Life Sure, It’s Light Out Now
posted by on December 12 at 9:35 AM
But the sun sets tonight at fucking 4:18 p.m.
I was walking around at about 6 p.m. yesterday, it was black as night, and I found myself having one of those weird Seattle winter thoughts. I started feeling sympathy for the dinosaurs. They were just moving about in their lives and then bam, an asteroid hits what we now call Mexico. Huge explosion, fire, ash, and then a debris cloud settles over the earth, blocking out the light and killing all kinds of life.
Poor dinosaurs.
And poor us, to still have ten more days of this damned early darkness (which was a plague, by the way) before the winter solstice.
But oh, the winter solstice, what a change it will bring! On the day after, the sun will set at, um, 4:21 p.m.
Not to be a Pollyanna about it, but at least the Solstice comes at a time when everyone has Christmas lights up.
And then, not long after New Years, you start to notice the days getting longer.
Personally, Christmas lights are what keep me from sticking my head in the oven this time of year. God bless those Pagans.
Christmas cookies are what keep me going.
It's the price you pay for sunsets after 9:00pm in June.
Best. Slog. Ever.
At least someone else has thoughts as randomly tangential as mine.
Gimme that night fever, night fe-ver.
We know how to show it.
Not much in the way of christmas lights in england, at least I have drinking chocolate and murakami novels.
@7 - yeah, but you have guy fawkes. i'd rather light a roman candle than an xmas tree any day ;)
I welcome the next asteroid. May it hit Seattle so we can have a quick, painless, and, hopefully, an unsuspecting death.
I once spent a year living much closer to the equator. The sun set in winter at 7:00pm, which was nice. But the sun set in summer at 7:00pm, which sucked. I really missed those summer nights, walking around at 9:00 when it was still light and warm. I am willing to trade these long winter nights for those long summer days.
Amen to thoss xmas lights, murakami and drinking (unsweetenened) hot chocolate. I am housesitting on whidbey island (I live on Cap Hill) and when I got here last night at 4:30, not only was it dark, but the power was out. Bleh.
Amen to those xmas lights, murakami and drinking (unsweetenened) hot chocolate. I am housesitting on whidbey island (I live on Cap Hill) and when I got here last night at 4:30, not only was it dark, but the power was out. Bleh.
sorry for the double post.
Dude, I fucking hate winter. But the solstice is on of my favorite days of the year because it is when the short days bottom out and start getting longer.
Also, really strange that you thought about the dinosaurs.
Interesting. I always thought the sun set the earliest on winter solstice, but apparently it'll be about 12/16 this year (although sunrise keeps getting later until early Jan.).
It's tough when you go to work in the dark. Look out the window and see the sun (or bright clouds) go up and then back down, and then return home in the dark. But yeah, it's worth it for the 9pm sunsets in summer.
Add to the increasing darkness that it's been pissing rain once again and will do so through the end of this week.
Welcome to Wind Season as well. Time to buck up your mind, stay active, and plan your sunny vacation for February/March.
@ 15
Yeah, that is weird. I thought the same thing but apparently we're both wrong.
Can someone explain to me why the official winter solstice doesn't coincide with the earliest sunset?
Hey Lloyd, I could have sworn that was blue sky and sunshine outside my window right now. Is it really pissing rain where you are? Sad.
Well, there's always the Municipal Light Box for Seasonal Affective Disorder Therapy, otherwise known as the butterfly exhibit at Pacific Science Center. Always brightly lit and 80 degrees.
The solstice is simply the shortest day of the year, not necessarily the earliest sunset; the earth has an axial tilt and a wobble that makes many things somewhat variable. But it's still the shortest period of daylight during the year.
Hail the Return of the Light!
speaking of the dinosaurs, axial tilt, and wobble: i watched a show on the national geographic channel the other day that talked about how the moon is slowly escaping the earth's gravitational pull, and that over time it's stabilizing effect on earth's wobble will decrease. hence the wobble will increase, sunrise and sunset and the parts of the earth that are warmed by the sun will become chaotic. weather will become totally insane. everything will die. cool show.
episode recap /nerd
Does it really matter? Seattle = dark & cloudy from November to March. A little darker in December.
Shrug.
Buy a second home in Dunedin or Cape Of Good Hope for the northern winters, then.
DAS@18 -- Merely a break between storms. Pissing again soon enough. No Seattle drizzle these next couple storms. Don't forget your slickah tomorrah.
Eli@17:
from the charts, it looks like that, although the sun starts setting later on 12/17, the sunrise is also starting later, meaning the days are still getting shorter. Thus, winter solstice is still the shortest day of the year.
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