Jan 17

 

2021…at last

Jan 17, 2021  Week: 3  Day:	Local:  H 50°\ L 21°\Ave. Sky Cover: 5%
Wind:   10mph\Gusts:  24mph	Today’s Ave. Temp.: H 42°\ L 17°
Nearest lightning:  1746mi.; Active fire:  59mi	High Risk of Fire           Visibility:  10mi
Record: 62°[1971 ]   Record: -13°[1987]	Jan Averages: 44°/16° (4 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly.

Richard Bach

Random Tidbits

The United States invented both the tea bag and iced tea in 1904. Many tea lovers consider the tea bag as one of the worst inventions of the 20th century. Tea brewed with loose tea is generally considered to be richer than tea made from bags.

The most expensive tea in the world is a rare Chinese tea called Tieguanyin, which is around $1,500/lb. The tea is named after the Buddhist deity Guan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy). It is an oolong tea.

A Little Humor

I never thought ‘I’ll never touch him/her with a 10’ pole would become a national policy, but here we are.

I can’t be the only person who says ‘wed nes day’ when spelling Wednesday.

True Things

And you think YOU have bad neighbors

Video on social media showed a military tank driving around a Florida neighborhood last week, but a spokesperson with the Florida National Guard said the tank was not part of its fleet. The matter was cleared up by Miami-Dade Police, which issued a statement that read: "Miami-Dade Police Department received reports of a military-style vehicle observed on the Village roads. They looked into the matter and confirmed that the vehicle belongs to a private collector of decommissioned, surplus military items. The vehicle in question is demilitarized and unarmed. It was purchased as a collector item and was being delivered to the owner at the time that the video circulating social media was taken." Neighbors were openly unhappy about the military relic in their close quarters. "It's a poor choice of timing to have military equipment like that in a residential neighborhood," resident James Woodard said. "Obviously they have more money than sense."

Interestng facts about AZ

Ø Many of the founders of San Francisco in 1776 were Spanish colonists from Tubac, Arizona.

Ø Phoenix originated in 1866 as a hay camp to supply military post Camp McDowell.

Ø Rainfall averages for Arizona range from less than three inches in the deserts to more than 30 inches per year in the mountains.

Weekly Observations

Cuckoo Dancing Week	11-17
No Tillage Week	15-21
International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week Link	16-24
National Fresh Squeezed Juice Week Healthy Weight Week Hunt For Happiness Week National Activity Professionals Week National Handwriting Analysis Week	17-23

 

Today’s Observations

Bald Eagle Appreciation Days
Benjamin Franklin Day
Cable Car Day

Ditch New Year's Resolution Day
Hot Heads Chili Days: 17-18
International Mentoring DayLink  (Muhammad Ali's birthday)
Judgment Day
Kid Inventors' Day
National Bootleggers Day Link
National Hot Buttered Rum Day

National Sanctity of Human Life Day (or Pro-Life Day Link
Popeye Day
World Religion Day Link 
World Snow Day Link 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Weekend is starting with wind, and lots of it. The weather guy says a storm with snow will be arriving mid-week. I sure hope so.

After several lawsuits, the NRA [National Rifle Assoc] is moving from NY to Texas. It filed for bankruptcy and said the move to Texas is part of the restructuring necessary. As a Boy Scout I took several NRA classes on gun safety. The organization took a far-right turn. I hope this restructuring brings back the safety part of their organization.

After most elections in our democracy, there are disappointed people…some are candidates who lost, others are their followers. This election is no different in that aspect, however some of Trump’s followers are taking it way too far.  I’m still trying to figure out if this is a cult, a terrorist group, or immaturity. Whatever it is, I hope that it is figured out and corrected before our country falls.

I got a call from a 2^nd cousin<?> this morning. Patty is my grandfather’s sister’s daughter. She and her family lived in Bozeman while I was spending summers at the ranch, her mom’s place. She is 92, healthy, and happy. She now lives in Belgrade, MT now. Her son comes to visit and lunch at Applebee’s with her once a week, with proper social distancing. He lives in W. Yellowstone, and says things are cheaper in Belgrade. So happy to hear from her. 

Daily Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Feed me and I live, yet give me a drink and I die. What am I?

Historical Events

1773 – Captain James Cook and his crew became the first Europeans to sail below the Antarctic Circle.

1871 – Andrew Hallikie was granted a patent (US #110,971) for San Francisco’s cable car system.

