+Roman! Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Since GS took my advice and created a leap year souvenir why not have an end of days souvenir too. Of course it would have to be given out immediately after logging a find on 12/21/12 or no one may ever see it. Quote Link to comment
+The A-Team Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Does anyone know what time of day the End-of-days is scheduled for on that day? If it's to happen at midnight, then we won't even have a chance to find a cache and get the souvenir. I hope I won't have to get up too early to find a cache before the world ends. It would be nice to sleep in on the last day... Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 (edited) 11:12 UTC. Better hurry, that's 3:12 a.m. in Pacific time. (Obligatory edit : yeah, I think it is nonsense, but it is fun to play along. The time I gave is for winter solstice) Edited February 26, 2012 by Chrysalides Quote Link to comment
+ocklawahaboy Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 After the aliens have wiped us all out (and we all know that's what the Mayans are predicting) they are going to wonder why we all valued McToys so much that we hid them in ammo cans all over the planet Quote Link to comment
+Glenn Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 11:12 UTC. Better hurry, that's 3:12 a.m. in Pacific time. (Obligatory edit : yeah, I think it is nonsense, but it is fun to play along. The time I gave is for winter solstice) I think it is all nonsense too. After all, most of us, don't freak out at the end of each year when our calendars end. We just buy a new calendar. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any Mayans around to make a new Mayan calendar. So, applying "logic" to this. I'd bet that Mayans would use their locally observed time zone and not UTC. It would be awkward to say the least if they based their calendar off of a time zone that they themselves didn't live in. Quote Link to comment
+Coldgears Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 11:12 UTC. Better hurry, that's 3:12 a.m. in Pacific time. (Obligatory edit : yeah, I think it is nonsense, but it is fun to play along. The time I gave is for winter solstice) I think it is all nonsense too. After all, most of us, don't freak out at the end of each year when our calendars end. We just buy a new calendar. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any Mayans around to make a new Mayan calendar. So, applying "logic" to this. I'd bet that Mayans would use their locally observed time zone and not UTC. It would be awkward to say the least if they based their calendar off of a time zone that they themselves didn't live in. Chrysalides was joking. And people are worried because they didn't end the time at the end of their calendar. They ended it at a seemingly arbitrary spot... Of course, it is more likely that they simply ran out of time to make a calendar any longer. Logic says, they can't build a calendar for every conceivable date in the universe, especially after they all died... Quote Link to comment
+Roman! Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 (edited) 11:12 UTC. Better hurry, that's 3:12 a.m. in Pacific time. (Obligatory edit : yeah, I think it is nonsense, but it is fun to play along. The time I gave is for winter solstice) I think it is all nonsense too. After all, most of us, don't freak out at the end of each year when our calendars end. We just buy a new calendar. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any Mayans around to make a new Mayan calendar. So, applying "logic" to this. I'd bet that Mayans would use their locally observed time zone and not UTC. It would be awkward to say the least if they based their calendar off of a time zone that they themselves didn't live in. At the very least it will be be a Mayan new year and we should celebrate it with a souvenir. After all a leap year comes along every 4 years but a Mayan new year? I bet they were awesome bushwackers, a great tie-in. Edited February 27, 2012 by Roman! Quote Link to comment
TheCacheSeeker Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 (edited) Why? Edited February 27, 2012 by TheCacheSeeker Quote Link to comment
+releasethedogs Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 This is a funny and great idea. Quote Link to comment
+J the Goat Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 11:12 UTC. Better hurry, that's 3:12 a.m. in Pacific time. (Obligatory edit : yeah, I think it is nonsense, but it is fun to play along. The time I gave is for winter solstice) I think it is all nonsense too. After all, most of us, don't freak out at the end of each year when our calendars end. We just buy a new calendar. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any Mayans around to make a new Mayan calendar. So, applying "logic" to this. I'd bet that Mayans would use their locally observed time zone and not UTC. It would be awkward to say the least if they based their calendar off of a time zone that they themselves didn't live in. At the very least it will be be a Mayan new year and we should celebrate it with a souvenir. After all a leap year comes along every 4 years but a Mayan new year? I bet they were awesome bushwackers, a great tie-in. Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 So, applying "logic" to this. I'd bet that Mayans would use their locally observed time zone and not UTC. It would be awkward to say the least if they based their calendar off of a time zone that they themselves didn't live in. Well, the closest we can get is what that region uses now, which is CST. So make that 5:12 a.m. CST. But since they all refer to the same instance, it shouldn't matter And people are worried because they didn't end the time at the end of their calendar. They ended it at a seemingly arbitrary spot... No it wasn't arbitrary. The long count calendar for the 13th b'ak'tun (don't ask me how to pronounce that) runs out on Dec 20th 2012, and the 14th b'ak'tun starts on Dec 21st 2012. Entirely reasonable. There's a whole bunch of information on Wikipedia for anyone interested, about Mayan creation myths and so on. I'm sure this will come in useful when people start publishing Mayan-themed puzzles around that time. Hmm, can a puzzle be spoiled before it exists? Quote Link to comment
