[Brad]

Originally Posted by Dorian Gray The strangest thing about this Higgs boson business is that no-one can tell us why it's important.

Like with most cutting-edge science, people won't come up with good applications for years or decades later.

As for the Higgs boson specifically, finding it (or finding something else entirely) is important to help us understand the "Standard Model". The Standard Model is a theory of elementary particles and their interactions, a theory that already predicted six other previously-unseen elementary particles that have since been observed by experimentation. Finding the Higgs would give stronger evidence to the Standard Model and mean we may discard or replace other theories (like supersymmetry).

Beyond high-level stuff, I can't explain how/what exactly the Higgs mechanism/field/boson does. I never studied beyond nuclear physics and a lot of this stuff flies over my head. Basically, this is me when reading today's finding from CERN.

So what's the big deal? Well, this kind of research gives us a better understanding of the physical universe, and that allows us to advance technology and society. Why do we study quantum mechanics? Or relativity? Or nuclear physics? Or chemistry? Or biology? We take these fields of science for granted today because we are surrounded by practical applications of them. The same may be said about quantum field theory and particle physics in a few dozen years. Primary schools may have a Standard Model poster right next to the Periodic Table of Elements poster. (Might some already? I haven't been in a primary school in many years.)

Originally Posted by Dorian Gray I thought the worst explanation was the following, from this BBC article: "A confirmation that this is the Higgs boson would be one of the biggest scientific discoveries of the century; the hunt for the Higgs has been compared by some physicists to the Apollo programme that reached the Moon in the 1960s." How can the hunt for Higgs boson and the Apollo programme be compared in any way, beyond perhaps their huge and controversial cost?

Comparing this research to the Apollo program does strike me as a bit weird and sensationalistic. Maybe that's the best idea they had to put something so abstract into an analogy that Average Joe can comprehend. Finding the Higgs won't really have Earth-shattering implications because much of the scientific community already expects it; it'll just confirm the current popular theory. The Apollo missions, on the other hand, were so much more about PR (military and social) than actually advancing scientific progress (not to say that it didn't help). The Apollo missions inspired generations of people to look beyond our pale blue dot. I can't imagine finding the Higgs will have a millionth of the social impact as that.

[!Marc!]

I hear its going to take about 4 years to confirm the announcement. However I think this might be the greatest discovery of in the history of mankind. It has taken 45 years since conceived to (hopefully) confirm the existence of something that was purely hypothetical based on the need for its existence. Not only does it confirm the framework of everything that physics has progressed towards since the dawn of mankind, it confirms the very foundations of the entire universe, and it shows that the mere human mind may have the capability of understanding the very fundamentals of the existence of the universe.
Obviously this is lost on the average Joe but among Science this is up there on a different league to everything prior.

[Frank777]

I thought this was about trapping antimatter particles. I just assumed we are trying to build the Enterprise.

[Dorian Gray]

Back to more important things: I think this is hilarious!

Bittersweet for Apple, granted, and there should be a law against judges using the word "cool," but hilarious.

[pscates2.0]

I'm okay with "cool", I suppose. I'd draw the line at "rad" and "totally bitchin'".

[Frank777]

German Mayor Creates Controversial Men-Only Parking Spaces.

[kscherer]

That's a nice dose of irony.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by Frank777 German Mayor Creates Controversial Men-Only Parking Spaces.

Oh, good! I was wondering when someone would get around to that.

[709]

* Carol smackdown in 5...4...3....2....*

[SpecMode]

At least 10 dead, 20 injured in a mass shooting at a showing of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado.

I spent some time listening to police radio traffic from just after the shooting started (via RadioReference), and it is absolutely chilling. One suspect is in custody, and as of right now, it is unknown if any other suspects remain outstanding.

Utterly tragic.

EDIT: At least 14 dead, 50 injured.

[pscates2.0]

Gonna go out on a limb here and say that maybe this wasn't the best time to be doing this, considering recent events.

I'm not passing judgement (well, maybe a little), I'm just sayin'...



NJ man arrested for dressing like a superhero in Home Depot, no doubt giving the heebie-jeebies to those who picked the wrong day to look for paint samples and kitchen flooring.

Police said Argintar, 23, was wearing a mask, a bulletproof vest, elbow and arm pads, a cape and carrying handcuffs when he was arrested July 31 outside the Home Depot on Route 57.

Hey, I'm all for people flying their freak flag. But there's a time and a place, and he managed to miss on both. Why didn't he just take it all the way and don a gas mask for good measure? The cops probably could've used the practice.

