Author: Jeff Milner

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Early Easter

According to an email that has been floating around, Easter is coming particularly early this year, and won’t be this early again for another 220 years.

Do you realize how early Easter is this year? As you may know, Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Found out a couple of things you might be interested in! Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare.

Here’s the interesting info. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here’s the facts:

1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you’re 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).

2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

I took a look at the dates Easter has fallen on over the last few years:

  • Sunday 23rd April 2000
  • Sunday 15th April 2001
  • Sunday 31st March 2002
  • Sunday 20th April 2003
  • Sunday 11th April 2004
  • Sunday 27th March 2005
  • Sunday 16th April 2006
  • Sunday 8th April 2007

So, it’s not insanely early, just a week or so than the earliest Easters we are accustomed.

Remember, even though the holiday is early, there is still time to buy your chocolates, eat them and get more in time for Easter. Happy hunting.

(Via)

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Not Voting for PC

There are a myriad of reasons to NOT vote for the Progressive Conservative party in the upcoming provincial election but this one in particular makes me chuckle:

PC election sign placed without permission

Remember that on March 3rd, Alberta needs a new government.

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Guitar Noise Podcast

Guitar Noise PodcastI just subscribed to the Guitar Noise Podcast. In the first episode, managing editor David Hodge goes through some of the basics of strumming. If you’re just learning the guitar, as I am—my parents gave me a guitar over the holidays, then I recommend you check it out.

I hope that, as they get a little more familiar with the technology, they will take advantage of dividing their podcasts into chapters and then show relevant “artwork” such as a JPG of the strumming pattern or chords that they want you to hit. But as it stands now, it’s still a great example of using podcasts for teaching.

(Yes, I realize in order to use chapters the podcast needs to be in AAC format instead of mp3, but as an iTunes user, it’s a trade-off that works for me. Perhaps they could have two streams, a normal podcast and an enhanced m4a version.)

Feed link.

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My Oscar Picks

The OscarsThere is less than an hour before the Oscars air. I’ve decided to make some predictions again this year.

Best Original Screenplay:
Diablo Cody – Juno

I loved the writing in Juno—very clever.

And the winner is: Diablo Cody – Juno

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Cate Blanchett – I’m Not There

And the winner is: Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Julie Christie – Away From Her

And the winner is: Marion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men

He has creepy down!

And the winner is: Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood

“I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!” Loved it.

And the winner is: Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood

Best Director:
Ethan and Joel Coen – No Country for Old Men

This movie was a bit insane, but some of the subtleties in performances were fantastic.

And the winner is: Ethan and Joel Coen – No Country for Old Men

Best Picture:
No Country for Old Men

I would rather see There Will be Blood get it, since I enjoyed it more. The unresolved plot in No Country for Old Men was a bit frustrating but it’s a movie that stays with you and I think it’s a sure thing for the win.

And the winner is: No Country for Old Men

Of the seven categories I made predictions on, I got 5 of them right. I think I am getting much better at predicting these things than I have been in previous years.

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Control Room

Control Room is a documentary on the perception of the United States’ war with Iraq, with an emphasis on Al Jazeera’s coverage. It makes it clear that the endeavor for unbiased reporting is a difficult, almost impossible task.

Control Room running time is 1 hours and 26 minutes. Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

[Control Room – YouTube]

(via)

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New Computer

53. The Purolator Truck

I heard the crackling of a large truck on ice out my window this morning, and I knew my new computer had finally arrived! From what I’ve seen so far, the Intel Core 2 Quad really is all it’s cracked up to be—wow this thing is fast!

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Advanced Photography Research at Stanford

Last fall Robert Scoble and Thomas Hawk interviewed Marc Levoy, Stanford University Professor of both computer science and electrical engineering.

Levoy shows them leading edge research about automatically stitching images together, digitizing real world three dimensial objects like statues, and among others, camera technology that allows you to refocus the image AFTER you shoot it!

Multi-array image

You can view the interview here.

See also: CNet’s article about the multi-dimensional focusing technology.

(via)

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Gladwell Raises New and Troubling Questions

I just listened to last week’s episode (#348 Tough Room) of This American Life.

This week we bring you backstage with comedy writers at The Onion. They start with over 600 potential headlines for their fake-news newspaper each week, and over the course of two days, in the very tough room that is their editorial conference room, they select 16 to go in the paper. Plus other people speaking their minds in very tough rooms.

One of the contributors, Malcolm Gladwell, relates some prankery from his days at The Washington Post. The mp3 is available on TAL’s website, and you can also get it on iTunes. For those not interested in digesting stories aurally, Gladwell wrote a version of this story for Slate in 1996.