Seeking Xanadu

I have loads to do, going to be a quiet week.

I've beenf work with a nasty cold thing for nearly a week, I have to go back monday so much to do and deadlines are slipping as I sit here. I am still so tired and run down, and i'm losing my voice. Not fun. I hate being sick, I am not in anyway quiet and dignified about it when i'm ill. I whine something rotten, I become crabby and demanding (or more so than usual). Bleuck. Anyway hubby is at the pub so i'm whining here.

who knew?

I am watching Dragonwyck. The girl playing Miranda is very pretty and Vincent Price plays the leading man.
It's an old black and white movie. I love Vincent Price, he's deliciously creepy in everything, but I don't think i've ever seen him this young. 6ft 4" slender, broad shoulders and amazing bone structure. He is beautiful. Hmm, tall, skinny, broad shoulders, angular cheekbones, why does that sound familiar, oh yeah,the husband. Anyway, if you like black and white movies this is a wonderfully gothic and creepy movie set in the old west.

For your amusement

I am stuck home with a foul cold (i'm a wimp). I thought since this made me smile, i'd share it with you.

A HELL OF AN ANSWER:

The following is an actual question given on a University of Liverpool chemistry final exam.

The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues via the Internet,
which is why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's law that gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that, if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially.

Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell. Because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay constant, the volume of Hell must expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Sandra during my freshman year, that "it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is endothermic and has already frozen over.

The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is extinct....leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being - which explains why, last night, Sandra kept shouting "Oh my God."

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A".

Watching the Wheels

Husband and I occasionally (about once a week at the moment) indulge in conversation about where we will emigrate to. I don't really envisage leaving the UK to go and live somewhere else, but it's a fun game. recently my answers have been New Zealand, Alaska, Romania. If I was going to leave the UK I would want to live somewhere beautiful and peaceful. H was horrified at the idea of Alaska, he takes no pleasure in cold and winter at all. I get fed up with the grey misery of it here, but a cat, a fire and a mug of hot chocolate and i'm happy.
H could fancy New Zealand, or France. The only problem with it is, it's completely the other side of the world and since we are neither millionaires or orphans keeping close to family could prove problematic. Still, we will keep dreaming.

Book Contest

Just a quicky to say we are running a book giveaway on Un:Bound. Send a photo of a bookpile / bookstack / collapsed heap of books with a cat sprawled on it, or whatever and a line explaining what your books are (tbr pile, should never have bought pile, whatever) in order to win a brand new copy of Dana Fredsti's toung in cheek noir mystery "Murder for Hire: The Peruvian Pigeon", a bookplate signed by the author and of course we'll enclose an Un:Bound bookmark.
The review of the book and interview with the author  and contest details can be viewed here
and the email address is unbound@unboundblogzine.com or hagelrat@googlemail.com

shocker, no really.

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader   You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
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Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I wany this living room.

I thought i'd catch up on some lolcats having been a couple of weeks without. As I scrolled through a selection of cute and amusing pics I saw this one
Awesome!! Completely over the top but brilliant non the less. Way to amuse the furries.

Not that our cats are short of love and toys and space, but the little mm, darlings decided the christmas tree looked fun. We've had to throw it out,we are going for real trees in future, which will be nice anyway and perhaps survive the cats a little better.

Supernatural and cross posting.

Hi all, two things, first of all I just watched season 3 of Supernatural and it was brilliant. I missed it. Can't wait for season 4 to hit amazon. Sadly we don't have sky so I have a wait for my next fix, at which point I shall watch the lot in 3 days again.

Cross Posting.
Also, over Un:Bound we are running our first giveaway, a copy of Dana Fredsti's "The Peruvian Pigeon" details are here http://hagelrat.blogspot.com/2009/01/competition-time.html

Inevitable annual roundup

this last year I have, moved house, lost the last of my rats, adopted two cats, got married, made some wonderful new friends, maybe burnt bridges with a couple of old ones, starting commuting and making use of the shiny new driving licence. Changed my name, part of getting married I guess. Discovered a ton of new authors to read and book blogs to hang out at, started my own book review blogzine (www.unboundblogzine.com) and recieved a few books to review from publishers. Tried a ladyboy (at the wedding, it's a drinking thing, Alan Partridge), turned 31, missed a whole load of events and trips that I should have attended, lost a little weight,put a little weight back on, drunk too much a couple of times, driven on the motorway for the first time, and many times after, discovered vegetarian food and movie nights with a mate, discovered the local butchers, made christmas dinner for my husband and I at our home, the way we wanted it and proven I can make yorkshire pudding the way he likes it, said no to both families over the whole christmas thing. Failed to play any bass guitar all year.
It's been a pretty good year all told and I am happy with it, but hell it's been fast.