The Mortal Wombat

• How would I look with a new face?
  The BBC's medical correspondent underwent a face scanning and computer imaging technique, to see how he'd look if another man's face was transplanted onto his own skull.
  (tags: medical surgery transplants face_transplants identity)
• Autistic ability 'underestimated'
  The intelligence of people diagnosed with autism is being underestimated, a science conference in St Louis, US, has been told.
  (tags: autism intelligence)
• Early Welsh in digital on display
  The Chad Gospels will go on display (in digital form) at Llandeilo Fawr
  (tags: manuscripts chad_gospels llandeilo_fawr)

• Top stars picked in alien search
  A US astronomer has drawn up a shortlist of the stars most likely to harbour intelligent life.
  (tags: astronomy seti life)

• Sleep on it, decision-makers told
  
  
  A Dutch study suggests complex decisions like buying a car can be better made when the unconscious mind is left to churn through the options.
  
  
  (tags: psychology decision_making conscious unconscious)
  
  



• T. rex 'had razor-sharp senses'
  
  
  Tyrannosaurus rex may have been a big beast, but it appears to have possessed the sensory skills of much smaller, more agile animals. Recent research also suggests that it may have been a scavenger, rather than a top predator.
  
  
  (tags: palaeontology dinosaurs tyrannosaurus_rex)
  
  

• Monkey magic casts spell in Asia
  Monkey!
  (tags: TV monkey)
• BBC Climate Change Experiment
  The BBC has organised a distributed computing experiment to model climate change
  (tags: weather global_warming bbc distributed_computing)

• Self-cleaning bathroom on the way
  Cool! A special coating has been developed which, when activated by light (even domestic lighting), destroys organic compounds.
  (tags: nanotechnology hygiene)

I never mentioned that, having passed my first two OU courses, I've been awarded the Certificate in Computing and Mathematics. So I can now put the letters 'Cert Comp and Maths (Open)' after my name. Well, it might impress someone...

All the bits from Dabs have arrived, so I'll be ready to start building the Beast (OK, more of a softly purring kitten) this weekend, while L's up North.

Yesterday I had the worst headache I've ever had in my life (barring possibly one or two exceptional hangovers). Mild cold, then sinusitis, followed by sinusitis + heavy cold is an unpleasant experience. Anyway, I've been to the doctor's and got some antibiotics and sprays, so it should clear up in a few days. L's been lovely, despite the fact that she finds illness in other people unaccountably amusing. I've had all the usual 'man flu' comments, but it makes me feel better just having her around.

• Internet Explorer 7: Beta 2 Preview
  Well, just because it issues from the loins of Satan, doesn't mean I shouldn't play with it... I'll be looking at this closely to see whether it'll break anything on my site.
  (tags: browsers ie7)

• Research questions phonics policy
  Research has questioned the impact of synthetic phonics teaching, which was backed by a government literacy review.
  (tags: education schools phonics)