metadigital

Is that real piggie brains? I've only had sheep's brains. Which are lovely, if scrambled with a splash of milk and served on toast with a shake of salt. (Make sure to remove the tough meningitic lining first, though; I once ordered brains in a restaurant and couldn't eat it as this can be as tough as a carapace, and is particularly tasteless.) Of course it's high in fat: the brain is almost completely fat (which might explain why people with food disorders are so dim). It does contain some protein, though; brain surgery patients are served brains because it is very difficult for the body to create new proteins out of existing ones ... much better to have some of what you need to fashion into workable repairs for where they are needed.

Imagining Imaginary Numbers (Especially the Square Root of Minus Fifteen) (Barry Mazur) I don't know about you, but I always harboured a nagging irritation with the arbitrariness of imaginary numbers and the geometry of the complex plane. I think Mr Mazur's concluding chapter contains a succinct summary, so I have collected it here, below. PS I know that there is no reason to associate the imaginary dimension with the y-axis (it could just as easily be the z-axis, or indeed any plane at right angles to the real plane ... )

My point exactly. I thought Patrick Stewart made a good impression in Oblivion. And if the story was already established by the design, exactly what was the problem with casting him in that role? Or to put it another way, would Oblivion have been a better game if the role of the king had been played by voice talent of similar quality as the rest of the game had? The problem wasn't Mr Stewart's acting, it was the appalling script he had to chew through. And the cretinous bunch of (four?) talentless over-actors they had do all the other thousand-odd NPC voices.

I think Arts majors should be sponsored to learn about science before they are allowed near a SF plot.

Is that what they call what she was doing in that video ..!

There needed to be two "Other" options in the main questions, because the existing answers don't cover my response. But, I expect that everyone would just tick "Other" giving no clarity on what might be the closest answer, so I didn't make a big deal about it.

Anglicans are a lot less formal than their Catholic counterparts ... I just applied for three short courses: How the Universe Works; Planets: An Introduction; and Introducing Astronomy.

Life imitating art?

Gamespot Crysis Designer Diary #2 - Multiplayer and Nanosuit Details

Hmmm. I guess I really should play the Dark Brotherhood quest (i.e. the best the game has to offer) before writing-off the game completely.

little bladders!

Spartans were the first professional fighting civilization. Their whole society revolved around combat; they didn't farm or trade (that was for the lower casts: the Helots ('Captives'), Messenians and Perioeci ('Outdwellers')). They will all have had the full amour as a minimum amount of kit. The 300 referred to as the King's personal body guard, they were called Hippeis!

We know about it, don't we?

Handy hints from Jim-the-resident-Shrink.

Kicking people with your leg muscles developed your arm muscles? :D And still playing Titan Quest. After so long not being able to play games much, it's nice to spend some time kicking monster behinds. Uh, when you lift heavy stuff like cars and elephants, you are supposed to lift with your legs. Trust me, you don't want to throw your back out when attempting to hurl a garbage dumpster at a bunch of hooligans. ^^ Wise words for all the budding superheroes out there.

Isn't that the one with the ? I like the concept, but that is a given since it was from a fantastic William Gibson short story; the film is just a little silly. Also: Mr Avellone's recent viewing of Spider-Man 3

Maybe her martyrdom would act as an incentive and shining example!

But I assuage my forebodings by remembering just how many Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons are needed for the cogs of industry.

That's like saying a restaurant kitchen is only hectic when there are a lot of people wanting to eat. Also, this: is a good Hunter S Thompson emoticon.

I also can't stand the trend to wear trousers / clothing of the lower part of the body with the belt several feet below the appropriate position, i.e. the waistline. I wonder how many actually know this started off as an imitation of the ex-convicts who had had their belts removed, hence their pants dangled around their thighs. Still, I guess I wore baggy jeans ... and now I see that flares have returned to vogue, after almost thirty years in the wilderness ...

You'd be hating a lot of animals (and plants and the entire cast of the decomposer stage of the ecological web, for that matter) if you were consistent. I am not very pleased with their propensity to empty their tiny little bladders whenever and wherever they are walking, eating, communicating ...

What about a petition to have her sentence commuted to the death penalty?

What age range are you in? __ 18-24 __ 25-30 x_ Methuselah __ 56+ Are you male or female? x_ Male __ Female Do you think overpopulation is a problem? x_ Yes __ No What do you think should be done to solve it? x_ A maximum limit of children per family enforced by law. (Actually, universal mandatory reversible sterilisation at birth.) x_ Colonization of currently non-habitable environs. __ Nothing, new technologies will be developed to allow us to place more people in the same area without stripping the planet of its resources. __ Nothing because I

Does "nanamimi" mean "my legs and tie were viciously hacked off"?

I think early intervention is advised: decapitation should be effective at this early stage.