Okay, after noting that Desmond's clock most likely counts down every 108 minutes, I started to do some googling. For starters, yes, I know that the counter didn't start down immediately when Locke entered the numbers. But note that there was about 2:30 left on the counter, meaning there were a couple of minutes left in that 108 minute timeframe. I theorize that the counter will not start until the full 108 minutes is up.

Anyway, my first search of 108 minutes found this.

http://english.pravda.ru/society/2001/04/12/3495.html

Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, a Russian cosmonaut. Wanna guess how long his first flight was? 108 minutes. It occurred on April 12, 1961; 42 years later would be April 12, 2003, not quite at the point our Losties are on the island. It also mentions his "historic dash around the globe," very similar to Desmond's remark.

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0126520/chronothink/unif1961ad.htm

That site is interesting because it's titled "Leaving the Rock," another rock reference. He also mentions a reference to light and dark and getting sick, more connections to the show.

Okay, all the above was just some fun stuff I found that I don't think applies to the show at all. However, I did find some more interesting stuff.

http://www.uen.org/swan/argos.html

That site talks about NOAA satellites and that they orbit the earth about once every 108 minutes. They can be communicated with about 10 minutes during that timeframe and about 14 times a day at the poles.

After that, I have developed my own little theory. The equipment that Desmond operates communicates with a group of satellites that are within range of communication every 108 minutes. During a 5 - 10 minute timeframe when the alarms are sounding, Desmond has to enter the numbers into the computer to communicate with these satellites. Being in space, the satellite that receives Desmond's communication relays the information to the other satellites around the globe so they all receive that communication.
Now, the question is, just what the heck is this communication? Desmond asked if the world is still out there. Possibly the group of satellites contain doomsday devices such as nuclear warheads. Possibly they're simply monitoring the area for some reason, keeping tabs on the sickness on the island. Whatever the reason, it's important enough for Desmond to enter the numbers into the computer once every 108 minutes.
If that's all it is, why isn't it automated? Because Desmond has to be alive for some reason. If he's dead or otherwise unresponsive, the satellites do not receive their signals and they execute ... something, maybe a doomsday command or otherwise.
Okay, that's probably WAY off base. I'm sure next week we'll find out something that blows that theory to smithereens. But after my little bit of googling and running across some information about satellites that orbit the earth once every 108 minutes, that seemed to me to answer a few of the questions about what's going on. It doesn't begin to answer other questions about the sickness, Hurley's connection to the numbers, etc., but it's the most plausible thing I've thought of so far.
We'll know a little more next week (hopefully). And maybe I’ll get a life in the meantime…(compiled from ABC forums)

Deep Breath......Exhale.....The logo on the shark's tale....the numbers adding up....Mike give's Walt Stuffed Polar Bear.....Number of Day in the Hatch marked on the wall...."Are any of them Sick".......Locke resets the clock to 108:00. 108 is the sum of 4 8 15 16 23 42.......Desmond makes Locke type 4 8 15 16 23 42 and then hit execute.......Candy Bars!....."Are you him".......The Others!!........too much to EXECUTE....Brain Failing.....ERROR...ERROR

Logo on sharks fin, wtf? it seems to me that the shark is owned by the same company that made the hatch, and possible employed desmond. I figure the shark is a guard of the island.


What a superb hour of television!!!

Jack: Is it really possible he could recognize Desmond after that 5-minute stadium conversation? Desmond looked like a regular jock then, but now he looks like a maniacal thug.
Kate: For a minute there I thought we were going to lose Kate to binge eating...especially when she spied the Apollo bars. I know how I would feel after 44 days without chocolate!
Sawyer: Why does everyone on this show hit someone in the chest as the first step of resuscitation? Is that really correct technique? Anyway...I was kinda disappointed that I didn’t hear a typical wisecrack before he gave Michael mouth-to-mouth!
Locke: I’ll say it again and again and again. Don’t like him, don’t trust him. I can’t take anything he says at face value. BTW, why did he take his shoes off? Does he think the hatch is holy ground?
Charlie : Charlie to Claire: “It might just come in handy.” LOL!
Jin : I hope I can find out what Jin was saying as the raft fell apart. He sounded frantic. Oh my...the sight of poor Jin running from those creepy Others was just terrifying. What on earth did they tie him up with?
Sun : Where is Sun?
Shannon : Did she ever bring back Vincent?
Hurley: I thought he would be a little more exasperated with Jack going back to the hatch.
Vincent: Where are you?

Favorite Quotes:
Sawyer to Michael: “Well I’ll just stop bleedin’ then!” and “What are you gonna do, splash me?”

