The large green leaf at the top is started to be infilled.

Got three fo the four fox colours I need. Would have gotten the fourth, but some moron helpfully put the adjacent colour code wool on the peg for the colour I need and it didn't get reordered. Some fox bits will be on hold for a few weeks

Domestic microwave appliances are based on the magnatron; an electronic device which converts electrical energy to microwave energy, which is fed via a waveguide to the cooking chamber. Since the conversion is somewhat less than perfectly efficient, the magnatron has to be cooled by a stream of air from a fan. This air is then led to the oven to help remove steam produced during cooking. Once in the chamber, the microwaves are reflected by the metal walls until they are absorbed, (usually by water-containing food), their energy being converted to heat. Should absorption not take place — if, for example, the oven is activated when empty, some energy will re-enter the waveguide and cause over-heating of the magnetron. Usually a safety switch turns the machine off when this happens. Note that the reflecting walls and the constant frequency of the microwaves set up standing waves in the chamber. This results in some areas being much more active than others and is the reason why food must be rotated through the varying field to cook evenly.

To be of use for metal casting, a domestic microwave oven rated D or E (850W or 1000W) needs two slight modifications: the rotating glass plate must be removed and the holes which admit air to the cooking chamber must be taped over (masking tape works reasonably well). The air from the magnetron cooling will then be re-directed to the exterior. No other modifications should be made. Microwaves are potentially dangerous and the uninitiated should treat the oven with respect.

It's worth noting that you shouldn't be using your microwave for food once you've used it to melt metal

The start of more leaves on the left at the top and bottom has been sketched out with edging colours outlining new areas

Have run out of fox colours, so will have to hunt up some more Appleton Crewel Wool before I get stuck into the rest of the fox.

Looks like it will be leaves for me for a while

An amusing way to pass the time, but I have to wonder about the accuracy of some of the heights. I can't recall Henry VIII or Mary Queen of Scots being six foot tall

It probably says more about the weirdness of Teen Beat magazine than anything, but someone has dug up a 1983 photo spread the magazine did on then up and coming Bill Gates.

I'm left wondering what they were thinking with the poses. Is this some strange 80s teen equivalent of the naked girl draped over a car?

Note the Mac behind him in the first shot.

I like Adam Polselli's 2005 Color Forecast. I love the purple palette, we can only hope that designers choose purple this year.

Agricultural Science: We take cows and make 'em better
Aquaculture: Red fish, blue fish, breeding new fish
Architecture: The unholy union of art and engineering
Chemistry: Too much acid, explosives and stinky stuff
Computing: Coffee and pizza make for happy coding
Earth Sciences: Geology is not geography, you cretaceous cretin!
Engineering: Bridges are good but beer is better
Geography & Environmental Science: Geography is not geology, cabbage for brains!
Maths & Physics: Evaluating pi — Galactic nuclei — why oh why?
Plant Science: It's okay officer, it's for scientific use
Psychology: It's all about getting a girlfriend, mate!
Zoology: We know who heads the food chain

The Engineering entry is frighteningly accurate