I still don't know what bit me last weekend but the good news is that the rash has nearly gone and so has most of the swelling. Whilst this bite was different to the usual mosquito bites that I suffer from on a regular basis, it still seems to respond to the same treatment. Generally I find the best thing to is to open up the bite wound every evening and squeeze out as much of the pus as possible. Whilst this does really hurt, in my experience getting rid of the poison helps the bite to heal more quickly. It also seems to reduce the infection making the bite feel less hot and reducing the itching sensation. In combination with this I also find that using tea tree oil or a bite cream that includes tea tree overnight  tends to work quite well. Saying that the best thing to do is try to prevent getting bitten in the first place. Whilst I never know when the critters are going to get me at home, when going abroad I take a course of garlic tablets. These are available from most health food shops and I find taking them for a couple of weeks before you go abroad and whilst you are away does cut the amount of bites I receive, although some of the more determined insects will still get you.

This article suggests that people who regularly enjoy a fry-up or the traditional English breakfast could have a 63% higher risk of bowel cancer. Researchers have warned that processed meat such as sausages and bacon increase the risk of bowel cancer as well as being fatty and high in cholesterol. The good news, however, is that it only seems to have a damaging effect if you eat it on a regular basis with the risk getting higher the more you eat. I think I can probably still justify having a cooked breakfast a couple of times a month especially if I combine it with exercise.

Two delivery men definitely experienced that sinking feeling after sinking a £200,000 boat. The men were delivering the boat called the Sealine from Southampton to Ireland when the accident happened. They had stopped to refuel the boat but crashed it after hitting sharp rocks. The men both managed to get to safety on nearby rocks but the boat sank with a split hull and was abandoned to the sea. The men later took the bus home, I'm guessing they had a fair amount of explaining to do.

I have seen many articles about weird and wonderful sports, however, this is the first time I have come across bog snorkelling. Apparently there is even a championship devoted to the sport. It was held last Monday in Wales and 170 people took part. The sport itself involves dressing up in a snorkel and flippers with fancy dress being optional. The competitors then have to swim 120 years in a peat bog. Some of the competitors took part wearing pyjamas and one with an ironing board strapped to his back. The record time for completing the event is 35 seconds.

This is the Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car that can reach speeds of 125mph. The car is powered by an 185kw electric motor and batteries in its boot. Despite being virtually silent it is meant to provide the performance you would expect from a sports car. The car takes 3 hours to charge and can manage 220 miles on each charge. It costs £92,000 and I think its quite sexy for an electric car.

This is interesting, its a pillow that researchers claim can help reduce wrinkles. The pillow has a copper oxide case and is designed to help reduce lines and crow's feet. In tests people who used it for four weeks had fewer wrinkles and lines than those who used a conventional pillow. Apparently moisture from the skin releases copper ions from the pillow case which stimulate the production of collagen below the surface of the skin. If you want one, you may have to wait, however, they are currently not available in the UK.

I have a very swollen foot where something has bitten me. It started at the weekend when I noticed a small black beetle type creature on my ankle. At the time, I just brushed it off and thought little more of it. Now, however my whole foot is swollen and is covered by a very itchy and painful rash which surrounds a single puncture wound on my ankle. I'm not entirely sure what the creature was that bit me, but this is a different type of insect to the normal ones I have. It seems to be more painful and it is taking longer for the swelling to go down. Do you think you know what it was that bit me, if so let me know here?

Two researchers that thought they had found proof of the existence of Bigfoot had in fact found a large gorilla suit. The researchers had said in a news conference that they had found remains of a creature in the North Georgia mountains. At first they thought they had found Bigfoot but as they thawed the remains it emerged that they were actually made of rubber. Since the discovery the two researchers have reportedly not been answering their phones but their answering machine message does ask people to call if they have seen any leprechauns, the Loch Ness Monster, big cats or dinosaurs.

An Italian priest is holding a beauty contest which is only open to nuns. He is expecting around 1,000 nuns to enter the Sister Italia contest. Unlike conventional beauty contests the nuns will not wear swimsuits or revealing outfits, instead they will able to choose whether to appear in their full habit and veil or to let their hair down. The contest will include an written account about the nuns life, personality and daily activities and the judges will be looking for someone with inner beauty.

