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.

(reference: https://youtu.be/xgGdOfitTyE )

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 - 2012: 2012 | Sony Pictures

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

(reference: https://youtu.be/uDyOOpDWPpI )

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:

(reference: https://youtu.be/bLzKBiIHFlA )

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 ....

-------------------------------
-------------------------------

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 3) - Layoffs (2013)

Signs of the Times (part 4) - Doomsday Preppers  (2013)

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

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

-------------------------------
-------------------------------

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

LOL (part 1) - Olympic dreaming on such a winter's day

Everystockphoto.com/Chariots of fire reenactment!

As the 2014 Winter Olympics will begin (February 6 -23, 2014), so I will begin another thread:

LOL - Laughing Out Loud.  (Some humor here.)

One of most famous Olympic films about the Summer Olympics (in 1924)  - Chariots of Fire (1981) - as reenacted in the picture above.

And here is the opening scene from this Oscar winning movie:

(reference: http://youtu.be/L-7Vu7cqB20 )

Yeah!  Going for the gold at the Olympics!  These are the things that dreams are made of!

Two years ago, London was venue for the 2012 Summer Olympics.  And as a tribute to the athletes - their dreams of going for the gold - the opening ceremonies began with the music from Chariots of Fire - injected with the humor of Rowan Atkinson.

(reference:  http://youtu.be/CwzjlmBLfrQ)

Never give up on your dreams!  And go for it!


---------
---------

Photo from:  Everystockphoto.com/Chariots of fire reenactment!

New Years 2012 - the Good worth fighting for!

Baseball. Apple pie. The American dream.

Those were the days? ....

As I flip the calender to a New Year - 2012 - I reflect on growing up in a seemingly more innocent America and I get nostalgic with a tinge of sadness. Many songs express these feelings, as one of my favorites made popular in 1968 - Those Were the Days - sung in this video clip below.



Those were the the days, my friend.

We thought they would never end ...

Not so long again, October 2011, I wrote a blog: America in Decline?! The news has been (and still is) bad for so long that it has affected the national psyche. Even global tweets in twitter show we are depressed: Is Twitter Showing We're Depressed?

And I find myself getting older, but not wiser?

How did that happen?

Let's go back to the "Good Ol' Days" - 1983

I wrote a poem some 30 years ago, which I had posted more recently on my web page: here. Back then, I had been a little then depressed - it was raining - and I was between jobs. In 1983, the country was still in a deep recession as we were just starting to pull out of a national malaise. And I had written this poem to express my feelings - looking back to my more optimistic school days,

Lamenting the "Good Ol' Days"

The past is gone
The future dim
We lament
What could have been!

As the rain
Blows in wind
We yearn the sun
That could have been!

Time wears away
As the rain
That pounds and drips
Against the pane ...

What could have been!
Dare we say --
Will be the 'morrow
Which is today?

(C) 1983 by S. K. Smith

But after 1983 came ...

1984

It was an ominous sounding year with the ring of disaster thanks to George Orwell's novel - 1984. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU. Yet in 1984, the national spirits and the economy took off. It would not be an exaggeration that in 1984, it was - Morning, again, in America.

Now at the doorstep is ...

2012

Like 1984, 2012 sounds like an ominous year. Some ancient prophesies predict a year of disasters. According to the Mayan calender - December 21, 2012 will be the "End of Time" (Also, reference: 2012 Mayan Predictions ) And there was the 2008 disaster movie - 2012 Doomsday.

2012 has become the new Y2K (2000).

The Future dim?

We survived Y2K - whose predicted disasters did not live up to the hype. With the turn of the new Millennium, The Lord of the Rings trilogy made it to the big screen in its latest version, starting in 2001. After the unpredicted disaster of 9/11, the story offered hope for the future as the protagonists faced and overcome overwhelming evil. One of my favorite speeches comes near the end of the second movie in the trilogy - The Two Towers (2002):




Looking back to stories in the past gives me hope for the future. There have been many dark days in our history. Like in the Lord of the Ring trilogy, the real life hero and heroines had many chances to turn back, but they did not. All were hanging on to the hope that there was some good in this world worth fighting for.

These stories still inspire me and we have their stories easily accessible to review in many forms of media. Here is a sample of some of those stories - with video links:

* The Revolutionary War

During the dark days when the "Glorious Cause of America" seemed lost, George Washington never gave up: George Washington insights

* The War of 1812

During the Battle of Baltimore and the fierce British bombardment of Fort McHenry, it looked like the United States would lose its "Second War of Independence." Great Britain had offered us an easy out if we took down our colors and surrendered. But we did not. Then enemy gave it everything they got. Against the odds, we prevailed. This battle inspired Francis Scott Key who wrote the words that became our national anthem: The Star Spangled Banner Story

* The Civil War

During those very dark days, it seemed the United States would dissolve, especially after the terrible losses such as at the Battle of Gettysburg. But Abraham Lincoln reminded us of the good that was worth fighting for: The Gettysburg Address

* World War Two:

During the dark days as Europe was succumbing to Hitler's juggernaut, Sir Winston Churchill reminded his people and allies as the United States that Christian civilization was worth fighting for: Their Finest Hour Speech

* The Cold War

During these dark days, it seemed communism was gobbling up the free world, imprisoning millions under dictatorial regimes behind the Iron and Bamboo Curtains. Yet, Ronald Reagan reminded us that freedom was worth fighting for: A Time for Choosing

As in the stories above there is still Good in this world and ...

it is worth fighting for!

This 2012,

Fight the good fight of faith ...

1 Timothy 6:12
(King James Version)

-----------------------------
-----------------------------

Previous New Year's posts:

New Year's Lessons from Gilligan's Island (2010)

Eucatastrophe for 2010? (2010)

New Year's Resolutions and Blue Monday - the cure (2009)

-----------------------------


Photo from Wikipedia Commons: Americana