8/26/13


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Almanac: Flagstaff:  Week: 35/ Day: 238   
Today: H 63°…L 55°
Wind: ave:   5mph; Gusts:  11mph  Ave. humidity:  72%
Record Low: 48°    
Record High: 78°    
Average Low: 36° (2002)    
Average High: 88° (1985)

Quote of the Day



Today’s Historical Highlights
1st US roller coaster built 1st free kindergarten in the U.S. started by Susan Blow in 
     Missouri…1873
20th Olympic games open at Munich German FR…1972
Chinese invents toilet paper…580
George Orwell published "Animal Farm"…1946
Michelangelo is commissioned to carve the Pietà…1498
U of Tx (Arlington) is 1st accredited school to offer belly dancing…1973

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



My Free Rambling Thoughts   
A cloudy, rainy Sunday here in our little mountain town. Birds are really busy eating, getting ready for something big I presume. We had a hard rain for about 5 hours this morning…it woke me at 5a. Then it has been on and off drizzles all day. The sun is starting to break out but lots of clouds remain and and the weatherman says more still to come.
 
Our discussion group was really awesome last night. We had a visitor who was a former Intelligence Officer in DOD, and one of our members was also a former IO. They certainly had a lot to add about why we are doing intelligence. I learned that one of the guys says that after 20 years and a high clearance, when he retired he was told he would not be issued a passport for 20 years since foreign travel was not allowed by the division he was in. The other guy made an interesting comment about Area 51. While we now know that this was the testing site for the U-2 spy plane, and various other flying objects, the UFO/Alien story made the area more secure. Since all the conspiracy people were talking about hiding aliens, they were not looking at what was really going on there. It seems that the spy guys are going to keep going as far as they can in spying wherever they can. When they get caught, they say ‘oops’ and change just enough to get out of trouble, then keep finding ways to cross the line without getting caught. Both guys talked about various shades of grey when obviously doing something that was illegal. It seems that spying on MLK and others only taught the spies to be more careful. With all the various ways we use technology today…computers, smart phones, speed cameras, street cams, home security systems, land lines, and on and on…we have unwittingly given up the kind privacy I grew up with. We like it when this technology spying catches the bad guys, but don’t like it when the government watches us too closely. All the revelations seem to be doing is causing the spies to find new and better ways to not get caught spying. Very troubling but informative.
 
60 Minutes did just a story about facial recognition in business. Turns out, very soon, when you walk into a store, facial recognition program will know who you are and can send a special buy to your phone from your information on social media…those ad boards in malls will be able to show ads you may be interested in by looking at a picture of you and ‘guessing’ your age, sex, and ‘knowing’ your buying habits at that mall. Companies are also developing products you can put on your face to confuse facial recognition programs, which right now are simply masks or wigs that make you look really funky, but cosmetics are on the horizon. Turns out there are laws that ‘stop’ the government from using facial recognition in certain circumstances, but there are few if any laws to stop commerce from doing it. And as we all remember, the Boston Bombers were caught because of a commerce camera on top of Lord & Taylor.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
What saying is seen here?

 Mary Sue Jane
 LAW
 Bob Fred Jim

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

Hmmmm…Fearsome Phobias
If you have an irrational fear of... Airplanes
You're suffering from... Aeronausiphobia
If you have an irrational fear of... Amnesia
You're suffering from... Amnesiphobia
Not a Fan of Faux News, but this is crazy.


Ok, then?



Harper’s Index    
  • Portion of religious Americans who believe in reincarnation: 1/4
  • Portion of nonreligious Americans who do: 1/4