I came across this picture of a cat biting a cactus. Whilst I'm not entirely sure that it hasn't been photoshopped, it looks really painful and just the sort of thing my cats would do. Cats are crazy.

This article suggests that the Government will soon trial a pay as as you go road tax system. In several pilot projects cars will be fitted with dashboard mounted black boxes which can be tracked by satellite. Motorists will be invited to take part in the scheme and they will receive a weekly or monthly bill based on where and when they drove. Its an interesting idea and whilst I can see it is likely to be unpopular with people that use their car a lot, for me I think it would save me money. I tend to use my car once or twice a month and pay my road tax every year to have my car sitting in the driveway 90% of the time. That said, a car is still necessary for trips to the vet and to the recycling centre, so giving up the car is not option, it would be nice if I only paid tax based on how often I actually drive it.

This is Yoda, a cat who has four ears. He has extra ear flaps behind his regular ears making him rather unique. Yoda's owners adopted him as a kitten and after speaking to several vets have realised they have a somewhat unusual cat as no on seems to have seen anything quite like him before. A quick google search brings up this article on a few other four eared cats but it appears they are few and far between. Despite the extra ears Yoda is still quite cute.

If you want to earn a bit of extra cash you might want to look into starting a snail farm in your spare room. That's what one enterprising lady from Littlebourne has done. She spotted a gap in the market for locally produced food and is now supplying local restaurants. She keep 2,000 breeding snails and is finding that demand from restaurants is outstripping supply. Apparently the snails are good served with a garlic sauce.

Sainsbury's have recently introduced an easy peel orange. They claim that the orange can be peeled in just 35 seconds, much more quickly than a normal orange. It costs 59p and the skin is easier to pierce than a conventional orange. Also the peel is supposed to come away all in one piece as well as the orange being 50% per sweeter. The supermarket is hoping the easy peel variety will help reverse the declining sales of oranges. If you want one, you need to try it quickly, there are only available in the UK until the 9th of September.

I come across some really obscure things sometimes but I found this one somewhat ridiculous. The article claims that recycling is as hard as a Sudoku puzzle. The claim is based on research conducted on a group of volunteers who rated how difficult they found it to separate their rubbish for recycling. I'm not quite sure where they found these people but we have a simple system. A bin for waste, a blue bag for paper, a blue box for glass and cans, a black bag for used clothes. Plastic and cardboard is not collected by our council so for this we do a weekly trip to the sports centre where we put it in the relevant bins. On a rather obscure note our local recycling centre now even has a bra bank, for recycling used bras. It appears there is no excuse to throw anything away.

I came across this website today that has that has these interesting new cat toys. They are made out of cardboard and come flat packed. When assembled, however, they become cool fire engines, planes and tanks. As you can see by the pictures from the site the models have holes for the cats to crawl inside and play. They start at £15.00 each and look like they will be great fun for playful moggies. One word of caution the website does say that cats may need your help to assemble the models.

This article is interesting, its an initiative to try and get elderly people at an Age Concern afternoon to go a little exercise. After the tea and biscuits that you would expect the group then get to try their hand at the Wii. There are two teenage instructors to help teach the technique but it appears the bowling goes down really well, with one lady called Doris proving to be a natural. Darts has also proved popular. The trust is now looking to get a Wii balance board so that they can do some real exercise. It just goes to show the universal appeal of this console.

This article suggests that common moisturisers could cause skin cancer. The possibility was uncovered by accident when scientists were looking at the benefits of caffeine on the skin. During the test they applied moisturiser to the test subjects, mice who had been exposed to ultraviolet light. They discovered that the moisturiser increased the production of tumours. Three other moisturisers also increased the production of tumours by 69%. The cancers were generated were non fatal varieties that would usually be treatable but following these surprise results researchers will now go on to study the implications for humans.

