| “i’m kind of a big deal” -the hadron collider |

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator complex, intended to collide opposing beams of protons with very high kinetic energy. Its main purpose is to explore the validity and limitations of the Standard Model, the current theoretical picture for particle physics. It is theorized that the collider will confirm the existence of the Higgs boson, the observation of which could confirm the predictions and missing links in the Standard Model, and could explain how other elementary particles acquire properties such as mass.

The LHC was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and lies underneath the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, Switzerland. It is funded by and built in collaboration with over eight thousand physicists from over eighty-five countries as well as hundreds of universities and laboratories. The LHC is operational and is presently in the process of being prepared for collisions. The first beams were circulated through the collider on 10 September 2008, and the first high-energy collisions are planned to take place after the LHC is officially unveiled on 21 October.

Although there have been questions concerning the safety of the Large Hadron Collider in the media and even through the courts, the consensus in the scientific community is that there is no conceivable threat from the LHC particle collisions.

wikipedia.org

| apple addict |

nothing is more appealing to me than dandy new Apple products /applications / software. the new nano-chromatics make me want to take my fat ass 80 G iPod and heave it at a small yappy dog. i am totally entranced by the lemon and poppy coloured versions. you too can be an iTunes “genius” by nabbing one of these flashy accessories and DLing the V.8 upgrade with Genius app included.

Does Sex Sell at too High a Cost?

http://www.straight.com/article-160937/truth-or-trash-sex-sells-cost-too-high

| photo editing |

| i am a shutterbug |

…but i don’t have a professional DSLR. i use the Canon PowerShot SD 870 IS – a simple point-and-shoot model that fits in my pocket. what i do rely on is digital photography software. it can definitely turn a mediocre photo into a work of art!

~ here is a picture taken on the Ferry from Victoria. the first version is the normal colour, and the second is an enhanced version that i generated using “Aperture” for mac. i straightened out the horizon, as well as changed the temperature and exposure of the light radius. total time: 30 seconds. ~

~ here is my uncle with a crabby friend on Salt Spring Island. the day is overcast, and gray. the problem i find with photography, is that when you look back on the photo, it doesn’t do the memory justice. i used Aperture again and changed the undertones from blue to green, sharpened the image and deepened the contrast. total time: 15 seconds. ~

~ this lovely sunflower in the UBC Botanical Garden needed an edge. the colour edited version is bright and cheerful, but the black and white version is artistic in a different way. i used iPhoto for mac and de-saturated the colour and bumped up the contrast to its highest spectrum. total time: 5 seconds. ~

why not use your own photos for a website, greeting card, wedding invite, business card…etc.

all photos courtesy of my lovely flickr album that i love so much!

| Agent_Em |

Man looking for fighting dwarf duo? Really?!

So here I am perusing craigslist tonight after a long day at work and what do I find in the help needed section:

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/dmg/802731209.html

What is this world coming to?

| the next artistic movement? |

| sucking life out of art |

there’s a kind of exploitation of art that creates a false representation of quality. i started thinking about this whilst washing my hands in the office today. the ‘da vinci’ soap dispenser is a daily utility that i have used without really thinking about it. what would da vinci say if he knew his identity was reduced to a mounted plastic vessel for public bathrooms? …look…he’s frowning!

Simulacrum: a slight, unreal, or superficial likeness or semblance.

Verisimilitude: something, as an assertion, having merely the appearance of truth.

so, here we have two versions of the Mona Lisa that are presented with a commercial flair.  what we don’t realize, is that the existence of mass replication actually diminishes the value of the original artifact. these images are a simulacrum of the real thing. when you can see multiple interpretations of an image at any given time, you lose the respect and feeling of awe you get from the real artifact.

Lego and Starbucks should get their own creative inspiration!

| Agent_Em |

Breakdown in Communication between Mothers and Daughters?

http://www.straight.com/article-157260/truth-or-trash-communication-breakdowns-between-mothers-and-daughers

Get your Chubby on

 

    I have for the past 6 months wanted, craved, lusted after an authentic Cruiser bike.  It all started with a rare sunny day that inspired a bike ride around Stanley park in Vancouver.  My little aqua bike gave me such a permanent grin that I just had to have a bicycle of my own and that lead me to Chubby Cruisers.   

These bikes are just plain cool.  I bought mine yesterday and during my short victory ride I got no less than 4 unsolicited compliments.  

Gerty, as I have affectionately named her and she is bright orange with 

a shiny white seat and a basket, perfect for a sunny day ride.  Chubby’s does ship anywhere and has a great selection that is not going to break the bank.  Gerty ran me about $200 and that includes the bells and streamers.

So if you’re on the look out for a new ride that is not only sweet but will give you, GASP, some exercise checkthese guys out and start putting together your own Chubby.  

 

Love Lynda

The City of Angels

I’m a resent transplant to Los Angeles and I’ve been doing a bit of exploring like the Long Beach Flea Market and going for Karaoke in Culver City.  But I have found that you need to have someone point you to the amazing spots.  That is what I’m asking you to help me with.   What are your favourite places to hit when you come into LA?  Shopping?  Food?  Markets?  Music?  Best place to get a Hot Dog?  I want to know these places and have fun doing it.  Whatcha think?  Can you help me feel like a local?

 

If you have seen the news from yesterday you will know that there was an earthquake around noon.  It was 5.6 on the Richter scale and out here in the Valley it made the sofa feel like I was sitting on jello.  Well I guess that puts me a little closer to being a local, hun?

Internet Picture of the Month…It’s all about Gender Equality

Here there I was doing some googling (and yes that is a term of the 21 century) and found this picture. Now since I told everyone that I would be blogging about worldly matters I felt obligated to post this…

We now have proof that carrots are gendered…thats right.. they may not be able to fornicate but they do have the parts…

Now you can go on for the rest of your day happy to know that the world is evolving as God himself intended it to!