28 Dec

Flagstaff Today 56°: 27°  Week 1 Day 364 Air Quality: Fair Sunshine Wind 6 mph Gusts 7 mph Active Fire: 589 miles away Risk of Fire: Moderate Nearest lightning: 897 miles away Dec Averages: Temps: 45°\18° Moisture: 5 Days

Weekly Observations

14-1/5/25 Christmas Bird Count Week Link  25—1/2/25 Chanukah

25-31 It's About Time Week 26-1/1/25 Kwanzaa

Daily Observations

National Pepper Pot Day Still Need To Do Day Texas Admission Day (28th state)

Tick Tock Day Tick Tock Day Link YMCA Day (Organization not The Song)

Today’s Quote                                                               

 

Today’s Meme

 

Thoughts for the day

A nice winter day. I really enjoy a beautiful deep blue sky.

I’m really enjoying this time between Christmas and New Year’s. I’m usually with my brother and his wife along with others in Mexico or Chicago. I’m getting lots of rearranging and then throwing away junk. Getting ready for 2025. I have discovered way too much ‘I might need this’ stuff I will never need.

Inventions…

Garrett Morgan - Traffic Signal

After witnessing a terrible accident between a car and a horse carriage, Garrett Morgan created the three-position traffic signal in 1923. His design added a warning position between stop and go, giving drivers time to clear intersections – the same principle behind today’s yellow light. Morgan sold his patent to General Electric for $40,000, and his invention became the basis for modern traffic control systems. His traffic signal made roads safer at a time when cars were becoming increasingly common on American streets.

Random Thoughts…

While trying to publish his first novel Ernest Hemingway was meeting with an editor who wished to see more of his work. His wife packed all of his work she could find in a suitcase and went to meet him. While on the train she left the suitcase unattended, where it was lost and never seen again. 
The protagonist in Wicked was based on Margaret Hamilton’s approach to the character, as explained to TV’s Mister Rogers.

Burl Ives – Real Name: Burl Ivanhoe

Before Elvis Presley became famous, he had a troubling past of getting bullied. Once in High School, three guys were going to cut his hair off. Then a man, named Red West intervened in the scene and stopped them. He would become Elvis’s bodyguard and friend and was with him from 1956 to 1975.

Quirky town names…

Accident, Maryland

The town’s unusual name dates to a land survey in the 1700s. A settler described his purchase as “an accident of survey,” and the name caught on, cementing its peculiar legacy.

Historic Events

Click here for 29 Dec History

Birthdays

Ross Lynch, 29 Pop Singer Jude Law, 52 Movie Actor Dylan Mulvaney, 28 TV Actress Ted Danson, 77 TV Actor Diego Luna, 45 Movie Actor Jon Voight, 86 Movie Actor Paula Poundstone, 65, comedian   Marianne Faithfull, 78, English actress, singer

@80 – Mary Tyler Moore, American actress (d. 2017) @66 – Andrew Johnson, 17th President (d. 1875; stroke) @60 – Ed Flanders, American actor (d. 1995; suicide)   @59 – Charles Goodyear, American chemist, and engineer (d. 1860)

…The End for today…

                

28 Dec

 

Flagstaff Today 47°: 25°  Week 52 Day 363 Air Quality: Fair Sunshine Wind 12 mph Gusts 19 mph Breezy Active Fire: 347 miles away Risk of Fire: Low Nearest lightning: 1304 miles away Dec Averages: Temps: 45°\18° Moisture: 5 Days

Weekly Observations

14-1/5/25 Christmas Bird Count Week Link  14-28 Halcyon Days: 14-28 (Always 7 days before and 7 days after the Winter Solstice)

25—1/2/25 Chanukah 25-31 It's About Time Week 26-1/1/25 Kwanzaa

Daily Observations

Call a Friend Day Endangered Species Act Day Holy Innocent’s Day National Card Playing Day

National Chocolate Day Link Pledge of Allegiance Day Short Film Day  Link

Today’s Quote                                                               

 

Today’s Meme

 

Thoughts for the day

A breezy but tolerable day. I took a nice walk around the neighborhood before the breeze picked up. I just needed a light jacket.

Alcoholism is a real problem on many reservations. Back in 2019 there were a number of new ‘treatment centers for Natives’ spring up in Phoenix. Since there has been a string of news stories that they were not working. Natives attending these places were either missing or found dead. Now the Navajo Nation has filed a $2.8 billion lawsuit against the state of Arizona for failure to stopping various fraud schemes involving Medicare/Medicaid (ACCCHS). These frauds claimed to set up drug treatment facilities, but in fact provided drugs and alcohol to patients, while being paid by ACCCHS for their service. Shameful.

Panama’s President has stated that Chinese are not working in the Panama Canal, and that the only Chinese would be passengers of cruise ships entering and leaving the canal. It sounds to me like Trump is having another ‘They are eating the pets’ moments. I am remaining calm and waiting to see what Trump actually does after Jan. 20. …

Random Thoughts…

The original drummer of The Velvet Underground, Angus MacLise, once showed up for a show a half-hour after it started and played for a half-hour after the rest of the band ended. He later quit the band after they took a paying gig because he considered that as selling out.

A group of Stories is an Anthology.

Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius (86 AD – 161 AD) had the most peaceful reign of any ruler in antiquity. There is no record of any major events or conflicts during his 23-year reign.

