From Reuters:
By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Those eager to put 2008 behind them will have to hold their good-byes for just a moment this New Year’s Eve.

The world’s official timekeepers have added a “leap second” to the last day of the year on Wednesday, to help match clocks to the Earth’s slowing spin on its axis, which takes place at ever-changing rates affected by tides and other factors.

The U.S. Naval Observatory, keeper of the Pentagon’s master clock, said it would add the extra second on Wednesday in coordination with the world’s atomic clocks at 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC.

That corresponds to 6:59:59 p.m. EST (23:59:59 GMT), when an extra second will tick by — the 24th to be added to UTC since 1972, when the practice began.

UTC is the time scale kept by highly precise atomic clocks around the world, accurate to about a billionth of a second per day, the Naval Observatory says. For those with a need for precision timing, it has replaced Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT.

The decision to add or remove a second is the responsibility of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service, based on its monitoring of the Earth’s rotation.

The goal is to make sure clocks vary from the Earth’s rotational time by no more than 0.9 seconds before an adjustment. That keeps UTC in sync with the position of the sun above the Earth.

Mechanisms such as the Internet-based Network Time Protocol and the satellite-based Global Positioning System depend on precision timing.

The first leap second was introduced into UTC on June 30, 1972. The last was added on December 31, 2005.

They have been added at intervals ranging from six months to seven years, Daniel Gambis, head of the IERS Earth Orientation Center at the Observatoire de Paris, wrote in an explanatory piece this month (http://hpiers.obspm.fr/eop-pc/).

Among the reasons for Earth’s slowing whirl on its axis are the braking action of tides, snow or the lack of it at the polar ice caps, solar wind, space dust and magnetic storms, according to the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, another timekeeper.

By contrast, a leap day, February 29, occurs once every four years because a complete turn around the sun — our year with all its seasons — takes about 365 days and six hours.

In 1970, an international agreement established two time scales: one based on the Earth’s rotation and another on highly accurate atomic clocks.

The U.S. Naval Observatory’s master clock is based on a system that now includes 50 atomic clocks, 36 based on the element cesium and 14 known as hydrogen masers.

With the Earth’s rotation gradually slowing, the periodic insertion of a leap second into the atomic time scale is needed to keep the two systems within a second of each other.

(Reporting by Jim Wolf; Editing by Peter Cooney)

I was reflecting on my New Year’s approach over the past few years- only one in which I actually had a date since becoming a grown up. That probably explains why, for the most part, I’ve been pretty ‘meh’ about celebrating.

A few years I went by the Chinese Calendar, a couple of times I only acknowledged my birthday as the new year and one year I just picked a random date on the calendar and went with it.

This New Years like last year, I’m acknowledging it despite my lips being untouched at midnight. I’ve no plans to go out, but come midnight I’ll be smiling or cursing depending on whether or not I opt to pick up any spirits.

I’m torn about letting 2008 go. NYC and meeting Ben and Jenn was absolutely wonderful along with the birth of Isla, FINALLY kicking the smoking habit and seeing some old faces- but there were some hardships as well that I can only say have made me stronger, but I’ve no qualms letting go of those memories.

I don’t have any set plans about what I want to see manifest in the new year other than moving away from Oregon or at least Salem if leaving state proves to be too difficult (although my money issue is going to be less of a source of stress, I don’t see me rolling in the dough any time soon).

2008 has been the best year for me since… the 90′s?
I have warm thoughts about everyone who crossed my path this past year be it carrying over, reigniting or meeting for the first time. I hope the friendships remain and continue to grow.

As for romance… well I’m human, wish me the best and hope I make the right choices this time- like just being myself instead of who I think people want. It’s so easy and yet the one thing I mess up on… and the only dating single men needs to be a rule.

I’ll probably get more sappy as the hours usher me to the evening of December 31st… but for now I’m taking a break from cooking dinner and felt all warm and fuzzy with my thoughts and I wanted to share.

Most every one I know is religious and it’s not a big shock that this creates somewhat of a barricade of interests. The following clip from Youtube of Religulous- a documentary that I had been waiting to see for quite some time is decent example of why I just well… I can’t understand their mindframe I guess.

