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...until the handle breaks off and you have to see a doctor to get it removed.
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Prehistoric Polynesians beat Europeans to the Americas, according to a new analysis of chicken bones.
The work provides the first firm evidence that ancient Polynesians voyaged as far as South America, and also strongly suggests that they were responsible for the introduction of chickens to the continent - a question that has been hotly debated for more than 30 years. Chilean archaeologists working at the site of El Arenal-1, on the Arauco Peninsula in south-central Chile, discovered what they thought might be the first prehistoric chicken bones unearthed in the Americas. They asked Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and colleagues to investigate. The group carbon-dated the bones and their DNA was analysed. The 50 chicken bones from at least five individual birds date from between 1321 and 1407 - 100 years or more before the arrival of Europeans. Two-week journey However, this date range does coincide with dates for the colonization of the easternmost islands of Polynesia, including Pitcairn and Easter Island. And when the El Arenal chicken DNA was compared with chicken DNA from archaeological sites in Polynesia, the researchers found an identical match with prehistoric samples from Tonga and American Samoa, and a near identical match from Easter Island. Easter Island is in eastern Polynesia, and so is a more likely launch spot for a voyage to South America, the researchers say. The journey would have taken less than two weeks, falling within the known range of Polynesian voyages around this time, says Matisoo-Smith. First real evidence Other researchers have found indirect evidence that Polynesians might have made it to the Americas before Europeans. "But this is the first concrete evidence - not something based on a similarity in the styles of artefacts or a linguistic similarity," says Matisoo-Smith. It is also the first clear evidence that the chicken was introduced before the Europeans arrived. Genetic studies of modern South Americans have not uncovered any signs of Polynesian ancestry. But this is not surprising, says Matisoo-Smith. Ancient Polynesians were great explorers, but tended to settle only in uninhabited islands. It seems that if they found other people, they would usually turn around and go home, she says. Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0703993104) |
Certainly there aren't enough New Worlders who care about football (soccer) that frequent the board to start a thread, but I for one am excited about our continental championship starting this week. Lacking all talent and prestige of the European Championships, The Gold Cup is still important to some...
Gold fever hits CONCACAF (FIFA.com) Monday 4 June 2007 Wednesday marks the start of the ninth instalment of the biannual CONCACAF Gold Cup - the region's international championship. Running from 6 to 24 June in six cities across the USA, the competition, once called the CONCACAF Championship but re-named the Gold Cup in 1991, will feature 12 teams as varied as the tiny French Caribbean holding of Guadalupe to mighty four-time champions Mexico and holders and hosts USA. The favourites With four Gold Cup titles to their name, Mexico will be considered one of the top contenders at these finals. With head coach and former El Tri playing legend Hugo Sanchez leading a side built with entertainment in mind (Adolfo 'Bofo' Bautista, Cuauhtémoc Blanco and Rafa Marquez have all been in included) the Mexicans will be one to watch in the States this June. Not to be ignored are defending champions USA. After edging plucky Panama on penalties in the 2005 edition, new boss Bob Bradley is bringing a side to the finals loaded with overseas talent and domestic-standouts. Former Tico playing star Hernan Medford will also be keen on steering Central American champions Costa Rica to new glories with the likes of top all-time scorer Rolando Fonseca and Alonso Solis plugging into the leader roles after the retirement of iconic Paulo Wanchope. The hopefuls Crowned champions of the Caribbean for the first time back in late January, island hopefuls Haiti will be capable of causing a sensation in the States. With the deck stacked against them due to political and social strife on the island, the neutral fans are bound to be behind the talented and tough tackling Haitians too. Coached by Luis Amelio Garcia, Haiti will be hoping to make a mark in only their third appearance at a Gold Cup and counting on the likes of Nantes man Jean-Jacques Pierre to lead the charge. Canada - shock Gold Cup winners in 2001 - are looking to stunt a recent trend of underperforming with Dwayne De Rosario, Atiba Hutchinson and Deportivo la Coruna standout Julian DeGuzman in the squad. Guatemala, too, who only