O. M. Goodness. I'm in the Pacific Northwest and there's a huge ball of brightness hanging in the sky that I am entirely unfamiliar with. As a defense against the unknown, I shall don my warm clothing (it's still near freezing, here) and run outside and bask in its glory before it hides, again.
I know, not much of a "defense" per se, but it'll make me smile and that's important, too, right?
As an aside, don't stop trying those contests because.. guess what?