10/4/13


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Almanac: Flagstaff:  Week: 40/ Day: 277   
Today: H 65°…L 37°…Ave. humidity: 52%
Wind: ave:   25mph; Gusts:  42mph  
Average High: 68° Record High:  83° (1947)
Average Low: 35° Record Low:  15° (1908)

Quote of the Day



Today’s Historical Highlights
1st American volunteer firemen established …1648
1st complete English-language Bible (the Matthew Bible) is printed…1537
1st issue of Esquire magazine…1933
1st meeting of the Boys' Brigade in Glasgow, Scotland…1883
1st public elevator (London's Earl's Court Metro Station) …1911
1st time, entire World Series broadcast over radio (WJZ & WGY) …1922
Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz resigns due to telling a racial joke…1976
Dick Tracy comic strip by Chester Gould debuts…1931
Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado & Utah is established…1915
Orient Express' 1st run, linking Turkey to Europe by rail…1883
University of California founded in Los Angeles…1880
US government closes down due to budget problems…1984
USSR launches Sputnik I, 1st artificial Earth satellite…1957

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



My Free Rambling Thoughts   
Great Mexican lunch today. Cheryl had a great trip to CA, Mary had a good time in Phoenix last weekend. I didn’t spend a lot of time outside, since the wind is a real pain. Thankfully it isn’t a cold wind and it doesn’t contain sand.

I finally reached a point where I needed to do some research on the Tea Party to see who they are and who they represent. Since this caucus is holding the American government hostage and hurting so many Americans around the country. Here is a great map showing the Caucus members districts. So few with so much perceived power. Scary. This is more of squeaky wheel gets the grease than what the American people want.

Our local homeless shelter is in need of $20K to open, as usual, for the winter on Oct. 15. This is a good worthwhile organization that is in great need of some leadership. Why do they suddenly need $20K as our winter approaches? The local paper says that there are several reasons: discourse within the ranks of management last year that has now been solved, the opening of a women’s shelter last year, a mix up in an agreement with Goodwill for the use of their showering facilities, missing a deadline for a block grant, and unexpected lower funding of grants they have. The city may have the needed emergency funding and I agree that the shelter needs to open on time. However, before the city gives any money, it seems to me that there needs to be a whole lot more oversight of how the funding is used. I knew someone who was working at the shelter during the discourse last year. The people showing up at the shelter are usually very dirty and in need of clean clothes and a shower at the very least before they can even eat in the shelter. Many of the people are in dire need of mental health services before they can get back on their feet. The hearts of the volunteers at the shelter are huge and do everything possible to help people, sometimes from people who don’t want help. To prevent any more needless hypothermia deaths this winter, I think two things need to happen. First, the shelter should have more oversight of their spending and second, the local paper should start a new daily ‘box’ on the front page that shows how many people were at the shelter the night before, how many were turned away due to lack of space or unable to meet the shelter’s basic requirements. Let the people of Flagstaff know that this is a real problem that we have to deal with. Then the citizens will realize how we need to deal with this issue.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
What is the next letter in this fairy tale sequence? G, D, S, B, H, S, ??
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

Hmmmm…Fearsome Phobias
If you have an irrational fear of... Excrement
You're suffering from... Coprophobia Greek kopros 'dung'
If you have an irrational fear of... Eyes
You're suffering from... Ommatophobia Greek omma 'eye'
Interesting Disney



Harper’s Index    
  • Percentage of global GDP, adjusted for purchasing power, produced by developing economies in 1980: 31
  • Today: 50

Unusual Fact of the Day
In all of Shakespeare's works, only one word starts with an "X" - Xanthippe, Socrates wife. He uses her name in The Taming of the Shrew.


