Cue the Planet X goofballs in 3… 2… 1…
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Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
Bad Astronomy was chosen as one of Time.com's Best Blogs of 2009. 
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April 13th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Oh no! Should I run to the nearest anti-doomsday bunker?
April 13th, 2008 at 10:19 am
I’m sorry. Really sorry.
You know the big red button marked “please do not press the big red button, thanks”?
Well…
…I was curious, OK?
April 13th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Great, and I was going to see a movie today!
April 13th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Is it 2012 already?
April 13th, 2008 at 11:15 am
California has around 11,000 earthquakes per year. Of course, the vast majority are undetectable by mere mortals… they’re simply recorded using scientific instruments. That’s just California. Imagine how other geologically active hotspots around the planet are constantly rumbling out data?
I adore the doomsday people. They’re so much fun to mock. “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” I think I’ll incorporate one of these people into my novel. You know, some added comedy relief, plus I can profit off of THEIR insanity for once.
April 13th, 2008 at 11:32 am
My wife and I are conducting a daily “the sky is falling” survey from the reports on radio programs such as NPR, etc. We don’t watch the teevee, so our sample is limited. Every day some earnest voice relates at least one potential reason to go hide under the bed. I think it’s from the unrelenting paranoia policy that has been fomented since 9/11 by our gubmint to keep us all in line. At least I don’t remember this much of this stuff before that time.
April 13th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Didn’t Nibiru come around in 2003? When we all died, remember?
April 13th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
If enough people really believe the world as we know i will end, it just might. Critical mass and self-fulfilling prophecy.
April 13th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
No, no. It’s a viral marketing campaign for the sequel to Cloverfield.
April 13th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
OK . . . I don’t get it. He looks like he’s having fun noticing a series of earthquakes. No LGM. No planetary alignments. No astral planes cleared for take off. The one off Oregon looks interesting. It’s in the right location for a volcano to go popping through the crust.
Before everyone breaks out into the silly giggles, IIRC there is some mild evidence that a big earthquake can “shake loose” so to speak other faults on the verge of letting go. Without checking the dates, these seem to be separated too far apart in time to qualify.
April 13th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
OK … so its another crazy guy with crazy ideas. Yawn. It’s like picking on school children.
April 13th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
uh.. quasidog, what makes you think Greg Laden is a crazy guy with crazy ideas?
A little eager to see Cranks under every rock?
April 13th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Well, Lti, the first couple of suggestive questions in his article for a start, quote: “Is the earth falling apart? Have they started using the Hadron Colider (sic) early and not mentioned it to anyone? ”
Actually no, I am not a little eager to see cranks under every rock. The cranks come out from under the rocks all by themselves. I would prefer to ignore them, as I said earlier, “It’s is like picking on school children.”
PS: not the tough little school children with guns ….
April 13th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Some interesting facts:
1) The bus was two minutes late today.
2) The neighbour’s cat has gone blind in one eye.
3) We’re out of corn syrup.
ERGO the end is nigh.
See, I can make unrelated events support my hypothesis JUST AS WELL as anyone else!
April 13th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
ummm….what’s IIRC stand for?
April 13th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I think Greg Laden was being sarcastic in his first couple of lines. Sarcasm doesn’t always translate well in the typewritten bolg-o-sphere. (Apparently not on YouTube, either, as so many commenters there just don’t seem to ‘get it.’ But hey, do we really need to discuss YouTube commenters?)
Back when Mt St Helens blew itself apart (1980), a schoolmate & I discussed how big a disaster we would have if all three of the Three Sisters went up at once. Like Mt St Helens wasn’t big enough. (Insert roll-eyes emoticon here.) To be sure, it would be a big disaster, but the end of the world? Nope, not even close.
Back to the here-and-now… Earthquakes & volcanic eruptions occurring at different places throughout the world, where they normally occur all the time? Ooo, the end of the world?
Nope, not even close.
April 13th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
IIRC = If I Recall Correctly
April 13th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
I think it’s important to note that geology is the study of pressure and time. And since we can’t always see the pressure or measure the time, we can’t always predict when an earthquake is going to happen, and where. Sure, we’re getting “better” at figuring out where the high stress areas are, and how the crustal plates interact, but until we have a thorough understanding of how earthquakes can be predicted, the WOO-WOO’s out there are going to be able to use them as part of their schemes.
“OOOOooohhh.. an earthquake happened where we didn’t expect one, or didn’t think one was due. Here comes Nibiru!”
April 13th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Yes, Greg was being sarcastic. He writes one of the best skeptical blogs on the web.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
My mistake then. Noted. With so much to read and so much to avoid reading, the first couple of sentences can really make an impact on whether to continue reading. ;p
April 13th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
I had the same immediate reaction, quasidog… but I took BA’s initial sarcasm into account and then decided to read some of the other content on Greg’s blog just to be sure. It was pretty clear almost immediately after reading a few of his other posts that sarcasm was the delivery mechanism in this case. But I can certainly see why one might not have gotten that imression right away.
April 14th, 2008 at 5:39 am
And they didn’t even mention the Great Market Rasen Earthquake* of 27th February, 2008.
I feel quite put out. ::pout::
*That’s The Big One that registered a massive 5.2 on the Richter Scale, which hit Lincolnshire, England.
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