Fullerene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSngzjqMF38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHlODWd4GeM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOWOdKs6KUo Ricky Nelson's Summertime - the original riff although the song was a cover Deep Purple White Night Blue Magoo We ain't got nothing yet

After wandering into a pub full of angry looking Rangers supporters - do not say "Hey this is great. I am an old firm supporter too!" (Actually if it was a pub full of angry looking Celtic supporters - it might not be a good idea either).

Turned into a mini series with Charles Dance and Colm Meaney Not available on Region 2 DVD though

I saw black box thinking in Waterstones - paperback (red cover) - Buy 1 Get 1 half price. That is in Inverness but there is probably a Waterstones closer to you. It is an excellent book.

Just finished "56" by Martin Fletcher He survived the Bradford City fire - but his brother, father, uncle and grandfather did not He was also at Hillsborough when that happened (albeit as a fan of Nottingham Forest) Interesting to note attitudes to football fans then compared to now.

If this is going to be your attitude to the job, I don't think you should apply. Oops, sorry - this is something you think your kids might say.

Good point. Are there other kinds of eyeballing - for example, automatic eyeballing or remote eyeballing?

Oh dear, I bet your kids groan - "Not another data science story"

In Glasgow, so I am told, there is a sign that says : BRIDGET JONES Alight here for Parkhead (still a long walk though)

From the looks of it - Uranus seems to be missing two letters. .. and it appears Ross County have got them!

Pips

"In no particular order" (apart from dramatic effect) It must be tricky to stop doing this. "In no particular order, I will have a pint of lager. the vegetable soup, the rump steak, sticky toffee pudding, coffee and a whisky. No sorry, exactly in that order - I need to stop doing that"

The guy who told me that the planet Mercury would be doing a transit across the face of the sun and gave me a set of binoculars. When I track him down, my guide dog is going to rip him to pieces.

What's that old joke that every body has heard. Tam and a friend are queuing to get into the stadium when a funeral procession goes by Tam takes off his cap and holds it to his chest. His friend says "Hey Tam, that's not like you." Tam replies "Maybe not but she was a fine wife for all these years."

When somebody tells you that one of the chemical elements has the same name as a football club but they don't tell you which one.

Radioactive isotopes that have a half life of seconds. "Hey everybody - look what I have discovered. Oh dear, it's gone."

Yeah, actually I got that wrong. Apparently there is a myth that they do not say "Batman". The screen displays the word "Batman" at the same time that the horns go "er-ur" (sorry I don't know how to write horn sounds). This gives the subliminal idea that there are voices saying "Batman". In truth, there are voices saying "Batman". My new tip is this - ignore any tips from me!

When singing the theme tune to Batman - remember - there are no words!

Martians who think everybody is telepathic and don't bother to learn to speak the language.

If you are applying to NASA, to go on the first manned mission to Mars :- get your punctuation and spelling wright or they won't take you seriously! .. and buy a hat.

Recently read a book called "Black Box Thinking" by Matthew Syed (who is also described as the top Table Tennis player in the UK). It is all about attitude to failure (including "we learn from our mistakes") It starts off comparing the aviation industry and the health service. Basically, flying is the safest way to travel because all accidents are investigated - not so much to apportion blame, but to ensure the same thing does not happen again. It then goes on to subjects like the manufacturer of washing powder, dyson cleaners, the British Tour de France team, marginal gains, Mercedes Benz team in Formula 1, David Beckham as a footballer who practised thousands of free kicks and so on. Interesting read

.. but it does mean to go up.

Escalators have got the wrong name – well half of them do. I have no problem with the ones that go up. To escalate means to go up, so that is fine. That is the correct use of the language. Bur what exactly is a down escalator? One that escalates you downwards? Sorry, no, that makes no sense – it is a contradiction, an oxymoron. .. and you can’t just call it a de-escalator, since de-escalate means to stop going up. Oh, and don’t get me on to when they stop working and you have to try using them like ordinary steps – that really is really, really , really annoying – worse than stubbing your toe, hitting your thumb with a hammer or a paper cut – aargh. Anyway, a down escalator should really be called something like a descentator. Similarly the up escalators should be called ascentators. In fact, if you really insisted on these terms, pokes people in the ribs, slapped them in the face and forced them to use these new words, they would be so annoyed with you, they would stop being annoyed about anything else and this whole thread could be simplified. What do you think?

escalators

You are testing me. I am losing it.