Apr 22

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

Apr. 22, 2020 Week: 17 Day: 113

86004: H 67° \ L 33° \ Average Sky Cover: 70%

Wind: 7mph\Gusts: 13mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 16.3mi.; Nearest active fire: 517mi.

Record High: 78°[2012] Record Low: 11°[1963]

Apr. Averages: 60°\27° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

Companies today are bragging about making plants taste like meat

.. but cows have been doing that for ages!

Random Tidbits

During the 'black death' incoming ships were forced to wait 40 days before landing. The Italian word 'quantra' meaning 40, is where the word quarantine comes from

Strict security measures are in place to keep Fort Knox secure. That means no one person knows the entire entry combination to access the gold vault. Instead, the information is divided up among several people. Even information about who knows a piece of the combination is classified.

Have a smile

A friend sent these to me

Question:What do you call a smelly fairy?
Answer: Stinkerbell

My wife poked me in the eyes yesterday,
so I stopped seeing her for a while.

Observations This Week

National Dance Week: 17-26 Link CANCELLED due to COVID-19.
Cleaning For A Reason Week: 18-24
Consumer Awareness Week: 18-23
National Park Week: 18-26  Link
Police Officers Who Gave Their Lives In The Line of Duty Week: 18-23
Animal Cruelty/Human Violence Awareness Week: 19-25 Link 
Bedbug Awareness Week: 19-25
Chemists Celebrate Earth Week: 19-25
Festival of Ridvan: 19-5/1
Fibroid Awareness Week: 19-25
Medical Laboratory Professionals Week: 19-25 Link
National Coin Week: 19-25
National Crime Victims Rights Week: 19-25 Link
National Infertility Awareness Week: 19-25 Link
National Library Week: 19-25
National Paperboard Packaging Week: 19-25
National Pet ID Week: 19-25 Link  Link
National Princess Week: 19-25 Link
National Volunteer Week: 19-25
Sky Awareness Week: 19-25
Spring Astronomy Week: 19-25
Administrative Professionals Week: 20-24
National Environmental Education Week: 20-24 Link
National Stationery Week: 20-26 Link
Nat'l Work Zone Safety Awareness Week: 20-24 Link
Undergraduate Research Week: 20-24
International Mariachi Week: 22-29 Link

Observations for Today

Administrative Professionals Day or Secretary's Day
Chemists Celebrate The Earth Day
Earth Day (US)
Girl Scout Leaders Day Link
Global Selfie Earth Day (NASA) Link
"In God We Trust Day" Day (coins)
Mother Earth DayNational Bookmobile Day Link
National Jelly Bean Day Link

My Rambling Thoughts

Dark clouds moving over the mountain. Looks like rain is on the way. Weatherman agrees. Just took a short walk.

If you are bored and are on Facebook, Ann, a fellow Focus Traveler, suggested this group: View from My Window. When you like the page, you get several beautiful pictures from others around the world right on your FB page everyday. Well worth it.

Tuba City is a very competitive little town. Always the 2^nd most populous town on the Rez...they are a bad number one. During the recent lockdown weekend, they had the most violations (48). Not something to be proud of.

Lots of protesters have gotten in trouble: Unarmed Pipeline protesters were sprayed with cold water in below freezing temperatures, football players who knelled to protest police violence were shunned; Unarmed Natives demanding clean water were tear gassed then locked up. But protesters, who are armed, demanding the store reopen are not questioned, arrested, or anything. Who says there is no privilege?

Suddenly there is too much oil on the market and the oil companies are paying refiners to take it. What a mighty mess this is turning into.

Good news: The Maryland Governor is married to a S. Korean immigrant. He needed PPE's for his state. His wife called S. Korean businesses and found ½ million masks that have now arrived in Maryland. Two days later, Trump tweets that he is stopping all immigration to the US...that's probably green cards and work visas. Hmmmm. Wonder if that is legal?

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

It goes in dry, it comes out wet, the longer it is in, the stronger it gets. What is it?

