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Royal Institute Christmas Lectures

category9 writes "One of the best xmas tv highlights for us chaps in the UK is the RI Christmas Letures. Once broadcast by the BBC, Channel4 now have the helm. Past lecturers include the world renowed cybernetics engineer, Prof. Kevin Warwick. This year Sir John Sulston, of Human Genome Project fame, will be talking about genetics and the building blocks of life over 5 lectures. This is a must see for anyone interested in artificial intelligence. The lectures are presented in a format which allows technical detail, but in a way very accessible to those outside the particilar scientific fields. The website has transcripts for anyone not able to receive Channel4, perhaps with streams coming at a later date (lobby Channel4 if you must)."

147 comments

  1. the us sucks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i really wish the US would have something like that.. oh, and first post!

    1. Re:the us sucks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's called Discovery Science, Discovery, TLC, etc...

    2. Re:the us sucks. by mcdermr · · Score: 1

      We have a Dish at work (I work at a cell store) and we get the BBC but I don't know if it was on. Not to mention the fact that I wasn't here.

    3. Re:the us sucks. by mackga · · Score: -1

      eat shit and fucking choke on it, you fucking ass-reaming cocksucking transvestite.

      --

      "shop smart:shop s-mart" ash

  2. fp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    yeah

    1. Re:fp by Retarded_One · · Score: -1

      Best of luck to India in their upcoming war against Pakistan. While I am no fan of Indians, I am most definitly a FOE of islam, so I hope the Indians do the right thing and nuke whatever-abad.

    2. Re:fp by The+WIPO+Troll · · Score: -1

      It's world war 3, dude. We're all dead in the end. At least I got to fuck the shit out of my own sister while I was still alive. And I taco-snotted her.

      --

      J. Wipo Troll, Esq.
      Crapflooder Associates
      Slashdot.org

    3. Re:fp by Retarded_One · · Score: -1

      Yes, I HATE @home. Blows ass. I would snot the CEO's daughter, if I knew where she was. When I call the support line to report my modem is not sync'd, I expect a white person, with a grasp of the English language, to answer. Not some ignorant black cooze.

    4. Re:fp by The+WIPO+Troll · · Score: -1

      Wow, you really got that (Score:-1; Offtopic) thing down pat.

      --

      J. Wipo Troll, Esq.
      Crapflooder Associates
      Slashdot.org

  3. IMHO by rastachops · · Score: 1

    It seemed a bit bland this year, I saw some of Adam-hart Davis' program on BBC2 by accident, which seemed more interesting even though it lacked depth, before switching over to C4. Maybe some of the other lectures will be more entertaining.

    1. Re:IMHO by Zanek · · Score: 1

      I'd love to see how he can tie genetics into AI.

      --


      Help pay for my wedding! Go to my kickass website
  4. Pwaise God for Klerck! by GODLYDavidRing · · Score: -1

    * g o a t s e x * g o a t s e x * g o a t s e x * g g o / \ \ / \ o a \ a t `. : t s` \ s e \ / / \\\ -- \\ : e x \ \/ --~~ ~-- \ x * \ \-~ ~-\ * g \ \ .--------.___\ g o \ \// ((> \ o a \ . C ) ((> / a t /\ C )/Merry\ (> / t s / /\ C) Xmas! (> / \ s e ( C__)\___/ // _/ / \ e x \ \\// (/ x * \ \) `---- --' * g \ \ / / g o / \ o a / \ \ a t / / \ t s / / \/\/ s e / e x x * g o a t s e x * g o a t s e x * g o a t s e x *

  5. Re:the us sucks. - flamebait, troll, whatever by mokyar · · Score: 0

    Give me a break. you are really not serious
    about Discovery channel, right?!

  6. Genetics and AI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What does genetics have to do with AI?

    1. Re:Genetics and AI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      At the front of the penis the dog has a small hole from which he
      ejaculates, this looks a little different than a human penis, which has a
      crack, otherwise the function is the same, the size almost equivalent, but
      the pleasure can be even greater... The reason, well, the dog is one of few
      animals that have special 'features'. When a dog gets aroused his penis
      erects and leaves the protective sheat. Unlike a human the dog creates the
      sperm while his penis is erected, and he is aroused. Another thing that
      differs is that the dog's penis will 'cum' during the entire sex act, from
      the first moments of erection to the end of the intercourse, this makes the
      intercourse more pleasurable in many ways, which I will cover later.

      Another very interesting feature, is the one that makes the sex act
      extremly pleasurable, the knot. When a dog enters the bitch and starts his
      humping motion in her vagina, he also starts cumming instantly. But after
      some time, when the male dog reaches 'real orgasm' then the base of his
      penis will swell. The male dog will then try to push this knot inside the
      bitch's vagina. Once inside he will not move any longer, instead he will
      keep a constant pressure to assure that the knot is really inside. During
      these seconds the knot will start swelling even more inside the vagina to
      such a size that it won't be able to extract. During this time the dog will
      start to ejaculate even more intensly inside the vagina. The knot's
      function will then be to keep the mating couple together for some time,
      which I will cover later. The reason is to ensure that the sperm is
      deposited deep inside the vagina and to increase the chance for
      insemination. Many women I have introduced to dog sex find that once
      performed, it's the knot that really attracts them to making love with the
      dog, and I do nothing but agree...

      Now I know that women who look at the erected penis might find it slimy and
      'dirty'. The truth is it's more clean than a human's penis. The dog licks
      himself clean several times a day, now, how many times a week do you think
      a man washes his penis? 3,4 or maybe even 5? The slime, is actually not
      slime. The penis has a more 'rubber-like' material which makes it 'glancy'.
      Of course it's a little damp, but the wetness is secretion, and when
      erected it's mostly pre-cum.

  7. Re:the us sucks. - flamebait, troll, whatever by mcdermr · · Score: 1

    I have to agree. The Discovery channel doesn't cover anything like this. They always have some dumbed down version of everything "science" that pre-schoolers can understand. I have yet to find a discovery program that confuses me or makes me look up words on the 'Net or a dictionary. The Discovery channel IMHO is good to get people interest but not to go in depth into anything.

  8. When will the Ogg Vorbis streaming be available? by 2Bits · · Score: 2
    It would be interesting, but when you can't watch it.

  9. Re:the us sucks. - flamebait, troll, whatever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Discovery Science and Discovery Wings is pretty good, alot more technical than just plain Discovery. No show on tv is going to start throwing out equations at you

  10. Re:the us sucks. - flamebait, troll, whatever by Soulfader · · Score: 1

    I don't think you can get a hell of a lot more dumbed down than "Professor" Kevin Warwick.

  11. HMm by Zanek · · Score: 1

    "This year Sir John Sulston, of Human Genome Project fame, will be talking about genetics and the building blocks of life over 5 lectures. This is a must see for anyone interested in artificial intelligence. " The only way I can see him tieing this into AI is by describing the parallels between neural nets and low order organisms Kick ass website

    --


    Help pay for my wedding! Go to my kickass website
  12. .uk domains... by Brendan+Byrd · · Score: 1

    Does this mean that UK's Boxing Day is over and everybody can surf the *.uk sites again? :)

  13. Kevin Warwick is a self-promoting egotistical hack by strags · · Score: 0
  14. Re:the us sucks. - flamebait, troll, whatever by mcdermr · · Score: 1

    There should be. I would watch a show/channel that actually made me think, even a little. But for the most part they don't. Once in a blue moon a decent program comes on that makes you think about the topic that they are talking about, but they are all for entertainment. Um... isn't that what TV is for? Nevermind, my fire on this just went out.

  15. Kev by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Kevin Warwick is renowned alright... renowed for being a media whore and buffoon.

    1. Re:Kev by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      I am Joey a 13 years old Girl who just recently moved in with my dad
      and step mom, I bought a young Dalmation to keep me company and for
      protection that I named Checkers.
      One week-end I slept in and getting up took a shower, when I got out
      of the shower and was putting on my makeup I realized I had left my
      favorite lipstick in the bedroom, so naked went into the bedroom to
      get it, dropped it and it rolled under the bed. I had to get down on
      my stomach to reach to reach it, as I backed out from under the bed
      with my butt was in the air, Checkers had followed me into the bedroom
      and started to lick my pussy.. when he first startled, he licked deep
      alot deeper than a guy can lick, well it felt so good I
      just stayed in that position and let Checkers keep licking my
      pussytill it almost made me cum, then I had remembered that my parents
      where not home see I have been learning alot of stuff from Mike and
      Crista on the phone, I meet them on a email I got , well after I
      locked the door and turned on my radio I got down like Mike hadshowed
      me and Before long and after a couple of orgasms I began to fantasize
      of how it would feel to be fucked good by Checkers, but I was afraid,
      Mike showed me how to let him eat me out and rub his dick on the
      outside of my pussy I put it in a little but I was very tight, when me
      and Mike had sex on the phone I fucked myself with 2 fingers , Mike
      said I was ready to take his knot if he thought he said some girls in
      the group are just 12 and can take to know all the way but
      they started when they were 10 or 11 I did't find out about the club
      till I was 13, Thenthe thought came to me to call Mike and try now I
      put socks on his paws. Got up off the floor tied the socks on Checkers
      paws, put a pile of pillows on the floor under my belly to raise my
      pussy for easier access for Checkers. Layed down on the pillows with
      my pussy in the air and Checkers again began licking my pussy. so I
      call Mike and Crista I hoped that Mike would call me right back
      sometimes he is doing it with another girl and ut takes 30 minutes or
      so for him to call back However he called right back he is so sweet
      and sexy to talk to he started telling me what to do I was ready, I
      wanted him to start fucking me, so I done like Mike said let him lick
      you good and deep and let it cum one or two times and it
      will make his dick get hard just like a guy, Mike says your cum juice
      is like a drug or something well after I cumed 3 times it immediately
      got hard and he started hunching up and down. I then got Checkers to
      come forward and put his front legs around waist, is put his body and
      dick between my spread legs. I reached down with my hand and and put
      his dick against my pussy like Mike said, he immediately knew what to
      do and shoved his dick into me,, He made me feel as if bells were
      ringing, Mike talked to me god it's just like he was there haveing sex
      with me and the more I would move my pussy toward him the harder he
      would fuck me, hunching his back and pushing his cock deeper and
      deeper. Pretty soon his knot sliped in GOD it was just like MIke had
      said it made me cum HARD because it rubs your G spot and Mike showed
      me how to arch my back so the tip of his dick would rub that G spot
      better god I love it so much any girl would , Mike said he would cum
      in a minute like a guy I have heard other girls say that it was the
      bet part of fuckin I want to know myself and he erupted with a big
      bang inside my pussy, it was real warm and felt so good it made me cum
      right then HARD,I thought I would pass out and the best thing is you
      don't have to worry about getting pregnant , I have no idea of how
      many orgasms I had, it seemed like a hundred , Mike talked to me for
      about 2 or 3 minutes so the knot of Checkers dick went and we could
      separate and I rolled over on my back with my legs spread a part
      completely exausted. Checkers came over and with his head between my
      legs licked my pussy clean. His licking again made me hotter than a
      firecracker and as soon as I had regained some composer I got done on
      my hands and knees, this time Checkers didn't need any assistance as
      soon as I was on my hands and knees he mounted me so hard that to stay
      upright I went down on my elbows, this raised my pussy for Checkers to
      fuck me harder. He was a young stud and I was his first piece of ass
      and he could fuck for what seemed like hours. ,Mike said he had to go
      because he had to call another girl from the club ,so I said by ,

