For the love of Christ have a look at this Jumbo squeezed on to a single seat on an American Airlines flight. Apparently the shot is real and was taken by an AA flight attendant. It's from this blog. Someone has left a comment there saying

This was taken by a friend of mine.

1) Yes, it's real.

2) The "big" passenger was allowed to stay.

3) The guy in the middle seat was pulled from the flight and given $$$ voucher for future travel + f/c on the next available flight.

4) AA is one of the wimpiest companies I've ever worked for - they are ***terrified*** of lawsuits!

AA Flight Attendant

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

- you know what that is? Kind of state-of-the-art scanning of the body. MRI provides much greater contrast between the different soft tissues of the body than a CT (computed tomography) scan. It's especially useful for brain, muscle, heart and cancer imaging.

A group of Dutch research scientists led by an Associate Professor of Gynaecology, has found its particularly useful for another kind of scan too - scanning couples having sex.

Professor Willibrord Weijmar Schultz and colleagues from University Hospital Groningen in the Netherlands recruited eight couples and three single women over the past ten years and scanned them making love in thirteen different episodes. The experiment was written up in The British Medical Journal and apparently has been the most-read article ever published in that prestigious magazine. Why do this? From the abstract -

To find out whether taking images of the male and female genitals during coitus is feasible and to find out whether former and current ideas about the anatomy during sexual intercourse and during female sexual arousal are based on assumptions or on facts.

The research team found that the imaging showed that during female sexual arousal the uterus raises and the front of vaginal wall lengthens. There was no evidence of an increase in the volume of the uterus during sexual arousal, or a change in the position of the uterus, as had been reported by Masters and Johnson in the 1960s.

They also found that during intercourse in the "missionary position" the penis is neither straight nor "S" shaped as had been previously thought, but is, in fact, the shape of a boomerang.

Holy Moly Batman! Who would have thought it? A boomerang.

Professor Shultz also comments on a famous drawing by Da Vinci - showing a cross-section of a couple having sex - saying that it's anatomically wrong - the penis is too straight for one thing.

The Renaissance sketch shows a transparent view of the anatomy of sexual intercourse as envisaged by the anatomists of his time. The semen was supposed to come down from the brain through a channel which can be seen in the spine of the man. In the woman the right lactiferous duct is depicted as originating in the right female breast and ending in the genital area. Even a genius like Leonardo da Vinci distorted men's and women's bodies---as seen now---to fit the ideology of his time and to the notions of his colleagues, who he paid tribute to.

He also notes that the drawing is owned by the Queen of England and is housed in the Royal Collection at Windsor castle. Click on the thumbnail to the right -

I'm guessing we won't see a repeat of this experiment with homosexual couples. But I do wonder if anyone has done an MRI of someone defecating or urinating. That would be quite interesting - don't you think? Or does this disgust you? Discuss.

Update: Incredible! I just found a video of a MRI scan of a guy defecating.

Ho White

& The Seven Dwarves. Unbelievably stupid advertising campaign from Australian ad agency The Foundry. Stupid because they've done a parody of Disney's artwork for Snow White & The Seven Dwarves to flog a raspberry-favored beer. Did these idiots think that Disney was going to stand by while they besmirched their Snow White brand? You can imagine the size of the lawsuit that's heading Foundry's way. Maybe "idiots" is the wrong word. "Morons" is more like it. The website page has been pulled but I was able to get these images from the Google cache.

Here's the explanation that was on the site -

Anything But Sweet - The Foundry "Our partnership with Jamieson Brewery started with the redesign of their logo and the launch of Raspberry Ale. While getting our hands dirty with Raspberry Ale, we soon recognised that this beer was in fact ‘Anything but Sweet’. So we challenged the consumer’s notion of what this beer was, and created a striking campaign around this line. The strong packaging design and cheeky nature of the advertising work, hand in hand to create a truly unique brand identity, and so another brand transformation has begun."

That should probably read "And so another Disney lawsuit has begun.

Here's a link to the cache of AnythingButSweet.com and Ho White & The Seven Dwarves

MacSpeech Dictate Version 1.5.5

was released a week ago and I bought it. I went for Dictate because I'm on a Mac using Snow Leopard OSX. Otherwise I would have opted for Dragon Naturally Speaking - the PC version - they use the same technology. I've been doing a lot of typing lately and the Repetitive Strain Injury - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome has reared its ugly head again. I definitely have it. I was tested a few years back - had the electrodes put on each finger and an electrical current applied. Awful experience. But confirmed what I'd suspected. As my fingers were going numb. The condition was probably aggravated by the fact I broke my right wrist falling off a truck - tying down a load - 25 years ago.

