trivia

This week: The British and World Marbles Championship -- held at the Greyhound Inn at Tinsley Green, West Sussex Next week: International worm charming championships at Totnes in Devon. June: Toe-wrestling and snail racing. August: Bog Snorkelling, Wane Rydd Bog at Llantrwyd Wells in mid-Wales. Autumn: Competitive lie telling in Cumbria. Eccentric Britain Gets Its Marbles Rolling

Walmart has taken action against an activist site that encouraged people to name their own prices for items by printing off fake barcodes and sticking them over originals. "Re-code.com still provides a database of bar codes that can be copied and pasted into printing applications. It suggests, for instance, that users stick a label for Nerf balls over the bar code on a box of rifle ammunition." MySanAntonio : Business

Test your Systemizing Quotient (SQ) If you get full marks you are a computer programmer, train spotter, have Aspergers syndrome or any of the above.

"The huge success that Mecca-Cola has enjoyed prompted Tawfik Mathlouthi, the Muslim businessman that launched the idea, to opt for creating a chain of fried chicken restaurants called Hallal Fried Chicken, or HFC." Islam Online- News Section via Justine

Regarding the previous posting about the Washington Post OpEd, one could counter with 'the exception proves the rule' - wrong. One of the historical meanings of the word 'prove', which is no longer in currency, was 'test'. So the expression more properly reads 'the exception which tests the rule'. An exception puts a rule to test, it does not and cannot prove it in any way.

"It weighs 150kg (330lb) but when they are fully-grown, they are bigger than a double decker bus." CBBC Newsround | ANIMALS | Colossal squid with 'parrot's beak' caught

Gadget deciphers dogspeak "A Japanese toymaker claims to have developed a gadget that translates dog barks into human language." The version that transalates human speech into something that dogs can understand will take 30 years.

Currently in the Daypop Top 40: www.yournotme.com, shouldn't this be www.yourenotme.com?

At 12:34 on the 5th June 1978, I was in a Maths class at St. Johns School in Northwood, Middx. (12345678 - the day precedes the month, military style, in European date nomenclature). It was a hot day and the windows were open and the smell of newly mown grass wafted in from the playing fields. The maths teacher stopped the lesson and told us to remember the date and where we were - I did. Today is 03, 03, 03, I was alseep at three minutes past three this morning.

I've always thought that the disclaimer: "the personal opinions expressed here are mine not my employers" was tautological. For a weblog, this equates to: "the personal opinions on this personal opinion site are personal opinions not someone else's opinions". I may add that to my sidebar. Although more accurately it should read: "the personal opinions on this personal opinions site are rarely my personal opinion but more usually the result of a deeply immature desire to disagree with anything anyone says" Meg elaborates: A personal opinion - megnut.com

Danger, do not visit the link at the bottom of this posting if you are as boring as I am, it will consume unhealthy amounts of time. The site graphically shows the popularity of various numbers on the web, their rank and significance. 404 is the 101st most popular number of 100,000 and is associated with the Peugeot 404 in addition to the standard http 'not found' error message. Yours sincerely Cliff Claven The secret lives of numbers

"Among the highlights are commentated explanations of penguin procreation - along the lines of "Mr and Mrs Penguin then get it on together" - and an indiscreet peek at the zoo's elephant "members," according to Chan." I've heard they even have some educated fleas. NEWS.com.au | Zoo offers Valentine's sex tours (February 15, 2003)