Rou

No, not really.

So, in May 08, scientists are hoping to start up the Large Hadron Collider in France. Basically, it's a particle accelerator. A really BIG one. It's going to be used to investigate things like dark matter, the god particle, antimatter, and such things. Nifty things that all would help up understand how the universe works. Because you know, we're kinda curious.

Anyway, that's the short version. It's a big new toy for scientists to play with. Is that the end of the story? Course not. That would be a crappy rant, wouldn't it? The rant comes next.

So, if you were going to guess, how do you think the nutcases would portray this type of thing? If you guess Doomsday machine, congratulations. Let me tell you, they didn't skimp out on the crazy here either.

They feel that colliding particles like this has a number of major risks not only to the entire planet, but potentially the entire universe. Oh yeah baby. The whole fucking universe. Really incredible that we can do that with just a couple miles of magnets lined up properly. You see, they think we're going to do one of a couple things. First, we could create a black hole. Obviously the black whole would consume the entire earth and solar system. Second, we could tear a hole in the fabric of space and time. Finally, they give a nod to other conspiracy groups. This machine could be used to create anti-matter, which could then be used by Al Qaeda to create massive anti-matter explosions.

I mean, just... wow. I don't care how bad you are at physics, that's some crazy shit right there.

First off, we're talking about particle collisions, not stellar ones. If, by some highly unlikely chance, we created a black hole, it's only the sum of it's parts. It would be a super condensed, micro black hole with a mass of... well.. a few particles. It's gravitational force would be... exactly the same as those few particles normally have. Just really condensed. the diameter for that colossal gravitational force would be about the same as an electron's orbit around a helium atom. So long as you stay outside that event horizon, you should be ok. Seriously, it would take a lot of luck for it to attack nearby air particles. Especially inside of a magnetized accelerator. Oh, and black holes evaporate. It's slowly based on their mass, but with so little, it would be nearly instantaneous in this case. Color me not scared.

As for ripping space time, that's so crazy you can't even quantify it. The statement doesn't even make sense outside of a star trek episode. The worse part is that we're trying to study cosmic radiation with this thing. Stuff that hits the earth hundreds of times a day with FAR more energy than we can generate. But since we can't predict when/where such rays will hit, we wanted this little toy in order to do so reliably.

And then we have the concept of anti-matter explosive devices. These are good. I'm sure we'd like that. But we're not talking about significant amounts of anti-matter. And it only exists for a few fractions of a second inside the chamber. It's not like we have portable containment units. If anti-matter touches matter, they collide and destroy each other. So... lets just say, this is not really possible and leave it at that.

So why do people (read as: nutters) think this? Because scientists tend to be truthful when they're asked questions. Even if the question is... shall we say... leading. So, when a reporter asks something like "what is the worst case scenario?" or "could this conceivably create a black hole?" a truthful person going on record might say "theoretically it could create a black hole, but that's unlikely." Then some dirt bag reporter could just trim the last 3 words off and he's got himself a headline!

People at the facility who have to talk to the press are now told to be more careful in choosing their words. Take a few crappy articles citing the same source and add a few hyper-phobic people that are bad at science.. and you've got a recipe for crazy.

Sometimes you have to admire the Muslim code of justice. They really know how to get the point across. For example, take Saudi Arabia. They catch a group of guys that raped a girl. They throw them in jail. An not a nice jail, a Muslim style fuck you very much jail. Hoo-ZAH!

Of course, there is always the flip side. They sentenced the victim, a 19 year old girl, to 90 lashes. Oh yeah, she gets raped, and then BEATEN for it. Quality justice they got there. Her crime? "Being in the car of an unrelated male." Doesn't matter that the male was raping her.

But wait, it gets better. I know, it's hard to imagine how they could fuck up even more. The appeals court DOUBLED it and then some. 200 lashes. AND six months in jail! Because the media caught on and bitched about it. Additional lashes for her "attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media".

Fucking priceless. I'm glad these guys are on our side, right? Sigh.

I'm curious... why do you believe I am a multi-billion dollar search engine? Do I look like a search engine? When I speak, does it sound like I'm rattling off information about the last words you spoke?

Then, pray tell, why do you keep coming to me with requests more easily found through Google? We're both at work. We both sit in front of computers all day long. We both have degrees in computer science. I presume you know how to use the internet. It's pretty easy. My grandmother does it.

So I'm confused when you get out of your seat, walk over to my desk, and ask me things like "How many feet in a mile?", "What are the names of New England Patriots wide receivers?", and "What time does Best Buy close?"

These are things that I don't know off the top of my head. Even if I did, a quick entry into Google will get you the answer several orders of magnitude faster than I will. Additionally, I don't have to be bothered by your request. Instead, you will only require the assistance of a tool specifically designed to fill your request.

So, fuck off. K? Thanks. Buh-bye.

Pop quiz time for sanctimonious pricks out there.

Can an atheist behave morally if he doesn't believe in a supreme being?
A)yes
B)no

If you said B, you can feel free to go throw yourself off the nearest convenient tall building. Atheists aren't automatically devoid of moral structure just because they don't believe in God or take Jesus Christ as their savior. Just as Christians aren't always moral titans. There are good and bad in just about every group.

But just so you know, let me explain to you how a non-denominational, entirely secular moral structure might look.

Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.

Confucius said that sometime around 500BC, but there have been a number of variations of it, both earlier and later. It doesn't require worship or fear of a deity to be true. It's not right to do something to someone else that you wouldn't want done to yourself. Simple. Elegant. Timeless. All five of the major religions have some version of it. I imagine most of the minor ones do as well. I happen to like the way Confucius phrases it.