1929 – From the Mount Wilson Observatory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Edwin Hubble showed that the universe was expanding.

1946 – The United Nations Security Council held its 1st meeting

1950 – During the Great Brink’s Robbery, eleven thieves stole more than $2 million from an armored car company’s offices in Boston. They were all caught later.

1954 – Jacques Cousteau’s 1st network telecast aired on CBS’s Omnibus

1984 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that private use of home VCRs to tape TV programs for later viewing does not violate federal copyright laws, in a 5-4 decision.

2001 President Bill Clinton posthumously raises Meriwether Lewis' rank from Lieutenant to Captain

2007 Doomsday Clock set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea's 1st nuclear test

2016 Fourth Democratic presidential candidates debate: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders clash over healthcare and gun control in Charleston, South Carolina

2017 US President Barack Obama commutes WikiLeaks discloser Chelsea Manning's prison sentence from 35 to 7 years

 

Birthdays Today

99 – Betty White, American actress, game show panelist, television personality

90 – James Earl Jones, American actor

@84 – Benjamin Franklin, American publisher, businessman, inventor and politician (d. 1790)

@84 – Vidal Sassoon, English-American hairdresser, businessman (d. 2012)

82 – Maury Povich, American talk show host and producer

@74 – Muhammad Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.), American boxer (d. 2016; septic shock)

67 – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., American lawyer and radio host

@65 – Shari Lewis [Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz], American actress, puppeteer/ventriloquist, television host (d. 1998; multiple cancers)

64 – Steve Harvey, American comedian, television personality,  game show host

59 – Jim Carrey, Canadian-American actor

57 – Michelle Obama, American lawyer, 46th First Lady of the United States

50 – Kid Rock [Robert James Ritchie], American singer-songwriter

@35 – Andy Kaufman, American actor and comedian (d. 1984; lung cancer) 

Puzzle Answer

Fire.

 

Jan 16

 

2021…at last

Jan 16, 2021  Week: 2  Day: 18	Local:  H 54°\ L 25°\Ave. Sky Cover: 5%
Wind:   10mph\Gusts:  17mph	Today’s Ave. Temp.: H 42°\ L 17°
Nearest lightning:  1572mi.; Active fire:  59mi	High Risk of Fire           Visibility:  10mi
Record: 60°[1974]   Record: -8°[1975]	Jan Averages: 44°/16° (4 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare and look forward to the time when we may pick the fruit.

Anton Chekhov

Random Tidbits

Britain is the second-largest nation of tea drinkers per capita. Ireland is the first.

The United Kingdom drinks about 165 million cups of tea a day, or 62 billion cups per year.

A Little Humor

People need to start appreciating the effort I put in not to be a serial killer.

If brains were lard, that dude wouldn’t have enough grease a skillet

True Things

Different areas are dealing with the pandemic in different ways. In Los Angeles they're havng "super-spreader" parties, while in Quebec they have an 8 p.m. curfew for all residents. But for every rule there is an exception, and the exception for the curfew rule is that you can be out and about if you have to walk your dog. One couple took a metaphorical approach to this exception, a metaphor the police did not appreciate.

A Quebec husband and wife were handed sizeable fines for violating curfew, despite the wife's protests that she was walking her dog and the fact the husband was wearing a leash.

The woman and her husband were each given $1,500 fines by Sherbrooke police for violating curfew. The pair was caught walking at 9 p.m. on Saturday evening.

Police said the two were walking towards downtown and did not cooperate with the officers. When questioned by police, the couple claimed they were following the rules.

Quebec officials have said people may walk their dogs after the 8 p.m. curfew, provided they stay within one kilometer of their house.

Over the first weekend under curfew, police officers across Quebec handed out 750 tickets worth thousands of dollars in fines to people caught out after 8 p.m.

Interestng facts about AZ

Ø Oraibi, a Hopi village located in Navajo County, Arizona, dates back to before A.D. 1200 and is reputed to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in America.

Ø Built by Del Webb in 1960, Sun City, Arizona was the first 55-plus active adult retirement community in the country.

Ø Petrified wood is the official state fossil. The Petrified Forest in northeastern Arizona contains America's largest deposits of petrified wood.

