18 Dec

 

18 December 2022

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 52 Day 352 \ Ave. Sky Cover 5% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 33° \2° 
Wind 3mph \ Gusts 8mph  Air Quality: Fair \Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 384mi \ Nearest Lightning 1615mi
Dec Averages for Flagstaff: 43° \ 17° `
Sunshine & Brisk

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

Andisop (Meteorological Fiddling): 5-24   Link
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
Saturnalia: 17-23
Chanukah: 18-26
Gluten-free Baking Week: 18-24  Link 

Daily Observations

Answer The Telephone Like Buddy The Elf Day Link
Arabic Language Day Link
Bake Cookies Day
Chanukah-26
Give A Wine Club Day  Link
International Migrants Day
(snow) Flake Appreciation Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

I’m getting tired of these early morning lows.  I know it is December, but is double digit low temps too much to ask for? I’m really liking the remote start and heated seats on my vehicle.

I just read that the most recent winner of Survivor is donating his winnings…about $1million…to assist Veterans in need. Nice!

Some of AZ’s losers from the recent election want to stay in the news. Keri Lake the governor candidate has filed suit to review 150 random ballots to prove that ‘hundreds of thousands’ of ballots are illegal. The judge will let her see the ballots, but she can’t photograph or copy them. The loser of the Sec. of State election here had his lawsuit thrown out as ‘frivolous’.

I saw many hippos on my visits to various places in Africa. They may appear cute and cuddly, but they are very aggressive and kill many natives annually. I just read a story about how Drug Lord Pablo Escobar imported 1 male and 3 female hippos to Columbia and allowed them to wander his vast estate. After his 1993 death, the hippos were too difficult to relocate, so they just remained. Now there are more than 150 hippos in the area. They are causing problems for local farmers. The latest plan is to dart them with a contraceptive that will prevent them from breeding. None of the vets are sure what the right dose will be so they are tracking the hippos and giving them different doses.

Favorite Memes





 



Did you Know?

Not all coins were saved or spent — in centuries past, some became tiny testaments to love. Love tokens, an idea that likely originated in Great Britain around the 13th century, were crafted by sanding away the faces of coins and using the precious metals as a blank canvas, which was then often engraved with memorable dates, a loved one’s initials, or romantic sentiments. After spreading to North America, love tokens reached peak popularity in the late 1800s, in part because they were used to memorialize family members lost during the Civil War. While they were initially etched by hand, professional carvers were sought out for more intricate designs, and the trend became so popular that crafters even set up booths at the 1893 world’s fair in Chicago. Many surviving love tokens are difficult to appraise or date because of their lack of detail and highly personal meaning, yet their greatest value may be the reminder that love can withstand the test of time. 

Slang Origins

1939: Ameche

Meaning: telephone

Don Ameche was an American radio personality and actor, who worked in entertainment for nearly half a century. After starring as the title character in “The Amazing Discovery of Alexander Graham Bell,” his name become synonymous with Bell’s invention.

Corny jokes

What’s brown and sticky?
A stick.
…
What did the yoga instructor say when her landlord tried to evict her?
Namaste.
…
21. How do you tell if a vampire is sick?
See if he is coffin.

Historical Events

1958 – Project SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, was launched.

1912 – Piltdown Man’s skull was found in a gravel pit in Sussex, England. At first, it was believed to be the ‘missing link’ between man and early primates but was later discovered to be a hoax

1936 – The first giant panda in the US, Su-Lin, arrived in San Francisco from China.

Birthdays Today

@96 – Cicely Tyson, America actress (d. 2021)
@87 – Ossie Davis, American actor (d. 2005)
@80 – Charles Wesley, English missionary, composer (d. 1788)
79 – Keith Richards, English singer-songwriter
“It’s great to be here. It’s great to be anywhere.”– Keith Richards
@78 – Willy Brandt, German politician (d. 1992; colon cancer)
76 – Steven Spielberg, American director, producer, and screenwriter,
@74 – Joseph Stalin, 4th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1953; strtoke)
@74 – Ty Cobb, American baseball player (d. 1961; diabetic coma)
“I regret to this day that I never went to college. I feel I should have been a doctor.”– Ty Cobb
69 – Elliot Easton, American guitarist, and singer
@67 – Ray Liotta, American actor (d. 2022)
@59 – Joseph Grimaldi, known as “The Greatest Clown in History” (d. 1837; visitation by God)
59 – Brad Pitt, American actor
“Success is a beast. And it actually puts the emphasis on the wrong thing. You get away with more instead of looking within.”– Brad Pitt
@56 – Betty Grable, American actress (d. 1973; cancer)
54 – Casper Van Dien, American actor
@50 – Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (d. 1914; assassinated)
@50 – DMX (Earl Simmons), American rapper (d. 2021l cocaine induced heart attack)
44 – Katie Holmes, American actress
42 – Christina Aguilera, American singer-songwriter
@30 – Steve Biko, South African activist, founder of the Black Consciousness Movement (d. 1977; hemorrhage after torture)
“It is better to die for an idea that will live than to live for an idea that will die.”– Steve Biko 
21 – Billie Eilish, American pop singer

