Tonight we will have the first full lunar eclipse to take place on the Winter Solstice in nearly 400 years. It will be another four centuries before it happens again.

The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year (less than 7.5 hours of sunlight for Edmonton!), and holds great significance for nearly every culture, religion, and community in the world. For us in the Northern hemisphere, it marks the turning point when days start getting longer again. When we start getting more sun, more light, when we can start looking forward to Spring.

This is a time of year for optimism and hope, for being grateful for everything and everyone we have around us, and for looking forward to the future. This is a time to make plans, and get excited about the new year.

Tonight we can watch the Earth’s shadow fall across the Moon. Literal cosmic events. People around the world will look up and watch this happen. This transcends any man-made borders, geographical or philosophical.

Some people would look at an eclipse and see how small and insignificant they are. Some would look at the longest night of the year and see only darkness and cold. I would offer instead togetherness, community, family: “We’re all in this together.” Be grateful that we have made it this far and look with confidence and excitement at the future ahead. The sun will come up tomorrow, the world will keep turning, it’s up to us to make the most of the ride.

All the best from our team and families to you and yours; may you have a warm, safe, and happy Winter, and a joyful and prosperous 2011. We’re looking forward to it.

If I can add a more personal lesson: Be happy in your life. Work for it. Fight for it. Don’t depend on things or circumstances or people to make you happy. Make joy in your own life, and get change or be rid of anything that is taking it from you. Good luck.

Thought seed: Warren Ellis >> Just When You Thought Nature Had Run Out Of Ways To Fuck With You: The Supersonic Tsunami

“…BP drill site is directly over a massive underground reservoir of methane that could result in a huge explosion that would create “a supersonic tsunami” that “would literally sweep away everything from Miami to the panhandle in a matter of minutes. Loss of human life would be virtually instantaneous and measured in the millions.””.

No, these people are serious:

“If the huge methane bubble breaches the seabed, it will erupt with an explosive fury similar to that experienced during the eruption of Mt. Saint Helens in the Pacific Northwest. A gas gusher will surge upwards through miles of ancient sedimentary rock—layer after layer—past the oil reservoir. It will explode upwards propelled by 50 tons psi, burst through the cracks and fissures of the compromised sea floor, and rupture miles of ocean bottom with one titanic explosion.

The burgeoning methane gas cloud will surface, killing everything it touches, and set off a supersonic tsunami with the wave traveling somewhere between 400 to 600 miles per hour.”

Feed: Huffington Post: DK Matai: Gulf Oil Gusher: Danger of Tsunamis From Methane?

“The crude oil from the “Macondo” well, which is damaging the Gulf of Mexico, contains around 40 percent methane, compared with about 5 percent found in typical oil deposits.”

“If the toxic gas bubble explodes, it might simultaneously set off a tsunami travelling at a high speed of hundreds of miles per hour. Florida might be most exposed to the fury of a tsunami wave. The entire Gulf coastline would be vulnerable, if the tsunami is manifest. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and southern region of Georgia might experience the effects of the tsunami according to some sources.”

“After several billion barrels of oil and billions of cubic feet of gas have been released, the massive cavity beneath the ocean floor will begin to normalise, allowing freezing water to be forced naturally into the huge cavity where the oil and gas once were. The temperature in that cavity can be extremely hot at around 150 degrees celsius or more. The incoming water will be vaporised and turned into steam, creating an enormous force, which could actually lift the Gulf floor. According to computer models, a second massive tsunami wave might occur.”

Branch connect: xkcd: Worst-Case Scenario

Germination: National Geographic: Hurricane Could Push Spilled Gulf Oil Into New Orleans

“Just when you think everything’s fine – that’s when it can go wrong.”

I love this for the same reason I loved all the hype around the Large Hadron Collider destroying the world (or the galaxy, or the universe), the same reason I love roller coasters and snowboarding and mountain biking and disaster movies: the tiny possibility that life could suddenly become far less pleasant gives that little shot of mental adrenaline that serves as a reminder to appreciate just how good I’ve got now, as well as the fact that so much of my life is completely beyond my control that I need to grab every chance at happiness that comes before me, for one day the opportunities to do so will be forever lost.

Now, to be fair, let me finish with the same line Warren Ellis did on his post:

“…always remember, this is posted under “research material,” not “independently fact-checked news.” I write fiction, after all.”

/M

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I’m currently sitting in my dear sister’s apartment in Melbourne, Australia, waiting for my girlfriend to appear on Skype so I can look into her deep brown eyes, and likely flash her inappropriately.

These sort of bloggity activities take a bit of a back seat when travelling, so for everyone out there in the InterTubeLands, have a swell couple of weeks.

(There, did I offend anybody THAT time??)

I have found a very good article for parents who have young children.  One concern most parents have is the development of social skills while making sure your child is safe in communicating with others.

Children look up to their parents. You are their very first teachers, so be conscious of how you handle social situations. The more you guide and model positive social interactions, the quicker your children will learn what is acceptable and what’s not.

Click here to read the rest, and as always I’d appreciate any feedback!