Joke-of-the-day
A man and a woman are eating in a restaurant. Suddenly, the woman got something stuck in her throat, causing her to choke. The man rushes outside, cuts a limb off a tree and whacks the woman across the back with it, dislodging the object in her throat. The headline in the paper read "Man gives woman the hemlock maneuver"
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
DESIGNING ROCKET FUELS
A rule of thumb is that for every ten-percent increase in efficiency for rocket fuel, the payload of the rocket can double.   
Yeah, It Really Happened
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Thousands of dinosaur tracks found in a remote area on the Yukon River are "evidence of an extinct ecosystem," University of Alaska researchers say. The tracks were discovered by a team from the university's Museum of the North in Fairbanks after a 500-mile boat trip, the university said last week. Earth Sciences Curator Pat Druckenmiller said the tracks were left by a diverse group of dinosaurs, both carnivores and herbivores. "We found a great diversity of dinosaur types, evidence of an extinct ecosystem we never knew existed," Druckenmiller said. Paul McCarthy of the department of geology and geophysics said he has seen dinosaur footprints elsewhere in Alaska. But those were not as numerous. "We found dinosaur footprints by the scores on literally every outcrop we stopped at," he said. McCarthy said the tracks in the Yukon are probably 25 million to 30 million years older than those in Denali National Park, hundreds of miles to the south. The species that have been identified are also different from earlier finds in Alaska.
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • Starting in 1976, the United States Federal Government has shut down on 18 occasions. The first was in 1976 when President Gerald Ford vetoed a funding bill for the United States Department of Labor and the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, leading to a partial government shutdown. The most recent (excluding the last couple days) was in 1995-1996 when Republicans demanded that President Clinton propose a budget with the seven-year timetable using Congressional Budget Office numbers, rather than Clinton's Office of Management and Budget numbers. However, Clinton refused.
  • Congress faces a big deadline on raising the debt ceiling on October 17. Without the ability to borrow money, the federal government won't have some of the money it needs to pay the bills it delays during a shutdown. However, if you have a bond or contract with the federal government you will be paid.


Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
1-7
Universal Children's Week
World Dairy Expo
3-10
No Salt Week
4-7
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
National Storytelling Weekend
4-10
World Space Week

