The Ankh-Morpork National Anthem

I'm not sure why I've got this stuck in my head. The absolutely deadpan voice of the announcer at the end definitely helps.

The lyrics :

"When dragons belch and hippos flee
My thoughts, Ankh-Morpork, are of thee
Let others boast of martial dash
For we have boldly fought with cash
We own all your helmets, we own all your shoes
We own all your generals - touch us and you'll lose.

Morporkia! Morporkia!
Morporkia owns the day!
We can rule you wholesale
Touch us and you'll pay.

We bankrupt all invaders, we sell them souvenirs
We ner ner ner ner ner, hner ner hner by the ears
Er hner we ner ner ner ner ner
Ner ner her ner ner ner hner the ner
Er ner ner hner ner, nher hner ner ner (etc.)
Ner hner ner, your gleaming swords
We mortgaged to the hilt

Morporkia! Morporkia!
Hner ner ner ner ner ner
We can rule you wholesale
Credit where it's due."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAqCbOJc6RU

Deep Breath

(No spoilers)

Just finished the first episode of Dr Who season 8. I'm impressed. The pacing is dramatically different from the previous 7 seasons - much slower, much less off-the-wall insane "OMG whooooa everything's exploding", more thoughtful. Feels more real. A hell of a lot more creepy than any episode since Blink, but still just as funny. As advertised, the Doctor is very, very different from the recent incarnations, but still the Doctor. Best of all, Jenna Coleman actually gets to act this time instead of just flirt - and whadyaknow, she's good at it. Wish they'd realised that last season, but better late than never.

I liked the new title sequence much more than the preview version that was floating around, although the revamped theme tune is weird. The Eccelston/Tennat era version was my favourite by far. As for the new TARDIS interior, it looks identical to the last one.

Conclusion : this bodes well.

How does Legolas see so well ?

Reshare because European Southern Observatory (ESO) [on another thread, now lost] just unwittingly provided the answer.

Legolas' eyes work as an interferometer. With 12x the sharpness of the sharpest human vision, he'll be able to see details about 25cm across 24km away. That's easily enough to count the enemy soldiers and discern the height of the enemy leader. And it will work in ordinary optical light, no need for ultra-violet !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk2izv-c_ts&feature=share

RESCUE ALL THE HYDROGEN OVERPASSES !

Multiple Google translates, methinks. Choice highlights :

"Using a William E. Gordon Telescope, astronomers rescued a overpass of atomic hydrogen gas 2.6 million light years prolonged between galaxies 500 million light years away."
SAVE THE HYDROGEN ! SIGN THE PETITION !

"...Arecibo Observatory, a radio astronomy trickery of a US National Science Foundation..."
No comment.

" “Student impasse is really critical to us." "
God forbid we should actually teach them anything useful.

via Robert Minchin
http://techknowbutler.net/astronomers-discover-a-bridge-of-atomic-hydrogen-gas-2-6-million-light-years-long

Overly objective

""This technology cuts the mathematical referees out of the verification process," says Hales. "Their opinion about the correctness of the proof no longer matters."

Well, there's a philosophical can of worms. Does a computer's proof count ?

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26041-proof-confirmed-of-400-year-old-fruit-stacking-problem/

An important announcement

Originally shared by Fake Science

Happy OMg day! Make sure to celebrate with Fake Science !
 http://fakescience.org/fakescience101/

Shouting loudly really seems to work

http://www.clickhole.com/blogpost/my-doctor-told-me-i-should-vaccinate-my-children-t-653

"Fly, you fools !"

An ingenious theory on the reason the Fellowship of the Ring didn't simply use eagles...

http://www.tickld.com/x/this-guy-just-changed-the-way-we-see-lord-of-the-rings-mind-blown

We publish too much stuff

It is easy to forget that 350 years ago the scientific journal was itself an innovation, enabled in large part by the emergence of the printing press some 200 years earlier. Today our challenge is to create a new kind of scientific publication, internet-enabled and fit for a data-rich digital age.

http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/aug/05/why-we-should-publish-less-scientific-research