Zombie

Yep, it's a guy because 1. it's a men's fashion show 2. the "shock" factor *oooo scary * of vivid red lipstick on a guy 3. the wonders of padding - see how the jacket sides protrude from the swishy hips

Those are fantastic Andrea - and I love coloured Moons. Thanks for sharing

Lookin' sharp Sasha

Yeah, looks like an Adam's Apple too Still, he's got good birthing hips Yeah but ... Alice was "shock rock" along with Kiss and the like. As for Elton, well he's just so gaaaayyyy!!

Prosecuting Counsel "May I show the jury the incriminating evidence?" Judge [putting on black cap] "Yes, yes, get on with it so I can pass sentence!" Court Usher [scuttling forward nervously] "Exhibit A for the Prosecution" Jury [gasps and recoils in horror]

Hey, allow us our conceit

"Human head transplants close to becoming reality: Italian scientist " Um, I think you'll find that's "body transplants" - you really don't want to lose your head

Mallard This the World's fastest steam loco: 126 mph / 203 kph Tomorrow is the 75th anniversary of a record breaking speed run by Mallard which broke the World speed record on 3rd July 1938 pulling 7 carriages and became the fastest steam train ever built. It would probably have reached 130 mph but had to slow for a curve. The loco is now in the York National Railway Museum in perfect condition, but has not run since the 1980s. But last Saturday it's sister engine Bittern was given official permission to exceed the current 75 mph / 120 kph speed restriction on steam locos pulling a passenger train from London to York - on this test run the train exceeded 94 mph / 151 kph [video starts at 0:30] Six of these A4 Pacific locos survive and the ones in the US and Canada are being shipped to the UK for a happy celebration reunion - sweeeet

True, but when CDs came out in 1982 they were an alternative physical medium specifically intended to see off vinyl - and thirty odd years later it seems likely vinyl will win out in the end. As for MP3 and the like, such formats are much more recent and as a non-physical medium - although also digital - the vinyl / CD comparison doesn't apply

Vinyl will still be around when CDs are consigned to history - Analogue - 1 Digital - 0 *that's an in-joke btw * First time I believe an old technology will have seen off its "replacement"

Yes they do - says so on their website. It also says "HIV antibodies may take a few weeks to develop after infection with the virus". In the EU gay donors can give blood if more than 12 months since they last had gay sex which seems more sensible than a lifetime ban.

"while there may be no laws specifically banning dismissal on sexuality there is always a way to find legal recourse" The benefit of having a specific law banning discrimination - just like anti-racial law - is to make the position absolutely clear. You won't stop it altogether but managers and business owners know for sure their butts will be on the line if they're homophobic. So that's one good reason. Another good reason is it reduces the scope for lawyers to rack up huge fees on researching the basis for a claim by confining the vultures to routine stuff like presenting evidence and the claim size. And in some cases it even enables people to do it themselves via a tribunal.

Sorry I missed the party, Sly Hope you had a great day

Progress always seems slow at the time, but things are going in the right direction and the haters will just get left behind in their little worlds of misery

There there, go back to bed and dream of .... Dan Dare!

Today the British Chancellor George Osborne announced that the government is investing in the next stage of development of the SABRE hybrid jet / rocket engine and will "commit to funding high-priority projects, including the Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE) ..." "This is a revolutionary design for an air-breathing jet-cum-rocket engine. It would be fitted to a space vehicle that could take off and land like a plane, substantially reducing the cost of getting into orbit. Sabre's key heat-exchanger technology has just passed an important review audited by the European Space Agency. Mr Osborne's investment would go towards the building of a demonstration engine and final design plans. Although Sabre's technology is linked to a space plane, it would likely have many other applications, such as in existing gas turbine jet engines and in desalination plants." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23065763 Here's a BBC video interview on the project and how the engine works http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p015ggfb

Interestingly this whole background noise thing only works if both sides of a conversation can be heard. Which means overheard cellphone conversations have a negative effect on productivity and there's been some recent research on this: "A new study finds that when people are trying to mind their own business and complete a cognitive task, overhearing a cell phone conversation (by accident, of course) can steal away your attention much more than being witness to an old-fashioned, two-sided conversation." "To test the effects of cell phone vs. actual conversations on our distractibility, researchers at the University of San Diego had people work on a task in which they had to try to solve 30 simple or challenging anagrams. While they were completing their tasks, actors had a staged conversation, either on a cell phone (one-sided) or in person (two-sided). The conversations involved planning a party, shopping, or meeting a date. The unsuspecting participants were told that the study was about their problem-solving capacities; they didn’t know that their ability or inability to ignore the conversations was the point." "... people were much better at recalling the content of the cell phone conversations than the live conversations – meaning that they must have, for whatever reason, listened a bit more closely to the cell phone exchanges than the live ones." "There are a few explanations for this phenomenon. One is that since we don’t know what’s happening on the other side of the conversation, it takes some additional brain-power to figure it out. And because we just have to know what’s going on, we just have to devote a little extra attention to the conversation, which requires some extra guesswork and concentration. Rosa Vessal, an undergraduate student who helped carry out the research, says that “unintentional eavesdropping on cell phone calls may be because the content of the conversation is unpredictable. Not knowing where the conversation is heading is what makes cell phone calls more distracting.” "Galván says that people who are trying to work in environments in which they are privy to other people’s loud cell phone conversations could find themselves distracted to the point of reduced productivity." "Galván believes that “a person’s performance might be greater in an environment with fewer one-sided conversations." http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2013/03/13/science-proves-that-cell-phones-are-annoying-and-distracting/

