December 04, 2015

December 5, 2015

FYI: This blog is now at a new address. Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

December 5, 2015  Week: 48 \ Day: 339
December Averages: 44°\17°
86004 Today: H 52° \ L 26° Average Sky Cover: 85% 
Wind ave:   8mph\Gusts:  19mph
Ave. High: 45° Record High: 67°[1989] Ave. Low: 18° Record Low: -1°[1953]
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Observances Today:                         
AFL-CIO Day
Bartender Appreciation Day Link  Link     
Columbian International Day of The Reef  Link
Earmuff Day or Chester Greenwood Day Link  
International Ninja Day 5 Link    Photo  Photo
International Volunteer Day for Economic & Social Development
Repeal Day - The 21st Amendment ends Prohibition.

Sachertorte Day Link
Skywarn Recognition Day Link  
World Soil Day Link

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Observances This Week:
1-7
Cookie Cutter Week Link
3-10

Clerc-Gallaudet Week
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Quote of the Day 

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US Historical Highlights for Today
1792 - George Washington re-elected as US president
1804 - Thomas Jefferson re-elected US President, George Clinton Vice President
1831 - Former US President John Q Adams takes his seat as a member of House of Representatives
1832 - Andrew Jackson re-elected President of US
1835 - Members of the Georgia Guard will arrest CHEROKEE Principal Chief John Ross at his home. Also arrested is historian John Howard Payne. Payne, the author of the song "Home, Sweet Home", was writing a history of the CHEROKEE people. They are arrested so they will not be able to attend the "New Echota Treaty" conference.
1847 - Jefferson Davis is elected to the US senate, his first political post.
1848 - President Polk triggers Gold Rush of 1849 by confirming gold discovery in California
1868 - 1st American bicycle college opens (NY)
1873 - Tucsonans celebrated the completion of the military telegraph to the town. The telegraph was an important means of communication for Arizonans well into the 20th century.
1876 - Fire at Brooklyn Theater kills 295, trampled or burned to death.
1879 - 1st automatic telephone switching system patented
1908 - 1st US football uniform numerals used (University of Pittsburgh)
1929 - 1st US nudist organization (American League for Physical Culture, NYC)
1932 - German physicist Albert Einstein granted a visa to enter America
1933 - 21st Amendment to the US Constitution ratified, 18th Amendment (Prohibition of alcohol) repealed (5:32 PM EST)
1935 - First commercial hydroponics operation established (Montebello, California)
1946 - US President Harry Truman creates Committee on Civil Rights by Exec Order #9808
1955 - Historic bus boycott begins in Montgomery Alabama by Rosa Parks
1955 - The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge and form the AFL-CIO.
1967 - Benjamin Spock & Allen Ginsberg arrested protesting against Vietnam war
1991 - Charles Keating Jr (Lincoln Savings & Loan fraud), found guilty
2007 - Westroads Mall massacre: A gunman opens fire with a semi-automatic rifle at an Omaha, Nebraska mall, killing eight people before taking his own life.
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World Historical Highlights for Today
771 - Charlemagne becomes the sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman.
1360 - The French Franc is created.
1456 - Earthquake strikes Naples; about 35,000 die
1717 - Blackbeard ransacks the merchant sloop "Margaret" and keeps her captain, Henry Bostock, prisoner for 8 hours before releasing him. Bostock would later provide the first recorded of Blackbeard's appearance, with specific reference to his "very black beard", providing the source for his name
1840
 - Napoleon Bonaparte receives a French state funeral in Paris 19 years after his death

1893 - 1st electric car (built in Toronto) could go 15 miles between charges
1952 - -8] worst smog in London ever, 4-8,000 die
1957 - President Sukarno of Indonesia expels all Dutch people.
1974 - Final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus airs on BBC TV
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♫ Birthdays Today: ♫
How many can you identify? Answers below in Birthdays Today 