+Roman! Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 So, applying "logic" to this. I'd bet that Mayans would use their locally observed time zone and not UTC. It would be awkward to say the least if they based their calendar off of a time zone that they themselves didn't live in. Well, the closest we can get is what that region uses now, which is CST. So make that 5:12 a.m. CST. But since they all refer to the same instance, it shouldn't matter And people are worried because they didn't end the time at the end of their calendar. They ended it at a seemingly arbitrary spot... No it wasn't arbitrary. The long count calendar for the 13th b'ak'tun (don't ask me how to pronounce that) runs out on Dec 20th 2012, and the 14th b'ak'tun starts on Dec 21st 2012. Entirely reasonable. There's a whole bunch of information on Wikipedia for anyone interested, about Mayan creation myths and so on. I'm sure this will come in useful when people start publishing Mayan-themed puzzles around that time. Hmm, can a puzzle be spoiled before it exists? I read the article and it seems a b'ak'tun is just over 300 years long but it's the multiples that have real meaning and the 13th is important. Seems the transition from Dec. 20th to 21st is an important time rarely experienced. Worthy. Of an icon, no? Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I read the article and it seems a b'ak'tun is just over 300 years long but it's the multiples that have real meaning and the 13th is important. Seems the transition from Dec. 20th to 21st is an important time rarely experienced. Worthy. Of an icon, no? Well, it's certainly more rare than a leap year. Go ahead and convince Groundspeak. Good luck, we're all counting on you. And don't call me Shirley. Quote Link to comment
+hydnsek Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 After the aliens have wiped us all out (and we all know that's what the Mayans are predicting) they are going to wonder why we all valued McToys so much that we hid them in ammo cans all over the planet +1 Quote Link to comment
+Glenn Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Chrysalides was joking. You're new here arn't you. And people are worried because they didn't end the time at the end of their calendar. They ended it at a seemingly arbitrary spot... Of course, it is more likely that they simply ran out of time to make a calendar any longer. Logic says, they can't build a calendar for every conceivable date in the universe, especially after they all died... I don't know what you mean by that statement. The Mayan Calendar is cyclical and a lot like the cyclical calendar we use today. When you get to the "end" of the calendar you add another cycle. We do this by adding another year. From what I understand the Mayan Calendar is able to be extended inefficiently using a similar method. Our calendar "ends" at a seemingly arbitrary spot. Except for it being the arbitrary spot that was picked for the "end" of the year December 31 holds AFAIK no significance. Many Government have Fiscal calendars that have different arbitrary "ends". The Chinese calendar does come the closest to tying the "end" of their calendar to something that isn't arbitrary. The Chinese calendar starts and ends on the second new moon after the winter solstice but there seems to always be exception. One of these occurs at the end of 2033 and I sure we won't see the Chinese calling it the end of the world. Quote Link to comment
+OZ2CPU Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 (edited) After the aliens have wiped us all out (and we all know that's what the Mayans are predicting) they are going to wonder why we all valued McToys so much that we hid them in ammo cans all over the planet +1 +2 !! where is the LIKE ?? I actually made a loud noise here at work, while I read that one.. hahah.. ups, sorry.. Edited February 27, 2012 by OZ2CPU Quote Link to comment
+ocklawahaboy Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 (edited) Too bad ALRs are outlawed. I want to hide a challenge cache that requires you to post a picture of yourself posing with an alien on 12/22 Edited February 27, 2012 by ocklawahaboy Quote Link to comment
+Castle Mischief Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Too bad ALRs are outlawed. I want to hide a challenge cache that requires you to post a picture of yourself posing with an alien on 12/22 Limit to a single location and list it as a Challenge. Quote Link to comment
+EXMAN Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Since GS took my advice and created a leap year souvenir why not have an end of days souvenir too. Of course it would have to be given out immediately after logging a find on 12/21/12 or no one may ever see it. I like it. how about a little humor on our souvenir page. Quote Link to comment
