Into the Assembly committee room seeped real life, the sort of real life that makes scrutinising complex, controversial bills pretty tough.

BBC: Dogs, ducks and ethics

Could 2011 be the year when Wales' four biggest political parties are forced to make room in the assembly for a smaller rival?

BBC: Smaller parties trying to end domination of big four

Committees have been described as the "engine room" of Assembly scrutiny and for weeks now, the cross-party Business Committee has been locked in discussions about their future structure.

BBC: Activity? Yes...behind the scenes

At the end of that period, if there has been no deal, the British Government will have to either suspend the assembly - even if only for a short period to give more room for manoeuvre - or call an assembly election.

BBC: PMs finalise peace plan

Mr Lassalle began his fast in March, sitting almost daily on a sofa in an ornate room of the National Assembly in Paris, to protest against what he considered to be a relocation plan by Toyal, a Japanese-owned manufacturer of aluminium pigment.

ECONOMIST: A pre-emptive strike by a politician from the Pyrenees

Employees here work out their own schedules, swapping hours when somebody has to come in late or leave early and switching furiously among jobs, from assembly tasks on engines to cleaning up the conference room after a meeting.

FORBES: GE Keeps Manufacturing Jobs In US -- For Highly Skilled

Electrostatic self-assembly, however, coats every exposed surface of an object, and does it at room temperature.

ECONOMIST: MONITOR