Big Moons and Big Snows

Did you know that we had a full moon two weeks ago that was 12% bigger than usual?

I was walking down Somerset that night and thought the moon looked big. Bigger than usual, even for being low in the sky. But I figured it must be just my mind playing tricks on me because it was low in the sky.

I took lots of photos trying to get a good shot of it, but I had no tripod and hadn't figured out the manual zoom.

Later that night, Craig Ferguson talked about how the moon was bigger than normal.

First I was pleased that my perception had been accurate. But then, I was puzzled. I do everything I can to keep up. There's a ridiculous number of feeds on my Google Reader. But I didn't know about the big moon before it happened!

Then, on the way to work last Friday, I see the word "snowmaggedon" on one of the free newspapers. Later, a coworker mentions that there was a bad storm on the way, but it is going to miss us and just hit Kingston and Toronto. "We're going to miss snowpocalypse," she tells me.

I'm confused. Is it snowpocalypse or snowmaggedon? And how much snow does it take to kill everybody. I did some googling, but found basiclly nothing, except there are more hits for snowmaggedon. I'm not going to be out of the know this time. I used the comment form on the Environment Canada Website to ask:

Do you have official criteria for how a weather event will qualify as Snowmaggedon?

What about a Snowpocalypse?

or Snowlocaust?

I will let you know what I learn.

Speaking of lots of snow, from last Friday:

The City of Ottawa has opened its 50 approved sledding hills, including the reopening of Carlington Hill. Outdoor enthusiasts are invited to sled while weather and hill conditions permit, and to keep personal safety in mind while sledding.

Approved sledding hill locations and safety tips are available on the City’s Web site at ottawa.ca.

Remember: Don't use your brains for brakes!