A co-worker of mine just went to Las Vegas to attend the Consumer Electronics Trade Show where so many tech companies were showing off their new gadgets with all of the latest in technological wizardry. If you are into that sort of thing, it’s THE place to be, I guess. From new fangled Smartphones, to the latest in computer technology, to smart watches, to even bigger screen televisions, there’s something for everyone’s inner geek.
I am pretty sure that since the beginning of time someone has tried to predict what the future holds as far as technological advances go. It's amazing to go back to the old Popular Science magazines and see what was predicted for the future forty, fifty or sixty years ago. Flying cars in everyone’s driveway, jet packs, robot maids, Earth colonies on Mars, underwater Sea Cities, time travel, full meals in a pill and domed cities were all past predictions of what the future had in store. Some of these things are making there way closer to fruition while others are still a long way off yet.
Like a lot of other people I am both fascinated and intimidated by all of the new technological advances. Sure, I have my share of gadgets like my Smartphone and a tablet and I’ve even managed to become more computer literate than I ever thought I'd need to be, but, on the other hand, these gadgets are time consumers and are advancing far quicker than I can keep up.
For me, it’s a patience, or impatience, as it were, kind of thing. Being a slow learner and a member of the “I’ll read the instructions later” group I just don’t want to spend the amount of time that is required to educate myself on the equipment’s functions. I want to be able to do it right now! But it never seems to work that way, does it?
Take this Jawbone thing that’s the latest health and fitness gadget. According to my sources, “the UP by Jawbone is composed of a wristband that syncs with an app on your iPhone or iPad to inspire you to live healthier. The hi-tech wristband uses motion sensors that detect movement and algorithms to chart your sleep patterns and wake you up at the best moment during your natural sleep cycle. ('like that's a good thing?') You can use the UP app to track your food habits by keeping a food journal of all of your meals. To ensure you stay productive, you can program the wristband to give you a gentle reminder to move every now and then by setting it to vibrate if you haven't moved in a while."
This is all very neat and everything but should one really need a piece of jewelry to remind them of something that they should remember anyway? Despite its high techiness and its ability to track your algorithms I'm thinking that this UP unit is still going to require a fair bit of administration to chart your menus and eating habits and if you aren't a really efficient data entry clerk your exercise time might be eaten up by the programming time. Just saying.
Yes, I'm as interested as anyone with life being made easier by technological advances but one always has to be careful with relying on technology as a replacement for human thought and action.
"The march of science and technology does not imply growing intellectual complexity in the lives of most people. It often means the opposite"-Thomas Sowell (1930-).
Sunday, January 27, 2013
IT'S OUR TIME HERE IN GOOD OLD SASKATCHEWAN!
It sounds like it’s going to be another banner year here in good ol’ Sask-atch-ee-wan in 2013. We’re hosting the 101st Grey Cup in Regina this November, the economy is soaring and people have been moving here in droves. We’ve even reversed the former trend of our population’s mass exodus to Alberta as more Albertans have moved to Saskatchewan than Saskatchewanians, (try to say that one ten times really fast), have moved to Alberta. That’s the first time that that has happened in a long, long time.
There are still many people chasing their “Canadian Dream” across provincial borders but more and more people are choosing to stay in or to move to Saskatchewan. And many are moving “back”, as it were.
In the late 1920’s and early 1930’s Saskatchewan had the third highest population total of all of the Canadian provinces behind only Ontario and Quebec and the fastest rate of population growth in the young country. The “Dirty Thirties” and a World War slowed down that growth and it would take three decades to return the province to its 1931 population levels. And now, as of July 2012, the population of Saskatchewan was estimated at 1,079,958 and counting.
There are a number of reasons why so many people are choosing to move, or return to Saskatchewan; some of which are the booming economy, a lower cost of living and the lowest unemployment rate in the country. Many of the newcomers are finding out why so many of us stubborn Saskatchewanians, who didn’t move out of the province, would have stuck it out here through thick or thin.
