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Broadband To Reach Almost All Of UK By 2005BBC: BT broadband to reach almost all
BT has announced that it aims to make high-speed broadband services available to almost all homes and businesses in the UK by the middle of next year.
It says it will install the latest broadband technology in 1,128 exchanges by summer 2005, making it accessible to 99.6% of households and businesses.
Looks like this would almost fulfill the government's target of 100% availability by 2005.
World's Largest Ball Of PaintCBSNews: World's Largest Ball Of Paint
Like Michelangelo and his Sistine chapel ceiling in Rome, fellow artist Michael Carmichael has been working on his masterpiece in Alexandria, Ind., for years.
The house painter returns from work each day to his studio to paint a puzzling spheroid -- over and over.
It started out with Carmichael's baseball. Then, 27 years later, it is covered with thousands of coats of paint.
It's a lot of dedication, as CBS News Sunday Morning's Bill Geist found out. And it's paid off in the world's largest ball of paint. It's probably hitting close to 1,300 pounds.
Laura said her son has painted it several times.
"He was three the first time he painted it," says Laura. "My second son has painted it. And my daughter will paint it this year. She turns 3 this year. You have to be 3 to paint the ball."
Already recognized by "Ripley's Believe It or Not," Carmichael's goal is to have 20,000 coats on the ball and a place in the Guinness World Record.
There is actually a record for the largest paintball?
The Human Piggy Bank
An X-Ray, made of the stomach of a 62-year-old man who came to the emergency room of Cholet General Hospital in western France in 2002. He had a history of major psychiatric illness, was suffering from stomach pain, and could not eat or move his bowels. Doctors discovered an enormous opaque mass in his stomach that turned out to weigh 12 pounds. The patient had swallowed around 350 coins, along with assorted necklaces and needles.
Not a new story but strange enough to post here. I wonder what that piece of metal is further up above his stomach?
World's Biggest Sandwich
A tourist poses for a picture besides the world's biggest sandwich, Saturday, April 24, 2004 in Mexico City. The cheese, ham, mayonnaise and lettuce sandwich which measures 3.50 x 3.50 meters (11.5 x 11.5 feet) holds a Guinness Record.
It doesn't look real.
Baby Elephant Enjoys A Splash In Paddling Pool
Zookeepers in Austria set up a paddling pool to keep a baby elephant cool during an unexpected burst of warm weather. Staff at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo, one of the oldest in the world, set up the kiddies' pool for their newest addition, 11-month-old Mongu.
Zoo director Helmut Pechlaner said Mongu had adapted well to the Alpine climate. But the sudden onset of spring following an unusually long winter meant staff at the zoo had not prepared the elephants' outside pool. But Mongu did not seem to mind splashing around in the children's paddling pool instead.
[via Ananova]
Yahoo Updates MessengerPCWorld: Yahoo Updates Messenger
Yahoo is updating its Messenger program with new avatars, emoticons, and other features for fun, but it is also providing ways to conceal the frivolities and keep instant messages more businesslike when desired.
Multimedia is a focus of the updated application, says Lisa Pollock Mann, senior director of Yahoo Messenger. Yahoo has added what it calls "Audibles," which are animated figures that play recorded messages. You can drop an Audible right into an instant message.
Yahoo has added new Avatars, as well. Messenger users can already designate a customizable, animated graphic to accompany their messages; now, they can display a photo from a Yahoo gallery or provide their own.
World's Oldest Mouse DiesAfter only celebrating his birthday a few weeks ago,,Yoda, the world's oldest mouse, has passed away. May he rest in peace.
Driving MythsicWales has a small article about some driving myths that Tesco Motor Insurance has found out from surveying it's customers and also some from Top Gear magazine.
One in five motorists mistakenly think they can go fast enough to beat a speed camera - Even though you would have to travel at 171mph!
You do not have to tell your motor insurer if you have fewer than six points on your licence;
You cannot be booked by police officers if they are not wearing their hats;
You cannot pick up points for speeding in a hire car;
You cannot be booked for driving too slowly;
Speed cameras can only catch cars in the left-hand lane.
So next time you're driving too slowly on the motorway in a hire car and the police officer who books you is not wearing his hat, just tell him he can't touch you!
Grieving Pet Owners Take Days Off WorkicWales: Grieving pet owners take days off work
Grieving pet owners collectively take eight million "sick" days a year to get over the death of their animals, research claimed yesterday.
Just over half of the UK's 14.5 million pet owners said they would need between two and five days off work to grieve for their pet, while 10% said they would need as much as two weeks, according to insurer Direct Line.
Chris Price, pet business manager at Direct Line, said, "Losing a pet can be a very emotional time and can often leave a huge void in many pet owners' lives.
How long would it take you to get over the death of a pet? Longer than a friend or relative?
The World Wide Panorama
On Saturday, March 20, more than 180 photographers in 40 countries around the world celebrated the Equinox by creating VR panoramas. The World Wide Panoramas site showcases the results. Either sort by photographer, alphabetically or by region of the world. [via Milk and Cookies]
On Today's Menu - Snail PorridgeBBC: 'Snail porridge' chef's top award
A restaurant serving dishes including snail porridge and smoked bacon and egg ice cream has been named the second best in the world.
The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, is surpassed only by California's French Laundry, according to 300 judges.
For £85, guests at the Fat Duck can now enjoy a menu featuring eight small courses, including sweetbread cooked in a salt crust with hay and sardine on toast sorbet for pudding.
Alternatively, for £60 they can choose from a three-course a la carte menu, with highlights such as pig's trotter truffle and mango and Douglas fir puree.
