A Truly Odd and Scary conversation today

It's amazing that someone that wealthy was both nice and gave you a good tip.
Frankly, I find that more surprising than a shift of the Earth's axis.
$70!!!!
I can't tell you how many very, very rich people I have done work for who never failed to nit pick and quibble over every last penny. That is if they even paid you what you had agreed on beforehand.

The sun's rise, and set position changes normally, a little bit every single day. Because of the off-kilter wobble of the Earth (called it's precession) our sun rises and sets at different degrees. The "change" your rich insider might have noticed is most likely the approach of Litha, the summer solstice. The summer solstice is when the sun comes into prominence, and our days last longer than the evenings. Nothing terrifying. Earth wobbles, the sun moves, etc. Basic introductory courses on astronomy can teach you all of this.

~ Wandering Scribe

reply to post by mademyself1984

Many of the wealthy people I work for seem to have a bit of paranoia. Some have safe rooms and hidden rooms. I suppose there might be worry of kidnapping or even assassination as some are former royalty such as from Iran, and frankly, kidnapping is a multimillion dollar a year industry in some countries!. And of course, some live in the City where there are bars on a lot of windows good protection against grizzly bears here I guess.

reply to post by Wandering Scribe

I'm well aware of astronomy myself, and how it is simple to chart what SHOULD happen next, but she told me that she was told there had been some significant change which may show up in shocking ways fairly soon. And as Observer also mentioned, there doesn't seem to be any news of note regarding any changes from professional or hobbyist astronomers. She may be of a mind to exaggerate or have misinterpreted what she was told, I'm simply the messenger in this matter. Don't kill the messenger! Please?

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Yeah, $70 was pretty good considering it was only a $120 service call, but when she called and I mentioned it was extra on a weekend she said she didn't care what it cost, she just didn't feel comfortable without being able to lock the door. The crime rate here, btw, is truly negligible. I talked to a friend of mine that also does work for her and apparently she fires caretakers for such infractions as the door not having been locked. Another time it was a wine cool room that was too cold. Ahhhh to be rich and eccentric!

reply to post by DJW001


Yes, if the magnetic poles shift, our magnetic bubble protecting us from certain portions of the solar spectrum will also shift, resulting in areas that may be dangerous, such as the south atlantic weak area.... if that shifted over DC for example, it might be rather disruptive. However, if the rotational poles shift, and the equator shifts, where the sun rises and sets will also shift. While the two types of poles are distinctly different, their shifting can have consequences we would prefer to avoid.

reply to post by jaxnmarko


I'm not killing the messenger. Just stating the situation, as I see it. A silence from professional and amateur astronomers should not signify to us that something terrible is happening, quite the opposite. If amateur and professional alike have made no comment on any stellar movement, then we should rest assured that no unnatural, or unprecedented movement has occurred.

The climate of fear is thick enough among the populace already. I think it's a shame that rich, bored, people have to get their kicks now by adding more scaremongering to the mix. Any number of reasons could account for a non-blaring sun in her rear-view window: cloud coverage, driving in a different section of her lane, it was later than she remembered, etc. Your anonymous, rich woman is just rattling the cage I think.

I'll believe the fear when the world starts to split open, and the rich take to their star-ships leaving us all behind.

~ Wandering Scribe

Hey, you know tomorrow (Tuesday) is the Summer Solstice! At every point on Earth, the sun will rise due east, and set due west. People living along the equator get the added spectacle of having the sun directly overhead at midday (noon), but everyone can experience it rising and setting due east and due west.

So, if there have been any visible changes in any of the Earth's axes, or in its orbit around the sun, then the whole world should be able to observe some discrepancies tomorrow. Go out yourself, get your cardinal directions figured out, and then observe where the sun rises. I think it's very cool that this thread was posted exactly before one of the two times per year when this can be tested by literally anyone who chooses to. I wouldn't expect to find any differences, because as already mentioned, there are millions of people who, by the nature of their professions would have long ago noticed even the slightest invisible discrepancy.

Also - Don't use a compass to determine cardinal directions. As an earlier poster already noted, magnetic north is different from true north. Magnetic north is constantly drifting, and is basically the result of the Earth's constantly fluxing magnetic field. True north is a highly specific, fixed position. Any map, or Google Maps, can be a good source of finding it.

reply to post by Wandering Scribe

Ya know, Wandering Scribe, you are so very right. The climate of fear in the air is really quite disturbing. I realize my post didn't help (not that it will be seen by that many people) but I think the next few months and years will be bringing about some severe social changes. Yes, the economy is in the dumps, and the EU is a mess, today the report on the oceans should be enough to scare any sensible person, but all the rumors and half truths and possibly even genuine truths are constantly reinforcing the panic mode. I have found it amusing that so many of the recent predictions have come to be untrue, and the continual posting of new predictions may only make me more cynical about predictions in general, but mass hysteria can feed on itself and continue to grow. Until 2012 is over and done with I think there will be an increasing underlying miasma that may be contagious. I for one am glad I live in a relatively underpopulated area. Heck, apart from the tourists, it IS underpopulated! Or rather, populated to a limited extent that eases my mind. Crowds have their own mentality. Mobs do too. I know the facts regarding any change in our orbit or tilt or any other astronomical alteration should be easily defined and espoused but there will be fearmongers and rumor spreaders regardless. My odd conversation was really just that. My own son in law swears a binary star is headed our way, our sister sun. Me? I usually wait to wade through the propaganda in the hope of winnowing out a few facts in the mix. I can see you seem to be rational in that regard as well. Thanks for your comments.

The fear tends to feed on itself -- ignorance and intellectual laziness provides the fuel.