11/24/13

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Flagstaff Almanac:

Week: 48 / Day: 328   

Today: L 32°…H 34°… Ave. humidity: 95%

Wind: ave:   6mph; Gusts:  20mph  

Average Low: 20° Record Low:  -7° (1902)

Average High: 48° Record High:  68° (1970)

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

1st live murder on TV-Jack Ruby shoots Lee Harvey Oswald…1963

1st time since 1800, residents of Wash DC permitted to vote…1964

1st US absentee voting law enacted by Vermont…1896

Air Force One, 1st US Presidential airplane, christened…1954

American Woman's Suffrage Association forms…1869

Brady bill passes establishing 5-day waiting period for handgun sales…1993

Charles Darwin publishes "On the Origin of Species"…1859

Clyde Coleman of NYC patents automobile electric starter…1903

Gangnam Style becomes the most viewed YouTube video; 808+ million views…2012

Ireland votes for independence from UK…1948

Ireland votes to end 70-year-old ban on divorce (50.28% to 49.72%)…1995

John Steinbeck's novel "Pearl" published…1947

Lt William L Calley charged with massacre of over 100 civilians in My Lai Vietnam…1969

National Rifle Association organized (NYC)…1871

New York City experiences the smoggiest day in the city's history. 400 die…1966 

Un-American Activities Committee finds "Hollywood 10" in contempt…1947

US admits troops in Vietnam were exposed to the toxic Agent Orange…1979

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

How many can you identify? Answers in Today’s Birthdays

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

So excited….got to read the newspaper and the comics with no problem.  So cool. Also read up for tonight’s Great Decisions discussion group. The topic is Changing Demographics. Should be good as we are talking about age groups, life expectancy, birth rates, immigration and emigration in various parts of the world. Somehow I wish that our current Congress and state legislature members could be present. They all seem so short sighted in their world view. Without understanding the impact of demographics on just about everything, one can hardly be a leader.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

Mr. Black, Mr. Gray, and Mr. White are fighting in a truel (duel with three people). They each get a gun and take turns shooting at each other until only one person is left. Mr. Black, who hits his shot 1/3 of the time, gets to shoot first. Mr. Gray, who hits his shot 2/3 of the time, gets to shoot next, assuming he is still alive. Mr. White, who hits his shot all the time, shoots next, assuming he is also alive. The cycle repeats. If you are Mr. Black, where should you shoot first for the highest chance of survival?

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Ragtime Piano : SCOTT JOPLIN . " The Entertainer " (1902)

• Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.

• Actor Pat Morita on being held in a Japanese Internment camp

• Arthur Hailey: Storyteller (1979)

• The inspiration for Murdock

Very Strange Laws…Oklahoma

• One may not promote a “horse tripping event”.

• It is illegal for the owner of a bar to allow anyone inside to pretend to have sex with a buffalo.

• Oral sex is a misdemeanor and is punisable by one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

• Anyone arrested for soliciting a hooker must have their name and picture shown on television.

• Females are forbidden from doing their own hair without being licensed by the state.

• It’s statutory rape for a man over 18 to have sex with a female under the age of 18, provided she’s a virgin.

• Dogs must have a permit signed by the mayor in order to congregate in groups of three or more on private property.

• Tattoos are banned. (Repealed, Effective 11/1/2006.

• Oklahoma will not tolerate anyone taking a bite out of another’s hamburger.

• No one may spit on a sidewalk.

• It is against the law to read a comic book while operating a motor vehicle.

• It is illegal to wear your boots to bed.

• Whaling is illegal.

• It is illegal to have sex before you are married.

• It is illegal to have the hind legs of farm animals in your boots.

• Fish may not be contained in fishbowls while on a public bus.

• Residents are taxed for the furniture in their homes, and any other personal belongings.

• Tissues are not to be found in the back of one’s car.

• People who make “ugly faces” at dogs may be fined and/or jailed.

• Cars must be tethered outside of public buildings.

