coljones

A watermelon contains about 6% sugar and 91% water by weight. ref http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watermelon So at least a 91% correlation with water excluding any OH radicals spread through the sugar. The problem with a lot of these discussions can be typified by the statement "but it is only flat on the bottom!!" or in flying parlance 'it was all going well til we ran out of petrol"

I think you will find that both water and water melon are at least 90% water. Water, however, doesn't have any DNA. FT ARE YOU TROLLING AGAIN?

And the thing that really grates with me is the fact that all (except maybe the church journals) indulge the readers with publication of astrology and crackpot theories. We, of course, are frequently regaled with the casting of chicken guts, such is the lack of depth of research, by News Corp so-called journos, and radio commentators that adds nothing to the debate but brings a degree of confusion which leads to "chicken little" or bravado - none of which can be backed by reason or facts.

Let's start with a conjunction - because I can. And why would anyone take the view that becoming a LAME or L1 to 4 is any more beneficial than becoming a Nail Technician or an Underwater Basket Weaver. These jobs, and the attendant qualifications, are vital to a certain sector of the population, society and the economy in the same way that Priests are to the religious, Lawn Mower Mechanics to the neat and tidy and LAMEs and L2s to the ill-begotten idle who sit around praying for a flying kind of day (whilst plotting revolution and counter revolution in RAA). Any training is better than no training and any job is better than none. But I wish they would learn more maths and science.

On further reflection I think I am more appalled by the low level of mathematical and scientific literacy in Australia. Once upon a time, in the olden days, these were part of a well rounded education. Not everyone would achieve proficiency but the compulsory exposure to maths and science was an attempt to get the best into and out of the kids. In NSW at least the HSC is a maths and science free zone and we now have politicians and lawyers and others in positions of power without adequate training in maths and sciences to enable them to sit and make laws or sit in judgement over the high (and even low) stake technologies that Australia faces. It is all very well for Premiers and Prime ministers (and the meja) to espouse better spelling but what are they doing about bringing science and technology up to a higher level among ALL of the Australian people. It might start if politicians started to seek quality teachers and an examination and awards system to properly raise science and maths standards in schools. They could start by offering realistic salaries and not frozen at low levels to suit political expediency ("our budget is not big enough to reward teachers, nurses etc but we can afford to pay ourselves handsomely" ). We need less spellathons and more real science - less political double speak and more real science - and a lot less meja bullshitting their way through the debate and more journalists who can add up.

No. In this case "google" is a verb. Verbs are never start with a capital letter unless they start a sentence or when they are used as proper nouns. "to google" has become part of the English language in much the same way that "to hoover" has in the UK. I am not sure if a quoted word at the beginning of a sentence should/must/ought to start with a capital letter. Grammar is still king and hunting down spelling variants is just castrating mosquitoes.

Or we could go for some spelling reform It probably used to be a HANGER, a place to hang your flying Helmet How about HIGHDROLLIK. TECNAM is a brand name even if they can't spell GAJE sound good to me SENSENICH really should be SENSENIK English/US spelling is absurd and is a handown from people who couldn't or didn't care - in a way it was a form of apartheid - keep the peasants guessing. The dictionary compilers merely reported English as it was used, sometimes choosing the best of badly spelled words, and sometimes the worst. Sometimes there was an attempt to Frencify words, other times give it a Latin twist and all they did was bugger up logical English spelling. That which is far worse than spelling is grammar (not pumpkin) and punctuation. This also includes sentences which are far too long and wander from topic to topic with no logical articulation. I appreciate a word spelled well but the transmission of ideas come from a higher level, through grammar, bugger that and you bugger communications. Cheers Col

The country has been going downhill since the Romans turned up and it really got screwed over when the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Normans arrived. Despite the attempts of the Vikings to give the place some class it seems to be all too late.

I suppose you will have to factor it into other non CPI based price increases eg fuel price changes- 5% per day in some cases, the cost of imported goods, lawyers prices and politicians pay increases. You need to find a middle route. Just increase prices by 5% and blame petrol and lawyers, people will understand much better. most will just say - ah, OK.