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North Pole is Leaving Canada

Dedekind writes: "CNN.com is posting this story on the drifting of the Magnetic North Pole. Not only is the pole shifting from a spot just North of Resolute, Canada, Canadian scientists expect it to end up in Siberia within the next half-century. Perhaps the most interesting part of the story (which really is only a small part at the end) is that many couples like to go to the magnetic North Pole to conceive their children. "

380 comments

  1. Blame Canada by I+Have+a+Hard · · Score: 0, Funny

    See subject.

    1. Re:Blame Canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes I see it.

  2. Effect on topo maps by wiredog · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Most, if not all, topographic maps have the difference between True north and magnetic north noted on them. This is so that people navigating by compass don't get lost. If the magnetic pole is moving that fast, then the maps are going to have to be updated much more frequently.

    1. Re:Effect on topo maps by Kwikymart · · Score: 1

      I dont know about anything else, but the nautical charts put out by the Canadian and American hydrographical services have corrections for this. I would think that any topographical map that had a magnetic north pole would have corrections for the change too.

      --

      Buying a Dell computer is equivalent to dropping the soap in a prison shower.
    2. Re:Effect on topo maps by Boulder+Geek · · Score: 5, Informative

      This is very old news. The NMP has been known to drift for pretty much as long as there have been compasses. The magnetic declination on topo maps has always been out of date, usually from the moment they've been printed. For example, I've had people tell me that the magnetic declination in the Rocky Mountain Front Range is 17 deg E (based on topos), when in fact it is currently close to 0 (I'm too lazy to look up current coordinates ;-). It may very well have been 17 deg in 1903, but the pole has drifted considerably since then!

      The article also makes it clear that the odds are poor that it will actually end up in Siberia, as the pole has never followed a straight line, and the rate of movement has always been unpredictable.

      --
      A well-crafted lie appears unquestionable - Dama Mahaleo
    3. Re:Effect on topo maps by daniel_isaacs · · Score: 2

      I dont know about anything else, but the nautical charts put out by the Canadian and American hydrographical services have corrections for this. I would think that any topographical map that had a magnetic north pole would have corrections for the change too.

      True, they do. But that difference is what's changing. Thus the printed maps will be out of date

      --
      - Dan I.
    4. Re:Effect on topo maps by mikeboone · · Score: 2

      maps are going to have to be updated much more frequently.

      Probably a good idea. I was doing some recent work with plotting GPS tracks on USGS topo maps. These maps, which I downloaded from the web, stated that they had been made in 1964 and last updated in 1976!

    5. Re:Effect on topo maps by T5 · · Score: 1

      Who cares about geomagnetic north with the advent of GPS? Sure, legacy devices abound, but these are mostly amusements that aren't used for precision tasks.

    6. Re:Effect on topo maps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Every aircraft on the planet (mostly :) has a magnetic compass for the inevitable failure of the GPS/LORAN/VOR/etc. when an electrical fault occurs.

      Compasses are useless for navigation without knowing the magnetic variation.

      (I'm a pilot who flies with a compass)

    7. Re:Effect on topo maps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is very old news.

      Welcome to Slashdot.

    8. Re:Effect on topo maps by Ioldanach · · Score: 2, Informative
      But that difference is what's changing. Thus the printed maps will be out of date

      IIRC, marine charts (what a map's called when you put it on a boat) at least regularly have correction sheets printed, so the charts don't go out of date as quickly.

    9. Re:Effect on topo maps by rehannan · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't know about you, but I would never go out into the bush without a compass. True, I may also have a handheld GPS unit, but what if it's batteries run out or it falls 200 feet down a rocky slope or I drop it in a lake? For something as important as navigation, never rely on just one device.

    10. Re:Effect on topo maps by Bonker · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Who cares about geomagnetic north with the advent of GPS?

      Those without electricity to run GPS devices.

      Say that you are in a non-urban environment somewhere, either a Boyscout on a trip in the Southwest U.S., a U.S. serviceman in the mountains of Afghanistan, or a deep-sea fisherman off the coast of New England. If you're lucky, you have a GPS device that tells you exactly where you are and what route you should take to get to where you're going. It's certainly safer that way, idn't?

      Suppose that your batteries run down, or your generator breaks down, or the GPS device you're using doesn't have a hand crank. I bet you'd really like to know the difference between true north and magnetic north right about then.

      Suppose the U.S. goes to war in the near future with a country who is not vastly overwhelmed by our military might. If I was in charge of a war effort in such a country, (China for example, which may happen depending on how we handle the 'War on Terrorism'), I would make a point of using missiles to eliminate the network of GPS sattellites in order to confuse and confound my enemies.

      U.S. soldiers, pilots, and ship captains would *have* to care about Magnetic vs. True north at that point. I'm almost certain that standard field gear for all U.S. servicemen still includes a magnetic compass. Any of the Military readers care to confirm or correct me?

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    11. Re:Effect on topo maps by www.sorehands.com · · Score: 2
      The maps really don't have to be updated. True north is not magnetic north.


      What has to be updated are navigation systems that use magnetic north and calculate the true north based on magnetic variance.

    12. Re:Effect on topo maps by fmaxwell · · Score: 2

      GPS works. It works very well. So does GLONASS. There is no reason why, in the 21st century, someone should be navigating with a compass when two handheld GPS units would fit in a jacket pocket.

      I'm sure that I'll get flamed by people with all kinds of absurd scenarios about the satellites going offline, batteries dying, and interference from migratory waterfowl. So be it. If someone mounting a wilderness expedition can't be trusted to pack batteries and spares for their equipment, then they need to stay home and watch National Geographic Explorer on television.

    13. Re:Effect on topo maps by md17 · · Score: 2, Informative

      The difference between magnetic and true north is called declination. Some maps even say how much the declination changes per year. Here is a nice FAQ about declination which includes a section about how to determine declination. More information about declination Here.

    14. Re:Effect on topo maps by Kwikymart · · Score: 1

      Yes, it is called Notice to Mariners and it's a subscription service here in Canada. I have no idea about the states.

      --

      Buying a Dell computer is equivalent to dropping the soap in a prison shower.
    15. Re:Effect on topo maps by mlh1996 · · Score: 1

      If someone mounting a wilderness expedition can't be trusted to pack batteries and spares for their equipment, then they need to stay home and watch National Geographic Explorer on television.

      A compass and map is smaller and lighter than an extra GPS Unit and extra batteries. You most likely wont need the backup anyway, so why pack the extra weight?

      --
      Lack of creativity is no excuse for not having a .sig
    16. Re:Effect on topo maps by danielrose · · Score: 1

      True, I may also have a handheld GPS unit, but what if it's batteries run out or it falls 200 feet down a rocky slope or I drop it in a lake?
      Ignoring the battery part, the same thing that happens if you drop your compass 200 feet down a rocky slope or drop it in a lake - it doesn't work anymore.

      --
      i hate pansy republicans
    17. Re:Effect on topo maps by niftyeric · · Score: 1

      I always thought it was funny in the movie "Red Planet" where Gallagher (Val Kilmer) was talking about how his grandfather taught him to read the stars so he wouldn't get lost if all the GPS satellites fell from the sky.

      Of course, the stars are moving too, it just won't be as obvious as the North Pole (unless you can wait ~billions of years). :)

      It didn't say why the North Pole is moving (unless I missed it). It's because of solar wind, correct?

      --
      proton != antielectron
    18. Re:Effect on topo maps by issachar · · Score: 2, Informative
      yes, you can break a compass, but a compass is still a lot more hardy than a GPS.

      also, you can make a compass using a bowl of still water, a blade of grass, and a small sliver of ferrous metal. (like the hand of a watch)

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    19. Re:Effect on topo maps by issachar · · Score: 1
      I'm sure that I'll get flamed by people with all kinds of absurd scenarios about the satellites going offline, batteries dying, and interference from migratory waterfowl. So be it. If someone mounting a wilderness expedition can't be trusted to pack batteries and spares for their equipment, then they need to stay home and watch National Geographic Explorer on television.

      Yes, anyone worth their salt always carries a backup. That's what a compass is for. Batteries dying is dying or damaging the electronics is not an absurd scenario. (Not sure about the waterfowl though). That's why you never stop carrying paper maps in favour of electronic ones. Simple technology is the most reliable.

      --
      . --- If you're looking for free e-mail you won't find it here! http://www.noemailhere.com
    20. Re:Effect on topo maps by gorilla · · Score: 2

      I'm wondering if magnetic north is becoming less and less important. I use true north when I'm navigating, cause that's why my GPS gives.

    21. Re:Effect on topo maps by WotanKhan · · Score: 1

      As the original poster noted, the maps themselves contain the angle of declination (offset between true and magnetic north) which is used for compass navigation.

      Interesting, I use these topographical maps and compass frequently for off-trail navigation while backpacking. While my purposes do not require precise measurements, still the more accurate the better. I wonder if this angle has substantially changed for the Yosemite area?

    22. Re:Effect on topo maps by bofkentucky · · Score: 1

      Or you could try this site or this one to get the current declination.

      --
      09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0
    23. Re:Effect on topo maps by WotanKhan · · Score: 1
      On the contrary, there are several reasons:

      Weight: a significant factor while backpacking. I prefer technology that lightens my pack rather than adds to it.

      Practice: Important since the compass and topo should always be carried as a backup system.

      Fun: In my youth I engaged in orienteering as an enjoyable way to train for backcountry expeditions. Though they may have incorporated the GPS into these competitions, in some ways it still feels like "cheating" when I use them.

      Cost: A quality GPS, one that is accessible in deep canyons and such that block Line of Sight was still a few hundred bones last time I checked. Since an altimeter/compass/topo combination is extremely effective, the expenditure is not obligatory.

    24. Re:Effect on topo maps by rlowe69 · · Score: 2

      also, you can make a compass [thinkquest.org] using a bowl of still water, a blade of grass, and a small sliver of ferrous metal. (like the hand of a watch)

      Yes, but then it's decidedly less portable. ;)

      --
      ----- rL
    25. Re:Effect on topo maps by cwebster · · Score: 1

      > True, they do. But that difference is what's changing. Thus the printed maps will be out of date

      cant speak for normal topo maps, but aviation sectionals expire every 6 months, to accomodate magnetic changes, topo changes, landmark changes, etc. IFR charts (non-topo) expire every 56 days for changes to get out. So, at least aviators are used to getting new charts frequently, so it shouldnt be too much trouble for other map making agencies/users to update more frequently as well.

    26. Re:Effect on topo maps by fishboy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      yes, i'll disagree with you.

      there are things that a compass can do (gasp!) that gps can't, like taking bearings off of other objects to figure out what they are on the map and the inverse, plotting courses from the map and sighting them to the real world.

      sure, a gps can give you a rough arrow on an LCD display of which way to go, but a compass can tell you precisely (within a half degree) of the direction over a long distance in very little time. who wants to keep looking at the gps all the time? with a compass, sight once, walk or canoe several kilometres, sight again.

      and it's technology overload. in most circumstances a compass is more than enough and does the job faster with the same (necessary) accuracy. i don't *need* to know within a metre where i am, i only need to know within a hundred metres, and even that is overkill sometimes.

      i also believe that the gps offers a false sense of security, that people believe that they won't be able to get lost without it.

      and then there's the whole nature/tech separation which is the whole reason people go outside in the first place, to get away from the gadgets. i don't even like tripping with my watch.

      my two cents. i'm sure they have a billion applications.

    27. Re:Effect on topo maps by delcielo · · Score: 2

      You are absolutely right.

      I don't know about the topo maps your relating to; but the NOAA puts out navigational charts for pilots with topographical data that are updated every 6 months.

      I've even experienced the odd little thing of the runway at my local airport being renumbered because it's magnetic alignment shifted just enough.

      --
      Hot Damn! It's the Soggy Bottom Boys!
    28. Re:Effect on topo maps by Kwikymart · · Score: 1
      to get the current declination


      I think you mean variation. Declination is a term used for latitude of celestial bodies in the sky. You were probably thinking of "deviation" -- which happens to be the local change in the readings of the compass due to metallic elements in a boat etc.
      --

      Buying a Dell computer is equivalent to dropping the soap in a prison shower.
    29. Re:Effect on topo maps by delcielo · · Score: 2

      It should also be noted that the gps signal is fairly weak, and wouldn't be hard to interfere with.

      All that fancy navigational equipment I have in my airplane doesn't come close to approaching the compass/stopwatch/map for reliability.

      --
      Hot Damn! It's the Soggy Bottom Boys!
    30. Re:Effect on topo maps by crumley · · Score: 2
      It didn't say why the North Pole is moving (unless I missed it). It's because of solar wind, correct?
      No, these movements of the pole are not caused by the solar wind. The solar wind does affect the location of the poles, but on shorter time-scales. The movements of the poles are believed to be caused by shifts in the core of Earth that affect the dynamo that causes the Earth's intrinsic magnetic field.
      --
      Preventive War is like committing suicide for fear of death. - Otto Von Bismarck
    31. Re:Effect on topo maps by guyo26 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      As a former light infantryman in the 10th Mountain Division [you may have heard of them recently] I can say with absoulte conviction that GPS is a hunk of crap.

      Yes, we had them, no they were not accurate enough. Several times we took a GPS reading to a KNOWN location. Known as in to 8 digits. For those who don't know what that means, here's a link:
      http://www.adtdl.army.mil/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/ fm/3-25 .26/toc.htm

      The GPS was consistently off by at least 30 meters. That may not sound like a lot, but when you are calling for direct fire, 30 meters is the difference between wiping out the enemy and wiping out your squad or platoon.

      Yes, the lensatic compass is still standard issue: http://www.rangerjoes.com/catalog/selection.cfm?ca tegory=main&id=795

      The biggest reason why people wash out of military schools is LandNav [well, and PT I guess]. No combat soldier trusts his luck to a contraption that may/may not be accurate.

      Of course this doesn't apply to helicopter pilots and others. And also it doesn't apply to desert regions like Iraq [see Bravo Two Zero for an example of a GPS must]. But for day to day use I'll take my lensatic compass over a GPS in a heartbeat.

    32. Re:Effect on topo maps by GoRK · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It should also be noted that the gps signal is fairly weak, and wouldn't be hard to interfere with.

      This is a problem which has been all but solved. The military has developed vehicle-mounted gps recievers that can deal with inconceivable amounts of jamming (something about using multiple recievers to filter out the jamming signal - im not a radio expert), then relay the signal over some un-jammed frequency (software-based radio maybe?) to provide highly accurate positioning to weapons and personnel in the field who are unable to recieve the "native" gps signal.

      Couple this with the military's ability to selectively introduce faulty data into the GPS signal (and remove it on the ground) and you have a pretty good system for getting you within 10 feet of where you want to go and disorienting your enemy besides.

      And in response to the grandparent of this post, good luck hitting any LEO satellite with a missle. That's like trying to shoot a fly at 5000 yards with a .44. Talk about a feat! A more effective anti-satellite weapon would probably be a railgun (a real railgun) capable of hurling millions of particles of dust sized shrapnel at insane speeds in the general vacinity of the target satellite -- if they'd ever finish the development of the weapon..

      All that fancy navigational equipment I have in my airplane doesn't come close to approaching the compass/stopwatch/map for reliability.

      Ah yes but it certainly does for accuracy and detail!

    33. Re:Effect on topo maps by rehannan · · Score: 2

      Yes, but the adage of "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" still holds true.

    34. Re:Effect on topo maps by bluGill · · Score: 2

      If I drop my compass down a rocky slope, I can recover the neddle and hang in from a string (I can make some soft of string).

      If I drop my compass into a lake I need only retrive it (easier said then done, but often possibal), and it will work. A GPS can short out and not work again, or at least not work until it dries, while a compass works underwater.

    35. Re:Effect on topo maps by rehannan · · Score: 2
      And in response to the grandparent of this post, good luck hitting any LEO satellite with a missle.

      GPS satellites aren't in LEO. They orbit at an altitude of 20,200 km (12,552 miles).

    36. Re:Effect on topo maps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, the NM Pole has been travelling in a more or less straight line for over a century.

    37. Re:Effect on topo maps by Sylver+Dragon · · Score: 2, Informative

      And in response to the grandparent of this post, good luck hitting any LEO satellite with a missle. That's like trying to shoot a fly at 5000 yards with a .44. Talk about a feat!

