This Is The End

Unless you are Canadian and spend your time in the hills living with bears, you will know that today, the 21st of December 2012 is, according to the Mayan calendar, the end of the world.  To be more precise, the ancient Mayans measured time in baktun with each cycle lasting 394 years.  Today is the last day of the 13th and last baktan, thus in the words of Jim Morrison, this is the end.

Mayan Warriors totally knew how to rock a hat.

This news has of course led to people doing crazy things such as fleeing to apparently sacred mountains in France, creating survival groups that have been recruiting members with specialised knowledge such as hunting and medical skills, and apparently Americans stocking up on Machetes.  All of this and more can be found at the handy apocalypse information website www.december212012.com 

The calendar may end today but unfortunately at some point during the last hundred(s) years the post-it note telling us how the end will come fell off and so we are left to ponder the possibilities.  The poets tell us it could be fire...

or ice...

The Astronomers think it will be a meteor or planetary body colliding with earth.

The night sky watchers say it will be alien attack.

This wins as far as hat awesomeness is concerned

The old skool dooms dayers are putting their money on the return of the plague.

While the younger generations are gearing up for a zombie attack.

However the end may come if you are sitting at home right now looking like this...

please stop it.  

The end of the world is no reason to look like an idiot.  If we are going to go then go upstairs put on a nice dress and your best hat and pour a glass of wine (wear trainers not heels just in case the zombie lot are right).

Alternatively we can go speak to the still alive Mayan types who say that it isn't actually the end of the world just the end of an era.  My sister cut of her dreadlocks last week after 9 years.  That was the end of an era and didn't get anywhere near as much press coverage.

I guess the guy in charge of calendars figured that he had gone far enough and some other calendar workshop monkey could finish the job. Epic fail.

See you tomorrow.  Maybe.

Patrick Moore

A sad start to today as I discovered that the great Patrick Moore passed away yesterday.  At the age of 12 a very good physics teacher at my high school lent me 'A Brief History of Time' by Stephen Hawking and awakened a love of astronomy that led me to many years working in a science museum, astronomy clubs and a constant ache in my neck from looking at the night sky.  Patrick Moore through the sky at night helped me understand the parts of Hawking writing I, at 12, couldn't grasp and made the sky a less intimidating place.  On top of all that he was as mad as a hatter and a true eccentric who will be greatly missed.