      From then on it wasn't necessary to show Checkers what I wanted, all I
      had to do was get my cotton anklets and tie them on his paws and let
      him lick me till I started getting ready to cum then he was ready to
      fuck the hell out of me. From the first time he fucked me doggy
      fashion as we both enjoyed it more that way. Checkers would jump on me
      with his front legs around my waist and shove his cock into my pussy
      and hunch back and forth so hard it was difficult to remain on my
      knees and forearm, and I owe it all to Mike for careing about us girls
      and Crista for starting this SO COOL club, I hope the girls that reads
      this will try it ,hell I was a little nervous but Mike is so easy to
      talk to, he's 19 and has always liked younger girls and you can really
      trust him not to get you in trouble , not like other boys how just
      want one thing , by peeps might see you in the chat room at the club.
      I just want to share this with some of the girls here because I could
      never tell anyone till I meet some girls that do ot to in the club ,
      well now I know Mike & Crista are cool, alot of girls think that it's
      nasty or something but I bet they wish they had a dog to because it's
      just like with a guy and the best way to learn about sex so and you
      don't have to go through letting some guy pop your cherry because Mike
      shows how to get ready to fuck without haveing to let a boy pop you
      cherry, because I heard that hurts bad, see this way with you want
      feel stupid when you get older and start haveing sex with guy, I
      wished I would have started when I was about 12 because god I wanted
      to have sex when I was 9 or so all girls do , Love Joey

  16. Captain Cyborg by Sanity · · Score: 4, Informative
    Past lecturers include the world renowed cybernetics engineer, Prof. Kevin Warwick.
    *Snigger*

    You clearly don't read The Register. Warwick is a joke in the Artificial Intelligence community, regarded by most as little more than a publicity hound. He used to go around saying that we would all be human slaves in a robot nation by the year 2000. At the time he came to my university to debate some of the professors in our Artificial Intelligence department, and they mopped the floor with him.

    Having milked the world of Artificial Intelligence for all the publicity it was worth, he then installed one of those chips they use for tracking dogs in his arm and started claiming that he was the first Cyborg...

    Do a search for "Captain Cyborg" at The Register to learn more about this guy, he gives science a bad name.

    1. Re:Captain Cyborg by ctid · · Score: 1
      Unfortunately, he's very convincing to non-techie people. A friend of mine who does an IT-support job was telling me about this brilliant speaker she saw at a conference. He had gone on about robots and cyborgs and artificial intelligence and all sorts of things. It was only when she mentioned that he was working on turning himself into a cyborg that the penny dropped and I was able to point out that not everyone was convinced by his "experiments".


      By the way, The Register isn't available via its usual URL at the moment. So here's a direct link to some of their Kevin Warwick coverage.

      --
      Reality is defined by the maddest person in the room
    2. Re:Captain Cyborg by dsb3 · · Score: 1

      Try the (ahem) Kevin Warwick Watch: www.kevinwarwick.org.uk if you want something more interesting than www.kevinwarwick.org.

      FEAR KEVIN

      --

      Slashdot? Oh, I just read it for the articles.
    3. Re:Captain Cyborg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Unfortunately, he's very convincing to non-techie people
      For example, he has convinced Slashdot's audience and editors.
  17. Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I'm afraid that the BBC has 'dumbed down' these lecutres to the point where they convey no useful scientific information whatsoever. It is sad but true.

    Perhaps when the BBC has to fight for its funding in the marketplace like other TV stations instead of relying on the forced taxation of millions of British TV viewers, maybe then it will come up with quality science programming.

    Until then, make sure your 'TV License' is up to date British slashdot readers :-)

    1. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      TV license. ahaha. What will those wacky brits think of next.

    2. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      For real, can you believe this shit ? I always thought that whole 'license to watch TV' thing was a joke, a satire on the UK's socialist government. But no. It is actually true, you need a license to watch TV.

      I wonder, can it be revoked ? Like if you don't watch the right shows ? Or for 'irresponsible viewing' :-)

      Seriously though, I can not believe that the people over there willingly pay this. It's like if the US govt forced all cable subscribers to pay for CNN. Insane.

      Just one more reason I am glad to be an American.

    3. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by drsoran · · Score: 1

      "Using television receiving equipment to receive or record broadcast television programmes without the correct license is a criminal offense."

      This site has got to be a joke. I can't believe even the socialist Brits would do anything this nuts. Check out their roaming "detector vans". :-) Do the secret police beat down your door and arrest you if you don't have your license up to date? Please, someone tell me this is a joke. A license to watch a TV. hahahaha.

    4. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by The+Unknown+Anorak · · Score: 2, Informative

      Until the majority of people in the country have an interest in science beyond 'press the button, the box in the corner soothes my confused little mind,' the BBC will remain the only station in this country that's purely committed to public service broadcasting. Can you see ITV broadcasting the RI lectures, or 'What the Romans did for us'? Can you even see UK Horizons, a supposed science channel, broadcasting anything more advanced than Robot Wars or Scrapheap Challenge? Of course not. The mongo on the street doesn't give a shit about cybernetics or astrophysics, he just wants to know whether Charlene is shagging Mandy Dingle. And sadly, by demographic, the mongos have more spending power, by dint of greater numbers, than the people who would be interested in true science. That's what the BBC is there to safeguard.

      The 'enforced taxation' troll you dangle so enticingly is the same mechanism that's allowing the BBC to test Ogg streaming, provide one of the world's best news websites, and provide programming for minorities in this country - whether they be minorities by race, age, religion or intellect. If you want a (nearly) pure commercial entertainment look at digital TV - wave after wave of Temptation Island and When Animals Attack. Can you see Sky One dedicating an evening to science more serious than Voyager?

      Frankly the only problem with the BBC is BBC1's strategy of chasing ratings. That's what should be left to ITV and the commercial operators. Leave public service broadcasting to the public.

      And anyway, aren't the Christmas Lectures supposed to be to introduce children to science?

      Oh, and Kevin Warwick is an attention grabbing buffon. Ithankyou.

      --
      If a tree falls in the forest, and it falls on a mime, does anyone care?
    5. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

      Yeah, and they aren't allowed to have guns either. "Law abiding" (if it's even possible to be law abiding which is a pretty big assumption) Brits can't defend themselves or shoot the worthless socialists over there. I mean they can't be shooting up garbage like that... that would just be terrible to kill authoritarians. oh and really really bad and wrong! I mean everyone deserves to live... NOT.

    6. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by t_allardyce · · Score: 1

      Yes, but then we don't have crap tv.. so it kinda pays off. you pay for cable/sat/digital? its the same principle, except they managed to get in early. Even with paying for cable and such, you guys still get adverts every five minutes. Even commercial (sic) channels over here only have them every 10-15, and none of those stupid info-mercials (again, spelling?) saying "praise the lord, and give him $50, because the lord is almighty.. but he needs $50 dollers (we take all major credit cards except discover)"

      There are so many other things that you pay for with out realising, where the fuck do you think your taxes go? (oh yeah, i forgot, they go into bush's pocket lol)

      --
      This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
    7. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by michael.creasy · · Score: 2

      Yes, just over 100 pounds for a few good channels, compared to over $480 a year (~$40 a month) for a hundred crap ones here in the US. As far as paying for television goes I'd much rather have the UK system over the US system anyday.

      It's this fee that has enabled the BBC to produce great television and not have to have any adverts. Thats right a quality TV station that doesn't have any adverts (apart from ones for BBC properties). It's the license fee that pays for http://news.bbc.co.uk. I think the license fee is great value for money.

      No they don't beat down your door, in fact if they just show up at your door they can't come in without a warrant, unless they can see a television. Even if you don't have a license they just ask you to get one, if you don't they take you to court and you are ordered to get one, if you still don't you get a bigger fine and eventually jail.

    8. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by The+Unknown+Anorak · · Score: 1

      And yet, per thousand head of population, our murder rates are far below those of the US. Odd, that.

      --
      If a tree falls in the forest, and it falls on a mime, does anyone care?
    9. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And sadly, by demographic, the mongos have more spending power, by dint of greater numbers, than the people who would be interested in true science. That's what the BBC is there to safeguard.

      No one who is interested in "true science" gets their information from TV. Not to mention that freedom is far more valuable than any TV program will ever be.

    10. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah, if mommy and daddy government tells you you can't defend yourself with a gun, you guys just take it lying down. Pathetic.

    11. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am not forced to pay for cable though. In fact, the majority of what I use my television for is watching DVDs. From the sounds of their TV licensing web page it looks like you need a license whether you're watching broadcast TV or cable or even video tapes. In the US we choose whether we want to support crappy programming by donating money to PBS rather than having it forcefully taken from us (i.e. tv tax). I've seen British shows on the BBC over DirecTV and I'd have to say I'd be pretty appalled to see my tax dollars going to produce that boring cruft. See, in the US people watch channels with advertising because the shows are actually interesting not because they feel obligated to get their money's worth. ;-)

    12. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It isn't a joke. And it isn't just Britain, either.

    13. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by alexmeaden · · Score: 1

      Most Britons would gladly pay a TV license rather than watch adverts every 5 minutes. It's certainly worth it for that (the license pays for the BBC, whose channels have no adverts on).

    14. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you pay for cable/sat/digital?

      That's by choice. The police don't come around in "detection vans" and fine us up to 1000 lbs. for owning a damn TV.

      Don't get me wrong... I'm not saying the US is a bastion of freedom but it's certainly better than the UK for the moment anyways. The UK is simply a little bit further along in it's authoritarianism and socialism than the US.

