Good and bad news

[KA1ZGC]

Huh... I don't recall typing "take a Midol, Jack". That's probably because I didn't.

In fact, if you go back and read it again (or perhaps if you'd tried reading it the first time), it's pretty obvious that I'm not singling out Jack.

You can't buy any "victim crap" if I'm not selling.

Some hero you are.

[The Slab Bacon]

Wah. Cry me a river. 

to hell with "cry me a river"  Screw that...........Fry me some liver!!

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

And some onions too. After all, heros need to eat well.

Wah. Cry me a river. 

to hell with "cry me a river"  Screw that...........Fry me some liver!!

[KA1ZGC]

Spinach.

[The Slab Bacon]

Spinach.

Nah,  Pickled eggplant, yum yum!! Breakfast of champions!

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Do you shout "Blow me down, Olive!"

Spinach.

[KA1ZGC]

Almost. You got the first half right.

[W4EWH]

RANDOLPH E. SCHMID should be ashamed of himself.

This "news" story is pitched in the same hyperbolic, over the top, "If it bleeds, it leads" style I expect from UHF TV news or tawdry supermarket tabloids.  There are dire warnings about how a "storm" that occurred 150 years ago, which "... shorted out telegraph wires, causing fires in North America and Europe" is coming back like a biblical plague,

The rant starts out by trying to confuse readers into thinking that sunspots are as dangerous as hurricanes  -

 

WASHINGTON (AP) - When the sun sneezes it's Earth that gets sick.

It's time for the sun to move into a busier period for sunspots, and while forecasters expect a relatively mild outbreak by historical standards, one major solar storm can cause havoc with satellites and electrical systems here.

Like hurricanes, a weak cycle refers to the number of storms, but it only takes one powerful storm to create chaos, said scientist Doug Biesecker of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's space weather prediction center.

It's not until the seventh paragraph that Schmid gets back  to dispensing a little truth along with his fearmongering:

While the most extreme events seem unlikely this time, there are likely to be smaller scale disruptions to electrical service, airline flights, GPS signals and television, radio and cell phones.

I know I feed this beast at my peril, but I can't resist asking:

• What "disruptions to electrical service" can we expect? Will the Northern Lights fool a few streetlight sensors in Alaska? (Perhaps some of our Congressmen will be blinded by the light ...)
• How, prey tell, are "airline flights" to be disrupted? Do inertial navigation systems now respond to the inertia of the solar wind? (No, I've got it: terrorists high on hashish will succumb to Reefer Madness and assault the stewards!)
  

It's sad to think that this type of pap has replaced the sober, and often very serious, reporting of scientific phenomena I was treated to as a youth: stories that made science and technology seem like worthwhile, honorable fields of study.

Now, the solor cycle is just more grist for a mill that has a million trained publicists at one end, and a few carnival barkers at the other. I swear, I'm amazed that anyone ever believes any of these Bozos.

Bill, W1AC

[KB2WIG]

What's fer dinner?

[KA1ZGC]

What "disruptions to electrical service" can we expect? Will the Northern Lights fool a few streetlight sensors in Alaska? (Perhaps some of our Congressmen will be blinded by the light ...)

These disruptions to electrical service:

http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF5/506.html
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales/

No shortage of pictures of transformers that got cooked by aurorae out there, either.

How, prey tell, are "airline flights" to be disrupted? Do inertial navigation systems now respond to the inertia of the solar wind? (No, I've got it: terrorists high on hashish will succumb to Reefer Madness and assault the stewards!)

You've appearantly never experienced what aurorae do to HF propagation. Trans-oceanic flights depend on sattelites and HF for comms, both of which can easily be upset or completely disabled by the immense energy of an aurora.

It's sad to think that this type of pap has replaced the sober, and often very serious, reporting of scientific phenomena I was treated to as a youth: stories that made science and technology seem like worthwhile, honorable fields of study.

One could say exactly the same thing about failing to do ten seconds of research on a claim before declaring it bogus. All you had to do was type "aurora", "aircraft", and "electrical grid" into your favorite search engine to find the same information I did.

Now, the solor cycle is just more grist for a mill that has a million trained publicists at one end, and a few carnival barkers at the other. I swear, I'm amazed that anyone ever believes any of these Bozos.

Looks to me like the balloon animal droppings are in your yard, not theirs.

[K9ACT]

The other point that should be made is that this exact lame story which annoyed people
was already posted just days ago!  here: 
http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=19639.0

Touche!

I rest my case.

js

[W4EWH]

What "disruptions to electrical service" can we expect? Will the Northern Lights fool a few streetlight sensors in Alaska? (Perhaps some of our Congressmen will be blinded by the light ...)

These disruptions to electrical service:

http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF5/506.html
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales/

No shortage of pictures of transformers that got cooked by aurorae out there, either.

The first article you pointed to explained the reasons that aurora can interfere with power line control circuits, instead of comparing a sunspot to a hurricane.  Its author provided facts, background and easily verifiable historical references. You're making my point for me.

How, prey tell, are "airline flights" to be disrupted? Do inertial navigation systems now respond to the inertia of the solar wind? (No, I've got it: terrorists high on hashish will succumb to Reefer Madness and assault the stewards!)

