Solar storm could disrupt gadgets Thursday

Earth’s magnetic field is about to be shaken like a snow globe by the largest solar storm in five years. 

Earth’s magnetic field is about to be shaken like a snow globe by the largest solar storm in five years.
After hurtling through space for a day and a half, a massive cloud of charged particles is due to arrive early Thursday and could disrupt utility grids, airline flights, satellite networks and GPS services, especially in northern areas. But the same blast could also paint colorful auroras farther from the poles than normal.

Scientists say the storm, which started with a massive solar flare earlier in the week, is growing as it races outward from the sun, expanding like a giant soap bubble. When it strikes early Thursday, the particles will be moving at 4 million mph.

“It’s hitting us right in the nose,” said Joe Kunches, a scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colo.

Astronomers say the sun has been relatively quiet for some time. And this storm, while strong, may seem fiercer because Earth has been lulled by several years of weak solar activity.

Read more - http://www.jamestownsun.com/event/article/id/156167/group/News/

Ticket to Ride

Some people claim that board games are old-fashioned. Or that you can’t beat video games. Those people have never played Ticket to Ride.
Ticket to Ride is one of the finest family games available today. Created by Alan Moon and published by Days of Wonder, Ticket to Ride eschews many of the conventions of the modern board game – no dice, no money, no moving your token around a board trying to ‘beat’ your opponents.
Instead, Ticket to Ride relies less on luck than on using imagination and strategy to create a game that is as addicting as it is enjoyable.
Ticket to Ride is set in 1900, and each player is given the task of creating various railway lines around the United States. The point of the game is to build the largest and longest lines linking your designated cities. It may sound simple – and it is – but it it devilishly fun. Each player is tasked with completing their own railway lines, but must also make sure other players don’t grab key lines in the process. In the end, points are tallied to declare a winner.

Read more - http://pursuitist.com/family/ticket-to-ride/