    15. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by leastsquares · · Score: 1

      The BBC didn't dumb-down anything. These are the Royal Institute Christmas lectures which just so happened to be broadcast by the BBC. (Initially on radio and more recently on TV)

      Why don't the BBC broadcast these anymore? Who knows. Someone obviously thought it was a good ideas to stop a hugely popular braodcast. Luckily C4 have some sense. The only problem is the annoying commercials that the BBC is free of.

    16. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All of Western Europe is socialist. They seem to think that the government is there to take care of all their needs. What a bunch of little babies.

    17. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are paying for the device that recives radio signals, not the 'TV'. Thats why we should get all 'free' (ad based) UK TV channels to webcast :)

    18. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most Britons would gladly pay a TV license rather than watch adverts every 5 minutes. It's certainly worth it for that (the license pays for the BBC, whose channels have no adverts on).

      ...and the ones that won't get fined and tossed in jail. "Most Britons" are evidently pretty fucking stupid.

    19. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

      Idiot.

    20. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

      can't handle the truth, can you, Eurotrash?

    21. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      It's not our fault we dont have small penises to overcompensate for.

    22. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Bwahahahaha!!

      WTF do you need a government for then? All governments take care of their citizens needs. Moron.

      The UK is a great little country, that's why you a) visit it, b) all want to live here and c) call it the 51st state.

    23. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by mlk · · Score: 1

      You pay for the device capable of receiving radio signals within a certain range. So if all you wanted was to watch dvd's, buy a 'puter with a big screen (Apple's 22" flat screen, YUM!).
      You use to have to pay for Radio (as in audio) but that was a long time ago.

      I'll let you argue over which way is best (Tax TV, pay-for (sky and the like), or completely advert-based TV (Americans have that I believe?). Personal I don't mine paying when you get stuff like Lost World (on last night VERY good) and the like, but it sure is a lot of pennies.

      mlk

      --
      Wow, I should not post when knackered.
    24. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      is it your fault *every* fucking territory once under british control annexed themselves? These weren't professional armies we're talking about, these were rednecks and indians.

      PS - why do brits all talk and act like they're homosexual deviants?

    25. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Aw cut the crap, it's just part of our culture. It's always been that way and no-one gives a damn about it - 'cept all those people who don't pay ;)

      "Most Britons" are evidently pretty fucking stupid.

      You really do not want to know what we think about you guys... where shall I start? Abuse of superpower status, ignorance of all things non-American - some guy I met in London thought it was the capital of Paris!?!? What?

    26. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by drsquare · · Score: 1

      No, you don't get a few good channels. You get two channels (unless you have digital or sky), and if you think they're any better than the other channels you're dellusional. It's just ITV and Channel 4 but without the adverts.

      I wouldn't mind, but you have to pay for it even if you don't watch it! I mean, what the fuck?

    27. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by drsquare · · Score: 1

      If you think the BBC is any better than ITV or Channel 4 you're delusional. The only decent programs are on in the middle of the night, and even then most of the time you get teletext with crap music, or the testcard.

      If you think it's worth paying over a hundred quid a year for endless gardening programs, cookery programs, soaps, repeats and fly-on-the-wall documentaries, you're wrong in the head.

    28. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      PS - why do brits all talk and act like they're homosexual deviants?

      Haha. PBS had the BBC nightly news on a couple days ago(and an American I have to admit is probably the best news broadcast out there) and I was just listening, not watching. I thought it was a guy doing the report from afghanistan, but it was a woman. There is no difference from how British men and women speak.
      AHAHAH!

    29. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      It's a losing proposition either way. You Europeans give us shit if we _interfere_ with other countries or if we go isolationist.

      Maybe if you guys across the pond had something of interest for us, maybe we would pay more attention

      What's this "abuse of superpower status"? Your such a wanker. Your just pissed that the British empire no longer exists and are jealous of America's greatness.

    30. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
      Maybe if your women would brush their teeth every once in a while, I would visit.

      the UK is a great ally though, unlike alot of other western european nations.

    31. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by The+Unknown+Anorak · · Score: 1

      If you're only watching BBC1, I quite agree - that's why I said it shouldn't be chasing ratings. What about Radios 1-5, BBCi, Local Radio, BBC2, the non-commercial digital channels, DAB tests, the Open University, BBC Publications, etc etc etc.

      Or look at it this way - if you didn't pay your hundred quid a year, ITV would only have to worry about competing with channel 5 (Channel 4 is a minority market that they wouldn't worry about). How good would TV be then?

      --
      If a tree falls in the forest, and it falls on a mime, does anyone care?
    32. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by The+Unknown+Anorak · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      So you're saying we're the stupid, passive ones because a smaller percentage of us get murdered?

      --
      If a tree falls in the forest, and it falls on a mime, does anyone care?
    33. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PS - why do brits all talk and act like they're homosexual deviants?

      They do? Oh, I see why you might think so. Well, it's not our fault we dont have small penises to overcompensate for.

    34. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      10 children are killed by handguns every day in the USA. This is a small price well worth paying for the right to defend yourself. If an armed gunman breaks into your house in UK you have no way to defend yourself and will surely die.

    35. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't know, why do americans all talk and act like a sad bunch of redneck hillbillies?

    36. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you calling the slaying of 10 innocent children EVERY SINGLE DAY a justifiable sacrifice for the right to be armed?!

      With a straight face, tell that to the thousands of parents that have lost their children because some lunatic decided to end it all and taking a few kids with him.

      Remember that one day, that could be your kid lying dead in the street.

    37. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd really like to see you try and shoot your authorities if you don't like them. I'll guarantee you'll make the news at 6, but don't expect to be called a hero there, try "mad gunman" on for size.

    38. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      they don't understand. the europeans have been brain-washed into their socialist _solutions_

    39. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by t_allardyce · · Score: 1

      Socialist?

      from a country that has the dmca and the death penalty? i prefer having my human rights, and a leader who has more to life than just wanting to ride air-force one.

      --
      This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
    40. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by njdj · · Score: 1

      Most Britons would gladly pay a TV license rather than watch adverts every 5 minutes

      Your comment is a perfect illustration of unthinking acceptance of collectivist/totalitarian arguments.

      The whole point of a free society is that the majority ("Most Britons") should not get to impose their will on everyone else, in matters which are not essential to the preservation of the rule of law etc.

      Note that I'm not saying that the US is exemplary in this regard (I'm not an American). But there does seem to be more awareness of the value of personal liberty among Americans than among Brits.

    41. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfortunately, that is. I _always_ watched the RI lectures (even though I am 25). Because it explains (without the quantative shit) complex phenomenons and systems. It is a real shame they pulled it of the BBC!!!!!

    42. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Howie · · Score: 2

      IIRC, you still do have to pay for a radio license, but only if you don't have a TV license. Radio licenses are about 6 quid or something silly. It's been a while since I read the form, but that was certainly the case only a few years ago.

      Other license trivia: there is a discount on a TV license for blind people, but it is only of about £10 [about as scary as the drive-through ATM we used on holiday in Tennessee with Braille-embossed buttons].

      --
      "don't fall into the fallacy of believing that Perl can solve social problems. Maybe Perl 6 can, but that's a ways off"
    43. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by mlk · · Score: 1

      eak!

      /mlk hids his radio under the floor boards.

      If you are after free TV in the UK, use a TV which is completely battery powered, and has no option for mains.

      --
      Wow, I should not post when knackered.
    44. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by funky+womble · · Score: 1
      Forced taxation? What, do you really think that the cost of advertising adding to the prices of goods and services *isn't* forced taxation? (by posting here, you already demonstrate that you aren't living sufficiently off-the-grid to having avoided contributing to the cost of tv).

      I don't think fighting for funding is going to do anything at all to contribute to quality science programming... BBC (including the radio, which probably has more quality science than TV, and of course *doesn't* need a license) and C4 (both with public service commitments) are the only place for quality science programming in .uk. Don't really see much of that on ITV, Discovery, etc. (In fact, with Discovery you're paying for the channel *on top of* advertising! Wow, isn't that great. And the number of subscribers to satellite/cable tv proves that people are happy to pay to watch channels).

    45. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by funky+womble · · Score: 1
      Any BBC shows shown in the US are obviously specially selected to be watched by people who watch USian tv... ;-)

      It really *really* sucks that DVD players don't have a 15-pin VGA connector on them though.

    46. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by funky+womble · · Score: 1
      £10 discount for blind people is a discount of about a third on the £35 a black-and-white license costs. (Unless for some strange reason they're using a colour tv, such as maybe so that non-blind people living in the same house can watch programs in colour, in which case the charge is really kind-of fair enough).

      Mind you, they could always just buy a radio covering the relevant bands and pay nothing... (Though it would probably be easier to pay to avoid having to convince licensing officials they really don't have a tv - that's probably one of the worst things about the licensing system).

    47. Re:Dumbed down for the masses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Note that I'm not saying that the US is exemplary in this regard (I'm not an American). But there does seem to be more awareness of the value of personal liberty among Americans than among Brits.

      Oh dear, this is from the wonderful country who gave us the DMCA? Gee I love the personal liberty empowered in that act!

      On a more serious note, the UK license fee is merely another form of taxation, with a difference. The difference being that for once the tax payers see exactly what they are paying for. In this case we are recieving quality television. I pay for cable in the uk (at cost equal to, or more, than the tv license) and by far the best programs come from the BBC, closely followed by ITV and Channel4 (other free terestorial chanels), followed a LONG way behind by cable channels. In fact, at least 90% of my viewing comes from channels I can watch after paying my tv license. Go figure...

      In actual fact, most Britoms actually do appreciate the BBC, even given for the fact they have to pay for them.

  18. Re:the us sucks. - flamebait, troll, whatever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Of course TV is for entertainment. Who the hell is entertained by "Royal Institute Christmas Lectures"?? If I wanted to learn anything I'd go to college but TV is for keeping me entertained. Preferably shows with big breasted blonde women and comedies.. both if possible. Maybe football.

  19. Really cool. by WasterDave · · Score: 2

    I went to these as a kid, very cool lectures covering some suprisingly difficult stuff with the usual obfuscating crap removed. It was also the only time I got to see TV crews and the amount of hassle it takes to make television, so a learning process on two fronts. If you can get to see one or two of these lectures, do.

    Downside: Eventually you get to university and get taught exactly the same thing with the obfuscating crap put back in again. By the same people.

    Dave

    --
    I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
  20. Prof. Kevin Warwick ... by blowdart · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    World renowned? Oh please. Within the UK community the man is a joke.

    I hardly feel sticking a chip in your arm makes you a cyborg, otherwise we have a lot of cybernetic dogs out there.

