Interesting Links for 08-01-2012

• Lemurs queuing behind a tortoise
  (tags: lemurs cute tortoise photos )
• Female Explorer Gets Her Due, 2 Centuries Later
  (tags: women history science )
• Credit union reforms introduced - if you want to avoid banks, this is the way to go.
  (tags: banking finance uk )

Sean Bean is clearly a good person

"Another story — and this really is an index of the real man… I met him in LAX (Los Angeles Airport), he'd come direct from New Zealand. We were both going to London.. He was carrying what seemed like 20 bags and he's got this old man and old lady there. I asked Sean if I could give him a hand. After waiting a few minutes, I asked whether he was going to introduce me to his friends. 'Is this your Mum and Dad?' He said he'd love to introduce me to them, but he didn't know their names. The rather dazed old couple introduce themselves…they were just an old couple who had been on the plane and had been struggling with their luggage, he'd decided to help them out. They had no idea who he was. We get to Heathrow and I'm running for a connection and out of the corner of my eye, I can see Sean very patiently taking their bags off, stacking them and steering them through customs. I don't believe, to this day, they had any idea who he was. The man is pure gold. I love him to death. He's just a thoroughly good man and a marvelous actor."

- John Rhys-Davies
via skreidle

I snorted with laughter, which is a bad idea when you have a cold

More here, chez drjon

Occupy Politics

Has there been any sign of the Occupy people politicising? As in, putting people up for election as an entirely separate party, getting local support, and eating away at the other parties by engaging people who don't believe that the two big parties have anything useful to offer.

I AM THE LAW

I was supposed to have Jury Service tomorrowat the High Court in Edinburgh. A quick call to their automated number has just told me that this is now not happening, and I should phone back on Monday night to find out if they'll want me on Tuesday instead.

I've been called for Jury Service twice before. The second time I phoned the line twice, and was told the second time that I wasn't needed at all. The first time I went in (along with 20-odd other people. They told us a little about the case, disqualified a couple of people for being too close to the case, and then picked names out of the hat to let us know which 12 would be on the actual jury*, and I wasn't picked. I was quite glad, as the case looked likely to be a gruesome one.

I find the concept of jury service fascinating, and would like to do it at some point. This is, however, not a good week, as there are a lot of important things I'd like to be involved in (including my final end-of-2011 review and a meeting with our UK CEO), so I'm kinda hoping that I'll be let off with it again.


*Over here in the UK lawyers don't get to disqualify you for no reason.