Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Science & Technology

Hope They Bought the Service Plan

Radley Balko | 9.28.2008 6:34 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Buried in the election and Wall Street coverage last week: The Hadron Collider is broken.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: None of the Above

Radley Balko is a journalist at The Washington Post.

Science & TechnologyScience
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Hide Comments (47)

Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.

  1. Warren   17 years ago

    Well THAT explains the continuity of the space-time continuum.

  2. J sub D   17 years ago

    Anyone who is even slightly surprised that an experimental machine pushing the limits of modern technology has glitches upon start up, raise your hand.

    Yes, Pollyanna?

  3. Just Plain Brian   17 years ago

    "Large Hadron Collider Technical Support, how can I help you?.....I see, and are you getting an error message?.....OK, let's try shutting it down and re-starting it...."

  4. rhywun   17 years ago

    Oh well, back to drawing board.

  5. Jeff P   17 years ago

    This is obviously the work of agents from the future trying to prevent the impending quantum apocalypse.

    Those who deny the existence of future agents may be future agents themselves...

  6. James Anderson Merritt   17 years ago

    Just do whatever you can to avoid the blue screen of death. There's no rebooting after that.

  7. suibne   17 years ago

    It's working fine in a different dimension.

  8. Fred   17 years ago

    They should ask Sarah Palin to help out

  9. Proton Liberation Front   17 years ago

    FREEDOM

  10. Bingo   17 years ago

    But does it run Li.. oh wait.

  11. Urkobold™   17 years ago

    ONE MOMENT. IS THIS THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER OR THE LARGE HARDON COLLIDER? THE URKOBOLD HAS PHILOSOPHICAL OBJECTIONS TO THE LATTER.

  12. Jon H   17 years ago

    What, is it stuck in the shape of a Police Box?

  13. P Bar Liberation Front   17 years ago

    ANTI FREEDOM

  14. Tzolkin   17 years ago

    They say they be back up in 2009, but really they'll do their full power test on Dec 21, 2012.

  15. the innominate one   17 years ago

    my lord URKOBOLD: like so?

  16. P Brooks   17 years ago

    "What's this button do?"

    *later*

    "What's that smell?"

  17. Spicoli   17 years ago

    Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it.

  18. Max   17 years ago

    Not to worry, it's insured by AIG.

  19. Stevo Darkly   17 years ago

    This is obviously the work of agents from the future trying to prevent the impending quantum apocalypse.

    Dammit, Jeff P, you stole what I was going to post.

    Oh well. Let's raise a toast to the Time Patrol! Good job!

  20. Time Patrol Agent Volkross   17 years ago

    Reporting: Successfully deleted Darkly post that unwitting revealed the existence of the Time Patrol.

  21. Time Patrol Bureau Chief Zandr   17 years ago

    Negative, Agent Volkross! Your attempt was not successful! We suspect interference from counter-Patrol forces! Go to Condition Red!

  22. Time Patrol Agent Kalon   17 years ago

    deleted reference to 2012 Civil War. Reporting: Successfully

  23. Time Patrol Bureau Chief Zandr   17 years ago

    WARNING to all field agents operating on the Indo-European/Graeco-Roman-Semetic North American timeline! Time Patrol Agent Geofri Parzonskivad (operating on your time line as "Jeff P.") has gone rogue! Repeat, gone rogue! Is actively opposing our efforts to repair the

  24. Jeff P   17 years ago

    Anyone ever read the very short story Wikihistory?
    Gaze upon our future:

    http://www.abyssandapex.com/200710-wikihistory.html

  25. Time Patrol Agent Kalon   17 years ago

    Reporting severe disruption of this timeline! Due to enemy action, Virginia Postrel is no longer editor of Reason magazine! Believe disruption of timeflow was effected approx. 2000 Common Era (local timeline data). WITHOUT POSTREL EDITORIAL SUPPORT IN 2007-2008 THERE WILL BE NO RON PAUL PRESIDENCY! REQUEST REINFORCEMENTS IMMEDIATELY!

  26. Time Patrol Bureau Chief Zandr   17 years ago

    ALERT! Have identified "Nick Gillespie" as Nikon Espagila, a Zarkonian Pro-Entropic Disrupter agent. Extremely dangerous.

  27. Time Patrol Agent Volkross   17 years ago

    This is the worst disaster to strike this timeline since the 2012 Civil War!

  28. Time Patrol Agent Volkross   17 years ago

    Now Parzonskivad is posting links to secure forums. I just had to edit the netsite to make it look like a "scientifiction" story.

    Zandreau says to fall back and regroup.

    Kalon, meet me at the Goldwater Presidential Monument on the Feast of Wenceslas, 1999 (local time), and we'll figure out where to go from here. These transmissions may no longer be secure.

  29. Jeff P   17 years ago

    I once thought I was lost in time, then I realized I was just in Morris Day and The Time.

