footloose

So I know it's late (9:50pm is the new 1:50am) but I just had a revelation: Putting your feet up and kicking your shoes off, is one of the best, most relaxing feelings ever. Even though my feet are up, as previously stipulated, and the pressure is off of their balls (always nice), the relaxtion teapot isn't whistling until the shoes come off. (not like when the gloves come off). I can't really explain what does it, but I'm not truly relaxed until the last shoe drops (I love puns, it's true).

.....

Did I say 'relaxation teapot'?

Goodnight.

I knew it!

This is kind of old, and I know that I've already posted an onion article this month, but I want everyone I know to read this, and then give me some credit. Science is hard.

National Science Foundation: Science Hard

Email? No no, too high tech for me.

After a massive cyber attack on the Pentagon wednesday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates responded to a reporter's question of whether or not his own email was compromised, with the following gem:
"I don't do email. I'm a very low-tech person"
I can think of one other person I know who doesn't use email. Her name is Nana. Now don't get me wrong, Nana's a great Nana, but probably not a good Secretary of Defense. I am utterly apalled that someone with that much responsibility for our nation doesn't even use email. Email, given the state of technology these days, is pretty damn low-tech. My mom uses it, 'nough said. So if email is too high-tech for Gates (don't let the irony of his name escape you) what else is over his head? Radio Frequency Identification? Wireless network encryption? Digital face and voice recognition? Microwave ovens? Bronze and iron tools?

"Secretary Gates, what security measures might you take upon learning that terrorists can use simple razor blades to hijack airplanes?"
"Oh I don't use razor blades, I shave with the sharp edge of a stone. I'm a very low-tech person"

The point is, people responsible for defending our nation should at least be as tech-savvy as the people trying attack it.

how to fight global warming, 'Texas' style

Finally, President Bush takes the global warming threat seriously. Kyoto protocol? No. Carbon cap? Nah. Alternative fuel and emissions control? Nope....

Addressing Climate Crisis, Bush Calls For Development Of National Air Conditioner

Bush: 1
Global Warming: 0

Philosophy

If a grad student falls asleep in a lab, and there is no one around to berate him, does he still get paid?

Lawnmower man, Cascade B

So after work today I cinched up my productivity belt, and mowed the lawn for the first time, and with a new lawnmower no less (thanks to Mom and Henry for the landscaping financial support). I found that mowing the lawn is far far worse than mowing my lawn. The difference is subtle, but very important. I almost found myself in a hurry to get home to cut the grass, which I have never done before, ever. My apologies to my mother for the fuss I put up all those years as a kid when she paid me the tirelessly negotiated, though still overpriced fee of $17 to mow our small lawn. I have to admit though, the novelty of my lawn wore of quickly and I found myself tempted to cut corners (or more precisely, not cut corners) near the end. The responsible adult in my won out nonetheless, and the lawn looks.... well... shorter.

In physics news, it appears that the folks at Fermilab have discovered yet another particle, the Cascade B. This is suspiciously close to the end of the Tevatron collider at Fermilab, but they are apparently proving that they still have the mustard to do some groundbreaking physics, even while the much anticipated replacement, the LHC, is about to come online. The Cascade B is a baryon (which is similar to a proton and neutron, what we're made of) that has a quark from each family (bottom, down, and strange). This is the first such 'trinity' particle discovered, and was predicted by the standard model. This discovery comes with rumors that the Tevatron has seen the Higgs Boson, which is the holy grail of particle physics, and is what the LHC was built to look for. The Higgs (nicknamed the 'God particle') is what is believed to be responsible for giving matter its mass. It also is responsible for why there is more matter than antimatter in the universe. All in all, very big news in high energy physics. I'm sure most of this is quite confusing to all of you, so if anyone wants me to explain something or anything in further detail, please don't hesitate to ask. Thanks for reading!

Jerms Blog Grand Opening!!

'Grand' may be a stretch, but here it is. This blog will be me creative outlet to the world, and a way for my friends and family to keep up with what I'm doing/thinking and to to comment/berate me for procrastinating or not spending my time on more useful and productive things. But hey, this is my creative outlet! Back off!

So to catch you up, I'm studying to get my Ph.D. in physics at Brown University. I start classes in the fall, but in the meantime I am working in the particle astrophysics group on an experiment to search for dark matter. A physics post describing tall of this and more is sure to follow. I live in Wrentham, MA with my future wife Erin and our three rabbits, four parrots, and one dog. Erin is an artist who spends her day job working for the town of Westford recreation department. We both have commutes (her more than I) to work, but we love our little town, and our little house. In fact, we love not living in an apartment with neighbors.

Okay, so that should be a good start, more information to follow in future posts, please comment and all that!