Perhaps one of the greatest attributes of the people of Saskatchewan is the ability to laugh at ourselves and fully accept who we are. Case in point:* “You Might Be From Saskatchewan If”—Someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don’t work there…Your Dad’s suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead…You have ever apologized to a telemarketer…You have used both the air conditioner and the heater in your car on the same day…You can actually understand, and perhaps describe in detail, the necessity for geographical correction lines…You find minus 20C “a little chilly”…You know all four seasons as Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter and Construction…You’ve required a total of 40 stitches, over the years, for various lacerations suffered while doing the butterfly at wedding dances…..Your pronunciation of Saskatchewan is down to one syllable: Skatchw’n.
No one better exemplifies a true Saskatchewanian than perhaps one of the provinces most famous residents…George Reed. He wasn’t born in Saskatchewan and his legendary football prowess is what brought him here from Seattle, Washington. After football, his other career, as an executive with Molson’s brewery, which he had while he was still playing professional football, too, took him out of our province to Alberta, where he lived for the next 25 years but, then, he returned to Saskatchewan in February of 2009 as Director of Guest and Community Relations with Casino Regina and Casino Moose Jaw.
I recently read George’s 2011 autobiography, which, by the way, should be required reading for any Saskatchewan resident, and discovered that through all his celebrity, his on-field football exploits, his 1000 yard rushing seasons, his football records-it is George Reed the man whose main attributes are best shared and identified as being the qualities that most Saskatchewanians are proudest to have. Hard-working, proud, dedicated, loyal, trust-worthy and humble.
George Reed has been honoured in Regina and Saskatchewan for his on and off field accomplishments many, many times and at 73 years young doesn’t appear to want to slow down much at all and he still, after all these years, has a hard time seeing himself as a legend. When he was asked why he thinks Saskatchewan people still relate to him and so generoulsy support his charitable causes he had this to say: “What prompts people to do that? My reputation, my identity, my presence? No, not really. That’s such a small aspect of a much bigger picture. Saskatchewan people are isolated in some ways, by their geography, their remoteness from large urban centres, their brutal winters, their small population, but they are a determined and proud bunch, committed to making their homes as good as any Canadian region that has more favourable location, climate or resources. They believe in helping each other, in contributing to the greater good, in making a comfortable and welcoming home for everybody.
What I seem to have become is someone to rally around-not a hero or a legend, but a man who shares some of the best qualities of Saskatchewan with its people. If that’s my role, my purpose, and my legacy, that’s just fine.”
‘Nuff said.
There are still many people chasing their “Canadian Dream” across provincial borders but more and more people are choosing to stay in or to move to Saskatchewan. And many are moving “back”, as it were.
In the late 1920’s and early 1930’s Saskatchewan had the third highest population total of all of the Canadian provinces behind only Ontario and Quebec and the fastest rate of population growth in the young country. The “Dirty Thirties” and a World War slowed down that growth and it would take three decades to return the province to its 1931 population levels. And now, as of July 2012, the population of Saskatchewan was estimated at 1,079,958 and counting.
There are a number of reasons why so many people are choosing to move, or return to Saskatchewan; some of which are the booming economy, a lower cost of living and the lowest unemployment rate in the country. Many of the newcomers are finding out why so many of us stubborn Saskatchewanians, who didn’t move out of the province, would have stuck it out here through thick or thin.
Perhaps one of the greatest attributes of the people of Saskatchewan is the ability to laugh at ourselves and fully accept who we are. Case in point:* “You Might Be From Saskatchewan If”—Someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don’t work there…Your Dad’s suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead…You have ever apologized to a telemarketer…You have used both the air conditioner and the heater in your car on the same day…You can actually understand, and perhaps describe in detail, the necessity for geographical correction lines…You find minus 20C “a little chilly”…You know all four seasons as Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter and Construction…You’ve required a total of 40 stitches, over the years, for various lacerations suffered while doing the butterfly at wedding dances…..Your pronunciation of Saskatchewan is down to one syllable: Skatchw’n.
