WTF Happend?

          What I am referring to is the blasé attitude towards scientific advancement, and the attempts at back yard science wizardry that so many of us grew up with, and were a part of.  I was born in 63, as a reference to what I mean with all the popular science magazines etc. 

            A bunch of us back then were doing strange things with whatever we could find to wire or mix or put together. 

In 1969 I like 6-7 hundred million other people watched history begin.  

            Higgs Boson particle possibly found and we get what? Lackluster interest from the basic population at large, very limited tv news coverage, and an immediate fight from what seems to be a new interest in returning us to the dark ages as fast as is humanly possible.

            I remember the release of star wars, after they made more copies of the film once they realized that the few theaters they released it in were filling up faster than tickets could be sold and people were waiting in lines. 

            Now all the fanatics I knew back then have turned into something else. Kind of like those people that once insisted that comic books would rot your brain. All interest in the fun and excitement of science and sci-fi seems to have gone from them, and thereby none to be passed on to their kids. 

           Kids seem more concerned about the latest piece of hardware to be pushed on them, than about how it all came to be, or the exploration that aided in the creation of their easy life. I don't remember the last kid I met that said he wanted to be an astronaut, or to go into space. Apparently there isn't enough cash or fame in that. 

          Maybe I got lost somewhere, but i'll take my magic of science and sci-fi any day, to living a life of the constant same thing, and no wonder of what is out there. I do admit, that kind seems to be a dying breed these days. All intelligent thought seems to have taken a back seat to what color is someones underwear, or someone getting divorced. And most kids seem to think a book should be in a museum. I'll take them, np.
         So, I will ask once again.
         WTF happened?

13 Minute Featurette Dark Knight Rises

Here is a YouTube featurette of the Dark Knight Rises. As the uploader promises "No plot spoilers but may be considered spoilerish by folks looking to avoid as much info as possible. Mostly just a look at the cast, themes of the film, and the epic shooting schedule."

If you are into DVD extras, this is very much in the "making of" type of short. Something along the lines of what kind of effort was put into the production. Very good little short.

Yeah? uhhhh WHAT?!

Ok yeah, I know...no science, no science fiction  but how about them bananas huh?

And the things you can read into ancient copy huh?  Ok...had my fun...

click the link in the title for the original author copy. 

Higgs boson Confirmed?

This is why I love my daughter...Oh she is going to kill me..but early Wednesday morning I receive a call from her. She informs me that something very exciting happened today.. Well a twenty something with two young boys still in diapers I expected what....the oldest has finally decided to use the potty exclusively? Now I am not putting the situation down, but a young family takes up all your time and most of your attention so when she hit me with the discover confirmation of the Higgs boson particle, well I had to pinch myself...Two great things...for all intents, the particle that started everything spinning on it's merry way and my daughter is a geek. Lol...see why she will most likely kill me?! lol.

But there we are. The particle search characterized as "one of the longest, most expensive searches in the history of science.. Has finally been confirmed Wednesday, by the scientists at the Large Hadron Collider.

This is heady stuff. It almost has to be particle physic's version of Apollo 11. This seemingly iniquitous Higgs boson is the particle predicted by the standard model to imbue elementary particles with mass. Think about that for a second....no Higgs no universe...

Of course there are those still hedging their bet with "the new particle may not be the particle that has been described by the Standard model and has been the focus of every Physicist for the last fifty years.

LHC physicist Dr. Rolf-Dieter Heuer called the discovery “a historic milestone.” but It may be an impostor as yet unknown to physics, perhaps the first of many particles yet to be discovered.

Well I am a glass half full kind of person. I think that the hemming and hawing that has taken place since December needs to be over with. I am not a physicist and don't pretend to fully understand the full implications of the discovery, but the addage of "if it quacks like a duck....certainly should be in play now.

Read the complete article in the NYT Science

Super Terrific Japanese thing!

OMG just when you think you have a grip on your sanity, once again along come a piece of perverse weirdness that sends you once more screaming into the night. This then is one of those times and one of those things that you would imagine that if you saw them your eyes would burst into flames and melt down your cheeks. No, I am not going to post a picture....that would be cheating and if you can get through the first 30 seconds or so with out asking WTF!!! Oh and read the authors comments, they are every bit as priceless as well.