HAL9000

The author of this article titled Peckham Terminator in Don't Panic Magazine reports on how the altrication started - although no source is cited.

Wielding your chain saw - no doubt?

Science answers the question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Personally - I'm not convinced. I think this 'discovery' must have been announced on a slow news day. Fishes were laying eggs half a billion years before any terrestrial ancestor of the chicken had evolved. The egg definitely came first. The cited scientific paper actually refers to the discovery of the protein that helps modern birds make hard, lightweight egg-shell from crystalline calcium carbonate.

Not wishing to spoil it for those who haven?t seen Inception yet, but I thought producer/writer/director Nolan?s spark of genius was in crafting a subtly nebulous plot with a fiendishly enigmatic ending: at the end of the mission, did Cobb really wake up or did he stay in limbo and only dream that he had woken up? How much of the story line, if any, was real? It is difficult to distinguish between genuine plot holes and intentional misdirection. For example: what would Cobb?s spinning top do if he were dreaming that he was awake ? it should fall over, right?

In the English language.... The number "four" is the only number that is spelt with the same number of letters as the number itself and "forty" is the only number that has all its letters in alphabetical order. Which is the only number to have its letters in reverse alphabetical order? See The Most Pathetic Fact in Maths for more.

Kinda begs the question: are superheroes tight-arsed?

Entertaining, fast-paced action movie ? intricately plotted and exceptionally well directed but the underlying premise is not as original as suggested by the marketing. Spoiler Alert! Similar ideas are featured in The Cell (2000) and The Matrix trilogy (1999-2003) whilst many 80s and 90s episodes of Star Trek explore the idea of mind invasion or dream sharing ? too many to mention them all here - but Extreme Measures (Deep Space Nine - first aired on 19 May 1999) is particularly prescient.

Should panties be worn over or under ones tights - and why?

Panorama BBC1 8:30pm tonight (19 July 2010). "Reporter Adam Shaw investigates the state of Britain's banks, and reveals that while base rates remain low, the cost of borrowing has risen significantly."

I can't imagine why any one would bother to use the loop-around cycle track at the end of Rye Lane unless it were constantly monitored and errant cyclists fined for riding on the pavement - it's just too easy to cut straight across.

BP says oil has stopped leaking from Gulf well If one of BP's relief wells succeeds in blocking the damaged borehole - what are the chances the other one will end up being used as a production well? With potential revenues of US$3 million a day, it could recoup the US$3 billion* spill claims in just 2 years and 9 months. * 10^9

As long as customers are prepared to pay exorbitant rates the credit card companies will continue to charge them. I gave up using credit cards nearly thirty years ago - I came to the conclusion that they were a thinly disguised scam. I'm amazed that so many customers and merchants are still willing to be skimmed every time anyone buys anything - and those hole-in-the-wall cash withdrawal charges are just madness. Debit and cash cards provide the same convenience yet cost virtually nothing.

Very sad news. A genuinely nice guy. RIP

Breaking News: Roman Polanski escapes extradition to US

ian164SE22 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > [what] is sinister about Freemasonry? In the UK, Regular Freemasonry (as represented by UGLE) is a deceptive, mind-control cult that dupes hapless recruits into serving its own interests. Its mafia-like activities are not conducive to an open and fair democratic society. Lodges should be stripped of their charitable status and be required by law to publish regular up-to-date membership lists. Members should be barred from public office, civil and military service, the professions, self-regulated associations and private sector positions that handle public funds or interests. Just my opinion, of course.

10/10 for a sensible edit.

LM - don't get too excited, not on my account anyway: all I need to do is scan in an image of Brendan's hat - nothing to it! I just hope HB has an equally elegant get out :)

Sue Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Sadly, can't be in two places at once :)) Actually, as LadyMuck has pointed out, according to Hugh Everett's many-worlds interpretation, you were - you just don't know about it.

This thread does remind me of trying to teach the Mrs how to reverse around a corner - I still have a mental block regarding the three-point turn, though.

katie1997 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > HAL - not heard the dialogue but I read it in my > Tony Soprano voice anyway, hope that's alright! The Force is with you, young katie1997, but you are not a Jedi yet.

Ha ha ha! You can't slap me - you're offside, sunshine!

Has no one heard that dialog before? I laughed for a week when it first aired in the UK. I thought Katie was a fan? (Hint: I've changed the names to protect the innocent.)

katie1997 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So sue me HAL9000 ;) > > *adopts tony soprano accent HAL9000: ... You know Quasimodo predicted all this. Katie1997: Who did what? HAL9000: All these problems - the similarity between jerk and tandoori chicken recipes, the Middle East, the end of the world. Katie1997: Nostradamus. Quasimodo's the Hunchback of Notre Dame. HAL9000: Oh right. Notre Damus. Katie1997: Nostradamus, and Notre Dame. Two different things completely. HAL9000: It's interesting though, they'd be so similar, isn't it?" And I always thought okay, Hunchback of Notre Dame. You also got your quarterback and halfback of Notre Dame. Katie1997: One's a fcuking cathedral. HAL9000: Obviously. I know, I'm just saying. It's interesting, the coincidence. What you're gonna tell me you never pondered that? The back thing with Notre Dame? Katie1997: No!

katie1997 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Mix yoghurt with chilli sauce, grated lime zest, > lime juice, allspice, salt & pepper, chopped > onion, garlic, ginger, coriander, mustard, sugar > and oil. That's very similar to the yoghurt-based marinade used to make Tandoori Chicken: yoghurt, medium or hot curry powder, salt, black pepper, garlic, ginger and, optionally, lemon juice, mustard, red colouring. No sugar or honey, though.

But today we live in a world where predators snatch children from the streets in broad daylight - I don't understand how any parent could allow their little ones out alone in the light of such risks? Sooner of later, I fear it will end in tears.