      Actually, hitting a satellite in orbit was done back in the '80's. Sure, it was by the US Air Force, but I don't think that they have a monopoly on cool weapons tech. ASAT missle

      --
      Necessity is the mother of invention.
      Laziness is the father.
    38. Re:Effect on topo maps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, its us humans doing it. We're destroying the environment, and now were causing the poles to move at unprecedented rates, by the overuse of electrical devices. The EM fields given off by all of our microwaves and computers is accelleraing the rate at which the magnetic poles shift.
      This is going to disrupt the migration patterns of birds causeing untold ecological damage. Also, with us causing a churning of the molten layer if the earth, by "stirring" it with the poles, this will increse the number of volcanos and earthquakes.

      Ok, my apologizes to the non-wacko environmentalists out there, but someone had to say it. Though I only fear that someone will try to propose that we humans have somehow caused this and that it is horrible.

    39. Re:Effect on topo maps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The US has been edging closer and closer to war with China long before the 'war on terrorism.'

    40. Re:Effect on topo maps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      with respect to cartography, declination is the angle between magnetic north and true north. variation is the rate of change of that angle.

    41. Re:Effect on topo maps by macaddict · · Score: 1
      If someone mounting a wilderness expedition can't be trusted to pack batteries and spares for their equipment, then they need to stay home and watch National Geographic Explorer on television.

      Maybe that should read 'Someone mounting a wilderness expedition should know not to rely on fragile equipment when you're a whole heckuva long ways from anywhere'. My handy, dandy little compass may not need a pound of batteries and have pretty little flashing lights, but it will survive an all-day rainstorm, take a dunking in a river and handle being dropped onto rocks from pretty high up. My USGS map will do the same. And since the light-and-compact map and compass work so well, why the heck would you want to burden yourself with all that extra equipment?

      An important rule of wilderness backpacking is if an essential piece of equipment can't be fixed with duct tape, it doesn't belong in the backcountry.

    42. Re:Effect on topo maps by danielrose · · Score: 1

      On a related note, humans actually have iron in their noses which helps to naturally determine the way - kind of a built in compass.. Hence your guess is often close to correct

      --
      i hate pansy republicans
    43. Re:Effect on topo maps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      point. I'm almost certain that standard field gear for all U.S. servicemen still includes a magnetic compass. Any of the Military readers care to confirm or correct me?

      You are correct. Also, basic and ongoing training specifically includes figuring out the declination between map/true north and magnetic north when navigating from maps.

    44. Re:Effect on topo maps by rehannan · · Score: 2

      The difference between true north and magnetic north is refered to as deviation, declination, and variation. I personally prefer declination.

    45. Re:Effect on topo maps by Kanasta · · Score: 2

      Maps are marked as:

      Magnetic north is X deg from geographic N in 19xx, and moves Y deg W each year.

      They would only contain errors when the SPEED of movement changes.

      Seriously tho, in all my camping trips, we never bother calculating true N.

      I mean, trees, hills, Am I really going to mistake that mountain from that valley?

      People that need to calc T N, will know how to calc it properly.

    46. Re:Effect on topo maps by thogard · · Score: 1

      Maybe you should have been paying attention when they taked about "map datums" in your map reading classes. Then you would understand taht 30 m error. Besides GPS is only good for about 10m (15m if you have the militray ones with the right keys)

    47. Re:Effect on topo maps by payslee · · Score: 4, Insightful

      To join the objections bandwagon: My biggest issue with GPS is that it doesn't work reliably under tree cover or in canyons, something most manufacturers don't go out of their way to advertise. In the Pacific Northwest, where I do most of my hiking, this means GPS isn't that useful. I mean, it can be sort of fun, and you can download maps and see a little "X marks the spot" right on the trail where you're standing, but I would *never* leave my compass at home.

      My favorite example of this was a 4 day outing I did last summer. Two of my friends brought their new GPS toys to play with, and were placing bets on which was better. Due to terrain and heavy tree cover, they were only able to get a reading from one spot the first day. Two spots on the second, and from nowhere (except the parking lot) on the last two days.

      Map and compass are easy to master, cheap, always reliable, and weigh less than two ounces. Sure, you can bring your GPS, but I'm still not leaving my compass at home.

      --
      Doing my part to piss off the religious right.
    48. Re:Effect on topo maps by danro · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't a nuke detonated in orbit EMP-fry all sattelites within it's line of sight? (Plus, something along the lines of a continent below...)

      On the other hand, if nukes are fired in anger humanity have far more pressing problems than GPS redings I guess.

      --

      "First lesson," Jon said. "Stick them with the pointy end."
    49. Re:Effect on topo maps by guyo26 · · Score: 1

      Upon further review, I guess that was a bit harsh.

      Still, when you factor in breakability, random quirks, replacement batteries, etc, I'll STILL take a compass. Besides, I carried enough spare batteries for the SINCGARS [radio], spare ammo, spare 60 ammo, spare socks, and spare spares to make one less a happy thing *grin*

    50. Re:Effect on topo maps by TheAlmightyQ · · Score: 1

      also, you can make a compass [thinkquest.org] using a bowl of still water, a blade of grass, and a small sliver of ferrous metal. (like the hand of a watch)

      Also, you can make a GPS system using only a few atomic clocks, several satellites in low earth orbit, and about eleventy billion dollars.

      --
      I hope you're not pretending to be evil while secretly being good. That would be dishonest.
    51. Re:Effect on topo maps by bofkentucky · · Score: 1

      My map reading class and any USGS map I have seen lists it as declination.

      --
      09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0
    52. Re:Effect on topo maps by nadaou · · Score: 1

      Besides GPS is only good for about 10m (15m if you have the militray ones with the right keys)

      well you've mistyped 100m as 10m, but it doesn't matter because Clinton had Selective Availability switched off somewhen around 1 May 2000. Now single freq. civilian GPS has the same accuracy as single freq. military GPS. Everyone now gets better than 10m accuracy, usually better than 20 foot.

      --
      ~.~
      I'm a peripheral visionary.
    53. Re:Effect on topo maps by Fenris+Ulf · · Score: 1

      That's funny, when I learned surveying last year in the Front Range (Colorado School of Mines) it sure wasn't zero (it was around 12.5 degrees). Maybe you were nearby a local magnetic anomoly? Or maybe you were holding your compass next to your belt buckle?

    54. Re:Effect on topo maps by ColdGrits · · Score: 1

      What kind of cheap crummy maps are YOU using?

      Every proper map I have EVER seen, which locates True North and Magnetic North, clearly labels the date for which their location of Magnetic North was correct, and details the speed and direction in which Magnetic North is moving.

      I suggest you buy yourself a proper map in future!

      --
      People should not be afraid of their governments - Governments should be afraid of their people.
    55. Re:Effect on topo maps by -brazil- · · Score: 1

      The speed - or the direction. And both ARE changing.

      --

      The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.
      --Henry Kissinger

    56. Re:Effect on topo maps by armb · · Score: 2

      > The magnetic declination on topo maps has always been out of date, usually from the moment they've been printed.

      UK OS maps have "magnetic deviation is in , varying at per year". The rate isn't actually constant, since as you say the poles movement is irregular, so an old map will still give a wrong answer, but it takes a few years for the inaccuracy to be enough to be significant with a hand-held compass.

      --
      rant
    57. Re:Effect on topo maps by armb · · Score: 2

      Damn. Forgot "Plain Old Text" means "Plain Old Text, but < and > still have to be < and >. Should have previewed. Anyway: "magnetic deviation is in , varying at per year"

      --
      rant
    58. Re:Effect on topo maps by Alsee · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The GPS was consistently off by at least 30 meters. That may not sound like a lot, but when you are calling for direct fire, 30 meters is the difference between wiping out the enemy and wiping out your squad or platoon.

      ...I'll take my lensatic compass over a GPS in a heartbeat.


      I'm sure your squad will rest easy knowing you are calling for direct fire based on your compass with better than 30 meters precision.

      -

      --
      - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  3. can't blame it by dfenstrate · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    I'd probably be bored of canada after a few eons too. THough I hear the beer is good.

    --
    Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be the name of a store, not a government agency.
    1. Re:can't blame it by Bob+McCown · · Score: 5, Funny
      Maybe it's tired of Canada's 4 seasons:

      Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Highway Construction

    2. Re:can't blame it by rlowe69 · · Score: 2

      Maybe it's tired of Canada's 4 seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Highway Construction

      Ahhh city folk. We call Highway Construction (summer) Mosquito Season in the bush. After going through that, you can't wait for Almost Winter to start up again! ;)

      --
      ----- rL
    3. Re:can't blame it by nickynicky9doors · · Score: 2

      No one taking the Magnetic Pole from us. We went up and buried a looney under it. Now we not only know where it is, we're guaranteed to win every hockey game we play up there.

      --

      heuristic algorithm seeks stochastic relationship
    4. Re:can't blame it by Attila · · Score: 1
      As if it wasn't bad enough putting up with American tourists coming up here and asking where our igloos are, we'll now have to put up with American tourists coming up here saying they want to see the North Pole before it leaves.

      Yep, we're packing her up and trading her in for Pavel Bure, eh.

      --
      Dear Will, the plums were poisoned. -- Cheese Club
    5. Re:can't blame it by Jester998 · · Score: 2

      Indeed, because 'almost winter' == 'hunting season'. :)

      That's the season where we show all these people that are saying "Who cares if the magnetic pole is moving? We have GPS!" how much a GPS is REALLY worth. Ever try getting a reading from a swamp? :)

      - Jester

  4. I don't need the magnetic North Pole... by TheNecromancer · · Score: 2, Funny

    to conceive my children, I like doing it anywhere!
    :D

    --
    Attention all planets of the Solar Federation! We have assumed control! - Neil Peart
    1. Re:I don't need the magnetic North Pole... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, your sister said that you never leave her alone.

    2. Re:I don't need the magnetic North Pole... by korgull · · Score: 1

      Your hand must be getting tired.

      Anyways, somethings shrink when it's cold. I guess the north pole is the worst place to do it.
      But, in case one waits long enough........
      it'll be small, but stiff :-)

    3. Re:I don't need the magnetic North Pole... by korgull · · Score: 1

      I'm not a member of anything so why bother obout anything ?

  5. Hm... by Carlos+Laviola · · Score: 2

    I just wonder what makes people think that the pole is special enough so that they want to conceive their children there. I mean, would they think their fluids would be at their best, or the magnetism would only attract good genes?

    1. Re:Hm... by lollipop17 · · Score: 1

      Or maybe they they think their fluids have some special magnetic property and so by being near magnetic north they could get them to move faster- like those monorail trains that operate by electromagnetism...or something

      --

      Be a moderator, not a brick.
    2. Re:Hm... by whovian · · Score: 1

      Well, duh, sperm travel along the magnetic field lines :P
      The alignment of said partners is left to their discretion.

      --
      To-do List: Receive telemarketing call during a tornado warning. Check.
    3. Re:Hm... by gilroy · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Blockquoth the poster:

      I just wonder what makes people think that the pole is special enough so that they want to conceive their children there.


      Magnetic fields, like electric fields, are the modern equivalent of leprechauns, fairies, and demons. For the typical layperson, they are invisible, subtle, and inexplicable. The people going to the North Pole to conceive are the spiritual descendants of those who waited on midsummer's eve in the sacred grove. Since it's something they can't see and don't understand, it must be powerful.
    4. Re:Hm... by pauljlucas · · Score: 1
      I just wonder what makes people think that the pole is special enough so that they want to conceive their children there.

      Stupidity and the consequential belief in superstition. Same things about salt over one's shoulder, not stepping on cracks, walking under ladders, etc.

      --
      If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
    5. Re:Hm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It makes your kid glow in the dark when placed next any metallic object :)

    6. Re:Hm... by Ooblek · · Score: 2
      In California, the power companies lease the land under the high-power lines to things like nursuries and christmas tree farms. Why travel to the North Pole to get it on if they could just as easily root around in a christmas tree farm? Wear some metal on the right spot and traverse a flux line the right way and your woman really will shoot lightning out of her ass! (Or the man will...yech)

      I'm betting the dried, sharp pine needles can be a turn off.

    7. Re:Hm... by Pussy+Is+Money · · Score: 0

      To think that some people waste their time having sex! They must be stupid

      --
      Pushin' 'n dealin', shovin' 'n stealin'
    8. Re:Hm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Though it has nothing to do with magnetic poles, it is true that sperm production in the testes can be aided by cooler temperatures.

      It is therefore possible that copulating couples might experience more success in a tent on the ice in the frozen north. Not much hope for the intelligence of the children, though.

    9. Re:Hm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What they don't know is that at the north and south extremes, where the magnetic field lines are perpendicular to Earth's surface, cosmic rays from outer space reaches us. The extend of which these rays are harmful I'm not sure, but anywhere else we're shielded by the Earth's magnetic field. I think this is Faraday's Law. And I'm sure those space particles do effect us in some way...

      Anyone can elaborate more on this. Even electronics(circuits) are susceptible to cosmic rays. I think the Intel 486 chip was the only one approved and used for space missions for quite a while.

      Oh, back to the subject- I wouldn't conceive or bear my kids near the poles...

    10. Re:Hm... by Chundra · · Score: 2

      I just wonder if they do this to avoid buying Alex Chiu's immortality devices.

    11. Re:Hm... by dongkiru · · Score: 1
      Magnetic fields, like electric fields, are the modern equivalent of leprechauns, fairies, and demons. For the typical layperson, they are invisible, subtle, and inexplicable.
      I took a physics course at a JC when I was in high school. The professor was talking about how "theories" can be made up on the spot. As an example, he talked about friction as tiny little living beings living in every things. We'll call it "F" now, because I don't remember what he called them.

      Fs lives in the tiny holes of everything. They don't like being moved. So when you try to move an object, all the Fs come out to push back on the object. Objects with rougher surfaces mean more Fs can live in the object, so more are available to push back.

      So how come once it starts moving, it's easier to push?
      That's because eventually, you'll crush the tiny Fs, and their blood and guts act as lubricants. Also, because of that, there's less of them to push back.

      But if you stop the object and push again, it'll have the same amount of resistance as the first time. Why?
      Well, soon as you stop, Fs go back to their tiny little holes. And they multiply really fast!

      And so on he went for about half an hour....

    12. Re:Hm... by 4of12 · · Score: 2

      In California, the power companies lease the land under the high-power lines to things like nursuries and christmas tree farms.

      Hmmmm....

      With all those high voltage lines, do you think they'd mind much if my "farm" consisted of lots of inductive loops with which to scrounge some electricity?

      --
      "Provided by the management for your protection."
    13. Re:Hm... by BigBlockMopar · · Score: 2

      Stupidity and the consequential belief in superstition. Same things about salt over one's shoulder, not stepping on cracks, walking under ladders, etc.

      Or the paranoid delusion that an invisible, omnipotent man is watching you whilst you engage in the process of expelling feces. And all the deaths which can be attributed to that particular delusion throughout human history.

      Re: magnetic north. I'm looking forward to a Darwin Award for someone who freezes to death on a procreational trip up there. I had to go to Baffin Island once on business. Never, ever again.

      --
      Fire and Meat. Yummy.
    14. Re:Hm... by haedesch · · Score: 1

      I'm betting the dried, sharp pine needles can be a turn off.


      Id pick pine needles over -40C every day of the week :-)

    15. Re:Hm... by kesuki · · Score: 2

      Not only does the Van allen radiation belt shelter the earth, the particles get funneled towards the poles. DNA generally has a pretty good track record for error correction, but yes, a chance collision with a high energy particle can cause a shift. This isn't always bad, but it's about the equivalent of growing corn in a field of uranium and hoping for mutations that cause a desireable effect.
      If you want a better genome the only way is to engineer it yourself.

  6. I can see it now by AlexDeGruven · · Score: 1
    How do you launch a marketing campaign to get the North Pole (And hence, a lot of tourism business) to stay in Canada?

    "Please, don't shift to Siberia, we can offer you a great benefits package and a signing bonus if you stay"

    --
    Randal Graves says: I'm a firm believer in the philosophy of a ruling class... Especially since I rule.
    1. Re:I can see it now by FortKnox · · Score: 1

      "Please, don't shift to Siberia, we can offer you a great benefits package and a signing bonus if you stay"

      Never been to Canada, right? Allow me to fix up your statement:

      "What's this all aboot? Please don't shift to Siberia, eh! We can offer you a great hockey team and Molson, if you stay, eh!"

