live from the floor

greetings earthlings, i bring you messages from the SGM 11ID-1 beamline at the canadian light source!

we are currently 10 15 2024 hours[1] into our 48 hour shift. 48 hours straight. the beam (knock on wood) has been stabler than a very large rock at the bottom of a black hole. which is to say that it is extremely stable.

the beam is the key, you see, to the flux. and the flux is the key to our experiments. we need the infiniflux: imagine a whooshing river of rapids, pushed by torrential rains. like that scene from lord of the rings. now imagine those water horses are photons of pure energy, searing across the country into my samples. yeahhhh, baby. flux is what makes synchrotron measurements amoung the best and most sensitive in the world. and it is also a very sweet word. if your mom named you flux, would you be complaining? no! you'd be sailing across the sky on some waterhorse photon thingy. yeahhh, baby.

so, having been awake for 22 hours gives me a new perspective on flux. if the beam goes down, i think so will i. there's a thrumming going on from the very many machines and pumps and electronics that is beginning to sound like the ocean. no, wait, hang on. stop that train of thought. i'm fine, as fine as someone can be who is a little tired and drinks too much coffee. i don't need to dwell on something my eyeballs are already dwelling on a little too much, thank you kindly. the surprising thing about being actively awake for such an extended period of time is that my teeth feel like i haven't brushed them in a week. i mean, i think i brushed them last week, so we're way out of the norm for me.

yours sincerely,
infinifluxutron 2008. yeahhhhhhhh, baby.