Shropshire Slasher

Your logic is specious. Unless you are able to provide data that driving 100mph in a 75 is no more likely to cause an accident than driving 80 in a 55 you subjective argument is baseless. There are studies that look at a number of contributing factors to accident rates: absolute speed, speed relative to speed limit, speed dispersion of all vehicles, road design, etc. I suspect that a detailed analysis would reveal a more complicated picture than the one you have presented.

LOL... like some distant galaxy you were receding from the cop so fast that his lights looked red-shifted. +1 physics if that was the joke you were going for. If not, you'll get NOTHING, and LIKE IT!

its not going to be any of that when one particle loves another particle physicist talk, is it? No... I just need to fill you in on the hard knocks I've learned on the mean streets of... Town.

John, or SJ or whatever your real name was on the court documents... We should talk. Things you should know.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tech...0,7757353.story

Regular gelatin (Knox) in white and orange box will mix with cold water. When using it in a recipe, you "bloom" it in cold liquid. The gelatin protein traps the liquid, thus thickening it. If you use a high gelatin to liquid ratio, the result is a mass that is not solid like set Jell-O, but not a liquid either. It is not dissimilar to the gel inside of a baby diaper when it has been exposed to liquid, if you've ever seen that. (actually, if you haven't, it is fun to experiment with). Try the gelatin and see if it will work. Might need a bit of experimentation. Sorry, you asked for a Chemical Engineer. I'm only a lowly Physicist, so forgive me for butting in.

forgive my confusion... you people keep talking all the time about "PC" and "Mac". These are computers? right?

Sorry I couldn't make it down this year. I've got a standing date each year for FF, so my default is that I'm going unless life gets in the way. GL with the wedding plans. Cheers, Charles

With grammer like that, i'm not surprised. When ripping on someone's grammar, I would recommend capitalizing your letter i. Perhaps try spelling grammar correctly as well. Just a suggestion. Kind of the "joke within a joke". Thank you for playing.

well, aerosmith, cream... you've got some classic rock. Dead Kennedys... you've got some neo-punk. Smashing pumpkins, Weezer and Gn'R... you've got some '90's rock and alternative. Those are just some of the things that come to mind. They're not all gems... but enough good stuff to make a gate way drug for good music for the yung'uns.

So after years of trying to interest my kids in "good" music (read that as anything I listen to), Guitar Hero has finally made my case for me. You see, my kids, and all their little friends, LOVE this game. Me too, actually... it's something fun we can all do together. But more importantly, they are actually being exposed to some generally good music. It's not all great, I'll admit... but there is enough in there to gimme a foot in the door to my iPod playlists. It's actually kinda surreal to be driving down the road in the minivan rocking the Black Sabbath. My 9 year old daughter... Hey! I know this song! IT's Paranoid. Uh... yes dear. Or weirder yet... my 4 year old daughter... "PLAY IRON MAN!". Um... ok dear. and yes... all three sing along. I feel like I've entered Bizarro World. But hey, I'll take it. We worked through a few Cream songs today, and I've worked in some Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana, some Allman Bros., just to name a few. I like where this is going.

With grammer like that, i'm not surprised.

well, on my screen the dog in the pic is actually taller than the fence in the pics. I say well done Bewildered.

I have both a pS3 and a BD player. I kinda sometimes with I had bought a second PS3 for the price... :/ The PS3 doesn't fit into a HT as well, given it's non-standard shape. It's also louder, when the fans are revved up. I actually like the PS3 interface better, and the OS features. The BD player is just a DVD player that can play BD disks... The PS3 also gives you media server capabilities, if you desire it. SS

