31 October 2008

My poor, neglected blog.

Weather-wise, October has turned out to be one heck of a nice month. Unlike last year, when our first hard frost occurred on October 29, we've had more than a dozen since the month began. In addition, we had our first snowfall of the season on October 21 and our first snow accumulation on October 29! I've been calling it a "throwback" autumn because this is the kind of weather that was normal from the region's settlement by Europeans (about A.D. 1800) until about 30 years ago. I love it!

...In other news, the A.D. 2008 United States Presidential Election will be held next Tuesday. I look forward to an end to the election coverage, but I'm nervous about the results. Nationally, we'll find out if John McCain, the lackluster Republican candidate, can defeat Barack Hussein Obama, the shrewd socialist/messiah (depending on your perspective). I dislike both candidates: McCain for his foreign policy and economic stances - Obama for his disguised socialism. In reality, both candidates will lead the United States of America farther down a path to cultural destruction. Though I will not be voting for either major party candidate, I hope that McCain wins the election. As Jack Aubrey once said, "One must always choose the lesser of two weevils!"

07 October 2008

End of the Growing Season


This was the scene at my house this morning. 2008 October 07 brought the first hard frost of autumn and an end to the 2008 growing season. The temperature at my house was 28° Fahrenheit (-2° Celsius). The statistics for the growing season of 2008 are as follows:

Last hard frost of spring: 2008 May 05
Last light frost of spring: 2008 May 28
First light frost of autumn: 2008 September 19
First hard frost of autumn: 2008 October 07
Length of the 2008 growing season: 153 days

The statistics for the growing season of 2007 were:

Last hard frost of spring: 2007 May 14
Last light frost of spring: 2007 May 22
First light frost of autumn: 2007 September 17
First hard frost of autumn: 2007 October 29
Length of the 2008 growing season: 167 days

The statistics for the growing season of 2006 were:

Last hard frost of spring: 2006 May 07
Last light frost of spring: 2006 May 07
First light frost of autumn: 2006 September 29

First hard frost of autumn: 2006 October 06
Length of the 2008 growing season: 151 days


I'm not sure of the spring statistics for 2005 because my wife and I lived in western New York for a brief period of time. The autumn statistics were as follows:

First light frost of autumn: 2005 October 20
First hard frost of autumn: 2005 October 28

02 October 2008

The New Europe?

Someone connected the dots.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1843168,00.html?imw=Y

Vice Presidential Debate

I'm watching the vice presidential debate, and it's reinforcing my conviction that my country's political system is irreparably broken. Both candidates are spewing political garbage...

...I will say this: Sarah Palin is hot!

Oesterreich

Interesting reading.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4828326.ece