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NORAD's Amazing 60-Year Santa Tracking History (networkworld.com)
coondoggie writes: The National Archive blog takes a look at the background of the nation's premier defense unit's 60 years of tracking of Santa as he travels around the globe delivering his Christmas goodies. Colonel Harry Shoup began the tradition in 1955, after receiving a phone call from a child expecting to reach Santa Claus. The misdirected call was the result of the child reversing two numbers of a Santa Line phone number printed in a Sears advertisement, according to the National Archives.
Is what is really is for. And the let Canadians in there. What's next? Mexicans?
Looks like coal and switches for you this year little boy.
And a Merry Christmas to you, too...
...in an scarlet clad elf who sacrifices himself to provide pleasure to little children when I was young. Around the age of seven or so I realized that it was all hokey, but by then I was able to comprehend the spirit behind the season.
Some of humanities rules are very simple:
1) Number one is the Golden Rule, treat others as you have would others treat you!
2) It is better to give than receive.
3) Question everything.
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
In this world of smart phones, supercookies, browser fingerprinting, unwarranted wiretap, NSL, mass surveillance, and encryption backdoors, I can only say this:
In post-soviet World, Santa tracks YOU!
Obey, good citizen!
Christmas (I prefer Xmas), is not necessarily a religious festival in my opinion. I'm an atheist but that doesn't stop me from wanting to bring good wishes and cheer to my friends and family. There are more people in Britain who perceive Xmas as Doctor Who, Strictly, The Queen and eating too much turkey than are likely to go to church.
Sweet Jesus, make up your mind. First you blast liberals for what you imagine to be an "attack on christmas" and now you're bitching that this liberal stronghold at NORAD is squandering tax dollars on keeping with this (fairy ridiculous) part of the tradition.
You complete moron. If only this weren't so utterly typical for much of the conservative/reactionary element in US society, I might have a little respect for a few of their ideals.
I for one couldn't care less about any fictional god, or some unusually friendly Palestine circa two millenia ago.
But yay, the days are getting longer again, so let's rejoice and get plastered.
arent they a bit old for beliving in mythalogical figures?
they will put a cruise missile down you chimney.
Many people of all manner of beliefs already celebrated something around the 25th of December (near the winter solstice). Christmas trees are a pagan tradition. Santa Claus is a weird mix of Northern European Christian traditions and pagan myths. (Interestingly, st. Nicholas or Sinterklaas as he's called over here, from whom both the name and the idea of Santa Claus appears to have originated, is celebrated as a separate holiday on December 5th here in the Netherlands and Belgium. 30 years ago, Sinterklaas was the children's holiday of the year, with Christmas mostly being a family gettogether where kids might perhaps receive a small gift)
So Christmas has some religious roots though they certainly aren't all Christian, and the rest is all of pagan origin. It has long since ceased to be a religious festival and evolved into something that non-Christians enjoy celebrating as a nice family holiday as well (especially since we don't have something like Thanksgiving over here). Instead of going full PC and banning Christmas trees from public offices for fear of offending someone, better to pitch Christmas as a generic holiday. Hell, I know some Muslims who have a family dinner on Christmas eve even if they don't go so far as to call it that.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
He is going in and out of the country without any papers. They are able to track him.
To me it is clear that they are just a waste of money. If they can not stop a single person on a sledge, how do they think they can stop bombs coming in from the Soviet Union.
And to people telling he is no danger: he is clearly devastating for the US toy industry as the majority he brings in is made by underpaid elves in (as indicate don the toys) in China.
The reason nothing is done is because he favors the rich more than the poor and those are the people in charge.
Wake up sheeple!
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
...concerned about political correctness. The vast majority that composes the rest of the human race don't give a damn about who you worship, or your skin color, or your gender orientation. You treat as as equals, we treat you as equals.
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
60 Years and NORAD still hasn't been able to direct a missile to shoot down this object!!
Many people of all manner of beliefs already celebrated something around the 25th of December (near the winter solstice).