Puzzling Questions:
I kept wondering why the rest of the raft flotsam wasn’t in the same current. Still curious as to why only one piece showed up. How did Jin’s get separated?

Desmond’s “Are you him?” Who? he didn’t look like he was expecting Locke or Jack. I’m thinking he’s waiting for Walt.

The counter reverting to 108.00 or 10800. What’s up with that?

Ahhhh Moments:
Michael’s goodbye to Walt. All "what a sweet moment feeling" abruptly stopped when Michael presented the stuffed POLAR BEAR to Walt. *shudders*
Seriously Creepy:
Desmond: “The world is still out there?” Aha...so he assumes it might not be

A BLIND actress was turned away from a nightclub because door staff said her white stick was dangerous.
Sarah Caltieri, 26, was out with girlfriends in Leeds when they queued up for nightspot Space.
But Sarah was told she must put her stick behind the bar or she couldn't go in. She refused, saying without her cane she might bump into people.
She said yesterday: "I was gobsmacked. People find it unusual I am out clubbing. If this is the way that blind people get treated, is it any wonder? I refuse to be told that I cannot go somewhere because I am blind."
Sarah, from Leeds, lost her sight three years ago through diabetes but appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe last month and is an ambassador for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Mark Jarvis of Space said he would investigate and added: "You cannot discriminate because a blind person needs equipment to function. If that was the case, we would apologise profusely."

... and, of course, hope that nobody launches a prosecution under the disability discrimination act.

my dsl is going into meltdown :-)

Currently downloading each episode torrent as it comes out of:

Lost (every Thursday)
Despearate Housewives (every Monday)

and now I find out a new series of Alias starts tonight so will be downloading that tomorrow.

For more on all these series click: Lost - Desperate Housewives - Alias

still have 2nd - 5th series of CSI to watch and Firefly as well so think my HD may be suffering a bit as well.

20 years from now, when our children are being born in captivity and we are being forced to learn tricks to entertain our dolphin masters, we'll look back on 2005 as the year it all went to hell. The year hurricane Katrina set loose intelligent weaponized dolphins on the world. Damn, dirty dolphins!

... on "Lost"
The Island is actually a big ship. It can move back and forward and can sink below the waves if needed. Based on ...
How did the Polar Bears get there and a nigerian drug ship if the island is now somewhere in the South Pacific. The answer is that it moved to those places. At some point in time the island was near the arctic or off the coast of Africa. Same applies for how the Black Rock boar got there, the island was somewhere in the Caribbean/Atlantic.
When Sayid tried to use the compass he realised that something was throwing the compass off. That would happen if there was a lot of metal nearby (like below them).
The tide came in really fast and the people were nearly washed up on the beach - that would happen if the Island started moving in a certain direction and the water would be pushed against the island.
How did the black Rock ship come to be Inland? I.e. the ship is not on the coast, but on the land - the island emerged under the ship.
The rescue planes could never find the island - the island is not known by any other authorities - the only way to achieve this would be to keep moving the island.
Is the cable running off the island - not for power, but for an anchor? (OK, too thin to be an anchor).
The black smoke could be for the machinery that powers the island and moves it.
The stuff down the hatch could be machinery - everything under the island is metal and machinery.
The girl who drowned - did not drown because of a rip tide - she drowned because she went off the very farthest edge of this "ship" - there was not more sea bottom underneath her - only deep ocean.

There are two possibilities for all the other factors.
1. The Supernatural (Spiritual) theory. This is somehow the afterlife, or some god factor (remember the Deus Ex Machina episode), or some alien technology or alien ant farm. They all fall under this category. anything supernatural.
2. The Natural Theory. This is the Govt or civilian or criminal conspiracy theory. There is a rational explanation for everything, but it involves genetic experiments, or super technology and all these people are tied together somehow in the conspiracy or derivatives of this conspiracy. There is a rational explanation for the monsters and sickness. Also includes the Pirate Theory. maybe somebody can elaborate on this for me because it is the weakest part. But in this category I put pirates, criminals, etc. the others are the children of pirates, or slavers who were shipwrecked on this "island" a long time ago. they are now into criminal activity, drugs, abduction, etc. The others who captured Walt are simply pirates or criminals. A vast criminal empire - James Bond type arch enemy.

Into the above three categories the island/ship theory would have to fit. (all found on the Lost forums)

IKEA have a lot to answer for, namely taking lots of my hard-earned cash, but I forgive them. IKEA has launched a very beautiful website which features many different homescapes caught lushly mid-motion which are navigated through by pressing the mouse and sliding left or right. The homescapes rotate 180 degrees then change to a different homescape and with each change comes a change in accompanying music. Very nicely done.