+St.Matthew Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 The real problem is that various groups predict the end of the world yearly. Why should a civilization that died out centuries ago deserve the spotlight over the cult that lives next door? Quote Link to comment
+Snoogans Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Since GS took my advice and created a leap year souvenir why not have an end of days souvenir too. Of course it would have to be given out immediately after logging a find on 12/21/12 or no one may ever see it. I like it. how about a little humor on our souvenir page. That's exactly what I was thinking. I'm off work that day too and plan on cachin'. It has been proclaimed a national Frisbeetarian* holiday as well. (*see my sig line...) Quote Link to comment
+Sky King 36 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 (edited) GS needs to incorporate some automated code in the server to determine the global "last to find"... The very last person to have ever logged a cache the millisecond before the world ended, and give them a special souvenir. It has to be automated in case all of us humans are instantaneously wiped out, and for some period of time the servers are still running. 10,000 years from now, when the aliens finally figure out what the hell we were doing, and they finally dust off the ancient server and look for our stats, I'd like them to know I was the "Last of the Mohicans" in geocaching terms. Just a thought... What if there has been a galactic game of geocaching going on for millions or billions of years? On that time scale, it's possible that ancient civilizations were here actually hiding the cache on earth that is due to be published 12/21/12, and is in some reviewer's queue right now? Perhaps this ancient civilization realized that the onslaught of galactic cachers coming to our planet and mining it into a hollow shell looking for the cache were going to decimate our planet into non-existence. Maybe WE should find the cache and move it to the surface making it a 1/1 to reduce the search time needed. Maybe we could try to contact Spacespeak and contest the posting as being on our private property. Perhaps a challenge could be put in its place, so that an alien only has to see the earth that day and doesn't actually have to land. OMG, maybe WE are the SWAG! Maybe the aliens will come to the cache, grab us, and then drop us on other planets and log us. With my luck I will get stuck in someone's collection, or end up in a planet that gets space muggled. Maybe WE are the McToys! If Spacespeak also follows the "if you take something, leave something of equal value", I wonder what the aliens will leave here in my stead. Probably a little pile of alien poo. Wait... Maybe an even HIGHER order of aliens well above the galaxy level will someday discover the aliens movings US around like McToys from planet to planet, and they will wonder what the hell those aliens were doing moving all these little creatures from planet to planet. I wonder if the moderators at forums.spacespeak.universe have trouble keeping their threads on topic, or do their threads often become about energy beam weapons? I wonder if Spacespeak will end up negotiating an API deal with Google, or will they have to use the Mapquest/OSM maps too? I hope the alien that grabs me and hides me somewhere else wins some kind of souvenir on his website. Edited February 27, 2012 by Sky King 36 Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 (edited) Someone should design a geocoin / bumper sticker / poster / t-shirt with the text : "When the world ends on Dec 21st, I want to be geocaching" For picture, let's have someone reaching for an ammo can under a tree. In the background, we have a meteorite about to crash on one side, and War of the Worlds long legged spider robots in the middle, and a mushroom cloud off to the other side. Edited February 27, 2012 by Chrysalides Quote Link to comment
+J the Goat Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Someone should design a geocoin / bumper sticker / poster / t-shirt with the text : "When the world ends on Dec 21st, I want to be geocaching" For picture, let's have someone reaching for an ammo can under a tree. In the background, we have a meteorite about to crash on one side, and War of the Worlds long legged spider robots in the middle, and a mushroom cloud off to the other side. I'll buy one. Do you take Mayan gold? Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Someone should design a geocoin / bumper sticker / poster / t-shirt with the text : "When the world ends on Dec 21st, I want to be geocaching" For picture, let's have someone reaching for an ammo can under a tree. In the background, we have a meteorite about to crash on one side, and War of the Worlds long legged spider robots in the middle, and a mushroom cloud off to the other side. I'll buy one. Do you take Mayan gold? I'd even take Mayan calendars. Unfortunately, I have no artistic talents, which is why I'm throwing the idea out there. Quote Link to comment
+NanCycle Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 And people are worried because they didn't end the time at the end of their calendar. They ended it at a seemingly arbitrary spot... No it wasn't arbitrary. The long count calendar for the 13th b'ak'tun (don't ask me how to pronounce that) runs out on Dec 20th 2012, and the 14th b'ak'tun starts on Dec 21st 2012. Entirely reasonable. Much the same as when our early computer programmers did not allow for dates past 12/31/1999, and everything came to a crashing halt the instant we hit Y2K. Oh, wait--that didn't happen. Quote Link to comment
