Apr 27

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 18 Day: 117  Ave. sky cover: 60% \ Visibility: 10 miles Flagstaff Today 77° \31°  Wind: 7mph \ Gusts: 14mph
Extreme risk of fire \ Nearest active fire: 25mi \ nearest Lightning: 671mi
Apr Averages for Flagstaff: 59° \ 28°  (3 days of moisture)

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

3- 5/1 Ramadan

21-5/2 Festival of Ridvan: Baha'i community

22-30    International Dark Sky Week Link

23-30  International Wildlife Film Week Link

24-30  Administrative Professionals Week National Dance Week  Link  National Infertility Awareness Week Link Medical Laboratory Professionals Week  Link National Crime Victims Rights Week Link National Pediatric Transplant Week  National Scoop The Poop Week Sky Awareness Week                                                                          World Immunization Week Fibroid Awareness Week   National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) Link

24-5/1  Preservation Week Link (re: Libraries) Stewardship Week

25-29  National Playground Safety Week Link National Youth Violence Prevention Week Link

27-30   American Quilters Society Week Link

 

Daily Observations

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

It is a warm, gray-cloudy day. No precip in the forecast, so just a cloudy day.

My phlebotomy appointment got changed to 2:30 this afternoon. They must be busy.

I don’t get all the ‘news’ about Elon Musk et. al. with the purchase of Twitter. I must admit I got a Twitter account when Donald was President. My only Tweet was: Hi, there. I had no followers since I didn’t have any followers. The only person I followed was The President. I found the whole experience boring. I closed my account when he lost the presidency or when he was kicked off…I don’t remember which. Unless Elon does something amazing, I won’t be on Twitter. Elon was born in South Africa and spent his early years there. 

Favorite Memes

 

A bit of Humor

Why should you never trust stairs?

They’re always up to something.

Country Names

Jamaica

Jamaica's name comes from the Arawak people, who named it "Xaymaca" or "Yamaya," meaning "Land of Wood and Water."

Mexico

The country's name is a simplified version of the name Metztlixihtlico, which means "In the Navel of the Moon."

Trinidad and Tobago

Christopher Columbus named the island country in the 15th century. It translates to mean "Island of the Holy Trinity and Tobacco."

Historical Events

Ø    1667 – Blind writer John Milton sold his copyright to Paradise Lost for 10 pounds. He needed the money because he was penniless at the time.

Ø    1861 – American President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus.

Ø    1871 -The American Museum of Natural History opened in New York City.

Ø    1967 – Expo 67 officially opened in Montreal, Quebec.

Ø    1992 – The Russian Federation and 12 other former Soviet republics joined the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Ø    1992 – Betty Boothroyd became the first woman to be elected Speaker of the British House of Commons in its 700-year history.

Ø    2006 – Construction began on the Freedom Tower (now One World Trade Center) in New York City.

Ø2014 -- Popes John XXIII and John Paul II were declared saints by the Catholic Church.

Birthdays Today

@94 – Walter Lantz, American animator, producer (d. 1994)

@90 – Jack Klugman, American actor (d. 2012)

@80 – Samuel Morse, painter, inventor, co-invented the Morse code (d. 1872)

@78 – Coretta Scott King, African-American activist, author (d. 2006; cancer)

71 – Ace Frehley, American guitarist and songwriter. Space/Ace, The Spaceman

@63 – Ulysses S. Grant, general, 18th President (d. 1885; throat cancer)

63 – Sheena Easton, Scottish-American singer-songwriter

@54 – Sandy Dennis, American actress (d. 1992; ovarian cancer)

@41 – Wallace Carothers, American chemist, inventor of nylon (d. 1937; suicide<?>)

34 – Lizzo [Melissa Viviane Jefferson], American singer, rapper

  

Apr 26

 