WTF someone please tell me this is a wind-up:
Good afternoon sir, here for your vasectomy? OK your surgeon today will be ...

NSFW but how fit is she?

Clever photography with magazines

Although technically the phrase "hang glide" is two words it seems to be used as one - as in hang gliding. So what on earth is the past tense of hang glide? Hang glided?
The comedian Eddie Izzard says:
"I hang glide, you hang glide, he/she hang glides. We hang glid - you hang glidded - they... hang gliddededed."
Muddled as it is, I think I've gotta go with it 'cause it's funny. Past tense of hang glide = "hang glid."

Actual exchanges between pilots and control towers?

From an unknown aircraft waiting in a very long takeoff queue: "I'm f...ing bored!"
Ground Traffic Control: "Last aircraft transmitting, identify yourself immediately!"
Unknown aircraft: "I said I was f...ing bored, not f...ing stupid!"
--------
A Pan Am 727 flight, waiting for start clearance in Munich, overheard the following: Lufthansa (in German): "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground (in English): "If you want an answer you must speak in English."
Lufthansa (in English): "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany. Why must I speak English?"
Unknown voice from another plane (in a beautiful British accent): "Because you lost the bloody war!"
--------
While taxiing at London's Gatwick Airport, the crew of a US Air flight departing for Ft. Lauderdale made a wrong turn and came nose to nose with a United 727. An irate female ground controller lashed out at the US Air crew, screaming: "US Air 2771, where the hell are you going?! I told you to turn right onto Charlie taxiway! You turned right on Delta! Stop right there. I know it's difficult for you to tell the difference between C and D, but get it right!"
Continuing her rage to the embarrassed crew, she was now shouting ysterically: "God! Now you've screwed everything up! It'll take forever to sort this out! You stay right there and don't move till I tell you to! You can expect progressive taxi instructions in about half an hour, and I want you to go exactly where I tell you, when I tell you, and how I tell you! You got that, US Air 2771?"
"Yes, ma'am," the humbled crew responded.
Naturally, the ground control communications frequency fell terribly silent after the verbal bashing of US Air 2771. Nobody wanted to chance engaging the irate ground controller in her current state of mind. Tension in every cockpit out around Gatwick was definitely running high. Just then an unknown pilot broke the silence and keyed his microphone, asking: "Wasn't I married to you once?"

My missus has an evening do next week and I need some jokes, clean-ish for her please.

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005. More than 23 million people tuned into the season premiere of "Lost" Wednesday, giving ABC a dominant ratings win for the night. (Weird 23 is one of Hurley's numbers?)

Ok not going to give the game away (well perhaps a little bit) Desmond? Desmond? who the f**k is Desmond?

Questions from the hatch:

1. Desmonds drug locker, we all saw the numbers: Top Line: "CR", then "4-8-15-16-23 42" can be made out.
2. When Jack sprained his ankle, didn't Desmond say that he was training for a race around the world and almost became a doctor? Those statements MUST mean something, added to the "See you in another life"; Desmond knew they would meet agian.
3. The magnet that pulled jack's key away from him?
4. Des's Computer seems old, yet he has what appears to be a modern CD stereo (On the same shelf as the record player) and his apartment appears modern.
5.Desmond was sleeping on the top bunk. That seems to say he is not alone in the Hatch.
6. When he went to get his uniform on, there were 4 of the same uniform shirts hanging up.
7. The mural on the wall I noticed that the number 108 was there, which is the sum of all the other numbers: 4+8+15+16+23+42
8. Where's Kate?

Work colleague whom I cannot mention by name (Steve Green) is doing the Caterham Se7en "How the West was driven" and is heading for Durango, Colorado but guess what he booked Durango Mexico.

it's the one at the top you numpty ginga

Distance apart:

Total Distance: 1101.3 Miles
Estimated Total Time: 20 hours, 45 minutes

There are a number of warning signs when your collection of toys gets too big. The fact that posting pictures of all of them makes 56k modems explode, browsers cry and me lose the will to live is one good indication.