• Ada--If you wear New York Jets clothing, you may be put in jail.

• Bartlesville--If ones dog is run over by a car, the owner must pay for the dog’s disposal. /No person may own more than two adult cats. /It is illegal to cause “annoying vibrations” in the city limits. /Persons may not play catch on any city street.

• Clinton--Any person who leans against a public building will be subject to fines. /Molesting an automobile is illegal.

• Hawthahorne--It is unlawful to put any hypnotized person in a display window.

• Moore--It is illegal to drive with a trailer hitch on your vehicle.

• Oklahoma City--The mayor may not go on strike. /While it is legal to serve alcohol in a pool hall, all intoxicated persons must leave the premises. /One may not tip over a casket at a funeral. /It is illegal to own a stink bomb. /No one may walk backwards downtown while eating a hamburger.

• Tulsa--You may not open a soda bottle without the supervision of a licensed engineer. /Elephants are not to be taken into the downtown area.

 

OK Then…

Harper’s Index 

• Chances a US public school had a full-time security guard in 1997: 1 in 17
• Today:  1 in 3

Unusual Fact of the Day

Whiskey is clear when it is first distilled. It gets it's color and much of it's taste from the oak barrels in which it is aged.

Joke-of-the-day

Q: Why can't idiots make Kool-Aid? A: They can't get a quart of water to stay in the envelope  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

TIME TO SEASON FIREWOOD

For hardwoods, season wood for 1 year if split and for 2 years if not split prior to burning.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A Florida man who wore a sweatshirt bearing a recipe for crack cocaine to court pleaded no contest to narcotics trafficking charges. Christopher Patterson, 27, who previously served time for felony cocaine possession, entered no contest pleas Tuesday in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom to distribution and conspiracy charges related to the sale of the painkiller Oxycodone to an undercover investigator, The Smoking Gun reported Thursday. Patterson, who sentenced to three years in prison, was photographed in a courtroom last year wearing a hooded sweatshirt bearing a cartoon-like recipe for crack cocaine and a caption reading, "Stack Paper Say Nothing." The sweatshirt had a zipper pull in the shape of a handgun. The picture was taken by a lawyer who noticed the sweatshirt's images in the courtroom.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• The Bible  is a canonical collection of texts considered sacred in Judaism as well as in Christianity. 

• Out of the 6,800 languages in the world, the complete Bible has been translated into 438. It is also estimated that the total worldwide sales of the Bible comes up to six billion.

• Did you know that during the celebration ‘Saturnalia’ in ancient Rome masters used to provide table service for their slaves due to a social egalitarianism spirit? Saturnalia was is honor of the deity Saturn held in the 17th of December of the Julian calendar and the Greek equivalent was ‘Kronia’.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

22-28: National Farm-City Week
24-30: Better Conversation Week / Church-State Separation Week / National Bible Week / National Family Week  /National Game & Puzzle Week

Today Is                                                                      

·        Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day

·        D.B. Cooper Day: 1971 plane jump

·        Mother Goose Day

Today’s Events through History  

"Guys & Dolls" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 1200 performances…1950

1st Lutheran pastor ordained in America…1703

Abel Janzoon Tasman discovers Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania)…1642

Dan "DB" Cooper parachutes from a Northwest AL 727 with $200,000…1971

FBI Crime Lab officially opens…1932

Joseph F Glidden patents barbed wire…1874

Rabbi Nathan ben Yehiel of Rome completes Talmudic dictionary…1105

River Thames freezes…1434

River Thames freezes…1715

Wilt Chamberlain pulls down 55 rebounds in a game (NBA record)…1960

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Oscar Robertson [The Big O], NBA guard Olympic-gold-1960 is 75

Pete Best, British drummer (Beatles) is 72

Dwight Schultz, actor (A-Team) is 66

Damon Evans, actor (Lionel-The Jeffersons) is 63

Katherine Heigl, actress (Grey's Anatomy) is 35

Remembered for being born today

Zachary Taylor, (Whig) 12th Pres [1784-1850]