just missed out on a spot at Germany 2006 will be fancying their chances with the likes of MLS ace marksman Carlos 'El Pescadito' Ruiz in attack while Trinidad & Tobago, 2005 finalists Panama and 1991 finalists Honduras arrive in the USA with their best sides in years. The outsiders One of the tremendous sensations of the qualifying rounds was the run of tiny Caribbean islanders Guadeloupe. Technically an overseas department of France, the island of 436,000 inhabitants use the Euro as their official currency. But among the clutch of talented but anonymous amateurs that make up the 'national' team is one name not to be overlooked. Former France, PSG, Marseilles, Inter and Valencia midfielder Jocelyn Angloma - now 41 - was born in Abymes on the island and is eligible to line up. Though advanced in years, his play in the qualifiers was nothing short of stellar and the side's hopes will be pinned on his broad shoulders. Two-time quarter-finalists El Salvador and a Lester More-inspired Cuba, known perennially for their technical ability but often wanting in the organisational side of things, round out the field and will be hoping for increased respect and unexpected results. The winner of the 2007 Gold Cup will go on to represent CONCACAF on the world stage at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. 2007 CONCACAF Groups - 6-13 June: Group A: Costa Rica Canada Haiti Guadeloupe Group B: USA Guatemala Trinidad & Tobago El Salvador Group C: Mexico Honduras Panama Cuba |
Surely only Mexico and the US are the only competitors likely to take the title. It would be a big dissappointment if anyone else took it, as it would show a huge backward step for those two.
I'm rooting for Honduras, because I remember watching them in a World Cup finals (Spain 1982, I think) when I was younger. Is there a Gold Cup 2007 logo? |
I have three main memories of the 1982 World Cup:
1. Honduras 2. Northern Ireland beating Spain 3. Naranjito the orange, the very cool World Cup logo. |
It appears that I may allergic to diphenhydramine. Which is an antihistamine. Used for the treatment of allergies.
Fun, huh? |
Antihistamines are strange things, aren't they? Some work really well for me whilst others have absolutely no effect at all.
Bad luck sonic. Hopefully there will be others that you can still take. |
I'll wait for the side-effects of the last antihistamine to wear off before I try another one, I think. I am one big rash at the moment, and I cannot sleep for the itching.
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Its a similar logo used for the past three of four Gold Cups.
 Our winning team in 2005:  Mexico is due for a victory against us, so it would not surprise me to see them take it all, though I hope not. As that would be unbearable. Guatemala or Costa Rica could surprise a few outside of this region, but they've got a reputation for being tricky in this competition. Haiti could come out of Group A too, as all of their group stage games will be played in Miami, where there is a HUGE Haitian population. The Orange Bowl will be a Haitian madhouse this week. |
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Hope it clears up soon. When I was younger I was allergic to an antiseptic cream called Germoline. A little while after putting it on a cut or whatever I'd get sees of bright lights then faint. |
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That's a nice enough design. Are Haiti actually any good, normally? |
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I wasn't alive to see this World Cup, but I know Honduran (illegal?) immigrants in Omaha who still grin from ear to ear when talking about the 82 World Cup. |
We'll say Haiti is decent at best. They would probably be a regional powerhouse if the country as a whole would improve. Troubled little island.
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Haiti really isn't a nation that I associate with sport. Papa Doc Duvallier is the only thing I associate with Haiti, and he wasn't a very nice man. The only sport I could imagine him encouraging is the five second head start before he opens fire.
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By the way, Stephen, your tape came in today!
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Grimm. I think of Haitian music, not limited to Wyclef Jean.  |
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The excllent NAranjito:  He was actually the mascot, not the logo. The logo was a very nice thing designed by Joan Miro. That World Cup was pretty big stuff our house, because all my family are from Northern Ireland. After Honduras held Spain to a draw, then Northern Ireland actually beat them. I was 11. I still have my little Naranjito mug. |
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I feel like pooing but i dont wanna.
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The police helicopter is out.
