I'm back

Since I was told to write a short preview for Toy Story 3 3D and Shrek forever after, I though I might try and do this again, seeing as I might be able to write something coherent by the time it gets to my exams.

That sciencey stuff is a bit thin on the ground recently what with jet engines turning Ash (with silicon) and moisture into glass as well as that thing that happend on May the 6th, you know Nigel Farage also known as twat, racist biggot or Nickel farig, depending on who you are.

Although obviously they missed out that Neanderthal Genes survive in humans. Hopefully you know what a gene is and at this moment are making some denim related joke in your head. Humans or homospaiens branched from other hominids about 0.2 million years ago. Before then there were a vast number of homo-species on the earth. The most notable of which, the Neanderthals died out about 30,000 years ago.


Originally it was thought homosapiens just descended from one group, but now the genes of Neanderthals have been found in humans. This is both interesting and shocking because not only were Neanderthals shorter, on average 1.5m tall, they also had MASSIVE noses and reduced mental capacity. But to get these genes homosapiens must have mated with neanderthals.

That in itself doesn't sound too weird but think of it as a Tiger and Lion mating, that is weird, or prehaps tow different species of monkey, or Hugh Hefner and a 26 year old blonde with more silicone than brain cells.

So maybe that explains some of the odd charecteristics in the Western world, maybe not. All I know is Science works apart from survival of the fittest obviously skipped government, as I don't think that is what Darwin or Wallace quite envisaged.

Hope that was interesting and actually made something boring, less boring.

Next time it'll be something completely different, maybe even arts related if I can get the video.

NEWS JUST IN

Just checked BBC news Noel Gallagher has quit oasis which = end of oasis. Because everyone knows that he is the life and soul of that band, admittedly without Liam they wouldn't be where they're now, but Noel was the brains, if you can call it that.

What I want to talk about is that I have been working in a bar, shock. But more shocking is this bar, which is supposedly stylish and in Bristol is also empty, well this evening it was. So that is why I am home. What is causing this lack of people... Bad weather? Unlikely. Holidays? Maybe. Credit crunch? Certainly, times are tight. You know that when a Mr James Murdoch starts going on about the BBC controlling the press when his Dad is possibly one of the most evil and influential people this century. Rupert Murdoch controls newscorp and is getting his son to have a go at the BBC? I'm sorry but has Alanis Morrisette been lecturing people on irony again...

Right now it's a struggle to find anything news worthy and happy, even A-level and GCSE results getting better is treated as though a rebellion is occurring and all these exams could be passed by a chimp drawing with a bit of rock. So these exams we mock, we also build up to all the kids, yeah they are sometimes irrelevant and are getting easier. But surely these kids, well teenagers young adults are getting better at them. Besides they are learning to pass an exams, not like before where education worked differently. Don't blame them, blame a system, actually don't. It does work, most of the time, some people achieve more academically, others go on to different paths. This world would be useless with a load of English and science graduates without any plumbers or sparkys.

Now for that typical odd ball story people usually put at the end of the news with accompanying music that would not sound out of place on teletubbies

Girls like girly faces, apparently girls taught in single sex education are more likely to find female faces more attractive. However the reverse is not true about males. So women no need to not shave or shower, I however am going to get that eye makeup out

He or she

Due to lack of willing, struggle with boredom and nothing I can be bothered to speak about, all of a sudden the perfect article pops up.

Caster Semenya the 18 year old 800 metre runner from South Africa who split the field and came home over 2 seconds up on her rivals. This is a big winning margin by anyone's standards, let alone an athlete who beat her personal best by 5 seconds in the junior African championships.
Now miracles do not occur, but that is pretty amazing. So the IAAF thought something was a bit fishy, and the suggestion that she was male was batted about, when it should have been kept quiet.

Now it has transpired that she has an elevated level of testosterone, about 3 times that of 'normal' women. Not evidence of foul play, but interesting as testosterone the 'male' hormone is linked with athletic prowess, but could be artificial or could be natural.

This would be a good time to say that men and women are not strictly 2 different quantitative sexes. There is a line at one end male and the other female with lots of progressions in between. Just because someone is XX does not make them female similarly XY does not make them male. Some men are insensitive (the sentence does carry on ladies) to testosterone making them appear female, and sometimes the hormones are imbalanced making the clitoris bigger and a more male body shape and vice-versa.

Whatever the outcome of this I'll be following it, not because Jenny Meadows might get a silver but because it will be interesting to see if there is a line drawn, wherever it is it will be an outcome that will annoy certain people.

The Scientist

Sat here Gravity's Rainbow remix by Kavinsky blaring out. All is quiet.
I like to ride at night on the dark lonely streets
Its odd, the only place where it is my own
Nobody about to hassle or holler
Just the sound of my breathing
Times like these are when I can think about everything and nothing
So don't be suprised when I can drive
To find me out at night for a ride

That all came out straight on my bike, followed by my dinner, so don't take to many digs.

