Life can occasionally be bizarre when you wear tri-focals -sometimes seeing is not believing.
When I first saw the title of this thread I thought it read: "Working on your Layout - Gangnan Style"
Talk about visions of the apocalypse! The end of the world seems less bizarre.
George V.
Lehigh Valley 2089 Steven S NittanyLionWe're not even entirely sure where the center of the galaxy is anyhow. Actually they know precisely where it is. Astronomers spent 16 years tracking the stars that orbit the black hole at the center of our galaxy. http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/12/09/unprecedented.16.year.long.study.tracks.stars.orbiting.milky.way.black.hole Steve S They even have a slight idea as to where we are in our own little galactic group called "The Local Group" including the Milky Way, Andromeda, and many smaller satellite galaxies orbiting the two monster galaxies. They even know that, in some time from now, we are to collide with Andromeda.
Steven S NittanyLionWe're not even entirely sure where the center of the galaxy is anyhow. Actually they know precisely where it is. Astronomers spent 16 years tracking the stars that orbit the black hole at the center of our galaxy. http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/12/09/unprecedented.16.year.long.study.tracks.stars.orbiting.milky.way.black.hole Steve S
NittanyLionWe're not even entirely sure where the center of the galaxy is anyhow.
Actually they know precisely where it is. Astronomers spent 16 years tracking the stars that orbit the black hole at the center of our galaxy.
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/12/09/unprecedented.16.year.long.study.tracks.stars.orbiting.milky.way.black.hole
Steve S
They even have a slight idea as to where we are in our own little galactic group called "The Local Group" including the Milky Way, Andromeda, and many smaller satellite galaxies orbiting the two monster galaxies. They even know that, in some time from now, we are to collide with Andromeda.
In my book, if you still have a plus/minus on how many kiloparsecs, you haven't nailed it down yet.
Yes, functionally we know that its right around Sagittarius A* but if you're going to need to have something more precise than a 1,000 ly window for something to "align" with it.
Eh, whatever though. I'm more of a planetary astronomer in my amateur astronomy and I only got a C+ in that one astrophysics class I took. Did better in the other astronomies!
What's really going to happen is that this is going ot be the day Galactica finally finds Earth, and the Lost Colony. We will be reunited with our surviving brethren, all all switch to model rockets as a hobby. Good thing, because the Cylons will be hot on their heels.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
It started with the guy with the brown suit and spider hair-do on History 2 telling us it was going to happen and he read it on the wall of the site of where ancient aliens landed! Good Gawd guys, get with the program, here!
The earth is 4-5 billion year old! Yet for some stupid reason we humans all think, Oh, yea, I'm so important that it absolutly makes sense that it will end in my lifetime!
So, let' change the discussion: In years, days, hours, minutes and seconds, how old is Earth?
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
4 Days 23 Hours 34 Minutes 38 Seconds and counting.
Realistic Water still has not completely cleared.
I just don't know if I can get this project done in time.
I have cancelled all pre-orders and ended all of my eBay auctions.
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrainAw nuts, the world comes to an end one week from today according to the Mayan calendar.
So if we were working according to the Mayan calendar, maybe all our passenger trains would have 13 cars, and we would buy coal gondolas in blocks of 13, OR maybe it should be the beginning of a new Epoch on our model railroads.
Aw cmon guys.....
1) 95% of all Brick and Mortar Hobby Shops are in Heaven
2) We have eternity to shop at them
Mine doesn't move.......it's at the station!!!
Not to worry! By the time the sun burns out and we hit Andromeda we'll all have evolved into a higher plane of existence. In other words, model railroaders will rule the world from their sundry self-supporting well lit basements and Andromeda will be just another station stop for the chronically underfunded Galactic Belt Public Railway.
The Cedar Branch & Western--The Hillbilly Line!
Lehigh Valley 2089I think I heard that we're to collide in 10 to 20 billion years,
Steven S Lehigh Valley 2089 They even know that, in some time from now, we are to collide with Andromeda. Yep, but we've got about four billion years before we need to worry about that. Besides, that's about the same time the sun will be expanding into a red giant, so colliding with Andromeda will be the least of earth's worries. Steve S
Lehigh Valley 2089 They even know that, in some time from now, we are to collide with Andromeda.
Yep, but we've got about four billion years before we need to worry about that. Besides, that's about the same time the sun will be expanding into a red giant, so colliding with Andromeda will be the least of earth's worries.