No one better exemplifies a true Saskatchewanian than perhaps one of the provinces most famous residents…George Reed. He wasn’t born in Saskatchewan and his legendary football prowess is what brought him here from Seattle, Washington. After football, his other career, as an executive with Molson’s brewery, which he had while he was still playing professional football, too, took him out of our province to Alberta, where he lived for the next 25 years but, then, he returned to Saskatchewan in February of 2009 as Director of Guest and Community Relations with Casino Regina and Casino Moose Jaw.
I recently read George’s 2011 autobiography, which, by the way, should be required reading for any Saskatchewan resident, and discovered that through all his celebrity, his on-field football exploits, his 1000 yard rushing seasons, his football records-it is George Reed the man whose main attributes are best shared and identified as being the qualities that most Saskatchewanians are proudest to have. Hard-working, proud, dedicated, loyal, trust-worthy and humble.
George Reed has been honoured in Regina and Saskatchewan for his on and off field accomplishments many, many times and at 73 years young doesn’t appear to want to slow down much at all and he still, after all these years, has a hard time seeing himself as a legend. When he was asked why he thinks Saskatchewan people still relate to him and so generoulsy support his charitable causes he had this to say: “What prompts people to do that? My reputation, my identity, my presence? No, not really. That’s such a small aspect of a much bigger picture. Saskatchewan people are isolated in some ways, by their geography, their remoteness from large urban centres, their brutal winters, their small population, but they are a determined and proud bunch, committed to making their homes as good as any Canadian region that has more favourable location, climate or resources. They believe in helping each other, in contributing to the greater good, in making a comfortable and welcoming home for everybody.
What I seem to have become is someone to rally around-not a hero or a legend, but a man who shares some of the best qualities of Saskatchewan with its people. If that’s my role, my purpose, and my legacy, that’s just fine.”
‘Nuff said.
*-I would like to take credit for the information on "You might be from Saskatchewan if:"- but I got this from the Club Sask Website: http://www.clubsask.com/ a must-go-to site. Thank you Club Sask.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
2012-A YEAR IN REVIEW
Here it is almost halfway through the first month of the New Year already! As usual it was another momentous year on good old planet Earth. What stood out for you in 2012?
I think the one news story that stood out and hung over us Earthlings all year was the prediction that the world was going to end on December 21st of 2012 so we had the whole year to talk about it. And we did that a lot. Talk about it, that is. I can safely say that I didn’t really believe it right from the start, but that’s easy to say now, isn’t it? To me that would be the “story of the year” if I had to choose only one.
But, then again, there were so many global news-worthy events throughout the year from the Costa Concordia Cruise Ship catastrophe off of the Italian coast in January to the Newport Connecticut elementary school shooting in December and so much more in between it’s really, really hard to just pick one story.
There were stories of tragedy, inspiration, exasperation and hilarity and I will now give you just a few of the more notable stories from 2012:
• The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of her accession to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
• The 2012 World Expo takes place in Yesou, South Korea.
• CERN announces the discovery of a new particle, (the “God” particle), with properties consistent with the Higgs boson after experiments at the Large Hadron Collider.
• Nik Wallenda tightrope walks across Niagara Falls.
• The 2012 Summer Olympics were held in London, England.
• Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory mission’s rover, successfully lands on Mars.
• The NHL lock out begins and lasts into the New Year.
• Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner becomes the first person to break the sound barrier without any machine assistance during a record space dive out of a helium-filled balloon from 24 miles (39 kilometers) above Roswell, New Mexico.
• Hurricane Sandy kills at least 209 people in the Caribbean, Bahamas, United States and Canada.
• Barack Obama is elected to a second term as U.S. President.
• Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is removed from office.
