Still more reader comments and some signs

Some more comments from readers:

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Hillary pic:

I posted a photo of Hillary Clinton and Chloe Moretz and queried whether it was photoshopped:

My daughter, Acacia, sent me a message that, whilst the photo was hilarious, Hillary’s doughnut had been retouched.  This was the original pic which appeared on Chloe’s Instagram:

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Winter solstice:

In response to my mentioning the Winter solstice, I received an email from Byter David B, who lives in Derbyshire, England:

I think you made a typo into today's Bytes Daily. Today is the Summer solstice not the Winter solstice.

I responded:

That’s strange, I could have sworn it’s the Winter Solstice, it’s quite cold outside. I wonder why that would be?

David replied:

It is also quite cold outside here in Derbyshire, and raining, so perhaps I have got it wrong and it is the Winter Solstice :-) :-)

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More about the solstice:

The Winter solstice is the day of the year when the sun is lowest on the horizon, so that it is the shortest day of the year. As a consequence, the shadows are also the greatest, hence planning applications to local councils require shadow diagrams showing where the shadows will be at 9.00am, midday and 3.00pm on 21 June. Overshadowing of neighbours is a relevant factor to be taken into consideration in whether to approve the development, Councils usually also have codes setting out minimum sunlight for garden and open space areas of the property.

The word “solstice” originates from the 1st century Roman Latin word “solstitium”, where “sol” meant “sun” and “sister” meant "to come to a stop, make stand still", the point at which the sun appears to stand still.

Needless to say, the solstices are reversed for the northern and southern hemispheres.

The opposite of the solstices are the autumnal and vernal equinoxes, when the Sun is in its zenith over the Equator and the day and night are generally of equal length.’

Northern hemisphere diagram.

Note that the date of the winter solstice is given as 22 June by some.

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Some signs: