mjmooney

Those two Hendrix posts arrivd simultaneously!

Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) (on the soundtrack of "Withnail And I")

I voted nobody.

Anyone and I mean anyone who takes on Capello will come off worse. Throughout his career Capello has demanded and recieved discipline and respect from him players and God help those who fall out of grace with the man.

Like or loathe his appointment but make no mistake he will not suffer fools.

Player power. What if a caucus of "influential" players - let's say Terry, Gerrard, Rooney and the Coles - ALL had a bit of a player revolt? Do you think he'd drop the lot? And if he did, and then lost a critical game, the English press would lynch him.

This one could get interesting.

I don't think this is really a left/right argument. On most of those I'd side with Ian and be opposed to Nick, but I have some sympathy with both their viewpoints on this one.

On this subject I think we're all affected by our own experiences far more than by "theory".

For example, there was a TV discussion roughly on this topic some time ago, with that Dragons' Den bloke Duncan Bannatyne talking about how he had no qualifications but became a millionaire through his entreprenurial skills and hard work. All well and good, but he has a son and he claims he tells him not to bother with school because it's all just a waste of time. That made me cringe, although I expect his son will do fine with Daddy's money and contacts - but what about everybody else?

And then there's the question as to what education is FOR. The Thatcherite camp seemed to think it was to provide capable recruits for industry and commerce, but for me that's confusing it with TRAINING - laudable and necessary, yes, but a different thing entirely.

It sickened me to hear Charles Clarke when he was education secretary sneering that he couldn't see the point of university subjects such as mediaeval history.

I fear that the idea that "some kids just aren't cut out for academic work, let's train them to be brickies" is insidious. It may be true in some cases, but it smacks of the 1950s secondary modern approach. And as the son of unqualified working-class parents who was given - by the 11-plus/grammar school system - the opportunities which they weren't, it sits uncomfortably with me.

Don't like loose boxers, not comfortable in my experience.

Snug Y-fronts for work; pants or tight boxers for, er, social occasions.

It just gets funnier:

Former Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan has refused to rule himself out of the running to become the new Magpies boss.

The 56-year-old, who quit his last job as Manchester City boss in March 2005, told BBC Sport in October that he was unlikely to manage a team again.

But following Sam Allardyce's exit last week, he has been linked with a return to the club he managed from 1992-97.

He told Sky Sports News: "I'm not ruling myself out or in. It's a club I love, everyone knows that."

Former England coach Keegan is currently running his "Soccer Circus" in Glasgow and has been linked with a return to management alongside fellow Newcastle legend Alan Shearer.

He was also linked with a return to the club last summer as director of football following Mike Ashley's takeover.

But Keegan ruled out that possibility and has since been coaching youngsters in Scotland.

When asked if he would manage again he said in October: "I don't think it will happen. I think my life has gone in a different direction.

"You never know, I mean I do get offers to go back into football, but I made a decision that I would come and do something different with my life."

Keegan took the Magpies to within four points of their first title in nearly 70 years in 1996, when they finished runners-up to Manchester United.

BBC

as i am 15 and i do piss people of mainly teachers because school is so shit and depressing and a lot hrder now adays than it was say 30 years ago

School is HARDER than it was thirty years ago??? You are out of your mind. Have you not seen any of those programs where they put modern kids through a sample of 50s/60s/70s education? My boss was a teacher until very recently and he is adamant that it is many times easier today and standards are way lower.

One small example. My daughters have both done A-Level English recently, and weren't even expected to read the whole of their set novels, just a selected couple of chapters. When I did O-Level (GCSE equivalent, mind, not even A-Level) in 1970, our set book was Hardy's "Far From The Madding Crowd", and they expected us to read the whole book - preferably twice - plus as many OTHER Hardy novels we could fit in, for comparison. This was as well as (typically) eight or nine other subjects - in my case French, Latin, maths, physics, chemistry, biology, geography and history - all of which had similar workloads.

I'm not saying I think it should be like that now - times change, and rightly so - but don't tell me it was "easier" back then!

Definitely a parental problem.

My three are 18, 15 and 12.

I've NEVER had to give them a good hiding, hardly any slaps either.

They were/are all good students.

They are not mouthy to me or anyone else.

They dont smoke

They dont drink to excess ;-)

They dont throw crap on the floor.

All I had to do was shout at em, which wasnt too difficult ;-)

Similar experience to me. Maybe it would have been harder if they'd been boys, but my daughters (20 and 18 ) have turned out just fine. We DID administer the very occasional smack when they were small - it can be effective to let them know they've REALLY upset you, but becomes useless if over-used. Never had to do it once they'd started school.

They're now bright, confident and happy young women - one at university, one about to go - and great company. How much of that is down to parenting and how much is sheer luck (e.g. living in a decent area, being in a good social group) I'll never know.

Re; door-to-door god botherers...

My old mum used to tell them we were all Mormons. Inevitably she came nearly unstuck one day when some real Mormons showed up. Just in time she noticed the little badges and changed her spiel to "Muslims".

I always used to tell them I was a Satanist. Worth it for the look on their faces just before I shut the door.

Although I did make the mistake of inviting two of them in once - two very good looking girls. Lived to regret it though - they were VERY boring and VERY hard to get rid of.

What odds can you get on O'Leary? I'm not a betting man, but I'd be tempted by that one.

Very long shot - Brian Little.

I am sorry for half-ruining this thread by being silly, btw. Though, in fairness, I think it was really getting rather silly anyway.

GETTING rather silly?

