Motorcycles and mountains. Twisty mountain roads, motorcycles, and lots of pretty pictures. Bad web design, but nice pictures and stories

Cyrano de Bergerac was real, but not as Rostand depicted him. For one, his nose wasn't that big. He was a successful writer. His most prominent work is now published under the title 'Other Worlds', a collection of stories describing his fictional journeys to the Moon and Sun. Cyrano thus rests alongside such minds as Kepler and Jules Verne in the genre of Science Fiction. But Cyrano as a gay anti-Catholic sci-fi writer with the pox? more inside

Capn Jack Sparrow, Coffee Pirate (YouTube, but worth it)

Capt. Sensible So I got a bad nosebleed tonight, which somehow reminded me of being a punk rocker, which somehow reminded me of the Damned, who I saw in some condemned rathole of a club in Southern California around 1980. Captain Sensible had fun insulting American bands until a boy I was in love with shouted out, "Oh, yeah? MC5!" Whereupon the Captain turned around and said, "Yeah, all right." I liked the Captain for that, and kept up with him. more inside

Curious George: My (Not-So-Golden) Arches The saga begins: I decided recently (like last week) to take part in a women-only duathlon -- 3.5km run, 10km bike, 1.5km run. However, a couple of days after making the decision I sprained my ankle. The duathlon is next month. more inside

Hummingbirds: Tail Chirpers When they dive, the sound's not coming from their beaks.

Spartan Government: The Gerousia and the Ephorate - from Arcane History Blog.

I am the condom friend ever useful to you! [YouTube]

Plastic patch in the Pacific now twice the size of the US. This is pretty shocking news even in this day of shocking environmental news. You can see a map of the full extent of the blight here. more inside

Q-Tips: the Touch of Death.

JM's World War One Sketchbook - The images here are from a set of two World War One sketchbooks containing approximately 130 water-colour and pen and ink images which were produced by an unknown British soldier. more inside

MIT Sketching: I don't know how useful this really is, but it sure is neat. (YouTube)

The Booze Bra. The latest technological development in the alcohol-smuggling field. more inside

Barry Morse , aka Lt. Philip Gerard and Professor Victor Bergman, has passed. more inside

On-line Board Gaming: craving a little Carcasonne? Want to play Settlers of Catan, but you don't actually own a table to table-top board game on? Don't worry - everything really is online, including board games. more inside

Hopefully this study doesn't suck. Its author contends that high heels are good for women's pelvic health. Being a fan, I can only pray she's right. more inside

Study Says Many Studies Suck Research shows we are far too drunk on stupid studies that tell us what research shows.

Curious Ugly Toy George Curious Ugly Toys George. Anyone know of any toy websites that sell really ugly toys? (Other than Archie McPhee) I'm talking toys that are unintentionally bad, sooo bad they're funny. (The same way that really bad movies are funny). Toys that make you go "WTF???"

CARNIVAL! If you're in Italy or Brazil, tomorrow is Carnival. If you're in France or New Orleans, it's Mardi Gras. If you're in the UK, it's Shrovetide or Pancake Day. But this year, history was made in the form of the first ever Mardi Gras Parade at the South Pole. more inside

Making a dog's dinner out of fish and chips, can result in a big litter.