Best way is to test it - buy it and try it Course, what it won't give you is the smell of coffee being made (always better than the taste I think) - unless the app does that too Also people milling around and chatting - you won't get the random eavesdroppings “What should I get for my boyfriend's birthday? I mean, he’s going to prison next week ..." "I told her to put it in her handbag but she said there wasn't room - not with the cucumbers ..." And this Harvardian got a whole mini-story from flapping her ears at a Boston cafe http://koreanbodega.com/2012/06/19/overheard-in-cafe-2-girls-talking-re-harvard-sexism/

Interesting. But this idea isn't new - writers have always worked in busy public areas, I think, most famously JK Rowling, so it obviously works. Here's a 1998 TV interview with Rowling, writing in her favourite local cafe, when 30,000 sales of her book were "phenomenal" http://entertainment.stv.tv/film/209509-j-k-rowling-in-1998-30000-harry-potter-book-sales-phenomenal/

Those penii just looked too good (yummy in fact ) so I've done some checking. Sly was right to be suspicious - I'm pretty certain they've been slightly shopped - although there really wasn't any need to as this is apparently how they actually appear The two pages of this amusing thread explain all http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=52983

:lmao: I've run out of Likes Seriously, though, this is an architectural motif called a trefoil - to represent the Trinity - which is commonly incorporated by architects to reference 800 years of use in religious buildings in the UK like this one at Salisbury cathedral and I guess the design software they used when this bridge was built around 1860 didn't check for naughty shadow effects

I've no issue with this. I agree with a scientific explanation. The news item is just a bit of fun and I trust you weren't implying I was "so ready to accept a supernatural explanation". But since you've invoked The Great Detective I think it unlikely that He would have immediately inferred this was a "publicity stunt" and the video tape had been altered

Except this is the UK'S largest university museum, well respected, been around since the 1860s, is publicly funded and staffed by fusty musty dusty academic types - can't see why these guys would risk putting their entire academic, professional and personal lives at stake for a cheap publicity stunt And the time lapse during the day - the video is time and date stamped - which means he would have had to unlock the cabinet maybe 20 times with visitors milling around to move the critter a millimeter - and no-one noticed?

Manchester Museum mystery as Ancient Egyptian statue rotates in display case ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0E7q4TAj6w An Egyptian statuette that mysteriously turns itself round inside its display case has left experts baffled at the Manchester Museum. Even eminent television physicist Professor Brian Cox has weighed in on the mystery of Manchester Museum's moving statuette, which dates back to 1800 BC. The 10-inch tall statue of Neb Sanu was discovered in a mummy’s tomb and has been with the Museum for 80 years, but has only recently been noticed moving. Prof Cox, who teaches physics at the city's university, claims the movement is due to the "differential friction". However, Manchester Museum's resident Egyptologist Campbell Price suggested something more sinister, an Egyptian curse. "I noticed one day that it had turned around. I thought it was strange because it is in a case and I am the only one who has a key," he explained in an interview with the Manchester Evening News. “I put it back but then the next day it had moved again. We set up a time-lapse video and, although the naked eye can’t see it, you can clearly see it rotate on the film. The statuette is something that used to go in the tomb along with the mummy. “In Ancient Egypt they believed that if the mummy is destroyed then the statuette can act as an alternative vessel for the spirit. Maybe that is what is causing the movement.”. He went on the cast doubt on Prof Cox's explanation: “Brian thinks it’s differential friction, where two surfaces - the serpentine stone of the statuette and glass shelf it is on - cause a subtle vibration which is making the statuette turn. “But it has been on those surfaces since we have had it and it has never moved before. And why would it go around in a perfect circle?”" http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/weirdnewsvideo/10137556/Mystery-as-museum-statue-starts-turning-in-display-case.html Cue Twilight Zone music ...........

Badlands Guardian, Medicine Hat Alberta Canada