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Cops to hit streets to tackle lunar-tic drunks
By Louise Acford Comment | Read Comments (13) Extra police will be put on the streets during full moons after officers found a link between violent crime and the lunar cycle. Inspector Andy Parr, of Sussex Police, was investigating external factors which affect people's behaviour when he discovered the link. He said: "I compared a graph of full moons and a graph of last year's violent crimes and there is a trend." Full moons and paydays were identified as key days when aggressive behaviour rises among drinkers in central Brighton's nightclubs and pubs. Now police will respond this summer by putting extra bobbies on the beat on those days. Insp Parr said: "Even if it is only one extra officer it can help prevent violent crime from taking place." As well as causing violent crime, drinkers tended to be more aggressive and unhelpful during the full moon. Insp Parr said: "People tend to be more aggressive generally. "I would be interested in approaching the universities and seeing if any of their post-graduates would be interested in looking into it further. This could be helpful to us." Extra police, on a larger scale, are already sent out on bank holidays and when there are large one-off events such as seafront gigs. Insp Parr helps co-ordinate policing in the city's "marble" area, a police term for streets home to Brighton's busiest pubs and clubs. It includes West Street, the seafront, East Street, parts of the Pavilion Gardens and extends from St James Street to Bedford Square. Bouncer Terry Wing said: "It's so true. When there is a full moon out we look at the sky and say, "Oh no, all the idiots will be out tonight." "I will start looking at the back of people's hands for hair next time." Mr Wing, who is a former psychiatric nurse, said there was an established link between patients suffering from manic depression and the full moon. He said: "It was thought the illness was related to the cycles of the moon." Jim McFruin, the assistant manager of the Black Lion Pub in Black Lion Street, Brighton, said he hadn't noticed the link full moons and aggressive behaviour. He said: "It's not something I've particularly noticed but I have been told about it before by a friend who used to work with the police. "Doctors who work in casualty departments have also mentioned it before. "Whether or not it is linked to alcohol, I don't know." Taxi driver Damien Norman said: "It's a new one on me. I've been very lucky though and never had too much trouble from members of the public. I haven't noticed any difference with a full moon." Earlier this year Professor Michal Zimecki of the Polish Academy of Sciences published a scientific paper which argued the full moon could affect criminal activity and health. Full moons have long been blamed for extremes in human behaviour, including the transformation of men into the mythical beasts known as werewolves. The word lunatic means, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, "affected with the kind of insanity that was supposed to have recurring periods, depending on changes of the moon." The lunar cycle is aligned to women's menstrual cycles and the changing of the tides. In 1992 Dr Peter Perkins, from Bournemouth, found calls to accident and emergency departments went up by three per cent during full moons. He believes the human body is influenced by gravitational forces from the moon. |
does anybody wnat one of these things? (+ hard disk and cd-rom drive)
http://www.emulatorarchive.com/Sampl...4overview.html |
No, but if you have a sleeping bag and a pillow to offer I'll have those.
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No, she's in Norway, so I stayed up late last night :eek: and I'm rather tired today.