I thinks this is the 3rd or 4th they've done and this is the best by far http://www.eyezmaze.com/grow/cube/index.html

Managed to complete 3rd go, only clue I'll give is start with the man :)

Earlier versions here: Version 3 / grow RPG

1. The Halloween pumpkin on your front porch has more teeth than your spouse.
2. You let your twelve-year-old daughter smoke at the dinner table in front of her kids.
3. You've been married three times and still have the same in-laws.
4. Jack Daniels makes your list of "Most Admired People."
5. You wonder how service stations keep their restrooms so clean.
6. You wonder which football top and tracksuit bottoms to wear this week
7. You think that Dom Perignon is a Mafia leader.
8. You go to your family reunion looking for a date.
9. Your School Dance had a crèche.
11. You lit a match in the bathroom and your house exploded right off its wheels.
12. You had to remove a toothpick for your wedding pictures.
13. Your engagement and wedding rings are full sovereigns from Argos.
14. You have to go outside to get something out of the 'fridge'.
15. One of your kids was born on a pool table.
16. Your dad walks you to school because you are both in the same year.
17. You need one more hole punched in your card to get a freebie at the House of Tattoos
18. You have flowers planted in a bathroom fixture in your front yard.
19. Ya can't get married to yer sweetheart 'cause there's a law against it.
20. You dated one of your parents' current spouses in school.
21. You think loading the dishwasher means getting your wife drunk.
22. Your toilet paper has page numbers on it.

Lets hope it hits the torrent sites soon

The Emmy-winning hit 'Lost' returns Wednesday night at 9PM. Maybe you're a fan struggling to remember intricate details about the stranded survivors of Oceanic Air Flight 815. You might be a novice who's never watched 'Lost,' but is sick of being left out of all of those break-time conversations about "the Hatch." Either way, here's Season One at a glance.

Questions from series 1 ...

The Hatch - Where does it go, why was it locked ?
Where's Walt - Who are the kidnappers, why do they want him?
Hurleys numbers - 4,8,15,16,23,42 - why are they on the hatch?
French Woman - Can we trust her?
Black Rock - How did it get there?
Monsters - Polar bears?

Some popular theories going around ...

1) They're Not on an Island
I just think that this is gonna be a huge twist that comes in around episode 10 time. J J [Abrams] did the same with season one of 'Alias.' Through the first half Syd was investigating her father and the idea never even came up that it wasn't her father who was guilty and then all of a sudden WHAM!! (via www.tv-lost.com forum)

2) It's All in Their Heads
It's all in their heads, otherwise known as heightened consciousness. Ever read An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce? You'll get the picture. (via hyku.com/blog)

3) Human Guinea Pigs
It is a military project, including a possible experiment masterminded by the government - that all 48 people are "captured" guinea pigs of this top secret project and that the island itself is one huge Jurassic Park laboratory. (via buzzsite)

4) France!
It could be one of the Pacific Islands that France was doing all their lovely nuclear testing on? That would explain this huge, mutated monster, even if it does make it a bit silly. As for the polar bears though... (via handbag forums)

5) Purgatory
Why does the island continuously test the characters? And why is this island always considered a second chance? 'Cause it is! (via canmag.com)

Season Two Predictions From AOL Television Editors

SuperTVgirl says:
· The "others" are training Walt for a future battle he'll have with Claire's "evil" baby.
· Walt has a paranormal ability to make his visualizations reality. He misses his mom, so he's created an alternate existence for himself.

HelloTVKitty says:
· The islanders make it down the hatch only to discover...another hatch.
· The passengers in the plane's rear section not only survived, but allied with the "others."
· Box-company employee Locke sustained his paralyzing injury when business-owner Hurley -- and his bad luck -- visited the offices.

TheTVGeek says:
· The castaways are in a giant snow globe held by the autistic kid from 'St. Elsewhere.'

TVillainous says:
· Locke will soon lead his chosen "prophets" on a crusade to save Walt.