There were also some notable deaths in 2012 including Canadian Snowboarder Sarah Burke, Montreal Canadien great Emile “Butch” Bouchard, former Montreal Expo All-Star Gary Carter, Canadian Figure Skating legend Barbara Ann Scott, Astronaut Neil Armstrong, American entertainers Ernest Borgnine, Andy Griffith, Whitney Houston, Phyllis Diller and Larry Hagman, to name just a few.
Mother Earth will continue to spin and 2013 will have its own unique stories. Have a great year, Faithful Reader, and, God willing, we will do this all over again in twelve short months.
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”-Buddha.
I think the one news story that stood out and hung over us Earthlings all year was the prediction that the world was going to end on December 21st of 2012 so we had the whole year to talk about it. And we did that a lot. Talk about it, that is. I can safely say that I didn’t really believe it right from the start, but that’s easy to say now, isn’t it? To me that would be the “story of the year” if I had to choose only one.
But, then again, there were so many global news-worthy events throughout the year from the Costa Concordia Cruise Ship catastrophe off of the Italian coast in January to the Newport Connecticut elementary school shooting in December and so much more in between it’s really, really hard to just pick one story.
There were stories of tragedy, inspiration, exasperation and hilarity and I will now give you just a few of the more notable stories from 2012:
• The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of her accession to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
• The 2012 World Expo takes place in Yesou, South Korea.
• CERN announces the discovery of a new particle, (the “God” particle), with properties consistent with the Higgs boson after experiments at the Large Hadron Collider.
• Nik Wallenda tightrope walks across Niagara Falls.
• The 2012 Summer Olympics were held in London, England.
• Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory mission’s rover, successfully lands on Mars.
• The NHL lock out begins and lasts into the New Year.
• Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner becomes the first person to break the sound barrier without any machine assistance during a record space dive out of a helium-filled balloon from 24 miles (39 kilometers) above Roswell, New Mexico.
• Hurricane Sandy kills at least 209 people in the Caribbean, Bahamas, United States and Canada.
• Barack Obama is elected to a second term as U.S. President.
• Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is removed from office.
There were also some notable deaths in 2012 including Canadian Snowboarder Sarah Burke, Montreal Canadien great Emile “Butch” Bouchard, former Montreal Expo All-Star Gary Carter, Canadian Figure Skating legend Barbara Ann Scott, Astronaut Neil Armstrong, American entertainers Ernest Borgnine, Andy Griffith, Whitney Houston, Phyllis Diller and Larry Hagman, to name just a few.
Mother Earth will continue to spin and 2013 will have its own unique stories. Have a great year, Faithful Reader, and, God willing, we will do this all over again in twelve short months.
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”-Buddha.
Monday, January 7, 2013
IT'S OVVVERRR!
I
guess it’s time to get back to normal, eh? Is it me or do these holidays go by
faster and faster every year? I don’t think I’m the only one that seems to be
affected by this phenomenon because I constantly hear, “I can’t believe it’s
over already!”, everywhere I turn after Boxing Day.
Actually, I was reading an article the other
day that was explaining “time dilation” which explains why time actually slows
down and speeds up due to differences in gravity and velocity and according to my
sources, “In the theory of relativity, time dilation is an
actual difference of elapsed time between two events as measured by observers either moving relative to each other
or differently situated from gravitational masses.” Blah, blah, blah... and it
goes on to explain how the astronauts in the International Space Station age
slower than the ground staff, and everything, but all of this science stuff is
just too much for me to digest after I have spent the last three weeks doing
nothing but digesting stuff. Different digesting, I know, but digesting none
the less. Regardless of the “spacetime continuum”, or whatever, the Christmas
season is gone...fast, slow or otherwise...it’s just gone.
“Spacetime continuum” notwithstanding, I
guess if you’re one of those Bah- Hum-Buggers, the Christmas season would have
dragged on endlessly and maybe one more Christmas carol would have flung you
completely over the edge but if you’re a Holly Holiday Christmas Lover then you
probably think it went by faster than a speeding bullet. I guess I must be a
Christmas Lover because, to me, it went by way too fast.
