Brain decline begins at age 27

SOMEWHERE, Er, Hold On A Tick, desu desu desu! (NNN) — US research suggests that mental powers start to dwindle at 27 after peaking at 22, marking the start of old age. As usual, the Internet is to blame.

Joker FritzlProfessor Timothy Salthouse found reasoning, spatial visualisation and speed of thought all decline when the brain is sufficiently full of puns, memes, lolcats, favourite porn sites and burnout from dealing with idiots. “And then there’s b3ta, which appears to be composed entirely of prions.”

To test mental agility, the study participants had to solve puzzles, recall words and story details and spot patterns in letters and symbols — without using a keyboard and mouse.

All participants failed dismally. “One started eating the desk. Others gibbered, screeched, masturbated furiously and flung their own faeces at the researchers through the bars.”

Professor Salthouse said that, apart from burning the Internet in a series of worldwide electromagnetic pulses — as it had been specifically designed with the aim of surviving being nuked from orbit — the most important thing now was to give him more funding. “Understanding more about how healthy brains decline could help us understand what goes wrong in serious diseases like Alzheimer’s. Now we just need to find someone on the Internet with a healthy brain.”

New iPod Shuffle induces “iPod shuffle”

JOBSTOWN, Cupertino, Saturday (NNGadget) — Apple has announced its new iPod Shuffle, the smallest yet. The new Shuffle offers more storage, better sound, a talking interface (“the first talking interface on an MP3 player! Except Rockbox, but only freetards use that and they don’t count”) and superior abilities to pick up chicks.

Apple iPod Shuffle ButtplugControversy has surrounded the new hardware requirements for the Shuffle, including new Apple-branded headphones, Apple-branded music and surgical attachment of the device to one’s genital region. “Total quality control,” said Steve Jobs. “All competitors are inferior by definition and will be crushed.”

Apple fan blogs were unanimous in their praise of the “iButtPlug” installation procedure. The hardware lock-in was a brilliant business move on Apple’s part, the best possible thing for the consumer and a moral and ethical requirement to sell MP3 players at all, wrote Daniel Eran Dilger on RoughlyDrafted. He also intimated that all negative press on the matter was yet more Microsoft astroturf and vaporware.

Microsoft countered with a preannouncement of its new Zune LP player, which works with 9.5″ vinyl discs manufactured with the PlaysYouBetcha!™ process and a cubic zirconia stylus.

“There’s no such things as Zunes,” laughed Jobs. “They’re a fairy tale we invented to get young Apple Store employees to behave.”

Testosterone patches not “female Viagra” either, dammit

LANCETHRUST, Gruntfuttock, Tuesday (NNN) — Researchers disappointed millions of mediocre men today when they concluded that dosing your girlfriend with testosterone won’t get you lots of free sex either.

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Nicola McLeanProcter & Gamble’s Hornymoma patch is prescribed to boost libido in women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder, which is defined as persistently diminished or absent desire for sex with medical researchers. Researchers said the patch’s effectiveness could not be proven, and that it also led to such side-effects as stroppiness, an uppity attitude and a really quite impressive right hook.

“The effects on my wife were not at all what I’d first pictured,” said Dr Ike Iheanacho, walking in with a waddle, tenderly rubbing his hindquarters and declining all offers of a chair.

Procter & Gamble said Hornymoma had been thoroughly tested and had been shown to be effective, giving their quarterly numbers a proud and vigorous response with lasting power.

Catholics fear schools could be forced to be tolerant

SODOM, London W1, Monday (NNN) — Catholic schools fear being forced to promote Islam and homosexuality under a new legally-binding code of conduct for teachers.

Gay Pope BenedictCatholic leaders say Church teachings prevent it from allowing its parishioners to treat homosexuals as if they were human. “Next they’ll be stopping us from taking the kids hunting sodomites on horseback with hounds. It’s political correctness gone mad!”

Principle 4 of the draft General Teaching Council code states that teachers must “proactively challenge discrimination” and “promote equality and value diversity in all their professional relationships and interactions.” There was an “understandable fear” that this requirement could be used to oppose faith schools per se, and possibly even hamper them getting government charters and funding and juicy, juicy charitable status.

