Sun storm to hit with 'force of 100m bombs'

Sun storm to hit with 'force of 100m bombs'
By Peter Farquhar, Technology Editor
From: news.com.au
August 25, 2010 3:40PM



The first solar storm of this cycle hit the Earth early this month, causing it to light up spectacularly / NASA (Read more: here!)


AFTER 10 years of comparative slumber, the sun is waking up - and it's got astronomers on full alert.

This week several US media outlets reported that NASA was warning the massive flare that caused spectacular light shows on Earth earlier this month was just a precursor to a massive solar storm building that had the potential to wipe out the entire planet's power grid.

NASA has since rebutted those reports, saying it could come "100 years away or just 100 days", but an Australian astronomer says the space community is betting on the sooner scenario rather than the latter.

Despite its rebuttal, NASA's been watching out for this storm since 2006 and reports from the US this week claim the storms could hit on that most Hollywood of disaster dates - 2012.

Similar storms back in 1859 and 1921 caused worldwide chaos, wiping out telegraph wires on a massive scale.

The 2012 storm has the potential to be even more disruptive.

"The general consensus among general astronomers (and certainly solar astronomers) is that this coming Solar maximum (2012 but possibly later into 2013) will be the most violent in 100 years," astronomy lecturer and columnist Dave Reneke said.

"A bold statement and one taken seriously by those it will affect most, namely airline companies, communications companies and anyone working with modern GPS systems.

"They can even trip circuit breakers and knock out orbiting satellites, as has already been done this year."

Regardless, the point astronomers are making is it doesn't matter if the next Solar Max isn't the worst in history, or even as bad as the 1859 storms.

It's the fact that there hasn't been one since the mid-80s. Commodore had just launched the Amiga and the only digital storm making the news was Tetris.

No one really knows what effect the 2012-2013 Solar Max will have on today's digital-reliant society.

Dr Richard Fisher, director of NASA’s Heliophysics division, told Mr Reneke the super storm would hit like "a bolt of lightning”, causing catastrophic consequences for the world’s health, emergency services and national security unless precautions are taken.

US government officials earlier this year took part in a "tabletop exercise" in Boulder, Colorado, to map out what might happen if the Earth was hit with a storm as intense as the 1859 and 1921 storms.

The 1859 storm was of a similar size to that predicted by NASA to hit within the next three years – one of decreased activity, but more powerful eruptions.

NASA said that a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences found that if a similar storm occurred today, it could cause “$1 to 2 trillion in damages to society's high-tech infrastructure and require four to 10 years for complete recovery”.

Staff at the Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado, which hosted the exercise, said with our reliance on satellite technology, such an event could hit the Earth with the magnitude of a global hurricane or earthquake.

The reason for the concern comes as the sun enters a phase known as Solar Cycle 24.

All the alarming news building around the event is being fuelled by two things.

The first is a book by disaster expert Lawrence E. Joseph, Guilty of Apocalypse: The Case Against 2012, in which he claims the "Hurricane Katrina for the Earth" may cause unprecedented planetwide upheaval.

The second is a theory that claims sunspots travel through the sun on a "conveyor belt" similar to the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt which controls weather on Earth.

The belt carries magnetic fields through the sun. When they hit the surface, they explode as sunspots.

Weakened, they then travel back through the sun's core to recharge.

It all happens on a rough 40-50-year cycle, according to solar physicist David Hathaway of the National Space Science and Technology Center in the US.

He says when the belt speeds up, lots of magnetic fields are collected, which points to more intense future activity.

"The belt was turning fast in 1986-1996," Prof Hathaway said.

"Old magnetic fields swept up then should reappear as big sunspots in 2010-2011."

Most experts agree, although those who put the date of Solar Max in 2012 are getting the most press.

They claim satellites will be aged by 50 years, rendering GPS even more useless than ever, and the blast will have the equivalent energy of 100 million hydrogen bombs.

We know it is coming but we don’t know how bad it is going to be,” Dr Fisher told Mr Reneke in the most recent issue of Australasian Science.

“Systems will just not work. The flares change the magnetic field on the Earth and it’s rapid, just like a lightning bolt.

