I get several thousand spam messages a day so tend to notice the latest trends. It seems that emails pretending to be from Facebook are becoming more popular at the moment and whilst other spam does still outnumber them, I am currently getting a few hundred a day. The emails tend to ask you to log in to update your details and do look like genuine Facebook emails so I can see how some people might be fooled. Bear in mind, though just as you would never click on an email to update an account or change details for a bank account the same applies to Facebook. I have noticed a number of people whose Facebook accounts have been compromised recently, I wonder whether its because they were fooled by one of these emails or whether their account was compromised by another method.

Staff at a supermarket in Australia could have been justified in asking a customer this question when he was spotted behaving strangely. It appeared he was stealing food and had stuffed several sausages down his trousers before trying to walk out the door. He was stopped and searched and the sausages were confiscated. The manager of the supermarket was keen to point out that the sausages had not been returned to sale.

If you are planning on building a bonfire this bonfire night, then make sure you look out for hedgehogs. Unfortunately this is just the time of year that hedgehogs are looking for somewhere warm to spend the winter and a pile of logs makes the perfect place to hibernate. If you are planning on building a bonfire the advice is to assemble your fire a few hours before the event rather than several weeks before hand. It is less likely that animals such as hedgehogs and frogs and toads will have chance to crawl inside. As scientists predict that hedgehogs could be extinct by 2025 they need all the help they can get, so taking this simple step could mean far less casualties.

According to this article junk food could be as addictive as heroin. Apparently a diet of junk food can programme your brain into craving more foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat. After some time the junk food starts to become a substitute for happiness and eventually people become addicted. The finding comes after research was carried out on the dangers on a high fat and high sugar diet. The results showed that the brain can react to junk food in the same way that it reacts to drugs. On that note, I fancy a burger.

This cute little guy was found in a bag of rocket salad in Edinburgh by restaurant manager David Neil. The salad had been imported from Israel along with the live eight inch long Lebanon lizard. The lizard which has been nicknamed Rocky is now living in a temporary enclosure whilst a new new home is found for him.

It seems the recession is good news for the restaurant chain Taybarns which runs all you can eat restaurants. The chain offers a choice of food including fish and chips, carvery, pizza, pasta and Mexican all for a fixed price. Customers pay £5.99 during the day or £7.99 in the evening and can take a plate and help themselves to whatever they fancy as many times as want. The business model appears to working, whilst other restaurants are closing at a rate of a 100 a month Tayburns has seen a 3% increase in sales in the last six months and serves around 10,000 people a a week in their most popular branches. They are planning to open 30 new branches to take advantage in the growing popularity. I can see how the restaurant might appeal to cash strapped families who are struggling with the bills. It is certainly interesting to see that even during a recession it is possible to capitalise on certain markets.

Gravy is one of those things that can be really really good when it is done well but can also spoil a meal when done badly. Now it appears that The Royal Society of Chemistry have come up with a recipe for the perfect gravy. They have published the recipe as part of their Food Year and hope that it will become widely used for Sunday Lunch. The secret ingredients appear to be dark soy sauce and iodized salt. If you want to try the recipe it is available from the link to the article or below where I have added it for my own reference.

Ingredients:
The juices from a roast joint of meat, preferably beef
Flour
Vegetable water (cabbage)
Iodised salt
Teaspoon of dark soy sauce.
Pepper
Gravy browning if you prefer a darker gravy.

Method:
The joint should be cooked on a bed of halved onions, carrots and celery on to which juices from the meat will slowly trickle. When the meat is cooked, remove it from the roasting tin along with the vegetables. Sprinkle a small amount of plain flour over the meat juices and fat. Stir to form a dough (roux) gradually adding the water in which vegetables have been cooked, preferably cabbage water. Ensure all the meat juices and Marmite-like deposits on the bottom of the roasting dish have dissolved. Then add iodised salt to taste and a teaspoon of dark soya sauce (rather than gravy browning) or a little red wine. Simmer to reduce the volume of liquid to the right consistency, stirring occasionally.

Two red squirrels have been found near Bangor, the first to be found in the area for a decade. It is thought the squirrels may have crossed the Menai Strait from Anglesey to Gwynedd using one of the two bridges. Scientists are waiting for the results of tests to prove that they came from the Anglesey colonies. Around 300 red squirrels live on Anglesey but this is the first evidence that they have started to colonise new habitats on the mainland. The discovery has been hailed as a breakthrough for the endangered species.

I have rather thick uncontrollable hair so was interested to read about a new product which will be available soon. Called No Frizz It has been invented by a chemical engineer called Robert Langer and he claims that it will keep hair silky and straight whatever the weather. It is available in a spray or a cream and can be used after washing and before drying to shield the hair from droplets of moisture which cause it to frizz. It works by using a man made water repellent to coat the hair, this encases each strand of hair and prevents water from entering leaving it frizz free. The product is currently only available in the US but should be available to purchase in the UK next year. I will certainly be looking out for it, so watch this space and when I have some I will post a review.

If this article is to be believed, then white wines could actually be worse for your teeth than red. Scientists have found that white wines such as Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio wear away tooth enamel more quickly than reds like Merlot and claret. Researchers have found that prolonged contact with white wine can erode the protective layer of enamel making teeth more sensitive to cold, hot and sweet food.

A team looked at the effects of eight red and white wines on the enamel of teeth removed from people between the age of 40 and 65. The teeth were soaked in the wine for up to 24 hours and then analysed to see how much damage had occurred. The teeth that had been soaked in the white wine had more damage than those soaked in the red. White wine has also been found to cause staining to teeth because the acids cause spots and groove in the enamel leaving them vulnerable to stains from tea and coffee. The good news, however, is that calcium rich food can offset some of the damage to teeth helping to prevent dental erosion. Next time I have a glass of wine, I will make sure I have a nice piece of cheese with it.

These cute little guys have been born at West Midland Safari Park in Worcestershire. They have been named Portia, Phoebe and Pandora. White lions are quite rare and it is thought there are only 130 of them worldwide so these ones are really quite special.