Operation Vader

Things must be tough in the Empire, or rather for the unemployed Storm Troopers ....

Storm Trooper Robbery

..... because one of them was captured on cameras, making up for those lost imperial wages.

A Naked Protest Or Two

Six women prisoners who are serving time for manslaughter, actual bodily harm and drug offences, staged a nude protest in a jail exercise yard at New Hall prison, West Yorkshire.

These Are The Sort Of Naked Protestors We Are Used To

The six barricaded themselves in and threatened officers with table legs in the five-hour stand-off.

Rebuilding The Past

Another example of how modern technology can rebuild that which has been lost in the past …. We have given examples before but they are becoming ever more frequent, as laser scanning technology, computing power and 3D printing get ever more sophisticated.

Visions Of Zeus At Olympia ...
the 3D Printed Version On Right

An ancient Greek statue of Zeus at Olympia, that was once one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, has been recreated using 3D printing. The original was made of precious woods, ivory and gold, but was lost in the 5th Century AD in a fire at the Palace of Lausus in Constantinople.

The Perennial Singletons

Britain has recently become a land where 'singles' made up a large element of the society. This started when divorce rates rocketed, after divorce became much easier and cheaper.

The UK's Singletons Are A Growing Phenomenon

So its perhaps its not a surprise that this year set the usual new records for the figures.

More Pin Interest Fodder

There are times when words fail even me ....

More Pin Interest Fodder ...

Its hard to think how, but someone actually thinks that this might catch on ..... well in certain clubs maybe, but not in my office!

Deaf To Complaints

Sometimes you have to laugh .....

In this case as much as you want to, because its a story from within the deaf community which grabbed my attention.

Deaf Activists Are Quite .... Well Active.

Who would have thought that 'promoting a hearing activity' aka 'promoting oralism', is considered such a NO NO with certain deaf disability activists, that anyone practising such a heinous crime, and who happens to be deaf, can be sent death threats?

Tragic Comic Consequences

Comic Con began in the USA in 1970 and has since spread worldwide as a largely nerdy youth based experience ....

Comic Cons Are Innocent Fun In Free And Liberal Societies.

Up until now it has been considered largely an innocent pastime.

The American Illiterates

The US reportedly has more citizens who are illiterate than most all of its developed economy counterparts.

OECD Adult Literacy Rates .....

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report on Adult Literacy Rates shows that 8.1% of US adults or 16 million people are functionally illiterate. This is amongst the highest rates of the 35 countries in the OECD.

Neighbourhood Watch

A Swiss man who flew a Jack Daniels flag outside his home ran into trouble ....

..... when his Zurich neighbours mistook it for an ISIS flag.

The Way We Were

On Friday last week I was forced to work from home in order to deal with a domestic crisis that would otherwise have meant using a days holiday (all booked up for the year so a non runner), or pulling a sickie (again, I have used a few real sick days this year!).

Working From Home Can Be Stressful ......

So I was forced to take a day working from home. Now I say forced because I don't find it the easy option. There are several reasons for this.

1. I am honest and actually want to do a good days work if they are paying me for this.
2. I find it hard to concentrate without the bustle of an office around me.

Last Of The Dinosaurs

Rail drivers can now earn £80,000 pa in the UK. This thanks to their latest blackmail antics aka as disruptive striking. They have won simply by making millions of lives miserable for over a year ... with a weak government unable or unwilling to sort them out for good.

The User Of One Of These Control Cabins Earns £80k pa ..... The Other Not So Much.

The fact that this latest largesse is paid for by a hostage population of commuters is not lost on them. Most of those commuters can't dream to earn those sorts of wages, nor to have a final salary pension scheme based on that level of income.

Pampered Peacocks

Those naughty Saudi Royals have had a bit of a rude awakening.

How The Mighty Are Humbled - For Now ....

One of their own, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has had dozens of people - including 11 of those errant Princes arrested.

Creatures From The Depths

Ah how we love Forteana stories on this blog ..... Hurricane Irma didn't just disturb the citizens of the US coast, but also it seems the denizens of the deep.

Texas City Beach Creature ....

This creature was washed up on the beach and caused a minor twitter storm as its readers 're-tweeted' (is that a word?) the pictures taken by a Texan beach comber near Texas City. Of course immediately the words 'sea monster' appeared and it went viral.

Stuck In An ATM and Other Shorts

The world's longest recorded human tooth was owned by Urvil Patel of Vadodara in India. It was measured at 1.4 inches (3.6cm) when it was removed from his mouth.

Feral Wildman Or Naked Rambler?

The wild man of Pembrokeshire has been spotted by a hill walker in the Presell Mountains. He reported the sighting at the summit of Cam Goedog were he said he saw a "naked feral man hunched over and looking at the ground. I couldn't hear if he was talking to me or just making sounds". The walker did what any sensible person would do when faced with a hairy naked man on a hill top .... he made himself scarce, but only after taking some photographs.

One Sex Studies

Once you go down the road of PC politics you are trapped by your own warped logic .....

Transgender Politics Are Byzantine ....

This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone with a normal view of the world. But when you are educational establishment that professes that it has ‘sympathy with the idea that gender is not binary' then the politics of sexual identity become Byzantine.

Ice Age Wahhabism

The ice may slowly be breaking in the land of intolerance ...

Family Stands The Future In The 'Reformed' Saudi Arabia .....

.... under pressure from a population, 70% of whom are under 30 yrs of age, and who have had access to the outside world, Saudi Arabia will finally allow women to attend sports events in stadiums for the first time from next year, despite following a strict form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism.