Five Minutes Past Midnight

Well, it's Friday and the Earth hasn't imploded yet.

Fears that the Large Hadron Collider would destroy the world by possibly creating a black hole (read: gasp), have spurned worldwide media coverage, lawsuits, hate mail and threatening phone calls to CERN, and really just made everyone feel a little uneasy.

To save you the research, the Large Hadron Collider is an $8 billion dollar piece of super-equipment that stretches 16.8 miles under the border of France and Switzerland. Effectively it's a huge, ring-shaped tunnel through which photons are blasted at incredible speeds, smashing together at a point to create exotic and rare matter which is then photographed and studied by people smarter than us.

I've been following the story of the collider in the press for a few months now, this past Wednesday the machine was fired up, and although nobody can say for sure that it's safe and that it won't suck us all into oblivion, we've survived three days now. That's got to count for something, right?

Then again... who can say we haven't already been sucked into oblivion?

One thing I was having fun thinking about this morning is that since nobody actually knows what is at the center of (or through) a black hole, we may very well have already created one. If that's the case, then along with our solar system we might already have been sucked in. As long as the 'order of things' had been maintained in this happy phenomenon, we'd be inside it, but also none the wiser. Quite.

That probably makes no sense, but it was an interesting thought. It may explain my headache in any case...

Cheers all!

Jimzip :D

A Triumph Over Wakefulness

Let me begin by saying that if it weren't for coffee, I would probably be dead right now. Yes, it was caffeine that saved me from being crushed by two maniacal drivers as I walked to work yesterday morning. Given the crash happened on the other side of the city, on a road I've never used, and at a time that would have been - well quite impossible for me to have been there, but had I not stopped to get a morning cuppa joe, I might very well have found myself in the middle of it. Profound, I know! It truly does make you stop and think how lucky you are.

Indeed.

So, I've become a coffee drinker.

It began so simply I must admit. A mere coincidence of my mug being present underneath the nozzle of the brewed 'Guatemalan Oohlala' blend one morning, a sachet of raw sugar, and a rainy day began the affair. My relationship with tea was effectively put on hold at that point, we haven't tangoed since.

Hey, there's worse things to become addicted to - cigarettes, whaling, sudoku, and I could give it up any time...

Unfortunately (as is often the case), that which giveth can also take away. I find coffee is akin to the cup of Christ in that Indiana Jones movie in some respects. You know the scene I'm talking about, where that creepy dude has the life sucked out of him? Yes. Well, it works in metaphor better than in actuality. Either way, the saying 'If you can handle the crash, keep truckin' is one I suppose would fit the scenario with fair accuracy.

But enough of that. Now that I've given you a rundown of my shortcoming (yes it's true, I only have one), I can move on to more pressing matters.

So every night for the past two weeks, with the constant dehydration and bloodshot eyes that accompany said addiction in mind, I've been flat out with things that don't really further my personal goals in any way, but that have been smashing nonetheless!

Firstly, Seattle last weekend was a blast, from the pubs and clubs to the olympics and house parties, it was all good times. Then I found myself back in Vancouver, attending an incredible garden party, catching up with some old (god have I been here that long?) friends, hosting cocktail parties, attending a wonderful screening of some indie-movies, and being invited by random women on buses to a 3 Doors Down concert.

The last item was in fact very enjoyable. Melanie, a lovely lass from Montreal, and myself, were given two tickets to the concert on our commute home one rainy evening. With nothing better to do (it was supposed to have been my night off!), we both accepted, met each other at the stadium, and rocked out to a couple of screamer bands - and then finally the over accentuated, but nonetheless energetic cover band themselves.

Admittedly, neither of us knew any of their songs (except Kryptonite of course). But despite this, we shared laughs, we tried talking in broken English, she danced, I yawned, and took photos of us doing both. Then without another word, we both went home. She was a fun lass, and I'll probably never see her again, but she did mention that she lived in the area - and that she loved coffee... so who knows, our addiction may very well bring us together again...

Man, I need a nap.

Let me end by saying that if it weren't for coffee, I'd probably be alive right now.

Jimzip :D