Wednesday winks in wide-eyed wonder,

The moon has solstices too!!

Last night, the moon complained: “I do all this work. The hours are horrible. You can only see me when its dark, and then you hardly notice me unless I’m full or blue or putting on a special display. I’m your night light in the sky helping you find your way when the sun is taking a break. I run the tides, and I correct your moods – which goodness knows can use a nudge ot two. What do you think? I just sit up here. I move too. Why does the sun get all the attention? I’m more than a reflection, a bright face and a cheesy thought. Let’s have a little respect.”

The moon is quite correct and I deserve the lunar lecture.

The moon is different from the sun. The moon completes one orbit around us, the Earth, in 29.5 days. We, the Earth, complete one orbit around the sun in 365.25 days (don’t worry about the .25, that’s what the leap years fix). So, in a single year, the sun will reach its northern and southern extremes in the day sky — the sun solstices. In a month, the moon will be at its northern and southern extremes in the night sky. The moon does in a month what the sun does in a year. In all honesty, the moon’s monthly extremes of north and south aren’t really noticed that much (sorry, moon, but it’s the truth), probably because the moon doesn’t set the length of the day or trigger the seasons, as do the sun’s extreme movements. But, every 18.6 years, the big kahuna happens for the moon, and this is noticed and has been noticed for some time.

It is the MAJOR LUNAR STANDSTILL!!

This is the solstice of the moon, but remember “solstice” is a term reserved for the sun (“sol” is a sun reference word). So, the moon solstice is referred to as the “standstill,” when the moon is at its maximum monthly range of rising and setting directions. For the years 2005-2007, and also 2023-2026, each month the moon will rise and set more northerly and about two weeks later more southerly than the solar extremes. Sorry, we missed the last standstill and have to wait for 2023-2026 for the next. During these multi-year periods, the monthly range of lunar extremes to the north and south during moonrise and moonset varies very little. The fact of very little change in the northerly and southerly extremes is what leads to the term “STANDSTILL.”

To restate and hopefully help clarify, at MAJOR LUNAR STANDSTILL, the moon exhibits the maximum monthly range of rising and setting directions. For example, the full Moon near the winter solstice in 2005-07 rose and set the farthest north that the moon ever gets, and farther north than the sun ever gets. Moving our example six months forward, the full moon near the summer solstice in 2005-07 rose and set the farthest south that the moon ever gets, and farther south than the sun ever gets.

That moon sure has its extremes. They are even more complicated and involved than the sun’s antics.

This apparently fascinated our long-ago grandparents. Stonehenge in England is a 5,000-year-old solar and lunar calendar. Callanish, Scotland has another calendar of the same vintage. Chaco Canyon, New Mexico and Chimney Rock, Colorado both have 1,000-year-old calendars. These are all made of stones and rocks and carvings, and they not only keep track of the sun and its shenanigans, they track and record the 18.6 year cycle of our more reserved and less noticed moon. Now, that is fascinating and a wondrous glimpse back in time to how significant the sun and the moon have been and are in the changes that have brought us here to where we are today.

I appreciate both, and I stand still in honor of our night-time light, the moon. Thanks for showing us what you’re about and keeping a quiet check on our extremes.

Tonight, sneak a peek to the sky and say “Hello” to an old friend too,

Grandpa Jim

PS: Much credit is given to Dr. Judith S. Young, Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst for her article ” MOON TEACHINGS FOR THE MASSES AT THE UMASS SUNWHEEL & AROUND THE WORLD: THE MAJOR LUNAR STANDSTILLS OF 2006 & 2024-25.” The basis of the standstill discussion above derives in large measure from her paper, which is an excellent and readable exposition and explanation of a complicated celestial coordination.

Tuesday Toggles and Tips Its Hat To You,

The autumnal equinox approaches. On September 22, 2012, the sun will cross the equator. When that happens, the hours of day and night will be equal. “Equinox” is Latin for “equal night,” an ancient term to describe when the night equals the day. Twice a year, in the spring and fall, there is an equinox of light and dark. The last was the spring equinox on March 20, 2012.

