26 Apr

 

26 April 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 17 Day 115 \ Ave. Sky Cover 15% \ Visibility 32 miles Flagstaff Today 68° \31°  Wind 14mph \ Gusts 43mph 
Air Quality: Moderate \ High Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 234mi \ Nearest Lightning 177mi
Apr. Averages for Flagstaff: 60° \ 27° \3 Days of moisture
Sunshine and lots of WIND

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

21-5/2    Festival of Ridvan (Baha'i)

22-27    International Wildlife Film Week

22-29    National Dance Week

 22-30    National Park Week

              Administrative Professionals Week

23-29    Disability Book Week

Fibroid Awareness Week

National Infertility Awareness Week

National Karaoke Week

Medical Laboratory Professionals Week

National Crime Victims Rights Week

National Library Week

National Pediatric Transplant Week

National Princess Week

Mule Days

Sky Awareness Week

24-30    National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW)

  National Scoop The Poop Week

24-28   National Playground Safety Week

            National Youth Violence Prevention Week

24-30   Spring Astronomy Week

            World Immunization Week

26-29    American Quilters Society Week

Daily Observations

Administrative Professionals Day or Secretary's Day  Link 
Alien Day  
Alien Day  Link
Audubon Day Link
Denim Day Link
Hug An Australian Day
International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day
International Guide Dogs Day Link 
International Noise Awareness Day  
International Noise Awareness Day  Link 
Lesbian Visibility Day  
Lesbian Visibility Day  Link
National Dissertation Day  Link
National Help A Horse Day
National Library Outreach Day  
National Pretzel Day  Link
Pretzel Day Link
Richter Scale Day
Stop Food Waste Day Link 
Walk at Lunch Day
Walk at Lunch Day Link 
World Intellectual Property Day 
World Intellectual Property Day Link
World Pinhole Photography Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Spring = wind here in the high desert.

I heard an interesting report about ‘Reverse Verification’.  In normal verification one takes one item and proves or disproves it through investigation. In reverse verification, one takes a known established thing and verifies it by simply questioning its validity. This is the blueprint for much of conservative media. Trump and Tucker have been doing this a lot. McCarthy, back in the day, also did this. Reverse verification is all around. Just keep your eyes open when you see/hear it.

I didn’t even know there are “desert elephants”. Thanks, National Geographic for educating me. Not many are left, but those that are around are fascinating. They are the same species as the African Savana elephants but have made adjustments to the desert life.

In old-time USA, everyone could have an opinion. In today’s America, there are way too many who think their opinion is the only one that matters. Sad.

Harry Belafonte gave us great music and advocacy during his 96 years. RIP

Enjoy…

Toys Remembered…

Simon

In the 1960s, Ralph Baer, a military engineer, would spend his free time developing early video games, dreaming of a system that would allow gameplay on a television. He eventually succeeded and in 1971, Baer and his employer Sanders Associates received the first-ever video game patent for the Magnavox Odyssey, which went on sale in 1972.

In 1976, Baer, who was now working as a consultant for toy company Marvin Glass and Associates, took inspiration from an Atari arcade game called Touch Me, where players had to repeat a bright light and annoyingly loud musical sequence. Over the next two years, Baer worked on a portable game with four pleasing bugle horn notes. Originally called Follow Me, the new game was licensed by Milton Bradley as Simon, after the children’s game Simon Says.

In 1978, Simon debuted at the disco palace Studio 54 in New York City. That Christmas season, stores reported long lines of people hoping to nab one of the highly desired machines, despite its original price of $25 (around $90 in 2022). While Simon could only play one sequence, was bulky, and required many D batteries, it was a huge step forward in home electronic gaming. The popularity of Simon was boosted by its coincidental connection to Steven Spielberg’s 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. During the science-fiction classic’s finale, aliens communicate using a sequence of musical notes and lights on their spaceship that resembles Simon’s gameplay.

By the end of the 1980s, 10 million Simons were sold despite many knock-offs of the original game entering production. Newer versions of the game, including Simon Optix, where users wear a virtual reality-style headset to play, have brought the game to new audiences — but the retro appeal of the original remains. 

Moon Facts…

The Moon is not actually round.

While it might appear as a perfect sphere all the way from here, the shape of the Moon is closer to that of a lemon. Believed to be a piece of ancient Earth that broke off, the forming Moon was susceptible to the tidal forces and gravity, which pulled on the lunar crust, heating it up and stretching it at the poles that lined up with Earth. This resulted in two small bulges at either end, making it similar to a lemon shape.

