Cold-ish and damp-ish at the Castle this morn, the kitchen is filling up nicely with ex computers, the butler is down in the dungeon filling up the furnace with fat teenagers and the dock has been built to accommodate the Ark Royal on the moat.
Orf to the dentist at nine this am, think I have an abscess under a molar at the back, not looking forward to the appointment, I keep asking him to pull them all out and give me a plastic set but it seems there is more profit in “repairing” them, and more pain…
Japan's prime minister has declared a state of "maximum alert" over the country's nuclear disaster after highly toxic plutonium was found to have leaked into the soil from the plant.
Mr Kan's comments came after the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), the operators of the Fukushima plant, confirmed that plutonium had been detected for the first time in two out of five soil samples.
"Plutonium is a substance that's emitted when the temperature is high, and it's also heavy and so does not leak out easily," said Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
Tepco said the levels of plutonium were not harmful to human health, but experts said the discovery raised concerns that the reactor's containment mechanism had been breached.
No shit……another load of Pillocks who couldn’t organise a piss up in a saké factory.
Apparently “intelligence” officials have identified "flickers" of al-Qaeda among the Libyan rebels seeking to overthrow the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
Not even a flicker of surprise about that.
The UK economy shrank by less than previously thought in the last three months of 2010, revised figures show.
Gross domestic product (GDP) slipped by 0.5% in the period, according to fresh data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
A previous revision by the ONS said GDP had fallen 0.6% in the quarter.
Separate ONS figures showed a worsening in the UK's trade balance with the rest of the world, with a deficit of almost £27bn in the final quarter of 2010.
The figure was the biggest since the second quarter of 2009. The £10.5bn deficit in physical goods was the largest since records began in 1955.
The latest GDP figures from the ONS said that output from production industries, which include manufacturing and mining, had been higher than previously estimated.
Its initial estimate for the quarter suggested that the economy had contracted by 0.5% - with heavy snow blamed for the slump.
Good news at last……….
Most people in Britain are unwilling to get involved in their community despite wanting to engage more with local issues, research suggests.
Only one in ten definitely intended to do voluntary work in the next two years, Hansard Society's post-general election poll of 1,200 people found.
While interest in politics was up, civic participation levels - key to the PM's Big Society - were not, it said.
It said the Big Society must avoid "political associations" to succeed.
David Cameron has described his flagship idea, which seeks to mobilise community-led initiatives in a range of areas, as his "mission" amid criticism that it is too vague and merely an attempt to paper over damaging cuts in public services.
The Hansard Society's findings come from its annual Audit of Political Engagement, for which nearly 1,200 people in England, Scotland and Wales were interviewed.
While 69% of people said they were interested in how things worked in their local area and 51% felt getting involved could make a difference, only one in 10 said they were certain to do so in the next two years.
Maybe because we are all too busy trying to survive the tax increases and the public service cuts, no carrots just a big stick.
Jason Kresse, 29, of Freeport, and two crew members had been fishing for red snapper about 50 miles into the Gulf of Mexico and were dumping fish guts into the water about 3:45 a.m. Monday when they heard two big splashes in the distance.
"All of a sudden something hit the side of the boat," Kresse told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "He ends up landing on the back of the boat."
The Mako shark had apparently been in a rush to feed. It began thrashing around, and Kresse said he and his crew couldn't get close to the 375-pound fish to toss it back in the water. It damaged the boat before dying several hours later.
The crew didn't have a permit to catch sharks, so Kresse contacted federal fisheries officials on shore to get one. Mike Cox, a spokesman with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said there's no violation because the shark's death was an accident.
The shark is on display at a seafood business in Freeport, about 55 miles south of Houston.
I’ve seen “Jaws” and I may be a bit dim but doesn’t dumping chum in the water tend to attract Sharks?
Police say a pregnant woman and her mother were arrested after the older woman choked a 71-year-old Wal-mart greeter while leaving the store in Elyria Ohio.
Elyria police say 49-year-old Toni Duncan, of Elyria, was asked to show a receipt Saturday and responded by pushing a cart into the greeter, grabbing his throat and choking him. She was charged with assault.
Her daughter, 21-year-old Ashley Jackson, of Elyria, was charged with aggravated menacing and inducing panic. The (Lorain) Morning Journal reports that she's accused of saying she would blow up the store and that the greeter would be dead when her boyfriend learned of the incident.
Nice…..
New research commissioned by food manufacturer Bakers Complete found that nearly a quarter of the UK's dog population, representing around two million animals, are no more than thieves.
The canny canines most frequently steal underwear from their owners - 74 per cent of pet lovers reported that their dog had nicked their knickers.
However, around 11 per cent of the nation's pooches have more expensive tastes, regularly pilfering high-value items, such as cash and jewellery.
While the research shows that dogs are competent thieves, frequently stealing items outside of the house, their owners are not much better.
As many as 41 per cent of dog owners keep their pet's loot when they find it, rather than return it to its rightful owner.
Animal behaviourist professor Peter Neville believes that dogs are not natural pilferers, so much depends on the values instilled in the canine and how easy it is for them to get hold of items.
He goes on to say that stealing is often the action of a bored dog looking for entertainment.
So that’s what “dogging” means…..
And finally:
Click on the link above and spend a while spotting the fish.
That’s it: I’m orf to test some Monkeys.
And today’s thought: I maybe a lonely schizophrenic . . . but at least I have each other
Angus
