Fundamental,particles,particle,quantum,physics. (Also make good pet names)
Theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder is optimistic about the future of her field, seeing many potential avenues of exploration. Questions about the nature of dark matter, dark energy, zero-point energy, quantum gravity, the measurement problem in quantum mechanics, all present fascinating puzzles for physicists to untangle.
But she also warns that we may have reached the “nightmare scenario” in a particular branch of the discipline: particle physics.
The problem? The best theories imply that there may be no more new elementary particles left to discover.
It’s a potentially devastating conclusion for a particle physicist. There would be no game-changing discoveries on the horizon for the field, no more major eureka moments that transform careers and alter the course of scientific history.
This problem, Hossenfelder argues, also undermines the case for the newly proposed particle collider from CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
Dancing With Fools 
Infinity ends here.
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Oh, great! Here we go again….
“We’re looking for a little more snow with this event, maybe 2 to 4 inches depending on where you are,” said meteorologist Gary Schneider.
Snowfall amounts could be even heavier than that, with a worst-case scenario of 12 inches in the lowlands of metro Seattle…
“But the big story is the wind, and possible power outages,” Schneider said in an interview.
Winds will be from the northeast at 35-45 mph with gusts from 50-60 mph…
Canadian forecasts show the storm descending into British Columbia on Thursday night and spreading south through the Fraser River Valley, with potentially heavy snowfall.
“Beginning late Thursday, a fresh infusion of arctic air will descend through the province,” Environment Canada said in a special weather statement with its online forecast for Abbotsford, B.C., north of Sumas.
….
Unseasonably low temperatures will continue at least through the weekend, with little chance for melting on snow-packed side streets and rural roads….
Another storm system is possible Sunday night and Monday, but it’s still too far away for forecasters to predict its severity…
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Alfred de Zayas was the first UN rapporteur (independent expert) to visit and report from Venezuela in 21 years. His piece: “As a former UN special rapporteur, the coup in Venezuela reminds me of the rush to war in Iraq” was just published by the British Independent.
He writes: “There is nothing more undemocratic and corrosive to the rule of law than a coup d’état. Members of the United Nations are bound by the Charter, articles one and two of which affirm the right of all peoples to determine themselves, the sovereign equality of states, the prohibition of the use of force and of economic or political interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states. Yet these fundamental principles of international order are being grossly violated in the case of Venezuela.
“The international community witnessed a revolt against the UN Charter when in 2003 the United States together with the ‘coalition of the willing’ decided to invade Iraq, a war which the late secretary general Kofi Annan described as illegal. This massive act of aggression was probably the most serious violation of the Nuremberg Principles since the Second World War. What shocks the conscience is not that the United States would place itself above international law, but that it dragged 42 countries into this destructive looting campaign. The war was preceded by an ocean of fake news and disinformation, intended to make the aggression more palatable to world public opinion. War crimes and crimes against humanity were committed for which no political leader has been held accountable. One may ask, is the International Criminal Court credible, when it has thus far only focused on African politicians, and has failed to investigate or indict leaders of powerful countries, who have hitherto enjoyed total impunity?
“In 2011 another oil-rich state was devastated, Libya, with the aggression similarly preceded by systematic governmental and media disinformation. Today’s crisis in Venezuela has much in common with the prior aggressions against the two other oil-producing countries.
“One would think that the human rights community is committed to advancing the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights of all without discrimination. Their silence in the face of the enormous suffering inflicted on the Venezuelan people by the United States is nothing less than appalling. The economic war against Venezuela, carried out not only by the United States, but also by the Grupo de Lima in clear violation of Chapter 4, Article 19 of the OAS Charter, the financial blockade and the sanctions have demonstrably caused hundreds of deaths directly related to the scarcity of food and medicines resulting from the blockade.
“It is all too obvious that the intention of the sanctions has been to asphyxiate the Venezuelan economy in the expectation that the Venezuelan people or the Venezuelan military will topple the Maduro government. This kind of interference in the internal affairs of Venezuela is not only contrary to fundamental principles of international law, but it also gives rise to personal criminal liability. To the extent that the number of victims of the artificial ‘humanitarian crisis’ continues to grow, this is a matter for the International Criminal Court pursuant to article 7 of the Rome Statute, which defines ‘crimes against humanity.’
“The report of my UN mission to Venezuela was presented to the Human Rights Council on 10 September 2018. Among the many constructive recommendations formulated in my report was the revival of the dialogue between the opposition and the government. Already between 2016-2018 the former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero hosted a multilateral mediation in which the Vatican and six Latin American states participated.
“After two years a reasonable compromise document was agreed upon, and on the day of signature, 6 February 2018, Julio Borges, the representative of the opposition refused to sign. This can only be qualified as a grave manifestation of bad faith.”
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Common denominator in both?
Bolt-on
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Thanks to The Donald, I now know that The National Enquirer’s reporting is far mor accurate the The Washington Post.
Who knew?
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I awoke this am at 6 and thinking it was 6 pm, dressed and dashed up to the Hillside Cafe for for dinner. But of course it wasn’t open yet so went home and back to bed dressed but for boots. Up to -7 °C which doesn’t nip like –13 °C does. I could see the earth glow of the slender crescent moon.
Anyway, 40 minutes of stick walking so far today.
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On Moscow Times together today there is a short video of a Bactrian camel pulling a car out of a snow bank.
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That’s weird, getting up and thinking it was p.m. Are you sometimes in bed at 6:00 p.m. so that you thought it was evening?
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Senior Moment.
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Silly you!
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Up to Bryan Hall for a magnificent orchestra concert and then after staying at the reception for a cookie and some chat home in the -7 °C weather.
Day 5: 92+60=152 minutes.
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High winds here. Sara posted that they heard a limb go down in the back of their house. Can’t wait to get a report on that in the morning.
The fastest gust here at the ranch was 28 mph. Then it calmed down. Now it’s back to howling out there. I better run to the LR and see what that last gust registered.
Only 21 mph.
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What happens when the wind blows hard at my domicile:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ibbtq7pgzSGPKNCG8
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Toes suddenly appear next to broken branches?
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There is one in every crowd:
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Jill came over this morning, and around 12:30 Pete, Sara and Nicholas came over. Always nice to have my kids around. We ordered a pizza because I don’t usually have food for them like in the old days when Bob was here.
Peter ordered it from Hungry Howie’s in the village. After that he looked at the menu I had and thought it was a lot more money. He checked their website and the price was correct but there was an extra charge of $6. So, I asked him, is that the tip for the delivery guy? We’ve always driven to town and picked a pizza up.
What does that mean? Do I still have to tip the driver? I told Pete to call them back. They said it was a delivery fee and not the tip and that made me ma even though they said the driver gets part of that, yeah, what part? A dollar? I said to Pete, why are they charging US a fee for pizza delivery if that kid is using HIS time and HIS car and HIS gas…the tip IS the fee.
Pete called them back again, told them to cancel the delivery, he would drive in and pick it up. YES! I would have given the kid $5, and with their $6 fee, picking it up saved me $11.
Pizza wasn’t ready so Pete ended up talking the girl employee. She said lots of people hate that fee and complain, the old people are the worst, she said, lol. Yeah, LIKE ME!
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