Meanwhile, back in the REAL science world....

Somebody forgot to wind up the Sun. Please to note this is real, actual data not obtained by rolling 2d10 multiple times. The interplanetary geomagnetic index (aka Ap) is at anomalously low levels. The sun is a wonderful and complex physical environment with mind-boggling physics going on inside. We still aren't entirely sure how the whole thing works, and due to the aforementioned mind-boggling physics (gravity, strange particle plasma, vast and wiggly magnetic fields) we can't even get any ideas what's going on below the surface for, oh, millions of years. On account of that's how long it takes any particles to get *through* to the surface. It could have gone nova already, deep inside.

Anyway, the magnetic field of the sun is low. Sunspot activity is very sparse. We were supposed to be in the middle of a very active solar cycle which hasn't shown up for over three years now. These are not very good signs, since low/no sunspot activity has been connected with things like the Little Ice Age. And it is also suspected (read the article) that when solar magnetic fields are low, the Earth is not shielded from highly energetic cosmic rays which then trigger more cloud formation -- leading to colder temperatures.

To conclude: Global warming, my left foot. I'm trying to figure out how fast I can replace all my old windows with super-insulated ones.