But there's another reason I bought this Voice Recognition Software - I like to have a conversational tone to all my copy - like I'm talking one on one to you. And I find if I dictate straight into MacSpeech or similar, it sounds natural. They claim 99% accuracy but I didn't believe that for a minute. And I still don't. But the results are pretty good. I've written about it here - MacSpeech Dictate Version 1.5.5 Review

Big kerfuffle Downunder in Australia as Harry Connick Jnr accuses an Australian act on TV show "Hey Hey Its Saturday" as being racist - and the world's press beat-up the story. I don't see it as racist at all. But the same skit performed in the U.S. most definitely would be. But the funny part is Mister Harry Connick Jnr can be accused of the same thing. Check out this vid where he's impersonating a black preacher on MAD TV. See the thing is, you Yanks don't get our humor. What's offensive to you is perfectly acceptable to Aussies - even black Aussies, I'm betting. But there again, I'm not black. If anything were offensive in that skit, it was the whole Jackson Jive thing.

So, you know, "when in Rome" Harry Connick Jnr.

Pharaoh's Club Poker Chips New Release

Do you consider yourself a savvy investor? Jump on this. The new release - as in new design - of clay poker chips (Paulson-like)from Pharaoh's Club is about to be released. These things went ballistic the first time they were released in 2005. Half a million of them were sold on the first day. Originally a boxed set cost $300. Now they are on eBay for at least $1500. Better than money in the bank eh? Go here to Chip talk to order. Bettter be quick though. These things are sure to sell out just as fast as the first lot.

BTW did you see that old "The Mint" clay chip that sold on eBay last month? A $5 chip went for $14,100. Woman had it in her jewelry box for 47 years.

Pharaoh's Club Poker Chips.

Poker Chips

If you're interested in collecting poker chips there's an awful lot you need to know. Let's start with Illegal Poker Chips. What are they? Illegals are chips that were used by illegal casinos. They are fairly uncommon and thus classified as rare poker chips. The one in the thumbnail is an illegal club chip from the Hollywood club in Toledo, OH. If you want to see some more, go to this This Poker Chip Dealers Site where you can buy illegal chips from $15. There's more on This Page this time from illegal Texas casinos.

Illegal poker chips sometimes come up for auction on eBay. There was one there in July but none at the moment. Poker Chip collecting is very popular. A rare $5 Vegas casino chip from "The Mint" sold recently on eBay for $14,100 after lying in a woman's jewelry box for 47 years.

Pharaoh's Club Poker Chips Set to Break Sales Records Again

FCC - The Federal Communications Commission

is an independent United States government agency. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. And a bunch of politically-correct humorless bastards they are too. From their website -

History of Communications
Early TV Images: click for more information about these images

Most people know that if they watch television the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is part of their life due to its role in regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable.

What people may not recognize is the extent to which every area of their life is intertwined with the communications technologies the FCC has responsibility to regulate. For example, because almost all electrical and electronic equipment emits radio frequencies, FCC equipment authorization rules protect you when:

*

Your child plays with a radio-controlled airplane,
*

Your teenager upstairs sends their homework assignment to the printer downstairs via your new wireless home network,
*

Your toll fee is automatically deducted from the little plastic box attached to your windshield without having to stop at the booth,
*

You swipe your credit card at the gasoline pump,
*

You push the button on your garage door opener,

*

You heat your breakfast waffle in the microwave,
*

The cashier at the coffee shop rings up your favorite morning drink using an electronic cash register and inventory control system,
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The local video store contacts its remote, central computer network to find out if you have enough bonus points to qualify for a free rental,
*

You lock your car with your remote entry system,
*

You activate your home alarm system before going to bed.

Freelance journalist struck down by a bone and flesh-eating bug. Now battling against the NHS and DWP while being strung up in traction for the foreseeable future.

So reads the Profile on Traction man's blogger blog Hospital Notes very funny blog with daily snapshots of his shitty British National Health Service hospital meals.

Traction Man has been taking snapshots of his disgusting-looking food and posting the pictures on his blog in a game he calls Hospital Food Bingo. He encourages us to guess what's on his plate.

Traction Man apparently is a 47 year old freelance journalist who has spent over 20 weeks in hospital this year. Poor bastard. But this could be the story of his life. And its putting the spotlight on British hospital food.

One report says that researchers recently claimed that food in prisons was better than that provided by the NHS. Bloody hell. That's saying something.

Traction Man is also uploading the pics to facebook and he's had stories published all round the world - USAToday, BBC, Der Spiegel, The Sydney Morning Herald - just to name a few.

I checked his stats on Alexa yesterday and he had 430,891 sites linking in. I suggested he at least monetize it with Adsense but he replied

I applied for AdSense but was turned down as they said my site had poor navigation.

Which I don't understand, as Blogger is part of Google and adding Adsense is an option. Anyway, Adsense pays bugger-all so I suggested he put some affiliate links in his copy. That could work. Like this - "I wondered how you should cook Hungarian Goulash properly. So I went across to Recipe Secrets to find out. That's a blatant affiliate link BTW. If you buy that product I make a few bucks - a guy's gotta eat. LOL."