First of all, let me be the first to wish all Americans a Happy Independence Day.
Secondly, scientists from CERN have announce the they have detected evidence of the Higgs Boson, the fundamental particle of matter that gives all matter mass, according to the Standard Model. (At least to a probability of 3 million to one against it not existing). While this may not mean much to most of you, it is a very important discovery to the scientific world and will probably lead to a much greater understanding of the universe. It excites me, anyway. 🙂
Boadicea's Chariot 
OK! OK! I’ll wish Americans a ‘Happy Independence Day’ – even if I (silently) consider that they were a rebellious mob who made a serious mistake in removing themselves from the civilising influence of the UK…. 🙂
I think the second part of your post is of far greater import – even if I don’t really understand what it is. Anything that leads to a greater understanding of the universe has to be more significant than the celebration of any one nation on this tiny planet
Nice one FEEG,
I also offer my salutations to the Septics, todays date had completely slipped my small furry mind.
On the topic of the Higgs Bosun chum, it is of course wayyyyy over the apex of my napper, but I fail to see what difference proof makes in this case.
They had already calculated that the particle had to exist so therefore must understand what it does. Nes Pas?
Anyhoo the Bosun was the nursery stuff.
Top scientists are now trying to find a particle of morality in banking and politics. 🙂
Well, me old furry mate, try this for size.
The existence of the Higgs boson had been postulated as a necessary part of the jigsaw if the current understanding of the picture were to be valid, Now (if) they have proved its existence, the underlying theory is highly likely to be correct (as far as it goes).
But had it not been found, a whole new theory would have been necessary, because the current one would have been proved to be wrong.
There’s no morality in money; it doesn’t actually exist in the physical world, remember. 🙂
FEEG: Thanks on behalf of the nation.
OZ: Most of us are happy with the outcome, I personally can’t imagine anything worse than being part of Europe right now.
Just a little tribute to that fine gentleman Peter Higgs (a Geordie originally) who went to the same Grammar school as Paul Dirac (Google is available) in Bristol, but, for the avoidance of doubt, has for a good while been at that fine institution the University of Embra.
Sorry, for OZ read Boadicea.
Not sure the present POTUS is much better than van Rumpy Pumpy 🙂
Happy Fourth to all our American friends. Enjoy your day.
Not sure the present POTUS is much better than van Rumpy Pumpy
Any Nation must succeed DESPITE it’s politicians, not because of them. 🙂
1. A rebel mob lead on by rebels acting out of self-interest. Among these rebels was a man who happened to control among the colonies’ most influential newspapers. Upon gaining their independence after the British no longer considered them worth the effort this mob went on to lie through their teeth about the British and pretend that they were the most glorious things to have ever blessed the earth with their presence while doing more to destabilise the planet than any country other than France or Belgium.
2. This could get interesting.
A trivia question. Who was the last president of the US to have been born a British subject? No Googling!
I do believe that the first 3, Washington, Adams and Jefferson truly were democrats in the purest meaning, but I think it did not take long for cynicism to rear its head and for power politics to come to the fore.
Happy 4th, LW.
For the record, I got the answer to the above question wrong. I had the first president to be born a US citizen.
Hello Sipu: I do not know the answer to the question but I do know it was not George Washington (he was second or third generation colonial) hazarding a guess I would say one of the presidents before him (ie 1776 to o1789) the original 13 colonies took it in turn to elect a president of the Congress but I could not name a single one.
Sipu: I would guess Andrew Jackson. Martin van Buren is a bit more questionable. He was born when the American Mutiny was effectively over, but not yet when the UK formally acknowledged the end of hostilities.
Wait, I forgot about William Henry Harrison. He was an older man when he was elected.
Of course you all realise that our very own Mayor of London, Barking Boris Johnson is eligable for US President. 🙂
I say he should go for it, the septics will lap him up.
The great cry of ‘no taxation without representation’ kicked it off. Strikes me they need a rerun against their own Govt these days! And, for that matter so do we! So perhaps a mutual commiseration is more in order?
Re the particle, all very well and good but I doubt it will do very much for any of us in practical terms.
If it doesn’t stop humanity breeding and the swamping of economic migrants and the rape of the few wild places left there won’t be much of a world left for it to do its stuff, especially when the electricity gets turned off!!
Knowing humanity I suspect it will not be high on the order of things unless it can be turned into some kind of weapon!
Bearsy #4,
Look chum, I was fairly confused to start with, now I don’t know my small furry arse from my elbow. 😦
Hi Christopher, yes Harrison, the 9th president was born British. Von Buren, the 7th was the first ‘American’.
LW, I could not name the pre Washingtonians, but I would guess that John Hancock was one of them.
O Furry One: Bearsy is quite right. If it turned out the Higgs Boson did not exist, then the last 50 odd years of particle physics theory would have been wrong and scientists would have had to start again. This has a huge bearing on how the structure of the universe is viewed.
FEEG I get that but no=one was setting out to prove the non=existence of the particle. Had the experiment failed, they would still be stuck with the theory. “OK we can’t prove it exists, but neither can we prove it doesn’t”. Sounds like the god argument to me.
Lets say someone came up with gods mobile number, e-mail, MSN and twitter handle tomorrow. I would still insist the bible was a complete and utter pile of shite.
Thanks Sipu: Wasn’t Harrison the one who caught Pneumonia making his inaugural speech, he must also win the prize for the shortest presidency. Pity it does not happen to more of them, having the inaugural in January should sort out some of the weaklings.
Happy Independence Day!
As to the rest of it:
Ara: Yes, I have read HHGTTG too. 🙂
FEEG.
🙂
Makes a lot of sense to me!
LW: Yes, William H Harrison caught pneumonia and died a month after taking office.
His grandson, Benjamin Harrison, had a much happier go at it.
I see that Prof Hawking lost a $100 bet that the particle wouldn’t be found. Given that he is probably one of the few people who know what it is, I’m even more confused than ever.