    1. Re:Prof. Kevin Warwick ... by The+WIPO+Troll · · Score: -1

      Sticking a chip in your arm does not make you a cyborg.
      But sticking your dick in an ass makes you a fag.
      And sticking your dick in your eight-year-old sister makes you a pedophile.
      And sticking your dick in a blender makes you a woman.
      (with nuts.)

      --

      J. Wipo Troll, Esq.
      Crapflooder Associates
      Slashdot.org

  21. The Register is down... by Brendan+Byrd · · Score: 1

    That would be nice if it was up today. What's up with that? It's been down all day today. I need my daily dose of The Register like I need my dose of Slashdot.

    1. Re:The Register is down... by WasterDave · · Score: 2

      The Reg's IP and the latest rumours on their demise were discussed here: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=25327&cid=2751 007

      Dave

      --
      I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
    2. Re:The Register is down... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      are you an attbi customer? it seems to be down for me too, but when google and other common sites often give me 'unknown host' errors, i begin to think that the morons at att are having problems with their dns servers.

  22. It works for me by Sanity · · Score: 2

    I have been reading it all morning.

    1. Re:It works for me by _xeno_ · · Score: 2, Informative
      Caching nameservers are nice like that - it works for me where I work because the nameservers are very slow to update themselves.

      If I SSH to my school, which does not cache domain names, I get the following:

      Server: non-caching.name.server
      Address: 192.168.1.1

      *** non-caching.name.server can't find www.theregister.co.uk: Non-existent host/domain

      Whereas if I run the same command here, I get:

      Server: caching.name.server
      Address: 192.168.1.2

      Non-authoritative answer:
      Name: www.theregister.co.uk
      Address: 213.40.196.64

      So those without it cached can read it via http://213.40.196.64/ or you can just add it to /etc/hosts or %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
  23. Genetics and AI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This will probably be left as an exercise for the viewer.

  24. John Sulston is probably best known for... by myc · · Score: 3, Informative
    his work on the anatomy of the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans . C. elegans is a simple roundworm that has only ~1000 somatic cells, of which ~300 are neurons. It was originally chosen as a modern model organism to study behavior, beacause of the simplicity of its nervous system. In the worm research community, Sir John is most reknowed for his serial electron micrograph reconstruction of all of the synaptic connections of all 302 neurons of the worm. Thus it is mostly due to his work that C. elegans is the ONLY organism in which scientists know the entire anatomy (that is, the wiring diagram) of the nervous system.

    On a related note, at a recent C. elegans seminar I attended, the speaker made mention of Sir John, saying (to paraphrase) "Only Sulston is interested in these long boring projects, like serial EM reconstructions and the human genome project". Said in jest, of course :)

    --
    NO CARRIER
    1. Re:John Sulston is probably best known for... by category9 · · Score: 1

      Its nice too see someone else who has followed his works.

    2. Re:John Sulston is probably best known for... by The+WIPO+Troll · · Score: -1

      Are soil nematodes good for sticking up your ass and having perverse zoophilic orgies with? I hope so...

      --

      J. Wipo Troll, Esq.
      Crapflooder Associates
      Slashdot.org

  25. Don't forget kwanza! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    1. Tea Bag - This act requires some additional tools: a handset from your neighbors phone, a rubber mallet from his tool box, and while your in his garage you might as well take his softball. These objects or ones similar should work well. Oooh ya don't forget a piece of lemon. As she lies on her back, you straddle her on your knees. Once your facing your opponents hairy patch, start to shove one object at a time into her hole (unlubricated works best). The pain or the embarrassment should keep her mouth open for quite a while. By the time you get to the softball she should be ready. While crouching over her proceed to dip your nuts into her mouth. Bite some lemon while doing this and continue the process. You are now tea bagging the slob.

    2. Mudslide - For those with access to a garden hose, try a Mudslide. When your ho's drunk as Dean Martin sometime, pull your meatbag out of her kornhole and quickly jam the hose up the vacant cavity. Turn on the faucet full blast and stand back. Before you know it her eyes will bug out and a flow of Haitian river water will stain your sheets. I suggest writing her name in big red letters and hanging the sheet on the front of your house for all to see. For added pleasure, call her a dumb cunt and jerk off in her eyes. She'll thank you.

    3. The Mugger - Some how your cock ends up in some hogs mouth and an unwanted thumb ends up in your chute. You retaliate back at your opponent by releasing a gust of swamp ass. You can guarantee that she would have rather been hit in the face with pepper spray.

    4. Skull Cap - Your sitting on a couch or chair (preferably watching Baywatch). She's in front on her knees with your sack in her mouth. While she is sucking... you are stroking. As you begin your joyous release, grab the base of your shaft and (as hard as you can) tattoo her forehead with your cock. When done properly a full impression of a mushroom should be left on her bean.

    5. Stumpin - (caution, this move requires imagination and balance). As you hover over a quadruple amputee, carefully insert what's left of her arms up your ass while using her knarled thighs to whack off. This should produce a stream of spunk which should land where a normal persons feet would be. You've now been stumpin.

    6. The Circus Seal - press the twins to one side of your sack and let them fall from the hole in your BVD's. This should produce a beachball effect (painting your tool bag is optional). Proceed to straddle your dates face and pummel her nose with your bag of marbles. This works best when performed with a relative.

    7. Slim Shady - This is when two cock chuggers get stuck together while riding the mudpole (similar to when two dogs get stuck). If you ever come across this situation... DONT IGNORE IT. Check the room and see if there's a third shit eater (there probably is). After you find him rip his meat bag off and jam it down his throat. Take your time and make sure he swallows every ounce of his own nut sauce. As for the other two "Faaags" put a leash around the lead "mo" and drag them both into a van or pick-up truck. Proceed to the worst part of town and dump them off. This act of deviance is not sexual but it sure is fun.

    8. The Gummy Bear - is easily performed on a sleeping grandmother. While the old bag is in a pharmaceutical haze with her teeth in a glass, straddle her wrinkled mug and jam your naughty boy down her throat (through her gums) blowing your jack down her withered esophagus. If she wakes up, just tell her she forgot to take her pills and you were helping her. A fun variation on this is to turn around just as she wakes up, put her dentures in your ass and start screaming at her like a wild talking asshole (which, of course, you are).

    9.The Pit Stop - You've spent all night boozing and courting a local slob, now it's time to go back to her place. Wrap up the chit chat by jamming junior down her throat. When her lips are wrapped good and tight around your meat whistle, let loose with that piss that's been building for hours. Her look of horror would normally be enough reward, but as she evacuates, her coughing and your continual stream will mark all of your territory, leaving you with even greater satisfaction. You won't be able to stop, so if she chases you, make sure the pursuit leads you to every corner of her abode, she'll appreciate your lawn sprinkler imitation.

    10. ET - Next time you've got some dumb-ass fuck puppet ready to go, grab her purse and excuse yourself to the can while the drunken whore waits, lost in her own tangled bush. Get her mother's (or husband's) phone number from her purse while making fake shit noises. Flush the toilet for effect then grab the cordless phone on the way back to bed. As soon as you find yourself stabbing her bucket with your jonny, dial the number and hold the phone near her head with same hand your pulling hair with and bang away. Make sure you mention her name and ask her things like, "Who's the biggest whore in the world?" and "You like fat cocks up your dirt road don't you?". Then throw the phone on the bed and tell it's for her. A nice topper to this maneuver is to take her money and throw her outside nude and lock the door. I like to threaten to kill her if I ever see her again. You might have your own closing. Have fun. Be creative.

    11. The Wooden Indian - Next time your banging a gook, stuff an old dime store wooden Indian up her cunt 'till she's dead. Then throw her in front of a truck. I call this the wooden Indian I think you will too. Great around the holidays. In the event an officer of the law should catch you, just mutter incoherently about Pearl Harbor and Nazis. You're sure to get off.

    12. Oscars Treat - This ones for the outdoor enthusiasts: Make sure your next "first time" date is on the night before trash day. As you greet the "ho" at her front door you tell her that because of your OCD you have a ritual you must perform before you begin the date. Being the gentleman that you appear to be she obliges. Before the tuna machine knows what hit her, grab the rope from the front seat of your truck and hog tie her to the curbside mailbox. Quickly strip her rotten, and with the respect of a sailor on leave... fill every orifice with the nearby garbage. After giving her a few rabbit punches, spank one out in the mailbox and go home.

    13. The Pitchfork - Pick up any Stevie Wonder lovin' blind slut... and while your fucking her dog, beat her senseless with that ridiculous cane. Because you're definitely gone straight to hell!

    14. Puppy Love - It's Sunday morning and you're robbing a girlscout of her dignity and her future by giving her a sausage enema. You turn slowly only to find her pregnant basset hound chowing down on your filthy hole. With a swift kick to the doggy cunt of your attacker, you release a spew of bloody premature puppies from that bitches open wound. You than gather up their limp bodies and fire them rapidly at the girlscouts head hoping to connect with one fatal blow. If that doesn't work, fuck her again and then kill her and stuff the puppies up her ass. P.S. kick the dog again before you leave

    15. The Big Top - Next time your at a carnival drag out the Fat Lady and a couple of midgets. Take them to the roof of tallest building in the city. Then have that fat ass shave each kickstand completely bald. When she gets done... role the nude little bastards in a ball and position them on each side of you. Stand up straight and start spitting up in the air while yelling "I'm a cock.... I'm a cock". Congratulations you are now the biggest dick in town. Before getting off the roof, FIST the fatty in the can and chuck the midgets off head first. This trick is slightly more fun while wearing a red rubber nose.

    16. The Al Bundy - This activity is recommended for every married scum out there who's trying to do the right thing. While out with the boys you realize that you are surrounded by meat melons. To keep your mind off the screaming beaver go up to hottest hole in your grasp and begin to entertain her with your sharp wit. Classic one liners like "say your a toilet" & "put it in your mouth" or the always popular "show me your bush" should quickly win her over. The result is consistently a hearty kick to the nuts... and when you untangle them from your intestine, thank her for saving your lousy marriage.

    17. Broken Necklace - A variation to the ever popular pearl necklace. It's that time of the month again and your slob has asked you once again to buy her something. "No problem" jewelry is what she wants, jewelry is what she'll get. Take the little monkey upstairs and force her to chug your turkey baster. After about ten minutes of fucking that hole in her face, pull it out and begin spanking all over her upper chest. Before you finish, take out the real thing from her jewelry box and choke her with it. As she turns blue take her empty purse and stuff it up her hairy patch. From then on she'll immediately appreciate the T-Shirt you got her last Christmas.

    18. Hot Lunch - While receiving head from a woman, (her, on her back, you straddle her chest) you proceed to shit on her chest--just for the hell of it. She then becomes the "Lunch Lady."

