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Nature, green in tooth and claw
Mar. 17th, 2013 06:23 pm
Currently at Toronto Pearson: -2. High today: -2. Last St. Patrick's Day, the low at Pearson was 5.6. The next day it got up to 19.9, and then it got over 20 the next four days and five of the next seven. This year, I've got March 31 (at 3:15 p.m. or something) in the UW first-time-to-20-degrees pool, and it ain't looking good at all. Some kind of slopstorm on its way for tomorrow.
I am slightly annoyed that I forgot that yesterday was the equilux (around here, anyway--where at least one of you is, it would've been the day before; where others of you might be, it could be today) ... although nothing would have followed from remembering that it was the equilux, except being pleased that I remembered it was the equilux.
According to a footnote on the Wikipedia equinox page, "equilux" in the sense of "day with more or less twelve hours between sunrise and sunset" has only come into use in the last decade ... seemingly implying that we didn't even have the concept previously, which seems crazy, but I imagine could be accounted for in large part by the fact that people generally assume (as I did until, what, last year?) that everyone gets twelve hours between sunrise and sunset on the equinox--and, actually, assume that that's what defines "equinox" (because that's what I learned when I was a kid; didn't you?). I was thinking a little while ago that it seems weird that we have known exactly when the equinoxes are since way back (or so I suppose!), but apparently we have never even cared about equiluxes, especially given that it seems like it would be easier to figure out when your local equilux is than it would be figure out when the equinox is ... but then, maybe the Mayans and whoever could geometrize the equinoxes out or whatever with more precision than anyone could drip water into a bucket or burn incense sticks or whatever to see when the amount of time between sunrise and sunset is about equal to the amount of time between sunset and sunrise. But also maybe no one actually meant "the time when the sun is directly over the equator" by "equinox" until more recently. I mean, think about it: to even have the concept of "equinox" as we (knowledgeable ones today) know it, you have to (a) have the concept equator (which means you have to assume that the Earth is spherical, which, e.g., the ancient Greeks were unsure about), and (b) know with some precision where the equator is relative to where you are. Given that (as far as I know) at least the Europeans had basically no clue about the dimensions of the Earth until they started running ships all the way around it, you'd think that the chances of anyone satisfying (b) before the last five centuries would have been pretty slim.
But, eh, what the hell do I know! (Of course, now I feel like rather than writing this I should, you know, look it up or something.)
Anyway, here's the fiendish beastie itself, munching on my poor bedraggled cauliflower plant this afternoon:
( A couple of house finches showed up a week or two ago. )
( Here's some super-eager daffodils. )
I am slightly annoyed that I forgot that yesterday was the equilux (around here, anyway--where at least one of you is, it would've been the day before; where others of you might be, it could be today) ... although nothing would have followed from remembering that it was the equilux, except being pleased that I remembered it was the equilux.
According to a footnote on the Wikipedia equinox page, "equilux" in the sense of "day with more or less twelve hours between sunrise and sunset" has only come into use in the last decade ... seemingly implying that we didn't even have the concept previously, which seems crazy, but I imagine could be accounted for in large part by the fact that people generally assume (as I did until, what, last year?) that everyone gets twelve hours between sunrise and sunset on the equinox--and, actually, assume that that's what defines "equinox" (because that's what I learned when I was a kid; didn't you?). I was thinking a little while ago that it seems weird that we have known exactly when the equinoxes are since way back (or so I suppose!), but apparently we have never even cared about equiluxes, especially given that it seems like it would be easier to figure out when your local equilux is than it would be figure out when the equinox is ... but then, maybe the Mayans and whoever could geometrize the equinoxes out or whatever with more precision than anyone could drip water into a bucket or burn incense sticks or whatever to see when the amount of time between sunrise and sunset is about equal to the amount of time between sunset and sunrise. But also maybe no one actually meant "the time when the sun is directly over the equator" by "equinox" until more recently. I mean, think about it: to even have the concept of "equinox" as we (knowledgeable ones today) know it, you have to (a) have the concept equator (which means you have to assume that the Earth is spherical, which, e.g., the ancient Greeks were unsure about), and (b) know with some precision where the equator is relative to where you are. Given that (as far as I know) at least the Europeans had basically no clue about the dimensions of the Earth until they started running ships all the way around it, you'd think that the chances of anyone satisfying (b) before the last five centuries would have been pretty slim.
But, eh, what the hell do I know! (Of course, now I feel like rather than writing this I should, you know, look it up or something.)
Anyway, here's the fiendish beastie itself, munching on my poor bedraggled cauliflower plant this afternoon:
( A couple of house finches showed up a week or two ago. )
( Here's some super-eager daffodils. )
