Dear Sean,

Here's a similar offering by someone from an earlier saeculum than
REM.

John

Marathon

English translation of "Les flamandes" (Jacques Brel)

Marathon, marathon
Mara, mara, marathon

Join us now, we're on a marathon
We're always dancing when the music plays
Join us now, we're on a marathon
Dancing, dancing through the nights and days

We must dance because the Twenties roar
The Twenties roar because there's bathtub gin
Vo-de-o-do and the road to sin
The road to whoopee and a whole lot more

Charles A. Lindbergh, tons of confetti
Dempsey-Tunney, Sacco and Vanzetti
Black, black Monday and the market drops
But we keep dancing, dancing, we won't stop

Marathon, marathon
Mara, mara, marathon

Join us now, we're on a marathon
We're always dancing when the music plays
Join us now, we're on a marathon
Dancing, dancing through the nights and days

We must dance because the Thirties scream
The Thirties scream because the Horsemen ride
Orphan Annie lives, Daddy Warbucks dies
Breadlines, shanty towns, Frankenstein's bride

Adolf Hitler and the Siegfried follies
Joseph Stalin and a bag full of jollies
Call your broker and buy marzipan
While we keep on dancing, dancing on and on

Marathon, marathon
Mara, mara, marathon

Marathon, marathon
Mara, mara, marathon

Join us now we're on a marathon
We're always dancing when the music plays
Join us now, we're on a marathon
Dancing, dancing through the nights and days

We must dance because the Forties burn
The Forties burn because the trumpets blare
The Yanks are coming, coming over there (over there)
Auschwitz, Edelweiss, Drang und Sturm

Manhattan Project, Robert Oppenheim
God makes mushrooms just as God makes time
Peace is sweet man, man, like a lollipop
So we keep dancing, dancing, we can't stop

Marathon, marathon
Mara, mara, marathon
Marathon, marathon
Mara, mara, marathon

Join us now we're on a marathon
We're always dancing when the music plays
Join us now, we're on a marathon
Dancing, dancing through the nights and days

We must dance because the Fifties zing
The Fifties zing because the Sixties swing
And the Seventies flash and the Eighties bang
And the Nineties whimper and the century hangs
Robots working in the cotton fields
Vacation on Venus just a tourist deal
Fornication on tape, instant happiness
So we keep dancing, dancing, we can't rest
Marathon, marathon
Mara, mara, marathon
Marathon, marathon
Mara, mara, marathon!

Very nice John. However, I believe this is more in line with Jeremiah's mood:



Eve Of Destruction
by Barry McGuire

The eastern world, it is explodin?.
Violence flarin?, bullets loadin?
You?re old enough to kill, but not for votin?
You don?t believe in war, but what?s that gun you?re totin?
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin?

But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don?t believe
We?re on the eve
of destruction.

Don?t you understand what I?m tryin? to say
Can?t you feel the fears I?m feelin? today?
If the button is pushed, there?s no runnin? away
There?ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave
Take a look around you boy
It?s bound to scare you boy

And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don?t believe
We?re on the eve
of destruction.

Yeah, my blood?s so mad feels like coagulatin?
I?m sitting here just contemplatin?
I can?t twist the truth, it knows no regulation.
Handful of senators don?t pass legislation
And marches alone can?t bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin?
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin?

And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don?t believe
We?re on the eve
of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
You may leave here for 4 days in space
But when you return, it?s the same old place
The poundin? of the drum, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don?t leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don?t forget to say grace
And? tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don?t believe
We?re on the eve
Of destruction
Mm, no no, you don?t believe
We?re on the eve
of destruction.

Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis

Originally Posted by Jeremiah175

> REVELATION 8:

> 6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared
> themselves to sound.

> 7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire
> mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the
> third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt
> up.

> 8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain
> burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the
> sea became blood;

> 9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and
> had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

> 10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from
> heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part
> of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

> 11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part
> of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters,
> because they were made bitter.

> 12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was
> smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the
> stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day
> shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

> 13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of
> heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters
> of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the
> three angels, which are yet to sound!

This doesn't appear to support your case. In fact, it refutes your
case.

Either the Bible is the literal inspired word of God or it isn't. If
it is, and if you're right that we're getting more solar flares and
meteors, then we should have heard from the third angel by now.

We haven't (as far as I know), and so either the Bible is wrong or
the solar flares and meteors you're talking about have nothing to do
with Revelation.

Sincerely,

John

John J. Xenakis
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com

I understand that you may not be well versed in biblical scholarship. I have spent a tremendous amount of time and energy in my biblical studies since being baptized and can tell you that these items are certainly pertinent. We are not yet in the period described in the trumpets of revelation. In Matthew 24 Jesus spoke of 'the beginnig of sorrows:

MATTHEW 24
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to [him] for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

These times are likened to 'birth pangs' which we all know increase in both intensity and frequency as birth nears. As far as natural phenomenon are concerned, the information I provided shows you marked increase. Remember the WMO report?