The Vatican broadcast its public approval of Pokémon in April 2001 after Christian groups argued that it promoted Satanic themes.

Diet Coke was first marketed in 1982.

The Bee Gees song Stayin’ Alive was used in a study to train medical professionals to provide chest compressions per minute while performing CPR.

Quirky town names…

Yeehaw Junction, Florida

Yeehaw Junction’s name reflects its Wild West-inspired roots. Originally a trading post and cattle town, it embraced the cowboy culture of Florida's past and now attracts tourists for its quirky vibe.

Historic Events

28 Dec. History Click on date

Birthdays

Nash Grier, 27 Movie Actor Edgar Winter, 79 singer-songwriter   Denzel Washington, 70 Movie Actor John Legend, 46 R&B Singer Seth Meyers, 51 TV Show Host David Archuleta, 34 Pop Singer Joe Manganiello, 48 TV Actor Gayle King, 70 Radio Host    Adam Peaty, 30 Swimmer

@90 – Johnny Otis, American singer-songwriter (d. 2012) @89 – Nichelle Nichols, American actress (d. 2022) @89 – Maggie Smith, English actress (d. 2024) @83 – Martin Milner, American actor (d. 2015)   @67 – Woodrow Wilson, American politician, 28th President (d. 1924)

…The End for today…

               

27 Dec

 

Flagstaff Today 46°: 22°  Week 52 Day 362 Air Quality: Fair Overcast Wind 1 mph Gusts 4 mph Active Fire: 346 miles away Risk of Fire: Low Nearest lightning: 854 miles away Dec Averages: Temps: 45°\18° Moisture: 5 Days

Weekly Observations

14-1/5/25 Christmas Bird Count Week Link  14-28 Halcyon Days: 14-28 (Always 7 days before and 7 days after the Winter Solstice)

25—1/2/25 Chanukah 25-31 It's About Time Week 26-1/1/25 Kwanzaa

Daily Observations

Howdy Doody Day International Day for Epidemic Preparedness Make Cut Out Snowflakes Day

National Fruitcake Day Radio City Music Hall Day Visit The Zoo Day Link

Today’s Quote                                                               

 

Today’s Meme

 

Thoughts for the day

The storm for Christmas day never materialized. However; the day after Christmas is overcast, but no precipitation is in the forecast. Crazy!

I made or got several calls from friends on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I talked to Cheryl who is happy in her own little world. I also talked to my brother
Richard. He and Laura are doing great and enjoying their 2^nd place in San Miguel. I also talked to Lori and Lisa, Bob Echardt’s daughters. Lisa is still working in Chicago and Lori is in Loveland. They used Lori’s RV to escape for a spa vaca in Buena Vista. Both are doing well. I also texted Robin and Frank, Laura’s parents, in Chicago.  They are doing well and we plan to meet up when they come to their condo in Surprise later this year. A good Christmas all around.

Flagstaff’s pinecone drop on New Year’s Eve was just ranked as one of the top 5 in unique NYE celebrations. Nice!

It looks like the NBA v NFL for Christmas Day viewership is in full swing. The Nuggets lost to the Suns in their game.

On a serious note, the Māori are in a constitutional battle with New Zealand over their sovereignty. It will be a tough legal battle and one that should not be necessary.

After hundreds of years of believing that the Bald Eagle was the National Bird, a law was signed by Biden to make it so.

Inventions…NEW

Samuel Leeds Allen - Modern Sled: " Flexible Flyer sled" is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Samuel Leeds Allen patented the Flexible Flyer sled in 1889 during his farming equipment company’s off-season. His design included a steering mechanism that allowed riders to control the sled by shifting their weight. The Flexible Flyer became America’s most popular winter toy. Allen’s basic steering design is still used in modern sleds.

Random Thoughts…

Biggest film of 2012: The Avengers (Action) earned ~ $623,000,000 (in the USA)

Boy George – Real Name: George O’Dowd

The Hatfield-McCoy Feud was settled by the doctrine that possession is nine-tenths of the law, giving possession of the pig that the McCoys claimed was their property.

Charles Darwin collected a Galápagos tortoise during his 1835 visit to the Galápagos Islands as part of his round-the-world survey expedition. It lived 175 years and died of heart failure at the Australia Zoo in 2006.

A group of Jellyfish is called a Smack or Brood.

The Noid, Domino’s 80’s Pizza mascot, was retired after a paranoid schizophrenic named Kenneth Lamar Noid entered a Domino’s Pizza in Atlanta and held two employee’s hostage at gunpoint. He believed the commercials were making fun of him.

Quirky town names…

Why, Arizona

This desert town got its name from a highway intersection shaped like the letter Y. When naming it, the state required at least three letters, so they settled on Why. It’s a tiny community with a big backstory. It is located in Pima County.

Historic Events

27 Dec History

Birthdays

Timothée Chalamet, 29 Movie Actor Hayley Williams, 36 Rock Singer Savannah Guthrie, 53 Journalist

@90 – Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress (d. 1992) @84 – John Amos, American actor (d. 2024) @75 – Cokie Roberts, American journalist (d. 2019; breast cancer) @58 – Louis Pasteur, French chemist, microbiologist, invented Pasteurization (d. 1895; stroke) @58 – Johannes Kepler, German mathematician, astronomer (d. 1630)

…The End for today…