An Age of Magic

Mid-term report time!

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I wonder if there were any surprises when your child’s mid-term report landed through the letterbox this morning like mine did. Actually Allan’s report is not too bad though there is definitely room for improvement in certain areas going by the results of his recent exams. One or two disappointing results but that was through not enough study put in – something we intend to correct before June!

He still is not sure what he wants to do when he leaves school – he is quite talented in cooking and got a very good result in Hospitality, he had to cook a two course meal and really did very well. I am not sure if he has been considering any Jobs in IT but there is another area he has a flair for. I would really like to see him go into something creative like being a Chef or in the catering trade as he likes creating recipes and presenting meals – now there’s a good thing come to think of it…a man who can cook!

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How much does it cost to insure a spaceship?

Have you ever wondered about that…? we were looking around for cheap auto insurance the other day when I raised the question with Arnold and asked him if NASA really do insure their equipment for when things go horribly wrong. Who would they insure with – and what conditions would be imposed…?

I suppose the age of the astronauts – they are all well over 25 so that should be relatively cheap then; the speed of travel – very fast I’d say so are there extra rates for that…?; what area will the spaceship be travelling in…? a long way from earth – so what cost for that? one thing is certain though, there would be no third-party needed because who are they going to bump the spaceship into!

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Simply irresistible…are you?

Whether you are irresistible to the opposite sex or not may be a direct result of how sweet your sweat smells to the object of your desire. Research shows that clues to the genetic make-up of a woman could be held in her perspiration – or in her looks. According to Australian scientists, who studied the DNA of almost 150 university students, the secrets of attraction are hidden in immune system genes that we inherit from our parents.

Clues to this could be contained in a woman’s appearance or sweat – which signals to potential partners that children produced would have the greatest chance of fighting disease. The volunteers, including would-be doctors and engineers, also filled in detailed questionnaire about their love lives. The DNA was scrutinised for variation in genes known to influence the immune system. The more diverse these genes, the stronger a person’s defence against disease. The results of the genetic tests were then matched up with the survey answers. This showed that the women with the most varied major histocompatibility (MHC) genes, had the most sexual partners.

Previous studies have shown that the more different someone’s sweat is to yours, the more pleasant you find them – and their sweat. It is thought the phenomenon evolved to prevent us unintentionally mating with relatives – or others who are genetically similar to us.

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