by liberal japonicus
Here in Japan, we are just hanging out for Christmas. Wishing all of you the best and a better year in 2026.
"This is the Voice of Moderation. I wouldn't go so far as to say we've actually SEIZED the radio station . . . "
The best from me for everybody here as well, and wouldn’t it be wonderful if 2026 were better! I’m not holding my breath, however.
Yesterday it was 65 °F with high clouds here at the north end of the Colorado Front Range urban corridor. I took a ride to see the city’s new gift to the bicycle cult. The city seems to finish about one major construction project on the trail system every couple of years. The next one broke ground this month — it will close a half-mile gap in the trail system, including going under the six lanes of the second busiest street in town.
It’s always a crap shoot when you upload images with unusual sizes. Not just in WordPress, but in many social network applications. Click on the image of the overpass above to get a version that’s not scrunched-up horizontally.
Merry winter solstice to everyone. I hope you all are safe and warm.
Our Christmas Eve plans were canceled by weather. We received about 2″ of rain here, and our friends in Ventura County were hit with an inch more than that. The path through L.A. in-between was 4-5″. We were not going to drive into that.
Points south are clearer, so today we head to San Diego to wander around the Zoo with all of the other heathens.
🎄 🎄 🎄
Here in North Central Texas, I went for a long, pleasant walk in a t-shirt and jeans on a partly cloudy, balmy autumn day. The temperature is likely to be several degrees over 80 by the end of the day.
In Northern California we got serious rain Tuesday. But Christmas Eve was merely mostly cloudy. And today is down to partly cloudy.
The notable weather feature is that we’ve had almost a week of daily highs of 57-58, with overnight lows of 54-56. I can’t remember a time when the temperature has been so constant.
we’re almost 20F higher than ‘normal’ here in central NC.
almost 70F higher than the record low.
good times.
Infrastructure measurements.
The center span as a unit ready to be hoisted into place is 195 feet. That includes the portions that sit on top the piers, so the distance between the pier faces is somewhat less. I think the clearance over the trail is a little higher than 20 feet; regardless, the arrow for the clearance is drawn very badly in the sense that the bottom is nowhere near the part of the trail directly below the deck.
Santa on a cross – Christmas has become the holiday of very mixed metaphors.
Whatever y’all take away from the mish mash of Jesus in a manger + jolly saint Nick + elf on a shelf + Mariah Carey saying all she wants for Christmas is you, I send my very best wishes to you all for peace, joy, and love, now and in the new year.
The world’s a crazy place, cherish your personal pockets of sanity and grace.
I’m having a delightful day with my children and my father. It’s warm for the time of year here also. Merry Christmas all.
I don’t know to what extent the non-UK residents on ObWi know about our Christmas TV traditions, but on the offchance you’re interested, it is an inflexible fixture on the Beeb at 3 pm every Christmas day to broadcast the Monarch’s message to the UK and the Commonwealth. I hadn’t looked at it for years, and it seems like I was not alone, but this year we watched the King, and apparently it was the most watched TV moment this time. Also for many years, it has been a tradition for C4 to broadcast an Alternative Christmas message, and this year’s was by Jimmy Kimmel. On the offchance anyone here is interested, here they are (they’re quite short – Kimmel’s in particular is a mere 5 minutes):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03BT66GQlkg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dergOG7vpJg
I just finished mixing up my Boxing Day punch.
*rimshot*
I hope you all had some joy on Christmas Day yesterday. For me, it was basically a Thursday; my actual celebrating will happen tomorrow, when the clan gathers at my brother’s house. Three of my four niblings being married now, with in-laws and all, getting us all together on the actual holiday is becoming a scheduling problem. But who cares? My grand-niece doesn’t, I bet, being a happy-go-lucky two-year-old.
Maybe this belongs on a music thread, but I did mark Christmas Day as I usually do, by breaking out an old CD of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Christmas carols. I may be an out-and-out atheist, but I have always said those Mormons can sing. My favorite piece on that CD has always been I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. I always thought they did it beautifully — until this year when I learned the full story behind it and realized I’ve been listening to an abridged and prettified version of the original poem all these years. To be fair, it seems they’re not the only, or even the first, to confine themselves to stanzas 1,2, and 7 for the lyrics.
My other favorite Christmas carol is Tom Lehrer’s, of course. Almost as hilarious as Crucified Santa, you must admit.
Let us hope for a happier new year than the one we have just endured.
–TP
What’s really wonderful in Japan is “Christmas fireworks”.
Because it can’t be a real holiday without fireworks!