Weekly Observations

National Mocktail Week	10-16
Cuckoo Dancing Week	11-17
No Tillage Week	15-21
International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week Link	16-24

 

Today’s Observations

Appreciate a Dragon Day

Bald Eagle Appreciation Days: 16-17
Civil Service Day
International Hot and Spicy Food Day

National Fig Newton DayLink  Link
National Nothing Day

National Quinoa Day
National Use Your Gift Card Day Link
Religious Freedom Day Link  
Without A Scalpel Day Link  Link

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

If I was still working, I’d be getting ready for a 3-day weekend. AZ lost a chance to host the Super Bowl when they refused to honor MLK Day years ago.

I went in for a blood draw this morning, but they were unable to find a vein. Disappointed, but will return next week to try again. I was told to wear a jacket, gloves, and drink more the 32 oz of water I drank this morning. I wish they had access to sonograms. The hospital is the only place that can do that, and the COVID-19 restrictions are extremely strict.

DC is busy getting ready for the inauguration. Events like this are always inconvenient for residents, but this year is so much different. I’m sure workers who have to walk a lot more, and the workers who use the park nearby hope that all this security makes the inauguration a success. Even some workers can’t get to their employment and are losing their pay. Also, rehearsals for the event have been delayed by one day as more security is brought in. A group of Veterans who were upset about the mob, including some Vets, decided to join forces and helped clean up the mess left at the demonstration site. Good to hear.

 

Daily Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Two men are playing chess. They play five games. Each man wins three games. How is that possible?

Historical Events

1219 & 1362 – St. Marcellus Floods or Grote Mandrenke (Great Drowning of Men), Netherlands. Over 25,000 people drowned in 1362 and 25,000 in 1219.

1547 – Ivan the Terrible crowned himself 1st Tsar of Moscow.

1581 – The English Parliament outlawed Roman Catholicism.

1605 – The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes was published in Madrid, Spain.

1894 – Theodore Witte of Chilliwhack, British Columbia, was issued a U.S. patent (#512930) for a “Puttying-Tool” (the first caulking gun)

1920 – The 18th Amendment, Prohibition began, and alcoholic beverages were made illegal in the United States. (Effective one year later)

1936 – The first photo finish camera was installed at a US racetrack, at Hialeah, Florida.

1939 – The Superman newspaper comic strip debuted.

1941 – War Department forms 1st Army Air Corps squadron, The Tuskegee Airmen, for black cadets.

1964 – Broadway Show – Hello, Dolly! (Musical) opened, starring Carol Channing

1991 – All major television networks were pre-empted with Gulf War coverage right after evening news broadcasts.

2001 US President Bill Clinton awards former President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish–American War

2002 UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and freezes assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the members of the Taliban

2006 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia's new president. She becomes Africa's first female elected head of state.

2019 Egyptian city Cairo is engulfed by a sandstorm turning it orange

2020 Impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump begins in the Senate

 

Birthdays Today

86 – A.J. Foyt, American race car driver

@76 – Ethel Merman [Ethel Agnes Zimmermann], American actress and singer (d. 1984; brain cancer)

@73 – Andre Michelin, founder of Michelin Tire Company (d. 1931)

73 – John Carpenter, American director

@71 – Susan Sontag, American novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 2004; rare cancer)

70 – Debbie Allen, actress

@64 – Dizzy Dean (Jay Hanna Dean), American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1974; heart attack)

62 – Sade (Helen Folasade Adu), Nigerian-English singer-songwriter

46 – Kate Moss, English model

41 – Lin-Manuel Miranda, stage actor

Puzzle Answer

They were not playing each other.

 

Jan 15

 

2021…at last

Jan  15, 2021  Week: 2  Day: 15	Local:  H 54°\ L 26°\Ave. Sky Cover: 15%
Wind:   6mph\Gusts:  15mph	Today’s Ave. Temp.: H 42°\ L 17°
Nearest lightning: 1542mi.; Active fire: 59mi	Moderate  Risk of Fire           Visibility:  10mi
Record: 65°[1943]   Record: -12°[1937]	Jan Averages: 44°/16° (4 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

Colors are the smiles of nature.

Leigh Hunt

 

Random Tidbits

According to legend, tea was discovered in 2737 B.C. by Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung, known as the "Divine Healer." Purportedly, he discovered the beverage when tea leaves accidentally blew into his pot of boiling water.

China is the world's largest producer of tea. In 2009, China produced 1,359,000 tons; India was second with 979,000 tons.

A Little Humor

After I changed my car horn to ‘gun shots’, people get out of my way a lot faster

Quarantine: I ate 11 times and took 5 naps and it is still today.