Historical Events

1056 - First seen July 2, 1054, the supernova in the Crab nebula was last seen by the naked eye.

1519 - Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés established a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico.

1864 - The U.S. Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1864 that mandated that the inscription 'In God We Trust' would be placed on all coins minted as United States currency.

1876 - The first ever National League baseball game was played in Philadelphia. Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Stockings. Boston won the game 6-5.

1912 - Pravda, the "voice" of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, began publication in Saint Petersburg.

1964 - The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair opened for its first season.

1970 - Earth Day was started by John McConnell, Denis Hayes, Fred Kent, Pete Grannis, and Kristin and William Hubbard and Ira Einhorn.

1978 - The Blues Brothers (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) made their first appearance on Saturday Night Live.

1998 - Disney's Animal Kingdom opened at Walt Disney World in Florida.

2000 - US Federal Agents seized six-year-old Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami, and sent him back to Cuba.

2016 Paris Agreement on climate change signed in New York binding 195 nations to an increase in the global average temperature to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C

Birthdays Today

@99-Actor, Eddie Albert (d.2005)

@92-Actress, Charlotte Rae (d. 2018)

@83-TV producer, Aaron Spelling (d.2006)

83-Actor, Jack Nicholson (1937)

@81-Actor/singer, Glen Campbell (d. 2017)

53-Actress, Sherri Shepherd

Puzzle Answer:

A tea-bag

Apr 21

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

Apr. 21, 2020 Week: 17 Day: 112

86004: H 65° \ L 33° \ Average Sky Cover: 10%

Wind: 7mph\Gusts: 5mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 472mi.; Nearest active fire: 562mi.

Record High: 78°[1989] Record Low: 12°[1972]

Apr. Averages: 60°\27° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

I was married by a judge.

I should have asked for a jury.”
– Groucho Marx

Random Tidbits

Voting in Greece is mandatory for all Greek citizens, although there are rarely sanctions for citizens that do not vote.

Currently, Greek men must serve from one year to 18 months in any branch of the armed forces.

Have a smile

A friend sent these to me

Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it.”
– Laurence J. Peter

Observations This Week

National Dance Week: 17-26 Link CANCELLED due to COVID-19.
Cleaning For A Reason Week: 18-24
Consumer Awareness Week: 18-23
National Park Week: 18-26  Link
Police Officers Who Gave Their Lives In The Line of Duty Week: 18-23
Animal Cruelty/Human Violence Awareness Week: 19-25 Link 
Bedbug Awareness Week: 19-25
Chemists Celebrate Earth Week: 19-25
Festival of Ridvan: 19-5/1
Fibroid Awareness Week: 19-25
Medical Laboratory Professionals Week: 19-25 Link
National Coin Week: 19-25
National Crime Victims Rights Week: 19-25 Link
National Infertility Awareness Week: 19-25 Link
National Library Week: 19-25
National Paperboard Packaging Week: 19-25
National Pet ID Week: 19-25 Link  Link
National Princess Week: 19-25 Link
National Volunteer Week: 19-25
Sky Awareness Week: 19-25
Spring Astronomy Week: 19-25
Administrative Professionals Week: 20-24
National Environmental Education Week: 20-24 Link
National Stationery Week: 20-26 Link
Nat'l Work Zone Safety Awareness Week: 20-24 Link
Undergraduate Research Week: 20-24

Observations for Today

Bulldogs are Beautiful Day    Link    Link
International Hemp Day  Link
Kindergarten Day
National Chocolate-Covered Cashews Day  Link
National Library Workers Day 
National Library Day  Link 
National Pet CBD Day  Link
National Surprise Drug Test Day  Link 
National Yellow Bat Day   
Queen's Birthday 

My Rambling Thoughts

Another week of staying home begins...it is getting tiresome, but better than the alternative...no matter what the crazies are saying at their crazy protests. I have to say the daily video calls, IM's, and phone calls from friends are keeping me sane.

