Mental Mickey

I've just cot a copy of my sisters marriage certificate from last week (Nov 2008) and the registrar has put both her and her new husbands conditions down as 'single' rather than the traditional 'bachelor' and 'spinster' that I've seen on every other certficate I own. I'm guessing this is a fairly recent thing, but does anyone know how recent, or if the couple get an choice in the matter, or have the terms 'bachelor' and 'spinster' gone for good? Just curious.

I need to find the identity of these two muppet-like characters and which TV show they are from so I can get a joke wedding present done. Has anyone got any ideas? 10 points for the first correct answer with a link. Thank you.

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/430/muppetszc3....

At about 1 o clock this morning our cockatiels went crazy for five minutes and wouldn't stop chirping. It was only later when watching the news I saw that this was the exact time of todays UK earthquake. I didn't feel it, but our birds clearly did and knew something was up. Are animals really the first to know about things like this? Have there been any proper scientific studies. Any reliable links?

Some guy at work was telling me that there was once some kind of adult website out there called redhotpussy dot com or something, but that it was all a clever scam and that when users entered their details to sign up all they got was redirected to a page where there was a picture of a cat sat in front of a fire and that they couldn't sue or anything because the site gave users what it promised! Is he winding me up? Has such a site ever existed or is it just an urban legend?

There's nothing even remotely negative among his recent feedback comments and the guy is a powerseller based in Hong Kong selling computer games. He's not a pirate or anything, but after buying and paying yesterday, I've noticed in my eBay profile that he is now "not a registered user".

The automated email I have from him says that it is Chinese New Year at the moment, and nothing will get sent out until 14 Feb, which is fine with me, but is he still likely to honour all his existing deals and send out my game, or should I file a claim with Paypal now. With nothing sinister in his comments history, surely he deserves the benefit of the doubt at the moment, especially with Chinese New Year in this part of the world, but I can't understand why he's sudeenly been suspended. Any theories? Should I start worrying?

I've received a personal message from you this morning and wrote out a reply to apologise for any misunderstanding, only to find that your profile doesn't accept IMs or emails. I must admit, I'm surprised at that.

I gather some people were offended by a section of an answer I wrote yesterday, which advised a user to contact "itsjustme" as 'she has nothing better to do'. I've since discovered that once best answer has been chosen I can't edit or delete my answer, so alas it has to stand, otherwise I'd have altered that apparently offensive line already.

"itsjustme" offers lookups on Ancestry and has a high points rating. Somehow people got the idea that I am jealous. The truth is that although I have the time, I don't suffer fools and just don't have the patience to help people like this. I'd rather leave this to others, which on Y/A happens to be "itsjustme". Alas, the style of my recommendation seems to have offended certain people. For that I can only apologise.

I'd like some fellow genealogists to take a look at the photograph below and tell me what you think:

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/2039/oldphotown...

I already know that the studio photographer, Mrs Susan Williams is recorded at this address in 1895, 1899 and the 1901 census, but not in 1905, and obviously the style of the photo dates it to somewhere a couple of years either side of 1900. What is really puzzling me is the woman and the baby. The photo came from my granddads tin, but neither me or my aunt have any clue who she or the baby might be. To my mind, the lady in the photo looks quite old - too old to be the mother, so probably a grandmother.

My gt grandfather married in 1897 in West Gorton, and the only one of his parents to be alive at this point until 1907 was his mother (my 2x gt grandma). Their first child to survive infancy was born in 1901, a girl.

Does anyone have any opinions and ages of either party in the picture. Mum&Child or Grandma&Child?

He was baptised on 26th April, there is no proof apart from the idea that a christening was supposed to take place within three days of birth, which would back-date it to April 23rd, but the fact is that no-one knows his real birthday. Why are Yahoo claiming otherwise today? Do they know something I don't?

I placed £1 each way on Philson Run which came in fourth so I have definately won something this year!

I don't really understand how the bet pays out. It had odds of 100/1, but I think you only get a quarter of the odds for an each way place (25/1), so does that mean I'll get £26 back, or is my maths hopelessly to pot? Any professional gamblers out there who can tell me how much I'll get back on my relatively modest stake?

I'm going to need about a dozen ordinary house-bricks for a job in the house, but am not sure whether how they are sold. Is it possible to buy bricks individually (or in small amounts) or do you have to buy them by the gross or something. I don't want to go on the thieve from a local building site for the few bricks I need, but if I can't buy just a few rather than loads I might just have to. Anyone have an idea of price per brick. Pennies, surely?