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 18 Day: 116  Ave. sky cover: 5% \ Visibility: 10 miles Flagstaff Today 60° \28°  Wind: 10mph \ Gusts: 15mph
High risk of fire \ Nearest active fire: 9mi \ nearest Lightning: 643mi
Apr Averages for Flagstaff: 59° \ 28°  (3 days of moisture)

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

3- 5/1 Ramadan

21-5/2 Festival of Ridvan: Baha'i community

22-30    International Dark Sky Week Link

23-30  International Wildlife Film Week Link

24-30  Administrative Professionals Week National Dance Week  Link  National Infertility Awareness Week Link Medical Laboratory Professionals Week  Link National Crime Victims Rights Week Link National Pediatric Transplant Week  National Scoop The Poop Week Sky Awareness Week                                                                          World Immunization Week Fibroid Awareness Week   National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) Link

24-5/1  Preservation Week Link (re: Libraries) Stewardship Week

25-29  National Playground Safety Week Link National Youth Violence Prevention Week Link

 

Daily Observations

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

‘Tis a nice spring day. Warming up nicely. Fire is under control. Sadly, fires are now burning in AZ and NM. Crews fighting the Tunnel Fire northeast of Flagstaff have gained 15% containment of the blaze, which has been burning since Easter Sunday. A 4,000 gallon portable water site, known as a “heliwell” has been set up along Forest Road 545 near Painted Desert Vista. Managers say it has greatly reduced the turnaround time for helicopters to support mop-up efforts and line construction.

Tomorrow, I try again for a phlebotomy. I’m hoping they can find a good vein.

It is time to start spring cleaning. My back deck is filled with pine needles, the carpet need a good shampoo. It won’t get done until I start. Hmmm…maybe tomorrow.

Our discussion group is having a problem with meetings. This month we were scheduled to meet last Saturday. The husband of the presenter called and said move it to this Saturday, due to the fire and concerns of our group that had been evacuated. I sent out that information. Today I got an email from the presenter saying they will be out of town at a graduation. I just sent out an email to tell everyone it was postponed and that our next meeting will be in May with the scheduled May presenter. I wonder if that will work.

I continue to admire the Ukrainian people. They are showing the world that they expect to keep their democracy at all costs.

Favorite Memes

 

A bit of Humor

Why are toilets always so good at poker?

They always get a flush

Country Names

France

France is supposedly named after the "Franks," a Germanic people, who were named after the Old German "franka," meaning "fierce" or "brave."

Germany

"Germani" referred to the Germanic tribes who were settling in around the river Rhine. However, "Deutschland" refers to the Old High German "diutisc," which means "of the people." Therefore, Germany basically translates to "Land of the People."

Cuba

Cuba is said to take its name from the Taino word "Cubanacan," which means "center place."

Historical Events

Ø    1564 – Playwright William Shakespeare was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. People were traditionally baptized three days after birth, this is how we know his birthday was April 23.

Ø    1921 – The first US broadcast of the weather was made from St. Louis, Missouri, over station WEW. Or so legend has it. There were few rules in the earliest days of radio, so another station may have made a weather announcement. It was about 55 degrees.

Ø    1933 – The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, was established.

Ø    1977 – Studio 54 opened at 254 West 54th Street in New York City.

Ø    1954 – Polio vaccine trials began.

Ø    1986 – A nuclear reactor accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union, created the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

Ø    2018 – American comedian Bill Cosby was found guilty of sexual assault.

Birthdays Today

@93 – Rudolf Hess, Egyptian-German politician, Nazi (d. 1987)

89 – Carol Burnett, American actress, singer, and producer

@85 – Charles Richter, American inventor, seismologist (d. 1985)

84 – Duane Eddy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor

@79 – Bobby Rydell, American singer, actor (d. 2022; pneumonia)

59 – Jet Li, Chinese-Singaporean martial artist, actor

57 – Kevin James, American comedic actor

52 – Melania Trump, Slovene-American model; 45th First Lady of the United States

45 – Tom Welling, American actor

42 – Jordana Brewster, Panamanian-American actress

42 – Channing Tatum, American actor