December 31, 2016

Jan 1

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
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Happy New Year!
January  1, 2017 Week: 01 \ Day: 01
86004 Today: H 50° \ L 33° Average Sky Cover: 70% 
Wind ave:   8mph\Gusts:  15mph Visibility: 10 mi
January Averages: 43°\17°
January Records: H: 66° (1971) L: -30 (1937)
Record High: 61°[1981]   Record Low: -21°[1919]
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❆❆Quote of the Day❆❆
Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin
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❆❆Observances Today❆❆
Copyright Law Day
Commitment Day Link
Ellis Island Day
Euro Day
First Foot Day Link Link
Global Family Day Link
Mummer's Parade
New Year's Dishonor List Day
Polar Bear Plunge or Swim Day Link (Cony Island NY & Vancouver, BC)
World Day of Peace Link
Z Day- People with the letter Z can go first in line, get picked earlier, and stand in front 
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❆❆Observances This Week❆❆
1-7
Diet Resolution Week
Silent Record Week
1-8 
National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week
New Year's Resolutions Week v

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❆❆Today’s Significant US Historical Events❆❆
  Today’s Significant International Historical Events 
1 Origin of the Christian Era
404 Last gladiator competition in Rome
630 The Prophet Muhammad sets out toward Mecca with the army that captures it bloodlessly.
1502 Portuguese navigators discover Rio de Janeiro
1600 Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of 25 March.

1610 German astronomer Simon Marius 1st discovers the Jupiter moons, but does not officially report it, Galileo does on July 1 1610

1651 Charles II Stuart crowned king of Scotland
1700 Russia begins using the Anno Domini era and no longer uses the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire.
1710 Paris merchant Jean Marius obtains 5-year royal privilege for his invention of a folding umbrella - first in Europe
1758 The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature establish the "starting point" for standardized species names across the animal kingdom, based on the binomial nomenclature by Carolus Linnaeus 10th edition of Systema Naturae
1772 First traveler's cheques go on sale in London, can be used in 90 European cities
1776 Gen. George Washington hoists Continental Uniou flag

1785 "Daily Universal Register" (Times of London) publishes 1st issue
1788 London's Daily Universal Registrar becomes the Times
1788 Quakers in Pennsylvania emancipate their slaves
1797 Albany replaces NYC as capital of NY
1801 The Irish Parliament votes to join the Kingdom of Great Britain, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
1803 Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam.
1804 Haiti gains independence from France (National Day)
1808 Congress prohibits importation of slaves
1818 Official reopening of the White House
1818 Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" is published anonymously by the small London publishing house of Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones

1840 1st recorded bowling match in US, Knickerbocker Alleys, NYC
1842 1st illustrated weekly magazine in US publishes 1st issue, NYC
1845 The Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed.
1846 Yucatan declares independence from Mexico
1847 Michigan is 1st state to abolish capital punishment
1852 1st US public bath opens, in NYC
1853 1st practical fire engine (horse-drawn) in US enters service
1854 Lincoln University, a black college, chartered (Oxford, Penn)
1858 Canada begins using decimal currency system
1861 President-elect of the United States Abraham Lincoln declares slavery in Confederate states unlawful (US Civil War)
1862 1st US income tax (3% of incomes > $600, 5% of incomes > $10,000)
1863 1st homestead under the Homestead Act claimed, near Beatrice, Nebraska
1863 Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln to free slaves in US confederate states
1874 NYC annexes the Bronx
1880 Building of Panama Canal, begins
1886 1st Tournament of Roses (Pasadena California)
1892 Ellis Island becomes reception center for new immigrants
1893 1st US college extension courses for credit, Univ of Chicago
1896 German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen announces his discovery of x-rays
1898 Brooklyn merges with NY to form present City of NY
1899 Cuba liberated from Spanish rule by the US, American occupation continues till 1902
1902 1st Rose Bowl: Michigan beats Stanford 49-0
1907 US President Theodore Roosevelt shakes a record 8,513 hands in 1 day
1907 1st time, ball signifying New Year dropped at Times Square
1909 In Great Britain, the Old Age Pension Law is finally instituted, providing pensions for every British subject over 70 with low income
1912 Sun Yat-sen forms Chinese Republic
1913 Post office begins parcel post deliveries
1917 T. E. Lawrence joins the forces of the Arabian sheik Feisal al Husayn, beginning his adventures that will lead him to Damascus by October, 1918
1922 Vancouver, BC starts driving on the right side of road
1923 Union of Socialist Soviet Republics established
1928 1st US air-conditioned office building opens, San Antonio
1934 Alcatraz officially becomes a federal prison
1934 Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (US bank guarantor) effective
1950 Ho Chi Minh begins offensive against French troops in Indo China
1953 The first TV detector van, used to track down users of unlicensed television sets, begins operation in the UK
1959 Cuban Dictator Fulgencio Batista flees Cuba for the Dominican Republic
1960 Johnny Cash plays first of many free concerts behind bars
1966 12 day transit worker strike shuts down NYC subway
1968 Evel Knievel fails in his attempt to jump Caesar's Palace Fountain
1972 International Book Year begins
1974 World Population Year begins
1975 International Women's Year begins
1977 1st woman formally ordained an Episcopal priest (Jacqueline Means)
1979 International Year of the Child begins
1980 International Decade of Water & Sanitation begins
1981 International Year for the Disabled begins
1983 World Communications Year begins
1984 AT&T's 22 owned Bell system companies divests into 8 companies
1985 International Youth Year begins
1985 The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
1986 International Peace Year begins
1987 International Year of Shelter for Homeless begins
1988 Year of the Reader begins
1989 Year of the Young Reader begins
1991 Iraq rejects peace proposal from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
1992 Bush is 1st US president to address Australian Parliament
1992 International Space Year begins
1994 International Year of Family
1995 International Year of Tolerance
1995 Last 'Far Side' by cartoonist Gary Larson (started 1980)
1999 International Year of Elderly
1999 The Euro currency is introduced.
2002 Taiwan officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei.
2008 A New Hampshire law legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples comes into effect.
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❆❆My Rambling Thoughts❆❆
I had a great break with my brother, his wife, and her family. Chicago was nice, not too cold and we even saw the sun several days. So happy to spend time with them all. Even went to Lincoln Park Zoo Lights...nice and again, not too cold.

Didn’t really keep up with the news during the break. Now catching up and wondering what is happening. Guess Jan 20 or 21 will be the time to see. I’m not concerned about my trip in February to Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Don’t think our new president could even find them on a map. So he probably won’t be tweeting anything about any of them while I am there.

As I look at the calendar it still says DECEMBER. So why did it rain all night at 7000’. One of the strangest winters I remember.

I have not looked forward to the end of year as much as this one. For me personally, it has been a good year. I just don’t like the uncertainty that awaits us all. I just don’t recall a year that has left all of us with such uncertainty in our leadership. Oh well, I’ll just watch and wait.
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❆❆Brain Teasers❆❆
(answers at the end of post)
Vacation!
Logic puzzles require you to think. You will have to be logical in your reasoning.

A vacationing family sitting around the campfire has the following conversation: 

1. Father: What day is it? I am sure it isn't Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. 
2. Mother: Well that's not very helpful dear. Besides yesterday was Friday. 
3. Father: No, now that I think about it, yesterday wasn't Friday, tomorrow is Friday. 
4. Jon: The day after tomorrow is Thursday. 
5. Meg: You are nuts. Tomorrow is Thursday. 
6. Mother: Actually, it's probably Thursday today. 
7. Jon: All we know for sure is that it wasn't Sunday yesterday. 

If only one statement above is true, what day of the week is it?


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❆❆Today’s Trivia Hive❆❆
(answers at the end of post)
What classic Star Wars character does not appear in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story?"
47.7% got it correct on line
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❆❆Harper’s Index❆❆
15→Number of successive years that the US suicide rate has increased
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❆❆Yep, It Really Happened❆❆

Idiots Tackle Sub-freezing Temps to Surf Lake Michigan
A pair of especially dedicated surfers were filmed showing their devotion to the sport by braving sub-freezing temperatures to tackle the waves of Lake Michigan. The video, filmed earlier this month by Derek Utley, shows two surfers riding the waves at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee. The video shows one of the surfers manage to get upright and ride a massive wave. Utley said the temperature when he filmed the video was only 29 degrees and snow was falling heavily with 8 inches of accumulation already on the ground.             
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❆❆Somewhat Useless Information❆❆
In 1582, the Gregorian calendar, which marks January 1 as the new year, is adopted by the Roman Catholic Church.
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January is named after Janus, the god with two faces, one looking forward and one looking backward.
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"Auld Lang Syne" was written by Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1788. He may have based it on a folk song. The words auld lang syne mean "times gone by".
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The first rooftop celebration atop One Times Square, a fireworks display, took place in 1904 and was produced by The New York Times to inaugurate their new headquarters in Times Square and celebrate the renaming of Longacre Square to Times Square.

