27 Mar

 

Week 13  Day 86 Flag Today  74°/43°                             Wind 8 mph Gusts 17 mph

Active Fire: 52 miles away Risk of fire: Extreme   Nearest Lightning: 964 miles away

Air Quality: Moderate Sunshine Breezy

Mar. Averages: Temps: 54°\24° Moisture: 12 days

Weekly Observations

22-28 International Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination Consider Christianity Week National Protocol Officer's Week International Phace Syndrome Awareness Week National Cleaning Week Link 3/22-4/4 Passiontide

22-28 Passion Week World Optometry Week Link  Link Link   23-29 Shakespeare Week Link 25-31 National Farm Workers Awareness Week Link Link National Physicians Week  Link

Daily Observations

Celebrate Exchange Day Link Endometriosis March Day-29 Link  Frozen Dead Guy Days-29 Link International Medical Science Liason Day  Link International Whisk(e)y Day Link National Medical Billers Day  Link

National Scribble Day Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day Link Viagra Day World AdTech Day  Link World Cheese Day World Theatre Day  Link

Today’s Quotes                                                                 

Today’s Memes

Today’s Thoughts

Another great spring day. No complaints.

Andy, Faith and I had lunch at a new Mexican place…Mi Tesoro…at the Flagstaff mall. It is listed as contemporary Mexican cuisine. The food was very good. In English it means: my darling or my treasure. The atmosphere was nice. Staff was very helpful. I wore my avocado shirt and got compliments from the staff.

By sending ICE to airports has made the line at every Starbucks at the airport much longer.

TSA, ICE, civilian Coast Guard employees, Border Patrol, and
FEMA are not being paid during this 40+day shutdown. The starting salary for TSA workers is $35,000 with the average pay around $46-55,000. These jobs/careers should not be in this mess. There was a plea from the Flagstaff airport asking for gift cards to be donated to the unpaid workers in Flagstaff. The shutdown is unacceptable and must end.

META and YouTube were found negligent in a landmark decision that they did not protect kids from AI chats. The fine sounds huge, until you realize that these companies are worth over a trillion. This is far from over. Expect to see more lawsuits, and of course, many more appeals. So crazy. 

Real Hoaxes

The Cardiff Giant (1869

In 1869, laborers in Cardiff, New York unearthed a ten-foot stone figure that looked like a petrified man. News raced through the region, and crowds paid admission to view the marvel.

The giant’s realistic features and weathered surface convinced many it was a prehistoric relic or biblical curiosity.

The statue, however, was a carefully carved gypsum figure commissioned by George Hull. He created it to mock literal interpretations of scripture and to profit from public fascination.

Local businessmen amplified the spectacle, and rival showmen even produced competing giants, further muddying the waters of truth.

Experts soon spotted tool marks and inconsistent geology, and the hoax unraveled. Still, the Cardiff Giant demonstrated how spectacle plus ticket sales can override careful inquiry.

Curators and newspapers learned to insist on provenance and method, not just a good story. When a find appears out of nowhere with immediate commercial framing, your guard should go up.

Ask where, how, and by whom it was found, then look for independent testing. Amazement is fine.

Verification turns amazement into knowledge instead of a costly lesson. 

Try Rebus

SITTING the world

JOBINJOB

Historic Events

 March in History

 

REBUS ANSWERS

Sitting on top of the world

In between jobs

Birthdays

Michael York, British actor (Cabaret, Logan's Run, 3 Musketeers), born in Fulmer, Buckinghamshire (84 years old) φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Tom Sullivan, blind actor (If You Could See What I Hear), born in Boston, Massachusetts (79 years old) φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Quentin Tarantino (63 years old) American director and screenwriter (Pulp Fiction), born in Knoxville, Tennessee φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Mariah Carey (57 years old) American pop singer-songwriter ("Without You"; "All I Want For Christmas Is You"; "Hero"; "We Belong Together"), born in Huntington, Long Island, New York φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Nathan Fillion (55 years old) Canadian actor (Castle, Firefly, Superman, The Rookie), born in Edmonton, Alberta φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Fergie (51 years old) American pop singer (The Black Eyed Peas - "I Gotta Feeling"), born in Hacienda Heights, California φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Brenda Song, American actress (The Ultimate Christmas Present), born in Carmichael, California (38 years old) φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ

Wilhelm Röntgen (1845-1923; @77, cancer) German physicist who discovered X-rays (Nobel 1901), born in Lennep, Rhine Province φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Henry Royce (1863-1933; @70) English industrialist and automobile founder (Rolls-Royce), born in Alwalton, England φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Gloria Swanson (1899-1983; @84) American actress (Sunset Boulevard, Queen Kelly) and producer, born in Chicago, Illinois φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Carl Barks (1901-2000; @99) American cartoonist (creator of Scrooge McDuck), born in Merrill, Oregon φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Cyrus Vance, US Secretary of State (1977-80), born in Clarksburg, West Virginia (d. 2002; @84) φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Dick King-Smith (1922-2011; @88) English writer whose "The Sheep-Pig" was the basis of the film "Babe", born in Gloucestershire, England φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Sarah Vaughan, American jazz and pop singer ("Body and Soul; "Broken Hearted Melody"), often known as "Sassy" and "The Divine One", born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 1990; @66, lung cancer)  φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ David Janssen David Harold Meyer, American actor (The Fugitive, Harry O), born in Naponee Nebraska (d. 1980; @48, heart attack) φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Cale Yarborough (1939-2023; @84) American auto racer (NASCAR Cup Series 1976, 77, 78; Daytona 500 1968, 77, 83, 84), born in Timmonsville, South Carolina

 

…The End for today…

               

26 Mar

 

Week 13  Day 85 Flag Today  74°/40°                             Wind 5 mph Gusts 5 mph

Active Fire: 52 miles away Risk of fire: Extreme   Nearest Lightning: 1924 miles away

Air Quality: Moderate Sunshine

Mar. Averages: Temps: 54°\24° Moisture: 12 days

Weekly Observations

22-28 International Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination Consider Christianity Week National Protocol Officer's Week International Phace Syndrome Awareness Week National Cleaning Week Link 3/22-4/4 Passiontide

22-28 Passion Week World Optometry Week Link  Link Link   23-29 Shakespeare Week Link 25-31 National Farm Workers Awareness Week Link Link National Physicians Week  Link

Daily Observations

Legal Assistants Day Live Long And Prosper Day Make Up Your Own Holiday Day Link

National Science Appreciation Day Link Purple Day Link Spinach Day

Today’s Quotes                                                                 

Today’s Memes

Today’s Thoughts

Another great spring day. I have windows and doors open to let in the fresh spring area. Very nice!

There was a small wildfire about 2 miles south of Flagstaff near the airport. It was quickly contained and put out. Our community needs moisture and no lightning. Thankfully the lightning is far, far away.

While TSA remains unfunded and immigrants are removed without due process the Trump family has gained about $4 billion from his time in office. I find this difficult to comprehend. We need an administration that helps and protects every single American. 

Real Hoaxes

The “Alien Autopsy” Footage

In the mid-1990s, a TV special aired grainy footage that it claimed showed an alien autopsy linked to the Roswell story. The visuals were creepy enough that plenty of viewers wondered if it could be real. The creator later admitted it was a fabrication.

The Great Moon Hoax (1835)

In 1835, the New York Sun ran a sensational series claiming a renowned astronomer had observed life on the Moon. The articles described bat-like humanoids, blue lakes, lush forests, and bizarre creatures seen through a powerful new telescope.

Readers were captivated, and circulation soared as the paper released installment after installment, each more vivid than the last.

The hoax succeeded because it blended scientific language, a trusted figure, and precise details that felt plausible to a public excited by astronomy. Newspapers competed fiercely, and reprints spread the story across the United States and beyond.

Few had the tools to verify astronomical claims, and many wanted to believe humanity had cosmic neighbors.

