Walsingham

I have decided that I woe it to future generations to have a paid team of anthropologists and linguists come into my office and record my furious expletives while attempting to write a formatted powerpoint presentations. Favourite so far today: "Gilded swan ****er."

To quote you "Applying the gospel of test everything first would leave us banging rocks together when the asteroid hits." Touche. You get weaving, and I'll light up these gibbons.

Actions spring from thoughts. The notion that any and all thoughts are innocuous is purest mountain-spring hogwash. EDIT: Please note that in line with new EU directives pure mountain spring hogwash is not intended to be used as an anti-dessicant.

*rage* And what if the energy expended in making these biodegradeables is 5 times that used on existing materials? There's far too little attention paid to systems thinking in these ostensibly 'green' ideas. No offence, Gorth. it's not like you're king of industry and are about to launch into this concept.

Taking those measures may be grossly insufficient. In which case you are drowning slightly less, but still drowning, in plastic. Applying the gospel of test everything first would leave us banging rocks together when the asteroid hits. Recklessness is built into our bodies. And I thank God daily for it. Although strictly speaking I don't believe in God. But one has to be grateful for good stuff. I suppose I should thank my ancestors.

It had its moments... bhut frankly I'd have preferred Old World Blues to have been darker as was implied in Dead Money. But then, we wouldn't have had all the knob gags. And I would not have hurt myself laughing. Voted.

Does sound engaging. Thanks for taking the trouble to write it up!

Chinese government makes beer. Budweiser are competitors. I guess. Pretty redolent example of what full state control results in. Oh come our glorious revolution, eh?

If I may make a gentle suggestion, stress is a known factor in lots of medical badness. Stressing yourself out over plastic may be killing you even if the plastic harmless.

GD, just wondering, but something I'd definitely buy would be anything covering French colonial wars, with your same themes in it. Particularly Africa. Same period, even. Could be interesting. Then the genuine historical facts would be as alien and fascinating as your counterfactual additions.

Agree with Gorth on interpretation, but woudl say that a ship is a pretty solid metaphor for life. Of course, you were in the Navy, so you probably have specific associations with vessels. possibly more of the responsibility thing.

If it makes you feel any better, tarna, we're none of us immortal. Except possibly Prosper. Sounds like you're handling it better than most people I know who've gone through it. Just keep in mind a bunch of them survived. Hope you will be one of the ones that does, mate.

Sweet Jesus. Talk about playing up to the stereotype that the rest of the world are arrogant ****ers. As if Hurlshot didn't actually know?!! ON TOPIC, agree with Cant. If they want to regulate for waste fine. But this is an unrelated claim. Of course, having no democratic accountability why SHOUDLN'T they regulate everything? Like soft-drinks, which likewise produce waste and take up scarce water, or beer which uses grain and is insensitive to teetotallers. I'm quite startled to note that no-one seems bothered by the fact that this is a non-democratic body reaching down from Mount Brussels* to penalise subordinate member state citizens and companies, over-riding elected assemblies. *Feel free to ridicule my geography, since you enjoy it so much.

I just put one of those daylight bulbs in my office. My God, it's like I just installed a new brain! Sooooo much better.

Obviously I am interested in finding fault with the EU. According to Angela Merkel we are on an inexorable slope towards full integration. However, that doesn't make this any less insane. The advertising doesn't say that drinking juice won't hydrate you. It says that drinking water will. That's simply true. End of.

Knowing you I'm surprised you're not planning on taking a primus stove and cooking your sushi.

Er... look, this is something which costs a lot of money to put into place and a lot more to enforce. To my mind there are two components: 1. Criminalise claims that water is needed for hydration. Strictly speaking, yes it is. Your body can acquire water in other ways, but water is very good at providing water. 2. Saying that your product is good at doing something when there are alternative options which may be better is NOT CRIMINAL. FFS, this is exactly the kind of mad socialist overbearing nightmare I used to scoff at people for saying the EU was. If people drink water instead of tea or juice when they are exercising then who the **** cares? They might, because they could maybe do the same thing cheaper. But that's not something which should be a criminal offence. Why not criminalise car manufacturers who claim that cars get you places quickly? Because I know for a fact that I can walk some places quicker than a car can drive, particularly in London.

Story That's it. This just tipped me over the ****ing boundary. I'm saying scrap the EU. Democratic deficit, corruption, mismanagement... it's all exemplified in this one bonkers law.

i could see this as a public statue somewhere, animated in soapstone and titanium ligatures. if i made a sculpture about the size of a man out of that, do you think it could sell for a few grand. I'd suggest finding a sculptor then having them seek a commission.

Aye. Scotland's shatteringly dull, isn't it?

I have pent-up frustrations.

I'm totally with Gorth on this one. No faster than light sounds like the kind of thing that Austrian fellow would say just because it was gloomy.

i could see this as a public statue somewhere, animated in soapstone and titanium ligatures.

I'm just hurting my way through another game of Borderlands. On my second playthrough I used the fast travel system in an ill-judged attempt to escape the tedious tutiral bit* and managed to unstick my character from the plot. *Why the flying f***bats would anyone need a tutorial on the second playthrough?! The game knows it's the second playthrough.