Ideal for singalongs at nursing homes, senior residences or just at your own home. Bound in a loose-leaf binder of durable vinyl, unsnaps for access to pages. (To see a photo of the book, click 
We’re still here
Hey, we survived the Large Hadron Collider. At least, so far.
As those of our more scientifically literate readers know, the collider is an enormous circular tunnel lying beneath the border of France and Switzerland that can accelerate subatomic particles to near the speed of light. The idea is to crash some of these particles — specifically, protons — into each other at high energy to get a better idea of what happened at the birth of the universe.
Sort of a small version of the Big Bang.
Trouble is, a few scientists worried that this mini-bang would create black holes that would swallow up the Earth. Maybe even blink out the universe.
Well, it didn’t happen — at least, not at 4:27 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday when they switched on the collider. Of course, it didn’t start up at full power — it has a capacity of 7 trillion electron volts — and didn’t crash any particles together. That happens in late October.
Still, some people were worried about even starting the machine. Including me, although I realized these concerns were more humorous than serious.
An hour before the collider was to fire up, the Dallas Morning News ran a story headlined: “This may be the last thing you ever read.” The first comment on the newspaper’s website — actually, more of a shout — was from a Camron Wells: “WERE GUNNA DIE.” To which a Randy commented, “Maybe you should use your last moments alive learning how to spell.”
Well, at least we’re over this hump. And there are worse things to worry about. For example, after the past eight disastrous years, it’s possible that this country will choose as its new leaders a once-proud maverick who has spent those eight years toadying up to George W. Bush and a woman whose cultural and religious views make her the American equivalent of the Taliban.
Makes you want to crank up that collider right now to about 8 trillion electron volts.
This week’s new offerings in Works:
• Chapters 32 and 33 of R.J. Keller’s novel Waiting for Spring:
Chapter 32: Jeff, a friend summoned by Tess, has beaten Brian into submission before he can avenge his sister’s hospitalization by killing her drug dealer boyfriend. But Brian and Tess are still in a hell of their own. Tess quits a lucrative cleaning job after the client’s son insults her. She refuses to go back for more money because it would mean she has a price.
Chapter 33: A phone call on a snowy weekend: Rachel is missing from rehab. Her drug dealer boyfriend, Tim, claims not to have seen her. Brian is enraged at Tess for not telling him more about Tim’s assaults on Rachel, but Brian eventually concedes he didn’t tell himself the truth, either. Then, ominous blue lights approach their home.
• Chapters Eight and Nine of Ann M. Pino’s novel Steal Tomorrow:
Chapter Eight: Human growth hormone turns out to be a substance of interest to gangs of children and teenagers trying to survive in a world left without adults by a pandemic virus. Cassie and fellow members of the Regents learn that raids on the laboratory of an ally may have been carried out by two rival gangs seeking the hormone.
Chapter Nine: Cassie learns the boy she’s interested in, Galahad, once was a member of a death squad, but he explains his past, and they end up closer than ever. Meanwhile, there’s a rumor that some of the gang kidnapping children may be adults. But how can it be? The deadly virus, nicknamed Telo, attacks the chromosome telomeres at the onset of adulthood.
– Sid Leavitt
Posted in Uncategorized |
September 14, 2008 at 9:46 am
I have a strong feeling my book would be banned under a Palin administration.
“Palin administration.” I just made myself shudder.
September 14, 2008 at 10:37 am
Well, Rachel’s lot in Waiting for Spring certainly is not a happy one, but it might have been even worse — for example, raising a child with a man who not only encouraged and fed her drug addiction but also beat and raped her and eventually would have killed her, and perhaps the child as well.
I’m tired of people who think that those who support a woman’s right to choose don’t also consider abortion an ugly and tragic choice. That’s why your Chapter 26 is so powerful. That’s also why pro-choice advocates also support birth control, family planning and sex education — to reduce the number of abortions taking place in this country, and there seems to be a lot higher percentage of them here than in any other country in the world. Perhaps that’s because many of the so-called ‘pro-life’ advocates seem to be against all the alternatives that would reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. And shame on them for that.
Anyway, I guess I’m just tired of people who see the world as black and white. (Some of whom, I’m guessing, won’t be voting for Barack Obama literally because of that world view.)
Well, R.J., I apologize that this response is getting nearly as long as my blog entry. Thanks for your comment. I share your shudder.
September 15, 2008 at 7:02 am
Exactly so!
Reduction is the key, and education is the key to that.
September 15, 2008 at 11:06 am
Sid:
The first time I heard about the possibility of black holes on Earth, I thought: “Cool!” I took CERN’s word for it that they were of no concern. These are the guys designing, building and studying the machine, so I’ll believe them over anyone else, authority or not. The concern may have been legitimate to some people, but the possibility of destroying the entire universe is quite silly. There are plenty of black holes out there (theoretically) that are probably a million times the size of our planet. The universe, as far as I have observed, has yet to be sucked up into a single point.
September 15, 2008 at 11:07 am
…but wouldn’t THAT be a way to go?
September 15, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Yeah, but as I’ve said before, I’m not too concerned about how I’m going to go, but I sure would hate to see the Earth destroyed by black holes. No, I think the oil companies — and our complicity with them — are doing it quite well already.
September 15, 2008 at 3:30 pm
The heck with approaching the speed of light. Can you imagine the paperwork it took to put a 17-mile-long collider under France and Switzerland? Wow!
September 15, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Yes, and we can be sure that it wasn’t done at the speed of anything.