State Names Origins…

Florida

The Sunshine State is justly named in part after the bright and colorful plant life that can be found throughout the Florida peninsula. In April 1513, famous Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León made his first European expedition to Florida, landing near what is now St. Augustine (America’s oldest city). It’s believed that the region’s spectacular plant life and the fact that the date was very close to Easter (or Pascua in Spanish) inspired the name Pascua Florida after one of Spain’s celebrations of the religious holiday, the Feast of Flowers. Every year, on April 2, Florida celebrates de León’s discovery with its official state day, Pascua Florida Day. You don’t need to wait until then to experience Florida’s beauty, however, as its stunning flora and unique natural sites like the Everglades can be enjoyed year round.

Historical Events

v 1954 – Polio vaccine trials began.
v April 26, 1968 Birthday (fictional) Lorelai Gilmore, TV Mom
v 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.

Birthdays Today

@93 – Rudolf Hess, Egyptian-German politician, Nazi (d. 1987)
90 – Carol Burnett, American actress, singer, producer
“If someone tells you that you cannot do something and you believe it, they are right.” Carol Burnett @85 – Charles Richter, American inventor, seismologist (d. 1985)
“Don’t wait for extraordinary circumstance to do good; try to use ordinary situations.”– Charles Francis Richter
85 – Duane Eddy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor
83 – Giorgio Moroder, Italian singer-songwriter, producer
“I think it would be stupid for us to try and tell people who are dancing in a discotheque about the problems of the world. That is the very thing they have come away to avoid.”– Giorgio Moroder
@79 – Bobby Rydell, American singer, actor (d. 2022; pneumonia)
60 – Jet Li, Chinese-Singaporean martial artist, actor
“I wish heroes didn’t exist. Whenever we need a hero, it’s because there’s a problem that needs to be solved; it’s because two groups of people, or two countries, are hurting one another, so a hero is needed to save us. If everyone were at peace if everyone were happy, why would we need heroes? The world is better off without heroes.”– Jet Li
58 – Kevin James, American comedic actor
53 – Melania Trump, Slovene-American model; 45th First Lady
46 – Tom Welling, American actor
43 – Jordana Brewster, Panamanian-American actress
43 – Channing Tatum, American actor

 
 

25 Apr

 

25 April 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 17 Day 115 \ Ave. Sky Cover 40% \ Visibility 23 miles Flagstaff Today 70° \36°  Wind 6mph \ Gusts 13mph 
Air Quality: Fair  \ Moderate Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 788mi \ Nearest Lightning 4mi
Apr. Averages for Flagstaff: 60° \ 27° \3 Days of moisture
Sunshine

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

21-5/2    Festival of Ridvan (Baha'i)

22-27    International Wildlife Film Week

22-29    National Dance Week

 22-30    National Park Week

              Administrative Professionals Week

23-29    Disability Book Week

Fibroid Awareness Week

National Infertility Awareness Week

National Karaoke Week

Medical Laboratory Professionals Week

National Crime Victims Rights Week

National Library Week

National Pediatric Transplant Week

National Princess Week

Mule Days

Sky Awareness Week

24-30    National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW)

  National Scoop The Poop Week

24-28   National Playground Safety Week

            National Youth Violence Prevention Week

24-30   Spring Astronomy Week

            World Immunization Week

Daily Observations

DNA Day Link
East Meets West Day (aka Elbe Day)  Link
Hairstylists Appreciation Day
Hug A Plumber Day or Plumbers Day Link
International Delegate's Day
License Plates Day
Malaria Awareness Day  Link
National Library Workers Day
National Library Day Link 
National Mani-pedi Day 
Parental Alienation Day Link
Red Hat Society Day  Link 
Telephone Day
World Malaria Day
World Penguin Day 
Telephone Day
World Malaria Day
World Penguin Day Link
Zucchini Bread Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

The sky looks like moisture is coming, but the weather guy says no moisture.

I took time last night to watch Secret of the Elephant  from National Geographic. Much better than I ever expected. I was fascinated watching a herd of females with youngsters climbing down a very difficult cliff to get water. They used their trunk to test the next step down and they used their tail to comfort and help the youngsters. Amazing.

The latest TSA report says they confiscated 1508 loaded firearms in passenger’s carry-on luggage from Jan. to Mar. 2023, a 10% increase over 2022. It is still a small number unless I am on a plane that didn’t check the luggage.

