I thought I would gather my weather and related jargon to this post. This may be updated over time.
Ex-hurricane levee - A ridge of high pressure over Northern or Western Europe, effectively blocking recurving extratropical remnants of hurricanes from reaching my neighborhood
Blue sharptooth - A cold front
Red dragontail - A warm front
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Something for the halloween
You know, I am kind of a fan of simulated news programs. And this time, for another anniversary of the Orson Welle's broadcast, I came upon an idea to write a completely different story, as a fictional newscast, with completely different outcome.
The following "transcript" is fictional, describing a fictional television program, in a fictional television channel. All persons are fictional, and any similarity to anyone is coincidential.
"The Celestial Scare"
31.10.2009 20:05 UTC - LRET 5
IDENT: FALL AFTERNOON
JOHN WETHER:
It's 4:05 PM Eastern Daylight time, Fall afternoon here on LRET 5 continues for one more hour, before we hand it over to Halloween 2009. This is a live shot from the roof camera at LRET Center here in Laguja, Estonia, and as you can see, the skies are pitch black - two hours remaining until midnight here. Coming up this hour: The times are changing, literally - tonight we return back to standard time! We'll also take a look how is the Halloween occurring in the States and talk about the special Halloween programming here on LRET 5. Also in this program, the editor of LRET program "Truth or Untruth", will step by and debunk some myths that have surfaced recently. However, we begin with a special anniversary. Yesterday it passed 71 years, since people across the country were scared the daylights out of them by a radio play, that featured a mock newscast of a Martian invasion. LRET has received news that some radio stations will re-air the original program or even air a remake, so now, let's have a look how to detect a mock newscast.
-- BEGIN TAPE
RICK EPORTER:
We interrupt this program to bring you one epic scare! In 1938, Orson Welles scared the wits out of people across America with a mock radio newscast. Throughout history, such pranks have been done over and over again. Obviously every time, when someone pulls off anything like that, some people grab for pitchforks and torches.
JANNO MIRKAM, LRET 1 news anchor:
For example, one of the most recent cases is Bye Bye Belgium, when a mock broadcast was transmitted that Belgium had broken up. People took this seriously, and controversy arose. The broadcaster, who aired it, did err though, disclaimers should have been put out prior to the broadcast.
RICK EPORTER:
However, by educating the public, these broadcasts could even be fun to watch. Next, we are going to give you some pointers on survival of the Halloween scares.
JANNO MIRKAM, LRET 1 news anchor:
If you see very alarming breaking news, for example a country splitup, or cylinders falling from the Space, and you have not seen any disclaimers, the first thing to do is change the channel. Flip around the dial, preferrably across news channels, and see if they are reporting it. If the channel has teletext, check it. If even TV stations close to alleged event are not reporting anything, it may be safe to assume this is not happening. If it is reported, check who they are citing - they might have mistaken the mock report for real. Now, if you have access to the Internet, run a news search. Even the location of the alleged event should work fine as a keyword. Once again, there is the "check the source if reported" rule - the media is nowadays in a rush to be the first one to report anything so they might have also misnoticed all the disclaimers and prior announcements. Now, if you find no other reports confirming the event, then you can assume if is just a fiction, you can lay down in the chair and imagine yourself into the action movie. It also helps to check the TV schedule. You cannot schedule a falling Martian cylinder in the TV guide.
RICK EPORTER:
Nowadays in the era of digital television it is easier to put out warnings. For example, disclaimers could be put into the programming informa...
-- TAPE CUT
-- IDENT : BREAKING NEWS with voiceover: "This is LRET 5 with Breaking News"
JOHN WETHER:
This just in to LRET newsroom, our sister station LKOS-TV is reporting that flashes are being seen emanating from the planet Mars by the observing crew of Laguja Observatory. You are now looking at a live shot provided by LKOS, that is showing a live look at the Mars through a telescope and indeed every now and then some bright flashes can be seen on the planet. We are not sure if this is an atmospheric phenomena... Just a minute... I'm being told it is not. The LKOS is also reporting that an astronomical telegram is in the process of being prepared. Joining us on the phone from Koru farm, where the anomaly was first sighted is Karl Lindi from Laguja Observatory, good evening.
KARL LINDI:
Good evening.
JOHN WETHER:
What was seen and how? I am under impression Mars is not observable very well at this point?
KARL LINDI:
Yes, we were not initially planning to observe the planet at all at this time of night, because the planet just now barely came above treetops in the northeastern sky.
JOHN WETHER:
Sorry for interrupting you, but did you say Northeast? That direction is heavily light polluted by the lights of the city of Tartu, about 20 miles away.
KARL LINDI:
Exactly. We were going to attempt to photograph the Pleiades, that is high up in the southeast. However, as we were setting up shop here in the farm, one resident here, who is frequently with us, popped an idea that Mars is rising and wondered how it is looking. We thought we'd give a try and aimed the telescope at Mars, and that's when we started seeing the flashes.
JOHN WETHER:
Flashes? What Flashes?
KARL LINDI:
There were some small, but noticeable flashes occurring on the face of the Mars. Since Mars is at a very low altitude over here, I initially thought this was some distortion by the atmospheric turbulence. I called a colleague, who is located in an area, where the planet is in a much better position at this moment, and unexpectedly the colleague confirmed me what we were seeing, so what seemed as a light trick by atmospheric turbulence, suddenly became something that was seen elsewhere too.
JOHN WETHER:
How frequently do these flashes occur at this point?
KARL LINDI:
About twice a minute or so, they have gotten a little more frequent than they were a few minutes ago.
JOHN WETHER:
Okay, thank you. Once again, you are looking at a live shot of Mars as it is seen from Laguja. In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that what you are seeing here, is coming actually with the delay of about 10 minutes, that's the time it takes for the light to come from Mars to Earth, so if... we just saw another one!... if the flash you just saw a moment ago comes from the surface of Mars, then it actually happened there about 10 minutes ago, but the light from it is arriving to us just now. Okay, we'll get back to this story later, but now a little reminder to reset your clocks and watches if you go to sleep tonight, as the Daylight Saving Time ends in the U.S. We'll be right back.
CUT TO ADVERTISING
Length: 2 minutes
BACK FROM ADVERTISING, CUT TO BREAKING NEWS IDENT
JOHN WETHER:
And we continue to monitor potential astronomical discovery of an anomaly occurring on planet Mars, and for latest we join Fiona Mirkam from LRET 1, who has raced to the Laguja Observatory and is now on the phone. Good evening.
FIONA MIRKAM:
Good evening!
JOHN WETHER:
I understand you are in the main building of the observatory, where the most science is made?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Yes, that is correct. The ones who just sounded the alarm were actually on a photography mission, but it simply happened that the anomaly occurred in visible light spectrum.
JOHN WETHER:
Is the main building investigating the object?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Unfortunately not. The Mars is too low for the main telescope, but they are...
JOHN WETHER:
I'm sorry, I have to interrupt you. Just in to LRET News, we have some breaking news coming in from the city of Tallinn. There are unconfirmed reports of a fireball, and a sonic boom occurring in Estonian capital. We are right now trying to confirm this, but I'm told this is coming from a fairly reliable source... just a minute? OK, I am told this report came from our Tallinn bureau and as I am telling this, we are seeing fresh video they are feeding to us, taken just moments ago. We are seeing indeed a fireball heading towards the city... It is going behind the buildings, and... now the boom comes. Fiona, are you still with us?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Yes, I am.
JOHN WETHER:
What have you got to say about the latest sightings?
FIONA MIRKAM:
I'm sorry, the TV here was playing, but it was not on LRET 5, they are showing LKOS, that channel is based in this building... but now it is showing a fireball on the screen.
JOHN WETHER:
Yes, this is what our Tallinn bureau just fed in. Apparently a fireball and a sonic boom over the city of Tallinn. Do you have any more information?
FIONA MIRKAM:
I am as wise as you are, I'll try to investigate this.
JOHN WETHER:
OK, thank you. For those who have just joined our coverage, a fireball and a sonic boom has been observed in our Tallinn bureau. In addition we are following news about flashes being sighted on the planet Mars, but at this point, more coverage on that can be found from the channels of LKOS, and also from our teletext. Now joining us on the phone is the chief of our Tallinn bureau, good evening!
JAANUS MILIKE:
Good evening.
JOHN WETHER:
What just happened there?
JAANUS MILIKE:
We are not sure what just happened. It happened that just as we were going to sign off for the day, one of the staff members sighted fireball in the sky, he grabbed the camera and ran outdoors. The light was so bright, he could see his shadow from that light, and a little later, a sonic boom occurred.
JOHN WETHER:
OK, at this point we welcome viewers of LRET's channels 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8, who have just joined our coverage and simultaneous translation will be provided on the channels that do not broadcast in English shortly. It is 20:18 GMT, 10:18 PM in Estonia, and 2:18 PM in the Eastern coast of the United States. We are talking right now with the chief of our Tallinn bureau Jaanus Milike, are you still with us?
JAANUS MILIKE:
Yes, I am.
JOHN WETHER:
When did this fireball occur, how loud was the boom?
JAANUS MILIKE:
The boom was very loud, it shook the entire building. It occurred a few minutes ago, around 10:15 PM. As soon as the staff member got inside, we opened the transmission and fed the tape to you.
JOHN WETHER:
OK, keep us posted! Late bulletin in from United States, this is basically a report that rovers on the surface of Mars, as well as the probes orbiting the planet have now also sighted the flashes, basically it is telling the probes are seeing fireballs exiting the planet. We are now going to Laguja Observatory where joining us live is Fiona Mirkam, good evening!
FIONA MIRKAM:
Good evening! I am now here with Ilmar Langi, chief astronomer here at the Laguja Observatory, mr. Langi, what do you think, what happened in Tallinn?