      My apologies to all Canadians ;-)

      --
      Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
    2. Re:I can see it now by Krusher55 · · Score: 0

      Don't forget the free health care.

    3. Re:I can see it now by vinnythenose · · Score: 1

      Give tax breaks, Canada will do it to almost any one worth enough. Although the rest of us will be taxed everytime we pull out our compasses...

      No.. I'm not bitter...

      --
      --- I used to moderate, then I read the -1 articles and decided having to filter through them was not worth it.
    4. Re:I can see it now by lamont116 · · Score: 1
      Don't forget the free health care.

      What, doctors don't get paid in Canada? Do Canadians steal the medical equipment and hospitals from somewhere else? Sounds a bit fishy to me. Microsoft is probably behind it. ;)

  7. Conception...Copulation by jmu1 · · Score: 2

    Well, I had to be the one to say it... "Hell people, there isn't really that much to do up that far North but copulate!"

    1. Re:Conception...Copulation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's most like you're the only one would say it ... because it's lame.

  8. Desperate People... by FortKnox · · Score: 2

    The honeymooners did not make the trip, but other couples, also believing that the location nurtures fertility, have chartered small planes to the forbidden spot, set up tents on the ice and conducted their business.

    Its a wonder you don't find slummy hotels with free porno channels at the spot...

    --
    Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
  9. Christmas in 500 years by Lxy · · Score: 2

    So, if the north pole is shifting that far, that fast... will the Canadian children see any change in Santa's normal delivery schedule? I can only assume he'd be a little later than normal, seeing as how Siberia is quite a flight from Northern Canada.

    --

    There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
    :wq
    1. Re:Christmas in 500 years by ShavenYak · · Score: 1

      No, Santa's shop is at the geographic north pole, not the magnetic. If it was at the magnetic pole, he would have trouble testing toy compasses.

      --

      Hey kids, there's only 5 days left 'til Yak Shaving Day!
    2. Re:Christmas in 500 years by maggard · · Score: 2
      ... seeing as how Siberia is quite a flight from Northern Canada.

      Yeah, about an hour or two by air depending on how and where you plan to land. Stop looking at those silly Mercator Projection maps and get something that shows northern latitudes a bit more accurately, or invest in a globe.

      --
      I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
    3. Re:Christmas in 500 years by Ami+Ganguli · · Score: 1

      In fact, Santa doesn't live at North Pole at all, but in Finnish Lapland. How he manages to deliver all those toys in one night is a mystery, but I doubt it would be affected much by his physical starting point anyway since he must move pretty fast.

      --
      It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail. - Abraham Maslow
    4. Re:Christmas in 500 years by IMarvinTPA · · Score: 1, Funny

      The reason why you never get quite the right present is because Santa uses the "bad news" propulsion drive. As the Late Great Douglas Adams has shown, bad news is faster than anything else.

      Andy

    5. Re:Christmas in 500 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If I had mod points, you'd be rolling in them, my friend. =)

      -joshjs

    6. Re:Christmas in 500 years by Lxy · · Score: 2

      It's OK, I'm karma capped anyway.

      /. karma math: 50 + 4 - 1 = 49

      --

      There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
      :wq
  10. Moving Magnetic Pole? by TrollMan+5000 · · Score: 1

    The pole does not move in more traditional manets, but the earyth's liquid core might provide an answer.

    It has been drifting nothward for decades.

    More info at Canada's GSC site.

    1. Re:Moving Magnetic Pole? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I worry when the north pole drifts northward . . . hey, wait a minute!

    2. Re:Moving Magnetic Pole? by Binky+The+Oracle · · Score: 5, Funny

      How, exactly, can the North Pole drift northward?

      Seems like it would be more accurate to say that Siberia is drifting northward and North America is drifting southward.

      WE HAVE TO STOP THIS NOW! At this rate, North America will be South America, environmentalists will be warning about the dangers we face when the Jamaican ice sheets collapse, and Australia will be located somewhere near the moon.

      --

      Slashdot comments... splitting hairs since 1997.

    3. Re:Moving Magnetic Pole? by jcoy42 · · Score: 1
      the earth's liquid core might provide an answer. It has been drifting nothward for decades.
      Interesting. So if the liquid core continues to flow northward, and north shifts to the west, that might cause some changes in the shifting of earths plates.

      Perhaps I'll live to see California separate from the US.
      --
      Never trust an atom. They make up everything.
    4. Re:Moving Magnetic Pole? by Comatose-M · · Score: 1

      Damn, that's the funniest thing I've read on /. in a long time.

      Good one!

  11. Children with three heads, 12 fingers, and a tail by BierGuzzl · · Score: 2

    Let's just hope that north pole doesn't head into any nuclear weapons testing zones up in Siberia... we could be looking at some pretty freaky looking babies!

  12. Hopefully it slows...... by Ryan_Terry · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...or airport painting crews will be staffing up:

    Magnetic North Keeps Moving

    --
    MessEdUp
    .sig
    #/var/www/v
  13. What far-reaching consequences... by joebp · · Score: 1

    Who'd have thought the magnetic pole would be so disgusted with the proposed duty on media as to leave Canada!

  14. Does this mean by Jin+Wicked · · Score: 2, Funny

    I won't be able to write Santa Claus anymore at

    Santa Claus
    North Pole
    Canada, HOH0H0 ...?

    Then again, maybe that's not such a bad thing. This past Giftmas my boyfriend wrote him asking for his list of naughty girls. Thankfully all he got back was a form letter. ;)

    --
    My Webcomic: Asylum on 5th Street
  15. that's not bad by laserjet · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is just a natural movement of the pole, that's what it does.

    Does anyone else remember from college how the poles just flip every million years or so, and no one really knows why? That whay *I* am worried about. the poles moving just a little bit is fine with me.

    but if the poles just flipped, imagine what chaos it would cause. Would we have to relabel all the maps that are made? Many airplanes could not fly (with older instrumentation). Thankfully, GPS should still work..

    Here's the main point of the article for those too lazy to click and read:

    If the pole follows its present course, it will pass north of Alaska and arrive in Siberia in a half century, but Newitt cautioned that such predictions could prove wrong. "Although it has been moving north or northwest for a hundred years, it is not going to continue in that direction forever. Its speed has increased considerably during the past 25 years, and it could just as easily decrease a few years from now," the geophysicist said. The erratic pole can jump around considerably each day, but migrates on average about 10 kilometers to 40 kilometers each year.

    --
    Moon Macrosystems. Sun's biggest competitor.
    1. Re:that's not bad by dattaway · · Score: 3, Funny

      Don't worry about the navigational chaos drifting magnetic poles cause, just think what would happen if the North Magnetic Pole ended up on the Equator somewhere.

      Would Santa and his elves relocate to Central America? Christmas in Bermuda?

    2. Re:that's not bad by Verteiron · · Score: 2, Informative

      15 seconds of Google research will tell you that the pole reversal is thought to take 1000 years or so to complete. So it's not like you'll wake up some morning and magnetic North will suddenly be South.

      --
      End of lesson. You may press the button.
    3. Re:that's not bad by Fweeky · · Score: 4, Insightful

      > Does anyone else remember from college how the poles just flip every million years or so

      No, that was far too advanced for my college :)

      I'm not so bothered by it flipping; I'm bothered by the suggestions that in the process of flipping the field weakens and practically disappears.

      It's one thing to think "N is S, and S is now N", it's quite another to think "my compass is useless, and I'm probably going to get cancer from the next solar mass ejection because there's no magnetic field to offset all those high energy particles".

    4. Re:that's not bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      >but if the poles just flipped, imagine what chaos it would cause. Would we have to relabel all the maps that are made? Many airplanes could not fly (with older instrumentation). Thankfully, GPS should still work..

      You think that's bad? Virtually all the TVs in the world would instantly show the wrong colours... :)

    5. Re:that's not bad by laserjet · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hey! I never said I went to a good college!

      --
      Moon Macrosystems. Sun's biggest competitor.
    6. Re:that's not bad by Kombat · · Score: 1

      but if the poles just flipped, imagine what chaos it would cause. Would we have to relabel all the maps that are made?

      Aeronautical maps are re-issued every 4-5 years anyway, because of this natural drift. Pick up any aviation chart and look for the curving lines called "deviation lines." These are used by pilots to convert from magnetic heading to true heading. Since the poles move, the lines also move, and the charts are re-printed periodically. This isn't a big deal, since other things change over time too, as new airports are added, and airspace is re-classified.

      Incidentally, if the poles flipped, older planes wouldn't have any trouble navigating. All planes have at least a basic instrument navigation system to direct them to fixed radio beacons. Even most older planes are fitted with relatively modern (The real issue I'd worry about are the runways themselves. The numbers on the ends of runways are the first two digits of the magnetic heading corresponding to the runway direction. If the poles flipped, these numbers would all have to be updated.

      The "chaos" that we'd have to worry about would actually be in relation to the radiation shielding provided by the Earth's magnetic field. If the poles were to switch, it's not the kind of thing that happens instantaneously. It could take years, even decades for the switch to complete, and in the interim, we would be vulnerable to harsh radiation from the Sun. Aside from the obvious effects to our health, this could disrupt power grids and disable magnetic storage media. THAT is what you should be worried about.

      --
      Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
    7. Re:that's not bad by gilroy · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Blockquoth the poster:

      but if the poles just flipped, imagine what chaos it would cause


      The orientation of the field doesn't really matter too much. I mean, we'd have to relabel compasses, etc., but no big deal.


      But ... during the reversal, the magnetic field actually fades to (essentially) zero, and does so for a noticeable length of time. In that circumstance, the Van Allen Belts disappear and the surface no longer has its usual protection from solar wind, cosmic rays, etc. That's the time to worry.

    8. Re:that's not bad by Kombat · · Score: 5, Informative

      Whoops, guess I should have used the "Preview" button. Corrected post follows:


      but if the poles just flipped, imagine what chaos it would cause. Would we have to relabel all the maps that are made?

      Aeronautical maps are re-issued every 4-5 years anyway, because of this natural drift. Pick up any aviation chart and look for the curving lines called "deviation lines." These are used by pilots to convert from magnetic heading to true heading. Since the poles move, the lines also move, and the charts are re-printed periodically. This isn't a big deal, since other things change over time too, as new airports are added, and airspace is re-classified.

      Incidentally, if the poles flipped, older planes wouldn't have any trouble navigating. All planes have at least a basic instrument navigation system to direct them to fixed radio beacons. Even most older planes are fitted with relatively modern (<10 years old) instrument navigation systems (IFR).

      A relatively more significant issue to worry about are the runways themselves. The numbers on the ends of runways are the first two digits of the magnetic heading corresponding to the runway direction. If the poles flipped, these numbers would all have to be updated.

      The "chaos" that we'd have to worry about would actually be in relation to the radiation shielding provided by the Earth's magnetic field. If the poles were to switch, it's not the kind of thing that happens instantaneously. It could take years, even decades for the switch to complete, and in the interim, we would be vulnerable to harsh radiation from the Sun. Aside from the obvious effects to our health, this could disrupt power grids and disable magnetic storage media. THAT is what you should be worried about.

      --
      Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
    9. Re:that's not bad by sc7007 · · Score: 1

      More interesting is that some current research suggests that during magnetic reversals, there is a period of time during which the earth actually has no magnetic pole. It seems to me this would be what would be most devistating to humans (technologically). But, I suppose, research will continue, and we will just have to wait and see.

    10. Re:that's not bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "but if the poles just flipped, imagine what chaos it would cause"

      Then again, if it started flipping more frequently at, say, 50Hz it would be an amazingly useful power source!

      Now there is something that would put Enron properly out of business.

      Jm

    11. Re:that's not bad by csbruce · · Score: 2

      Would Santa and his elves relocate to Central America? Christmas in Bermuda?

      Santa would be at the true north pole.

      BTW, I've heard people say that the true north pole is actually part of Canada as well. Maps such as this one show Canada's territory extending to the true north pole, but one might expect the infinitesimally small point to be divided between Canada, Russia, Norway, and Denmark (Greenland). Is the true north pole really part of The True North Strong And Free?

    12. Re:that's not bad by Rogerborg · · Score: 2
      • Does anyone else remember from college how the poles just flip every million years or so, and no one really knows why

      It's 250,000 years, and (some people will tell you) the field is winding down a bit right now, which is rather a bad thing unless you happen to have a cosmic ray proof bunker.

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    13. Re:that's not bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Interesting.. but about the orientation, don't some species use the magnetic field for migration? Wouldn't the reversal cause some ecological chaos then?

    14. Re:that's not bad by gid · · Score: 1

      That's the part that always facinated me. With all that radiation comming in with no magnetic field things must start mutating faster. Ooo, real life X-Men perhaps? Or Maybe that's what really killed off the dinosaurs.

      All sorts of fun sci fi possibilities. :)

      I learned this in HS actually, AP Senior physics. Had a really cool teacher (Mr. Varner, dunno first name) who taught all sorts of neat things like this. His idea of a sat night was a six pack and head bangers ball, not bad for a 50 yo teacher. I thought he was the coolest teacher at the time; hell, I still do, he's up there in my top 5 teachers. :) Physics in college was nothing but boring equations all the time. :(

    15. Re:that's not bad by whopis · · Score: 1

      Does anyone else remember from college how the poles just flip every million years or so, and no one really knows why? That what *I* am worried about.


      Man, you are right. And here I was worried about terrorism, toxic pollution, and what I am going to do tomorrow night.
      Thanks for putting things in perspective.

    16. Re:that's not bad by africanswallow · · Score: 1

      Quick question: Why do the fields fade to zero? Aren't the magnetic fields a result of the movement of iron within the core? Won't the poles simply move relative to one another until south is north and north is south? Once the fields cancel themselves out, how do they ever "recover"?

    17. Re:that's not bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
      "Does anyone else remember from college how the poles just flip every million years or so, and no one really knows why?"

      So how old are you if remember this from college?
      "we would be vulnerable to harsh radiation from the Sun."

      Will people stop with the FUD, the Sparc20 on my desk barely puts out enough radation to keep my coffee warm.
    18. Re:that's not bad by nickjennings · · Score: 1

      The "chaos" that we'd have to worry about would actually be in relation to the radiation shielding provided by the Earth's magnetic field. If the poles were to switch, it's not the kind of thing that happens instantaneously. It could take years, even decades for the switch to complete, and in the interim, we would be vulnerable to harsh radiation from the Sun. Aside from the obvious effects to our health, this could disrupt power grids and disable magnetic storage media. THAT is what you should be worried about.

      And not just human health. Several types of species would become extinct or close to it. I'd say the most heavily effected species would be birds. The lack of a magnetic field would render them completely helpless.

    19. Re:that's not bad by GregWebb · · Score: 1

      Disclaimers: I'm a CS guy and a database programmer, I haven't studied physics, chemistry, anything like that in nearly 7 years.

      My memory states that Venus, from the right POV, has a noticeable trail because it doesn't have any natural magnetic field so its atmosphere isn't properly contained. So, all that fog and gas is gently spilling into space.

      Would that happen if Earth's fields flipped and, if so, what would be the consequences? Anyone?

      --

      Greg

      (Inside a nuclear plant)
      Aaaarrrggh! Run! The canary has mutated!

    20. Re:that's not bad by Anonymous+Codger · · Score: 1

      Just picking nits: aeronautical maps (at least in the US) are updated every six months, not every 3-4 years. The pole isn't going to move enough in six months to make much difference, unless you're flitting around in the far frozen north.

      --
      No sig? Sigh...
    21. Re:that's not bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh come on, the magnetic field doesn't block high energy particles, it only deflects them. So a particle that was going to hit you doesn't hit you, and a particle that *wasn't* going to hit you *does* hit you. It's pretty useless overall.

    22. Re:that's not bad by barawn · · Score: 2

      No, the magnetic field doesn't allow the VAST majority of charged particles inside the magnetosheath at all. If it goes away, huge numbers of particles now enter the Earth's magnetosheath (atmosphere, etc.).

      So, to answer your statement, if the flux of particles that DON'T hit you is orders of magnitude higher (probably around 10^9 or higher) than the particles that DO hit you, would YOU want to flip those numbers around (so now the number of particles that DO hit you is 10^9 times higher than the number of particles that DON'T hit you)? Obviously not.