Since the summer solstice on June 20, 2012, the days have been shortening and the nights lengthening. On that day, the sun stopped at its farthest northernmost point in the skies of the Northern Hemisphere and headed back south. That traveling old sun will arrive at its southernmost point down there in the Southern Hemisphere in time for the winter solstice on December 21, 2012. That will be our shortest day and longest night. So, be prepared, it might be quite cold on that cheery winter night as we read Christmas tales under piles of covers in our warm beds, slipping off to sleep with visions of a jolly old elf piling presents under a twinkling tree.

Then, when the sun stops its southerly travels, it will look back longingly at us and head back up north again to warm and brighten our days. In between, our home star will cross the equator again on March 20, 2013, the next year’s spring equinox.

So it goes, year after year after year, and we certainly hope it does go just that way: autumn, winter, spring and summer, over and over and over again. The seasons teach us that there is a certainty in change. Change is normal and all around us. It gives us a constancy and comfort that I think prompted the poet so long ago to muse: “There is nothing new under the sun.” Thank you, Sun, and thank you for the seasons.  Our concern should not be the change the seasons teach us is our safe path, but rather when there is no change to lead us home. Change is our good friend and companion in the sky keeping an eye on us to check and see that we are changing too.

Stretch and smile and start something new,

Grandpa Jim

Rest today and work tomorrow,

What is Labor Day?

In the United States, today is an official state and federal holiday. This is the day our country commemorates the contributions of workers to the growth and success of modern society. When initiated in 1882 and moved to the first Monday in September in 1884, worker unions were an emerging and forming force in the American dynamic of life and labor. They are less so in this age. As a result, the holiday itself has changed in its recognition, appreciation and observance.

Originally, there were downtown parades and public picnics. In the paper this morning, I saw no mention of a parade or a picnic. There was a small side-bar stating the following: “Today is Labor Day. On this day, our nation salutes the millions of men and women who make up America’s workforce.”

The malls are open, and this is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Most retail workers will labor longer hours today. This is also the unofficial end of summer. In the blog post of April 28, 2012, I noted that the U.S. holidays of Memorial and Labor Day bracket and define our summertime period. Traditionally, schools started the day after Labor Day. Our schools started last Monday, so this transitional marker has largely disappeared. College football play started this weekend. My alma mater played yesterday and won by 1 point. (Whew, that was a close one.) I love the start of the Fall football statistics. And, this used to be the last day to wear white and seersucker. Anymore, folks pretty much wear white all year round, and many of us don’t wear seersucker at all. (Seersucker is a crinkly blue and white striped cotton material for suits, pants and shorts that breathes well for hot weather and looks like you are near the water so you seem to feel cooler.)

Much still happens near and around Labor Day. Certainly, the long holiday weekend is a well-spaced and welcome time of rest and relaxation between the Fourth of July (our National Holiday) and Thanksgiving (Our National Turkey Day). It is a nice marker between the lingering hot of summer and the approaching cool of autumn. But, the day really doesn’t have much to do with labor or remembering the worker – anymore.

My sons were born on Memorial and Labor Day. Today is the youngest’s birthday. They are both hard workers. I am very proud of each of them, and I am so very grateful for their young families and my grandchildren.

As the times have changed, our work has changed greatly. This is a natural and exciting process. Change is vital to a healthy and working world. What shouldn’t change is remembering the worker. We are all workers — laborers, inventors, innovators, owners — we are all workers. We need the encouragement and support of each other. Working, working together and appreciating the work of each other are what make us different, make us homo sapiens, and make this planet our home. We are the keys to the success and preservation of our working environment and our way of life.

I think I’ll give my sons a call and thank them for the work they are doing to make this a better place for us to live.

Enjoy your work and encourage those who work with you,

Grandpa Jim

I welcome you to Saturday and a new Uncle Joe story introducing his two nephews Adam and Aaron,

This is the 4th in the Uncle Joe Story line of stories, and it is entitled “Adam & Aaron and the Giant Tusker.” There are a great many feral hogs in Texas but only a very few truly giant tuskers. The big pigs are smart. It is smarter not to bother a boar of that size and lineage or any of his close relatives. As you know, though, on the farm unexpected things happen. These are the stuff of stories.

