3 Apr

 

April 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 14 Day 93 \ Ave. Sky Cover 5% \ Visibility 21 miles Flagstaff Today 62° \25°  Wind 10mph \ Gusts 21mph 
Air Quality: Moderate  \ Moderate Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 302mi \ Nearest Lightning 683mi
Apr. Averages for Flagstaff: 60° \ 27° \3 Days of moisture
Sunshine

Today’s Quote

 

Monthly Observations

Defeat Diabetes Month
Distracted Driving Awareness Month Link
Emotional Overeating Awareness Month
Fair Housing Month Link
Financial Literacy Month Link
Fresh Florida Tomatoes Month
Genocide and Human Rights Awareness Month  Link
Global Astronomy Month
Global Child Nutrition Month Link
Grange Month

Weekly Observations

3/19-4/16
National Cherry Blossom Festival 
3/22-4/20
Consider Christianity Week
International Phace Syndrome Awareness Week
National Cleaning Week
3/26-4/9
Passiontide
Apr. 1-7
APAWS Pooper Scooper  Week
Golden Rule Week
Laugh at Work Week
Medication Safety Week
Testicular Cancer Awareness Week (aka Get A Grip Day!) 
Week of The Young Child  
2-8
Bat Appreciation WeekHoly Week
National Blue Ribbon Week (Child Abuse)
National Public Health Week
National Window Safety Week
2-9
World Irish Dancing Week
3-9
Explore Your Career Options Week

Daily Observations

Chocolate Mousse Day
Don't Go To Work Unless It's Fun Day  Link  
Fan Dance Day
Find A Rainbow Day Link 
National Film Score Day 
National Film Score Day Link
National IEP Writing Day
Pony Express Day
Tater Day ( It's Sweet Potatoes)  Link 
Tweed Day
Walk to Work Day
Weed Out Hate
World Party Day 
Tweed Day
Walk to Work Day
Weed Out Hate
World Party Day  Link 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

A nice spring day.

Last night while preparing dinner, I knocked a 2 lb. box of spaghetti onto the floor.  I had already measured out the first use and as the box fell the remainder of the spaghetti flew out all over the floor. Clean up was no fun.

Flagstaff has had a lot of snow this winter. I can only say that the snow here is nothing compared to the mid-west Spring tornado season. Seeing the aftermath where entire towns are nothing but rubble, is devastating.

Enjoy…

Facts…

While this isn't a huge surprise, the exact inflation percentage of US college tuition from 1980 to 2020 is more than five times the percentage of overall US inflation. 

More Slang origins…

Tarnation

This is another famous Southern exclamation that we’re sure many of our readers have heard, usually in a sentence like “What in tarnation?”

So what does tarnation even mean? Scholars believe that it evolved from a mixture of “eternal” and damnation.” Mix those words together, and you’re left with something like “tarnation.” Obviously, eternal damnation is something worth getting worked up over!

Beauty in our 50 states…

15. Maine

Maine residents know they’ve got some of the best natural scenery in the Northeast and are totally content with you just sticking to the Portland area to eat lobstah so there’s more room up north for them. In addition to possessing some of the most breathtaking coastline in America (with thousands of jagged islands offshore bringing the total mileage of pebbly beach to over 3,000), Maine’s got the gorgeous Acadia National Park, Mount Katahdin (the tip of the Appalachian Trail), and countless acres of dense wilderness and rugged seashore for the L.L. Bean types (it’s basically, like, their uniform up there).

Historical Events

1860 – The first United States Pony Express run from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California took began.
2000 – Microsoft was ruled to have violated United States antitrust law by keeping “an oppressive thumb” on its competitors in United States v. Microsoft Corp.
2016 – The Panama Papers, a leak of legal documents, revealed information on 214,488 offshore companies.