ILMAR LANGI:
It is too early to speculate at this point, what happened, based on what the TV is showing, it could be meteorite, it could be space debris, it could be missile... just a minute?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Mr. Langi was just handed a note, what is it?
ILMAR LANGI:
It is from the Northern Estonian rescue services, they report that a meteorite has fallen to Pirita tee in Tallinn.
FIONA MIRKAM:
What is your plan of action at this point?
ILMAR LANGI:
We will probably dispatch a crew to Tallinn at the closest possibility. Generally we'd have to wait until daylight, but since the area is already illuminated by streetlights, we can investigate the situation a little better. But it would still get at least 3-4 hours before we get there.
JOHN WETHER:
Fiona! Fiona!
FIONA MIRKAM:
Just a minute please, yes John?
JOHN WETHER:
I was just told our Tallinn crew is headed towards the scene and they should be able to output high definition feed within five minutes or so, depends when they arrive.
FIONA MIRKAM:
I was just told that we might be able to see live picture from the scene in high definition shortly, is this going to be of any help?
ILMAR LANGI:
A little, but I'd prefer to be straight on scene to be sure.
JOHN WETHER:
OK, I'm sorry we have to cut away from you now, we'll get back to you later, but we have the director of Northern Estonian rescue services on the phone, good evening.
DIRECTOR:
Good evening!
JOHN WETHER:
Can you tell, what is the latest information?
DIRECTOR:
At 10:16 PM, we received a telephone call from a driver that a possible meteorite has hit a road near Pirita Tee 10. We have dispatched crews on the scene, who have now closed the street and are examining the place. At this point some scientists are also on the scene, they are taking measurements of radiation in case the object was radioactive. This is all we know at this point.
JOHN WETHER:
OK, thank you. Our Tallinn bureau crew is right now headed towards the scene. In the meantime we have a bulletin from Koru farm where something new has been discovered. By closer examination, it appears the flashes are not dying off, but heading away from the planet. That would agree with the observations of the Mars probes. There is no explanation given at this point. Laguja Observatory has put out a bulletin saying they believe the flashes on Mars are not tied to the possible meteorite that has struck Tallinn. Time check now, 20:21 GMT at this point. And.. just a moment? .. We are now going live from Tallinn, where our correspondents just arrived at the scene of the collision, joining with us is Riho Ligika, good evening!
RIHO LIGIKA:
Good evening! We are now at the scene. Entire area has been cordoned off and the rescue services have been here analyzing the situation. We have received information that the object that just moments ago crashed in the city of Tallinn is not radioactive. The traffic has come to a standstill over here, and just fortunately because our bureau is a few streets away, we were able to get here quickly.
JOHN WETHER:
Have you taken a look at the crater?
RIHO LIGIKA:
I can see it as far as I am at this point, can we pan camera there? OK. At this point we see a elliptic hole in the ground, surrounded by a ring of ejecta. I am walking closer now? Just ten more meters... I'd estimate the crater to be at least 10 meters wide, but not sure about depth. OK, I am now nearing the edge of the crater and ... whaa...? I am seeing a ball of light in the sky, heading North.
JOHN WETHER:
Riho, in the last minute or so the wires have really lit up. Reports of either explosions or fireballs are now coming from national capitals of almost entire European Union, we have not heard anything from Finland, I assume it is heading there.
RIHO LIGIKA:
Meanwhile, quite a crowd has gathered on the scene at this point. Police is trying to keep them back. Staff from LKOS have also arrived now here, and they are as well examining the crater. (unidentified voice off-mic: Mis see on?) OK, I am now looking down at the crater, and there is some sort of a circular object... About 3 meters wide.
JOHN WETHER:
Circular object?!
RIHO LIGIKA:
Yes, at this point there is a circular object down in the ground. Yikes! It is now rising. It is... it is...
JOHN WETHER:
What it is doing?
RIHO LIGIKA:
There is intense humming coming from that object, the object is rising up. About a meter high... It has lights at its sides... it is now really lighting up. We're going, põgenege(Escape)!! (loud) We are running away from this object. It looks that it is remote controlled, and... just for safety, we are leaving.
JOHN WETHER:
Exactly, get out of there! I do not want you to endanger yourself!
RIHO LIGIKA:
I have now ran about thirty... forty meters, and I turn the camera at the object as I run... I try to get away... (shaky image depicting rising object, then big flash of light, signal cut).
JOHN WETHER: Riho? Riho? Are you there? OK, we are now looking at another feed from the roof of our Tallinn bureau. Can we pan the camera towards Pirita tee area? OK, huge glow of light coming from that direction... it looks like there is a fire of some sort underway. Now... the camera is panning upwards in the sky, and at this point... lights of some sort are appearing... in quite a big area. As I am telling this, I am receiving word that similar display is visible around the world. Really trying to make sense of the situation, we got bulletins from our reporter in New York City, reporting nothing is happening there, but lights had been seen heading to New Jersey. Miami, Florida bureau reporting lights in the sky, and similar little disk crashing, however it crashed into Atlantic Ocean. We now go live from Laguja Observatory, Fiona, are you there?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Yes, I am here. I am monitoring the situation as well, and I am being told that radar and satellite observations now indicate that the objects, that have wreaked havoc in Tallinn and hit various cities around the world, are accompanied by much larger objects, and they all appear to be coming in from the planet Mars. It would seem to me, as if these smaller objects that Riho was covering just minutes ago are some sort of recon devices or even missiles, intended for more localized destruction, and are followed by the mission center, that is guiding them. This big area of lights in a circular way we see on the Tallinn feed could be it.
JOHN WETHER:
What is this info based on?
FIONA MIRKAM:
I learned this in military defense class when I was at school in Nkovmicia. Because I am member of Srepian first family, I was taught anything that could be taught. We had several courses on interstellar wars, which seem to be occurring right now.
JOHN WETHER:
OK, thank you. Some new bulletins. State of Emergency has now been declared in Estonia, as well as in most European countries, as well as in United States, Australia, Japan, and the list goes on. What seems to be happening, seems to be happening all across the planet. It is 20:26 GMT...
----------------------
Now it pays off to give a little background to what will follow. I am tying in a world that I have imagined to be at the other side of our orbital plane, called Nkovmicia, and that is closely communicating with the Earth, and is inhabited by humans(who are identical to people living at the Baltic Sea region). I think this is the first time I am publicly using it in the stories that I have written. Srepia is one of the countries in that imaginary world, along with Adventaresia, Tühükma, etc. LRET Networks, and rest of so-called "Lagujan Media" as well, are done in cooperation with "organizations" Nkovmician countries. Warning: Very bad astronomy follows - including communicating faster than speed of light. Let's just get artistic and assume Nkovmicians have found a loophole somewhere in the laws of physics.
-----------------------
JOHN WETHER:
... and now joining us on the phone is Karl Lindi who is still at Koru farm, what are the latest updates where you are?
KARL LINDI:
Well, we have been hearing the radio and are obviously shaken up from the news, at this point we are here talking about evacuating to our location in Kilomani, which has no strategical places... oi mu(oh my)... just now I am seeing lights gradually starting to appear over the village.
JOHN WETHER:
What lights? Can we get a live shot from our auroracam? Or at least roofcam? OK you are now seeing live shot from our roof cam and indeed, bright lights are appearing in circular shape over the village, apparently heading over towards the Media Park. All right, thank you, Karl Lindi, and stay safe! At this point we are going to leave the studio and head to our shelter, we ask that as we evacuate, you do the same, take cover in a safe place as much under ground as possible. (leaving the studio) For our Nkovmician friends, this is Mayday. We leave you with live shot from the village skies as we head to the shelter. Can we hand over to Cologne? (pause) OK, we cannot. Communications have been lost with our studios in Cologne, Germany which we could have utilized in event of Laguja studios being knocked offline. OK, we can now hand over to our End of the World studios in Tühükma, as we take cover.
CUT TO BLACK SCREEN FOR 5 SECONDS
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
This is Wikine Kifleka picking up the broadcasting for LRET 2 to 8 from emergency transmission center in Tühüpeli in the Republic of Tühükma at Nkovmicia. For the time being, we will broadcast only in Estonian and English. This studio is used in the event of a global disaster. We will now try to show you a live shot of Laguja, Estonia... and the feeds still seem to be operational. At this point it seems that no satellite connections have been disrupted on Earth, and there have been only isolated attacks in the cities. Before we get back to Earth, here are some bulletins that are local for us here in Tühükma, but still relevant. Council of Nkovmician Nations have gathered to a special meeting to discuss the Earth Crisis. Meanwhile, Adventaresian Space Organization has announced that their space reconnaissance spacecrafts have confirmed that the objects are indeed originating from Mars. They have been able to intercept some electromagnetic radiation that have been emanating from the planet, and from there some broadcasts have been detected. These are basically telling that for a long time, subterranean civilization has been existent on Mars. They had been able to produce oxygen and other substances needed for living for the time being, but unfortunately there is now a problem with the equipment, prompting them to head towards the Earth. The time is now 22:29 East Nkovmician Time, 20:29 GMT on Earth. We cross over to Fiona Mirkam who is outside of Laguja Observatory right now. Hello Fiona.
FIONA MIRKAM:
Hello. As you can see, these lights have come across the area where most local TV and radio stations are, but right now no more major actions are occurring. I am kind of suprised for the lack of activity.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Has there been any communication from any of these spaceships?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Not that we can be aware of. In other news, we here have a report of fire in Tallinn, but it seems to be contained by now. Lights are in many places, and communication lines are swamped. However, there have been no large scale attacks or anything else... to be accurate, no attacks at all.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Is there been any attempts to disrupt the communications, hit the strategic locations?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Absolutely none.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Stay safe, and keep us up to date. We have learned our Cologne studio had evacuated, and this accounts for the loss of communications. Meanwhile, Adventaresia, Tühükma, Srepia and Surmäeri have now declared a state of crisis and activated general mobilization of troops. We are going now live from Seipeali, Adventaresia, from Adventaresian Space Organisation, hello Kine Nadese!