    23. Re:that's not bad by dtungsten · · Score: 1

      If the pole follows its present course, it will pass north of Alaska and arrive in Siberia in a half century, but Newitt cautioned that such predictions could prove wrong. "Although it has been moving north or northwest for a hundred years, it is not going to continue in that direction forever. Its speed has increased considerably during the past 25 years, and it could just as easily decrease a few years from now," the geophysicist said. The erratic pole can jump around considerably each day, but migrates on average about 10 kilometers to 40 kilometers each year.

      Of couse not; if it traveled north, eventually it would reach the geographic North Pole and the only direction that can be traveled from there is south!

    24. Re:that's not bad by barawn · · Score: 5, Informative

      The magnetic field of the Earth is due to a highly spinning core of liquid ferrous material (the "dynamo effect") - that is, sustained electric currents set up a magnetic field. Pole movement and pole reversal are two different things (and probably completely unrelated to each other). What causes pole reversal isn't very well understood - there're some good theories, but until we know more about the inner structure of the Earth, no good solid evidence (the dynamo effect, it should be noted, isn't well understood either! Mars wasn't supposed to have a magnetic field - no liquid core - and Mercury wasn't supposed to have one either - spinning too slow - but they both do, and Mercury's is quite noticeable) as far as I know.

      There isn't really a good qualitative description of what's going on, but basically, the core of the Earth is a spinning liquid ferrous object which is highly conducting, and sets up huge currents which produce huge magnetic fields. These magnetic fields can get "trapped" in a convective layer above the core (and become "earthspots", in analogy to "sunspots"). The sunspots act to cancel out the conductive field (the dipole portion) which weakens the field. These perturbations can cause the conductive region to 'flip' to the other polarity (there are two spots of stability, one with + polarity, one with - polarity: if you 'push' the magnetic field enough away from the original, you can shove it to the opposite polarity) which then begins to cause sunspots of its own, and the cycle continues.

      The field recovers basically because there are two magnetically generating 'layers' - the core, and the convective region. They, together, cancel each other out, but because the core generates the convective region, the magnetic field is only zero so long as the polarities of the convective region and the core are opposite and equal (which doesn't last 'long' on a cycle scale).

      This is all assuming everything works like the Sun does, which is assumed, but not entirely sure. :) The Earth's period is roughly 250,000 years, and the Sun's is 22, so as you can guess, we have a lot of data about the Sun's, and virtually none about the Earth's. :)

    25. Re:that's not bad by delcielo · · Score: 2

      So. What would that mean for the water in my toilet?

      --
      Hot Damn! It's the Soggy Bottom Boys!
    26. Re:that's not bad by randombit · · Score: 2

      I'm not so bothered by it flipping; I'm bothered by the suggestions that in the process of flipping the field weakens and practically disappears.

      It's one thing to think "N is S, and S is now N", it's quite another to think "my compass is useless, and I'm probably going to get cancer from the next solar mass ejection because there's no magnetic field to offset all those high energy particles".


      [I'm actually in a class that discussed this last week; hows that for relevance :)]

      Humans were around during the last pole flip, and it seems from what we know about how they lived, they did not suffer any ill effects from extra radiation, etc during the transsision time.

    27. Re:that's not bad by Profane+Motherfucker · · Score: 0

      More pengiuns, less geese. That's my prediction.

    28. Re:that's not bad by gordguide · · Score: 2

      "... A relatively more significant issue to worry about are the runways themselves. The numbers on the ends of runways are the first two digits of the magnetic heading corresponding to the runway direction. If the poles flipped, these numbers would all have to be updated. ..."

      Normally you would think so. But remember, this is Aviation we're talking about. Speed and distance: knots and miles per hour. Official Language: English. Fuel management: Pounds (converted to gallons or litres by weight). GPS? Illegal to use as a primary navigation device (only recently "officially" allowed in the cockpit, now allowed as a backup only). The world's aviation authorities make the average government committee appear to move at the speed of light.

      In other words, they wouldn't waste a drop of paint on it; they would just declare the old Mag Pole the standard (and would probably take 6 years to "study it"). In the meantime, calibrate your compass card and plot a course on your map with a pencil.

      Good landing: any landing where you can still walk from the aircraft.
      Excellent landing: any landing where you can still fly with the aircraft.

    29. Re:that's not bad by MicroBerto · · Score: 1

      Check out #6 on this link -- I think I originally bookmarked this after it was linked from slashdot. Scary stuff!

      --
      Berto
    30. Re:that's not bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      technologically devestating is only part of it (and not even the worst part at that). earth's magnetic field shields the surface from damaging radiation (e.g. cosmic rays and the solar wind). without the magnetic field, life on earth in general will face hard times. and btw, some workers have suggested that the field can flip entirely in as little as a decade or two..

    31. Re:that's not bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      one idea is that the dipole component of earth's field diminishes signficantly and that higher order components (e.g. quadropole) become dominant.

    32. Re:that's not bad by mgblst · · Score: 2

      Does anyone else remember from college how the poles just flip every million years or so, and no one really knows why? That whay *I* am worried about. the poles moving just a little bit is fine with me.

      And Australia would be on top of the world. We could say, "how is it down under?" to all of you!

    33. Re:that's not bad by Jerf · · Score: 2

      "Does anyone else remember from college how the poles just flip every million years or so, and no one really knows why? That whay *I* am worried about. the poles moving just a little bit is fine with me."

      I'm sure that somehow, it's the fault of Mankind. Maybe we're polluting the air with magnetically active pollution. Or perhaps we're destroying the poor magnetic lines of force's environments. All I know is that I'm sure it's us, somehow.

    34. Re:that's not bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Earth's period is roughly 250,000 years, and the Sun's is 22, so as you can guess, we have a lot of data about the Sun's, and virtually none about the Earth's.

      My girlfriend's is about every 28 days! I've got all kinds of data on her!

    35. Re:that's not bad by DarkProphet · · Score: 2

      Probably nothing. The water spinning in your toilet is a result of the Earth's rotation, not its magnetic field. Though if the magnetic field changes (poles shift), you could end up with slighly rustier toilet water.. hehe

      --
      What could possibly hurt the security of the American people more than giving our own government the ability to hide its
    36. Re:that's not bad by DunbarTheInept · · Score: 2

      Face your TV set east - look at it.

      Now face it west - look at it.

      Notice any change in color? No? Then what makes you think a field shift would affect it?

      --

      Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.

    37. Re:that's not bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Holy nutcases Batman!!!

    38. Re:that's not bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mass extinctions are another potential problem with pole reversal. Canadian geese would find themselves flying up to the Arctic for winter and summering in Florida.

    39. Re:that's not bad by Sheepy · · Score: 1
      The orientation of the field doesn't really matter too much. I mean, we'd have to relabel compasses, etc., but no big deal.

      Compasses answer the question "which direction is magnetic north". They won't need to be relabeled.

  16. As the Russians will say . . . by JJ · · Score: 1


    All your poles belong to us now.

    --
    So long and thanks for all the fish . . . !!!
    1. Re:As the Russians will say . . . by AlexDeGruven · · Score: 1
      Hmmm....
      I believe that would be more a long the lines of:

      All UR poles are belong to us... comrade

      --
      Randal Graves says: I'm a firm believer in the philosophy of a ruling class... Especially since I rule.
  17. But seriously now... by WndrBr3d · · Score: 2, Funny

    Can we blame it ?

    1. Re:But seriously now... by geggibus · · Score: 1

      Let's blame canada! ;) ... (i mean. who wants to be there....)

      /K

    2. Re:But seriously now... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      with their beady little eyes and their head so full of lies!

  18. I'm moving to Mexico... by Anonymous+Canadian · · Score: 3, Funny

    First the Canadian dollar heads south, then the north pole heads north.

    Soon enough our beer will start tasting like that weak, watery American beer.

    1. Re:I'm moving to Mexico... by gatekeep · · Score: 2, Informative

      The north pole heads north? I don't think that's possible. Seems to me the north pole can only head south, no matter what direction it's going in.

    2. Re:I'm moving to Mexico... by DimitryP · · Score: 1

      the north pole can move north, as it is not at the geographic north pole. it cant really follow a compass, though, unless it heads south. (magnetic south)

      --
      Guns are like umbrellas and condoms. Better to have one and not need it, than need it and not have one.
    3. Re:I'm moving to Mexico... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the magnetic pole is just looking for decent healthcare.

  19. I wonder if this it the true reason the by night_flyer · · Score: 1

    Ice Shelf in Antarctica Disintegrated

    --


    Thanks to file sharing, I purchase more CDs
    Thanks to the RIAA, I buy them used...
    1. Re:I wonder if this it the true reason the by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Holy crap you'd better be joking, because that's the lamest idea I've ever heard of. Christ.

    2. Re:I wonder if this it the true reason the by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look up "Rocket toilet".
      Who's laughing now, mr smartie man?

    3. Re:I wonder if this it the true reason the by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://tea.rice.edu/sloane/12.9.1999.html

  20. Wait until the poles flip... by What'sInAName · · Score: 1

    Forget about drift, just wait until they flip! (i.e. the magnetic north pole becomes the magnetic south pole.) IIRC, this change happens on a timescale near 70,000 years or so. You'd have to read your compass bass-ackwards, and what would it do to the poor homing pigeons? Of course, your nifty GPS will be ok.

    1. Re:Wait until the poles flip... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      what would it do to the poor homing pigeons?

      Aren't they already extinct?

  21. Take a reasonably uninteresting story... by fruey · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...post comments about the conception part, and watch 50% or more of posts go on about their kids being conceived there, shagging in ice and all that.

    The CNN article, apart from giving fodder to go on about Arctic Sex, is uninteresting. Nothing scientific about it, just pure, watered down, stretched out simple fact.

    You could write it like this:
    The North Pole is moving. People might go and look at it. Some even conceive there.

    That's it.

    --
    Conversion Rate Optimisation French / English consultant
  22. Santa Moveing? by neo8750 · · Score: 0, Troll

    Oh no! why is santa moveing?

  23. There was shrinkage by CanadaDave · · Score: 1

    I can only think that the frigid temperatures would make conceiving a baby more difficult. Although I guess Eskimos do it, so it might work. Is this just a yuppy thing? It must be pretty expensive to charter a plane and everything. Is there a company which specializes in this?

    1. Re:There was shrinkage by Micah · · Score: 2

      You can fly commercial to Resolute, but it's dang expensive (several hundred dollars to even Yellowknife or Iqualuit). I actually want to go up there sometime just for the heck of it.

    2. Re:There was shrinkage by CanadaDave · · Score: 1

      I think the most worthwhile thing to do up there is to do something like kayaking in the artic waters. It's a quick way to get around, and you see a lot of nice scenary and wildlife. On land it's kind of boring...besides, there are lots of neat towns on the coast anyhow.

  24. Typical CNN by gordguide · · Score: 2

    The Mag Pole is moving all the time. There is absoutely no way to predict for certain where it may go next.
    Apparently CNN takes pure speculation as predicting the future. It could just as easily end up in Atlanta, or (as has happened before in Earth's history) abruptly switch polarity and end up in Chile or the South Pole.

    "... The honeymooners did not make the trip, but other couples, also believing that the location nurtures fertility, have chartered small planes to the forbidden spot, set up tents on the ice and conducted their business. ..."

    Umm, that's "forbidding", not "forbidden". Go there anytime ya want.

  25. For some values of "many" by maggard · · Score: 4, Interesting
    ...many couples like to go to the magnetic North Pole to conceive their children
    Many?

    What - 5, 6? Perhaps a dozen a season? On a planet of 6 billion folks that's "many"? That isn't even a lot compared to any other notable location: How many kids have been conceived within a few km of Niagara Falls by honeymooners? Or what about all of the Asian folks intentionally born in supposedly "lucky" years?

    By the way, for only having 200 fulltime inhabitants tourism is a major industry in Resolute Bay with 4 hotels, several charter airline services and a number of tour operators. That the occasional couple decides gave a go at it near the magnetic pole is hardly surprising nor are the numbers unexpected.

    --
    I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
    1. Re:For some values of "many" by nochops · · Score: 1

      This is just your opinion. Do you have any stats to back up exactly how many = "many"?

      The article says "many", which should be considered equal to "a lot".

      --
      "A terrorist is someone who has a bomb but doesn't have an air force." -William Blum
    2. Re:For some values of "many" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and "a lot" is certainly more than two, and can be considerably more. You could even say it's that numerous people have been there to concieve a child.

    3. Re:For some values of "many" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      "What - 5, 6? Perhaps a dozen a season? On a planet of 6 billion folks that's "many"? That isn't even a lot compared to any other notable location: How many kids have been conceived within a few km of Niagara Falls by honeymooners? Or what about all of the Asian folks intentionally born in supposedly "lucky" years? "

      Supposedly in many asian cultures, it is said that a child will have good luck if concieved under the northern lights. This is possibly why northern canada is a highly popular tourist destination among people from Japan.

  26. Conceived by BStorm · · Score: 1

    I guess that would be one chilly willy?

    --
    Research is what I doing when I don't know what I am doing - Werner von Braun
  27. My OnStar in 50 years... by switcha · · Score: 4, Funny
    adjust your compass daily

    "Hello OnStar, how may I help you Mr. Jones?"

    "I think I'm lost. I need to get downtown. Can you tell me where I am?"

    "It says you are 10 miles out in the Pacific, Mr. Jones. Do you need assistance?"

    --
    You know what? ... A little club soda *did* get that out!
    1. Re:My OnStar in 50 years... by nochops · · Score: 1

      Back in 1986 my mother owned a Dodge Daytona. This was the first car I saw that had a digital comapss. According to the owner's manual (if I remember correctly), in order to recallibrate the compass, you first had to move the car to position at least 10 miles from any metal object!

      Exactly where can you go that's 10 miles from anything metal? Even in 1986 that would be difficult.

      --
      "A terrorist is someone who has a bomb but doesn't have an air force." -William Blum
    2. Re:My OnStar in 50 years... by OneFix · · Score: 1

      The biggest question is how did they do it at the factory :)

      BTW, the 300ZX and the 280ZX both had digital compases (went back to at least '83)

    3. Re:My OnStar in 50 years... by sgups · · Score: 1

      errr..doesn't the car itself have soem metallic components? even if it is just some allow?

      --
      Democratic USA - Government of the corporations, by the Corporations, for the corporations.
    4. Re:My OnStar in 50 years... by rehannan · · Score: 2

      How exactly to you get a car 10 miles from any metal object when the car itself is metal? That 10 miles figure is very suspect to begin with.

    5. Re:My OnStar in 50 years... by Decimal · · Score: 2


      "Hello OnStar, how may I help you Mr. Jones?"

      "I think I'm lost. I need to get downtown. Can you tell me where I am?"

      "It says you are 10 miles out in the Pacific, Mr. Jones. Do you need assistance?"


      Poor Batman. The Joker's gonna have a hayday with this one.

      --

      Remember "Bring 'em on"? *sigh
    6. Re:My OnStar in 50 years... by maggard · · Score: 2
      According to the owner's manual (if I remember correctly), in order to recallibrate the compass, you first had to move the car to position at least 10 miles from any metal object!

      Bullshit.

      No consumer-level magnetic compass device is sensitive enough to detect metal more then a few meters away, certianly not more then 10m. Furthermore something designed to operate in the challenging environment of a car is not going to be all that responsive to local or transient conditions.

      Doubtless what you are misremembering (and clearly didn't think through either) was that one would need to drive some distance between points to calibrate the compass by creating a sufficiently long baseline. Metallic objects would have had little or no effect, certianly parking 10m or so from other vehicles or structures would have been more then sufficient.

      Reading for Comprehension: It works for others...

      --
      I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
    7. Re:My OnStar in 50 years... by Fastolfe · · Score: 1

      Though I think the original poster's numbers are questionable, the fact that the car itself is made of a lot of metal doesn't really factor into anything here, since the car's configuration doesn't change considerably. No matter where you are in the world, the same metal components are in the same place relative to the compass. The only time metal objects or other competing magnetic fields would mess things up is when they aren't constant (e.g. a car parked next to you that won't be there when you're elsewhere, etc.)

    8. Re:My OnStar in 50 years... by compwiz3688 · · Score: 1

      a car parked next to you that won't be there when you're elsewhere, etc.

      I hate to imagine that when I drive along a straight road, my compass direction suddenly changes when a car drives past me :)

    9. Re:My OnStar in 50 years... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe it said 10 m, and he was so ignorant of the metric system that he thought the m stood for "miles".

