Easter thoughts?

[Ironhold]

For those who don't know, we're having a total eclipse next year. It'll be in early April, not long after Easter. 

The town I live in will be in the path of totality. 

A few months ago, one of my brothers confirmed that he was wanting to come down with his family in order to see it in person. He's normally got everything together, and so more than likely has already reserved a hotel room (no, no more rooms are available within several *hours* of where I live). I don't have an office at the newspaper, and so I have to do all of my typing from home. This means I'll still have a few hours at night or in the early morning in which I can work. 

Well, I literally just now found out that my second brother is also wanting to come up with his family, but that he likely didn't get a room. That means staying with us unless they can make other plans, and that means someone camping out in the family office as that's where we have a spare mattress set up. 

This means I now have to get my annual Easter column, and at least two additional columns, knocked out ASAP to compensate. 

So... what are some topics you'd like to see explored in print? Keep in mind that it's a family of secular local-level newspapers, so I can't go deep into anything. I just need some ideas for things I can slap together quickly.

Thanks.

[Backroads]

I have become the sort who, post-Christmas, is already thinking springtime. I'd like to see even the most fluffy column on seeds or something.

[zil2]

1 minute ago, Backroads said:

the most fluffy column on seeds or something.

So, dandelion seeds?

[Backroads]

10 minutes ago, zil2 said:

So, dandelion seeds?

... yes. 

(I actually love dandelions).

[zil2]

Easter:

A brief summary of crimes committed on Easter, starting with the execution of an innocent man and ending with...?   (I actually think this might be pretty interesting - if you've had some interesting Easter crimes in your part of Texas.)

Why you should absolutely not stuff the Easter ham.   (Or, why people eat ham on Easter.  Or, why people eat ham at all.)

Oh, how to calculate Easter - it's absurdly convoluted (from a programming perspective).  Should take a good half a page just to explain it.  I have code, somewhere, should you need it (though I'm sure Wikipedia explain it).

Why is Easter called "Easter" (as opposed to Wester or Norther or Souther or Resurrection Day or something...)?

101 Things to do with those plastic eggs that held M&Ms on Easter morning. (Or 11 things, if you're in a hurry - just not 10, everyone does 10 - it's so cliche.)

The dangers of fake grass in Easter baskets.

Spring:

How to get @Traveler to do your spring cleaning for you.

Common spring cleaning chores that would be better done in the fall.  (You'll become the local hero for this one!)

Things to hurry and do in case the world ends this year.

Insects you can look forward to killing this season (and the common household items you can use to do it).  (Alternately, how to turn plastic Easter eggs into roach motels!  Surely someone has done this already.)

Best spots for viewing said eclipse.  How to avoid all the eclipse-nuts.  What to do if the eclipse-nuts park in your yard.  Etc.

Where to go to find spring wildflowers.

Best eclipse-oriented baby names (someone's gonna need these, I'm sure).

Things to do because the eclipse-nuts are in town: like yard sales and lemonade stands and hording bottled water and what-not.

How to make authentic-looking UFOs (you know the UFO crowd overlaps with the eclipse crowd - you just know it)!

Kitten and puppy adoption (spring is the time for this, you know) promotion.

The best fountain pen inks for spring.   (This year, it would have to include Diamine Eclipse, even though it's not really a spring color.)

I'm sure I can come up with more.  This is a fabulous way to procrastinate whatever I should be doing right now.

[zil2]

5 ways to cook a bunny for Easter dinner! Yum! (Yes, I'm perverse, what can I say.)

"Easter Egg" Roll or Easter "Egg Roll" - why not both!

What to do with all those dyed Easter eggs - target practice.

Spring Calendar Planning - a few amusing suggestions for what to do around each holiday/event (adjust as needed for your local events):

• Start of DST
• Saint Patrick's Day
• Good Friday
• Easter
• April Fool's
• Income Tax Day
• Passover
• Star Wars Day
• Cinco de Mayo
• Mother's Day

Why is spring called spring?  The best places to buy springs this spring.  101 things to do with springs this spring.