And before everyone gets all self-righteous and looking to audition for the ACLU summer league, let me be clear that I don't think he was "wrong" or "bad". Or truly acting "against the law". But, I think his judgement and his "is this is good idea" meter needs to be calibrated a bit. And in light of recent events, you gotta wonder what goes through the heads of some people.

But he doesn't need to go to jail, no.

See, here's the thing: it really wasn't a full-blown, recognizable "superhero" costume. I think that's where he screwed up. Because I doubt people would've been unsettled in the presence of a kick-ass, full-suited Batman, Spider-Man or, hell, even Aqua-Man (universally recognized as the most useless of all superheroes, unless you need a octopus to open a stuck submarine hatch) costume. It's the pieced-together, vaguely paramilitary vibe that kinda says Potential Nutcase in a Crowded Public Setting, Looking a Lot Like Another Nutcase in a Recent Horrific Event that probably bothered folks. Again, just going out on a limb here, thinking out loud...



Use your head a little, folks. Then stuff like this never has to happen.

Just please tell me he wasn't perched atop one of those big aisle shelving units, starring down on the drywall and cabinet hinges, all grim and Frank Miller-like, protecting his beloved Home Depot from the evil villains High Pricer and The Backorderer.

"This is my home improvement superstore. I am its protector and guardian. The afternoon belongs to me...". <cue lightning and thunder and some cool minor-key music>

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by 709 * Carol smackdown in 5...4...3....2....*

[Windswept]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavi...-in-palo-alto/

Steve Jobs' house burglarized; burglar arrested.

Well, I didn't know about the break-in when it happened back in July, but I'm glad this loser has been arrested. God, I just hate thieves.

However, if the roof was being worked on, it's too bad someone (like a hired security guard) wasn't present in the house at all times to safeguard the personal property. Or, if safety considerations prevented people from being inside, then items like computers and other valuables should have been removed to a secure storage facility.

Just think how horrified Steve would have felt to have his personal "space" invaded like that - his home, his valuables, his and his family's computers. *sheesh*

[curiousuburb]

Was "Find my iStuff" enabled?

What do you bet he left any older, classic design/more valuable gear like prototype NeXT hardware, TAM, or Apple I in favour of newer shinier gear. Muppet.

[Frank777]

Lefthanded man said to have shot himself in right temple while handcuffed in back of police car.

[FFL]

Shut it down, sell everything off, and give the shareholders their money back.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/La...PC-sales-slump

No - it never gets old.

[curiousuburb]

VanityFair: Why has Microsoft lost its mojo?

Monkeyboy

Cool is what tech consumers want. Exhibit A: today the iPhone brings in more revenue than the entirety of Microsoft. No, really. One Apple product, something that didn’t exist five years ago, has higher sales than everything Microsoft has to offer. More than Windows, Office, Xbox, Bing, Windows Phone, and every other product that Microsoft has created since 1975. In the quarter ended March 31, 2012, iPhone had sales of $22.7 billion; Microsoft Corporation, $17.4 billion.

Fascinating read

[SpecMode]

Lance Armstrong: Enough is enough, won't fight doping charges.

45 minutes later...

USADA to ban Lance Armstrong for life, strip him of his seven Tour de France titles.



Pretty disappointing, considering how many people were inspired by his fight against cancer and all those tours he won. Guess we'll just have to shift our allegiance to Jens Voigt instead.

[Brave Ulysses]

Disappointing? did you read his statement?

He may be guilty. But he is innocent until proven guilty and i agree with what he said. This has been a bullshit and illegal process

[Dorian Gray]

Cycling fans have "known" for years that he doped. The allegations were so numerous, came from so many quarters, and had such a ring of truth to them (in some cases), that it was impossible to sustain belief that he was clean.

In the case Armstrong's now refusing to contend, USADA was going to charge him with using EPO, corticosteroids, testosterone, human growth hormone, blood transfusions, and masking by saline and plasma infusions, all backed up by a veritable army of phoney doctors, compliant team bosses at US Postal Service and Discovery Channel, and a shocking number of his fellow cyclists – most of whom have since been caught and banned for their own separate violations. I guess Armstrong thought it better not to have all that aired in public, since the details were bound to be pretty convincing even to general sports fans.

I'm sure the process was flawed in places, since large bureaucracies are messy. But it's pretty cynical of Armstrong to say the UCI is the only body with jurisdiction to prosecute dopers. The UCI is concerned first and foremost with the future of cycling, not its past. When Armstrong was cycling he never missed a chance to cast aspersions on the UCI. But now that he's retired he says the UCI is on his side, just because it doesn't think digging up muck from the past is good for cycling?