    10. Re:My OnStar in 50 years... by Fastolfe · · Score: 1

      It does, actually, just insignificantly.

  28. It has been drifting nothward for decades... by somethingwicked · · Score: 2

    It has been drifting nothward for decades

    This line just hits me as inherently funny, given the subject.

    The slashdotted site became more slashdotted
    CmdrTaco REALLY starting liking anime
    ACs posted even stupider comments including the word stupider...

    I KNOW, I KNOW...magnetic vs. true, etc. But its still funny

    --

    ---"What did I say that sounded like 'Tell me about your day?'"---

    1. Re:It has been drifting nothward for decades... by Perl-Pusher · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      And John Katz posts a short article about the need to conform. Then promptly joins the Marine Corps.

  29. scenic Resolute by AdamBa · · Score: 2
    This is slightly OT but I love reading this site for the pages about the various towns up in the Canadian arctic...here is the one on Resolute.

    They even have an ISP up in Nunavut...in fact Wired had an article about net access up there in the permafrost.

    - adam

  30. Good riddance fuckface by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Now fuck off!!!

    You overstayed your welcome years ago!!!!

  31. Re:Santa Claus at North Pole? by distributed.karma · · Score: 1

    What is wrong with you Americans? Every civilized person knows that Santa lives in Lapland, Northern Finland. So Nokia and Linux are not Finland's only gifts to the world.

    --

    --
    If you moderate this, then your children will be next.

  32. Conspiration theory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Topographical map makers are shipping insane amounts of magnets to the North Pole to cause the magnetic pole to move in a desperate attempt to sell a few new maps before GPS takes over.

    1. Re:Conspiration theory by mdwebster · · Score: 2, Funny

      You're crazy. The obvious reason they're doing this is to move the lucrative "conceive at the magnetic north pole" market to Mother Russia!! It's quite obviously a communist plot.

    2. Re:Conspiration theory by supermoose · · Score: 1

      That's just what the Canadian government wants you to believe... Those lousy Canucks are trying to move their country further south!

  33. Booooo (and offtopic) by ergo98 · · Score: 1

    You know, I have never heard anyone but East Coasters or Minnesotans say "about" as "aboot", and the fact that this stereotype perpetuates boggles the mind, especially as applied to a country of ten million square km and thirty+ million people. Eh is in common use throughout North America, but again you'll find it more commonly used in Minnesota than in Canada. I have a feeling that when the executive at WNC (Whatever Network Corporation) got his profile of "stereotypes that define Canada", he was actually in Minnesota but was a little confused by the snow into thinking it was Canada.

    Anyways, I gotta go out and shovel the "ruff" of my igloo.

    1. Re:Booooo (and offtopic) by joshjs · · Score: 2

      For what it's worth, most Wisconsinites I know associate the things you mention with Minnesotans.

      For what it's worth.

    2. Re:Booooo (and offtopic) by FortKnox · · Score: 1

      I know quite a few Canadians. Yeah, they hardly say "eh" (but I've caught them on it a couple times). The "aboot" is definitly a Canadian thing, although its subtle, and you have to pay attention to notice it.

      And how they call "Advertisements" (read: ad-ver-tize-ments) as "ad ver tis ments".

      And I did apologize, it was a joke :-P
      BTW - I'm an east coast italian, feel free to put me in a Brooklyn accent, I don't mind a bit.

      --
      Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
    3. Re:Booooo (and offtopic) by kaimiike1970 · · Score: 1

      You yourself have never been to most of Canada it seems. That aboot thing, as you call it, starts in BC and just gets worse as you move towards central Canada. Why don't you drop in to a pub in Lethbridge or Medicine Hat sometime eh?

      --


      Do a google search before posting.
    4. Re:Booooo (and offtopic) by ergo98 · · Score: 1

      Well, I'm from the Toronto area, so that is Canada, isn't it? :-) (yes that's a joke based on another stereotype). However, friends from the West Coast sound "normal" to me, and my accent is termed "neutral" when I travel. Of course minor nuances abound, but when someone "sounds" weird, it's says as much about the listener as it says about the speaker, which is why making fun of regionalisms (South Park style) is just ridiculous. I remember some time back when No Doubt was a popular band, and in an interview with MuchMusic the lead singer harshly proclaimed "It's No Doubt Canada, not No Doot". Uh huh...

  34. Re:Santa Claus at North Pole? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, thats a jack Santa in Finland. The Finnish government placed him there so you guys would feel important.

  35. Hello Greenpea$e? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Informative post! The next item to consider is the political/racketeering question:

    So, how long will it be until the "environmentalists" (the static earth variety) begin bugging the hell out of us for money, strongarming corporations and governments, and shouting that "anybody that does not see the connection between magnetic polar drift and [insert some human activity] is a fool/Republican/Facist" etc, etc?

    All so that they can take summer "environmental conciousness" trips to the latest location of the pole. Just like the Greeanpea$e camp in Antartica, to "protest human defilement of Antartica" and to "keep an eye on the other camps there".

    Yes, trying to make human activity responsible for this is rediculous, just as nutty as blaming human activity for normal heating and cooling trends.

  36. North Pole Moving? by athakur999 · · Score: 3, Funny

    So what, does this mean "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" is now just "Rudolph the Red"?

    --
    "People that quote themselves in their signatures bother me" - athakur999
    1. Re:North Pole Moving? by glastonbur · · Score: 1

      "Rudolph the Red" sounds like some kind of killer reindeer. They're going to pay for not letting him play in their reindeer games!

    2. Re:North Pole Moving? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Reminds me of a pun I heard once. It went something like this:
      Rudolph and his wife are sitting at home in Moscow. His wife looks out the window and says, "Oh, look, it's snowing."*
      Rudolph listens for a moment, and then says, "No, it's raining."
      "Are you sure?" says his wife, "It looks like snow to me."
      Rudolph turns and looks at her and says, "Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear."

      *Of course Russians speak to each other in English! Don't you ever watch spy movies?

    3. Re:North Pole Moving? by reverius · · Score: 1

      Watch out for "Son of Rudolph"... I hear he's roaming the streets of Moscow.

  37. Aurora by istartedi · · Score: 2

    Will this make it harder to see Northern Lights in Canada, and easier to see them in Siberia?

    --
    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
  38. What effect would this have... by rdhill316 · · Score: 1

    ...on like, migratory patterns for birds and stuff? Don't they depend on the Earth's magnetic field for navigation?

    --

    --
    Me: http://www.robertdhill.com/
    1. Re:What effect would this have... by Bob+McCown · · Score: 1

      Well, since the pole only moves a bit each year, the swallows headed toward San Juan Capistrano will probably end up in the Bario or someplace. No big deal.

  39. The interesting thing to me is.. by Carmody · · Score: 2

    ...how people are going to be able to blame it on Bill Clinton.

    --
    God is real unless declared integer
    1. Re:The interesting thing to me is.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not to worry, Slick Willy can dodge anything. If he can dodge the illegalities and immoralities that he actually does, how hard should it be to escape this?

  40. Blame Cananada! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    "thirty+ million people"


    You call that a country? Down here we call that California.

    Sheesh, we kill more people with drunk drivers every year than that!

    1. Re:Blame Cananada! by lposeidon · · Score: 0

      callifornia??? hell thats sound more like los angeles. or there aboot.

      --
      Lizard "Never let them set limits on your mind!"
  41. Where it's been by Wanker · · Score: 5, Informative
    For the more visually inclined, I ran across this plot of the movement of magnetic north since 1831.

    1. Re:Where it's been by 56ker · · Score: 2, Informative

      This plot goes back quite a bit further - to 1000 AD. To see it click here.

    2. Re:Where it's been by ckedge · · Score: 2


      Holy cow, look at this snippet:

      When scientists plot the position of the magnetic north pole on a map, they plot its average position. Not only does the pole change its location over years and decades, but it also travels in a roughly elliptical path each day. This daily wandering can take the pole up to 80 km from where it is plotted!

      I never knew that!

  42. The most interesting part by NitsujTPU · · Score: 1

    Perhaps the most interesting part of the story (which really is only a small part at the end) is that many couples like to go to the magnetic North Pole to conceive their children.

    Well heck yeah it is. Obsolete maps are no-where near as cool as magnetic children!

  43. ladders by nullard · · Score: 1

    ...walking under ladders, etc.

    Walking under ladders is bad luck - you are increasing the probability that something will fall on you. If the guy on the ladder is going to drop his bucket of paint, you'll be less likely to be splattered if you aren't walking under his ladder at the time. Not to mention that walking under his ladder may cause him to spill the paint.

    --


    t'nera semordnilap
  44. I Don't Blame The Pole by DeadBugs · · Score: 2

    With the taxes on digital storage I would leave Canada too.

    --
    http://www.kubuntu.org/
  45. Bear Food by kingsqueak · · Score: 1

    Funny how desperate yuppie couples could figure out something that is explicitly warned against as an activity to attract bears.

    Yup, bears can smell the scent of sex for long distances and it's one of the things to be wary of in bear country while camping.

    Hopefully this will chlorinate the gene pool.

  46. Save The North Pole! by TWR · · Score: 2
    Clearly, this is related to global warming, the ozone hole, and all other evils created by White Men.

    REDUCE FOSSIL FUEL USE TO SAVE THE NORTH POLE!

    -jon

    --

    Remember Amalek.

  47. Re:I hate canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Could it be their beady little eyes?

  48. CmdrTaco vacation? by Misch · · Score: 1

    many couples like to go to the magnetic North Pole to conceive their children

    CmdrTaco : Kathleen, we're taking a little vacation!

    Kathleen : Where to?

    CmdrTaco: The North Pole.

    Kathleen: Oooh baby, you're making me hot.

    --

    --You will rephrase your request for me to go to hell. Goto statements are not acceptable programming constructs
  49. the pole is flipping, the pole is flipping! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's now what Edgar Cayce said!

  50. Damn Norweigen. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That Norweigen prick who killed that girl at the Hockey game deserves to be castrated. Today would have been the girl's 13th birthday. I saw we string him up.

  51. If the North Pole leaves Canada for Alaska by WillSeattle · · Score: 1

    then it will lose the protections of the Digital Privacy Act at that time.

    Maybe it might want to accelerate the jump to Russia - I hear they have stronger privacy laws than we in the US have.

    Also, any plans afoot by Microsoft to claim rights to it under DCMA once it enters US soil?

    --
    --- Will in Seattle - What are you doing to fight the War?
  52. It will be interesting to see by BigChigger · · Score: 0

    how all the Chicken Little liberals blame this on global warming.

    BC

  53. Ah, by Gannoc · · Score: 2

    many couples like to go to the magnetic North Pole to conceive their children.

    Many couples are pretty stupid.

  54. Talk About Schooling! by Tadrith · · Score: 1

    I've seen comments about the poles reversing every 10,000 years.

    I've seen comments about the poles reversing every 70,000 years.

    I've seen comments about the poles reversing every 1,000,000 years.

    Aren't we a well-educated bunch? :P

    1. Re:Talk About Schooling! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1,000,000 is closest, I believe that the average is about 700,000, but it is highly variable throughout recent geologic history.

    2. Re:Talk About Schooling! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You missed 250.000

    3. Re:Talk About Schooling! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The interval is highly non-regular. According to this article from NASA, the interval varies between 5 thousand and 50 million years. So all of the different numbers posted would be reasonable guesses for an interval (the last was about 740,000 years ago according to the same article).

  55. Leaving Canada, eh? by Salamander · · Score: 2

    Don't pay attention to what they say the reasons are. It's the taxes.

    --
    Slashdot - News for Herds. Stuff that Splatters.
  56. SO.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Perhaps the most interesting part of the story (which really is only a small part at the end) is that many couples like to go to the magnetic North Pole to conceive their children."

    IS THAT SO THEY HAVE A MAGNETIC PERSONALLITY?!?!??!?!

    HEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHHEHE

  57. this is shocking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I never thought canadians knew which way north was?

    1. Re:this is shocking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's pretty easy, actually. Just keep all the hot air generated by americans at your back. eh.

  58. It'll be back ... by Bob+Loblaw · · Score: 1

    you just wait! It will come back eventually. They all do. It will need to take advantage of that socialised medicine when it gets old and neglected (due to the shift to true north available via GPS)

  59. Hold up a sec... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So, If I'm standing on the magnetic north pole, and the pole moves away from me, which way is it moving?

  60. compass? by Hadlock · · Score: 1

    so does this mean that near resolute, kanada, your compass is just going to go haywire, like when you're near loadstone? do the topographic maps show magnetic north pointing due south above of resolute, kanada?

    do gps handheld units use a digital compass based on a floating iron point? or do they recieve gps cordinates and derive your direction from that somehow?

    --
    moox. for a new generation.
    1. Re:compass? by slykens · · Score: 2
      do gps handheld units use a digital compass based on a floating iron point? or do they recieve gps cordinates and derive your direction from that somehow?

      It is always going to be digital and calculated based on your position, but whether you want geographic north or magnetic north is up to you and the user typically can select which they want. The GPS receiver can be told where magnetic north is and calculates direction just the same as it would for true north.

      I remember my Garmin knew that my magnetic deviation is 11W in central PA. Altho the $64,000 question is: Is there a way to update the position used as magnetic north in the GPS receiver so that it will be accurate in 10 years? Or for someone how knows better than I, does the GPS data stream include/can it include this information?

    2. Re:compass? by EllF · · Score: 2

      A floating iron point would not be a digital compass. :)

      As far as I know, GPS units calculate direction by triangulating the unit's position in relation to the 24 orbitting GPS space segment satellites. Each satellite transmits its own known position, the current atomic time, system status, etc., and also sends a pseudorandom navigation (PRN) stream.

      The handheld receives a nav signal and PRN stream, and then generates its own PRN, using the current time as the seed. It then adjusts (looking for a pattern match) for the difference (thanks to the delay in transmission time) between the signal and the satellites PRN. This offset lets the GPS determine how far it is from a given satellite.

      The handheld repeats this for another satellite, giving it two spheres that overlap, with the overlapping area being where the GPS must currently be. A third satellite is contacted, resulting in two possible points; one will be far, far "above" the satellite, so the GPS unit discards it. The remaining point is your current location. There *is* actually a fourth calculation (you can't determine 3 unknowns with only 3 variables, after all), which is a time-averaging based off the each of the satellites contacted, but many GPS units "fake" this by assuming that the unit is always at sea level.

      That triangulation allows the GPS receiver to determine direction freely; the signals it receives give it enough axises of direction to do this, I believe. Anyone a bit more versed in geometry than me want to clear this up?

      --
      We who were living are now dying
      With a little patience
    3. Re:compass? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My handheld (A Garmin Vista) has a built in Magnetic Compass that will switch to a GPS calculated direction indicator once moving. GPS will only give you a position, not a compass reading. By calculating where you were, compared to where you are, it can tell you which way you are going.

  61. Causes by ichthus · · Score: 1

    The exact cause is unknown at this time, but Al Gore and several environmentalist groups are scrambling to find a way to blame it on SUVs.

    Damn those SUVs!

    --
    sig: sauer
  62. Shifting poles = mutations by Mad+Quacker · · Score: 2, Interesting

    From what I've read, every time the poles have shifted there has been a great period of mutation/evolution, since the magnetic shield that protects us from solar radiation is weakend or dissappears completely until the pole settles into its new position. I think the next one or two generations will find out for sure :)

    I don't have an sources to link to of the top of my head, anyone else?

    --
    "I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots." George HW Bush
  63. A "Shift" May Be Moot.... by cfeagans · · Score: 1
    because a "Pole Reversal" may just occur before this. The Earth has a long history of the north and south magnetic poles reversing themselves about every "few hundred thousand years" or so. The last reversal was estimated to be approximately 780,000 years ago by many scientists. It's been my observation that most Scientists don't seem really concerned with the reversal itself affecting the planet other than compasses will have to be changed, but seem more interested in dating rocks, etc. Perhaps this is because evidence shows that the reversal is relatively quick and no significant loss of species has been discovered through paleontological studies.

    However, it is interesting to note that during that during the reversal process, the Earth's magnetic field collapses in on itself and, for a brief time, stops. It then starts again and expands, only with a reversed polarity. The Earth's magnetic field, the magnetosphere, is responsible for protecting us from harmful cosmic radiation, particularly the Sun's Solar Wind. During the time that the magnetosphere is down, two main things will be affected: communication and navigation. How affected may depend on the effectiveness of Global Positioning System Sats and radio / telecommunication equipment during the period.

