Work Progresses On 10,000 Year Clock 307
KindMind writes "CNet has pictures of a planned 10,000 year clock to be built in eastern Nevada by the Long Now Foundation. From the article: 'Running under its own power, the clock is an experiment in art, science, and engineering. The six dials on the face of this machine will represent the year, century, horizons, sun position, lunar phase, and the stars of the night sky over a 10,000-year period. Likely to span multiple generations and evolutions in culture, the thinking and design put into the monument makes it a moving sculpture as beautiful as it is complex.' This was reviewed on Slashdot in 2005. Really cool pictures, including one of a mechanical 'binary computer' that converts the pendulum into positions on the dial."
Ten thousand year waranty (Score:5, Funny)
I betcha it breaks 6 months after the warranty expires.
Re:Ten thousand year waranty (Score:4, Funny)
I betcha it breaks 6 months after the warranty expires.
No worries, you would have lost the receipt!
12009 (Score:5, Funny)
THE WORLD IS GOING TO END IN 12009
THE AMERICANS PREDICTED IT
Re:Ten thousand year waranty (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wow... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:The solution is clear (Score:3, Funny)
Again, we're talkin' Best Buy here. The basic warranty is 90 days. The extended warranty for the rest of the 10,000 years cost $OMGTHATSALOTOFMONEY.
And they won't sell you the clock without the warranty. "Nope, sorry, fresh out, we got a really small allocation from the distribution center. I think you passed the guy who bought the last one walking out of the store as you were walking in. Check at the other store (20 miles) across town. Kthxbye."
Re:10,000 years (Score:5, Funny)
Re:10,000 years (Score:4, Funny)
Perhaps if more people stopped to consider the future that far in advance, our odds would improve. And perhaps the mere existence of such a clock would encourage a few to do so.
Ah that's crazy. Any year now, the Yellowstone supervolcano is going to blow, and there's not a damn thing we can do about it. The world will be plunged into a dark ice ages, and that will be the end of us.
Re:10,000 years (Score:5, Funny)
For example, the Mayan clock has a digit rollover in December of 2012, and that kind of forward thinking has allowed the Mayans to become one of the dominant cultures in the Western... oh, wait.
10000 binary years ? (Score:3, Funny)
And I understand binary !
--
There are 10 types of people in the world : Those who understand binary, and those who don't...
Re:Ten thousand year waranty (Score:2, Funny)
Who the hell would go through the trouble of gold plating and diamond encrusting a monsters balls? sheesh, there are some bored motherf****rs out there...
Re:Errr (Score:3, Funny)
And yes again [wikipedia.org].
Re:10,000 years (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Ten thousand year waranty (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Wow... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:12009 (Score:3, Funny)
So we need to design it so that a door opens and a sign pops out saying some form of "Ha!"
Re:10,000 years (Score:4, Funny)
What's six times nine?
54
Re:Ten thousand year waranty (Score:2, Funny)
"diamond encrusted gold monster ball bearings"
10 years later, after the next world war, the remaining cave men will (after a few thousand years living in caves) emerge once again, whereupon the tribal elders will use the shiny gold monster balls as symbols of great power and allow them to lead massive armies to great victories and wondrous monuments will be built to honor such wondrous achievements. Future generations will build on the wondrous achievements of their forefathers, until one day ...
20 goto 10
Only possible flaw is: (Score:3, Funny)
someone has to enter a code and press execute every 108 minutes.
Re:Errr (Score:3, Funny)
The Ancient Nevadans (Score:5, Funny)
Children, the ancient Nevadans were a race of people known for their great engineering skills and their faith in the God Roulette, a god that they believed would judge people, punishing them or rewarding them. It is said that with a wave of the hand, the King of the Nevadans could cause a great temple to crash to the ground and then raise a new one up that very day.
The Nevadan culture built this clock, it will run out in 3 years. They were known for their prophecy. They must have known something we don't. The world will end in the year 12,012. This is off course, a significant number...
Taken from a lecture at the Art Bell Elementary School in the year 12,009.
Re:10,000 years (Score:2, Funny)
And when (not if) this clock breaks down, what will that encourage us to do?
My old wind-up alarm clock is busted but it is still right twice a day.
Re:10,000 years (Score:3, Funny)
Now you just need to set it so that it's showing the right time when you want to wake up, then you'll be able to set the alarm and have it go off at the right time.
Oh wait...
Re:10,000 years (Score:2, Funny)