On-line Opinion Magazine…OK, it's a blog

So it’s time to get everything in line so that there will be smooth sailing tomorrow.

Obviously you need the text of A Visit from St. Nicholas [AKA Twas the night before Christmas].

But now that you’ve finished putting up enough lights to match the total electrical consumption of a third world nation, you can sit back and watch the North American Air Defense Command’s annual attempt to take out that red-suited commie’s attack on the capitalist system by giving stuff away. [Don’t worry kids, they are using the anti-missile defense system, so there’s no danger to anyone but taxpayers.]

Google has a tracker, if you don’t believe the government is up to the job.

They weren’t kidding about the cold front. Today’s High Temperature of 58°F was at midnight and the line has been going down to the 25°F Low Temperature ever since. This cold is accompanied by 20mph winds making seem even colder.

The cold is forecast to remain until Tuesday.

I realize that this is nothing like what the North is experiencing, but this the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. As soon as the wind shifts to from the South the temperature will climb to the 60s as it passes over the warm waters of the Gulf. We lack cold weather anything. Central air is common, central heating is not.

Yes, today is the celebration of the very untraditional Festivus – the holiday for the rest of us…

If you celebrate I hope all of your grievances were aired and the airing did not involve the Festivus pole being used in an inappropriate fashion.

This is a prime example of why you should make a list and check it twice when traveling during holidays. Following stars is all well and good, but can you tell the difference between a star, a comet and a meteorite headed directly for you?

This year stay safe and follow the safety protocols. Upgrade your masks and wear them at gatherings if you don’t know the vaccination status of everyone there.

At 3:48 PM CST the winter solstice occurs marking the longest night of the year. If everyone has been good, the days start getting longer tomorrow. Locally, the sun will rise at 6:39AM and set at 4:50PM for a total of 10 hours and 11 minutes of daylight, but tomorrow will be a whole 1 second longer.

This also marks HogsWatch, so don’t forget to put out the turnips.

Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends. I miss the latkes and jelly doughnuts my roommates received for the holiday at college. [Their grandmothers were afraid they wouldn’t celebrate or couldn’t get “real” food at that terrible Baptist university.] It was a great break.

One of the nice things about Hanukkah is that there are established “gifts”, so you don’t have to rack your brains about what to get: a card and gelt covers just about everyone.

General background at Wikipedia’s entry for Hanukkah and even more at Chabad’s Chanukah page.

[Note: on the Jewish calendar the day changes at sundown, not midnight.]

I have left Twitter. The final straw was the whole reporters debacle followed by the introduction of a contender for the world’s ugliest logo. He must have designed it himself or found a 12-year-old graffiti artist to design it. It’s like EGA graphics in games. It has better resolution but reminds me of early color printers and people who felt obligated to use all available colors and fonts.

“Boldly going

where no man has gone before.”

The Wright Brothers make the first powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

This is Saint Lucia’s Day for Scandinavians.

It features special treats that are handed out by a girl wearing a crown of candles, Lucia coming from the Latin for light, LUX.

Saint Lucia was an early Christian martyr from Syracuse on Sicily, but her official feast day, December 13, fit perfectly with the local pagan celebration of the Lussi on December 13, which was the Winter Solstice at the time. Yep, more cover to continue the fun mid-winter celebrations by pretending they are associated with Christianity to get the Church off everyone’s case.

The eighty-first anniversary of “a date which will live in infamy…”

The official US Navy site on the Pearl Harbor attack.

The memorial service aboard NAS Pensacola will have few, if any, survivors of the attack due to the age of the survivors.

Yes, it is the day that kindly old Saint Nicholas fills the footware of good little girls and boys with treats [or his assistants beat the evil out of bad children, depending on the local customs – they didn’t just leave the sticks – in some places they use them.] Don’t forget the carrot if he rides a horse in your area.

He is the patron saint of Russian merchants and pawnbrokers (three gold balls are one of the symbols associated with him).

… and how can Santa Claus visit every house, go down chimneys, leave toys, all over the world in one night?

One of the answers is found on European Christmas trees.

Read about Finland’s version of the Julbock, Joulupukki.

Note: Don’t try this at home unless you have the kidneys of a reindeer. It also explains why gnomes are so cheerful.

Happy NODWISH Greetings

As a service to my readers I have compiled a list of useful terms for our modern global village.

It is time to wish family and friends: [select one]

Happy NODWISH
Merry Solstice
Happy Holiday
Happy Hanukkah
Happy Kwanzaa
Happy Hogwatch
Merry Christmas
С Рождеством Христовым
성탄 축하
Vrolijk Kerstfeest
Nadolig Llawen
Fröhliche Weihnachten
Joyeux Noël
Buon Natale
Feliz Navidad
God Jul
Rauhallista Joulua
Happy Christmas
Happy Holidays

[Read more →]

1. TS Alex 5-6 Jun 70
2. TS Bonnie 1-9 Jul 115
3. TS Colin 1-2 Jul 40
4. H Danielle 1-8 Sep 90
5. H Earl 3-10 Sep 105
6. MH Fiona 14-24 Sep 130
7. TS Gaston 20-26 Sep 65
8. MH Ian 23-30 Sep 155
9. TS Hermine 23-25 Sep 40
10. TD Eleven 28-29 Sep 35
11. TD Twelve 4-5 Oct 35
12. H Julia 6-9 Oct 85
13. TS Karl 11-15 Oct 60
14. H Lisa 31 Oct-5 Nov 85
15. H Martin 1-3 Nov 85
16. H Nicole 7-11 Nov 75

(TD – Tropical Depression; TS – Tropical Storm; H – Hurricane; MH – Major Hurricane)

The NHC summary of US landfalls:

The 2022 season saw three hurricane landfalls along the coast of the U.S. mainland. Hurricane Ian made landfall first as a Category 4 storm in Cayo Costa, Florida, and again as a Category 1 in Georgetown, South Carolina. As a Category 4 with 150 mph maximum sustained winds, Hurricane Ian tied for the fifth-strongest hurricane ever to make landfall in the U.S. Hurricane Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 in north Hutchinson Island, Florida.

Hurricane Fiona made landfall outside of the mainland U.S. as a Category 1 near Punta Tocon, Puerto Rico.

Tropical Storm Bonnie made landfall at the Nicaragua/Costa Rica border and continued across to the Pacific Ocean where it became a 115mph Hurricane.