Leaderboard

Well I'm definitely not looking to go absolutely crazy and get fucked out of my head like on the last trip . It was eventful and one of the best weekends I've had, although I want to have a more chilled out trip there this time, which is why I decided to book it and go again. I went with a few lads last time, but if nobody is coming with me in Feb, I'm off on my own as there are things I want to experience there. I also think the tourism is what makes it an appealing place, as they aren't usually just ordinary tourtists, but crazy ones from literally everywhere in the world and you have a good laugh with many of them. Spoke to many in just a short trip, Americans, Greeks, Italians, Spanish, Algerians, Lebanese, Ghanians, Dutch(of course), tons of Irish, even a couple of Argies @Berserker. I won't be going in May though unfortunately, as I'll be going down South fishing for a week then, although I'll bare it in mind for the future possibly. It would be a nice country to be in in general in May with all the tulips.

Her crash footage still gives me the shivers... Got to admire her love and passion for racing; not everyone would be so enthusiastic about getting back into the car after such an experience. Most professional drivers have such a strong will power and determination in general though... I closely follow Wickens and his way to recovery after that horrific crash, and it's just unbelievable how optimistic and determined he is despite the extent of his injuries and uncertainty of full recovery. Same with Billy Monger. Or Alex Zanardi. Very inspiring.

ESA's and Roscosmos' ExoMars mission is arguably more important and promising in terms of searching for traces of life as it's been specifically designed for that and is explicitly focused on searching for biosignatures. Nasa's Mars 2020 rover can detect potential organic compounds in rock samples by taking images and acquiring spectra at various scales, but it doesn't have the tools to perform any sort of biological analysis, so it will be basically collecting and storing interesting rock samples from the best possible sites for eventual sample return to Earth to be examined here (if such sample return mission ever happens). Also, its drill can only dig 6-10 centimeters deep (same as the current Opportunity rover), so it's just scratching the surface which is a very harsh environment for organic molecules to survive due to intense radiation and oxidants. Meanwhile, ExoMars rover has a completely different approach - it has been equipped with a drill that can go as deep as 2 meters (!) so the chances of finding preserved organic compounds are better; and it also has a diverse suite of instruments designed specifically for that, including the most advanced mass spectrometer to be sent to space ever and an analytic instrument called MOMA (Mars Organics Molecule Analyzer) that is able to detect organic molecules at extremely low concentrations and will directly target biomarkers and conduct sample analysis on site.

Not a football forum though...

Banned.

Lol, you beat me again, just spotted this when I logged into my MSN to check my emails and thought I would post it before you did...WRONG

What a brilliant collaboration... Giger's work was amazing. They actually have a museum for him in Switzerland as well as two bars that are decorated true to his style. Here's the original article with some additional photos as well...

Gianna Dior Creampied 8/10 Decent flick but didn’t get to the end.

When Debbie Harry met Alien artist H.R.Giger and made front cover of Heavy Metal Magazine....

Could you imagine that... winning that and having a colony design built and put into place on Mars many years into the future... It would be an accomplishment just to get it in the book....

Mars Colony Prize - Design the First Human Settlement on Mars The Mars Society is holding a special contest called The Mars Colony Prize for designing the best plan for a Mars colony of 1000 people. There will be a prize of $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second and $2500 for third. In addition, the best 20 papers will be published in a book - “Mars Colonies: Plans for Settling the Red Planet.” https://www.marssociety.org/mars-colony-prize-design-the-first-human-settlement-on-mars/ Should start working on it @Bluewolf

@Danny

Nice read this 'I celebrate like every football fan!' - blind Liverpool supporter on becoming viral hit By Alex Bysouth BBC Sport 2 hours ago | Liverpool Mike Kearney has been registered blind since he was seven years old There was no doubt in Mike Kearney's mind that Liverpool had taken the lead when Anfield erupted on Tuesday night, he just wasn't sure who the scorer was. The lifelong Liverpool fan was born with sight problems and has been registered blind since he was seven years old. But while it was Mo Salah who slotted the ball past Napoli goalkeeper David Ospina to ultimately seal Liverpool's passage to the Champions League knockout stages with a 1-0 win, it is Mike's phone that hasn't stopped since. Nearly three million people have watched a clip on Twitter of his cousin Stephen leaning over to tell him who netted for the Reds, sending the pair's touching exchange viral. "I'm like every other football fan - it doesn't matter if I can't see clearly, I still celebrate," he told BBC Sport. "It was just relief that we scored." The 26-year-old, a regular at Anfield, has a degenerative eye condition which has got worse as he has got older. "I wish I could see more but that doesn't mean I can't form an opinion of my own," he said. "It's difficult for people that can see to understand, but I think of it as normal to me and I have been like that all my life. It's just the way I watch the game." Mike admits he has been surprised at the level of interest following the clip being posted, with Salah's involvement meaning even media outlets in Egypt have got in touch. But it would have been easier for the Liverpudlian to distinguish the scorer had Salah's strike not come at the Anfield Road end of the ground. "It was very blurry," he added. "Up close at the Kop End I am OK, but further away the ball gets harder to see. It wasn't hard to work out what happened with noise." Mike used to use the club's live commentary service for blind and partially sighted spectators, but now prefers to immerse himself in the atmosphere. "It's there if I really want it," he said. "I like just being involved in the atmosphere and hearing what my cousin thinks - and anyone else, whether it's five rows back and a pleasant comment or not. "If it's not my cousin Stephen with me then it's other friends, it's just normal for us. I find it weird the reaction. It's nice, but a little bit strange!" https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46549613

Nasa's Jupiter mission Juno reveals giant polar storms By Victoria Gill Science correspondent, BBC News, Washington DC 2 hours ago Nasa's Juno mission to the gas giant Jupiter has reached its halfway mark and has revealed new views of cyclones at the poles. As it orbits the planet every 53 days - Juno performs a science-gathering dive, speeding from pole to pole. Its sensors take measurements of the composition of the planet, in an effort to decipher how the largest world in our Solar System formed. Mapping the magnetic and gravity fields should also expose Jupiter's structure. But images from JunoCam - a camera that was intended to capture images that could be shared with the public - has already given us some surprising insights. Dr. Candice Hansen, from the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona, is leading the JunoCam project, which she described as "our little outreach camera". She presented some of the remarkable images from the camera - raw images downloaded and processed by members of the public - at the American Geophysical Union meeting here in Washington DC. "When we made our first pass over the poles, we knew we were seeing a territory on Jupiter we had never seen before," said Prof Hansen. "What we did not expect was that we would see these orderly polygons of cyclones; huge storms - twice the size of Texas. "We thought, wow - that's spectacular." And 16 passes later, she added, those orderly arrangements of giant storms are still there. These "pretty pictures" are starting to teach scientists about how the largest planet in the Solar System formed and evolved. "The objective for the Juno mission is to study the interior structure of Jupiter and how that structure expresses itself out on the cloud tops. That's the kind of connection we're trying to make. But we're not there yet." Jack Connerney, Juno deputy principal investigator from the Space Research Corporation in Annapolis, Maryland, said that the second half of the mission would provide an even more detailed view of "what makes the whole of Jupiter tick". You can find more of these amazing images of Jupiter on the JunoCam site. More images in the link below vv https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46547904