"That’s the solar effect.”


Read more: here!



Source;

http://bit.ly/solarstorm
http://bit.ly/solarstorm2

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Quote:

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring ; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken . And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass , then look up , and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh . And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth , ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. - Jesus Christ, Luke 25:20-30 (King James Version)


Copyright 2010 Atkins & Assoc. All rights reserved.

Remembering Baseballs' Legendary Babe Ruth

The Babe Ruth Collection

Throughout baseball's rich history, Babe Ruth stands alone as the greatest personality ever to play the game. From 1914 to 1935 Ruth pitched, slugged, and charmed his way into the hearts of millions of sports fans. Before Ruth established the home run as a major offensive weapon, no one had hit more than 25 round-trippers in a season. His career slugging percentage of .690 has held top honors in the record books for more than 55 years. He set 192 records, 33 of which have never been broken.

Megacards' goal with this extensive 165 card set is to honor the legendary Bambino by using the very best photographs preserved in collections throughout the country. This Babe Ruth Collection is the culmination of months of research using the resources of the Hall of Fame Library in Cooperstown, The Sporting News, and many other sources, including consultations with noted baseball historians and statisticians. The card backs provide a detailed history of Ruth's life and professional career, including many personal comments and stories by his contemporaries.

Being Remembered By: Babe is remembered by his daughters, Julia and Dorothy; by President George Bush; by teammate Mark Koenig and others.
Complete Career Highlights and Statistics: The first home run ever hit in Yankee Stadium, the first home run ever hit in an All-Star Game, his 60th home run and much more.
Babe's pitching, hitting and World Series records are spotlighted.
Year-by-Year Review: A card for every year of his unparalleled career. The 1921 "Year" card savors the best year any batter ever had - 59 home runs, a .378 batting average and an .846 slugging average!
Collect all 165 Cards. Many rarely seen photos from private collections are included.

Would you like to purchase a set of these famous Babe Ruth baseball cards?

Please click here to learn more!

MEGACARDS, INC
P.O. Box 460347
St. Louis, MO 63146



Copyright 2010 Atkins & Assoc. All rights reserved.

Tacoma police seek hit-and-run vehicle

Tacoma police seek hit-and-run vehicle
POSTED BY STACIA GLENN ON AUGUST 24, 2010 AT 5:18 PM



Tacoma police are looking for a white Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo that is believed to be involved with a fatal hit-and-run early Saturday.

The Jeep’s driver struck Darnell Chocklon, a 30-year-old Covington man, just after 2 a.m. at the intersection of North Ninth Street and North Ainsworth Avenue.

Chocklon died at the scene and the vehicle fled.

Police describe the hit-and-run vehicle as white with black trim and manufactured between 1993 and 1995. The license plate is unknown. The vehicle likely has damage along the passenger side from the bumper to the rear quarter panel, according to Tacoma police.

The passenger side window was busted out during the collision and orange paint from Chocklon’s motorcycle may have been transferred to the Jeep.

Chocklon had been riding his motorcycle without a helmet and was spotted driving recklessly moments before he was hit, Tacoma police have said.

Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and charges filed in the case. Tipsters remain anonymous.

Reach Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959.


Sources;

http://bit.ly/tacomacrime
http://blog.thenewstribune.com/crime/2010/08/24/tacoma-police-seek-hit-and-run-vehicle/


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Copyright 2010 Atkins & Assoc. All rights reserved.

Centralia man sought in shooting that left 3 dead

Centralia man sought in shooting that left 3 dead
By KOMO Staff
Story Published: Aug 26, 2010 at 10:43 AM PDT
Story Updated: Aug 26, 2010 at 10:52 AM PDT


Robert Shawn Russell

SALKUM, Wash. -- Less than 24 hours after capturing a man suspected of gunning down three people in a home here, investigators in Lewis County are asking for the public's help locating another person of interest in the case.

Detectives say Robert "Robbie" Shawn Russell, 46, of Centralia, has been identified as a person of interest and has an outstanding arrest warrant for violating his bail in a previous case.

Russell is white, about 6 feet tall and 190 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Officials said he is currently growing a mustache and may be bald.