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WEATHER/07/03/wmo.extremes/

http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20030703/449_6181.asp

Also watch for the increase in 'incoming' material from space to continue. Many people believe that these are precurors for bigger material. Some people are skeptics regardless of the info at hand, while others are open minded enough to keept their options open. I'm not out to convince anyone, as it is for each person to decide for themselves, but shun being too sure of yourself if the evidence keeps coming.

p.s.

Your not going to really, literally see or hear any angel, if that is you impression.

Dear Jeremiah,

Why did you refer me to news stories about stuff from the WMO? Why
didn't you refer me to something on the WMO site itself?

I went to the WMO site. I read through several of the PDF files and
found the "WMO statement on the status of the global climate in 2003"
at: http://www.wmo.ch/files/wcp/966_E.pdf

Here's what it said:

Originally Posted by World Meteorological Organization

> Extreme events, such as this year's heat waves in Europe, trigger
> the question whether their occurrence is related to global
> warming. But warm (or cold) summers are, and always have been,
> part of natural climate variability. Single extreme events can
> therefore not be simply and directly attributed to anthropogenic
> climate change. ...

> An example of monitoring climate extremes is provided in Figure
> 4, which shows that the European heat wave was most pronounced
> over parts of France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. In
> these areas, the number of hot summer days was far above the
> long-term average (1961- 1990), whereas fewer than normal hot
> summer days were observed in eastern and northern Europe.

So I guess the warm weather in France last year wasn't so exceptional
after all, and eastern Europe was cooler than usual. Maybe God was
smiting France for not helping us out in Iraq, and helping out "new
Europe" for being on our side.

Originally Posted by Jeremiah175

> I understand that you may not be well versed in biblical
> scholarship. I have spent a tremendous amount of time and energy
> in my biblical studies since being baptized ...

Well, if they're telling you to read second-hand news stories, then
you might want to consider asking for a tuition refund.

Originally Posted by Jeremiah175

> Your not going to really, literally see or hear any angel, if that
> is you impression

Why not?

John

earthquakes: no rising trend
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/7up.html

sunspots


tornados

Originally Posted by Rick Hirst

Originally Posted by Tim Walker

Is the Uncanny Valley the most disturbing? See Starship Troopers.

I haven't seen it, and don't plan to (I read the book), but if it takes several million dollars' worth of special effects to match the creepiness of ten bucks of latex and stage paint (see the original Nosferatu for an example), I'd say that proves the point.

Because of the Borg. Not only were they a little off in appearance, but they definitely had an alien psychology in the form of the hive mind, quite unlike any number of men in funny suits.

(The giant bugs of starship troopers can be loosely grouped with bug eyed monsters).

Mike:

I don't know about earthquakes, tornadoes, and the end of the world, etc., but there definitely is something unusual going on with the sun. The sun peaked in its 11 year cycle somewhere between 2000 and 2002 (I do not remember exactly). But it has continued to blast out major solar flares generally only associated with the peak. We have had extraordinary auroras for any peak, even way past this peak. And just this past week, we had an absolutely incredible instance of E-skip. It was midday and I actually had reception of a local FM station totally blasted away and replaced by crystal clear reception of a variety of different stations on the same frequency a 1000 miles away in Canada (your reception keeps shifting from one station to another, all 1000 miles away, as the specific reflective portion of the E layer of the ionosphere moves around). This phenomenon is generally only associated with the peak of the solar cycle, and even then you generally only experience it on lower VHF television channels, not on FM. Plus you generally only experience it at night. So here it is a number of years after the solar peak and a local FM station is being completely drowned out by stations 1000 miles away in broad daylight. Simply extraordinary. Something unusual truly is going on with the sun, and if there is indeed any actual warming climate on earth and/or other planets as commonly reported, I am sure this is the reason why.

Originally Posted by Seadog '66

Mike:

I don't know about earthquakes, tornadoes, and the end of the world, etc., but there definitely is something unusual going on with the sun. The sun peaked in its 11 year cycle somewhere between 2000 and 2002 (I do not remember exactly). But it has continued to blast out major solar flares generally only associated with the peak. We have had extraordinary auroras for any peak, even way past this peak. And just this past week, we had an absolutely incredible instance of E-skip. It was midday and I actually had reception of a local FM station totally blasted away and replaced by crystal clear reception of a variety of different stations on the same frequency a 1000 miles away in Canada (your reception keeps shifting from one station to another, all 1000 miles away, as the specific reflective portion of the E layer of the ionosphere moves around). This phenomenon is generally only associated with the peak of the solar cycle, and even then you generally only experience it on lower VHF television channels, not on FM. Plus you generally only experience it at night. So here it is a number of years after the solar peak and a local FM station is being completely drowned out by stations 1000 miles away in broad daylight. Simply extraordinary. Something unusual truly is going on with the sun, and if there is indeed any actual warming climate on earth and/or other planets as commonly reported, I am sure this is the reason why.