I think they’ve been debating the
“commercialization” and the “true meaning” of Christmas for decades and decades
and it will continue as long as the “Christmas Season”, or Happy Holidays, if
you prefer, remain as they have for the last few hundred years. I think that
it’s up to each individual to decide how “commercial” you want to make it and
it’s also an individual’s right to determine his or her own interpretation of
“the meaning of Christmas”, all the while keeping in mind that the whole
concept is based on the birth of Jesus Christ.
So in an effort to not be too
“commercial” at Christmastime I bought an inexpensive gift for our three-and-a-half
year old grandson. It’s a gift that will keep on giving, too, and it might even
tie into the “meaning of Christmas” and all. I gave him a Whoopie Cushion. Wait
a minute, wait a minute, hear me out now. It’s very inexpensive so I am not
“feeding the commercial machine” and it always puts a smile on someone’s face
whenever it gets used so if the “meaning of Christmas” is to “spread good cheer”
and “give unto others” then what could be better than to put a smile on
someone’s face or give them something to laugh about. What? You’re not buying
it? Alright then, maybe it is a stretch but I’ll tell you that it was one of
the best presents he received this Christmas and it was probably the least
expensive and we laughed and laughed at it throughout the holidays and I don’t
care who you are you would probably smile when that thing goes off.
I hope you had lots of laughter, good
cheer and felt the warmness of the season, too. If you allow it, it can truly
be the most wonderful time of the year.
“Christmas is the day that holds all
time together,”-Alexander Smith (1829-1867).
Sunday, December 30, 2012
I DO HEREBY RESOLVE...
Here’s the thing. I am still not sure if
the world is going to end in a couple of days but due to the way the days fall
over the Christmas Holidays I have to meet an early deadline to get this column
in to the paper well before the normal deadline, which wouldn’t be a problem,
usually, but I spend a bit of time on these articles and if the world is over
before this ever gets to print I’m going to be a little ticked off. And none of
my resolutions will ever get tested, either. But just for the heck of it I’ll
write this like there’s going to be a tomorrow and we’ll just see how things
play out, shall we?
If
the world does not end I resolve to:
- Always buy top value dishwasher detergent. I am so sick and tired of rewashing everything because I cheap out…and for what? to save two-freakin’-bits? Okay, maybe it’s more like a dollar-and-a-half, but still. What if the world was to end, then all of those saved up quarters would account for nothing. I guess this is a little bit more than a resolution now, isn’t it? I shall move on.
- I resolve and promise that I will keep my front walk free of snow for more than one-and-a-half months of the winter.
- Now, for what is probably the umpteenth year in a row I resolve to work on my procrastination skills. What I mean is that I am going to try to stop my procrastinating not improve on my already Olympic caliber procrastination abilities and I’m going to get right on that pretty soon, too, you can bet on that!
- I guess I don’t need to resolve to quit smoking again because I did that on March 22nd, 2010. Thank you, thank you. It was nothing. HAH! (Sidebar here: if you need assistance quitting the nasty habit pick up a copy of Allen Carr’s Easy Way To Quit Smoking book, no, seriously, that’s what I did and it worked. Yes. A book. And, yes, IT WORKS!) But then again, if the world ends and I haven’t had a smoke in twenty-one months, after nearly forty years of smoking, someone’s gonna pay! Hmmm….maybe I’ll buy a pack tonight because if the world is ending then why torture yourself longer than necessary and I could always read the book again…
- I’d resolve to cut back on my television viewing and do more outdoor activities except that we just got Netflix and the new dish package with a 51” 1080p HD Plasma Home Theatre Surround Sound System and a theatre-style popcorn maker and pop machine and a new leather recliner…
- I will resolve to never watch Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, though…ever! Okay then, there’s one resolution already checked off the list and we haven’t even hit New Years.
