LHC is super COOL
As a proud, self-confessed geek, I am terribly excited to hear that LHC is up and operational. Yes, it is super expensive and the money could definitely be used to reduce global poverty and world hunger, but how could you put a price on single most important step in humanity quest for knowledge ?.
The field of quantum physic always amazes me. I remember reading about relativity, and some brain-cracking physics when I was in college. For a short while (very short I must add!) I wanted to be a scientist. I thought it was super cool to grow and carry around some extra neuron compared to the rest of you. But that was a long time ago and I much prefer what I do now.