When at the end of the 2-hour Thursday episode of Celebrity Apprentice...
As Vinny left the boardroom....
They played Journey's "Don't Stop Believing"
I literally laughed for several minutes.
I half expected him to throw his graduation cap in the air as he turned back from walking to the limo to gaze longingly back at the Trump Tower.
I love it.
Can we discuss the fact that 40% of my total hits (and my Statcounter has been going since October) have been in the month of January? This is literally insane.
What started out as a little "hey friends and family, here is what I'm up to" has really blossomed/exploded into something else.
Not that I mind, but man, is the pressure ever on!
:D
Well, it's a blizzard day again.
Sometimes it's a little disgusting how many blizzards we get whizzing through Rankin.
Since I got back from vacation I don't think a week has gone by where there wasn't at least ONE day that I had to stay home because of the blizzard.
And it's not like I'm being a wimp, and don't want to go out into the cold. It just isn't SAFE to leave the house. I'm not exaggerating at this point (lord knows I've developed a reputation for doing so, eh Mom?) but the houses across the street (and we are talking a small street, maybe 50 feet away) are barely visible. The wind is blowing at 65km/h and the gusts are over 85.
I never really thought about the wind before I moved up here. It was never the "selling point" of a storm day down south. Back home it was always how much snow was on the ground, and if we could clear it away fast enough.
I also happen to live in "Area 6"... which is at the far end of town, and on the other side of "the bay" (note to self, upload map of Rankin at some point...). Visibility always tends to be worst out here. And, as I am sure y'all are tired of hearing... it is also a good 20 minute walk to work from my house. Pleanty of time to get turned around and end up in Yellowknife.
I won a Nunie!
It's kind of funny. I went to be early last night, because that's what I've been doing of late... I've set up my own little geriatric ward in my apartment... and kind of let fate take its course.
Wow, I can't believe I just used the f-word. I'm generally all kinds of an anti-fate-ite. So let's rephrase. I just kind of let nature run its course. There we go. I believe in nature.
I had decided I was going to try and keep my "campaigning" as minimal as possible. I made a couple of posts on my blog telling people to go vote... and I changed my MSN screen name to something similar (figuring there were a decent chunk of folks on there who didn't read the blog).
I also tried to be as un-competitive as possible.
Curse all you who scoffed at that last statement. It's TRUE! I'm not going to deny chronically checking the Nunavut Blogs site every 5, 10 minutes... but it was a pretty intense race between Kennie and I.
I don't know what the final numbers were, but I don't think we were much more than 10 percentage points away from one another at any point in the voting process. And that was a bit an anomaly on the last day. For the most part, we were within three per cent of one another.
But I do have to put out a crazy big thanks to my sister, Danielle. She worked her magic over in NB, and was up VERY late watching the progression of the polls. Long after I went to bed, in fact. Which is actually kind of funny, because it was MY contest (or rather, my blog's).
So thank you Danielle, thank you everyone who took the time to vote, not just for my blog, but for everyone's. I think this was a great little event that hopefully Clare will continue in the future... it has given the blogs (old and new) a bit more exposure, and has encouraged me to keep writing.
Apparently someone likes it :D
PS, congrats to Jen as well, who won Best Nunavut Blog (I just won the "new" category). Her blog is always good for a chuckle... and not to mention some amazing photos. Between she, Kennie, Bob Izumi Jr. and Kate Nova... I've been inspired to take better photos. Or at least dream of a digital SLR in the far-off future (gotta wait for my beautiful baby Canon to kick the bucket first :P)
Voting closes tonite! So get on over to http://kiggavik.typepad.com/nunavut_blogs and VOTE!!!!!!
(I used to be a mere 3 per cent behind, and now I've dropped to 10 :( if I truly am your favourite nunavut blog, get over there and vote!)
It is a slow news day today. I hate days like this. Really really can't stand them.
It's like I've entered a serious story-slump after the sheer insanity of last week. But being as there's another blizzard about to wind its way to the Kivalliq... maybe it's not a bad thing that I'm not busting with a great story, because chances are I'll be off at least one day, or part of a day, this week.