    I'm a geology major, so the information that I have in referrance to Pole Reversal is relative to tracking continental drift, plate tectonics, etc. I haven't really read any studies on the possible environmental effects of solar wind and other cosmic radiation on an unprotected biosphere. If anybody has this info, I'd be interested.

    Cheers,
    cfeagans

  64. New Line for Chekov by Amazing+Quantum+Man · · Score: 1

    The North Magnetic Pole vas in Siberia, Keptin!

    --
    Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
  65. Complaints by dago · · Score: 2

    Please don't tell NBC !!!

    Otherwise, they will convince god to give a magnetic north pole to both Russia and Canada.

    (now, I can read the other posts to see how many people replied that ;)

    --

    --
    #include "coucou.h"
  66. It figures! by Dr.+Spork · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    If you were the magnetic pole, would you want to stay in Canada?

  67. Canadian taxes are too high... by Mario+B · · Score: 1

    Even the Magnetic North Pole is leaving! :)

  68. Something else wants to leave... by CaptCanuk · · Score: 1

    First it was Quebec, now it's the Magnetic North Pole.

    When will these separations end?

    --
    ---- The geek shall inherit the Earth.
  69. It's the aurora man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    People come up here to conceive under the northern lights, apparently it brings good luck.

    There's been many a cold northern night when I've sat under the aurora and listened to howling of wolves and the groans of Japanese tourists fucking their brains out.

    1. Re:It's the aurora man by david+duncan+scott · · Score: 2

      Wow, must be either tough tourists or wimpy wolves up there!

      --

      This next song is very sad. Please clap along. -- Robin Zander

    2. Re:It's the aurora man by LiENUS · · Score: 1

      bad mental image man

  70. Canada's Reaction by dbretton · · Score: 2
    In a follow-up story, Canadian scientists are puzzled at the problem with the North Pole moving.

    "Quite honestly, eh, we are unsure what dis is all aboot", says Dr. Ock E. Puck.

    "I doon't know why, but it's moving pretty fast now, eh"

    Canada's government is making swift efforts to entice the pole to stay. Currently in the works are:
    Tax-breaks for Tesla-enducing corporations
    Affordable shielding programs
    and a bill to allow for the marriage of poles of the same orientation.

  71. Wandering shmandering by Rogerborg · · Score: 2

    Every 250,000 years or so, the whole thing reverses polarity. And it's winding down right now, which is possibly a sign that we're due for another one. Don't invest too heavily in homing pigeons. ;-)

    --
    If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
  72. Why do so by Martin+S. · · Score: 2

    many couples like to go to the magnetic North Pole to conceive their children
    ?

    It must give the offspring a magnetic personality :)

  73. Re:I hate canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's thier flappy heads.

  74. Shocking News by dbretton · · Score: 2

    In a related story, the DoJ has uncovered corporate email from top executives in Microsoft indicating that the movement of the magnetic North Pole is part of a large-scale strategic initiative to corner the navigation software industry.
    Bill Gates intends to migrate the Pole to Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA, at which point MS will claim corporate ownership of said pole.

    Microsoft: We'll Tell Where to Go Today.

  75. North Pole is leaving Canada by Mupp252 · · Score: 1

    She prolly started packing her bags after the whole Olympics fiasco. I'm sure she's trying to find another country who has more of a positive media presence like say Eurasia?

    1. Re:North Pole is leaving Canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Eurasia is not a country, friend. :)

    2. Re:North Pole is leaving Canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was the US who did all the complaining over the figure skating results!!!
      I never heard a single Canadain complain about the original scores.

    3. Re:North Pole is leaving Canada by syn3rg · · Score: 0

      Canada gets the Gold in skating in exchange for the North Pole (it's a part of the deal)

      --
      The contents of this message have been doubly encrypted by ROT13
  76. Sure did not take long! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  77. North = South = North by ZaneMcAuley · · Score: 1

    I once read that there is a possibility that both the Magnetic North Pole and South could change places. Is possible?

    --
    ----- Whats wrong with this picture? http://www.revoh.org:1234/whatswrong
    1. Re:North = South = North by ZaneMcAuley · · Score: 2, Interesting

      So, if the magnetic poles do swap. Would that mean all aeroplanes fly upside down due to the software bugs :D There was a story about that one in a Figher plane that crossed the Equator and got confused and rolled over upsidedown :D

      --
      ----- Whats wrong with this picture? http://www.revoh.org:1234/whatswrong
  78. Conceived in Magnetic North Pole by EyesWideOpen · · Score: 1

    many couples like to go to the magnetic North Pole to conceive their children.

    So that's why my m515 is always wiggin' out on me!

    And my parents said that I was born in Jersey!

    --

    As with the sun's light
    My mom was magnificent
    Unquestionable
  79. More info: by Alien54 · · Score: 2
    There is this page with interesting info, legit theories, and pretty pictures

    For a comparion of magnetic pole shift vs other theories of polar and crusty disturbance, check out this page which picks apart the psuedo science of it all. There are a lot of wacko theories on what pole shift means, and a lot of it is based on lack of evidence and mis-conceptions.

    It is intereting to note that, the earth's core is rotating faster than the surface crust to begin with.

    There is this concern: The magnetic field acts as a shield against solar particles, etc. No field = no shield. Weak field = weak shield. This could be an issue with solar flares. Some folks are concerned that the field may be in the process of failing

    Also, if the poles were to flip suddenly, many creatures that navigate magnetically could be affected. A full magnetic reversal could cause massive ecological problems across the whole of the Earth. If this took place slowly enough, each generation of creatures would learn to navigate with its' current situation.

    --
    "It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
    1. Re:More info: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Raise sheilds, evasive manouevers Mister Paris!

      Hugs and kisses,

      L. Ron Hubbard

    2. Re:More info: by ProfMoriarty · · Score: 1
      Also, if the poles were to flip suddenly, many creatures that navigate magnetically could be affected.

      I KNEW IT! ... homing pidgeons DO have magnets in their beaks ...

      --
      Karma? Karma? I don't need no stinkin' karma.
  80. The bear photo... by Kotetsu · · Score: 1

    Did anybody else notice that in the bear photo in the article that the chunk of ice in the lower right corner which obscures part of the bear looks like it was drawn by somebody. It looks like they wanted to obscure part of the bear for some reason. Now, why would anybody want to do that?

    --

    "Bite me, it's fun!" - Crowe T. Robot
  81. Natural Viagra? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
    Perhaps the couples are just trying to get a stronger reading to help the "needle" point "north"?

    Dear, take me to the pole!

    1. Re:Natural Viagra? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope, it's the north pole. The needle will point straight down there.

  82. Wonder what Santa's reaction is? by WillSeattle · · Score: 2

    Maybe he'll get over being a dual citizen like me after a few years. Since the North Pole will be in Alaska soon.

    A warning though - the US is still the only country in the world not to use metric, all the dollars are the same color, and they don't use the u in words like colour or spell centre correctly.

    On the plus side, he can cut back on all those bilingual training courses - but he might want to pick up some Spanish just in case.

    And it might take longer to make Rudolph's nose red - the beer, cider, and wine down here is awful weak to Canadian tastes.

    Wonder if he'll have any problems with the NAFTA and Free Trade forms - occupation: Santa - is that a professional skill?

    -

    --
    --- Will in Seattle - What are you doing to fight the War?
  83. What about the South pole? by jweb · · Score: 1

    If the north pole is constantly moving, what effect does this have on the South pole?

    Assuming that the poles attempt to stay the same relative distance apart from each other. Might it be possible to get a location on the Magnetic South pole and, in turn, determine the location of the Magnetic North pole?

    --

    Think For Yourself. Question Authority.
    1. Re:What about the South pole? by crumley · · Score: 2

      Well, if the Earth's magnetic field were a perfect dipole then the north and south magnetic fields would be exactly opposite each other. Its not a perfect dipole (10% non-dipole ?), so they aren't exactly opposite each other. The shorter time-scale variations tend to be less dipolar. On longer time-scales, the poles do tend to stay pretty well attuned.

      --
      Preventive War is like committing suicide for fear of death. - Otto Von Bismarck
  84. I don't blame it by marble · · Score: 1

    ...it's too bloody cold. It probably wants a trip somewhere warm. Perhaps a short stay in the south of france or something.

  85. What about South Magnetic pole by WetCat · · Score: 1

    Is it shifted from its current position?
    I suppose poles should shift symmetrically against center of Earth.

  86. Conceived at the North Pole = bad idea by Caractacus+Potts · · Score: 3, Funny


    many couples like to go to the magnetic North Pole to conceive their children.

    I've met some people who were conceived at the North Pole. None of them seemed to have any direction in life.

  87. We must act by shimmin · · Score: 2
    I find it apalling that in the face of incontrivertable, indisuptable evidence that the magnetic north pole in fact moving, the industrialized nations of the world forge on in producing further electromagnet dynamos.


    From the great generating facilities in our hydroelectric plants to the tiniest servo in children's toys, our fascination with electric power that has led to these global changes must end.


    How can we in good conscience continue the use of these technologies, fully knowing their effect on our grandchildren?

  88. The judges decision by PD · · Score: 1

    When the Canadians heard that the North Pole was going to the Russians, there was a tremendous public outcry. To resolve the problem, the judges have announced that the North Pole will be awarded to BOTH the Russians and the Canadians. The Russians are justifiably pissed. They say that the meaning of the North Pole will be diminished if there are two of them.

  89. More evidence of Global Warming!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Oh, wait. Once again this is just a natural phenomenon. Sorry.

  90. Northrip's Law by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 2
    A corollary theory is that people tend to connect two inexplicable phenomena. At my college, a lot of Computer Science and Physics types referred to this as "Northrip's Law" in honor of the theory's leading proponent, the dearly departed professor John Northrip.

    One of his favorite examples was that people don't understand gravity, and they don't understand magnetism, so UFOs must be powered by gravity engines.

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    1. Re:Northrip's Law by kasparov · · Score: 1

      Do you go to SMSU? Dr. Northrip was the reason I became interested in physics. He used to give demonstrations at my elementary school. He died the year before I could take his PHY204 class. He was truly a wonderful man. I never got to know him, but I will always miss him.

      --
      There's no place I can be, since I found Serenity.
    2. Re:Northrip's Law by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 2
      Yes, I did. I had the privilege of taking PHY 204 with him, and my summer Thermo was the last class he taught. Everybody loved that man; he had to be the single most respected teacher I've ever studied under.

      Even his own mortality was something he was able to laugh about. One of my all-time favorite quotes came about when he started teaching something that he liked, but that wasn't on the syllabus: "I'm tenured and I'm dying. What are they going to do about it?"

      The world lost a truly brilliant teacher that year. My eyes are misting up now, even after all this time, to realize how much I miss him.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  91. Heh... silly Canadians... by wedg · · Score: 1

    Not only is the pole shifting from a spot just North of Resolute, Canada,...

    Shouldn't the north pole be "just North" of ... well... everywhere? I mean, you can't be more North than being on the North pole - *everything* is south of it. Don't you remember that joke: "If you walk a mile to the south, a mile to the east, and a mile to the north, come back to where you started, and see a bear, what color is it?"

    I could imagine the Canadians say, "I woonder if the Noorth poole will be sooth of oos tomoroow, eh?"

    --
    Jake
    Dating: while( 1 ){ call_girl(); get_rejected(); drink_40(); } return 0;
  92. Maybe it's afraid... by TrebleJunkie · · Score: 1

    ...of being tarriffed as Magnetic (Storage) Media.

    --

    Ed R.Zahurak

    You know, oblivion keeps looking better every day.

  93. Who is to blame? by toupsie · · Score: 4, Funny
    This is an outrage! The movement of the magnetic North Pole is no doubt caused by the evil, big business policies of the US Republican Party. Their anti-magnetic stabilization agenda fueled by big time donations from "Special Interest Groups" is another reason that Congress should pass the Campaign Finance Reform bill currently pending. If we are not going to step up to the plate to protect the stability of the Earth's magnetic field, who will? President Bush? Please. We all know he hates the Earth and wants it destroyed today!!!

    Join Greenpeace and save the Earth's fragile magnetic stability!!!

    --
    Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
  94. Trying to avoid taxes? by iabervon · · Score: 5, Funny

    What do they expect if they keep increasing taxes on magnetic media? The magnetic north pole is obviously going to want to move to somewhere cheaper, like Siberia.

  95. Money by mnordstr · · Score: 2

    So if the north pole moves over my backyard, can I sell tickets to people who want to visit it, or will it be public domain?

  96. Honk. Honk. by TheFlu · · Score: 3, Funny

    So when are geese gonna start flying North for the Winter?

  97. Obviously an effect of the brain drain by BluedemonX · · Score: 2, Funny

    First the doctors, then the nurses, then the software engineers, now the North Pole.

    Looks like EVERYONE who can is leaving Canada.

    Predictably, Jean Chretien denies that anything is wrong in any way whatsoever, and that more poles are MOVING to Canada than are leaving, resulting in a net pole gain.

    Of course, the Canadian Post Office are probably relieved by this - in a few years letters addressed to "Santa Claus" will no longer go to Canada Post - they'll be Siberia's problem. The Union is overjoyed! Less work! But they'll still strike for more money, mind.

    --

    --- Jump!! Fire!! Bullet time!! - Lego version of the Matrix
  98. new software development by mark_lybarger · · Score: 2

    does this mean we'll have a kewl place to congregate and put together some anti-dmca software, and make a few little hackers while we're at it?

  99. More Brain Drain by Titusdot+Groan · · Score: 2, Funny
    I'm distressed to see the North Pole Navigation Services considers Russia a better place to do business. Once again our socialist policies have forced another world class Canada company to relocate to friendlier climes.

    Good God! I just realized -- we could lose the Santa Claus Toy Manufacturing plants as well!

    The ignominy of it all.

  100. Magnetic North leaves Canada... by Zeinfeld · · Score: 1
    Hmm, that proposed levy on blank CDROM media seems to be having all sorts of unexpected results. Didn't think magnetic north was that much into Napster.

    Seriously, there is a periodic flip of the magnetic poles and it is not impossible that we might see the North Pole head south sometime within our lifetimes.

    Of course with GPS this will probably matter a whole lot less than it once did.

    --
    Looking for an Information Security student project suggestion?
    Try http://dotcrimeManifesto.com/
  101. "many couples like to go to..." by dbombarc · · Score: 1

    "Many couples like to go to the magnetic North Pole to conceive their children." ?????

    Sure makes for a strange connection with those infamous sex-tours of Asia...

    dbombarc
    Deathbomb

    --
    we're just marketing. marketing our bad attitudes.
  102. Re:Moron -read what was said. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But most maps use true north, not magnetic north.

  103. Re:Quit sniffing the beercaps bitch by mrpotato · · Score: 1

    funny post :-)

    to the point but oh so mean...

    --

    cheers
  104. Isn't it the magnetic south pole? by Florian+Weimer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The compass needle points with its north pole end to the geographic north pole. IIRC, you call this end of the needle its "north pole" and mark it with an "N". Therefore, the magnetic pole in the northern hemisphere has to be a south pole, magnetically speaking.

    1. Re:Isn't it the magnetic south pole? by DunbarTheInept · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually, the compass is just deliberately mislabelled, I think. It's "N" doesn't mean "this is this the needle's north end", but "this arrow is pointing to the earth's north pole" It's the compass that's labelled backwad. It's easy enough to test - get a magnet labelled as N and S, and hold it up to the compass and see how it gets affected.

      --

      Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.

    2. Re:Isn't it the magnetic south pole? by virve · · Score: 1

      Finally! You are absolutely right. I constantly find this error be it on maps and even decent reference books. The magnetic south pole is somewhere north of Canada.

  105. Re:Moron -read what was said. by Kwikymart · · Score: 1

    No shit! Nobody is disputing that. The problem comes when you apply a map/chart to a real life situation. How are you supposed to find the direction of true north without a compass? To figure out which way true north is, one must take the compass bearing and apply the variation correction. Without a variation correction on a chart, then nobody would be able to use it properly because the chart could be oriented any way and nobody would know which way is what.

    --

    Buying a Dell computer is equivalent to dropping the soap in a prison shower.
  106. Re:Moron -read what was said. by erlenic · · Score: 1

    Yeah, and most maps that are used also include the current magnetic deviation, which DOES change with this.