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My Rambling Thoughts
Cloudy but nice day in our little mountain town.
Terrorism hits America, according to the FBI. Guess that squashes any chance of getting sensible gun control…again. I can hear it already…how do we stop the terrorists? Arm the good Americans so they can protect our country. I sorta get that, but stopping the terrorists would mean that American troops would have to stop killing innocents around the world. Certainly our troops are killing people who are crazy and are killing lots of their own people, but sadly too many innocents are also part of the casualties. That gives the crazies the PR they need to hate America.
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Brain Teasers
(answers at the end of post)
If you're good at solving puzzles, these will be easy. Every answer is a two-word phrase in which the first word begins with "BE" and the second with "ST".
Ex: A fairy tale is a popular one.
BE_ _ _ _ _ ST_ _ _
BEDTIME STORY

1.)Nickname for Utah.
BE_ _ _ _ _ ST_ _ _

2.)One jewel of horse racing's Triple Crown.
BE_ _ _ _ _ ST_ _ _ _

3.)Cause of red bump on the skin.
BE_ ST_ _ _

4.)What separates Alaska from Russia.
BE _ _ _ _ ST_ _ _ _

5.)Star of "Zoolander" and "Meet the Fockers".
BE_ ST_ _ _ _ _

6.)Once a giant among the United States' metal manufacturers.
BE_ _ _ _ _ _ _ ST_ _ _

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Found on You Tube with some relevance to today
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*NEW*…Bet You Didn’t Know…
A pencil can draw a line 35-38 miles (56-61 kms) long.

Goats have horizontal pupils.
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…Crazy Law…
Minnesota
In a flagrant show of disrespect for old-timey farmers everywhere, Minnesota made greased pig contests and turkey scrambles unlawful.
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…Harper’s Index…
35, 58 – percentage of white and black Americans, respectively,who said in March that race relations were ‘generally bad’

62, 65
In May
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…Instagram Photo of the Day… 

Seen from the Brooklyn side of the East River, the sun sets behind the World Trade Center in New York City USA

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2 jokes for the day
Grave Grief

A man placed some flowers on the grave of his departed mother and started back for his car, parked on the cemetery road. His attention was diverted to a man kneeling at a grave.
The man seemed to be praying with profound intensity, and kept repeating, "Why did you die? Why did you die?"
The first man approached him and said, "Sir, I don't want to interfere with your private grief, but this demonstration of hurt and pain is more than I've ever seen before. For whom do you mourn so deeply? You’re Child? A parent? Who, may I ask, lies in that grave?"
The mourner answered, "My wife's first husband! ... Why did you die? Why did you die?"
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Loan

A blonde woman walks into a bank in NYC before going on vacation and asks for a $5,000 loan.

The banker asks, "Okay, miss, is there anything you would like to use as collateral?"

The woman says, "Yes, of course. I'll use my Rolls Royce."

The banker, stunned, asks, "A $250,000 Rolls Royce? Really?"

The woman is completely positive. She hands over the keys, as the bankers and loan officers laugh at her. They check her credentials, make sure she is the title owner. Everything checks out. They park it in their underground garage for two weeks.

When she comes back, she pays off the $5,000 loan as well as the $15.41 interest.

The loan officer says, "Miss, we are very appreciative of your business with us, but I have one question. We looked you up and found out that you are a multi-millionaire. Why would you want to borrow $5,000?"

The woman replies, "Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there when I return?"        
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Yep, It Really Happened
Wall Street Journal In an enterprise somewhat resembling "American Idol," amateur performers in China become self-supporting online not by soliciting money directly, but through virtual gifts from enthralled fans, with performers getting a cut of each sale. Beijing's YY.com hosts original performances, and two of the site's favorites, Mr. Earth and Ms. Cloud, earned the equivalent of about $160,000 last year from their universe of 1.8 million fans (according to a November Wall Street Journal report). In an ancillary industry (led by 9158.com), hard-core fans can purchase access (think "virtual limousines," shown "arriving" at a "concert"), giving them bragging rights. (A simple "applause" icon after a song costs about a penny.) [11-11-2015]          
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Somewhat Useless Information
When two words are blended to form one - such as "bromance" or "mockumentary" - it's called a portmanteau or a portmanteau word. A portmanteau is also a type of suitcase that opens into two halves.

