Flying Sub

Oh, lord, they're at it again.

Just remember, it's a "submersible aircraft"; not a flying submarine.

The EU Cracks

The EU's response to the current financial crisis smacks less of unity than reality–especially in Germany:

Germany's Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck made clear his government's opposition to the idea that the euro zone's single largest economy should put up money to prop up institutions outside his country. He said Monday that he and Chancellor Angela Merkel were considering creating a "shield" that would protect the country's entire financial sector, and that a Europe-wide shield or bailout was out of the question. "The chancellor and I reject a European shield because we as Germans do not want to pay into a big pot where we do not have control and do not know where German money might be used," he said in a separate interview with WDR 2 radio.

It looks like cracks in the euro-empire are appearing ten years sooner than I'd predicted. Excellent. The sooner this happens the more peaceful the break up of that Napoleonic monstrosity will be.

Messenger

The American Messenger space probe Messenger has flown past Mercury.

Since I'm rereading a bit of E E "Doc" Smith at the moment I'll fail to be impressed unless it encounters a load of six-legged aliens hurling around super death rays in a volley of superlatives.

Starlost

The infamous '70s sci fi series Starlost has been released on DVD.

Haven't we suffered enough?

Igloo Satellite Cabin

Presenting the Igloo Satellite Cabin; a revolution in compact, transportable accomodation that could only be the result of 21st century go-ahead thinking.

Cicra 1961.

Jettison Cocoon!

Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea football club, is spending £200 million on building a 550 ft yacht that differs from your average billionaire's floating palace in that it boasts armour plating, anti-missile radar, a 70-strong crew of ex-SAS men, and two-man escape submarine.

Mr. Abramovich claims to be adding these optional extras because of "pirates", but if a Vulcan nuclear bomber goes missing while Mr. Abramovich is sailing in the Bahamas, I'll know who to look up first.

Moscow... of the FUTURE

Good thing they never built this one. pulling down that statue of Lenin would have been a bugger.

Mind you, there's still one statue of the old monster still extant in Seattle, WA. Pity I can't afford the $250,000 asking price for it. I've always wanted to play with an anti-tank missile.

The Sin of Harold Diddlebock

We Will Sell No Wine Before Its Time

Which will be in about half an hour.

Wallace, Call Your Service

Andy and Sandy Rose have swept the British Cheese Awards.

In other news, there are British Cheese Awards.

Barrelling Down

Merrill Lynch predicts that oil could drop to $50 a barrel next year.

This is still a "could", but it does go to show that maybe all that "We're DOOOOOOOMED!" talk of a couple months ago had a tinge of panic behind it.

The Wooden Wall Thins

As a "cost-cutting" exercise, HMS Exeter is being mothballed a year early, leaving the Royal Navy with only 19 fully operational frigates and destroyers.

Far from talking about selling off HMS Victory we may have to put her back on active service.

Cellphone Cinema

"My lord, the queen is not dead."

Shedding Common Sense

From DailyIndia.com:

Bristol City Council is urging people to leave their sheds open because padlocks could lead to thieves forcing their way through doors and windows of the council-owned sheds to steal garden equipment.

The council said that its new initiative could save taxpayers' money because fewer sheds would have to be repaired or replaced.

In other news, Bristol City Council is urging banks to pile all their money in the street because sending policemen 'round to deal with robberies is getting a bit "samey".

Tip o' the hat to Charles Palmer.

The Million Pound Note

A million just doesn't buy what it used to.

Let's Do The Timewarp Again

The Guardian still delivers, as this headline demonstrates:

RAF concerned about weakness on Hercules since second world war

This shows remarkable foresight, given that the Hercules wasn't even thought of until 1951.

Reversible Destiny

A pair so-called "architect-poets" are behind a block of flats that are intended to keep their tenats young and healthy by providing them with "perpetual challenges".

The fact that these "challenging" Tokyo flats are indistinguishable from poorly executed examples of self-indulgent posturing, bad taste, and incompetence masquerading as a gross delusion that anyone would actuially want to live inside such a monstrosity is purely coincidental.

Watermill

This clever little gadget sucks up to two and a half gallons of drinking water a day out of the air.

I must remember to install one. It will come in handy if I'm ever besieged during the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

Mini Motel

And now, a tent that people can pitch in air terminals when their flight is delayed again, and again, and again.

Not so much an innovation as a white flag for the traveller.

Ow