Unusual Fact of the Day
When MTV debuted on August 1st, 1981, the first music video ever played was “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles.
Joke-of-the-day
A Yankee lawyer went duck hunting in eastern North Carolina. He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer's field on the other side of a fence. As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly gentleman asked him what he was doing. The lawyer responded, "I shot a duck and it fell in this field, I'm going into retrieve it." 
The old farmer replied. "This is my property, and you are not coming over here." 
The indignant lawyer said, "I am one of the best trial attorneys in the U.S. and, if you don't let me get that duck, I'll sue you and take everything! 
The old farmer smiled and said, "Apparently, you don't know how we do things here in North Carolina. We settle small disagreements like this with the NC Three-Kick Rule." 
The lawyer asked, "What is the NC three-Kick Rule?" 
The Farmer replied. "Well, first I kick you three times and then you kick me three times, and so on, back and forth, until someone gives up." 
The Yankee attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old southerner. He agreed to abide by the local custom. 
The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the city feller. His first kick planted the toe of his heavy work boot into the Yankee lawyer's groin and dropped him to his knees. His second kick nearly wiped the man's nose off his face. The barrister was flat on his belly when the farmer's third kick to a kidney nearly caused him to give up. 
The Yankee lawyer summoned every bit of his will and managed to get to his feet and said, "Okay, you old redneck southerner, now it's my turn." 
The old North Carolina farmer smiled and said, "Naw, I give up. You can have the duck."   
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
GETTING A JOB
Never send a resume longer than one page unless you're in the entertainment field, or think you are.    
Yeah, It Really Happened
HOOKSET, N.H. - New Hampshire police said a woman who has called 911 multiple times in the past month was arrested for calling the emergency number to ask for a pen. Police said Jeanie Defresne of Hookset, who has called the emergency number 10 times in the past month, called 911 during the weekend and requested a writing instrument, WBZ-TV, Boston, reported Tuesday. "I just want a simple thing," Dufresne told the dispatcher. "A pen." "You want a pen?" the dispatcher said. "You dialed 911 because you want a pen? You do realize that it's definitely not an emergency. You're dialing 911, you are tying up a 911 line, so you're tying up people who actually have emergencies because you need a pen." Dufresne, whose age was not reported, was arrested on a misuse of 911 charge. She was ordered held in lieu of $5,000 bond. Police did not reveal the reasons for Dufresne's previous 911 calls.  
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • Animals with some of the longest lives are the Giant tortoise (152 years), the fin whale (116 years) and the deep-sea clam (100 years).
  • An electric eel can produce a shock of 600 volts. That’ss enough to stun large animals and even knock a horse off its feet.
  • Cows can sleep standing up.
  • Salamanders are known to come out of wood when it was burning inside a fireplace because Salamanders hibernate in wood.
  • Some frogs can pull their eyes into their throat and help push food down!
  • An African adult elephant eats about six hundred pounds of food a day; that’s four percent of the elephant’s body weight!


Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
25-31
Be Kind To Humankind Week
National Safe at Home Week

Today Is                                                                      
·        National Dog Day
·        Women's Equality Day
^^^
·        Namibia: Heroes' Day

Today’s Events through History  
1st Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium…1748
 Caddoes sign a treaty in Texas;agree to visit other tribes convince them to also 
     with Texas…1842
French government claims no knowledge of assault on Rainbow Warrior…1985
Houdini escapes from chains underwater at Aquatic Park in 57 sec…1907
Ship Amistad is captured off Long Island…1839

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
Macaulay Culkin, actor (Home Alone, My Girl, Richie Rich) is 33
Chris Pine, actor is 33
Tom Ridge, 1st US Secretary of Homeland Security is 68  
Will Shortz, NYTimes crossword editor, NPR is 61

Remembered for being born today
Mother Teresa, [Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu], Yugoslavia (Nobel Peace Prize 1979) [1910-1997]
John Buchan, Scotland, Gov-Gen of Canada/writer (Battle of Somme) [1875-1940]
Geraldine Ferraro, 1st female Dem VP candidate [1935-2011]
Albert B Sabin, Russia, US microbiologist (oral polio vaccine) [1906-1993]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Charles Boyer, actor (Gaslight, Rogues)…suicide…1978…at 78
Dominick Dunne, writer, Vanity Fair correspondent….2009…at 83
Ted Knight, [Tadeus Konopka], actor (Mary Tyler Moore)…cancer…1986…at 62
Charles Lindbergh, US aviator…camcer…1974…at 72
Andrew W. Mellon, banker, industrialist and Secretary of the Treasury…1937…at 82

Brain Teasers
No man is above the law.
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  §
Posted by No comments:

8/25/13


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Almanac: Flagstaff:  Week: 36/ Day: 235   
Today: H 57°…L 52°
Wind: ave:   2mph; Gusts:  4mph  Ave. humidity:  64%
Record Low: 30° (1968)    
Record High: 91° (1985)
Average Low: 48°     
Average High: 79°    
Quote of the Day



Today’s Historical Highlights
17th summer Olympics opens in Rome…1960
85,000 people are displaced by severe floods in Myanmar…2012
Carl Lewis runs 100m in 9.86 seconds…1991
Galileo demonstrates his 1st telescope to Venetian lawmakers…1609
Gen De Gaulle returns to Paris/walks Champs Elysees Paris…1944

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



My Free Rambling Thoughts   
The NWS keeps telling us through alerts that we should expect flash flooding in our area. So far, nothing has happened in that line. A few weeks ago some hikers reported seeing a bear on our mountain. Today, there were several sightings of a bear in a neighborhood on the other side of our mountain. I guess all this rain has given the bear some attitude to venture around more.
 