In the meantime, I've been catching up on those long-neglected magazines (sometimes this actually helps me come up with story ideas, believe it or not) and I came across an interesting little article about micro-celebrity, that I thought might be of interest to some of my fellow bloggers... especially in light of the Nunies :)
Clive Thompson on the Age of Microcelebrity: Why everyone's a little Brad Pitt
Whenever Peter Hirshberg is at a party, someone eventually pulls out a camera and takes a snapshot with him in it. Hirshberg — chair of the executive committee at the blog-search company Technorati — performs a quick mental calculation: Does the photographer look like one of those people who will immediately dash home and post all their candids to Flickr? "If I think it's going to end up on the Web, I straighten up more, try to smile the right way," Hirshberg says. "Because if it goes online, people I know will probably see it."
Hirshberg has a blog, which means a couple hundred people — some strangers, some friends — regularly follow his comings and goings, his Facebook updates, his online photo trail. Any time he does something embarrassing or stupid, those people will know. So in essence, Hirshberg has to behave like a very minor version of Brad Pitt. He's got to watch out for the paparazzi, be careful with his public image.
But he's not a celebrity. He's a microcelebrity.
Microcelebrity is the phenomenon of being extremely well known not to millions but to a small group — a thousand people, or maybe only a few dozen. As DIY media reach ever deeper into our lives, it's happening to more and more of us. Got a Facebook account? A whackload of pictures on Flickr? Odds are there are complete strangers who know about you — and maybe even talk about you.
I spent the morning organizing my desk. Again.
I tend to do this every couple weeks... eventually it gets to the point where I have exhausted all of my current story ideas...
And I go looking for that folder/clipboard with "possible follow-up/quirky stories" written up...
And in the process find hoards of unopened envelopes... press releases... and unread magazines.
I'm such a hypocrite. I would rather just check my banking information online, and I find it annoying that I have all these stupid bills on my desk...
But at the same time, I prefer to have a "hard copy" of such things (god forbid the internet eventually running out of "space" haha) and constantly print out Stats Canada reports because I like to have it in my meaty little paws to scribble on at will.
I think I'm just stuck in a strange generational paradox, where I grew up on paper, but like the ease and instant access of the age of electronic. I constantly write myself little reminders in gmail... and love that I can just "search" within.
My parents... are paper-savvy, and my kids will be all-digital. And here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
I swear. I will die at the hands/blades of a snowmobile.
I don't know when, I don't know where. But it will happen.
Most of my life these days is spent dodging these whizzy bastards. Or holding onto dear life atop one. Don't get me wrong, I love the random rides I get aboard co-worker's snow machine... he's got a BIG one, easily can seat 3 people, and it has these neat little handle thingies so that I feel a liiitle safer*. But they are terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.
Note, what you can't see in this cartoon, is my pathetic bundled-up self, cowering with my head ducked between my knees, on the other side of that hill.
* Note, in hindsight, I think I was sitting in a kid's booster seat. Oops. I don't care. The handles are so worth it.
Head on over to Nunavut Blogs and vote ... voting ends Tuesday.
And in return I'll do a real blog post.
Promise.
I'm in a real close neck-and-neck competition with Kennie over at Tales from the Arctic.
We are always within like 3 percentage points of one another.
So get those votes in before Tuesday swings around :D
I was woken up by a phone call at 6 am this morning.
Newsworld chick: "Did I wake you up?"
Exhausted, sleep-deprived reporter: *mumble* "yes"
Newsworld chick: "Can you do a hit in 15 minutes"
Jackie: "uhhh, no? I am asleep?"
NWC: "How about at 7:30"
Jackie: "Um, yah, I can do that"
NWC: "Okay, i'll call you in half an hour"
I would LOOOVE to be able to sleep past 6 some day this week. It would rock.
But if not, I'll settled for a coma this weekend.
Well well well.
I the mystery has been solved. I've figured out why my hit count a couple of nights ago was so high (and has stayed at this rate since)....