    19. The Stranger - Sitting on your hand until it falls asleep and then jerking off, eliciting the feeling of a hand job from someone else.

    20. Donkey Punch - Banging a girl doggy style and then moments before you cum, sticking your dick in her ass, and then punching her in the back of the head. This should give you a tremendous sensation, but for it to work correctly, the girl must be knocked out so that her asshole tightens up.

    21. Golden Shower - Any form of dropping piss all over a girl.

    22. Pearl Necklace - Whenever you cum on the neck area of a girl - it takes on the look of beautiful jewelry.

    23. Coyote - This occurs when you wake up in the room of a nasty woman and you know you've got to give her the slip. However, you realize that your arm is wrapped around her. Therefore you must gnaw off your own arm to get out of the situation. Can be very painful.

    24. Purple Mushroom - This occurs when a woman is giving you oral sex and you pull your penis back slightly before poking it back into the inside of her cheek. It should leave a lasting impression similar to that of a purple mushroom.

    25. The Flying Camel - As she is lying on her back and you are hammering her from your knees, you carefully balance yourself without using your arms to prop yourself up. You then proceed to flap your arms and let out a long, shrieking howl, much like you would imagine a flying camel to sound like. Strictly a class move.

    26. Fishhook - A variation of "The Shocker" (an uninvited digit placed in the girl's anus ) in which, with the finger still up there, you "hook" back in the direction the pussy. No real purpose here other than to think to yourself while doing it, "ahhh yes the Fishhook......". Another variation called the "New Jersey Meathook" involves sticking your uninvited digit in the girl's anus while fucking her from behind. You finger is then turned upward toward her back and you pull her entire body toward you over and over while she is sliding on your cock.

    27. The Ram - Again, you're attacking from behind, when you start ramming her head against the wall in a rhythmic motion. The force of the wall should allow for deeper penetration. Very handy for those lulls in penile sensitivity.

    28. Dog in a Bathtub - This is a proper name for when you attempt to insert your nuts into a girl's ass. It is so named because it can be just as hard as keeping a dog in the tub while giving it a bath.

    29. Felching - It occurs after you have been sticking your babe in the can, you bust your nut in there, back up and then pucker your lips up to her rim and suck out your ranch dressing. (This is also the first step of a very advanced maneuver called the Halmstad Hook).

    30. Tossing Salad - One person simply chows box or asshole with the help of whatever condiments are available, i.e. lettuce, tomatoes, croutons, vinegar and oil, etc.

    31. The Bronco - Back to reality with this classic. You start by going doggy style and then just when she is really enjoying it, you grab her tits and or a large lock of hair as tight as possible and yell another girl's name or state "Ya know your by far the ugliest girl I ever fucked". This gives you the feeling of riding a bronco as she tries to buck you off.

    32. Pink glove - This frequently happens during a marathon session (maybe a second round) when a girl is simply not wet enough. When you give up and attempt to pull out to give her money or whatever, the inside of her twatsticks to your hog like the inside of a leather glove. Thus, the pink glove

    33. The Fountain of You - While sitting on her face and having her eat your ass, jerk off like a madman. Build up as much pressure as possible before releasing. Then spew like a venerable geyser all over her face, neck and tits. (Better in her bed). This is also a variation of the first stage of a Cleveland Steamer to be described later.

    34. New York Style Taco - (Also known as a wet Betsy) - Anytime when you are so drunk that when you go down, you boot on her box. All the fixin's.

    35. The Durty Sanchez - A time honored event in which while laying the bone doggie style, you insert your finger into said woman's asshole, pull it out, and wipe it across her upper lip leaving a thin, shit moustache. This makes her look like someone whose name could be Dirty Sanchez. A very popular European variation of this maneuver called "The Hitler" involves a simple shit smudge under her nose, replicating the look of Hitler's mustache.

    36. The Fish Eye - From behind, you shove your finger in her ass, thereupon she turns around in a one-eyed winking motion to see what the hell you are doing. At that point, you have received a "Fish Eye."

    37. Tuna Melt - Lights out, you're down on a chick lapping away at an unusually juicy slab when you discover that it just happens to be the time of the month. A man of honor, by no means do you stop. When the whale spews, tartar sauce with a hint of raspberry smothers your face. (this only work with chicks who REALLY cum hard).

    38. Pole Vault - Originated by ancient Romans. When the female has sucked your pole to the point of ejaculation she swiftly inserts the index finger of her right hand into your anus. This surprise causes a subtle popping out of the eyes, a natural arch to the lower back and extra propulsion necessary to clear the high bar. Bruce Jenner added this to his warm-up routine after losing to Sergie Bubka in the 1979 Olympics.

    39. Furr Ball - You're chomping away at some mighty trollop who has a mane between her legs the size of Lionel Richie's afro, you don't mind though, that is until a mammoth furr ball gets lodged in your throat and causes you to beat the piss out of her. 23. The Chili Dog - You take a shit on a girl's tits and then proceed to titty fuck her.

    40. A Hot Carl - A simple maneuver where you withdraw your shaft from the bowels of her anus and place it directly into her mouth for a cleaning. Apparently some guy named Carl first tried this.

    41. The Cleveland Steamer - Mentioned above. After dumping your load on and around her chest--you position your ass just above your own pool of soup and sit in it, full weight, possibly causing her to gasp for breath. You then pretend to be pulling the whistle cord on a genuine Cleveland steam ship. As you make the loud noise you slide in your spunk from her chest to her bush smearing a spunk trail on her body in your wake. This can be done with the male facing either direction. The more authentic the steam whistle sound, the better.

    42. The Halmstad Hook - As mentioned above in #12. This is a unique sequence of events named after a town in Sweden, where this apparently happens quite frequently. After dumping your spunk in her rear, the sauce is sucked out of the anus by the male. Once the sauce has transferred from her bowls to your mouth--the product that has been created is now known as "Swedish Cheese." The move is completed when the "Swedish Cheese" is transferred to the ladies mouth via a deep tongue kiss. You can cap this off with a swift stinging slap of her ass to show her how much you care and appreciate all her hard work.

    43. Rapp-N-Poke - It's sat. night in the hood and you're lookin to stuff the Ho of the week. After the bitches 9 juveniles hit the streets for their evening violence,you stroll up in you're beat-up Cadillac an hour late with two quarts of mad dog to set the mood. Don't forget to stop along the way to sell a glock and two rocks of crack to some under aged criminals. Now start the evening by yelling,"come here you black bitch and suck my meat" Dip your oversized nigger-cock into some Kool-Aid and stuff it between her dishlipps. Constantly beat her like the slave that she is and pound your fist into that bubble ass. Now whack off into a bucket of extra crispy and put it over her head so she can't see the watermelon that you're about to volley off of her thick skull. After you shoot her, go to the porch, sit down, and don't work for the rest of your life.

  26. RI website by CatherineCornelius · · Score: 4, Informative
    This page on the Royal Institution website has information on obtaining videos of past lectures. Channel 4 will make the current lecture series available on video in due course.

    RI is a quaint, somewhat ruritanian institution. Most of the membership are rather stuffy and insist on wearing formal evening dress to the discourses, and there is a tradition that no questions are taken from the floor (you have to buttonhole the speaker afterwards). The staff and the Director, on the other hand. are very unfussy and very helpful. The Director is Susan Greenfield, who is known as a broadcaster on neurology. They do have a lovely old building in Albemarle Street, however, with an absolutely excellent Faraday museum. Research into inorganic chemistry is still carried out in the basement where Faraday had his original labs.

  27. For whoever requested that I wish a Merry Kwanzaa! by GODLYDavidRing · · Score: -1

    * g o a t s e x * g o a t s e x * g o a t s e x * g g o / \ \ / \ o a \ a t `. : t s` \ s e \ / / \\\ -- \\ : e x \ \/ --~~ ~-- \ x * \ \-~ ~-\ * g \ \ .--------.___\ g o \ \// ((> \ o a \ . C ) ((> / a t /\ C )/Happy\ (> / t s / /\ C)Kwanzaa (> / \ s e ( C__)\___/ // _/ / \ e x \ \\// (/ x * \ \) `---- --' * g \ \ / / g o / \ o a / \ \ a t / / \ t s / / \/\/ s e / e x x * g o a t s e x * g o a t s e x * g o a t s e x *

  28. goatsex? what about dogsex? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    Zoofili, sexual intercourse with animals, has for a long time been a forbidden subject, considered 'sick', unethical and 'kinky' to name only a few classifications. With this text I would like to illuminate one of the kinds within animal sex, namely Canine sex, Dog sex as you would call it. The reason why I write this is to share my knowledge of this kind with other women, who have a similar interest, or who have considered having sex with dogs, but not dared to, or who have not known how to go about or who have not known it existed.

    HISTORY
    Zoofili isn't something newly invented, something our 'modern depraved human brains have fallen into', in fact it goes thousands of years back in time, believe it or not. Allready before the Hellas Empire (the Greek) there are legends of humans having intercourse with animals, or half animals. It's quite interesting to read those stories, as a woman, the male is played by an animal and the female by a human woman. Oftenly the texts are very detailed, and most of the times the women get pregnant, giving birth to gods, half-animals or humans with animal looks. Wether one should believe these stories or not, I don't know, but at least it shows us that even before our so called modern time there was some thought of animal intercourse. Whether it occured or not, we don't know for sure, but the thought isn't hard.

    With the increasing technology mankind left the fields for the cities, and by doing this we also left the farms, which has created a large gap between man and animals, so you could probably think that zoofili has decreased dramaticly, but it's not that simple. Moving to flats in highly populated areas has of course led to having only some pets in the homes, with this the closeness pet-human has increased, and many households have shown that pets, especially dogs, have become a part of the Eastern way of living, the dog has become almost a member of the family, sleeping, eating and beeing a part of the daily routine in a home. This has increased the chance for women to enjoy animal sex, most of the sexual relations has in fact started quite innocent. Some of the women I have met tells me that it started after looking at the dog doing his daily cleaning - that is licking himself and that they had started to fondle with his penis, others tell me their's started by accident when the dog was sexual active and sniffed between their legs, some say it started with the dog trying to hump their legs, as dogs can do when they seek sexual relieve.

    It's quite hard to give any accurate figures in sex with animals, it's after all taboo, but some reports like the German 'The Haffner Sex Report', from 1992, tells us that about 14% of the farmers on a regular basis practises sex with animals, this includes all kinds of animals found on the farm and of course even men included in the practicing of animal sex.

