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It's all for the BBC, which of course is State Sponsored & not allowed to run commercials (except for BBC materials) over TV or Radio in the UK. Dont know what a licence costs nowadays but it was 125 pounds/year (I think) last time I had one. It gave 2 channels & 6 radio stations then, now it is something like 8 channels & a stackload of radio channels. I would be more than happy to pay that again to avoid constant commercial interruptions.Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
We have it in Ireland as well. But its to do with RTE here. Pretty much the same reason as Kilted said about the BBC. If you are caught without a licence, you can be brought to court and fined....Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
Hmm. Do you pick those channels out of a bunch? Or is it the same channels for everyone? I guess it's not too bad if you get to choose. Here on cable TV we have th option to go with premium channels which are commercial free for something like $10/month. That's about the same amount as that licence. Well, I realized I haven't been watching these channels for a year, so i decided to end them. What am I paying for if I'm not interrested in their content? Plus I'd rather save the money. It always bugs me when one is forced to pay for something.Quote:
Originally Posted by kilted exile
Well, it's all relative. The licence is a must, as Niamh says, fines are handed out for not having one. However, that is the only fee - all other channels are free - unless of course you choose to subscribe to Sky or a similar satellite service. Just now I think without a Sky subscription you can get around 50 channels for a yearly fee of around 125 pounds, not a bad deal altogether.
1. Up to one quarter of the sand on shorelines can be composed of plastic particles.
2. Snakes can give you salmonella poisoning.
3. Barack Obama was known as "Barry O'Bomber" at school because of his basketball prowess.
4. Lions were kept in the Tower of London in the 14th century.
5. In Brighton and Hove, there are 46 takeaway outlets and sweet shops for every secondary school.
6. Sharks can be used to predict storms.
7. Italy produces 33,000 tonnes of mozzarella each year.
8. Somalia, ranked the third most unstable country in the world in a recent stability index, has eradicated polio.
9. Hillary Clinton, Madonna, Angelina Jolie and the Duchess of Cornwall are all distantly related.
10. Human beings can detect danger through smell.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...ast_w_49.shtml
And I wouldn't mind if it were all sent to my house. :D Yum, I love fresh mozzarella.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
I love cheese.
*demands some now*
1. Ian Fleming never met the woman upon whom he based Miss Moneypenny.
2. Each year 40,000 people pay homage at the California garage where the founders of Hewlett Packard started out.
3. White people make up 90% of the UK's population.
4. Most popular musical instrument in schools? The violin.
5. Morgan Tsvangirai's surname is pronounced chang-girr-IGH.
6. Much of the time it takes to fully train as an RAF pilot is taken up with solo flights.
7. Fabio Capello rings his mother every day.
8. Rice was once considered so important in Japan that it was worshipped as a god.
9. 4.4m apples are thrown away daily in the UK.
10. Belugas are the only white whales.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...x.html#a025462
Miss Monneypenny was based on someone? :eek2:
1. About 86% of fathers attend the birth of their children.
2. There is more crime in Glasgow than New York.
3. Vitamins can be bad for you.
4. To help break the bubbly when a new ship is launched, P&O sometimes scores the bottle with a glass-cutter.
5. The brain makes some decisions 10 seconds before they become conscious thought.
6. About 42% of hay fever sufferers think they have a cold.
7. Smells can drift across the Channel.
8. Belly fat creates more fat.
9. Scientists can control the brains of flies.More details
10. Bowleggedness is called genuvarum.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...ast_w_52.shtml
And probably even more than that in Limerick :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
yeah thats why i'm cutting my supplements.Quote:
3. Vitamins can be bad for you.
cleverQuote:
4. To help break the bubbly when a new ship is launched, P&O sometimes scores the bottle with a glass-cutter.
so technically, one doesnt make spur of the moment decisions, because its already been decided before you even think it?Quote:
5. The brain makes some decisions 10 seconds before they become conscious thought.
trueQuote:
6. About 42% of hay fever sufferers think they have a cold.
thats why we dont like winds from the east here ;)Quote:
7. Smells can drift across the Channel.
:eek:Quote:
