--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jst...@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "raunchydog" <raunchydog@> wrote: > > > > Beginning 2 a.m. Eastern time on Dec. 24, visitors to > > the NORAD website can watch Santa as he prepares his > > sleigh, checks his list, and goes through all his > > preparations for a successful journey. OnStar > > subscribers can get live Santa updates as they travel > > in their vehicles simply by pushing the blue OnStar > > button. > > > > I just bought a 2010 Chevy with OnStar. It's spooky. The > > damn thing talks to you, makes phone calls for emergency > > service, diagnoses problems, unlocks your doors if you > > lock your keys in, knows if you've been sleeping and with > > whom, knows if you're awake, knows if you've been bad or > > good, so I have to be good for goodness sake. OnStar IS > > Santa. > > > > I'm worried the eye in the sky will know if I've been > > speeding, report me the insurance company and > > automatically jack up my premiums. I already got nailed > > this year with higher premiums for too many moving > > violations. Geez. > > You're pouting! Better not pout. >
Yes, pouting. Thank you, Santa's helper. Put in a good word for me with the big guy. > > http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html > > > > NORAD also tracks Santa through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, > > Flickr, TroopTube.mil and Google Earth. > > I'm a real sucker for this sort of thing. I love it. > The Web site is actually counting down the days, hours, > and minutes. > > Oh, man, that's a great site. Whole bunch of neat games > for the kiddies (I just spent 15 minutes trying to hook > up lights on a Christmas tree), snappy music, detailed > info on how NORAD tracks Santa (radar, satellites, Santa > Cams, and fighter jets), and a charming FAQ. The tone > is perfect--it doesn't talk down to the kids, and it's > very imaginative and also funny. > I got suckered in for half an hour connecting all the lights except one. Whenever I tried to fix it, I'd lose several connections. One light, good enough. It really is a fun site. There are a few games my 5 year old granddaughter will enjoy. She's good at puzzles. We usually take her to church so I'll see her tomorrow. This year she's going to be an angel in St. Gabes' Christmas pageant. She's moving up. Last year she was a lamb. Cute as a button. http://stgabe.org/node > Here's the chart of Sleigh Technical Data: > > Designer & Builder............K. Kringle & Elves, Inc. > Probable First Flight.........Dec. 24, 343 A.D. > Home Base.....................North Pole > Length........................75 cc (candy canes) / 150 lp > (lollipops) > Width.........................40 cc / 80 lp > Height........................55 cc / 110 lp > (Note: Length, width and height are without reindeer) > Weight at takeoff.............75,000 gd (gumdrops) > Passenger weight at takeoff...Santa Claus 260 pounds > Weight of gifts at takeoff....60,000 tons > Weight at landing.............80,000 gd (ice & snow > accumulation) > Passenger weight at landing...1,260 pounds > Propulsion....................Nine (9) rp (reindeer power) > Armament......................Antlers (purely defensive) > Fuel..........................Hay, oats and carrots (for > reindeer) > Emissions.....................Classified > Climbing speed................One "T" (Twinkle of an eye) > Max speed.....................Faster than starlight > > Excerpt from "Why NORAD Tracks Santa": > > "The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based > Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the > telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, > the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in- > Chief's operations 'hotline.' The Director of Operations at > the time, Colonel Harry Shoup [died in March of this year], > had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa > making his way south from the North Pole. Children who > called were given updates on his location, and a tradition > was born." > > Ultimately there's something a little chilling about > the folks whose job it is to watch for incoming missles > also being the folks who track Santa Claus, but maybe > all the effort and goodwill they put into making this > fun for kids infuses a little good karma into the > operation. > It's good PR. What better way to justify their budget? Congress people would have to explain to their children why they canceled Santa's flight.