Enjoy this one. Mary and I are heading down to the country to see how Uncle Joe and the boys are doing. Both Adam and Aaron just had beautiful new baby girls. We’re hoping to catch a glimpse of those little beauties. With more girls, more of those fancy boxers may be in store for the brothers. As you will discover, it never hurts to have a pair of those lucky shorts — just in case.

Have a great read and share a story with someone close,

Grandpa Jim

It is Friday – time to leave the nest and fly into the weekend,

If you were a bird and could leave the nest early, what would you be called?

“Precocial,” because precocial birds are on-the-go birds who start doing as soon as they hatch. Precocial has the same root as “precocious,” indicating early maturity. I mean these birds are out of the nest in a flash. They are not only precocial, they are “nidifugous,” from the Latin nidu for “nest” and fugere for “to flee.” To say it well and impress your friends, “All nidifugous birds are precocial.” Many of the smaller birds are precocial, as well as birds that nest on the ground, like chickens, ducks and geese.

On the other perch, we see the nest with the young “altricial” birds. Those baby birds are not even perching yet, because they take more time getting used to things. They need a little more attention from mom and dad – a swallow of this, a peck on the back, a lullaby warble and other baby bird stuff to help them nurture and develop. Altricial derives from the Latin alere which means “to nurse and nourish.”  Many of the larger birds, like eagles, hawks and herons, are atricial.

These terms are not reserved for birds. Mammals are also precocial and altricial. Which do you think you were when you were a baby?

When birds do jump out of that nest, they fly into the sky and through the clouds. Those clouds are “evanescent.” A thing is “evanescent” if it tends to disappear quickly, to dissipate and be of relatively short duration. Clouds are like that – in the sky one moment and gone the next. Someone can be evanescent if he or she fades away and passes from our sight, like a bird flying in the sky who turns toward the horizon and vanishes into another realm. I wonder if that bird was altricial or precocial when it was young. It certainly was evanescent now.

Keep a quick watch – you never know what you might glimpse, or what might glimpse you,

Grandpa Jim

PS: A new Uncle Joe story is scheduled to be here Saturday morning. Do you think someone in that story could be evanescent, or at least hoped by others there to soon be? Hurry over and figure out what just blurred by.

What a day to open our eyes and see the sights about us,

What color are your eyes?

Brown: The majority of the people in the world have brown eyes. In some areas, it is almost the only eye color. Brown eyes are most common in Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Americas. I have brown eyes.

Green: The least common eye color is green. Green eyes are most often glimpsed in northern and central Europe, but they can pop open just about any time and where. Ms. Mary has pretty green eyes.

Blue: Blue eyes are those most often watching you in northern Europe and the lands surrounding the Baltic Sea. In Germany, you may see blue in the eyes of some 75% of the populace, and in Estonia, 99% of the eyes are blue. Blue eyes are becoming less common in the US, with only 1 in 6 (around 17%) so colored. On our whole planet, about 2% of the people (150 million of about 7 billion current inhabitants) have blue eyes. Amazingly, a few far-sighted scientists say all those blue-eyed folks are descended from a single ancestor with the original set of blues who lived about 6,000 years ago. How on earth did they figure that out? I have a blue-eyed son and granddaughter, and it looks like my newest 33-day old grandson will be blue-eyed. It takes a while for a baby’s eyes to color up and shine out at you, but it’s worth the wait to see.

Hazel: Hazel eyes can have brown, gold, yellow and green in an interesting and difficult-to-put-your-finger-on – which you never want to do with an eye – eye color. I have a son with this fascinating coloration. Examining the hazel eye, you begin to reflect that many, if not most, eyes do not have a single color. They are mixes of blue and gray, green and brown, and other color combinations. Seen in different lights or during different mood swings, the colors in a person’s eyes can change and glow into something new. Hazel is such a hue.

Gray: I have seen it said that there is true gray and light blue gray. Gray is most common in northern and eastern Europe, where we have also seen many a blue-eyed resident. The granddaughter with blue can shift to gray and back again to blue, as I watch in hypnotic fascination, listening to the words, “You will do anything I command, You will open the candy drawer,” if you see where this is going.