KINE NADESE:
Greetings. Adventaresian Space Organisation has been eavesdropping on the Martians and has been able to find their communication frequencies. We have been able to determine that they are monitoring English language television networks. The listening post is saying their language is not much different from Adventaresian, but still different. However, they have been able to decode enough that the visitors understand English language. It does appear that their knowledge of Earth is containing errors, and the crash in areas including Tallinn was likely caused by faulty navigation maps. They are are telling, that from the radio communications it was revealed that the the small... let's call them saucers, that small saucers were a recon devices that were supposed to explode in event of the crash to avoid falling to wrong hands. The big saucers accompanying them seem to be monitoring stations. At this point, chief chancellor of Council of Nkovmician Nations is in the space center, and they are trying to establish communication with Martians.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Is it possible to reach them from Earth?
KINE NADESE:
No. They are saying the Martians have not approached the Earth with communications. Our spacecrafts have been simply in a lucky spot to catch them and speak back.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
OK, thank you. I hear they now attempt to make a communication. Let's listen in.
KEI MIDA:
Martian objects, Martian objects, please respond!
Martian objects, Martian objects, please respond!
UNIDENTIFIED COMMANDER:
This is Lmeiakli fifth squadron, please identify!
KEI MIDA:
This is chief chancellor of Council of Nkovmician Nations, Kei Mida, located in Adventaresian Space Organisation. We demand to know on what grounds are you approaching planet Earth, and making landings there? Are you plans hostile or friendly?
UNIDENTIFIED COMMANDER:
Council from Lmeiakli, our plans is not harm. Our will is not harm. We are in a emergency. Is this planet inhabited?
KEI MIDA:
That is correct - the planet is inhabited. And I should warn you that we will not tolerate any hostile action against people living on that planet.
UNIDENTIFIED COMMANDER:
I repeat, we want no harm, we want no harm. We have tried to communicate them, but to no avail.
KEI MIDA:
What is your mission?
UNIDENTIFIED COMMANDER:
To seek communication with the planet for cooperation.
KEI MIDA:
What are these explosions around the world then?
UNIDENTIFIED COMMANDER:
Our recon objects are set to self-destroy if crashed or if course turns out very incorrect. We have discovered our maps of the planet that you call Earth are gravely flawed.
KEI MIDA:
If you are friendly, communicate Earth as soon as possible. Local media coverage is telling they fear you are invading them.
UNIDENFITIED COMMANDER:
We have been unable to determine how they communicate?
KEI MIDA:
They communicate using transmissions of electromagnetic waves, just like they broadcast.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
OK, we are now breaking away for now, to summarize the latest developments. Martians are telling to the Nkovmicia that they are friendly, and that they seek no harm to Earth. Our side stressed, that no hostile activity against the planet will be tolerated, and also urged to make contact with Earth quickly before Earth assumes they are hostile. OK, and Nkovmicia just inquired also about the saucers over world cities and they received those were just local monitoring stations, and that military crafts are completely different from those over Earth cities. We switch now to Laguja and Fiona Mirkam is there, good evening.
FIONA MIRKAM:
I have some breaking news coming in at this point, we have learned that the flashes on Mars have stopped, however the saucers are still here. However, they have not done anything. We... (startled) OK, things have changed, it seems as if the... The saucer over Laguja is now coming lower and lower, I think they are landing. Pan the camera to the saucer! They are right now landing in front of... what seems to be LRET Center.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
I see it on the live shot. OK, joining us from LRET Center is now John Wether, hello John.
JOHN WETHER:
I am right now going outside to the front of the LRET Center along with our general manager. We have been following your broadcast, and we assume this may be attempt to make a contact.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Do you have an escape route?
JOHN WETHER:
Yes, there is quick way to shelter in the front lobby. OK, we are now in front of the building and... there is a hatch opening on the saucer. Bright light is there... and... there is... a human walking out?
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Are you sure? A human?
JOHN WETHER:
Yes, we are now stepping forward. (off-mic: Do you speak English?) The occupant is now asking if we speak English. Let's listen in.
MARTIAN 1:
We are peaceful. We are from a planet next to you in Solar System. Are you the television?
GENERAL MANAGER:
This is indeed a television station. We are live on the air, actually.
MARTIAN 1:
I come to tell you, not to be afraid. We were simply monitoring your transmissions. We attempt to contact you. We come in peace.
GENERAL MANAGER:
Well, I must say, the contact is made. Even Orson Welles did not scare us that much.
MARTIAN 1:
We sorry. We had no other means of communication. We had to scan the electromagnetic band locally, and found your broadcasts.
GENERAL MANAGER:
You can decode digital television?
MARTIAN 1:
Yes.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
We are breaking away from this now, as we have learned that the Martians have just sent their representative to New York, where the Earth's representatives have gathered. They are about to address the Earth so let's listen in.
MARTIAN REPRESENTATIVE:
Dear Earthlings. I have to apologize for the fear we have caused by accident. Two weeks ago, we ran into an emergency. Ever since Mars became uninhabitable, we have been living under ground, with system, that is able to produce oxygen. Last week, the air production systems stopped working, and this prompted us to find an emergency exit. We knew Earth was in area where there could be life. But we did not have ability to listen in to communications. Our equipment did not allow it, we just knew there were electromagnetic waves coming from here. But we thought it could as well be just natural phenomena. So we headed here, in big clusters, we traced down apparent locations of various sources of electromagnetic waves. But we weren't still sure. So we sent out a listening post to every such a source with a recon device that would have sent us pictures of the planet. Unfortunately recon devices failed, and we were not able to see anything. Eventually, we were guided to contact you, and this is why we are here. We seek nothing else, than to allowing us to repair our equipment, and return back to our homes. If you have any questions, please ask.
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
How could you even learn English when you were unable to pick up our broadcasts from Earth?
MARTIAN REPRESENTATIVE:
We started it independently, just as Nkovmicians had started to speak Estonian independently.
JOHN WETHER:
And picking up the program origination again from Laguja, we are back on air. 20:39 GMT here on Planet Earth, 10:39 PM Estonian Time, and these have been very scary 30 minutes. However, we are now learning that this thing has positive outcome. These ships that had been over the Earth's cities were nothing else than monitoring stations, and explosions occurring have been accidental. Going now live from Koru farm, and we join Karl Lindi, who broke the story this evening, good evening!
KARL LINDI:
Good evening! I heard from the radio, that you visited the disk that landed in Laguja, was it what they promised to be?
JOHN WETHER:
Yes, while the leaders were speaking at the New York, they showed us their ship, and it was indeed nothing else than radio listening post.
KARL LINDI:
Great. I am seeing actually unidentified clusters of small lights appearing now in various parts of the sky, and no more flashes have been occurring on Mars for almost 10 minutes.
JOHN WETHER:
Yes, they told us, that they are sending most of their monitoring stations back to space.
KARL LINDI:
Well, I do not have anything to report, we are seeing that the ship over our area just departed and it seems all calm again.
JOHN WETHER:
Thank you, Karl Lindi. We are now going live from Washington D.C., where the communication were made first, Will Kifena is live from there, good evening.
WILL KIFENA:
People are still recovering from the panic that arose over here when the saucers first came. Many feared first these were hostile forces, but fortunately the recon device crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, so no explosion occurred here. By now the spacecrafts have left the area. There is daylight here, so communication here was a little easier, and it was better to see objects.
JOHN WETHER:
Were there any attempts to contact the visitors?
WILL KIFENA:
No. They feared that any attempt to contact may be regarded as a confrontation.
JOHN WETHER:
I understand the visitors made a contact in Washington?
WILL KIFENA:
Yes, they used some sort of loudspeakers to tell people that they are peaceful and that they apologize for inconvenience.
JOHN WETHER:
Thank you for the report. Going back to New York, where Earth is giving an answer to the visitors, let's listen in.
EARTH'S CHIEF:
We have been listening to your speech, and we have found sufficient proof that you are friendly. We however, would like to warn you that by landing on Earth, you exposed yourself to Earth's germs and bacteria, and this could be dangerous for your population. There are illnesses what even we Earthlings have no protection against. Your situation is especially difficult, since you got no absolutely illnesses over there. Therefore, quarantine might be needed. We have agreed however, to provide you assistance while you repair your equipment. We are also willing to provide you assistance to remain in touch with our planet, and share scientifical knowledge for better cooperation.
JOHN WETHER:
That's it, that's the answer, we will help them. For reaction in Nkovmicia, we go now live from Tühüpeli where Wikine Kifleka has the latest.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Everybody here has been joyed by the news that there is no threat to Earth. All activations of the military were just now cancelled. State of Crisis is also declared over. This is that much as I have currently, back to you.
JOHN WETHER:
And you are now seeing live pictures of people singing in the streets in New York. Spontaneous events of joy are being reported anywhere around the world, and it is apparent that the scare is over. Now, joining us live from Tallinn is Riho Ligika, Riho, we thought we lost you! I am seeing you on the monitor, so you must have made it!
RIHO LIGIKA:
It would take more than an explosion to wipe me out. To be honest, the explosion was not too bad though. I was knocked off from my feet and even the news bureau lost a few windows, but it wasn't disastrous. The fire services have put out the fire associated with it and everything is returning back to normal now.
JOHN WETHER:
Did the visitors make any contact to Tallinn? Have they left now?
RIHO LIGIKA:
Yes, they have left by now. They used loudspeakers to tell, that the explosion was from the technical failure and that harm is not their goal.
JOHN WETHER:
Thank you, and great to see you're OK. It is 10:42 PM in Estonia, 20:42 GMT. We are now going to take a little break to gather up all the news we have gotten and to report in the more coherent way. LRET 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 will resume broadcasting. We'll be right back here on LRET 5.
On November 2, Martians departed with gratitude, and they have not been heard from ever since.
