Just in Case You were Worried about 12/12/2012

I love when the doomsayers and fanatics grab onto a specific date and start predicting the End of the World. Let’s see, there was the Y2K bug. Uhuh.. computers continued to function, more or less, even until today. Then I remember the world was supposed to end on Jan 1, 2000, even without the Y2K bug (which was only going to destroy technology after all), then when that didn’t happen they realized the new Millennium actually started on Jan 1, 2001, so they changed the day… and still the world didn’t end. This is not a new thing, there have been doomsayers for all of human history, and probably before. I can picture an early human, soon after words were invented, “Ugh! World go away if too many people” or some other such nonsense.

The current End of the World scenario is based on two very different theories. One being the end of the Mayan Calendar. Uh, No! It is only the end of the current calendar cycle, and the Mayans aren’t happy you are trying to make disaster movies out of it. LOL! The second is the ‘discovery’ of a planet that wanders around and is set to crash into ours. Again… Uh, No!

Curious about where these ideas all came from and what the actual scientists have to say about them? Check out this Link from NASA. I think they may be a little more reliable than the guy standing on the street corner wearing the sandwich board and telling you to sign over all of your worldly goods to him before the world ends and you are considered a sinner!

Odd Things That Capture My Interest...

I wanted to make a blog entry this evening, but I was staring at a blank screen and the little blinking curser and I couldn't think of a single interesting thing to say. First I thought I would tell the story of my trip to the DMV today, but it actually wasn't unpleasant, and my friend Rebecca had a much better story about her visit today over at her blog. Then I thought I would write about what the Hubs and I did on his day off yesterday (and today), but we really didn't do much and my big purchase of the day yesterday was Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi which was finally out in paperback... but, I haven't read it yet and just buying it wasn't really all that exciting......

Now What? AHA! I know! I'll fall back on the bookmarks in Firefox in the little folder called... Wait for it.... Possible Blog Entries. Yeah, I'm kind of boring like that. Sigh! So, What have I thrown in there recently. Hmmmm...

You can Go Here and enter your name and it will be included with others on a microchip on the Mars Science Laboratory rover heading to Mars in 2011! I'm such a geek, I did this one. It would be a great way to get the kiddos interested in the space program. After you enter your name, be sure to look around. There are a lot of cool things. Like being able to talk to the virtual Dr C. about Mars. You type in the questions and he answers them. Yes, I am a space geek. This was neat, and would be a great jumping off place for a study of the universe, the space program, or anything else you or your children might be interested in. It's part of the Nasa main site.

This link just amuses me. Dog Tags with the location of Earth on them.... just in case the little green - uh, I mean gray guys -stop by, pick you up, and accidentally drop you on the wrong planet. These dog tags will be all you need for some one (or thing) to be able to locate Earth and hopefully drop you back off here. A real bargain at $12.99 + 2.50 shipping and packaging. The perfect insurance against being left wandering around the universe like Arthur Dent......

O.k.... How about one more.... Tweenbots. How cute is that name? What is a Tweenbot?

Tweenbots are human-dependent robots that navigate the city with the help of pedestrians they encounter. Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, Tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and rely on people they meet to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal.

Go to the link and see how some friendly New Yorkers help the little robots get to their destination. In the creators own words:

Given their extreme vulnerability, the vastness of city space, the dangers posed by traffic, suspicion of terrorism, and the possibility that no one would be interested in helping a lost little robot, I initially conceived the Tweenbots as disposable creatures which were more likely to struggle and die in the city than to reach their destination.

The results were unexpected. Over the course of the following months, throughout numerous missions, the Tweenbots were successful in rolling from their start point to their far-away destination assisted only by strangers.

Pretty Cool, Huh? People can be kind and helpful, even in New York and even when they can't expect anything in return. Gives you hope for the human race!

There you go, three links to odd things. Just goes to show you some of the really weird things that I find amusing/interesting. Hope you enjoyed them!

Happy Fifth Birthday, Spirit!

 

 

I'll bet you were wondering just who (or what) the heck Spirit is. LOL! Well, Spirit is the Mars Rover that landed on Mars five years ago today. Twenty-one days later Opportunity (a second rover) joined Spirit on Mars. It was hoped that these two rovers would last at least 3 months...... That was five years ago! Not that the two haven't had problems. Poor Spirit can only go backwards now, and Opportunity has a problem with one of his arms. They've also had a few power problems. Both rovers get their power from the sun using solar panels. Dust tends to cover up the panels causing a power shortage.

Still, all things considered, these two tough little rovers have definitely gone above and beyond. Want to get the whole story? Click Here for the BBC News article. And Here for some photos sent back by Spirit and Opportunity. Things like this just fascinate me.