One of our discussion group members lost his wife about 18 months ago. He decided to move into a retirement community here in Flag. After he moved in, he had 2 major heart failure incidents. The Dr. said he needs to cut back on his salt intake. The community he lives in requires a meal plan @ $1000/month. He met with the chef and discovered that almost all their meals are made from ‘prepared foods’ and that the chef can’t change the salt content. He went to the head and asked to be dropped from the meal plan so he could reduce his salt intake…he has a small kitchen in his apartment. The head checked and said he had signed a contract and he couldn’t drop the meal charges. Now he has a lawyer as he searches for another place to live. Crazy.

Two networks are doing some spring cleaning. Over at Fox, they have fired Tucker Carlson. He was making $8 million annually and was their #1 show. Over at CNN they demoted Don Lemon a few months ago and have now fired him. He had an annual salary of $4 million.

Enjoy…

Toys Remembered…

Nerf Balls

After the incredible success of the game Twister, its Inventor Reyn Guyer wanted to create another sensation. In 1968, Guyer and his team began work on a game they called “Caveman,” using “rocks” cut out of mattress foam which were to be thrown at opponents. During development, Guyer thought the rocks would be better shaped into balls for safer indoor use. The original concept was scrapped in favor of making an indoor game using the newly named Muffball. 

Parker Brothers acquired Guyer’s ball, and in 1969, introduced the renamed Nerf ball in four colors: yellow, orange, red, and blue. While some think the name is an acronym for “non-expanding recreational foam,” Guyer says it came from the foam-padded roll bars on Jeeps, known as “NERF bars.”

With ad copy of “throw it indoors; you can’t damage lamps or break windows. You can’t hurt babies or old people,” 4.5 million Nerf balls were sold in the first year of production.  In 1971, Parker Brothers expanded the product line to include a Super Nerf Ball and Nerf Disk.

In 1972, Fred Cox, former Minnesota Vikings field-goal kicker, came up with the idea of making a football out of foam, using an injection molder to give the soft ball a durable surface that could be gripped. Cox brought the invention to Parker Brothers, where it became the Nerf Football which further propelled its international fame. Today, NERF is probably best known for its series of foam dart blasters, which debuted in 1992. 

Moon Facts…

A day on the Moon is longer than it is on Earth

One lunar day lasts for 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes. This is measured by the time it takes for the Moon to make one orbit around Earth. Like Earth, the Moon also spins on its own axis, but its rotation is much slower than ours.

State Names Origins…

Delaware

It’s appropriate that this small, yet naturally spectacular jewel of the Atlantic coast owes its name to a water source. In 1610, English explorer Samuel Argall was sailing from Virginia when a storm blew him off course and into modern day Cape Henlopen. After his arrival, Argall would go on to pay tribute to his governor, Thomas West, Lord De La Warr, the first governor of the colony of Virginia, by naming the waterway Delaware Bay. The state takes its name from both that bay and the Delaware River.

Historical Events

  v 1901 – New York required the first license plates.
v 1953 – Francis Crick and James D. Watson published Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid describing the double helix structure of DNA.
v 1990 – The Hubble Space Telescope was deployed.

Birthdays Today

@91 – William Brennan, US Supreme Court Associate Justice (d. 1997)
“The Framers of the Bill of Rights did not purport to ‘create’ rights. Rather, they designed the Bill of Rights to prohibit our Government from infringing rights and liberties presumed to be preexisting.”– William J. Brennan
83 – Al Pacino, American actor
“They say we die twice – once when the last breath leaves our body and once when the last person we know says our name.”– Al Pacino
@79 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (d. 1996; stroke)
“It isn’t where you came from, it’s where you’re going that counts.”– Ella Fitzgerald @78 – Jerry Leiber, American songwriter (d. 2011)
77 – Talia Shire, American actress
@63 – Guglielmo Marconi, inventor; wireless telegraph (d. 1937; after 9^th heart attack)
62 – Dinesh D’Souza, Indian-American journalist, author
@59 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of Great Britain (d. 1658; malaria)
“Subtlety may deceive you; integrity never will.”– Oliver Cromwell
59 – Hank Azaria, American actor and voice artist
@57 – Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (d. 1965; lung cancer)
“A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.”– Edward R. Murrow
54 – Joe Buck, American sportscaster
54 – Renée Zellweger, American actress
53 – Jason Lee, American actor
46 – Marguerite Moreau, American actress