I read on a news outlet very recently (CNN, Drudge?) that solar activity has been structurally increasing for the past several decades. Some speculated about a sort of anti-Meander event in the making. It could explain some of the temperature change -- however they did not downplay carbon dioxcide on global warming. Two decades this century when the solar activity did not increase were still nonetheless accompanied by rising temperatures.

Dear Sean,

I'm running out of eschatological songs. I'm afraid that this is the
best I can do.

John

End of the World (Artist: Expos?)

Why does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know it's the end of the world
'Cause you don't love me anymore?

Why do the birds go on singing?
Why do the stars glow above?
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when I lost your love

I wake up in the morning and I wonder
Why everything's the same as it was
I can't understand, no, I just can't understand
How life goes on the way it does

SPOKEN:
Why does my heart go on beating?
(Why does my heart beat?)
SPOKEN:
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
(Why do I cry?)
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye

I wake up in the morning and I wonder
Why everything's the same as it was
I can't understand, no, I just can't understand
How life goes on the way it does

Why does my heart go on beating?
Oh, why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when you said
Oh, it ended when you said
It ended when you said goodbye

Originally Posted by Seadog '66

Something unusual truly is going on with the sun, and if there is indeed any actual warming climate on earth and/or other planets as commonly reported, I am sure this is the reason why.

OTOH, the sun has been around a hell of a lot longer than we have been able to study it, so this may just be something that happens every 20,000 years or so -- not much in heliological terms. :wink:

It is crystal clear people have certain views from which they refuse to deviate, such is normal human behavior. It takes a life altering experience to change some people and even that doesnt always work. Remember Vincent from pulp fiction? "Hey man do you believe that God came down from Heaven and..."-BANG!!!
For those with faith there are no questons, and for those without faith there are no answers. Things are completely normal, nothing to see hear folks, move along now.

Originally Posted by Jeremiah175

For those with faith there are no questons

What do you mean by this? Do you have all the answers?

Dear Jeremiah,

Originally Posted by Jeremiah175

> It is crystal clear people have certain views from which they
> refuse to deviate, such is normal human behavior. It takes a life
> altering experience to change some people and even that doesnt
> always work. Remember Vincent from pulp fiction? "Hey man do you
> believe that God came down from Heaven and..."-BANG!!! For those
> with faith there are no questons, and for those without faith
> there are no answers. Things are completely normal, nothing to see
> hear folks, move along now.

Well why didn't you say so at the start? This about faith,
not about facts.

John

Originally Posted by Seadog '66

Something unusual truly is going on with the sun, and if there is indeed any actual warming climate on earth and/or other planets as commonly reported, I am sure this is the reason why.

Solar irradiance is measured and roughly follows the sunspot cycle.



Irradiance peaked in 2002 and is heading down as normal. I see no unusually high output this year as opposed to previous years.

John,

I'm just about out too. The closest I can come up with is one that gives me a tingly feeling "end of the world" feeling when I listen to it. I have no idea what they're talking about, but I love this song nonetheless:

Shoot High, Aim Low
By YES

We hit the blue fields
In the blue sedan we didn't get much further
Just as the sun was rising in the mist
We were all alone we didn't need much more

So fast this expedition
So vast this heavy load
With a touch of luck and a sense of need
Seeing the guns and their faces
We look around the open shore
Waiting for something

Shoot high break low
Aim high shoot low
Break high let go
Shoot high aim low

This was to be our last ride
With the steel guitar and the love you give me
Underneath the skin a feeling, a breakdown
Well we sat for hours on the crimson sand

Exchanges in the currency of humans bought and sold
And the leaders seem to lose control

Shall we lose ourselves for a reason
Shall we burn ourselves for the answer
Have we found the place that we're looking for
Someone shouted 'open the door'
Lookout!

Shoot high break low
Aim high shoot low
Feeling of imagination
Break high let go
Shoot high aim low

Shoot high aim low
Nothing you can say
Shoot high let go
Takes me by surprise

Shoot high aim low
Who says's there's got to be a reason
Shoot high let go
Who says there's got to be an answer

We were all alone, we didn't need much more
Shoot high aim low
The sun's so hard on this endless highway
Shoot high let go
Shoot high aim low
I've heard the singers, who sing of love
Shoot high let go
In the blue sedan we never got much further
Shoot high aim low

Dear Sean,

Here's an explanation:

Aim high shoot low

Usually, I am not a fan of Atomic Kitten but I am loving this new
phrase. Stop looking for evidence and start thinking about the phrase
in the context of love (that's what the song is really about). It
applies to finding a love partner. Aim high means don't lose faith in
the ideal relationship you want to pursue. Shoot low means you have
to work from the bottom to achieve it. Everyone looks for the perfect
partner at the first try without realizing relationships need work
and changes in both parties. A lot of people just end up disappointed
if they aim high and shoot higher. It is certainly a phrase that is
open to interpretation.

http://www.wordwizard.com/clubhouse/...1.asp?Num=4436

Yup, sounds like the end of the world to me.

