The Beano is a weekly British children's comic. The first issue was on July 30, 1938. Annuals are released each year.
Dunedin
Dunedin is a city in New Zealand, Ōtepoti in Maori, is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the main city of the region of Otago. The city stands on the hills and valleys surrounding the head of Otago Harbour. The harbour and hills are the remnants of an extinct volcano. It is the home of the University of Otago.
Dunedin is twinned with several cities throughout the world. These include:
Dunfermline Building Society
Dunfermline Building Society (which includes Dunfermline Direct) is a trading division of Nationwide Building Society.
Nationwide Building Society is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for life assurance, pensions, investments, insurance and regulated mortgages.
Big Mac Index
The Big Mac Index is an economic index which compares the purchasing power of two currencies. It looks at how expensive a Big Mac is in different countries.
The Big Mac Index was first written about in "The Economist" magazine in September 1986. They have published the index each year since then. The McDonald's Big Mac was chosen because it is made in a similar way with similar ingredients in many countries around the world.
The exchange rate between two countries can be compared by dividing the price of a Big Mac in one country (in its currency) by the price of a Big Mac in another country (in its currency). This value is then compared with the actual exchange rate. If the rate is lower, then the first currency is under-valued (according to purchasing power parity (PPP) theory) compared with the second currency. Conversely, if the rate is higher, then the first currency is over-valued.
For example, using figures in July 2008:
Economic index
An economic index is a number that is calculated from different economic factors, like prices or income. These numbers are calculated to be able to compare different economies in different countries. An example for such an index would be the Gross Domestic Product (or GDP).
Usually, the base is given a value of 100 and all later data is expressed in relation to this base.
For example, the consumer price index (CPI) of a year might stand at 95 (a fall of 5 percent in the prices) or 105 (an increase of 5 percent in the prices).
Indexes (indices) also measure up and down movement of industrial production, and of the market prices of bonds, commodities, shares, etc.
JeOS
JeOS is a version of Ubuntu designed for virtual machines.
All Hope Is Gone (song)
All Hope Is Gone is the second single off the album by Slipknot called "All Hope Is Gone".
The Blister Exists
"The Blister Exists" is the final single from Slipknot's "Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)" album. A music video for the song was released May 21st 2004. "The Blister Exists" is known among fans for its snare drum solo. This song was used to open concerts from The Subliminal Verses tour, following a staged announcement where the audience was told that "due to unforeseen circumstances, Slipknot will not be performing this evening." The song appeared in the video game "Prince of Persia: Warrior Within".
The music video displays the band performing the song live, with clips of their fans with much similarity to "The Nameless" music video.
Fellatio
Fellatio is oral sex performed on the penis. Fellatio is often called a blow job. The opposite of this is cunnilingus. Cunnilingus is oral sex performed on the vulva.
Fellatio can continue until the receiver ejaculates or as part of foreplay, before actual sexual intercourse.
There is no risk of getting pregnant by performing a fellatio, because there is no connection from the mouth to the womb and the fallopian tubes. There is however a large risk of transmitting diseases if the mouth comes in contact with semen on the penis. If the person drinks alcoholic drinks, it can make this risk higher. HIV can also enter through open sores or bleeding gums.
Very few people are allergic to semen. Some claim that swallowing ejaculate is an intimate act.
Diseases such as Chlamydia, human papillomavirus (HPV), gonorrhea, herpes, hepatitis (multiple strains), and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), as well as viruses such as HIV, can be transmitted through oral sex. The risk of transmitting HIV through fellatio is unknown, but it is thought to be low. Any kind of direct contact with body fluids of a person infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, poses a risk of infection. The risk from most of these types of infection, however, is generally considered far lower than that associated with vaginal or anal sex.
If the receiving partner has wounds on their genitals, or if the giving partner has wounds or open sores on or in their mouth, or bleeding gums, this poses an increased risk of STD transmission. Brushing the teeth, flossing, undergoing dental work, or eating crunchy foods such as potato crisps relatively soon before or after giving fellatio can also increase the risk of transmission, because all of these activities can cause small scratches in the lining of the mouth. These wounds, even when they are microscopic, increase the chances of contracting STDs that can be transmitted orally under these conditions. Such contact can also lead to more mundane infections from common bacteria and viruses found in, around and secreted from the genital regions. Because of this, some medical professionals advise the use of condoms when performing or receiving fellatio with a partner whose STD status is unknown. Flavoured condoms may be used for this purpose.
Many people accuse someone of performing fellatio as an insult. For example 'cock sucker!' or 'suck my dick'.
Many cultures see fellatio as showing control over ones partner, as often the giver is on their knees. In ancient Greece it was called "playing the flute". The Moche people of ancient Peru practiced it regularly and made vases showing it.
Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game made by Bungie Studios for the Xbox 360, published by Microsoft. The game brings an end to the story started in the two previous video games of the Halo series; "" and "Halo 2". The game came out on September 25, 2007 all over the world, except Europe and Japan where it was released on September 26.
Microsoft made 4.2 million copies of "Halo 3" for the first day of sales to make sure there were enough copies.
The game's story is based around a future war between a fictional alien race known as "the Covenant" and the human race. The player takes the role of Master Chief, a genetically enhanced "super soldier" who fights for the human race. The player is helped through the story by marines and another alien race known as "the elites". The game had many new features that were not in the first two games including more vehicles, weapons and equipment.
Sales of the game added up to over $900 billion USD in its first week. More than a million people played the game on Xbox Live in the first 24 hours of its release.
By January 1, 2008 it had sold over 8 million copies making it the best selling video game of 2007.
The game was mostly well-reviewed in the press. It received a 94 out of 100 rating on Metacritic, a website that puts many reviews together and gives an average score.