Death from the Skies!

[The Bad Astronomer]

Folks-- Randi posted an article in the commentary about a guy claiming the Earth will be hit by a comet fragment this month. I have lots more info on this nonsense on my blog (http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2006/05/04/comet-what-may/).

What is it about May and end-of-the-world folks? Nancy Lieder (May 15, 2003), the alignment of the planets (May 5, 2000), and now this guy. May flowers with antiscience, I guess.

[macgyver]

I worry of the entire population of the planet being blinded by the 'shooting stars' and then having to fend off giant perambulatory plants...

[Hagrok]

I worry of the entire population of the planet being blinded by the 'shooting stars' and then having to fend off giant perambulatory plants...
Couldn't you just make a defoliant out of bubble-gum and some popcycle sticks?

[Jimbo07]

the alignment of the planets (May 5, 2000), and now this guy.

My buddy's dad stockpiled supplies for both Y2k and 5/5/2000!

He wasn't as vocal after the end of the world failed to occur each time...

[Jess]

NASA was doing damage control for this last week:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2006-04-27-comet_x.htm?csp=34

Chunks of a comet currently splitting into pieces in the night sky will not strike the Earth next month, nor will it spawn killer tsunamis and mass extinctions, NASA officials said Thursday

Wish I had access to an observatory to see this one.

[aggle-rithm]

My buddy's dad stockpiled supplies for both Y2k and 5/5/2000!

...


Cinco de Mayo...?

[cgordon]

Heya Phil, long time reader, first time caller, um, wait. Poster. Um, whatever.

Anyway, I just read your article in 'Sky' (normally I don't read the mag, however and was extremely surprised to find it in the PX here!) and loved it.

My military counterpart is a huge astronomy fan, and I'm a fan of good science. We have had some great discussions about this topic.

Keep up the good work.

[RSLancastr]

If the comet fragments hit, I hope that Julien fries.

[Dunstan]

Also, isn't this bit of Julien's claim wrong?:

MAY 25, 2006: inland and/or the heights. This date is the Ascension Day, i.e. the day for the people to go up. This date, once converted in the traditional Julien [sic] calendar (16 centuries long), is JUNE 6, 2006, i.e. 6/6/6.

The Julian calendar lags behind the Gregorian calendar by 12 or 13 days, which is why some Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas in January rather than December 25. So May 25, 2006 (Gregorian) would really be something like May 12, 2006 (Julian) rather than the oh-so-spooky 6/6/6.

[macgyver]

Couldn't you just make a defoliant out of bubble-gum and some popcycle sticks?


Well of course I could....it's everone else that I'm worried about!

[Zep]

So leave out the bubble-gum and use paper-clips instead. Easy!

[kittynh]

hey how about 6-6-06!!!

Maybe it's going to hit that day! Bring your surfboard! Cowabunga!

[psy kick]

So leave out the bubble-gum and use paper-clips instead. Easy!staples.

[macgyver]

So leave out the bubble-gum and use paper-clips instead. Easy!


pffft! If I had PAPER CLIPS do you think I'd be wasting my time making defoliant?

[tomgv15]

Who is giving Julian his soap box? Who is his audience? What kind of influence does he have?

[westphalia]

Who is giving Julian his soap box? Who is his audience? What kind of influence does he have?

Coast to Coast is fascinated with this nonsense. Surprise, surprise.

[The Bad Astronomer]

I'll be on Earth Changes radio tomorrow night talking about this as well. It's streamed (http://www.earthchangestv.com/index.php), for those interested.

[Roadtoad]

I have to give you incredible credit, Phil. After reading this barbarity, complete with the pseudoscience, I could only wish I had a "bomb" to dump on his sorry mug. You're more tolerant than I am.

Part of what killed me was that some of the "evidence" presented includes "visions" and the like. Nothing we can actually pin anyone on, so if things go south on Julien, (so to speak), he can come back next year with another "prediction."

If he keeps this up, I might recommend a driver I know to him. They're two peas in a pod. (Check out my blog for more details.)

[jj]

I have to echo what Roadtoad said. You are a very, very patient person, Phil.

After reading some of that guy's writing, I was humming Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush"...

[The Bad Astronomer]

:-)

[CFLarsen]

Folks-- Randi posted an article in the commentary about a guy claiming the Earth will be hit by a comet fragment this month. I have lots more info on this nonsense on my blog (http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2006/05/04/comet-what-may/).

What is it about May and end-of-the-world folks? Nancy Lieder (May 15, 2003), the alignment of the planets (May 5, 2000), and now this guy. May flowers with antiscience, I guess.
Phil,

IF it happens - that the Big One Cometh, and the Gubmint won't let us know, could you drop us a hint, e.g., by saying that you won't be doing dishes in the future? :)

[Soapy Sam]

In other (real ) newsI see someone recovered a chunk of asteroid from an impact site in South Africa. It's on BBC.Co.UK

[SphereGuy]

I have to give you incredible credit, Phil. After reading this barbarity, complete with the pseudoscience, I could only wish I had a "bomb" to dump on his sorry mug.

