Why has the Sun changed colour during the past 40 years?

Back in the 1980s and earlier, when we looked at the sun it looked distinctly yellow.

Why?

The reason the sun looks yellow to us on Earth is that our atmosphere scatters light from the sun; so the apparent color of the sun changes. This same scattering effect is why the sky looks blue in the day time instead of black, like at night.

However during the past 40 years the colour of the sun has changed, and the scattering effect isn't working any more. Our sun now appears to be white, not yellow.

Now you might wonder, wait what? What has changed???

Well a number of things have changed during the past 40 years.

#1. Our atmosphere has changed. Not a lot, but we definitely have more CO2 and other greenhouse gases in our atmosphere now. The makeup of our atmosphere has thus effected the scattering of light.

#2. Our sun has changed its sunspot frequency. Our sun is continually changing and goes through an 11 year solar cycle in which sun spot frequency goes up and down, But roughly every 400 years our sun also goes through a different cycle which is longer, during which it reaches a "solar minimum" when sun spots drops to a really low number, it gives off less heat, and the sun's apparent colour also changes.

#3. The sun's electromagnetic sphere is so strong it effects the Earth's electromagnetic sphere. When the sun's electromagnetic sphere weakens it in turn effects the "solar weather" on the sun, and it effects the atmosphere, the atmospheric scattering effect, the earth's magnetic poles (you may have noticed the north pole is not in Canada any more, it is now in Russian territorial waters), and various other things. It is even theorized to effect volcanoes, earthquakes and hurricanes.

Altogether this spells disaster during the next 40 years as the sun continues to go through its solar minimum cycle. Go Google "Grand Solar Minimum" if you want to learn more about this topic.

So here is where it gets interesting...

The Grand Solar Minimums often coincides with climate change, social upheavals, and the collapse of empires. Basically the climate suddenly gets a lot colder during a period of roughly 44 years (or longer), and this leads to climate change, crop failures, food shortages, rebellions, governments being overthrown, empires being toppled, etc.

However at the same time we are also dealing with man-made climate change which is making it warmer.

So...

Which will win?

Is man-made climate change stronger than the Grand Solar Minimum? Is man stronger than the sun? In which case maybe it will equal out and we won't notice any big differences in climate change?

Or are we looking at a very bizarre set of circumstances during the next 40+ years and we actually end up with global cooling instead of global warming?

The problem is we don't really know which of these two factors will win. It is kind of a 50/50 situation.

Which means that survivalists / preppers (and solar physicists) are looking at the climate science and going "Hmm???"

And honestly, I am not sure what will happen either.

The science of global warming and climate change is irrefutable.

But the Grand Solar Minimum is happening at the same time...

So it isn't really a done deal for either of them. We are basically looking at a "wait and see" situation where during the next 10 years we will learn which of these two things is more powerful. The sun, or man made global warming.

Wait and see.

In the meantime however I believe we should continue as if Global Warming will win, but prepare for the possibility of Rapid Global Cooling.

Either of these things could lead to massive social unrest if the situation is managed poorly.

Survivalism in Texas / How to Build a Brick Stove

 If you've been watching the news lately coming out of Texas you have conclude the following:

#1. Texans almost never see snow. The blizzard has basically paralyzed them because they don't know what to do with the stuff.

#2. Texans don't own snow tires. Hence all the car accidents.

#3. Texans are not used to heating their homes using a fireplace, wood stove, oil furnace, wood furnace, or any other means.

#4. Texans are not used to being without electricity.

#5. The electrical grid in Texas was a giant catastrophe waiting to happen because nobody was maintaining it.

#6. The coal, gas and nuclear power generators are all failing in Texas because nobody thought to winterize their systems like they do in other states.

#7. Very few people in Texas know how to build a fire that doesn't involve burning their house down.

So let's tackle that last part today.

How to Build a Brick Stove or Fireplace

#1. Find or buy some bricks. Old bricks or new. Doesn't matter.

#2. Make some mortar / cement. You can mix it in a bucket if your have to. Avoid touching the stuff with your bare skin.

#3. Based on the number of bricks you have decide on a design that makes sense and makes an efficient use of your bricks. You may need to calculate how many bricks you need for each part of the stove or chimney.

#4. Build your stove or chimney close to a window through which you can put pipes to the exterior of your home so that the smoke has somewhere to go. Alternatively you may need to renovate / build a chimney along with your fireplace.

#5. Build it!

• Apply the mortar to one end of each brick evenly before adding it to the brick beside it.
  
• Add a layer of mortar each time you finish one layer of bricks.
• Remember that corner bricks need to have the mortar added to part of the side of the brick, not the end.
• If building a stove remember to find something that makes a suitable door.
• If building a fireplace then some people will want some kind of steel mesh or something similar to avoid sparks from igniting things near the fireplace.
• You may need to build some kind of stonework or brickwork near or around the fireplace for safety reasons.
  

Building a stove or fireplace isn't much more complicated than building a set of Lego blocks. It isn't really that hard to build, it just takes time and effort. If you can build a brick BBQ in your backyard then you can build a fireplace or a stove in your home. The biggest difference is that you need a pipe or a chimney to get rid of the smoke.

CrossbowCanada.com

 I found a new company in Canada that makes and sells crossbows:

https://www.crossbowcanada.com

I was previously only aware of Excalibur, which is now unfortunately owned by Bowtech (an American company) which bought out the smaller Canadian crossbow manufacturer a few years ago.

And while I am a big fan of Excalibur, my preference would be to buy things from Canadian companies whenever possible (especially companies owned by Canadians).

What I especially like about the CrossbowCanada models is the wood stocks on Jaguar model.

And this is an issue for me. A lot of modern crossbows are quite ugly. But the Jaguar is quite beautiful and classical. Like a beautifully carved wooden staircase.

There are certain elements of crossbow design which are utilitarian, but there are other aspects which can be quite beautiful when a company decides to put in the effort.

Eg. Imagine the crossbow stock above, but switch out the type of wood used for mahogany, black walnut or zebra wood.

Wouldn't that be beautiful?

And if the owner later decides to buy a different crossbow and sell their old crossbow, having one that is beautiful also increases the resale value - and gives the company more prestige.