16 Dec

 

16 December 2022

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 51 Day 350 \ Ave. Sky Cover 5% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 35° \6° 
Wind 9mph \ Gusts 14mph  Air Quality: Fair \Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 345mi \ Nearest Lightning 1408mi
Dec Averages for Flagstaff: 43° \ 17° `
Chilly with Sunshine

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

Andisop (Meteorological Fiddling): 5-24   Link
Human Rights Week: 10-17
Christmas Bird Count Week: 14-1/5 Link 
Halcyon Days: 14-28 
Halcyon Days: 14-28 
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over: 15 - 1/1/23  Link 
Posadas: 16-24

Daily Observations

Barbie and Barney Backlash Day
National Chocolate-covered Anything Day  Link
National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day Link 
Stupid Toy Day
Underdog Day 
Zionism Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Another cold night and chilly day. The sunshine is nice, but it is too cold to melt the snow.

In a few days, Title 42 ends. That is the rule to prevent the spread of Covid from Sep 2020 that addresses immigrants. Congress has had over two years to make a plan that deals with our border. Shame on Congress for not averting the surge that has been expected when Title 42 ended. Living in a border state, I am so worn out from all the finger-pointing and blaming.

Favorite Memes

Did you Know?

Tarantula bites are about as painful as bee stings.

Despite their incredibly scary reputation, it turns out that tarantulas have a bite that is about as painful and as venomous as a bee sting. And according to Burke Museum, "None of the North American species or those commonly kept as pets are considered to pose even a mild bite hazard."

In fact, the museum's website says, "Hollywood is squarely to blame for these spiders' toxic-to-humans reputation. Tarantulas are large, photogenic and many are easily handled, and therefore they have been very widely used in horror and action-adventure movies."   

Slang Origins

1937: Dirt-poor

Even as the economy began to recover from the Depression, American families were suffering. Upper-middle-class professionals saw their income drop by up to 40%, and everyone was forced to make lifestyle changes to get by. While it’s often claimed that “dirt-poor” originated in 1500s England, this is actually an Americanism coined during one of the poorest times in U.S. history.

Corny jokes

How did the dead brother and his dead brother resemble each other?

They were dead ringers.

…

Why are there gates around cemeteries?

Because people are dying to get in.

…

Why shouldn’t you write with a broken pen?

Because it’s pointless.

Historical Events

1773 – The Boston Tea Party: Members of the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawk Indians, dumped hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.
1944 – The Battle of the Bulge
1947 – William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain built the first practical point-contact transistor.
1950 -US President Harry S. Truman declares a state of emergency after Chinese troops enter the fight in support of communist North Korea.

Birthdays Today

@90 – Arthur C. Clarke, British science fiction writer (d. 2008)
“Perhaps it is better to be un-sane and happy, than sane and un-happy. But it is the best of all to be sane and happy. Whether our descendants can achieve that goal will be the greatest challenge of the future. Indeed, it may well decide whether we have any future.”– Arthur C. Clarke
81 – Lesley Stahl, American journalist
76 – Benny Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter, ABBA
@76 – Margaret Mead, American anthropologist author (d. 1978; cancer)
@73 – Noël Coward, English actor, playwright, composer (d. 1973; heart failure)
“The higher the building the lower the morals.”– Noël Coward
61 – Shane Black, American actor, director, screenwriter
59 – Benjamin Bratt, American actor
“The one thing for an actor that is death, is if you’re bored. The boredom will show in your work. It’s an amazing blessing to do something you love.”– Benjamin Bratt
@56 – Ludwig van Beethoven, composer (d. 1827; fever)
@50 – Catherine Of Aragon, Queen (d. 1536; banished)
@41 – Jane Austen, novelist (d. 1817; Addison's Disease)
41 – Krysten Ritter, American actress

 

15 Dec

 

December 2022

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 51 Day 349 \ Ave. Sky Cover 5% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 34° \2° 
Wind 3mph \ Gusts 6mph  Air Quality: Fair \Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 131mi \ Nearest Lightning 1152mi
Dec Averages for Flagstaff: 43° \ 17° `
Sunshine & Crisp

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

Andisop (Meteorological Fiddling): 5-24   Link
Human Rights Week: 10-17
Christmas Bird Count Week: 14-1/5 Link 
Halcyon Days: 14-28 
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over: 15 - 1/1/23  Link 

Daily Observations

Bill of Rights Day
Cat Herder’s Day Link
National Cupcake Day
National Lemon Cupcake Day
National Re-gifting Day Link
National Wear Your Pearls Day
Zamenhof Day (Esperato Literature Day) Link

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

I woke up to a very chilly morning. It is still crisp outside. The sun has been shining all day, but the snow is only melting on the dark pavement.

