bob

I sort of have to feel sympathy for them, since my sister is a newly fledged doctor. But i think i'll have to have a chat with her about the specifics before i make up my mind. My automatic reaction to such stuff posted in the Daily Mail etc is to side with the opposite viewpoint. Usually i assume that the whole story is not being presented, so i'll have to find out exactly what's going on before i decide.

Hi, I'm going to New Orleans next month and i'm quite looking forward to it, until i realised that i would have to deal with the ridiculous process of tipping everyone and anyone i meet. Being British, i get very awkward over the process of tipping. Especially since the amount you pay isn't set before you start. I hate the idea that people might think i'm rude, but conversely, i don't want to overtip when i don't have to. Has anyone had any experience with this? I've checked out a few websites, and they seem to suggest that you tip pretty much everyone you interact with during the day, even if it's just a dollar or two. Is this normal? I'm going over for work, and so mostly everything i pay for i can put on expenses (which is good, since i really can't afford a trip to the USA right now if it wasn't). However, i realise it's difficult to put any tips on expenses, so i'm happy to just pay these with my own money. But i'm not sure how much money i'll need to take with me.....it seems as though i'm going to need pockets overflowing with dollar notes and $5's. I'm in New Orleans for 8 days, so i though $500 dollars might be enough for spending money and tips. Is this too little? Gaaaaaaaaaaah! I hate it!

Me neither (too old) but any marriage is good news! Congratulations!

I always feel my bad stuff isn't as bad as some of the other stuff going on in this thread (Iun's sounds particularly awful; no offense Ramar, i'm sure it was a lovely t-shirt) but nevertheless; I presenting at a seminar tomorrow at Leicester Uni and it's all going so wrong. I just have too much stuff to present! It's only 20 mins, but i have like 30 mins worth of stuff. Cramming it in just seems to make me stumble over it and bugger it up, but i just can't see what i can remove with the rest of it still making sense! It's a sort of a practise run as well for me giving the talk in New Orleans next month, so i really want it to go well...

I don't technically see it as a job, but i suppose since i'm getting paid to do it i suppose a phd counts... It's not going too badly at the moment. There were times when i thought about failing, and during those moments i was adamant that i didn't want to continue down the academic route, but now that everything is going a bit better i'm reconsidering. Especially since i'm getting to go to loads of cool conference locations (all paid for of course) so those are definitely perks of the 'job'. Paywise, it's a tax-free grant. So it amounts to more than minimum wage, but i have to share it with my girlfriend who is also doing a phd, but unfunded. We don't have that much money left over after bills etc, but we don't really have that many expensive hobbies, so it works out ok!

I think it's more like 99% of films that have some sort of fantastical element. Obviously it's easier to write a script for a film about a suburban family being torn apart by drugs and not have any plot holes in it, than it is for a film with magic/superpowers. It's no doubt harder to write how someone would react in a situation where they are taking over the world using an elite force of magic super soldiers, because no-one has ever done it. Trying to come up with convincing dialogue between a alien from outer space and a mind-control wizard and not have people slam it for being ridiculous must be nigh on impossible. @The Bard is right when he said that Iron Man managed it better than others though.

well obvs. That's what fire does. lol. amiright?

Aah, but at least Greece will be remembered. Everyone likes a plucky underdog. I can't even remember who won it in 2000, and i'm having trouble recalling what happened in 2008, but 2004 sticks in my mind because it was a huge upset. Same goes for Chelsea i suppose.

New poster:

I was actually there on the day they filmed the scene at 50 seconds, but i didn't get to see Daniel Craig. There's still something i don't like about him though. I think it's the fact that he looks like he's had a botched botox job when he's doing Bond. I understand Bond is supposed to be smooth and unruffled, but he takes it too far and ends up with plank-wood-face. Still, film looks good!

What if two teams tried to play like Chelsea did, in the same game. That would make for a monumentally boring game of football. It would be like a game of table football when the ball gets stuck in the middle and no-one can reach it. EDIT: Incidentally, i'm not having a go at Chelsea, I think they did well to win it, and I believe that any way they choose to do it is valid. I was talking about two teams both with 11 players behind the ball playing against each other.

This might have been posted before (it's from January I believe) but this guy is the shizzle:

Actually i'm not sure that broken link is enough... EDIT: Ah i see who it is.

I assumed it would be just one character. Alone. In a featureless room. For 23 minutes. I'm glad that won't be the case.

Indeed, they should just end the thread right there under Eddie's post. And not a moment sooner.

Yeah i suppose it depends on the type of film. I remember Pirates of The Caribbean took about two years to film, but then they had to build actual pirate ships for that one. I suppose the set design etc for Iron Man is a bit easier.

A couple of photos from my recent holiday.

Isn't it a bit late to only just be casting this film? How are they going to make this film in slightly less than a year? I realise that blockbuster turnarounds are getting shorter as CGI gets better, but isn't 1 year a bit optimistic?

Isn't that Facebook's default image ratio?

R-r-r-r-r-rOFFLE!

"You found my weakness! It's small knives!" Awesome.

We rewatched them all on Wednesday before we went to see The Avengers in the evening, and I almost ruined my eyes. Gave myself a headache and almost ruined the Avengers! Totally worth it though.

I'm off to Kenya tomorrow to visit my Dad. This is a good thing. Hoping to squeeze in a quick safari while i'm there which should be grand. I'm taking my new phone so hopefully i'll get some good pictures, although i'm a bit worried about Nairobbery Airport (as it's known).