Dec 24 2019

NORAD Santa Tracker – 2019

On Christmas Eve in 1955, NORAD begins tracking Santa in what will become an annual Christmas Eve tradition.

According to NORAD’s official web page on the NORAD Tracks Santa program, the service began on December 24, 1955. A Sears department store placed an advertisement in a Colorado Springs newspaper. The advertisement told children that they could telephone Santa Claus and included a number for them to call. However, the telephone number printed was incorrect and calls instead came through to Colorado Spring’s Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Center. Colonel Shoup, who was on duty that night, told his staff to give all children that called in a “current location” for Santa Claus. A tradition began which continued when the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) replaced CONAD in 1958.

On Christmas Eve, the NORAD Tracks Santa website videos page is generally updated each hour, when it is midnight in a different time zone. The “Santa Cam” videos show CGI images of Santa Claus flying over famous landmarks. Each video is accompanied by a voice-over, typically done by NORAD personnel, giving a few facts about the city or country depicted. Celebrity voice-overs have also been used over the years. For the London “Santa Cam” video, English television personality and celebrity Jonathan Ross did the voice-over for 2005 to 2007 and the former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr narrated the same video in 2003 and 2004. In 2002, Aaron Carter provided the voice-over for three videos.

The locations and landmarks depicted in some of the “Santa Cam” videos have changed over the years. In 2009, twenty-nine “Santa Cam” videos were posted on the website. In previous years, twenty-four to twenty-six videos had been posted.

NORAD relies on volunteers to make the program possible. Many volunteers are employees at Cheyenne Mountain and Peterson Air Force Base. Each volunteer handles about forty telephone calls per hour, and the team typically handles more than 12,000 e-mails and more than 70,000 telephone calls from more than two hundred countries and territories. Most of these contacts happen during the twenty-five hours from 2 a.m. on December 24 until 3 a.m. MST on December 25.Google Analytics has been in use since December 2007 to analyze traffic at the NORAD Tracks Santa website. As a result of this analysis information, the program can project and scale volunteer staffing, telephone equipment, and computer equipment needs for Christmas Eve.

By December 25, 2009, the NORAD Tracks Santa program had 27,440 twitter followers and the Facebook page had more than 410,700 fans.

Official NORAD Santa Tracker

Dec 24 2019

What’s Cooking: Crème Brûlée French Toast

Here’s something special for Christmas morning breakfast or brunch, Crème Brûlée French Toast, that can be prepared the night before and tossed in the oven with a pan of bacon at the same time.

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Dec 24 2019

Some Background Noise

Oh yeah, lots of holiday cheer here.

Father Christmas – The Kinks

Christmas Wrapping – The Waitresses

Holmes and Watson

Dec 24 2019

The Breakfast Club (Ultimate Measure)

Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:00am (ET) (or whenever we get around to it) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.

This Day in History

Apollo Eight astronauts orbit the moon; Ku Klux Klan is founded; Human voice first transmitted via radio; Suez Canal opened

Breakfast Tunes

Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Dec 23 2019

Prepare Every Vessel That Floats

We are at War!

Dec 23 2019

Cartnoon

The problem with GeeBees is that they’re basically a Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp Air Cooled 9 Cylinder Radial engine with a human being hanging on to it. I knew a guy who flew one (he had no reason to lie, or impress me, and those in a position to judge his credibility kind of nodded their heads) and what he said was they were fine planes except they always wanted to screw themselves into the ground which makes sense because they have huge torque, a heavy engine, and minimal control surfaces to reduce drag (the one he flew didn’t even have flaps).

Funny huh? He went on to other low risk jobs like testing Helicopters, when I met him he was an Organist.

Dec 23 2019

Crap. Festivus. Again.

Symbolically represented by the Festivus Pole, an aluminum tube between 3′ to 6′ high stuck in some drab and out of the way corner.  It can be used as a weapon and frequently is.  Traditionally it is stark and entirely unadorned and the stand crudely fashioned.  Under no circumstances should any ‘presents’ be placed near it unless they’re of the sort a too long ignored pet would leave.

There are several rituals that accompany the celebration of Festivus.

I think I’ll spare you the feats of strength, though if you think I’m dead you can poke me with a stick and see.

Festivus Dinner

A Festivus Dinner menu is typical of any other holiday, Turkey, Ham, Roast Beef, Lamb, with the customary sides poorly cooked and resentfully served.  It’s rarely if ever eaten and instead used as weapons which explains why it’s frequently over cooked to flacid sogginess except in fundamentalist circles where a Ham Bone or Lamb Shank becomes an instrument of murderous intent.  It is often accompanied by copious consumption of alcohol (well, in fairness, the food is inedible).

The Airing of Grievances

The Airing of Grievances takes place immediately after the Festivus dinner has been served (but frequently before any of it is actually consumed).  It consists of each person lashing out at others and the world about how they have been abused and disappointed in the past year, particularly by the other Festivus celebrants.  It often ends in insults that lead to life long resentment and violence.

Feats of Strength

The most misunderstood of the Festivus rituals, there is only one Feat of Strength.  The head of the household picks a challenger and engages in a wrestling match.  They typically pick the weakest first.  This continues until the head of the household is defeated.

That concludes the essential rituals of Festivus.  Now you might think that defeat of the head of the household results in ceremonial bragging rights or change of some sort.

No.

It is essentially pointless as is the rest of the Festivus celebration which is, in fact, entirely the point.

