This is an interesting article. It claims that scientists in Abu Dhabi have found a way to create rainstorms in the desert. According to the article scientists employed by the ruler of Abu Dhabi have managed to create as many as 50 rainstorms using technology. They use giant ionisers to generate fields of negatively charged particles. These promote cloud formation and can then produce rain. It is thought this is the first time that a system has been able to produce rain from clear skies.

According to this article the latest celebrity diet craze is to eat nothing but sweets. The idea is that certain sweets contain very little calories whilst taking a long time to eat. Replacing conventional food with sweets, then should in theory help you lose weight quickly. Favourite sweets include Jelly Bellies (a 35-bean serving has 80 calories), Haribo Starmix (14 calories a serving) and sugar-free liquorice (100 calories a serving). I do wonder what this sort of diet would do your body, surely these are simply empty calories with no nutritional benefit and all that sugar can’t be good for your teeth.

According to this article the National Lottery created a record number of millionaires in 2010. In total 158 lucky people became millionaires as a result of a lottery win during 2010 with £775 million in jackpots being paid out. I guess I will have to keep trying, so far my biggest win has been £10.

If you like a cup of hot chocolate then you could soon find you are paying a little bit more for it. That’s according to this article which claims the wholesale cost of cocoa powder has jumped by 32% over the past year. The price rise is largely down to failing crops earlier in the year and disruption from suppliers in the Ivory Coast. As a result cocoa powder has risen to as much as £3,000 a ton.

This interesting looking tree has been created in a garden in Somerset. it has taken the homeowners six years to prune the trees into the perfect Christmas pudding shape. It took them an additional two weeks to create the robin which sits on top. It certainly is impressive.

According to this article product placement could soon be coming to UK TV. The practice whereby shows can receive revenue for placing brands in the programme will be allowed on British TV shows from February 28th. Characters in shows will be able to refer to products by name and be seen eating, drinking and wearing branded goods. The new rules will allow product placement in all dramas, documentaries, soaps, entertainment and sports programmes but it will still be banned from all children’s and news programmes and in UK produced current affairs, consumer affairs and religious programmes. Personally I don’t really see a problem with product placement as long as it doesn’t detract from the content of the show I am watching but I can see that prime time shows are going to be attractive for large advertisers.

I have been following with interest the argument that we should block pornography at the source. The argument appears to be that it would stop vulnerable children from coming into contact with porn if we were to block it at the source. I do wonder, however, whether it is such a good idea to start censoring peoples viewing habits. Whilst I can appreciate some people might want to block porn completely, if you don’t want to view it, you don’t have to. If the government were to start censoring certain web pages, however, I wonder where it would stop. I have the feeling it would start with hard core pornography and before we know it we would find there are many other sites that we can no longer access because they are deemed not appropriate by the government. Personally I would rather choose what I want to view without restrictions, if we get into this type of censorship its a slippery slope before we go the same way as a country such as China which simply blocks any content which doesn’t tow the party line.

If the recent bad weather is starting to get down then you might want to try listening to some bird song. Naturalists claim that listening to five minutes of bird song is just the thing to improve your mood and give you a much needed warm glow. Not only does it ease tension but it also reminds us that spring is just around the corner. The National Trust has compiled recordings of the dawn chorus as a reminder that spring is just around the corner. They can be heard and downloaded at the website at the following link.

According to this article gardeners could soon be banned from using peat. Ministers want to force gardeners to use more environmentally friendly alternatives rather than taking more peat from bogs. The problem is that millions of tons of greenhouse gases are released from disturbed peat bogs each year. Rare plants and animals are also at risk because peat is often stripped from bogs more quickly than it can be renewed. Many garden centres already sell peat free alternatives but many gardeners and growers feel these are inferior and so would not support a ban.