Thomas Dick, Scottish scientific teacher and writer [1774-1857]

Collodi, [Carlo Lorenzini], Italian author (Pinocchio) [1826-1890]

Scott Joplin, ragtime entertainer and composer (The Entertainer) [1867-1917]

Dale Carnegie, author (How to Win Friends & Influence People) [1888-1955]

Ted Bundy, Burlington VT, serial murderer [1946-1989]

Howard Duff, actor (Flamingo Road, Knots Landing) [1913-1990]

William F. Buckley Jr, conservative author and commentator [1925-2008]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Arthur Hailey, British-born author (Hotel)…2004…@84

George Raft, actor (Scarface, Johnny Angel, Mr Ace)…leukemia…1980…@79

Pat Morita, actor (Happy Days, Karate Kid)…renal failure…2005…@73

James J Kilroy, tank inspector (Kilroy was here)…1962…@60

Héctor Camacho, Puerto Rican boxer…gunshot injuries…2012…@50

Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK's assassinator…shot by Jack Ruby…1963…@24

Brain Teasers

He should shoot at the ground.

If Mr. Black shoots the ground, it is Mr. Gray's turn. Mr. Gray would rather shoot at Mr. White than Mr. Black, because he is better. If Mr. Gray kills Mr. White, it is just Mr. Black and Mr. Gray left, giving Mr. Black a fair chance of winning. If Mr. Gray does not kill Mr. White, it is Mr. White's turn. He would rather shoot at Mr. Gray and will definitely kill him. Even though it is now Mr. Black against Mr. White, Mr. Black has a better chance of winning than before.

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.

All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

§    And That Is All for Now  §

11/23/13

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Flagstaff Almanac:

Week: 47/ Day: 327   

Today: L 32°…H 36°… Ave. humidity: 93%

Wind: ave:   7mph; Gusts:  29mph  

Average Low: 20° Record Low:  -4° (1931)

Average High: 48° Record High:  69° (1954)

Quote of the Day

 

Today’s Historical Highlights

10,000,000 cellular telephone sold…1992

1st issue of Life, picture magazine created by Henry R Luce…1936

1st woman to lead an African country Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, elected president of Liberia…2005

3rd Olympic games close in St Louis…1904

60 Ethiopia government officials executed…1974

Annapolis Maryland, becomes US capital (until June 1784)…1783

Beatles release "I Feel Fine" & "She's a Woman"…1964

British Forces Broadcasting Service begins operation…1943

Coast Guard Woman's Auxiliary (SPARS) authorized…1942

Debut of 1st jukebox (Palais Royale Saloon, San Francisco)…1889

Dr Frank G Back (NYC) patents lens to provide zoom effects…1948

Dumbarton, Scotland, the clipper Cutty Sark is launched - one of the last clippers 

     ever to be built, and the only one still surviving to this day…1869

English parliament expels Jesuits…1584

Enrico Caruso US debut (Metropolitan Opera House, NY) in "Rigoletto"…1903

FCC drops limits on duration & frequency of TV ads…1982

Manchester Martyrs were hanged in Manchester, England for rescuing two Irish men

     from jail…1867

Pencil sharpener patented by J L Love…1897

Pink Floyd's "The Wall" released, sells 6 million copies in 2 weeks…1979

Pres Harding signs Willis Campell Act (anti-beer bill) forbidding doctors prescribing 

     beer or liquor for medicinal purposes…1921

US Army retreats from Mexico…1914

US wartime rationing of foods, including meat & butter, ends…1945

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

How many can you identify? Answers in Today’s Birthdays

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

Weatherman was right…lots of moisture in Flagstaff. It rained much of the night, then sometime turned to snow. I awoke ato about 2” of snow. There was light snow most of the morning, then it turned to rain and melted much of the snow. It has continued to rain on and off…mostly on…the rest of the day. By tomorrow it will be snow again.