    The report also tells us that another 3% of the farmers have at some point 'fooled around' that is, masturbated the animal, played with its genitals etc. This German report based on several thousands of interviews also shows that about 2-3% of all women has at some point tried some kind of dog sex, most of these from populated areas. About 80% of these women have continued having dog sex on a regular basis.

    This I know from experience, that is if done correctly. Dog sex can be very stimulating, and if done the 'proper' way even more exciting than a 'normal' human to human intercourse...

    It's very easy to go on with animal sex, most women have fantasies about animal sex, to be taken by a wild animal, to enjoy it as much as the animal, to feel that specific animal lust within your-self... women thinking of animal sex might seem rare, but the truth is contrary. Psychological studies shows that more than 80% of all women has at some point fantisized or dreamt about begin taken by an animal, so it's merely a decision of actually doing it, and if you dare, you will be very happy you tried, believe me...

  29. re:warwick by wickedhobo · · Score: 1

    my damn dog has one of these chips, and he's definitely more entertaining (and prbably smarter) than warwick

    --

    --Stupidity is Self Curing!
  30. kevin warwick by category9 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    perhaps there was a slight hint at sarcasm in my reference to kevin warwick, but we all love him really. he even offered me a place on his course at Reading uni. i decided against.
    when i said AI, i kind of meant neural nets, alife, and such things. i admit i could have worded it better. oh well, its a first article for me, better luck next time.

    1. Re:Kevin Warwick by Sanity · · Score: 2
      I'm getting pissed off with people attacking Kevin Warwick. Yes, even those who know him affectionately refer to him as 'Mad' Kevin. But it's not like he's attacked anyone, has exibited aggressive behaviour in public, or has really done anything to deserve such harsh criticism. (Such as, oh, Derek Smart.)
      People are not attacking him because he has exhibited aggressive behavior, but because he makes wild and unsubstantiated self-serving claims thus discrediting everyone else in his field of study.
      Yes, some of his ideas are bit outlandish.
      The problem is that his ideas are only outlandish in the sense that he presents them as new or innovative, when they are not. For example, what is so innovative about implanting a device in his arm that people have been implanting in dogs for quite a while? The only value of such a thing is to get him more exposure in the popular press, it certainly does not have any scientific value.
      The field of cybernetics needs evangelists to attract attention and to help it to grow.
      Perhaps, but not evangelists who misrepresent their own achievements, and make unsubstantiated claims of the type Warwick does. Such "evangelism" only serves to devalue the field's standing when it fails to realise the expectations created by such claims.
      it's merely a matter of when the technology will catch up to his ideas, as is the case with 90% of science-fiction.
      And many of his ideas are indeed from science fiction. Fiction written by other people but presented as his own creations by Warwick.
      Although, no, I don't eventually think that robots will enslave humans - but I still think we need to think about such things.
      Perhaps we should think about such things, but that doesn't justify misrepresenting the liklihood of it happening anytime soon as Warwick did in his book "March of the Machines".
      Nobody knows what pace progress will take. Cybernetics is an artificial science just like computer science - the limit is effectively the limits of our imagination and how long our species exists to dream.
      Unfortunately Warwick's imagination only seems to extend to how he can appropriate and misrepresent other people's ideas as his own to further his quest for publicity.
    2. Re:kevin warwick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I couldn't watch last year's shows. Warwick is too BORING a speaker to listen to for long. It's this long low monotone for hours on end.

    3. Re:Kevin Warwick by tagishsimon · · Score: 2
      But he runs one of few cybernetics departments in the entire world. You'd expect his ideas and focus to be completely different from computer science AI departments around the world. The difference is subtle but important.

      And what is that difference?

      You can't comment on what his department do internally, because as a former student - to coin a phrase - it's very, very good shit they get up to, if a little more grounded than Kevin's bluesky concepts.

      I can, you know. I worked with Reading people long before you did your 'O' Levels; and still drink, regularly enough, with people in the department. They see Warwick as a threat to their research funding - which is why he's a wee bit semi-detached nowadays. However, we were not commenting on the Department (though don't tempt me into an MIT versus Reading rant), but on the person (don't tempt me into a Rod Brooks vs Warwick rant).

      Warwick is a media whore, and deserves the contempt that goes with that tag. Based on his own work, he deserves (at best) to be a plodding lecturer; he debases the currency of the Chair.

    4. Re:Kevin Warwick by Winged+Cat · · Score: 1

      People are not attacking him because he has exhibited aggressive behavior, but because he makes wild and unsubstantiated self-serving claims thus discrediting everyone else in his field of study.

      Name one instance where he has discredited anyone else in his field of study. He may be pushing for the state of the art to be more advanced than it is, but he doesn't say that it is more advanced. Frankly, without the PR that he brings the field (even if the PR goes to him as a representative), funding for real cybernetics research would likely dry up. It's like with NASA: they have to do some things that capture the public imagination, or they couldn't get funding to do real space science. (Not that they've been all that responsible with the money they do get, but that's another thread.)

      For example, what is so innovative about implanting a device in his arm that people have been implanting in dogs for quite a while?

      Ever heard of the difference between animal trials and human trials for drugs? Dog biology and human biology aren't 100% identical. Yes, this was a small step, but it's a step that needed to be done.

    5. Re:Kevin Warwick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Name one instance where he has discredited anyone else in his field of study"

      Sure - people who pass exams at Reading University but then wonder if their qualifications are worth less because people less easily fooled than yourself are aware of how much of a jerk he is.

    6. Re:Kevin Warwick by Winged+Cat · · Score: 1

      He isn't doing the discrediting in that case. He isn't even responsible for it. Other people discredit based on association with Warwick, perhaps, but that's their decision, not his.

  31. I disagree... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Hi! My name is Eloise I am 14, well here goes.

    God, I'm nervous! Well, here goes. The first time was about 4 years
    ago. A man across the street was moving and gave us a lab/mix the man
    told my mom that it was always sniffing around his wife and daughter
    and here friends and humping there legs. Even while he was talking to
    my mom the dog was at it, his nose at my crotch! I was sitting on the
    couch and could see his thingy getting hard the sight of his red,
    shiny cock made my nipples hard instantly! My pussy was wet in seconds
    as I wondered what that would feel like inside of me, I had never had
    a guy fuck me before, but right then I knew I was going to try it, I
    have talked to a guy named Mike on the phone some he showed
    me and my friend Sherie other ways to have sex and told me that to try
    to find a dog because it's just like a boy but you cant get pregnant
    by a dog, me and my friend Sherie used her dog but his dick was not
    big enought, so the next day as soon as I got home form school , I had
    about 2 hours before my mom got home, I was so horny because I was
    holding back it's something that Mike tault me to do what you do is
    all day you rub your clit and allmost make yourself cum but DON'T CUM
    hold it back and it make sex better, well I went and got Alex that was
    the dogs
    name , he was in the yard I took him inside the house as soo as I sat
    down on the couch he put his nose to my pussy , I done what Mike had
    said to do to make him horny just like a guy, I slid my hand dow my
    shorts and put two fingers inside and got them real wet and let Alex
    lick them he loved , so I pulled my shorts off, Immediately, he poked
    his face between my thighs, and started licking my pussy. I opened my
    pussy lips up with my fingers I nearly passed out as I felt his wet
    tongue lap at my cunt. I know it was just luck that he was licking at
    my clit and trying to get more pussy juice because that's what makes
    him hard just like a guy, but he knew what he was doing! I let him
    lick for several minutes, till it made me cum one time GOD it felt
    good !! ,,,I looked back I seen his dick HARD and he was hunching
    (now) . I finally pushed him back, enough that I could roll over onto
    my hands and knees. Alex MUST have been trained for this by a past
    owner, because he knew exactly what to do! He was behind me, and
    jumped up, wrapping his front legs around my waist. I could feel his
    furry belly as he humped, and the tip of his warm dick was hitting my
    clit as he searched for my opening. Before I could reach to guide him,
    Alex found what he was looking for! With one fast, hard lunge, he had
    his cock buried up my cunt! I gasped for air it felt so good ! ,, as
    he began pumping in and out quickly. Alex was no gentle lover; he
    fucked me fast like girls like it ! I held his paws while he fucked me
    so he could not pullout ! I hadn't realized what big dicks some dogs
    have, but the one in my pussy was bigger than even my boyfriend's ! I
    was moaning and groaning in ecstasy as,, that big black dog rammed
    into me over and over! It seemed like an hour, but was only minutes. I
    was cumming almost constantly, getting weak from all of the orgasms I
    was having! Finally Alex shot off!!! god it was good when his knot
    went inside, if you girls have not tried it don't miss out on the best
    sex you can have till your old enought to start haveing sex with boys,email Mike and Crista there club is so cool , if you get this email
    send it to all you girlsfriends and other places to, most guys freak
    out on how much sex I know about for 16 thanks to Mike and Crista's
    club and mom never found out because Mike know how to keep it cool he
    don't call till you say and he knows if a parent answers the phone he
    will act like it's a wrong number, now guys freak out when and say
    damm girl how did you know so much about sex I just smile :-),, I
    like to let Alex fuck me alot becauce guys are a such a hassle
    sometimes, I owe it all to Mike's club lol .

    Thanks for letting me tell my story ! :-)

    email me I got Mike and Crista's email and phone #

  32. what about hanakah? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    dont worry we know how to sneek around
    your parents, see you at the club. Mike & Crista :-)
    Hi girls i'm Crista I am 14 and my friend Mike is 19 this group is
    for girls that have strict parents that won't let you have sex with
    boys or go out on dates with boys, this is for girls that wont to
    learn about sex so they will be ready for boys if you have a dog you
    can learn on him, trust me dogs are the best way all smart girls learn
    this way
    because they can't get you pregnant, if you don't have a dog we will
    show you other ways me and my friend Mike made this group for girls
    to learn about sex and it is so popular that Mike and I have about 30
    regular girls and 100's of first timers call every day I am going to
    school alot and Mike travels alot but he has a cell phone to keep in
    touch with the girls, I talk to who I can when I am home,you girls
    can talk to Mike he is very sweet and likes younger girls so don't
    worry about being shy ,and don't worry about your parents finding out
    because if we call
    you at home and your parents answers we will just ask for Mike like a
    wrong number, to join the club
    you must call and prove your a girl,we cant let NO parents get in
    here because of all the other girls!
    this is how join our group
    dial 1-800-724-6644
    enter 8008800000
    or 8008790000
    press #
    just leave a voice message make up a name if you want and say your
    age & tell me what kind of dog you have if you have one then
    e mail me tell me you called, and then wait by the phone you called
    from and me or Mike will call you back within 30 minutes on that
    phone, if we don't try to call again later, and don't worry if a
    parent answers I will just act like it's a wrong number, so stay by
    the phone till I call.

    mikelol@loveable.com

    after you join if your cool and can sneek around you parents we have
    VERY HOT pictures and Movies to send to you in your e mail and for
    some girls that can get mail Mike will order you a free
    " Little Ruff " it's a dildo that is just like a German Shepard's
    Dick it's very cool
    hope you don't let the rest of the stupid girls that say it's nasty
    or something stop you from getting ready for boys because thet are
    for sure they want to know more than all the other girls so they can
    get all the boys,
    PS. I started when I was 11

    I am Mike--> http://profiles.yahoo.com/ctopsxxx5

    I AM LEAH I AM IN THE CLUB http://profiles.yahoo.com/leah_k9

    Pictures of girls from the club--> http://ctops4.g2gm.com/index.html

  33. Advice for Slashdotters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Dear Alice,
    I am a student at the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Recently, I have become obsessive with a fellow classmate. I think she is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I have done nothing for the past few months but masturbate just thinking about her. I was wondering if there is anything I can do to make me forget her. I have become so obsessed with her that I am contemplating raping her.

