Dec 3

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

Dec 4, 2018 Week: 49 \ Day: 337

86004 Today: H 32° \ L 12° \ Average Sky Cover: 5% 

Wind:   12mph\Gusts: - mph Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 67°[1977]   Record Low: -2°[1968]

Nov Averages: 43°\17°

Today’s Quote

Conflict cannot survive

without your participation.

Wayne Dyer

Random Tidbits

Walking Under A Ladder: Early Christians felt the triangle was a sacred sign that represented the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When a ladder was pushed against a building, it would form the shape of a triangle, and thus, by walking under it, you were breaking the triangle. This was such a bad thing to do that early Christians would often label anyone who walked under a ladder to be a witch in league with Satan.

***

Black Cats: While most Western cultures consider black cats to be bad luck, many areas of the UK consider them to be a good omen. In fact, it's likely because the Pagan groups from these areas considered them to be good luck for so long that early Christians started spreading stories of the cats being evil. Specifically, these stories often tied black cats to witches, which makes a lot of sense given that they also accused Pagans of being witches.

Observances This Week

           

1-7

Cookie Cutter Week Link
National Hand Washing Awareness Week Link  
Recipe Greetings For The Holidays Week
Computer Science Education Week  Link

2-6
International Coelenterate Biology Week Link
Older Driver Safety Awareness Week Link  

3-24
Andisop (Meteorological Fiddling)   Link

3-10
Clerc-Gallaudet Week

Observances for Today

           

International Day of Persons With Disabilities

Make a Gift Day

National Peppermint Latte Day

National Roof over Your Head Day

Today’s Significant Historical Events

1800’s

1818 Illinois becomes 21st state USA (Admission day)

1833 Oberlin College in Ohio, the first truly coeducational college, opens

1834 First US dental society organized (NY)

1847 Frederick Douglass publishes first issue of his newspaper "North Star"

1881 Henry Morton Stanley founds Leopoldville (now Kinshasa)

1900’s

1911 Willis Carrier presents his influential "Rational Psychrometric Formulae" on air conditioning to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers

1926 Detective novelist Agatha Christie mysteriously disappears for 11 days

1931 Alka Seltzer goes on sale

1947 Tennessee Williams' "Streetcar Named Desire" premieres in NYC

1969 John Lennon is offered role of Jesus Christ in Jesus Christ Superstar

1971 US President Richard Nixon commutes Jimmy Hoffa's jail term

1984 Bhopal disaster: Union Carbide pesticide plant leak 45 tons of methyl isocyanate and other toxic compounds in Bhopal, India, kills 2,259 (official figure) - other estimates as high as 16,000 (including later deaths) and over half a million injured

1989 Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H. W. Bush, declare the Cold War over

2000’s

2015 US Defense Secretary Ash Carter announces all combat roles in US armed forced will be opened to women

My Rambling Thoughts

Woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland. Early there was lots of snow and lots of wind. It left a couple of inches then blew out of here. Now the sun is shining. Had to shovel my front walk as the HOA sidewalk guys didn’t arrive until after 10a. Still chilly and expected to stay cold for a couple of days.

The second NYC adventure begins today for Focus Travel Club, just as the first one ends. Group two will have a hard time beating the first group’s great pics and commentary on Facebook. Have a great time.

Got to watch the Cardinals win today. Doesn’t happen much so always nice to watch. And the Broncos won but wasn’t on TV in AZ. Glad they won too.

Sunday news shows had great memories of Bush I. Nice to remember the days when one could disagree and still have a civil conversation.

Birthdays Today

@-  indicates age at death

80’s

@86- John Wallis,

English mathematician and cryptographer who introduced ∞ as a symbol for infinity, born in Ashford, England (d. 1703)

@84- Andy Williams,

Wall Lake Iowa, singer (Moon River, Andy Williams Show) (d. 2012)

70’s

70- Ozzy Osbourne,

English heavy metal vocalist and songwriter (Black Sabbath), born in Birmingham, England

60’s

@66- Joseph Conrad,

Polish novelist (Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness), born in Berdychiv, Poland (d. 1924) heart attack?

50’s

58- Daryl Hannah,

American actress (Splash, Blade Runner), born in Chicago, Illinois

58- Julianne Moore,

American actress (Magnolia, The Kids are Alright), born in Fayetteville, North Carolina

@56- Charles Alfred Pillsbury,

American industrialist (d. 1899) heart disease

Historical Obits Today

@-  indicates age at death

90’s

@95-2017 John B Anderson,

American Republican politician and presidential candidate (1980)

80’s

@89-1910 Mary Baker Eddy,

founder (Christian Science (Monitor))

@80-1815 John Carroll,

first Roman Catholic archbishop in the US, also known as the founder of Georgetown University

70’s

@78-1919 Pierre A Renoir,

French painter/sculptor

50’s

@57-1999 Madeline Kahn,

American actress (b. 1942) ovarian cancer

40’s

@44-1894 Robert Louis Stevenson,

Scottish novelist (Treasure Island), stroke

Dec 2

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

Dec 2, 2018 Week: 49 \ Day: 336

86004 Today: H 34° \ L 24° \ Average Sky Cover: 5% 

Wind:   9mph\Gusts:  -mph Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 62°[1946]   Record Low: -5°[1991]

Nov Averages: 43°\17°

Today’s Quote

Courage is found in unlikely places.

