* Posts by Michael Dunn

615 publicly visible posts • joined 7 Jul 2008

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Climate sceptic becomes UK Environment Secretary

Michael Dunn

Re: Sadly, NomNomNom

Yeah - get a creationist at education, and we could then have Dubya for prime minister.

So, just what is the ultimate bacon sarnie?

Michael Dunn

Re: We know whats good for you

Rounded corners, no doubt.

Michael Dunn
Thumb Up

Re: M&S

Why is Brittany/Normandy butter so scrumptious? ...and their cheeses aren't bad, either, thought the ultimate hard cheeses are Ludlovian or Montgomery.

Low sunspot activity linked to rivers freezing: Mini Ice Age on way?

Michael Dunn
Coat

Re: As a layman

"... if you want to sell product on the back of it." Or, heaven forfend, even impose extra taxes on the back of it!

There's something a little scary about this article - coincidence or not(?) - I sem to remember that the Sirocco is actually a warm (or is it cold?) wind.

Yes, it's a windcheater.

Young alcoholic star 'covered in fluids needed for birth of alien life'

Michael Dunn

Re: Anyone remember

Remember it well - and I bet he wouldn't have changed his view of politicians had he met Tone, or Call Me Dave!

I must admit to a sneaking liking for his Steady State Universe - much more aesthetically pleasing than the Big Bang. Do not a large number of Buddhist texts contain the words "From beginningless time..."

First, Google goggles - now the world gets self-censoring specs

Michael Dunn

Re: X-ray specs

No, yaac, you'd just see the bones!

Boffins puzzled over impossibly fast ice avalanches on Saturn's moon

Michael Dunn

Re: Panic!

Yeah, you got there before me!

Ever considered putting a rocket up someone's backside?

Michael Dunn
Flame

Moving ever so slightly off topic

I've been thinking about the subject of "human spontaneous combustion", as described, for instance, in Dickens' Bleak House.

Admittedly that was fiction, and the guy was long pickled in gin, but notes to the book suggest that Dickens had heard of instances of the phenomenon "reliably attested to." And there are a number of other cases of anecdotal evidence pointing to the possibility that there have been genuine cases of this happening. So we come to:

Dunn's theory of the origin of spontaneous combustion

As is well known, breaking wind is often, even usually, accompanied by the release of methane - a highly combustible gas (British Gas makes its profits from burning methane) but there are often byproducts: hydrogen sulphide, various mercaptans, carbon disulphide (extremely low flash point) and other minor trace compounds fairly swamped by the amount of carbon dioxide produced in the gut by lactose fermenting organisms.

However, it has occurred to me that among these trace products there will be gases with a trivalent atom combined with three hydrogen atoms. Ammonia sprigs to mind, as does arsine (how well named!) from traces of arsenic in the food, and possibly phospine? The latter, as any third or fourth year pupil who studied chemistry in school pre 'elf'n'safety waffle put an end to actually demonstrating experiments in the lab, will take fire as soon as it is exposd to the air. If surrounded by a cloud of methane, this could result in quite a torch, which, with clothes in the immediate vicinity, getting a grip on the local fat content of the body and the cloth forming a wick, could possibility produce an actual instance of "spontaneous combustion."

I think the ico speaks for itself!

'Spintronics' brings IBM's Racetrack Memory closer to reality

Michael Dunn

Re: Bloody hell...

"Indeed. Want to blow an American's mind? Point out that there are pubs in Ireland older than the USA"

With the same old codgers propping up the bar as on the day they opened.

Murchison adds astronomical cluster

Michael Dunn
Thumb Up

Hmm

Each of the dx360s will be configured with dual Xeon processors and two NVIDIA Tesla GPUs, and will have 15 PB of local storage.

Just one of these would suit me nicely!

Iranian nuke plants rocked in midnight 'heavy metal blast'

Michael Dunn

Re: Must be the US

A difficult stance to maintain.

‘Printed boat’ places second in novelty race

Michael Dunn

Re: A very interesting idea

Stem cells, 3-d printing and laser sintering - new hearts for old!

I wish I'd been in time!

Michael Dunn

Re: Nothing new here

It was canvas in Hornblower's day.

Hubble spots ancient spiral galaxy that SHOULD NOT EXIST

Michael Dunn

Re: Where's the science?

"Why not a static Earth or Sun or any other spacial object and a turning universe."

Yes, indeed, remember Einstein's famous question to the guard on one of his journeys: "Does Oxford stop at this train?" It's all relative, you know.

'Extreme' solar storm speeding straight towards Earth

Michael Dunn

Re: "We're all doomed!"

Presumaby your "hemp based trinkets" include a bong!

Christians get God-optimized 'Edifi' Android fondleslab

Michael Dunn

Re: A fondleslab for the hate filled bigot on the move.

Just laugh at them.

Michael Dunn

Re: "Oh Orgasmic!"

He's got this all wrong anyway. The burning bush was Moses' intro to the idea of getting the Israelites out of Egypt, not the "revelation" of the ten commandments - 5 of which were already well observed by Buddhists at points east of Sinai.

Michael Dunn

Re: "......peak at inappropriate content."

As the masochist said: "Beat me", and the Sadist said: "No".

Michael Dunn

Re: 27 translations of the bible?

In an infinite universe.............

Michael Dunn

Re: war crimes....

Sorry, a bit bemused here - if they had killed all the people, why set the city on fire - hadn't they yet learnt the value of real estate? There must have been stores and office-blocks available for re-occupation.