    --Contorted fantasies

    ---

    Dear Contorted fantasies,

    Alice gave you this name herself, so you understand that there is a difference between fantasizing about a woman and actually raping her. RAPE IS A CRIME, PUNISHABLE BY LAW, and Alice encourages you not to forget that. Did you ever consider asking her out for a date? That seems more logical than raping her, if you are interested in her. If this didn't even cross your mind, please go for counseling. There are many talented therapists at Health Services who can help you distinguish between fantasy and reality, and develop your social skills and a sense of positive sexuality. Call x4-2468 for an appointment, or just walk-in SOON.

    1. Re:Advice for Slashdotters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      A lot of people say that rape is a crime, but is it? Let's ask former President Bill Clinton!

      BC: I support a woman's right to have an abortion! Cause, hey, I hate child support and don't like fucking pregnant women, either!

    2. Re:Advice for Slashdotters by The+WIPO+Troll · · Score: -1

      If you have a sister, consider raping her instead. Trust me, she'll be a much better fuck and will be so embarrassed she won't turn you in! Raping my sister worked for me! No more lonely nights with my right hand! All I have to do now is rape my sister two or three times a night and I'm good!

      --

      J. Wipo Troll, Esq.
      Crapflooder Associates
      Slashdot.org

  34. Re:When will the Ogg Vorbis streaming be available by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    acid hole of death
    apple
    ax wound
    bang box
    bean
    bearded clam
    beaver
    bermuda triangle
    bird
    black box
    box
    bush
    box lunch
    brillo pad
    camel toe
    cat sack
    cherry
    clam
    claudia
    clit
    clit case
    cock cavern
    cock holster
    cock scabard
    cock sock
    cockpit
    coochie
    cookie
    cookie basket
    cooter
    cooze
    crack
    cream puff
    crotch
    taco
    cuda
    cum bucket
    cum catcher
    cum dumpster
    cunny
    cunt
    dickhole
    dinner
    doughnut
    fish taco
    flange
    flapper
    flower of venus
    flowered garden
    fluffy folder
    foxhole
    frog
    front bum
    fun lips
    fur burger
    fuzzy kitty
    fuzzy taco
    garden
    eden
    gash
    Gland Canyon
    golden fleece
    goody gap
    grand canyon
    greenhouse
    hair pie
    ham sandwich
    hatchet wound
    hawaiian oyster
    Heaven
    heaven's door
    heaven's gate
    hole
    hole of creation
    home
    honey hole
    honey lips
    honey pot
    hootch
    hot box
    hot-dog bun
    hump wedge
    jelly roll
    juicebox
    kitty
    kitty pouch
    kootchie pot
    land of milk and honey
    land of oz
    lips
    lip sink
    lizard lounge
    love canal
    love connection
    love grin
    love grotto
    love hole
    love lips
    love nest
    love pudding
    love sleeve
    love shack
    love tunnel
    lunch
    lunch box
    man hole
    mat
    meat curtains
    merkin
    monkey
    mons
    mound
    mound of love
    mound of pleasure
    mousetrap
    muff
    muff crack
    muffin
    muff pie
    muzzle loader
    nappy dugout
    nookie oyster
    panty hamster
    peach
    peach pie
    pee curtain
    pelt
    penis depository
    penis fly trap
    penis play ground
    pickerel eye
    pink canoe
    pink panther
    pink taco
    piss flaps
    piss slit
    pit of passion
    poontang
    poot
    pooter
    puddy
    pussy
    pussy pie
    queen
    quiff
    quim
    red eye
    red snapper
    rose
    rosebud
    rug
    screw-ez canal
    silk igloo
    slash
    slice
    slit
    slot
    smoothie
    snack
    shack
    snake pit
    snapper
    snatch
    snizz
    soochie
    sperm ashtray
    sperm bank
    sperm urinal
    spuff
    squeezebox
    squirrel
    sqwack
    sugar bowl
    sugar dish
    sweet hole
    sweet lips
    sweet spot
    taco
    tarantula
    the box the penis comes in the door
    the pink spot
    the promised land
    the Y
    tongue's landing
    tongue tunnel
    toolbox
    trim
    tuna pit
    tuna taco
    tunnel of love
    twat twinkie
    twitter
    vagina
    vaginal
    vault
    vaseline alley
    velvet gold mine
    venus man trap
    vertical smile
    vortex of passion
    wasp's nest
    watering hole
    whisker biscuit
    winkie
    wolf jaw
    worm hole
    wound that never heals

  35. Y'know by The+WIPO+Troll · · Score: -1

    Y'know what likes to suck on my penis?
    My little sister. She's such a cutie.

    --

    J. Wipo Troll, Esq.
    Crapflooder Associates
    Slashdot.org

  36. Re:the us sucks. - flamebait, troll, whatever by drsquare · · Score: 1

    If it's anything like the normal discovery channel, it will be unwatchable due to all the FUCKING ADVERTS. You can barely watch it without 15 minute advert breaks cropping up every 5 minutes. It's almost painful to watch.

  37. Did you read the story? by Sanity · · Score: 2

    Just from reading the story posted above it seems that in-fact, Channel 4, ITV's cousin, is now broadcasting these lectures...

    1. Re:Did you read the story? by The+Unknown+Anorak · · Score: 1

      The point I was address was about the license fee, which does not cover Channel 4, which is a commercial broadcaster with a social affairs remit under its licence to broadcast.

      --
      If a tree falls in the forest, and it falls on a mime, does anyone care?
    2. Re:Did you read the story? by The+Unknown+Anorak · · Score: 1

      And in fact ITV and Channel 4 are separate entities, although they are both governed by the same regulatory body.

      --
      If a tree falls in the forest, and it falls on a mime, does anyone care?
    3. Re:Did you read the story? by Richy_T · · Score: 2

      And in fact, although channel 4 is commercial, it is owned by the government.

      Rich

  38. Re:Kevin Warwick is a self-promoting egotistical h by The+Turbinator · · Score: -1

    The picture alone was enough to turn me away.
    What the hell is this, Kevin Warwick comedy hour?

  39. Re:Kevin Warwick is a self-promoting egotistical h by Gid1 · · Score: 2

    From KW's 'Achievements' page:

    "Britain's leading profit of the Robot Age" so called by Gillian Anderson (X-Files)

    Nice misspelling, there...

  40. Ugh. by Ozeh · · Score: 1

    In the past I've been quite a fan of the RI Xmas lectures. What a pity that they now involve Warwick. The profiteering, egotistical, megalomaniacal cur.

    --
    Life is thus,
    Death is thus,
    Poem or no poem
    What's the fuss?
    1. Re:Ugh. by iapetus · · Score: 2

      He gave the lectures one year, and it wasn't actually as bad as I might have expected (decided to watch them for comedy value as much as anything else).

      --
      ++ Say to Elrond "Hello.".
      Elrond says "No.". Elrond gives you some lunch.
  41. Dirty BBC bastards by rde · · Score: 2, Funny

    I got home from work just in time for the Christmas lecture, this morning, only to find that our friends on the BBC had started a similar science programme half an hour beforehand. It was called Come to Your Senses and it was pretty good. Unfortunately, it means I missed most of the damn Lecture.
    Maybe it's just my misanthropic nature, but I can't think of any reason for putting on such a similar programme at the same time that doesn't involve fucking over Channel 4.
    Offtopic? Perhaps. But I'm bitter, and needed to get it off my chest.

    On an unrelated matter, I recently got hold of the book of a series of Christmas Lectures given by Sir William H. Bragg in the 1920s. It's noteable for the fact that it's not afraid of explaining maths to the audience. He also wrote The Universe of Light, a popular science book that contains actual equations!.

    1. Re:Dirty BBC bastards by dunstan · · Score: 1

      The programme you mention (Come to your Senses) is a prime example of the BBC creating a middlebrow personality (Adam Hart Davies) and then using them to brand programme series (Starting with Local Heroes - which both I and my children enjoyed, through What the Romans did for us ... What the Victorians did ...). They then wheel out their "personality" and use them as a spoiler against another programme which is standing on its content.

      But then they have a pretty cynical approach to viewers anyway - someone will decide to kill off a popular programme (e.g. Mastermind) and take a familiar pattern. First you move it around the schedule - if it's a programme enjoyed by older viewers then you should shift it to a late evening slot after they've gone to bed. Then you shift it to a different night. Then you miss a couple of weeks for some sporting event, so that people who make a point of watching the programme don't know whether it's on or not. This should lose you enough viewers that you can say "finished due to falling audiences".

      Dunstan

      --
      The last scintilla of doubt just rode out of town
  42. If you get one, get the 1994 one. by wackybrit · · Score: 1

    1994 Journey to the Centre of the Brain
    Dr. Susan Greenfield

    That was, IMHO, the best RI Xmas lecture of them all. Since then, Greenfield has been in the media a lot more (but not in the way Kevin Warwick has) and is certainly a revered expert on matters of the brain.

    Much of this lecture contained comparisons of brains and computers, and the way in which they may work together in the future. There were also a lot of practicals.

    It's when they're about geology, 'how the earth was formed', plant or human biology that they get mega boring. Who wants to see a plant get cut up? The math and tech ones rock :)

    1. Re:If you get one, get the 1994 one. by ch2 · · Score: 1

      She was given a peerage last summer too - now Baroness Greenfield.

    2. Re:If you get one, get the 1994 one. by CatherineCornelius · · Score: 1
      1994 Journey to the Centre of the Brain
      Dr. Susan Greenfield

      [...]

      Much of this lecture contained comparisons of brains and computers, and the way in which they may work together in the future. There were also a lot of practicals.

