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Sun Storms May Affect Radios, Cell Phones Today

Posted by timothy on from the going-once-going-twice-sol dept.

ABC News is one of various news outlets reporting that "Intense solar activity may affect Earth today, potentially disrupting radio and cell phone frequencies." (The Space Weather Prediction Center calls the likely effects minor, but it might be a good day to have an atlas packed in with the GPS.)

12 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Always a great excuse by Toe,+The · · Score: 5, Funny

    When working in IT, whenever I would encounter a weird networking problem that I couldn't immediately identify, I'd suggest maybe it had something to do with sunspot activity. This usually got the affected people scratching their heads long enough that I could concentrate on actually working on the problem instead of listening to them asking me what the problem was.

    1. Re:Always a great excuse by idbeholda · · Score: 2

      What do you think the "I" in IT stands for?

    2. Re:Always a great excuse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That's funny, until you actually encounter sub-standard shielding in memory at high altitudes...
      Then it actually IS sunspots that cause the system to fail...

    3. Re:Always a great excuse by Shatrat · · Score: 4, Funny

      Internet.

      --
      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
    4. Re:Always a great excuse by Dishevel · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I work in IT for a large cab company in California.
      When I get to work in the morning. I log in, check server status, check status of 4 different radio sites, then I go to spaceweather.com to check sunspot activity.
      With 300 Cabs running around with mobile radios and GPS there is just a lot that can go bad. Better to know.

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
    5. Re:Always a great excuse by oneiros27 · · Score: 2

      C'mon ... at least cite the original material. From BOFH #6:

      It's friday, so I get into work early, before lunch even. The phone rings. Shit!

      I turn the page on the excuse sheet. "SOLAR FLARES" stares out at me. I'd better read up on that. Two minutes later I'm ready to answer the phone.

      "Hello?" I say.

      "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET YOU ALL MORNING?!"

      I hate it when they shout at me early in the morning. It always puts me in a bad mood. You know what I mean.

      "Ah, yes. Well, there's been some solar activity this morning, it always disrupts electronics..." I say, sweet as a sugar pie.

      "Huh? But I could get through to my friends?!"

      "Yes, that's entirely possible, solar activity is very unpredictable in it's effects. Why last week, we had some files just dissappear from a guys account while he was working on it!"

      "Really?"

      "Straight Up! Hey, do you want me to check your account?"

      "Yes please, I've got some important stuff in there!"

      "Ok, what's your username..."

      He tells me. Honestly, it's like shooting a fish in a barrel. Twice. With an Elephant Gun. At point blank range. In the head.

      (Do I really need to tell you the clicky clicky bit?.. I think not)

      "How many files are in your account?" I ask

      "Um, well there should be about 20 in my thesis writeup, 10 or so with the data for it, and another 20 or so in a book that I'm writing"

      "Hmmm. Well, I think we caught it just in time. You've still got 2 files left... .cshrc and .login"

      "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaggggggggghhhh!"

      He sobs into the receiver a bit - it really turns my stomach.

      Now, in my case, as I work at the Solar Data Analysis Center, and most of the folks I work with have phds in solar physics, astronomy or similar, the excuse just doesn't work. (and my boss reads BOFH)

      --
      Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
  2. Atlas by Artea · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hope the commercial airlines hear about this and inform their pilots of bring an atlas!

  3. You lost? by countertrolling · · Score: 5, Funny

    You need a damn GPS to find your way home now?

    --
    For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
  4. Aroura Borealis? by DigitalSorceress · · Score: 2

    My first thought is "I wonder if I should be on the lookout for a good Aurora Borealis tonight."

    Being that I'm in New England, the only times in my life I've seent the "Northern Lights" have been subsequent to a strong CME / Solar flare like this. /gets camera ready just in case

    --

    The Digital Sorceress
  5. Um...NO!! by launchpad72 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I was a weather forecaster in the USAF and just looked at the Solar Weather page and there are "NO" alerts and "NO" large solar activity. If you read the ABC page it is just a 20-40% chance was from a report Monday. Has FOX news bought this website?

  6. Alert has been downgraded by __aaelyr464 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Chance is now about 20% for 29 December. This ABC article is a bit alarmist and unnecessarily scaring the masses.

  7. No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Shouldn't that be an ORACLE storm...?