Thursday, June 25, 2015

Signs of the Times (Part 7) - Leap Second - the new Y2K?

Wikipedia/Leap Second - June 30, 2012

Remember 1999?  

You must be an old timer then.  :)  It was last century. Actually last millennium. Back then, we were all bracing for the dreaded ...

Y2K - the year 2000

For some, it was the End of the World. And for grins, here are some of those predictions of Armageddon, nuclear holocaust, the End Times:  10 Failed Doomsday Predictions (2009)

Side note:  It's interesting when Jesus spoke of the End Times while on earth, He said He didn't know the date. Only the Father in Heaven knew the day and the hour.  (reference: Matthew 24)  Amazing how many people claim to know more about this than Jesus!

Back to Y2K, 2000 years after Jesus ...

For others, Y2K meant the Millennium Bug (which could have meant the end of the world). Our computers, which we have become so dependent upon for everything it seems, were not ready to handle the roll over from December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000. [reference: Y2K bug from Encyclopaedia Britannica]

This clip, a parody on the cartoon Godzilla, expresses the concern, humorously.



Time marched on. And there were glitches as the calendar rolled from 1999 to 2000. But  we survived. Since we are still here, the end of the world didn't happen ... yet.  :)

Next scare ...

December 21, 2012 - End of the World 

At least according to the Mayans. Or so they say. [reference: The Mayan Calendar - predicting the end of the world?]

And the Mayan calendar spawned this disaster movie - 20122012 | Sony Pictures

Yet, there were skeptics that it was just another day:



We're still here. And there is an explanation for that: Mayan Calendar And The End-Of-The-World Explained

Now, in the coming week we are facing a ...

Mini-Y2K, the Leap second - midnight, June 30, 2015 

To adjust our standardized clocks, a second will be added to our year. An extra second should be no biggie.  Again, it's the old we-are-so-dependent-upon-computers thing.  This extra second could really screw us up:  Leap second on June 30 will be 'mini-Y2K'

The dreaded leap second, coming this June 30, is explained here:



But this has happened 25 times since 1972 and the last time was 2012,  which caused computer problems. Yet, we survived the 2012 leap second and the Mayan calendar scare.  It wasn't the End of World ... yet ;)

See you on July 1 ... Lord willing ...

Timing is everything in this world of hi-tech, which is just another one of the ....

Signs of the Times ....

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Previous posts in this series:

Signs of the Times (part 1) - Camping in the Parks (2012)

Signs of the Times (part 2) - Layaway (2012)



Signs of the Times (part 5) - Staycations (2013)

Signs of the Times (part 6) - Fear of Missing Out (2015)

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Photo from:  Wikipedia/Leap Second - June 30, 2012

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Timeless Truths (part 6) - Magna Carta - 800 years and still going strong

Magna Carta/wikipedia.com

Timeless Truths explores, June 15, 1215 AD - a watershed year. And we still feel it effects in 2015. What happened 800 years ago?

In 1215, failed foreign policies and heavy taxation spurred an uprising of powerful English barons against King John. Under duress, this successor to his brother Richard I, the Lion Heart signed a document which put all future monarchs under the rule of law.

It was called the Great Charter. Perhaps it's better known for its Latin name, the Magna Carta. [reference:  Magna Carta - British History - HISTORY.com ]

And here's how it happened:



The signing of the Magna Carta rippled throughout history, setting the basis for English Common Law, and inspiring the American Revolution as well as the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

The principles placed limits on what our government can do. Thus governments were to be in chains of their Constitution, not the people in chains to their government.  Politics shifted from a government of men to a government of laws.

And below is a lesson as to how the Magna Carta influenced the American government:


As US President Abraham Lincoln echoed the Declaration of Independence, which was echoed by John Locke, which echoed the Magna Carta:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 
....
that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.


It's no wonder the Magna Carta is considered one of the Five Documents that Changed the World.

Indeed, the pen is mightier than the sword.

Happy 800 years!

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Previous posts in series:

Timeless Truths (Part 1) - A Cup of Cold Water (2013)

Timeless Truths (part 2) - Love (2013)

Timeless Truths (part 3) - Hakuna Matata - No Worries? (2013)

Timeless Truths (part 4) - A Mother's Advice  (2013)

Timeless Truths (part 5): Always Assume Positive Intent (2014)

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Magna Carta/wikipedia.com