Jul 21

 

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 30 Day 202 \ Ave. Sky Cover 35% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 92° \57° 
Wind 5mph \ Gusts 12mph  Air Quality Moderate
High Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 9mi \ Nearest Lightning 5mi
Jul Averages for Flagstaff: 82° \ 51° (8 days of moisture)

 

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

Thru Sep.5 National Marina Days (From Memorial Day to Labor Day)  Link

1-24 Tour de France  Link

15-21 Rabbit Week

17-23   Captive Nations Week Everybody Deserves A Massage Week Link  National Independent Retailers Week Link  National Zoo Keeper Week  Link    International Lace Week Link

18-25 Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week

20-23  National Baby Food Week Link

21-23    Hemingway Look-Alike Days Link World Body Painting Day

21-24 Comic Con International

Daily Observations

Invite an Alien to Live with You Day
Legal Drinking Age Day
National Be Someone Day
National Junk Food Day
National Tug-Of-War Tournament Day
No Pet Store Puppies Day
Take a Monkey to Lunch Day
Get to Know Your Customers Day
Legal Drinking Age Day
Lowest Recorded Temperature Day (-128.6F Antarctica)
National Be Someone Day 
No Pet Store Puppies Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Another hot day.

Europe is also experiencing extreme hot weather, and wildfires. Temps are over 100°F where it is usually 75°F. To add to the heat, most Europeans do not have A/C.

I saw video of the Hoover Dam transformer that burst into flame yesterday. Luckily no one was hurt, and no customers lost electricity.

I had adventures with Focus Travel Club, one in China and one in Taiwan. Both countries had great people, beautiful sites, and delicious food. When Nancy Pelosi recently announced a trip to Taiwan, the Chinese government warned they would take ‘strong measures’ if she makes the trip. Times have sure changed since I visited either of these areas.

Favorite Memes

Trivia

During World War II two aircraft carriers were stationed on the Great Lakes as training ships. Originally built as commercial paddle steamers, both ships were purchased by the navy in 1942 and converted into carriers. They trained over 17,800 pilots. One of them was future president George H. W. Bush.

USS Theodore Roosevelt was the first aircraft carrier to be assembled using modular construction. Having the modules pre-built and welded together saved an amazing 16 months on the construction.   

Historical Events

·        356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, was destroyed by arson.
·        1865 – In Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shot and killed Davis Tutt, in what is considered as the first western showdown.
·        1861 – Confederate troops defeated the Union at the (1st) Battle of Bull Run.
·        1873 – Jesse James and the James-Younger Gang held the first successful train robbery in the American West.
·        1925 – Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes was found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100.
·        1902 – Willis Carrier showed his air conditioner concept in Buffalo, New York.
·        1918 – German submarine attacked Orleans, Massachusetts, hitting a tugboat and four barges, as well as striking the beach with shells. This was the only time that the continental United States was shelled during World War I.
·        1925 – In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty of teaching evolution in class, and fined $100.
·        1949 – The United States Senate ratified the North Atlantic Treaty.
·        1961 – Gus Grissom piloting, Liberty Bell 7, became the second American to go into space.
·        1979 – Jay Silverheels became the first Native American to have a star commemorated in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
·        1983 – The world’s lowest temperature in an inhabited location was recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica (-128.6 °F, -89.2 °C).
·           2011 – NASA’s Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135.

Birthdays Today

@83 – Paul Burke, American actor (d. 2009)
@82 – Paul Reuter, German-English journalist, founded Reuters (d. 1899)
@81 – Don Knotts, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2006)
74 – Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), English singer-songwriter and guitarist
74 – Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
@71 – Janet Reno, American lawyer, politician (d. 2016; Parkinson’s)
@61 – Jean Picard, French astronomer (d. 1682)
@61 – Ernest Hemingway, novelist, short story writer, journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961; suicide)
@63 – Robin Williams, actor, comedian (d. 2014; suicide)
65 – Jon Lovitz, American comedic actor
53 – Godfrey [Godfrey C. Danchimah, Jr.], American comedian and actor
@49 – John Gardner, American novelist, essayist, critic (d. 1982; motorcycle accident)
44 – Josh Hartnett, American actor