Last summer the Walgreen's Distribution Center in Flagstaff closed it's warehouse doors. My neighbor works for a distribution company (candy bars, snacks, and beer) that delivers to convenience stores around town. A few months ago they moved their operation into about ¼ of of the Walgreen's vacant property. Now the local hospital is taking over the other ¾ of the warehouse to set up beds for virus patients. My neighbor is rightly concerned.

The talk shows are getting pretty creative while at home. Multiple screens, a few glitches, but still interviewing people who are also at home. Good for them. I just hope this isn't the new normal.

If anyone saw the NBC story on the Navajo Rez during the virus...on the Today show this morning, the lady living in the trailer was one of the aides when I worked at Tuba Boarding. A nice lady who retired a few years ago. Interesting story line. I shared it on my FB account.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

I come in different shapes and sizes. Parts of me are curved, other parts are straight. You can put me anywhere you like, but there is only one right place for me. What am I?

Historical Events

753 BC - Romulus and his twin brother Remus founded Rome.

1509 - Henry VIII ascended the throne of England.

1878 - The first U.S. firehouse pole was installed in New York City, by Capt. David B. Kenyon at Engine Company 21.

1895 - Woodville Latham and his sons, Otway and Gray, demonstrate the "Panopticon" - the first movie projector developed in the United States.

1918 - Above the Somme River in France, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, was killed by Allied fire, either by an air fight or from the ground.

1962 - At the the Seattle World's Fair, Seattle's Space Needle Restaurant opened.

1981 - "Weird Al" Yankovic made his first national television appearance on The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder

1986 - Geraldo Rivera hosted a live, highly promoted two-hour syndicated special The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault. They found nothing.

1990 - Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue aired, a special program that warned children about the dangers of drugs and featured characters from several Saturday morning children's shows, was simulcast by ABC, BET, CBS, Fox, NBC, USA Network, and Nickelodeon.

1992 - The first discoveries of planets outside of our solar system (two planets orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12) were announced by astronomers Alexander Wolszczan and Dale Frail.
1995 FBI arrests Timothy McVeigh and charge him with the Oklahoma City bombing

2016 US President Barack Obama begins a 4 day visit to the UK with Michelle Obama

2019 Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks at a Extinction Rebellion protest in London amid city-wide climate protests where Waterloo Bridge was occupied over four days

Puzzle Answer:

A jigsaw puzzle piece

Apr 20

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

Apr. 20, 2020 Week: 17 Day: 111

86004: H 65° \ L 34° \ Average Sky Cover: 30%

Wind: 7mph\Gusts: 12mph Visibility: 10 mi

Nearest lightning: 243mi.; Nearest active fire: 440mi.

Record High: 78°[1989] Record Low: 8°[1966]

Apr. Averages: 60°\27° (3 days with moisture)

Today’s Quote

"You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose."

-Dr. Seuss

Random Tidbits

Fajitas. In 1984, Texas A&M lecturer Homero Recio traced fajita history back to the ranches of 1930s south and west Texas.

According to Recio, the Mexican cowboys, known as vaqueros, working in Texas often received throwaway scraps as part of their pay, including the cow's diaphragm. The diaphragm, which we now call a skirt steak, is covered with a tough membrane that allowed the vaqueros to grill it outdoors directly on open mesquite coals--the prototypical fajita.

Have a smile

A friend sent these to me

Here’s something to think about:
How come you never see a headline
like ‘Psychic Wins Lottery’?”
– Jay Leno