I’m pretty addicted to the TV show “Lost”. The first season has wrapped up and left some amazing cliffhangers. I finally got all the episodes watched (thanks BitTorrent), and I started looking around to see what was on the Web to hold me over until autumn.
It turns out that the creators of “Lost” are unbelievably abusive to their fan base. They’ve created a site which just takes advantage of the fact that the fans of “Lost” are obssessive to the extreme. As one of this site’s victims, I can attest that unleashing it was a stunning act of cruelty.
In the show, Oceanic Airlines, Flight 815 goes down en route from Sydney to Los Angeles. One day, www.oceanic-air.com popped onto the Net, which is, ostensibly, their corporate site (also see Oceanic Airlines page on Wikipedia).
The site was never publicized by ABC. Some viewers with a Tivo apparently found it by freeze-framing a scene in the airport containing a poster for Oceanic Airlines. ABC just stuck that poster in the show knowing that someone would stumble on it eventually.
Fake Web sites like this aren’t new, but this one includes a Flash-based “seating chart” on which you can mouse over the seats. Someone figured out that you can make different seats light up by clicking other seats in a certain order and at a certain frequency. Every once in a while, you get an Easter Egg in the form of some supporting documentation about a character — their passport, dairy, or something else.
And off to the races the fans went. See this thread at the online forums for most of the sequences. Some guy finally decompiled the Flash and extracted the pictures, but apparently not all the sequences. Then someone figured out that if you clicked the seat row numbers in a certain order (these numbers and their order are central to the show itself), you got a full-blown promo for Season Two.
“Lost” is taking the fake site concept further than most, as there’s more than one. There’s a site for the band DriveSHAFT, which is supposedly the one-hit wonder band for which character Charlie Pace was the bassist. The site is so perfectly done — just amateur enough to seem real — that it almost fooled me into thinking it was real…until I found this “news article” about the crash of Flight 815 which refers to characters in the show.
So the discovery of this second site leaves me wondering, are there others? Are the creators of this show (J.J. Abrams — the same crack dealer who gave us “Alias”) creating a full-blown backdrop on the Web? Is stuff going on these sites that’s crucial for understanding the episodes on TV? Is any of it canonical?

I hate that I’ve become one of the obssessed.

reproduced from gadgetopia

Two nuns, Sister Catherine and Sister Helen, are traveling through Europe in their car. They get to Transylvania and are stopped at a traffic light.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a tiny little Dracula jumps onto the bonnet of the car and hisses through the windshield.
"Quick, quick!" shouts Sister Catherine. "What shall we do?"
"Turn the windshield wipers on. That will get rid of the abomination,"says Sister Helen.
Sister Catherine switches them on, knocking Dracula about, but he clings on and continues hissing at the nuns.
"What shall I do now?" she shouts.
"Switch on the windshield washer. I filled it up with Holy Water at the Vatican," says Sister Helen.
Sister Catherine turns on the windshield washer. Dracula screams as the water burns his skin, but he clings on and continues hissing at the nuns.
"Now what?" shouts Sister Catherine?
"Show him your cross," says Sister Helen.
"Now you're talking," says Sister Catherine.
She opens the window and shouts, "Get the feck off the car!"

In celebration of the awesome day some links and a cracking looking film ...

Official British HQ
Online pirate name generator (I'm Flintlock Freddy the Hook)
If ye be wantin' to help promote the day, stick this poster (PDF) in yer local tavern, ship's galley, or school fer little pirates!
Pirate comix
talk like a pirate site
Pirate books, comics an' stuff
Piracy Calculator (how did this get here)
http://www.btinternet.com/~rpottinger/curse.htm
http://www.piratesinfo.com/
http://www.legends.dm.net/pirates/
http://lucid.lunacy.nu/quiz/pirates.html
http://www.geographia.com/bahamas/pirates01.htm
http://www.io.com/~sj/PirateTalk.html
http://www.fidius.org/quiz/pirate/
NINJAS VS PIRATES :: film trailer online

Things that are difficult to say when you're drunk ...

Innovative;
Preliminary;
Proliferation;
Cinnamon.

Things that are VERY difficult to say when you're drunk ...

Specificity;
British Constitution;
Passive-aggressive disorder;
Transubstantiate.

Things that are ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE to say when you're drunk ...

"Thanks, but I don't want to sleep with you".
"Nope, no more booze for me".
"Sorry, but you're not really my type".
"No kebab for me, thank you".
"Good evening officer, isn't it lovely out tonight?".
"I'm not interested in fighting you".
"Oh, I just couldn't - no one wants to hear me sing"
"Thank you, but I won't make any attempt to dance, I have no co-ordination. I'd hate to look like a fool".
"Where is the nearest toilet? I refuse to vomit in the street".
"I must be going home now as I have work in the morning".

These awesome pics are doing the rounds as Hurricane Katrina pic's (whereas real ones are here) all-purpose storm photos, trotted out on a near monthly basis and retitled to correspond to the latest large weather phenomenon. These photographs have now been circulated as depicting:
Australian tornadoes, May 2005
Severe storms in southern Alberta, July 2005
Severe storms and tornadoes in Ontario, August 2005
Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast, August 2005
These images are actually photographs of tornadoes taken by storm chaser Mike Hollingshead in southwest Iowa in late spring 2004. Most of them are viewable on the 2004 Digital Photos section of his web site (scroll about halfway down the page)

LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - It looks just like any ordinary football but the Adidas "smartball" that makes its official debut in the FIFA Under-17 world championship in Peru on Friday could change the face of soccer forever.
The smartball is fitted with a tiny microchip designed to help a referee decide whether the ball has crossed the line completely for a goal to be scored -- and will also be used to determine whether the ball has gone out of play.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter, traditionally a staunch opponent of technology, has given his blessing to the experiment in Peru and has said that if it is successful, it can be used in the World Cup finals in Germany next summer.
The ball was unveiled in Lima before the tournament starts on Friday and FIFA Secretary-General Urs Linsi told Reuters the "smartball" and so-called goal-line technology, developed by Adidas with German company Cairos AG and the German Fraunhofer Institute -- was in no way a substitute for the eyes and experience of the referee.
"The referee is in charge, he's the boss on the pitch and that won't change. This is an aid to the referee," he said. The microchip -- less than half an inch (15 millimeters) in size -- sends out a radio signal when the ball crosses the touchline, as if it had touched an electric fence.
That signal is relayed by up to 12 antennae positioned in the corners of the pitch to a computer which then sends a message to a watch worn on the referee's wrist in less than one second, Guenter Pfau, Adidas' manager for relations with FIFA, told Reuters.
The message makes a virtually inaudible signal and the referee need never even use the technology, unless he is in doubt, Pfau said.
If so, a quick glance at the watch will reveal the word "goal" or no message, indicating no goal. Any goal messages are stored in the watch's memory with the time logged.

Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?

Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?

Q. 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = ??

Fact: Donald Duck comics were banned in Finland because he doesn't wear pants. ??

Those of you who know me realise I work for easynet and found this on forbes.com today

INTERVIEW Easynet rejects OneTel takeover talk
09.09.2005, 04:39 AM

LONDON (AFX) - UK telecoms company Easynet Group PLC this morning rejected speculation that OneTel, Centrica PLC's communications arm, is considering tabling a bid.
'There is no truth in this rumour,' Easynet chief executive David Rowe told AFX News.
Shares in Easynet have rallied by over 10 pct pence since the start of the month when talk of 130 pence per share bid from OneTel first arose. By 8.20 am, the stock fell back 5 pence to 100. Easynet has been a perennial takeover target over the years, but traders gave this rumour a certain amount of credence as OneTel is the biggest reseller of Easynet's consumer broadband internet product.
With competition hotting up in the broadband market, many analysts believe that resellers of internet access like OneTel and AOL will eventually have to build their own presence in local telecoms exchanges, as Easynet has done. But Rowe insisted that a business model based on using wholesale broadband access products -- like OneTel's deal with Easynet -- is still viable.
'Those who do not have assets (like OneTel) have to decide whether they can survive with a wholesale deal or go the next mile as competition increases,' he said.
'If you have the right deal in place, which we believe OneTel has with us, then a reselling model is sustainable in the long term.'
Easynet has invested significant capital in local loop unbundling, the process by which telecoms operators take control of the lines that connect houses and business to BT's network. Late last year, it launched LLUStream, a competitor to the BT's market-leading wholesale internet access product, IPStream.

Interactive Investor

whaddya think :)

Have you ever fiddled around with an old metro ticket between two stops ? I did it for six months (in 2004, magical year) while wondering how I could give it a cool shape. Here is thus my step by step of an X-wing fighter made using two metro tickets. Assembly is achieved without the use of glue. Very clever

Flabbergasted, annoyed, disgusted, concerned but most damningly embarrassed are more than apt words to describe a nation's reaction to the abundance of crap served up by Sven and his men last night.
Even though I've long been an advocate of club before country, last night felt like a sledgehammer blow to the ribs as England struggled to overcome a team that, until Saturday, hadn't won a competitive match for four years and hadn't beaten England since the Iron ages. Championed as a possible, or probable winner in some courts, of the next World Cup, England didn't merely come off the rails they virtually slid into a chasm from which recovery might be possible but, on current form, highly unlikely.
For the first time in his reign, Sven was vociferously booed by the travelling England support, surely an indication of how low we've slunk in the past few months. Standing on the touchline, Sven showed less animation than a Thunderbirds puppet as his charges stumbled along without any cohesion, aptitude and hope. Indeed, at times you could have been forgiven for thinking that his assistant, Steve McLaren, was actually in charge.

I think this was his plan ...

