HAL9000

I can see how he would make a great subject for a play - a fascinating yet deeply troubled character. His mother, Florence, was an Irish-born American, as I'm sure you know. Who wrote your play and what is it called?

Let's try a different approach: LM, just make sure there are always two opponents between you and their end of the pitch. Does that make sense?

Not quite: the UK ?opted out of border control arrangements, while participating in certain provisions relating to judicial and police cooperation,? under the Schengen Agreement. On the other hand, immigration officials have a great deal of discretion regarding border control.

Don't know how helpful this will be - but here are a few offside sites illustrated with diagrams: http://www.offside-ref.co.uk/laws/11-offside-rule/detailed/ http://www.sidelinesoccer.com/offsides

According to wiki, which describes him as an Anglo-American, Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1888, and moved to the United Kingdom in 1900. ... In 1907, he was naturalised as a British subject in order to take the civil service examination. That may explain the confusion about his nationality.

Airlines don't usually disclose any information about passengers nor do they allow anyone to board without a passport.

Amchoor (or Amchur) Powder is made from dried mango flesh. It is used as a souring agent in curries: found only occasionally in Anglo-Indian cuisine but very popular in certain parts of the sub-continent.

MM - you opined: The banks (i.e. mortgage lenders) are making a significant loss on the loans to these customers which it has to make up elsewhere. I don't think that is the case - mortgage lenders hedge their exposure to interest rate volatility for the short time the loans are on their books, usually a matter of weeks or months at most. Thereafter, multi-million pound tranches of mortgage loans are 'sliced and diced' into bond-like derivatives that are sold to third parties. Any subsequent losses or profits accrew to the buyers of those mortgage-backed securities - not the original lenders.

???? Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > you'd have been laughed at as a madman. That isn't how hedge strategies work though ? no risk-adverse asset manager would attempt to predict interest rate changes. For some two decades a technique known as Asset Liability Management has become the industry standard amongst lenders. Interrelated hedge strategies are used to lock-in differentials regardless of which way and by how much interest rates vary: See Interest Rate Risks and Interest Rate Swaps.

HAL9000 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > AFAIK, no one has claimed that a functional BOP > would have failed to withstand the pressure in > this case. Until now: Second pipe may have crippled BP well's defense mechanism

You don't think mortgage lenders hedge their exposure to interest rate volatility?

Take a number and join the queue.

Yes - I noticed on their website that they're everywhere now - I think the one in Jamestown Road was one of the first in the UK back when Camden was my local stomping ground. Gosh, that's 15 years ago already.

If you don't mind the production line service and seating arrangements reminicent of a primary school dinner-room - try Wagamama, it's an unusual Japanese-style Noodle and Soup Bar at 11 Jamestown Road, off Camden High Street, London NW1 7BW (020 7428 0800). I've been there a few times - it's different but well worth the experience - the food is good, too: http://www.wagamama.com

Pratt Street with its small, family-run tavernas and cafes used to be the place for authentic Greek cuisine - I haven't been there for quite a while, though.

Marmora Man Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So given your lender wants to make a profit and > has other costs the difference between your rate > of 5.9% and 4.25% represents the cost and profit > element for your lender. When one factors in the leverage the lender obtains through the practice of Fractional Reserve Banking, the bank's profit margin works out considerably more than the 1.65% the above calculation suggests - add in the compounding of interest over the term of the loan and one begins to understand why mortgage lending is so profitable. All one needs is a layer or two of securitisation to transform future value into discounted present value and bingo: it's the perfect recipe for a financial crisis!

It's not my favourite fruit but it makes a nice change occasionally. I've eaten a lot of them while in the tropics. This thread has raised a craving now that will no doubt result in me buying some next time I take a stroll down Rye Lane.

Actually, there is a some doubt about whether these are multi-cellular fossils. Some scientists say they are just as likely to be conglomerations of single-celled organisms much like the microbial stromolites that had already been around for over a billion years by then. The big question is whether the new West African specimens truly represent large organisms growing in a co-ordinated manner, or are merely a record of the remains of aggregations of unicellular bacteria. -- 'Cookie-shaped' fossils point to multicellular life

The economy is very finely tuned - only a few percentage points separate growth, recession, depression and societal collapse: as previous civilizations have discovered in the final stage of their collapse.

Loz - thank you, that's exactly what I meant. All western economies rely on a system known as Fractional Reserve Banking, which operates through the banks ? it is the foundation of our economy.

What's happening is more or less what I've been expecting. What can we do about it? Even the massive riots in Greece only managed to kill a few innocent bystanders - they achieved nothing else. A new government? Been there, done that. As for the banks - they are the economy - they create money through debt. They've got the politicians and us over a barrel. Reality has to be faced - the money has gone, the good times are over and things are going to get worse. The British economy is unlikely to regain its former glory any time soon - if ever.

eater81 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Please PM me the address of this prick, I will go > round there with my henchmen and kick the shit out > of him on your behalf. I am not joking. That is mighty neighbourly of you - it's good to know there are people like you living close by.

Aside from conduction and convection, heat radiates in the infrared, which passes through vacuum without touching the sides ? but you know that.

I thought the Brazilian was down to the hedge trimmer?

It's this interminable heat - it's enough to drive anyone bonkers.