  

Jul 20

 

 

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 30 Day 201 \ Ave. Sky Cover 50% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 89° \57° 
Wind 9mph \ Gusts 15mph  Air Quality
High Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 9mi \ Nearest Lightning 15mi
Jul Averages for Flagstaff: 82° \ 51° (8 days of moisture)
 

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

Thru Sep.5 National Marina Days (From Memorial Day to Labor Day)  Link

1-24 Tour de France  Link

15-21 Rabbit Week

17-23   Captive Nations Week Everybody Deserves A Massage Week Link  National Independent Retailers Week Link  National Zoo Keeper Week  Link    International Lace Week Link

18-25 Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week

20-23  National Baby Food Week Link

Daily Observations

International Balloon Dog Day
Moon Day
Nap Day
National Fortune Cookie Day
National Hot Dog Day
National Lollipop Day
National Moon Walk Day
Space Exploration Day
Take Your Poet to Work Day
Ugly Truck Day
World Chess Day
World Jump Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Another very warm day at 7,000’.  It is not as bad as Europe or the US Midwest, but it is very warm. There are many wildfires in Portugal and France. There are 36 million is a heat advisory in the US.

I got my 2^nd COVID booster today. I set it up on line this morning and got an 11:40a appointment at the ‘other’ Walgreens…across town. So far, no problems.

There was a big storm in Metro Phoenix on Sunday. This morning the Phx TV stations are reporting hundreds are still without power from that storm. Without AC, Mesa, the area most effected, must be an oven.

Last night’s Jeopardy! had a finish I have never seen before. Two challengers tied to beat the previous winner by $1. They did a tiebreaker to determine the winner. It was about Waiting for Godot. Good ending. I didn’t know the answer.

Favorite Memes

Trivia

They are the centerpiece of America's naval force, capable of projecting military power across the globe. The aircraft carrier is one of the most complicated, expensive, and dangerous pieces of military equipment in the modern world.

The air wing of one Nimitz-class carrier is more powerful than the entire air force of more than half the world's nations. A Nimitz carrier can carry up to 90 combat aircraft.   

Historical Events

·         1874 – A plague of locusts swarmed the American Midwest.
·        1903 – The Ford Motor Company shipped its first car.
·        1938 – The United States Department of Justice filed suit in New York City against the motion picture industry charging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act in regard to the studio system.
·        1940 – California opened its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway.
·        1944 – Adolf Hitler survived a bombing assassination attempt.
·        1960 – The Polaris missile was successfully launched from a submarine, the USS George Washington, for the first time.
·        1968 – The Special Olympics was started.
·        1969 – American Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.
·        1969, Micheal Collins, one of the Apollo 11 astronauts, became the loneliest human ever when he orbited the dark side of the moon and lost all radio contact with Earth and his fellow astronauts for 48 minutes. #moonlanding
·        1977 – The Central Intelligence Agency released documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind-control experiments.
·        1982 – The Provisional IRA detonated two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent’s Park in central London, killing eight soldiers, wounding forty-seven people, and killing seven horses.
·        1997 – The fully restored USS Constitution (a.k.a. Old Ironsides) celebrated its 200th birthday by setting sail again for the first time in 116 years.
·        2005 – The Civil Marriage Act legalized same-sex marriage in Canada.
·        2012 – James Holmes opened fire at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and injuring 70 others.
·           2015 – The United States and Cuba resumed full diplomatic relations after five decades.

Birthdays Today

@83 – Diana Rigg, English actress (d. 2020)
77 – Kim Carnes, American singer-songwriter
75 – Carlos Santana, Mexican-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
@61 – Gregor Mendel, Austro-German monk, geneticist, botanist (d.1884; nephritis)
@52 – Anne Hutchinson, English Puritan preacher (d. 1643; killed)
51 – Sandra Oh, Canadian actress
49 – Omar Epps, American actor
@43 – Natalie Wood, American actress (d. 1981; boating accident)
34 – Julianne Hough, American dancer

 

Jul 19

 

 

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 30 Day 200 \ Ave. Sky Cover 40% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 91° \56° 
Wind 5mph \ Gusts 7mph  Air Quality Moderate
High Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 9mi \ Nearest Lightning 131mi
Jul Averages for Flagstaff: 82° \ 51° (8 days of moisture)
 

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

Thru Sep.5 National Marina Days (From Memorial Day to Labor Day)  Link

1-24 Tour de France  Link

13-19   Hemp History Week Link

15-21 Rabbit Week

17-23   Captive Nations Week Everybody Deserves A Massage Week Link  National Independent Retailers Week Link  National Zoo Keeper Week  Link    International Lace Week Link

18-25 Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week

Daily Observations

Flight Attendant Safety Professionals’ Day
National Daiquiri Day
National Raspberry Cake Day
New Friends Day
(previously) St. Vincent De Paul Day (now celebrated September 27)
Stick Out Your Tongue Day
Flitch Day
Words With Friends Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Another hot day…clouds are coming in to bring more monsoon.

Tony Hillerman wrote a number of good novels about the life of a fictional Navajo cop, Jim Chee. For the most part they were and still read by many Navajo. Years ago, his Novel Dark Winds was filmed around Red Lake, while I was working there. A couple of our students were in the movie. It was never given a theatrical release, but bootlegged copies were sold on the reservation. Now, Dark Winds is a weekly show on AMC+ and AMC. Much of the acting staff and many writers are Native American from other tribes. Many in the indigenous community are praising the show for having real Natives involved. The lead is a Hualapai (pronounced Wal-lah-pie) means "People of the Tall Pines.", playing a Navajo. The biggest complaint about the show from Navajo I know is that the actors are mispronouncing the Navajo they speak. Some complain that scenes with traditional medicine and/or witchcraft, are not accurate. Personally, I enjoy the series. Even I chuckle at some of the Navajo spoken or some scenes that I find not credible. NPR did a very good interview with the writers and actors about the series. They all talked about how great it was to have Natives around the show all the time. They talked about how much they were learning about Navajo. They also talked about how they hope, in the future, that each tribe will have their own life and traditions accurately portrayed in all forms of media. I agree.

Favorite Memes

Trivia

Owls can rotate their necks 270 degrees. A blood-pooling system collects blood to power their brains and eyes when neck movement cuts off circulation.

The tiniest owl in the world is the Elf Owl, which is 5-6 inches tall and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. The largest North American owl, in appearance, is the Great Gray Owl, which is up to 32 inches tall. 

Historical Events

·        64 – Great Fire of Rome occurred, destroying half of the city. Contrary to rumors, Nero did not play the fiddle while it burned, but he did blame “the Christians.”
·        1799 – Identified today: The Rosetta Stone, which was found July 19, 1799, is now the most visited object in the British museum.
·        1845 – The last great fire (Great New York City Fire of 1845) to hit Manhattan began early in the morning and was subdued that afternoon. The fire killed 4 firefighters, 26 civilians, and destroyed 345 buildings.
·        1848 – Woman’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls
·        1863 – Suffering 1,515 casualties, the Union soldiers were defeated while trying to capture Fort Wagner in South Carolina.
·        1900 – The Paris Métro opened for operation.
·        1909 – Baseball’s first unassisted Triple Play was achieved by shortstop Neal Ball.
·        1952 – The Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were opened in Helsinki, Finland.
·        1969 – Senator Ted Kennedy crashed his car into a tidal pond at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.
·        1977 – The world’s first Global Positioning System (GPS) signal was transmitted from Navigation Technology Satellite 2 (NTS-2) and received at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
·        1982 – Geraldine Ferraro was nominated as the first female Vice-Presidential candidate.

Birthdays Today

@89 – Max Fleischer, Austrian-American animator, producer (died in 1972)
@83 – Edgar Degas, French painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1917)
81 – Vikki Carr, American singer, actress
75 – Brian May, English singer-songwriter, astrophysicist, guitarist
@66 – Lizzie Borden, American woman, acquitted for the murder (d. 1927’ [pneumonia)
60 – Anthony Edwards, American actor
46 – Benedict Cumberbatch, English actor
40 – Jared Padalecki, American actor
@47 – Samuel Colt, founded the Colt’s Manufacturing Company (d. 1862; gout)
34 – Shane Dawson, American Youtuber