Finally, a good reason that people no longer read the news... See, I am usually shocked when people don’t know what is going on in the “news world” or at least abreast of the latest major headlines of the day. OK maybe I am not as shocked as I used to be, but it is still kind of unsettling to know. Nonetheless, today I am actually glad that (most) people don’t read the news, and here’s why. In a news article that I am “borrowing” for the sake of this blog posting, I present you with the following bit of information…
On 1 August, almost the entire side of the Sun that faces the Earth erupted in a blaze of activity known as a "coronal mass ejection". These storms throw up to 10 billion tons of plasma - superheated gas - off the surface of the star and hurtling into space at around a million miles an hour. It covered the 93 million mile journey from the Sun to the Earth in just three and a half days…blah, blah, blah, (more scientific stuff here) so let’s get to the end of the story already…While no damage seems to have been done by this flare, Nasa astronomers have previously warned that a much larger solar storm could cause havoc with electrical systems on Earth. In 2013, the Sun is expected to reach a stage in its roughly 11-year cycle when large storms are more likely.
So, now that you know what you missed, aren’t you glad that most of people didn’t read this? I know I am. Reason? Simple, we thankfully got to miss out on all the Mass Sociogenic Illness, (a.k.a. Mass Hysteria), that the media is prone to creating. Do we have to relive “Tsunami Watch 2010 end of Hawaii” from earlier this year, when we all watched for a giant wave to destroy the islands of Hawaii that never came? Remember the camera fixed at the dock in Long Beach, California? CNN and the rest of the news bunch were showing us LIVE images, in order to see the “tidal wave of death,” that ended up being no more than a ripple at a very low tide? Yeah…good times. I dread to think of what the news geniuses would have dreamed up for this solar event, had they "ran with the story" in order to boost up ratings. It could have been very annoying indeed. Imagine the so-called "experts" telling us, as we watched live coverage of "Coronal Mass Ejection Watch 2010, the Earth in Super Heated Peril", how a large solar storm could have occurred due to global warming, or because of the Gulf oil spill! I think we dodged a mass media bullet on this one. I also didn’t miss receiving any stupid and misguided, forwarded, e-mails telling me about how the earth was going to end on August 1st due to a “coronal mass ejection of doom” that was going to rain hell down on us and cause all the communications and electronics to go down for an indefinite period of time. ”Oh the humanity!” Besides, I just recently finished the last of my Y2K provisions that I had stored up for the end of the world back on January 1st, 2000! I couldn’t have dealt with this type of would be disaster right now. In fact, I am still wrestling with the whole impending 2012, Mayan calendar event (that I ironically have circled on my calendar) that’s coming up. Good thing the 11 year cycle of large solar storms isn’t due till 2013. If the Maya are right, we won’t have to worry about any measly “solar flares” or coronal ejections at all. Oh well, I am sure that before long there will some story that makes it to the national spotlight that all our overeager, overrated and over paid news reporters will “glom” on to and start the needless panic all over again. After all, some “real” news event has to fill the gap between now and December 21, 2012.
And just in case you are worried about getting your gourmet citrus food items stocked up for the pantry before any kind of disaster strikes (like a coronal mass ejection), don’t forget that Pearson Ranch is here to help. Get your Oranges, Orange Honey, Lemons, and more. Check us out on the web, www.pearsonranch.com :o)
As always, thanks for reading.
-Tony
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