8. Belly fat creates more fat.
New York has become the safest big city in America. It is incredible the difference between now and 15 years ago. From the article: "It suggests following a zero tolerance policy like the American city." Credit Rudy Guilliani for have the guts to fight the bleeding hearts. Just like in my discussion in my debate on incest, people in society need boundaries of right and wrong, and boundaries permeate to acceptable socialized behavior. Tolerating grafitti or jumping the subway turnstile or smoking marijuana creates an atmosphere that crimes are acceptable and they lead to further crimes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
Absolutely. I stopped taking a multi vitamin. I was actually overloading on iron. Apparently my system absorbs iron very well, and given the supplement I was consistently over the range in my blood tests, finally to the point where the doctor had to further evaluate a special blood disease (I forget the name). I would only recommend taking specific vitamins if it was determined you were deficient in it. For instance my mother (and this is not unusual for older people) has trouble absorbing vitamin B12. She has to take supplements; some people actually require monthly shots. A broad based diet usually covers all of one's needs. That's why i don't advocate vegetarianism. Meat has the broadest diversity of nutrition and proteins, and unless a vegetarian carefully assesses meal by meal all their nutritional requirements, they are going to come up short. And who has time for that? And the flexibility to find all your foods? Meat pretty much solves most of your nutritional deficiencies. The problem is in today's world we tend to eat too much of it. One does not need a lot to satisfy your nutritional needs.Quote:
3. Vitamins can be bad for you.
I don't understand this one, nor do they explain it. I would like to know more about the mechanics of how this is.Quote:
5. The brain makes some decisions 10 seconds before they become conscious thought.
Hehehe, is this the real reason why the British and the Irish and the French never got along? :p :lol:Quote:
7. Smells can drift across the Channel.
:lol: :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
When I was in Japan I was told to finish all my rice on the grounds that it was a sacred food. Not a God, maybe, but the sacral element persists.
1. A mother's diet at conception influences the gender of her baby.
2. Elvis visited Britain.
3. Gordon Brown did not send a Christmas card to Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel or Russia's outgoing president, Vladimir Putin.
4. Staff at the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop were only offered six-month contracts when it opened 50 years ago, because the corporation feared the work would drive them mad.
5. There are 109 journeys between London's Tube stations that are quicker to walk.
6. Astronauts at the International Space Station must spend two hours a day exercising their legs.
7. The language of space is English.
8. The UK's most valuable tree is the plane.
9. Children are more likely to injure themselves falling out of bed than out of a tree.
10. A woman's chances of quitting smoking is linked to her hormones.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...x.html#a026447
I wonder what mama was eating 9 months before I was born? Perhaps if she had passed on the desert I might have been Virgila. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/224
Microsoft Worldwide Telescope to be working soon. I found this fascinating.
1. An LSD trip led to the invention of the vegeburger.
2. "Unlawfully laying hands on a cow with intent" was a crime in 19th Century Britain.
3. Colossal squid have the biggest eyes of any creature on the planet at a whopping 11 inches.
4. The most popular name for a pub is the Red Lion, with 756 such establishments across the UK.
5. The most common "combination craving" for a pregnant woman is pickles and peanut butter.
6. Inhabitants of the Greek island of Lesbos are known as Lesbians.
7. Humans can hold their breath for 17 minutes.
8. A severed finger tip can grow back naturally.
9. Residents of Sheffield have the worst tooth decay of people anywhere in Britain.
10. Children who attend daycare or playgroups are less like to develop the most common type of childhood leukaemia.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...x.html#a026786
See, I always said it was unnatural to go vegetarian. :p (only kidding;) )Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
Lord knows what those farm boy were doing to the cows to actually create a law. :D I can only imagine. ;)Quote:
2. "Unlawfully laying hands on a cow with intent" was a crime in 19th Century Britain.
