We know, from the days that we’re very small, that the length of day, from sunrise to sunset, grows and shrinks as time passes. In summer we have long days. In winter we have short days. The length of a day may change by a minute, two at most, from day to day, an imperceptibleContinue reading “On Longer Days”
Category Archives: Life
On a Winter Night’s Thoughts
Monday night when I left the office, about ten minutes to six, I stepped out of the office building’s glass doors into the early night and there, ahead of me in deep space, was Orion, his mighty belt running from just slightly above the horizon to perhaps a fifth of the way to zenith. TheContinue reading “On a Winter Night’s Thoughts”
On the Christmas Holiday, Snowfall, Doctor Who, and the Like
Early last week, I was invited to spend Christmas with my sister, brother-in-law, and two-year-old niece in Raleigh. I was sorely tempted, weighed the possibilities in my mind, and decided that, yes, I would go to Raleigh for the holiday. And then, I noticed the weather forecast. 50% chance of no snowfall at all ChristmasContinue reading “On the Christmas Holiday, Snowfall, Doctor Who, and the Like”
On Christmas Day Tidings
Merry Christmas, one and all! Since I’m not around to blog today, I’m going to share with you two videos. The first, the trailer to what I’m most looking forward to today, Doctor Who‘s “A Christmas Carol”: The second, because I do love Elbow, the England FIFA World Cup 2018 bid video, which amounts toContinue reading “On Christmas Day Tidings”
On Christmas Eve Reflections
I’m out of town this weekend for the Christmas holiday, visiting friends and family in North Carolina. Yes, even atheists celebrate Christmas. 🙂 I thought I’d go to the archives and share two Christmas Eve stories. I used to be a store manager for EB Games, first in Pennsylvania, then in North Carolina. Christmas EveContinue reading “On Christmas Eve Reflections”
On 2010 In Review
As John Lennon would sing, “So this is Christmas, and what have you done?” And since today is the last day of the year on the Shire Calendar, I thought that, in the spirit of Lennon’s lyric, I’d take a look at the first post of each month for 2010, discounting the automatic Twitter archivesContinue reading “On 2010 In Review”
On Childhood Memories and the Christmas Sensawunder
As I left the office Monday evening, the moon, a waxing crescent, held in the sky to the south southwest. There was a planet nearby in the sky, I presumed it was Jupiter, just from its brightness, but I didn’t honestly know. In general, the sky was remarkably clear. Monday had been a brutally windyContinue reading “On Childhood Memories and the Christmas Sensawunder”
On Scott Simon’s Upcoming Talk In Baltimore
My Saturday mornings are regimented. I get up. I fix a cup of coffee. I read the newspapers online. I listen to Scott Simon and Weekend Edition Saturday. (As an aside, a fun story on today’s broadcast was on the dueling atheist-Catholic billboards at the Lincoln Tunnel. Wonder American Atheists powers, activate!) There’s something aboutContinue reading “On Scott Simon’s Upcoming Talk In Baltimore”
On Thoughts Towards Christmas Gifts
Ah, Christmas. The time of year when people give other people — friends, loved ones, family, even complete strangers — gifts large and gifts small. When I worked retail, I heard it said that if Christmas, as a shopping/buying tradition, didn’t exist, marketers would have invented it. Like Valentine’s Day. 😉 I stopped asking forContinue reading “On Thoughts Towards Christmas Gifts”
On a Black Friday Memory
I’ve little doubt that some of you reading this, perhaps many of you reading this, spent the day braving the shopping centers and malls, in search of Black Friday deals and making a dent in your Christmas shopping. I spent another Black Friday at the office. I had little on my plate today; I wroteContinue reading “On a Black Friday Memory”