12/18/13


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Flagstaff Almanac:
Week: 51 / Day: 352   
Today: L 17°…H 49°… Ave. humidity: 48%
Wind: ave:   6mph; Gusts:  11mph  
Average Low: 16° Record Low:  -14° (1908)
Average High: 43° Record High:  65° (1901)

Quote of the Day
 
Today’s Historical Highlights
"A Star is Born", with Barbra Streisand, premieres…1976
"To Tell the Truth" debuts on CBS-TV…1956
"Wonder Woman" debuts on ABC…1976
1st celestial photograph (of Moon) made in US, John Draper, NYC…1839
1st giant panda, Su-Lin, imported into US arrives in SF…1936
1st US newspaper to appear on Sunday (Baltimore Monitor)…1796
Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" airs for 1st time on CBS…1966
For 2nd cons year, AP names Wilma Rudolph female athlete of year…1961
IRA's Sean McKenna becomes critically ill, ends hunger strike…1980
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet "Nutcracker Suite" premieres…1892
Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discover the ancient Indian ruins of Mesa Verde…1888
Thomas Fleet publishes "Mother Goose's Melodies For Children"…1719

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   
How many can you identify? Answers in Today’s Birthdays
 
My Free Rambling Thoughts   
What a nice weather day in Flagstaff…went to lunch and only needed my sweater…no jacket required.
 
Our favorite bistro here in Flag came through with flying colors for lunch. Mary liked her candle and candies, Cheryl liked her earrings and fancy tea bags. I got an amaryllis, as did Mary, I will grow mine when I return from Chicago and a nice knit shirt. Cheryl got a nice light shirt/jacket. Mary took her granddaughter and family to see the Nutcracker ballet. Mary’s niece was the Snow Queen. Her granddaughter has been doing ballet for a couple of years and really enjoyed the performance. They even got a tour backstage after the performance. Quite an experience for a 3rd grader. Cheryl heads out soon for California, then after Christmas, she and 7 relatives head back to Williams for a visit. That will be quite a strain on Cheryl, but all will work out somehow.  
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
What expression is represented here?
Brrr....shake, shake....brrrrr; me Maple, oak, blackwood, acacia, birch and mountain-ash.

Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today
  • Very Strange Laws…Pennsylvania
  • A special cleaning ordinance bans housewives from hiding dirt and dust under a rug in a dwelling.
  • A person is not eligible to become Governor if he/she has participated in a duel.
  • All liquor stores must be run by the state.
  • Any motorist driving along a country road at night must stop every mile and send up a rocket signal, wait 10 minutes for the road to be cleared of livestock, and continue.
  • Any motorist who sights a team of horses coming toward him must pull well off the road, cover his car with a blanket or canvas that blends with the countryside, and let the horses pass.
  • Dynamite is not to be used to catch fish.
  • Fireworks stores may not sell fireworks to Pennsylvania residents.
  • It is contrary to Pennsylvania law to discharge a gun, cannon, revolver or other explosive weapon at a wedding.
  • It is illegal to have over 16 women live in a house together because that constitutes a brothel.
  • It is illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outdoors.
  • Ministers are forbidden from performing marriages when either the bride or groom is drunk.
  • Motorized vehicles are not to be sold on Sundays.
  • No more than two packages of beer at a time may be purchased, unless you are buying from an official “beer distributor”.
  • Though you do not need a fishing license to fish on your own land, but a hunting license is required to hunt on your own land.
  • You may not catch a fish by any body part except the mouth.
  • You may not catch a fish with your hands.
  • You may not sing in the bathtub.
  • Allentown--
    There is a ban on men becoming aroused in public.
  • Bensalem--
    Persons convicted of felonies may not operate Bingo games.
  • Connellsville--
    One’s pants may be worn no lower than five inches below the waist.
  • Danville--
    All fire hydrants must be checked one hour before all fires.
  • Millville--
    One may not shoot any dog that is found wandering the streets.
  • Morrisville--
    It is required that a woman have a permit to wear cosmetics.
  • Newtown--
    Every outlet or switch (which can be purchased for 59 cents) that is installed requires an electrical inspection fee of 1 dollar and 33 cents.
  • Pittsburgh--
    It is still illegal to bring a donkey or a mule onto a trolley car.
  • Tarentum--
    Horses are not to be tied to parking meters.

