| Keeping Time - 080222 |
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 Alright! On Wednesday, 20 February 2008 we enjoyed another full moon. So . . . on that note, we only have one more full moon before the "All Americans" - America's Division heads back to the Continental United States (CONUS).
Further, I have only one more full lunar cycle from 7 March to 5 April 2008 (i.e. New Moon to New Moon). I will head back to CONUS almost immediately after the beginning of the new lunar cycle! Yea!!!
It's actually kind of humorous. Some individuals use an Excel spreadsheet with a pie graph. One portion of the graph has a photo of a tropical paradise, while the other shows the barren and arid environment of the desert.
Now, revisiting the discussion of the past full moon – back in the States, everyone was able to enjoy a lunar eclipse. I spoke to my son on the phone as it was occurring. He recounted to me that the moon appeared as if it were on fire.
Below is a NASA shot of the moon undergoing eclipse.
Yes, here in Afghanistan, we are all very cognizant of time. And, every individual has different metrics that they utilize to track or count down to the end. One of the tools I utilize on my computer is called TimeRC. TimeRC is a program that synchronizes your computer clock with the U.S. Navy atomic clock. In case you are curious, the Atomic Clock is accurate to one one - billionth of a second. It is also the standard and metric for maintaining geosynchronous orbit of our satellites and synchronizing the global positioning systems (GPS's).
If you are even remotely curious, check out the link below:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/atomic-clock.htm
Then click on link #6: How Is Atomic Time Measured?
If you would like a copy of the program/utility, email me and I will send the program to you. Below are some shots of what the program/utility looks like. and, if you're as fanatical about promptness and accurate time measurement -- it’s actually very simple and EXTREMELY useful!
Additionally, as we count down Easter will be my last big event. I am planning and coordinating a HUGE service for Easter day as well as a colossal air operation to get all of our Chaplains to every forward operating base (FOB) in the nation.
This year is rather unique because Easter falls in the month of March 2008. Yes – typically Easter falls in the month of April. So, here’s a bit of trivia for you. Easter consistently (ALWAYS) falls on the first Sunday – after the first full moon – after the vernal (spring) equinox.
Well, one might ask, what is an equinox? It is the tipping point for earth. The equinox is when the sun is directly over the equator, shedding 12 hours of sunlight over the entire face of the globe and the northern and southern hemispheres begin moving toward summer or winter (the solstices).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox
The following is captured from the above URL:
“There is either an equinox (autumn and spring) or a solstice (summer and winter) on approximately the 21st day of the last month of every quarter of the calendar year. On a day which has an equinox, the center of the Sun will spend a nearly equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on Earth and night and day will be of nearly the same length. The word equinox derives from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night).”
As always . . . I am so grateful for your prayers & support of America's finest! |
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