"Hatriot" is used to describe an extremist member of a militia group, a person who greatly distrusts the current government, or a liberal who is always critical of the country. It is also used by football fans who don't like the team from New England.

"Anticipointment" is a television and marketing term that was popular circa 1990, describing the feeling of consumers when a product is hyped but doesn't deliver.

The word "gerrymander" was invented in 1812 to describe a legislative district whose contours were grossly manipulated to favor one side. One such district in Massachusetts resembled a salamander, and the governor at the time was Elbridge Gerry. Thus, gerrymandering had occurred.

Without the cell phone, "approximeeting" wouldn't work. That's when you make plans to meet someone, but don't firm up the details until later, when you're on the move.

A college student who dates only people in his or her residence hall commits "dormcest."

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Birthdays Today
“()” indicates age at death
(100) - [Steve James] Strom Thurmond, (Sen-D/R-SC) (d.2003)
83 - Little Richard [Wayne Penniman], Macon, Georgia, American singer-songwriter (Tutti Frutti)
(80) - Otto Preminger, Austria, director/producer (Laura, Exodus) (d.1986)
(70) - Martin Van Buren, Kinderhook New York, (D) 8th US president (d.1862)
69 - Jose Carreras, Barcelona Spain opera tenor (I Lombardi, Three Tenors)
(65) - Walt [Walter Elias] Disney, animator, (Mickey Mouse), producer and co-founder of Walt Disney Co., born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1966)
51 - Doctor Dre, American radio personality
47 - Margaret Cho, actress/comedienne (Face/Off)
(36) - George Armstrong Custer, New Rumley, Ohio, Mjr General (Union volunteers), (d. 1876)
30 - Frankie Muniz, American actor
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Historical Obits Today
@95-2013 - Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid activist, political prisoner (1962-1990) and South African President (1994-99)
@86-1926 - Claude Monet, French impressionist
@72-2010 - Don Meredith, American football player and broadcaster, stroke
@71-2002 - Roone Arledge, American sports broadcasting pioneer, prostate cancer
@68-1870 - Alexandre Dumas, French writer ('The Three Musketeers', 'The Count of Monte Cristo')
@35-1791 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer, swelling
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Brain Teasers Answers
1.)Beehive State
2.)Belmont Stakes
3.)Bee Sting
4.)Bering Strait
5.)Ben Stiller
6.)Bethlehem Steel

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Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.
All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site contains mistakes and sadly once the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

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December 03, 2015

December 4, 2014

FYI: This blog is now at a new address. Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

December 4, 2015  Week: 48 \ Day: 338
December Averages: 44°\17°
86004 Today: H 52° \ L 18° Average Sky Cover: 35% 
Wind ave:   7mph\Gusts:  14mph
Ave. High: 45° Record High: 67°[1965] Ave. Low: 18° Record Low: -4°[1955]
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Observances Today:                         
Faux Fur Friday
National Cookie Day Link
National Dice Day
National Salesperson Day

World Wildlife Conservation Day Link
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Observances This Week:
1-7
Cookie Cutter Week Link
3-10

Clerc-Gallaudet Week
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Quote of the Day 