Equalities Minister Harriet Euro said there was no scope for exemptions. “We will stay true to our commitment in tackling discrimination in terms of sexual orientation, gender, race, height, weight, language, ability, intelligence or species,” she told New Communist magazine. “Until the Pope not only makes homosexual intercourse a mandatory part of mass but also personally demonstrates the proper use of a condom in Vatican Square on a male who is actually over the age of consent, the Catholic Church is guilty of genocide under European Commission regulations. You can either be against discrimination or you are personally responsible for it. All of it. In any case, you will be assimilated.”

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Children’s charities warn of Internet cancer

TUBGRILL, Goatse-by-Cam, Monday (NNN) — The Home Office and a coalition of children’s charities are seeking to block access to the Internet to save the populace from child pornography and Internet-borne cancers.

My Little Monster Pony“Only 95% of Internet users are protected from computer-borne paedophile cancers,” said Home Office Minister Alan Campbell. “We must bring the other 5% into line, despite their spurious claims of the fine British-designed Cleanfeed system being ‘completely incompetent broken crap that never worked in the first place.’

“It is clear that blocking all potentially illegal images is as easy as stopping people from sharing movies and music, which is a solved problem. We just block everything. This will then revive the newspapers and the record companies and thus the whole British economy, by the Mended Windows theory.”

Zoe fucking Hilton of the NSPCfuckingC concurred. “We need decisive action from the government to ensure our continued income. If you’re an ISP who doesn’t sign up with the IWF, you’re a fucking paedo. Paedo. Paedo. Paeeee-do. And you cause cancer, you fucking arsehole. HEY, EVERYONE! THERE’S A FUCKING PAEDO OVER HERE! And give us your fucking money, now. Paedo. I hope they fuck and kill you in jail.”

“The IWF has protected ISPs from government interference for over a decade and users from potentially illegal images,” said potentially fabulous drag queen and IWF head Peter Robbins. “Although our recent foray into actually attempting to do the impossible rather than just existing as something for ISPs to point at hasn’t gone so well, we must protect children from carcinogenic Olympic logos of Lisa Simpson being forced into sexual acts. Think of the cartoon characters!”

The Government has signalled it will block the “streaming” loophole by making it illegal not merely to download such images, but to think about them or consider their possible existence.

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The Internet causes cancer

BOG ALERTS, NHS Indirect, Friday (RT @NewsTechnicaUK) — Facebook and Twitter will give you cancer, says Dr Aric Sigman, a completely unbiased researcher from the University of Metro.

The Firefox girl will kill us allSocial networking sites “could raise your risk of serious health problems by reducing levels of face-to-face contact,” leaving you more susceptible to cancer, dementia, heart disease, diabetes, influenza and rheumatoid arthritis. But not lupus. Instead, you should be spending your time breathing germs on the Tube and reading newspapers.

Cigarette breaks in most offices have been replaced with Facebook breaks, as users desperate for a hit take a moment to reject seven vampire invitations and relax a bit.

“It’s also a sign of autistic spectrum disorders and stuff,” said Dr Sigman. He pointed to a new “are you autistic?” test in this evening’s London Lite:

Do you prefer:
(a) sitting at home on your interweb like a nerdy no-mates goit?
(b) getting pissed down a strip club with the guys from marketing, like normal people?

“It’s obviously ludicrous rubbish,” said Internet socialite Hiram Nerdboy, well-known around Second Life for his sexy fox-with-breasts avatar. “Internet social networks don’t affect your health,” he noted, munching through his second pizza and two-litre Coke of the day and shifting his stomach folds to one side so as not to block the Skype microphone.

UK boy jailed in killing over XBox

SIM SUBURBS, Last Life, Friday (NNGadget) – In further proof of the evils of video games, Shane Boyd, 16, stabbed Conor Black to death with a Wiimote at a party in Manchester after Black tried to give him an XBox.

NHS computer with Red Ring of Death, er, Arrested IndicatorsThe PK then bragged to people at the party “STFU N00B FR@GG3D QQ.” Wii Fit rated his age at 70 after years of teenage drinking and smoking.

The judge said using a knife was no way to settle a row about a games console, suggesting a nice game of chess. “Dis Wii is propa nang, blad!” noted the killer. “I beg it join my cru. Dat hangin crump XBox is an insult.” The judge said he had a point, but sentenced Boyd to 11 years’ confinement with an Atari 2600 and a copy of Custer’s Revenge. “Red Ring indeed.”

Britain has seen a rise in violent street crime involving teenagers in the last year, with one youngster being pushed out a window, his attacker shouting “IT’S A PORTAL!” and later claiming “GladOS made me do it.”