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The first ball dropping celebration atop One Times Square was held on December 31, 1907. In 1942 and 1943 the ball lowering was suspended due to the wartime dimout.

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The original New Year's Eve Ball weighed 700 pounds and was five feet in diameter. It was made of iron and wood and was decorated with 100 25-watt light bulbs.

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❆❆Birthdays Today❆❆
 indicates age at death
91 E. M. Forster, English writer and novelist (Howards End, Passage to India), born in Marylebone, Middlesex (d. 1970)
91 J[erome] D[avid] Salinger, novelist (Catcher in the Rye), born in NYC, [d2010]
90 Xavier Cugat, Spanish American bandleader (married Abbe Lane, Charo), born in Girona, Catalonia (d. 1990)
89 Barry Goldwater, (Sen-R-Az, 1953-65, 69- )/Presidential candidate (R) 1964) [d1998]
87 Ty Hardin [Orton or Orison Whipple Hungerford, Jr.,], American actor (Riptide, Bronco), born in NYC
84 Betsy Ross [Elizabeth Griscom], seamstress widely credited with making the first American flag [d1836]
83 Dana Andrews, American actor (Battle of the Bulge, Laura), born in Covington County, Mississippi (d. 1992)
83 Paul Revere, silversmith/US patriot (British are coming) [d1818]
77 J. Edgar Hoover, first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1924-72), born in Washington, D.C. [d1972]
75- Country Joe McDonald, California, rock guitarist/vocalist (& the Fish)
64- Gary Johnson, American businessman, politician, Libertarian Party nominee for Presiden 2016, born in Minot, North Dakota
48- Morris Chestnut, actor (Boyz N the Hood)
48- Verne Troyer, American actor (Mini-Me in Austin Powers movies), born in Sturgis, Michigan
41- Chai Jing, Chinese broadcaster, author and documentary maker (Under the Dome), born in Linfen, Shanxi Province
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❆❆Historical Obits Today❆❆
@92-1998 Helen Wills Moody, American tennis player (31 Grand Slams)
@86-2001 Ray Walston, American actor (My Favorite Martian)
@86-1994 Cesar Romero, US actor (Joker-Batman)
@85-2016 Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-born American cinematographer (Close Encounters of the Third Kind)
@85-2013 Patti Page [Clara Ann Fowler], American pop singer
@83-1972 Maurice A Chevalier, French actor and singer (Can Can, Gigi)
@82-2015 Mario Cuomo, American Democratic Party politician and the 52nd Governor of New York (1983-95)
@80-2005 Shirley Chisholm, 1st African American Congresswoman and presidential candidate
@66-2012 Elizabeth Brumfiel, American feminist archaeologist, cancer
@46-1782 Johann Christian Bach, German composer/Mozart's tutor
@43-1982 Victor Buono, actor (Mr Schubert-Man from Atlantis), heart attack
@29-1953 Hank Williams, country singer (Cold Cold Heart), heart problems/alcohol/morphine
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❆❆Brain Teasers Answers❆❆
Number each person's statement and write down the list of days that it could be according to each statement.

1. Monday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 
2. Saturday 
3. Thursday 
4. Tuesday 
5. Wednesday 
6. Thursday 
7. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 

The only day mentioned one time is Monday. Therefore it must be Monday, otherwise one of the other statements would be true.

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❆❆Trivia Hive  Answers❆❆
Luke Skywalker
"Rogue One" follows a group of Rebel Alliance fighters who attempt to steal blueprints for the Galactic Empire's ultimate weapon: the Death Star. These events predate those covered in the original the Star Wars trilogy, which began with 1977's "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope." Consequently, Luke Skywalker has no part in the film. Source: The New York Times.

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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.
☼☼☼☼And That Is All for Now…☼☼☼☼

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