THE END
(cc-by-nc) Tarmo Tanilsoo, 2009
The following "transcript" is fictional, describing a fictional television program, in a fictional television channel. All persons are fictional, and any similarity to anyone is coincidential.
"The Celestial Scare"
31.10.2009 20:05 UTC - LRET 5
IDENT: FALL AFTERNOON
JOHN WETHER:
It's 4:05 PM Eastern Daylight time, Fall afternoon here on LRET 5 continues for one more hour, before we hand it over to Halloween 2009. This is a live shot from the roof camera at LRET Center here in Laguja, Estonia, and as you can see, the skies are pitch black - two hours remaining until midnight here. Coming up this hour: The times are changing, literally - tonight we return back to standard time! We'll also take a look how is the Halloween occurring in the States and talk about the special Halloween programming here on LRET 5. Also in this program, the editor of LRET program "Truth or Untruth", will step by and debunk some myths that have surfaced recently. However, we begin with a special anniversary. Yesterday it passed 71 years, since people across the country were scared the daylights out of them by a radio play, that featured a mock newscast of a Martian invasion. LRET has received news that some radio stations will re-air the original program or even air a remake, so now, let's have a look how to detect a mock newscast.
-- BEGIN TAPE
RICK EPORTER:
We interrupt this program to bring you one epic scare! In 1938, Orson Welles scared the wits out of people across America with a mock radio newscast. Throughout history, such pranks have been done over and over again. Obviously every time, when someone pulls off anything like that, some people grab for pitchforks and torches.
JANNO MIRKAM, LRET 1 news anchor:
For example, one of the most recent cases is Bye Bye Belgium, when a mock broadcast was transmitted that Belgium had broken up. People took this seriously, and controversy arose. The broadcaster, who aired it, did err though, disclaimers should have been put out prior to the broadcast.
RICK EPORTER:
However, by educating the public, these broadcasts could even be fun to watch. Next, we are going to give you some pointers on survival of the Halloween scares.
JANNO MIRKAM, LRET 1 news anchor:
If you see very alarming breaking news, for example a country splitup, or cylinders falling from the Space, and you have not seen any disclaimers, the first thing to do is change the channel. Flip around the dial, preferrably across news channels, and see if they are reporting it. If the channel has teletext, check it. If even TV stations close to alleged event are not reporting anything, it may be safe to assume this is not happening. If it is reported, check who they are citing - they might have mistaken the mock report for real. Now, if you have access to the Internet, run a news search. Even the location of the alleged event should work fine as a keyword. Once again, there is the "check the source if reported" rule - the media is nowadays in a rush to be the first one to report anything so they might have also misnoticed all the disclaimers and prior announcements. Now, if you find no other reports confirming the event, then you can assume if is just a fiction, you can lay down in the chair and imagine yourself into the action movie. It also helps to check the TV schedule. You cannot schedule a falling Martian cylinder in the TV guide.
RICK EPORTER:
Nowadays in the era of digital television it is easier to put out warnings. For example, disclaimers could be put into the programming informa...
-- TAPE CUT
-- IDENT : BREAKING NEWS with voiceover: "This is LRET 5 with Breaking News"
JOHN WETHER:
This just in to LRET newsroom, our sister station LKOS-TV is reporting that flashes are being seen emanating from the planet Mars by the observing crew of Laguja Observatory. You are now looking at a live shot provided by LKOS, that is showing a live look at the Mars through a telescope and indeed every now and then some bright flashes can be seen on the planet. We are not sure if this is an atmospheric phenomena... Just a minute... I'm being told it is not. The LKOS is also reporting that an astronomical telegram is in the process of being prepared. Joining us on the phone from Koru farm, where the anomaly was first sighted is Karl Lindi from Laguja Observatory, good evening.
KARL LINDI:
Good evening.
JOHN WETHER:
What was seen and how? I am under impression Mars is not observable very well at this point?
KARL LINDI:
Yes, we were not initially planning to observe the planet at all at this time of night, because the planet just now barely came above treetops in the northeastern sky.
JOHN WETHER:
Sorry for interrupting you, but did you say Northeast? That direction is heavily light polluted by the lights of the city of Tartu, about 20 miles away.
KARL LINDI:
Exactly. We were going to attempt to photograph the Pleiades, that is high up in the southeast. However, as we were setting up shop here in the farm, one resident here, who is frequently with us, popped an idea that Mars is rising and wondered how it is looking. We thought we'd give a try and aimed the telescope at Mars, and that's when we started seeing the flashes.
JOHN WETHER:
Flashes? What Flashes?
KARL LINDI:
There were some small, but noticeable flashes occurring on the face of the Mars. Since Mars is at a very low altitude over here, I initially thought this was some distortion by the atmospheric turbulence. I called a colleague, who is located in an area, where the planet is in a much better position at this moment, and unexpectedly the colleague confirmed me what we were seeing, so what seemed as a light trick by atmospheric turbulence, suddenly became something that was seen elsewhere too.
JOHN WETHER:
How frequently do these flashes occur at this point?
KARL LINDI:
About twice a minute or so, they have gotten a little more frequent than they were a few minutes ago.
JOHN WETHER:
Okay, thank you. Once again, you are looking at a live shot of Mars as it is seen from Laguja. In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that what you are seeing here, is coming actually with the delay of about 10 minutes, that's the time it takes for the light to come from Mars to Earth, so if... we just saw another one!... if the flash you just saw a moment ago comes from the surface of Mars, then it actually happened there about 10 minutes ago, but the light from it is arriving to us just now. Okay, we'll get back to this story later, but now a little reminder to reset your clocks and watches if you go to sleep tonight, as the Daylight Saving Time ends in the U.S. We'll be right back.
CUT TO ADVERTISING
Length: 2 minutes
BACK FROM ADVERTISING, CUT TO BREAKING NEWS IDENT
JOHN WETHER:
And we continue to monitor potential astronomical discovery of an anomaly occurring on planet Mars, and for latest we join Fiona Mirkam from LRET 1, who has raced to the Laguja Observatory and is now on the phone. Good evening.
FIONA MIRKAM:
Good evening!
JOHN WETHER:
I understand you are in the main building of the observatory, where the most science is made?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Yes, that is correct. The ones who just sounded the alarm were actually on a photography mission, but it simply happened that the anomaly occurred in visible light spectrum.
JOHN WETHER:
Is the main building investigating the object?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Unfortunately not. The Mars is too low for the main telescope, but they are...
JOHN WETHER:
I'm sorry, I have to interrupt you. Just in to LRET News, we have some breaking news coming in from the city of Tallinn. There are unconfirmed reports of a fireball, and a sonic boom occurring in Estonian capital. We are right now trying to confirm this, but I'm told this is coming from a fairly reliable source... just a minute? OK, I am told this report came from our Tallinn bureau and as I am telling this, we are seeing fresh video they are feeding to us, taken just moments ago. We are seeing indeed a fireball heading towards the city... It is going behind the buildings, and... now the boom comes. Fiona, are you still with us?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Yes, I am.
JOHN WETHER:
What have you got to say about the latest sightings?
FIONA MIRKAM:
I'm sorry, the TV here was playing, but it was not on LRET 5, they are showing LKOS, that channel is based in this building... but now it is showing a fireball on the screen.
JOHN WETHER:
Yes, this is what our Tallinn bureau just fed in. Apparently a fireball and a sonic boom over the city of Tallinn. Do you have any more information?
FIONA MIRKAM:
I am as wise as you are, I'll try to investigate this.
JOHN WETHER:
OK, thank you. For those who have just joined our coverage, a fireball and a sonic boom has been observed in our Tallinn bureau. In addition we are following news about flashes being sighted on the planet Mars, but at this point, more coverage on that can be found from the channels of LKOS, and also from our teletext. Now joining us on the phone is the chief of our Tallinn bureau, good evening!
JAANUS MILIKE:
Good evening.
JOHN WETHER:
What just happened there?
JAANUS MILIKE:
We are not sure what just happened. It happened that just as we were going to sign off for the day, one of the staff members sighted fireball in the sky, he grabbed the camera and ran outdoors. The light was so bright, he could see his shadow from that light, and a little later, a sonic boom occurred.
JOHN WETHER:
OK, at this point we welcome viewers of LRET's channels 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8, who have just joined our coverage and simultaneous translation will be provided on the channels that do not broadcast in English shortly. It is 20:18 GMT, 10:18 PM in Estonia, and 2:18 PM in the Eastern coast of the United States. We are talking right now with the chief of our Tallinn bureau Jaanus Milike, are you still with us?
JAANUS MILIKE:
Yes, I am.
JOHN WETHER:
When did this fireball occur, how loud was the boom?
JAANUS MILIKE:
The boom was very loud, it shook the entire building. It occurred a few minutes ago, around 10:15 PM. As soon as the staff member got inside, we opened the transmission and fed the tape to you.
JOHN WETHER:
OK, keep us posted! Late bulletin in from United States, this is basically a report that rovers on the surface of Mars, as well as the probes orbiting the planet have now also sighted the flashes, basically it is telling the probes are seeing fireballs exiting the planet. We are now going to Laguja Observatory where joining us live is Fiona Mirkam, good evening!
FIONA MIRKAM:
Good evening! I am now here with Ilmar Langi, chief astronomer here at the Laguja Observatory, mr. Langi, what do you think, what happened in Tallinn?
ILMAR LANGI:
It is too early to speculate at this point, what happened, based on what the TV is showing, it could be meteorite, it could be space debris, it could be missile... just a minute?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Mr. Langi was just handed a note, what is it?
ILMAR LANGI:
It is from the Northern Estonian rescue services, they report that a meteorite has fallen to Pirita tee in Tallinn.
FIONA MIRKAM:
What is your plan of action at this point?
ILMAR LANGI:
We will probably dispatch a crew to Tallinn at the closest possibility. Generally we'd have to wait until daylight, but since the area is already illuminated by streetlights, we can investigate the situation a little better. But it would still get at least 3-4 hours before we get there.