 

17 Dec

17 December 2022

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 51 Day 351 \ Ave. Sky Cover 5% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 24° \2° 
Wind 5mph \ Gusts 15mph  Air Quality: Fair \Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 339mi \ Nearest Lightning 1986mi
Dec Averages for Flagstaff: 43° \ 17° `
Sunshine & Brisk

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
Saturnalia: 17-23

Daily Observations

National Maple Syrup Day
Pan American Aviation Day
Wright Brothers Day
A Christmas Carol Day (Story)
Clean Air Day
National Wreaths Across America Day Link
Wright Brothers Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Another  cold morning. I warmed up to a sweltering 24° by noon.

Many were awaiting Trump’s big announcement. The wait was over when he introduced, for a mere $99, anyone could purchase an NFT Trading Card about Trump. He said you could follow his life by buying the set. The Conservatives are yelling about how bad the economy is and their leader wants them to buy a digital trading card that you can never really touch. I can’t wait to see how many are actually sold.

I follow a conservative guy on Facebook as he also runs a good site on happenings in Flagstaff. He posted that he is looking for a new church because his current church is not holding Christmas Day services because Christmas is on a Sunday this year.  I am dumbfounded that a Christian church would not honor the birth of Christ. I must be missing something.

Favorite Memes



 


 Actual temps from this morning.

 

Did you Know?

Run your fingers along the edge of a dime and you’ll notice the coin has a crimped edge. If you were to count those tiny grooves and valleys, you’d find 118 ridges, one less than is found on a quarter.

But not all American coins have ridges, and here’s why. Rippled edges on larger-denomination coins have been a part of American currency since the U.S. Mint’s early days, and they were a clever solution to a massive currency conundrum: counterfeiting and fraud. Around the 1700s, coins were an easy target for money-generating schemes, including coin clipping: People would clip or shave off slim portions of a coin’s outer edge, cashing in the scraps of precious silver and gold. In Great Britain, coin clipping was so common that the crown deemed it a form of treason. In early North American settlements, “coining” — the actual production of fake coins — was equally problematic.

Knowing this, American coin makers added grooved bands — called reeded edges — to the thin sides of dimes, quarters, and larger coins then made from silver, in order to prevent shaving and make fraud more difficult. (Pennies and nickels remained smooth-sided since they were pressed from less-valuable copper and nickel.) But reeded edges lost some of their utility when the Coinage Act of 1965 changed the composition of dimes and quarters from silver to a copper-nickel blend. Reeded edges remain today as a design choice, and because they help people with visual impairments differentiate among coins.   

Slang Origins

1938: Socko

Meaning: strikingly impressive, effective, successful

This word doesn’t come from the socks on your foot, but rather a "sock" to the face. It was used to describe something so impressive that it hits you in the face, like a movie with a socko actor.

Corny jokes

Why did the scarecrow win an award?
Because he was outstanding in his field.
….
Where can you buy soup in bulk?
The stock market.
….
If athletes get athlete’s foot, what do elves get?
Mistle-toes.

Historical Events

1843 – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was published.
1903 – The Wright brothers make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
1969 – Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closed its study of UFOs.
2101 – The Arab Spring began
2014 – The US and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961.

Birthdays Today

@91 – Alison Uttley, English children’s book writer (d.  1976)
86 – Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio), Argentinian priest
@84 – Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (d.  1979)
77 – Ernie Hudson, American actor, the ‘other’ Ghostbuster
“When someone asks if you’re a god, you say YES!”– Ernie Hudson
76 – Eugene Levy, Canadian actor
73 – Paul Rodgers, English singer-songwriter
“Live music is where you get the inspiration and creativity. I just try to keep an open mind, and that’s the way a lot of good things happen.”– Paul Rodgers
@54 – Burt Baskin, co-founded Baskin-Robbins (d.  1967; heart attack)
47 – Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American actress
44 – Chase Utley, American baseball player
“I’ve always been taught to play the game hard. Baseball is such a tough game, it really humbles you at times, you just have to try not to get too high or too low.”– Chase Utley
36 – Emma Bell, American actress  

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

 

Followers

Total Pageviews

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
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.