Just letting everyone know. It's at 9:49 EST. 10:49 CST, etc....

Which means TODAY and TOMORROW are the shortest days of the year, and
it's OFFICIALLY Winter.

On Mon, 21 Dec 2015 16:09:33 -0600, wrote:

Just letting everyone know. It's at 9:49 EST. 10:49 CST, etc....

Which means TODAY and TOMORROW are the shortest days of the year, and
it's OFFICIALLY Winter.


Got any other complaints, Home Guy?

Nobody's complaining, Oren. He's just stating
astronomical fact.

On Mon, 21 Dec 2015 15:39:11 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

Nobody's complaining, Oren. He's just stating
astronomical fact.

Something we didn't already know?

Oren, Stormin:

Please return expeditiously to the Republic of Utahstan
and revel in your negativity there.


The Earth, Moon, and Sun are a clock, free to all.

Knowing where the latter two will be in the sky,
combined with the weather, can help you quickly
determine where you are on earth, as well as
what time of year it is.

On 12/21/2015 04:09 PM, wrote:
Just letting everyone know. It's at 9:49 EST. 10:49 CST, etc....

Which means TODAY and TOMORROW are the shortest days of the year, and
it's OFFICIALLY Winter.


The shortest day (daylight) of the year.

I suppose you know that "the latest sunrise" and "the earliest sunset"
are on different days.

--
4 days until the winter celebration (Friday December 25, 2015 12:00:00
AM for 1 day).

"We could believe in God if he shortened the road for the lame, led the
blind or fed the starving." [Lemuel K. Washburn, _Is The Bible Worth
Reading And Other Essays_]

On Mon, 21 Dec 2015 21:47:48 -0600, Sam E
wrote:

On 12/21/2015 04:09 PM, wrote:
Just letting everyone know. It's at 9:49 EST. 10:49 CST, etc....

Which means TODAY and TOMORROW are the shortest days of the year, and
it's OFFICIALLY Winter.


The shortest day (daylight) of the year.

Yes, DayLIGHT. The day is still 24 hours

I suppose you know that "the latest sunrise" and "the earliest sunset"
are on different days.

It's all on this website, which I like to look at often.
www.timeanddate.com

Solstice Info.
http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/...-solstice.html

Same E wrote: "I suppose you know that "the latest sunrise" and "the earliest
sunset are on different days"

Correct.

Mid-latitudes, they occur roughly one week before and
after a solstice. At the equator, the difference is
almost one month before and after(!), while nearer to
Poles the difference is far less. Equation of
Time and the Analemma are at play.

On 12/22/2015 05:50 AM, wrote:
Same E wrote: "I suppose you know that "the latest sunrise" and "the earliest
sunset are on different days"

Correct.

Mid-latitudes, they occur roughly one week before and
after a solstice. At the equator, the difference is
almost one month before and after(!), while nearer to
Poles the difference is far less. Equation of
Time and the Analemma are at play.


A place in the far north or far south may not have a sunrise and sunset
on a particular day (daylight all day or night all day). What I don't
know, is if there are any days when there is one (sunrise or sunset) but
not the other.

--
3 days until the winter celebration (Friday December 25, 2015 12:00:00
AM for 1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"To depend upon God is like holding on to the tail-end of nothing."
[Lemuel K. Washburn, _Is The Bible Worth Reading And Other Essays_,
1911]

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 14:15:41 -0600, Mark Lloyd
wrote:

On 12/22/2015 05:50 AM, wrote:
Same E wrote: "I suppose you know that "the latest sunrise" and "the earliest
sunset are on different days"

Correct.

Mid-latitudes, they occur roughly one week before and
after a solstice. At the equator, the difference is
almost one month before and after(!), while nearer to
Poles the difference is far less. Equation of
Time and the Analemma are at play.


A place in the far north or far south may not have a sunrise and sunset
on a particular day (daylight all day or night all day). What I don't
know, is if there are any days when there is one (sunrise or sunset) but
not the other.

Gee Mark, you have been talking about the solstice celebration for the
15 years I have been reading your stuff. Why is the celebration today?