+DanOCan Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Perhaps this ancient civilization realized that the onslaught of galactic cachers coming to our planet and mining it into a hollow shell looking for the cache were going to decimate our planet into non-existence. So many things sprung to mind: "Let's hope it's a PMO to limit the traffic to the cache site." "This highlights the importance of providing a good hint to reduce the environmental damage to the area." "If I happen to stumble across the cache and sign the log but never log it on their website can the first alien to get here still claim the FTF?" Quote Link to comment
+Roman! Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 (edited) And people are worried because they didn't end the time at the end of their calendar. They ended it at a seemingly arbitrary spot... No it wasn't arbitrary. The long count calendar for the 13th b'ak'tun (don't ask me how to pronounce that) runs out on Dec 20th 2012, and the 14th b'ak'tun starts on Dec 21st 2012. Entirely reasonable. Much the same as when our early computer programmers did not allow for dates past 12/31/1999, and everything came to a crashing halt the instant we hit Y2K. Oh, wait--that didn't happen. Wasn't Geocaching supposed to come to an end when we ran out of 4 letter/number GC code combinations too. So many great tie-in for the date. Also a great opportunity if GS ever wanted to change their mascot, on 12/21/12 the frog could croak. Edited February 28, 2012 by Roman! Quote Link to comment
+Glenn Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 And people are worried because they didn't end the time at the end of their calendar. They ended it at a seemingly arbitrary spot... No it wasn't arbitrary. The long count calendar for the 13th b'ak'tun (don't ask me how to pronounce that) runs out on Dec 20th 2012, and the 14th b'ak'tun starts on Dec 21st 2012. Entirely reasonable. Hey, Dec 21st 2012 isn't arbitrary. It's the winter solstice! It makes a natural transition point for any calendar that is based on astronomical observations. Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Hey, Dec 21st 2012 isn't arbitrary. It's the winter solstice! It makes a natural transition point for any calendar that is based on astronomical observations. Looking at the other starts of new b'ak'tun, I'm not sure if they always fall on an equinox or solstice. It's on a 144,000 day cycle. I'm spending way too much time at this. I guess I'll come up with a Mayan calendar puzzle in December. Quote Link to comment
+ScoutDadNC Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Hey, Dec 21st 2012 isn't arbitrary. It's the winter solstice! It makes a natural transition point for any calendar that is based on astronomical observations. Looking at the other starts of new b'ak'tun, I'm not sure if they always fall on an equinox or solstice. It's on a 144,000 day cycle. I'm spending way too much time at this. I guess I'll come up with a Mayan calendar puzzle in December. I like the idea of the Puzzle cache Maybe I will come up for something with the next planned Zombie Apocalypse. Will our GPS's still work after the aliens wipe us out? Quote Link to comment
+NicknPapa Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Since GS took my advice and created a leap year souvenir why not have an end of days souvenir too. Of course it would have to be given out immediately after logging a find on 12/21/12 or no one may ever see it. Why not? And then GS can follow it up with a "Day After The Day The World Didn't End" souvenir Quote Link to comment
+Glenn Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Hey, Dec 21st 2012 isn't arbitrary. It's the winter solstice! It makes a natural transition point for any calendar that is based on astronomical observations. Looking at the other starts of new b'ak'tun, I'm not sure if they always fall on an equinox or solstice. It's on a 144,000 day cycle. I'm spending way too much time at this. I guess I'll come up with a Mayan calendar puzzle in December. I have to say, yes. I divided 144,000 by 365.25 and got 394.25. The number 394.25 just happens to be the number of solar years that makes one b'ak'tun. I think you could turn this in to a great puzzle cache! I may even have to create one myself. Quote Link to comment
+hurleyanne Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 GS needs to incorporate some automated code in the server to determine the global "last to find"... The very last person to have ever logged a cache the millisecond before the world ended, and give them a special souvenir. It has to be automated in case all of us humans are instantaneously wiped out, and for some period of time the servers are still running. 