WHEN: December 24, 2010
WHERE: 155 Hillcrest Rd., Waterloo, IA
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Jesse's POW (December 26, 2010)
Posted by Jesse at 9:05 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Winter Is Here!
WHEN: 11:38pm(UTC), December 21, 2010
WHERE: The northern hemisphere
Winter has arrived (as if you didn't already know)! The winter solstice occurred at 6:38pm(EST) this evening so the northern hemisphere is now officially (astronomically) within the clutches of winter. "You mean it hasn't been winter for the past month??", you ask. Tell me about it!
I'm sure some of you know that I, like many of you, am no fan of winter. I made my case in June (just after the summer solstice) why summer is the most wonderful time of the year (despite what the Christmas song says, that you've probably heard 723 times since Halloween). And I stand by that. I couldn't be more happy to fly home tomorrow night and be home for Christmas. But honestly, isn't Christmas the only thing that makes winter bearable? Consequently, just 4 days in to winter, Christmas is over! Then what? Five loooong months as we wait for summer to arrive. I guess some of you have American Idol to look forward to in January, but who knows what respect remains with that show without V-neck Cowell running the place.
Now, to back up.
There is much that comes to mind this first day of winter for me to bring to the digital table that is my blog. Too much in fact. With bills to be paid, suitcases to be packed, and a checklist of things to ready our home for our 12-day absence, there's not much time left for Time & Space. Nevertheless, I have to get out at least some of these last minute thoughts before Christmas break deservingly steals me away from the blogosphere for, perhaps, the rest of this year. I think I have made it clear to our families that my agenda over break will be as empty as the city pools in Minnesota today - and that includes writing blog posts. Gobs of food, playing in the snow, lounging in my PJs until 5pm, watching movies, playing games with the family, and enjoying my niece and nephew (when their diapers are clean and they're not fussy, of course :) are the only things I want on my schedule for the next 12 days.
For those of you who don't like sleep, you may have witnessed the first thing this winter solstice brought - a rare lunar eclipse. The last one of its kind came 372 years ago on December 21, 1638. That was the last time there was a full moon on the winter solstice. Until last night. I myself was not up to see it and I have not heard much about what it was like. For those with clear skies and snow on the ground, I did hear that the eclipse (turning the moon amber in color) cast a beautiful pink reflection off the snow. Stace has the early shift (6:15am) at school this week so we've been up early the past two days. Yesterday, on my way to work (still black out), I was driving over a bridge and saw the last glimpse of the (also amber) moon setting in the west. It was HUGE! I got to see that at least.
Something we have both got to see this month, however, are plunging thermometers. It seems like we can't catch a break this December. Literally overnight on Nov 30/Dec 1, winter crept in and hasn't since relinquished its icy grip. Not including that night, we've only seen 1 day above average here in Charleston during the month of December. This, of course, led me to make graphs to illustrate how relentless the cold has been. I know you're not surprised.
This cold snap has been relentless this month and now we're posed for a 12-day stay in the even colder ice box of the Upper Midwest. I'm always excited to travel home for Christmas and experience the frigid cold and snow but to be honest, I've had it with the cold and am so over winter. And this is only the first day!
Meanwhile, an unpredictable Christmas system, which has already dumped up to 8 feet of snow in The Rockies, is pushing across the country this week that may bring snow to many on Christmas Day as well as to some southern states not used to having any snow on Christmas. Winter storms and travel headaches also continue in Europe this week including the busiest European airport, London Heathrow, leaving many unsure about where they may have to spend Christmas. At worst, their departure city. At worst-er, an airport terminal.
And on that solemn note, check out the United State's Top 10 worst weather airports. This list is not exclusive to winter weather but definitely takes it in to account. And when we'll be on a plane in less than 24 hours and it's the middle (beginning) of winter, I am very interested in such a list. Of course, the two airports we are flying in to this week and next both made it in to the Top 10. Minneapolis came in at #4 and Detroit came in at #2. Splendid! I will say, though, that Detroit is one of those airports you would prefer to have a layover in - if you must. We flew through Detroit in April this year for the first time and I was definitely impressed. With their brand new McNamara terminal (one mile long) and sufficient runway space, the airport was ranked No. 1 this year in overall customer satisfaction for large airports by JD Power and Associates. Minneapolis was ranked No. 3. We agree. Both airports are clean, modern, and entertaining and since we have to fly, we enjoy these hubs.
(Yes, the airport was that empty - it was April. I don't think we'll be that fortunate tomorrow.)
I'm working a half-day tomorrow then we fly out at 4:30 (and land in Minneapolis around midnight, our time). Hopefully we can get to bed before 2am! A coworker of mine graciously accepted to drive us to the airport, which saves us a lot of money for 12 days of parking (at an airport 5 miles from our house). We drive down to Iowa Thursday and then the fun begins!!
As many of you may not know (outside my family), I am a huge fan of aviation. But that's for another time. For now, I leave you with a couple links. The links below are to LIVE tracking of each of our four flights (barring any unforeseen changes or snow storms), in case you are extremely bored and feel the need to "spy on the sky". I do it whenever I know someone is flying but since we're the ones flying, I leave YOU the links. Bonus!