I think I heard that we're to collide in 10 to 20 billion years, but the sun is indeed to burn out into a white dwarf and radiate it's last bit of heat into the cosmos before that happens. In fact, Earth may not exist during the collision because they think that as the sun expands, it will swallow Earth. (Don't worry though, they think that Earth may be more Mars like when it happens.)
The Lehigh Valley Railroad, the Route of the Black Diamond Express, John Wilkes and Maple Leaf.
-Jake, modeling the Barclay, Towanda & Susquehanna.
BroadwayLionThat's 1 TRILLION, 6 HUNDRED 79 BILLION to 1 odds.
I give it 1,000,000,000,000,000 (one quadrillion) to 1 that it will happen.
And if it happens? Oh well, guess I will paint my Postwar Lionel locomotives to resemble the Polar Express.
BroadwayLionhat's 1 TRILLION, 6 HUNDRED 79 BILLION to 1 odds.
galaxy However, the Computer "bots" who can "forecast" the future, show no computer/internet activity for some time after the 21st of December this year.
However, the Computer "bots" who can "forecast" the future, show no computer/internet activity for some time after the 21st of December this year.
I'm a big proponent of computer modeling and stuff, but these guys are so out there that it seriously degrades the usefulness of computer modeling.
If they can predict day to day events, then why aren't they billionaires?
Not to worry, folks.
Last time I spoke to Terry Carlsen, at Sir Cedric's accolade in 3622, I asked him if he remembered 12/21/12. After I refined that down to 2012, he said that he didn't remember that date, so it's probable that nothing significant happened.
Since Terry (Senior Command Admiral Terence P. Carlsen, COMINCH, Confederation Space Navy when being formal) was born in 1930, and has lived every second since, some of them several times, he would know if anyone does (did, will...)
In the meantime, I will continue my snail-like progress, secure in the knowledge that both I and the layout will be there Saturday...
Chuck (Occasional science fiction author modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
DARN! And I am scheduled to have a tooth pulled that day in the afternoon!!!
What if they are wrong??
My under-the-tree trains will run again on Saturday, the 22nd I have no doubt.
Like the calendar of December 31 to January 1st, it will just roll over to a new Bactun, even the Mayans say so.
SO make/keep hard copies of all your bank/investment account balances the day BEFORE, so if all computers go kaput, you will have a hard copy with which to negotiate.
So they say anyway!
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
dragenrider I just realize that the closing date for our new basement house is on the afternoon of the end of the world! Oh no! Now I don't even have time to unpack my boxes! What will I do???!!!! Buck-up dragenrider! 12/21/2012 is the unofficial date I retire! I asked my boss if we were going to be made to come to work on the date of the end of the world, I mean shouldn't we be home with loved ones? He said we are all family here; so, lets come in and sit around and sing Kum Ba Yah! That, my friend, is the "MARK" of a great leader, able to make tough decisions in the face of traumatic adversity!!
I just realize that the closing date for our new basement house is on the afternoon of the end of the world! Oh no! Now I don't even have time to unpack my boxes! What will I do???!!!!
Buck-up dragenrider! 12/21/2012 is the unofficial date I retire! I asked my boss if we were going to be made to come to work on the date of the end of the world, I mean shouldn't we be home with loved ones? He said we are all family here; so, lets come in and sit around and sing Kum Ba Yah! That, my friend, is the "MARK" of a great leader, able to make tough decisions in the face of traumatic adversity!!
Why stop there? I have a Stephenson's Rocket you can add to that consist to make it even better. Oh, and a Reno. Need a Casey Jones to get turn of the 20th century in there too. Rocket will have to be the lead though, with a rope thrown over the next unit's coupler.
MisterBeasley I'm going to consist an AC4400 with a Big Boy, and the rivet-counters be damned!
I'm going to consist an AC4400 with a Big Boy, and the rivet-counters be damned!
wjstix Oddly enough, the recent the Mayans ended their calendar that day was because on that day, the sun rises directly in the center of the Milky Way galaxy (as viewed from Earth), which only happens once every 26 million years. So...if something happens it would be at sunrise, but sunrise doesn't happen at the same time everywhere...??
Oddly enough, the recent the Mayans ended their calendar that day was because on that day, the sun rises directly in the center of the Milky Way galaxy (as viewed from Earth), which only happens once every 26 million years. So...if something happens it would be at sunrise, but sunrise doesn't happen at the same time everywhere...??
