Except for a few of the usual trolls and general assholes, all of the legit folks I've chatted with are really cool. I've met people from Namibia, Ireland, the UK, Sweden, Germany, Canada and all over the place. Everyone has something in common, and that's an appreciation for shooting stars and other sky phenomena. I've been into shooting stars since I was a tot, and to finally meet a bunch of like-minded individuals is wonderful. Even better are the people who are new to the whole thing, and genuinely curious. As we speak I'm answering questions from a newbie. Also as we speak the meteors continue to roll in like Flynn. We're at around forty days at least of constant meteors. Based on the rate of meteors coming in, every single day has qualified as a strong meteor shower. This image is one of the Taurids from late May and early June. I saw one of these but it wasn't a fireball. It was very brief but intensely bright, and it matched up with images of other Taurids. I also got to see one from the tail of Halley's Comet.
I always say heads up and I mean it. Of course no one much cares what anyone else has to say these days, and especially what I have to say, but people are hearing about all this and trying to find out what the story is for themselves, and that's what continuing education is all about. I hope I don't sound so gloom-and-doom as opposed to completely floored by all this activity, and as far as the danger level is concerned, to be honest it's higher than usual and some of these recent meteors are hitting Earth, but the vast majority are burning up spectacularly in the atmosphere. As I said people are seeing these beasts in broad daylight. One was just seen in these parts day before yesterday I think. It crossed Georgia and one other state at least. There's too many right now to keep track of.
At least a few people are paying attention to something besides their phones and their dicks. Stuff like this matters. Pokemon Go doesn't. I can't say skywatching isn't without its own dangers too, because when I walk at night I'm constantly looking up, and I've blundered right into mailboxes. Fucking oops. That shit hurts, but it's not quite as bad as walking into traffic or off a cliff like those fools. Not surprisingly they say that this current generation is by far the most disconnected in history both to the world around them and socially, although most of them think otherwise. I think they're also the least prepared, and they don't know how to do that much or even think for themselves. The good news is that a few of these young people are looking past their phones. Judging by all the textspeak and emojis and lingo it's obvious they're kids, but at least a few of them are trying to learn something new (and real). Good for them.
There's a classic story about some military leader who was selecting men for his army. He led a group of hot, thirsty men to a clear stream and observed them drinking. The ones who leaned their heads down and splashed their faces and paid no attention to anything but the water were disregarded. The ones who scooped up water to their mouths but remained observant of course were chosen. Same goes for today.
As I write this the meteors are doing their usual daily ramp-up and they're going up sharply. A return just came in that lasted about three minutes. That's completely unreal. Some of the people who are saying that not all of these returns are meteors may have a point; especially in regard to the energy waves, but I still say that these are objects that have been dislodged from the Kuiper Belt. This is truly some shit going on right now. This hasn't happened in my lifetime. I can't help but take notice. I just saw something funny. I've been joking that I have Chicken Little on speed dial, and there's a guy who comes on the meteor site and his handle is ChickenLittleSaidSo. I love it. Suckers are flying in right now. I ain't nev. This is a heads-up.
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