Doomsday
 

So with the CERN Large Hadron Colider going live this week amidst fears of it creating a black hole that will then instantaneously consume the earth, I was thinking what a wonderful thought experiment this is. To be sure the existential angst of facing one's mortality is seen by some (myslef included) as one of those ways in which to evaluate the life you have lived up to that point, decission you have made, and perhaps do some course correction in charting new decissions based on the finite time we have on Earth.

This of course provides even more limitations - not only death, but the entire planted sucked into sigularity so no legacy or artifact remaining (well maybe a voyager space craft or two).

So looking back on your life, how did you do? and considering the short window of opportunity remaining, what would you like to accomplish before the 10th (the one date I heard when the Colider goes "live" but haven't found confirmation).

Since I won't be leaving anything behind, perhaps I'll catch a final screening of Until the End of the World. It's ashame this is happening mid-week, would make for a great excuse for a party. All in al, I think the hedonist path would be the correct one for this imaginary scenario. Nihilists also do well I think.

Anyone else have anything planned for the imminent destruction of earth?

If it's the end of the world, why not have a party mid-week?


Oddly, I've been having the odd sensation of trying to sum up the worth of my life to myself for the past few hours without knowing why.


No conclusions yet. But it seems there's indeed a reason for me to proceed along this line for a while.



Um, till Wednesday is it??

I think it fires up on the tenth but the protons don't actually start colliding for a couple of weeks.

Me, I've got a few extra pounds I'd like to lose before then. Need to straighten up my office. Get some bills out.

You might also rent "Last Night."

Unfortunately of the LHC destroys the world (and I have 100% confidence it won't) it will be in such an instantaneous way that we will have no knowledge that it ended.

To me, this is inherently lacking in satisfaction and I can't work up the energy to greet the end in a grant fashion when I won't even know the end arrived.

Y2K, that was something worth greeting. Sure it might end civilization but we'd get to appreciate it.

So, all I can work up to for this is that I'll wait until Thursday to read the half-dozen functional and design specs I need to approve this week. No reason to put myself through that if there is even a 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 01% chance it will be unnecessary.

This article quotes Thursday 3:30 AM EST - So that leaves tomorrow night for me. Now instead of trying the new Mexican place, I'm thinking maybe some Fois Gras would be in order...

I hope my husband comes home before then. Otherwise no nookie for me before the end of the world!

Susan is gone til Thursday (she is flying on 9/11 :eek: :rolleyes: ), so I am screwed.

Or not getting screwed.

At least by a partner.

Unless someone wants to come over.

The article says Wednesday...so if it happens on Wednesday, does that mean I don't have to turn 40?

Well, I guess no one really knows what goes on inside a black hole in terms of the passage of time, it may well be that you will be stuck in a percieved eternity of never quite turning 40.

I feel fine.

I plan on sipping some cognac at midnight...

I'll be asleep. Out with a whimper...

If that guy destroys the planet I am so suing his ass.

Well, if the collider wants a shot at causing earth-swallowing catastrophe it's going to have to hurry up. At the current rate, the political conversation CP is having on the phone with her Air Force enlisted brother may very well beat it to the punch.

I read a great book that has a plot about this or a similar collider called Blasphemy.

If you like science fiction - I recommend it.

Here's more info:

Maybe I've watched too much Stargate, but that thing is freaking me out.

Okay, my entire "To Do" list is about eating.

The top of my "to do" list is: See what the inside of a black hole looks like so I guess I'm set.

T- 17 hours

I need to make sure I have lots of sex...

Stephen Hawking has $100 riding on this.

I just ate a poptart. Raspberry with pink icing and pink sprinkles.

Is he still in Alaska?

Me too. Just a lil bit.

I need to make sure I have ANY sex.

CP read an article that described the force involved in one of the collisions they're going to produce as about the equivalent of two mosquitoes colliding head on. What a bizarre, yet oddly relatable analogy.

I thought I read somewhere that it was going to take months to reach full power. But that article you linked says the first protons are being injected on Wednesday, so hmm...

I highly doubt it'll be the end of the world, and if it is, I won't be around to care, so I'm going to go on presuming that this will go the way of all the other "end-of-the-world" predictions. But we may get some pretty cool science news soon :)

Still, that doesn't mean I mightn't be up for a mid-week party...