OK Then…
 
Harper’s Index 
  • Number of heads of government in the United States since 1964: 5
  • In the Soviet Union: 4
  • In Switzerland: 20

Unusual Fact of the Day
Former Today Show weatherman Willard Scott got an early career boost by portraying Ronald McDonald in commercials.
Joke-of-the-day
A rich millionaire throws a massive party for his 50th birthday. During this party, he grabs the microphone and announces to his guests that down in the garden of his mansion he has a swimming pool with two great white sharks in it.
"I will give anything of mine to the man who swims across that pool."
So the party continues with no events in the pool until SUDDENLY, there is a great splash and all the guests of the party run to the pool to see what has happened.
In the pool a man is swimming as hard as he can and fins come out of the water and jaws are snapping and this guy just keeps on going. The sharks are gaining on him and this guy reaches the end and gets out of the pool, tired and soaked. The millionaire grabs the microphone and says, "I am a man of my word. Anything of mine I will give: my Ferraris, my house, absolutely anything, for you are the bravest man I have ever seen. So sir what will it be?" The guy grabs the microphone and says, "Why don't we start with the name of the jerk who pushed me in!"  
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
PICKING A WINNER AT THE HARNESS TRACK
It's usually safe to bet on a horse that has just been assigned a leading full-time driver. The trainer probably believes the horse is ready to win.    
Yeah, It Really Happened
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Mineralogical discoveries in the moon's largest impact crater could yield clues to the evolution of our companion's crust and mantle, U.S. researchers say. The evidence is data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper that flew aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter showing a diverse mineralogy in the subsurface of the giant South Pole Aitken basin, scientists at Brown University reported Monday. The differing signatures detected in the crater -- at 1,500 miles wide the largest impact basin on the moon and perhaps the largest in the solar system -- could be of minerals dredged up at the time of the giant impact 4 billion years ago, they said. While the distinct minerals could have formed as the molten surface rock from the impact cooled, recent research at Brown and elsewhere suggests it's also possible the mineral differences reflect differences in rock types that were there before the giant impact. If the diversity reflects pre-existing material, the impact basin could hold important clues about the composition of the moon's lower crust and mantle, the Brown researchers said. "If you do the impact scaling from models, [the SPA impact] should have excavated into the mantle," Brown graduate student and study leader Dan Moriarty said. "We think the upper mantle is rich in a mineral called olivine, but we don't see much olivine in the basin. That's one of the big mysteries about the South Pole Aitken basin. So one of the things we're trying to figure out is how deep did the impact really excavate. If it melted and excavated any material from the mantle, why aren't we seeing it?" If the impact did excavate mantle material, and it doesn't contain olivine, that would have substantial implications for models of how the moon was formed, he said.  
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.
  • Humans have 46 chromosomes, peas have 14 and crayfish have 200.
  • Some ribbon worms will eat themselves if they cant find any food!
  • The world’s oldest piece of chewing gum is over 9000 years old!
  • About 3000 years ago, most Egyptians died by the time they were 30!
  • Your ribs move about 5 million times a year, every time you breathe!
  • Slugs have 4 noses!
  • Lightning strikes about 6,000 times per minute on this planet!

Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
14-28:  Halcyon Days
14-1/5 Christmas Bird Count Week 
15-21: Gluten-free Baking Week
16-24: Posadas
17-23: Saturnalia