1. Fcuuk about with the formation of the national team in a critical qualifier.
2. Play Rooney on the left wing, nullifying all his penetrative ability.
3. Knob an FA employee
4. Tell Beckham to pass over Lampard and Gerrard's heads for 45 minutes ala quarterback style.
5. Look gormless and detached.
6. Take off the only player who seems to be attacking with any effect.
7. Bring on J.Cole who has ability on the left. Leave Rooney on the left and continue with step 5.
8. Bring off Gerrard and Lampard, slap a shiiiiiiite midfielder on as well as another isolated striker. Continue with step 5, safe in the knowledge that we now have no midfield whatsoever.
9. Be a mong.
10. Pay in your last £4.5m wage cheque and hatch 3-7-0 master-plan

Website (jump-around.com) has been setup that looks for amusing place names near where you live ...

Pishill (map)
8.2 miles
Golden Balls (map)
15.7 miles
Herbert's Hole (map)
21.7 miles
Crotch Crescent (map)
22.2 miles
Wet Pits (map)
32.0 miles
Cuckoo's Knob (map)
32.7 miles
Titty Hill (map)
33.0 miles
Tyttenhanger (map)
35.0 miles
Balls Cross (map)
35.8 miles
Cock Pond (map)
36.6 miles

DON'T waste money on expensive ipods. Simply think of your favourite tune and hum it. If you want to "switch tracks", simply think of another song you like and hum that instead.

CINEMA goers. Please have consideration for pirate DVD viewers by having a p*ss before the film starts.

RAPPERS. Avoid having to say 'know what I'm sayin' all the time by actually speaking clearly in the first place.

DON'T waste money on expensive paper shredders to avoid having your identity stolen. Simply place a few dog turds in the bin bags along with your old bank statements.

WORRIED that your teeth will be stained after a heavy night drinking red wine? Simply drink a bottle of white wine before going to bed to remove the stains.

SOLDIERS Invest in a digital camera to avoid all that court martial tomfoolery after a trip to Trueprint.

BURGLARS. When fleeing from the police, run with your right arm sticking out at 90 degrees, wrapped in a baby mattress in case they set one of their dogs on you. If you're being chased by a police dog, try not to go through a tunnel, then on to a little seesaw, then jump through a hoop of fire. They're trained for that.

MEN When listening to your favourite CD, simply turn up the sound to the volume you desire; then turn it down three notches. This will save your wife from having to do it.

GAMBLERS. For a new gambling opportunity, try sending £50 to yourself by Royal Mail.

BANGING two pistachio nutshells together gives the impression that a very small horse is approaching.

BLIND PEOPLE Give yourself at least a chance of seeing something by not wearing heavy dark glasses all the time.

ALCOHOL makes an ideal substitute for happiness.

DRIVERS. If a car breaks down or stalls in front of you, beep your horn and wave your arms frantically. This should help the car start and send them on their way.

PREVENT burglars stealing everything in the house by simply moving everything in the house into your bedroom when you go to bed. In the morning, simply move it all back again.

MOTORISTS Avoid getting prosecuted for using your phone whilst driving. Simply pop your mobile inside a large shell and the police will think you are listening to the sea.

JEREMY Beadle When selling DVDs on your TV advert, hold the disks in your bigger hand so that they do not appear to be the size of laser disks.

SHOES last twice as long if only worn every other day.

ALCOHOLICS don't worry where the next drink is coming from. Go to the pub, where a large selection is available at retail prices.

And the absolute belter for last :

WOMEN Don't waste energy faking org@sms. Most men couldn't give a shit anyway and you could use the saved energy to hoover the house after you've been banged.

supplied by Martyn

this woman is a news anchor on French TV and she is simply stunning, click the picture for more ...

What would you say, given one free minute of anonymous public speech? One Free Minute began with a simple question: what would happen if the remote speech made possible by a cellphone were connected to public space? Since then it has branched out to be an examination of public speech, an exploration of how cellular technology affects human communication in both negative and positive ways, a hand-made fibreglass sculpture, a web site, a bunch of phone lines, a whole lot of server bandwidth, an archive with close to a thousand speeches and, well... you get the idea.
The principal intent behind One Free Minute was to investigate how public discourse has been changed by technology. Cellular phones have brought private space into the public realm, metering human interaction in billed-by-the-minute increments. One Free Minute inverts this aspect of cellular technology, using it instead to break the soundscape of public space with unpredictable acts of improvised, anonymous public speech. Instead of allowing corporate structures to specify how we communicate in public space, One Free Minute allows individual callers to control the public soundscape for a single minute.
Another intent of One Free Minute was to create a tool to facilitate anonymous free speech in public places. Governments everywhere are increasingly vigilant of who is saying what and where: One Free Minute puts a bit of a blur on the 'who' and 'where', meaning, for example, that activists can speak without fear of recrimination when and if necessary.

