Photo: Jacob Dingel / PGC Photo

Yep, it’s Groundhog Day. I’ve never been sure if it’s an actual holiday or some sort of day of observance, but just the thought of there being a “Groundhog Day” on our national calendar has always seemed odd to me. No doubt it must confound poor little Punxsutawney Phil as well, what with the throngs of fans gathering around him every year, anxiously awaiting his verdict on the arrival of an early spring. Then there’s the Inner Circle, Phil’s very own Knights Templar in top hats, sworn to uphold tradition and protect the oversized squirrel for future “prognostications.” How can anyone keep a straight face?

Time to get to the bottom of all this. As it turns out, February 2 is the midpoint between the start of winter and the start of spring, thus signaling the change of seasons and return of warmer weather. Originally called Imbolc by the Gaels and then St. Brigid’s Day and Candlemas by the early Christians, it is also a day of celebration, rich with the symbolism of fire and new life. As a further sign of the coming spring, animals such as snakes, bears and badgers (and later groundhogs in North America) would come out of hibernation. But what seems odd is the connection of a groundhog seeing its shadow and 6 more weeks of winter: wouldn’t not seeing its shadow mean more dreary, overcast weather? Of course, wouldn’t anyone be able to see or not see their own shadow and draw their own conclusion?

I think the concept of what we now call Groundhog Day is nothing more than good old fashioned fun — a folksy way of breaking the monotony of winter while preserving a piece of the past. Phil’s predictions aren’t even all that credible: according to one source, Phil has a success rate of only 39%. Phil’s internal clock, which is set for hibernation and mating according to his local winter/spring cycle, must already be thrown out of whack if he’s living in captivity. As for Phil’s cousins living in the wild in other areas, there’s climate change to contend with.

Much like the white bunny and baby chick that have come to represent Easter and springtime, the groundhog will remain the furry mascot of seasonal change.

Almost through the first month of 2009, and I still can’t believe we’re in 2009. What’s even harder to believe is the great number and sheer scale of problems we’re facing in 2009:

• the global economic downturn
• the ongoing wars and conflicts around the world
• the persistent threat of terrorism
• the rapid degradation of the environment
• the energy crisis
• the dwindling supply of food in the world
• the population explosion
• the global health epidemics
• and many, many others…

These are days of high anxiety, for sure. From the consistently jarring news headlines (just search Google News for “worst year ever” 2008-2009) to the unsettling stories of hardship and misfortune that we hear from co-workers, friends and family, or live through ourselves, we may very well be in the midst of one of the most challenging periods in human history.

Yet what I find most fascinating about this rather bleak moment in time is the radical shift in attitude that is taking place in America. The last eight years under the Bush administration were marked with anger and frustration, as the nation’s problems swelled with each passing year (here’s a list of 99 problems), with no real signs of improvement. There wasn’t much reason to be optimistic when faced with a regular barrage of bad news, topped off with the arrogant proclamations of a leader wielding unprecedented power. Of course, not all of the nation’s problems can be attributed to an 8-year presidential term, but there’s no doubt many problems were newly created or woefully exacerbated.

Now, thanks in large part to President Obama’s uplifting campaign, euphoric victory, and moving inauguration (all of which demonstrated huge changes in themselves), a wave of fierce optimism and, yes, hope has swept the nation. Obama has re-instilled confidence in the potential of America — its government and its citizens — to bring positive change, in spite of the enormity and difficulty of problems it faces. The role of every citizen in helping to make an impact figures strongly in Obama’s plan for the nation. This approach signals a distinct shift from the traditional attitude of government towards “the people:” Americans are not merely tax-paying machines that toil endlessly to keep the country fat with prosperity, with little reward save “freedom.” Rather, they are agents of real change and active participants in the success of the nation, supported by a government that has pledged to be more attuned to their needs and more protective of their values. While America is not a democracy in the literal sense (we are a constitutional republic), this administration is restoring the spirit of democracy and faith in its ideals.

The skeptic in me finds this all too good to be true, waiting for those lofty promises to fizzle out or for a gradual regression to business-as-usual in Washington, D.C., but the momentum generated behind Obama seems far greater the man himself. Obama has re-energized the nation, reminding many of their innate capacity to do something important, especially by volunteering locally. Many problems lie too far out of our reach, yet many opportunities exist to better our immediate community or to offer help where it is most welcome.

I will look forward to the changes ahead. They may be slow to arrive, but I’ll remain optimistic while doing what I can to contribute.

Design is a funny thing sometimes. You never know what ideas will surface in the process of designing, nor what bizarre associations you may make. In the process of working on this site, for instance, I drew a connection to—of all things—the famous plaque affixed to the Pioneer F spacecraft (shown above).

Launched in 1972, Pioneer F (also known as Pioneer 10) was the first spacecraft to venture beyond the solar system into the vast abyss of deep space. The plaque was an attempt to communicate with intelligent life forms who may happen upon it along its infinite journey, and successfully decode its message. In diagrammatic form, it tells the story of the lone spacecraft: where it came from, what its makers look like, and when its journey began. (Similarly, the twin Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977, carried a gold record etched with images and sound recordings of life on earth.)

Pioneer 10 and its accompanying plaque are remarkable artifacts of a civilization capable of broadcasting itself outside of the confines of its own planet. And yet, how we as a civilization chose to tell our story to other sentient beings in the Cosmos is peculiar, since much of the content in the plaque is deeply encoded, not to mention highly compressed. (Granted, the task of designing complex communications for alien life forms is a formidable one, but couldn’t the scientific messages be a bit more accessible to humans at least? Couldn’t they have hired designers?)

Now that much of the planet is growing familiar and comfortable with the World Wide Web, the capacity for individuals to broadcast themselves outside of their own social and economic confines is profound. The honeymoon has long since worn off for many veterans of the Web, though I am still fascinated by my ability to make my presence known to anyone in the world with internet access. The fact that I can put information out there so easily is seductive, especially given all the framed outlets such as MySpace and Facebook; the knowledge that anyone and everyone can see—and respond to—what I post makes the act of authorship all the more challenging to me. Thankfully, unlike the static Pioneer plaque, I can revise, edit, elaborate on or delete most anything I publish.

While this technologically enhanced freedom of expression exists in the “now” of our cultural consciousness, I wonder what it’s consequences will be and how far they will reach. What effect does all this stuff really have on one another and our civilization? Will all the content on the Web live on long after us? Will it, along with everything else we’ve put on this planet, eventually find an extra-terrestrial audience? What would some yet unknown race of beings think of our blogs and our YouTube movies and our various other creations?

Time will tell, I guess.

More info on Pioneer 10:
Pioneer 10 Spacecraft Sends Last Signal To Earth
Science Daily, February 26, 2003.

After countless rounds of design and revision, and constant rethinking, I’ve finally arrived at what might be a semi-permanent (or semi-temporary) solution to my personal website: part news outlet, part portfolio, and part pet project/tinker toy. It is a place to find me (if you’re actually searching and can spell my last name correctly), and a way to connect. I’m “findable” on several useful online services, including LinkedIn and Facebook, but you’re probably better off here, as I hope to update this site more often.