My blog is a finalist for the "best new blog" category in the 2007 Nunies!!!!
For those of you not "in the know".... a fellow blogger, Clare, has set up a Nunavut Blog contest. For the past couple of weeks people were asked to submit nominations, and the top five were chosen in two categories: Best blog, and best new blog. I won't bother reposting them, because all the info (and links) can be seen at Nunavut Blogs.
I originally started this blog for my family back home, the friends I've made over the years who might be interested in hearing what I'm up to, and most of all, for myself. I wanted to have a record of the time I've spent in the Canadian arctic. The good, the bad, the stressful, the lonely, the remarkable and the remarkably unremarkable. I've since come to realize I blog for the amusement of other bloggers as well... and as it seems... a certain number of non-bloggers, non-family/non-friend readers. And that's pretty cool too.
My blog was winning there for a little bit yesterday, but has since fallen to second place, trailing behind Kenny's Tales from the Arctic blog. I am officially dangerously addicted to checking the standings. Last night I was updating the page every 10 minutes. It was sad, and very sick.
So please, take the chance to vote (I'm not at the begging "vote for me" stage, I'm trying not to let my competitive tendencies take over what is really, just a cool experience). And check out some of the blogs. There's some great writers out there, willing to keep you up-to-date, informed, and put a smile on your face.
Good luck to all!
I am absolutely wiped.
2 days, 13 stories/debriefs/blizzard-related journalism.
So this one's going to be short/sweet.... and quickly replaced by a more appropriate entry about the Nunies.
For now, you're getting linked.
Head on over to Nunavut Blogs to read the latest (and if you are curious, voting is at the very bottom, on the right hand side).
I promise I'll be a better blogger tomorrow!
As CBC's blizzard correspondent.
I *think* it's almost over. I have one last debrief/update on Northbeat this evening, and that will be it.
And while this has been an incredible opportunity, it's also been really hard. I'll write more to that effect later.
But I did want to write a little "thank-you" post to those people who left such supportive comments on my last entry. I haven't met many of you, some I didn't even know read my blog, but every time I got a new email "new comment on the north is my snowcone..." I was eager to read it, and they all either made me smile or at least made me chuckle a bit.
So thanks guys, I do appreciate it. It's be an insane day, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Okay, so I've stopped shaking. This is a good thing.
I just did my first live news hit. Ever. It was a 2 (maybe 3?) minute "drive" (CBC-talk for quick 'n' dirty) on CBC Newsworld with Heather Hiscox.
As I was waiting on the phone, listening to Colleen Jones itemize the weather conditions ... I was concentrating on my breathing, and thinking to myself "I have to remember what this is like, I have to blog about this."
So if you are tired of hearing about my newfound CBC popularity, you might as well skip this entry, and go do the morning crossword... or whatever it is you people do :P I won't be insulted. I'm pretty sure even my parents are tired of hearing about it!
I think the key to doing this kind of reporting is not to over think it (lol, a challenge for anyone who knows me). I remember doing a similar thing in journalism school, and our prof telling us not to write out exactly what we were going to say, just to make notes of the points you want to hit. So of course, I wrote out exactly what I was going to say, and tried my darnedest to sound as "non-rehearsed" as possible.
This time, I actually... without really thinking about my j-school training ... did exactly what I was supposed to. But I maintain a lot of that comes from being the "national expert" (at least in CBC's eyes, it seems) on this curse-ed blizzard. I've explained the situation, and its many angles, so many times to so many people over the past couple days.
I have answered more phones, talked to more new people, and done more interviews in the past 48 hours than I have in any other point in my life. And I was just PUMPING with adrenaline the whole time. It's kind of funny to look back on yesterday. I wish I could have seen myself through my colleagues eyes.
Was I flustered? Was I excited? Was I focussed? Was I driven? Overwhelmed? Giddy?
I was trying to explain the complexity of my day to my supervisor yesterday evening, all the shows I was doing work for, how that compared to my normal duties... and I couldn't even get the words out. I couldn't even give a coherent account of the day. It's like I went through the day in an adrenaline haze.
