This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Winter Season
Dec
20
2016
There was a discussion in a nearby cubicle at work. They were discussing the start of winter. What drew me over there was that one guy was claiming winter didn’t start until Dec. 21st. This was about a week before Dec. 21st, and we had snow and temperatures below freezing for weeks already. In fact, he was arguing that it was not winter yet, and the temperature was about 10 degrees F with snow and ice all around.
I made my case that winter is a weather season, and it runs December and January and February around here. He said I was wrong because winter is defined as starting on December 21st. Who defines winter?
If you ask Google to define winter, you’ll get my definition. Another dictionary lists time from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox as the first definition, but also lists other definitions.
I stand by my assertion that winter is defined by the weather where you are. For example, I would argue that what makes winter in Michigan is different from what makes winter in Florida.
This guy was dead set on the astronomical definition of the winter solstice. I agree that the winter solstice is Dec 21st, but if anything that should be the middle of winter, since it is the lowest daylight. Consider it as the peak of winter. He argued that this would not be the case, because the coldest weather comes after Dec 21. That was amusing, because he was using weather as an argument against me, when he wouldn’t accept it as an argument against his case. I recognize there is a lag, but that’s due to thermal mass mostly; winter has started blowing in long before winter solstice.
To me, arguing that winter doesn’t start until the solstice is like arguing you’re not climbing a mountain until you’ve reached the peak.
FYI – this is related to the post about the summer season from a few months ago.
Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him.
Jeremiah 36:22
This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 6:49 am and has been carefully placed in the Ponder category.
December 22nd, 2016 at 10:02 pm
That reminds me of your webpage on the metric system: Scientists don’t really care if you use metric, or English, or some specially made-up system – as long as they know what it is, they can adapt. So he would need to recognize that his definition is probably not how most people use “winter.” He can think everyone else is wrong, but that’s about as effective as the metric-promoter, believing metric to be “right,” refusing to recognize that all his coworkers are using the English system.
Here’s the God-intended definitions: Summer starts when school gets out. Fall starts when the leaves start to “fall,” of course. Winter starts when it snows (or is cold enough that it seems like it should snow). And Spring starts when you first go barefoot, even if only for a minute.
January 4th, 2017 at 9:57 pm
Well said, js.