Those are the eyes I have spied the most. There are some other reported colors, like amber and violet. I view amber as a golden hazel and violet as a deep blue. Others may differ, and I welcome their insights.

When it comes to eyes, an old rule of order applies: “The Eyes Have It.” What more can I say? The eyes do have it. They are amazing personalized jewels. A person’s eyes are unique. No one else has, had or will ever have your eyes. They are your own specially made and individually initialized 3-D glasses to view the cinema of life.

Keep your eyes open and treasure the colors and sights you see around you,

Grandpa Jim

PS: I am sure Uncle Joe is keeping a close eye on all that is happening down on the farm. He’s waiting to share some of what he has seen with you. Be sure to stop back Saturday morning. Your eyes may widen as you gasp in amazement. Oh, and by the way, Ms. Mary says that Uncle Joe’s eyes are blue-green.

Take a good look and what do you see?

A zebra.

A zebra is a wild horse with black and white stripes who lives only in Africa. Interestingly, the zebra is a black horse with white stripes, not a white horse with black stripes, but you can’t really tell from looking.

Zebras are not quite as fast as other horses, but they have great stamina and can generally outlast anyone chasing them. Plus, they are the best at zig-zagging, which may help to explain the “Z” in their name. It is not easy to catch a zebra.

A zebra resists domestication. It does not like to be ridden and is a very good bucker. If you try – and many have – you will pay a price in bumps, bruises and a dusted pride. It has been done, but most agree it is better not.

Zebras go back a long way. They are perhaps the oldest of the horses, and they have been around people the longest. They know us and we know them.

It has been said that, “The way to know who you are is to meet someone you’re not.”

Let’s try that in a poem about a . . .

Zebra

Black & White

A Zebra

Ran By Me

Black & White

I Ran It Down

Jumped On

&

Waited Patiently

Black & White

I Flew & Hit

The Ground

A Bruise On Me

Black & Blue

To Me

That  Zebra

Ran

A Snicker & Laugh

He Stopped &

Waited Free

For Me

To Try

& Fly

Again

The End

Some are meant only to be free.

Others to always try and fly.

Both know who they be.

And enjoy the other.

May you know who your are and enjoy those others,

Grandpa Jim

PS: Will Uncle Joe try to ride a zebra on Saturday in his new story, or will the race be a different one from here to fun? It will be an event. So keep on track for Saturday at 9 AM CST and arrive early for a good seat to watch and see.

An active, curious and fulfilling day to you and all those around you,

Where did that hamburger come from?

The hamburger is the ubiquitous American comfort food. Composed of a ground beef patty (fried or grilled), often with a piece of melted cheese atop (to make it a cheeseburger, my favorite), placed between the two halves of a sliced bun (grilled and buttered is my preferred), decorated with whatever sliced, diced or shredded vegetables you like (tomatoes, lettuce, onions and, in Texas, jalapenos for the stout of heart and hearty of appetite), slathered with the condiments of your choice (ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise and the more the merrier some might say) and for finish and flare a dash of salt and pepper. It is a delicious, descrumptious and delightful meal in a bun. So, munch a burger today and be content and fulfilled.

But, where did it come from and why that name, hamburger?

Well, over there, where many of our ancestors come from, is a country called Germany. In that country, is a city with the name Hamburg, the second largest city in the country of Germany. After their arrival in the New World, some Germans and those of their descent opened restaurants. On the menus of those restaurants were listed dishes like the Hamburg Plate (I bet there was some sauerkraut and spaetzle on that one), Hamburg Schnitzel (it is hard to beat a good schnitzel) and perhaps a dish called the Hamburg Steak (not an hamburger yet, but you begin to see a connection). People like and enjoy good food and good meat dishes, and restaurant-goers began to associate good meat dishes and good steak dishes (America was becoming the land of beef) with the name Hamburg. Can you begin to see the mind of a good marketer beginning to work here?

At this point, two asides may be appropriate. First, meat has been ground forever. So, ground balls and patties were out there and in use. Second, in Germany, the Burgher was in olden times a high-ranking city official or member of the nobility. So, a Burgher was a very good thing to be, a superlative, like a king. I can see the marketing types in the audience thinking more.