But as I sit here and try to think back... I realize I really owe my co-workers big time. Normally I try not to involve them in my blog, but I really... think they deserve some mega props. If it wasn't for Selma... I never would have chased this story. She's the one that had the interview with the cashier in Whale Cove. She's the one that called her back to get a comment in English about the store stock. And Betty. Betty kept calling people, without me asking and then turning around to say "Jackie, I have X on the phone, you should talk to them." And when I needed additional sources for As it Happens and Sounds like Canada... she had them, a constant slew of names and phone numbers. The two of them, well, Selma and Betty made me look good. I couldn't have done this without them.
And finally Kevin. It is just, so refreshing to have someone just first, believe in you so much... but not just that, push you to believe in yourself so that you can make other people believe in you too. Monday night - back in the days when this was "just" a 5-day storm haha - Kevin says to me "you should pitch this to national news" ... and I am pretty sure I brushed him off. I didn't really think it was a news story, it was just a storm. A persistent storm, but a just a storm. I didn't call national news that night, but I did put a call into Sounds like Canada.
It wasn't until the next morning, when I looked outside, and it was as bad a blizzard as it had been all week (if not worse) that I realized our "little" blizzard was BIG news. So I did call, national news WAS interested. And things spun out from there. My phone calls and hectic day were punctuated by Kevin's enthusiasm and praise... all I could ask for, and more than I should have demanded of a guy who had stuff of his own to deal with (a very recent death in the family).
So thanks Selma, thanks Betty ... I figure you'll not ever really read this, so that falls on deaf ears...(I'll have to write a real thank you letter for them) but Kevin does.
So thank you Kevin. I couldn't have done this without your support. I'll always remember that.
Because I did...
But tomorrow I do Sounds like Canada at 8:30 (central, 9:30 EST)... and News Morning (this one's national TV news) at 7:20/8:20/9:20 EST.
So if for some reason you've not had enough of the blizzard, and my local coverage... there's still time.
Also: can we discuss the fact that over Tuesday I had 2x the usual amount of blog hits? I can't quite figure out the reason for this... unless people subscribe to a RSS feed and were intrigued by my recent celebrity haha.
Yo! Bloggers! Readers!
Turn on your radio to CBC at 5pm.
You'll hear a great little story about a blizzard in the north!
It's my national news debut.....
Can you tell I'm excited????
J
It's my television debut!!!
I was asked to do a phone interview by "Northbeat" (turns out it's the northern CBC evening news.... NOT a competing publication, as I initially thought....what can I say, I listen to the news on the radio, not the TV) on the blizzard that hit Rankin/the Kivalliq.
Have a listen! (It will only be online until tomorrow, Tuesday the 22nd at 8:30pm)
My story starts at 4:45 the link is ... www.cbc.ca/northbeat and click on the "listen to last broadcast" link on the right hand side.
Enjoy!
Life is back to normal today...
But I am about to brave the crazy coldness of Rankin ... No phones, no lights, no motor car .... okay that's a lie.
Just the no motor car bit... it's -57 and I've got a 20 minute walk to work.
Hope I get there alive!
... and the sleep that never comes....
It seems like every day I look at the detailed weather forecast on cbc.ca, the blizzard is predicted to go on. I remember when it was originally "scheduled" to be over by Friday morning.
And to be fair, it did die down Thursday night. Only to wind itself back up in a frenzy early Friday morning.
And I also remember when the forecast said the blizzard would be winding down Saturday night... with clear skies on Sunday...
And the forecast now reads:
Monday..Blizzard ending in the evening then a few clouds. Wind northwest 40 km/h gusting to 60. Temperature steady near minus 33. Wind chill minus 54.
It is almost surreal. It's like someone on the weather desk has forgotten to change the symbols on the map.
"Today: blowing snow, Tomorrow: blizzard"
I actually went out today. I threatened to go out on Friday, but my mom flipped out (via e-mail haha) saying it wasn't smart. So I listened to mother. And stayed indoors.
