Having failed to buy Yahoo, Microsoft buys itself instead
I guess they need to do something with all the spare money they have, so they’re buying their own shares. BBC NEWS | Business | Microsoft unveils $40bn buy-back
In times of recession: eat chocolate
That’s the conclusion I draw from the news today that Thorntons has revealed annual profits have risen nearly 20% to £8.5m. Although the Thorntons PR spin is “There’s room for pleasure and a little bit of indulgence in everyone’s life”, my assessment is rather: “if you’re struggling to make ends meet, why not stuff your …
Summer was officially crap
As if we didn’t already know it. “This August has been the dullest in the UK since records began – with just 105.5 hours of sunshine, against an average for the month of 165 hours.” BBC NEWS | Magazine | Call that a summer?
How to swat a fly
“The research suggests that the best way of swatting a fly is to creep up slowly and aim ahead of its location.” Well, duh. I bet those researchers spent months trying to work out how to get the last ship in Space Invaders too. Experience tells me that a good flyswat (one that doesn’t push …
Official Scrabble to come to Facebook
A piece I’ve written for Inside Facebook on the official version of Scrabble to be released by EA and Mattel. It’s Official – You’ll Soon be Able to Play Scrabble on Facebook
Fry-ups are good for you
That’s the obvious conclusion from this BBC news article. Although this “discovery” is somewhat less than startling: “Dr Jakubowicz reported that the big breakfasters said they felt less hungry, particularly in the mornings.” BBC NEWS | Health | Big breakfast ‘aids weight loss’
Floyd inflatable pig goes missing
A reward has been offered for a giant inflatable pig which floated into the Californian desert during a concert by Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters. This isn’t one of Roger Waters’s best quotes: “Waters said ‘that’s my pig’ as it drifted away during Sunday’s gig.” Floyd inflatable pig goes missing
Plane touches wings to runway on landing
I may have gone off air travel after watching this plane attempting to land in Hamburg today and scraping its wings along the runway: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxdZHDmL_kg]
Thirsty people and blood donors to pay more to drive
“A new generation of road camera which can deduce how many people are in a car is to be tested for the first time.” “The new camera developed at Loughborough University can see how many people are in a car by detecting water and blood content.” BBC NEWS | UK | Car-sharing cameras to be …
Breaking news: the back side of Mercury is just as boring as the front
I’m sure it’s “revolutionary” (or not, because otherwise they wouldn’t have had to fly past it…) that we now know what the back side of Mercury looks like, but it doesn’t seem to be too attractive or different from any other photo of a grayscale pancake that I’ve seen. I am, however, impressed by the …