Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[AndrewT]

If you wanted girly news Tom you should have watched the new series of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings last night - the whole thing was about clothes, make-up, spray tan and parties.

Right up your street.

It was actually called 'Bigger Fatter Gypsier Wedding' Andrew. Imaging the outcry if it had been called 'Bigger Blingier Blacker' Or 'Older Tighter Jewisher'

http://www.photovoice.org/blog/article/is-this-acceptable-representation-of-young-people

Big Fat Gypsy Wedding's title is a reworking of the film Big Fat Greek Wedding, because the first series revolved around weddings.

The Bigger, Fatter line (which wasn't actually the title of the programme, just a strapline for the posters) is a logical extension which could be used for a sequel (as in the films Dumb and Dumber > Dumb and Dumberer).

They're not suggesting that all Gypsies are of Giblinesque proportions.

[Laxie]

This chick makes my weather reports look good...

[RED-DOG]

This chick makes my weather reports look good...

I'm guessing that just before it went live, Tony propositioned her.

[RED-DOG]

For one reason or another, I've become quite interested in this debate lately. Speaking personally, I do care how people behave in their private lives.

As a slightly of topic example, I used to love Mel Gibson films, but now I cant watch him.


Do sports fans really care about an athlete's personal life and/or misconduct?

Yes, because many sports fans hold athletes morally responsible for their actions.

Although sports fans watch games for entertainment and competition, a true sports fan is also interested in the lives of the players. These players become role models and, if they misbehave, true sports fans hold the athlete morally accountable. A great case in point is Michael Vick, a football player who was arrested and went to prison for his participation in dog fighting. Many people still do not like him, and you can hear it in the boos from fans when he enters the stadium.



No. I think the average sports fan is more interested in whether an athlete wins or loses, rather than personal life or misconduct.

We hear a lot about the personal lives and the misconduct of athletes, but when push comes to shove, I think the average fan is far more interested in whether the athlete, and his team if he is on one, wins on game day. All the rest might be interesting to read, but it doesn't affect the main reason people look up to athletes: their athletic abilities.

[RED-DOG]

Wow! Look at these.

Click to see full-size image.

One of the world's tiniest lizards has been discovered by keen-eyed researchers in Madagascar.

The miniature chameleon, Brookesia micra, reaches a maximum length of just 29mm.

German scientists also found a further three new species in the north of the island.

The lizards were limited to very small ranges and scientists are concerned they could be at risk from habitat disturbance.

The research team, led by Dr Frank Glaw from the Zoologische Staatssammlung in Munich, have a specialist knowledge of Madagascar's dwarf chameleons having described other species in the past.

They conducted fieldwork at night during the wet season in order to find the easily overlooked animals.

"They mostly live in the leaf litter in the day... But at night they climb up and then you can spot them," said Dr Glaw, explaining that the animals moved up into branches to sleep.

The scientists carefully scanned the most likely habitats with torches and headlamps to find roosting sites.

They found the smallest species on a remote limestone islet and believe it may represent an extreme case of island dwarfism.

This phenomenon occurs when a species becomes smaller over evolutionary time in order to adapt to a restricted habitat such as an island.

According to Dr Glaw there could have been a "two-island effect" in the case of B. micra.

"It is possible that the big island of Madagascar has produced the general group of dwarf chameleons and the very small island has produced the tiny species," he told BBC Nature.
Varied but vulnerable

Because the chameleons looked similar in appearance, researchers conducted a genetic analysis to confirm that they were indeed four distinct species.

The genetic differences between the species were described as "remarkable" by team member Miguel Vences from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany.

"This indicates that they separated from each other millions of years ago - even earlier than many other chameleon species," he said.

Each of the new species was restricted to a very small territory, just a single square kilometre for the smallest.
A portrait of an adult specimen of one of the newly discovered mini chameleons, Brookesia desperata (c) Frank Glaw Brookesia desperata: named for the "desperate" loss of habitat the species has suffered

"In Madagascar many species are restricted to small habitats and that makes it important to conserve them" said Dr Glaw.

Scientists believe the small ranges of the species make them especially sensitive to habitat disturbance.

B. tristis, named after the French word "triste" meaning sad, was found in an isolated patch of forest close to an expanding city.

The team chose thought-provoking names as an expression of their concern for the future of the island's micro-endemic species.

[RED-DOG]

So I see high speed footage of things like car crashes or bullets cutting playing cards in half. These are shot at something like 2500 frames per second.

Then I try to take a still with a shutter speed of 1/300 and it's too fast to expose the shot properly.

How does that work? Do they use a super intense lighting or something?

[tikay]

Amazing "Tsunami Fog" Weather story,


http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/02/tsunami-clouds-a-rush-of-fog/

Incredible stuff, Tom, incredible.

I believe - in fact I have it on good authority - that it arises because of something callled "Kelvin Helmholtz instability".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin%E2%80%93Helmholtz_instability

And.....

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=25486.26235

[tikay]

Tonight, in the San Siro, Arsenal play the first leg of their Champions League encounter v A C Milan.

Champions League qualification is essential, Arsenal have at least 15 years unbroken in it, but for a while, qualification via a Premiership top 4 spot looked in doubt, as Arsenal struggled, with no fit full backs, or Jack Wilshere, & poor Arsene came under pressure from the armchair critics. He is in fact fine, though he continues to have problems with his eyesight.

However, RVP, & the return of Thierry - his last match tonight - have resulted in a recent resurgence, & Arsenal are now in the top 4 again, where they belong, & Chelsea have been put to the sword.

The match will be live, on ITV this evening, direct from the iconic & homely little San Siro stadium.

Nostramus Moribundus, Deputy Football Corry, Minor Diaries dept.

Click to see full-size image.

[RED-DOG]

Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure.

[Karabiner]

Tonight, in the San Siro, Arsenal play the first leg of their Champions League encounter v A C Milan.

Champions League qualification is essential, Arsenal have at least 15 years unbroken in it, but for a while, qualification via a Premiership top 4 spot looked in doubt, as Arsenal struggled, with no fit full backs, or Jack Wilshere, & poor Arsene came under pressure from the armchair critics. He is in fact fine, though he continues to have problems with his eyesight.

However, RVP, & the return of Thierry - his last match tonight - have resulted in a recent resurgence, & Arsenal are now in the top 4 again, where they belong, & Chelsea have been put to the sword.

The match will be live, on ITV this evening, direct from the iconic & homely little San Siro stadium.

Nostramus Moribundus, Deputy Football Corry, Minor Diaries dept.

Click to see full-size image.

I would have thought that a scoreline prediction would have been appropriate from my cub reporter.

[tikay]

A C Milan 1, Arsenal 3. (28/1 on Sky Bet, max bet £1.03).

[Nakor]

A C Milan 1, Arsenal 3. (28/1 on Sky Bet, max bet £1.03).

vwp sir 

[tikay]

A C Milan 1, Arsenal 3. (28/1 on Sky Bet, max bet £1.03).

vwp sir 

He set it up, I volleyed it in, Thierry style.

[tikay]

Half-Time report.


Arsenal have been super super unlucky, the linesman & ref hates us though. We have dominated possession & goal chances. We have the best goalie, midfield, & attack in the Premiership, bar none.

#AFCWillNeverBeDefeated

Score - A C Milan 2, Arsenal 0.

[tonytats]

Arsenals new ground used to be where all the waste carriers yards were right dump it was !
I carried out the initial site investigation drilling for the new clubs design
That and a bit of tikays concrete and voila
A shiny new stadium