It's been **** ludicrous for forty pages now.

Aspirin is arguably the wonder drug of the modern age - used properly it has saved countless lives. I know a couple of stroke survivors who take it daily. In fact my missus takes a quarter of a tablet a day as she has a slightly increased risk of heart disease after radiotherapy.

XTC is an unknown quantity, and as BOF rightly pointed out, you never know exactly what you're getting. My suspicion is that it will turn out to be no more and no less dangerous than alcohol - but that's not saying much, alcohol has some pretty nasty side effects, up to and including death. Human beings have alway had a propensity for experimentation with mind-altering substances - I don't think this will ever change - but we each have to decide where we draw the line.

The aspirin overdose/suicide argument is specious - that's like saying XTC is safer than a tall building.

Negatives:

Agbonlahor looked out of form.

BBC Website:

"BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match: Aston Villa's Gabriel Agbonlahor 7.50 (on 90 minutes)".

Marstons Old Empire IPA (5.7% abv) is my bottled beer discovery of the year. In fact I'm about to open one now.

Draught beer of the year has undoubtedly been Copper Dragon Golden Pippin.

Breakfast - tea (with a large slug of whisky - Famous Grouse)

Mid morning - beer (Amstel)

Pre-lunch - two sherries (Croft Particular)

Lunch - Chateauneuf-du-Pape with the turkey, Sauternes with the Xmas pud, port with the stilton, cognac with the coffee

Early evening - beer (Marstons Old Empire IPA)

Nightcap - more cognac

I can't say that I have done a lot of study, but when it has come my way I have relished it. For so many years the creation vs evolution debate seem to always go to the evolutionists. But in the last decade or two, things have swung the other way. The evidences for creation and God are fascinating to me.

Swung the OTHER way? Evidence? What Are you ON? (Don't answer that. I know).

When I was a kid I was quite disenchanted with school.

Well, that sure shows.

Now I love to learn new things.

Could have fooled me.

Forgive me if I am going off into what some might think is la la land.

You are forgiven.

I just stumbled onto this thread when I noticed it had got to 26 pages. Staggering.

Have you read 'No Country For Old Men' by Cormack McCarthy?????

I've just read it & in light of that I'd leave the money alone and walk away denying I'd ever seen it.

Yes, very good book. I expect it will be filmed as it's so violent.

If I knew what would happen o the guy, there's no way I'd take it.

Neil Young - The Emperor Of Wyoming.

We've reached a new low

I'm so proud.

“Ah but it does,' says the man, 'Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear.”

Right, that's it, gloves off....

Rod Stewart was doing a tour of Germany, and on one of his days off visited a local lunatic asylum as a charitable act. The ward sister showing him around told him that the inmates wanted to set him a challenge - he had to guess what their favourite hobby was. Looking around the ward, he noticed quite a few fishing nets, so he said "Fishing?" The lunatics were highly impressed by this and asked the sister how he knew. She immediately burst into song:

"Rod guessed, you Jerry mental men, net-loving you display..."

Metallica - Leper Messiah... one of the underrated tracks in the Metallica catalog (and if I'm not mistaken, one that they quietly pay Mustaine royalties over... I know that Dave sued over one of the tracks on Master of Puppets).

Perhaps David Bowie should sue them over the title?

Making love with his ego

Ziggy sucked up into his mind

Like a leper messiah

When the kids had killed the man I had to break up the band

A Taliban suicide bomber pulls the plug and explodes... BOOM!!! A short while later he finds himself on a huge white staircase leading towards the heavens, so he starts climbing up. After an hour of hard climbing, he arrives at a landing where an old man in white robes with a long flowing beard is sitting surrounded by ledgers.

"Excuse me sir" he says "are you Mohammed?" "No" replies the old man, "I am St Peter, Mohammed is further up the stairs". "But this is wonderful news" screams the bomber, 'Mohammed is higher than St Peter! I can hardly believe it'.

With this he carries on climbing up the stairs. After an hour or so of hard climbing he arrives at another landing. Standing on the landing is a serene looking man with long hair and a long white beard.

"Excuse me sir" he says "are you Mohammed?" "No" replies the old man, "I am Jesus, Mohammed is further up the stairs". "But this is amazing news" screams the bomber, "Mohammed is higher than Jesus! I can hardly believe it, martyrdom is wonderful!!"

With this he carries on climbing up the stairs. After another hour or so of hard climbing he arrives on a huge landing. There, sitting on a magnificent throne is another old man, with flowing white robes, beard and long white hair.

"Excuse me sir" he says "are you Mohammed?" "No" replies the old man, "I am God." "But this is absolutely amazing news" screams the bomber, "Mohammed is higher than God! I am so happy I can't believe it, martyrdom is more than wonderful!"

"You look tired my son" said God "would you like to sit down and rest a while?" "Oh yes" replied the bomber "I am very tired and would love a rest before I carry on, thank you".

The bomber sits down and God says "You look thirsty my son, would you like a cup of coffee?" "Oh yes please" replies the bomber "I am most thirsty, thank you".

With this God turns and snaps his fingers and shouts "Oi, Mohammed, two coffees over here and make it snappy!!"

"Fatwah for Mister Wardle!"

The Fermi Paradox

Interesting read Simon.

As a music addict, I used to think that losing hearing would be the worst thing imaginable. But the sheer practical nightmare of blindness would outweigh even that. And I'd hate to lose reading (talking books would be no substitute). The music is all in my head anyway.

I know we have deaf posters on here - what do you reckon Legendary10?