Update #3 Took the train yesterday to Salisbury. From there, are tourbus up to Stonehenge and past Old Sarum and back. Then saw the Cathedral in Salisbury, as well as St. Thomas's church. Walked the city and took pics. The city dates to the 1200's, so very cool. Stonehenge was awesome, and absolutey a must. Very glad I went. BUT. <- notice the all caps. It is seriously a a 15 minute thing. OK, 20 if you walk slowly. Basically, you walk a big circuit around it and marvel at the whole thing. Stunning. But then you get to the end of teh walk and realize, well, that was it. They bloody well aren't going to do anything more. (like the british way I wrote that? ) And for the £17.50 (that's $35.00 to you and me) for the bus trip (stonehenge is 8 miles out of salisbury), that works out to like $140.00 an hour for the viewing. Oh well. Actually, comparing Bath and Salisbury, I'd say Salisbury was far more touristy. More busses full of sighseers (like me), tour groups, fast food restaurants (tucked into 400 year old buildings, sadly). overall, I'd say I enjoyed Bath more. Don't get me wrong... Stonehenge was beautiful, and mindboggling in its engineering (recall that these 50ton stonse were erected several thousand years BEFORE the romans even showed up. But, man, you pay for the privilege. On the way home I stopped in Exeter. Another cool town for sightseeing. Yet another cathedral. The cathedral close is surrounded by hotels, restaurants and pubs. So, I sat in a pub having a pint of 6X looking out a picture window at a ginormous cathedral dating to 1400 and earlier. This was my view: http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/ven...xetercathedral/ Whee. Then I ate dinner next door at this guy's restaurant: http://www.michaelcaines.com/ It was one of those totally swanky places where everyone has a stick up there arse (see how I'm learning the language!). I swear one of the little server types actually unfolded my napkin and put it in my lap for me. My waiter was so attentive that I'm pretty sure several states have recently passed constitutional amendments preventing me from putting him on my health insurance. But, the FOOD. Yes, all caps. To be clear, I cook. Love it. My primary passion in life. And this food. I won't bore you with the details, but it was beyond outstanding. Totally made it worth while to feel completely awkward and out of place eating in this restaurant. Prolly going to check out of the condo today, and move on to canturbury where my cousin lives. Gonna crash there for a day or two and check out that area. Plus, if you've been keeping up with this little blog, there are other reasons to go back. "sightseeing". Cheers,

You have no idea how much I would love to extend. My visit. If I didn't have kid obligations I would. He'll, I'd move here if being without my kids wouldn't kill me! Next year let's sync up. England will regret losing the colonies.

Pics for sure. No way to upload... Only have my iPod touch. I'll try to get some online as soon as I get back.

