With the laptop balanced on our knees we read and I laughed. He's a really funny man.
Since I don't have anything remotely witty of my own this morning, here 's what I stole from Adam's blog.
So, I should have figured that something would come along and try to spoil my fun now that I'm a full three days into this vacation. It happened tonight. I saw hell. It looks like a rain forest, the food is overpriced and the waiters are dressed in khaki. Thankfully, I managed to buy my escape for $65 plus tip.
The Rainforest Cafe may seem like a nice place to eat, but I've said the same thing about KFC on occasion. That doesn't make it right. The food was OK. I had a mild paella with mussells, calamari, shrimp and andouille sausage. Unfortunately, I was sitting across from a pair of animatronic elephants that had the uncanny habit of trumpeting every time the waiter talked to me. Do you have any idea the level of auditory distortion that creates?
"Welcome to the Rainforest Cafe. Have you been here before?"
"Diet Coke."
Besides, it's impossible to enjoy your meal when a robotic elephant keeps giving you the evil eye.
Thankfully, Providence doesn't dish out opposition in equal measure. By and large, today was another fabulous day. Disneyland on your birthday with your family at your side and a pocket full of fast pass tickets for bypassing the lines. What's not to love.
Then there was this:
It's just my luck that I would pick tomorrow, the day the earth is going to implode, to take my first real vacation in who knows how long. Check out the headlines.
- Fingers Crossed, Physicists Are Ready for Collider to Roll
- Worst Case: Collider Spawns Planet-Devouring Black Hole
- Researchers Set To Recreate Big Bang
- Scientists hope to find 'God particle' in mini Big Bang
- Will the Large Hadron Collider Destroy Earth?
- Scientists hope for surprises in Big Bang experiment
They're doing WHAT!
Anytime the world's top physicists feel the need to collectively cross their fingers, I start to get worried. What has physicists going to these extraordinary measures?
Anytime the world's top physicists feel the need to collectively cross their fingers, I start to get worried. What has physicists going to these extraordinary measures?
At roughly 3:30 a.m. Eastern time, scientists at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, say they will try to send the first beam of protons around a 17-mile-long racetrack known as the Large Hadron Collider, 300 feet underneath the Swiss-French border outside Geneva. (more)
The point of this 14 year and $8 billion experiment is to recreate the conditions that existed one trillionth of second after the Big Bang. For $8 billion, who wouldn't want to know. But here's the rub. Some people fear it may actually create a black hole that would swallow the universe.
Now, I've managed a few projects in my time. Some of them even had a decent amount of risk. But none of them threatened to end life as we know it if something went wrong. I mean, what do the project meetings sound like at CERN? Can you imagine being in the room when this came up?
Jean-Luc: The project is going well, André. Even after our last wine and cheese night, we've only spent $5 billion of our budget.
André: C'est fabuleux, Jean-Luc. How are the preparations for the experiment?
Jean-Luc: Il y a un petit problème. There is a small chance that we might destroy the earth.
André: Will our insurance cover it?
Jean-Luc: We're looking into that. If not, there is something else we can try. Emelyne over in particle relations thinks crossing our fingers might help.
I'd like to believe there is no need to worry. I want to trust in science. It's the modern thing to do. After all, the director general of CERN insists in a press release that "any suggestion that [the collider] might present a risk is pure fiction."
But there must be something to it. CERN had an independent safety report prepared and checked out by a panel including Nobel laureates. Even physics supernova Stephen Hawking is only willing to put $100 on the experiment succeeding.
That gives me confidence. I just put down $100 on a half-day jet ski rental for Thursday. I guess Steve and I have the same level of risk tolerance.
Now, I've managed a few projects in my time. Some of them even had a decent amount of risk. But none of them threatened to end life as we know it if something went wrong. I mean, what do the project meetings sound like at CERN? Can you imagine being in the room when this came up?
Jean-Luc: The project is going well, André. Even after our last wine and cheese night, we've only spent $5 billion of our budget.
André: C'est fabuleux, Jean-Luc. How are the preparations for the experiment?
Jean-Luc: Il y a un petit problème. There is a small chance that we might destroy the earth.
André: Will our insurance cover it?
Jean-Luc: We're looking into that. If not, there is something else we can try. Emelyne over in particle relations thinks crossing our fingers might help.
I'd like to believe there is no need to worry. I want to trust in science. It's the modern thing to do. After all, the director general of CERN insists in a press release that "any suggestion that [the collider] might present a risk is pure fiction."
But there must be something to it. CERN had an independent safety report prepared and checked out by a panel including Nobel laureates. Even physics supernova Stephen Hawking is only willing to put $100 on the experiment succeeding.
That gives me confidence. I just put down $100 on a half-day jet ski rental for Thursday. I guess Steve and I have the same level of risk tolerance.
He makes me laugh. I love words and he's good with words. He's also kinder to me than I deserve.
He wrote this:
Thelma wondered how the two of us managed to get together considering my perfectionist tendencies and her penchant for impatience.
"My choice was easy," I insisted, "because I was looking for perfection and there you were."
"Well," she replied, "I could have found the perfect husband, but who has that kind of time."
She got the last laugh, but at least I got the girl.
I am impatient and I do sort of repel perfectionism but I must maintain that when it came to my husband, I didn't settle for anything less than my heart's desire.
1 comment:
What Adam wrote about you is clever and sweet. Love, M
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