Phaedrus

I don't think Sleazyjet does trans-Atlantic (although I'm sure they'd like to). IIRC, the trans-Atlantic flights are regulated by the countries at each end, and generally limited to one or two carriers from each side... and the well-connected airlines snapped up those opportunities long ago.

I'm not fond of cleaning. I think I'll have to move house.

Good luck, Cherry!

Radiohead - The Bends

I don't think the various events have much effect apart from the place and times they're at, which is not "all of Europe, all summer". If you want an explanation for why things are expensive right now, look at oil prices and the way they're going...

But it doesn't even exist any more! Albania, which is next door, and does.

As soon as you mentioned foxes, this became inevitable... Jimi Hendrix - Foxy Lady http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC4WXown03c

Awesome job, Penelope!

Oh, if there's one thing that annoys me, it's the silent treatment. I tend to just say, "OK, talk to me when you're ready," and leave it at that. The ball's in their court, and I can get on with my life. It's tough when it's a SO who's doing it, but I've found life generally improved when they work out that it doesn't work (or, conversely, if you discover that life without talking to them is actually quite bearable :) ). Of course, it's necessary to distinguish this from putting a temporary kibosh on a disagreement to allow tempers to cool. In that case, I find it much better to say something like, "I'm not prepared to discuss this right now; we can talk about something else if you'd like, and we can return to this this evening/tomorrow/whenever". But then you have to make good on that; if you don't, there's precious little difference with dishing out the silent treatment yourself...

Yep... no more snow :) Attempts to experimentally verify Murphy's Law are, according to the Law itself, doomed to failure. Of course if you weren't trying to prove Murphy's Law, you'd be knee-deep in the fluffy white stuff already. And if you were trying to double-bluff Murphy's Law... well, just don't, okay?

Taxes. I hate taxes.

Apparently, the whole "unsinkable" thing is a post-sinking myth - the issue didn't arise before the Titanic actually went down :)

Oshawa, just up the road. I have nothing to say about it at all :)

True. I learned a lot of things at university which have been invaluable to me in the years since. However, none of them are remotely related to what I was officially there to study, about which I now recall almost nothing.

Same as for any vacation: half as many clothes and twice as much money!

Fighting, is it? Would you care to discuss the matter further at the exterior of the premises, person of dubious parentage? Elton John - Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)

Egypt! Have to say, "e" isn't all that easy...

I can't help but wonder - did he implement RFC1149?

Wow. I was vaguely aware that this kind of thing happened, but... it seems more prevalent than I thought. I must admit, if I need a reference then I'll always ask the lady who'll need to provide it in advance, and tell her who to expect the request from... I'd have thought that was just common courtesy! Although I usually do this by email, so unless ladies hang on to addresses this still doesn't prove it's me... Also, a request: ladies, if you catch this kind of crap, please could you tell us guys that someone's impersonating us (if you don't already)? I don't suppose there's much we can do about it, but it's good to know.

Happy Easter, all!

Well... it depends why you're posting. If you simply wish to vent, then no, you don't have to prove anything. But if you wish to persuade others toward your point of view, the provision of evidence to substantiate your assertions is... useful. So would almost all of us, if we were honest. I've met a lot of folks who claim to care about animal welfare to a greater or lesser extent, but only one who cared enough to find an alternative to leather shoes, and never any who forswore medicines that had been tested on animals. Actually, that's probably justified. I don't claim to be an expert on neurobiology, but by understanding is that insects simply don't feel pain in the same way that mammals do because their nervous system is far less complex and isn't capable of it. And even then, I have no idea what kind of a nervous system - if any - an insect has while it's pupating and having the entire fabric of its being rearranged (which is the stage at which silkworms are harvested).

Thanks for this, WIT and Samantha - a most excellent rebuttal to the FUD that the zealots feed us on a regular basis...