P.S.

I have been wondering, 'What questions should I ask whilst I'm at CERN?'.

Bearing in mind that I will have access to some of the greatest minds on planet Earth I should make the most of this opportunity.

I am open to suggestions! So post them! (Drama Queen, Borough Banter, Solo, Mcleod, Skywalker, Jenson and Tribbles I am watching out for your posts!)

So far I've had the following: -

• What's the situation with Fermi Lab rumours discovering the Higgs Boson first?
  
• If the LHC does its job what is the next step for the Standard Model?
  
• Are there any off-shoot technologies from the LHC which may become useful for society?
  
• How would you explain the importance of Particle Research to the Public in general?
  

T - 1

Swiss Money - How Much Is That?

My nerves are really start to build-up now. It hasn't been helped by the security scare which has happened at Glasgow airport. My sister phoned me to get me to double check that the flight is still on. Luckily it is which is a relief!

The strangest thing is that I keep reminding myself that, 'This time tomorrow you are going to be in foreign country'

I've packed and organised all my travel documents so that I can have easy access to anything I need. (Took me half an hour as my friend suggested!)

Packing the suitcase was easy although I did have to leave a couple of things out which I'm sure I will wish I had with me but what the hey. (This was why I bought a Nintendo DS. So it could sit at home whilst I travelled halfway across Europe.) But in case you're wondering, here's what I consider to be essential for any international traveller: -

• Passport and tickets. (Otherwise you might as well stay at home!)
• Wallet with Credit cards, so you can buy stuff if your luggage doesn't arrive. I bought my tyres for my Ferrari on credit.
• Ipod + Charger for those long 'terminal waits'
• Enough clean underwear for at least half the number of days I'm at CERN. (If the washing machine breaks it means I only need to turn the pants inside out once)
  
• Same applies to socks:-)
• Crisps and chocolates to keep the energy up

It will be an early start tomorrow so here's to a safe and quick journey and hope to post soon!

T - 2

Just another day to go before I head off to destroy the universe..... well, maybe put a spanner into the Large Hadron Collider. (LHC for short - just think of the headlines!)

Still haven't packed my suitcase although my mum bought me some new underpants which I was told to put into the wash in case they were 'dusty'. (?!?!?!?)

At least I know if I get searched the underpants will get a clean bill of health:-)

It still hasn't sunk in though, that I'm going to be visiting one of the most advanced research centres on planet Earth at what could be possibly an historic beginning. (For the non-physicists out there, the aim of the LHC is to collide particles at never before attempted energies in the hope of finding something called the 'Higgs Boson' - check out Wikipedia for more info!)

Hello World!

Hello World!

Welcome to the HST Adventure blog.

The aim of this Blog is to document my adventure on the HST programme run by CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.

I'll try to post daily, include pictures, (at some point!) and if there are any questions feel free to post and I'll answer asap. (Although not always with a sensible answer)