The Minkey

Neighbours

Someone offering up their seat to someone who looks like they need it, especially when they're sitting in seats reserved for that purpose.

I do most of my shopping in Peckham as I'm limited in how far I can travel. First two things off the top of my head: Encourage a diverser range of businesses: There are far too many businesses all offering the same kind of stuff. It's a bit like Brixton was back in the 90's, largely bottom end outlets, without the benefit of its more upmarket stores like Morleys or M&S to provide a little balance. Clean it up: Coming through this evening, I was struck by how dirty and tired it all looked - there's a thick layer of grime over everything and piles of rubbish everywhere.

Biting the inside of my own mouth, especially when it's really sore cause I keep biting it. Makes me want to punch myself every time..

bedlam

My family still live in Wales and the recession has hit them far worse than it has us down here and what jobs there are tend to pay less well. They get free prescriptions too - good luck to them.

Peckhamgatecrasher: I haven't had time to go see yet but thinking about things that look very unlike their adult selves when first popping up, could it be horsetail: http://www.british-wild-flowers.co.uk/H-Flowers/Horsetail,%20Field.htm

"Difference between not having somewhere with a roof over your head to sleep and not having a home. If someone lived in a grubby bedsit, very few people would regard that as a 'home'. Really? I don't get that. While a bedsit might not be home in the sense of 'home sweet home', having lived in a few grubby bedsits in my time, I would never have called myself homeless - a bedsit, grubby or not, giving me a bed, a roof, somewhere to wash and (limited) cooking facilities. Plus the all-important fixed address. Are students living in bedsits homeless?

Gunpowder

I don't blame you - they do love to bury things in pots and they don't care what's already in them. I'm still amazed she had so many, that's a lot of squirrels - keep that drainpipe well greased!

Is it the bench furthest away from Forest Hill Rd, i.e nearest Kelvington Rd? If so, I'll have to take a look..

5 babies! Wow, that's a lot. I thought they tended towards 2, upping to 3 when food supplies are good. I will have to check my facts. How lucky you were there when she decided to move them :-)

It is a lovely day indeed. Whilst out there soaking up the first warm rays of Spring, I saw another butterfly sunning itself in my garden, a Comma - this site is brilliant for identifying butterflies: http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=c-album

Resin

Off the top of my head: Messenger starts because there's a default setting somewhere that makes it do so. Next time it loads, have a look if there's a checkbox you can tick to stop it happening. Icons disappearing, I don't know. Do they disappear and reappear? Is this just when the laptop is going through the process of turning on and getting everything loaded? What exactly is the message you're getting regarding the hard drive, e.g. if you have Windows Live Update running, it will occasionally tell you Updates are waiting to be installed, the exact wording is essential to work out what's going on.

Someone spotted a hedgehog in my garden a couple of years ago - I never have though. I live up by the reservoir. I was listening to something on R4 the other day - apparantly bumblebee sightings at this time of year are all Queens looking for a suitable hole to nest in. They'll be much bigger than regular bumblebees. If there isn't much nectar around, they can run out of energy and die. It is possible to help them on their way by giving them diluted honey or sugar water (preferably non-chlorinated) - I did a quick google and came up with this: http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/insects-and-invertebrates/46924-help-bumble-bee-rescue.html "Well just to update, I put a small puddle of diluted honey near to her and she noticed straight away. Shuffled over and drank the lot and had 'seconds'. She perked up immediately and busily clean herself (or at least that's what it looked like to me!) for five minutes."

Nectar

Sunshine on a rainy day transforming my windows into a constellation of spangles.

"I presume that posters speak of the headscarf wearing gypsy woman who hangs out outside of Somerfield? Do not, under any circumstances give anything to that her, she is an unsavoury character of the highest order." What evidence do you have to support this statement?

I love the idea of Mrs Squirrel's red front door ;-) "I've just seen a Manx fox run into St John's Churchyard. Quite an amusing sight though probably his brush was lost in some gruesome way." That's odd. I saw a fox on the skyline of the covered reservoir behind me, walking very, very slowly, late summer last year. The walk was peculiar so I picked up the binocs for a better look and saw it had just lost its tail. It made me feel sick to my stomach to be honest. I didn't think it likely to survive give it was clearly in a major amount of pain and was being circled by crows and magpies. I wonder if it's the same fox? If not, how are they getting their tails trapped? As for my neck of the woods - just seen the first butterflies of the year loving the sunshine. Peacock's, I think, deep red with distinctive 'eyes' at the outer tip of the wing.

"The interesting question would be how long it takes for the power/carbon generated to exceed the power/carbon invested in creating the turbines - particularly as a fraction of lifetime." At the risk of de-railing this thread, I believe this is one of the great unknowns about wind turbines in general. Turbines or not, I'm not a fan of this building. It already looks at home in its current surroundings. It will be interesting to see if its aesthetics are enhanced by new ones.

bower

Actually, I've found NHS Direct to be very useful in the past. Maybe it depends who you get on the other end of the phone.

Yes, I've also read that having a temperature is the body's means of defense against virus / bacterial infection. However, too high a temperature can be harmful. I guess the trick is to keep monitoring the temperature and take action if it starts creeping harmfully high. Anyway, this is a 'best answer' to a similar question on Yahoo: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090213112939AA1j9q2 "When an immune response is generated against a bacterial or (occasionally) viral infection, the cells of the immune system (white blood cells - WBC) release cytokines or chemical messengers which signal a part of the brain known as the Hypothalamus to increase the temperature of our bodies. It does this by signalling the muscles to shiver, and to increase the body's metabolic rate to produce excess heat. This increase in temperature acts to stress the bacteria, to help the human immune system defeat the infection. Furthermore, increasing the temperature of the body increases the amount of Oxygen the blood is capable of carrying. This is because the WBCs use the oxygen to produce chemicals that kill the bacteria. However, it is possible for the body to overreact to the stimulus to heat-up and it is possible to cause damage to the brain and gonads from high fevers. For this reason, high temperatures (>40 degrees C) should be treated with panadol (acetaminophen) only, and not with aspirin. Panadol desensitises the brain to the cytokines responsible, and the brain brings the bodies temperature back to normal."

"Once the familiarity has bred contempt it is useful to avoid being lonely or alone" The fools! Just wait til they experience the loneliness of being stuck in a ill-matched relationship. Which is where divorce comes in useful ;-)