Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017 - 22:20

1. Good day to you. I got up and spent the day at leisure - pissing about online, FM16, telly, radio, eating Murray Mints, it's quite cold innit, I did a bit of laundry. Curry and rice and chapati for dinner, I'll be farting later. SCD was at Blackpool and was the usual crap where they run around a lot more because the floor is bigger, and have unnecessary support dancers involved. Fucking fuck. Dave Stewart from Eurythmics was married to, and has two kids with, Siobhan Fahey out of Bananarama and Shakespears Sister. Keren Woodward from Bananarama lives with Andrew Ridgeley from Wham!

2. This mornin' I watched a review of the World's Strongest Man competition in the 1970s and 1980s, then an episode of 'Police Interceptors' set in Durham & Cleveland Police's area. Nice to hear folks with the accent of all the friends I grew up with (though admittedly my accent itself is less marked 'cause my Ma & Pa are southerners) and also see a few areas I was sorta familiar with. Though admittedly most of the times I ever went to the rougher parts featured, it was only on driving lessons and wandering back from going clubbing having no money for a taxi.

3. LRRC3B is a gene frequently epigenetically inactivated in several epithelial malignancies and inhibits cell growth and replication. Data suggest that the LRRC3B gene could be involved in the process of carcinogenesis as a tumour suppressor gene.

4. My legs have been fucking hurting the fuck today, an over-zealous scratching yesterday evening forcing me to jump in the shower and look down and wonder if I was renacting the opening scene from 'Carrie' (in truth only a moderately small amount of blood can look like an apocalyptic amount) and today, ah, it's cold. I don't know. I'm falling apart. One thing (my weight, for instance) going right, something else is bound to go skewiff. I'm overdue my teeth mutinying too, indeed.

5. Not the most try-filled game, not actually as much of a surprise as it might've been (considering the NZ loss to Tonga t'other day) but plenty joy in Fiji as they beat their Kiwi neighbours 4-2 in the RLWC QF. Close to a surprise in the other QF as Tonga needed late defensive resolve/response to squeeze Lebanon 24-22. Australia dicked Samoa yesterday and England face PNG tomorrow hoping that another surprise from Aussie/NZ exes representing their roots doesn't occur.

6. In the union, Wales were worked very hard by Georgia, the East Europeans defending well in the first half and powerful in the second, when they maybe should've drawn level in injury time with Wales claiming players injured and unable to contest a five-yard scrum that the Georgians would've probably pushed over. England did well against Australia (but had to hang on and be glad of a non-award of an Aussie try at 13-6 before Joseph's late clincher and May's and Care's score stretchers giving the score an odd look - Australia unlucky), New Zealand won as expected against the Scots (3-3 at the break, more attack in the second half) despite Scotland bravely coming close whilst a man up but lacking clinical edge, Ireland just beat Fiji uncomfortably.

7. Bad spelling is not sexy. Neither is Toilet Duck. But a stripy jumper, of the right type, on the right lady, can be. When I was a teenager, I used to have a bit of a thing for Emma Chambers who played dippy verger Alice in 'The Vicar of Dibley'. How silly.

8. “In 1976, the average supermarket stocked 9,000 unique products; today that number has ballooned to 40,000,” writes neuroscientist Daniel J Levitin in his 2015 book The Organised Mind. “Yet the average person gets 80-85 per cent of their needs in only 150 different supermarket items. That means that we need to ignore 39,850 items in the store.”

9. The book I am reading, and am halfway through, is proving irritating. Unreliable flaky narrator jumping to all the most hackneyed assumptions, it all feels really obvious and manipulative. It may prove to be cleverer than that, but at the moment there is a female protagonist feeling stressed by a man who fancies her, yet she is conveniently falling in love with a hunky fireman who she has co-incidentally met just when she needed to. The aphorism is something along the lines of the only difference between being romantic and being creepy is how hot the man is, or words to that effect. It poses questions about whether someone's identical actions can be deemed criminal/immoral based only on whether they are welcome or not. Punishing someone for their intentions as opposed to their actions? It's difficult.