True Things

Be Careful What You Ask For

If you give a woman a taser and ask her to use it on you, don't be surprised when she tasers you! A Utah man is accused of assaulting a woman he allegedly asked to use a taser on him when he had panic attacks, police reported. Ashten Lawrence, 20, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on charges of assault aggravated assault according to a probable cause affidavit. During an argument Lawrence began to have a panic attack. A woman told police that Lawrence had got her a taser for Christmas and "told her to use it on him if he ever went into a panic attack because he would become violent during said panic attacks," the affidavit states. The woman said she feared for her safety and used the taser on the back of Lawrence's neck. The affidavit states Lawrence became angry and allegedly hit her multiple times.

Interestng facts about AZ

Ø If you cut down a protected species of cactus in Arizona, you could spend more than a year in prison.

Ø South Mountain Park/Preserve in Phoenix is the largest municipal park in the country.

Ø Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, located about 55 miles west of Phoenix, generates more electricity than any other U.S. power plant.

 

Weekly Observations

National Mocktail Week	10-16
Cuckoo Dancing Week	11-17
No Tillage Week	15-21

 

Today’s Observations

Alpha Kappa Alpha Day
Bagel and Lox Day

Bean Day Link
Humanitarian Day 

International Fetish Day
National Bagel Day Link  
National Booch Day Link
National Fresh Squeezed Juice Day
National Hat Day

National Strawberry Ice Cream Day

Thank Your Mentor Day Link

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Politics is just getting dirtier and dirtier. A Representative is saying that the panic button in her office was removed just before the insurgence. It had been placed there after she had received threats. Hmmm

There will be 20,000 National Guard at the inauguration. That is more soldiers than we currently have in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iran. This is very serious.

After this impeachment Trump made a video to end the violence. I hope it works.

Here we must sign up for the vaccine. All appointments for January and February are filled. I hope my PCP has a plan when I have my appointment next week.

It has warmed up nicely today…easy to take a walk in the neighborhood.

Daily Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

What invention lets you look right through a wall?

Historical Events

1759 – The British Museum, in Bloomsbury, London, the world’s oldest public national museum, opened to the public.

1861 – The Steam elevator was patented by Elisha Otis.

1863 – Woodpulp paper was first used in the US for a printed newspaper by the Boston Morning Herald of Boston.

1870 – The Donkey was 1st used as symbol of Democratic Party, in Harper’s Weekly, drawn by Thomas Nast.

1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, was incorporated in Atlanta.

1895 – Tchaikovsky’s ballet “Swan Lake” premiered in St. Petersburg.

1919 – The Boston Molasses Disaster – a huge vat of molasses broke open at the Purity Distilling Company and flooded a Boston neighborhood. 21 were killed.

1936 – The first building to be completely covered in glass, two stories built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, was completed in Toledo, Ohio.

1951 – The US Supreme Court ruled that “clear and present danger” of incitement to riot is not protected speech and can be a cause for arrest.

1967 – The inaugural Super Bowl was simulcast on CBS and NBC. The National Football League (NFL) champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American Football League (AFL) champion Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 35 – 10.

1967 – The Rolling Stones appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, and did not sing “Let’s Spend Some time Together” as planned.

1975 – Space Mountain opened at Disney World (Florida)

1977 – The Coneheads debuted on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Also, Bill Murray joined the cast of SNL, replacing Chevy Chase

1978 – Superbowl XII aired on CBS, the first night-time Superbowl

2001- Wikipedia debuted online.

2009 – US Airways flight 1549 landed safely in the Hudson River, NY, thanks to Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.

2016 American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan unveils newest exhibit replica skeleton of a Titanosaur dinosaur (found 2010 Argentina), largest known dinosaur at 70 tons, 37m

2018 Pope Francis arrives in Chile for a three-day visit amid child sexual abuse claims against church clergy

2019 Beginning of humanity's largest gathering, the Kumbh Mela Hindu festival with 15 million people bathing at the joining of Ganges and Yamuna rivers, India. 120 million expected over next 49 days.

2019 Witness in El Chapo trial claims former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto accepted $100 million bribe from the drug cartel head

2019 Plastic will outweigh fish in the world's oceans by 2050 according to report by the World Economic Forum

Birthdays Today

@95 – Edward Teller, Hangarian-American physicist (died in 2003)

@51 (baptized) – Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin), French actor, playwright (d. 1673; TB)

42 – Drew Brees, American football player

40 – Pitbull (Armando Christian Pérez), American rapper and producer

@39 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American minister, activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968; assassinated)

Puzzle Answer

A window.