This article suggests that clumsy children are more likely to become obese as adults because they exercise less. It is based on a study that found children with poor hand control and co-ordination are more likely to be obese later on in life. I'm not entirely sure the link is down to the children being clumsy, its more likely to be down to lack of exercise as children. I was a very clumsy child and have always managed to break pretty much everything I touch, I still amaze myself how quickly we seem to get through glasses in my house, I never have a set for more than a few weeks before an accident occurs. Whilst naturally clumsy, however, I have not grown up obese, although I was quite an active child.

This is an interesting idea from a village pub in Norfolk. They are utilising produce grown in the local area by introducing a bartering system. Locals can barter something they have grown or killed for a beer or food in the pub. Some examples include taking a rabbit you have shot, some vegetables you have grown or eggs that your hens have laid. The idea helps to make the best of the available produce in the local area and allows the pub to feature fresh ingredients on its specials board. It make a lot more sense than sourcing items from suppliers who are miles away, although it must make it harder to plan a menu, never knowing what's going to arrive next.

This article suggests that the effects of alcohol do make people appear more attractive. Researchers found that as little as a pint and a half of beer is enough to make everyone seem more desirable. Men are worst affected with the effect lasting as long as 24 hours after a heavy drinking session. The results were based on a study done at Bristol University where male and female volunteers were randomly allocated a drink of vodka and lime or a similar tasting soft drink. There were then asked to rate the attractiveness of 20 male and 20 female faces on a seven point scale. Those who had been drinking alcohol scored the faces 10% higher than those who had not. The following day both sexes were tested again, this time the men who had been drinking the previous day scored the picture more highly than the non drinkers. The researchers concluded: 'Alcohol consumption increases ratings of attractiveness of facial stimuli.'

We all know tigers are big and scary with sharp teeth. Someone obviously forgot to tell this tiger that. He lives at a zoo in Pennsylvania and has refused to venture out since a new $500,000 enclosure was built for him and the other tigers. The tiger occasionally pokes his head out to have a look around but even after two months has not yet plucked up the courage to go outside.

An Australian scientist has said that eating kangaroo burgers could help cut greenhouse gas emissions. The scientist Dr George Wilson says that removing seven million cows and 36 million sheep by 2020 and replacing them with 175 million kangaroos could lower greenhouse gases by 3% a year. Currently sheep and cattle produce 11% pf Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions but kangaroos in comparison produce very little methane. Apparently kangaroos taste a little like venison. It sounds very interesting I wonder if you can get kangaroo in Sainsbury's?

If you believe this article the invisibility cloak could soon be a reality. Researchers at the University of California have developed a material that can bend light around an object making it disappear. Obviously the item doesn't actually disappear it is simply no longer visible. The effect is based upon reversing refraction and the result is that only white light behind the object can be seen giving it a cloaking effect. The team involved have said that the principle could be scaled up to make one day make a cloak large enough to hide people. Interesting. Now what would I do with an invisibility cloak?

These clouded leopard cubs have recently been born at Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury. The two male and two female kittens were born in April and have recently made their first public appearance at the wildlife park. Clouded leopards are difficult to breed but the breeding program at Howletts has been quite successful with 30 births since 2003. The leopard is currently threatened with extinction in the wild due to the demand for it coat.

My ankle has eventually healed after a frustrating week of not being able to do any exercise and I am now back to running every day. It is getting easier and I am now looking forward to my daily run, the only problem appears to be fitting it in around the dreadful weather. I also came across some further motivation in the form of this article which suggests running can help halt the ageing process. The article talks predominantly about older people and the fact that elderly joggers are less likely to die prematurely. I'm guessing the same principle applies to younger people who run on a regular basis, so hopefully I will not only get fit but live a bit longer as well, either way the exercise has to be good for me.

A dentist in London has started offering laser fillings which are supposed to be pain free. Preparing the tooth for filling takes about the same time as using conventional treatments but doesn't need pain killing injections or any drilling. Instead the laser heats the water molecules in the tooth leading to a build up of pressure which leads to a micro explosion as the decayed area of the tooth is removed. Because there is no pressure on the tooth there are fewer vibrations but the technique cannot be used on old mercury filling because the laser beam would reflect back off the metal surface towards the dentist. Prices for the treatment are higher starting at £75 compares to £40 for a normal NHS filling. I have been lucky enough never to have needed a filling but this sounds much less painful.