Eventually, skeptics and scientists exposed the series as fiction, admitting it was crafted to entertain and sell papers. The Sun never fully apologized, but the public learned a lasting lesson about anonymous authority and sensational reporting.

Today, the Great Moon Hoax is remembered as an early example of mass media’s power to shape belief. When a claim leans on prestige and novelty, pause and ask for primary sources.

Curiosity is healthy, but verification is essential. 

Try Rebus

COVER C                                                                 C O                                                                 O V                          HEAD                            V E                                                                  E R                         COVER                          R

SMOKE G

Historic Events

 March in History

 

REBUS ANSWERS

Head for cover

Go up in smoke

Birthdays

Mahmoud Abbas(91 years old) 2nd President of the Palestine National Authority (2005-present), born in Safed, Mandatory Palestine φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Nancy Pelosi (86 years old) American politician (Rep-D-California 1987-) and the 1st female Speaker of the House (2007-11, 2019-23), born in Baltimore, Maryland φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Bob Woodward (83 years old) 1943 American author and investigative reporter (Watergate, CIA crimes), born in Geneva Illinois φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Diana Ross (82 years old) American singer (The Supremes - "Stop! In The Name Of Love"; "You Can't Hurry Love"; "I Hear A Symphony"), and actress (Lady Sings Blues; Mahogany), born in Detroit, Michigan φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Steven Tyler (78 years old) American rock vocalist (Aerosmith - "Walk This Way"; "Dude Looks Like A Lady"), born in New York City φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Martin Short (76 years old) Canadian comedian (SNL; SCTV; 3 Amigos), born in Hamilton, Ontario φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Larry Page (53 years old) American computer scientist and businessman (co-founded Google with Sergey Brin), born in East Lansing, Michigan φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Keira Knightley (41 years old) English actress (Bend It Like Beckham, Pirates of the Caribbean), born in London, England φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ

Ernst Engel, German statistician and economist (Law of Engel), born in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony (d. 1896; @75) φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ George Smith, English archaeologist and assyriologist (cuneiform script), born in London (d. 1876; @36, dysentery) φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Robert Frost (1874-1963; @88) American poet (Mending Wall, Road Not Taken), born in San Francisco, California φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Duncan Hines, American restaurant guide writer (Out of Kentucky Kitchens), born in Bowling Green, Kentucky (d. 1959; @78, lung cancer) φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Guccio Gucci, Italian founder of Gucci fashion house, born in Florence, Italy (d. 1953; @71) φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Betty MacDonald, American humor writer (The Egg and I), born in Boulder, Colorado (d. 1958; @50, uterine cancer) φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Tennessee Williams (Thomas Lanier Williams III) (1911-1983; @71, OD) American playwright (A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), born in Columbus, Mississippi φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ William Westmoreland (1914-2005; @91) American general and commander of American forces in the Vietnam War between 1964-68, born in Saxon, South Carolina φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Strother Martin (1919-1980; @61, heart attack) American actor (Cool Hand Luke ; Slapshot), born in Kokomo, Indiana φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Sandra Day O'Connor (1930-2023; @93) American 1st woman Supreme Court Justice (1981- 2006), born in El Paso, Texas φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015; @83) American actor (Star Trek - "Spock"'; Mission Impossible, 1969-71), and director (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; Three Men and a Baby), born in Boston, Massachusetts φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Alan Arkin, American Tony and Academy Award-winning actor (The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming; Wait Until Dark; Catch-22; The In-Laws; Little Miss Sunshine), and director, born in New York City (d. 2023; @89)  φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ James Caan (1940-2022; @82) American actor (Brian's Song; The Godfather; Rollerball; Misery; Elf), born in The Bronx, New York φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Johnny Crawford, American actor (The Mickey Mouse Club; The Rifleman - "Mark"), singer ("Sandy"), and bandleader (JCO), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2021; @75, COVID) φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ Teddy Pendergrass, American R&B and soul singer (Turn Off the Lights), born in Kingstree, South Carolina (d. 2010; @59, respiratory failure) φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ φ

 

…The End for today…