it’s December but it’s not winter yet

The other night we got some freezing temperatures here in Arkansas.  And I heard someone saying it’s about time it started feeling like winter.  It is December, after all.  But did you know it’s technically not winter yet?  It doesn’t start under December 22 at 12:08 AM CST.

So this means that many states in the northern U.S. are getting several feet of snow in fall / autumn.  Go figure…

So why is it December 22?  Well, I could confuse you with some scientific research about solstices and equinoxes and diurnal movements and such, but that’s not really necessary, is it?  Our winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, which is when winter “starts”.  But wouldn’t it make more sense if that was in the middle of winter?

I know, some people will say you can’t change the times of winter because that’s the way it is and it’s documented all across textbooks and stuff.  Well, astronomers removed Pluto from planet status really easily, didn’t they?  Besides, schools like for textbooks to be updated so they can rip students off by not buying back their previous textbook (which was new) and charging $60 or more for a new one that has a few words different.  Although, having gone through that myself a few times, I don’t want to promote that.

Rambling aside, perhaps I should become a world-renown scientist and make some common-sense changes to how things are defined in the scientific world.  I’ve got a lot of ideas…

funny TV commercials

It’s rather unfortunate that most TV shows now contain as much commercials as actual program.  If the advertisers would put a little more effort into their commercials, using some creativity and humor, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.  At least there are a few that do, even though it’s a low percentage.

Today I’m going to link to a couple of funny commercials that I’ve seen recently.  One is for cereal.  Just by the title, you may think it’ll be boring, because it’s about bran cereal, but it’s got all kinds of visual puns in it, about being “regular”.  So check it out.

The other commercial is a newer one for , where a young boy brings his jam box with him to the dinner table, playing a “funky” beat and getting down with it.  He gets in the groove and times his eating to the beat.  It’s funny to see how his parents respond.  🙂

Mike Huckabee is Chuck Norris approved

If you haven’t heard yet, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is now “Chuck Norris Approved”.  Here’s the video.  This is one of the coolest commercials ever.

It’s very rare to see a politician who actually has a sense of humor.  But the overall message isn’t a joke — Chuck Norris has actually endorsed Mike Huckabee.

If only Huckabee would make Chuck Norris the secretary of defense or something like that…

today’s lunch at a Chinese buffet

Today I had lunch at a local Chinese restaurant, and when we got to our table, we noticed a woman lying in the floor with a man crouched by her.  This gave me pause about eating there, but it turns out she just hadn’t taken her medicine and was fainting.  On the way out she fell down again.  Poor lady… she should’ve eaten more to gain some strength.  I would’ve gladly demonstrated how much one should eat there (to get your money’s worth, of course), but she left when I was getting started.  I went ahead with the demonstration, though, just in case someone else was watching and not sure if they should get that second plate or not…

I noticed on the buffet this time they had some chicken strips, where were actually pretty good.  But what amused me about it was the name above them :

CHICKEN STRIP

Without the plurality, it makes you think of it with a Chinese accent or in Ebonics.  “I’m gonna go get me some more of them chicken strip.”  (Yeah, sometimes I’m amused by simple things…  I try to enjoy life everywhere I’m at.)

And one typical characteristic of Chinese food holds true again today — just a few hours later, I’m hungry again.  So now I’m eagerly waiting for my next eating adventure.  🙂