»And like that, *poof*, it's gone.

Beginning in October 2003, solar storms of unprecedented vigor have pummelled the Earth.

The solar eruptions were so powerful that billions of tons of electrified gas shot into space at speeds of up to five million miles per hour, the fastest ever measured from the Sun, scientists said. The blast waves from the series of explosions merged as they moved out, creating a front that is now moving toward the edge of the solar system at about 1.5 million miles per hour, they said.

I think they're responsible for the sudden disappearance of my Keychain and the almost concurrent iSync vaporization of my iPod.