Update #2 Tuesday I took the train to Bath. Very cool. Saw the Abbey and the hot springs, as well as the Circus and Royal Crescent. Everything was spectacular. Had lunch at a little Bistro. French style. I had a t-bone steak with a fried egg and a bit of brie and chips. I know it sounds like heart attack on a plate... but it surprisingly wasn't. Just... delicious. Bath is kinda what you envision Europe being like. Lots of busy streets, People out walking. Cafes and pubs tucked into 300 year old buildings. Spent a great day there. Wednesday (today) I just lounged at the Hotel. Sat by the pool, walked town and bought some souveniers for the kids. I got them soccer jerseys. They play the local AYSO, so I thought they'd get a kick out of the official uni's. My son and youngest daughter got Manchester UTD. Not for any particular reason, other than sizes that fit and I figured my son would like the black jersey. My middle daughter got a white jersy with purple. I think it has MCF on the logo, or some permutation on that. Dunno what team that even is... just liked the colors for her. I also loaded up on some English snackies to take back. Thought they'd enjoy that. Tonight I'm gonna go hit a pub or two... Tomorrow hopefully stonehenge/salisbury Random Thoughts: Food: Ladies and gentlemen, as a fast food nation you'd think we would know the french fry. What happened? We've lost the art. Chips here are consistently amazing. They've even apparently capitulated and started accepting ketchup as a fry condiment (something I WILL stand behind as an American contribution to the food world ). Finally had black pudding today on my English breakfast. Not as disgusting as you might suspect. But, I think I'd have to live here a bit to develop a taste for it. Sausages here are a bit different. Smoother texture than our typical breakfast sausage. And bacon is a different cut. French food has definitely infiltrated England. Bread here seems to be heavily influenced by the french. Well, let me clarify. At breakfast your toast is very English. But after that, french pastry and bread is very prevelant. That is a good thing. The French know bread. Culture: Not as much culture shock as I expected. People watching in restaurants and pubs this week. American culture, particularly with teens/early twenties is very prevalent. Music/dress/personality is very much like what I encounter where I teach. There is certainly beer to be had everywhere. And yet I find I don't drink as much when I go out. I'm more likely to be out walking and see a neat looking pub and pop in for a pint then continue on may way. I observe this with the locals as well. As for walking... you walk EVERYWHERE. And I love it. There are lots of cars around, but many people are commuting by train (something I'm very envious of) and then walking. America is definitely built around the idea of the car (no shock there). I mean, I live 5 miles outside of town, and go to work 12 miles away. With no trains, we drive. Nevertheless, I've been walking 10-20 miles a day sight seeing or just to go the store. Feels great after being stuck inside all winter. Finally, let me debunk one myth: England has some BEAUTIFUL women. Whoever started the rumor that british woman were otherwise (think of all the bad dental work jokes) was greatly mistaken. My only complaint on that front is that this town is lousy with boyfriends. They litter England the way other places have pidgeons or rats. Ah well. Enough for now. I'll post up some more later. Keep the US warm for me until I get back. SS

UPDATE #1 Woke up 6AM Eastern time on Friday. Boarded a flight Friday evening for London. Slept 2 hrs on board. Spent the day in London. Went to bed 11pm london time on saturday. Survived teh jet lag pretty well the first day... it was yesterday (sunday) that I paid. London was amazing. I was a little distracted by my cousin's flatmate however (HAWT!). I'm banking on the fact that neither of them will ever read this. Hopped a train out to Exmouth on Sunday morning. The town is on the south coast of england, in the western half of England. About 3.5 hours train ride from London. It's a seaside resort town, which is apparently popular with the locals all over this part of the country. The weather here has been amazing, particlualry by England standards. The local rail from Exeter to Exmouth was packed with locals heading to the beach. It was cool actually to observe how the locals relax. Today, I've been walking the coastline. I'm off in a minute to see something called the "jurasic coast". Some red cliffs overlooking the channel. I'll post up some thoughts later... but I want to get my walk in, and the pubs are calling. TBC...

Finishing packing, then off to the airport. 5:00 flight. Totally riding the excitement right now. Way too much energy. Good though. Cheers, SS

I want to be clear... it is the SONG about Fatty's sausage (sung to the tune of the Oscar Meyer Wiener song) that is drilling into my brain... Not Fatty's actual sausage. ... perv.

It's F-A-T-T-Y. Doggone it, now that song is gonna drill itself into my brain all day.

BTW, can we do something about the winking smillie? Worst. . Ever.

Thanks all for the well wishes and "advice". I'll play the dumb yank card when it comes to soccer. I'd rather be accused of ignorance than rooting for the wrong team. Yeah, I'm totally stoked for this trip. It's a lot of different things all rolled up for me, but since I'm not paying anyone $230 an hour to read this, I'll save that aspect of it for another discussion. One bummer... I was doing a lot of reading on breweries and brewpubs looking for some interesting places to visit. Turns out, there has been a lot of brewery consolidation in the past few years, with a lot of classic English breweries (e.g. brakspears) sort of being bought up and corporatized. Kind of a disappointment. But... I'm sure I'll still find a good pint of bitter, which will probably be all the better tasting for the surroundings. SS

Thanks, man. No... going solo. Meeting locals IS on the agenda ... but I will consider it a successful trip regardless. LOL... that may be the dirtiest use of the dancing smillie ever. And completely unintentional. Go me.