I didn't think I'd be able to write another entry until Tuesday evening, because I was going to be away Monday and Tuesday morning visiting my daughter. But there's snow coming - starting Monday evening we're supposed to get 1-2 inches per hour all night, to about 12 inches, then more snow flurries through Tuesday (and Wednesday, and Thursday, ad infinitum). The worst snow will be to the north of Albany (we're south). That's according to the TV weatherman.
The same channel's weather site (personalized to my actual address!) says 6 inches over Monday night, mixed with sleet (I guess that's where the other six inches went?)
So I listened to Jay's weather radio (WXL37, US Weather Service) - a last resort because it hurts my ears. They've changed their reporting format since the last time I listened. They used to say the towns or counties, then the forecast, then more towns or counties, and their forecast. But tonight, there was a woman's voice (different), and she gave forecast after forecast without specifying what area it was for. Somebody's getting 3-8 inches, somebody else is getting 8-12 inches, and a third somebody's getting 8-14 inches. But I have no idea who. She did say two significant things: the worst snow will be to the south (!) and east of Albany, and the storm could track further to the east or west than they expect.
My conclusion is that nobody knows for sure what's going to happen. I can't come home to a foot of snow in the driveway. So, I delay Daughter-visit again.
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The West Wing was on in the wee hours last evening. As the show began, CJ was trying to convince everyone that you can stand an egg on end "at the exact moment of" the vernal equinox, "but not the autumnal equinox". Some people tried, and couldn't. CJ insisted she had seen it done. Others argued that it couldn't be done ever, and besides, even if it could, there's no difference between the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. At the end of the show, at exactly midnight (Duh?) CJ did stand an egg, but of course there was nobody else there to see it.
There was so much misinformation in that show it was painful.
According to Snopes, eggs will stand on their ends any day of the year. Technically, I suppose that might be true. The Snopes article says that eggs are associated with fertility and birth, and that's why they are associated with the vernal equinox (and by extension, to Easter). Also true, but confusing. I'm under the impression that wild (migrating) birds don't lay eggs that early or late - anywhere. Seems like awakening insects should deserve that honor. Snopes says that standing eggs on the equinox symbolizes the restoration of balance to the Earth. Now that makes real (intuitive) sense.
I have been standing eggs for more than 25 years. I have tried at all times of the year. I can always balance them a few days before, during, and after both equinoxes. I have never been able to get one to stand more than a very few seconds, if at all, at any other time of the year.
There was a large group of us in Washington DC who stood eggs every spring. We would stand eggs at home, starting like two weeks before the equinox, and then on the Saturday nearest the equinox we all went to one guy's house, where we stood eggs on every flat surface all over his house. After a few days or a week or two, the eggs would fall. It's interesting that every one of the eggs (that didn't get bumped prematurely) fell within a few hours of each other, all over DC, Montgomery county, and Northern Virginia. Once they fell, neither they nor fresh eggs would stand again, until the next equinox.
So my experience, and that of the egg-standing group, doesn't jive with the Snopes theory.
We could not stand eggs until some point up to around 10 days or a week before the equinox. Then suddenly, it became easy, and all the eggs went up and stayed up, all pretty close to the same time. Standing eggs stayed up, and it became easier and easier to stand more as the equinox approached. Then it all reversed, and all eggs would fall, one after another, all down within a day or two, and it became increasingly more difficult to get them to stand again, until no one could keep one up for more than a few seconds.
I had three eggs (in three different rooms) that stood for more than four weeks one year.
The amount of time before and after the equinox that the eggs would stand varied from year to year. The vernal equinox is always easier, with a longer spread of time, than the autumnal. In my experience, the autumnal averages only about three days on either side.
So, quote Snopes, quote science, quote anyone you want. I'll have trouble listening because I know what my experience is. If you've never done it before, you can perform your own experiment, and see what you, yourself think (as opposed to what someone tells you.)
You will need an egg, relatively fresh, raw, with a smooth shell - no big bumps of calcium. I've noticed eggs seem to be getting rounder - try to find eggs with a definite "pointy" end. You can make it a little easier on yourself if you let it stand on its wider end in the carton for a day.
You will need a smooth flat level surface, that is not subject to vibration or strong drafts. I've found that the kitchen counter or a fireplace mantel is best because they are attached to the wall. If the surface is textured, a cutting board or book will help. Tables tend to shake too much (the egg will stand, but not for long).
You will need practice, so start about five days before the equinox. The vernal equinox is March 20 this year, so start about March 15th.
Rest your forearms on the surface, and stand the egg, wide end down, holding it at its center with your thumbs and pointer fingers, the four points of contact equally spaced around the egg.
Make tiny adjustments, until the pressure (weight of the egg) is equal on all four fingers. When the weight of the egg is equal on all four sides, gently pull your fingers away. You must remove your fingers all at the same time - one finger still touching the egg when the other three have been removed will unbalance it. This is what you are actually practicing - developing that feeling of equality in all four fingers, and removing them all at the same time.
Don't get discouraged at the first five, or fifteen, or fifty unsuccessful tries. It will get easier and easier the more you try, the more you train your fingers, and especially as the equinox gets closer.
Once you have an egg standing, lay something around it so if it falls it won't roll to the floor and make a mess. A bit of wet and pinched paper towel makes a nice moat.
You can prove to yourself that it can be done.
Once you have a lot of experience, it gets really easy. Very close to the magic dayI can just set the egg down with one hand, on almost any kind of surface.
Now, after the egg falls, reset it every day. Does it get more and more difficult? Can you refute Snopes?
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