe")►TB►1916►at 54ish
Elizabeth Storrs Mead, American educator►1917►at 83 
Nancy Walker, actress (Ida Morgenstern-Rhoda) ►cancer►1992►at 69

Answer: Brain Teasers
1. Owed -> Wed 2. Open -> Pen 3. Ovary -> Vary 4. Orange -> Range 5. Olive -> Live 6. Ozone -> Zone 7. Omission -> Mission 8. Oration -> Ration
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  §

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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.