I FINALLY got a chance to see the feature and he merely approaches a variety of religions with the agenda to have them make it make sense. No, it’s nothing new or nothing that hasn’t gone through my mind or asked to people of various faiths- never getting a unique or legitimate answer other than basically “Because.” Is life so bad that one must hide in fictitious hopes of a world you can’t experience until you’re dead? People can be kind and loving without religion much like they can be just evil and wicked without and within. You don’t need fear of damnation to have a gentle soul. What’s the purpose? What’s the appeal? How much do you have to bend reality and ignore science in order to believe?

Other than the weird accidental picture that took place while I was going to take shots of the winter wonderland outside my window that has me snowed in… I had a rush of odd thoughts today. The thoughts were so odd that for a moment I felt as if I were 20 again.

Oooooh to be 20 again with those profound thoughts. The thoughts started to flood even more so during ‘Bongwater’. I had to actually pause the movie to write this down.

The film takes place in Portland, not too far from me. In fact I had to rewind the movie because I missed the first part and I saw it looked REALLY familiar… any way. It was a cordless phone that grabbed my attention.

The cordless phone that I recalled cradling to my ear about the time the movie came out. The fashions I recalled wearing only ten years ago. This of course brought to mind most of the people on Facebook that I used to go to school with who I do not have listed as friends because… well quite frankly the people I do have on there are the people who didn’t annoy me (the few I went to school with of course… which would be… 3?)

So back to my train of thought and film disruption. Cordless phones were the new cool thing. A step up from the Hershey phone which was a step up from a multitude of other designs to grace our living rooms in under 100 years.

The fashions that change and cycle out every three years. The rapid aging in a short period of time that I witnessed in a world where it feels like I’m standing still and everyone is flying past me.

We are teenagers who test the fates and if we make into young adulthood we are whisked into profound thoughts and realizations as we don the Republican attire to sit behind a wheel as we cart our off springs off to school and slumber parties, turning the corner into grand parenting and then pulling into the driveway just in time for our retirement party.

It happens way too fast and if you sit and look at the time table, not enough time has gone by for a full life to have happened and generations to spawn.

It had me wondering, does life move this quickly for those who have someone to share it all with? Does this whirlwind of a life only occur to us who are on the sidelines with no one to hear our plans and desires or is it swift regardless? This enormous glob of jumbled time that really means nothing. You love and care for the ones that you love and care for- and you know them because they’re there. They are in your living room, active on your social network, in your inbox or on your speed dial- and you only speak with them or see them perhaps once a year because the sparks from the day to day grind have you blinded to the calendar months and celebrations you should be jotting down with these people. That big empty field of time only feels as if it were a day, a week at the longest.

I went from Winnie the Pooh dresses, turtle necks and painter pants to wall bangs and flippy collars, baby doll dresses and flannel to Chanel handbags and business casual in what feels like a blink of an eye. A daughter and a son and a granddaughter and I’ve still a few years before I even hit 40. I did my entire life in record speed and now I wonder if it’s just a matter of watching myself decay for the next 50 yrs. My glorious ball of youth where I’m noticed and courted and adored and sought and wooed is over with- the grey is now wanting to poke through and metabolism is slowing down along with the passions that had us get through the first wave of political agenda and elections.

So will the next fifty years be remotely like the last three… where I’m kind of watching the world when I remember to lift my head up from the computer at work or at home once in awhile, noting the fashion or latest ‘name’ to splash across the screen, only to lower my head once more and pound out another year on the keyboard in order to maintain a stand still life style?

What does this have to do with Bongwater? From the movie/film/television stand point the film seemed still relatively fresh. I recalled watching the actors (who are my age) enter the scene. I remembered when Luke Wilson was new and up and coming along with Brittany, Alicia, Jeremy, etc. “Fresh” faces- who are now pretty seasoned and I’ve seen them come and go in the tabloid arena interchanging life events as others have come and gone with the title of up and coming, new on the scene… “Fresh” and if you look at it numerically, it really hasn’t been enough time to justify so many changes.

THIS is where my confusion comes in. Architecture. In the film the lay out of the buildings/houses etc is pretty basic. Sloppy and nothing outstanding. I’ve seen this time and time again on HGTV. You can tell a McMansion from a real home where craftsmanship meant something. Pride in work instead of rushed projects. I’ve noticed the same in people as well, maybe even myself in recent years. We come and go way too quickly or are we living too long for life to have as much depth and importance as we once painted it to have?

