Archive | October 2012

From The Edge Of Hurricane Sandy

Touched By Sandy In Central Virginia

Even in the midst of disaster and challenge our little Prince looked at the storm raging outside with the innocence that only a child could have.

He opened the bedroom window and felt the full force of a misty wind gust blowing through the screen.

He came to me and said:
“Momma, I opened the window and got kissed by the hurricane.”

Hurricane Sandy wasn’t the most powerful hurricane to hit the east coast, but it was an unusually large one in area. NASA posted this picture on Sunday October 28th, 2012 to show just how big it was.

Here in central Virginia it wasn’t the catastrophic storm the news had been making it out to be. We were lucky compared to the coastal areas and especially New jersey. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who suffered damage and loss due to the storm.

The History of Samhain and the Evolution of Halloween

Oct30

Photograph by Mukul Soman
National Geographic
on Springwolf Reflections

The Celtic New Year

It’s the start of the Celtic New Year and honors the year that has passed. It is the time when the veil of forgetfulness is lifted between the physical world and the spiritual world. Where the dead are honored and communication with spirit can take place more than any other time of the year.

An article by the Library of Congress states:
Pagans divided the year by four major holidays. According to their calendar, the year began on a day corresponding to November 1st on our present calendar. The date marked the beginning of winter. Since they were pastoral people, it was a time when cattle and sheep had to be moved to closer pastures and all livestock had to be secured for the winter months. Crops were harvested and stored. The date marked both an ending and a beginning in an eternal cycle.

With the coming of Christianity in the 800s AD, the early Church in England tried to Christianize the old Celtic festivals. Pope Boniface IV designated the 1st of November as “All Saints Day,” honoring saints and martyrs. He also decreed October 31 as “All Hallows Eve”, that eventually became Hallow’een.

Scholars today widely accept that the Pope was attempting to replace the earlier Celtic pagan festival with a church-sanctioned holiday. As this Christian holiday spread, the name evolved as well. Also called All-hallows Eve or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day).

Visit Springwolf Reflections and learn more about the History of Samhain, a widely celebrated Holiday. Whither you follow the traditions of Samhain or the non-secular celebrations of Halloween; we hope you have a fun and safe night!

Spooky Celebrations

Oct29

Merry Samhain or Happy Halloween

What ever your celebration we hope you have a safe and happy one!

NFL Week 8

Oct27

greenbay Evil’s Take on the NFL This Week

If the bug is back, I ain’t fixin’ it. I got 12 of 13 games last week. Too bad the gambling went south, thanks to the horrifying beat downs, the lines were blown away this week.

My take:

Continue reading →

A New App Review

Oct25

Accupedo Pedometer
by Corusen

Pedometers

It dawned on me today as I walking, I wonder if there’s an app for that? Well of course there is!

Pedometers rely on GPS tracking, so if you don’t like the satellites knowing where you are, these aren’t going to do much for you.

They come in a variety of options, but most will count your steps, track how far you’ve walked, estimate how many calories you burned and how long you walked. Some more advanced versions will track your speed as well. They are good for walking or running. And there are some that cross over from pedometers to cycling meters, but those seemed expensive. If you do more cycling than walking, look specifically for the stand alone cycling meters.

I tried out three different apps as I was walking and looked at two more when I got home. Since I didn’t try the two I checked out from home, I’ll have to hold off on their review for now.

Check out the three I did try out in my Android App Review.

2012 Week 7 Results – Week 8 Picks

Oct25

Spring and The Prince Check The Scores

Well last week wasn’t as bad as the week in the Twilight Zone. I improved my average thankfully. A quick review, I’m ecstatic that my Titans won over Buffalo. I didn’t pick them, but I don’t mind loosing that pick! I’m glad that New Orleans look like they woke up and decided “Hey we’re in the regular season now”. And they must have called Green Bay and told them to hurry up and catch the plane to St. Louis. I honestly didn’t think they’d show up. But I’m glad they did, even though we lost that pick too.

All in all, it looks like a lot of teams that should have been winning this year have decided it’s time to wake up and get to work. Maybe the week in the Twilight Zone scared enough of them that they stopped thinking they’re too good to show up against “lesser” teams and decided they actually have to play against these hungry guys and do what they’re paid to do.

So here’s the results from last week. Even though he was picking from gut feeling last week, the kid didn’t do so bad for someone who doesn’t watch football. Continue reading →

It’s All About The Pictures

Oct19

Capturing The Moment

We have met some wonderful people on our many trips to the Ashland Depot. People from around the country have stopped here to catch a glimpse of the passing trains and mark their moment on camera.

Amtrak 814

Continue reading →

NFL Week 7

Oct18

Football In The Twilight Zone
1988 NFL Divisional Playoff Game

Evil Makes his Picks

Well there was a bug in the software, doubt that was why I was making great picks though. Either way I think I fixed it, what with making 6 games and gambling dropping right back to break even.

Usually Twilight Zone week is week 4. Guess Rod Serling was busy that week. Twilight Zone football occurred this year in week 6.

My take on Week 7:

Continue reading →

NFL Week 6 Results and Week 7 Picks

Oct18

Spring and The Prince Review Last Week & Make Their Picks

Let’s not spend time reviewing last week. It was football in the twilight zone. What in the world happened? How did Cleveland lose to Cincinnati? The Lions really beat the Eagles IN Philly? Say what? And there’s no way Arizona should have lost to Buffalo. Was it a full moon or something? Did the planets align in reverse order? There wasn’t a Friday the 13th. Perhaps the Probability Drive on the Heart Of Gold kicked in and turned the football into a pot of petunias. It was a miserable week in the twilight zone, that’s for sure.

The final result of which is killing my average from last year. The Prince however ended the week at 50%. Not bad for making his picks on gut instinct. He seems to have totally abandoned his method of picking the animal over the non-animal. And the bigger animal over the smaller animal. He still has some commentary about that, but it no longer weighs as heavily on his decision. He still picks from loyalty however. I don’t think he’ll ever pick against his Eagles. He really likes that bird. Continue reading →

Talladega Brings Out The Humor In Smoke

Oct13

Talladega October 2012

2012 Fall Race – The Big One

It seems racing at Talladega brings out the funny side of Tony Stewart. Matt Kenseth won the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 when “The Big One” happened on the final lap as the #14 driven by 3-time Champion Tony Stewart was racing hard against Kenseth’s #17 on the high side of the track.

Tony was coming down to protect his position, when Michael Waltrip had a big run on the inside line of cars. Tony thought he was clear, telling reporters after the race “It’s my fault. I take 100 percent of the blame. I was trying to win the race and stay ahead and Michael got a big head of a steam. I turned down across the front of his car. It was a mistake on my part, but it made for a bad day for a lot of other guys.” Continue reading →