You've appearantly never experienced what aurorae do to HF propagation. Trans-oceanic flights depend on sattelites and HF for comms, both of which can easily be upset or completely disabled by the immense energy of an aurora.

Yes, I'm aware that aurora can disrupt HF comm.

I'm also aware that modern aircraft are equipment with inertial guidance systems that are accurate to more than one millimeter per kilometer, and that Air-Transport rated pilots routinely undertake, fly, and safely complete intercontinental journeys without the convenience of overwater flight following service.

I'm further aware that military crews, flying aircraft such as the B-52, have been doing the same thing for over forty-five years, since well before inertial navigation systems were available, over polar routes routinely affected by aurora. They were able to navigate to and from fail-safe points, while managing eight engines instead of two,  without the benefit of onboard computers and under radio silence discipline.

Are you aware of the meaning of "hyperbole", or that of "satire"? "Irony", perhaps?

It's sad to think that this type of pap has replaced the sober, and often very serious, reporting of scientific phenomena I was treated to as a youth: stories that made science and technology seem like worthwhile, honorable fields of study.

One could say exactly the same thing about failing to do ten seconds of research on a claim before declaring it bogus. All you had to do was type "aurora", "aircraft", and "electrical grid" into your favorite search engine to find the same information I did.

I shouldn't have to! I am not the man passing himself off as a reporter and instead playing to base fears of death and disaster!

Now, the solor cycle is just more grist for a mill that has a million trained publicists at one end, and a few carnival barkers at the other. I swear, I'm amazed that anyone ever believes any of these Bozos.

Looks to me like the balloon animal droppings are in your yard, not theirs.

Well, then, we disagree as to a reporter's responsibility and that of his readers.

To be blunt: sorry, but I don't buy it. He is the reporter, not me, and he has an obligation to provide facts instead of fearmongering, to explain his statements in terms the public can understand, and to put his remarks into a context which allows ordinary readers to make informed judgments.

If I was off the mark, it was in degree, not direction: the fact is, that article played to fear, not reason. Don't shoot the messenger just for bringing bad news: I'm not trying to make an easy living by catering to the darkest emotions and pandering to preconceived notions! Reporters, like Caesar's wife, as supposed to be above reproach.

W1AC

[The Slab Bacon]

What's fer dinner?

you need some of this!!

[W1UK]

Sorry I started all this just by providing a link. 

http://www.wasteoftime.com/

[KA1ZGC]

Sorry I started all this just by providing a link. 

Are you kidding me? This is fun!

[W2PFY]

I almost had something to add.

[Ed-VA3ES]

Apropos of nothing, last night for supper, I made a nice liver and onions, with gravy, and a side of creamed spinach.   Dee-lightful!

[KA1ZGC]

Hey Frank, you need to send Ed some pickled eggplant! That would have rounded out his meal perfectly!

Any restrictions on trade of pickled eggplant with Canada, I wonder?

[The Slab Bacon]

Hey Frank, you need to send Ed some pickled eggplant! That would have rounded out his meal perfectly!

Any restrictions on trade of pickled eggplant with Canada, I wonder?

2 thick slices of good crusty dago bread, A few slices of good genoa salami, a few slices of copicola, a few more slices of good mortadela, and top it off with a few slabs of pickled eggplant.............that is a sangwich to die for!!

[KA1ZGC]

2 thick slices of good crusty dago bread, A few slices of good genoa salami, a few slices of copicola, a few more slices of good mortadela, and top it off with a few slabs of pickled eggplant.............that is a sangwich to die for!!

Oh, man... I've never had pickled eggplant (let alone your special recipe), but that sounds dee-freakin'-lish!

[WA1GFZ]

Liver YUK. I have not had liver since I was a kid and my mother tried to get me to eat it. Urine flavored rubber.

[Ed/KB1HYS]

Liver, sauteed with bacon & onions. Gotta cook it just long enough or it's dry and tough.

Potato Pancakes, Hush puppies (or Fritters, the apple ones were sooooo good),

Dumplings!!!  I miss those in that home made Beef Stew...  That was a meal especially after coming in from working out in a cold winters day, it would set you up right for the rest of the night.
 
Does anyone even know what dumplings are anymore? I don't see them ever offered in diners anymore.

[Ed-VA3ES]

Yum! I love that stuff, especially the hot version!   We have it up here.  Imported from Italia  by Aurora Foods Ltd.    They also make their own  up here.  Quite tasty!   

Hey Frank, you need to send Ed some pickled eggplant! That would have rounded out his meal perfectly!
Any restrictions on trade of pickled eggplant with Canada, I wonder?

[Ed-VA3ES]

Feh!   Obviously   cooked too long, and not flour dredged!    Mine were dee-lish!   A minute and a half on each side.    You don't need to cook liver too long.   Also if it's fresh  it has no offensive odours or flavours.

Liver YUK. I have not had liver since I was a kid and my mother tried to get me to eat it. Urine flavored rubber.

[The Slab Bacon]

And while we're on the subject of livah, I could sure go for a good chopped livah on nice fresh Jewish rye bread!! YUM, YUM!!