Today, I went to the Northern. I had no food. It was getting desperate. I hadn't left the house in 7 days, didn't do any REAL grocery shopping since I got back from vacation... and had made a food order. Yah. It was bad.
I dressed up in my finest:
I, for some strange reason, got the notion to start reading out loud from the french wikipedia's entry on Pas-de-Calais.
I then moved on to the bald eagle.
Now my throat hurts, because I'm pretty sure I've not exercised my "french r" sound for several months.
Initially Sully was intrigued by the strange noises coming out of my mouth. But then decided he didn't like them, and started barking at me to stop. Literally.
Being as it is 3 am (espresso at 9pm was NOT a good idea) and his barking is not likely to be appreciated -- and my throat is sore from saying all those unfamiliar vowel sounds-- I have given up my french-speaking for the evening/morning.
Maybe tomorrow I'll start reciting the Green Gables french "house talk" (parkie slang for guided tour)...
"Bonjour, et bienvenu a la maison de pignons vertes... partie de la parc nationale d'ile du prince edouard..."
I was looking at my Statcounter results just a minute ago, and there is this feature where you can see where in the world your readers are located. It only really gives you a city and province/territory/country... but I noticed I have a repeat reader in Bermuda.
There is only one person I think this could be... and I'd love to talk to you again!!! So if this doesn't weird you out too much, send me a message (all comments posts go directly to my gmail ... so if you don't want your email address permanently on the site, I can immediately delete it). I'd love to hear what you are up to.
Oh, but if this is just someone from Hamilton that happened to stumble on my blog... sorry I outed you!!!
J
Six days stewing in a two-bedroom apartment = recipe for cabin fever/insanity.
Three of those days were spent sick and in a near-coma... (incidentally watching copious episodes of House, so it was like the coma-ee watching the coma-ed)
And the other three were spent pacing the apartment, simultaneously happy that I didn't have to go to work and frustrated that I couldn't go outside.
Still no groceries. I've been eating plain rice for the past couple of days. It was boring the first time I had it, let alone several bland meals later... when not only does it lack flavor but variety as well.
I think even the puppy is annoyed that I've been around so much. He pulled a total diva last night, and wouldn't stop barking until I opened the doors to every room in my house (so that he could explore them at his leisure) ... and shut myself up in my own little cave. On the upside, he now knows how to "sit"... I'm working on "lay down" ... but he's just so darn pleased with his "sitting" ability that I almost feel bad breaking it to him how much more there is to learn.
And the last time I checked, tomorrow was supposed to be blizzard-y too. That's four straight days of weather so awful I can't leave the house. And three days of just being sick.
Please please please let me be able to go to the Northern tomorrow!
I feel a bit like my life has come full circle.
Here I sit, and have sat ... since 6 am, waiting for the "final word" with growing anticipation. You would have seen a similar Jackie perched in front of her clock radio a good five, ten years ago... tuning in religiously to "Magic 93"... fingers crossed and stomach in knots HOPING HOPING HOPING that they'd call a snow day and I could go back to bed.
Kind of ironic, seeing as I wouldn't be up at that time any OTHER morning.... just the days when a good ol' Nor'-East'r was predicted to worm its way up the coast. And dump a healthy serving of that fluffy white stuff on the island.
I went through serious withdrawal at Carleton. You paid for your education, and so it was your responsibility to take advantage of it. I think I could count on one hand ... make that maybe three fingers ... the number of times a class was canceled in my four years there. And always because of professor illness.
But here I am again. Sleep-deprived and bleary-eyed... waiting for that call. Waiting for my producer to ring me up and say "don't bother risking your life to come into work today" ... because at this point, I'm pretty sure that's what I'd be doing.
January's edition of Jackie vs. Northern winds would definitely have to be ruled against me. Yesterday was a blizzard day... and I thought myself a disgusting optimist for thinking today would be too (especially since things calmed down significantly late last night) but the weather reared its ugly, cold, windy head... and things stirred up again early this morning.
