Mark H

"There is an ancient secret power that resides deep inside every woman. And meow, is it sexy! This eternal Sacred Feminine energy is the stuff of life, of passion, purpose, and pleasure, and when tapped into can attract all things your heart desires. This includes attracting your Twin Flame Union. I call it “Pussy Power” – a primal life-force of erotic power that is generated in the female body. It’s not only related to sexual energy, it’s related to anything having to do with creation from the etheric world into the physical world that we live in, from Heaven to Earth." - Mark H

Eivind, I can see your experience with Aunt Flo must have been at a distance. Of macroleagues. - Spidra Webster

Stay strong, my friend. - Starmama

"Halloween’s almost here, which, for a large number of costumes, will require a liberal dousing of fake blood to complete the look. You probably already have a pretty good idea of the reasons behind the red colouration of human blood that fake blood mimics. However, red is not the only blood colour available – it also comes in blue, green, violet, and even colourless varieties – and this is a result of the specific chemicals that make up blood in different organisms." - Mark H

"All the NFL logos, if they were proper british gentlemen!" - Mark H

"Here are a bunch of socially irresponsible and politically incorrect products from the 1938 Johnson Smith & Company Catalogue of Surprising Novelties, Puzzles, Tricks, Joke Goods, Useful Articles, Etc." - Mark H

#fakatofoto - Tolgardo

*adds phrase to weekly vocabulary list* - Spidra Webster

The third was a Scotch Bonnet. Only it wasn't a Scotch Bonnet. It turned out to be a Habanero. The result was swollen, very red lips and quite a speech impediment which caused quite a lot of amusement. - Mark H

What Anika said. I get tingly fingers a lot from chopping peppers. Unfortunately, I have a pesky habit of rubbing my eyes after chopping said peppers. >.< - Jenny H.

Just me then. - Mark H

Yes. - Mark H

"Invaders from Mars is a remake of the 1953 film of the same name. The filmmakers love for the original is on full display here. Jimmy Hunt, the actor who played David in the original, puts in a an appearance, and one of the aliens from the 53 film can be spotted in a pile of junk in the school basement. On a whole, the film does preserve a lot of the feel of a 50’s alien invasion flick, but it also has a very 80’s vibe to it. The whole film actually looks very Spielburg-ian. You know…lots of people carrying around flashlights, zoom-ins to windblown faces staring at something amazing, and enough lens flares to give JJ Abrams a tingle up his thigh." - Mark H

"Much of the cast plays their roles just a bit over-the-top, or extremely over-the-top in the case of Louise Fletcher. I’ve got to believe that was intentional. It doesn’t quite bring the film to the level of parody, but it makes it clear that Hooper and his crew recognize the sillier side of 50’s alien invasion flicks and are, in fact, celebrating that fact." - Mark H

Love the 50s version; never seen this one, though. - Mark H

The 1953 film was a masterpiece, the remake... not so much. If you haven't seen the original, the full movie is here: http://youtu.be/REc1iR_ME4c - Ken Morley

"The dispute comes as a video has emerged online in which John Morgan, who is also his wife’s manager, verbally abuses and threatens a man who had been handing out leaflets to people arriving at one of her shows in London. [...] In the video, Mr Morgan approaches Mr Tilbrook and warns him that he is being sued for libel. Mr Morgan then makes threats including, “I’m gonna knock you out one day” and “one day you’re gonna be lifted and you’ll disappear somewhere”. Daren Wiltshear, Mr Morgan’s son-in-law, then arrives. Mr Morgan says: “Right, so I’m gonna hit you in a minute, I’m gonna knock you out.” Mr Wiltshear adds: “I’ve seen him do it, and you really don’t want him to do it.” After further legal threats, Mr Morgan says: “You know, you look pale. Are you on drugs or has someone shagged you too much? One of your boyfriends been up your arse?”" - Mark H

The video's well worth watching. - Mark H

"Designs for 250 London Underground (LU) trains have been unveiled as part of an upgrade which could cost about £16bn. The trains will be installed on the Piccadilly, Central, Waterloo & City and Bakerloo lines from the mid-2020s. [...] For the first time on deep-level sections of the Tube, the 250 trains, which are expected to cost up to £2.5bn, will have a mechanised air-cooling system built in.They will also have improved accessibility, with step-free access from the platform and more space for wheelchair users." - Mark H

