March 12th, 2010 at 8:53 pm by Kevin Orpurt under Kevin Orpurt's Blog
The brave little crocus in my garden did bloom,
To help me chase ‘way winter’s dark gloom.
My brave little crocus, peeking up from the dirt,
I hope it stays mild, so it’s bloom won’t get hurt.
Kevin Orpurt, March 12, 2010
February 22nd, 2010 at 4:26 pm by Kevin Orpurt under Kevin Orpurt's Blog
GEORGE’S DAY…SORT OF
Today is historically the day in 1732 that George Washington was born. Except in 1732, he was born on February 11th! What? It all boils down to the fact that, in some years, February has 29 days, like this year. That’s using the current Gregorian calendar, put into effect in 1752, twenty years after Mr. Washington was born. The Gregorian calendar was adopted because the previous Julian calendar, under which Mr. Washington was born, had become completely distorted in regard to seasons and Easter. As a result, September 2, 1752 was followed immediately by September 14!! Confusing? You bet! I’m still not sure which day should officially be Washington’s birthday.
This is from Suite101.com
When George Washington turned 21 years old, his birthday was moved from February 11th to February 22nd. He would privately continue to celebrate his birthday on the 11th for the remainder of his life.
The change in moving his birthday eleven days later in the month came as a result of legislation in Great Britain thousands of miles away. For centuries, most western countries had used the Julian calendar, which was adopted in 46 BC by Julius Caesar to improve the astronomical discrepancies of the old Roman calendar.
This Julian calendar was further reformed by the Gregorian calendar, also to correct astronomical discrepancies, as decreed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. Some European countries adopted it immediately, but the change to the Gregorian calendar for the rest of the western world took centuries. England did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752, so its American colonies therefore also did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752.
That spring Washington surveyed lands in present-day West Virginia. When his half-brother Lawrence died that year, George Washington inherited some of his property, and leased Mount Vernon, which eventually became his home.
That November, Washington began his military career as a major in the militia, and was appointed adjutant of the southern district of Virginia.
Read more at Suite101: Washington’s New Birthday: George Washington and the Gregorian Calendar http://colonial-america.suite101.com/article.cfm/washingtons_new_birthday#ixzz0gInJU5Aj
This is from Infoplease.com
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by Ben Snowden
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That Wednesday evening, millions of British subjects in England and the colonies went peacefully to sleep and did not wake up until twelve days later. Behind this feat of narcoleptic prowess was not some revolutionary hypnotic technique or miraculous pharmaceutical discovered in the West Indies. It was, rather, the British Calendar Act of 1751, which declared the day after Wednesday the second to be Thursday the fourteenth.
Prior to that cataleptic September evening, the official British calendar differed from that of continental Europe by eleven days—that is, September 2 in London was September 13 in Paris, Lisbon, and Berlin. The discrepancy had sprung from Britain’s continued use of the Julian calendar, which had been the official calendar of Europe since its invention by Julius Caesar (after whom it was named) in 45 B.C.
Caesar’s calendar, which consisted of eleven months of 30 or 31 days and a 28-day February (extended to 29 days every fourth year), was actually quite accurate: it erred from the real solar calendar by only 11½ minutes a year. After centuries, though, even a small inaccuracy like this adds up. By the sixteenth century, it had put the Julian calendar behind the solar one by 10 days.
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered the advancement of the calendar by 10 days and introduced a new corrective device to curb further error: century years such as 1700 or 1800 would no longer be counted as leap years, unless they were (like 1600 or 2000) divisible by 400.
If somewhat inelegant, this system is undeniably effective, and is still in official use in the United States. The Gregorian calendar year differs from the solar year by only 26 seconds—accurate enough for most mortals, since this only adds up to one day’s difference every 3,323 years.
Despite the prudence of Pope Gregory’s correction, many Protestant countries, including England, ignored the papal bull. Germany and the Netherlands agreed to adopt the Gregorian calendar in 1698; Russia only accepted it after the revolution of 1918, and Greece waited until 1923 to follow suit. And currently many Orthodox churches still follow the Julian calendar, which now lags 13 days behind the Gregorian.
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Since their invention, calendars have been used to reckon time in advance, and to fix the occurrence of events like harvests or religious festivals. |
Unfortunately, the cycles of the sun and moon do not synchronize well. A lunar year (consisting of 12 lunar cycles, or lunations, each 29½ days long) is only 354 days, 8 hours long; a solar year lasts about 365¼ days. After three years, a strict lunar calendar would have diverged from the solar calendar by 33 days, or more than one lunation.
The Muslim calendar is hence the only purely lunar calendar in widespread use today. Its months have no permanent connection to the seasons— Muslim religious celebrations, such as Ramadan, may thus occur at any date of the Gregorian calendar.
The phases of the moon have nonetheless remained a popular way to divide the solar year, if only because a 365¼-day year doesn’t exactly lend itself to equal subdivision (the 71¼-day month has yet to find favor among menologists). To compensate for the difference in the solar and lunar year, calendar makers introduced the practice of intercalation—the addition of extra days or months to the calendar to make it more accurate. The semilunar Hebrew calendar, consisting of twelve 29- and 30-day months, adds an intercalary month seven times every 19 years (which explains the sometimes confusing drift of Passover—and consequently Easter— through April and March).
