The pain in Spain

A foreign (US) look on the current economic situation in Spain: The pain in Spain could hit worldwide economy

PS. The title "The Pain in Spain" comes from the My Fair Lady song "The Rain in Spain", where Eliza makes an   effort to replace her Cockney diphthongs and dropped H's with the standard pronunciation.



(The subtitles are slightly more legible in full screen mode)

In this video she finally manages it and everybody is exceedingly happy:

Just what we needed

World’s first hotel for sheep opens in Japan

Yep, you read that right: first hotel for sheep.

You'd better check it out before you rush to book:




The thing is, although it sounds a bit eccentric, I've always thought it would be nice to have a sheep as a pet. They're so cute and fluffy and dumb. :)

(In case you're wondering: no, I don't eat lamb.)

Remember: in English we usually use 2 different words for the animal and the meat:
pig/pork; cow/beef; sheep/lamb (or mutton); but not for poultry: chicken/chicken; turkey/turkey, duck/duck...

Time for lunch I think!

More myths about colds: the magic orange and vitamin C

It's probably no secret to you that I don't like fruit. So imagine how pleased and guilt-free I was to discover this:

The myth of Vitamin C and the common cold

If you can''t be bothered to click on the link, the bottom line is (quote):

In controlled trials about the effects of vitamin C, for example, “doses have been up to 6 grams per day, and as far as I know, that would correspond to some 18 kilograms of oranges per day and quite a similar dose of orange juice.”




So, time to start fruit-shopping at MercaBarna instead of Mercadona!

PS. Surely putting slices of orange on top of your eyes is not a good idea?

The Best News You'll Hear All Day

Chocolate lovers tend to weigh less, according to a new study. You know you just need to find out more:   http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/26/us-chocolate-idUSBRE82P11320120326

Job seekers getting asked for Facebook passwords

What do you think of this?

Story:

When Justin Bassett interviewed for a new job, he expected the usual questions about experience and references. So he was astonished when the interviewer asked for something else: his Facebook username and password. (Read more)

Solar flares this week

Huge solar flare to hit Earth as the Sun erupts

Grooveshark

Just in case you don't know this page for listening to music, I'd like to recommend Grooveshark.

The first advantage you'll notice is that there are no loud annoying adverts*.

You can either search for a song using the search box, or listen to the radio, choosing from a variety of styles.

Click on "Radio" and a box will open, giving you a choice of styles.

Obviously your choices are subjective but personally I feel the only thing that can combat Mondays is METAL. :D









*the other problem with Spotify, apart from those creepy adverts, is that no matter what style or decade you choose, eg. Indie 90's, they always manage to slip in a song by someone like Sheila Dúrcal.

Not only does this make (= inversion) you lose your faith in their selection software, but it also forces you to run from one end of the flat to the other screaming "Noooo noooo NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" to stop the song before it causes mental problems.

Grooveshark doesn't have this problem (yet).

The stock market

http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2534

Migraine headaches

Hi People!

I'm just writing this entry on migraine headaches, because lately I've been having them again, and the type that I get are "Migraines with Auras".

Migraines with Auras are different from normal migraines in that the sufferer gets a sort of warning before the actual headache. The Aura, or warning usually consists of:

• lightheadedness or dizziness
• blurred vision or visual problems
• slurred speech (= problems speaking)
• numbness or tingling, usually only on one side of the body, usually starting on the face.

As you can see it's quite fun, and I'm sure a lot of people actually pay for recreational drugs to experience similar effects that I get to enjoy free.

The only "problem" with auras is that once you start experiencing them, as you can't really talk very well, it makes it difficult to inform people what's happening, and they usually think you're either drunk or mad, or both.

Since I've been getting these auras lately, I'd just like to say that if I start acting weirdly in class it could be due to a pre-migraine aura.

You will probably notice this if:

• I stop talking, sit down (or fall down :P) and don't say or do anything
• start speaking in an unknown language slowly as if possessed
• seem confused or disoriented (more than usual)

If this happens, please let another teacher know, preferably management (Jose, Vicent, Carlos, Yolanda V), as they know what to do.

Thank you!

You can read more about migraines and auras here: http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/directory/m/migraine

Does anybody else get these?

The size of spiders

This is funny.

APPARENTLY, researchers have discovered that people who are afraid of spiders perceive them as bigger than they actually are. Weird, eh? Read about it: http://newslite.tv/2012/02/28/being-scared-of-spiders-makes.html

It's incredible what fear can do, isn't it?

32,000-Year-Old Plant Brought Back to Life

I've just read this piece of news and seen the photo, and I'm in love. What a darling little thing! ♥ I want one!

Science is amazing!!

Read all about it here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/02/120221-oldest-seeds-regenerated-plants-science/?source=link_fb20120223news-oldestplantbroughtback

The Treehouse of Adulthood

A slightly cynical view of the world of being a responsible adult.

Somebody sent me this with no credits. Googling leads me to a blog by a certain Grant Snider, where you can find other thought-provoking cartoons.

Gapminder: world statistics

Hiya! I've just discovered this fascinating page with world statistics on a wide range of issues. If you're curious about the world around you, this is the page for you: it's highly interactive and is full of information:

www.gapminder.org/world

At first sight it may look a bit complicated to use, but there's this helpful video tutorial to help you get started, well worth watching:

A sensible love song for Valentine's Day

Some people on Twitter are saying that this year, Valentine's Day cancels itself out for mathematical reasons: 14-2-12 = 0.

