Silly names chosen by silly 'celebraties'

Not that I care about what names have been 'chosen' by the latest 'celebrity' to produce a baby - but some of the names on a list produced by the Times did make me giggle. Frank Zappa must have been off with the fairies when he named his children! I do think that some of these so called celebrities, didn't really think about what happens in the playground when their child goes to school - Audio Science is gonna have a hard time....

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article2130988.ece

Sleep on it

So, it's true. If you have a problem, go to bed and sleep on it. The brain, working on autopilot will do a better job than your reasoning.

http://www.thes.co.uk/current_edition/story.aspx?story_id=2037687

Complementary medicine degrees slated

There has been an overall increase in applications to university, with spectacular increases in applications for subjects such as complementary medicine [31.5%] - but some critics of the courses have come out strongly against them - "...cashing in on people's wishful thinking when there is no evidence that complementary medicine works. They might as well offer degrees in astrology." said a professor of pharmacology, "scandalously unacademic" according to another professor of complementary medicine research. I have mixed feelings. Personally, I think there is a call for complementary medicine, but the students I see from a neighbouring university who have taken their degree in alternative therapies, do find it hard to find employment, and even when they are self employed, many have to do other work as well to supplement their incomes. Perhaps it is just a case of the older, more research led universities looking down at the courses being offered to fill gaps in the market by the newer universities - but all universities need to fill their spaces - and by offering what the customer wants, the newer universities are reaping the financial rewards - and students are customers...

http://www.thes.co.uk/current_edition/story.aspx?story_id=2037637

Persistant rain

I love how the Met Office understates the weather. It is forecasting 'more heavy and persistent rain' for England & Wales this weekend. Just where is all this rain coming from? I am fed up with it all now - I want the sun please.

Ceri is in Cheltenham for the summer, and on Sunday, he and Helen had to evacuate down to Cardiff, as the water ran out. He was hoping to start work at the Tesco store opposite, but it is shut, as they have no running water either... Returning to Lichfield via the M5, it was shocking to see how much destruction the floods had wreaked over a wide area around Tewekesbury - but what was annoying, was the numbers of motorist who were stopping their cars on the hard shoulder and in some cases, getting out of their cars to take photos of the floodwaters! Are they stupid or what?

Blue taxi

A wonderful weekend to collect a very special person from Bruxelles at the end of a successful Erasmus year. The blue taxi purred along, there were no hitches and I managed to be able to see a little out of the rear view mirror, after the quilt had been squashed down firmly! I even managed to find my way in and out of Bruxelles via the ringroad without any problems or wrong turns!