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Showing posts from January, 2006

Lonesome No More - Stroller Mafia

I find myself spending a significant portion of my very limited free time on the website for Lindy’s new mommy group, StrollerMafia.com. I think I like the distraction, but more then that, I want the site to be a success (meaning that lots of people visit it). Recently, the Stroller Mafia has involved to include two new goals; one tangible, one philosophical. The first is to have a Stroller Mafia member is each state. I have added a map of the US to the home page and will color in each state in which we have a member. So far we are up to one state, only 49 to go (then we will conquer the world). The second change to the Stroller Mafia is a clarification of the Stroller Mafia’s purpose. The following is my draft outline for the organization’s new motto and mission (I am currently in the process of asking Kurt Vonnegut for use of the motto, so if anyone knows him, tell him to give me a call)… “Lonesome No More” The Stroller Mafia is a national community of new parents who have com

The Real New Year - January 4, 2006

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Why is December 31 the end of the “year”? Well, first what is a year; on earth it is the time is takes to complete one full orbit around the sun, more specifically 365 Days, 5 Hours, 48 Minutes, 46 Seconds. In order to keep track of how many times we go around the sun, it is convenient to keep track of each orbit by designating one day as the officially beginning and end of the year. But why December 31st, that date has no astrological significance at all (it does have cultural significance ; some say it celebrates Jesus’ briss, actually many European countries used to start their new year on Christmas, while others start their new year on Easter). And Christmas was most likely modified to fall near the winter solstice (also known as Yule; it celebration the shortest day of the year). But we most recognize that the solstice (and seasons for that matter) has nothing to do with the closeness to the sun, it has to do with the tilt of the earth. Think about the orbit of the earth around th