JOHN WETHER:
Fiona! Fiona!
FIONA MIRKAM:
Just a minute please, yes John?
JOHN WETHER:
I was just told our Tallinn crew is headed towards the scene and they should be able to output high definition feed within five minutes or so, depends when they arrive.
FIONA MIRKAM:
I was just told that we might be able to see live picture from the scene in high definition shortly, is this going to be of any help?
ILMAR LANGI:
A little, but I'd prefer to be straight on scene to be sure.
JOHN WETHER:
OK, I'm sorry we have to cut away from you now, we'll get back to you later, but we have the director of Northern Estonian rescue services on the phone, good evening.
DIRECTOR:
Good evening!
JOHN WETHER:
Can you tell, what is the latest information?
DIRECTOR:
At 10:16 PM, we received a telephone call from a driver that a possible meteorite has hit a road near Pirita Tee 10. We have dispatched crews on the scene, who have now closed the street and are examining the place. At this point some scientists are also on the scene, they are taking measurements of radiation in case the object was radioactive. This is all we know at this point.
JOHN WETHER:
OK, thank you. Our Tallinn bureau crew is right now headed towards the scene. In the meantime we have a bulletin from Koru farm where something new has been discovered. By closer examination, it appears the flashes are not dying off, but heading away from the planet. That would agree with the observations of the Mars probes. There is no explanation given at this point. Laguja Observatory has put out a bulletin saying they believe the flashes on Mars are not tied to the possible meteorite that has struck Tallinn. Time check now, 20:21 GMT at this point. And.. just a moment? .. We are now going live from Tallinn, where our correspondents just arrived at the scene of the collision, joining with us is Riho Ligika, good evening!
RIHO LIGIKA:
Good evening! We are now at the scene. Entire area has been cordoned off and the rescue services have been here analyzing the situation. We have received information that the object that just moments ago crashed in the city of Tallinn is not radioactive. The traffic has come to a standstill over here, and just fortunately because our bureau is a few streets away, we were able to get here quickly.
JOHN WETHER:
Have you taken a look at the crater?
RIHO LIGIKA:
I can see it as far as I am at this point, can we pan camera there? OK. At this point we see a elliptic hole in the ground, surrounded by a ring of ejecta. I am walking closer now? Just ten more meters... I'd estimate the crater to be at least 10 meters wide, but not sure about depth. OK, I am now nearing the edge of the crater and ... whaa...? I am seeing a ball of light in the sky, heading North.
JOHN WETHER:
Riho, in the last minute or so the wires have really lit up. Reports of either explosions or fireballs are now coming from national capitals of almost entire European Union, we have not heard anything from Finland, I assume it is heading there.
RIHO LIGIKA:
Meanwhile, quite a crowd has gathered on the scene at this point. Police is trying to keep them back. Staff from LKOS have also arrived now here, and they are as well examining the crater. (unidentified voice off-mic: Mis see on?) OK, I am now looking down at the crater, and there is some sort of a circular object... About 3 meters wide.
JOHN WETHER:
Circular object?!
RIHO LIGIKA:
Yes, at this point there is a circular object down in the ground. Yikes! It is now rising. It is... it is...
JOHN WETHER:
What it is doing?
RIHO LIGIKA:
There is intense humming coming from that object, the object is rising up. About a meter high... It has lights at its sides... it is now really lighting up. We're going, põgenege(Escape)!! (loud) We are running away from this object. It looks that it is remote controlled, and... just for safety, we are leaving.
JOHN WETHER:
Exactly, get out of there! I do not want you to endanger yourself!
RIHO LIGIKA:
I have now ran about thirty... forty meters, and I turn the camera at the object as I run... I try to get away... (shaky image depicting rising object, then big flash of light, signal cut).
JOHN WETHER: Riho? Riho? Are you there? OK, we are now looking at another feed from the roof of our Tallinn bureau. Can we pan the camera towards Pirita tee area? OK, huge glow of light coming from that direction... it looks like there is a fire of some sort underway. Now... the camera is panning upwards in the sky, and at this point... lights of some sort are appearing... in quite a big area. As I am telling this, I am receiving word that similar display is visible around the world. Really trying to make sense of the situation, we got bulletins from our reporter in New York City, reporting nothing is happening there, but lights had been seen heading to New Jersey. Miami, Florida bureau reporting lights in the sky, and similar little disk crashing, however it crashed into Atlantic Ocean. We now go live from Laguja Observatory, Fiona, are you there?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Yes, I am here. I am monitoring the situation as well, and I am being told that radar and satellite observations now indicate that the objects, that have wreaked havoc in Tallinn and hit various cities around the world, are accompanied by much larger objects, and they all appear to be coming in from the planet Mars. It would seem to me, as if these smaller objects that Riho was covering just minutes ago are some sort of recon devices or even missiles, intended for more localized destruction, and are followed by the mission center, that is guiding them. This big area of lights in a circular way we see on the Tallinn feed could be it.
JOHN WETHER:
What is this info based on?
FIONA MIRKAM:
I learned this in military defense class when I was at school in Nkovmicia. Because I am member of Srepian first family, I was taught anything that could be taught. We had several courses on interstellar wars, which seem to be occurring right now.
JOHN WETHER:
OK, thank you. Some new bulletins. State of Emergency has now been declared in Estonia, as well as in most European countries, as well as in United States, Australia, Japan, and the list goes on. What seems to be happening, seems to be happening all across the planet. It is 20:26 GMT...
----------------------
Now it pays off to give a little background to what will follow. I am tying in a world that I have imagined to be at the other side of our orbital plane, called Nkovmicia, and that is closely communicating with the Earth, and is inhabited by humans(who are identical to people living at the Baltic Sea region). I think this is the first time I am publicly using it in the stories that I have written. Srepia is one of the countries in that imaginary world, along with Adventaresia, Tühükma, etc. LRET Networks, and rest of so-called "Lagujan Media" as well, are done in cooperation with "organizations" Nkovmician countries. Warning: Very bad astronomy follows - including communicating faster than speed of light. Let's just get artistic and assume Nkovmicians have found a loophole somewhere in the laws of physics.
-----------------------
JOHN WETHER:
... and now joining us on the phone is Karl Lindi who is still at Koru farm, what are the latest updates where you are?
KARL LINDI:
Well, we have been hearing the radio and are obviously shaken up from the news, at this point we are here talking about evacuating to our location in Kilomani, which has no strategical places... oi mu(oh my)... just now I am seeing lights gradually starting to appear over the village.
JOHN WETHER:
What lights? Can we get a live shot from our auroracam? Or at least roofcam? OK you are now seeing live shot from our roof cam and indeed, bright lights are appearing in circular shape over the village, apparently heading over towards the Media Park. All right, thank you, Karl Lindi, and stay safe! At this point we are going to leave the studio and head to our shelter, we ask that as we evacuate, you do the same, take cover in a safe place as much under ground as possible. (leaving the studio) For our Nkovmician friends, this is Mayday. We leave you with live shot from the village skies as we head to the shelter. Can we hand over to Cologne? (pause) OK, we cannot. Communications have been lost with our studios in Cologne, Germany which we could have utilized in event of Laguja studios being knocked offline. OK, we can now hand over to our End of the World studios in Tühükma, as we take cover.
CUT TO BLACK SCREEN FOR 5 SECONDS
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
This is Wikine Kifleka picking up the broadcasting for LRET 2 to 8 from emergency transmission center in Tühüpeli in the Republic of Tühükma at Nkovmicia. For the time being, we will broadcast only in Estonian and English. This studio is used in the event of a global disaster. We will now try to show you a live shot of Laguja, Estonia... and the feeds still seem to be operational. At this point it seems that no satellite connections have been disrupted on Earth, and there have been only isolated attacks in the cities. Before we get back to Earth, here are some bulletins that are local for us here in Tühükma, but still relevant. Council of Nkovmician Nations have gathered to a special meeting to discuss the Earth Crisis. Meanwhile, Adventaresian Space Organization has announced that their space reconnaissance spacecrafts have confirmed that the objects are indeed originating from Mars. They have been able to intercept some electromagnetic radiation that have been emanating from the planet, and from there some broadcasts have been detected. These are basically telling that for a long time, subterranean civilization has been existent on Mars. They had been able to produce oxygen and other substances needed for living for the time being, but unfortunately there is now a problem with the equipment, prompting them to head towards the Earth. The time is now 22:29 East Nkovmician Time, 20:29 GMT on Earth. We cross over to Fiona Mirkam who is outside of Laguja Observatory right now. Hello Fiona.
FIONA MIRKAM:
Hello. As you can see, these lights have come across the area where most local TV and radio stations are, but right now no more major actions are occurring. I am kind of suprised for the lack of activity.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Has there been any communication from any of these spaceships?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Not that we can be aware of. In other news, we here have a report of fire in Tallinn, but it seems to be contained by now. Lights are in many places, and communication lines are swamped. However, there have been no large scale attacks or anything else... to be accurate, no attacks at all.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Is there been any attempts to disrupt the communications, hit the strategic locations?
FIONA MIRKAM:
Absolutely none.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Stay safe, and keep us up to date. We have learned our Cologne studio had evacuated, and this accounts for the loss of communications. Meanwhile, Adventaresia, Tühükma, Srepia and Surmäeri have now declared a state of crisis and activated general mobilization of troops. We are going now live from Seipeali, Adventaresia, from Adventaresian Space Organisation, hello Kine Nadese!