      Traditionally the RI Christmas lecture series features at least one child-gratifying explosion. I shudder to think what Susan Greenfield must have gone through in order to fulfil this brief--whose brain did she blow up, and did she wear a protective rubber suit?

  43. Can I buy video tapes of this? by CrazyJim0 · · Score: 1

    I'll pay 10$ per VHS tape if there isn't ALOT of them to be taped. I live in the states, and I am a scientific computing major interested in genetics and artificial intelligence(no relation in my book). If there aren't alot of tapes, this will rule.

    email me:sager@andrew.cmu.edu

    1. Re:Can I buy video tapes of this? by Kamran · · Score: 1

      Dyou have a PAL VHS player or does your VHS player play PAL format tapes. Cos your in the US which uses NTSC I seriously doubt it, and most people who can pick up Channel 4 are I believe in europe, so you wouldn't be able to play the VHS tapes anyway. Just read the transcripts. From the previous Christmas lectures I've seen, they've been dumbed down to make it easy for everyone to understand, and usually don't contain much stuff that people who already follow the field don't already know

  44. Question for Brits.... by TheOnlyCoolTim · · Score: 1

    I was looking at the TV license website and they claim they have vans that can pick up the signals of a specific TV component.

    Their wording made it seem like they require some sort of locator beacon to be built into every British TV. Is this the case or do their vans just pick up escaped EM radiation from the TV? If there is a beacon, do any of you ever open up your TVs and disable it? Or how about putting your TV inside a Faraday Cage?

    I don't know how you guys over there can support this as it seems from some of the other posts, having officers running around in vans and knocking on your door to make sure you don't have something completely harmless in your house without their approval seems way too big brother to me...

    Tim

    --
    Omnia vestra castrorum habetur nobis.
    1. Re:Question for Brits.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just like we have officers that knock down your door if you are a 18+ yr old male and dont sign up for the the selective service I suppose.

    2. Re:Question for Brits.... by spectecjr · · Score: 3

      I was looking at the TV license website and they claim they have vans that can pick up the signals of a specific TV component.

      Their wording made it seem like they require some sort of locator beacon to be built into every British TV. Is this the case or do their vans just pick up escaped EM radiation from the TV? If there is a beacon, do any of you ever open up your TVs and disable it? Or how about putting your TV inside a Faraday Cage?


      Good luck actually getting a picture of anything other than snow if you ever *do* put your TV inside a Faraday cage.

      Basically, it works like this:

      1. Your television receiver has a superheterodyning circuit in it. It basically generates a specific frequency, mixes this with the input signal, separates out the beats caused by interference, and amplifies them.

      2. Your television is a big glass tube wrapped in metal coils. These coils tweak at a rate of 15kHz (horizontal coil) and 50Hz (vertical coil) [note: these figures for PAL only].

      3. Both of these (1 and 2) emit electromagnetic radiation with detectable and verifiable signatures. Using (1) you can even determine what station someone is tuned to. Using (2) confirms that the person has a monitor or TV that is operating.

      Think of it as something like TEMPEST.

      Simon

      --
      Coming soon - pyrogyra
    3. Re:Question for Brits.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      And of course, trying to block TEMPEST surveillance is completely illegal in the UK (since the mid '80s?).

    4. Re:Question for Brits.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      What they normally use is a database with all the addresses which don't have a TV licence. Then they send "Occupier" at those addresses a letter on the lines of, "You don't appear to have a TV Licence, you need to have one to watch TV, here are the ways to pay."

      There's a strong suspicion that all the vans contain is an electric motor to rotate the fake aerial on top.

      Lately the BBC tried a "name and shame" campaign on the lines of "x homes in Easy Street, Anytown, don't have a TV licence". This led to at least one such poster being graffitied with "That's because I don't have a fscking TV, and you know it."

    5. Re:Question for Brits.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The detector vans do work. I know this because my brother-in-law designed them for the BBC. The prototype was so impressive that the BBC tried to back out of the deal and use just the one 'real' van and a fleet of dummies (this is where the rumour came from); however my brother-in-law threatened to go to the press unless they completed the whole order. The funny thing was that he was one of the 1st to be caught out by them. Poetic justice.

    6. Re:Question for Brits.... by funky+womble · · Score: 1
      What they normally use is a database with all the addresses which don't have a TV licence.

      ...combined with a list of people who've bought televisions/videos/satellite receivers/tv cards, and given their real address (it's a requirement for shops to request details and pass them on to tv licensing otherwise they can be fined), plus presumably address lists from subscription services (sky/etc).

    7. Re:Question for Brits.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You could run a cable through the Faraday cage hopefully without compromising its integrity....

    8. Re:Question for Brits.... by Martin+S. · · Score: 2
      I was looking at the TV license website and they claim they have vans that can pick up the signals of a specific TV component

      All Electronic devices emit EM radiation, they pick-up these emmissions from the TV's tube, the 'detectors' are handheld today.

      Or how about putting your TV inside a Faraday Cage?

      Yes, tempest, prevents them, but it's rather inpractical.

      how you guys over there can support this

      Do you support tax evasions ? Well neither do we!

      A TV license pays for the BBC, we support it because 1) The BBC produces the best quality TV & Radio in the world, certainsly better than satellite or cable alternatives. 2) A TV licence costs about 1/5 the price of Satellite or cable alternatives.

  45. the "FOX of science television" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is it just me, or has Discovery gone *way* past being fluffy pop-science of late? They seem to be more in the realm of pop-non-science.

    It seems like half the time I tune in, they are doing some special on the Bermuda Triangle or whether the Apollo Moon landings were faked or aliens built the Great Pyramids.

    What worries me more than dumbing things down is the spreading of unscientific rumors.

    How far they have fallen from the early glory days of "Shark Week."

  46. Kevin Warwick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (Hm... moderate or post or moderate and post anonymously...)

    I'm getting pissed off with people attacking Kevin Warwick. Yes, even those who know him affectionately refer to him as 'Mad' Kevin. But it's not like he's attacked anyone, has exibited aggressive behaviour in public, or has really done anything to deserve such harsh criticism. (Such as, oh, Derek Smart.)

    Yes, some of his ideas are bit outlandish. But he runs one of few cybernetics departments in the entire world. You'd expect his ideas and focus to be completely different from computer science AI departments around the world. The difference is subtle but important. You can't comment on what his department do internally, because as a former student - to coin a phrase - it's very, very good shit they get up to, if a little more grounded than Kevin's bluesky concepts.

    The field of cybernetics needs evangelists to attract attention and to help it to grow. I don't doubt that anything Kevin has said in public will come to pass - it's merely a matter of when the technology will catch up to his ideas, as is the case with 90% of science-fiction. Although, no, I don't eventually think that robots will enslave humans - but I still think we need to think about such things. It will be one of the most startling moments in human history when we eventually create an artificial life form with the mental capacity to rival us. The first true 'alien intelligence' we're ever going to encounter, built by our own hand.

    Nobody knows what pace progress will take. Cybernetics is an artificial science just like computer science - the limit is effectively the limits of our imagination and how long our species exists to dream. You do have a sense of imagination, don't you? (Or maybe not after seeing your web site. God, I'm funny. ;o)

    FYI, I was originally on a joint cybernetics & comp. sci degree when I was there in the mid-1990's. The cybernetics stuff was seriously cool and very very involved. It was heartbreaking when I was forced to switch to pure computer science because the math required for cybernetics was way beyond my abilities. Dysgraphia and heavy math don't mix I suppose.

  47. Professor Warwick(old AI/LISP vs new AI/Python) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Everyone fears change. Kevin Warwick's ideas represent a huge change in the possible trends of technology. A lot of the so called "AI community" are now split over whether to use Python or LISP for AI programming, for example ....

  48. TV licensing by DrDevil · · Score: 1

    I am a briton and I hate the licensing fee, whenever I watch BBC I get half way through the program, need a pee and am waiting for the adverts, and it takes me bloody twenty minutes to realise there arent any bloody adverts and I have to miss the bloody program to pee! Its soo damn annoying!

    1. Re:TV licensing by njdj · · Score: 1

      whenever I watch BBC I get half way through the program, need a pee and am waiting for the adverts, and it takes me bloody twenty minutes to realise there arent any bloody adverts and I have to miss the bloody program to pee

      Ever heard of VCRs?

    2. Re:TV licensing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hehe - we all know that feeling!

      But whats worse is the tennis (Wimby) and the way they knock the matches back and forth between BBC1 and BBC2 - "You can see the rest of that match on BBC2" - diving for the remote... Arghhh!!

      --JCC

    3. Re:TV licensing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You need Sky+ live pause.

  49. Channel 4 in Italy? by Gallo+Nero · · Score: 1

    I was working in Italy for 6 months this year and I really missed my Channel 4, (if I could only choose one channel that would be it). Does anybody know if it's possible to get Channel 4 in Italy (I'm willing to pay!)?

    Shoot some Fish!

    1. Re:Channel 4 in Italy? by Doug+Neal · · Score: 0

      Channel 4 is available via free-to-air DVB on the Astra satellite at 28.2 degrees east, transponder 24, EPG number 4. You'll need a suitably aligned satellite dish and DVB reciever to tune in.

      In fact, with the co-operation of someone in the UK, you can sign up to the entire Sky Digital service and get a free decoder and installation. Then get your friend to ship the decoder to you. Arrange your own satellite dish installation (you'll need a pretty big dish to pick it up down in Italy though) - but it should work.

    2. Re:Channel 4 in Italy? by funky+womble · · Score: 1

      No subsidy on the decoder unless it's hooked up to a UK telephone line 24x7.. It's not really legal to watch it outside the UK either. (That's not to say that it can't be done though).

  50. Cybernetics and Kevin Warwick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Kevin Warwick has appropriated the term cybernetics for his tomfoolery, but don't think that means he's actually doing anything that anyone else would recognise as cybernetics. While Kevin Warwick is shoving dog pellets up his arse, real researcher are learning about human-machine interfaces and artificial organs. Warwick is a complete shonk

  51. Quality of the programme by andyapple · · Score: 1

    Oh man, these things used to be really good. i remember ones about AI and the Human Brain. but this year its just irritated me, that guy is just annoying. and it feels like A-Level content dressed up for 8yr olds! it doesnt achieve anything

    --
    Andy
  52. No longer on the BBC... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    H,

    Used to watch the RICL every year until they moved it to C4 which we can't get here in .nl (at least where I live, and we don't have a dish on the roof either). Major bummer. I don't think I'm gonna buy the video's though... Maybe I'll check out the way-too-small-video-streams when they come online.

    CU,
    J