CERN catches a glimpse of Higgs-like boson

Michael Dunn
Joke

Higgs?

Is there, or has there ever been a Bosun named Higgs?

Michael Dunn
Happy

Re: Be careful what you wish for

Finding the unexpected could be quite a surprise - but if you don't wxpect it, how do you know when you've found it?

Take a look at atom’s shadow

Michael Dunn

Re: Wuhh...

Actually, terbium, ytrium and ytterbium are all lanthanides, named after the same Swedish(?) town(?)

Reg hack attempts gutsiest expenses claim EVER

Michael Dunn

Re: On the continent...

Yup, same in Greece.

Viviane Reding says imitate US and form FEDERAL EUROPE

Michael Dunn

Re: "Joe McCarthy would be proud"

That wouldn't be Keith Floyd the great cook, would it?

Michael Dunn

Re: 'Republican' my ass

Yeah, but his son was officially deaclared as "Henry the Ninth Cardinal Duke of York" - never made it into the Stuart Line of succession but became a priest and eventually achieved the Red Hat.

Brit global warming skeptics now outnumber believers

Michael Dunn
Coat

@Zombie Womble

(A denizen of SW19?)

Sorry, mate, the 2012 apocalypse has been deferred - recent discovery of a different Mayan calendar has scotched the 2012 "not with a bang but a whimper" exeunt omnes.

Tickets for the 2016 Olympics in the pocket.

Mighty ROBOT achieves total SUPREMACY over feeble humans

Michael Dunn

Hammer!

Love it.

Yes I earn four times what you earn, but I know _where_ to place the hammer blow.

Michael Dunn

Re: How much more exciting would The Terminator have been...

And Sarah replied: "No, lt's have a judo session."

Michael Dunn

Re: ...

All three are shown in the vertical plane' Of course, chaps, must give it a sporting chance.

Michael Dunn

Re: @AC Blue Scream of Death

Actually, a tight-fisted wanker might have sometning!

Michael Dunn

Re: Hmm...

Remember Emo Philips' put down: "A compter beat me at chess - but it was no match for me at kick-boxing."

El Reg official units of measurement: Linguine, Jubs, Hiltons and all

Michael Dunn

Re: A Big Thank You...

the universe has expanded as would one's waistline, depending on the number of Curly-Wurlies consumed.

Michael Dunn

@Old Handle

Shirley the weight of any given mass depends on distance from the centre of the earth - variable slightly over the surface, e.g., from poles to equator.

NASA counts down to nuclear tank invasion of Mars

Michael Dunn
Thumb Up

Re: Computers are good for this:

Drop anything from 13,000 miles up, and it will end at zero velocity!

Michael Dunn
Headmaster

Re: More metric/imperial confusion?

Hey, Tom, CGS went out decades ago - it's MKS now.

Michael Dunn
Happy

Re: How long...

@ Mike Flugennock: "Oddly enough, though, now that you mention it, the Russians have had extraordinarily good luck with Venus missions."

Only goes to show: Make love not war!

Michael Dunn
Happy

Re: How long...

@Symon: "The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one." Presumably tongue in cheek - so I won't bother to say it again.

Michael Dunn

Re: Excuse my ignorance...

Planck lengths? You'd spend half your development time just writing out the numbers.

Microsoft's offices gutted in Athens arson attack

Michael Dunn
Pint

Re: Austerity? The only solution is to get drunk and set fire to things!

"on most issues, I was impressed by their ability to hold an intelligent and informed debate."

Yes, well, I seem to remember there were a couple of 'colleges' - the Stoa and the Peripateia come to mind, where debate was the norm, after which, presumably, they'd all go off to a 'symposium' - i.e., a drinking party, or as we might say nowadays 'a cheese and wine.'

<- no beer in Attica!

Michael Dunn
Headmaster

Re: But...but...but...

sorry for that "w", should have been a space!

Michael Dunn

Re: But...but...but...

Or as John Cleese'swcenturion would correct it: Microsoftes ite domum.

Michael Dunn
Headmaster

Re: Currency conversion

Drachmae? No, drachmes.

69,000 sign petition to save TV-linker O'Dwyer from US extradition

Michael Dunn
Headmaster

Re: How long is a piece of string?

Sorry, Pete 2, but Theresa May could not be "emasculated" - a physical impossibility!

Stonehenge WASN'T built by ALIENS - Boffins' shock claim

Michael Dunn

Re: I call Bollocks

"some sort of trade treaty ": the Maastricht Treaty was fairly stonily opaque.

Michael Dunn
Happy

@Graham

"the days growing shorter," an early demonstration of the physical fact that things contract when cooled.

openSUSE 12.2 release delayed, team calls for a rethink

Michael Dunn

Love your alliterative subheading: almost worthy of Caedmon!

Hitchhiker shot while researching 'Kindness of America'

Michael Dunn
Unhappy

Re: Gun ownership. @Figgus

Your last point is correct, sir (not being sexist, but Figgus has a masculine ending) - criminals in Britain seem to have no problems getting guns - it's just the innocent majority who might like to defend themselves who find it difficult.

Michael Dunn
Happy

Re: Gun ownership.

Maybe I'm out of date now, but IIRC Switzerland requires its citizens to bear arms.

Smart meters are 'massive surveillance' tech - privacy supremo

Michael Dunn

Re: Tip to bad guys

You'd need an extremely big/expensive UPS to run a washing machine from!

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