Secular morality stems from the concept that doing positive things improves society and doing negative things harms society. If this world is all there is, than it's in our best interest to improve it.

Moral value is not a religious monopoly. If you stopped acting as if you were a direct conduit to the Lord Almighty, you might have realized that.

I read today an article about our troops in Iraq. For the most part is was a fairly masturbatory view of the war. The US is right. The troops are amazing. The strategy is sound. That sort of thing. Then he goes a little further.

He says that anyone who enlists in the military is automatically a hero.

See, that just pisses me off. It's just not true. And it detracts from those people that have actually done something heroic, in or out of uniform. I don't want to bash our troops. I'm proud of our troops and I think they are some of the best soldiers anywhere in the world. My attack here isn't on them, it's on a dumb ass author.

It's not heroic to enlist. It takes than committing four years to the military to become a hero. It takes more than serving in a combat zone.

I read a story today about a hero. 14 year old kid jumped off the station platform and onto the tracks after a man he didn't know fainted and fell down. He pulled the man back under the platform and out of the way of an on-coming train. He was in no personal danger, but he placed himself in harms way to protect another person. He displayed courage and strength of spirit to save a person he didn't know. That, sir, is a hero.

Soldiers in combat have many opportunities to become a hero. There are long lines of men in uniform that have gone above and beyond their duty to help their comrades in arms or to vanquish their foes. Men who have put their lives down to do what they knew what right. Maybe they carried wounded men out of harms way. Maybe they held their position longer than was safe because to fall back would mean death to their friends. That, sir, is what it takes to be a hero.

Being a hero is more than a simple platitude we throw down for anyone. It's means something. It's a choice made by a person that 'good enough' doesn't apply to them. That they accept the risk because the benefits are worth it. Or maybe they choose to do something dangerous because they just don't think they can live with themselves if they did nothing. Whatever the reason, they choose to do more.

This article cheapens that. It makes the very act of enlisting into a sacrifice. The act of going off to war into heroism of the finest sort.

But heroes do more than just put on a uniform. It takes more.

Ah November. The sweet spot for video game publishers. Games have gone gold and are being released at record pace for the holiday season. Gamers flock to stores to grab the latest new releases. Parents run out to grab little Johnny's top Christmas gift. My credit card screams out for mercy. Life is good in the world of gaming.

Honestly, this may be one of the better years in recent memory. Unreal Tournament 3, Assassin's Creed, Hellgate: London, Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect, Crysis, SimCity Societies, Rock Band, Half Life's bundle of games, and a huge number of expansion packs. And those are just off the top of my head.

So, if it's so great to be a gamer, why am I posting here?

Because quite frankly, I'm sick of retail stores. Is there a good place out there to buy games? I don't think so.

EB Games was bought by Gamestop. The conglomeration should have been a good thing, but instead left us with a steaming pile of dog shit. I'm so fed up with the place that I will never, under any circumstances, give the company money again. I recommend you do the same. I will not be held hostage by a company that makes the consumer feel like a beggar. If I want a game, I should be able to buy it at GAMEstop. But more often than not, that's not the case. I have to pre-order or special order or reserve or whatever the fuck the game I want ahead of time. Otherwise, they don't fucking get enough in. How a company focused on games can not have games on demand is beyond me. I've heard the drivel and frankly, they can shove it up their ass. 'We have too many stores to have multiple copies available everywhere'. That tells me you HAVE TOO MANY FUCKING STORES. Maybe if you'd consolidate them you would have more than 1 copy of each game at each store. And hey, you know what else would be nice? If that one copy wasn't already opened. I know you want to prevent theft. I get it. But you know what? When I buy a game, I expect it to... I dunno... NOT have fingerprints on it. Or worse, already be scratched because one of your employees took the game home to try it out.

Oh, and Mr. Gamestop worker, No, I don't want to reserve a game. No, I don't give a fuck if you didn't like the last game this publisher put out. No, I don't want a copy of your shitty magazine. No, I don't want a mother fucking game guide. I want to give you my goddamn money and have you give me my fucking game! I don't have any idea who came up with this model of retail store, but they should be take out, shot repeatedly in the legs and left in the Florida Everglades so that nature can dish out a fitting punishment.

That's not to say the box stores are much better. They rarely ever get games on the shelves the first day. And if you want a new game, their prices are competitive. Circuit City is pretty good about having sales on games within two weeks of release. The problem is the older games. They never seem to come down in price. A game that's over a year old is still marked at $49.99 just like the day it was released. Also, CC is famous for pulling bait and switch ads. For example, Call of Duty 4 was marketed as giving the buyer a free copy of Call of Duty 3. But the stores didn't honor it and claimed it was a typo. And heaven fucking forbid you ever want to return or exchange a game, even if it's defective. You might as well pull out all of your own teeth with a pair of pliers.

Honestly, can you imagine if all retail businesses operated the same way video game stores do? I swear there would be riots. Try telling some woman that her makeup was opened and tried on by employees. Or that you can't buy those jeans unless you pre-ordered them. Hey, we only got one iPod in stock and the manager earmarked it for himself.

The only real alternative is to order games online and have them delivered. That costs a bit more and it has the same underlying problem as Gamestop's pre-ordering bullshit. I can't just go get a fucking game. I have to know I want it in advance.

This is a great time to be a gamer. Except for the bullshit you have to go through to get them.