Thanks for the ping. I was going to post this.
Like the Los Angelos "Big One" earthquake, the expected magnetic polar switch is a l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ong time overdue:
It has no been in a "stable" position for longer than it ever has before:
http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/docs/chron/paleomag/TIME.HTML
More general info:
http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/docs/chron/paleomag/TIME.HTML