Hello everyone! In a few hours it will be the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. This marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. The sun apperars at its lowest point in the sky and the elevation of the sun at noon appears to be the same for several days before and after the solstice date. The word solstice comes from the Latin word solstitium, sol which means sun, and stitium which means stoppage. Following the solstice the nights become shorter and the days become longer. Also on this day, the earth is tilted at a 23.5 degree angle to the sun and thus the northern hemisphere receives less sun (winter) and the southern hemisphere receives more sun (summer). The ancient Celts and Druids celebrated the solstices and equinoxes. In Ireland, an ancient passage tomb at Newgrange was built in alignment with the winter solstice rising sun. At sunrise, a shaft of light enters through an opening in a roof box over the entrance to the tomb and follows the passageway to the central tomb and lights up the interior in its entirety. This dramatic illumination lasts for 17 minutes at dawn on the winter solstice and a few days before and after. There is a lottery each year to choose those who can enter the tomb on these days as there are about 30,000 applications each year. Fifty names are drawn and two places are reserved for each name. I had the opportunity to visit Newgrange in January, 2007. They had a simulation of the light entering the roof box and following the passageway into the tomb. It was an amazing experience to witness this, even though it was a simulation. The view looking over the valley in front of the tomb was amazing also. It is hard to beleive that this tomb was built about 3200BC and is perfectly oriented and engineered for this one day of the year.

Hi Cecil! 1 cup = 8 ounces = 240 ml

Here is a recipe for a Christmas treat that I make with my sons every year. It is very easy and no baking is involved. It is for Buckeyes, a chocolate and peanut butter confection that is loved by all. Buckeyes 3/4 cup peanut butter 1 lb confectioner's sugar 1 stick margarine 6 oz chocolate chips 1/8 stick parafin wax Mix peanut butter, confectioner's sugar and margarine. Roll into balls. Chill several hours. Melt chocolate chips and parafin in double boiler. Use toothpicks to dip chilled balls into chocolate mixture. Let cool. They should look like this:

Sorry guys, I just have to do it! Carmen Ohio (Ohio State Alma Mater) by the Ohio State Marching Band

The All-Seeing Eye symbol with the pyramid is on the US dollar bill and the Great Seal of the United States. Since alot of the founding fathers of the US were Masons, it can be said that they used their influence when designing the US currency and seal. Below the symbol are the words: "Novus Ordo Seclorum", translated as "new order of the ages". It is said to be an Illuminati symbol. The all seeing eye is also the evil eye, one and the same, in some references that I checked. It is also known as "The Eye of Osirus".

Hi Hotplant, Do you mean you had bleeding in the retina? The cornea does not have blood vessels in it, and therefore cannot bleed. The retina can have broken blood vessel which can leak. From what you say about the fluorescein dye test that you had, it sounds like you may also have had a blocked vessel preventing the dye from flowing through the vessel. And laser treatments can certainly leave you with annoying floaters. The floaters will become less noticable in time. I have them also. Very annoying. BUCK'EYE' DOC

Hi Steve, I have the impression that Jimmy has on mirrored lenses (sunglasses) in the picture of him playing the hurdy-gurdy by the lake at Plumpton Place, and thus you can use the analogy of the mirrors reflecting back the light that Jimmy is looking at. So he is not letting us see into his soul through his eyes. The mirrored lenses are reflecting back to the viewer what Jimmy is seeing: the light. The mirrored lenses are preventing us from looking into his eyes and therefore we cannot see into his soul. When Jimmy says that the eyes are the "mirror" of the soul, does he mean of our soul, the viewer, not his soul? As an Optometrist, I look at eyes all day long. I am very perceptive and tuned in to people and I can tell alot about them from their eyes. Of course their general and eye health are revealed. But also, I can tell about what kind of life they have had, if they are kind and giving, if they are concealing something, what kind of mood they are in, and lots more. If a person is turning their eyes up and out to the right, they are trying to remember something. So I guess you would say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. A mirror reflects back the image that is in front of it. And indeed, the surface of the eye, the cornea, acts like a reflecting mirror. If you peer deeply into someone's eyes, you can see a reflection of yourself. Alot of my instruments work on the basis of this corneal reflection (a keratometer is one example). You can tell if someone has crossed eyes by looking at the position of a reflection of a penlight shined into the pupil. If the reflection is temporal to the center of the pupil, the eye is turning inward. If the reflection is nasal to the center, the eye is turning outward. So when you look deep into someone's eyes, you are examining yourself when you see your own reflection. So in "The Song Remains the Same", is Jimmy using the eyes to let us see into his soul? I don't think so. I think that he is indeed using them as a mirror reflecting back to us what he is seeing, his perception of things, his view of us perhaps? Also, I thought that the eye symbol was the "Evil Eye", not the "All-seeing Eye". Or it could represent a talisman against the evil eye. In the occult, the evil eye is used as a curse, bringing bad luck and misfortune on those who look at it. It has it's roots in envy, and maybe Jimmy is cursing those who were envious of the success of Led Zeppelin. This is of course, wild speculation on my part. Just something else to add to the discussion. Edited to add: The pupil is a hole in the eye, a fenestration, a window through which you can view the lens, the vitreous humour and the retina. So the correct phrasing should be "The eyes are the windows to the soul".

