I’ve been busy and a bit distracted lately but I didn’t want February to pass without wishing everyone a Merry Christmas in February. Since Christmas in February is a holiday that my family created 16 years ago I don’t expect most of those reading to even realize I was late in the first place .

For those reading that have never heard of Christmas in February, it’s pretty much what you’d guess it would be.  The impetus to start came from the realization that there’s always Christmas cookies left over and normally a turkey (or ham or Cornish hens or some other holiday-type meat) that was bought cheaply during the holiday season still in the freezer and no real good way to finish them. So,  for fun, my family started with picking a day in February and having a Christmas-style dinner but, as things normally go, we slowly increased what we did for Christmas in February – we got a small 2 foot artificial tree and started decorating it then my parents started buying a small, inexpensive gift for us all. Which snowballed into a bigger Christmas tree and the $5 dollar gifts have now gotten to be $15 dollar gifts and now we invite extended family members to come .

One of the nice things about Christmas in February is that we get to pick when in February we want to celebrate it – this year, it was on February 19th but next year might be the second Tuesday or the last Saturday of the month. Another nice thing is that it gives the dreary month of February a holiday that’s fun. There’s also a near 100% chance of having a white Christmas in February though this year was the first time we had a green Christmas in February. Also, since it’s not the official Christmas, it has all the nice parts of the holiday without any of the stress.

This was only about a third of the leftover cookies that needed eating.

And since this is an anime blog here are some Christmas themed anime pictures:

Filed under: anime, general anime interst, other news

It’s been nearly a month since the Touhoku Earthquake sucker-punched Japan and in this intervening time  I’ve been struggling to write a post about it that didn’t seem hollow or crass. I felt doing so was important because what I really wanted to do to help – flying to Japan and helping with the relief efforts – was the last thing that Japan needed.

I suspect part of my problem in writing this is that I’ve never really experienced anything similar; the closest I’ve gotten happened when I was a young boy and a F5 tornado tore through a town about 4 miles from my house but even a F5 is small potatoes compared to a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami. So, I tried many different angles and nothing seemed to work; the draft that I almost went with involved studying how anime (in this case Kamichu) had the power to affect a person when reacting to real-life events like this earthquake.

Finally, I realized the simplest response was really the best one. Namely, I hope everyone reading this keeps Japan in their prayers and, if possible, donate to a reputable charity of their choice. They’re going to need both for many more months.

Something I didn’t see really explained in the news coverage but came across by accident is that Japan’s electrical grid is split into two parts; the western half of the country runs on 60 Hz and the eastern half (which includes Tokyo) runs on 50 Hz. The two are, essentially, mutually exclusive so the extra electrical capacity that the western half has cannot be sent to the eastern half where the earthquake/tsunami has ravaged many of the power plants. That’s why there’s rolling blackouts now; TEPCO currently has nowhere near the power capacity to keep up with demand and nowhere to get it from. Which is very bad because if TEPCO can’t get a great deal of their lost capacity back before summer then there’s going to be millions of sick and elderly people having to get through a humid, hot summer with no air conditioning. Never a good thing.

Almost 2 years ago I wrote a comment on Simplicity’s old anime blog about Obama and politics on the night of Election 2008:

“There’s a part of me that is quite happy to see [Barack] elected because he’s african-american. I think it’s an important moment for our country. If he puts the country in front of party politics then we should be okay. However, if he allows congress to pass alot of left-wing bills then he’ll make the same mistake that Bill Clinton made and we’ll see the republicans take back congress in two years.

The other reason that I’m partly happy that Obama won was that the republican party lost it’s way once they got control of congress and the presidency and they needed something to snap them back into shape. This, I think, will be it.”

And sitting here the day after Election 2010, I’m feeling quite happy at little ol’ me getting this election almost completely right 2 years previously when many “experts” still didn’t get it right a couple of months ago. Congress and Obama did pass a lot left-wing bills and as a result, the Republicans almost took back both houses of Congress. The Republicans were also snapped back into shape; shedding it’s “Democrat-lite” stance that it held for the last decade and returned to their core values of smaller, less intrusive government and fiscal responsibility. As an added bonus, because it was the Tea Party movement that was largely behind this shift, we saw the further diversifying of the Republicans.

I’m also extremely happy at getting it right since it means the federal government won’t have the chance to make things even worse for the next two years and that might just allow the people to do the job the government can’t accomplish and get us out of recession and back working again. (Though Ben Bernanke’s desire to turn US currency into funny money could do the job that Obama can no longer do.)

Even if I was completely right and the Republicans had won back the Senate, I don’t know how far they could go in fixing the problems that Obama created in these past two years with Obama still being  President. The only route that looks open to them is to try to control the purse-strings of the federal government, even if that means shutting down the federal government. Though the courts could still throw out the biggest drag on the economy that Obama enacted.