Physcology
I'm not really in my field but social science has science in it. If I'm honest I used to disregard it as hocom or a non-subject. But the old cliché (there will be many in here) don't knock it till you tried it. At uni you meet lots of new people, all of them very different from one another, but all inherinetly the same. All that they say about the eldest child or the only child comes true. I suppose as the eldest and with neuroscience and physcology being blurred in their boundaries, and coupled with my want to know-all nature. But as M.Cartmill once said

As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I carved factual certainty, I thirsted for a meaningful reason of human life - so I became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls

Which is very true, although the catholic church it is a good way to meet boys, but less on that the better. Scientists aren't the person I'd go to if I had a problem, there my mind works in a way not conducive any meaningful life experience. Nothing is certain. Science is guess work at best, a correlation doesn't mean they're related. More shark attacks with more ice creams sold is an old one. So don't listen to everything the person in the white coat tells you.

I'm now going all hippy which seems a stark contradiction to Virgin with their abuse of electricity with the adverts and their business. But as in minority report when do adverts become tailor made? Already facebook has things that are linked to your interests, relationship status and friends. Blyk and many other mobile network operators also have a similar principle, they send adverts out and adverts attach to the end of text messages that they send to people. Although some of the information in these adverts is surprisingly to tailor made, and a degree of listening to conversations or monitoring someones whereabouts would be necessary. All a bit scary, the fact that you can be followed.

The next wave of this is interactive billboards that sense the gender, age and many other degrees of classification. So who knows someday you could be walking past judgmental billboards telling what smell to wear or what boxers David Beckham is wearing and how if you wear them you'll be like him.

Artistry

You only become good at something if you practice, nobody is born amazing. I have tried to become more arty and less of the pedantic geeky scientist, you can be the judge of my attainment and effort in rectifying that.

But now for the meat of the sandwich, the Virgin Media ads. There have been some good ads featuring the Virgin brand a lot of recent times, Virgin Atlantic celebrating its 25 anniversary with attractive flight attendants and a buff pilot strutting through a remarkably clean, tidy and quiet airport.

However my favourite, is the recent one involving the a rugged man's journey on a train. The journey is mundane but his friends, his girlfriend, music and a computer gaming experience all miraculously are present at different points. That seems to sum life up and its happiness pretty well (despite the gaming), and apparently you can relive that all through a smartphone. So therefore if x = happiness and y=smartphone then x=y + train ticket. So buy a smartphone and be happy on a train remembering all those people.

Finally as a forlorn finish. My friend Legweak is off to Benicassim, a festival in the south of spain by the coast for 9 days. This festival is labelled the Glastonbury in the sun (or of the sun) and this year features headliners Oasis, Paul Weller, Franz Ferdinand, Kings of Leon and many other great acts. Now suffice to say I'm not going with him, and if like me you aren't going or even if you are this mixtape will wet your appetite for the awaiting climax of the festival.
It might not be an indie mixtape (contrary to the headliners) but you will like and recognise plenty of the songs and their electro-dance remix cousins as well as artists such as Boyz noise and remixes from herve and 2manydjs.

A brief description by the man himself

'Although the line-up is quite indie/rock, I've made an electro/club/dance mixtape and included 18 artists that are playing this year in 22 tracks. This is one for the mojitos rather than the Aquabona's, although you may need the latter by the end. RAAAAVE IT UP!'


Download it here.

Moving on

Now this is not a heartfelt story of how my fancies are changing, no. This is about moving house, well from flat to house. My first year of university has finished, well hopefully if all the results are the way I want them. But today I said goodbye to my 1st year flat, almost a sad moment as I closed the door and locked it for the last time remembering how it was when I arrived those 9 months ago. Getting in opening the door, getting posters an pictures out putting stuff away and then start drinking. However as my Dad reminded me today one door shuts another one slams you in the face, but I'm very much looking forward to living in my new house with 2 out of 3 of the sane flatmates so all is swell. With it comes all the responsibility of managing bills, rents and other boring adult things that I took for granted.

One more thing about this is it means most of my friends will arrive at university next year, one fortunate enough to be coming to Sheffield. So I'll still have a little feel of freshers...
I'm going to start the whole science thing up again when I'm on a computer with macromedia flash and an internet connection that doesn't have to go through a human operator to a switchboard.

Anything paticularly interesting you want to know?
But a few quick facts for now, to make you sound either weird or genius depending on the timing:

Sex does not affect performance in sport if practiced the night before

Fit people sweat more than unfit people

Not all fat is bad, without it your brain would not be there and nor would you

OH and double dipping is NOT the same as putting your mouth in the dip, still it is pretty disgusting

And one final thng before I forget, those who live in a hole or circumvent the TV liscensing authorities Mock the week starts next week at 9pm on BBC 2.

To wet your appetite or to throw you a bone here is one of many reasons why I look forward to its return