See you in 2011!
Posted by Jesse at 7:57 PM 0 comments
Monday, December 20, 2010
Elf Office Party
For those of you dreading, planning, or awaiting your Christmas office party or if you're just waiting for your vacation to start, I cordially invite you to Santa's workshop...
Sorry if I'm over-doing these JibJab videos. They're so addicting to make yet I know I won't make any new ones for months once Christmas has passed.
Posted by Jesse at 8:08 PM 1 comments
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Jesse's POW (December 19, 2010)
WHEN: December 19, 2010
WHERE: 5150 Trump St., North Charleston, SC
Posted by Jesse at 8:00 PM 0 comments
Friday, December 17, 2010
Disco Christmas
Posted by Jesse at 8:52 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Where Are The Brasses?
WHERE: Take a look...
Oh, hi.
Welcome to my favorite post I've added to date. I should also note that it is my 100th post, but that's not why it's my favorite. I have had the idea for this post for months now, and on and off I have spent the past 6 weeks putting it together (with some outside help). I wanted to get it posted before I disappeared from the blogoshere over Christmas break, prolonging its completion even longer.
I got the idea from another blog, which I ran across a while back using the "Next Blog>>" feature at the top left of each blog. This particular blog ("Sarah Ortega Photography") had pictures of Sarah and her husband posted down the sidebar, with a heading stating where the picture was taken. I loved the idea, and seeing as how my blog is about time and space, I had to be a copy cat. Plus I added a couple new features of my own.
I do have to thank those who helped me with some of the "where" info: Emily & Keith Sandison, Steph Armstrong, Julie Kapanka, my sister, and my dad. They all happily helped out, none of them knowing or asking why I was inquiring about such an odd thing.
I scanned through all my pictures over the past 9 years and selected pictures of Stace and I in different places at different times. I researched and mapped each location and came up with the closest coordinates of where we were and provided map hyperlinks (MAP IT!) of the exact place where the picture was taken. The MAP IT! feature is found at the bottom of each picture's information and provides a direct link to a map of exactly where the picture was taken.
I spent a significant amount of time trying to determine the exact coordinates of where the picture was taken. For example, if the picture was taken at a football stadium, I didn't just provide the coordinates for the stadium. Rather, I attempted my best guess of the bleachers we were sitting on. Similarly, if the picture was taken on a beach, I tried to identify the exact coordinates at that beach, and not just the beach itself. I was as specific on the location as I could be for each picture. That's because I am a geographer (with OCD) and that's what geographers do. But if you have read my blog for any amount of time, you're not surprised by any of this. I also provided the actual/closest place name and address of each picture. This information made identifying the actual address and coordinates of some unknown places possible, and so again I thank those that helped me out with those picture's locations.
First, I present the maps. Of course I had to include maps because it's in my nature. I limited it to two maps so, 1) I wouldn't overload Blogger's servers with any more pictures from this post and 2) to prevent boring those not geographically inclined (most of those reading).
(as of November 2010)
(as of November 2010)
(our first picture together)
Cedar Falls, Iowa
MAP IT!
Atlanta, Georgia
MAP IT!
Waterloo, Iowa
WHEN: December 25, 2011
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
WHEN: May 12, 2012
ADDRESS: 2985 South Ocean Blvd.
Stockholm, Wisconsin
WHEN: June 7, 2012
Savannah, Georgia
WHEN: July 23, 2012
Tybee Island, Georgia
WHEN: July 23, 2012
ADDRESS: 9th St.
Scottsdale, Arizona
WHEN: September 2, 2012
WHERE: Kierland Commons (Plaza)
ADDRESS: E. Greenway Pkwy.
CITY: Scottsdale
STATE: Arizona
LATITUDE: 33° 37' 26.08"N
LONGITUDE: 111° 55' 42.88"W
MAP IT!
WHERE: Fountain Park
ADDRESS: N. Panorama Dr.
CITY: Fountain Hills
STATE: Arizona
LATITUDE: 33° 36' 07.30"N
LONGITUDE: 111° 42' 35.26"W
MAP IT!
Folly Beach, South Carolina
WHEN: November 23, 2012
Waterloo, Iowa
WHEN: December 24, 2012
Minneapolis, Minnesota
WHEN: January 1, 2013
Fredericksburg, Virginia
WHEN: April 1, 2013
ADDRESS: 711 Caroline St.
Johns Island, South Carolina
WHEN: April 21, 2013
ADDRESS: 3688 Angel Oak Rd.
Hunting Island State Park, South Carolina
WHEN: June 1, 2013
ADDRESS: N. Beach Rd.
MAP IT!
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
WHEN: September 21, 2013
ADDRESS:Shrimp Boat Ln.
MAP IT!
Asheville, North Carolina
WHEN: October 13, 2013
ADDRESS: 1 Lodge St.
MAP IT!
Posted by Jesse at 8:50 PM 0 comments














































































