As we’re striving for longevity, are we mentally burning ourselves out mentally, physically and romantically?

Am I entering a mid life crisis prematurely?

Okay- back to the movie.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to work. Yes in a way it’s a winter wonderland, but it’s also a wretched mess; especially when you’re safe at home drinking Merlot and the power flickers. “We’re all going to die!!!” <- you text your entire network of… well, you text someone. Once the power remained on, I went to bed and woke up to figure out my work plans. The entire parking lot was still an icy mess, but I need to return to work. I need to go to the grocery store, I need to figure out how people on the East Coast in wheelchairs manage to get around in snow (come to find out THEY have crews clearing sidewalks and side streets). While I was informing my boss that I would make it later in the morning after the rain melted the ice away… another dumping of snow started… and it’s still going.

My only remedy to the frustration is to frustrate my son by telling him it’s rain, not snow. I see no snow, what the heck is he talking about? I also panic over the little things- like my garden light that tipped over. I was going to call the news channel to tell them of the horrible tragedy… but I think I’ll just post on it here instead. 3:30… and it’s still going. 24 hrs of food left and no holiday shopping done at all, I am just hoping the power remains on. So far 30,000 customers here have lost power, falling trees etc. Love the heavy wet stuff. >:-|

Current Mood: BRRRR

Oh what a difference a day makes. It started to snow about 11 this morning and now all the ground is filled with the white fluffy flakes of DEATH! 

It’s hard to believe these days that I’m from Alaska because of how giddy I feel when the snow begins to fall and how panicked I am when I feel a little stranded at the same time.

I’m about to pop in my second movie of the night… the first one, “Fred Claus” wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be, probably because I spent most of it staring at the snow with Jonathon and ignoring the film.

I have popcorn, Merlot and a long night of movie watching ahead of me as I remain snowed in. The only thing that could make this more perfect would have been someone to snuggle up with on the sofa to keep me warm after the boy went to bed. 

What’s falling from the sky this evening is a nice change from earlier in the week when it was more icy than snowy.

I love it, but it can go away now.

Current Mood: BRRRR

(crappy cell phone pictures- my apologies) I’m still trying to thaw out my feet from standing barefoot (like a moron) out in my yard last night trying to figure out what was going on. 9 police cars, a firetruck and two ambulances were crowding the street right across my fence. I stayed safely behind the scenes while I was trying to get a feel for the possible danger or evacuation from whatever situation was going on. Things were rather quiet and by the look of the authority figures faces, I didn’t feel as if I were in harms way- but it’s Salem, most people here are without emotion. 

I went inside and typed in the local news website and only found the following: 

“Salem Police are responding to a report of a fight in the 3600 block of White Oak Court NE, dispatchers said.

The fight reportedly escalated and at least one person has been stabbed, dispatchers said.”

It was more than I had to go by- but that’s all it gave… nothing further, even after checking again a minute ago.

This morning it was the same situation except the vehicles belonged to Sheriff’s from multiple counties (I counted 7 when I walked up closer… and then ran back into my apartment when I saw all of them heading my way… lol I didn’t want to be one of *those* people).

Obviously there was nothing to fear, but I still need to know what was going on! I HAVE to know! It’s is my right as a nosey neighbor to know!

Tonight I have a couple of movies to watch- both had poor reviews (Fred Clause and Baby Mama), but you know what? I don’t care. I need a laugh, I could use a laugh. Last night I watched The Virgin Suicides and American Beauty, two films I had just purchased (although viewed ages ago- but I figured it was the perfect time of the year to revisit them) and along with them I had gotten ‘Hard Candy’. Funny how those kind of movies put you in an off mood. I don’t care to be in the off mood- hence the comedy selection and then playing it safe by getting Road Warrior and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome while I was at the store this morning. I don’t know what I’ll be in the mood for, but it’s great to have a back up plan (it depends on whether or not I’m watching Isla this evening- no offense to her but she’s not really great with the conversations, so a film is needed). 

On to other stuff: 

I found this on iGoogle and I’ve been having a blast of gigles playing with it: 

Random Dawn Facts yes it probably started out with Chuck Norris or something, but this one you can customize. I’m badass! I’ve been using what it’s churned out as my FaceBook status message.