Russel, has been known to wear wigs and other disguises, police said.

Anyone with information about Russell is asked to call 911.

It was not clear what role Russell is suspected of playing in the August 21 murders that took the lives of David J. West Sr., 52, David J. West Jr., 16, and Tony E. Williams, 50.

Officials said John Allen Booth Jr. is suspected of opening fire at the home after showing up to collect a drug debt. A fourth person who was wounded survived.

Booth, 31, was arrested in Spokane on Tuesday. His family said he turned himself in to spare his alleged accomplice, Ryan J. McCarthy, who was arrested earlier this week for a suspected parole violation.

Officials have not detailed McCarthy's suspected involvement in the killings.

The man Booth was staying with said he had no idea Booth was a suspected murderer.

"He said he had fought the police before, you know, and that it wouldn't be one policeman who came to get him but there would be several," Roger Garza said. "We never heard anything about the other stuff."



Sources;

http://bit.ly/robertshawnrussell
http://bit.ly/robert_shawn_russell
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/101576088.html


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Copyright 2010 Atkins & Assoc. All rights reserved.

Could we be in for 30 years of global COOLING?

Could we be in for 30 years of global COOLING?
Zoralia.com


Britain's big freeze is the start of a worldwide trend towards colder weather that seriously challenges global warming theories, eminent scientists claimed yesterday.

The world has entered a 'cold mode' which is likely to bring a global dip in temperatures which will last for 20 to 30 years, they say.

Summers and winters will all be cooler than in recent years, and the changes will mean that global warming will be 'paused' or even reversed, it was claimed.

The predictions are based on an analysis of natural cycles in water temperatures in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

They are the work of respected climate scientists and not those routinely dismissed by environmentalists as 'global warming deniers'.

Some experts believe these cycles - and not human pollution - can explain all the major changes in world temperatures in the 20th century.

If true, the research challenges the science behind climate change theories, and calls into question the political measures to halt global warming.

According to some scientists, the warming of the Earth since 1900 is due to natural oceanic cycles, and not man-made greenhouse gases.

It occurred because the world was in a 'warm mode', and would have happened regardless of mankind's rising carbon dioxide production.

And now oceanic cycles have switched to a 'cold mode', where data shows that the amount of Arctic summer sea ice has increased by more than a quarter since 2007.

The research has been carried out by eminent climate scientists, including Professor Mojib Latif. He is a leading member of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

He and his colleagues predicted the cooling trend in a 2008 paper, and warned of it again at an IPCC conference in Geneva in September.

Working at the prestigious Leibniz Institute in Kiel University in Germany, he has developed methods for measuring ocean temperatures 3,000ft under the surface, where the cooling and warming cycles start.

For Europe, the crucial factor is the temperature in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. He said such ocean cycles - known as multi-decadal oscillations or MDOs - could account for up to half of the rise in global warming in recent years.

Professor Latif said: 'A significant share of the warming we saw from 1980 to 2000 and at earlier periods in the 20th century was due to these cycles - as much as 50 per cent.

'They have now gone into reverse, so winters like this one will become much more likely. All this may well last two decades or longer.

'The extreme retreats that we have seen in glaciers and sea ice will come to a halt. For the time being, global warming has paused, and there may well be some cooling.'

Many meteorologists have blamed the current freeze on 'Arctic oscillation' - a weather pattern in which areas of high pressure have pushed the warming jetstream away from Britain. They have insisted this temporary change will have no effect on long-term warming patterns.

But another expert, Professor Anastasios Tsonis, head of the University of Wisconsin Atmospheric Sciences Group, said MDOs will continue to determine global temperatures.

He said: 'They amount to massive rearrangements in the dominant patterns of the weather, and their shifts explain all the major changes in world temperatures during the 20th and 21st centuries. We have such a change now.'


Paradise Group, 589 Paradise River Rd, Henderson, Nevada 89002, United States


Source;

http://bit.ly/globalcooling



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Copyright 2010 Atkins & Assoc. All rights reserved.