Can you imagine being in the audience for this show? I was way too young at the time, but I did like Vanilla Fudge's "You Keep Me Hanging On". Anyone from the forum have the great fortune to attend this concert?

I am watching The Phantom of the Opera DVD. Just in the mood for some Andrew Lloyd Webber music.

Hey Yukon, Looks like it worked! Nice picture!

It is about 25 degrees Farenheit with freezing rain. The roads and sidewalks are like an ice skating rink. Had trouble driving home. It took 15 minutes to scrape the ice off the windshield.

We are currently at 18 degrees Farenheit in Central Ohio. Forecast is for a winter weather advisory tomorrow with light snow and possible freezing rain.

My sons are home from college and they are starting to object to the non-stop Zeppelin on my Sirius radio in the car. They like it but say they are getting burned out on it. I, on the other hand, cannot get enough. I only have to turn it off when Carouselambra comes on (I think they over-play it and it is my only hated Led Zeppelin song).

That would be funny! I had a new age type health food nut patient in today who would have appreciated it. She said she was not getting a good vibe from my optician when she was picking out new glasses and asked me if I would help her because she could see my aura and I was sending her a good vibe, as she said that I always do and that we are always on the same wave length. I am serious here. She has been my patient for a long time and she went to high school with my husband and he said that she has always been like this.

My sons came home from college today. I took my office employees to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. The cheesecake was fabulous! Gave them gift cards from Macy's for Christmas and then we went shopping and I got to watch them buy their own gifts with their cards! One bought a new pair of high-heeled boots, another bought a Coach watch, and one only spent half her money and bought a pair of shoes. I picked up a few more gifts for my family. I am almost finished shopping. The house is all decorated, and now I can enjoy the season (after I get finished doing the boys laundry that they brought home ).

Hi Dancin'Days', Thanks for your picture. I like your Stairway poster. I have the same poster. Bought it at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after the Les Paul Tribute Concert. I don't know where to put it as my house is formally decorated and my office is a professional doctor's office. It would be cool to put it up in my office and see how many patients are Zepp fans and make comments about it. My office has Thomas Kinkade prints as well as Monet and Renoir prints and I get comments about them all the time. I don't think that the Hermit/Stairway to Heaven poster will fit in with the decor there either.

Created by Motown's Funk Brothers. First recorded by Gladys Knight and the Pips in 1967. Then by Marvin Gaye 1968. Then by Creedence in 1970. I Put a Spell on You - Creedence Clearwater Revial

Hi eternal light! This is really weird because I thought about Spats today at Mass for some unknown reason. As my mind was relaxed from the peace that I get from church, I was wondering how his double date went and how he needs to grow up alot and be open to new experiences and new people and not be so close-minded and worry about how he compares to his buddies in how many "hot" girls he can get, as if it is a contest. And how everyone is ugly when they get old, just look around, look how Jimmy's looks have faded. And I hope that it dosen't take too long for him to realize that what really matters in life is having someone who loves you above anything else, is dependable, is a good person, makes you laugh, and who would be a good mother/father to your children, as well as many other traits, not what the person looks like. And I looked at my husband next to me and I said a little thank you prayer for giving him to me. And I said a little prayer for Spats, for him to find what he needs and what is good for him in a relationship, not what he has in his mind that he thinks that he wants, which would be a mistake if he ever got it. I have never talked to Spats on this site before and don't want to get involved in the Spats Love Life thread, but I thought that your post was such a coincindence today. I have no idea why I thought of Spats, maybe it is because he needs our prayers for some unknown reason, and maybe they will help him.

Love Me Two Times - The Doors

Thanks tangerine! Guess I was having a brain freeze. Too much multitasking going on. Need to pay attention better.

The Wnd Cries Mary - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

The November 9th Metallica concert from Columbus that my sons attended. They have it on their I-Pods (all Metallica concerts are made available for downloads on their web site) and it is awsome. I would recommend that concert date for all Metallica fans who want to download one of their recent concerts. It has lots of dialogue from James Hetfield and the sound quality is excellent.

Thanks for that correction. I'm not familiar with XM and I would assume that they would be the same since the merger.

When the Led Zeppelin Channel first launched on Sirius (which is what I have) it was on channel 12 and XM was channel 33. A couple weeks into it, it changed to 33 for both. This is because the merge between Sirius and XM was completed and they are now one entity.

Watching "The Last King Of Scotland" on DVD with my youngest son. Very intriguing. Great performances by James McAvoy and Forrest Whitaker.