No hugging.  No learning.

It’s for the rest of us.

The airing of grievances is mandatory.  ‘Tis the reason for the season.  I’ve been quite cranky this year, as those close to me and faithful readers will attest.

Here’s hoping your Festivus is uninterrupted by visits from ‘Law’ Enforcement Officers or trips to the Emergency Room.

Dec 23 2019

The Breakfast Club (Aspirations)

Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:00am (ET) (or whenever we get around to it) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.

This Day in History

The Christmas poem ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ is first published; Former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo is executed; Mormon religion founder Joseph Smith, Jr. is born; North Korea releases the 82 U.S. Seamen.

Breakfast Tunes

Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac

We need to change America’s image round the world. America has lost some lustre in terms of how folks aspire to be like us.

Samuel L. Jackson

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Dec 22 2019

The First Night of Hanukkah

The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah begins tonight at sundown on December 22 and end at nightfall on December 30. This year the first night coincides with the first full day of winter. It is a commemoration of he rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt. Traditionally the story goes that there was not enough oil to last for eight days to rededicate the Temple but miraculously the oil lasted.

When the Second Temple in Jerusalem was looted and services stopped, Judaism was outlawed. In 167 BCE, Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. He banned brit milah (circumcision) and ordered pigs to be sacrificed at the altar of the temple.[33]

Antiochus’s actions provoked a large-scale revolt. Mattathias (Mattityahu), a Jewish priest, and his five sons Jochanan, Simeon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah led a rebellion against Antiochus. It started with Mattathias killing first a Jew who wanted to comply with Antiochus’s order to sacrifice to Zeus, and then a Greek official who was to enforce the government’s behest (1 Mac. 2, 24–25). Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi (“Judah the Hammer”). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated. The festival of Hanukkah was instituted to celebrate this event. Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, unadulterated and undefiled pure olive oil with the seal of the kohen gadol (high priest) was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. The story goes that one flask was found with only enough oil to burn for one day, yet it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of kosher oil for the menorah. An eight-day festival was declared by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

Truth be told, there is no mention of the “miracle” in 1 Maccabees. But, hey, who ever said reindeer can’t fly?

Hanukkah, like most Jewish festivals, is centered around the family and food. Food being the most important component. Children play spinning the dreidel and are rewarded with “gelt,” gold foil covered chocolate coins. Based on an old German gambling game, the four sides of the top bear four Hebrew letters: nun, gimel, hei, and shin. Each player in turn spins the dreidel and proceeds as follows:

  • נ‬ nun – take nothing
  • ג‬ gimel – take everything
  • ה‬ hei – take half
  • ש ​shin – put one in

Traditional foods are all fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil) to commemorate the miracle of a small flask of oil keeping the Second Temple‘s Menorah alight for eight days thus the tradition of Potato Latkes and jelly donuts. Below the fold is my families favorite recipe for Latkes. We cheat a bit on the donuts; they come from either Duncan Donuts or Tim Horton’s. We also serve an chicken recipe from an old cookbook by Jennie Grossinger, The Art of Jewish Cooking, that coats the chicken in breadcrumbs, browned in oil (I use canola) and finished in the oven. It makes it less greasy but keeps with tradition. I can’t find the recipe online but the cookbook is still available.

Bon Appetite and Happy Hanukkah!

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Dec 22 2019

Winter Solstice: Return of the Sun

The shortest day, the longest night, for those of us who reside in the Northern climes Winter Solstice is here. Last night at 11:19 PM ET the sun reached is most Southern destiny and touched for but a moment, the Tropic of Capricorn and immediately reverses her course. It is the astronomical event that marks the beginning of lengthening days and shortening nights. You won’t notice the difference in the longer days of light until about the beginning of February.  It was also the last Winter Solstice of the decade.

The Winter Solstice, also know as Mid-Winter, is a special night for those who practice the craft and has a rich history from many cultures. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel. It is one of the eight holidays, or Sabbats, that are held sacred by Wiccans and Pagans around the world. In Celtic traditions it is the battle between the young Oak King and the Holly King:

the Oak King and the Holly King are seen as dual aspects of the Horned God. Each of these twin aspects rules for half the year, battles for the favor of the Goddess, and then retires to nurse his wounds for the next six months, until it is time for him to reign once more.

Often, these two entities are portrayed in familiar ways – the Holly King frequently appears as a woodsy version of Santa Claus. He dresses in red, wears a sprig of holly in his tangled hair, and is sometimes depicted driving a team of eight stags. The Oak King is portrayed as a fertility god, and occasionally appears as the Green Man or other lord of the forest.

The re-enactment of the battle is popular in some Wiccan rituals.

As we prepare for the longest night, we decorate our homes with red, green and white, holly, ivy, evergreen and pine cones. We honor the solar year with light. We place candles in the windows facing the North, South, East and West to ward off the darkness and celebrate the return of the sun/ With the setting sun, fires are lit in hearths and fire pits and kept burning to keep us warm until Sol returns at dawn.

There is food a plenty, roasts and stews and winter vegetables and sweets, chocolate and peppermint candy, apples and oranges and sweet breads. All these reminding us of the last harvest, the gifts of Gaia, Mother Earth and the hunts by Hern of the Wild Hunt. Of course there will be honeyed and spiced wine and hearty, dark beers, some made by friends who will join the festivities.

What ever your beliefs, or none, may the traditions and celebrations bring you peace and joy. Blessed Be. The Wheel Turns.

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