Our discussion group meets tonight to discuss the NSA megadata surveillance. After reading the articles from a variety of sources I’m sure this will be a lively discussion. Before we meet, I have some ideas…first, the NSA surveillance sounds to me a lot like the McCarthy era, which I am a little too young to remember hearing about it. However, I do remember that my parents had some friends that were very progressive. My parents were visited by someone who was ‘checking into their friends background’ for ‘a job application’. My parents were unaware of any job application and from the questions realized that that was bogus. I do remembering them discussing the visit and trying to decide if they should tell the friends. I don’t know the outcome but we all remained friends for decades. The idea today is that the NSA will identify a ‘target’ to watch, and then will check on the backgrounds of all of the target’s communications.  McCarthy went too far with his ‘witch hunt’ of communists, but many lives were damaged or destroyed by his accusations before he was stopped. I fear that the history is simply repeating itself. Second, I was watching a special on MSNBC for the 50th anniversary of March on Washington. Lots of speakers, lots of old footage of the speeches. Lots of memories of Civil Rights leaders. Fifty years ago these people were looking for, calling for, and demonstrating for change in the way some Americans were being denied certain rights. Many of they were followed, harassed, wiretapped by the FBI as ‘subversives’. Turns out, as we look back on the days, they are no longer seen as subversives by most in America. I am sure that history will show that all this NSA domestic spying will be seen the same way as the FBI  
 
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
I with borrowed silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, like the bow that guards the Tartar; Then the half, and then the whole, ever dancing around the pole; And true it is, I chiefly owe my beauty to the shades below.  Who am I?
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

Hmmmm…Fearsome Phobias
If you have an irrational fear of... Air (and drafts)
You're suffering from... Aerophobia, airphobia, pneumatophobia

If you have an irrational fear of... Accidents
You're suffering from... Dystychophobia
Not a Fan of Faux News, but this is crazy.


Ok, then?



Harper’s Index    
Chance that a white American thinks anti-white bias is more prevalent that anti-black bias: 1 in 2
Unusual Fact of the Day
Before Briton Hadden and Henry Luce decided to call their new magazine Time, they were debating calling it either Chance or Destiny.
Joke-of-the-day
Job Interview Question
You are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night. You pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus:
1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. An old friend who once saved your life.
3. The perfect man (or) woman you have been dreaming about.
Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car? Think before you continue reading. This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application.
You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first; or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream lover again.
The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer.
He simply answered: "I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams."
Never forget to "Think Outside of the Box."

Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
THE JAPANESE RULE OF FLOWER ARRANGING
Put into the vase one-third as many flowers as you think you need, then take half of them out.   
Yeah, It Really Happened
MADISON, Wis. - Police in Wisconsin said an unusually named man, Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop, was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture. The 32-year-old man, who was born Jeffrey Drew Wilschke and had his name legally changed in October 2011, allegedly had drugs and paraphernalia during a July 20 traffic stop, court records said. Washington County records said Zopittybop-Bop-Bop, of Madison, was driving a minivan with an expired registration when a Washington County sheriff's deputy pulled him over for weaving between lanes. Deputies found .60 ounces of marijuana in a Mason jar, more than 100 small, plastic bags, two scales, marijuana grinders and marijuana pipes in the vehicle, The (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Gazette reported Friday. Zopittybop-Bop-Bop and his passenger, Zachary R. Marinan, of Davenport, had a combined $1,800 in cash. Zopittybop-Bop-Bop is scheduled for trial Sept. 17 and if convicted could face a possible five years in prison and a $7,500 fine.
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • You may have heard someone say, “It’s raining cats and dogs.” There have been actual documented cases from all over the world of fish, frogs, dead birds, snakes, snails, beetles, worms and jellyfish raining down from the sky in great numbers, but no reports of showers of cats or dogs.
  • The blue whale, the largest animal to have ever existed, is 96 feet long and weighs 125 tons. This is as much as 4 large dinosaurs (Brontosauri), 23 elephants, 230 cows or 1800 men.
  • Some animals produce their own lights, called bioluminescence. The Brazilian railroad worm has a red light on its head and green lights down its side. All it needs to drive on the street is a turn signal.
  • The fastest bird is the peregrine falcon. It can fly at a speed of 168-217 miles per hour.
  • The largest egg laid by a living bird is that of the North African Ostrich. It is 6 to 8 inches in length and 4 to 6 inches in diameter. The smallest is that of the hummingbird. It is less than 0.39 inches in diameter.
  • Whether an alligator is a male or female can be determined by the temperature of the nest where the egg is hatched 90 to 93 degrees will make it a male; 82 to 86 degrees will turn it into a female.


Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
25-31
Be Kind To Humankind Week
National Safe at Home Week

Today Is                                                                      
·        Go Topless Day
·        Kiss and Make Up Day
·        National Park Service Founders Day 1916
·        National Second-hand Wardrobe Day
·        National Whiskey Sour Day
^^^
·        Uruguay: Independence Day (1825 from Portugal/Brazil)

Today’s Events through History  
1st scheduled passenger service by airplane (Paris-London)…1919
1st US woman to win in Olympics (Ethelda Bleibtrey)…1920
Acting Governor Hall of Colorado territory telegraphs military that 200 Indians are "devastating southern Colorado."…1868
Council of Nicaea ends with adoption of the Nicene Creed establishing the doctrine of the Holy Trinity…325
Montreal taken by Iroquois…1689
 Yellow Cab is founded…1910

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
Anne Archer, actress (Fatal Attraction, Patriot Games) is 67
Tim Burton, film director (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands) is 55
Sean Connery, Edinburgh Scotland, actor (James Bond) is 83
Elvis Costello, [Declan Patrick McManus], Lon, rock vocalist (Allison) is 59
Billy Ray Cyrus, country singer (Achy Breaky Heart) is 52
Rollie Fingers, relief pitcher (Oakland Athletics, MVP/Cy Young-1981) is 67
Monty Hall, TV game show host (Lets Make a Deal) is 91
Regis Philbin, Bronx, talk & game show host (Joey Bishop Show, Live with Regis & Kathie Lee) is 82
Tom Skerritt, actor (Ryan's Four, Alien, Big Bad Mama) is 80
Gene Simmons, [Chaim Witz], Haifa Israel, rock guitarist (KISS-Beth) is 64
Blair Underwood, actor (Jonathan-LA Law, High Incident) is 49

Remembered for being born today
Leonard Bernstein, conductor/composer (West Side Story) [1918-1990]
Don Defore, actor (George-Hazel, Ozzie & Harriet) [1913-1993]
Mel Ferrer, actor (Longest Day, Eaten Alive, 5th Floor) [1917-2008]
Althea Gibson, 1st black tennis champion in a major event [1927-2003]
Richard Greene, Plymouth England, composer/actor (Adv of Robin Hood)
Ivan IV [Ivan the Terrible], 1st tsar of Russia [1530-1584]
Van Johnson, actor (Brigadoon) always wore red socks [1916-2008]
Walt Kelly, cartoonist, creator (Pogo) [1913-1973]
Allan Pinkerton, founded Chicago detective agency [1819-1884]
Michael Rennie, England, actor (Robe, Klatuu-Day the Earth Stood Still) [1909-1971]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Neil Armstrong, astronaut, surgery complications…2012…at 82
John Birch, American intelligence officer and missionary…assassinated…1945…at 27 
Truman Capote, author (In Cold Blood)…liver cancer…1984…at 59
Michael Faraday, English scientist…1867…at 75
F William Herschel, German astronomer (discovered Uranus)…1822…at 85
David Hume, Scottish philosopher and historian…1776…at 65
Edward M. Kennedy, US Senator from Massachusetts…brain cancere…2009…at 77
Alfred C Kinsey, biologist, zoologist and sexologist (Kinsey Report)…heart 
     ailment…1956…at 62
Friedrich Nietschze, philosopher (Also sprach Zarathustra)…stroke…1900…at 55
George Lincoln Rockwell, head of American Nazi Party…assassinated…1967…at 49

Brain Teasers
The moon
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.