Astronomers predict that a comet, named 2011 AG5, could hit earth in 2040 and 2047.
It will have five chances to strike the Earth; if it misses on one pass, the gravitational pull could possibly push the comet into a 'keyhole' that leads straight back at us.Though the threat is small,and shouldn't cause any great panic, it IS real, let's examine the multinational options available:
1. uh...We have no plan.
We don't even have the first considerations for devising a plan: if the threat is real, who should be in charge - NASA? The military? Russia? China? Mark Zuckerburg? Who should develop the super beam technology, or the warheads, or....? Who should defend the technology? Who should pay for it?
When a real threat faces our species, we hope that our small feudal States can band together and face the the challenge collectively. However, territorial grudges and long-standing historical line-toeing will likely bind the hands of all with opposable thumbs. Old wars, though rendered irrelevant by the larger threat to all, will still likely hamstring our ability to get our acts together in time. Heck, it's almost too late NOW....if the threat is real. The danger is no longer the hurtling rock, but our ability to move forward to meet its advance as a comprehensive entity.
There's a tendency among CrossFit owners, old and new, to consider other CrossFit Boxes to be 'the competition.' When asked, "how many others are in your area?" they answer with the number of other Affiliates...not the number of GloboGyms, those orchards ripe with low-hanging fruit.
Meanwhile, the Globos are marshaling their own resources. They didn't get to the top by killing off all new fitness ideas, but by absorbing them. Rather than compete with climbing gyms, they add walls of brightly-coloured rock behind the treadmills. Rather than compete with Billy Blanks, they ran 'cardio kickboxing' classes on Saturday mornings. Rather than beat Muscle Beach,they adopted Arthur Jones' miraculous machines. They thrive by adopting the more extreme ideas, removing the sharp edges, and making them palatable to cardio Queens and pec-deck princes alike.
These are the "expert predictions" of Goodlife Fitness - by Personal Trainers they've positioned as 'industry experts' - for Hot Fitness Trends in 2012 . While they're trying to draw a straight line between TRX training and CrossFit - and clearly don't have their head around the counterculture element yet - it's obvious that CrossFit is on their radar screens. They're working on it. They can't say, "CrossFit"....but they've stopped decrying its "risks." When they stop berating you, it's because they're setting up shop next door. When they stop talking about your poisoned water, it's because they're building a bottling plant.
This is a clip of CrossFit owners X and X talking about the importance of rest and sleep on Canada's national news show ("The National") on Friday night. What the clip doesn't include is the interview afterward, where a rep from GoodLife (our largest national chain of Globos) talks about 'giving their members what they want' and incorporating CrossFit-like "classes" in their gyms - for free to their members.
So far, these attempts have come off as half-baked....but "The Biggest Loser" is showing them how to incorporate CrossFit into their Planet Fitness world. I love watching Trainer Bob doing snatch pulls from boxes in the parking lot,and so do others. The audience determines the offering....what MayBell wants, MayBell gets. And soon, MayBell is going to want knee socks and board shorts.
BigGlobo is going to give her that opportunity. She may just be doing Body Pump with 5lbs foam-packed 'barbells' in the parking lot of McFitness....but she'll think she's doing CrossFit.
This is the next challenge. This is our Near-Earth Object. No longer the tooth-smashing 'us against them,' but the appearance of sameness. They're going to try to assimilate CrossFit into their model.
Time to decide what we're REALLY about. Time to change the focus from, "We're Crazy" to "We're The Experts." Time to work together, and build inter-box Community. Time to grow up, and form a Nation whose borders are distinguished by more than the tattooed guards.
Comments