J. R. R. Tolkien

Random Tidbits

Knock On Wood: This expression comes from Pagans, who believed that all living materials were imbued with spiritual properties, including trees. When they were cut down though, the spirit inside the tree would die and become hollow. It was at this point that evil spirits, like sprites, could take over the item and concoct ways to ruin the plans and hopes of people in the area. Fortunately, if someone knocked on the wood, it would drive away the malevolent spirits and prevent any potential misfortunes from occurring.

Breaking A Mirror Causes Seven Years Bad Luck: The Romans were the first people to create glass mirrors. They also believed that their invention had the potential to steal part of the soul of the person using it. If a person's reflection were distorted while using a mirror, then their soul would be corrupted and trapped as a result. Fortunately, the Romans believed your soul could be renewed - after seven years time. Until that point though, the person would suffer from bad luck since they did not have a whole, healthy soul to fight off evil.

More Observances This Month

           

Operation Santa Paws (1-17)
Safe Toys and Gifts Month
Spiritual Literacy Month
Take a New Year's Resolution to Stop Smoking (TANYRSS) (12/17 - 2/2)
Universal Human Rights Month Link
Worldwide Food Service Safety Month
Youngsters on The Air Month  Link

Observances This Week

           

Nov 27-12/2

National Deal Week

1-7

Cookie Cutter Week Link
National Hand Washing Awareness Week Link  
Recipe Greetings For The Holidays Week
Computer Science Education Week  Link

2-6
International Coelenterate Biology Week Link
Older Driver Safety Awareness Week Link  

Observances for Today

           

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery Day
National Fritters Day

National Mutt Day Link 
Safety Razor Day
Special Education Day

Today’s Significant Historical Events

1800’s

1823 President James Monroe declares his "Monroe Doctrine", a US foreign policy regarding Latin America

1845 Manifest Destiny: US President James K. Polk announces to Congress that the United States should aggressively expand into the West

1859 Abolitionist John Brown hung for murder, treason and conspiring slaves to revolt at Charles Town, Virginia

1867 In a New York City theater, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States

1899 US & Germany agree to divide Samoa between them

1900’s

1901 King C. Gillette begins selling safety razor blades

1927 1st Model A Ford sold, for $385

1942 World’s 1st self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction occurs in Chicagi Pile-1 (world's 1st nuclear reactor) at the University of Chicago, overseen by Enrico Fermi

1950 "I Robot" collection of sci-fi short stories by Isaac Asimov published by Genome Press in the US

1954 US Senate censures Joeseph McCarthy (Sen-R-Wisc) for "conduct that tends to bring Senate into dishonor & disrepute"

1960 Paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey discovers 1.4 million year old Homo erectus (Olduvai Hominid 9) in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

1967 1st human heart transplant performed in South Africa by Dr Christiaan Barnard on Louis Washkansky

1971 Soviet space probe Mars 3 is first to soft land on Mars

1971 United Arab Emirates (Trucial States) declares independence from UK

1990 First time 12 people in space at the same time

2000’s

2014 Stephen Hawking claims that Artificial Intelligence could be a "threat to mankind" and spell the end of the human race

2016 Donald Trump takes a call with Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen, in a break from America's long standing "One China" policy

My Rambling Thoughts

Blue sky and melting snow as I await the next storm, due late today…maybe.

All the news channels are running many stories of Bush-41. He passed last night at 94. RIP

Focus Travel Club is having a great time in NYC. Posting lots of pics and commentary. Nice. The trip is so popular, a second trip is heading out next week…tours, plays, museums, great food.

Birthdays Today

@-  indicates age at death

80’s

@85- Alexander Haig Jr,

American General and 59th Secretary of State (1981-82), born in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania (d. 2010)

60’s

64- Stone Phillips,

news host (NBC Dateline)

@63- Charles Ringling,

American circus owner (d. 1926)

50’s

@50- Gianni Versace,

Italian fashion designer (Versace), born in Reggio Calabria, Italy (d. 1997) murdered

50- Lucy Liu,

American actress

40’s

40- Nelly Furtado,

Canadian singer and songwriter

30’s

37- Britney Spears,

American popstar ("Baby One More Time," "Oops! ...I did it again" and "I'm A Slave 4 U"), born in McComb, Mississippi

@31- Georges Seurat,

French post-impressionist painter (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grande Jatte), born in Paris, France (d. 1891) diptheria?/hepatitis?

Historical Obits Today

@-  indicates age at death

90’s

@90-1990 Aaron Copland,

American composer (Billy the Kid, Fanfare for Common Man)

70’s

@79-1972 Ip Man,

Chinese martial artist, and a master teacher of Wing Chun, throat cancer

@77-2008 Odetta [Odetta Holmes],

American folk singer (Sanctuary), actress and civil rights activist, heart disease

@74-1814 Marquis de Sade,

French philosopher and writer (Justine): The words sadism and sadist are derived from his name.

60’s

@69-1986 Desi Arnaz,

Cuban-American actor (Ricky Ricardo-I Love Lucy), lung cancer

@66-1995 Roxie Roker,

Bahamian-American actress (The Jeffersons- Helen Willis), breast cancer

@61±-1547 Hernán Cortés,

Spanish conquistador (defeated the Aztec Empire and colonized large parts of Mexico), pleurisy

50’s

@59-1859 John Brown,

American abolitionist and revolutionary (Harpers Ferry), hanged

40’s

@48-1982 Marty Feldman,

comedian (Young Frankenstein), heart attack