10. Todd takes a bus to the clinic but the bus breaks down. Upon spotting a taxi, he runs across a busy highway to hail it, however is distracted as the taxi moves off and is hit by an oncoming van. Paramedics arrive and Todd is taken to hospital, Jim receives a phone call from the police and he and Paul rush to Erinsborough Hospital. Jim uses Paul's car phone to call the clinic to contact Dorothy and Phoebe about Todd's accident and they race there. Todd later wakes up in hospital after a successful splenectomy. He appears to have recovered and talks to Phoebe about the future and tells her she is beautiful when he suddenly goes into cardiac arrest due to a ruptured artery the doctors miss. Doctors and Nurses try to resuscitate Todd but he flatlines with Jim, Phoebe and Dorothy unable to do anything but look on. The day after his death, Todd appears as a spirit in Phoebe's mirror telling her he will always be there for her and the baby, who he says will be a girl. Phoebe later gives birth to Hope.

11. POLAR III is a pedestrian test dummy created by Honda. The dummy is used to study how pedestrians are injured or killed when hit by automobiles. POLAR III has instruments to measure the level of injury throughout the body. About 5,000 pedestrians are killed in traffic accidents each year in the United States. By studying test dummy results and designing cars in such a way as to protect pedestrians as much as possible in the event of a collision, the number of fatalities and injuries due to pedestrians being struck may be reduced.

12. Time for MOTD and supper. I need to get back into healthier eating, I've had too much this past week or so whilst I've been off work. Lead us not into temptation..

Italy 15-31 Argentina.

Wales 13-6 Georgia.

England 30-6 Australia.

Scotland 17-22 New Zealand.

Ireland 23-20 Fiji.

France 17-18 South Africa.

Arsenal 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur. The lunchtime kick-off, North Landin rivalry, jellied eels, ah shut up. The opening half hour was a little scribbly at times, two decent teams, Arsenal's home advantage counterbalancing Spurs being the better side in better form. Eriksen after a hat-trick in midweek was looking to carry on carrying on, but it was his colleague Dembele who was bossing the midfield in the early stages. The opener came from a set-piece, perhaps harshly given, Shkodran Mustafi heading home Ozil's cross with ten to go in the first. They doubled their lead five minutes later - Lacazette working hard and feeding Sanchez at the near post able to lift it past Lloris to pose big questions of Spuds. Lots of times when Davinson Sanchez and Alexis Sanchez were in direct opposition, the Chilean probably had the best of it. Arsenal's defence were working hard to limit Spurs. Son blazed over, Llorente getting little service. Big result.

AFC Bournemouth 4-0 Huddersfield Town. Messy opening, neither side particularly free-scoring so far this season, Rajiv van la Parra denied by a good save early on though. The hosts rode it out and then went ahead just before the half hour with Callum Wilson, simple as pie, scoring from an Ibe corner. He doubled his side's, and his own, credit shortly after, another set piece with poor marking and no mistake with the Finlander. H'field were having a hard lesson about how the top flight punishes. In injury time Francis was sent off for a second yellow putting the hosts down to ten. In the second half, Wagner's men just didn't offer enough intent to get back into the game, and they were further back with fifteen left when Artur settled it - Malone dispossessed and the Cherry man clinical. Wilson had time to complete his hat-trick late on, King setting him up and it was finished well. Decisive shit.

Burnley 2-0 Swansea City. The Lancashire side could be in the Champions League positions by five o'clock given the right results today - they started brightly and Fab'ski was busier in the opening quarter. On the half hour, it finally came for the deserved home side, Jack Cork against the side he previously played for, a one-two finished with a close-range header from Brady's cross. Swansea's troubles continued as they fell two down before the break, the unspectactular Ashley Barnes with a spectacular lash home from a bouncing ball outside the box, fizzy. The Welsh side weren't looking partic good (like the Welsh rugby players this p.m. struggling against Georgia). Burnley defended well when those in white did have a bit of a spell, didn't look likely to relinquish points. James Tarkowski saw a goal ruled out for offside, reacting well to a rebound off the bar. Bony denied by the keeper, maybe he should've not given him a chance to save.