Observations This Week

National Dance Week: 17-26Link CANCELLED due to COVID-19.
Cleaning For A Reason Week: 18-24
Consumer Awareness Week: 18-23
National Park Week: 18-26  Link
Police Officers Who Gave Their Lives In The Line of Duty Week: 18-23
Animal Cruelty/Human Violence Awareness Week: 19-25 Link 
Bedbug Awareness Week: 19-25
Chemists Celebrate Earth Week: 19-25
Festival of Ridvan: 19-5/1
Fibroid Awareness Week: 19-25
Medical Laboratory Professionals Week: 19-25 Link
National Coin Week: 19-25
National Crime Victims Rights Week: 19-25 Link
National Infertility Awareness Week: 19-25 Link
National Library Week: 19-25National Paperboard Packaging Week: 19-25
National Pet ID Week: 19-25 Link Link
National Princess Week: 19-25 Link
National Volunteer Week: 19-25
Sky Awareness Week: 19-25
Spring Astronomy Week: 19-25
Administrative Professionals Week: 20-24
National Environmental Education Week: 20-24 Link
National Stationery Week: 20-26 Link
Nat'l Work Zone Safety Awareness Week: 20-24 Link
Undergraduate Research Week: 20-24

Observations for Today

4/20 DayBoston Marathon: NOTE: Due to the Corona Virus, the Boston Marathon has been rescheduled for September 14.
Chinese Language Day Link
Dictionary Day Link
International Cli-Fi Day
Look-A-Like Day

National Cheddar Fries Day Link
National Pineapple Upside-down Cake Day

National Pot Smokers Day or National Weed Day Link Link

Volunteer Recognition Day

My Rambling Thoughts

A decent Sunday...just a short walk today.

Watched One World last night on TV. A decent show with some great songs...and a very positive message. Thanks Lady Gaga for the production. As world wide event, some of the songs were in the artist's native language. The one from Mexico, which I only understood the gist of the song and the one from South Africa, which I didn't understand a word, were awesome.

For years I've watched protesters on TV from around the world. Most times they are wearing some kind of face mask to protect them from being identified. Now the far right protesters are not wearing masks to protest the government that said everyone, when outside, should wear a mask to protect against the virus. This is a crazy world right now. This seems to me like a new kind of stupid.

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

You are in a place called Jack’s World and there is only one law. There is a mirror, but no reflection. There is pizza with cheese, but not sausage. There is pepper, but no salt. There is a door, yet no entrance or exit. What is the law?

Historical Events

1657 - Freedom of religion was granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (New York City).

1832 - Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas was established as a reservation by an act of Congress. Technically, it was the first United States' National Park.

1841 - The Murders in the Rue Morgue, by Edgar Allen Poe, was published in Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine. It is considered the first detective story.

1871 - The Third Force Act, also known as the Ku Klux Act, Congress authorized President Ulysses S. Grant to declare martial law in stopping the Ku Klux Klan.

1862 - The first test of pasteurization was completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard. Jars at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences.

1912 - Opening day for baseball's Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, and Fenway Park in Boston.

1926 - Western Electric and the Warner Brothers film studio officially introduced Vitaphone, a new process that would enable the addition of sound to film.

1940 - Invented by Dr. Vladimir Zworykin at the RCA laboratories, Camden, New Jersey, the first (US) electron microscope was demonstrated across the Delaware River, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1964 - The first picture- phone transcontinental call was made between New York City and Anaheim, California.

1979 President Jimmy Carter is attacked by a swamp rabbit which swam up to his fishing boat in Plains, Georgia

1983 President Reagan signs a $165B bail out for Social Security

1999 - At Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, students Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 13 people and wounded 23 more before killing themselves.

2008 - Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an Indy Car race

2015 Pulitzer Prize awarded to Anthony Doerr's for his novel "All the Light We Cannot See" and to Elizabeth Kolbert for "The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History"

2018 Mexican court bars sales of controversial Frida Kahlo Barbie doll

2018 Commonwealth countries decide Prince Charles will suceed Queen Elizabeth as the next head of the Commonwealth

Birthdays Today

83-Actor, George Takei

82-Musician, Johnny Tillotson

79-Actor, Ryan O'Neal

@77-Comic, Harold Lloyd (d.1971; prostate cancer)

71-Actress, Jessica Lange

@56-German dictator, Adolf Hitler (d.1945; suicide)

@54-Musician, Luther Vandross (d.2005; heart attack)

50-Actor, Shemar Moore

49-Model/Actress, Carmen Electra (1972)

Puzzle Answer:

Everything (each word) in Jack’s World must contain double letters.