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US Historical Highlights for Today
1598 - Spanish and ACOMA forces engage in a fight.
1619 - 38 colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God. Considered by many as the first Thanksgiving in the Americas.
1674 - Father Marquette builds first dwelling in what is now Chicago1816 - James Monroe (VA), elected 5th pres, defeating Federalist Rufus King
1843 - Manila paper (made from sails, canvas & rope) patented, Mass
1844 - James Knox Polk elected 11th US President
1875 - William Marcy "Boss" Tweed (NYC-Tammany Hall) escapes from jail
1881 - The first edition of the Los Angeles Times is published.
1915 - Ku Klux Klan receives charter from Fulton County, Ga
1918 - US President Woodrow Wilson sails for Versailles Peace Conference in France, 1st President to travel outside US while in office
1923 - Cecil B. DeMille's first version of "Ten Commandments" premieres
1927 - The town of Bowie, AZ announced oil had been found in commercial quantities at 1,400 feet
1933 - FDR creates Federal Alcohol Control Administration
1942 - FDR orders dismantling of Works Progress Administration
1945 - Senate approves US participation in United Nations
1954 - The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, USA
1961 - Museum of Modern Art hangs Matisse's Le Bateau upside down for 47 days
1981 - Reagan Executive Order on Intelligence (No 12333) that allows CIA to engage in domestic counter-intelligence
1993 - Dan Jansen skates world record 500m (35.92 sec)
2014 - US authorities promise a "fair" investigation into the death of Eric Garner, a black man, after a white police officer held him in a choke-hold faces no charges
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World Historical Highlights for Today
1110 - Syrian harbor city Saida (Sidon) surrenders to Crusaders
1745 - Bonnie Prince Charles reaches Derby
1829 - Britain outlaws "suttee" in India (widow burning herself to death on her husband's funeral pyre)
1961 - The female contraceptive 'pill' becomes available on the National Health Service in Britain
1968 - Following a civil rights march in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, there is a violent clash between Loyalists and those who are taking part in the march
2014 - The United Nations warns that the world is on course for the warmest year since records began
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♫ Birthdays Today: ♫
How many can you identify? Answers below in Birthdays Today 

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My Rambling Thoughts
Great lunch with Cheryl at a favorite Mexican place. She had a great time in CA for Thanksgiving with her son and his family. Mary headed out to Portland this morning for 10 days with her son and his family.
I have reached overload on mass shootings in this country. I grew up having this time of year is the best time of the year…giving, sharing, caring, and loving. Not to have crazy people with weapons killing innocents at a holiday party. More than 1 person a day has been killed in a mass shooting in my country this year. This has to stop. I understand that this country has done many horrible things to innocents around the world in wars, conflicts, and drone attacks. And certainly those leaders who did these horrific things should be punished. But the eye-for-an-eye mentality simply makes the world blind. We need to find answers!
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Brain Teasers
(answers at the end of post)
A man worked for a high-security institution, and one day he went in to work only to find that he could not log in to his computer terminal. His password wouldn't work. Then he remembered that the passwords are reset every month for security purposes. So he went to his boss and they had this conversation:
Man-"Hey boss, my password is out of date."
Boss-"Yes, that's right. The password is different, but if you listen carefully you should be able to figure out the new one: It has the same amount of letters as your old password, but only four of the letters are the same."
Man: "Thanks boss."
With that, he went and correctly logged into his station. 
What was the new password?
BONUS: What was his old password?

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…Amazing Facts…
An Indian man known as "Snake Manu" can put small snakes, including deadly cobras, into his mouth and pass them out through his nose.

Lurch, a Watusi bull, had the largest horns in the world.

Chanel Tapper, a student from California, USA, has the world's longest tongue, measuring 9.75 cm (3.8 inches), from tip to top lip!
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…Crazy Law…
Michigan
Michigan bars you from being inebriated on a train in Act 68 of 1913. Probably a fair call, but how the hell does Amtrak stay in business in this state?
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…Harper’s Index…
+63 – percentage change since last year in the number of minority-produced network TV shows
100 – percentage of this increase attributable to Tyler Perry
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…Instagram Photo of the Day… 

natgeoPhoto by @petekmuller/@prime_collective. Young boys #fish and wash dishes in a stream outside the town of #Isiro in northeastern Democratic Republic of#Congo. Isiro is an island-city surrounded by hundreds of miles of virgin #forest. Goods are expensive in #Isiro as all non-indigenous items must be flown in. Isiro is connected to other areas of Congo only by exceptionally battered roads and footpaths. 
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2 jokes for the day
Adele Cross The Road

Why did Adele cross the road?