Crystal Palace 2-2 Everton. Bottom of the table side had a good start, ahead in the first couple of minutes when McArthur turned home a rebound after Loftus-Cheek's shot was parried by Pickford. Everton were soon level though, Niasse (barely) fouled and Baines scoring from the spit. Loose defences, more goals likely, came to pass before the break with Zaha in the right place to fire Ward's 'corridoor of uncertainty' ball across the 216-inch box. Before the break Everton, who'd been rocking, levelled through once out-of-favour Niasse, fed by Gueye who robbed an opponant. After all the goals in the first, the second saw better concentration in defence, fewer chances. Tammy Abraham picked up a bad back injury and needed a stretcher. Late on, both sides gave it a real go.. but no winner could be forced - Palace still bottom and poor at both ends of the pitch (Benteke doesn't look a scorer any more).

Leicester City 0-2 Manchester City. Kompany fouled Vardy early on, yellow card but could've been deemed red. Both sides unusually in different shades of blue. Schmeichel was pretty busy keeping the likes of Silva and Sane out, it looked a matter of time. John Stones tweaked a hamster and was replaced. The knocks on the door were getting louder, and this game became the last of the three o'clock matched to have a goal when Gabriel Jesus (how Christmas) netted just before the break from Silva's unselfish pull-back after a lovely passing move. The Foxes were almost level early in the second, Maguire hitting the post, but fell two down moments after when de Bruyne twatted home a centre after Sane made progress on the flank. Kyle Walker almost made it three, well saved. Mesmeric stuff from the away side, passing of excellent nature, pulling defence all over. City pulled nine points clear ahead of the evening game, they could go unbeaten this season.

Liverpool 3-0 Southampton. Some positive stuff early on, Liverpool threatening through Salah and Mane, Saints holding on and not offering much. After half an hour the goal came - Salah continuing his excellent form by converting after L'pool won the ball back high from Tadic dillying - but it was a lovely strike by the Egyptian. He added a second shirtly before the beak, Coutinho with a fine pass to release the L'pool man getting to the ball before Forster and scoring. Liverpool settled the game, if it wasn't already decided, midpoint of the second period, Forster parrying Firminho's shot into the path of Pip Cuntino. Saints were looking pretty dismal, they appear to be going backwards this year, very mid-table and glad of the fact there are several worse teams then them.

West Bromwich Albion 0-4 Chelsea. The Bsggies had an early goal ruled out, Rondon offside in putting it home five minutes down. Fifteen or so gone when Chelsea took the plumbum - Al Morata showing striking instinct to convert a rebound from Hazard's shot. The Belgian denied by Foster was not kept quiet long, scoring on the midpoint of the half after great play by Morata and Fab'gas - the Baggies keeper rushing out and making it easier for Chelsea. Before half time, three, Alonso from a free kick poorly marked - WBA being out finished despite being well in the game share-wise. Only a matter of time it appeared, pressure on Tony Pulis with a lot of fans unhappy with him, Hazard turned home Chelsea's fourth midway through the second from a lovely ball - Fab'gas involved once more. Conte's team back in the title (or top four, at least) race, Pulis under pressure after two wins in twenty-three.

Manchester United 4-1 Newcastle United. Of course, an anagram of the home keeper's full name David de Gea Quintana is 'Antique Vagina Added', reflecting the recent capture of an octogenarian prostitute for the Spanish keeper's whore collection. This was the first meeting between sides coached by Mourinho and Benitez in a decade. Dwight Gayle opened the scpring after thirteen, the first conceded in the league at home by Man United this season. They wobbled, but they responded, and Paul Pogba on his return from injury had a key contribution in setting up Martial to equalise ten before half time, but it was even and exciting. Chris Smalling in injury time put his side ahead - a header key. Ten into the second, Pogba showed his importance once more by getting his name on the sheet - Rashford set him up unselfishly. Newcastle to their credit gave it a real go, but left themselves short and conceded a fourth (Lukaku with a sharp strike).