John

Originally Posted by Mike Alexander '59

Originally Posted by Seadog '66

Something unusual truly is going on with the sun, and if there is indeed any actual warming climate on earth and/or other planets as commonly reported, I am sure this is the reason why.

Solar irradiance is measured and roughly follows the sunspot cycle.



Irradiance peaked in 2002 and is heading down as normal. I see no unusually high output this year as opposed to previous years.

We shall see.

Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis

Dear Sean,

Here's an explanation:

Aim high shoot low

Usually, I am not a fan of Atomic Kitten but I am loving this new
phrase. Stop looking for evidence and start thinking about the phrase
in the context of love (that's what the song is really about). It
applies to finding a love partner. Aim high means don't lose faith in
the ideal relationship you want to pursue. Shoot low means you have
to work from the bottom to achieve it. Everyone looks for the perfect
partner at the first try without realizing relationships need work
and changes in both parties. A lot of people just end up disappointed
if they aim high and shoot higher. It is certainly a phrase that is
open to interpretation.

http://www.wordwizard.com/clubhouse/...1.asp?Num=4436

Yup, sounds like the end of the world to me.

John

Yes, but what the heck in the song does "Exchanges in the currency of 'humans bought and sold, and the leaders seem to lose control." mean??

Dear Sean,

Originally Posted by William Jennings Bryan

> Yes, but what the heck in the song does "Exchanges in the currency
> of 'humans bought and sold, and the leaders seem to lose control."
> mean??

Well, your guess is as good as mine, but that's presumably the end of
the world part, where the relationships go wrong, and a relationship
has no value except as a prize (currency) or a score. But I don't
know who the "leaders" are. Maybe it's some sort of political
statement.

Meanwhile, I was just reminded of another "end of the world" type
song, when I heard it on the radio this evening.

John

The Night they Tore Old Dixie Down

Virgil Caine is the name and I served on the Danville train
'Til Stoneman's cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
In the winter of '65, we were hungry, just barely alive
By May the tenth, Richmond had fell, it's a time I remember oh so well

The night they drove Old Dixie down and the bells were ringing
The night they drove Old Dixie down and the people were singin',
They went
La-la-la la-la-la, la-la-la la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Back with my wife in Tennessee, when one day she called to me
"Virgil, quick, come see, there goes Robert E. Lee!"
Now I don't mind choppin' wood, and I don't care if the money's no good
Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best

The night they drove old Dixie down and the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down and all the people were singin',
They went
Na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na-na

Like my father before me, I will work the land
And like my brother before me, who took a rebel stand

He was just eighteen, proud and brave
But a Yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the mud below my feet
You can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat

The night they drove old Dixie down and the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down and all the people were singin',
They went
Na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na-na

The night they drove old Dixie down and all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down and the people were singin',
They went
Na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na-na


(C) J. Robie Robertson - The Band, 1970 Canaan Music / Joan Baez -
Hits/Greatest & Others, 1973 Vanguard / Bob Dylon - Before The Flood,
1974 & 1990 Sony

http://ynucc.yeungnam.ac.kr/~bwlee/lyrics/thndixie.htm

Prince Charles Still Fears Grey Goo Nightmare

To all:

A little over a year ago, I posted an article:

Prince of Wales Fears Armies of Microscopic Robots

The subject was Prince Charles' warnings about nanotechnology.

Today, Prince Charles wrote a new column on the subject, which was
published in the UK Independent today. It's below.

The column is very sober, and it chastises people who mock him with
phrases like "grey goo nightmare."

Sincerely,

John

John J. Xenakis
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com


The following commentary was written by Prince Charles:

HRH the Prince of Wales: Menace in the minutiae

New nanotechnology has potential dangers as well as benefits

11 July 2004

I am well aware that promoting public debate about nanotechnology is
an uncertain business. My first gentle attempt to draw the subject to
wider attention resulted in "Prince fears grey goo nightmare"
headlines. So, for the record, I have never used that expression and I
do not believe that self-replicating robots, smaller than viruses,
will one day multiply uncontrollably and devour our planet. Such
beliefs should be left where they belong, in the realms of science
fiction. The important thing is to get on with the sensible debate
that should accompany the introduction of such technologies which work
at the level of the basic building blocks of life itself.

Nanotechnologies involve particles of an unimaginably small size. The
thickness of a human hair is 80,000 nanometers, and a pinhead is
generally agreed to be one million nanometres wide. The ability to
work at this scale, at the level of individual molecules, is a triumph
of human ingenuity. It is also a subject of huge scientific interest
and commercial potential simply because matter behaves in
fundamentally different ways at the nano-scale. These new properties
will enable new applications, many of which will undoubtedly have
perceived benefits to our society. If they don't, they won't be
commercialised. But how are we going to ensure that proper attention
is given to the risks that may also ensue? Discovering the secrets of
the Universe is one thing; ensuring that those secrets are used wisely
and appropriately is quite another.

So I am delighted that the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of
Engineering are conducting a joint study on nanotechnology. This will
help to separate the scientific facts from the science fiction, and
the hope from the hype, providing the starting point for a much wider
debate. Their report will be published in the next few weeks, but the
evidence they have taken from a wide range of interested parties is
already available on the internet ( www.nanotec.org.uk/evidence.htm ).
The evidence covers a wide spectrum of opinion, much of it naturally
concerned to ensure that the potential benefits from nanotechnology
are not understated in the report.

I was particularly struck by the evidence provided by a recently
retired professor of engineering at Cambridge University, John
Carroll. He hopes that the investigation will "consider seriously
those features that concern non-specialists and not just dismiss those
concerns as ill-informed or Luddite". Referring to the thalidomide
disaster, he says it "would be surprising if nanotechnology did not
offer similar upsets unless appropriate care and humility is
observed". He ends by pointing out that "it may not be easy to steer
between a Luddite reaction and a capitulation to the brave new
technological world, especially when money, jobs and business are at
risk." Those are my sentiments too, and I wish the Royal Society and
Academy every success in steering that difficult course.

It is important, though, to ask, at this early stage, how we will
ensure that risk assessment keeps pace with commercial development.
This is clearly a very fast-moving area of science, involving many
disciplines, yet if we look at the EU's research programme for
nanotechnology, only an estimated 5 per cent of total funding is being
spent on examining the environmental, social and ethical dimensions of
these technologies. That certainly doesn't inspire confidence.

There are also important questions relating to the control and
ownership of these technologies. Some of the work may have fundamental
benefits to society, such as enabling the construction of much cheaper
fuel-cells, or new ways of combatting ill-health, yet the techniques
operate at the same scale as the "self-assembly" of natural processes.
Is there a danger of awarding patents on Nature?

My final point concerns the apportionment of benefits and risks. The
benefits will largely accrue to those who invest successfully in these
technologies and to those who can utilise them. But these new
applications will inevitably displace existing technologies. Who will
lose from that process, and will it widen the existing disparities
between rich and poor nations? What exactly are the risks attached to
each of the techniques under discussion, who will bear them, and who
will be liable if and when real life fails to follow the rose-tinted
script?

This debate is still at an early stage. The Royal Society's research
shows that only 29 per cent of the population currently even
recognises the term "nanotechnology"; those who do are generally
positive about its potential. I suspect that broader public acceptance
will only be achieved and maintained if public attitudes and
regulatory processes are encouraged to develop at the same rate as the
technology itself, and if a precautionary approach is seen to be
applied.

There will also, I believe, have to be significantly greater social
awareness, humility and openness on the part of the proponents of
emerging nanotechnologies than we have seen with other so-called
"technological advances" of recent years. Those are the things which,
above all, I hope the Royal Society and Academy's report will
encourage.

Brave new world or nightmare vision of the future?

Excerpts from the evidence of Professor John Carroll, of Cambridge
University, to the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering
investigation, cited by Prince Charles above

I hope that the investigation on nanotechnology will consider
seriously those features that concern non-specialists and not just
dismiss these concerns as ill-informed or Luddite.

First, it is known that chemical reaction rates often increase with
increase in surface area so that ... chemical reactions that were
previously considered unlikely suddenly can become likely. Finely
divided powders, for example, are known to explode when the normal
substance is considered inert.

Second, it is believed that small particles can behave as carcinogens
when larger particles of the same substance are benign. I understand
that the fumes of combusted diesel are considered "unsafe" because of
the small particulate size of the components of combustion. There has
been concern over depleted uranium vapours when there would be much
less concern over depleted uranium chunks.

Third, I do not believe that we know how nanoparticles diffuse through
the skin and through the body. I would not knowingly advise positively
on the use of nano-particles in cosmetics unless I was sure that
long-term studies were secure and showed no hint of long-term
difficulties. How often do we hear, many years later, of difficulties
when the experts have all declared a product to be safe? As someone
whose wife luckily escaped from being prescribed thalidomide when
pregnant, I remember such difficulties vividly. It would be surprising
if nanotechnology did not offer similar upsets unless care and
humility is observed.

It may not be easy to steer between a Luddite reaction and a
capitulation to the brave new technological world, especially when
money, jobs and business are at risk. However, a major disaster in an
industry can cause catastrophic long-term damage - De Havilland never
recovered from the Comet metal fatigue disasters. I submit that we
probably know less about the nano-scale than we did about metal
fatigue at that time.

http://argument.independent.co.uk/co...p?story=539977

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...369?hub=Canada



Weather expert says summer is still on its way
CTV.ca News Staff

Canada's weather has gone completely topsy-turvy, said an Environment Canada expert.
The evidence:

It's hot and dry in B.C. and the Yukon
Heavy downpours flood Edmonton
Grande Prairie, Alta. was hit by a funnel cloud
Some places in the Arctic have been warmer than Toronto on some days
The East, which should be sweltering, is cool; Ontario has had the smallest number of forest fires in decades
"It's almost like the weather is upside down," said Dave Phillips in Toronto. "The explanation is we're seeing a lot more Canadian air, northerly air over the country."

