msc

There's a far better option in that field for 2017, Central belt (retired), but that's as far as I'll say as he's a family friend.

I felt posting "mind you, DDT/Spade/DI probably knew about it" would be a bit repetitive, but yeah! Mind you, I'm still convinced uniques are overrated in the general scheme of things. As for pancreatic cancer/hospice/mid-August: In August 2013, my 2014 DDP team included Araucaria, Phil Chevron, Bruno Metsu, Steve Prescott, Ray Price and Bill Foulkes on it!

Only a group stage match, apparently, but anyhow, aye, he did.

Aye, in the Copa America final in 99, I think.

I was hoping that one would sneak under the radar for a unique pick.

It's been a quiet week so far, so unless someone big goes between now and Friday afternoon, they might run some of their backdated obits. There's been weeks where someone has died, I've looked it up and they actually died about 4-5 months ago, and have been slipped in Last Word on a quiet week. Prince Buster will get a mention at some point, Slyvia Gore feels like the kind of person they like, and doubtless there's one or two former academics on file.

Saving up for one, just need to live another century or seven at the current economic growth rate.

Gordon Brown lasted 5 years as a former PM in the House of Commons. Jim Callaghan lasted thirteen. Ted Heath, 27. David Cameron... 2 months.

Very well, I'll open up nominations in about 11 weeks time. (Christ, where has the year got to?)

Lord Littlebrook is the only death I heard about during my hiatus from the internet. What this says about my interests and friends, I'm not sure.

Kids! Well, not all kids. Specific kids. Specifically, the kids who decided to set the flat above us on fire last week. Long story short, I work from home (pays low but I get to spend time with the wean) which as just as well, as last Friday morning I could suddenly smell smoke. Went to check the front door - it's a close, there's usually someone burning toast - only to be face to face with a wall of smoke. I grabbed the wean, and darted outside, while the wife called 999. I then went back into try and get the neighbours (we've got newborns in the close) and got bloody smoke inhalation, but luckily the Polish lass with the newborn heard me and got out OK, and our neighbour on the top floor was actually trapped by the fire/smoke inhalation and the firemen had to save her. The smoke was apparently fucking toxic, so if I hadn't noticed something was up - wife was in, but she's got no sense of smell - her and the wean, not to mention the upstairs neighbour, would have been fucked. Scary to think about, really. Anyhow, I avoided getting chucked in the hospital to be monitored for "smoke inhalation" and our internet has now been fixed after the fire melted the fucking cables. Everyone - us, the wean, the other weans, and the neighbours dog - are all fine. But still, fucking kids.

End of August was a bit over-keen, but the recent court case seems to back up the view he wont be hanging around too long now.

Cancer "stable" as of August [ie latest blog post 2 days ago]. He's reached his 18 month expectancy, but should be good to go for a few more months yet.

Is there going to be a 2017 Crowdsourced Deathlist? That's a general question for the forum. I've no idea how the experiment has gone down with others. If there is, probably towards the end of November like last year.

Glancing at Montreal news, metastatic bone and bladder cancer. So, QO unlikely, but largely irrelevant with the prognosis - he wont see Hallowe'en.

A bit late, Handrejka, but from April this year: an interview with your man, Monty Lister. Apparently he turns 90 sometime this year.

And even then, the Flight Radar is up! Cat, I'm beginning to think you have a TV Tropes style addiction....

There in lies the rub, it's mostly in the eye of the beholder.

If my own need to google people was any reflection, that'd be the first DDP to be won on minus points.

Random thoughts... I dislike "They need to have a Wiki" or other such rules. Only folk I'd outright ban from appearing on the DDP are kids, and they already are, thankfully. Difference between the likes of Dr Granger, Tomlinson, etc and the cancer mums and comatose no names for me. I'd prefer the latter to be...less picked, whereas the former I'm fine with. The "if hit by a bus" idea clearly doesn't work for me, I'd better describe it as active v passive. ie, "I've got cancer but I'm doing this public thing and have a raised profile as a result" vs "I'm ill, the papers have written about me, I'm dead". I don't know how you'd deal with that though. There are options (lowering points for these types of picks, restricting number of them per a team, banning them entirely) but all have flaws and I'm not sure if the site can even do some of them. Number of teams per individual is up to the Host, but 3 seems reasonable enough to remain. [Just this week I've come up with a theme team idea which, far as I can see, has never been done, so will be retiring the Gallifreyan Regeneration Game and Honourable Member... in 2017.] We seem to have a decent array of Qualifying Obits. Hopefully they aren't getting trimmed again, and if I had any suggestions it would be to bring back one of the Scottish newspapers. I know, they're a bit shit, its just for peace of mind. I don't know how easy or not it is to add new bonuses to the game. I liked your idea of the First and Last bonus, for example. Can't think of any other bonuses which would be interesting though. Two on a day bonus, where you get extra points for 2 (or more) hits on the one day? Hattrick (ie 3 points for scoring 3 of the following with a single pick - unique, unnatural, 13th, party pooper, joker)? Oh yes, one I forgot... A new bonus point - anyone picked by Pan Breed gets an 100 point bonus on their death, and, to be on the safe side, anyone who doesn't die gets 200 point bonus. Sounds fair to me.

Hmm, what defines fame though?

Did Toto record their albums in the local asbestos factory or something?

New Zealand stretches from Palermo to the Baltic Sea - the map is screwed! This explains why the wife's Ozzie friends suggest going up to Ben Nevis for the day as its "just next door". Aye, with Australian roads, maybe.

Well, that's another website I'll be time wasting on.

Good luck with that. Sounds from afar like the better plan all round. Is 120 miles less travel? As someone who failed geography at school, I'm frequently amazed by how big the US is. If I traveled 120 miles from Glasgow, I'd wind up in England, in, err, Maryport or close to it.