[luke warm]

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_brief...ource=c-section

[matmat]

ok, which one of you bozos thought that was your birthday candle?

[Al_U_Card]

Sunspot activity has a correlation with planetary insolation and hence global warming (short term). At present we are starting into a new sunspot activity cycle but there are none....for now.

Peak activity is expected to start around 2012......doh!

[Hanoi5]

Quote

Peak activity is expected to start around 2012......doh!

Hope it's not December...

[Winstonm]

There is no such thing as global warming - there is only temperature "hotting". It's still only 98F outside, but it registers 99F. Must have something to do with the space/time/and temperature continuum call-in number.

[Al_U_Card]

The cruncher will be when the increased solar activity produces a CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) and our current inversion of the magnetic poles causes one hell of a set of aurorae as well as massive losses of satellites and electronic infrastructure.

p.s. Delay your major electronics purchases from the start of 2012 and save big-time!!!!!

[Lobowolf]

Al_U_Card, on Jun 23 2009, 07:07 PM, said:

The cruncher will be when the increased solar activity produces a CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) and our current inversion of the magnetic poles causes one hell of a set of aurorae as well as massive losses of satellites and electronic infrastructure.

p.s. Delay your major electronics purchases from the start of 2012 and save big-time!!!!!

Is this one of them Y2K kinda thingumees?

[Al_U_Card]

Yes and no.

For the last 50 years or so, the earth's magnetic field has started to "reverse". This "pole shift" has nothing to do with "crustal slips" but lots to do with the magnetosphere and incoming radiation from the sun.

Instead of one, nice, magnetic field around the earth (protecting it from ionized particles from the sun) the field is degrading and getting spotty. It may take another 50 to 500 years to complete the "reversal" but when it is over, Magnetic North on the compass will point towards Geographic South.

There is a decent report and video at PBS

http://www.pbs.org/w...etic/about.html

During the transition, the downside is that incoming solar flares and CME's get a "straight shot" at us. Like the CME's in 1859 and 1921, they wrought havoc with the electrical devices of the day.

Today's electronic world is a whole 'nother smoke.

[Gerben42]

Why was this Onion link not dated April first, or are they celebrating April 1st all year?

[onoway]

So anyone wanting to have a war better get on with it before 2012? It would be a bitch if missiles started doing loopdeloops and heading back to where they came from, for example, or simply firing without anyone asking them to, because a CME affected some crucial control. We could have our very own sunspot on earth! (well, maybe not, I obviously dont know anything about this stuff..could we?)

[Gerben42]

Sunspot - Wikipedia

No, we cannot have a sunspot on Earth. Sunspots are not dark, they are just less hot than the surrounding area.

This is all complicated by the fact that the Sun does not have a surface, instead we see all the photons that have been emitted in an area where the density is just right that the photons can get through without being scattered again.

[Wackojack]

Its God wot dun it. Divine retribution for all those unbelievers in global warming. Like Sodom or Noahs flood.

[Al_U_Card]

I gather that most missile systems are "hardened" to protect against air-burst EMF pulses.

Some command and control, however, are not and rely on ELF antennae for signals to pass through extreme interference.

Your TV, ipod, non-military satellites are definitely not, however.

[hrothgar]

Gerben42, on Jun 24 2009, 06:23 PM, said:

Why was this Onion link not dated April first, or are they celebrating April 1st all year?

Hi Gerben

Not sure whether or not your question was serious.

The Onion is a satire site. its often well worth reading, but should never be taken remotely seriously. (Just ran into the following which you might appreciate)

Twitter Creator On Iran: 'I Never Intended For Twitter To Be Useful'

SAN FRANCISCO—Creator Jack Dorsey was shocked and saddened this week after learning that his social networking device, Twitter, was being used to disseminate pertinent and timely information during the recent civil unrest in Iran. "Twitter was intended to be a way for vacant, self-absorbed egotists to share their most banal and idiotic thoughts with anyone pathetic enough to read them," said a visibly confused Dorsey, claiming that Twitter is at its most powerful when it makes an already attention-starved populace even more needy for constant affirmation. "When I heard how Iranians were using my beloved creation for their own means—such as organizing a political movement and informing the outside world of the actions of a repressive regime—I couldn't believe they'd ruined something so beautiful, simple, and absolutely pointless." Dorsey said he is already working on a new website that will be so mind-numbingly useless that Iranians will not even be able to figure out how to operate it.

[barmar]

Gerben42, on Jun 24 2009, 11:23 AM, said:

Why was this Onion link not dated April first, or are they celebrating April 1st all year?

I suggest you read a few more articles there, you might get the picture.