More specifically, it's four days after the solstice. In a pre-technological society, you didn't have any accurate way of noting the time of sunrise -- but in four days, you could note the progression of where it rose. Hey, the sun was rising over that rock, now it's rising over that tree -- it's coming back!
You knew there was still a lot of winter ahead, but the outcome was assured, and you could afford to break into the stored food and have a party.
You know what, Slashdot? This is the first year I have absolutely no interest in the Santa Tracker. I will not be watching any of the Rankin & Bass stop-motion folklore. Christmas is dead to me.
You know why? You Christian assholes have apparently determined that I'm somehow out to stop you from saying "merry Christmas." I mean, what the actual fuck. You assholes think that saying "merry Christmas" to me will somehow cause me agony because god hates fags. You've done this to my friends as well. I got jumped by a guy who needed to shout "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" in my fucking face.
I used to regularly give to a fund for local foodbanks. No more. That's how you fucking Christians want to be to me? Well, fuck you. Starve to death. Freeze to death.
I am fucking sick of this "merry Christmas" jihad. When the revolution comes, you had better the hell stay off my property. There is no militia that will be getting my supplies. You know why? Because I will fucking shoot you dead the minute you step on my property.
That and MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS, assholes.
You're a mean one ...
Have gnu, will travel.
If you object to "Christmas" because you don't believe in the story behind it, you may want to reconsider what you call it.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
It's all fun and games until someone has a few too many at the NORAD Christmas party, loads the Santa data into the wrong terminal, and the WOPR identifies Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen as an incoming salvo of ICBMs from Murmansk.
That's too good for him. Unleash the Krampus!
Where are my mod points when I need them? Awesome post!
You're messin' with my Zen Thing, man.....
Just shut the hell up....
You're messin' with my Zen Thing, man.....
Frank Costanza, is that you?
Worse the liberals with the help of merchandise peddling corporations have infiltrated the government to the top levels. They even use the military to perpetuate the myth and indoctrinate the young kids into the myth of Christmas.
It is time we return to the original Christian roots of observing and celebrating the birth of our Savior. No gifts, no pagan trees. No drinking or making merry. We have to take the Merry out of the Merry Christmas and put Holy in it, not holly. Strict abstemious, pious prayers and mass is ALL that should be allowed on Christmas. They commercialized the sabbath, commercialized Christmas. They will commercialize the entire church canon if you let them.
Christians of the world, unite against the Merry in the Merry Christmas.
Of course, we, non Christians would be allowed to celebrate a winter Season festival, with all the drinking, making merry and exchanging gifts. Pious Christians, you keep the Christ, the rest of us keep the Merry and we call it a fair division.
Holy Christmas Greetings to Christians. Merry Season's Greetings to us.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
This is Slashdot, where there are all kinds of boxes under the tree; but none of them is a hug box. Merry Christmas, and if that offends you then FOAD.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
So the fuck what?
I hope you're joking and all, but unfortunately such idiots exist who go out of their way to feel "offended" by someone wishing them well the wrong way. Fuck them. The whole lot of them. From the atheists who get their panties in a knot over "Merry Christmas" to the Christian who berate you that it HAS TO BE "Merry Christmas" and don't you dare to wish anything else to the various other delusions (aka religions) who chew you out for not knowing that they have their own flavor of funny hats and gymnastics to praise their imaginary buddy.
Fuck the lot of you.
All I wanted you is to enjoy whatever you are celebrating or if you're not, just to enjoy a few days off. If you want to be offended by that, well, why I guess FUCK YOU is the appropriate wish, then. Then you at least have something to be justifiably offended over. I think that should make these assholes happy!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
unfortunately such idiots exist who go out of their way to feel "offended" by someone wishing them well the wrong way
Here is the wrong way to do it: notice somebody you're pretty certain doesn't go to church or else is probably homosexual. Get in their face and scream "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Is the intention to give the listener a heart attack or tinnitus or something??