  107. Here in iron country the north pole never moves. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unfortunatly the north poll is always down, so a compass isn't of much use. But at least it is stable.

    Northern Minnesota (which is why MN has that bump, the surveyers got lost), and UP Michigian are two places I know where this effect happens. I'm sure there are more.

  108. Re:Moron -read what was said. by Zuchinis · · Score: 1

    Um, Polaris is still a pretty good indicator, so it can be done without a compass or GPS, btu I agree, USGS topo map declinations need to be changed.

    --
    -Zuchinis
  109. Ew by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    >I just wonder what makes ppl think that the pole is special enough to conceive their children there.
    >Magnetic fields, like electric fields, are the modern equivalent of leprechauns, fairies, and demons

    Don't the wee folk get upset when you have sex on them?

  110. Take me to the pole... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And then take the pole to me!

  111. fa! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Pity all the new agers out there who are into "magnet therapy". This will probably mess them up but good.

  112. Re:Moron -read what was said. by Kwikymart · · Score: 1

    Um, Polaris is still a pretty good indicator

    What happens when it is daytime, cloudy or you are in a light saturated location? Even if you can see it, it is impractical if you are traveling soley by compass. I do a lot of sailing and I can tell you, Polaris is not very useful unless for celestial navigation.

    --

    Buying a Dell computer is equivalent to dropping the soap in a prison shower.
  113. Dear North Pole, by Anonymous+C0wherder · · Score: 2, Funny
    Take off Eh!

    You Hoser.

    Regards,

    Canada

  114. Re:Moron -read what was said. by Kwikymart · · Score: 1

    sorry, when I say "traveling soley by compass" I really mean a situation where you cannot see properly and use an instrument for direction finding. It would not be practical to do this because every time one would need to change direction slightly they would have to orient themselves with polaris as a reference.

    --

    Buying a Dell computer is equivalent to dropping the soap in a prison shower.
  115. just North or Resolute by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Not only is the pole shifting from a spot just North of Resolute, Canada

    The North Pole is just North of Resolute? No shit.

  116. On Procreation by FuntSHOT · · Score: 1

    I dunno about you guys, but I can procreate anywhere, as long as its somewhere/someone I never have to see again=)

  117. How effective is it? by dbCooper0 · · Score: 1

    Both my girlfriend and I have been "fixed". Will it work for us?

    --
    db
    Cig:
    ôô
    /`
  118. *Ba-dum-psssh* by alexburke · · Score: 1

    [Insert obligatory Québec remark here.]

  119. Re:We need more positioning systems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    if the redundant positioning system requires power, it aint gonna do you a shit of good if the plane you're flying has an electrical failure. i'll keep my magnetic compass, thanks.

  120. Canada ... the place to make Babies by Vagrant · · Score: 1
    Along with the magnetic North Pole, Canadian tourism also suggests the following places for couples in need. Please visit in the listed order for best results.
    • Fertile
    • Smuts
    • Dildo
    • Finger
    • Big Beaver
    • St. Margret's Head
    • Blow Me Down
    • Meat Cove
    • Shag Harbour
    • Come By Chance
    • Climax
    • Conception Bay
    Consult your local atlas for details.
  121. New Age Conception Contraption by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I want to put a crystal pyramid right over the magnetic pole, and rent it out to fuzzy-minded couples.

  122. Re:Hang on a minute.. (?) by Lord+Bitman · · Score: 1

    I've heard in several places things about scientists creating magnetic feilds hundreds of times, thousands of times, millions(?) of times stronger than the earth's magnetic feild.
    If we suddenly lose our feild, couldnt we use those same technologies to just re-activate the thing? And what the hell causes that, anyway? I've never heard of Bar-Magnets suddenly reversing..

    --
    -- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
  123. North's Pole by zootski · · Score: 1

    I couldn't help noticing that nobody seems to have mentioned the amazing coincidence of the words 'procreation' and 'North Pole'. Somehow http://www.peternorth.com/ just comes to mind. Speaking of the Oscars, shouldn't North be honored for his wooden delivery and amazing facial expressions? This is sad. My first slashdot post. Embarrassing.

  124. GPS doesn't give angles or direction. by DunbarTheInept · · Score: 2
    A GPS unit doesn't know which way you are facing. It can only tell you which way you *were going* by comparing positions as you move., not which way you are looking now. Also, the whole *point* of backpacking for many people is often the neat sense of "roughing it" by relying on your own self to get things done, and to navigate your way. Having a satallite tell you where you are ruins that fun if such fun is your goal.

    And, the notion that magnetic north doesn't need to be marked anymore because we don't need it for navigation is false even if it's true that we really don't need it for navigation anymore. Navigation isn't the only reason to bother keeping track of where magnetic north is. It's a scentifically interesting phenomenon to study, and it's real geographical information so why not put it on a map.

    After all, I don't really need to know what the shape of Baffin Island in Northern Canada is, since I'll never be going there, yet there it is, marked on the map? Why? Because the purpose of a map is to show you the geography that's really there, not *just* the subset of it that you find useful. Marking where magnetic north is on a map might not be as useful anymore, but that doesn't mean it should be removed from the map. If the map only contained things I actually found useful, it would be a very vague map. It wouldn't bother telling me, for example, what the ocean depths are, since I'm not going down there.

    --

    Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.

  125. Re:Hang on a minute.. (?) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They're not generating magnetic fields the size earth generates. We would all probably end up living under dome cities.

  126. We are talking about the MAGNETIC POLE by skymester · · Score: 1

    and the magnetic pole is can drift northwards to the real geographic north pole.

    And concerning climate the magnetic field is not important (only a bit maybe because it affects how solar winds hit earth).

    The axis of the Earth goes thrue the geographic pole.

    Martin

    PS: I wasnt really sure if youre post is irony or not, but i wanted to make this clear

    1. Re:We are talking about the MAGNETIC POLE by Binky+The+Oracle · · Score: 1

      No, it was entirely tongue in cheek, but thanks for posting the clarification.

      --

      Slashdot comments... splitting hairs since 1997.

  127. New Age Conception Contraption by Steve+Furlong · · Score: 1

    I want to put a crystal pyramid right over the magnetic pole, and rent it out to fuzzy-minded couples.

    (Repost because I got my password wrong the first time.)

  128. Where is it moving? by vindaci · · Score: 1

    The article says:

    > Although it has been moving north or
    > northwest for a hundred years,

    How can the north pole move even more "north" than where it is?

    1. Re:Where is it moving? by SagSaw · · Score: 1

      "How can the north pole move even more "north" than where it is?"

      Whats moving is the earths magnetic pole, which is not in the same location as the earths rotational pole. Since direction is/should be based on the rotational pole, the magnetic pole can move further north until the magnetic pole and the rotational pole share the same location. If two poles were so coincide, than yes, the magnetic pole could only move south.

      --
      Come test your mettle in the world of Alter Aeon!
  129. babies by sewagemaster · · Score: 1

    i conceive children with my north pole up in north pole, but i have birds flying due south to carry them to people's front door. ironic isnt it...

    :)

  130. Because GPS tells you position not orientation by Goonie · · Score: 2

    GPS units can tell you your position with great accuracy, but they don't tell you which way north (or any other direction) is. To do that, you need a compass.

    --

    Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
    --Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
  131. Distortion of article by goodie · · Score: 2, Informative

    Original article headline:

    North Magnetic Pole could be leaving Canada

    Slashdot article headline:

    North Pole is leaving Canada

  132. Santa's displaced, news at 11 by WyldOne · · Score: 1

    In other news little green men wre seen to be buying scuba gear. Local tabloids say its was a small invasion of martians and was dismissed.

    Santa was quoted "Well I'm already wearing red so no problem"

    Rudolf was caught buying a extra fur coat saying "Ya know, brass monkeys and all that."

    Sleds with pontoon sales also rose.

    --

    make Linux, not Microsoft. sin(beast) = -0.809016994374947424102293417182819
  133. Santa Claus by DA-MAN · · Score: 1

    Does this mean Santa Claus has to move?

    --
    Can I get an eye poke?
    Dog House Forum
  134. The Canada angle... by daveman_1 · · Score: 1

    The fact that the magnetic north pole is leaving Canada is the only thing interesting about this. The magnetic north pole ALWAYS changes. Ever used a terrain map with twelve digit grid coordinates? Any highly accurate map will have both a compass arrow for north as well as magnetic north. These maps get replaced routinely every couple of years due to the shifting of magnetic north.

    --
    Russian Russian Russian RussianDollSig DollSig DollSig DollSig
  135. How would anyone notice? by DunbarTheInept · · Score: 2
    Radiation can damage people in such a way that they don't die immediately, but they get massive health problems several years later that kill them. Like those who had the misfortune of being near the Chernyobyl plant and now have all sorts of cancers and other problems.

    How would a culture that didn't have good medicine at the time even *know* that the radiation was causing problems? People must have been dying from undiagnosed health problems all the time anyway, even before the extra radiation.

    All we can tell from the evidence really, is that humans survived the event, and that it didn't create a massive dip in population reproduction. That still leaves open the possiblity that people had shortened lifespans during that time (but lived long enough to procreate), and possibly had very painfully unhealthy conditions to contend with.

    It takes a heck of a lot of radiation to cause total sterility. As long as that hasn't happened, the race can continue under conditions of extra solar radiation, but it won't be pleasant (and could lead to extra mutations, and thus the possible creation of more human races.)

    --

    Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.

    1. Re:How would anyone notice? by randombit · · Score: 1

      and possibly had very painfully unhealthy conditions to contend with.

      That, to me, seems like something that reduce population growth.

      That still leaves open the possiblity that people had shortened lifespans during that time

      True, but we would easily be able to see that. Just count the number of adult bodies that died without any visible wounds, and figure out their ages. Then do the same for sometime farther in the past, and again sometime after the pole shift. If the three are roughly the same, the we're all set. If not, we're fucked. Anyway, it's not like we can really do anything about it either way. :)

      Also, if it were really that serious, we would have to see pretty good sized die offs of pretty much everything every few hundred thousand years.

      Anyway, my whole point was that nobody (at least according to my geology prof) knows a) how long a pole shift takes - anything between a day and a thousand years, basically, and b) nobody knows if there is any radiation increase at all during this time.

    2. Re:How would anyone notice? by DunbarTheInept · · Score: 2

      As far as population growth goes, a moderate number of extra deaths can be offset with extra breeding. It only becomes a noticable dip in population growth when the disease is on a very massive scale. After all, today those parts of the world with the least disease and famine are NOT the parts where population growth is highest.

      --

      Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.

  136. International "waters" by DunbarTheInept · · Score: 2

    The real (axis or rotation) north pole is in no country. It's in international waters - or international "ices" to be more precise.

    --

    Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.

  137. more american ignorance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    a spot just North of Resolute, Canada

    That's Resolute, Nunavut.

    Saying "Resolute, Canada" is like saying "Detroit, USA"
    weather.com lists 6 entries for "Detroit"

    I don't know why the whole concept of provinces/territories escapes you people. Must be because we didn't call them "states"

    1. Re:more american ignorance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Saying "Resolute, Canada" is like saying "Detroit, USA"
      weather.com lists 6 entries for "Detroit"


      So, I guess "Kabul, Afghanistan" is ignorant too? Or is it that you are, perhaps, a pedantic loser?

    2. Re:more american ignorance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, I guess "Kabul, Afghanistan" is ignorant too?

      It quite likely is.

    3. Re:more american ignorance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      So, I guess "Kabul, Afghanistan" is ignorant too?

      Not really, as Afghanistan is a unitary state. Canada (like the U.S.) is a federal state. Just as you refer to an American city with its state name, you refer to a Canadian city with its province/territory name.

      Yes, Afghanistan does have provinces, but they are in the style of China's provinces---just local administrative areas, not semi-sovereign political entities bound under a federal government (again, like Canada or the U.S.).

  138. Animals with navigation senses? by danro · · Score: 1

    A lot of animals have navigation senses that depend on magnetism, birds and fish for example.
    How would they handle a collapse followed by a flip of the magnetic poles.
    By a changed behavior and moving patterns, massive decrease in numbers and entire species going extinct? (Obviously some individuals would survive since it has happened before and most existing species has already survived it at least once.)
    How would this upset the rest of the ecosystem?
    Would these disturbances be drastic enough to affect mankind?

    Or should I stick to worrying about the increased cosmic radiation during the initial field collapse...

    --

    "First lesson," Jon said. "Stick them with the pointy end."
  139. Got lost on the way to Florida by rs79 · · Score: 1

    It's old and been in Canada a very long time. It may be headed for Siberia but it's really just lost on it's way to Miami.

    Somebody should give it directions. I don't think its compass is working properly.

    --
    Need Mercedes parts ?
  140. I can see the Spam headlines already..... by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    (* Perhaps the most interesting part of the story ....is that many couples like to go to the magnetic North Pole to conceive their children. *)

    Hmmmmm. Market for magnetic condoms? Claim it works better than Viagra. New spam headline:

    "Try Our Magnet Condums At The Magnetic Pole! Increases Ejaculation 600 Percent!"

    "....And Your Babies Stick To The Fridge! Never Need Crib!"

  141. sheesh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can't even get my gf to do it in the kitchen.

  142. My real question is.......... by tresstatus · · Score: 1

    ......... when the fuck did slashdot get ads right in the middle of articles?

    --
    stephen
  143. Humans mutated during last reversal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Besides radiation poisoning and mutation. (Humans popped up during the last reversal) Pole reversal results also in plankton swiming down instead of up. Plankton die off for a long period of time. Food chain is broken. Planet also goes into ice age during phytoplankton die offs, because phytoplankton manage most of the atmospheric gases.

  144. Republicans... by Catbeller · · Score: 2

    Republicans just don't do satire well.

  145. I hope Santa sends a change of address by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    because I am trying really hard to be a good boy. Really.

  146. Satire? by Art+Tatum · · Score: 1

    You mean this isn't legit?