This is funny and well worth a read. It talks about something called the condom game where you pick three items from a shop, one being condoms and see whether you can get a reaction from the cashier. I won't spoil the punch line but it had me in stitches. What items would you pick?

This article suggests that rather than tackling faster prey cavemen often preferred to tackle something a little slower like tortoises. Scientists have found the remains of 526 tortoises in a cave that was occupied by early humans over 2.6 million years suggesting that cavemen were rather partial to eating the creatures. The bones show that the tortoises were roasted whole over fires and then cracked against rocks to remove their shells. Other bones from animals such as lions and hippos were also found in the caves so it appears cavemen did also hunt harder to kill creatures. Were they lazy or simply rather intelligent to target things that were easier to catch?

According to this article this new health drink called skinny water can suppress hunger and fight fat. It costs 99p a bottle and its manufacturers say it is scientifically proven. Nutritionists, however, say that its claims are not supported by clinical trials. The pomegranate flavoured water contains L-Carnitine and chromium which supposedly reduce sugar cravings and improve the body's ability to burn fat. Personally I'm rather skeptical, I still think the only way to lose weight is simply to eat less and exercise.

The recent wet weather seems to have encouraged the frogs in the garden to leave the pond and start hopping around looking for food. Unfortunately this means that in our garden they are almost certain to come into contact with one of the cats. The cats obviously think frogs are lots of fun. You can pounce on them and they jump, let them go and then they jump again. Frogs also scream when they are cornered and stressed. They make a very high pitched screaming noise which doesn't seem to deter the cats. It does, however, alert me to the fact that the cats are playing with another poor frog. So far this morning I have rescued two frogs and returned them unharmed to the safety of the pond. My cat Oliver has also learnt this morning (after picking a frog up in his mouth) that whilst frogs are great fun, they actually don't taste that good. I wonder whether he will remember this when the next frog comes along, my guess is that the urge to pounce on another jumping frog will be stronger than the memory of the bad taste.

A candy ship in Santa Cruz has started selling chocolate covered bacon. The bacon is sprinkled with sea salt and then covered in dark chocolate and according to this article is "a good combination of sweet and salty". I'm not convinced.

When Hector the great dane started drooling and looking unwell, it was obvious there was something wrong with him, so his owner took him to the vet. It was only when, he was given an X-ray, however, that it emerged he had managed to swallow a 63cm stick. The stick was so long that it stretched over two thirds of the dogs body. It was later removed under anaesthetic and Hector appears to be fine despite the sticky situation.

Sainsbury's will launch a new range of chickens that are kept in better conditions meaning that a third of its stock will no longer come from battery farms. It will also start phasing out chickens from battery farms completely so that all of its stock will meet RSPCA standards. Sainsbury's have said that sales of poultry reared in better surroundings were up 60 per cent since January so I wonder whether this move is simply in response to consumer demand for better quality chicken.

This is an interesting idea, its a pair of shoes that are also sandals. As you can see from the picture the top part of the shoe unzips to reveal a sandal inside the sole. They are made by Nat-2 design and cost £59.99. There are currently over 20 different designs available and you can also mix and match the soles with different top part. Currently the only place to buy them in the UK is Wild Goose in Twickenham. They seem like a great idea for the unpredictable UK weather.

I found this flood game the other day. Basically it allows you to make decisions about what flood defences to implement in the UK and how much money to spend over a three year period. You can do things like build a flagship project, plant trees and repair the drainage system. You also need to choose which regions of the country to protect and how much to spend on each project. After you have made your decisions it then shows you exactly how much of the country gets flooded based on your choices. I didn't do badly but I managed to keep flooding Scotland.

I have been taking a forced break from my new exercise regime over the last few days due to trying to do too much and ending up with a swollen ankle. I am actually finding I am missing my morning run, and am getting a little impatient with the slow healing process of my ankle. For those who don't have the time to exercise there could soon be a new solution in the form of a pill. The pill fools the muscles into thinking they have worked out which means they burn fat and increase fitness. In effect it should give you all the benefits of exercise without leaving the sofa. The bad news is it is not going to be available for several years. Back to running then as soon as my ankle is better.

