BLOWBAGETS. no, not the movie.

When I started driving my dad's 1996 model Honda Civic, he was worried that I might not be able to identify the troubles that came with driving an old car. He called me a "Driver Driver", someone who didn't know anything about car maintenance.

It's true. I don't know much about car maintenance. I can change a flat tire but only if there's really no one to help out. I know that if the car won't start, then there's something wrong with the battery, although I learned that from experience and not really because I knew it in the first place. Of course there's the gas gauge, which reminds me to go get gas when the indicator is just above the red line. I know that if the temperature gauge indicator is higher than midway, then I might have a problem and should get to the nearest gas station and check the water in the radiator. Again, that was learned through experience.

When I went to get gas on my way to work, I asked the gasoline boy to check on the water and oil. He checked both and also checked the brake fluid level. He told me I needed to top up the fluid as it was below the minimum level, so I bought a bottle of brake fluid and asked him to fill it up. I realized then that this low level was probably the reason why last night, on my way home, I could hear a sort of clanking sound whenever I stepped on the brakes.

After gassing up, I thought of BLOWBAGETS. No, it's not some newfangled contraption, nor is it the title of some B-movie. It's actually an acronym that drivers, myself included, should remember to check before getting into their vehicles and driving to wherever. No, I didn't coin the term. It's something that's always shown on the news whenever they report traffic accidents, multiple collisions and anything related to driving/vehicles/drunk driving. For my benefit and yours (in case you've gotten this far), here's what it means.

B - Brakes. Have your brakes checked. This includes the brake pads, brake fluid and whatever comes with the whole shebang.
L - Lights. Check your lights (headlights, taillights, signal lights), especially when driving at night. Recently my brother took it upon himself to replace the bulbs on the headlights, because he thought they were too dim for nighttime driving. Bless him, he was right. My headlights are brighter now, without being too offensively bright.
O - Oil. Honestly, I don't know what the oil is for, but I think it's important, so I check it, or have the gasoline boy check it. If you can enlighten me on what the oil is for, thank you.
W - Water. When I didn't know any better, I didn't check the water in my radiator, which caused me so much stress on the highway because my car overheated on numerous occasions. Now I know better, and I always check this before I get in the car. I also have two 2-liter soda bottles filled with water in the trunk, because you'll never know where you'd be caught with an overheated vehicle. Or I'm just paranoid after so many instances.
B - Battery. Usually car batteries have a 1-year lifespan, depending on how much the car is used. To be safe, always remember when you had a new battery put in, and when the anniversary date is near, have the electrical currents checked by a professional. This will help you know if you need to replace the battery. In case your battery dies and you're in the parking lot of CG2, you can call the Motolite Express Delivery service at 370-MOTO (6686) and they will deliver a new battery for you. Yes, they accept credit cards. And yes, this is for Metro Manila only.
A - Air. For the tires, of course. We can't risk an accident because the car's tires have either little or too much air. I think the standard pressure is 30 psi for a car.
G - Gas. The car will not run if it's out of gas. Duh.

E - Electricity. Electric currents are important for the windows, locks, and other stuff that I can't enumerate because I don't know what they are.
T - Tires. Tires should be checked for wear and tear, and should be checked for alignment.
S - Self. You (or me), the driver, should check if you (or I) am fit to drive. Sleepy? Drunk? Half-crazy? Depressed and crying? Don't get behind the wheel. Please.

Higgs Boson

One of the recent stories that topped the headlines was the discovery of a Higgs boson-like particle by physicists working at CERN (Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire, or the European Organization for Nuclear Research), using the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva. When the announcement was made during a conference of physicists, it was met by applause and cheering that could have rivalled the World Cup finals.

I’m not going to try and explain what the Higgs boson is, nor what it is for, since I am not a physicist (just a frustrated one). However, there are some things that made sense to me as I was reading through the news articles and doing a little research on the side.

1) There is always a reason why something is.
The theory of the Higgs boson came about in the 1960s, when physicists (François Englert and Robert Brout; Peter Higgs; and Gerald Guralnik, C. R. Hagen, and Tom Kibble) came up with a theory that there must be something behind the force that makes fundamental particles interact to form matter. This is what led to the idea that the Higgs boson is the “God particle”, a term coined by Nobel laureate Leon Lederman when he asserted that the discovery of the particle is crucial to a final understanding of what makes up matter.

OK, I actually looked that up in Wikipedia, and tried to summarize it as I understood it. The point is, there must be something that makes things what they are. In this case, it’s what caused the Big Bang to happen, and eventually the universe to become what it is.

I think.

2) Never give up.

Physicists are a very patient lot. For millenia, they have been trying to explain the forces that make up matter. From Thales, Archimedes and the other  Greek philosopher-scientists, to Galileo, Newton and Copernicus, to Einstein, Bohr, Higgs and the modern day physicists of CERN and Fermilab — physicists have pored over data, made calculations and speculated, published their findings, and went back to find out more. In short, they never gave up until they could find the answers to their questions. And there are still many questions left unanswered.

I think.

3) Physics is fascinating. So is Math.

I’ve always wondered why I never excelled in Math or Physics in high school. My mother said that maybe because I don’t like numbers or anything with formulae, so I didn’t put as much effort in understanding mathematical and physical theories as I did when reading poetry or writing short stories (which is why I ended up with degrees in English literature and law, but that’s another story). But now I’m finding out that I may have lost a part of my life by not liking physics.

Sometimes I wonder how my life would be if I had chosen to major in physics. Or mathematics. Or molecular biology and biotechnology. Would it be any different?

Recently I came across a copy of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. I tried to read it, but couldn’t get past page 10. With the discovery of the Higgs boson, I may just go back to (trying to) read the book again, even if it means having to stop after every 2 pages.

4) Interest in the Higgs boson story can determine if you and the person you like think alike, and could end up happily married.

Nah.