At Frankfurt Peugeot will display the 1:1 scale prototype of the Moovie, the project winner of the 3rd edition of the Peugeot Design Competition.
The Moovie was created by a Portuguese designer, André Costa, and was voted as the best project among 3,800 entries.
The main reasons for the award were the original style, expressing a clear allegiance with the Marque, and its many innovations which make it a genuine future prospect.
The Peugeot likeness is shown subtly, since André Costa cleverly used the U, which usually frames the lion on the front of the Marque’s models.This presentation is even more astute, since here the U structures the passenger compartment, connecting the generous front windscreen to the rear windscreen in a single line.
The vehicle also features numerous innovations. Its doors, which house the rear wheels, have a dual function.The first allows easy access to the passenger compartment, thanks to two swivel doors.The second reduces the energy consumption required to drive the Moovie, thanks to its large wheel dimensions. In addition, the Moovie is exceptionally agile under all circumstances and can be driven easily in restricted spaces thanks to the two spheres located at the front.

Click any of the pictures for a bigger image ...

This week, a reveller takes a breather at La Tomatina Festival in Valencia, Spain, an annual event where thousands crowd the streets to pelt each other with more than 100 tons of ripe tomatoes. Captions for this picture included: The vegan remake of Reservoir Dogs was proving to be a messy affair

A certain frozen meal is causing a stampede at Tesco stores across the country, reported the Daily Mail. For every £1.95 customers spend on Birds Eye Roast Beef Dinners, they receive 150 Clubcard points. The points are worth £1.50 in store or four times that amount if redeemed against Eurostar tickets, hotels around Europe and Air Miles. One man claims to have bought enough to take a three-week holiday to New Zealand, says the paper. Another spent £6,596 on 10,148 meals, but that has given him points equal to £20,296 worth of Clubcard deals.

The Daily Mirror meanwhile reported a fight between Robbie Williams and Chris Evans at a star-studded golf event in Wales. There were no fisticuffs, just a battle of ego as the two bid for a Masters flag belonging to Tiger Woods and two tickets for the next Masters tournament. Evans was the victor in the bidding war, if you can call being £40,000 out of pocket for a flag and tickets winning.

Actor Michael Sheard, best known for playing teacher Mr Bronson in long-running children's TV drama Grange Hill in the 1980s, has died aged 65.
Sheard gained wider fame as Admiral Ozzel in 1980 Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back. His other films included Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade - one of a string of appearances as Adolf Hitler - and he was a regular guest in Doctor Who. His agent said he had cancer and died at home on the Isle of Wight.
In Grange Hill, his stern manner and cries of "You, boy" as deputy head Maurice Bronson made him one of TV's most memorable figures. Michael Sheard played Adolf Hitler five times Born in Aberdeen, he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) in London before winning parts in TV shows such as Dixon of Dock Green and Crossroads.
With a series of roles in Doctor Who spanning more than 20 years, he boasted that he starred alongside more Doctors than any other actor. He was even touted as a potential Doctor himself. "Things got in the way," he told the BBC's Wiltshire website in 2003. "It would have been fun to do."
In Star Wars, he was memorably choked by Darth Vader - and said George Lucas told him it was "the best screen death I've ever seen". At the time, Star Wars was "just another part in a very busy actor's career", he said, but it has secured him a place in the hearts of Star Wars fans and an Admiral Ozzel action figure came out last year.
Michael Sheard played Mr Bronson from 1985-89 He regularly appeared at Star Wars, cult TV and 1980s-themed conventions and club nights.

Shudder - never again will I complain about spiders in this country

It makes me forget about all the other webcams I could look at involving sweaty lesbians taking showers with each other. Hey, wait.

PandaCam
ElephantCam
ApeCam
PolarbearCam
ShamuCam

1 Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?
2 Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough?
3 Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
4 Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?
5 Why do they use sterilised needles for death by lethal injection?
6 Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
7 Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a gun at him?
8 Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
9 Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?
10 What is the speed of darkness?
11 Are there specially reserved parking spaces for "normal" people at The Special Olympics?
12 If you send someone 'Styrofoam', how do you pack it?
13 If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?
14 If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?
15 If it's true that we are here to help others, what are the others doing here?
16 Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer?
17 If someone with a split personality threatens to commit suicide, is it a hostage situation?
18 Can you cry under water?
19 What level of importance must a person have, before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
20 If money doesn't grow on trees then why do banks have branches?
21 How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on bigger suitcases ?
22 Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up, every two hours?
23 If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
24 Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
25 Why do doctors, when they ask you to strip, leave the room or close the cubicle curtain while you change? ..... They're still going to see you naked anyway.