Hey I think we have some in the US too.Quote:
4. The most popular name for a pub is the Red Lion, with 756 such establishments across the UK.
:sick: Thank God I'll never be pregnant. Hey wasn't there a guy in the news the other week that was pregnant? I wonder if he had these cravings.Quote:
5. The most common "combination craving" for a pregnant woman is pickles and peanut butter.
:brow:Quote:
6. Inhabitants of the Greek island of Lesbos are known as Lesbians.
Actually someone was telling me at work about this yesterday. I didn't believe it. I still don't. If you look at the article, the guy is sticking his middle finger at me. :lol: What does it mean to regrow the middle finger? :pQuote:
8. A severed finger tip can grow back naturally.
Never heard of the old nursery rhyme Virg?Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
I'm not sure which one you're referring to. :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by Niamh
Slightly irrelivant but it reminded me of this;
What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails
That's what little boys are made of !"
What are little girls made of?
"Sugar and spice and all things nice
That's what little girls are made of!"
1. Kosher is not the word to describe the method of slaughtering animals which conforms to Jewish law - it's shechita.
2. Britons throw away 1.3 million unopened pots of yoghurt each day.
3. Punch and Judy puppeteers are called professors.
4. The duck-billed platypus's genetic code contains avian, reptilian and mammalian features.
5 No one knows how many adults there are in England with autism.
6. Foreign workers at British airports don't have to undergo criminal record checks.
7. Only 3% of London street robberies are solved with the help of CCTV evidence.
8. The song Waltzing Matilda was believed to be a socialist anthem.
9. Catherine Tate won the People's Choice Award at the 2005 British Comedy Awards, not Ant and Dec.
10. Flowers wave at passing insects to get their attention.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...x.html#a027268
I knew a few professors that were no better than a Punch and Judy show. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
Now that is very interesting. Let's give it an aien smilie: :alien:Quote:
4. The duck-billed platypus's genetic code contains avian, reptilian and mammalian features.
I think I remember seeing something similar for the US as well. It's something that's hard to diagnose.Quote:
5 No one knows how many adults there are in England with autism.
:eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
Anyone who wants a job airside in an Irish airport has to undergo a ten year backround check by the airport police, including police records before being issued with a pass!!
So much for hightened security in british airports!
Aww thats cute :) It made me smile when I read it :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
1. Nice, in the economic terms in which Bank of England governor Mervyn King was speaking, stands for "non-inflationary constant expansion".
2. The rubble from the old Wembley Stadium was turned into man-made hills.
3. Gordon Brown is a Bee Gees fan.
4. Neil Diamond has never had a number one album in the United States... until now.
5. Locusts combine into swarms because they are frightened of being eaten by each other.
6. Knitting patterns of trademarked characters can breach copyright.
7. The search for extraterrestrial life does not contradict a belief in God.
8. The Ministry of Defence has amassed 160 files on UFOs, containing details of 8,000 sightings.
9. A child of three is expected to know about 300 words.
10. Sloths aren't lazy.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...x.html#a027268
Ah yes, that is nirvana for economies.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
I can't believe he admitted that. Does he actually want to get re-elected? :p :lol:Quote:
3. Gordon Brown is a Bee Gees fan.
Actually in my opinion it might even confirm God. I've said a number of times, given the gazillion to one odds of life intiateing and developing on earth that if it actually developed elsewhere then it couldn't possibly be a fluke. Gazillion to one odds do not happen more than once by chance.Quote:
7. The search for extraterrestrial life does not contradict a belief in God.
I bet it's Scher calling in most of these. :p :DQuote:
8. The Ministry of Defence has amassed 160 files on UFOs, containing details of 8,000 sightings.
eh I didnt know anythought it did.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
quite, why if God create humans soley for the purpose of worshipping him would He just want humans when He could have so many more different things. Like with smarties why have one colour when you can have them all? which reminds me although the blue smartie is back they might as well have left it missing as thenew one is NOT the real blue smartie but some horrid imposter.Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
only 300? thats doesnt seem very uch in fact I think thats rather disturbingly low. Thats like barley anything...Quote:
9. A child of three is expected to know about 300 words.
i knew that!Quote:
10. Sloths aren't lazy.
True... Whenever I get to see your pics in the Photo Album! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
Not I know I'm not pretty, but I'm not exactly an alien. :alien: :alien: ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Niamh
Aliens are not necessarily "alien" looking, y'know:Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
http://www.dailyplanet.ch/Bilder/t_p...rman_gross.jpg http://www.nerdsonsports.com/wp-cont.../skywalker.jpg http://sci-fi.lovetoknow.com/wiki/im...300px-Mork.jpg
This week's list:
1. "Nice" originally meant foolish or silly.
