St George, Bed Degrees, Hedgehog Star and Euro-Whiff

So the weather has been picking up, we actually had sun today! Unfortunately it was raining yesterday for Olga's birthday. Never mind, we still had great food (pity about the service though).

At school I always remember our football games got interrupted when a hedgehog decided to make it's way from the nearby bushes across out field. We always left it o do it's thing, as it was often said they were dangerous. I now realise just how dangerous they can be, as a Man in New Zealand was assaulted by one!!

Most people would love the chance to fly in one of the new A380 Airbus planes. However, I have my reservations, confirmed by finding out that they plan to cut corners on the bathrooms and fit in military style urinals. I can just imagine the plane tilting to the left, and the wall getting soaked...very nice for the next person...

The Independent gave out a new university guide last week, bringing in factors like student satisfaction. This sounds like a great way of finding out which universities swot up for their 'exams' but don't actually know how best to teach their students. But every silver lining has a cloud (or was that the other way round?), as they are now offering diplomas in selling beds!!! Oh standards...

It was always suspected, but know the Met Office was able to confirm. A foul smell that was filling up the air in the south of the country has now been traced as coming across the channel, from the Netherlands or Germany. This has earnt it the nickname of the Euro-Whiff. Insert witty anti-euro slogan here :)

Walking along the roads in London I was pleasantly surprised to not find any animal mess on the pavement (as opposed to Mainz, where you have to check every step you take). I think I now know why this is. They are scooping it all up and selling it as expensive coffee. I think I'll have mine without milk please...

April 9th is a special date in Colombia. In 1948 the future president was shot dead. Various events happened directly afterwards, but of course the most known is the start of the war with the Farc guerrillas. The BBC has an interesting article about this event that so changed a country. This is another occasion when a 'what if' question pops up.

Whilst over in the UK last week I managed to meet up with Nick one evening. He was awaiting his wife Victoria who was arriving back from the US early in the morning, so no drinking to report on. Due to fatigue, Saint George's Day went uncelebrated, maybe next year...

So, getting the grill all cleaned up, next weekend it's Barbie time !!

The end of the world, Congested receipts, Team for sale, Mozzarella woes

So, CERN is about to put it's finally finished Large Hadron Collider into use, and along comes a botanist from Hawaii and starts suing them for endangering the universe. I bet they weren't expecting that one. I hope they don't have to prove it in court...

The London congestion charge is a good step in the right direction of making the city a bit greener (or at least giving it more money to tackle the problem itself). And the possibility of paying online is another good step, cutting down on the paper that needs to be produced when doing it the manual way. However, a man from Kent was a bit shocked when, after filling out the form online, he received a truckload of paper receipts at his door. There were over 3000 of them! Just count those trees...

After having to dismiss the three members of his development team due to financial reasons, the ex-boss then announced their sale on craigslist. Yes, he said they were so good, and he was reluctant to let them go, but hopefully some other company will get to appreciate their value. Next up, s development team puts their boss up for sale...

Finally the open-skies agreement is coming into effect. This means air carriers no longer have to leave from their home country when flying to the US. So hopefully, that'll mean less stopovers, and cheaper prices. Well one can only hope...

Italy's mozzarella is now having trouble due to the fact that high levels of toxic chemicals were found in samples. Apparently the land where the buffalo graze was being used as an illegal dumping ground by the local waste disposal firm, that apparently is linked to the mafia there. So, I'll have the non-cheesy pizza then...

Scientists have now come up with evidence suggesting that cocaine use is not only bad for the person taking it, but also bad for the environment due to its effects on the biodiversity in the regions where it is produced. So, people caught snorting in future will be charged with environmental contamination as well?...

Bats are celebrating, now that a local council has introduced bat bridges to help them cross a busy road. Apparently they were constructed to replace the hedges that were taken away. They're still not green though...

Pork Pies are set to get a protected geographical status, as the European directive is currently going through. This will mean you will know if your pork pie a true Melton Mowbray or not.

After all the celebrations of the opening of terminal 5 on time and within budget, you have probably not failed to notice that there was a minor problem. Yes, the baggage controlling system wasn't tested fully, and meant up to 28 thousand pieces of luggage were not sent with their owners. This has led to hundreds of cancellations, and just as they thought they were recovering, along comes a snowfall and more flights had to be cancelled. Can't any projects go right???

So, make sure you label your luggage correctly, or just take hand luggage. I'm sure all your skiwear will fit in it...