Switzerland is still here.

Well, they ran that super collider thingy last night. They sent one beam around clockwise and another around counterclockwise. They knew it worked when two white dots appeared on the computer screen. That's lame. 

What happened to the black hole? 

The Big Bang? 

Two white dots? 

You have got to be kidding.

 (Why are we wanting to replicate a supposed Big Bang anyway? Seems a little foolhardy to me.)

You know, this whole thing reminds me of the Fisher Price Speedstar Raceway.

One can smash things together for a lot less money.

One more thing. Stephen Hawking has declared the super collider safe. 

No need to worry anymore.

Shucks.

I needed something to worry about. 

Farmers vs. Barbarian Knights

The young adventurer has missed a some school due to illness (and and extra day off because this is second grade and one more day of rest can only be a good thing). We needed some entertainment that was not Wii, movies, Tamagotchi, or Webkins world. Out came the Playmobil sets.

He was the farmers. I was the Barbarians. The farmers were a motley crew. The barbarians were highly organized and well armed. They launched a raid, taking a pig and a little girl. They roasted and ate the pig, but before they could harm the little girl, they were attacked by the farmers. The barbarians fired cannons, and trebuchet, and attacked on foot and on horseback, but they were no match for the farmers. 

The barbarians were slaughtered.

The farmers heaped their bodies in a pile.

The farmer, armed with a rake, celebrates victory. Youth and farming implements trumps barbarianism and treachery once again.

The girl who had been kidnapped by the barbarians now plays happily in a tree with the little boy. The farmer's army did not escape unscathed, however. Observe the dead pirate. 

It's a good thing adventurer went back to school today, or the farm may have been attacked by dinosaurs and arctic scientists. Mom doesn't like to lose.

See you tomorrow. Maybe

By tomorrow morning we should know whether this Super collider  will create a black hole that will swallow the earth. That is, if we can measure that properly. And if we wake up in the morning. What might it be like to be swallowed by a black hole?

Dad once tried to launch a citrus fruit from a large slingshot made of surgical tubing. The whole thing backfired and the citrus supercollided with the wall of the house. His dad was mad, and the house bore the "black hole" for years to come. 

What if the super collider only makes a little black hole? What would the world be like with a black hole where switzerland used to be?

What? You have got to be kidding

This visit to the Wienerschnitzel did not win me over. Ugh. The corn dogs are made of chicken. Danjo the MAGNIFICENT, however, wants to join the Wiener Lover's Club.  

Belatedly...Orchids

So far, none are dead.

Meet Ziggy, the zygopelatum. Formerly of Trader Joe's. Check the previous post for what it looked like when it arrived at my house. Note the dead flowers and three dead leaves. Can you see the black spots on several other leaves. I don't think those are good.

And yet, a ray of hope appears. There is a new stem, with three new flowers. Prognosis for Ziggy. Uncertain. 

This is the dendrobium. It also had four blossoms when it arrived. They all died and fell off. No leaves have died. No new flower shoots.

Note the presence of a tiny new root. At least I think it is a root. I am a novice orchideer.

Prognosis. Guardedly good.

This is my other interesting houseplant. It has remained alive in the kitchen window for nearly a year. The plant in the front of the pot looks like a monster. This plant is alive because it needs infrequent watering. 

All my other house plants have been dismissed to the front porch to make room for the orchids. 

This is not a houseplant. It sprouted up in the front yard and is taking over. I probably need to pull it up before it kills the daylilies. Does anyone know what it is?