(giggle) 

So that’s my big thing right now. I am randomly making myself a badass with a widget, wondering what happened last night that caused so many of the cities finest to hang around in my hood and then have them return in the morning.  Oooh, maybe they saw the widget before I did and they were standing around waiting for me to do something other than stand out in the grass without shoes or socks while holding a little pink sparkly cell phone that has Dutch shoes dangling from it as I’m trying to snap pictures. Wow- that doesn’t sound very badass.

I stayed home today and the weather was extremely mild. Mild in the sense where the ice on the ground and snow started melt away. The cold wind was biting at times, snow came and went enough times where I felt like I was waiting to jump in on a game of double Dutch in order to get out to pick up Jonathon’s meds (I had no idea what was really going on outside- this is Oregon, when it’s beautiful it’s absolutely beautiful out… but when the weather decides to throw a tantrum it can be rain in one area, turn the corner and it’s solid ice, travel half a block and you’ll run into a blizzard- but if you go the full block, it’s sunshine and rainbows.

Okay, enough of that. I waited for the right moment at that time (turned REALLY mild after hesitation) and trekked to Walgreens to pick up my sons prescription. While there I saw an aisle of Holiday decorations and figured I should probably grab *something*. When Ashley moved out I had lent her my artificial tree (that I really liked because it was very realistic looking and easy upkeep) I figured it was her first Christmas in the new place with her roomie and the girls needed something festive in there. Instead of returning it… she begged to let her workplace at the time borrow it for the next holiday season. …I allowed it.

Well this year I was a little shocked when she mentioned in conversation that she had the holiday blahs because not even her apartment was decorated and she couldn’t even find her Hello Kitty stocking I had given her. I arched a brow and asked “Well what about the tree and decorations?”

“Ooops.” She forgot to ever get it back from her old work place… the place where the owners threw out ALL THE HOLIDAY DECORATIONS!!!! I could fight it, sue for compensation, maybe, but I won’t. I pick my battles and that’s not even worth groaning over.

Back to Walgreens. Okay, I don’t care for a live tree especially since my vacuum cleaner broke and I have a small little Bissell Easyvac to assist me until I can afford a new vacuum cleaner. Besides, I had entered adulthood in the 90′s and as they gave your your voters registration card and apartment keys, they also gave you a bleeding heart to match your baby doll dress and grunge outfit. I didn’t want to cut down a tree only to keep it barely alive for a few weeks until it was time to toss its corpse by the dumpster with all the other trees that silently screamed through the holiday season until it could scream no mo’. *sniff*

I saw that plastic outdoor spiral tree o’ lights. Right up my alley. No guilt, no mess and no confliction with my decor. I tossed a silver glittery “Peace” decoration and string of giant glittery orbs to place in a bowl that I was looking for giant spheres to live in. For a cheap last minute purchase that clashed with nothing… it was pretty cool.

It’s simple this year, unlike last year which was completely bare from not replacing any of my decorations at all or making do. I like it

I also found my book of Forever stamps yesterday during my short period at work and wished I bought holiday cards… until it hit me that the holidays are next week!

Well, after all the rush in getting to the store and purching up a few decorations, getting Jonathon’s meds making sure there’d be no issues with work… all seems back to normal in my neck of the woods and there might possibly be school tomorrow. *yay* <- I don’t want to use my personal time off if I don’t have to.

The pictures you see in this post is my attempt of blind photography. The flash is on (I HATE the flash, but my display isn’t working so I can’t turn the stupid flash off… and since the display screen isn’t working… I can’t see what I’m taking a picture of) I get to hold the camera in a certain area and click… hoping I captured something.

— that is the update of my life. I told Jonathon that if school was out but the roads looked safe- I’d take him over to Ash’s and head to work (the same plan every day this week but the roads really started to look better this afternoon). He knew I have the next few days off but…  He squealed “I love you mom but I need a break! I can’t wait!!!”

I will try to do a write up of the latest films I’ve seen: House Bunny, Sex and the City, The Day the Earth Stood Still and my quick rant about Gamefly. For now I am drinking wine and crinkling my nose at my camera and my twinkle light corner.