Generally I HATE that I live a twenty minute walk from work, at what feels like the ends of the earth by Rankin Inlet standards (the dreaded, and rarely-visited, "Area 6") but you know what? Blizzard days may very well be my favorite thing about the north. And if I lived (like two of my co-workers do) within 5 minutes of work, I simply wouldn't get the chance to enjoy them.
Now if only I had remembered to get groceries before it hit.
*stomach grumble*
Rankin Region including Whale Cove
3:27 AM CST Thursday 17 January 2008
Blizzard warning for
Rankin Region including Whale Cove continued
Widespread blizzard conditions are expected to continue through Friday in many communities.
This is a warning that blizzard conditions are imminent or occurring in these regions. Monitor weather conditions..Listen for updated statements.
A major low pressure system northeast of Kivalliq in the Foxe basin will give northwest winds of 50 to 70 km/h with gusts at times up to 100 km/h to many communities in Kivalliq for today through Friday. As a result widespread blowing snow will give visibility less than 1 kilometre and much of the time visibility will be near-zero. Wind chill values will range from minus 45 to minus 50. Conditions are not expected to improve for several days.
Current visibility, at 6:44 AM: 0 km.
OOoo, one more snapshot... this one of Sully in his Christmas present from one of my best friends, Robyn. He hates it. I hate it. I love it. It's terrible. LOL.
And yes, he is kind of sticking out his tongue in that photo.
And boy is it taking awhile to get up again.
Ug.
So I had a bit of an eventful weekend. I went over to Jaime/Jeff's (surprise, surprise) ... had a couple drinks, and the next day ended up at the health centre.
Granted there are a couple details missing in there, but you get the idea. I was quite sick on Saturday, couldn't keep my own freakin' saliva down... and so I made my inaugural trip to the Kivalliq health centre. Not at all a bad experience, all things considered.
They had to put me on IV and I got to experience the miracles of IV Gravol. I wish I could have a home supply of that stuff because when I get sick, man do I ever get sick. Stomach acid is not my friend... and Gravol never stays down.
Ok enough about the mechanics of my illness.
I maintain I didn't have THAT much to drink, and that it was likely a combination of the lingerings of whatever I had over the holidays + weak stomach + alcohol was real the potent mix...
And so I've been down for the count ever since. I don't even want to think about how much sleep I've gotten in the past 3 days... because it's pretty disgusting. I was all ready to go to work this afternoon too ... took a shower, even put on a dab o' makeup... before a dizzy spell hit me and I realized it just wasn't happening.
I have to say, paid sick leave is the best invention in the world. Don't know what I'd do without it.
But I did have a mini-productive yesterday. I baked my first loaf of bread ever, my grandmother would be SO proud. I generally don't really even buy bread, because it is hard to finish all by myself ... and thawed frozen sliced bread just isn't the same.
So yah, first loaf of french bread, a total success. The top was a little more brown that maybe it needed to be, but frig. It tastes amazing.
I was perusing the CBC.ca site today (yes, not only do I work for them, I'm a total addict) and came across a veeery interesting "in-depth" article about the media's use of Facebook photos.
Take a look, it kind of made me think about the photos I've posted on my blog.
Though I guess you have to remember that public means public. If you aren't willing to post what you write on your blog on a billboard somewhere, then you're writing the wrong things, I suppose.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/tech/internet/facebook-legal.html
And Kate Nova... if you read this... maybe you can explain to me the whole "creative commons license" in the comments?
I've been very bloggy today. But sometimes I just get in a writing mood. And sometimes I just want to make sure I remember things.
That's what this post is about.
I was just in the studio with a co-worker, who is fairly well known around the territory for his songs/singing/playing guitar. He's got a couple CD's out and that kind of thing.
Anyways, he brought his guitar in yesterday, and this afternoon asked me to mix/record him singing in one of the studios.
I felt so posh sitting on the other side of the glass, monitoring his levels and listening to him sing.
I have no idea what he was saying, but I know it sounded nice, and was honoured to be part of it.
