Uranyl Yellow

Exactly - so a total lockdown is never going to happen. And they moan about our government talking bollocks. Christ, if people are getting this hysterical over this outbreak, I hate to think what it'd be like if something emerged that actually had a high mortality rate attached to it.

Not really a total lockdown then is it, with every Tom, Dick and Harry doing a daily trip to the shops. And who is manning these shops?

Not really surprising. Although antiquated, it had decent results against many viral outbreaks of old before the use of antivirals and vaccines became common.

A vaccine could be quite a while to develop and test. Using blood plasma from those who have recovered is more likely in the short term. It has problems, and would likely only be used on the severely ill, but it's what has been used in viral outbreaks through the ages with some degree of success.

I work at a Uni, so have the possibility of slightly increased risk what with being around grimy-handed students from here-there-and-everywhere. Although I am creeping towards an age where it is possibly of an increased threat, I have no great worry about getting it, though if I do display symptoms (and that includes a runny nose) I will self-isolate as it's not worth risking other people. My toilet contains a nine-pack of bog rolls, of which there are about five left, and I have no plans of running out in a panic and buying up the entire stock of Sainsbros. No pasta in my cupboard, and for that I am eternally grateful to the Coronavirus.

I believe this is probably true, though I must admit I am still bottling out of actually buying anything more at this stage (although I know I probably should). I think you probably just have to have a close look at the fundamentals and avoid companies that don't have a large cash reserve to ride out a storm. I can see a good number of companies going tits up over this, and possibly including some FTSE blue chips.

The cynic might say that they know full well what they are doing and see it as a golden opportunity to reduce the social care and pension bill. Not that I'm a cynic of course...

If nothing else, this probably clearly indicates my decision to mostly avoid these more-serious type of threads is probably wise. My response wasn't really intended to be any other than a bit of light ribbing (sorry, clearly failed in that), and a swipe at the hypocrisy (my own included) that generally creeps into things when we start up with our judgments whilst remaining completely oblivious to our own lifestyles. Fear not, I will tell tell my slightly-inclined eyebrow to calm itself down.

Oh sure. I would be the last person to hold my hands up in defence of the moral justice of Mother Nature. You only have to look at the world to know that she is an absolute bitch. Doubtless it would be better to line up all the jet-settin', meat-eatin', car-drivin', money-worshippin' freaks out there and club the to death with a smelly sandal and half a courgette, but maybe that would present its own problems. Excuse me. I must climb into my private jet and try to track down some feckin' soap. I'm down to my last nub. At this rate I'll have to boil two pigs and saponificate my own.

Not to mention that air pollution is roughly estimated to kill seven million people a year (if you choose to believe the WHO), but it doesn't stop people obliviously climbing in their cars and pootling 200 yards down the road to the chippy. I have no idea how bad this will get, but I do know that the Earth will continue to turn irrespective of whether we are on it or not. Whilst undoubtedly callous, it is a maxim that a highly virulent virus (and I don't think that this is it by a long shot) would be a very bad thing for humanity (at least in the short term), but it would be a very good thing for the world.

Or downwind of either...

Yeh, though in terms of a pure wipefest I still found the Bishop Alexander/Drillworm fight in the harbour much more frustrating. I think on my first playthrough, I wiped so many times that I ended up dropping the difficulty down a level. I managed to do it on my normal difficulty setting on my second playthrough, though I did end up slightly cheating by pre-laying an oil slick that would have put the Exxon Valdez to shame.

The worst thing about that fight wasn't so much the length of time, but trying to keep that idiot NPC with a deathwish alive.

Can't say that I'm overly bothered by the transition to a turn-based style rather than the real time with pause - though I was more talking about the additional use of tactical environmental effects, which they seem to have ramped up even more. The use of the height-based mechanics also looks interesting. To be honest I'm more looking forward to BG3 - Cyberpunk looks stunning and all, but I fear age has crept up on me and turn-based combat is all my reactions are good for nowadays.

Patience grasshopper. Considering that it was less than a year ago when they announced they had been given the rights to develop it, I'm amazed that they've got this far so quickly.

Extended gameplay footage from Baldur's Gate 3 Seems to be coming together somewhat faster than I was expecting. Looks to borrow more from DOS that Baldur's Gate, but that's not too surprising given Larian is developing it, and probably isn't a bad thing anyway.

Visionary physicist Freeman Dyson (his name alone is worthy of an accolade) is no more. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/mar/01/freeman-dyson-obituary

There was a time when I might have said it was value for money, but those days are long gone. I find that nowadays I hardly watch it, and the programs I do watch I wouldn't really miss. It is certainly true that I watch C4 (the other public service broadcaster) far more than the BBC, and that is paid for by advertising. If I had full access to the programmes my licence fee had funded to be made, then the story might be different, but compared to C4 there is a general dearth of material in the BBC archives, and that is perhaps what I resent the most.

Prolly no different to when I used to sit around in a group as a kid/teenager, except maybe that we couldn't afford a car...or chicken...or pizza...or even cans come to that (empty or otherwise).

I'm enjoying Picard as it develops, though I'm finding the story more interesting than a lot of the characters at the moment. The Starfleet commander who is actually a Romulan agent has promise though.

Makes no odds to me, as long as you don't let any of those Star Wars wierdos in.

I commonly use 'eyup' as a greeting, though I can't say that I've ever put 'me duck' on the end. I am commonly reminded of the interview for my current job where I went in and said 'eyup' to all the suits, though quite why they find it so feckin funny is beyond me.

I've just seen the opening episode of Picard and thought it was very good with a lot of promise. The story was interesting, and I'll be looking forward to seeing how it develops. Although I get Prime mostly for the free delivery, these additional perks thrown in are most welcome.

I went down the route of an intensive course, and for me it was a much better way of doing it. Bear in mind however it is pretty much down to the individual on whether they are suited to you. You are in a car mostly all day, and you have to be able to maintain focus for that period of time. You also have to be able shrug off .mistakes and not them them bother you, as you get no recovery time between lessons