- And I will resolve to be a better person and I’ll be happier and lighter and more fit and nicer and spend more time with family and I’m going to volunteer more and travel more and not hang up the phone on the telemarketers…wait a minute…forget that one…and I’ll be more positive and I’m going to save money and be a better co-worker and I’m going to not be such a “know-it-all” and I’m going to be not so…whatdoyoucallit?...sarcastic!
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
THE WORLD'S GOING TO END!!...AGAIN!!
Y’all ready for this? Are you prepared? Have you been nice? Have you got your i’s dotted and t’s crossed? If you have answered yes to all of the above then you must be ready for…drum roll please…,(insert shaky baritone announcer’s voice), the End Of The World! …Again!
What? You thought I was talking about Christmas didn’t you? Nope. By golly the old Chickenlittles are at it again, aren’t they? Just when we were nearing then end of “Stress Season” they give us something else to worry about. The End Of The World, no less!
I do believe that I have touched on this subject before as there have been numerous predictions of this kind in the past but my personal philosophy is that there is enough stress in our lives that we don’t need to add to it by worrying about something that is completely out of our control. At least I TRY to follow that philosophy. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but this time I KNOW that I’m not worrying about the End Of The World because there’s nothing I can do about it now anyway. Even if it were to happen. And besides, we’re so busy with worrying about getting everything done before Christmas that we don’t have TIME to worry about the World ending.
The thing that bothers me most about all of the hype around this kind of thing is that some people do get caught up in the hysteria and get sucked into all of the hand-wringing and “what-are-we-gonna-do” needless worrying. And I understand the mass media’s wont and desire to take advantage of the “Doomsday” mentality and talk and talk and talk about it and all that does is get people excited, and that’s exactly what the media wants, but then I heard that NASA’s scientists have been “thoroughly studying and analyzing the possibility of the Earth’s ending”. Really? NASA? “But they conclude that the 21st of December 2012 will be nothing more than a normal December Solstice.” Well, that’s a relief! Now can you scientists get back to doing something positive? Cure the common cold? Stop Climate Change? Make a zipper that really works? Huh?
Speaking of wasted efforts, wouldn’t that be a real kick in the pants if the world was to end four days before Christmas, eh? All of the effort that’s gone in to the Christmas season’s preparation blown up in a puff of smoke, or a giant explosion or whatever it will be that will put an end to us.
Now, I know that some of you take a lot of this kind of thing really seriously and I am not supposed to be too glib about it and everything but there are really only two ways you can deal with this sort of thing, in my mind anyway, and that’s to either laugh it off or go crazy worrying that all is for naught. I choose to laugh.
So if the world doesn’t end on the 21st of December, 2012, Dearest Reader, then from my family to yours have a very Merry Christmas and all of the best to you and yours in the New Year.
If the World does end…. Never mind.
“If the World comes to an end, I want to be in Cincinnati. Everything comes there ten years later.”- Mark Twain.
What? You thought I was talking about Christmas didn’t you? Nope. By golly the old Chickenlittles are at it again, aren’t they? Just when we were nearing then end of “Stress Season” they give us something else to worry about. The End Of The World, no less!
I do believe that I have touched on this subject before as there have been numerous predictions of this kind in the past but my personal philosophy is that there is enough stress in our lives that we don’t need to add to it by worrying about something that is completely out of our control. At least I TRY to follow that philosophy. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but this time I KNOW that I’m not worrying about the End Of The World because there’s nothing I can do about it now anyway. Even if it were to happen. And besides, we’re so busy with worrying about getting everything done before Christmas that we don’t have TIME to worry about the World ending.