10,000 years from now, when the aliens finally figure out what the hell we were doing, and they finally dust off the ancient server and look for our stats, I'd like them to know I was the "Last of the Mohicans" in geocaching terms. Just a thought... What if there has been a galactic game of geocaching going on for millions or billions of years? On that time scale, it's possible that ancient civilizations were here actually hiding the cache on earth that is due to be published 12/21/12, and is in some reviewer's queue right now? Perhaps this ancient civilization realized that the onslaught of galactic cachers coming to our planet and mining it into a hollow shell looking for the cache were going to decimate our planet into non-existence. Maybe WE should find the cache and move it to the surface making it a 1/1 to reduce the search time needed. Maybe we could try to contact Spacespeak and contest the posting as being on our private property. Perhaps a challenge could be put in its place, so that an alien only has to see the earth that day and doesn't actually have to land. OMG, maybe WE are the SWAG! Maybe the aliens will come to the cache, grab us, and then drop us on other planets and log us. With my luck I will get stuck in someone's collection, or end up in a planet that gets space muggled. Maybe WE are the McToys! If Spacespeak also follows the "if you take something, leave something of equal value", I wonder what the aliens will leave here in my stead. Probably a little pile of alien poo. Wait... Maybe an even HIGHER order of aliens well above the galaxy level will someday discover the aliens movings US around like McToys from planet to planet, and they will wonder what the hell those aliens were doing moving all these little creatures from planet to planet. I wonder if the moderators at forums.spacespeak.universe have trouble keeping their threads on topic, or do their threads often become about energy beam weapons? I wonder if Spacespeak will end up negotiating an API deal with Google, or will they have to use the Mapquest/OSM maps too? I hope the alien that grabs me and hides me somewhere else wins some kind of souvenir on his website. Well I don't know if that's what's really going to happen or not, but there is an alien reviewer already, Kosh Naranek. Here's hoping the Vorlons are nice to us, and sensitive to our environmental needs! Quote Link to comment
TheCacheSeeker Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Since GS took my advice and created a leap year souvenir why not have an end of days souvenir too. Of course it would have to be given out immediately after logging a find on 12/21/12 or no one may ever see it. Why not? And then GS can follow it up with a "Day After The Day The World Didn't End" souvenir Quote Link to comment
+The Jester Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 And people are worried because they didn't end the time at the end of their calendar. They ended it at a seemingly arbitrary spot... No it wasn't arbitrary. The long count calendar for the 13th b'ak'tun (don't ask me how to pronounce that) runs out on Dec 20th 2012, and the 14th b'ak'tun starts on Dec 21st 2012. Entirely reasonable. Much the same as when our early computer programmers did not allow for dates past 12/31/1999, and everything came to a crashing halt the instant we hit Y2K. Oh, wait--that didn't happen. That's because there were still programmers around to extend it - I haven't seen many Mayans around - at least their calendar writers (crarvers? etchers?). Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 That's because there were still programmers around to extend it - I haven't seen many Mayans around - at least their calendar writers (crarvers? etchers?). OK, so we can conclude that when Dec 21, 2012 rolls around, the Mayan civilization will collapse, if it hasn't already. Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I have to say, yes. I divided 144,000 by 365.25 and got 394.25. The number 394.25 just happens to be the number of solar years that makes one b'ak'tun. But remember the leap year if divisible by 4, except if it is divisible by 100, except if it is divisible by 400? So in 400 years, we have 24 + 24 + 24 + 25 leap years. 366 * 97 + 365 * 303 = 146097 Divide that by 400 gives 365.2425. According to other sources, a tropical year is actually 365.242199 days. 144000 / 365.2425 = 394.258609. 144000 / 365.242199 = 394.258934 Using either number means about 3 days of slippage every cycle. I'd say that's pretty tardy if it really is supposed to begin and end on an equinox or solstice. Quote Link to comment
+Glenn Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I have to say, yes. I divided 144,000 by 365.25 and got 394.25. The number 394.25 just happens to be the number of solar years that makes one b'ak'tun. But remember the leap year if divisible by 4, except if it is divisible by 100, except if it is divisible by 400? So in 400 years, we have 24 + 24 + 24 + 25 leap years. 366 * 97 + 365 * 303 = 146097 Divide that by 400 gives 365.2425. According to other sources, a tropical year is actually 365.242199 days. 144000 / 365.2425 = 394.258609. 144000 / 365.242199 = 394.258934 Using either number means about 3 days of slippage every cycle. I'd say that's pretty tardy if it really is supposed to begin and end on an equinox or solstice. I did some quick reading so there may be errors in how I understand it. But, from what I read the "end" of the Mayan calendar is a "calibration" point. The Mayans understood that before the end of the preceding b'ak'tun calculations, or calibrations, would be applied to the next b'ak'tun so that the next cycle would end on the winter solstice. I assume if the Mayan civilization was still around they would working on those calibrations for the 14th b'ak'tun fast and furiously. After all if they didn't get the calculations done by the end of the 13th b'ak'tun (Dec 21st 2012) they wouldn't be able to start the 14th b'ak'tun and the end of the world would come. Quote Link to comment
+cheech gang Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 And here I thought the end of the day was midnight yesterday. Quote Link to comment
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