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 16:25:48 -0500, wrote:

Gee Mark, you have been talking about the solstice celebration for the
15 years I have been reading your stuff. Why is the celebration today?

What came first, the Christian holiday, or the Winter solstice
celebration? Or maybe they are one in the same...... (except the days
are off a little bit). I think we mostly just celebrate because it's so
damn dark this time of year, that we needed an excuse to celebrate. All
those colorful christmas lights take away some of the darkness....
Even those who are not into the religious part, still usually get
involved in some way.

I always say, that in summer, nature paints our beauty, but in winter,
when everything is drab and gloomy, WE create the beauty with colored
lights, gift wrapping, colorful ribbons, and lots of good stuff to eat
and drink....

This holiday has become far too commercialized, but it's what we make
it. We dont need to follow the commercial aspects of it, and we can
still enjoy it. Santa Claus and flying reindeer may seem silly, but I'd
feel really lost without this seasons silliness. What matters most is
that this holiday brings people together in a friendly and peaceful
manner. It's too bad we cant do that more times of the year!!!

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 15:48:41 -0600, wrote:

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 16:25:48 -0500, wrote:

Gee Mark, you have been talking about the solstice celebration for the
15 years I have been reading your stuff. Why is the celebration today?

What came first, the Christian holiday, or the Winter solstice
celebration? Or maybe they are one in the same...... (except the days
are off a little bit). I think we mostly just celebrate because it's so
damn dark this time of year, that we needed an excuse to celebrate. All
those colorful christmas lights take away some of the darkness....
Even those who are not into the religious part, still usually get
involved in some way.

I always say, that in summer, nature paints our beauty, but in winter,
when everything is drab and gloomy, WE create the beauty with colored
lights, gift wrapping, colorful ribbons, and lots of good stuff to eat
and drink....

This holiday has become far too commercialized, but it's what we make
it. We dont need to follow the commercial aspects of it, and we can
still enjoy it. Santa Claus and flying reindeer may seem silly, but I'd
feel really lost without this seasons silliness. What matters most is
that this holiday brings people together in a friendly and peaceful
manner. It's too bad we cant do that more times of the year!!!


Since an historical analysis of the Christmas story would put it in
the spring or summer and the actual year of the birth is far from
certain, you can't put much on 12/25/0000. (or is it 0001)
We can start that 15 year old argument up again too I guess.

What we think of as Christmas is an invention of europeans about the
time we started getting all of those pictures of Jesus being a blue
eyed blonde guy.

I will agree it has evolved into being anything but a time to express
Christian values

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 17:23:56 -0500, wrote:


This holiday has become far too commercialized, but it's what we make
it. We dont need to follow the commercial aspects of it, and we can
still enjoy it. Santa Claus and flying reindeer may seem silly, but I'd
feel really lost without this seasons silliness. What matters most is
that this holiday brings people together in a friendly and peaceful
manner. It's too bad we cant do that more times of the year!!!


Since an historical analysis of the Christmas story would put it in
the spring or summer and the actual year of the birth is far from
certain, you can't put much on 12/25/0000. (or is it 0001)
We can start that 15 year old argument up again too I guess.

Yes, I'm aware of the "historical analysis" and all the other
*confusion*..... I think this "arguement" has gone on a lot longer than
15 years. Probably hundreds of years, but religion is something that no
one has ever been able to really prove and not worth the disussions,
because no one really has the answer, or can prove anything.

What we think of as Christmas is an invention of europeans about the
time we started getting all of those pictures of Jesus being a blue
eyed blonde guy.

Agreed. Why they chose Dec. 25 is always a puzzle, so I can only
attribute it to the winter solstice.

I will agree it has evolved into being anything but a time to express
Christian values

You got that right, but it is what we make it. I dont "do" the "black
friday" sales or any of the shopping stuff. When I was young, my parents
did it, so I felt obligated to do it too. While it was fun in the end,
the shopping was very frustrating and I often hated that part of it.
But since my parents are now gone, I dont do any of that. I suppose of I
had young kids, I'd probably do it to a small degree, (not black
friday), but I dont have small kids.