Speaking of which, is this guy hiding out in a bomb shelter or anything? I only ask because we can hang around outside banging trash cans and making booming sounds and maybe he won't come out for a while.

[tsg]

Speaking of which, is this guy hiding out in a bomb shelter or anything? I only ask because we can hang around outside banging trash cans and making booming sounds and maybe he won't come out for a while.

:big: :dl:

[Lynx2174]

My buddy's dad stockpiled supplies for both Y2k and 5/5/2000!

He wasn't as vocal after the end of the world failed to occur each time...

Does beer and mexican food really count as supplies? if so, I think most everyone out here stockpiles for 5/5. ;)

[Skeptic Ginger]

I want a meteorite from it. Can I please, huh can I please?

It'll be sooo kool if a new meteor storm results in a few years.

[Roadtoad]

I dunno. Some of those meteorites is they come out soft and squishy. Sort of like the angels took a dump in the sky...

(Hey, come on. This yobbo's a WOO! That's not that bad an explanation for him...)

[DrMatt]

Uh, Phil.
Ya got three anecdotes for May. Zat a statistically significant trend, ya reckon? Maybe we should control for all the other months... What would we use for randomization--people who have no clue what time of year it is?

Lessee... Hypothesis: Woo claims cluster in May. Or... was it... Woos act out in May making claims? These are slightly different hypotheses, as the former would include claims made year round about May, and the latter would only include claims made in May about events year-round.

Clear boundary conditions would have to be established so utterances could be classified into woo and not-woo mechanically, independent of the beliefs of the classifying agent. If the classification were to allow for a hypothetical third category of "impractical to classify", so this category could hold, say, string theory (for now), then it might be possible to create such a classification and it might even classify a majority of utterances.

If the hypothesis is about dates that utterances are about, I have no idea how it'd turn up. If it's about dates on which utterances are made, I offer a counter-hypothesis that woo statements made at weekly assemblies year-round far outnumber any casual May-clustering.

I see an opportunity here for some graduate students to make a significant contribution...

[Strider1974]

What I like about these theories is that if you right there will be no one to care and if you are wrong you look like a complete idiot

[bjb]

I have a story about another famous end 'o' the world prediction. A friend of mine was in grad school and had a couple of Hollywood-types as roommates. They had all sorts of great stories, including one concerning the production of Orson Wells' "The Man Who Saw Tomorrow", which is a documentary about Nostradamus and his predictions. They had to come up with some dates as to when awful things would happen and when they got stuck, one of the producers would take turns with Orson Wells making up years and dates for their documentary. These guys told me the story expecting me to be shocked and surprised, but anyone familiar with the life of Orson Wells should expect him to make stuff up and put it into a supposedly factual movie. He's the last person I'd expect to allow facts to get in the way of a good story.

Here are some reviews I found online of this documentary:

http://www.supermantv.net/Reviews/ItemId/6300269698/ReviewPage/2

[California was suppose to be underwater earlier that May due to a major earthquake ]

Apparently, they chose May as a date for California to be destroyed. It is nice to see some people using their brains, but there are others out there who are less skeptical about Orson Wells and his movie:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1033581/posts?q=1&&page=51

[that 1980's orson wells movie was uncanilly accurate about events which would happen in the 90s and 2000s.
So I'm reserving judgement :) Prophets arn't exactly famous for spelling things out in plain spoken language and certainly nostradamous wasn't either (mostly because of the church and times he lived in). Anyway, until he's proven wrong or false he pretty much fits the bill of a prophet.]

So there you go. Nostradamus was vague with his predictions because of the Catholic church! There are always enough people are willing to believe anything as long as it hasn't been proven wrong. Since Orson Wells made up some facts for his Nostradamus documentary, does this mean Orson Wells is a prophet?

[psy kick]

Can anyone tell us the best time and hour to watch this? We will have good weather then!

[NobbyNobbs]

First of all, today's (May 23) APOD site shows a wonderful time-lapse of the comet.

Secondly, I checked out Eric Julien's website. His forum has been put on hold until May 26. Does he expect to have internet access after the tsunami hits?

[Roadtoad]

Are you sure it's a comet and not a UFO? We could check it out here. (http://www.ufomaps.com/)

[arthwollipot]

Typical American-o-centric point of view. Where are all the sightings in Australia then, eh? What about in Brazil, or Portugal, or Cote D'Ivoire? Don't worry about those, do we? Not important, are they?

OK, I'm over it now.

[Roadtoad]

Typical American-o-centric point of view. Where are all the sightings in Australia then, eh? What about in Brazil, or Portugal, or Cote D'Ivoire? Don't worry about those, do we? Not important, are they?

OK, I'm over it now.

Arth, you know I love ya, man. I really do, but seriously, if there were sightings in Australia, Portugal, Brazil, or Cote D'Ivoire, don't you think Phil would have said something?

Okay, I'll shut up now...