Checklist for Sheltering in Place

Checklist for Sheltering in Place
PEP-C
PO Box 1217
GIG HARBOR , WA 98335
prepare@pep-c.org
bit.ly/911prepared

First

Create an emergency response plan for Sheltering in Place just like you did for our E-Prep #1 Activity in the event of a fire, earthquake, or any other kind of emergency. Include in the plan the steps you will take to protect yourself and your family. Choose a room, or rooms, where you will Shelter-in-Place.

There are six basics you should stock for your home:

Water - select a Shelter-in-Place room that has access to water or store at least 1 gallon per person per day for 3 days in your Shelter-in-Place room.
Food- keep a 3 day supply of food for your family in the pantry at all times, or store a 3 day supply of non-perishables in a covered container in your Shelter-in-Place room.
First aid supplies - including prescription and non-prescription drugs and sanitation supplies. Grab these and take them with you to your Shelter-in-Place room or store them there with your other supplies.
Clothing and bedding - Grab your Bed Bag/Bug-Out-Bag and take it with you to your Shelter-in-Place room. It should already include at least one complete change of clothing and footwear as well as other important personal necessities and supplies. Keep extra blankets or sleeping bags in your Shelter-in-Place room for warmth as well as sleeping.
Tools and emergency supplies - Flashlights, extra batteries, emergency radio, at least 2 rolls of duct tape, scissors, plastic sheeting, towels, face masks or wash cloths, Family Disaster Plan notebook with emergency medical and contact information.
Special items - Remember family members with special requirements, such as infants and elderly or disabled persons. Don't forget to have books or games on hand to help pass the time and make it more enjoyable for everyone.

If local authorities order you to evacuate, grab your Bug-Out-Bags, 72-hour emergency food container, sleeping bags, tent and any other camping supplies you have time and room to take with you (these items should already be stored in an easily accessible area outside your home in the event of an earthquake, fire or other disaster).

Second

Make a checklist of what needs to be done before, during and after sheltering-in-place, who will do it and where supplies will be stored.

Third

Next, assign tasks. Each person in the family should have a job for which they are capable and responsible. Refer to The Family Council link in the navigation bar to the left in the Family Preparedness Section for suggestions.

Fourth

Rehearse your Sheltering in Place emergency response plan by incorporating it into your family disaster emergency drill schedule.


Sources;

http://bit.ly/911prepared
http://bit.ly/check_lists
http://www.pep-c.org/checklistforshelteringinplace/


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Copyright 2010 Atkins & Assoc. All rights reserved.

Puyallup, Washington: Search for missing teen scaled back

Search for missing teen scaled back
Submitted by Lindsay Cohen on Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Video | photo | photo2


It has been five days since Kimmie Daily disappeared, and family and friends of the missing developmentally-delayed teen are worried the case might be going cold.

"We just want her to come home. That's the bottom line," Kimmie's father, Cecil Daily, said Sunday as police scaled back their search efforts.

"It has been one nightmare," he said. "It seems like it's never ending."

For Cecil the worry began on Tuesday when his daughter left for a friend's house on her bike. She never made it there and hasn't been seen since.

"My gut feeling tells me somebody has her," he said. "The longer it drags out the more it's going to be that."

Neighbors say they're working to get the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children involved in the case, and they have blanketed the neighborhood with fliers bearing Kimmie's picture.

Although Kimmie is 16 years old, police say she thinks and acts more like a 9-year-old girl due to a disability since birth.

Search crews spent the end of the week looking for Kimmie from the air and on the ground, using tracking dogs and helicopters. They even tried to pinpoint a signal from her cell phone, but couldn't locate it.

But on Sunday those efforts faded away. Cecil said police scaled back the search, citing a lack of evidence.

Cecil and Kimmie's grandmother took polygraph tests over the weekend, and investigators say they passed. Officials said the tests are common practice in this type of situation and there are no signs of foul play in the girl's disappearance.

Police have also questioned more than two dozen of Kimmie's friends, relatives and neighbors.

Kmmie's father, meanwhile, is left to wait.

"It's just not the same without her," he said.


Sources;

http://bit.ly/Kimmie_Daily
http://puyallup.komonews.com/content/search-missing-teen-scaled-back


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Copyright 2010 Atkins & Assoc. All rights reserved.