Today Is                                                                      
·        Answer The Telephone Like Buddy The Elf Day
·        Bake Cookies Day
·        International Migrants Day
~~~~~
·        Niger: Republic Day (1st Republic of Niger, semi-independent under France, 1959)

Today’s Events through History  
1st national Thanksgiving Day, commemorating Burgoyne's surrender…1777
California Governor Gray Davis announces that the state would face a record budget 
     deficit of $35 billion, roughly double the figure reported during his reelection campaign 
     one month earlier…2002
Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan" officially marking the start of the Yuan 
    Dynasty of China…1271
New Jersey becomes 3rd state to ratify constitution…1787

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
Ramsey Clark, US attorney General (1967-69) is 86
Roger Smith, actor (77 Sunset Strip) is 81
Steven Spielberg, director (ET, Close Encounters, Jaws) is 67
Ray Liotta, actor (Sacha-Casablanca, Goodfellas) is 59
Brad Pitt, actor (12 Monkeys, Fight Club) is 50
Kiefer Sutherland, actor (Young Guns, Stand by Me, Lost Boys) is 47
Casper Van Dien, actor (Starship Troopers) is 45
Katie Holmes, actress (Dawson's Creek, Batman Begins) is 35
Christina Aguilera, singer (Genie in a Bottle, What a Girl Wants) is 33

Remembered for being born today
Charles Wesley, co-founder (Methodist movement) [1707-1788]
Saki, [Hector Hugo Munro], Burma, author (Reginald, When William Came) [1870-1916]
J. J. Thomson, Manchester, English physicist discovered electron (Nobel 1906) [1856-1940]
Joseph Stalin [Josef], Premier of the Soviet Union  [1878-1953]
Ty Cobb, baseball player, batted .367, stole 892 bases (Det Tigers) [1886-1961]
Betty Grable, great legs/actress (Gay Divorcee) [1916-1973]
Abe Burrows, Brooklyn, Broadway composer (Guys & Dolls 1951 TONY) [1910-1985]
Willy Brandt, [Herbert Frahm], German chancellor (Nobel 1971) [1913-1992]
Ossie Davis, actor/playwright (Hot Stuff, Man Called Adam) [1917-2005]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Mark Felt, Deep Throat, whistle blower Watergate Scandal…2008…@95
Richard Owen, English zoologist (Dinosaurus)…1892…@88
Mother Clara Hale, cared for NYC AIDS babies (Hale House)…1992…@87
Cyril Ritchard, actor (Cpt Hook-Peter Pan)…1977…@80
Mark Goodson, TV game show producer (Goodson-Toddman)…cancer…1992…@77
John T "Legs" Diamond, US gangster…murdered…1931…@34
Chris Farley, comedian (SNL, Tommy Boy)…OD…1997…@33

Brain Teasers
Shiver me timbers Brrr....shake, shake....brrrrr: shiver (Shivering)
me Maple, oak, blackwood, acacia, birch and mountain-ash: timbers (a group of trees).
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:

12/17/13


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Flagstaff Almanac:
Week: 51 / Day: 351   
Today: L 51°…H 23°… Ave. humidity: 43%
Wind: ave:   6mph; Gusts:  14mph  
Average Low: 16° Record Low: -14 ° 1928
Average High: 43° Record High:  65° (1980)

Quote of the Day
 
Today’s Historical Highlights
Astrodome opens, 1st event is Judy Garland & Supremes concert…1965
At 10:35 AM, 1st sustained motorized aircraft flight (Orville Wright)…1903
Aztec calendar stone discovered in Mexico City…1790
Bonnie Prince Charlie's army retreats to Scotland…1745
Gen US Grant issues order #11, expelling Jews from Tennessee…1862
George Washington's army returns to Valley Forge, Pa…1777
IRA bombs Harrods Department Store in London, killing six people…1983
Kentucky abolishes debtors' prisons…1821
Largest newspaper-Sunday NY Times at 946 pages (50 cents)…1965
Lynette Fromme sentenced to life for attempt on Pres Ford's life (paroled in 2009)…1975
New Ellis Island Immigration station completed costing $1.5 million…1900
NYC traffic regulation creates 1st 1-way street…1791
Sitting Bull and the police killed during his arrest are buried with honor…1890
US Army announces end of excluding Japanese-Americans from West Coast, 
     detainees released…1944

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   
How many can you identify? Answers in Today’s Birthdays
 
My Free Rambling Thoughts   
Finally a nice day where time could be spent outside at least for a little while.
 
Got a little shopping done and now am almost finished. Good feeling. Lots of lunches this week, and should be a good time.  Even took some time for a pedicure. It is so much easier to have someone else cut my talons. The guy who did it was one of the ‘boat people’ from Vietnam. His father was in the Navy and the night before Saigon fell, the whole family got on a naval vessel. When word came from the President of the time that troops were to stop fighting, the vessel pulled out of port and headed to the US. He came here at 17 and has lived in CA since then. He came to Flag when he got laid off a job he had in LA and really likes Flagstaff, where he has been for about a year. He said that his escape was so much easier than most people, he kinda felt guilty.  Good conversation…which led to a much longer time than I had planned, but so enjoyable I didn’t mind.
 