Fast forward to the St. Louis World’s Fair in the year 1904. (You may remember this Fair as the place where the ice cream cone was invented to serve ice cream — see the Blog Post of June 22, 2012.) At the Fair was a couple from Athens, Texas – I like that they were from a town named for a place in Greece known for new ideas. Fletcher Davis and his wife Ciddy ran a sandwich stand on what was called the Pike, a mile-long walk of amusements and concessions that was one of the great draws and marvels of the St. Louis World’s Fair. From old photos, the name above Ciddy and Fletcher’s concession stand (Fletcher was called Dave because of his last name), the name on the sign was “Old Dave’s Hamburger Stand.”

It had happened! The hamburger had been born!

The fair-goers loved it. They bellied right up for a hamburger composed of a fried ground beef patty with mustard and Bermuda onion between two slices of bread with a pickle on the side. Folks, they still serve ’em with mustard and onion in Texas. The New York Tribune attributed the innovation of the hamburger to a stand on the Pike. Many people believe that stand was “Old Dave’s Hamburger Stand,” serving the sandwich Ciddy and Fletcher had been serving at their lunch counter in Athens, Texas since the 1880’s.

You know what I think happened? I think that Old Dave was a good salesman. He looked down that Pike with all the most amazing things in the world on display from every country in the world, and he saw a Hamburg steak on the menu in a fancy German restaurant near a real castle (there was one there on the Pike, built just for the Fair) with a poster of a regal Burger inviting folks to enjoy the food. He knew he had a great sandwich. He just needed a great name. There it was, the hamburger. He rushed back, told Ciddy, pulled down the old sign and put up the new one.

As the say, the rest is history. And, what a rich, tasty and downright enjoyable history it is.

Although historians agree that the hamburger was first created in America somewhere around 1890, there are a number of other people who claim to have invented it. A ground meat patty and bread are as old as ground meat and bread. Most of the claimants did just that — put meat to bread. With due deference to the competing claims, to make and eat a sandwich that resembles a hamburger is not to invent and present the hamburger.

Almost 20 million individuals attended the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which was the formal name of the St. Louis World’s Fair. In 1904, the year of the Fair, the US population was about 80 million. There were people from all over the world, but if they had all been from the US, 1 in 4 citizens would have attended. That is a tremendous turnout, an astounding audience and an event that changed the world. The Fair brought us the ice cream cone and the hamburger. Though others may claim to have been the first to bite some bread with a burger between, Old Dave and Ciddy were there at the Event of the Age, and they named their sandwich the hamburger and marketed that hamburger on one of the greatest stages man had known. As an attention getter, they got it, and many believe they deserve the credit for the now world-famous hamburger.

Consider a hamburger today and remember Old Dave and Ciddy,

Grandpa Jim

PS: And, remember Uncle Joe. On Saturday morning, he will present his latest adventure. I hope it keeps you on the edge of your seat. After you settle down, go somewhere to talk and get something to eat. A burger and fries may be just the thing to relax and comfort those nerves.

Happy First Day of School in Texas!

I just received the text-messaged pictures of my granddaughters in front of their 2nd and 6th grade school buildings. With new clothes and big smiles, the first school day is always an exciting and memorable event. I still remember my new outfit for the first day of second grade.

Hopefully, it won’t rain on their first-day parade. It did yesterday, a deluge of a downpour about noon after church, holding people in the entries to run with papers over their heads for their cars and the umbrellas they left safely behind in their sunny exit an hour earlier. Perhaps, the warned-of El Niño is starting to have its effects.

El Niño is something of a mystery. Scientists don’t seem to know what exactly it is or what for certain causes it. What has been observed over the past 300 years is that at regular intervals, say 3 to 7 years, waters in the Pacific Ocean warm or cool in places and to extents they are not expected to warm or cool, and the trade winds above the waters shift and change in strength. When the waters warm, this is called an El Niño. When the water cool, it is called a La Niña. When these variations occur, they can last from 7 months to 2 years.