  30. Jeff P   17 years ago

    A glance at the ads on this page would make a time traveller from 20 years ago think the timeline was askew.
    Man eveolved from neanderthals.
    Drew Carey hosts Price is Right.
    Reason's been around 40 years...

  31. John D.   17 years ago

    Do they have a router? It's obviously the router.

  32. Episiarch   17 years ago

    Wait, is the collider in the control of the Snakes or the Spiders? It matters, dude. Temporal wars are a bitch. BIG TIME.

  33. R C Dean   17 years ago

    This is obviously the work of agents from the future trying to prevent the impending quantum apocalypse.

    If they needed to come back in time to prevent a quantum apocalypse, wouldn't that mean that, if they didn't do so, there would be a quantum apocalypse? And no future for them to come back from?

    Just askin', is all.

  34. DADIODADDY   17 years ago

    HUUUGE BLAAAACK HOOOOLE SUUUUUCKING INNNNN EVVVVVERRRY THHIIIING AHHHHHHHHH.....

  35. Pro Libertate   17 years ago

    If there's anything I hate, it's a time travel story/arc. Or thread.

  36. DADIODADDY   17 years ago

    RCDEAN
    Damn you and your logical conundrums..

  37. Citizen Nothing, member I.A.T.   17 years ago

    EVERYONE incapacitates the Large Hadron Collider on their first trip. It'll be fixed in 2009, as always.

  38. ChrisH   17 years ago

    R C Dean | September 29, 2008, 9:49am | #
    ...If they needed to come back in time to prevent a quantum apocalypse, wouldn't that mean that, if they didn't do so, there would be a quantum apocalypse? And no future for them to come back from?

    That's in THIS dimension. In other dimensions they figured out what the problem would be in certain conditions. As soon as you turn on something like the LHC, they are able to move in from other dimensions where they already know our future. If we haven't disabled the catastrophe settings yet, they just tweak the machine to break it, and continue that until we get it right.

    HUUUGE BLAAAACK HOOOOLE SUUUUUCKING INNNNN EVVVVVERRRY THHIIIING

    Don't be silly. The thing's broken. The best it can do right now is produce very very light gray holes.

  39. R C Dean   17 years ago

    That's in THIS dimension. In other dimensions they figured out what the problem would be in certain conditions.

    Well, if you're going to go all multiple universes on me, then there must be (effectively) an infinite number of universes with LHCs. The odds of our Good Samaritans from the future putting in an appearance in any particular universe/timeline are pretty much zero.

  40. Temporal Agent Wundal   17 years ago

    Sorry, guys, it was either prevent the Great Depression of 2009 or break the LHC, I didn't have enough battery power to do both.

    P.S. Buy gold. And ammo.

  41. DADIODADDY   17 years ago

    ChrisH
    you're correct of course, you'll forgive the momentary hysteria and mindless panic...how much damage could a very very light gray hole create? at best it could make a giant sucking sound (all our jobs going to a different dimension?)damn transdimensional beings, doing the jobs that the inhabitantss of this spatial-temporal realm won't.

  42. Esteban Darkly, Elector of the   17 years ago

    And the timeline has finally been restored to its original form! Good work, Imperial Timeguard Patrol!

  43. ylthgirB ovetS   17 years ago

    !gnineppah si esle gnihtemoS !taiW

  44. ylthgirB ovetS   17 years ago

    "!iaW" eb dluohs "taiW" !spoO

  45. ylthgirB ovetS   17 years ago

    ".weivrefta" ylno ",weiverp" esu tonnac I ,desrever sah emit fo wolf eht esuaceB

  46. kevrob   17 years ago

    Good thing Stevo isn't related to the Zatara family.

    Kevin

  47. Staevo Darkleagh   17 years ago

    Not to worry, volks. Everydhing is back to normal enouw.

Please log in to post comments

Mute this user?

  • Mute User
  • Cancel

Ban this user?

  • Ban User
  • Cancel

Un-ban this user?

  • Un-ban User
  • Cancel

Nuke this user?

  • Nuke User
  • Cancel

Un-nuke this user?

  • Un-nuke User
  • Cancel

Flag this comment?

  • Flag Comment
  • Cancel

Un-flag this comment?

  • Un-flag Comment
  • Cancel

Latest

Brickbat: Quick Work

Charles Oliver | 6.3.2025 4:00 AM

Nevada Becomes the 21st State To Strengthen Donor Privacy Protections

Autumn Billings | 6.2.2025 5:30 PM

Harvard International Student With a Private Instagram? You Might Not Get a Visa.

Emma Camp | 6.2.2025 4:57 PM

J.D. Vance Wants a Free Market for Crypto. What About Everything Else?

Eric Boehm | 6.2.2025 4:40 PM

Trump's Attack on the Federalist Society Is a Bad Omen for Originalism

Damon Root | 6.2.2025 3:12 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!