Menopausal killer whales are wise old birds

Do your writers and editors speak English? I have no idea why trick-cyclists (circus performers?) would have anything to do with Orcas or other aquatic species. Is trick-cyclist slang for something? And while we're at it, please stop using the word "boffin" to describe scientists. It may have been cute to call them that when you wore short pants in school, but now it's only irritating. Thank you. I expect you will implement these linguistic corrections immediately.

Reminds me of my first job

lots of old and not very productive in themselves old engineers but they really knew how to steer the young ones to the bait balls.

Any intelligent species should value the aged. Not because it's nice. Because it's handy.

Sorry, kind of, if I offended. I thought after giving the world Monty Python and Absolutely Fabulous you might take my earlier comment in a light vein. And Sarah, my grad school was Stanford.

But please, honest question here: what is meant by trick-cyclists? Never heard the term before. I'm not out to insult the English, my efforts are needed more here in the US, where people live in trailers, eat squirrels, and can't find their own country on a map.

@fogdart

"And Sarah, my grad school was Stanford."

Well, lah-dee-fucking-dah!

Menopause meanderings :)

As a scientist, a menopausal woman and a Brit, I too was baffled by the term trick cyclist. Never having read The Register before and only coming here as this article was posted in a menopause group, I began to wonder if this was a joke site, like The Onion. After reading the comments, I am still not sure.

For those of you not experiencing menopause, please remember that we are fragile creatures dancing with our fluctuating hormones but many can at the drop of a top hat, enter the realms of trick cyclists nightmares. :)

As the older generation has a host of knowledge to impart to the younger, so the younger has a host of new knowledge and terminology to educate their elders with. Today I learned that trick cyclists are not just circus entertainers. What will you learn?

While taking the time to actually sign up to make this comment I realised that this site is mostly for IT people. Most menopausal women these days are at the age and experience that IT and its terminology (and modern slang) is a strange and mysterious universe. Have pity and understanding on us as one day you too will experience menopause or have a menopausal woman in your life. In internet marketing they advise making things as simple as your grandmother would be able to understand. While we menopausal women may not be old enough to be your grandmothers we are old enough to be your mothers. So might I ask that you treat any other menopausal women, who make comments here, with the respect that you would give your mother and grandmothers? Go on, I know you can do it :)

What about the elephants!

Don't diss the matriarch of an elephant herd ; they may not go through menopause but tend to have their last calf when about 50 and often live another 10 years.

If you do annoy one she can rip a car apart.

Maybe they, not we, are evolved from the Pak?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protector_%28novel%29