[Polaris]

What is it about May and end-of-the-world folks? Nancy Lieder (May 15, 2003), the alignment of the planets (May 5, 2000), and now this guy. May flowers with antiscience, I guess.

It's TV sweeps. The nuts are out there all year round, but you only hear about them in February, May and November.

[Roadtoad]

One more reason to kill your television.

[Hamradioguy]

Fiction is always far more interesting. Read "Lucifer's Hammer" by Niven and Pournelle to see what MIGHT have happened. (I particularly liked the surfer dude post comet impact riding the 300ft wave right into the top of the LA City Hall....)

[Hellbound]

One more reason to kill your television [producers].

There, fixed it for you :)

There is good televeision, it just tends to sink in a morass of ignorance.

[prewitt81]

ETA: Disregard. I thought the website had been taken down, but I mistyped it. I'm correcting it on the calendar, too.

[Kiwiwriter]

Y'know, I wish I had a nickel for every time the world was supposed to come to an end. I'd be rich.

Anyway, if the world is coming to an end, the last thing I want to do before Armageddon is make love to Rae Dawn Chong, the actress, upon whom I have had an unrelieved crush for 20 years. Hubba hubba! It might be the only way it could happen. :D

[tracer]

Ah, but what if Rae Dawn Chong has other plans?

[Polaris]

Y'know, I wish I had a nickel for every time the world was supposed to come to an end. I'd be rich.

Anyway, if the world is coming to an end, the last thing I want to do before Armageddon is make love to Rae Dawn Chong, the actress, upon whom I have had an unrelieved crush for 20 years. Hubba hubba! It might be the only way it could happen. :D

I'm eagerly awaiting hurricane season, for the Storm of the Century of the Week feature on the Daily Show.

That and because my company sends me on hurrican relief duty which pays handsomely.

[DRBUZZ0]

hmmm....

May 25th, huh? Well that'd be TOMORROW!

I'm not expecting it to happen....but I kinda hope he's right. At least partially...as in it would be cool if it was over the mid ocean and did not cause any casualties...

I mean....

I totally missed Tunguska (by like 70 years) and I always felt kinda bad about that

[psy kick]

Okay. Around what time dst then? And where in the sky?

[TriangleMan]

It's getting near the end of the day here. Did I miss the end of the world AGAIN??

Damn it, the world always ends when I'm busy doing something else. :rm:

[jj]

Well, I dreamed I saw the knights
In armor coming,
Saying something about a queen.


. . .

[Gargoyle]

It is the 26th now and I have not died yet... :jaw-dropp
What a dissapointment!!

Can I have my money back? :mad:

[rjh01]

Sorry you people, you are all dead and in skeptic heaven.

Evidence - the place is not quite what it was on the 24 May. You will find something missing or out of place. People are slightly different from before.

[tsg]

and you will be aware of your tongue for the next 30 minutes

[Roadtoad]

ATTENTION, EVERYONE!

The world is now officially over. You may now resume what it was you were doing before there was a world.

Thank you.

[psy kick]

thanks for telling me what I asked for.

[TriangleMan]

Hey whatda ya know, there's free internet access up here in Heaven. Who knew? :D

[The_Fire]

Well, what do you know: Both KK, Elijah777 and I were wrong about the afterlife!
This smells and feels exactly like what "life" used to......

[arthwollipot]

Well, I dreamed I saw the knights
In armor coming,
Saying something about a queen.


. . .

Funny you should mention that, because this is what I was doing today:

http://forums.randi.org/imagehost/43324476bd2a6fdb2.jpg

We had an educational display about the Crusades at a high school. You want knights in armour, we had knights in armour!

[tsg]

Can I come out yet?

[Kiwiwriter]

Ah, but what if Rae Dawn Chong has other plans?

Well, she's already been through two marriages that ended in divorce, so we already know she has lousy taste in men...WHICH GIVES ME A CHANCE! :D

[TriangleMan]

Funny you should mention that, because this is what I was doing today:

<snip>

We had an educational display about the Crusades at a high school. You want knights in armour, we had knights in armour!
JJ was right! It's a sign of impending doom! :eye-poppi

[Roadtoad]

JJ was right! It's a sign of impending doom! :eye-poppi

Either that, or Neil Young has returned.

[TheBoyPaj]

Shhh! You'll draw mayday's attention.

[Roadtoad]

F*** Mayday.

Oh. Wait. On second thought, as I sit here remembering the horror that is her avatar, and her views on vaccination and the like... DON'T!

[TriangleMan]

Either that, or Neil Young has returned.
That's also a sign of impending doom! :eye-poppi

[JMA]

Waw, even on the JREF you're talking about Eric Julien... I tought he was only famous in France, but no...

These guy wants to create a cult, that's all... :p

[westphalia]

Well, she's already been through two marriages that ended in divorce, so we already know she has lousy taste in men...WHICH GIVES ME A CHANCE! :D

Or they have a lousy taste for Rae Dawn Chong. It could be her fault, you know....:cool: