The Sun : A Bright Spot

The sky will fall on December 21, 2012. Or maybe the 22nd.

There are sites that sorta explain it. One site quotes a real NASA report that states:

Many forecasters believe Solar Cycle 24 will be big and intense. Peaking in 2011 or 2012, the cycle to come could have significant impacts on telecommunications, air traffic, power grids and GPS systems. (And don't forget the Northern Lights!) In this age of satellites and cell phones, the next solar cycle could make itself felt as never before."

The rather alarming headline on the non-NASA site:
NASA Announces 2012 Destruction Probable

Dude! Ahhhhh!!! Run!!!

NASA made no such announcement.
What NASA said is that solar activity, which according to predictable cyclic movements is due to peak in 2011 or 2012, may have a significant impact on modern electronic communications. Losing your Wi-Fi sucks. It is not, however, the end of the world.

The author interprets "2011 or 2012" thusly:

I find it quite a coincidence that this major happening is forecasted (sic) for 2012, as this exact timing correlates to the ancient Mayan prediction of the end of the dimension.

Pardon my English, but "2011 or 2012 " is not an "exact time" at all- it's a vague range of dates. And what does "end of the dimension" mean anyway?


The site will also sell you mp3 files that will give you "Psychic Powers" if you download them-for a fee...I see a rip-off in the future.
That's the bad news.
The good news?
There isn't much future left.
The future, as everyone who isn't me knows, is scheduled to end on or around 12/22/2012.


See, there are some Cosmic Alignments taking place in 2012.

- There will be a Transit of Venus across the Sun, an event so rare that it hasn't happened since 2004.

- There will be, as noted above, an usually active period of solar magnetism; a Solar Maximum, as described by NASA. This hasn't happened since 1958.
We might see awesome Northern Lights and experience really crappy cell-phone coverage.
My advice: Stock up on ammunition, barbed-wire and books.

- According to experts, there will be a Galactic Alignment - the winter solstice Sun will align with the Milky Way's equator or something...NASA is trying keep this information under wraps, which sort of proves that it's gonna happen...the Government Eggheads don't want us to know, but it's too late...the secret is out.
According to expert interpretation of ancient Mayan astronomy, the Alignment will occur on Dec. 21st (or the 22nd), 2012- the final day of the Mayan Calender, give or take thirty-six years.

-My Car Talk desk calender ends on 12/31/2008. This is pretty close to 12/22/2102.
Nine days and four years, to be precise.
Nine plus four equals thirteen.
According to experts, 13 is a magickal number.
Quite a coincidence, eh?

- This Alignment will place us in the path of a Comet/Planet named Nimburu. NASA recently sent an unmanned probe (code name Deep Impact) to a comet's surface - allegedly for the sake of so-called "scientific research". The real mission was to test the feasibility of planting a nuclear 'bunker buster' bomb under the comet's surface...if successful, this technology will be used in a vain attempt to prevent NIMBURU from smashing into the Earth and turning us all into fossil fuel, just like it did to the dinosaurs.

-Some experts claim that the World is gonna End. This might be true if your life depends on GPS technology...winter of 2012 will be a bad time to be lost in the woods. Even a traditional compass might not work, the earth's magnetic field might be all fuckity...you could try to get your bearings from the stars, but the Earth might be shifted on it's axis, so even if you know how to navigate old school, the stars won't be where they should be...or they'll be obscured by a fiery, toxic, earth-encompassing cloud of post-collision soot and debris.
My advice: Choose your 2012 winter vacation site wisely. Deep underground or off-planet is best.

The 'glass half-empty' crowd can concern itself with the short-term inconveniences produced by a comet-induced global extinction, but I think it's better to be optimistic about such things- every life-smothering cloud of inter-planetary dust has a silver lining if you look hard enough.

To an oil-dependent optimist, the idea of a Earth/comet collision is good news, because oil is actually a renewable resource. Fossil fuels are called "fossil" because they are composed of old, dead things. In the 'big picture', oil is the ultimate Biofuel- it can be made from just about everyone, given enough patience and sacrifice.

Sure, it will be difficult on us , our kids and their grand-kids, but ten million generations from now our descendants will once again have cheap, plentiful gasoline.
They will enjoy this ample supply for roughly one hundred years; after which a comet once again hits Earth, everyone dies and the 250 million-year cycle begins anew, give or take a few years.

Let's take the far-thinking approach.
The driver of today is the gasoline of tomorrow.
Together we can be the future.

Look to the stars.
See ya in the tank.

Ride It If I Like

I spent Wednesday in West Virginia with my cousin, who was cleaning out her brother's house in anticipation of the auction house picking up the bulk of his belongings . It's amazing how much stuff he had...some was being sold at auction, some went to trash and some was given away. I found some nice clothes that fit me and got a bike ( save me some gas!) and also received some old vinyl records- I mean old; big , thick slabs of 78 RPM vinyl! I haven't sorted them yet, I might have to borrow a turntable to play them...on top of the pile was a Mahalia Jackson record, which is a good sign, I think. I'm psyched. I bet I can get a great show out of them. Or two.

Then we went shopping. I haven't been shopping for years. Seriously. I can't remember the last time I went to a mall...there is a higher statistical probability of spotting a tornado at an area mall than there is of seeing me.

I have a job interview today and my cuz wanted to buy me some new shoes for it- my 'best' shoes until then were hiking boots- she proved to be patient as well as generous- we passed this 'monument' as we headed towards the Food Court and I had to stop and take a pic.
It's in the middle of a mall and it reads : "Dedicated to those who honorably served our country" .



I'm all for honoring our veterans, but placing a memorial inside a shopping mall disturbs me- in my opinion, putting this monument next to the Food Court shows about as much class and respect as imprinting urinal cakes with the POW/MIA logo.

I actually experienced culture shock while in this mall. I felt like a tourist in a foreign land. We also went to an adjoining Wal-Mart. I know that I have been to one before, but it's been years...five, ten? I was unprepared for what I saw:



This place is so large it has a vanishing point.

Turn around and -presto- it's a supermarket! Turn to the right and there's the Golden Arches.

How has it come to this? We don't need all this stuff.

Today I had a job interview. I'd be operating the controls at the local planetarium. It's sort of a cross between a movie projectionist and a carnival ride operator. They asked some technical questions and I passed. It's only one or two shifts per week, but it's better than nothing. Plus it sounds fun. I hope I get it.

Did I mention the bike? It's a nice one. I took it to a nearby park.





I think I'm gonna like my new bike.

Tomorrow I start my two-day stint at NASCAR. I'm not sure what I'm doing there but it's supposed to be 30 or so hours in two days- almost a paycheck! I may wind up with four or five part-time jobs...I even picked up a Starbucks application, although I haven't inked it yet.

See ya after the Races!