Birthdays Today

@97 – Doris Day(Doris Mary Kappelhoff), actor (d. 2019)
89 – Jane Goodall, English primatologist, anthropologist
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”– Jane Goodall
@80 – Marlon Brando, American actor (d. 2004)
81 – Marsha Mason, American actress
81 – Wayne Newton, American singer
“If it were not for the bad things that’ve happened to me, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”– Wayne Newton
79 – Tony Orlando, American singer
@76 – Washington Irving, short story writer, essayist, historian (d. 1859; heart attack)
“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.”– Washington Irving
70 – Sandra Boynton, American author, illustrator
“The greatest tragedies were written by the Greeks and Shakespeare…neither knew chocolate.”– Sandra Boynton
@73 – Billy Joe Royal, American singer-songwriter, guitarist (d. 2015; in sleep)
@69 – Bud Fisher, American cartoonist [Mutt & Jeff] (d. 1954; cancer)
65 – Alec Baldwin, American actor and comedian
64 – David Hyde Pierce, American actor
62 – Eddie Murphy, American comedic actor
@55 – William ‘Boss’ Tweed, American politician (d. 1878; pneumonia in prison)
“I don’t care who does the electing, as long as I get to do the nominating.”– Boss Tweed
51 – Jennie Garth, American actress
@50 – Leslie Howard, English actor (d. 1943; plane crash…shot down by Nazi)
50 – Adam Scott, American actor
@43 – Lyle Alzado, American football player, actor (d. 1992; cancer)
41 – Cobie Smulders, Canadian actress
@40 – Ray Combs, American game show host (d. 1996; suicide)
37 – Amanda Bynes, American actress
24 – Paris Jackson, American celebrity

 
 

2 Apr

 

April 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 14 Day 91 \ Ave. Sky Cover 10% \ Visibility 20 miles Flagstaff Today 63° \20°  Wind 5mph \ Gusts 11mph 
Air Quality: Fair \ Moderate Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 98mi \ Nearest Lightning 1357miApr. Averages for Flagstaff: 60° \ 27° \3 Days of moisture
Sunshine

Today’s Quote

 

Monthly Observations

Beaver Awareness Month
Car Care Month
Celebrate Diversity Month
Child Abuse Prevention Month
(International) Cesarean Awareness Month Link
Community Spirit Days (1-30)
Confederate History Month
Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Month  Link
Couple Appreciation Month

Weekly Observations

3/19-4/16
National Cherry Blossom Festival 
3/22-4/20
Consider Christianity Week
International Phace Syndrome Awareness Week
National Cleaning Week
3/26-4/9
Passiontide
3/30-4/2
Mule Days
3-31-4/2
        American Crossword Puzzle Days 
Apr. 1-7
APAWS Pooper Scooper  Week
Golden Rule Week
Laugh at Work Week
Medication Safety Week
Testicular Cancer Awareness Week (aka Get A Grip Day!) 
Week of The Young Child  
2-8
Bat Appreciation Week
Holy Week
National Blue Ribbon Week   (Child Abuse)
National Public Health Week
National Window Safety Week

Daily Observations

Burrito Day
Children’s Book Day
Dictionary Day  Link
Ferret Day
Geologists Day Link 
International Children's Book Day
National Education and Sharing Day 
International Children's Book Day
National Education and Sharing Day Link 
National Ferret Day 
National Ferret Day Link
National Love Your Produce Manager Day
National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day Link
Nickelodeon Day
Palm Sunday
Peanut Butter And Jelly Day
Pharmacists in Public Health Day
Reconciliation Day
World Autism Day Link
World Autism Acceptance Day Link 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Another great spring day. Time to start keeping the windows open on these kinds of days.

My tax return is giving me a nice chuck of change from both the Feds and the state. Nice!

I heard an interesting report on my local NPR station this morning. We have all heard the complaint that kids spend too much time on their smart phones. We also know there are lots of cars on the streets and highways of America. In 2023 there are more guns owned by Americans than either smart phones or cars.  Somehow I don’t think this is statistic the founding fathers saw coming.

Enjoy…

Facts…

Of these 14 chip brands, Cheetos has the highest percentage of air per bag. According to this study, the average bag of chips is 43% air. 

More Slang origins…

A Hankering For

You’ve probably heard this one before. If you’ve got a hankering for something, it means that you’ve got a strong desire for it. For example, you might have a hankering for some fried chicken.

Well, where does the word “hankering” even come from? Believe it or not, this is actually a Dutch word which means “hang.” We’re not sure how it evolved into a word meaning desire… But it did!

Beauty in our 50 states…

16. Idaho

Quick: what states contain a piece of Yellowstone? Most people will name Wyoming and Montana, but Idaho also claims a slice of the national park pie. Surprises like that lay all across Idaho, which is arguably America’s most under-appreciated state for scenery. The Sawtooth Mountains have some of the best mountain biking in America, while the snow-capped peaks at Coeur d’Alene make it a world-class skiing destination. And all the state’s beauty is best taken in with a trip down the Snake River, winding through mountains and scenic meadows.

Historical Events

1513 – Ponce de Leon discovered Florida.
1792 – The United States Mint was established via the Coinage Act.
1878 – The first White House Easter Egg Roll took place.
1917 – The Great War: US President Woodrow Wilson asked the American Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.
1982 – April 2 – June 15: The Faulkland Islands War.
2006 – Over 60 tornadoes break out in the United States.

Birthdays Today

@95 – Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (d. 2003)
@86 – Sir Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)
@84 – Max Ernst, German painter, sculptor, and poet (d. 1976)
82 – Dr. Demento (Barret Eugene Hansen), American radio host
78 – Linda Hunt, American actress
76 – Emmylou Harris, American singer-songwriter
@74 – Leon Russell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2016; heart attack)
I love you in a place where there’s no space or time
I love you for my life ’cause you’re a friend of mine– Leon Russell
@73 – Casanova Giovaani Giacomo Girolama, Italian adventurer (d. 1798)
“Be the flame, not the moth.”– Casanova Girolama
@70 – Hans Christian Andersen, Danish novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1875)
“The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things.”– Hans Christian Andersen
@66 – Charlemagne, Frankish king (d. 814; pleurisy)
“If the populace knew with what idiocy they were ruled, they would revolt.”– Charlemagne
@62 – Emile Zola, French naturalist (d. 1902; carbon monoxide)
“If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud.”– Emile Zola
62 – Christopher Meloni, American actor
@61 – Charles White, African-American artist (d. 1979; heart failure)
61 – Clark Gregg, American actor, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
@62 – Jack Webb, American actor, director, producer, screenwriter (d. 1982; heart attack)
@44 – Marvin Gaye, American singer-songwriter (d. 1984; shot by father)

 
 

1 Apr

 

1 April 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 13 Day 91 \ Ave. Sky Cover 5% \ Visibility 20 miles Flagstaff Today 52° \14°  Wind 3mph \ Gusts 9mph 
Air Quality: Fair \Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 347mi \ Nearest Lightning 843mi
Apr. Averages for Flagstaff: 60° \ 27° \3 Days of moisture
Sunshine

April Fool’s DayNobody’s sure when the whole April Fools Day thing started.  April Fools’ Day has been celebrated for centuries, but the origin of this day is still shrouded in mystery. Some historians believe it dates back to 1582 when France changed from the Julia calendar to the Gregorian calendar. Those who forgot or refused to accept the new calendar system were considered “fools” and sent on “errands,” such as visiting nonexistent locations with playful imitation scrolls and other paper novelty items that declared them April Fools.

Other scholars contend that April Fools’ Day began around 536 AD when PopeGregory III designated April 1st as a day of celebration called “All Fool’s Day.” This allowed people to laugh and make jokes instead of observing religious holidays during this time.

In 1392, in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, there was a reference to March 32, which could be APRIL 1st.

On April Fools’ Day 1957, on a BBC show called Panorama – they showed a family in Switzerland harvesting spaghetti from the family “spaghetti tree” at a SWISS HARVEST FESTIVAL, documentary style. At the time, spaghetti wasn’t really a thing in England, and people many people thought it was true. But not all hoaxes are limited to April 1st, one of the earliest documented purposeful hoaxes was in 1835, when The New York Sun Newspaper ran stories for six days about life on the moon – goats, unicorns, walking beavers, and bat-like winged humanoids. It increased sales, but they never printed a retraction.