There is a cold low-pressure system that just won't budge, he said. "Its sort of like an unwanted house guest, its just staying around too long."

For farmer Edward Preston, the weird weather is hitting him in the pocketbook. "the bigger ones, what you call the eggs of the berries, aren't there this year," he said, displaying a few scrawny strawberries.

"There's been no hot heat for the berries," he said.

The last time Canadian weather was this wacky was 1992, when the world's weather patterns were disrupted by the explosion of a volcano.

Near Parliament Hill in Ottawa, folks had some explanations of their own.

"You know El Nino? I guess that's the problem," said one, referring to a periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean.

"We take advantage of the world so maybe the world's starting to fight back with the weather," said another.

"I think it has something to do with that building and it has an effect across the whole country," said a third person, pointing his finger at the Parliament buildings.

On the other hand, maybe the weather situation is all a matter of perspective. "We're Newfoundlanders, so this is warm for us," laughed one woman.

Phillips offered some hope. While it will obviously be shorter, he thinks some traditional summer weather patterns will return.

The remainder of July plus August and September should be warmer than normal, he said -- but don't take that to mean every weekend will be nice.

NYT: COLLAPSE OF THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD ACCELERATES
Mon Jul 12 2004 18:17:38 ET

The collapse of the earth's magnetic field, which both guards the planet and guides many of its creatures, appears to have started in earnest about 150 years ago, the NY TIMES is planning to report on Page Ones Tuesday.

Science reporter Bill Broad has filed a report, according to newsroom sources, which explores how: 'The field's strength has waned 10 percent to 15 percent so far and this deterioration has accelerated of late, increasing debate over whether it portends a reversal of the lines of magnetic force that normally envelop the earth."

Broad explains: "During a reversal, the main field weakens, almost vanishes, and then reappears with opposite polarity. Afterward, compass needles that normally point north would point south, and during the thousands of years of transition much in the heavens and Earth would go askew."

Broad claims: "A reversal could knock out power grids, hurt astronauts and satellites, widen atmospheric ozone holes, send polar auroras flashing to the equator and confuse birds, fish and migratory animals that rely on the steadiness of the magnetic field as a navigation aid."

Developing...

Originally Posted by Jeremiah175

Broad claims: "A reversal could knock out power grids, hurt astronauts and satellites, widen atmospheric ozone holes, send polar auroras flashing to the equator and confuse birds, fish and migratory animals that rely on the steadiness of the magnetic field as a navigation aid."

All of the above may happen, but they are literally not the end of the world. Scientists who study patterns of extinction (as I have) have looked for correlations between magnetic reversals and extinctions (or even between reversals and climate changes) have found no correlation. More correlation between large volcanic eruptions and climate changes (even mass extinctions) than between magnetic reversals and either extinctions or climate. While the effects of a reversal may be inconvenient, even scary, they are not threatening to the survival of our species or the biosphere.

Originally Posted by Jeremiah175

NYT: COLLAPSE OF THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD ACCELERATES
Mon Jul 12 2004 18:17:38 ET

The collapse of the earth's magnetic field, which both guards the planet and guides many of its creatures, appears to have started in earnest about 150 years ago, the NY TIMES is planning to report on Page Ones Tuesday.

Science reporter Bill Broad has filed a report, according to newsroom sources, which explores how: 'The field's strength has waned 10 percent to 15 percent so far and this deterioration has accelerated of late, increasing debate over whether it portends a reversal of the lines of magnetic force that normally envelop the earth."

Broad explains: "During a reversal, the main field weakens, almost vanishes, and then reappears with opposite polarity. Afterward, compass needles that normally point north would point south, and during the thousands of years of transition much in the heavens and Earth would go askew."

Broad claims: "A reversal could knock out power grids, hurt astronauts and satellites, widen atmospheric ozone holes, send polar auroras flashing to the equator and confuse birds, fish and migratory animals that rely on the steadiness of the magnetic field as a navigation aid."

Developing...

About 1 1/2 years ago, Kevin Parker '59 and I saw a movie called "Core" that dealt with the destruction of the magnetic field. The results were pretty catastrophic. I don't know whether the science was any good, however.

Dear Jeremiah,

Originally Posted by Jeremiah175

> NYT: COLLAPSE OF THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD ACCELERATES

The full article from the New York Times is below. Some of the
things in the full article that aren't mentioned in what you posted
are:

(*) Such changes occur cyclically, probably because of changes in the
flow of molten iron in the earth's core.

(*) The last time it happened was 750,000 years ago.