In closing, expect normal anime posts to resume shortly – I don’t like going off-topic here but I’d been so looking forward to this election that I need to write this post before moving on. What the country does in Election 2012 is a murkier subject. If the economy improves significantly and people attribute it to the actions of Obama then he will get re-elected, no question. If the economy gets worse or gets better with the perception that it was the Republicans that did it then Obama will probably not get re-elected. If the economy continues to stagnant, the presidential election will depend on how voters assign blame for the stagnant economy, how well the Republicans have stuck to their core and the quality of the individual candidates. I think the economy will continue to stagnate without Republican intervention.

I think the Republicans are on track to keep control of the House and gain control of the Senate in 2012, if they can stick to their principles and show that these principles are what the country needs. As for who the Republicans will nominate for President, I think the best choice would be a conservative governor that stuck to his/her principles and gotten their state going in the right direction. It gives the most convincing argument why they should be the President and executive office experience is a better training ground then the Senate for the Presidency. I personally like Huckabee as my pick though Christie, the governor of New Jersey, is starting to really interest me as does Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana.

The time to watch one of nature’s most awesome and reliable light show has come around again – it’s Perseid Meteor Shower time.

So round up your friend(s) and family,

find a good spot

get comfortable, look up

and enjoy.

Perseid Meteor Shower

When

I’ve read two different things on the various websites. Most say that the peak viewing will occur the night between Thursday, August 12 and Friday, August 13 but a couple have said that the night between Wednesday, August 11 and Thursday, August 12 will be the best night. With the projected peak occurring around 8PM Eastern, I’m inclined to think the night of 12-13 will be the best night, at least for those living in North America; however, the Perseids have a wide peak so either night will probably be good viewing, no matter where you live. It’s also possible to see a smaller amount (25% to 50% of peak values) during the couple of nights before and after these nights. Last year, I had the time and the viewing conditions to check out the night before and the night after the peak night and found it was well worth the time.

Where

The meteors originate from the northeast area of the sky and while many can be seen in this area, they will appear anywhere in the sky.

Factors

The number and frequency of meteors that the viewer will see will depend on several factors.

• Most meteors, including the Perseids, are in reality debris from comets that the Earth runs through and this debris is normally the size of grains of rice. Some years the Earth goes through denser or lighter debris areas and this makes for a varying amount of meteors. In the case of the Perseids, perfect viewing conditions mean roughly ~100 meteors are seen per hour in an average year but past rates do not guarantee a certain level this year.
• The darker the sky and the darker the area surrounding the viewer, the more meteors will be seen. Heading to the country is best but finding a place to go might be difficult unless you know someone out there. Finding a spot that no lights shine on you and that allows you to see a large percentage of the sky is all that’s really needed.
• This year the moon will not be a problem like it has been the last couple of years!
• The spacing between seeing meteors will vary greatly; I’ve waited as little as 30 seconds and as long as 20 minutes to see the next meteor.
• While anytime during this night will yield a multitude of meteors, the rate does increase the closer to dawn you watch but the best quality meteors (with the brightest, longest tails) occur more frequently right after it gets dark.

Things You’ll Need

• To view the meteors I have used two methods: laying on a blanket and sitting in a reclining lawn chair. Both work and remain comfortable after long periods of time so I’d suggest whichever is easier to set up. You might want to bring a pillow or two, just in case.
• I’ve never had problems with insects but it might be a good idea to bring along some insect repellent.
• Nights outside get surprisingly cool. Even if the low is going to be in the upper 60’s, there’s a good chance that you’ll get cold. I always like to bring at least a second cover but will also bring a hoodie or light jacket as well.
• A little patience. Seeing a meteor before your eyes have adjusted to the darkness is nearly impossible and it takes roughly 10-15 minutes for your eyes to completely adapt. So, don’t get quickly discouraged and try to limit exposing your eyes to bright lights once you’re outside.
• Clear skies.
• Not really a requirement but having a few people with you (family, friends) does make the experience more fun. Scanning the entire sky is nearly impossible for one person so having more eyes might mean more meteors seen and if the meteors aren’t cooperating then you have someone to talk to while you watch for the next meteor.

Tip for City-dwellers

Light pollution will be a problem no matter what but by looking straight up you can minimize the interference. If you can imagine straight up as making a 90 degree angle with the ground, keep between 45 and 90 degrees when looking for meteors, any lower and they will most likely be obscured.

Other links: Wiki, A Darker View, Sky and Telescope, Space.com

Planetary Conjunction

Also going on in the nighttime sky is a planetary conjunction of Mars, Venus, and Saturn. This one has been going on for about a month now but a new addition is the inclusion of Mercury (Mercury isn’t close enough to be technically in conjunction with the others) and allows one to look at half of the planets in the solar system at one time along with the moon while standing on a fifth planet. The above picture is taken from Sky and Telescope and shows a simulated look of how this conjunction will look.

Other links: Sky and Telescope, A Darker View

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Good luck and happy meteor watching

Today it hit a balmy 40 degrees F (4.4 deg C) so my family decided to take the 1.5 hour drive up to see how the beach looks in winter time. Turns out, it’s really cool both figuratively and literally. In the picture above I’m standing about 20 feet from shore over Lake Erie itself – the mixture of ice/snow/sand felt solid but it still was a bit unsettling to know that I was walking on the lake itself. Below is more shots that I took including one of the snowman that two of my sisters made.