Today’s Quote

Monthly Observations

Adopt A Ferret Month
Adopt A Horse Month (4/26 - 5/31)
Adopt A Greyhound Month Link
Atlanta Food & Wine Month
Arab American Heritage Month Link
ASPCA Month  Link  Link
Alcohol Awareness Month
Amateur Radio Month
Autism Acceptance Month  Link
Autism Awareness Month Link

Weekly Observations

3/19-4/16
National Cherry Blossom Festival 
3/22-4/20
Ramadan
3/26-4/1
Consider Christianity Week
International Phace Syndrome Awareness Week
National Cleaning Week
3/26-4/9
Passiontide
3/26-4/1
Passion Week
3/29-4/1
International Listening Association Week
3/30-4/2
Mule Days
3-31-4/2
American Crossword Puzzle Days 

Apr. 1-7
APAWS Pooper Scooper  Week
Golden Rule Week
Laugh at Work Week
Medication Safety Week
Testicular Cancer Awareness Week (aka Get A Grip Day!) 
Week of The Young Child

Daily Observations

April Fools or All Fools Day
Boomer Bonus Days
Every Day is Tag Day Link
Fun at Work Day
International Pillow Fight Day
International Tatting Day Link
Library Snap Shot Day
Myles Day
National Fun Day
National Hand Made Day  Link 
National Love Our Children Day
National Play Outside Day Link
Poetry & The Creative Mind Day
Reading is Funny Day
Sorry Charlie Day
Sourdough Bread Day
St. Stupid Day Link
Take Down Tobacco Day Link  (Formerly Kick Butts Day)
Tangible Karma Day
Time Warp Days Link
US Air force Academy Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

April has arrived. Hoping for Spring weather without snow…rain would be great…

This morning I had an early blood draw for upcoming appointments. All went well. This afternoon I pick up my taxes. Hoping for a good return.

For months the news was full of ‘Will he or Won’t be indicted?’ Now everyone speculates his actions at the court. He’s been making headlines: the first impeachment, the second impeachment, the big lie, and on and on. Just let the system do what has been doing forever. I don’t need a bunch of people telling me what to expect.  

Enjoy…

 

Facts…

Richard Nixon once smuggled a suitcase full of weed through the airport for Louis Armstrong. 

More Slang origins…

Like a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

If you’re like a cat on a hot tin roof, you’re agitated and nervous to the point of almost hysteria.

Beauty in our 50 states…

17. New York

New York State is too often defined by New York City. Too bad, 'cause the wilder reaches of the state rivals the diversity of almost any other. Consider: New York has three coasts (Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the Atlantic) and two distinct mountain ranges (the Catskills and the Adirondacks). It claims a slice of Lake Champlain and all of the Finger Lakes. Plus the prettier half of Niagara Falls—there's a reason the best views come when you stand on the Canadian side. Conservation is an ongoing battle in New York, but the state has done an admirable job of securing natural spaces for wildlife and wild people to enjoy. The Empire State has more publicly owned land by percentage than any state east of the Mississippi and is No. 1 in the country for percentage of land owned by the state itself. (Thanks, New York City tax base!)

Historical Events

1891 – The Wrigley (Chewing Gum) Company was founded in Chicago, Illinois.
April 1 is known as April Fools Day or All Fools’ Day in many countries.
1976 – Apple Inc. was formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in Cupertino, California. 12 days later, Ronald sold his 10% share of the new company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800.“What can I say? You make a decision based on your understanding of the circumstances, and you live with it.” – Ronald Wayne
1997 – Comet Hale-Bopp was seen passing at perihelion.

Birthdays Today

112 – Fauja Singh, Indian runner…last marathon in 2013 @101
@92 – Jane Powell, American actress, singer, dancer
@84 – Debbie Reyonlds, American actress (d. 2021)
@83 – Otto von Bismarck, German lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of the German Empire (d. 1898)
“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”– Otto von Bismarck
83 – Ali MacGraw, American actress
“I’m learning how to live in the present and be grateful for what’s working rather than looking for the ‘what’s not working’ piece.”– Ali MacGraw
73 – Samuel Alito, lawyer, Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court
“The First Amendment, I think, is the jewel of our Constitution.”– Samuel Alito
62 – Susan Boyle, Scottish singer
56 – Chris Evans, English radio, television host
50 – Rachel Maddow, American journalist and author
@47 – Lon Chaney, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1930, hemorrhage)
“My whole career has been devoted to keeping people from knowing me.”– Lon Chaney
42 – Bijou Phillips, American actress, model
“I can’t change the world. I have to fix me.”– Bijou Phillips
28 – Logan Paul, American Youtuber