The other evening I was visiting my great grandpapa in the old folks home. The TV was running, and we both got captivated by a program on the History channel. It talked about the Mayan calendar and that it abruptly ends in 2012. The winter solstice to be exact.

That is the time when several mayor celestial bodies align in an unusual concert. Some astronomers say that it might trigger a shift of the earth's magnetic poles, a change in the core rotation, associated with major earthquakes and gigantic vulcanic erruptions.

Has anyone else seen this program or read about the event?

vegaseat commented: Interesting topic +7

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I looked into it when one of my radio talk show host got on the topic a while back. I have a new date to be interested in. I'm looking forward to subsequent shows on TV and radio.

I saw that show on the History channel. It didn't say that 2012 will be the apocalypse but rather was clear to say it won't be the end of the world but rather the end of the world as we know it, and that we're going to be entering a whole new era.

hmm, crackpots of all kinds have predicted the end of the world (either literally or metaphorically) so often almost every day is probably the last one according to someone.

It's not happened so far, so I'd not start spending those life savings in the knowledge you're not going to need them.

> Some astronomers say that it might trigger a shift of the earth's magnetic poles
Would those be the same "astronomers" which predicted all sorts of consequences as a result of SL9 slamming into Jupiter?

I can see a few wacko astrologers and other assorted mystics trying to get some "me" time in the media from this, but any serious astronomer - gimme a break.

> It talked about the Mayan calendar and that it abruptly ends in 2012. The winter solstice to be exact.
Or the guy who chiselled the information into the rock just got bored.

> so I'd not start spending those life savings in the knowledge you're not going to need them.
I'm happy to take "donations" from anyone who believes they're not going to need the money :D

I saw that show on the History channel. It didn't say that 2012 will be the apocalypse but rather was clear to say it won't be the end of the world but rather the end of the world as we know it, and that we're going to be entering a whole new era.

In 2038 or 2106 (depending on signing) most UNIX/Linux and modern Windows NT based systems will fail due to a date bug. This could very well signal the end of the world, or just anothe fun time for y2k paranoids

In 2038 or 2106 (depending on signing) most UNIX/Linux and modern Windows NT based systems will fail due to a date bug. This could very well signal the end of the world, or just anothe fun time for y2k paranoids

Not true any more with modern compilers because that problem has been fixed for another hundred years or so. Old compilers like the original Turbo C and all programs produced with them will be trashed.

> Old compilers like the original Turbo C and all programs produced with them will be trashed.
They've survived 20 years past their useful date already, and there's only 30 to go.
No sign in any slowdown in lazy profs teaching with museum tools.

If you google for "2012", all sorts of interesting things come up.

The london 2012 olympics logo looks like crap

The london 2012 olympics logo looks like crap

What does it look like? Is it the thing that looks like it came out of malfunctioning paper shredder? In that case, it looks like an omen to the end of earth as we know it! Poor Brits!

>> Some astronomers say that it might trigger a shift of the earth's magnetic poles,

OK. Fields decay with 1/r^2 ... so ... 1/light-squared-years is very very small.

Some astronomers say that it might trigger a shift of the earth's magnetic poles

The earth's magnetic field is constantly in shift. It's flipped completely many times in the past.
It is indeed predicted that we're due another flip, and the magnetic field does seem to be weakening in places, indicating a pre-flip condition coming about.
But AFAIK there's no way to predict when it's going to happen, certainly nothing as accurate as a specific period in a specific year.

Wouldn't that also include a shift in the rotational axis of earth? In other words, Holland could end up near the equator and you could be living in a tropical paradise!

The crappy logo:

lol they had to ban the advert because it gave people seizures

Yeah... I can see that effecting the earth more than fempto powered fields.

On the London 2012 Olympic logo: Oh God, it is the paper shredder logo!

On the earth rotation change: I can see jwenting buying Hawaiian shirts already!

>The crappy logo:
>lol they had to ban the advert because it gave people seizures

It's positively disgusting... Are the trying to make it look like graffiti?

yes, actually, they are

Made even more horrid by it's apparent cost of £400,000
Gotta wonder what was in the reject pile.

Classic comedy line "designed to appeal to today’s internet generation".

Strayed off topic about the olympics but....The end of the world...2012? Maybe before that, as a possible new-cold war may emerge...

NASA predicts that the Sun will also reverse its own magnetic poles during 2012 as result of reaching the end of the current 11-year sunspot cycle.[12]

Above from Wikipedia.

Above from Wikipedia.

I also heard somewhere that NASA corrected something to do with the way they take weather measurments and it pretty much illiminated global warming completely. This sort of thing could have a similar effect on global warming.

End of the world: "Where is the Antichrist in all of this?"

Logo: "Well, it's different! Sort a like cat poop on a fancy meal!"

End of the world: "Where is the Antichrist in all of this?"

The Antichrist is meant to pave the way for the second coming of Jesus and does not cause the end of the world.

The Antichrist is meant to pave the way for the second coming of Jesus and does not cause the end of the world.

So Jesus causes the end of the world? Isn't there supposed to be an enormous blood bath?

The second coming of Jesus is the end of the world essencially.

Most christians believe that there will be 7 years leading up to the second coming of Christ in which there will be "tribulations".
It varies depending on different peoples interpritations of Revalation.

Im pretty sure that an Antichrist is never mentioned in the Bible but rather it mentions a "Beast" with good people skills and very likeable. Me and my supervisor have a bit of a joke about this since google fits the desciption of the beast perfectly.

Wouldn't that also include a shift in the rotational axis of earth? In other words, Holland could end up near the equator and you could be living in a tropical paradise!

No. The magnetic field has nothing to do with the rotation of the planet around it's axle (nor with the position of that axle) but with the makeup of the mantle (which has many independently rotating areas).

Would Frak up things like navigational equipment and stuff wouldn't it?

no offense, but this just sounds like some people who are very paranoid made this up...

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