I love love love it when a song I genuinely like plays, unexpectedly, on the radio.
Its a little peek of sunshine through an otherwise cloudy morning.
That, and my latte :P
Listening to....
Fiest: 1 2 3 4
I bow down to the power of the mighty espresso machine.
Yes, I FINALLY bought one. I got it at the Walmart in Charlottetown, and it is a total dream come true.
And it may or may not sit in a little Mr.Coffee shrine in my kitchen.
IloveitIloveitIloveitIloveitIloveitIloveitIloveitIloveitIloveitIloveit
When I was home over the holidays I maybe averaged three coffees a week. No, maybe less than that.... because I was sick.
But even before that, it is safe to say I was never really a coffee-a-day person. But all that has changed now.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a five-cups-a-day gal.
The only time I have ever been close to that is when I was working the "job from hell" 20 hrs a week, going to school full time and spending 15 hours a week on the bus. Oh, and none of that on the weekend. Man, I was consuming coffee like it was going out of style.
I was also the most spastic person of all time. It was disgusting.
For now, I'm happy to chill with my morning latte... that gives me that little kick in the pants I need, to get me going in the morning.
*smile.
Yah, okay.
So I generally consider myself a relatively intelligent human being. Generally.
But it looks like I've been a little bit "slow on the uptake" of late, and my blogger buddies have been quick to school me. :P
So. For all those curious..... below are responses to some of my "wonder why" questions from the past couple days.
Some were on Facebook, so I decided to re-post them.
1.) From Elizabeth re: my moon rise/set post:
Yahoo Answers, of all places, has a great explanation for what happens to the moon in northern latitudes. Basically, it tells you that moonrises and moonsets depend on latitude, just like sunrises and sunsets.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071029 010604AAqquN7
Also, bear in mind that moonrise and moonset depend on how close the moon is to the sun (from our perspective). The moon is farthest away from the sun during "full moon" phase, and so it rises and sets at the opposite times to the sun (rises at sunset, sinks at sunrise). The moon is closest to the sun at "new moon", so it rises and sets at almost the same time as the sun then. (To look at it another way, solar eclipses always happen at new moon because the moon and the sun are close enough to cross paths in the sky.)
For some reason, I have a strange feeling that the moon and the sun aren't programmed to play 'hide and go seek' (or 'cat and mouse', if you will) with each other. Otherwise, there'd never be solar/lunar eclipses...
*Note to self: A solar book for Jackie for next Christmas.
It's good that the plane wings wiggle (but only slightly). To look at it another way -- seismic engineers often design bridges and buildings to "give" a little bit when an earthquake hits, because it's better to control how the earthquake goes through the building than to totally resist it. Same principle with the airplane wings and air.
(That'll teach me to have a family member in the aviation industry . . . :) )
Wings, better to wiggle, then snap right off...lol. If the steel can't move, then it will just snap under pressure. :)
Okay folks,
Anyone have an explanation for why the MOON is rising and setting after and before the sun?
Seems off.....
Thoughts?
Or, my shoes.
My mother was somewhat.... disgusted at my "home for Christmas" wardrobe.
I believe at one point she cried "don't you own a pair of pants that look like they belong on a WOMAN!!!???!!"
So here I am. Trying out my new duds. Feeling grossly over-dressed... because the north, and my office is no exception, definitely takes the whole "business casual" idea to heart.
Yesterday I eased into the process of "dressing for success" by wearing cotton dress pants. And today I've gone all out, fancy pants and pretty shoes. While I'm a little embarrassed by the clacking noises I make down the hallway to the break room (funny how, this time last year I reveled in that sound... marching through Carleton's tunnels...) I also love how sleek dress pants and fancy shoes look together.
I'm so posh.
As I've said before, I'm pretty comfortable with flying.
Generally I either read till my eyes get droopy, break out the laptop for some quality prime-time-at-my-fingertips viewing... or on rare occasions... I tune into the in-flight doodad (be that sattelite TV, TV-on demand or in-flight movie).