2. More rural homes have broadband than urban dwellings.
3. 27% of people have opened a bottle with their teeth.
4. Britain has the fifth largest Jewish population in the world.
5. Brain chemical oxytocin makes us trust strangers with money.
6. Women drivers are three times more likely than men to suffer whiplash injuries if their car is hit from behind.
7. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is deaf in one ear.
8. Skunks can be de-scented to make better pets.
9. You can lessen jet lag by not eating.
10. The "$100 laptop" now costs $75.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/
Yeah, and I've known people who have chipped their teeth doing it. :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
It doesn't give a list of the other countries, but I believe, though not a 100% sure, that the US is number one and has more jewish people than Israel. ;)Quote:
4. Britain has the fifth largest Jewish population in the world.
:lol: Article says it's 'Nicknamed the "cuddle chemical"' Let's not let my wife hear about this because she will want me to take it before going to bed.Quote:
5. Brain chemical oxytocin makes us trust strangers with money.
Strange. I guess women need to start driving like a cool guy and sit back and drive with one hand on tp of the wheel. :pQuote:
6. Women drivers are three times more likely than men to suffer whiplash injuries if their car is hit from behind.
Lions can make good pets too if you take out their teeth. :crash:Quote:
8. Skunks can be de-scented to make better pets.
You can lessen jet lag with a bullet to the temple too but neither of these are practical. I get hungry on an eight hour flight.Quote:
9. You can lessen jet lag by not eating.
1. Kingsley Amis wrote a Bond follow-up.
2. One of the earliest Mars Bars was pineapple-flavoured. It flopped.
3. Charles Lindbergh invented the first pump to keep an organ alive outside the body.
4. San Marino officially has just three British people.
5. Amazonian tribesmen can show aggression by painting themselves red.
6. Within the concept of karma, it's the motive for doing something that is important.
7. Emo, among other things, stands for "emotional hardcore".
8. Women are banned by law from Mount Athos in Greece, home to 20 monasteries.
9. The Stonehenge site was a burial ground for 500 years.
10. The first known science film was a one-minute close-up of cheese mites filmed through a microscope.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/
1. Placa George Orwell in Barcelona is covered by CCTV.
2. Television presenter Fern Britton has a gastric band.
3. Nearly all animals are banned from the grounds of the Houses of Parliament - except dogs and horses.
4. Many businessmen believe biscuits are key to clinching deals.
5. Public drinking is socially acceptable in Denmark.
6. Syria has the world's largest restaurant, seating 6,014 diners.
7. George Lucas's daughter Amanda is a mixed martial arts fighter.
8. London's broadband is the fastest in the UK.
9. T-shirts featuring rude words, bombs or cartoon guns can stop you getting on planes from British airports.
10. Getting caught cheating at a British university does not get you expelled.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...x.html#a028574
Biscuits???? What kind of biscuits? Those with hundred dollar bills in the middle. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
Cool. Is public vomiting accepted too?Quote:
5. Public drinking is socially acceptable in Denmark.
Well, at least I hope they have more than one waiter. :lol:Quote:
6. Syria has the world's largest restaurant, seating 6,014 diners.
Hahaha, that's a cute one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
Nope, probably spiked ones served by Tyra Banks and so on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
1. Sir Jonathan Miller's main recreational activity, according to Who's Who, is deep sleep.
2. Not paying attention as a juror is not an offence in Australia.
3. Gordon Brown's favourite song is Keep Right On To The End Of The Road, written in 1919 by fellow Scot Sir Harry Lauder.
4. A petaflop is a measurement of computing speed equivalent to one thousand trillion calculations a second.
5. Rwanda has its own Archers radio soap - an everyday story of cassava-farming folk.
6. Komodo dragons don't kill their prey outright - instead their bacteria-laden salvia causes septicaemia.
7. Dolphin pods have no leader.
8. Pigs can suffer from mysophobia, a fear of dirt.
9. One in 10 people have a piercing other than on the earlobe.
10. Egyptian law says the age gap between spouses should not exceed 25 years.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...x.html#a028915