They powered it up and did small scale test runs (no collisions) a month ago. Tomorrow they're going to inject proton beams and have them do full circuits of the tunnel for the first time, still no collisions. The actual first collisions won't be until late October.

So good news, another excuse to party on October!

Ah good, October is much better for me than this week. I'm kinda trying to take September "off", socially. How very considerate of the folks at CERN to accommodate my schedule, I simply don't have time for the end of the world right now.

I haven't read that one (but may look it up) but here is another SF novel with much the same starting premise: FlashForward by Robert Sawyer.

Didn't they have something like this in Angels and Demons?

Or maybe I'm thinking of another book.

Yes, BTD.

In other words: nothing different

BTD: I knew it was either Dan Brown or Michael Crichton that touched on this. Thanks for remembering!

but then, if you consider that impact to the scale in which its created, thats quite a bit of energy generated from a proton sized particle to reach such a volume of energy. probably something on the scale of a billion fold

neat sh!t. hardly world threatening, but neat none the less

Since I loved Blasphemy so much - I'll definately check out your links.

This stuff is so kewl.

LARGE HADRON COLLIDER! LARGE HADRON COLLIDER! LARGE HADRON COLLIDER!


I just like saying it over and over. Didn't they used to do that repetitive yelling thing in Bloom County?



Science is awesome. And my money is with Hawking's, by the way.

Where can I get one of these?

Bootstrap: BOBs are usually found in those stores on Sunset... they come in all shapes and sizes. Some are battery operated, and some even plug in! ;)

Wait a minute...

October 21 is the first day for collisions.

Good, we'll get at least one more Palm Springs getaway in

I take that as a bad omen. The date has significance to me as the unofficial start of the period where the veil between the living and the dead is lifted.


Uncommonly good timing for Doomsday.

The same people getting all upset over this would really freak if they understood how a PET scan works.

Aw, that's probably where I'd want to be at the end of the world...

We're having an end of the world party at a hospital.

But I have to say, if the world ends before I graduate I'm going to be pissed.

If it does, you can probably get your loans forgiven.

Well, then perhaps today is my practice run - I can tell already I need some serious doomsday readiness improvement.

247 new posts - will I be able to read them in time?

So the CERN webcam went down, but a graphic was still availabe - and image of the apocolypse:

Mein fůhrer! I can valk!

I doubt it. Those loan guys are tough.

well, looks like there's got to be a morning after

I suppose I fail to see the excitement in beaming a particle stream in one direction around this thing, but that's OK. As I understand it that's all they've done. Woo-freakin-hoo.

When they collide the crap, that should be interesting.

It's made it first lap around...

And yeah - scaeagles, I agree. That will be the exciting part. It's not even on at full power now.

Which now that I've read more about it, I really think if you find this interesting, you'll like that book Blasphemy I mentioned.

Of all the earworms you could have given me...

Actually, the technical feat in just sending that proton around in a big circle such that it is possible to put two of them on a direct collision course is at least as impressive an engineering feat as most anything you see on one of those History Channel "Mega Marvel" type shows.

And considering the nature of it, the physical excitement of when the collisions start won't be any greater either (nobody will see anything except different lights turning on in a control panel).

Unless, of course, the world is destroyed. But then as I mentioned above if that were to happen it would be destroyed in such a way as to also provide no physical excitement.


However, if the first collision is on 10/21 that means I will be in Europe at the time and therefore will cease to exist pico-seconds before the rest of you.

So it didn't happen yet? Damn. I thought I woke up in an alternate universe.

Meet the new universe, same as the old universe.

Has anyone else seen Google's logo today?

Yes. Love it.

Yeah, two kittens on opposite sides of a mirror drinking milk - so?

Ummmm.... No.

That Google image almost looks like a concept drawing for a really dangerous new theme park ride.

Really. It's almost as bad as if he had typed:

Tie a yellow ribbon round.....

Did now... cool!

Or...

This is the song that never.....

Pffft... only if you can replace the earworm I've already got:

Country roads, take me home...

It's A World of Laughter....

This thread has officially failed.

Go back to your damn earworm thread, you carpetbaggers!

By Mennen

Alright you guys - do we need to start dishing out BAD mojo? I've never done it before and this might be the time to start.