It's also cynical of Armstrong to repeat his mantra of "I passed all the tests" (never mind that he didn't, according to the allegations), as if that conclusively proves he's clean despite any amount of evidence to the contrary. In his statement he says:

"What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?"

And:

"The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced."

(Nowhere does he say he didn't dope, incidentally.) These statements show a concern with not getting caught rather than not cheating. If a dozen people are willing to testify in court that you doped in front of them, that should count too. I'm not too concerned about which court, precisely, that happens in.

Ironically, cycling fans who have long believed he doped are the ones who know how impressive his seven consecutive Tour de France victories were, doped or not. That record will probably never be equalled, and if the wins are struck off the books, it won't make any difference to students of the sport. He won them regardless.

[AWR]

It's a big sordid mess.

Part of me thinks that the issue of Lance doping should have died already. Reminds me a bit of the Special Prosecutor chasing the Clinton's around from Whitewater and ending up with Bill perjuring himself about doinking an intern with a cigar. I don't mean to suggest that I think "they" should stop trying to eradicate doping from cycling or sports more generally, but at a certain point a particular incident (incidents here clearly) should lose some of its value, and the cons of digging it all up outweigh the benefits.

On the other hand, a rule's, a rule's, a rule; and Armstrong is an arrogant dick. Athletes should know that if they dope they're on the line for life. It might not be detected today or tomorrow, perhaps 10 years down the line with evolving technology, but if the evidence starts coming in, payment will come due. The Armstrong years were great entertainment: he was such an awesome rider physically and technically across the spectrum of specialties (not an Indurain bore who gained 5 minutes on a time trial and defended it the rest of the tour), and a tactical genius as well. But he could be a bully in the ugliest of ways (although some of the dishes he served were well-earned and satisfying to observe ), and he carried so many chips on his shoulder he could have been mistaken for a craps table at times.

It's unfortunate that it comes to this. It was/is a great story.

[Brave Ulysses]

preface: part devil's advocate, and part respecting another athlete's achievements in a time when working hard and achieving success is always questioned.

Cycling fans have "known" for years that he doped.

"known"? European cycling fans have hated Lance from the start. Of course they have "known". What cycling fans think is meaningless.

The allegations were so numerous, came from so many quarters, and had such a ring of truth to them (in some cases), that it was impossible to sustain belief that he was clean.

Maybe if you live somewhere that people are guilty until proven innocent. Otherwise an equally if not stronger case could be made that he didn't dope.... 100s of drug tests, no physical evidence... and allegations (which are exactly that) by several convicted and lying cheaters.

n the case Armstrong's now refusing to contend, USADA was going to charge him with using EPO, corticosteroids, testosterone, human growth hormone, blood transfusions, and masking by saline and plasma infusions, all backed up by a veritable army of phoney doctors, compliant team bosses at US Postal Service and Discovery Channel, and a shocking number of his fellow cyclists – most of whom have since been caught and banned for their own separate violations

Some of who have signed backdoor deals with the USADA to testify against him and some of whom cheated and are already competing again. It is a farce.

But it's pretty cynical of Armstrong to say the UCI is the only body with jurisdiction to prosecute dopers. The UCI is concerned first and foremost with the future of cycling, not its past. When Armstrong was cycling he never missed a chance to cast aspersions on the UCI. But now that he's retired he says the UCI is on his side, just because it doesn't think digging up muck from the past is good for cycling?

it's not cynical... it's the law and the way these governing bodies are suppose to work. the USADA is using taxpayer dollars to do a witchhunt for something that happened 14 years ago.

(Nowhere does he say he didn't dope, incidentally.) These statements show a concern with not getting caught rather than not cheating. If a dozen people are willing to testify in court that you doped in front of them, that should count too. I'm not too concerned about which court, precisely, that happens in.

He also has too many statements over the years against doping to suggest anything from his statement yesterday.

ronically, cycling fans who have long believed he doped are the ones who know how impressive his seven consecutive Tour de France victories were, doped or not. That record will probably never be equalled, and if the wins are struck off the books, it won't make any difference to students of the sport. He won them regardless.

Ironically, cycling "fans" (I seem to think you only believe cycling fans exist in europe and hate lance) also recognize that Lance trained harder and smarter than any other rider during his time and took a new approach to the tour than anyone had done before and also based his entire training around the tour and only the tour. The funny thing is that no one ever questioned his training and fitness. They just question his success. Nevermind the fact that he was simply lucky.... he never got hurt and had to withdraw.

On the other hand, a rule's, a rule's, a rule; and Armstrong is an arrogant dick.

Most successful people who have worked their asses off for something are.

