h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Texting driver says she does not care about cyclist she crippled.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-buzz/girl-driving-while-texting-hits-cyclist-just-don-160024963.html


~jwf~

How is it even possible to be *that* stupid / selfish ?!

Dunno...
It must be a sad combo of evolution and culture.
Like suicide bombers and politicians.

~jwf~

I bet the lions were thinking

...Mmm Toasties...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-27078566

Shleb culture just jumped the shark

http://metro.co.uk/2014/04/20/glamour-model-josie-cunningham-wants-to-abort-unborn-child-so-she-can-go-on-big-brother-4704144/

Unused building proposed to be turned into brew-pub, campaigners shocked that it can't be used for what it used to be, an arts venue: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-27116893

Now, sorry, as much as I think that "yay arts venues" are good, thie building wasn't built originally as an arts venue, it's a Grade 1 listed wool warehouse. If they're campaigning for anything about restricting its use, it should be to keep it as a warehouse.

I'm also very sceptical of statements like
" create up to 30 jobs in the next five years" yeah sure and it will also ` create up to 25 redundancies in the next five years` as well

It's a fine mediaeval building, and whatever they decide to do with it, the owners need to conserve it within reason. I have no worries about what it's used for. A brewery is as good as any other use, so long as they don't need industrial-sized alterations.

Scientists at Newcastle University have designed 3D glasses for a praying mantis:

http://metro.co.uk/2014/04/24/praying-mantis-gets-pair-of-3d-glasses-watches-own-version-of-the-fly-4708410/



As you do.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27172118

Two more members of the ultimate old boys network.

Including one who was at best naive in relation to the sexual abuse of children by priests of the Catholic church.

PP.

PP, let´s put names , you mean John Paul II, the same one who blessed Pinochet, Reagan, etc.

The other one, John XXIII, was the opposite ideologically. The best Pope so far. He did many positive things from the point of view of social rights for workers, women, etc. His ideas on education are remarkable.

He changed many thigs that lately, sucesive conservative popes eliminated or didnt follow his indications.

On the other hand, canonization is a pretty nonsense for many catholics.

For me, a non-believer, I find insulting the canonization of nasty figures like the founder of the far right sect OPUS DEI, Escrivá de Balaguer, or Mother Theresa, a woman who loved poverty, not poor people.

it´s not a belated april´s fools joke, although it could make a few comedy lines in the hands of Monthy Pyton...



http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/29/spanish-govt-court-after-award-given-to-virgin-mary?CMP=fb_gu

"Spanish government to face court after policing award given to the Virgin Mary

Secularists demand the medal be revoked, arguing that the Virgin has not met any of the minimum requirements"


I would feel ashamed, but I didn´t vote PP. However, belonging to that abstract idea called spanish nation... I can´t help feeling quite sad and embarrased at reading this nonsense.

note:
Fernández Díaz belongs to Opus dei, as many other members of this govt.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/saudi-arabia-criticises-norway-over-human-rights-record-9301796.html

Saudi Arabia criticises Norway on human rights.


I'll just let that sink in.

The world has reached the Poe singularity. Satire and parody are now dead.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law

Hitchhikers Guide product becomes real #1: Peril-sensitive sunglasses

http://www.geekosystem.com/peril-sensitive-shades/


Hitchhikers Guide product becomes real #2: Almost but not entirely unlike tea

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27243269

Share & Enjoy!





On a side note, in that BBC article, I notice again that an acronym is written as a proper noun, in this case Rain. Shouldn't that properly be written as RAIn? I see this often in BBC articles. For instance, I often see Nasa in articles. I was taught that acronyms and initialisms (acronyms where you state all the letters rather than say them as a word, like CIA or FBI) are capitalized. Specifically only the main words are capitalized leaving conjunctions and articles like of, to and the in lower case or omitted altogether. For instance, HHGttG or LASER (Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation).

Is this proper British grammar, or is it just part of the style sheet for BBC?

If the words falls into common usage, like laser, then it gets written like that. NASA should still be NASA though.

Whatever will they study next?

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27228416

"How to win at rock-paper-scissors"

Could be a h2g2 entry, from the title!

Yes, I saw that earlier There's a couple of observations in that.

Firstly, that winners tend to repeat their winning throw, and secondly that losers tend to move to the next throw in the sequence of the name of the game (so if they lost with rock, they throw paper, and so forth). Not that people do this all the time, mind you, but they do it more than random chance would suggest.

They does suggest a few strategies for winning.

1) If you win, move to the next throw in the sequence, since that is what the person you just beat will be doing, and so you'll keep beating them.

2) If you lose, go backwards through the sequence. If you played rock, then the winner must have played paper, and since they are more likely to play paper again, play scissors.

Not sure what to do following on from a draw, though. Keep playing that same throw, I guess, since that is the only strategy not yet covered.


Geggs

If you find you keep losing, then suggest you switch to the similar game of Cow-Bomb-Lake. The new actions and order should confuse them for a while.

And for those of you who haven't plaved it:

Cow action: fingers as horns;
Bomb action: inflate yourself into an imaginary sphere, arms at sides and cheeks puffed up;
Lake action: undulating arm movement, like a cricket umpire signalling four runs.

Rules:
Cow drinks Lake
Lake defuses Bomb
Bomb blows up Cow.