Not bad at the Castle this morn, cloudyish, coldish, dryish
and calmish, study-empty, his Maj-still bonkers, been out for a drive while the
roads are quiet, and hopefully the bonfire bollix is over so that me and my
pussy can get a bit of peace.
Apparently an asteroid
bigger than an aircraft carrier will dart between the Earth and Moon on
Tuesday the closest encounter by such a huge space rock in 35 years.
Scientists say this one will not threaten to destroy Earth.
“We’re 100 per cent confident that this is not a threat,”
said the manager of NASA’s Near Earth Object Programme, Don Yeomans.
The asteroid, named 2005 YU55, is a quarter-mile across and
is being watched by ground antennas in California and Puerto Rico as it
approaches from the direction of the Sun. The closest point will occur at
11.28pm on Tuesday when the asteroid passes within 202,000 miles of Earth and
150,000 miles from the Moon. Both the Earth and Moon are safe “this time”, said
Jay Melosh, professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences at Purdue University in
Indiana.
If 2005 YU55 was to hit earth, it would blast out a crater
four miles across and 1,700ft deep, says Professor Melosh. This would mean an
earthquake magnitude of 7 and 70ft waves – twice the height of the 2004 Indian
Ocean tsunami, which killed 230,000 people in 14 countries.
Bigger than an aircraft carrier-how big is that, as we don’t
have any I need a point of reference.
And yet again-hard
pressed households will see their gas and electricity bills rise by 30 per
cent within the next five years, according to a senior industry watchdog.
That comes on top of the 21 per cent rise in energy prices
over the past 12 months that has left families and pensioners struggling to
find, on average, an extra £224 for heating and with a bitterly cold winter
said to be on the way, rising energy prices will have “dangerous consequences”
and put people’s health at risk, says Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy
at price comparison website uSwitch.
Research by uSwitch found
that 23 million households, or 89 per cent of the population, will ration their
energy usage this winter, either by keeping their heating on low or turning it
off altogether to save on fuel bills.
Given current trends, she believes that energy prices will
have risen by nearly a third by 2016.
Just a guess then...
Allegedly Britain
will be marooned inside a "permanent minority" in European Union
decision making in just three years' times after rule changes kick in on member
states' voting powers, according to a new report.
The document seen by The Sunday Telegraph shows that
under changes already agreed to in the Lisbon Treaty, eurozone countries voting
as a "caucus" will have a permanent in-built majority in the EU's
Council of Ministers - its main decision-making body - from November 2014.
Britain will be unable to block a plethora of new laws even
it if it joins together with other countries not in the eurozone - risking
severe damage, in particular, to the City of London.
Yet another reason to get the hell out....
Art restorers have
discovered the figure of a devil
hidden in the clouds of one of the most famous frescos by Giotto in the
Basilica of St Francis in Assisi, church officials said on Saturday.
The devil was
hidden in the details of clouds at the top of fresco number 20 in the cycle of
the scenes in the life and death of St Francis painted by Giotto in the 13th
century.
The discovery was
made by Italian art historian Chiara Frugone. It shows a profile of a figure
with a hooked nose, a sly smile, and dark horns hidden among the clouds in the
panel of the scene depicting the death of St Francis.
The figure is
difficult to see from the floor of the basilica but emerges clearly in close-up
photography.
A devil: How many
are there then?
A fan site for a French rugby union team is recovering after
hackers mistook it for the website of the German stock exchange and launched an
attack.
The allezdax.com website for second division Dax in
rugby-loving southwest France was shut down for two weeks after its usual 700
daily page hits -- 1,200 on match days -- skyrocketed to 80,000 because of the
attack.
"Our defences were certainly inadequate," one of
the site's administrators who gave his name as Stephane told the France Bleu
Gascogne radio station.
He said the hackers had "insulted us copiously in
German" thinking they were something to do with the DAX, Germany's
blue-chip stock market index.
Shame they weren’t
on pay to click....
South Carolina officials say a 10-year-old trick-or-treater
pulled a handgun on a woman who joked that she'd steal his Halloween candy.
The Augusta Chronicle reported today a 28-year-old woman
told authorities she recognized some youngsters Monday evening and she joked
she'd take their candy.
Aiken Public Safety Lt. David Turno says a 10-year-old in
the group said "no" and pointed the handgun at her.
Turno says the gun wasn't loaded but the boy had a clip of
ammunition. He was taken to the police station and was turned over to his
parents.
Turno said the boy's brother, who is also 10, told officials
he also had a gun and both weapons were recovered by police. Turno says the
boys got them from their grandfather without his permission.
Think I would
rather have the treat....
And finally:
An 86-year-old woman in America is recovering after
accidentally driving her car into a swimming pool.
It happened when Mary Lee Fine, who lives in a retirement
home in Austin, Texas, tried to get into her car through the passenger seat
because the driver's side was blocked by another car.
After starting the car, it unexpectedly went into drive,
reversed and hit another vehicle.
It then sped through the parking area, hitting a fence and
finally landing in the pool.
"In pushing myself to get
over, I either hit the key or the gear shift, I don't know what happened, but
the car backed up - wooo whoom," she said.
Mrs Fine's car started filling
with water but it was propped up by a garden chair that was knocked into the pool
during the incident.
It stopped the car from sinking,
allowing Mrs Fine to remain safe until her neighbour was able to wade into the
pool and rescue her.
Luckily, she said, the water was
warm.
She added she may take a taxi the
next time she goes shopping.
That’s it: I’m orf to Charlie’s place in Falmouth
And today’s
thought: George Osborne should resign, as there isn’t any money left in
the treasury he's got nothing to do.
Angus