It has been a few months since I had my angioedema…swollen lips. It started as I was going to bed last night. When I got up this morning, the lip was still swollen. After about an hour I was back to normal. Weird.

Even the elk must have been cold…a small herd of 10-15 got into a fenced area at one of the local middle schools and were unable to escape. Forest Service is deciding what to do next.

Our country needs to revamp our campaigning laws NOW! I’m talking major changes…like no campaigning until 90 days before the election and every candidate must list ALL contributions to the campaign with names of human doners. There can be no ore hiding behind a ‘super-PAC’ or any anonymous donations. If one dollar or one million dollars arrives anonymously it must be returned to the sender or given to a listed charity, like Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, Wounded Warriors, etc. Politicians should be doing their job for the people they represent, not to donors who have an agenda.

Favorite Memes

Did you Know?

There's a "floating rainforest" in the sea.

When most people think of rainforests, they picture massive jungles filled with trees and critters. However, somewhere in the Sargasso Sea sits the so-called "floating rainforest" that consists not of dense vegetation on land, but of seaweed under water.

According to Smithsonian magazine, each strand of brown Sargassum marine algae can grow to be the length of a school bus. When they become matted together in the water, the masses - or "forests" - of algae can be as large as several football fields. The seaweed is not only impressively long and large, but also provides the perfect place for a diverse collection of animals to live - not unlike an actual rainforest!   

Slang Origins

1936: The big house

Meaning: prison

The age of the gangster in the 1920s and 1930s may explain why so much of the slang from the ‘30s refers to prison, and some of these words are still used today. The big house is one of those that endured. It was also the title of a 1930 movie about a prison escape, considered by many to have defined the genre of prison dramas.

Corny jokes

What do you call an alligator detective?

An investi-gator.

….

What kind of ghost has the best hearing?

The eeriest.

Historical Events

1791 – The Bill of Rights was added to the United States Constitution.
1933 – The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, which prohibited the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol.
1973 – The American Psychiatric Association voted 13 to 0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders.

Birthdays Today

@91 – Alexandre Eiffel, French engineer, Eiffel Tower (d. 1923)
@85 – Tim Conway, American comedian and actor (d. 2019)
“It’s hard to be sad when you’re laughing, so I enjoy making people happy.”– Tim Conway
@83 – J. Paul Getty, American-English businessman, founder of Getty Oil (d. 1976)
83 – Dave Clark, English drummer
@78 – Uziel Gal, German/Israeli inventor of the Uzi submachine gun (d. 2002; cancer)
76 – Carmine Appice, American drummer, songwriter
73 – Don Johnson, American actor
69 – J. M. DeMatteis, American author
“I’ve realized over the years that, with rare exceptions, most writer’s block isn’t writer’s block at all: It’s necessary time that allows the unconscious mind to do its deep work.”
– J.M. DeMatteis
59 – Helen Slater, American actress
50 – Stuart Townsend, Irish actor
@43 – Alan Freed, American radio host (d. 1965; complications of alcoholism)
43 – Adam Brody, American actor
“Comic books aren’t nerdy. You’d have to be an idiot to think computers are nerdy.”
-Adam Brody
@30 – Nero, Roman emperor (d. 68; ordered his soldiers to kill him)

 

14 Dec

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December 2022

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 51 Day 348 \ Ave. Sky Cover 90% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 26° \7° 
Wind 4mph \ Gusts 11mph  Air Quality: Fair \ Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 131mi \ Nearest Lightning 893mi
Dec Averages for Flagstaff: 43° \ 17° `
On & Off Light Snow

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

Andisop (Meteorological Fiddling): 5-24   Link
Computer Science Education Week: 5-11 Link
Human Rights Week: 10-17
Christmas Bird Count Week: 14-1/5 Link 
Halcyon Days: 14-28 

Daily Observations

Monkey Day

National Bouillabaisse Day

Roast Chestnuts Day

Halcyon Days – Traditionally, the 7 days before and after before and after the Winter Solstice.

Monkey Day Link

U.S. Park Police Day

Yoga Day Link

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

I woke up to light snow. It has been overcast with that light snow starting and stopping most of the day. It is not adding to the accumulation.

Not really knowing what to expect, I headed out to buy some groceries…just in case. Main roads were dry, side streets were icy with cinders already laid. The main roads use chemicals to stop the ice…and kill any vegetation in its path. Side streets are always cinders…to protect the environment.  

The Cardinals are now 4-9 after a loss to the Patriots on Monday Night Football.

For some reason the US is not as prevalent in the continent of Africa as Russia and China. The latest news report says that now the Russians are hiring African mercenaries to fight in Ukraine. After 7 visits to various parts of Africa, I certainly saw the Chinese influence in the modern airports and some highways. I also learned that if the local government defaults on the debt that built anything, it becomes Chinese property. The US sends lots of aid, in the form of grain and food stuffs to various African countries. Sadly it is a known practice that the Russians stick their label on the donations before it reaches the people.

Favorite Memes

	Flagstaff morning by local photographer.

Did you Know?

Donkeys and dolphins are sometimes used as guard animals.

Dogs tend to make great guard animals, but they're not the only creatures that you can count on to watch your back. In fact, donkeys, dolphins, geese, ostriches, emus, llamas, and alpacas are also used as guard animals around the world - doing everything from protecting sheep to patrolling harbors for the U.S. Navy.   

Slang Origins

1935: Tizzy

Meaning: highly excited, distracted, or worried state of mind

President Franklin Roosevelt spent most of his presidency trying to help the U.S. economy recover. In 1935, he passed his Second New Deal, more aggressive than his previous attempts. This included the Social Security Act, and the debate over it still throws American politics into a tizzy today.

Corny jokes

9. What’s the difference between the bird flu and the swine flu?

One requires tweetment and the other an oinkment.

….

10. Why do people say “break a leg” when you go on stage?

Because every play has a cast.

Historical Events

1287 – St. Lucia’s flood: The Zuiderzee sea wall in the Netherlands collapsed, killing over 50,000 people.
1780 – Alexander Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York.
1900 – Max Planck presented a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law. (Quantum Mechanics)
1962 – NASA’s Mariner 2 became the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.
2017 – The Walt Disney Company announced plans that it would acquire 21st Century Fox, including the 20th Century Fox movie studio, for $52.4 billion.

Birthdays Today

@87 – Morey Amsterdam, American actor (d. 1996)
@86 – Don Hewitt, American journalist, and producer, creator of 60 Minutes (d. 2009)
73 – Cliff Williams, bassist (AC/DC)
@69 – Patty Duke, American actress (d. 2016; ruptured intestine)
@62 – Nostradamus, French astrologer, seer, physician (d. 1566; gout/edema)
“I had determined to go as far as declaring in abstruse and puzzling utterances the future causes of the “common advent”, even those truly cogent ones that I have foreseen. Yet lest whatever human changes may be to come should scandalize delicate ears, the whole thing is written in nebulous form, rather than as a clear prophecy of any kind.”– Nostradamus
@62 – Charlie Rich, American singer-songwriter, guitarist (d. 1995; embolism)
57 – Ted Raimi, American actor
@55 – Lee Remick, American actress (d. 1991; cancer)
@54 – Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer (d. 1601; burst bladder)
“Those who study the stars have God for a teacher.”– Tycho Brahe
@53 – Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones, American singer, bandleader (d. 1965; emphysema)
34 – Vanessa Hudgens, American actress
“If people don’t like me for whatever I do, for being me, then that’s too bad. I don’t want to change to be something that I’m not for other people to like me.”– Vanessa Hudgens
31 – Offset, American rapper