Spring resolutions (for those who missed New Year's)

10 Toxic Texas Spring Flowers

Easter (or Spring) Safety (interview police, fire, ER officials to learn the most bizarre things they've encountered on Easter / in the spring, and write an article)

5 tips for making sure all your Easter egg hunt eggs are found (RFID tags, glow-in-the-dark paint, GPS tracking, ... )

12 things not to say at the office Easter party

[zil2]

Oh, best non-Easter "Easter Eggs" from software and other media.

[zil2]

Everyday symbols of death and resurrection:

• Sunset-sunrise
• Going to sleep at night-rising in the morning
• Plants dying in winter and coming back to life in the spring
• Animals that hibernate
• Butterflies (caterpillar > cocoon > butterfly)
• whatever else you can think of

How to make the most out of the eclipse - followed by a list of songs, artists, books, foods, etc. named "eclipse".

[Ironhold]

13 minutes ago, zil2 said:

Oh, best non-Easter "Easter Eggs" from software and other media.

Already did an "Entertainment 101" bit a year or so back on the concept of Easter Eggs in media, and so I'm waffling on a separate column on the topic. I've done it before when a topic had too much material for a single column, but I've tried to avoid it. 

[mikbone]

1 hour ago, zil2 said:

Oh, how to calculate Easter - it's absurdly convoluted (from a programming perspective).  Should take a good half a page just to explain it.  I have code, somewhere, should you need it (though I'm sure Wikipedia explain it).

First Sunday after 

First full moon after

Vernal equinox 

[zil2]

1 minute ago, mikbone said:

First Sunday after 

First full moon after

Vernal equinox 

Perfect.  Now write the code to do that.

[SilentOne]

How lambs/chicks/bunnies/whatever else got associated with Easter

History of Handel's Messiah

[mikbone]

11 hours ago, zil2 said:

Perfect.  Now write the code to do that.

#include <iostream>

int calculateEasterDate(int year) {
    int a = year % 19;
    int b = year / 100;
    int c = year % 100;
    int d = b / 4;
    int e = b % 4;
    int f = (b + 8) / 25;
    int g = (b - f + 1) / 3;
    int h = (19 * a + b - d - g + 15) % 30;
    int i = c / 4;
    int k = c % 4;
    int l = (32 + 2 * e + 2 * i - h - k) % 7;
    int m = (a + 11 * h + 22 * l) / 451;
    int month = (h + l - 7 * m + 114) / 31;
    int day = ((h + l - 7 * m + 114) % 31) + 1;

    return year * 10000 + month * 100 + day;
}

int main() {
    int year;
    std::cout << "Enter the year: ";
    std::cin >> year;

    int easterDate = calculateEasterDate(year);

    std::cout << "Easter in " << year << " falls on: " << easterDate << std::endl;

    return 0;
}

From ChatGPT

took like 2 seconds.

Edited December 31, 2023 by mikbone

[zil2]

3 hours ago, mikbone said:

From ChatGPT

Written like a complete amateur - the alphabet for variable names.  Zero elegance.  Sigh.

There you go, @Ironhold - you could write an article about the difference between elegant code and hacks, using Easter calculations as an example.  (Granted, your readers would be baffled and wonder when their newspaper turned into geek central, but sometimes that just can't be avoided...)

Alternately, you could write an article about how you asked some friends for ideas on what to write about and here are all the lame ideas they came up with...

[mikbone]

def calculate_easter_date(year):
    remainder_19 = year % 19
    century = year // 100
    remainder_100 = year % 100
    leap_century = century // 4
    leap_offset = century % 4
    correction_term1 = (century + 8) // 25
    correction_term2 = (century - correction_term1 + 1) // 3
    moon_correction = (19 * remainder_19 + century - leap_century - correction_term2 + 15) % 30
    century_leap = remainder_100 // 4
    century_leap_offset = remainder_100 % 4
    days_correction = (32 + 2 * leap_offset + 2 * century_leap - moon_correction - century_leap_offset) % 7
    full_moons = (remainder_19 + 11 * moon_correction + 22 * days_correction) // 451

    month = (moon_correction + days_correction - 7 * full_moons + 114) // 31
    day = ((moon_correction + days_correction - 7 * full_moons + 114) % 31) + 1

    return f"{year}-{month:02d}-{day:02d}"

# Get user input for the year
user_input = int(input("Enter the year: "))

# Call the calculate_easter_date function and display the result
easter_date = calculate_easter_date(user_input)
print(f"Easter in {user_input} falls on: {easter_date}")

 

Any better?