To say "Hello" from the other side!
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Date a tennis player

Why shouldn't you date a tennis player?
....
....
....
....
Because love means nothing to them.    
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Yep, It Really Happened
WOLLSTONECRAFT, Australia - An Australian police department called to a suspected domestic violence scene said they instead discovered a man locked in mortal combat with a spider. The Harbourside Local Area Command said in a Facebook post several officers responded to an apartment in Wollstonecraft, New South Wales, on a report of "a woman screaming hysterically" and a man's voice shouting, "I'm going to kill you, [you're] dead! Die Die!!" The post said neighbors reported hearing furniture being thrown around the inside of the residence. The officers arrived and found a man alone in the residence. The Facebook post recounted the man's conversation with officers: 

Police: "Where's your wife?"

Male: "Umm I don't have one."

Police: "Where your girlfriend?"

Male: "Umm I don't have one"

Police: "We had a report of a domestic and a women screaming, where is she?"

Male: "I don't know what you're talking about I live alone."

Police: "Come on mate people clearly heard you yelling you were going to kill her and furniture getting thrown around the unit."

Police said the man "became very sheepish" at this point in the conversation.

Police: "Come on mate, what have you done to her?"

Male: "It was a spider."

Police "Sorry??"

Male: "It was a spider, a really big one!!"

Police: "What about the women screaming?"

Male: "Yeah sorry that was me, I really really hate spiders."

The man was not charged and officers left after a quick search of the apartment confirmed the resident's account. 

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Somewhat Useless Information
The "thumbs-up" sign means "good" to Westerners, "one" to Italians, "five" to Japanese, and "up yours" in Greece. In Iran, it represents a penis.

The "hang loose" sign (thumb and little finger extended) means, "stay cool, relax" in Hawaii, "six" in Japan, and "would you like a drink?" in Mexico.

***
Nodding the head means "yes" in most societies, but means "no" in some parts of Greece, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Turkey.

An ear grasp means "I'm sorry" in parts of India. Cupping the ear means "I can't hear you" in all societies. Pulling the ear means "you are in my heart" for Navajo Indians.

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Birthdays Today
“()” indicates age at death
(85) - Thomas Carlyle, Scotland, essayist/historian (French Revolution) (d.1881)
82 - Wink Martindale, Jackson Tn, TV host (Tic-Tac-Dough, Can You Top This)
(82) - Francisco Franco [ y Bahamonde], Ferrol Galicia, Spanish General and Dictator (1936-75), (d. 1975)
78 - Max Baer Jr, actor (Jethro-Beverly Hillbillies), born in Oakland, California
(67) - John Cotton, Puritan clergyman in Mass Bay colony (d.1652)
66 - Jeff Bridges, actor (Stay Hungry, Against All Odds), born in Los Angeles, CA
(54) - Victor French, actor (Highway to Heaven),born-Santa Barbara, CA (d.1989)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
51 - Marisa Tomei, American actress (My Cousin Vinny), born in Brooklyn, NY
46 - Jay Z [Shawn Carter], American rapper and record producer (Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint), born in Brooklyn, New York City
42 - Tyra Banks, Inglewood, California, model/actress (Higher Learning, Fresh Prince of Bel Air)
(36) - Crazy Horse [TȟaΕ‘ΓΊΕ‹ke WitkΓ³], Cha-O-Ha area, Oglala Sioux chief (Battle of the Little Bighorn)
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Historical Obits Today
@91-1679 - Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher
@90-1993 - Margaret Landon, US author (Anna & the King of Siam)
@83-1123 - Omar KhayyΓ‘m, Persian poet, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher
@72-1967 - Bert Lahr, [Irving Lahrheim], US comic (Wizard of Oz), cancer
@52-1993 - Frank V Zappa, US music/composer (Mothers of Invention), cancer
@47-1732 - John Gay, English poet (Beggar's Opera)
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Brain Teasers Answers
The old one was: Out of date
The new one is: Different
He said: My password is "Out of date." And the boss told him the new one when he said: "The password is different."

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Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.
All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site contains mistakes and sadly once the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.

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