KINE NADESE:
Greetings. Adventaresian Space Organisation has been eavesdropping on the Martians and has been able to find their communication frequencies. We have been able to determine that they are monitoring English language television networks. The listening post is saying their language is not much different from Adventaresian, but still different. However, they have been able to decode enough that the visitors understand English language. It does appear that their knowledge of Earth is containing errors, and the crash in areas including Tallinn was likely caused by faulty navigation maps. They are are telling, that from the radio communications it was revealed that the the small... let's call them saucers, that small saucers were a recon devices that were supposed to explode in event of the crash to avoid falling to wrong hands. The big saucers accompanying them seem to be monitoring stations. At this point, chief chancellor of Council of Nkovmician Nations is in the space center, and they are trying to establish communication with Martians.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Is it possible to reach them from Earth?
KINE NADESE:
No. They are saying the Martians have not approached the Earth with communications. Our spacecrafts have been simply in a lucky spot to catch them and speak back.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
OK, thank you. I hear they now attempt to make a communication. Let's listen in.
KEI MIDA:
Martian objects, Martian objects, please respond!
Martian objects, Martian objects, please respond!
UNIDENTIFIED COMMANDER:
This is Lmeiakli fifth squadron, please identify!
KEI MIDA:
This is chief chancellor of Council of Nkovmician Nations, Kei Mida, located in Adventaresian Space Organisation. We demand to know on what grounds are you approaching planet Earth, and making landings there? Are you plans hostile or friendly?
UNIDENTIFIED COMMANDER:
Council from Lmeiakli, our plans is not harm. Our will is not harm. We are in a emergency. Is this planet inhabited?
KEI MIDA:
That is correct - the planet is inhabited. And I should warn you that we will not tolerate any hostile action against people living on that planet.
UNIDENTIFIED COMMANDER:
I repeat, we want no harm, we want no harm. We have tried to communicate them, but to no avail.
KEI MIDA:
What is your mission?
UNIDENTIFIED COMMANDER:
To seek communication with the planet for cooperation.
KEI MIDA:
What are these explosions around the world then?
UNIDENTIFIED COMMANDER:
Our recon objects are set to self-destroy if crashed or if course turns out very incorrect. We have discovered our maps of the planet that you call Earth are gravely flawed.
KEI MIDA:
If you are friendly, communicate Earth as soon as possible. Local media coverage is telling they fear you are invading them.
UNIDENFITIED COMMANDER:
We have been unable to determine how they communicate?
KEI MIDA:
They communicate using transmissions of electromagnetic waves, just like they broadcast.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
OK, we are now breaking away for now, to summarize the latest developments. Martians are telling to the Nkovmicia that they are friendly, and that they seek no harm to Earth. Our side stressed, that no hostile activity against the planet will be tolerated, and also urged to make contact with Earth quickly before Earth assumes they are hostile. OK, and Nkovmicia just inquired also about the saucers over world cities and they received those were just local monitoring stations, and that military crafts are completely different from those over Earth cities. We switch now to Laguja and Fiona Mirkam is there, good evening.
FIONA MIRKAM:
I have some breaking news coming in at this point, we have learned that the flashes on Mars have stopped, however the saucers are still here. However, they have not done anything. We... (startled) OK, things have changed, it seems as if the... The saucer over Laguja is now coming lower and lower, I think they are landing. Pan the camera to the saucer! They are right now landing in front of... what seems to be LRET Center.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
I see it on the live shot. OK, joining us from LRET Center is now John Wether, hello John.
JOHN WETHER:
I am right now going outside to the front of the LRET Center along with our general manager. We have been following your broadcast, and we assume this may be attempt to make a contact.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Do you have an escape route?
JOHN WETHER:
Yes, there is quick way to shelter in the front lobby. OK, we are now in front of the building and... there is a hatch opening on the saucer. Bright light is there... and... there is... a human walking out?
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Are you sure? A human?
JOHN WETHER:
Yes, we are now stepping forward. (off-mic: Do you speak English?) The occupant is now asking if we speak English. Let's listen in.
MARTIAN 1:
We are peaceful. We are from a planet next to you in Solar System. Are you the television?
GENERAL MANAGER:
This is indeed a television station. We are live on the air, actually.
MARTIAN 1:
I come to tell you, not to be afraid. We were simply monitoring your transmissions. We attempt to contact you. We come in peace.
GENERAL MANAGER:
Well, I must say, the contact is made. Even Orson Welles did not scare us that much.
MARTIAN 1:
We sorry. We had no other means of communication. We had to scan the electromagnetic band locally, and found your broadcasts.
GENERAL MANAGER:
You can decode digital television?
MARTIAN 1:
Yes.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
We are breaking away from this now, as we have learned that the Martians have just sent their representative to New York, where the Earth's representatives have gathered. They are about to address the Earth so let's listen in.
MARTIAN REPRESENTATIVE:
Dear Earthlings. I have to apologize for the fear we have caused by accident. Two weeks ago, we ran into an emergency. Ever since Mars became uninhabitable, we have been living under ground, with system, that is able to produce oxygen. Last week, the air production systems stopped working, and this prompted us to find an emergency exit. We knew Earth was in area where there could be life. But we did not have ability to listen in to communications. Our equipment did not allow it, we just knew there were electromagnetic waves coming from here. But we thought it could as well be just natural phenomena. So we headed here, in big clusters, we traced down apparent locations of various sources of electromagnetic waves. But we weren't still sure. So we sent out a listening post to every such a source with a recon device that would have sent us pictures of the planet. Unfortunately recon devices failed, and we were not able to see anything. Eventually, we were guided to contact you, and this is why we are here. We seek nothing else, than to allowing us to repair our equipment, and return back to our homes. If you have any questions, please ask.
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE:
How could you even learn English when you were unable to pick up our broadcasts from Earth?
MARTIAN REPRESENTATIVE:
We started it independently, just as Nkovmicians had started to speak Estonian independently.
JOHN WETHER:
And picking up the program origination again from Laguja, we are back on air. 20:39 GMT here on Planet Earth, 10:39 PM Estonian Time, and these have been very scary 30 minutes. However, we are now learning that this thing has positive outcome. These ships that had been over the Earth's cities were nothing else than monitoring stations, and explosions occurring have been accidental. Going now live from Koru farm, and we join Karl Lindi, who broke the story this evening, good evening!
KARL LINDI:
Good evening! I heard from the radio, that you visited the disk that landed in Laguja, was it what they promised to be?
JOHN WETHER:
Yes, while the leaders were speaking at the New York, they showed us their ship, and it was indeed nothing else than radio listening post.
KARL LINDI:
Great. I am seeing actually unidentified clusters of small lights appearing now in various parts of the sky, and no more flashes have been occurring on Mars for almost 10 minutes.
JOHN WETHER:
Yes, they told us, that they are sending most of their monitoring stations back to space.
KARL LINDI:
Well, I do not have anything to report, we are seeing that the ship over our area just departed and it seems all calm again.
JOHN WETHER:
Thank you, Karl Lindi. We are now going live from Washington D.C., where the communication were made first, Will Kifena is live from there, good evening.
WILL KIFENA:
People are still recovering from the panic that arose over here when the saucers first came. Many feared first these were hostile forces, but fortunately the recon device crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, so no explosion occurred here. By now the spacecrafts have left the area. There is daylight here, so communication here was a little easier, and it was better to see objects.
JOHN WETHER:
Were there any attempts to contact the visitors?
WILL KIFENA:
No. They feared that any attempt to contact may be regarded as a confrontation.
JOHN WETHER:
I understand the visitors made a contact in Washington?
WILL KIFENA:
Yes, they used some sort of loudspeakers to tell people that they are peaceful and that they apologize for inconvenience.
JOHN WETHER:
Thank you for the report. Going back to New York, where Earth is giving an answer to the visitors, let's listen in.
EARTH'S CHIEF:
We have been listening to your speech, and we have found sufficient proof that you are friendly. We however, would like to warn you that by landing on Earth, you exposed yourself to Earth's germs and bacteria, and this could be dangerous for your population. There are illnesses what even we Earthlings have no protection against. Your situation is especially difficult, since you got no absolutely illnesses over there. Therefore, quarantine might be needed. We have agreed however, to provide you assistance while you repair your equipment. We are also willing to provide you assistance to remain in touch with our planet, and share scientifical knowledge for better cooperation.
JOHN WETHER:
That's it, that's the answer, we will help them. For reaction in Nkovmicia, we go now live from Tühüpeli where Wikine Kifleka has the latest.
WIKINE KIFLEKA:
Everybody here has been joyed by the news that there is no threat to Earth. All activations of the military were just now cancelled. State of Crisis is also declared over. This is that much as I have currently, back to you.
JOHN WETHER:
And you are now seeing live pictures of people singing in the streets in New York. Spontaneous events of joy are being reported anywhere around the world, and it is apparent that the scare is over. Now, joining us live from Tallinn is Riho Ligika, Riho, we thought we lost you! I am seeing you on the monitor, so you must have made it!
RIHO LIGIKA:
It would take more than an explosion to wipe me out. To be honest, the explosion was not too bad though. I was knocked off from my feet and even the news bureau lost a few windows, but it wasn't disastrous. The fire services have put out the fire associated with it and everything is returning back to normal now.
JOHN WETHER:
Did the visitors make any contact to Tallinn? Have they left now?
RIHO LIGIKA:
Yes, they have left by now. They used loudspeakers to tell, that the explosion was from the technical failure and that harm is not their goal.
JOHN WETHER:
Thank you, and great to see you're OK. It is 10:42 PM in Estonia, 20:42 GMT. We are now going to take a little break to gather up all the news we have gotten and to report in the more coherent way. LRET 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 will resume broadcasting. We'll be right back here on LRET 5.
On November 2, Martians departed with gratitude, and they have not been heard from ever since.
THE END
(cc-by-nc) Tarmo Tanilsoo, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sign of the time of the year
Happy Summer! This morning, the Sun reached its highest North declination and summer began! And fans of long daylight, panic! Because now the days start getting shorter.