(*) Even if a new flip is "imminent," it will take 2,000 years.

The actual article also has some pretty graphics, for those
interested in the subject.

Sincerely,

John

John J. Xenakis
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com


Will Compasses Point South?


The New York Times July 13, 2004

Will Compasses Point South?






This computer simulation shows the Earth's interior as its magnetic
field reverses, perhaps because of changes in the flow of molten iron
in the core.

By WILLIAM J. BROAD

The collapse of the Earth's magnetic field, which both guards the
planet and guides many of its creatures, appears to have started in
earnest about 150 years ago. The field's strength has waned 10 to 15
percent, and the deterioration has accelerated of late, increasing
debate over whether it portends a reversal of the lines of magnetic
force that normally envelop the Earth.

During a reversal, the main field weakens, almost vanishes, then
reappears with opposite polarity. Afterward, compass needles that
normally point north would point south, and during the thousands of
years of transition, much in the heavens and Earth would go askew.

A reversal could knock out power grids, hurt astronauts and
satellites, widen atmospheric ozone holes, send polar auroras flashing
to the equator and confuse birds, fish and migratory animals that rely
on the steadiness of the magnetic field as a navigation aid. But
experts said the repercussions would fall short of catastrophic,
despite a few proclamations of doom and sketchy evidence of past links
between field reversals and species extinctions.

Although a total flip may be hundreds or thousands of years away, the
rapid decline in magnetic strength is already damaging satellites.

Last month, the European Space Agency approved the world's largest
effort at tracking the field's shifts. A trio of new satellites,
called Swarm, are to monitor the collapsing field with far greater
precision than before and help scientists forecast its prospective
state.

"We want to get some idea of how this would evolve in the near future,
just like people trying to predict the weather," said Dr. Gauthier
Hulot, a French geophysicist working on the satellite plan. "I'm
personally quite convinced we should be able to work out the first
predictions by the end of the mission."

The discipline is one of a number - like high-energy physics and
aspects of space science - where Europeans have recently come from
behind to seize the initiative, dismaying some American experts.

No matter what the new findings, the public has no reason to panic,
scientists say. Even if a flip is imminent, it might take 2,000 years
to mature. The last one took place 780,000 years ago, when Homo
erectus was still learning how to make stone tools.

Some experts suggest a reversal is overdue. "The fact that it's
dropping so rapidly gives you pause," said Dr. John A. Tarduno, a
professor of geophysics at the University of Rochester. "It looks like
things we see in computer models of a reversal."

In an interview, Dr. Tarduno put the odds of an impending flip at more
likely than not, adding that some of his colleagues were placing
informal bets on the possibility but realized they would probably be
long gone by the time the picture clarified.

Deep inside the Earth, the magnetic field arises as the fluid core
oozes with hot currents of molten iron and this mechanical energy gets
converted into electromagnetism. It is known as the geodynamo. In a
car's generator, the same principle turns mechanical energy into
electricity.

No one knows precisely why the field periodically reverses, but
scientists say the responsibility probably lies with changes in the
turbulent flows of molten iron, which they envision as similar to the
churning gases that make up the clouds of Jupiter.

In theory, a reversal could have major effects because over the ages
many aspects of nature and society have come to rely on the field's
steadiness.

When baby loggerhead turtles embark on an 8,000-mile trek around the
Atlantic, they use invisible magnetic clues to check their bearings.
So do salmon and whales, honeybees and homing pigeons, frogs and
Zambian mole rats, scientists have found.

On a planetary scale, the magnetic field helps shield the Earth from
solar winds and storms of deadly particles. Its so-called
magnetosphere extends out 37,000 miles from Earth's sunlit side and
much farther behind the planet, forming a cometlike tail.

Among other things, the field's collapse, scientists say, could let in
bursts of radiation, causing a variety of disruptions.

Dr. Charles H. Jackman, an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., has worked with European
colleagues on a computer model that mimics the repercussions. A weak
field, they reported in December, could let solar storms pummel the
atmosphere with enough radiation to destroy significant amounts of the
ozone that protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet light.

Ultraviolet radiation, the short, invisible rays from the sun, can
harm some life forms, depress crop yields and raise cancer rates,
causing skin cancer and cataracts in humans. Dr. Jackman said that the
ozone damage from any one solar storm could heal naturally in two to
three years but that the protective layer would stay vulnerable to new
bursts of radiation as long as the Earth's magnetic field remained
weak.

"It would be significant" in terms of planetary repercussions, he said
in an interview, "but not catastrophic." High levels of ultraviolet
radiation would spread down from polar regions as far south as
Florida.

Like many of the Earth's invisible rhythms, the field reversals are
typically slow, taking anywhere from 5,000 to 7,000 years to
complete.

Strong evidence of their reality first emerged in the 1950's and
1960's when scientists towing magnetic sensors behind ships found that
the rocky seabed exhibited odd stripes of magnetization.