Clever, eh?

But here's a Valentine Day post anyway.

Do you remember Tim Minchin? We did another song of his, "Fat Children", one Friday class. He's an Australian comedian, now based in London I think, who routinely makes fun of whatever he can.

Here he dedicates this love song to his wife.

Personally I love his common sense and the way he parodies the style, but admittedly the more romantic ones of you out there might not agree. ;)

Lyrics:



If I Didn't Have You - Tim Minchin


Yep, yeah. If I didn't have you. Yeah.
If I didn't have you to hold me tight (If I didn't have you)
If I didn't have you to lie with at night (When I'm feeling blue)
If I didn't have you to share my sights (Share my sights)
And to kiss me and dry my tears when I cry


Well I, really think that I would... have somebody else.


(If I didn't have you) If I didn't have you, someone else would do
Your love is one in a million (One in a million)
You couldn’t buy it at any price (Can't buy love)


But of the 9 point 999 hundred thousand other possible loves,
Statistically some of them would be equally nice. (Equally nice)
Or maybe not as nice but say, smarter than you
Or dumber but better at sport or... fucking tracing
I'm just saying (I really think that I would)
Probably (Have somebody else)


Yeah.
(If I didn't have you)
If I didn't have you someone else would do (Someone else would surely do)


If I were a rich man, diddle diddle diddle diddle diddle diddle diddly
I guess I would be with a surgeon or a model
Or any of the royals, or a Kennedy
Or a nymphomaniacal exhibitionist heiress to a large chain of hotels


If I were a rich man maybe I would fiddle
Fiddle diddle diddle with the rich man girls
I'm not saying that I'd not love you if I was wealthy or handsome
But realistically there's lots of fish in the sea
And if I had a different rod, I would conceivably land some


Even though I am fiscally consistently pitiable
And considerably less Brad Pitt than Brad Pitiful
And am I really so poor and ugly that you reckon only you could possibly love me
And I (Really think that I would) Probably (Have somebody else)


(If I didn't have you) (Someone else would surely do)


Look, I'm not undervaluing what we've got when I say
That given the role chaos inevitably plays in the inherently flawed notion of fate,
It's obtuse to deduce that I've found my soul mate at the age of 17
It's just mathematically unlikely that at a university in Perth
I happened to stumble on the one girl on earth specifically designed for me
And if I may conjecture a further objection, love is nothing to do with destined perfection
The connection is strengthened, the affection simply grows over time
Like a flower. Or a mushroom. Or a guinea pig. Or a vine. Or a sponge. Or bigotry.
Or a banana (banana)


And love is made more powerful by the ongoing drama of shared experience and the synergy of a kind of symbiotic empathy, or something


So I trust it goes without saying that I would feel really very sad If tomorrow you were to fall off something high or catch something bad
But I'm just saying I don't think you're special
I mean... I think you’re special
But you fall within a bell curve


I mean, I'm just saying I (Think that I would)
Probably (Have somebody else)


I think you are unique and beautiful
You make me happy just by being around (Being around)
But objectively you would have to agree that baby, when I found you
Options were relatively thin on the ground (Thin on the ground)
You’re lovely but there must be girls as lovely as you
and maybe more open to spanking or fucking table tennis
I'm just saying
(That I think that I would) Probably (Have somebody else)
I mean, I reckon it's pretty likely that if for example
My first girlfriend Jackie hadn't dumped me
After I kissed Winston’s ex girlfriend Neah at Steph’s party back in 1993


And our variables would probably have been altered by the absence of that event
To have meant the advent of a tangential narrative in which we don't meet.


Which is to say there exists a theoretical hypothetical parallel life
Where what is is not as it is and I am not your husband and you are not my wife


And I am a stuntman living in LA
Married to a small blonde Portuguese skier
Who when she's not training, does abstract painting
Practises yoga and brews her own beer, and really likes making home movies
And suffers neck down alopecia


But with all my heart and all my mind I know one thing is true
I have just one life and just one love and my love, that love is you
And if it wasn't for you, darling, you (I really think that I would)
Possibly (Have somebody else)
Yeah (If I didn't have you)
If I didn't have you doodoodoodoo someone else would do
(Someone else would surely do)

Cold

This week I've had this argument three times already: can cold weather give you a cold? Or more specifically, can going outside with wet hair in cold weather give you a cold?

The answer is NO.

If you don't believe me, check out what the Wiki says about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold

And if you're one of those who mistrust the Wiki, try this page about facts and myths about the common cold or the NHS page, where you can discover that if you get bored of just one type, there are in fact more than 200 types of cold virus that you can get, yay.

The good news is that you can easily avoid catching colds or catch less of them by either becoming a hermit or just by taking some simple precautions such as washing your hands: how to survive the common cold.

In conclusion, though, the common cold is like any other viral infection: if you're exposed to it, you catch it. But if you're not exposed to it you could jump out of the bath stark naked and run around the snowy streets (haha) of Vilanova in the deepest winter and you would NOT catch a cold*. Scientific fact!

*don't believe me: try it yourselves!

Cute little cold viruses