Today around 1:15 PM, when the Sun reached the highest altitude(remember - daylight savings time!), I went outside, with a box, a compass with a ruler and a sheet from my notes book. What I was going to do? Measure the length of the box's shadow:
Unfortunately the cumulus clouds did not let me to take the reading at the exact moment when the Sun peaked over the horizon - this picture with the reading was done about 3-4 minutes later at 1:17 PM. Now what good I would know from the length of the shadow of a random object? This - the altitude of the Sun above the horizon in degrees. For those unaware about horizontal coordinates, here's a reference: If the object is at the horizon, it's altitude is zero degrees. When it is at zenith(right above your head - the Sun was/is visible there if you were/are at 23,44 North latitude at local noon today, you're yet to see it or are seeing it right now if you are in Americas and at that latitude), it's altitude is 90 degrees. But now again? What has the length of the shadow to do with the altitude of the Sun in the sky? Simple: It is just a matter of a trigonometry that every 9th Grader should know.
Basically, we can visualize the shadow, the object and the light beam as a triangle. Leaving the explanation of its shapes aside, we recall from school mathemathics(although I initially read about this trick from a Physics text book before learning about trigonometry when I was in 9th Grade) that tangent of angle alpha equals a divided by b.
tan alpha = a/b
Now, we got a as the height of the box, and b as the length of the shadow. We can get the angle alpha by using the arctangent function - so the height of the Sun equals arctangent of the height of the box divided by the length of the shadow.
height = arctangent(height of the box/length of the shadow)
Now: The box was 8,9 cm tall. The shadow was 6,2 cm long, and here is the result:
About 55,1 degrees above horizon! Now, because of the small dimensions of the object I used, one millimeter(accuracy of my measurement) in shadow size makes fairly big difference in the angle, and therefore this would have been much more accurate if the object used was taller, but you get the idea. Now, when it is measured at the moment the Sun reaches the highest altitude, it is possible to calculate the declination of the Sun(basically this is the latitude where people at their local noons are walking around, trying to see their shadows only to find them below their feet - the Sun is at zenith). How? You need to know your latitude for this. Mine is about 58,167 degrees North. I have the height of the Sun, 55,1 degrees. Now I will simply add my latitude to the height and subtract 90 degrees
decl = h+lat-90
decl = 55,1+58,167-90 ~ 23,27 ~ 23,3 degrees.
Now keep in mind about what I told about the accuracy before - my measurement in this test wasn't too accurate. As a matter of fact, had the length of the shadow been 6,1 cm, not 6,2 cm, the calculation would have yielded 23,7 degrees declination, far higher than the axial tilt of planet Earth(which is 23,44 degrees, and which also was Sun's declination at the moment of Summer Solstice). Plus, I made the measurement a few minutes after the Sun had peaked in its height.
Now, likewise, you can calculate the maximum height of the Sun from its declination:
hmax = decl + 90 - lat (if the height is higher than 90 degrees, it means the Sun will peak actually in the Northern sky, not Southern. In this case subtract the height from 180 degrees, like when hmax=111 then hmax=180-111)
So that's some math behind the Summer solstice! Enjoy the summer!
Today around 1:15 PM, when the Sun reached the highest altitude(remember - daylight savings time!), I went outside, with a box, a compass with a ruler and a sheet from my notes book. What I was going to do? Measure the length of the box's shadow:
Unfortunately the cumulus clouds did not let me to take the reading at the exact moment when the Sun peaked over the horizon - this picture with the reading was done about 3-4 minutes later at 1:17 PM. Now what good I would know from the length of the shadow of a random object? This - the altitude of the Sun above the horizon in degrees. For those unaware about horizontal coordinates, here's a reference: If the object is at the horizon, it's altitude is zero degrees. When it is at zenith(right above your head - the Sun was/is visible there if you were/are at 23,44 North latitude at local noon today, you're yet to see it or are seeing it right now if you are in Americas and at that latitude), it's altitude is 90 degrees. But now again? What has the length of the shadow to do with the altitude of the Sun in the sky? Simple: It is just a matter of a trigonometry that every 9th Grader should know.Basically, we can visualize the shadow, the object and the light beam as a triangle. Leaving the explanation of its shapes aside, we recall from school mathemathics(although I initially read about this trick from a Physics text book before learning about trigonometry when I was in 9th Grade) that tangent of angle alpha equals a divided by b.
tan alpha = a/b
Now, we got a as the height of the box, and b as the length of the shadow. We can get the angle alpha by using the arctangent function - so the height of the Sun equals arctangent of the height of the box divided by the length of the shadow.
height = arctangent(height of the box/length of the shadow)
Now: The box was 8,9 cm tall. The shadow was 6,2 cm long, and here is the result:
About 55,1 degrees above horizon! Now, because of the small dimensions of the object I used, one millimeter(accuracy of my measurement) in shadow size makes fairly big difference in the angle, and therefore this would have been much more accurate if the object used was taller, but you get the idea. Now, when it is measured at the moment the Sun reaches the highest altitude, it is possible to calculate the declination of the Sun(basically this is the latitude where people at their local noons are walking around, trying to see their shadows only to find them below their feet - the Sun is at zenith). How? You need to know your latitude for this. Mine is about 58,167 degrees North. I have the height of the Sun, 55,1 degrees. Now I will simply add my latitude to the height and subtract 90 degreesdecl = h+lat-90
decl = 55,1+58,167-90 ~ 23,27 ~ 23,3 degrees.
Now keep in mind about what I told about the accuracy before - my measurement in this test wasn't too accurate. As a matter of fact, had the length of the shadow been 6,1 cm, not 6,2 cm, the calculation would have yielded 23,7 degrees declination, far higher than the axial tilt of planet Earth(which is 23,44 degrees, and which also was Sun's declination at the moment of Summer Solstice). Plus, I made the measurement a few minutes after the Sun had peaked in its height.
Now, likewise, you can calculate the maximum height of the Sun from its declination:
hmax = decl + 90 - lat (if the height is higher than 90 degrees, it means the Sun will peak actually in the Northern sky, not Southern. In this case subtract the height from 180 degrees, like when hmax=111 then hmax=180-111)
So that's some math behind the Summer solstice! Enjoy the summer!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
F84.5
F84.5 - This is the ICD-10 code for my condition, called Asperger's Syndrome. It's a milder form of autism, and it has designed me to be like I am.
I was born in 1989, exactly 2 weeks after Baltic Chain. When I was small child I learned to read quicker than to speak. Early in the 1990's, I seemed to have sense of reality completely absent... It finally started coming in late in the century and early 21st century. When I was small - I practically lived in my own fantasy world (to be honest, it hasn't completely disappeared, just I've "climbed out" of it, and now it is just in my fantasies, and occasionally in my writings). I was lucky to study my first years of school in the village I lived in. By the time I went to middle school(which was by the way, done for people with disabilities), I had still a lot of behavioural problems, and I was... as I would say, strange. But I am improving. By the time I went to high school, I had developed quite a big interest in weather, but I still couldn't be anywhere alone. The latter was not the case anymore by 2007. As long as somebody I knew was nearby, I could easily go at a summer camp while parents hundreds of kilometers away, provided I could obtain external help for more complicated tasks, such as packing up a tent. Last year, I graduated high school. But still, I have some quirks, and some will remain with me for rest of my life.
So what's AS in a nutshell? Intelligence working as usual, but social skills not so good. One of the quirks is also that you might notice that I am not too good at making direct eye contacts... Sometimes I may sound a little obsessive on certain topics. At the same time, I can memorize various bits of information.
April 2 is World Autism Awareness day. Autism related topics touch me quite much as my younger brother is autistic andd I myself with Aspergers Syndrome. Some have told me that I should hide my condition when in communication because of various attitudes that people might have, but I have chosen not to. I think hadn't I got AS, all I'd be would be just an average Joonas.
I was born in 1989, exactly 2 weeks after Baltic Chain. When I was small child I learned to read quicker than to speak. Early in the 1990's, I seemed to have sense of reality completely absent... It finally started coming in late in the century and early 21st century. When I was small - I practically lived in my own fantasy world (to be honest, it hasn't completely disappeared, just I've "climbed out" of it, and now it is just in my fantasies, and occasionally in my writings). I was lucky to study my first years of school in the village I lived in. By the time I went to middle school(which was by the way, done for people with disabilities), I had still a lot of behavioural problems, and I was... as I would say, strange. But I am improving. By the time I went to high school, I had developed quite a big interest in weather, but I still couldn't be anywhere alone. The latter was not the case anymore by 2007. As long as somebody I knew was nearby, I could easily go at a summer camp while parents hundreds of kilometers away, provided I could obtain external help for more complicated tasks, such as packing up a tent. Last year, I graduated high school. But still, I have some quirks, and some will remain with me for rest of my life.
So what's AS in a nutshell? Intelligence working as usual, but social skills not so good. One of the quirks is also that you might notice that I am not too good at making direct eye contacts... Sometimes I may sound a little obsessive on certain topics. At the same time, I can memorize various bits of information.
April 2 is World Autism Awareness day. Autism related topics touch me quite much as my younger brother is autistic andd I myself with Aspergers Syndrome. Some have told me that I should hide my condition when in communication because of various attitudes that people might have, but I have chosen not to. I think hadn't I got AS, all I'd be would be just an average Joonas.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Going up? Or going down? Part 2
If you have read my another post "Going up? Or going down?" then note that I decided to do some changes to the system I wrote about before:
Effective immediately, the procedure for calculating TTTLI will be modified. The current TTTLI value will be divided with 100. The scale for raising and lowering the index will be based on the old system, but with percentage values divided with 100. This means that effective from the change, the percentage range for raising/lowering the index will be 0.04% to 0.20% instead of 4-20% as it was prior to this change.To convert old index to new one, just divide old one with 100. For example, the initial value of TTTLI, 100, will now be referenced as 1. Another example: Yesterday evening's value of: 15030,36876 shall be referenced as 150,3036876.
Changes will be reflected in the graphics at next update at 9 PM today.
