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

It's old news, but I've just seen this story about people who went on strike because they didn't have clean toilets:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-29421853
There haven't been working toilets in our building since July, so it is very tempting...

<BB<

I've seen that happen with a truck stuck under a railway bridge in Riverside, CA, USA.

The solved the problem by letting some of the air out of the truck's tires so it could be driven clear.

There's a low bridge in North Carolina that's so notorious it has its own website.

http://11foot8.com/

(They actually installed I-beam barriers in front of the bridge so that the trucks aren't damaging the actual bridge.)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29564935

Malala Yousafzai awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

PP.

Two new strange and charming particles appear at LHC

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26345-two-new-strange-and-charming-particles-appear-at-lhc.html#.VDfEcXW9-Uk

Research done in what might be my hometown, have created a crystal that can help you breathe underwater.

http://www.sdu.dk/en/Om_SDU/Fakulteterne/Naturvidenskab/Nyheder/2014_09_30_iltsluger

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/15/middle-eastern-petrochemical-plants-are-targets-of-hackers/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_r=0

Very alarming.

The attack on a Soviet petrochemical factory that preciptated tbe 1970s Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was undertaken this way.

OK not actually in the papers...

The damned doing a mobility scooter race????

https://twitter.com/sensiblecaptain/status/520917871002943488/photo/1

A children's choir from Uganda with 20 orphaned members has been refused entry into the UK because they did not have parental consent letters.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-29522485

The article isn't clear about whether or not the school officials have legal guardianship of these orphans.

Is Kim Jong-Un healthy or is Kim Jong unhealthy?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-29592880

Kim Jong is neither ill nor Unhealthy.

Un is in a box, with a cat, both doing a good job keeping the probability wave function from collapsing.


Seriously, all we have is speculation.

I have watched the video of Kim Jong-Un and it clear that there is a problem that the North Koreans will have some difficulty managing in terms of press, publicity and national and international image.

It is important both internally, and even though he has limited regard from world leaders on the international stage, that his image is that of a strong leader who remains in control and commands respect. This respect internally serves to reinforce the dynasty and instil and maintain confidence, enabling the state mechanism to continue to control and support the status quo, thus providing the ruling class with the ongoing power required to suppress the underclass.

Externally, even though he is regarded as something of a despot and an unreliable leader with whom negotiation is fraught with difficulty, the image of a serious and 'in control' leader is important.

Unfortunately, it can clearly be seen from his gait, that he has poo'd his pants.

PP.

http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2014-10-15/fox-trashes-pub-after-falling-down-chimney/

The little hyena?

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs24/f/2007/324/c/9/c97b80425f7eb82d.jpg

http://www.animalhi.com/thumbnails/detail/20121027/red%20foxes%201920x1080%20wallpaper_www.animalhi.com_60.jpg

Note the vertical slits in the eyes?

Hyena's eyes.

http://airows.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/eyes-of-animals-close-ups-6.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/07/article-2097669-119FA968000005DC-496_634x286.jpg

Swarm of squid attacks Greenpeace submarine:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/squid-swarm-attacks-research-sub-in-greenpeace-video-1.2797895

~jwf~

I saw that vine clip the other day on the website of a less reputable media organization. Their title was "Giant Squid Attacks Greenpeace Sub".

At the bottom of the vid screen is a counter
showing over 5 million hits. It keeps jumping
upward twenty or thirty hits every few seconds.
I wonder if it counted you twice.

It's kinda fun to watch it spinning up - for maybe
ten or fifteen seconds. Not as much fun as the US
Debt counter which is spinning upward in a blur of
tens of thousands of dollars every few seconds.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/

~jwf~

That debt clock is horrendous. What on earth are they thinking about?

Mostly they're thinking it's politically impossible to raise taxes/cut loopholes for the rich and for corporations. Spending has been cut greatly, in many ways too greatly. Yet the mere idea of increasing the capital gains tax (currently capped at 15%) is off the table.