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by tyler gibb Well it's the home stretch for many folks and i thought i would take this opportunity to get in a last word, so to speak. In exchange for being considered one of the best magazines on the net by many, TheWax.com has had to endure the criticism of cynics who see a lot of our banter to be pessimistic and negative. Well, i can sympathize with these ignorami but i'm afraid in the long run i'm going to have to side with the greater majority of our guests who see TheWax.com as a speaker of normally unheard truths professed by realists. With that said i would like to speak - realistically - about a few threats of the coming new year's eve. In case you're interested; apparently a drop of iodine in a liter of water will not only decontaminate your water of any germs but also, when drunk, provide daily protection of your thyroid gland in a radioactive area. Now we all understand that for many people the turn over from 1999 to the year 2000 will be somewhat of a big deal. Many people believe this date has religious significance. Many more people just want to get together and party. Still more are simply watching their computers to see whether the so called Y2K bug will leave them cursing the ineptitude of the human race. Whatever your interest in the flipping of calendar page, you may find yourself in a large group with numerous others come the night of December 31st. Unfortunately, this is rather predictable behaviour and because of this the possibility for catastrophe increases significantly. This is due to the huge number of people driven to terrorism who know that the body count could be very high during one of these predictably large gatherings. See, now there are people reading this thinking to themselves; "Oh not more of this holiday pessimism..." This bothers me. Look sorry about the reality check lemming, but you don't have to read this if you don't want to - go click on the banner at the top of the page if you want out... But i digress. There is something called a radiation bomb that i would like to bring to your attention. Not an atomic bomb that is, but a radiation bomb. See the difference is that an atomic bomb yields a huge fiery blast that incinerates everything for miles around. For example, if you were standing within a few blocks of Time Square when one of these suckers were to go off, you have nothing to worry about - death will be instantaneous. Incidentally, on a brighter note, this scenario is highly unlikely as atomic bombs are very hard to get a hold of. However, radiation bombs are very different. See a radiation bomb goes off like a conventional explosion. Few people may bite it on some shrapnel but over all - it doesn't scream mass destruction on the surface. The danger, unfortunately is not so detectable with our own naked senses. See a radiation bomb is a regular explosive - like the popular pipe bomb - but is packed with radio active material. Though elements like plutonium are still very difficult to obtain, let's not be naive, terrorists are very dedicated and resourceful people. Now the nuclear explosion that an atomic bomb yields will leave tons of radioactive fallout amidst great devastation. The radiation bomb will just yield a whole lot of deadly radiation to a crowd or city that may not even realize they are being afflicted. So if you're a few blocks from Time Square when a radiation bomb emits its cloud then you will not be fortunate enough to die quickly. Depending on things like the direction the wind is blowing, many will receive varying doses of lethal radiation but regardless of the quantity, it's all bad news. Some of the symptoms you may exhibit include the following: Weakness, nausea, headache, loss of appetite, fatigue and shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, yeast infection in the mouth, swallowing difficulty, vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, dry coughing, heart inflammation with chest pain, burning, inflammation or scarring of skin, a tendency to bleed especially under the skin, increased susceptibility to infection, anemia, sexual impotence, cancer, leukemia, and-in severe cases-brain damage and death. These symptoms may not even become apparent right away. Sometimes it takes days to weeks to years for the perils of radiation sickness to kick in. Oh, and the iodine trick only protects your thyroid gland, not the rest of your body... There's only one thing that can protect your entire body from the ill effects of lethal radiation and that is to avoid lethal radiation. I wonder if any of the ignorami from earlier are still reading this. I guess if they are then i shouldn't really call them ignorant any more should i? My point here is not to upset anyone. I sure don't want to be the New Year's party pooper. If for your own reason you wish to party like it's 1999 on December 31st then do so. I will. Hey, it's an excuse to have a good time - go for it. But i'm going to be mindful. I'm going to be careful of where i choose to be. I admit, i'm talking the next to worst case scenario here on the subject of radiation bombs. Most of us are hoping it won't come to that. But let's be realistic; not only is this going to be an excuse to party and to get a little rowdy, it may also be an excuse for people to push things over the top. All i ask is that you use your head and consider your fellow human beings. If you're at odds with the man and want to over throw a government and decide that this is a choice time to do so - great, i'm right behind you - but do it intelligently and non-violently. Smashing in a liquor store and looting is not rebellion; it's child's play. Once again, i digress. Of course, there's a chance that nothing will happen. The ball will drop, people will dance and sing and have too much to drink, TheWax.com will launch issue 3.1 and Time Square will be left unscathed. And if that's the case, then so be it. There are too many factors to consider so let's just leave it at a coin toss. Just be aware, be prepared and be happy in knowing that you've chosen safety over carelessness. And come 2000 if i hear one person say to anyone else, "I told you so," then so help me, i'll punch them in the head. |
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