 

I can’t wait for my new lenses to get used to their new eyes. My glasses are now totally useless, which is a good thing. Small type, like the newspaper or magazine is still pretty blurry most of the time but computer screen—set on large—TV and distant vision are great. Everyday gets a little better. I’m still in awe of the procedure. While the doctor thought I might have more irritation in second eye, the irritation was gone by the afternoon of the next day. The first eye had no irritation after the first day. I didn’t need numbing drops for the first eye, and only needed them for the second eye through the second day.  So happy I did it.

 

All the news networks interrupted their programming at 11:30 Flag time to show the remembrance ceremony in Dallas and at Arlington. ABC ran a montage of JFK that certainly brought tears to many watching. I can’t believe how it still stirs so much emotion after half a century. But for those of us who remember that day, I guess it always will.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

Replace each word or words in parentheses with a one-word synonym to decipher a common holiday. (The first holiday is only one word long. The second and third are two words long.)

1. (Right of north ) (she) 

2. (Hotel) D (ink stick) (boogie) (24 hours) 3. (Work) (24 hours)

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• The Beatles (I Feel Fine) 1965

• Roy Acuff - Wabash Cannonball

• Jr. Walker & The All-Stars – Shotgun

• Jesus Christ Superstar -- Live Arena Tour

Very Strange Laws…Massachusetts

• It is illegal to give beer to hospital patients.

• Candy may not contain more than 1% of alcohol.

• Shooting ranges may not set up targets that resemble human beings.

• Tattooing and body piercing is illegal. (Repealed in 2000)

• Children may smoke, but they may not purchasecigarettes.

• At a wake, mourners may eat no more than three sandwiches.

• Tomatoes may not be used in the production of clam chowder.

• Snoring is prohibited unless all bedroom windows are closed and securely locked.

• Quakers and witches are banned.

• An old ordinance declares goatees illegal unless you first pay a special license fee for the privilege of wearing one in public.

• Bullets may not be used as currency.

• Taxi drivers are prohibited from making love in the front seat of their taxi during their shifts.

• Massachusetts liquor stores can only open on Sundays if they are in Berkshire, Essex, Franklin, Middlesex or Worcester counties and are within 10 miles of the Vermont or New Hampshire borders.

• All men must carry a rifle to church on Sunday.

• Alcoholic drink specials are illegal.

• Hunting on Sundays is prohibited.

• Public boxing matches are outlawed.

• It is illegal to go to bed without first having a full bath.

• A woman can not be on top in sexual activities.

• No gorilla is allowed in the back seat of any car.

• Boston--It is illegal to eat peanuts in church. /An old law prohibits the taking of baths on Sunday /Duels to the death permitted on the common on Sundays provided that the Governor is present. /Women may not wear heels over 3 inches in length while on the common. /No one may take a bath without a prescription. /It is illegal for any citizen to own more than three dogs. /It is illegal to play the fiddle. /Two people may not kiss in front of a church. /No more than two baths may be taken within the confines of the city. /No one may cross the Boston Common without carrying a shotgun in case of bears. /Anyone may let their sheep and cows graze in the public gardens or commons at any time except Sundays

• Burlington--You may not walk around with a “drink”.

• Concord--One may not sell or distribute bottled water in Concord

• Marlborough--Silly string is illegal in the city limits

OK Then…

Harper’s Index 

• Percentage of students enrolled in Afghan school that were girls in 2001: 0

• Percentage that are girls today: 40

Unusual Fact of the Day

Opossums don't "play dead." When frightened, they become overexcited and pass out.

Joke-of-the-day

“Honey,” says a husband to his wife, “I invited a friend home for supper.”

“What? Are you crazy? The house is a mess. I haven’t been shopping, all the dishes are dirty, and I don’t feel like cooking a fancy meal!!”

“I know all that.”

“Then why did you invite a friend for supper?”

