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A friend of mine has jointly set up a website and forum very loosely inspired by Ben Goldacre's excellent Bad Science blog on the subject of archaeology, in an attempt to bring to light some of the shadier claims made by people purporting to practise archaeology and to explain and de-mystify the...

"There have been reports of pwdre sêr (Welsh for rot of the stars) for centuries..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_jelly Could be something more down-to-earth, of course, but still rather creepy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostoc

It's a one-off gig in November at the Dome, sorry, O2 Arena: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6990704.stm Shame it's 125 nicker, slightly out of my current budgetary restraints. :( Edit: I thought maybe some people might just want to chat about this, so that's why it's here and not in...

I love conspiracy theories, I love intrigue and double-crossing and I love secret societies - the older, weirder and more sinister the better. Robert Rankin is a great one for this, and I quite liked Iain Banks's The Business, about a clandestine company that dates from the days of the Roman...

This arrived (unsolicited) in my inbox the other day. I have no qualms leaving in the guy's contact details as it was sent out as spam, so he obviously doesn't mind people knowing about him. Make of it what you will - I'm just thrilled to read about 'ethers' and 'vortices', it reminds me of all...

May I present, firstly, a totally random selection of smokers: And a totally random selection of non-smokers: I'll let you make up your own minds.

Bit short notice as it's been going on all week, but I'm heading down this afternoon if anyone fancies joining me...send me a PM if you like. http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=195496

Just thought I'd mention that I was at this last month, it was a huge amount of fun, I got sozzled on free G&Ts and it just seems, all in all, to be so hilariously un-Dissensian I thought it probable that some other buggers on here might have been to it or similar events out of a spirit of sheer...

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/mg19426085.800-teleportation-but-not-as-we-know-it.html

http://jalopnik.com/cars/jalopnik-loves-flying-cars/worlds-first-flying-car-enters-production-282449.php It's obviously a prototype - the production model will of coursed be tea-strainer-shaped and finished with pseudo-oriental 'writing' decals... :)

I'm saying Yes, because whereas a fully verbal, conceptual language is found in every know human society, this trait has not been adequately demonstrated in any other species - not even our closest relatives, the chimps and gorrilas, or those squeaking smart-arses, the dolphins. Of course...

If you've been before, you don't need persuading, and if you haven't, it's time you saw the light... Saturday 4th August 2007 WANG presents REVIVAL!! Old Fashioned - Soul Saving -...

A moment's light-hearted distraction from the woes of the world: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6283494.stm :D Edit: the phrase "...rescued brown from toilet" makes me think of someone with his sleeves rolled up, reaching down into the bowl... :eek:

George Clooney: The Doom Guy:

Fat ugly racist 'comedian' kicks the bucket, you heard it here first: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6765093.stm (R.I.P. = 'Rejoicing In Pakistan')

This makes me very sad: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6720661.stm Thanks to tabloid hysteria over peadophilia, of which the whole Maddie episode is the most recent incarnation, there's now a phantom nonce on every street corner and in every park. The reality is that the vast majority of...

A mailout from the 'Happy Mondays' comedy club (nowt to do with me, I'm just on the mailing list):

For the past few months I've been doing some private tuition to try and make ends meet while I finish my PhD, and a recurring theme has emerged in the questions my students ask me - namely, one question in particular: do I have to know this for the exam? There's one girl I'm teaching at the...

Will people *please* just let the poor cow rest in the ground for five fucking minutes at a stretch? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6657461.stm I have to say this on-going non-story is probably the most boring thing to consistently crop up in the (British) news over the past decade. It's bad...

So just *how* powerful is it? Specifically, what are the limits of the placebo effect? I've been wondering for a while if it's possible to commit suicide by overdosing on placebos; that is, taking a large number of essentially inactive pills, believing them to contain a powerful drug, and...