I believe I have every right to be offended at that one.
Here is another wrong way to do it (this didn't happen to me): notice somebody who is obviously trans and has ear buds in. Get in their way and mumble "merry christmas." (It's mumbling; no capitalization.) Force them to pause what they're listening to, take their ear buds out, and inquire what you just said.
That's less offensive but still obnoxious.
I don't know who these atheists who get their panties in a bunch about "merry Christmas" are, but I sure as fuck found out this year that there are people in my community (both this one and the town I live in) who think homosexuals--not even athiests!--are trying to make Christmas illegal.
I don't watch lamestream media, especially around this time of the year because I am fucking sick of "merry Christmas" jihadists. Maybe I've just been deluding myself that it's possible to hold libertarian views, have a certain birth defect, and somehow not get dragged into the PC/anti-PC/SJW/anti-SJW/gamergate/anti-gamergate/whatever by anti-PC assholes who have already declared me an enemy of liberty due to their paranoid delusions.
I've said it before, I'll say it again just to make sure fair warning gets out to any "merry Christmas" jihadists. You've (the jihadists) already declared me an enemy. You believe because of a birth defect I have that I want to make Christmas illegal. You believe I am a valid target for your IRL harassment (should have stuck to trololololing). Will I be a valid target for physical violence next year at this rate? I hope I don't find out, because I will probably have a gun. Gays with guns. Gays who support the 2nd amendment. Gays who realize every day that the reason the 2nd amendment needs to exist is so we can defend ourselves against other 2nd amendment supporters and "merry Christmas" jihadists, because you're all fucking delusional. Because you (the jihadists) didn't even ask me what I thought about the 2nd amendment, "merry Christmas," beer and hot wings, hate speech, marriage, etc, etc before you declared me an enemy of liberty with a gay agenda who wants to make everything you like illegal, turn your sons gay, implement communism and rob you blind, and make straight marriage illegal.
I don't want to have to seriously hurt you (the "merry Christmas" jihadists) over something so utterly stupid because you've worked yourself into delusional frenzy that the gays are out to get you. I haven't owned a gun from the time my white supremacist ex-parents threw me out up until now because I was pretty sure I didn't need one. Now I'm not so sure. Don't think that because I'm gay or short or androgynous looking that I haven't fired a variety of firearms before from shotguns to handguns to rifles.
tl;dr Here is something everyone can celebrate this time of the year: over 10,000 years of human history trying to understand the tiny lights in the sky at night and the big light in the sky during day. Celebrate the winter solstice! Grab a few science documentaries and learn more about the reason for the season!
MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS!
Sometimes cities and even governors move Halloween, which they cannot do according to the First Amendment, either.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
I don't mean to be negative, but in their highest wisdom, America's founding fathers wanted a clear separation between church and state.
I am sorry, but I feel it's wrong for tax dollars to spent to pander to any religion.
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
Yep, that about sums up my experience with the past few weeks. Sadly the jihadists seem to exist on both sides of the fence, for a friend (or probably now "former friend") chewed my ear off for wishing him Merry Christmas because (to sum up his half hour tirade) "An Atheist doesn't say that!"
Fuck that, ok?
I don't give a shit about the whole baby Jesus cult. The whole depiction alone, who celebrates someone's birthday by pretending he's still some baby? Not to mention that if Jesus actually had been a real person, his birthday would more likely be in Summer if anything in the Mark gospel was true. But that's not the point now.
And we're only getting the "insanity light" version over here in Europe. I don't even want to know what it's like in the US. Seriously, I can only admire your zen like patience with those assholes.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Well then, Merry Moosemas.
The X in Xmas still refers to Jesus since the first letter in Christ in Greek (the language the gospels were written in) is X. I suppose the uneducated may think that using Xmas reduces the Christianity in Christmas, but people who know will understand that it doesn't.
Basically, a small screwup by a civilian created a annual military tradition...
No sig for you! Come back one year!