Understanding the weight of the situation

This week's Spin Cycle topic is "Wait". I could have done something about the radio show Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!— but once I read the line about weighting, I realized I already had this one "waiting" in the queue.

Author's Note: This is a pretty "heavy" subject, so if you feel a bit lost don't hesitate to ask me in the comments. I'm always willing to clarify.

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We've all heard about the so called "End of the World" in 2012.

Since the Maya Long Count Calendar is based upon astronomical observations it is quite amazing how they have predicted a unique phenomenon that will occur on December 12, 2012.

The earth when it rotates is not perpendicular to the orbit around the sun. This is why we have seasons because the sun does not hit the same spot on the earth as it rotates and orbits. The times in which the sun is furthest away from the equator is during the summer and winter solstice.

The orbital plane of the solar system is also not perpendicular to the orbit of the solar system around the galaxy. This is why we seem to see different zodiac constellations in the sky throughout the year.

Every year, on the winter solstice, the Sun and the Milky Way, from the surface of the Earth, appear to come into alignment. This alignment never points at the same place each time (it changes by one degree every 72 years), but it has been calculated that the orbital plane of the solar system will align with the orbital plane of the galaxy on Dec 21, 2012.

Whenever there is a full moon people are said to be loony. This is based upon the lunar phase and is contributed to the moon's gravitational pull and it's effect upon our brains.

Let's take this logic a bit further. Imagine if you will that any gravitational force can influence the brain (even so much as to effect the decisions that we make). Since on December 21, 2012 the earth's orbital plain will be aligned with the orbital plain of the galaxy, we can expect there to be a lot more gravitational pull— especially if we believe a massive black hole is at the center of our galaxy. Since this alignment has been happening very slowly over many years, the influence has been increasing very gradually (probably to the point of being imperceptible). I have noticed that Alzheimer's disease has been on the rise— how do we know that it is not due to the effects of the black hole?

For more information, please see 2012 phenomenon on Wikipedia.

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Spin Cycle: I didn't know you had kids in high school

I thought I would participate in the reunion of the spin cycle and talk about something that happened at my high school reunion.

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When I signed up to participate in my 20th high school reunion, a questionnaire was sent to me to fill out. Many of the questions were pretty strait forward and did not give you the feeling that you were taking a final exam. One of them was: "Tell something that people would be surprised to know about you".

You have to realize that when I met my wife, she already had two teenagers (talk about being an instant parent). By the time I had my reunion, one of them already had a child of their own. Because of this, I put "I'm a grandparent" as my answer. After that I put it out of my mind.

At the reunion, someone I was having a conversation with chimed in: "I didn't know you had kids in high school". If you do the math, either I or my offspring would have to be pretty young in order for me to be a grandparent. All the same, it did make for interesting conversation.

What about you… do you have something that people would be surprised to know about you? Did you have an interesting conversation at your reunion? Perhaps you can go check out the Spin Cycle by clicking on the picture below and see what others have to say.

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My sabbatical is hopefully over

Sometimes I wonder if anybody really noticed…

There are moments when you wonder if you want to continue. I wonder if starting up again is going to be successful, or will it still be a struggle like it was before. When I looked back at the number of posts I made before I stopped, I realized that the numbers were slowly declining.

Of course, I have a great excuse for stopping— but I don't want to just give excuses. I would much rather know that those people who like to read my posts are glad that I have returned.

I know that I have outlined my recommended posts before— but I have had a lot of time elapse and have a fresh perspective on these posts. This will also allow you the opportunity to "refresh" your memory of my writing style— or even get a taste of my writing style if you are new here.

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Posts that I am proud of writing:

Name, Occupation, Health, Feelings

This is probably my oldest personal philosophy concept as I remember writing about this when I was a freshman in high school. I am considering re-posting it and making it into a multiple post where I outline my thoughts in the first post, then get into greater detail in separate posts.

Attraction Factors

This is one of my personal philosophy posts which talk about those things which attract us to others.

Traditional Letter Writing

I talk about how I have many traditions when it comes to letter writing some of which I still follow to this day.

The Tangibles

This is part one of a two part post which deals with the concept of tangibility. I suggest reading both this one and the following one to be able to compare the two properly.

The Intangibles

This is part two of a two part post which deals with the concept of tangibility. I originally wanted to just talk about this— but realized that I was doing a lot of comparing so I had to break it up into two separate parts.

Three Legged Stool

This post uses the analogy of a stool when it comes to relationships.

From the mind, heart, and soul

Here I try to clarify some of the terms I tend to use when it comes to my opinions on things.

Sphere of Influence

This post can stand on its own— but is also related to the next two listings below. It is an interesting concept which is referenced a lot in other posts.

Tyranny of Numbers

This post is related to the Sphere of Influence post but expands upon the concept to include the Internet and being able to find what you are looking for through searching.

Anonymity through Commonality

This post takes the post on Sphere of Influence and the post on Tyranny of Numbers and expands upon it to show how difficult it is to find "Me".

Inspiration and Motivation

This is my explanation of the difference between inspiration and motivation written at the time of the President's inauguration.

Coping Mechanism

This post helps to explain how we cope with stress in life.

Smart vs. Intelligent

I seem to get a lot of hits on this one. This is how I define the difference between being smart and being intelligent.

Pretty vs. Beautiful

This is how I define the difference between being pretty and being beautiful.

Do you have that new myPhone yet…

A tongue and cheek look at how our reliance on phone features could go too far.

The Long Rain

A review I wrote in high school about a science fiction short story.

Trolling for South Pole Traffic

My look at Web statistics services and how they leave out an entire continent.

Couples and Train Couplings

An analogy between people who are couples and train couplings.

Trapped in Time: Act 1

This is part one of a two part story that I originally wrote in high school. It is a cliff-hanger in that you need to read the next post to get the end.

Friendship Types

This is the first part of a four part series on different types of friends that a person can have. I strongly encourage you to read the rest of the series as it took me almost a year to complete.

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Posts that currently have 20 or more comments:

Warm Milk

This was my first post that reached 20 comments. It is also one of my first participatory posts where I am participating in Tuesday's Tribute.

Wordful Wednesday - Spikester Diddly Dog

This one got a lot of comments because… who doesn't like dogs.

Communication Styles

This is an introduction to a series post that I have about communication styles. I encourage you to read the next four posts as well since they cover each in more detail.

Writer's Workshop: C is for Cookie

This is a good story about how my sister taught me a lesson for demanding a cookie. Be sure to read the comments, she tells the real story and not the one a 4 year old remembers.

100th Post

Most people like to wish you well on your 100th post. Hopefully it will give you some topics to ask me to write about.

TT: Spin on the Bed

This is currently the record holder with the number of comments made. I probably tribute it to being both a Tuesday's Tribute and a Spin Cycle participatory post.

What's in a nickname: Naming conventions

I think a lot of people have nicknames and like to share theirs.

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Please feel free to visit these pages if you have not done so already to give you a smattering of my writing style.