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

Certainly.

and it looks like a European-American Christmas for the folks in that pub, too.

this is going too far

come on, play the 'European-American man'.

I don't have an Internet link for this story, but I read in the local paper that Braintree, Massachusetts has had to postpone lighting its Christmas tree because squirrels chewed through the electric cords for the town's lights. New ones have been ordered. Hope they arrive before Santa does.

Can I go back to the hoopla over NASA's arsenic bacteria for a moment?


Has anyone else noticed that they didn't actually find a bacteria living in the wild that was 'based on' arsenic? Has anyone else noticed that the bacteria they found was an ordinary old extremophile with ordinary old phosphate groups in its organic molecules? Has anyone else noticed that all they actually discovered was that if you put this ordinary old extremophile into a phosphorous deprived environment which happens to have lots of arsenic, the bacteria, perhaps under protest, uses the arsenic in place of phosphorous.

It's not like there's a whole new type of life out there. It's just an interesting new capability of some ordinary old life.

Yes but untill then it was thought that phosphate is unsubstitutable. However it is true that the bacteria only started using the arsenic when they had no other options, they weren´t even doing it to begin with. I like extremophiles, but sadly they only show in what conditions life can exists, not in which it can arise.

As everyone takes their clothes off these days for a calendar, I don't know why this makes the news any more.

Never mind. Here's some nuddy women:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/4427544/Nude-calendar-aims-to-attract-women-to-rugby

RF

Let´s hope they don´t market it as The Old Boys Nude Calendar.

"Her and her husband proceeded to park up in the lounge and watch us, so they couldn't have been that disgusted. That was a bit queer...to park up and watch very intently was a bit interesting."

If they were in the UK, I'd say they were Daily Mail readers...

Okay, so this wikileaks thing has been out for a bit now and a few people in high places and on U.S. news programmes have gotten a little exercised about things, but, seriously, has anyone, anywhere, noticed anything in these super-secret diplomatic messages that is in any degree surprising? It strikes me that every single big revelation is worth nothing more than a :

Afghanistan is corrupt!

Europe doesn't think the Afghan thing is working!

The U.S. doesn't think Saudi Arabia is doing enough to curb terrorist fund-raising!


and so on.


Here in Canada the whole thing is being met with a certain degree of tittering and the popular joke that the only surprising thing to come out of this big leak is the revelation that U.S. intelligence operatives in Canada watch a great deal of CBC television and then write reports about what they watch. Apparently 'Little Mosque on the Prairie' is a popular title with U.S. spooks in Canada.

I totally agree, Anhaga.

The wonderful Lucy Mangan, a columnist on the Guardian, put it like this:

"In brief: the CIA has discovered that George Osborne* is a git! Nicolas Sarkozy is a bundle of neuroses and also, possibly, short (awaiting satellite confirmation)! Oh, Prince Andrew's an idiot. Honestly, the stuff they try to keep from us."

See the quote in context at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/04/this-week-julian-assange-brian-blessed



* UK Chancellor of the Exchequer

Oh, and of course there's the shocking revelation that the military of Pakistan may not be a reliable ally.

I mean, ! Who would have imagined it?


Thanks for the reality check.



and, by the way, 'Little Mosque on the Prairie' really is a Canadian television situation comedy. And, U.S. intelligence operatives really did spend their time watching it and righting detailed reports of how Americans were depicted in the programme.

>> 'Little Mosque on the Prairie' really is a Canadian television situation comedy

So I see. And it's on Youtube.

You learn something new every day.

<< And, U.S. intelligence operatives really did spend their time watching it>>

remeber these are the guys who inspired south park creators to pen 'Team America' yeah!!!

and half of america considered it a documentary

From the link in 10052:

What we've learned

• Half of Britons believe aliens exist.

I'm surprised by that...*only* 50%?

RF

<>

the other half ARE the aliens!!!!

angles, saxons, danes, normans etc.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11925556

"Radio 4 presenter James Naughtie has apologised for causing offence live on air on Monday by mispronouncing Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt's surname...used the first letter of the Culture Secretary's title to replace the 'H'"


yeah, mistake...

Brought to my attention by Taff, he knows me so well

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11911998

I do like the bit where are present to revive any blighter that faints and may miss out on any of the punishment

Give 'em a bit Empire, harummmmph. Tally Ho!

The Coalition are conducting a 'review' into looking at how parents can better protect their kiddiwinks from the evils of sexploitation in our luvly capitalist society

'...She, (Children's Minister Sarah Teather), has asked the chief executive of Christian charity the Mothers' Union, Reg Bailey, to conduct the review, which will also look at the commercialisation of children...'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11923107

Onward Christian soldiers....Seriously, how is this all going to work in *reality* when presumably laws are brought in after the review? Are Reg Bailey and Sarah Tether, going to come along on their white chargers, and do battle with the forces of evil in the multi media internet age..and save our kids.

I do find it interesting though that a specifically Christian angle is being taken to this by the Coalition. I wonder what their views are on children learning about the existance of the sin of homosexuality?