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A Worriers Guide to Risk

Worried something is going to happen to you? Disaster strike? A meteor hit your barbecue sending you all to a flaming inferno of misery and blisters? Think the worst is going to happen? Well worry no more. Here is a summary to reassure you. Also on the site is some statistical information related to winning the lottery...

Tour de France - 1940 & 2009

1940



2009

And talking of monsters...

... an 11 year old has caught a gigantic catfish in the river Ebro in Spain... here. Bigger than her and weighing 193 lbs (87.54kg). Impressive.

The Alaskan Blob, Dr. Who, and Quatermass

UPDATE: The Alaskan blob has now been identified as an algal bloom... here.

Many child viewers of the early Dr. Who television series in the UK recall their terror of watching this program from behind their sofas. For me this did little to terrorise me. I loved it. What used to almost make me poop my pants were the Quatermass movies. In particular 'Quatermass and the Pit" (TV Series) and the movie. This was made even scarier by the fact that our old TV used to make low frequency humming/buzzing sounds. I loved them. Movies like "The Blob" just made me laugh they were so bad.

The TV series and movies spawned (bad joke here) many spin offs and subtle nods to them. Both in comedy with The Goons and in particular Doctor Who. If you have not seen them I do recommend them highly.

The reason I am writing about these is that there have been several 'incidents' reported recently of unidentified 'blobby things'.

The first one... here.

The second is shown in the image above with the story here.

Check before you sit on your toilet. IT is watching you...

Looking for a business opportunity?

In these stressed and perilous times where jobs are few and far between it is important to look at every opportunity for employment. Tired of driving that bus? Fed up of the server room? Dunkin' doughnuts getting you down? Switch your career... here.

I particularly like the 'increase your sales!' pitch with the flu pandemic tie-in and the innovative BioVu™© (just making sure here. They do not seem to know the difference between copyright and trademark) see through window.

Thanks to DP for this gem...

Terrorist or not...

This interesting BBC article covers the potential for finding a terrorist, swine flu, accuracy, and certainty. Interesting to note how inaccurate statistics can be. The graphic portrays the estimated population of the USA and (on the basis of say 10% 'certainty) the fact that 300 people are possibly terrorists. Or possibly not. Here.

UPDATE:

Given that the land mass of the USA is 3,676,486 sq miles (9,522,055sq km), this means that (theoretically) there is a terrorist every 12,255 sq. miles. If you are growing potatoes in Idaho I am sure the distribution is significantly lower...

Why Michael Jackson wore a wig...

... I will skip the jokes here as it is clear from this video why... here. There is a moment when Michael Jackson's hair is on fire that is quite horrific. Particularly when they are leading him away.

The Seabreacher looks like fun

It also looks and behaves like a dolphin. That is if you have ever seen a dolphin with top of the range super horse-power engines that is ... here.

Elsevier does it again

Recently I mentioned about the practice of Elsevier receiving payment from Merck for publishing favourable 'peer reviewed' journals in Australia. It seems that this is not the only thing they have been doing ... here. Remember, doctors often make decisions regarding the treatment you receive or the appropriate type of drug you should take on the basis of articles, journals, and books published. This information is supposed to be clinical research that has been tested and proven. Often, a specific drug or treatment is found to be hazardous due to certain side effects of taking it - this can be on its own or in combination with other drugs, or the degree of risk is high. If a particular book or article is bumped up a list or reviewed for financial gain, this can distort the view or prominence over more valid published and peer reviewed research.

Trust me, I am a big medical publisher. Sorry Elsevier, your credibility and integrity is clearly questionable when this sort of thing happens once and significantly in doubt when this sort of thing happens repeatedly. Are you taking remedial action to ensure the customer (the person who receives the drug or treatment) is getting what is best for them? If not then there is bound to be (given the litigious nature of the States) a law suit or class action lining up for you. That would affect the share price would it not?

Happiness

The Atlantic Monthly has a fascinating article on the subject of happiness. There has been a Harvard study underway for 72 years following the lives of about 250 or so people. Conducted by George Vaillant, the study has followed in detail what happened in peoples lives. Here.

The Picture Says It All

Jimi Hendrix

A very interesting article regarding his death (or was it murder?)... see for yourself. Here.