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Cocaine cheaper than coffee in London

BROOKER, Twatter.com, Thursday (NNN) — London will soon suffer an influx of cheap cocaine, making a line less than £1 — cheaper than a cup of coffee.

Starbucks original cocaine logoDrug experts have warned of “Nathan Barleys from horizon to horizon” as irritating and self-obsessed twats take drugs designed to enhance irritating self-obsessed twattery.

Starbucks has announced plans to fight back against the newcomer, with its new Double Venti Nonfat Decaf Organic Heroin Iced Vanilla Double-Shot PCP Nosecandyccino Caffeinated Detergent Extra Hot With Foam Whipped Methamphetamine Upside Down Double Blended, One Sweet’N Low, One Nutrasweet and One MDMA. The cocaine is guaranteed to be organically grown and Fairtrade™-certified. “A better deal for drug farmers.”

Economists are warning of a second dot-com new media revolution. “No money, just endless streams of droning voices talking about themselves at each other. It’ll be like the worst bits of 2000 all over again.”

“At least they won’t be able to get it up to reproduce,” said the International Narcotics Control Board. “Just talk for hours on end about how good it’ll be.”

Smokers, meanwhile, still huddled outside in the rain while random passers-by threw rotten tomatoes at them.

Hugo Chávez speeds up Bolivarian Revolution

RUHNAMA, Niyazov, Monday (NNN) — Hugo Chávez has promised to speed up “the construction of true socialism” in Venezuela now that he can stand for re-election indefinitely. “We have exploded the barriers to a permanent socialist revolution.”

Gold statue of Turkmenbashi“Chávez has changed Venezuela from the sky right down to the earth,” said the completely typical Venezuelan citizen our reporter was supplied with. “Now there are opportunities for all, from the richest to the most deprived. The people love him. We cannot go back.”

Chávez has already taken control of the country’s vast oil wealth, expropriated private landholdings and businesses and instituted a programme of deep social reforms. He has attacked the “distribution of wealth” problem by destroying as much of it as possible. After Chávez promised to nationalise the biggest power and phone companies, the Caracas Stock Exchange closed nearly 20% down, Electricidad de Caracas fell 25% and CA Nacional Telefonos was suspended from trading. The Venezuelan Bolivar has been replaced in common use with twigs and small rocks, which suddenly have much greater practical exchange value.

Chávez next wants to merge all his coalition partners into a single party, remove the opposition television channel, nationalise key businesses and rule by decree for a year. However, construction of a one-hundred-metre tall gold statue of himself in the Caracas city square that turns to follow the sun will be delayed until next year, and renaming the days of the week and months of the year after himself and his mother can wait until the year after.

Fidel Castro expressed his confidence that Chávez was in no danger from the US. “This is the CIA we’re talking about,” said Castro. “They could fuck up a wet dream. Hey, maybe they’ll try the exploding cigar trick again. That’s a good one.”

Inexplicably low ratings for digital channels

FIFTY-SEVEN CHANNELS, Neither Rare Nor Well-Done, forever (Mediocre Grauniad) — The heavily-promoted new series of Mad Men on BBC4 has failed to boost the channel’s ratings, with twenty-four viewers tuning in on Tuesday night, losing out to thirty-six viewers of ITV3’s Ladies of Letters and thirty-three for Sky Three’s reality TV hit I’m The Bottom Of A Barrel, Get Me Out Of Here.

Kill your televisionAll viewers turned out to be newspaper television critics, desperate for uncovered new areas to report on and anything at all to turn into copy.

The show was also beaten in the ratings by people’s dogs watching BBC Parliament, a YouTube video of a kitten jumping off a table and a nostalgic DVD of the little white dot fading into the distance you used to get on black-and-white televisions.

Advertisers are leaving in droves, turning down the opportunity to pay 50p for a half-hour infomercial on UKTV Home Shopping 7 and instead giving it to tramps to shout the product’s name at random commuters at bus stops.

TV executives blame BitTorrent downloads and the existence of computers in general for the decline in viewing figures and asked again for a chunk of the BBC license fee and a tax on all Internet connections, to be paid directly to them. And a pony. “Just keep giving us money, we’ll tell you when it’s enough.”

Blue Peter (fifty-eight viewers) will run tomorrow a special on how to make television ratings out of string, cheese, toilet rolls and cat litter. A grown-up will need to handle the scissors.

a smashed keyboard full of hope and wonder