  147. longpost by Bill+Ashley · · Score: 0

    LOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGG We always do this kind of work in May. We need frozen conditions so that we can land an airplane anywhere on ice or snow, but not so cold that it is impossible to work outdoors," Newitt said. what no funding.. the us can think up a mars observer to travel thousands of miles in space only to crash but they can't fund scientist studying our own magnetic axis? No offence meant to NASA in anyway since I'm sure that the mars surveyor etc... and I'm not a rocket scientist so I'll say they know what they are doing better than me but anyway why don't they take the human need out of the study? they made hover boards in 1960 didn't they... there might be a problem with that but hope everyone who actually reads understands what I am trying to say. It's doesn't make sense that magnetic poles don't have effects on humans.. there are personal gravamagnetic if that is the world for every object and any fields when in contact which one another will have an effect I think but I'm not even a highschool graduate and don't really know phsyics but if the feilds nuture the human body and cell growth etc.. cellular mitosis and repairs etc then the poles stronger field would have an effect on the growth of cells I would think but I guess CNN would know better so I thought I would atleast speak my mind and get the educated peoples to correct my errors in thought. "Most, if not all, topographic maps have the difference between True north and magnetic north noted on them. This is so that people navigating by compass don't get lost. If the magnetic pole is moving that fast, then the maps are going to have to be updated much more frequently." topography changes constantly with the tectonic plates anyway the magnetic pole I believe is just the planetary inter solar system cross effect which is made by system to system feilds and the oh I know nothing but the geographic north and the magnetic north as outlined are two seperate points ... since the planet is not a perfect sphere there isn't a true north anyway atleast one point that is always there actually everything is in contstant motion at every moment on all levels the solar system is moving the planet is moving the fields that we are locked in are constantly changing not only this but we are also chaning the wieghting of the planet or distribution on both a natural and artificial level but really every thing is well everything is at a consant(posibly) and we know that there is movement on a teretrial and interterestrial level.. we(I) do not know if it is a patern however it could be though we tend to see things as cyclic when in fact we can never actually know because we can't account for all time and never can. Simple logics are used however cause it brings order oh Im getting way off topic anyway I think its neat that the pole is changing however what I'm wondering if it is effected by the polar ice glaciers melting and altering the weight distribution since the water mooves to the equatorial regions I think Im not sure about that but an object spinning I would think that the stuff would go to the central point like a bucket spun over your head filled with water. So if the magnetic center is shifting then that would mean that the axis is shifting force oh thats gravity isn't it not magnetics oh nevermind. "You and your inbred, half-wit family suck ass!!" uhm all families are imbred Imbreading is just a social stigma.. which I have but anyway.. "movement has always been unpredictable" nothing is unpredictable you just need points of refernace (and lots of coffee..not really but I'm trying to start trying to be funny) I also wanted to say... isn't there many magnetic feilds... and points of higher magnetics.. aswell as minerals.. maybe the siberians are building large stockpiles of cobalt nuclear weapons which is changing the feild or the metal gnomes like magnetic goelms are building a huge underground labrotory to do expreiments on the caputure morlocks... uhh or it could just be that the magnetic lightning rods are changing places such as the mining in sudbury and depletion of the nickle.. nickle is magnetic right... so mabye the change in mangetic grounders is causeing the field to shift so that human gorging of the planet is causing gaia to flya toward siberia or maybe its the huge secrect weapons project on that island off of the coast of japan that godzilla was originally from and that the nuclearmagnetic nutreano bombs(mortars) are causing a feild ripple which is sucking the axis closer to the detonation point... "also, you can make a compass [thinkquest.org] using a bowl of still water, a blade of grass, and a small sliver of ferrous metal. (like the hand of a watch) " you watched that movie too? what I don't get is how do people actually get lost? and why you would need to use orientation to go places don't they have roads everywhere now. "Those without electricity to run GPS devices." solar/windup/baterypacks "Suppose that your batteries run down, or your generator breaks down, or the GPS device you're using doesn't have a hand crank. I bet you'd really like to know the difference between true north and magnetic north right about then. " Sun moon constelations "Suppose the U.S. goes to war in the near future with a country who is not vastly overwhelmed by our military might. If I was in charge of a war effort in such a country, (China for example, which may happen depending on how we handle the 'War on Terrorism'), I would make a point of using missiles to eliminate the network of GPS sattellites in order to confuse and confound my enemies." hahahhhhahhahha war... war doesn't exist anymore only political support people can kill whoever they want now adays .. that is unless something is self contained and unkown or in space behind the moon. If I was leader of a country invade by a force I couldn't beat I would say here you win and at the same time tell my underground and trusted people to start plotting the 6999 year long guerilla war effort after poisoning there water supplies by having immagration infiltrate their civil dependancies etc.. etc.. but I don't beleive in killing or war it doesn't exist only nice people and mean people exist now honestly If I wanted I could destory every government in the world but thats not a nice thing to do. Just that smart people tend to know that anything is posible and smarter people know not to let people know your smart and the smartest people well I got no clue. Down the list less smart poeple think they know smart and smarter and the smartest people while really not smart people relize that itellegence and smartness doesn't exist just a really fucked up reality so why not have another. its funny how people can believe in something they can't prove and have no facts about just assumption or propagation lifes funny that way sometimes. "And in response to the grandparent of this post, good luck hitting any LEO satellite with a missle. That's like trying to shoot a fly at 5000 yards with a .44. Talk about a feat! A more effective anti-satellite weapon would probably be a railgun (a real railgun) capable of hurling millions of particles of dust sized shrapnel at insane speeds in the general vacinity of the target satellite -- if they'd ever finish the development of the weapon.." why take out a satelitte??? what the point I don't want to threaten national or gto type powers but it should be obvious the redudancy "The GPS was consistently off by at least 30 meters. That may not sound like a lot, but when you are calling for direct fire, 30 meters is the difference between wiping out the enemy and wiping out your squad or platoon" why wouldn't you just use laser designation in ranges that close(dual point) not sure if the technology exist yet but its that one that sends the signal to the target then you send the signal to the aircraft with the tool as the way point etc.. the relation in x1,y1 x2,y2 x3,y4 either that or throw a grenade or a mortal or let loose with a rapid fire weapon or a canister of gas or use your snipers to hit them with tranquilizes or just put up a white flag or have one unarmed persona walk there under guise or not that is ofcourse if opostion isn't on shoot to kill orders or something really war sucks and is outdated even at risk of someone actually reading this and being in the military .. it is the military that causes the worlds problems that and buisness of selfish intrest since the military states I will kill for what I beleive and selfish buisness states the survival of the buisness outweighs all else.. really the last people that I should in anyway be attacking but I'm not as smart as them(I thought of a joke of parlay) but I guess the world isn't a perfect place and these are the people that aparently are protecting societies intrest and I have no proof either way since I have proof of nothing. the us has no buisness with china.. china in asia us in north america pacific ocean between internatinal dateline I wish everyone would just say ok this is the world ideal from now on and get on with it then you know do that social progression thing you know the ultimate representation of social powers forming the concept for social progression .. it takes a bigstrong man to say I'm the leader it takes a bigger man to say ok your the leader and still lead.(I'm sure something will make sense eventually) "No, its us humans doing it. We're destroying the environment, and now were causing the poles to move at unprecedented rates," I personally think its microsoft windows xp causes huge magnetic shifts in the space time continu um. "Just think if we got a big'ol solid block of steel hoovering over it. Everybody run! The Pole is comming, the pole is comming!!! " just think that in the early period of the earth it was encased in a metalic shell cause by compression of hydrogen and that the origianl megnetic field is just a overlaying representaion of some of those effect.. not really but really "What happens when it is daytime, cloudy or you are in a light saturated location? Even if you can see it, it is impractical if you are traveling soley by compass. I do a lot of sailing and I can tell you, Polaris is not very useful unless for celestial navigation." landmarks and nightplotting using lowlight goggles or flares or a really strong flashlight... acutally... hmmm what about using tectonic indicators or airflow and and radio or even radio waves... yah radio waves... anywave really as long as it is not disrupted by something else "sorry, when I say "traveling soley by compass" I really mean a situation where you cannot see properly and use an instrument for direction finding. It would not be practical to do this because every time one would need to change direction slightly they would have to orient themselves with polaris as a reference." you should when lost in the woods and people know your out hug a tree(you should make sure it is a really sexy tree though otherwise you might feel unfullfilled)if no one knows your out then start walking in a strait line leaving broken tree brances as you go(unless you are an enviromentalist)if you hit a river or stream follow the stream if you are somewhere really really big .. your screwed(you can always take up dandrofelia) unless you are a survivalist or something and in that case just build a log cabin and start your own tool and dye operation set up a trasistor thingy make your own company to rival intell and make a species of robot intellegence thingies to do your biddings.. -- "there are things that a compass can do (gasp!) that gps can't, like taking bearings off of other objects to figure out what they are on the map and the inverse, plotting courses from the map and sighting them to the real world." I can understand what your saying but cross referencing a few different databases and a handheld navagation tool can replace the maps really cost effectiveness is another issue but if you can teach someone how to point something or how to point something .... I think that since computer technologies are becoming more engrained in society the progression of applications may be on par now but with more proding will excede traditional methods. So essentially it will be more usefull although cost with our current social barriers will hinder true freedom of technology aswell as strong training methods "and then there's the whole nature/tech separation which is the whole reason people go outside in the first place, to get away from the gadgets. i don't even like tripping with my watch" I can see what your saying but I don't get it personally I like the outdoors to be with nature what the difference between a technological compas and a microcomputer? its all psychological but I guess thats cool whatever you enjoy right I like the birds the smell and the tranquility especially lakes lakes are really nice. personally it is the pairing of the best aspects of technology with the peace of nature. I think that we will go full circle however to the point where technology will no be seen but we will live with nature \ "GPS units can tell you your position with great accuracy, but they don't tell you which way north (or any other direction) is. To do that, you need a compass." I'm suprised that there isn't autocompases built into gps.. you know reading the thingie and showing it jsut like gps but it has an arrow saying north.. or an arrow saying south.. etc... or hell you could even do all of the directions... eh? or just use multipoint gps refrenceing with a point location stating which ones are where which would allow you to determine north and south just simple math stuff I would think I could be wrong though "I'd probably be bored of canada after a few eons too. "- how rude! "THough I hear the beer is good."- forgiven "One of his favorite examples was that people don't understand gravity, and they don't understand magnetism, so UFOs must be powered by gravity engines." actually I thought ufo's were made from electro magnetic cores and use a slingshot and energy collection and dispurtion system.. really simple cores I still dont get interstellar flight thought and how they travel between systems I'm guessing that another system is used although ever since 1967 its been phased out by reality warps that is altering the position in the space continu um. efectively teleproting "Or the paranoid delusion that an invisible, omnipotent man is watching you whilst you engage in the process of expelling feces. " that was just unfair to add to my warped sense of reality.. thanks.. "Though it has nothing to do with magnetic poles, it is true that sperm production in the testes can be aided by cooler temperatures." Hmm I thought a body temerature had to be maintained thats why the scrotum retracts closer to the body when cold is encountered... your not trying to do the equivelant of press ctrl-alt-del to win the million dollars thing for people wanting to procreate are you? For some reason I feel like this is some vast plot to lure candians to warmer weather... "Blame Cananada! by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 20, @01:00PM (#3195011) "thirty+ million people" You call that a country? Down here we call that California. Sheesh, we kill more people with drunk drivers every year than that! [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:Blame Cananada! by lposeidon (jpg_biker&hotmail,com) on Wednesday March 20, @03:37PM (#3196045) (User #455264 Info | http://slashdot.org/ | Last Journal: Sunday January 06, @04:42AM) callifornia??? hell thats sound more like los angeles. or there aboot. -- Lizard "Never let them set limits on your mind!" >bastards100 " I'm starting to think cities are just alien projects to see how many mad persons you can pack into a tight density well not really mmm nevermind "So, if the north pole is shifting that far, that fast... will the Canadian children see any change in Santa's normal delivery schedule? I can only assume he'd be a little later than normal, seeing as how Siberia is quite a flight from Northern Canada." your right we might have to redraft rocky and bul.. can't spell it but you know who I'm talkin about to save the day uhj no.. hmm ehh I think Ive wathced too much mike bullard :_) "In fact, Santa doesn't live at North Pole at all, but in Finnish Lapland [santatelevision.com]. How he manages to deliver all those toys in one night is a mystery, but I doubt it would be affected much by his physical starting point anyway since he must move pretty fast." maybe he's using the same alien space folding technology.. my parents told me santa isn't real and that I got presents cause they love me ...is this true or were they lying to me..? "The pole does not move in more traditional manets, but the earyth's liquid core might provide an answer." I thought the earths core was a mini star like all the otehr planets or read a gas core... really just a concentration of nucleaur unergy that is the depostis of what was left when the solar pangea broke apart the ones that were smaller stars burnt themselves out faster leaving dead stars the planets have been cooling since which is what caused the cores to start solidifying or cause rocks etc... when the liqud core cooled when the heat disapated it cause a air or rather magnaouseus core to be formed.. later in the case of earth a super condensed asperoid which was almsot entirely hydrogen also a cooled star hit earth causing the hydroshield to be formed in space... which was actually hydrogen which oh nevermind "How, exactly, can the North Pole drift northward? Seems like it would be more accurate to say that Siberia is drifting northward and North America is drifting southward. WE HAVE TO STOP THIS NOW! At this rate, North America will be South America, environmentalists will be warning about the dangers we face when the Jamaican ice sheets collapse, and Australia will be located somewhere near the moon." most of the plates are drifting to the northern axel eventually it will all connect again its the way that our solar system is in relation to others we are drifting north.. eventually our axis will shift .. bigtime "And concerning climate the magnetic field is not important (only a bit maybe because it affects how solar winds hit earth)." what about interplanetary magnetics causing shifts in the rotation route around the sun a slight variation cause by change in planetary magnetics would shift this minutely because of how the magnetic feilds are interconecting.. eh eh .. never thought about that one did ya remember elnino... ehhhh I'm smarter than you are I'm smarter than you are nan nanann nan na na .. you suck YOU SUCK !!!! hahahha hahhaha yoi.. I don't know what happened... j/k eh? we can still be friends can't we :))/ big j/k thats it eureka... santa uses magnetic fields to travel the earth so quickly... its all so obvious he has the speical ability to use magnetic curents actually he can turnhimself into a magnetic current aswell and the sleigh he uses is made of cobalt which is what radiated the reindeer in that area with the ability to fly aswell... it all makes sence.. its becomeing more and more clear... "ouch. i bet you had dreams of +5 Funny. swing and a miss." loop ouch. i bet you had dreams of +5 Funny. swing and a miss. end loop maybe it is breakup of ices which house mineral contents etc.. "15 seconds of Google research will tell you that the pole reversal is thought to take 1000 years or so to complete. So it's not like you'll wake up some morning and magnetic North will suddenly be South." I thought it was dependant upon globabl warming or rather the melting of the polar icecaps caused by ozone depletion and sheilding waterlevels etc.. rising cauing change in distribution also nuclear testing etc... also for the sake of green peace and not done in really really bad taste but atleast to raise awarness so even though I may be any way lets just say it aresol and whaling.. yup also sealing and mistreatment of foreign natinionals in lower tenesee. "Or Maybe that's what really killed off the dinosaurs." we are the dinasaurs(in my best mstical voice).. over many generations and interpbreading with monkeys.. don't ask anyway.... "Oh come on, the magnetic field doesn't block high energy particles, it only deflects them. So a particle that was going to hit you doesn't hit you, and a particle that *wasn't* going to hit you *does* hit you. It's pretty useless overall." but if it diverts entire particle streams then the effect would be much more .. really I know nothing "huge numbers of particles now enter the Earth's magnetosheath (atmosphere, etc.)." what those sent by satalites....L:_) "It takes a heck of a lot of radiation to cause total sterility. As long as that hasn't happened, the race can continue under conditions of extra solar radiation, but it won't be pleasant (and could lead to extra mutations, and thus the possible creation of more human races.)" yah but now we have cloning.. its all a plot to have all humans born out of area51part8(the genetics center) when radiation gets high enough we won't be able to have kids and when this happens a51p8 will be able to control human kind(thats another story completely)anyway it has to do with sun micro and packard bell aswella s the ascii-white comptuer systems... a. gore was against the plots so the hybrid aliens controling the reasearch project and eventual domination project rigged the elections and overthrew the remaining human supreme court judges... "(Obviously some individuals would survive since it has happened before and most existing species has already survived it at least once.)" not necisarily.... I think that unless it causes a change in the upper earth feilds strato etc.. and innerspace then people on the iss would survive... but the effects hmmm regardless I will survive everything and there is no way you can prove me wrong.. atleast to my face. "Re:that's not bad " hahhahhaha this is funny I think quite a few things would change. Im getting a headache.. disoreintation... bipaloarismblindness no sorry thats just the salt from all that pork. hmm if it is magnetic feild cause by the core that means that there is a trend in core activity which would lead me to believe that the is a trend in solar system happening anyone ever thing that the plannets are just represenations of time... maybe the fields changed with arival of new planets or even that mysterious planet x causeing an overall change in system magnetics. "Supposedly in many asian cultures, it is said that a child will have good luck if concieved under the northern lights. This is possibly why northern canada is a highly popular tourist destination among people from Japan." maybe it is a power passed on for the feild engrains with the people of that land since it is japanese people concieveing of the field the field is going to them so that it can always be together..... "I've seen comments about the poles reversing every 10,000 years. I've seen comments about the poles reversing every 70,000 years. I've seen comments about the poles reversing every 1,000,000 years. Aren't we a well-educated bunch? :P" I think its just that no one has knowingling lived over 9,999 years so no one can proove that polar flips have happened befor them since no .... well not exactly anyway to make a long story short no one has given me any definate inforation regarding actually past pollar shifts however there is eveid...tired how bout we say they happen at differing strenghts.. little ones every 10,000 years bigger ones at 70,000 and much larger ones at 1,000,000 years Im guessing we are due for the next one in less than 9 years among other things. yah I should be bored by then. "You missed 250.000" ok there are four.. "The interval is highly non-regular. According to this article [nasa.gov] from NASA, the interval varies between 5 thousand and 50 million years. So all of the different numbers posted would be reasonable guesses for an interval (the last was about 740,000 years ago according to the same article)." ok set yrvar@740,000 randomize yrrand yrvar:th * yrrand cause magnetic shift of pole "Some folks are concerned that the field may be in the process of failing [eurekalert.org] " personal I think that personal feilds feed off of the planets feild so since population is increasing the field overall is weakening ... a way of keeping population in check and species etc.. built into the planet is to cause shifting glaciation no sure exactly. so maybe the feild isn't changing at all... everything else is changing..... so in that case natural boundries would be changing landwise and really the stuff wouldnt be....... I should sleep

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    hmm sooner