[Dorian Gray]

Dominant sportspeople always take a lot of flak (maybe more so in Europe than the US?), and Armstrong routinely insulted and denigrated everyone around him, so he did have his fair share of haters in Europe, certainly. But no more so than European sportspeople of similar standing and attitude (footballers, etc.).

There was widespread suspicion he doped, of course. With hindsight it looks entirely justified. But all the strong European cyclists were also suspected of doping. Stupidly, I once hoped Marco Pantani wasn't a doper, since he was such an odd little character, but that seems ridiculous in hindsight. As for all the 75 kg time trialists who could climb like whippets, they were obviously doped to the gills. They were sustaining silly things like 550 watts for an hour, now known to be impossible without blood as thick as treacle. That era is well and truly over, thankfully.

I follow a variety of cycling websites, and to be honest, the one with the most invective aimed at Armstrong by writers and commentators alike is VeloNews, an American site.

One European, a convicted doper himself, said this when asked for a comment today:

"I am not really on top of the case. I do not know if the case is closed or what. All I know is that Lance was like a fortress, intelligent and with a strong head."

Contador.

[Brave Ulysses]

The fact of the matter is we don't know. We don't. And the USADA doesn't know. For whatever reason, they have it out for Lance. It makes no sense and is a waste of time and money. He very well may have doped, but why do they care now? Why are they spending the money and resources now? And why did he never fail a test (other than for butt cream)?


I give him the benefit of the doubt until physical evidence proves otherwise. He was a badass on a bike and trained his ass off. Europe never liked him because of his success and attitude.


The sport of cycling has not handled the last 2 decades well at all. And tearing this man down and shunning him isn't going to make things better.

[pscates2.0]

All that matters is that he's not putting it to Sheryl Crow anymore, which leaves the door open for me. I couldn't give less of a damn about the rest of it.

[Dorian Gray]

Originally Posted by Brave Ulysses And why did he never fail a test (other than for butt cream)?

Because the tests weren't particularly good. Even today they aren't great, though they're better than they were a decade ago (hence the much lower sustained power of today's cyclists). Most cyclists who eventually admit to doping, tell us that they doped for months/years/decades before they finally got caught. Why do you think Armstrong and half the peloton employed guys like Ferrari? Why do you think Frank Schleck was caught with Xipamide in his system at this year's Tour? Xipamide is a diuretic used to flush other banned substances from your body in time for the next doping control.

Originally Posted by Brave Ulysses And tearing this man down and shunning him isn't going to make things better.

I do agree with that, though there's a difference between (1) saying the USADA case is pointless, and (2) saying USADA doesn't have the authority to investigate doping claims against its own athletes. If you dope, you've gotta accept that someone — or ten people — might eventually decide to spill the beans on you, maybe decades later.

[Bryson]

Whether he did or not, I don't understand why BU keeps trying to frame this as a "Europe hates America" issue. The USADA are the ones chasing Lance, for whatever reason.

I think the end result will be that he was doping. But so was everyone else, so the wins should stand.

[Brave Ulysses]

Originally Posted by Bryson Whether he did or not, I don't understand why BU keeps trying to frame this as a "Europe hates America" issue. The USADA are the ones chasing Lance, for whatever reason.

I'm not. I was responding to Dorian's assertion that cycling fans hate him and have always thought he was a cheat... which really only applies to European cycling fans.

[Brave Ulysses]

Originally Posted by Dorian Gray Because the tests weren't particularly good. Even today they aren't great, though they're better than they were a decade ago (hence the much lower sustained power of today's cyclists). Most cyclists who eventually admit to doping, tell us that they doped for months/years/decades before they finally got caught. Why do you think Armstrong and half the peloton employed guys like Ferrari? Why do you think Frank Schleck was caught with Xipamide in his system at this year's Tour? Xipamide is a diuretic used to flush other banned substances from your body in time for the next doping control.

Sorry, but that is a ridiculous defense. He passed EVERY test... hundreds of them.... made himself available... did everything as required. And now 14 years later, someone is saying... hm, that's not enough! we have convicted cheats here who we are allowing to keep their pay if they say you cheated. And that is suppose to override all of that?


He may have cheated... I obviously have no idea. But shit.... if he wasn't caught throughout his entire career and was tested as much as he was, then he is more remarkable than anyone thought. The guy is incredible in every way. And it's almost more remarkable than his cycling achievements that he was able to stay ahead of science and testing and never once trip up or allow someone within his inner circle that he shouldn't have.

[Bryson]

Originally Posted by Brave Ulysses I'm not. I was responding to Dorian's assertion that cycling fans hate him and have always thought he was a cheat... which really only applies to European cycling fans.

Ok, thanks for the clarification. Your previous posts don't read that way.