Does anybody really know what time it is. Does anybody really care?

Next stop...

What is this Earworm thread I seem to have missed?

One of these?

SO it sounds like they are launching the other direction in about 3 weeks, correct? Then they have to circle for a bit and then collide?

Is it a guided collision or do they randomly collide into each other?

So earlier today I finally misread "hadron" in the way you might imagine I'd misread it. I now find science to be endlessly funny :)

Large Hadron Collider... ooh yeah. Haha.

Since the world didn't end today, I am now officially 40.

Good, I'd hate life to end before I got to DLP!
Damn you, now I got that song from the (Original) Posidon Adventure stuck in my head!
When the protons hit the fan, so to speak?

Damn you, now Small world is stuck in my head!

I keep wanting to call it a "Large Hairy Colander".....:D

I was 40 once.

I thought it was going to re-create the "Big Bang". I'd hardly call a mozzie head-on "bang for bucks" (all 6 to 10 billion of 'em, depending on the source).

Can't we have an aardvark (or even better) stag-sized head-on?

...and who's going to mop up the yukky bits from the bottom of the tube?

Have they got some woman called Conchita with a PhD that specialises in LHC Tube sanitisation? Can you imagine the tip you'd have to give her?

Actually I can: Conchita, get out **now** !!!

:rolleyes:

O RLY?

Well, at least it isn't Maureen McGovern

Who's going to update that page when the status changes?

If they're smart it's got a heartbeat.

while (if_exists(world) == TRUE ):
print "NOPE"
endwhile
print "YEP"

I wonder if those Left Behind people (the ones who mail a letter when you're taken up to heaven) are checking it so they don't confuse the LHC ending the world with the Rapture.

That would be embarrassing.

I noticed today that the pull of Earth's gravity was a little stronger than usual. My scale doesn't lie. Looks like the rumors about the black hole were true.

ABC is about to buy/develop FlashForward as a television series, according to BlueSky Disney.

Oooohh.. cool. It's on my list to read as soon as I'm done with the Sookie Stackhouse list.

Looks like we're gonna have to hold on the end o' the world parties: Big Bang is Broke.

Well that makes the party planning difficult - I think they were going to shut down for Winter too, otherwise it be a great way to bring in the New Year

Well, I think we'll still get our Doomsday. Just courtesy of Wall Street instead of CERN.

Visible Mojo ! :snap: :snap: :snap:

Doomsday has been postponed till Spring.

At least I will have graduated.

Bummer, now I know what the original JW's felt like...

But, I'm the original JW!!!

Looks like the LHC is set to start up again in June now.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sciencean...e-restart.html

That's great for Europe. Of course over here in the states we'll all be incinerated and/or asphyxiated by then....

Pffft. Everyone knows the end of the world is currently scheduled for 2012, silly.

True, but that's "The world". It does not imply USA will last that long.

Actually that brings up a good point. What did the Mayan's consider "The World". To them it might have meant just Central/South America. The rest of the planet could get off scott free.

Apparently the Mayans weren't the only ones calling for 2012. There's some astrological something-or-other calling for 2012 as well.

Nostradamus

Well, there's debate as to whether the book of drawings was Nostradamus or not.

12/21/2012 is the precise date predicted if anyone wants to make a sticky

:P

embrace the horror folks. if you run, you'll only die tired

Wait, if it was NOT Nostradamus making the prediction then there is at least a slight chance it could be a true prophecy. Damn. I might have to worry about this after all.

Jack: the winter solstice? That's interesting. Who called for that date, the Mayans?

Why do I keep reading the name of that thing as the "Large Hardon Collider"?

Better start using my vacation time

thats what was stated on the history channel thingy I saw about it, yeah.

I think they even specified a time, but eh.

thing was, the Mayans didnt see it as a bad thing, just the normal progression of the universe

personally, I think their calendar maker just said 'eff it, it wont be my problem'

The Hadron Collider is back in business.

But not for long

it seems science...um...isnt an exact science. :D

I'm calling it the "Hardon Collider" from now on.

Perhaps, but......

Apparently, the Hadron II is already in the works

I wonder who would win if they fought.

Triangle man.

Has anyone seen the Hadron Collider t-shirt?

I have now...




I like this one

A site for you (NSFW) http://largehardoncollider.com/