Today Is                                                                      
·        Blessing of The Animals Day 
·        Improve Your Office Day
·        Lee's National Denim Day
·        National Diversity Day
·        National Taco Day
·        Ten-Four Day
·        Vodka Day
·        World Animal Day
·        World Smile Day
~~~~
·        Lesotho (Formerly Basutoland): Independence Day (1966 from UK)
·        Sweden: Kanelbullens Dag (Cinnamon Roll Day)

Today’s Events through History  
"Leave It to Beaver," debuts on CBS…1957
New Orleans Tribune, 1st black daily newspaper, forms…1864

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
Leroy Van Dyke, country singer (Walk on By) is 84
Anne Rice, author (Interview with a Vampire) is 72
Roy Blount, Jr., humor writer is 72
Susan Sarandon, [Tomaling], actress (Bull Durham) is 67
Liev Schreiber, actor, producer, director, and screenwriter is 46
Alicia Silverstone, actress (Clueless, Batman Forever) is 37

Remembered for being born today
Richard Cromwell, lord protector of England [1626-1712]
Rutherford Birchard Hayes, 19th US pres [1822-1893]
Sidney Paget, British illustrator (Sherlock Holmes) [1860-1908]
Buster [Joseph F] Keaton, actor (Navigator, Steamboat Bill, Jr) [1895-1966]
Dottie West, country singer [1932-1991]
Jan Murray, comedian (Treasure Hunt, Who Killed Teddy Bear) [1916-2006]
Charlton Heston, Ill, actor (10 Commandments, Ben Hur, NRA) [1923-2008]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Max Weber, Polish/Russ/US cubist painter…1961…@80
John Lowry, NYC builder (Radio City)…1962…@79
Al Smith, American politician…heart attack…1944…@70
Graham Chapman, comedian (Monty Python)…cancer…1989…@48
Anne Sexton, US poet (Pulitzer 1967)…suicide…1974…@45
Janis Joplin, rock singer (Down on Me)…overdose…1970…@27
Secretariat, race horse…1989…@19

Brain Teasers
D. These are the first letters of Disney's seven dwarfs: Grumpy, Dopey, Sneezy, Bashful, Happy, Sleepy, Doc
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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10/3/13


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Almanac: Flagstaff:  Week: 40/ Day: 276   
Today: H 66°…L 34°…Ave. humidity: 48%
Wind: ave:   11mph; Gusts:  29mph  
Average High: 68° Record High:  83° (1980)
Average Low: 36° Record Low:  21° (1902)

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights
1st black lead (Ethel Waters) on TV (Beulah)…1950
1st telescope lens 200" (508 cm) in diameter completed…1947
1st video recording on magnetic tape, LA, Ca…1952
Billie Jean King became 1st female athlete to win $100,000…1971
Bloomingdale's department store in NY opens…1872
East & West Germany merge to become Germany…1990
Edgar Allan Poe found delirious; last time he is seen in public…1849
English & Dutch army occupies Limerick Ireland…1691
Gary Larson, announces he is retiring from doing "Far Side" cartoon…1994
OJ Simpson found not guilty in murder of Nicole Simpson & Ron Goldman…1995
Pele retires as soccer player…1974
Roy Horn(Siegfried & Roy) attacked by tiger, canceling the show for good…2003
Sinead O'Connor rips up a picture of Pope on SNL…1992
US forms parachute troops…1940

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



My Free Rambling Thoughts   
Another great day here in Flagstaff. Warm, not to breezy, clear blue sky…couldn’t ask for more.
 
All the little children keep playing their games in DC and not a teacher or principal anywhere to be found. ‘WE want this to end, but THEY are stopping it.’ I was thankful today that other countries are not as infantile as our current congress. On my travels, we always visited many National Parks, where the government of the country protected the natural beauty of the area. Many foreign tourists save up for the ‘trip of a lifetime’ to come to see America. Some come to see DC and all its government sites others come to see our natural beauty. As this silly shutdown continues, many tourists are not able to see our great country. Many Americans are also touring the USA right now and they are being denied access to our beauty and government sites. All will return home with horror stories of how the US government treated them during their visit. Tourism is important to every state in the US. When foreigners return and tell their friends that all they wanted to see was closed, future tourism is going to suffer greatly and that will have a very bad turn for our economy. We here in AZ are seeing daily stories of many tourists being turned away for our numerous National Monuments and Parks. One story had a news release to all those staying inside the Grand Canyon. They were given a list of alternate hotels around the state and were given 49 hours to vacate the park. So disturbing.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
There are 4 clues below. Each clue is related to a type of candy. You have to try to figure out what each candy is. Good luck!
1. The average worker loves this day. 2. When actors or actresses get a little break. 3. Think of the 4th planet from the sun. 4. Also referred to as 'geeks'.

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

Hmmmm…Fearsome Phobias
If you have an irrational fear of... England (or the English)
You're suffering from... Anglophobia
If you have an irrational fear of... Everything
You're suffering from... Pantophobia Greek: pantos 'all'
Interesting Disney



Harper’s Index    
  • Factor by which the average white US family was wealthier that the average non-white US family before the recession: 4
  • Factor in 2013: 6

Unusual Fact of the Day
While Cape Horn certainly resembles a horn, that's not where its name originated. It was named after Hoorn, the hometown of Dutch navigator Willem Schouten.


Joke-of-the-day
We live in a society today where pizza delivery comes to your house before the police
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
WRITING SOMETHING IMPORTANT
If you feel that you need a thesaurus to write something, you are probably trying too hard.   
Yeah, It Really Happened
STANFORD, Calif. - Global warming may impact weather, possibly causing more severe thunderstorms, which could mean billions of dollars in damages, a U.S. researcher said. To examine how global warming could impact atmospheric conditions, researchers led by Stanford University's Noah Diffenbaugh used a complex array of physics-based climate models. Last year, 11 weather disasters in the United State topped the billion-dollar threshold in economic losses, Science World Report reported Tuesday. The researchers identified two main ingredients to generate a thunderstorm. First, the atmosphere must contain a significant amount of what scientists call convective available potential energy, or CAPE, created as the air in the low atmosphere warms. Second, CAPE must interact with strong vertical wind shear, basically a moving wind current that organizes atmospheric energy and moisture so a storm can be sustained. The new model indicates an overall decrease in the amount of wind shear, yet most of that decrease occurs on days producing levels of CAPE much lower than normally seen during severe storms, researchers said. The net effect is that the increases in CAPE on other days pushes increases in the occurrence of severe thunderstorm environments. Researchers found the biggest changes with global warming occurred during spring, Science World Report said. At that time, the United States would experience about 2 1/2 additional storm days by the late 21st century, the modeling indicated. "We're seeing that global warming produces more days with high CAPE and sufficient shear to form severe thunderstorms," said Diffenbaugh, with Stanford's School of Earth Sciences. The researchers also discovered that sustained warming likely would cause strong increases in storm days over a large portion of the eastern United States in fall and winter as well. The summer season showed increases over the region as a whole. "The severe thunderstorms we experience now can result in very high economic losses," said Diffenbaugh. "Sadly, we have many examples of cases where a single storm has had disastrous impact. So a 25- to 30 percent increase in the annual occurrence represents a substantial increase in the overall risk."
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • Modern-day (legal) tattoos are applied with a needle, tube of ink, electric motor and foot pedal. Ancient methods involved chisels, rakes and picks or soot-covered thread.
  • Several U.S. presidents are rumored to have had tattoos, including Franklin Pierce and Dwight Eisenhower. Theodore Roosevelt, however, is confirmed to have had a family crest inked into his chest.
  • "Tattoo" derives from the Polynesian term "ta" meaning to strike. Joseph Banks (1742-1821) brought the word Tattoo to Europe. It quickly replaced other ways to describe a tattoo such as "pric" or "marks".
  • Throughout history, the government has inspired the use of tattoos. In 1936, after the introduction of social security cards, Americans tattooed their numbers on their arms. In 1955, the assistant secretary of defense recommended U.S. citizens to tattoo their blood type on their arms in case of war.
  • In order to achieve a tattoo, the second layer of skin (dermis) must be pierced 50 to 3,000 times a minute by a tattoo machine. Consequently, the cells in the dermis are more stable and less likely to change throughout a person's life. 
  • The first tattooing machine (the precursor to today's tattoo gun) was patented by Samuel F. O'Reilley in 1891. It was actually just a modification of an invention designed for autographic printing, first patented by Thomas Edison 15 years earlier.

Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
1-7
Universal Children's Week
World Dairy Expo
3-10
No Salt Week

Today Is                                                                      
·        Child Health Day
·        UN World Habitat Day
~~~~
·        Korea: National Foundation Day founded 2333 BC