Actually, it happens every year but not in December. We're not even entirely sure where the center of the galaxy is anyhow. Our best guess for the galactic center would be in a location that would be in the ENE on 12/21, whereas the sun rises in the ESE at this time of the year.
That said, that's for Mayan astronomers (and most of us in the Northern Hemisphere). Now, if you happen to be a couple thousand miles due east of the Falklands...yes it'll be there at the right place and time.
That's 1 TRILLION, 6 HUNDRED 79 BILLION to 1 odds.
What the heck! That's only a small fraction of our national debt!
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
NP2626 I'll give 4.5 billion X 365 to 1 the world doesn't end on the 21st! Any takers?
I'll give 4.5 billion X 365 to 1 the world doesn't end on the 21st! Any takers?
I offered similar odds for Y2K and I couldn't get any takers even though I knew several people who were stocking water and canned goods just in case.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
ho modern modeler If it's true, we'll all be in a better place....where there's plenty of undecorated models to paint/decal.
If it's true, we'll all be in a better place....where there's plenty of undecorated models to paint/decal.
Phoebe Vet I can't worry about that. My underground shelter is still full of ammunition (to fend off the neighbors), cigarettes (the post apocalypse currency), and canned goods that I gathered in anticipation of Y2K.
I can't worry about that. My underground shelter is still full of ammunition (to fend off the neighbors), cigarettes (the post apocalypse currency), and canned goods that I gathered in anticipation of Y2K.
Stix,
So are you saying that we go in stages???
Note that the 11:11:11 a.m. time is going by Universal time, set at Greenwich in the U.K. Here in Minnesota that works out to 6:11:11 am.
richhotrain BATMAN Well I think I am going to make another epic movie. It will be called Unstoppable III. This time Captain Kirk returns to earth using Time Warp technology to try and save the world from what the Mayan's declare will be the end. Taking a page from "Back To The Future" he and Scotty retrofit a powerful steam engine that has been lying idle in a museum for years. In order to take advantage of free special effects, can anyone tell me exactly what time the end will occur? I want to be sure the trains are running and the camera's rolling at that exact time. With any luck the video equipment will follow me to the netherworld where we can all enjoy it on the big screen TV in the trainroom in the sky. Popcorn and included. Cecil B. DeBrent Cecil, if I may address you so informally, the exact time of the end of the world is Friday, December 21, 2012 at 11:11:11 AM (UTC time). Here is a link to the official countdown timer which I suggest you keep handy in planning any remaining model railroading activities: http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/to?day=21&month=12&year=2012&hour=11&min=11&sec=11&p0=0 Rich
BATMAN Well I think I am going to make another epic movie. It will be called Unstoppable III. This time Captain Kirk returns to earth using Time Warp technology to try and save the world from what the Mayan's declare will be the end. Taking a page from "Back To The Future" he and Scotty retrofit a powerful steam engine that has been lying idle in a museum for years. In order to take advantage of free special effects, can anyone tell me exactly what time the end will occur? I want to be sure the trains are running and the camera's rolling at that exact time. With any luck the video equipment will follow me to the netherworld where we can all enjoy it on the big screen TV in the trainroom in the sky. Popcorn and included. Cecil B. DeBrent
Well I think I am going to make another epic movie. It will be called Unstoppable III.
This time Captain Kirk returns to earth using Time Warp technology to try and save the world from what the Mayan's declare will be the end. Taking a page from "Back To The Future" he and Scotty retrofit a powerful steam engine that has been lying idle in a museum for years.
In order to take advantage of free special effects, can anyone tell me exactly what time the end will occur? I want to be sure the trains are running and the camera's rolling at that exact time. With any luck the video equipment will follow me to the netherworld where we can all enjoy it on the big screen TV in the trainroom in the sky. Popcorn and included.
Cecil B. DeBrent
Cecil, if I may address you so informally, the exact time of the end of the world is Friday, December 21, 2012 at 11:11:11 AM (UTC time). Here is a link to the official countdown timer which I suggest you keep handy in planning any remaining model railroading activities:
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/to?day=21&month=12&year=2012&hour=11&min=11&sec=11&p0=0
As Captain Kirk would say "that's officer thinking Rich".
Have you ever considered working in the Movie industry?
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."