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A very dark spot on Mars could be an entrance to a deep hole or cavern, according to scientists studying imagery taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The geological oddity measures some 330 feet (100 meters) across and is located on an otherwise bright dusty lava plain to the northeast of Arsia Mons, one of the four giant Tharsis volcanoes on the red planet. The hole might be the sort of place that could support life or serve as a habitat for future astronauts, researchers speculated. Must be deep The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) used its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument to draw a bead on the apparent deep hole - a feature that may cause more scientists to ponder about potential subsurface biology on Mars. Because the spot lacks a raised rim or tossed out material called ejecta, researchers have ruled out the pit being an impact crater. No walls or other details can be seen inside the hole, and so any possible walls might be perfectly vertical and extremely dark or - more likely - overhanging. HiRISE image specialists said the pit must be very deep to prevent detection of the floor from natural daylight, which is quite bright on Mars. In April, it was announced that the NASA Mars Odyssey and its Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) found near the equator seven dark spots that scientists think could be entrances to underground caves. Meanwhile, MRO is ready to target the dark spots on Mars over the coming months as opportunities arise, explained HiRISE principal investigator, Alfred McEwen, of the University of Arizona in Tucson. "We especially want oblique images from the west, to see illuminated walls. These are deep holes with overhanging walls, but perhaps not long caves," McEwen told SPACE.com. Cave dwellers Caves on Mars gives rise to thinking about subsurface life on the planet, notes Peter Smith, principal investigator for NASA's next outbound mission to that distant and dusty world, the Phoenix lander. The deeper and deeper you go down on Mars, the warmer and warmer it gets, Smith said, and at some point the conditions are just right where liquid water is stable. Moreover, could caves be linked to underground fractures allowing water vapor to be trapped inside, Smith speculates, perhaps the sort of comfy environment ideal for biology. Smith said caves on Mars are an exciting find. "We can't say what's in the caves. It's just that they exist. It is hard to tell from orbit. Landers can follow up on these discoveries." Penny Boston, director of cave and karst studies at New Mexico Tech in Socorro, New Mexico, has been working on a Caves of Mars Project, funded by the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. Not only are natural caves of biological interest, Boston says, they could also serve as habitats for future human explorers - nifty underground housing to protect against the high-radiation environment of Mars. Additionally, caves offer easier subsurface access for direct exploration and drilling, she suggests, and may provide extractable minerals, gases, and ices. |
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itunes is impossible to use.
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I actually quite like it. What are your thoughts? |
Well, someone had to point out to me that it said 2012, I couldn't work out what the hell it was meant to be. There's nothing about it that says London to me, and nothing that conjures thoughts of the Olympic spirit.
What it seems representative of at the moment is the inability of the London Olympic organisers to organise a piss-up in a brewery. There is a concern, I think, that the 2012 Olympics are going to be a shoddy affair and will make us look very very foolish on the world event stage. But we organised a pretty good bash for the Queen's golden jubilee, so maybe we should have more faith. |
Yes, it took a few looks to see the 2012 clearly. I think its a neat design but you're right, there is nothing about it that shouts Olympics. It looks better suited for the advertising of a big concert, or something awful MTV would brew up. I imagine that if Miami were to be awarded the games, their logo would look something like this. Also, could the 'London' text be any smaller?
With that being said, I do like it... |
Yesterdays Gold Cup results. Both of them shocking (sort of).
Canada Starts With a Win Guadeloupe and Haiti tie 1-1 The US takes on Guatemala in about two hours. |
Nice win for Canada. Did you see the photos of the skeleton stuck in the iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland?
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/na...2c&k=78707&p=1 |
I've just read this review of a new film called The Bothersome Man. The review isn't entirely complimentary, but I like the sound of the film.
In The Bothersome Man, director Jens Lien takes a stereotyped Scandinavia – clean, nice, a little dull – and exaggerates it into a numbing dystopia of offices, dinner parties, consumerism and interior design, a sterile suspension between life and death. Andreas (Trond Fausa Aurvaag), an accountant, is dropped off a bus at a rusting petrol station in the middle of a grey-brown desert, and taken into a city where everything seems perfect –he is given an apartment and a job, and effortlessly acquires friends and a girlfriend – except for the fact that the world has been drained of colour, sensation and emotion. Andreas has no idea how he came to be here, and no idea how to escape: drunkenness is impossible, as is losing the self in music or sex; the streets are patrolled by agents alert to any signs of independence of spirit; and he can’t even kill himself. Problematically, the more successfully the film conveys the all-consuming stupefaction of boredom, and the alienating effect of being confronted with life’s inanities, as it lingers on the flat and the trivial and maintains its slow and unchanging pace, the more soporific and uninvolving it becomes to watch. And it can’t reach towards any kind of narrative development or conclusion, or even clarification, as this would negate its absurdity. Still, this is an effective, if perhaps not very complex (and sometimes rather heavy-handed) rehearsal of Kafkaesque and Beckettian themes, and a visually elegant portrayal of a man’s struggle to feel alive. |
Oh, and I forgot to mention that a warm Eccles Cake with a big serving of cold clotted cream is very nice.
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totally agreed.
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