The thing that bothers me most about all of the hype around this kind of thing is that some people do get caught up in the hysteria and get sucked into all of the hand-wringing and “what-are-we-gonna-do” needless worrying. And I understand the mass media’s wont and desire to take advantage of the “Doomsday” mentality and talk and talk and talk about it and all that does is get people excited, and that’s exactly what the media wants, but then I heard that NASA’s scientists have been “thoroughly studying and analyzing the possibility of the Earth’s ending”. Really? NASA? “But they conclude that the 21st of December 2012 will be nothing more than a normal December Solstice.” Well, that’s a relief! Now can you scientists get back to doing something positive? Cure the common cold? Stop Climate Change? Make a zipper that really works? Huh?
Speaking of wasted efforts, wouldn’t that be a real kick in the pants if the world was to end four days before Christmas, eh? All of the effort that’s gone in to the Christmas season’s preparation blown up in a puff of smoke, or a giant explosion or whatever it will be that will put an end to us.
Now, I know that some of you take a lot of this kind of thing really seriously and I am not supposed to be too glib about it and everything but there are really only two ways you can deal with this sort of thing, in my mind anyway, and that’s to either laugh it off or go crazy worrying that all is for naught. I choose to laugh.
So if the world doesn’t end on the 21st of December, 2012, Dearest Reader, then from my family to yours have a very Merry Christmas and all of the best to you and yours in the New Year.
If the World does end…. Never mind.
“If the World comes to an end, I want to be in Cincinnati. Everything comes there ten years later.”- Mark Twain.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
MY UNIQUE BIRTHDAY
Wikipedia says: “Numerology is any study of the purported divine, mystical or other special relationship between a number and some coinciding observed, (or perceived), event.”
Keeping this in mind, I have quite a significant birthday coming up and I am unsure of the “divine” or “mystical” significance of this upcoming event but the numerical coincidences are quite interesting. At least they are to me. Maybe you will agree, maybe you won’t.
I was born in 1956 on the 12th of December, this close to midnight-12:05:00 AM, in fact, and that means that on 12-12-12 I will be turning 56 a number that coincides with my birth year. Apparently, this kind of coincidental numerical event will not happen again for a long, long time.
Turning your age on your birth DAY-day is your Golden Birthday. My Golden Birthday was a long, long time ago-December 12th, 1968. According to Urban Dictionary.com a “Platinum Birthday” is when your birthday matches your birth-year, i.e. having been born in 1956 and turning 56. Also, they claim that a Platinum Birthday is when the day, month and year of your birthday, (12-12-12), matches, so I guess I’m celebrating a Double Platinum Birthday this month.
You may or may not put a lot of stock in numerology but sometimes one cannot ignore numerical coincidences and I always find numbers fascinating and in honour of this Double Platinum Birthday I will now give you some interesting facts regarding the numbers 12 and 56.
There are 12 months in a year; there are 12 hours on the face of an analogue clock; there are 12 inches in a foot; a dozen is a quantity that means 12; a gross is 12 dozen; in astrology, there are 12 signs of the Zodiac; in the Bible, Jacob had 12 sons, Jesus had 12 disciples; 12 tribes were started after Moses led his people out of Egypt; there are 12 animals of the Chinese horoscope; in English, 12 is the largest number that has just one syllable; there are 12 pairs of ribs in the human body (normally); 12 men have walked on the Moon; there are 12 stars on the Flag of Europe; there is always debate about this, but, strictly speaking, 12 a.m. denotes midnight, and 12 p.m. denotes noon and, of course, there are the 12 Days of Christmas. I could go on and on and on about the significance of the number 12 but for space and time I must move on.
56 is the sum of the first six triangular numbers, making it a tetrahedral number as well as the sum of six consecutive primes (3+5+7+11+13+17); 56 is the number of men who signed the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776; according to Aristotle 56 is the number of layers of the Universe-Earth plus 55 crystalline spheres above it; 56 is the number of counties in the state of Montana; Cape Horn, the Southernmost tip of South America, is located at almost exactly 56 degrees south; Shirley Temple, as a child, wore 56 curls in her hair, the curls were set by her mother who thus made sure of the exact number; 56 is the symbol of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956; in baseball, the number of consecutive games in which New York Yankees’ great, Joe DiMaggio, had a base hit in 1941; Hack Wilson hit 56 home runs in 1930, and it was the National League home run record for the next sixty-eight years until it was broken by Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, but I don’t think that Hack Wilson was jacked on steroids but, that Dear Reader, is a debate best left for another day.