I have been a big fan of 60 Minutes and almost never miss it on Sunday. This week they did a piece on the NSA. I must say that as I watched it, I had a lot of questions about why they were doing this commercial for the NSA. Only the NSA people were talking, and while some questions were probative, none of the NSA detractors were in the piece. At first I thought it was because of the Laura Logan debacle a few weeks ago, I was simply being cynical.  Then today a circuit judge ruled that the data-mining of the NSA was unconstitutional. Now I feel that 60 Minutes has lost much of its journalistic excellence it has been known for over the decades. They allowed a few NSA employees to tell us that they were not listening to private Americans, nor were they collecting data on Americans living in the US. Others have been claiming since Snowden leaked some information that this is not true. Yet 60 Minutes never let them be heard or seen. Disappointing day…no disappointing month for a great TV news show.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
In this teaser, I have given you 4 words. Beside each word is a series of letter groupings. Your task is to find the answer to the word on the left by choosing one letter from each of the letter groups to the right of each clue. Example: Statuette: fro evi gse rpu lor nai ngd rep Answer: Fgo evI Gse rpU loR naI Ngd rEp = FIGURINE
1. Building: ant uhp yte alk ttr wrq ase 2. Kettledrum: qwt gig hjm klp all rnq tti 3. Image: ppo ghi kcl axt dug nrm eue 4. Music: sds fof uhk jnl dlk

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

Very Strange Laws…Wisconsin
  • As people used to smuggle it in from Illinois, all yellow butter substitute is banned.
  • At one time, margarine was illegal.
  • Butter substitutes are not allowed to be served in state prisons.
  • Condoms were considered an obsene article and had to hidden behind the pharmacist’s counter.
  • It is a class A misdemeanor to wave a burning torch around in the air.
  • It is illegal to cut a woman’s hair.
  • It is illegal to kiss on a train.
  • It is illegal to throw rocks at a railroad car.
  • Livestock have the right-of-way on public roads.
  • Margarine may not be substituted for butter in restaurants unless it is requested by the customer.
  • One may not camp in a wagon on any public highway or risk a fine of up to ten dollars.
  • State Law made it illegal to serve apple pie in public restaurants without cheese.
  • The government may not prohibit manual flushed urinals.
  • The state definition of rape stated that it was a man having sex with a woman he knows not to be his wife.
  • Whenever two trains meet at an intersection of said tracks, neither shall proceed until the other has.
  • While all cheese making requires a license, Limburger cheese making requires a master cheese maker’s license.
  • Brookfield--Tattooing is illegal unless it is done for medical purposes.
  • Hudson--
    Screens are required on all windows from May 1 to October 1. \ You are not allowed to put litter into someone else’s trash receptacle without express permission.
  • Kenosha--
    No male is allowed to be in a state of arousal in public.
  • La Crosse--
    It is illegal to display an unclothed mannequin in a storewindow. \ It is illegal to play checkers in public.
  • Milwaukee--
    It is against the law to play a flute and drums on the streets to attract attention. \ It is illegal to purchase or use Sparklers in the city, yet you can buy fully disassembled automatic machine guns.
  • Racine--
    Missiles may not be shot at parade participants. \ It is illegal to wake a fireman when he is asleep.\ Women may not walk down a public street at night without being accompanied by a man.
  • Sheboygan--
    Only police officers may shoot birds in the city.\ No person may water his lawn in such a way as to annoy his or her neighbor.
  • St. Croix--
    • Women are not allowed to wear anything red in public.
  • Sun Prairie--
    Nuclear weapons may not be manufactured in the city limits\ Cats are forbidden from entering cemeteries.

OK Then…
 
Harper’s Index 
  • False warnings of a nuclear attack on the United States in past five years: 
    2
  • Acts of terrorism in the United States in 1983: 30

Unusual Fact of the Day
Researchers believe that herring communicate with one another in a way humans would find repulsive: passing gas.
Joke-of-the-day
A philanthropist is a man who gives away what he should be giving back.
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
BUYING SKI BOOTS