What does this mean for Texas and the planned school wardrobes? During an El Niño, significantly wetter winter weather has been experienced in the Southwestern United States including Texas, which means I hope the girls have new raincoats and shiny colorful rain boots. Other parts of North America can expect drier and warmer winter weather. Other parts of the world can expect up-and-down effects in the amounts of their precipitation and the patterns of their temperatures. None of this clear or predictable. It is mystifying. To paraphrase Mr. Dylan, “The weathers they are a-changin’.” We just don’t know when, how or to what extent, but we’re pretty sure they’re a-changin’.

The most recent El Niño started in September 2006 and lasted until early 2007. From June 2007 to early 2008, there was a moderate El Niña event. So, the timing is right for another.

These extreme weather fluctuations have possible secondary effects. The El Niño cycle has been associated with increased risks of some mosquito-transmitted diseases. Could the West Nile viral epidemic occurring in Texas right now have been triggered in some way by the approaching El Niño? We may never know, but it is suspected that El Niño may have been a factor in the demise of the pre-Colombian Moche culture in Peru, and a strong El Niño effect may have caused poor crop yields in Europe from 1789 to 1793 which helped spark the French Revolution. We are not far from our weather, and it greatly effects us where we’re at and what we do.

In 1892, it is reported that Peruvian sailors noticed an unusually warm northerly current. It was Christmas. The Spanish-speaking sailors thought of the small child that day commemorates and named the current.  “El Niño” means “the little boy.” On this first day of school, let us trust the little boy to watch over our children and keep them dry and safe.

May a child’s smile brighten your day,

Grandpa Jim

A Fiddling Riddling Friday High-Fives Its Way To The Welcome And Waiting Weekend,

Today is another first, the first Fiddle-A-Riddle Friday. Get ready to tease your brain and be bewildered and mystified. Unless, of course, you know all the answers and are already a guessing genius. Still, it never hurts to give the old noggin a turn. So, figure for fun and take a run at these.

If you were an elephant, what would be the favorite part of your car?

The trunk, because you can use it carry things. Pachyderms love to lift, show and pack things in their trunks and the trunks of their cars. So, an elephant with its trunk in his or her car with its very useful carry-all trunk presents us with a homonym homophone with the large mammal’s flexible proboscis (trunk) in the front and the storage compartment of its vehicle (trunk) in the back. See the blog post of July 23, 2012, to learn more about these pesky homophones and which is a homonym and which is a heterograph and keep reading below to see them at riddling work.

If you were a skunk, what would be your favorite coin?

The penny, because it is the only coin that has a cent and the skunk values a scent most. Cent and scent are heterographic (different spellings) homophones (words with same sound but different meanings). You begin to suspect that riddles often rely on homophones. So, if you want to make up a riddle, find a couple homophones and have a try.

What weather does a fair like most?

Fair weather, because sunny blue skies are perfect festival weather. See, it works. I just picked two homophones (words with the same sound but different meanings) with the same spelling (homonyms), fair (for outdoor celebration) and fair (for pleasant weather), and made a riddle.

If you were a rhinoceros, what would be your favorite way to pay for your purchases?

Charge it, of course, because a rhinoceros loves to charge things. The rhinoceros puts its heads down, points its long tusk (its pen for confirming purchases), runs directly at the hunting party and picks up the goods from the fleeing porters. It works every time, if you’re a rhinoceros. If you are a human, please do not try this method to charge your payment. It is reserved exclusively for rhinoceroses.

If you were a fish, what would be your favorite country to visit?

Finland, because it is a land that is friendly to Fins. The golf courses all have Fin-handed clubs, and the fun parks all allow and encourage Fins to ride. It is truly the “Land of the Fin.” What fish with its fins wouldn’t love a fin-named land with its Fins?

And, finally, because there does appear to be a great amount of cornball in this land of homophonic riddles,

If you were a tree, what would be your favorite place to settle back on a clear night?

Hollywood, because of all the stars. You could plant your roots at Hollywood and Vine under the twinkling stars in the night sky above and shift your branches, lean back and turn your head to gaze below at the more than 2,400 terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks commemorating the brightest stars of film and cinema. If you’re lucky, a few of those stars may just walk by. Now, that would be a star-studded night sight for a tree to see.

Sometimes, the most amazing things are just a word or two away.

Shift your gaze just a little and who knows what you may see,

Grandpa Jim