http://scienceblogs.com/photosynthesis/2009/04/an_ant_diversity_sampler.php

“Nothomyrmecia macrops”

http://fun.from.hell.pl/00-ROCZNIK-2001/stare/zlypies.jpg

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pandemic-flu/Pages/QA.aspx

“I tried to phone the Swine Flu hotline, but all I got was crackling…”

http://www.gurkhas.com/

Tul Bahadur Pun, a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
He was refused entrance to the UK by British officials in Nepal as it was claimed he “doesn’t have strong enough ties with the UK” for him to be allowed to settle there. On June 1, 2007 this decision was overturned by the British Asylum & Immigration Minister, Liam Byrne, due to the “exceptional” nature of the case.

Yet Learco Chindamo is allowed to stay in Britain for the rest of his life.

He is the Italian-born murderer who knifed headmaster Philip Lawrence to death outside his London school in 1995.

However, we can’t deport him, an immigration tribunal has ruled, because this would breach his human right to a ‘family life’.

Recently, Gordon Brown’s government has ruled that Gurkha soldiers who have loyally served this country for the last 150 years do not have the right to stay.

Luckily, the House of Commons did not agree with him and in a symbolic vote defeated the government and demanded that all Gurkhas be allowed to settle here if they wish.

Gordon Brown shame on you, it’s not often that politics gets me angry but you and your government are morally bankrupt.

How dare you go to visit troops in Afghanistan say what a great job they are doing and then treat them like this.

“You have been sat too long here for any good you have been doing.
Depart, I say, and let us have done with you.
In the name of God, go!”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tul_Bahadur_Pun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurkha

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/stumbleupon_breaks_free_from_ebay_-_founds_buy_it.php

Stumbleupon, so good they sold it twice…

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1169776/Hand-God-Scientists-reveal-amazing-X-ray-image-supernova-deep-space.html

The hired hand,
On heart,
Hand of God,
Floodland and driven apart,
Run cold,
Turn,
Cold,
Burn,
Like a healing hand…

http://moronail.net/?pic=1034

http://www.night4joy.com/index.php/20090129186/Interesting/People-In-1910-Predicted-What-Life-Would-Be-In-2000.html

Villemard, 1910

Correspondance Cin

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2007/01/ships-battling-heavy-seas.html

http://www.publicproxyservers.com/

A useful tool against the creeping database state?

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/03/26/remixes-of-the-paran.html

http://www.met.police.uk/campaigns/counter_terrorism/index.htm

We love you Big Brother…

http://www.art-for-a-change.com/News/eyes.htm

http://www.retrothing.com/2009/03/the-ultimate-science-kit.html

Warning: Do not sell this kit to any representative of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran….

http://www.dirjournal.com/info/one-to-one-with-nature-incredible-wildlife-photograpy/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHJJQ0zNNOM

See also:

http://www.bostondynamics.com/content/sec.php?section=BigDog

http://www.cavafy.com/

The Ides of March

Guard, O my soul, against pomp and glory.
And if you cannot curb your ambitions,
at least pursue them hesitantly, cautiously.
And the higher you go,
the more searching and careful you need to be.

And when you reach your summit, Caesar at last ,
when you assume the role of someone that famous ,
then be especially careful as you go out into the street,
a conspicuous man of power with your retinue;
and should a certain Artemidoros
come up to you out of the crowd, bringing a letter,
and say hurriedly: ‘Read this at once.
There are things in it important for you to see,’
be sure to stop; be sure to postpone
all talk or business; be sure to brush off
all those who salute and bow to you
(they can be seen later); let even
the Senate itself wait , and find out immediately
what grave message Artemidoros has for you.

C P Cavafy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxSnO-zdAnY

Time lapse photography from Hobo Island

http://www.nineninenine.net/

http://www.theundertones.com/__/Home.html

http://ferdzee.stumbleupon.com/

Smarter than your average Bending Unit, able to perform magic tricks, impress all with his collection of ties and much more…

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/29/further_dockyard_outrage/

http://www.ojohaven.com/collectives/

An unkindness of ravens.
A totter of giraffes.
A sulk of teenagers.
A pitying of turtledoves.
A deficit of economists.

…and my submission…

A wunch of bankers.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/cartoon_google_knows_all_and_s.php

http://www.stimator.com/

Very inaccurate, I checked a friend’s business which takes over £50,000 a year via the net and it said it was worth less than my blog…shurely shome mishtake?

http://www.csulb.edu/~cohlberg/songbook.html

The Michaelis-Arbuzov reaction is initiated with the SN2 reaction of the nucleophilic phosphite with the electrophilic alkyl halide to give a phosphonium intermediate. Triaryl phosphites, which are unable to perform the second step of the Michaelis-Arbuzov reaction, have been shown to produce stable phosphonium salts.Likewise, aryl and vinyl halides are unreactive towards phosphites.

The displaced halide anion reacts via another SN2 reaction with the phosphonium intermediate to give the desired phosphonate and another alkyl halide.

When chiral phosphonium intermediates are produced, it has been shown the halide substitution proceeds with inversion of configuration, as expected by a SN2 reaction.

I used to understand this…. not anymore…

http://www.csulb.edu/~cohlberg/Songs/Michaelis.mp3

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3813820/The-Great–Christmas-Compendium-John-Betjemans-Christmas.html

The bells of waiting Advent ring,

The Tortoise stove is lit again

And lamp-oil light across the night

Has caught the streaks of winter rain.

In many a stained-glass window sheen

From Crimson Lake to Hooker’s Green.

The holly in the windy hedge

And round the Manor House the yew

Will soon be stripped to deck the ledge,

The altar, font and arch and pew,

So that villagers can say

“The Church looks nice” on Christmas Day.

Provincial public houses blaze

And Corporation tramcars clang,

On lighted tenements I gaze

Where paper decorations hang,

And bunting in the red Town Hall

Says “Merry Christmas to you all”.

And London shops on Christmas Eve

Are strung with silver bells and flowers

As hurrying clerks the City leave

To pigeon-haunted classic towers,

And marbled clouds go scudding by

The many-steepled London sky.

And girls in slacks remember Dad,

And oafish louts remember Mum,

And sleepless children’s hearts are glad,

And Christmas morning bells say “Come!”

Even to shining ones who dwell

Safe in the Dorchester Hotel.

And is it true? and is it true,

This most tremendous tale of all,

Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue,

A Baby in an ox’s stall?

The Maker of the stars and sea

Become a Child on earth for me?

And is it true? For if it is,

No loving fingers tying strings

Around those tissued fripperies,

The sweet and silly Christmas things,

Bath salts and inexpensive scent

And hideous tie so kindly meant,

No love that in a family dwells,

No carolling in frosty air,

Nor all the steeple-shaking bells

Can with this single Truth compare –

That God was Man in Palestine

And lives to-day in Bread and Wine.

Extracted from John Betjeman’s ‘Collected Poems’

http://osgrid.org/index.php?page=home&btn=1

The Open Source Metaverse where you can create your own simulator and connect it.

http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Glennz-Tee-Store-Designs/149088

http://torley.stumbleupon.com/

Please give a warm stumbleupon welcome to Torley,
a.k.a. Torley Linden

A ‘happy human being/virtual world expert, social media guru/thought leader, freelance blogger/crazy dancer, graphic designer/freesoul, virtuoso concert pianist/ex-techno producer…

…and a lot of other things that don’t have “/” in them.

He also has a sense of humour’.

http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/T/the_devils_whore/index.html

Left to right : Old Nol, Free-Born John Lilburne, Thos. Rainsborough, Edward Sexby.

What did you Puritans ever do for us, Oliver?

Well, there’s sexual liberation, personal hygiene, press freedom..

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/what-did-you-puritans-ever-do-for-us-oliver-1017503.html

Many thanks to Tigana
http://tigana.stumbleupon.com/

http://www.ubuntusatanic.org/

Ubuntu, the Dark side of the force…

http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~pv/pv/courses/posters/index.html

http://totallylookslike.com/

Although I’m neutral on the whole Presidential election thing, this made me smile.

For U.S. Economy also read: U.K. Economy, E.U. Economy, Korean Economy, and Japanese Economy.

http://www.beyondspaceandtime.org/FCBSTWeb/web/index.html

http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/firerainbow.asp

http://stopvirgin.movielol.org/

From the page: ““

http://www.b3ta.com/challenge/historyrobots/

http://3806736.stumbleupon.com/

Please give a warm Stumbleupon welcome to GaryVoyles. A septuagenarian whose hobbies include doing nothing in coffeeshops and jumping out of airplanes.

http://zztools.stumbleupon.com/

Please give a warm Stumbleupon welcome to zztools.