In the Orkney Isles of Scotland, archaeologists are studying Mine Howe and its 29 steps that lead “into the bowels of the earth.” Probably thousands of years old, not much is yet known about this chamber, located underneath one of the familiar earthen mounds located across northern Europe. Local surveys and anecdotal evidence suggest that the immediate area may be littered with many of these chambers, undisturbed for countless centuries.

From the BBC: One in four Britons would rather be using their computer than having sex and four out of five would rather be using their home computer than eating a portion of chips

A new article in the journal Nature suggests that the planets Neptune and Uranus were ejected from a much younger Jupiter and slowly migrated to their present orbits. Astronomers have calculated that it would take longer than the solar system is old for the two to form where they are now, so this may be a big step forward in our understanding of the formation of planetary systems.

Five Points is a neighborhood of Athens that is generally upper-middle class, full of landscaped yards and healthy, active people. The area has nice small eateries, shops, and other businesses. It’s a nice place to walk and bike, and would be a nice place to live, if the rents weren’t so amazingly high (compared to the rest of town, anyway). Friends of Five Points is the community association, and their website is full of local activism.

Last night I went to the first meeting of BikeAthens, a group that, despite its name, supports all manners of alternative transportation here in Athens, GA. I hold a particular interest in this, because I was forced this summer to buy my first car (at age 28) just to survive here. Their site has links to street plans, biking laws, suggested civic improvements, and many other things that can make Athens an even nicer place to live.

What’s being called a Mars Internet (really just a flock of communications satellites) is being planned. Assuming that the Polar Lander touched down safely, such a system may have prevented its silence, and will certainly help all such future missions.

The Brunching Shuttlecocks have really outdone themselves with a full audio presentation of 88 Lines about 42 Presidents, based of course on the Nails’ classic 88 Lines about 44 Women , one of my favorite songs from my days as a KTEK DJ back in college. In MP3 or Real Audio, complete with Lyrics. Huzzah!

The first 1 GHz pc is on the market, and you can get one for only $2450. It’s a bit loud, at 39db, and, thanks to the compressor, weighs about 80 pounds. But still… 1 GHz!

If I didn’t check my referrer logs, I’d have never known that I could listen to [Combo #5](http://www.supertom.net/001/wavs-a/crazy wavs/201-225/combo no5.wav), or Matzah #5, or even Bimbo #5. But, since I do, now I know.

From John Walker, founder of AutoDesk, comes The top ten reasons Eternal Damnation is better than Windows Software Development.