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Despite its widespread use, the Gregorian calendar has a number of weaknesses. It cannot be divided into equal halves or quarters; the number of days per month is haphazard; and months or even years may begin on any day of the week. |
Since Gregory XIII, many other proposals for calendar reform have been made. In the 1840s, philosopher Auguste Comte suggested that the 365th day of each year be a holiday not assigned a day of the week. The generic “Year Day” would allow January 1 to fall on a Sunday every year. Needless to say, this clever solution was not widely embraced.
The French Revolution also saw an attempt at the introduction of a new calendar. On October 5, 1793, the revolutionary convention decreed that the year (starting on September 22, 1792—the autumnal equinox, and the day after the proclamation of the new republic) would be divided into 12 months of 30 days, named after corresponding seasonal phenomena (e.g. seed, blossom, harvest).
The remaining five days of the year, called sans-culottides, were feast days. In leap years, the extra day, Revolution Day, was to be added to the end of the year. The Revolutionary calendar had no week; each month was divided into three decades, with every tenth day to be a day of rest. This straightforward calendar, however, perished with the Republic.
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
January 7th, 2010 at 9:31 pm by Kevin Orpurt under Kevin Orpurt's Blog
I can’t remember where I read or heard this, but the fascinating point is this……..Folk Music from cold climates tends to be ‘happy’ and ‘danceable’…very upbeat. The theory is that in areas like The Ukraine, Russia, the Balkans, Eastern Europe and even Germany, all of which experience long, cold, dark winters, produce music that is uplifting and upbeat. Think of our own winter right now. In the colder climates, people would gather in places out of the cold and socialize. The music provided a much-needed positive influence on the otherwise bleak, cold weather. Here are a few examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy6lgC5HpIw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8KMRXMgNpY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcdvwujBT64
Feel better? Dance if you like, it’s a proven way to beat the winter blues.
December 29th, 2009 at 4:40 pm by Kevin Orpurt under Kevin Orpurt's Blog
Here is a link to some of the most amazing photos I’ve seen in a very long time. We really do live on a remarkable planet. Enjoy!
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/deserts-gallery-1/
December 25th, 2009 at 7:19 pm by Kevin Orpurt under Kevin Orpurt's Blog
On this Christmas, I would like you all to know how grateful I am to be your weatherman. The love and concern that was poured my way when I broke my shoulder touched me in a way you’ll never know. I’m not just some guy on the TV, you folks really care. Please know that I appreciate each and every one of you and wish you the best.
December 22nd, 2009 at 4:41 pm by Kevin Orpurt under Kevin Orpurt's Blog
All of us would like to have a calm, pretty white Christmas. However, it doesn’t look like that will be the case. Around this area, we have a higher likelyhood of rain than snow. Because of the intensity of the storm, lots of rain could fall. It will also be windy with temperatures staying in the mid-upper 30s. It won’t be until Christmas Day that colder air will sink in, changing the rain to snow. We could have a pretty snowfall on Christmas and Christmas night, but the wet ground may inhibit accumulation. Worst case scenario is that the water will freeze, then snow on top of that. Give yourself extra time when travelling.
November 25th, 2009 at 9:40 pm by Kevin Orpurt under Kevin Orpurt's Blog
It’s odd how our misfortunes can make us stronger, if we allow this to happen. As you probably know, I spent two nights in a supposedly haunted house. I’ve always believed in a spirit realm, but was confounded how spirits could interact with us here on the physical plane. Of course, I wound up falling, breaking my shoulder in two places. Nobody was in the room, and I have no idea what happened. Did I pass out from lack of sleep, or was I ‘pushed’? I can’t answer that question. I do know that if there are spirits (ghosts) trapped between here and wherever we go at death, I don’t want to be one of those trapped spirits. I think the best thing we can do is help others and worship the God of our understanding. The whole experience opened my eyes to the necessity of living a good, peaceful life. The second lesson I’ve learned is the loss of a working right arm. Although temporary, I can’t help but think of those who are permanently disabled, either through tragic events in their lives or those who have been born with disabilities. My short stretch of being without the use of my arm enhances my compassion for those who can’t walk, reach, touch or experience the joys of our full five senses. All of this said, I must tell you I am truly thankful for all the things in my life, both good and bad. Embrace the good and let the bad teach you. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:25 pm by Kevin Orpurt under Kevin Orpurt's Blog
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the good wishes and prayers. I’m back at work, but had to take Friday off because of the pain in my right arm. Too much too soon, I think.
Anyway, the Doctor said I have to wear my brace for another FOUR WEEKS! However, he said I could take it off for the weathercasts…..nice guy. The bad thing is, I have to sleep while wearing it….or at least try.
The station has been great through all of this, and I thank them for that. Good people.
When I get more limber, I’ll write about that las night at Ashmore Estates….it was very strange.
In the meantime, just call me ‘lefty’.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:31 pm by Scott Arnold under Kevin Orpurt's Blog
Each year, my winter forecast is a labor of love and a challenge, especially trying the most likely times for rain or snow. Click Here to read and also print off the winter forecast.
November 16th, 2009 at 11:58 am by Kevin Orpurt under Kevin Orpurt's Blog
Hi, all. I’m finally back to work, on a limited basis. In case you didn’t know, I fell during the last hour or so of the Ashmore Experiment. I don’t remember how it happened, but when I fell, I broke my shoulder in two places. A couple of days later came shoulder surgery and I’ve been stuck in a brace ever since. The pain is really bad. Also, trying to do things without using my right hand and arm is a real challenge.
I want to thank everyone for your concern during my absence. I’ll be back on the air later this week, if all goes well.