Edited December 31, 2023 by mikbone

[Vort]

19 hours ago, mikbone said:

First Sunday after 

First full moon after

Vernal equinox 

Note that this is the ecclesiastical full moon ("Paschal full moon"), not the astronomical full moon. In some (relatively rare) cases, this might not be the same date. The ecclesiastical full moon is a calculated point in time based on very old calculations, while the astronomical full moon is an actual event, a moment in time which can be calculated to a small fraction of a second. But again, these two moments are not (necessarily) the same day.

[mikbone]

The plot thickens

[Traveler]

On 12/30/2023 at 5:09 PM, mikbone said:

First Sunday after 

First full moon after

Vernal equinox 

This is also used to determine the first day in the ancient Hebrew calendar as well as Passover.  Many believe this was the method of establishing the first day of the year in many ancient calendars.  For some examples: the Enoch calendar used in the Book of Enoch, the most accepted calendar of Stonehenge and the Mayan calendar.

One of the problems with such methods has to do with spring storms, especially those with heavy clouds lasting for weeks obstructing sun rises (and sets) and phases of the moon.   The ancient saying among the Hebrews when there were heavy clouds obstructing the views of heavenly signs, was that “No man knows the day, not even the angles of heaven”.   Though the saying was intended to make a point there were “experts” (similar to @Vort)that carefully and explicitly followed the signs in the heavens and knew when the day (Easter) would be, much in advance – even without the code indicated by @zil2.

On another note – the code to calculate Easter is significantly simpler than code to predetermine how to have a rocket that will place a satellite in geocentric orbit or sending a rocket to the moon or mars or especially the rather unique orbit of the James Webb Telescope.

 

The Traveler

Edited January 1, 2024 by Traveler

[laronius]

On 12/30/2023 at 2:24 PM, Ironhold said:

For those who don't know, we're having a total eclipse next year. It'll be in early April, not long after Easter. 

The town I live in will be in the path of totality. 

A few months ago, one of my brothers confirmed that he was wanting to come down with his family in order to see it in person. He's normally got everything together, and so more than likely has already reserved a hotel room (no, no more rooms are available within several *hours* of where I live). I don't have an office at the newspaper, and so I have to do all of my typing from home. This means I'll still have a few hours at night or in the early morning in which I can work. 

Well, I literally just now found out that my second brother is also wanting to come up with his family, but that he likely didn't get a room. That means staying with us unless they can make other plans, and that means someone camping out in the family office as that's where we have a spare mattress set up. 

This means I now have to get my annual Easter column, and at least two additional columns, knocked out ASAP to compensate. 

So... what are some topics you'd like to see explored in print? Keep in mind that it's a family of secular local-level newspapers, so I can't go deep into anything. I just need some ideas for things I can slap together quickly.

Thanks.

Perhaps a piece on where have all the Easter dresses gone. Society has become very casual and even sloppy in it's attire. 

[mordorbund]

On 12/30/2023 at 7:09 PM, mikbone said:

First Sunday after 

First full moon after

Vernal equinox 

3 lines of 5 syllables each. That is a thing of beauty.

[zil2]

How they determine Easter in Japan:

Vernal equinox...

A full moon follows after,

Easter Sunday comes.

[Carborendum]

3 hours ago, zil2 said:

How they determine Easter in Japan:

Vernal equinox...

A full moon follows after,

Easter Sunday comes.

Easter Sunday

Full moon Vernal equinox follows

Comes

[zil2]

1 hour ago, Carborendum said:

Easter Sunday

Full moon Vernal equinox follows

Comes

You have to have 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third - that's a haiku.  (Well, there are a few other rules if you want to get technical, but you have to at least get the syllable count right.)

[Carborendum]

1 hour ago, zil2 said:

You have to have 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third - that's a haiku.  (Well, there are a few other rules if you want to get technical, but you have to at least get the syllable count right.)

Ahh.  Haiku.  Ok.

I was simply thinking about Japanese sentence structure.

[Ironhold]

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-george-albert-smith/chapter-21?lang=eng

Going with a story about President George Albert Smith.