Effective immediately, the procedure for calculating TTTLI will be modified. The current TTTLI value will be divided with 100. The scale for raising and lowering the index will be based on the old system, but with percentage values divided with 100. This means that effective from the change, the percentage range for raising/lowering the index will be 0.04% to 0.20% instead of 4-20% as it was prior to this change.
Changes will be reflected in the graphics at next update at 9 PM today.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Finnish TV seen in Southern Estonia with an indoor antenna
On Sunday and Monday, a strong tropospheric ducting hit our area... flooding the airwaves with foreign television stations. In Finland, and in Estonia, reports are coming out about problems with signals because of co-channel interference. I had also issues, but because I live northwest of the transmitter serving my area, and as such I was able to place antennas in a way that the local signal would win the battle.
It all began on Sunday morning when the sky dawned and I noticed the weather was clear. EMHI had been forecasting a high pressure area to set in and colder weather to arrive. As I remember many good DXes from the winter high pressure areas, I decided to attempt to pick up neighboring digital transmitters. Koeru from 93 km away, yes! Eventually got Tallinn too. But as the day progressed, I lost their signal again, but not to the bad propagation. Rather I lost it to the good propagation as Finnish signals on the same frequencies(E57 for Koeru, E45 for Tallinn) kicked in. In the noon hours, I was able to lock to Lahti's E51 as well. Then, E46 and E32 came in from Espoo. I was able to save those channels as well to my set top box and managed to get a stuttering picture of YLE's channels and some private channels. Eventually they faded out. However, as the afternoon progressed, I kept scanning the channels and seeing most of the UHF band being overcrowded by digital signals. Then, I saw Lahti. By this time, local television signals from E47 in Valgjärve were dark - only way to get them was to put antenna to another place. By quarter to two PM, I saw E51 from Lahti with signal strength 88% and quality of 90%... Would you believe that I received this with an indoor antenna? Espoo was also coming in. By 2 PM, E51 had weakened and I was scanning channels again. Now I ended up on E53 from Espoo. Signal strength 62%, quality 15%. Sound stuttered. It was about 15 minutes before 3 PM, when I got signal from Tammela. This was E50, and channels list pointed to "kanavanippu C", which is transmitted from Tammela in this frequency. At 3 PM, I noticed strong signal coming on E33. I initially thought it was Multiplex 1 from Kohtla-Nõmme. Think again... If I ran channel search, I initially thought that the receiver had locked to E32. But it was E33. I was receiving Kanavanippu A from Lahti despite Estonian digital transmitter on the same frequency. Still with an indoor antenna, signal strength was 86%, quality 84%.
E33 at 3:10 PM.
By 4 PM, all Finnish multiplexes went dark while still indicating a presence of digital signal. Occasionally some signals from various places jumped in for short time. The hotspot for the evening was Tammela...
On the next morning
Hmm... it appears that it is over... or is it? I scan the band... and I find a strong signal originating on E38. Channels list on that frequency and other freqs with similar strength and their channel lists indicate Mikkeli. Wow. That is the furthest digital signal from Finland I have ever received. My previous record was from E51 in Lahti. By using a directional logarythmic antenna(which could block co-channel interference a bit), I was able to pick up E43 from Mikkeli too... and saw even the "lost sheep" MTV3 and Nelonen. Occasionally the Mikkeli signal, especially the multiplex was very strong... Finnish DX came to an end after 9 AM in the morning.
However, before it happened, I was able to save this signal strength report to the posterity:
The opening continued to gradually weaken throughout the day, with only Koeru's transmitter remaining above normal signal level. In fact, it is above normal even now as I type. Signal strength 64%, quality 58%. Usually all I'd get would be 50%/0-5% with even no teletext!
On analog
I was also able to DX some analog signals. I was able to pick up one station in St. Petersburg, Russia. I do not know its exact name right now, but the logo in their ident read 5 PETERBURG.
Wow! This is definitely one memorable DX experience that will not be forgotten for a long time.
How far(approximate values)?
Laguja-Koeru - 95 km
Laguja-Tallinn - 170 km
Laguja-Espoo - 250 km
Laguja-Lahti - 320 km
Laguja-Mikkeli - 385 km
Laguja-Tammela - 340 km
I apologise for any typographical errors in this posting. I do not have the time right now to do a full spell check.
It all began on Sunday morning when the sky dawned and I noticed the weather was clear. EMHI had been forecasting a high pressure area to set in and colder weather to arrive. As I remember many good DXes from the winter high pressure areas, I decided to attempt to pick up neighboring digital transmitters. Koeru from 93 km away, yes! Eventually got Tallinn too. But as the day progressed, I lost their signal again, but not to the bad propagation. Rather I lost it to the good propagation as Finnish signals on the same frequencies(E57 for Koeru, E45 for Tallinn) kicked in. In the noon hours, I was able to lock to Lahti's E51 as well. Then, E46 and E32 came in from Espoo. I was able to save those channels as well to my set top box and managed to get a stuttering picture of YLE's channels and some private channels. Eventually they faded out. However, as the afternoon progressed, I kept scanning the channels and seeing most of the UHF band being overcrowded by digital signals. Then, I saw Lahti. By this time, local television signals from E47 in Valgjärve were dark - only way to get them was to put antenna to another place. By quarter to two PM, I saw E51 from Lahti with signal strength 88% and quality of 90%... Would you believe that I received this with an indoor antenna? Espoo was also coming in. By 2 PM, E51 had weakened and I was scanning channels again. Now I ended up on E53 from Espoo. Signal strength 62%, quality 15%. Sound stuttered. It was about 15 minutes before 3 PM, when I got signal from Tammela. This was E50, and channels list pointed to "kanavanippu C", which is transmitted from Tammela in this frequency. At 3 PM, I noticed strong signal coming on E33. I initially thought it was Multiplex 1 from Kohtla-Nõmme. Think again... If I ran channel search, I initially thought that the receiver had locked to E32. But it was E33. I was receiving Kanavanippu A from Lahti despite Estonian digital transmitter on the same frequency. Still with an indoor antenna, signal strength was 86%, quality 84%.
E33 at 3:10 PM.
By 4 PM, all Finnish multiplexes went dark while still indicating a presence of digital signal. Occasionally some signals from various places jumped in for short time. The hotspot for the evening was Tammela...
On the next morning
Hmm... it appears that it is over... or is it? I scan the band... and I find a strong signal originating on E38. Channels list on that frequency and other freqs with similar strength and their channel lists indicate Mikkeli. Wow. That is the furthest digital signal from Finland I have ever received. My previous record was from E51 in Lahti. By using a directional logarythmic antenna(which could block co-channel interference a bit), I was able to pick up E43 from Mikkeli too... and saw even the "lost sheep" MTV3 and Nelonen. Occasionally the Mikkeli signal, especially the multiplex was very strong... Finnish DX came to an end after 9 AM in the morning.
However, before it happened, I was able to save this signal strength report to the posterity:
The opening continued to gradually weaken throughout the day, with only Koeru's transmitter remaining above normal signal level. In fact, it is above normal even now as I type. Signal strength 64%, quality 58%. Usually all I'd get would be 50%/0-5% with even no teletext!
On analog
I was also able to DX some analog signals. I was able to pick up one station in St. Petersburg, Russia. I do not know its exact name right now, but the logo in their ident read 5 PETERBURG.
Wow! This is definitely one memorable DX experience that will not be forgotten for a long time.
How far(approximate values)?
Laguja-Koeru - 95 km
Laguja-Tallinn - 170 km
Laguja-Espoo - 250 km
Laguja-Lahti - 320 km
Laguja-Mikkeli - 385 km
Laguja-Tammela - 340 km
I apologise for any typographical errors in this posting. I do not have the time right now to do a full spell check.
Friday, October 31, 2008
"We interrupt this program..."
War of the Worlds, the infamous radio play based on the book by H. G. Wells, turned 70. When it initially aired, people in the U.S had the daylights scared out from themselves. Obviously there was also outrage over this radio play, as has been for other such "newscasts." Remember Without Warning on TV in 1994? Yes, people got scared and outraged. Bye Bye Belgium in 2006? Yep. You know the answer. Same reaction. Sometimes I tend to think that even now 70 years later, people blindly trust whatever they hear on the television, radio etc and are simply unable to make a distinction between fact and fiction. Honestly, I personally find faux newscasts to be quite entertaining. So what would I do if I happened to tune into a faux newscast and I am unaware that it is fake. I have three simple rules for that.
1. Switch to another channel, preferrably a news one - if there are really Martian cylinders falling from the sky, then it is obvious that all news channels from CNN to Al Jazeera would have their staff up and in arms, covering the story. If noone else is talking about that, and other channels do not mention it even in their teletexts(especially if they are in the "affected" area)... something is fishy.
2. Run a Google News search on the event "covered." The news must have started somewhere from a smaller source, and once again, read rule no. 1 - you ought to find other news sources confirming it if it really was real. Although caveat: If you find another news service reporting the event, look who they claim as a source. Maybe they have believed the faux newscast.
3. If you have been unable to verify that the event is really happening in real life, then sit back in your couch, and enjoy the entertainment and imagine as if you were in an action movie.
1. Switch to another channel, preferrably a news one - if there are really Martian cylinders falling from the sky, then it is obvious that all news channels from CNN to Al Jazeera would have their staff up and in arms, covering the story. If noone else is talking about that, and other channels do not mention it even in their teletexts(especially if they are in the "affected" area)... something is fishy.
2. Run a Google News search on the event "covered." The news must have started somewhere from a smaller source, and once again, read rule no. 1 - you ought to find other news sources confirming it if it really was real. Although caveat: If you find another news service reporting the event, look who they claim as a source. Maybe they have believed the faux newscast.
3. If you have been unable to verify that the event is really happening in real life, then sit back in your couch, and enjoy the entertainment and imagine as if you were in an action movie.
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