As a youth I can remember waiting and waiting for another birthday to come along and it has been a long, long time since I was anxious for another year to be added to my age, but this birthday is different. We should all be thankful that we get to see another Happy Birthday when so many will not and, especially for me, when the numbers are lined up in a significant way, there is all the more reason to celebrate. And I will.
“Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words.”- Plautus-Roman Playwright (254-184 BC).
Keeping this in mind, I have quite a significant birthday coming up and I am unsure of the “divine” or “mystical” significance of this upcoming event but the numerical coincidences are quite interesting. At least they are to me. Maybe you will agree, maybe you won’t.
I was born in 1956 on the 12th of December, this close to midnight-12:05:00 AM, in fact, and that means that on 12-12-12 I will be turning 56 a number that coincides with my birth year. Apparently, this kind of coincidental numerical event will not happen again for a long, long time.
Turning your age on your birth DAY-day is your Golden Birthday. My Golden Birthday was a long, long time ago-December 12th, 1968. According to Urban Dictionary.com a “Platinum Birthday” is when your birthday matches your birth-year, i.e. having been born in 1956 and turning 56. Also, they claim that a Platinum Birthday is when the day, month and year of your birthday, (12-12-12), matches, so I guess I’m celebrating a Double Platinum Birthday this month.
You may or may not put a lot of stock in numerology but sometimes one cannot ignore numerical coincidences and I always find numbers fascinating and in honour of this Double Platinum Birthday I will now give you some interesting facts regarding the numbers 12 and 56.
There are 12 months in a year; there are 12 hours on the face of an analogue clock; there are 12 inches in a foot; a dozen is a quantity that means 12; a gross is 12 dozen; in astrology, there are 12 signs of the Zodiac; in the Bible, Jacob had 12 sons, Jesus had 12 disciples; 12 tribes were started after Moses led his people out of Egypt; there are 12 animals of the Chinese horoscope; in English, 12 is the largest number that has just one syllable; there are 12 pairs of ribs in the human body (normally); 12 men have walked on the Moon; there are 12 stars on the Flag of Europe; there is always debate about this, but, strictly speaking, 12 a.m. denotes midnight, and 12 p.m. denotes noon and, of course, there are the 12 Days of Christmas. I could go on and on and on about the significance of the number 12 but for space and time I must move on.
56 is the sum of the first six triangular numbers, making it a tetrahedral number as well as the sum of six consecutive primes (3+5+7+11+13+17); 56 is the number of men who signed the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776; according to Aristotle 56 is the number of layers of the Universe-Earth plus 55 crystalline spheres above it; 56 is the number of counties in the state of Montana; Cape Horn, the Southernmost tip of South America, is located at almost exactly 56 degrees south; Shirley Temple, as a child, wore 56 curls in her hair, the curls were set by her mother who thus made sure of the exact number; 56 is the symbol of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956; in baseball, the number of consecutive games in which New York Yankees’ great, Joe DiMaggio, had a base hit in 1941; Hack Wilson hit 56 home runs in 1930, and it was the National League home run record for the next sixty-eight years until it was broken by Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, but I don’t think that Hack Wilson was jacked on steroids but, that Dear Reader, is a debate best left for another day.
As a youth I can remember waiting and waiting for another birthday to come along and it has been a long, long time since I was anxious for another year to be added to my age, but this birthday is different. We should all be thankful that we get to see another Happy Birthday when so many will not and, especially for me, when the numbers are lined up in a significant way, there is all the more reason to celebrate. And I will.
“Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words.”- Plautus-Roman Playwright (254-184 BC).
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