Science at its best

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) organised its last open day before starting with its experiments. It is the largest particle physics laboratory in the world and the most powerful particle accelerator.

This accelerator is in fact of ring of 27 kilometers. It is undeground at 100 meters and runs under the countryside just outside Geneva.

This open day was a huge success, with 73000 people queue - for hours - to get a glimpse at this fantastic scientific experiment. While waiting to get inside the tunnel, I was happy to notice that so many people are actually interested by science, by knowledge. It is also a sign that not everybody thinks that Switzerland is only chocolate, cheese, mountains and banks. And it was very encouraging to see that there were many French people there as well. This CERN is truly a regional symbol. Actually it is more an international entreprise, since there are more than 100 nationalities represented among the 5000 employees.The total cost is estimated at 10 billion Swiss francs and it took more than 7 years to complete. What stoke me at first, was that it looks so much like an industrial masterpiece, and not so much like a scientific experiment. So, inside the tunnel, there are three tubes. The particules will travel inside them almost at the speed of light, meaning that they will cover the 27 km 11000 times per second! They will eventually collide. All this will be possible thanks to a highly complex system of magnets, at super low temperatures (around -271 degrees; meaning that it will be the world's largest fridge!) and at the same pressure that exists in interplanetary space. It will be recorded thanks to sofisticated detectors and cameras and stored in the most powerful supercomputer system in the world. The tour guide, who was a CERN scientist, explained all the mechanisms, but I must admit it was too technical for me.

The objective of these experiments is to understand why particles have a mass, why the Universe is mostly composed of matter and not antimatter. The conditions created will be close to the ones that existed just after the "Big Bang".

In the end, I must admit that the extraordinary complexity of this experiments did not really show during the visit. It seemed more like a industrial complex, indeed full of technology, but it was difficult to think that fantastic and very significative scientific results could come out of this place in the next few months.

Tennis season

During the winter season, we play indoors on clay. Nice way to stay fit.

Now that we moved to summer time, the real tennis season begins - the open air season. Sometimes, we play on clay, the best surface! Great to slide on. It also gives enough time to adjust all the shots (including passing-shots and lobs) and to think more strategically. It is without doubt the most demanding and rewarding surface.

But most of the time we play on hard courts. The first tournament took place this week-end. First victory and first quarter-final of the year. The objective is to get qualified for a semi-final. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Easter chocolate

In Switzerland probably more than anywhere else, Easter is associated with chocolate. The shops are so creative. Under normal circumstances, it is already difficult to resist, but before Easter it becomes "mission impossible".


So here a few statistics. One Swiss in six eats chocolate every single day and a further 45% eats it more than once a few. Are we a country of chocoholic? In 2007, every Swiss has eaten 12,3 kilos of chocolate! The local production was more than 181000 tons and generated revenues of 1,66 billion swiss francs. And of course, swiss chocolate is of such fine quality, that you can really indulge!

Human rights

Geneva always hosts many conferences and events. This week-end, there was a broad spectrum of activities: the motor show, the first ice-hockey semi-final and the human rights festival. Tough choice. Week-ends in Geneva should last more than 48 hours!

So you guessed where I went: to the human rights festival. Interesting to be welcomed at the conference center by these huge pictures of Isrealians and Palestinians mocking the wall that separates them.
The conference I attended was entitled: democracy - does it need a military coup to exist? The discussion centered on the case of Mauritania, with the ex-military ruler as guest speaker (the one in blue). Mr. President Vall gave a very detailed and argued account of the reasons, the motives and the objectives of "his" coup. Actually, in Mauritania, it is just called "the change".

He started by arguing that the first basic human rights is to be free. In one-party states, the party decides what is right and wrong, it decides for the citizens. The problem is therefore a problem of the system. The objectives of the coup were to dialog with the citizens (and the international community) and to generate a consensus. The main pillars were good governance, justice and democracy. Thus, the system would change from a regime of proposition (the one-party state makes prososals, rubber-stamped by the electorate) to a regime of choices. The result was that after 19 months in power, the transitory military regime handed over the executive powers to a democratically elected president. This new government has legitimacy, there are various political parties represented in Parliament, there is press freedom.

In conclusion, Mauritania must succeed. Indeed, in the region and for Arab countries, it offers an alternative, an exit solution to the various dictatorial regimes.

Berne is getting ready

It happened that I had to stay longer than usual in Berne, the other week-end. An immediate question was: what could I do there on a Saturday morning, while waiting to get to my next appointement? Allow me to leave this question unanswered...

In the meantime, though, I thought about taking a few pictures of all the road/building works in town. Berne is getting ready to host the European Nation's Football Cup 2008. Most certainly one of the biggest event this town has ever hosted.

The stadium is ready, but the town, in particular the station's square needs a lot of upgrading.

As is the case in Switzerland, Bernese citizens had to vote on most construction credits. Fortunately, the builders are doing a good job and it is very likely that everything will be completed on time. Another monument being renovated is the federal Parliament. In a few weeks time, I will show you how it all looks like.

videos from South Africa

After a few months of funny and ironic texts and of superb pictures (allow me to be modest), it is time for the first videos. Just to see if this function works. Comments are always welcome, even though I acknowledge that the quality of these videos is not yet to the same standards as the rest. There are always things to improve. And if there is popular demand, I might put some more.

The first video was taken in the Umfolozi/Hluhluwe national park.

The next one is taken at the Newlands cricket ground. The crowd is doing the mexican wave. In the background, the beautiful surroundings of Table Mountain. Sorry, that the zoom is not powerful enough to distinguish the bowling action.

Finally, a last video from the top of Table Mountain. I know this little video is a little bit frustrating for those who have been there, since it does not adequately depict the true beauty of this place. But it might be enough to motivated the viewers to visit this great country.

Carnival in Berne

First, I have to admit that I was positively surprised by this carnival and by the atmosphere in town. So many people were dressed up, from the very exotic (the Egyptians), to the very local (a woman walking around with her vacuum cleaner - we are definitely in Berne...), to the very original (a set of card game), to the traditional one (the penguin - see a previous entry for a comparaison). I must say that most people did put some commendable effort.

The main attraction though was the music played by various bands. The organisers had put up stands or tents on the main street and the bands would play quite a varied array of music.

Since i attended another carnival a few weeks ago in Cape Town, I have to make a few comparisons. In Berne, many more people were dressed up. Since the temperature was so much colder, it was the spectators that would move around. Talking about the spectators, it seemed the whole town took to the streets. I saw a doctor, an extreme right-wing politician (or is it the same person...), some colleagues and many tourists. Are they already investigated for this year's major event in Switzerland: the football European Nation's Cup 2008? Since this will most certainly be one of this year's main theme, let us start now with a nice picture.