Actually, I think dreadlocks can look very sexy. Bob Marley had the best set of dreads, and there is one particular clip of him coming on stage to do "No Woman No Cry" in slow motion, his dreads swinging behind him, and his dreads look good! The Counting Crows lead singer had dreads for awhile, didn't he? Also very good dreads.

That said, I think there are also some awful dreads....and considering that they were supposed to be the sign of a particular religious affiliation, is it OK to have mainstreamed this?

Dreadlocks were what I was going to have if I did not get my hair cut immediately! I am sure there will be women who can relate to this--you wake up and you HAVE TO HAVE YOUR HAIR CUT THAT DAY OR THE WORLD WILL END. It was that sort of day! I have to say I am very pleased with the result!!!!

I can stand it no longer---deep breath---am off to get my hair cut by a new person in a foreign land....I have put it off as long as possible....

I have an outstanding, marvelous, wonderful supervisor! When my supervisor changed universities part way through my Phd, I followed and changed the enrolment of my PhD to a new university!

I think that the Urban Dictionary definition is offensive in many respects. The term mouth breather, perfectly fine when addressed to a trout, should be left in that context, and that alone. The Urban Dictionary had no good trout recipes that I could find.

The mouth breather trout is a lovely fish, a lovely pendant, a lovely breakfast or dinner, and should be no more and no less.

The insult I think was something found in the "Urban Dictionary", but it was a poor source for trout recipes. There was much speculation about all of this resulting in the revelation of a hegemonic culinary conspiracy--which even involved the innocent trout.

http://www.foodreference.com/html/trout-gmt-71906.html

This might do as well. Perhaps this evening--Grilled Mexican trout!

Thanks for that, Tricky, I will have to look for those. In the meantime I found a little take away place ( well you can eat in as well) that had a Mexican selection, along with some Indian and Italian! I have made do with some Mexican chili, which turns out to be vegetarian but is OK. However, its not Taco Bell!

Ahhh!!!!!!!!! Crisis!!!!!!!! I am craving a giant plate of huevos rancheros with lime and proper salsa ( none of this "chilli sauce" business!) and flour tortillas. I am off on a mission to find some real food!

That is to say, of all the things I am accused of in real life, procrastination is not one of them! Trouts are indeed a healthy interest. For instance, on a trout diet, you do not have to worry about gaining weight on a PhD, and with the variety of recipes out there, you can have a most varied and interesting diet.
And when people make requests for trout information, why, the least I can do is oblige! It would hardly be sporting to leave people dangling would it? ( no fly fishing puns intended)

http://www.flyshack.com/DisplayItem.aspx?ItemID=100062

and just in time for Valentines Day, what better gift can you offer your true love than a silver pendant of two kissing trouts!

In a way I suppose you could argue that academia is late to the general trend of "evidence based" results that has been the bane of social services, government agencies, etc, with the setting of rather meaningless and in some cases unachievable targets. Everything MUST BE MEASURED IN ORDER TO COUNT! seems to be the prevailing philosophy. I am not sure anyone would say that this push produced anything really worthwhile in the end in the government sector, and I would predict it will have its day and go by the wayside as well in academia.

Mellib--if I am understanding you correctly, you are upset because I have not posted the very famous and delicious recipe for Hot and Sour Smoke Trout with Cashews, a recipe of the British Trout Association.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/hotandsoursmokedtrou_4955.shtml

My apologies, it just did not seem to fit into this thread, but I would not want to leave someone wanting a trout recipe! This hot and sour trout salad might indeed bring tears to your eyes, but they would be tears of joy, due to the unusual and rich flavours this recipe yields.

Enjoy!

At least then there would be an honest and transparent discussion, instead of people hiding behind feel good labels like econometrics. I think that the current trends are dangerous and should be carefully considered and opposed when needed. I think they make dangerous inroads on free thinking, free speech and the pursuit of knowledge.

That said, UK universities have a long way to fall before they hit the low water mark set by US universities that have essentially become minor league training grounds for professional (American) football and basketball teams.