17 January 2023
Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 3 Day 17 \ Ave. Sky Cover 95% \ Visibility 1 mile Flagstaff Today 45° \25° Wind 4mph \ Gusts 9mph
Air Quality: Fair \Very Low Moderate High Extreme Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 563mi \ Nearest Lightning 1138mi
Jan Averages for Flagstaff: 44° \ 16° \5
Days of moisture
Today’s Quote
Weekly Observations
14-22
International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week
15-21
Healthy Weight Week
Hunt For Happiness Week
Idiom Week
National Activity Professionals Week
Sugar Awareness Week
16-20
No Name Calling Week Link
17-23
National
Fresh Squeezed Juice Week
Daily Observations
Cable
Car Day
Customer Service Day
Ditch Your New Year’s Resolutions Day
Hot Buttered Rum Day
Hot Heads Chili Day
Kid Inventors’ Day
International Mentoring Day Link
Judgment Day
Kid Inventors' Day
National Bootleggers Day
National Rye Whiskey Day Link
Popeye Day
World Scotch Pie Day Link
My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts
It
is still snowing. My area is now at more than 2 feet and still getting deeper.
It’s been over a decade since we have had this much snow. Schools are closed
today for MLK and are closed tomorrow for snow. I’m sure glad I’m retired and
don’t have to go anywhere.
I
was reminded this morning about AZ’s role in MLK day becoming a federal
holiday. Back in those dark political days, AZ was the last holdout state to
vote for MLK day. This was after the governor was impeached and the NFL
withdrew the Super Bowl from AZ. Glad it all worked out.
I
didn’t realize the depth of the Russian oligarchs in Cyprus until last night’s 60
Minutes. Cyprus used to offer a Golden Passport, that was good throughout
the European Union, for donations to the government. Many Russian oligarchs took
advantage and were therefore able to bypass many of the sanctions that were
being imposed on Russia and its citizens. In recent years Cyprus stopped the
Golden Passport plan, but still has not really taken any of the billions the
oligarchs have in real estate.
The Big 5 of Africa…lions, leopards,
elephants, African buffalo, & rhinoceroses
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Facts…
Mars has
more than 4,000 sand dune fields, so navigating the rugged off-Earth territory
takes some spacecraft preparation. That’s why NASA has tested two Viking
spacecraft at Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park, where the robots
experience extreme terrain and high temps.
Today,
scientists believe sand dunes produce their songs in part because of
avalanches. By nature, sand dunes shift as wind whips sand into new locations,
and it’s likely the humming sound occurs when air pushes through millions of
sand grains as they tumble into new positions. Even then, it takes a
combination of weather conditions to create the silty harmonies; generally,
sand must be extremely dry to emit sound.
Some of the
world’s loudest sand dunes are found in China in the Badain Jaran Desert,
reaching more than 1,600 feet tall and emitting sounds that peak at 105
decibels — the same volume as a music concert. In North America, the largest
sand dunes are all found within Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern
Colorado, reaching 741 feet at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains,
where scientists believe they have been singing their tune for nearly 12,000
years.
Slang Origins
1967: Sock it to me
Meaning: give it to me
This phrase became popular thanks to its
frequent use on the show “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in," which aired from
1968 to 1973. However, the year before the show aired, it also formed a
foundational part of the chorus to Aretha Franklin’s cover of Otis Redding’s
“Respect.” Franklin claimed in later interviews that she and her sister had
come up with the term after hearing it used by girls in their neighborhood.
UNESCO sites…
The Ruins of the Largest Roman Temple Are
in Modern-Day Lebanon
Situated in modern-day Lebanon, the
ancient Phoenician city of Baalbek was later conquered by the Roman Empire.
Here, you will find the ruins of the Roman Temple of Jupiter — the largest and
most ornate temple in the history of the Roman Empire. The temple was dedicated
during the reign of emperor Septimius Severus between 193 CE and 211 CE and is
part of a larger temple complex in Baalbek. After the Roman Empire fell, the
complex remained a place of holy pilgrimage. It survived through Christian and
Muslim rule until the rise of the Ottoman Empire, when the city was largely
abandoned and left to crumble.
Historical Events
1916 – The Professional Golfer’s
Association of America was founded.
1929 – Popeye the Sailor first appeared
in Thimble Theatre, Cartoon
1955 – The first nuclear powered
submarine, The Nautilus, launched
1966 – The Palomares (Spain) Hydrogen
accident took place, involving two US airplanes and four hydrogen bombs took
place.
Birthdays Today
@99 – Betty White, American actress, game show panelist, television
personality (d. 2022)
92
– James Earl Jones, American actor
@84 – Benjamin Franklin, publisher, businessman, inventor, politician
(d. 1790)
Those
who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety,
deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.– Benjamin Franklin
@84 – Vidal Sassoon, English-American hairdresser and
businessman (d. 2012)
The
only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.– Vidal Sassoon
84
– Maury Povich, American talk show host, producer
@81 – Eartha Kitt, actor, singer (d. 2008)
@74 – Muhammad Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.), boxer (d. 2016;
septic shock)
68
– Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., American lawyer and radio host
If
you want to be successful you have to jump, there’s no way around it. If you’re
safe, you’ll never soar.– Steve Harvey
66
– Steve Harvey, American comedian, television personality and game show host
You
are never too old to reinvent yourself.– Steve Harvey
@65 – Shari Lewis, American actress, puppeteer/ventriloquist, TV
host (d. 1998; cancer)
Self
esteem comes from doing something and accomplishing something.– Shari Lewis
61
– Jim Carrey, Canadian-American actor
59
– Michelle Obama, American lawyer, 46th First Lady of the United States
We
have this window of opportunity; we have a chance to make something real
happen. Something possible happen, to live beyond our fear – think about that,
and help us. Help lift us up, help us fight this fight to change – transform –
this country in a fundamental way. This chance won’t come around again.– Michelle
Obama
54
– Tiësto (Tijs Michiel Verwest), Dutch DJ, producer
52
– Kid Rock, American singer-songwriter
@48 – Al Capone, American mob boss (d. 1947; cardiac arrest)
Vote
early and vote often.– Al Capone
43
– Zooey Deschanel, American actress
My
goal as an actor is always to be as truthful as possible, and to find the truth
in the material I am representing. So I think that it’s the same with
performing music. But in a way, performing your own music, it’s easier to find
the truth in it, because it’s coming from yourself. There’s no translation
needed.– Zooey Deschanel
@35 – Andy Kaufman, American actor and comedian (d. 1984; lung cancer)