My favorite part of the holiday is visiting friends, driving around
looking at all the great decorations, and every year there's a horse
drawn sleigh ride event in my area, which is a lot of fun. And of course
there's all those good things to eat, which I surely enjoy! There's also
a nearby city, and even though it's an hour's drive to get there, they
have a park with over 3.5 million lights, live reindeer, bands and
concerts, hay wagon rides, and more. I can spend hours there and still
want to go back again. What they do it AWESOME !!!

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 17:59:09 -0600, wrote:

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 17:23:56 -0500, wrote:


This holiday has become far too commercialized, but it's what we make
it. We dont need to follow the commercial aspects of it, and we can
still enjoy it. Santa Claus and flying reindeer may seem silly, but I'd
feel really lost without this seasons silliness. What matters most is
that this holiday brings people together in a friendly and peaceful
manner. It's too bad we cant do that more times of the year!!!


Since an historical analysis of the Christmas story would put it in
the spring or summer and the actual year of the birth is far from
certain, you can't put much on 12/25/0000. (or is it 0001)
We can start that 15 year old argument up again too I guess.

Yes, I'm aware of the "historical analysis" and all the other
*confusion*..... I think this "arguement" has gone on a lot longer than
15 years. Probably hundreds of years, but religion is something that no
one has ever been able to really prove and not worth the disussions,
because no one really has the answer, or can prove anything.


The 15 year old argument was whether there was a "year 1" or was it
"Year 0".
Since it was an arbitrary number chosen centuries later and being a
digital sort of guy, I am OK with year 0

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 19:27:19 -0500, wrote:

The 15 year old argument was whether there was a "year 1" or was it
"Year 0".
Since it was an arbitrary number chosen centuries later and being a
digital sort of guy, I am OK with year 0


I'll go with the "0".
No one really will know what was going on wayyyyyyy back then....
Sometimes it's hard to believe there were even buildings and communities
back then.

I often wonder what they will think of "THIS ERA" in 2000 years from
now? (That;s if the world still exists)......

On 12/22/2015 03:48 PM, wrote:

[snip]

What came first, the Christian holiday, or the Winter solstice
celebration? Or maybe they are one in the same...... (except the days
are off a little bit).

Various ancient groups had holidays around the time (it is after the
solstice, perhaps they now had proof the days were getting longer
again). Then the Christians took over, and even (incompletely) altered
their story (Jesus) to fit.

I think we mostly just celebrate because it's so
damn dark this time of year, that we needed an excuse to celebrate. All
those colorful christmas lights take away some of the darkness....

Yes, that makes sense. Although there is still a lot more winter coming.

Even those who are not into the religious part, still usually get
involved in some way.

I never really understood the religious part, but there's still a lot of
good things around this time of year.

I always say, that in summer, nature paints our beauty, but in winter,
when everything is drab and gloomy, WE create the beauty with colored
lights, gift wrapping, colorful ribbons, and lots of good stuff to eat
and drink....

Yes.

Spring (ending well before June) it like that here. The first half of
summer was WET and hot. The second half was dry and hot.


This holiday has become far too commercialized, but it's what we make
it. We dont need to follow the commercial aspects of it, and we can
still enjoy it.

I'm thinking about that on "black friday" when I stay home and decorate,
instead of going out and buying stuff.

Also, I remember hearing that that day is not the most commercial day,
but tomorrow (Christmas Eve) is.

Santa Claus and flying reindeer may seem silly, but I'd
feel really lost without this seasons silliness.

I consider silliness an essential part of life. Of course, there are
problems with Santa. I hear most kids start out afraid of Santa (maybe
it's the constant surveillance).

BTW, I was surprised that I spelled that last word right.

What matters most is
that this holiday brings people together in a friendly and peaceful
manner.

That's why my best memories are or Christmas.

It's too bad we cant do that more times of the year!!!


Yes.

--
2 days until the winter celebration (Friday December 25, 2015 12:00:00
AM for 1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"An idea is an eye given by God for the seeing of God. Some of these
eyes we cannot bear to look out of, we blind them as quickly as
possible." [Russell Hoban, "Pilgermann"]