Properly fitted cross-country ski boots should feel like bedroom slippers.    
Yeah, It Really Happened
EBERSBERG, Germany - Scientists in Germany say they've made a breakthrough in genetic and forensic research by discovering genetic differences between identical twins. Researchers at the genomics firm Eurofins Scientific say their work has confirmed that identical twins, also known as monozygotic twins, are not genetically identical and it is possible to genetically discriminate between them. It had previously been believed DNA "fingerprinting" testing could not be used in crime or paternity cases involving identical twins, but the new research offers a way to solve forensic and paternity cases involving monozygotic twins as originators of DNA traces, a Eurofins Scientific release said Tuesday. The researchers sequenced DNA from sperm samples of two twins and from a blood sample of the child of one of them. Analysis revealed five mutations, so-called Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, present in the twin father and the child, but not in the twin uncle. The results suggest rare mutations will occur shortly after or before the human blastocyst has split into two -- the origin of twins -- and that such mutations will be carried on into succeeding generations. The study has been published in the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics.
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • In the 1600s the Dutch used to cover their mirrors with curtains when not in use, lest the reflectiveness be used up.
  • Ben Franklin mounted mirrors outside his second-story window so he could secretly see who was knocking at his front door.
  • The word mirror comes from the Latin mirari, meaning "to wonder at." It's also the root word for miracle and admire.
  • In ancient China reflective pieces of polished brass were placed over doorknobs so that evil spirits would scare themselves away.
  • In olden days some thought that the reflection of the body in a shiny surface or mirror was an expression of the spiritual self, and therefore if anything happened to disturb that reflection, injury would follow. This was the origin of the superstition that breaking a mirror would bring seven years of bad luck.
  • In 1994 Russian astronauts orbiting in the Mir spacecraft tried using mirrors to reflect sunlight into northern areas of their country, in an attempt to lengthen the short growing season. It didn't work.

Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
10-17: Human Rights Week
14-28:  Halcyon Days
14-1/5 Christmas Bird Count Week 
15-21: Gluten-free Baking Week
16-24: Posadas
17-23: Saturnalia

Today Is                                                                      
·        Free Shipping Day
·        National Maple Syrup Day
·        Wright Brothers Day

Today’s Events through History  
1st Hawaiian cavalry organized…1852
1st impeachment trial against a US senator (Wm Blount, TN) begins…1798
John Paul Stevens appointed to Supreme Court…1975
Longest-running American sitcom The Simpsons had its debut…1989
NASA completes a successful mission to map the Moon’s gravity field…2012
Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen & dummy Charlie McCarthy, appear on TV…1936

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
Bernard Hill, actor (Bellman & True, New World, Bounty) is 69
Wes Studi, full blood Cherokee actor (Last of the Mohicans) is 66
Bill Pullman, actor (Sommersby, League of their Own, Independence Day) is 60
Chuck Liddell, American mixed martial artist is 44
Milla Jovovich, Kiev Ukraine, actress (Return to Blue Lagoon, Chaplin) is 38
Jaimee Foxworth, actress (Judy Winslow-Family Matters) and porn star is 34

Remembered for being born today
John Greenleaf Whittier, US, poet (Snow-bound) [1807-1892]
Arthur Fiedler, Boston Mass, conductor (Boston Pops) [1894-1979]
William Safire, political columnist (NY Times)/speech writer (Nixon) [1929-2009]
Bob Guccione, [Robert C J Edwa], US publisher (Penthouse, Omni) [1930-2010]
George Lindsey, actor (The Andy Griffith Show) [1928-2012]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Daniel K. Inouye, US Senator (Hawaii)…2012…@88
Dana Andrews, US actor (Laura)…1992…@83
Jack Anderson, American journalist…2005…@81
Rex Allen, American actor, singer and songwriter…heart attack…1999…@79
Kim Jong-il, supreme leader of North Korea (DPRK)…heart attack…2011…@70
Captain Beefheart (Don Glen Vliet), American musician…MS…2010…@69
Lewis H Morgan, US ethnologist (Iroquois-indians)…1881…@63
Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, second wife of Napoleon…pleurisy…1847…@56
Simón Bolívar, South American revolutionary and president (Colombia)…TB…1830…@47

Brain Teasers
1. Building: THEATRE 2. Kettledrum: TIMPANI 3. Image: PICTURE 4. Music: SOUND
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.