The cow just jumped over the Moon; I saw it!
Of course, by ‘cow’ I mean International Space Station (ISS), and by ‘jumped’ I mean swung smoothly over a period of several seconds. And by ‘Moon’ I mean — you know — the Moon.
For a space geek (and I should think, really, for any oxygen-breather), it was kind of thrill and a nice cap to Christmas. (I’m indebted to my friend, Jeff, who called moments before to let me know! It was way worth standing out in the 12-degree chill!)
Christmas to me in a word: Lefse!
Merry Christmas! The day our inner child has been awaiting is finally here. It’s Christmas Day, the first of The Twelve Days of Christmas! I have a series of 12 intensely Christmas-y posts planned for the next 12 days. Each post keys off its respective line in that immortal song.
I’m sure you will enjoy my essays on the political ramifications of Leaping Lords, and I have a shocking Dairy & Hotel industry exposé concerning certain Milking Maids. Earlier in the series, you may enjoy the article about the bizarre biology and genetics of so-called “Turtle Doves.” There’s also a travel article; we’re going to France to see some Hens.
Yes, of course I’m kidding. This is a lazy Christmas Day post of random (sometimes silly) thoughts and memories of Christmas Passed.
A couple of funny things happened on the way to today’s post! The first thing is that — apparently due to having unknown Time Posting powers (or perhaps there was a passing Christmas Time Warp) — the post posted today tunneled back in time two days!
And while I’m pleased with this new-found power (I am a bit puzzled on how to wield it in the Name of Goodness), the point of posting a “Night Before Christmas” parody on the night before Christmas is — in fact — that you are posting it on the night before Christmas. (Naturally, my ruling star of Irony would insure that, with great power comes great befuddlement.)
But combined with the other thing that happened today, I choose to take this as a sign to write a new Christmas Eve post. You see, today I was Freshly Pressed!
Most of us have traditional ways of celebrating or observing the re-occurring events in our lives. An anniversary might call for dinner at a certain restaurant. A promotion or sale might call for buying a round of drinks. The great life milestones—births, graduations, weddings, retirements, deaths—all come heavily freighted with traditional behaviors.
For me, an important tradition at Christmas time is watching—and reading—the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol! I think it is one of the most engaging, endearing, wonderful and important stories ever. It is a story of redemption and re-discovery of lost joy. And it is an affirmation that how we choose to live our lives matters.
Plus it has ghosts!
As I write this, the 2012 Winter Solstice (and, perhaps, the long-anticipated End of the World) is about nine hours away. At 11:12 “Zulu” time (UTC) tomorrow (12/21; nice palindromic date), the sun passes a certain key spot in its orbit.
After that, due to the Earth’s axial tilt, the days then start getting longer! (At least for those of us in the northern hemisphere. For those in the southern hemi, tomorrow is the sorrowful day when the light begins to fade.) I’ve always liked the view that those sky dragons that have been munching on our sun have had their fill and have moved off to slumber off their repast for six months.
In any event, the days will start getting longer, and that’s cause for celebration. In commemoration of this auspicious day, I offer you this Solstice Greeting…
Winter has arrived!
(click pics for full size)
Knowing me, you’d be pretty sure I couldn’t resist posting on 12/12/12, the last Golden Date of this century. If I was going to post anything this month, surely I’d come out of hiatus (even if just briefly) for that! On the other hand, knowing me, you’d know I have a really strong and stubborn contrarian streak and would be even more likely to defy expectations and not post!
Of course, if you really knew me, then you’d know that I knew you knew that I’d know you knew that I… um… wait,… lost my place there.
The point is, knowing or not knowing isn’t the point; the point is snowing! As in, “It was.” All of a sudden, like. A lot!
I need a break while I focus on the new job and regain some sense of balance. I will be back, so keep your hands off my stuff!
While I’m gone, feel free to browse through the archives… there may (or may not) be a secret treasure map encoded in previous posts… anything is possible…
I usually lean towards descriptive writing more than prescriptive writing. I feel more comfortable describing my views and experiences than I do trying to prescribe a path for others.
But some blog articles I’ve read in the last months have made me wonder if I should try a prescriptive approach. This is something new for me, and I already sense a challenging path. How likely is it that someone who would benefit will read such a post, and how likely is it they would follow any prescription I might offer? And of course, what makes me think I can offer any prescription for another person’s life?
In any event, for whatever it’s worth, this prescription is labeled for those who feel dissatisfied with life, who feel a gap between what is and what they feel ought to be.
This seems to be my week for having blog contests catch my attention. Last Saturday the Count of Three captured me, and today it’s the Photo Challenge from WordPress.
I’m not normally a photographer, so I don’t usually pay much attention to that Challenge, but this week’s reminded me of a photo I’ve been looking for an excuse to use.
The Challenge read:
SILHOUETTE. The proper definition of a silhouette is “the outline of a body viewed as circumscribing a mass.” In photography, often we achieve that effect by putting light behind the object whose silhouette we want to capture, effectively darkening out the features of the subject instead of highlighting them.
And I immediately thought of this (admittedly a bit of a gag entry):
Posts pertaining to programming!
Logos con carne 