SIASOM

A Midsummer's Night Dream

No blog dedicated to the sun, the sand, the sea and all things summertime would be worth its salt if it didn't comment on a day that all sun worshipers, watermen, waterwomen, surfers, sailors, single women, kids, astronomers, playwrights, citizens of Santa Barbara and Reykjavik, mystics, senior citizen drivers, and just about anyone who loves these lazy, hazy days of summer (presumably everyone who reads this blog) does not appreciate.

The longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere is this Thursday.  This is the day that summer officially begins (and winter officially begins in the Southern Hemisphere - so screw them).  Why is it considered "official"?  Good question.  Because at  2:06 PM EST, the sun will reach its farthest point from north of the celestial equator.  What does this mean for you?  It means there is more sunlight on this day than any other.  Seems like a good time to celebrate.

It's a common misconception - I think mostly by college students - that the sun is closest to the earth during summer.  That's definately not the case.  Actually, on July 6 the earch will be at its farthest point from the sun.   It's all about tilt, baby.

There are parades, celebrations, and events around the world that mark this day each year.  Here at Siasom we support these celebrations, and we're seriously considering petitioning Congress to make this day a national holiday.  It's an ideal day to play hooky anyway (ed. note - does anyone still use the word "hooky" anymore?  Is there a new word for skipping work/school?).

So happy solstice.  Barbeque, eat, drink, play, dance around the maypole, and just have fun.  Summer's officially here and the livin' is easy.

Islands and Lakes

This is your geography lesson for the day. 

Fertilizing the Ocean

CNN.com posted this article this morning on the fertilization of the ocean to reduce greenhouse gases.  Anytime I hear of anything being dumped into the ocean, I'm concerned.  Dumping of iron particles is certain to have side-effects, and the article does mention things like oxygen-depletion as one. 

You can read the article here.    

Professor Sees Parallels Between Things, Other Things

I love The Onion.  It's a guarantee laugh-out-loud every time I read a new issue.  This one reminded me of the road rage survey.  It goes to show that groundbreaking research is going on everywhere.  Professor Sees Parallels Between Things, Other Things .

Somebody Got Here Early

Well it's still 3 weeks before hurricane season officially begins (by the way, is June 1 really the "official" start?  and who made this official?  I'm  going to look into this) and already we have a subtropical storm.  Say hello to Andrea.  She's disorganized and we've probably already seen the biggest impact.  Let's hope this isn't an omen. 

Some info on hurricane names, from our friends at FEMA:

For hundreds of years, hurricanes in the West Indies were named after the particular saint's day on which the hurricane occurred.  An Australian meteorologist began giving women's names to tropical storms before the end of the 19th century. In 1953, the U.S. National Weather Service, which is the federal agency that tracks hurricanes and issues warnings and watches, began using female names for storms.

In 1979, both women and men's names were used. One name for each letter of the alphabet is selected, except for Q, U and Z. For Atlantic Ocean hurricanes, the names may be French, Spanish or English, since these are the major languages bordering the Atlantic Ocean where the storm occur.       

So who decides what names are used each year? The World Meteorological Organization uses six lists in rotation. The same lists are reused every six years. The only time a new name is added is if a hurricane is very deadly or costly. Then the name is retired and a new name is chosen.