Good to Know: Solar Flares Could Cause Your Gadgets to Go Haywire

Back Up Your Computer and Cast Your Eyes Northward: A large solar flare hurtling toward Earth could disrupt power, make GPS systems directionally dysfunctional. and foul up other gadgets.

The Des Moines Register’s Perry Beeman reported this morning that the last time conditions were set up this way, in 1989, sunspots knocked out power for 6 million people in Quebec.

Have you seen the Northern Lights in Iowa? Tell us about it in comments and add photos if you have them in the Neighborhood Gallery.

But on the bright side – and by bright, we mean colorful – the flares could spark eye-catching auroras that may be visible in some parts of Iowa.

Valley Students Raising Money to Bury Classmate in Iraq:  Also in the Des Moines Register is a sad story this morning of a young immigrant from Iraq who died in a car accident last weekend in West Des Moines. Valley High School senior Husam Abdul-Hameed died about 9 p.m. Saturday, and his classmates are raising money for a burial in Iraq.

Valley Activities Director Brad Rose told the Register’s Daniel P. Finney: “He survived so much, and for this to happen, it’s just such a tragedy. The students are really trying to do something decent here.”

Today’s Pick Event: The West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce’s monthly membership luncheon is at 11:30 a.m. at Embassy Club West, 520 Market St.

Mark Your Calendar to Change Your Clock: Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday. Remember, you’ll “spring forward” and set your clocks ahead one hour.