But I've had a couple unnerving things happen during this recent trip home that makes me a little more wary of flying.
1.) When flying from Winnipeg to Toronto en route to PEI... we hit some pretty serious turbulence. I was mostly okay (I wasn't feeling too hot to begin with.... so the shaking didn't really help) but folks around me were getting sick, and kids were crying. I half-expected the masks to fall from the ceiling at any given moment.
2.) Flying from Charlottetown to Toronto ... just before we were about to descend, the flight attendants made a call for medical personnel. I don't know exactly what was going on (though it took all the restraint I had in my quivering journalist's body not to ask) but luckily there were FOUR doctors/nurses on board... and upon disembarking, a small EMT team at the door to meet us. Both, a relief. But it did make me think of that House episode where buddy gets the bends and Cuddy and House are left to solve the mystery at x-hundred feet.
3.) Noticed when taxing towards the gate in Toronto, that the wings on larger planes are prone to wiggling. I don't know about you, but I don't think steel/metal etc. should wiggle. But that's just me.
4) Note to all potential Calm Air passengers. Your baggage is neither safe nor secure abord the aircraft. And I'm not just talking checked baggage, carry-ons are vulnerable too. My flight back to Rankin was a bit of a nightmare… less for me, and more for my fellow passengers. In the post-Christmas gluttony, every single one of us (it seemed) packed too many heavy bags. With just twenty-four of us on the flight from Winnipeg, we had to make an unscheduled stop in Thompson (to refuel because our bags were too fat), and an extended stop in Churchill … because the weather in Arviat was a bit sketchy. As we got off the plane in Churchill (why we have to do this, I have no sweet clue….we don't have to in any of the other little fart-stops) our flight attendant told us that if we had a carry-on bag we'd have to check it. Which is dumb, because it is called a CARRY-ON for a reason, no? Anyways, this caused a lot of grumpy passengers… we all anticipated this would mean having to pay an extra 75 bucks for a third checked piece of luggage… luckily this wasn't the case. They waived the fee. BUT it wasn't until a good 45 minutes later that we found out they needed even MORE fuel … (because of the weather in Arviat) as a result, any baggage not marked "priority" wasn't getting on the plane. That meant if you checked 2 pieces of baggage, you were only getting the lighter one (as in my case) and all the items passengers had been FORCED to check in Churchill weren't getting to Arviat/Rankin/Baker. Maybe not till Monday. Quite a disaster, being as many people checked their "essentials" carry-on luggage… because they didn't feel safe checking laptops. So we have people with some medicine checked in baggage that may or may not reach final destinations for another couple of days. A1 work. *shakes head.
Unreal. I don't get a single magazine for like 2 months, and today my box looks like this:
That's right. Three MacLeans, two WIRED, an Everyday Food and a partridge in a pear tree. Now if only those lords a leapin' would stop by....
Maybe I am just being a giant emo kid over this because I'm always the mover, never the move-ee.
So I guess I'm just not used to being the one left behind. And maybe as we get older, we stop deluding ourselves into thinking we'll see these people again.
I miss my former roomies from Ottawa - - we lived together for 4 years. And I'm only realizing right now that I have no idea when I'm going to be seeing them again, and it kills.
I miss my family, even though I've not even left the island yet. My sister is sitting on the bed next to me, my parents preparing some feast downstairs. It's my last night in town and I don't want to go. And instead of taking the most of it, I have spent the day either in bed, or on the couch, curled up like a homesick fetus.
I'm such a freaking bleeding heart. People move on. Literally, figuratively. All that. I'm just not that good at it.
It seems like everyone I know is either leaving or planning to leave the north... or at least their current northern posting. I have a couple sets of friends that are planning on returning south. And bloggers left and right are ripe with plans of moving around.
It's all a little unsettling, seeing as I just got here. But I get the impression such is the way of the north. People come up for a little while, and then move on. It's just a little hard to watch, and maybe I need to be careful as to not get too close, because eventually we all move away.
Bit of a depressing thought.