It turned out that continuous flows of seabed lava became alternately
magnetized over the ages as the polarities of the Earth's field
switched one way, then the other. The seabed acted like a huge tape
recorder, and the same proved true of the layered deposits of old
volcanoes on land.

How did the rocky memories form? Molten lava proved to hold tiny
mineral grains that acted like innumerable compasses, or miniature
magnets, freely aligning themselves with the contemporary field. But
as the lava cooled, the tiny compasses froze in place, immobile even
if the field shifted. Experts called it paleomagnetism and found that
the tiny compasses were often made of magnetite, a naturally magnetic
mineral.

Paleomagnetic studies showed that the Earth's field reversed every
half million years or so, but in a fairly random way and with early
patterns more chaotic. During the age of dinosaurs, for instance, no
flips occurred for roughly 35 million years.

As scientists began to understand the importance of reversals in the
planet's history, they examined the fossil record for evidence of
damage to life. In 1971, Dr. James D. Hays of the Lamont-Doherty Earth
Observatory of Columbia University noted a strong correlation between
recent flips and species extinctions of tiny marine creatures known as
radiolarians. "The evidence," he wrote in The Bulletin of the
Geological Society of America, "is strongly suggestive that magnetic
reversals either directly or indirectly exert a selective force."

But no consensus ever formed on how the flips might have doomed some
creatures and spared others, and some experts faulted the correlations
as statistically insignificant.

Meanwhile, starting in the late 1970's, scientists began to find wide
evidence that many animals relied on the Earth's magnetic field for
navigation. Dr. Joseph L. Kirschvink of the California Institute of
Technology discovered such reliance in bees, pigeons, bacteria,
salmon, whales and newts, among other animals. The magnetic sense, he
found, usually relies on tiny crystals of magnetite - the same mineral
that gets immobilized in cooling lava.

Investigators looking into the origin of the reversals got new clues
in 1995 when scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the
University of California at Los Angeles succeeded in making the first
computer simulation of the geodynamo in action, including field
reversals.

Dr. Gary A. Glatzmaier, who was one of the Los Alamos scientists, said
it showed that the Earth's solid inner core resisted the flipping
because the field there could not change as rapidly as it did in the
fluid outer core. "The reversal starts with a small region that gets
larger," he said in an interview. "Most of the time they die away, but
other times they continue to grow." To date, the simulations of
millions of years have produced more than a dozen flips.

The current collapse drew wide scientific attention on April 11, 2002,
when Nature, the British journal, published a major paper that
detailed its growing weakness. Dr. Hulot and colleagues at the
Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, where he works, as well as the
Danish Space Research Institute, called the large drop remarkable.

They found it by comparing readings made in 1979 and 1980 by the
American Magsat satellite with measurements by the Danish Oersted
satellite, launched in 1999 and still operating. In particular, Dr.
Hulot and his team discovered a north polar region and a spot below
South Africa where the magnetism is growing extremely weak.

The finding drew wide attention because the magnetic anomalies seemed
consistent with what the computer simulations identified as the
possible beginnings of a flip.

"We postulate," Dr. Hulot and his co-authors wrote, that the new
evidence reflects how "the geodynamo operates before reversing."

In an interview, he said that the field's southern spot was 30 percent
weaker than elsewhere and that some satellites passing over it had
already suffered electronic malfunctions when highly charged particles
from the sun were able to penetrate the weakened magnetic shield.

In March 2003, "The Core," a Hollywood film, gave a wildly exaggerated
portrayal of what would happen if the field vanished. People with
pacemakers fall dead. Pigeons fly into people and windows. And the
planet, a scientist warns, will fry in a year.

Dr. Tarduno said that practical effects on things like satellites and
the ozone layer would be the same no matter whether the field reversed
or simply weakened and bounced back. A major collapse of the Earth's
magnetic shield, he added, could let speeding particles penetrate
deeper into the atmosphere to widely knock out power grids, as solar
storms do occasionally.

The consensus among biologists seems to be that the reversals are slow
enough, and the Earth's creatures resilient enough, that most would
learn to adapt. They note the lack of correlations in the fossil
record between flips and mass extinctions.

Dr. Kenneth J. Lohmann, a biologist at the University of North
Carolina who has pioneered magnetic navigation studies in loggerhead
turtles, said if the field became weak enough "there would be problems
for the turtles." His research suggests they use it not only for a
general sense of direction but as a precise map of their location.

To better understand the current collapse, the European Space Agency
plans to launch three satellites in 2009. The spacecraft, flying in
polar orbits a few hundred miles up, are to map its intricacies until
perhaps 2015.

Dr. Hulot said scientists would combine the satellite data with
computer simulations to make not only distant forecasts but possible
warnings of current hazards. Among the possible solutions would be to
increase satellite shielding.

"It will be interesting to see what's going to happen in that South
Atlantic anomaly," he said. "If you want to keep satellites flying,
you want to know if the situation is going to deteriorate."

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