They should've just made tunnel floors moving :) - голос в темноте

Oh, yeah - I've had that. I think part of it is that with insomnia I do spend a large amount of time at least attempting to relax. If I'm staying up that many hours in a row, there's a good chance I'm working pretty hard at something that requires at the least a good amount of mental energy. - Jennifer Dittrich

They better give you a nice relaxing vacation after this. - Anika

There will be no relaxing vacation. However, I got paid quite well and time off that exceeded that spent doing the work. It doesn't help that I've had this afternoon off and tried to get some sleep during it but I don't find sleeping in the daytime comes easy; four hours in bed probably equated to about 30 minutes of actual dozing. - Mark H

I've already indicated that if there are any problems I'll simply tell the deployment people to fail over to the backup site because deployments are not the time and place to tinker with code so my presence is pointless. Still, here I am. - Mark H

Just before leaving work this evening the client sent an email to my project manager outlining some post-deployment tasks they'd like me to do during the day tomorrow. My manager emailed back saying I wouldn't be available but someone else could do some of them with the remainder having to wait until Friday when I would next be in. The client was shocked that I wouldn't be available the day after a large deployment. Three hours sleep in 48 is more than enough for anyone, right? - Mark H

In summary: I hate this client and I hate my work, so not a lot different from any other day. - Mark H

We weren't supposed to have to work anymore in this millennium. Our robot slaves would labor while we enjoyed the fruits. What happened? #haciendaporfavor - Eivind

"In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the prestigious John Hinde Studio, based in Dublin, produced a series of elaborately staged photographs that were made into popular postcards - sold at Butlins holiday camps throughout the UK. In those days more than a million Britons had a holiday at Butlins every year. Three photographers, two German (Elmar Ludwig and Edmund Nägele) and one British (David Noble) took photographs to Hinde’s detailed and meticulous instructions. Each photograph utilised a large casts of real holidaymakers acting out roles in huge, beautifully lit ‘narrative tableaux’ of Beachcomber bars, gardens, outdoor swimming pools, ballrooms and snooker halls. The Somerset born Hinde sold his company in 1972 to pursue his love of painting." - Mark H

"I was fortunate to be able to preserve a small collection of some of the artwork used to create the covers of Mastertronic computer games. They were painted onto board and then photographed to form the backing artwork on top of which were overlaid the company logo and graphics for the game title and details. In our early days the artwork was framed and kept in our offices - later on as the pictures piled up they were slung in a cupboard and forgotten. I took them before they went in the skip when our offices moved." - Mark H

"During the 19th century Billingsgate market, situated in the south-east corner of the City of London, was the largest fish market in the world. Originally just a general market by the riverside a 1699 Act of Parliament made Billingsgate ‘a free and open market for all sorts of fish whatsoever’." - Mark H

"The first actual Billingsgate Market building was built on Lower Thames Street in 1850 but it soon became too small and was demolished in 1873. The new building known as Old Billingsgate Market, and the one that still exists today albeit without the market, was designed by the city architect Sir Horace Jones and opened for trading in 1877. The new building was twice the size of the original and incorporated the Billingsgate Stairs and Darkhouse Lane." - Mark H

"Billingsgate market, which had long been seen as rather anachronistic while it was situated in the City of London, ceased trading in 1982. It was reallocated to the Isle of Dogs where it still continued to be run by the City of London Corporation and for which they pay an annual ground rent made up of “the gift of one fish”. The writer George Orwell worked for a short while at Billingsgate in the 1930s as did the the Kray Twins, for about six months, when they were fifteen. It was the longest job they ever had." - Mark H

It was a far more captivating experience than I really imagined it would be, helped by some great performances from the cast, inventive set design, and some wonderful outfits. It also triggered a slight welling of tears in my eyes when the spell is lifted that allows Prince Charming and Cinderella to see one another, a testament to the great acting. - Mark H

So there you go: I quite like opera as it turns out. - Mark H

When I was a kid, I used to love watching the operas that PBS aired. A friend of mine is a trained opera singer and she took me to a few shows. I found I liked watching it on TV a lot more. - Anika

Yes, I can't imagine rushing to see an opera any time soon without really knowing the story inside out otherwise a lot of it would be completely lost on me. For now the TV is a much better option. - Mark H