Blame It On the Asteroid
An asteroid flew by Earth earlier this evening, coming closer than the moon. Even though it was “only” the size of a city block, and not nearly as large as planets or the moon, it did have some influence on human and environmental activity on our planet. Or at least some people think so. I heard about a coastal flood watch on the Chesapeake, for example, even though there has been no rain in the area for days. That could be blamed on the gravitational pull of the asteroid.
I wonder what else we can blame on this potent little astronomical body.
Today was an odd day for me, with some normally predictable behaviors just slightly askew. For one thing, I didn’t have lunch till just past 3pm. I am obsessed with having lunch around Noon or 1pm, but I had to record an interview at Noon, this session is usually 30 minutes but today it went 50, which kicked it up next to my 1pm meeting, which is usually 45minutes but went a full hour, followed by my completing two more overdue projects, taking another hour. Whew. So I walked across the street to a carryout place I eat at once a week. I have ordered exactly the same thing there almost once every week for more than a year. This particular lunch special costs $5.50 … until 3pm. It was 3:08 when I ordered, so now the exact same meal costs $7.50. Hmmm, can I blame that on the asteroid?
The caller ID on my work phone displays names if the call is placed by a co-worker inside the office area, but only the number is shown if the call comes from outside. I’m crazybusy most of the time, so I usually do not answer outside calls unless I recognize the number. In the middle of something else, I got a call from area code 404, which I know to be Atlanta. I rarely get calls from Atlanta and when I do it is usually one of two corporate people and I really do have to take those calls. So I answered it. It was not one of them. It was from a local college student’s cell phone; she’s from the Atlanta area. Normally someone else could take the time to answer her questions, but there I was spending time I didn’t have, helping her with a project. Blame it on the asteroid?
Got a text this afternoon from a friend who thought I’d appreciate how odd it was that she got a medical textbook about drugs, a Tom Waits CD and a package of printer ink she ordered, all at the same time. Yes, that was odd. The asteroid?
I used to pay attention to astrology; hey, I’m from the “what’s your sign” era. I don’t believe in the daily horoscope but I do think there are factors beyond coincidence that connect zodiac signs with personality characteristics. And behaviors do seem to be affected by a full moon. I view these things with a mix of belief and skepticism.
I am a little bit of a space geek too, so hearing about the asteroid on Monday, then observing these mildly out-of-sync events on Tuesday, leads me to accept the possibility that Asteroid 2005 YU55 played a small but noticeable role in the oddness of today.
Oh, and my computer locked up for a few minutes while I was reading information on Space dot com. Can I blame that on the asteroid?
And I was trying to upload a picture to go with this post, but it kept locking up. Do I blame that on the asteroid? Or blogspot/google?
I wonder what else we can blame on this potent little astronomical body.
Today was an odd day for me, with some normally predictable behaviors just slightly askew. For one thing, I didn’t have lunch till just past 3pm. I am obsessed with having lunch around Noon or 1pm, but I had to record an interview at Noon, this session is usually 30 minutes but today it went 50, which kicked it up next to my 1pm meeting, which is usually 45minutes but went a full hour, followed by my completing two more overdue projects, taking another hour. Whew. So I walked across the street to a carryout place I eat at once a week. I have ordered exactly the same thing there almost once every week for more than a year. This particular lunch special costs $5.50 … until 3pm. It was 3:08 when I ordered, so now the exact same meal costs $7.50. Hmmm, can I blame that on the asteroid?
The caller ID on my work phone displays names if the call is placed by a co-worker inside the office area, but only the number is shown if the call comes from outside. I’m crazybusy most of the time, so I usually do not answer outside calls unless I recognize the number. In the middle of something else, I got a call from area code 404, which I know to be Atlanta. I rarely get calls from Atlanta and when I do it is usually one of two corporate people and I really do have to take those calls. So I answered it. It was not one of them. It was from a local college student’s cell phone; she’s from the Atlanta area. Normally someone else could take the time to answer her questions, but there I was spending time I didn’t have, helping her with a project. Blame it on the asteroid?
Got a text this afternoon from a friend who thought I’d appreciate how odd it was that she got a medical textbook about drugs, a Tom Waits CD and a package of printer ink she ordered, all at the same time. Yes, that was odd. The asteroid?
I used to pay attention to astrology; hey, I’m from the “what’s your sign” era. I don’t believe in the daily horoscope but I do think there are factors beyond coincidence that connect zodiac signs with personality characteristics. And behaviors do seem to be affected by a full moon. I view these things with a mix of belief and skepticism.
I am a little bit of a space geek too, so hearing about the asteroid on Monday, then observing these mildly out-of-sync events on Tuesday, leads me to accept the possibility that Asteroid 2005 YU55 played a small but noticeable role in the oddness of today.
Oh, and my computer locked up for a few minutes while I was reading information on Space dot com. Can I blame that on the asteroid?
And I was trying to upload a picture to go with this post, but it kept locking up. Do I blame that on the asteroid? Or blogspot/google?
Comments