Equinox

Grandad March 21st, 2009

So this is the time of year when the day is as long as the night.

Or is it that the night is as long as the day?

I can never remember.

They call it the Vernal Equinox.

I wonder who Vernon was?

Rambles
Comments(15)

15 Responses to “Equinox”

# Frank on 21 Mar 2009 at 1:49 pm

I had to go to a hardware store once, think the guy was called “Vernon”
I was quite young and was trusted with the task of geting half a dozen nails for some project at home.
Vernon says to me; “hold on now… is that half a dozen you be wanting??would you not just take 6?”
As i said, i was young at the time and thought it was a legitimate question (why else would he ask). I remember thinking long and hard about that, weighing my options and trying to figure out how my eventual decision would impact the outcome of this transaction.

He laughed at me before i realised the obvious.

I still remember that day quite clearly, and now he’s at it again with his “hold on, is it a day as long as the night you be wanting, would you not prefer a night as long as the day?”
… as i remember, he just took a fist-full of nails and threw them in a bag.
So it doesnt really matter.
# Jim C on 21 Mar 2009 at 2:34 pm

Personally I like the Teacher we once had, I think he sampled a lot of Grandad’s product while in college, who ask the question “how far is up?” I don’t think he liked my response, “the same distance as down but in the other direction”.
# tt on 21 Mar 2009 at 2:46 pm

Was Vernon a horse ?
# stipes on 21 Mar 2009 at 4:55 pm

He’s one of the Equinox’s from round our way, they had horses.
# Kirk M on 21 Mar 2009 at 5:40 pm

Always looked forward to the Veritable Egginox. Laurie stood a half a dozen of raw ones on end last night just to prove it had arrived.
# Frank on 21 Mar 2009 at 5:47 pm

Half a dozen, or 6??
If they get smashed Vernon’s horse can try to put them back together again. Nursery rhymes show that they have a proclivity towards trying to put eggs together again!
# TheChrisD on 21 Mar 2009 at 6:07 pm

Who in their right mind is happy to keep their name as Vernon…?
# Brianf on 21 Mar 2009 at 6:21 pm

Vernon was the ancient Roman god of, “One Day a Year in the Springtime”. Yes, he was a minor deity but even today we remember him as well as we remeber his brother,
Autumnal, the god of, “One Day a Year Usually in Spetember”
# Grandad on 21 Mar 2009 at 6:44 pm

I’m glad I didn’t intervene here. The comments are always much better when I’m not around.
# Ian on 21 Mar 2009 at 9:16 pm

I can’t figure this Equinox stuff

Today is 12 Hours 15 minutes long:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=78

Does the 12/12 thing only apply if you are on Tropic of Cancer/Capricorn?
# Susan on 21 Mar 2009 at 9:33 pm

After Ian’s news, I feel like I got a free 15 minutes out of the day today… wow, a bonus. That hasn’t happened in a long long while.

I had an Uncle Vernon and I loved him; he smoked cigars and was called Slim although by the time I knew him he wasn’t.
# K8 on 21 Mar 2009 at 10:31 pm

Egginox – *pft*
# Ian on 21 Mar 2009 at 11:41 pm

At the Equinox, the sun is over the Equator, but it’s always 12/12 there. (Plays havoc with the cricket when play has been delayed – the bowler is coming in and halfway through his run up the light goes out).

Presumably, it’s 12/12 at the tropics and also at the Poles – so why’s it 12.15 here?

Incidentally, wasn’t Vernal some sort of medicine?
# Grandad on 22 Mar 2009 at 1:19 am

Ian – You are the astronomer. You tell us where the fifteen minutes came from.

Susan – If you had a Uncle Vernon who was called Slim, then surely he was Uncle Slim? Now I’m confused again.

K8 – Quite.

Ian – Isn’t Vernal also some kind of sin? Like when you kill someone without really meaning to?
# Ian on 22 Mar 2009 at 10:58 am

Having a telescope no more makes me an astronomer than having a green rugby jersey makes me Brian O’Driscoll!

Vernal sins? Prods only have one sort of sin. It is SIN from which we are SAVED, allowing us to go straight to heaven, avoiding purgatory, limbo and all the other delights reserved for those who do not say prayers in 17th Century English