Aren’t they all God particles?

Thanks to the Higgs rumors I’ve already read enough God Particle articles to last me a lifetime. Besides, technically, given an a priori belief in a cosmic creator/planner, wouldn’t every particle be a “God” particle? But I do understand the Higgs is hard to understand, so its significance to physics is difficult for the layperson to to appreciate. This article just posted by Matt Srassler will bring you up to date on the hard science of detection, for non physicist, non engineers, you’ll find this excellent piece written with you in mind most helpful. Then there’s the LHC rap, and if you can get past the cheesiness factor, it’s actually quite good and even has an MC Hawking intro, below the fold. [Read more…]

Eat junkfood, lay on the couch, and get ripped like Adonis

Who wouldn’t want to believe you could lay around all day eating cake and fried cheese and become a healthier, lean-mean muscular god? The idea is so seductive that, despite real world experience to the contrary, variations of it form the basis for weight loss and workout scams to this day. The economic equivalent is the claim that getting rid of annoying rules and cutting the taxes on billionaires leads to a healthier economy and prosperity for all. We know for a recent historical fact that that isn’t true, because we’ve been cutting taxes on billionaires and deregulating for decades and the economy went straight into the shitter. Finally, someone with a megaphone used it to point this out. [Read more…]

CERN announces an upcoming announcement and presser on Higgs

Rumors swirled today that data may have been found that supports the Higgs boson at ~126 GeV. Reliable sources have speculated the data will show a certainty, that something’s there, to about 4.2 sigma, the threshold for official detection is 5 sigma, but that only triggers many rounds of attempted confirmation. I’m told that is probably the gist of what CERN will discuss, full statement below: [Read more…]

Jon Huntsman turns climate change denier

Chasing the know-nothing vote is apparently more important to Jon Huntsman than the integrity he once claimed to prize. Whereas before the former Utah Governor accepted the scientific consensus on climate change (And evolution), now he’s paying homage to the deniers by way of the long debunked CRU email hack:

(TPM) — “[T]here is — there are questions about the validity of the science, evidenced by one university over in Scotland recently,” Huntsman said, referring to the East Anglia University conspiracy that continues to fuel climate change skepticism. “I think the onus is on the scientific community to provide more in the way of information, to help clarify the situation.”

That’ll do pig, that’ll do.

Rumors swirling of major announcement on Higgs boson

I don’t know anything beyond that. Other than a physicist just tipped me off a major announcement would be forthcoming in the near future and there’s a lot of press speculation on it. Prepare for endless reviews of the God Particle…

Update: Here’s what I’ve been told “two experiments see a big enhancement in 2-photon production, which fits perfectly with what one expects for a Higgs at 125 GeV.    The total significance is 4.2 sigma, which is just short of the 5 sigma needed for the announcement of an official discovery.”

Kepler bags a twin earth candidate 600 light-years away!

This diagram compares our solar system to Kepler-22, a star system containing the first "habitable zone" planet discovered by the Kepler mission. (NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech)

It may be the first of many, but it will always be the first. It was inevitable, inasmuch as we all thought it would happen sooner or later, but a chill still ran down my spine when I read what the Kepler planet finder discovered. [Read more…]

Herman Cain has feelings …

Herman Cain has feelings, and he’s discovered those feelings can be hurt by what he calls false accusations and the court of public opinion being fed by the liberal media. On Saturday the former front-runner suspended his campaign, a nifty dodge allowing the zillionaire and his agents to beg struggling middle-class people to pay off Cain’s remaining campaign debt. The hurt ran so deep he decreed it was a loss, for the American People mind you, that we would not have Cain’s ingenious solutions working for our nation. He also promised he would endorse someone soon. Today, we hear rumors it will be Newt Gingrich:

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Rudy Giulianni and Colin Powell don’t want you living in a van down by the river

For weeks I’ve been hearing annoying radio ads for some kind of business opportunity speaking deal with Rudy Giuliani and Colin Powell. There were some other big names too, one from sports, I think, and someone related to Warren Buffet. What surprised me was the advertised price, $1.95 per office. Not per person, per office of people, causing any skeptic’s spidey sense to tingle. The dog and pony show finally came through last month and a friend of mine went. Surprise surprise, it’s a combo proselytizing and self-help sales pitch rolled into one. [Read more…]

Herman Cain suspends campaign

Alas, woe is me, the Cainwreck has made its last stop. Speaking in front of a scattered crowd in what was to be the opening for his new campaign HQ in Georgia, the controversial former front-runner announced he was suspending his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination. Cain blamed false accusers, media frenzy, his family’s feelings, and noted several time he would never apologize for the greatness of the USA (WTF?). The pizza magnate introduced a new site called CainSolutions.com, which does not appear to do anything or offer any insight, other than a donation button hard-working people can use to pay off the millionaire’s accumulated campaign debt despite incessant bragging he was raking in the dough for the last two months. [Read more…]