Christmas is a-coming

As if it wasn't obvious enough from the Christmas markets here in Mainz or from the sale of stollen and lebkuchen (ok, they appeared in october...) in the supermarkets, you really know when Christmas is here when everyone has disappeared. Yes, Olga is relaxing on a beach at 26 degrees, Jordi is going back tomorrow to Valencia at 16 degrees, and the rest have already gone as far away as possible from the temperatures here, which currently do not go above 0 degrees. Brrrr.

Anyway, on with the news.
In a show of equality, a mexican woman has been allowed to sign up for a men's football team, in one of the first cases of it's kind. Of course, this will make the after-match showers interesting...

Keeping on the theme of football, scientists have now calculated that referees are physically incapable of spotting if a player is offside. We all knew this since various european and world cups, but now it's been proven scientifically. Now all we need is the ability to catch "hand of God" goals too...

After reports of Scotland, Ireland and New York banning smoking to various degrees, Bhutan, a Himalayan kingdom, has banned the sale of tobacco outright. Of course, what people would be doing smoking at such a high altitude where there's less oxygen anyway, I don't know.

After spending 10 billion US dollars a year on it (instead of on medical aid, social help, pollution cutbacks) the missile defense system "Son of Star Wars" has yet again proved it's worth, by failing miserably in protecting the country against an airborne attack. Nearly as spectacular a waste of money as the failed UK IT projects...

Last week plastic explosives disappeared in Paris airport during an exercise, and now a bomb disappears from an US airport during trials as well. So never mind the terrorists, it's the security procedures that should be getting you really worried.

Now for those of you who've gone ahead and moved with the times and bought yourselves a personal music player with photo capabilities (like Apple's iPod photo) you now have the chance to view your personal pin-up courtesy of Playboy's iBod. Yes, download your set of 25 beautiful women, and never again be bored whilst travelling to work on public transport.

Well, that's it for now