“Because the poor fool’s thinking about getting married.”  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

ATTENDING A MEETING

A meeting is not worth the trip if it will take you longer to get there than the meeting itself will last.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

Alan Markovitz recently moved into his home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where he had erected a 12-foot high statue of a hand extending a middle finger. Well, he does own three strip clubs in Detroit and recently wrote a book about his entrepreneurship, which is reportedly being turned into a TV reality series. So apparently he has the coin to do what he wants and who is to say what is art, right? 

The kicker is that his new house is immediately next door to the home where his ex-wife now lives with her new lover, whom she reportedly had an affair with while being married to Markovitz.

Markovitz told local news that his plan was to get even the ex-wife's new lover, and never meant for the matter be made public. However, it soon grabbed local attention when the ex-wife's daughter posted a picture of the statue on twitter.

The installation of the statue also included a spotlight to keep the message illuminated at all hours of the day.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Wood frogs freeze solid in winter and thaw back to life in spring.

• An adult crocodile can go two years without eating.

• In its lifetime an alligator will go through as many as 3,000 teeth.

• If a chameleon loses a fight, it turns gray. If it wins, it turns green.

• The jaws of a decapitated snapping turtle can keep snapping for about a day.

• Some snakes can go an entire year without eating.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

17-23: American Education Week / National Book Awareness Week

22-28: National Farm-City Week

Today Is                                                                       

·        Dr. Who Day Premiers 1963

·        Family Volunteer Day

·        Fibonacci Day (Leonardo of Pisa, better known as Fibonacci, is responsible for the Fibonacci Sequence (or Fibonacci numbers) – a pattern of counting where each number is the sum of the previous two. As well as being prevalent in nature, this kind of system is used widely in computer data storage and processing,)

·        International Aura Awareness Day

·        National Adoption Day

·        National Survivors of Suicide Day 

·        Tie One On Day

~~~~~

·        Japan: Labor Thanksgiving Day (commemorating labor and production and giving one another thanks)

Today’s Events through History  

"Jesus Christ Superstar" opens at Longacre Theater NYC for 96 perfs…1977

Andrew J Beard invents "jerry coupler," to connect railroad cars…1897

Colorado Governor sends the state militia into Cripple Creek to break up a 

     miners' strike…1903

Freddie Mercury, 45, confirms he has AIDS the day before he dies…1991

John Steinbeck's "Of Mice & Men" premieres in NYC…1937

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Miley Cyrus, Nashville, Tennessee, actress and singer (Hannah Montana) is 21

Remembered for being born today

Fraknlin Pierce, Hillsboro NH, (D) 14th Pres [1804-1869]

Billy the Kid, [William H Bonney], NYC, frontier outlaw [1859-1881]

Jose Clemente Orozco, Mexico, painter (Epic of Culture in New World) [1883-1964]

Harpo Marx, [Adolph] NYC, actor/comedian (Marx brothers) [1888-1964]

Boris Karloff, [William H Pratt], Dulwich England, actor (Frankenstein) [1887-1969]

Robert Barnard, British mystery writer [1936-2013]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Ray Acuff, country singer (Wahbash Cannonball)…1992…@89

Ten Bears (Parra-Wa-Samen), US poet/Comanche chief…1872…@82ish

Seán T. O'Kelly, President of Ireland…1966…@84

Larry Hagman, actor…throat cancer…2012…@81

Oscar Griffin Jr, journalist and 1963 Pulitzer Prize winner…cancer…2011…@78

Elbrige Gerry, 5^th VP (of Gerrymander fame)…1814…@70

Merle Oberon, actress (Assignment Foreign Legion)…stroke…1979…@68

Jr. Walker, Motown musician…cancer…1995…@64

Walter Reed, US bacteriologist (Yellow Fever)… peritonitis…1902…@51

Ladislaus V Posthumus, king of Hungary/Bohemia…leukemia…1457…@17

Brain Teasers

1. Easter (east + her)

2. Independence Day (inn + d + pen + dance + day)

3. Labor Day

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.

All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

§    And That Is All for Now  §