I have tried the Haagen Bath bath bomb from lush several times and it is fast becoming my favourite product. The bath bomb has a lovely minty smell and is meant to contain real chocolate. It turns the bath a really nice pale pink colour and it feels really nice and silky almost like bathing in a milkshake. It is really relaxing and makes your skin nice and soft and did I mention the mint and chocolate? I love this product. It is best enjoyed with a nice glass of red wine (drink the wine, don't pour it in the bath).

This is an interesting idea, a solar powered handbag. The bag uses solar panels to absorb the suns rays and turn them into electricity. The bag uses laminated solar panels made of photovoltaic film to convert sunlight into electricity. It then transmits the power to a circuit connected to two batteries in the lining of the bag and to a USB port. It can be used to charge most small devices such as mobile phones, cameras and ipods. It does, however, require two hours of full sunlight to charge a mobile phone battery. If you want one, they cost £150. 

As most of work involves using my computer I spend a lot of time sitting on my bottom. I decided that its about time I spend a bit more time getting fit. It is, however, really hard to find the time and by the evening I am usually just too tired to make it to the gym. That's why I have taken the rather painful decision to start running in the mornings. My new exercise regime involves getting up at 6am in the morning and going for a 30 minute run. Having never run before in my life this is proving no easy feat. The first day of running was two weeks ago and I honestly thought I was going to die. That day I spent more time walking, than running. Since then I have been running 6 days a week with a day off in the middle of the week to allow my muscles to recover. Every day I seem to be able to go a little further and I can now manage all of the 30 minute circuit followed by a short walk. I am already starting to feel fitter and slimmer so although it hurts I will continue to run. Perhaps after a few more weeks I might start enjoying it.

If you want longer legs then you might want to consider a leg lengthening clinic. Based in Russia the clinic claims it can literally add inches to your legs. The article cites two examples the first where a lady had her legs lengthened by 3 inches and another where a man has the procedure to correct the fact that he had one leg longer than the other. In both cases the treatment appears to have been successful. It does, however, sound really painful. The treatment involves having your legs broken in several places before being attached via metal pins to something called the IIizarov Frame. The frame provides a support of a cast and uses metal spokes to pierce the flesh and fix the bone in position. Rather than setting the bone the device gradually moves the two sections further apart causing new bone to grow and seal the break. It is possible to lengthen the bone as much as 2 inches in a month. I am lucky to be quite tall already but this procedure seems an awful lot of pain for the sake of a few extra inches. Ouch.

These little guys are so adorable. They were born at the West Midlands Safari Park and are unusual because white lions are very rare. According to African folklore white lion cubs are a lucky charm and are born just once every 100 years. These cubs belong to two lionesses who gave birth within a month of each other and are the only white lions in the UK. White lions are thought be extinct in the wild and at the last count in 2004 there were only 300 left, all in zoos.

I always loved going to the doctors surgery when I was younger because it was one of the few places around that had a rocking horse. This gadget has been described as a rocking horse for the wealthy. It is in fact a simulator which lets people ride in their own home. The virtual reality riding machine includes a mechanical horse with electronic sensors and a screen. It allows users to trot, canter and perform various dressage manoeuvres but unlike a real horse produces no mess and does not require feeding. Its an interesting concept but personally I think the real thing is much better. For me part of the joy of riding was building up a mutual relationship with my horse and of course the fact that you can never predict what a real horse will do, no matter how well you know it. Its an interesting variation on the rocking horse, though but not cheap at just under £40,000.

It comes as no surprise to read this article which suggests email phishing scams are up by 180%. The payments body APACS has reported that there have been 20,600 phishing incidents involving UK bank customers in the first six months of 2008 compared with only 7,200 in the same period in 2007. The most common scams seem to be emails that pretend to be from a bank requesting that you follow a link and enter your account number and password. It still amazes me that people get caught out by these scams, whilst the emails do sometimes look genuine, it is widely publicised by banks that they will never send an email asking for your account details or password. The message here is clear, if there is any doubt, don't clic