Today’s Events through History  
"Father Knows Best" premieres…1954
"Captain Kangaroo" premieres on CBS-TV…1955
"Mickey Mouse Club" premieres…1955
"Dick Van Dyke Show" premieres…1961
"Mr Ed" premieres…1961
~~~~
Dafydd ap Gruffydd, prince of Gwynedd in Wales, becomes 1st executed 
     by being hanged, drawn and quartered…1283
Dodgers set major league-record season attendance of 2,755,184…1962
J S Thurman patents motor-driven vacuum cleaner…1899
Lincoln designates last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day…1863
Washington proclaims 1st national Thanksgiving Day on Nov 26…1789

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
Chubby Checker [Ernest Evans], songwriter (The Twist, Limbo Rock) is 72
Roy Horn, Las Vegas entertainer (Siegfried & Roy) id 69
Al Sharpton [Alfred Charles], minister and civil rights activist (Keepin' It Real) is 57
Tommy Lee, musician (Mötley Crüe) is 51
Clive Owen, British ITV actor is 49
Gwen Stefani, singer (No Doubt) is 44
Ashlee Simpson, singer/songwriter is 29

Remembered for being born today
John Gorrie, inventor (cold-air process of refrigeration) [1803-1855]
John Ross, Chief of the Cherokee Nation [1790-1866]
Patrick Manson, "Father of tropical medicine" [1844-1922]
James Herriot [Alfred Wight], veterinarian/novelist (All Creatures Great and Small) [1916-1995]
Gore Vidal, author (Myra Breckinridge, Lincoln) [1925-2012]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Queen Fatima, former Libyan queen…2009…@98
Roddy McDowall, actor (Planet of the Apes)…cancer…1998…@78
Myles Standish, Plymouth Colony leader…1656…@72
Janet Leigh, actress (Psycho)…vasculitis…2004…@77
Black Hawk (chief), Leader of the Sauk Native American tribe…1838…@71ish
Woody Guthrie, Folk singer…Huntington's…1967…@55
Elias Howe, American sewing machine pioneer…1867…@48
Saint Francis of Assisi…infection…1226…at 44ish
Dafydd ap Gruffyd, last monarch of Gwynnedd (North-Wales)…hanged…1283…@43
Robert Barclay, Scottish writer/Quaker…1690…@41

Brain Teasers
1. Pay Day 2. Take 5 3. Mars Bar 4. Nerds
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.
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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.