I think I'll stick with steak and chips. [via Poe-News]
Man Performs Aztec Ritual On Mother, Then Burns SelfToledo Blade: Police offer grisly details of slaying
An emotionally disturbed Hancock County man strangled his mother, beat her in the head with a crudely made hammer, and then, in what investigators say was a ritual of his own making, he cut off her head, right foot, and both hands. He also cut off one his testicles.
He had been reading about Aztec culture, which authorities say may have spurred the bizarre killing of his mother.
However, the story doesn't end there. After showing the body to his sister and trying to make her take part in the ritual the man decided to burn himself.
Woman Makes Pistol From Her Own SkinABCNews: Dutch artist makes gun from her own skin
A Dutch artist has used a flap of her own skin to make a replica pistol to be shown at an Amsterdam art show next month.
"I made a pistol to express my concern about violence in society and to show the connection between what a pistol does and the human body," Joanneke Meester said of the replica, which is about the size of a matchbox.
Ms Meester says she made the tiny replica pistol with a piece of skin - 20 centimetres long and four centimetres high - surgically removed from her abdomen. The puckered skin was stretched and sewn over a plastic and fibre pistol mould.
[via Poe-News]
Daily LinksOne-egged Teenager Conquers North Pole
Teacher Watches Porn At School To Avoid Trouble At Home
School Bans Solid Colour T-Shirts
Man Dies After He Forgets Health Card And Is Forced To Return Home
Russian Weather Forecasters Face Fines Over Wrong Information
Czech Pensioner Gets Personal Tram Stop
Man Dies In Belly Flop Contest
Victory Is Ours
Take control of Stewie and his ray-gun and try to eliminate his family. [via Milk and Cookies]
Prevent Browser HijackingsSpyware Info has some useful advice on preventing your browser from being hijacked. [via Madville]
Search The SiteI have added a search bar to the left hand side of the site. It is provided by Free Find and I have no idea what it is like. So far half of the site has been indexed - about 1,500 posts. I have emailed support asking for them to index the rest of the posts. Let me know if it's any good.
Vanilla ver.B
See how far you can make the tree grow without touching the sides. Get difficult when you start to get pretty high. I managed to get to 36.7ft before hitting the side - the best is 98.6ft! [via beancounter daydreams]
If They Won't Come To Church, Go To ThemTennessean: New places for sharing spirituality include some with taps and spirits
More and more, church groups are meeting in bars or other nontraditional locations to reach out to people who might feel a little intimidated by churches and those who don't feel spiritual in traditional settings.
''Theologically, you can't go to church,'' said Kimball, pastor of Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, Calif., in a telephone interview. ''The church is the people, not the place. The church gathers. … You can gather together in a pub. You can gather together in a home. You can gather together in a park.''
The Swiss Army MouseFirst came the Swiss Army Knife featuring a USB flash memory stick, now comes the Swiss Army Mouse.
Well not really, it's just a PhotoShop image from Worth1000. It looks good but you could find yourself in a spot of trouble if you forget to put away that big blade at the bottom.
Flasher Says He Was Just Trying To Meet WomenA Michigan man convicted of flashing on 16 different occasions just says he was trying to meet women!
"I was only hoping to get lucky, but I went about it the wrong way," Baldwin admitted in a statement given to Michigan State Police Trooper Bradley Cox.
Baldwin said he "never thought it would bother anyone," and in fact thought the girls and women enjoyed the sight.
Naked News StoriesThere seems to be a lot of news stories about naked men lately.
Police Arrest Naked Man After High-Speed Car Chase
Naked Man Disrupts Voting
Update 2: Yet another one:
Naked Man Chases Girls Getting Off School Bus
Can Plants Feel?The debate over whether plants have feelings is about to be reopened with the publication of research by scientists in Italy and Germany. Their findings suggest that plants under threat can marshal a positively devilish measure of cunning. They communicate the danger to plants nearby; and also call in help from other creatures.
Biologists at the University of Turin and the Max Planck Institute in Jena were yesterday reported to have found evidence that plants sensed — and reacted to — the presence of hungry, leaf-chomping grubs. Their response was to emit an odour similar to lavender. This alerted other plants to the presence of a predator. [Source: The Hindu]
Even if plants could communicate with other plants to inform them of insects about to start munching on them what can they do about it?
The Men CommandmentsInluminent has a cracking list of commandments for men. Break one and you are no longer a man. Some of the good ones are:
9. It is permissible to drink a fruity alcopop drink only when you're sunning on a tropical beach... and it's delivered by a topless supermodel...and it's free.
13. If a Man's fly is down, that's his problem, you didn't see anything.
20. Never talk to a Man in a bathroom unless you are on equal footing: i.e. Both urinating, both waiting in line, etc. For all other situations, an almost imperceptible nod is all the conversation you need.
34. Under no circumstances may two men share an umbrella.
Apparently the most popular themed slide in the USA, the Titanic Slide allows you to reenact the moment when the ship sank.
I briefly mentioned this story in Wednesdays Daily Links but it wasn't until I visited Diversionz that I realised that not only are they available as a denim diaper but also as a thong!
The dog diapers/thongs are made by the same company that brought you the flatulence deodorizer pants for humans.
To celebrate St George's Day, Google have added a new logo to their UK site
WNBC: Officers Extinguish Man Who Caught Fire At Gas Station
Elvis Radbir, 22, accidentally set himself on fire Saturday at a gas station in the Ozone Park section of Queens in New York.
Then, two off-duty police officers who just happened to be there, rushed over to rescue Radbir.
The gas station surveillance video shows them pushing Radbir to the ground and smothering out the flames.
Police say the driver had gassed up a generator in the back of his truck, spilled some of the fuel on his clothes and then went back inside his truck and lit a cigarette, sparking an instant inferno.
WNBC has footage from the CCTV camera.
