I think I need a mop...

Ok, so found out how to access the ANU library from home as though on the Uni system ie electronic subscription access.

And using a link recommended off the annual report (2004) of "Medieval Archaology" (only 2 issues electronicly available unfortunately... but 2 viking articles in there:)
Portable Antiquities Scheme's Finds Database
A searchable database of all the finds reported to the UK Portable Antiquities Scheme. Ranges from Palaeolithic to around 18th C. 110057 listed finds (as of today). They are aiming for 70% with images.

It is after midnight on a weeknight and I should stop drooling. Check finds, and start looking at different objects... 552 thimbles... Swords, taps, keys, bits, ... All amateur finds so not the shiniest but definitely interesting.

The vagueries of newspaper reporting....

Planet discovery opens up worlds
( NZ Herald 14.03.06 )

Ouch... Nice science, though I really want to see the original paper*. But as far as I am aware, while good people, said 3 NZ scientists did not pioneer the subject of planet discover using gravitational microlensing techniques. You really do want to occasionally slap journalists...
Edit: Similar style article in the Canberra Times, also focussing on the NZ authors... which are kind of in the middle of the author assortment ( A. Gould, A. Udalski, D. An, D.P. Bennett, A.-Y. Zhou, S. Dong, N.J. Rattenbury, B.S. Gaudi, P.C.M. Yock, I.A. Bond, G.W. Christie, K. Horne, J. Anderson, K.Z. Stanek, D.L. DePoy, C. Han, J. McCormick, B.-G. Park, R.W. Pogge, S.D. Poindexter, I. Soszynski, M.K. Szymanski, M. Kubiak, G. Pietrzynski, O. Szewczyk, L. Wyrzykowski, K. Ulaczyk, B. Paczynski, D.M. Bramich, C. Snodgrass, I.A. Steele, M.J. Burgdorf, M.F. Bode, C.S. Botzler, S. Mao, S.C. Swaving (The MicroFUN, OGLE, and PLANET/RoboNet collaborations))
Some of these authors may well have pioneered stuff given that is what the OGLE and PLANET collaborations specialize in. The 3 mentioned may be responsible for some refinements using extreme high magnification events, but not to the extent implied in the newspaper articles.
ie not as bad as I originally thought, but still...

* Will add the journal reference if I can.

Edit: Article on astro-ph0603276. Should be free access. Does mean this isn't actually peer reviewed yet...

(no subject)

They would put the gorgeous music on just as the stellar group meeting is about to start. A Kate Bush version of "Lagan Love" and now a very nice guitar version of "The Skye Boat Song"... Much nicer than absolute stellar flux discussions.

But I got the bastard to converge...:)