Today is bleak on The History Channel. Among the more interesting segments is this forthcoming asteroid I must not have paid much attention to previously. Discovered in 2004. Below is an info link at NASA. Very interesting.

By then maybe I'll be able to evacuate in my Doug Ritter Survival SUV - 90 mpg, 6-wheel drive, 500-horse power with solar backup turbo water purifier, gazillion lumen lednithium headlights, carbonfiberinium full-tang fishing pole wrapped in duct tape + three fish hooks.

I will have bought two of them. And may perish while I'm torn over whether to take the blue DR Survival SUV, the red one, or loan one to the carless neighbors.

Seriously, interesting link. And if DR does perfect a survival suv... I will buy it. ;-)

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/13may_2004mn4.htm

On April 13th--Friday the 13th--2029, millions of people are going to go outside, look up and marvel at their good luck. A point of light will be gliding across the sky, faster than many satellites, brighter than most stars.

What's so lucky about that? It's asteroid 2004 MN4 ... not hitting Earth.

For a while astronomers thought it might.

Wahoo it won't hit us!

But what about the other planet I may be living on at that time ?

2029? We'll be licky if NASA has actually gotten ARES1/5 up in the air, and maybe even to the moon

Black Nike sneakers sales are expected to be astronomical.

Friday 13th? Well, at least it is not a leap year.

It is still threading a needle traveling hundreds of miles per second. Ask me on 4/14/29 what I think.

Honestly, I don't think Apophis will hit, but I do think it will be one heck of a light show and a lot of nuts are going to try to make something happen. And if it passing within Lunar orbital radius, then it might smack some of our satellites.

This all assumes of course that over the next twenty years nothing bumps into it, and we don't get cute and try to mess with it, and that it doesn't calve going past something heavy.

But wait, I thought we were all going to die on 12/12/2012. So the world is NOT going to end on that date. Whew.

Just like those dip-dunk pointy nosed researchers keep telling me that coffee is good/coffee is bad, someone will say that some equation in the formula that only about 6 people in the world recognize was not read right and the the asteroid is going to hit right on time.

No no, Comms, the date is 12/21/12. We have to wait till the Winter Solstice.

And you just know something like this we can't help but mess with.

benjammin, 1 of 6.