Large Hadron Collider Goes Online

Posted: September 10th, 2008 | Author: | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment »

After today science will have a chance at discovering great unknowns and proving or disproving some of the most fundamental theories in physics. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will go online in CERN. Although I have no expertise in this subject matter I will try my hand at a quick summary of the most important points. Follow the jump for a brief introduction and a very nice video explaining it all in rap!

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Driving On Country Roads

Posted: September 9th, 2008 | Author: | Tags: , , | No Comments »

twisities on the road
The other day I was driving back from a weekend trip. I decided to take a less traveled road, a highway that is only 2 lanes and goes through many small towns. About an hour (or maybe less) into the drive, I felt guilty. In an age when everyone is saying the evils of driving gasoline-powered cars, and the concern for the environment is at an all time high I was actually enjoying the drive! There was no one but me on the road, and I was taking in the beautiful scenery as well as the twists on the road. I felt like I understood the purpose of driving wasn’t to get from

At the end of the trip I took about 20 minutes longer to reach my destination and to ease my conscience, the total distance traveled was less than if had taken the main highways!


Namjoo in the basement | نامجو در زیرزمین

Posted: August 31st, 2008 | Author: | Tags: , , | 2 Comments »


The Eternal Student

Posted: July 9th, 2008 | Author: | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

ClassroomA while ago, we had a discussion over dinner about the merits of higher education. I was trying my best to argue against non-functional and non-essential education: getting a Masters degree just for the sake of getting one, and so on. From the length of the conversation, it appears I wasn’t very successful at convincing everyone else about my position. A couple of nights ago I came across this passage

When a society is rich, its people don’t need to work with their hands; they can devote themselves to activities of the spirit. We have more and more universities and more and more students. If students are going to earn degrees, they’ve got to come up with dissertation topics. And since dissertations can be written about everything under the sun, the number of topics is infinite. Sheets of paper covered with words pile up in archives sadder than cemeteries…[1]

  1. The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Chris De Burgh featuring Arian Band

Posted: May 27th, 2008 | Author: | Tags: , | No Comments »