Apr 18, 2007

In 576 A.D., Japanese temple-building company Kongo Gumi was founded. In 2006 A.D, burdened by an unserviceable debt load and suffering from a downturn in demand for temples, Kongo Gumi sold itself to another Japanese construction firm, ending the company’s run as Oldest Company in the World. (The current winner is also Japanese: the Hoshi Ryokan (hotel) in Komatsu was founded in 718 A.D., making it 1,289 years old this year.

Feb 19, 2007

I like Safari. And I like Safari’s inbuilt RSS reader. But… I’m switching to (allegedly beta) Google Reader. Mostly, I wanted a web-accessible RSS reader - or, at least, one I could read from my phone and have it synchronise to my desktop. But Google Reader is also pretty cool - it’s all AJAX-a-riffic, has lots of keyboard shortcuts for speedy browsing, and all the cool kids use it. And here’s one of Google Reader’s neatest tricks: you can share your favourite items and have them automagically included in a little webclip on your site.

Dec 17, 2006

Time has announced their Person of the Year. And the winner is… Me! And you, and you, and you, and you, and anyone who’s ever uploaded a video to Youtube, or played in Second Life, or blogged, or… basically anyone with a ‘net connection, in what can only be described as an enormous cop-out. Quoth the article: …for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, TIME’s Person of the Year for 2006 is you.

Aug 2, 2006

Australian 20-cent coins are made of a 75-25 copper-nickel alloy: 8.5 grams of copper to 2.8 grams of nickel. When I checked yesterday afternoon: copper was AUD 10,200 a (metric) tonne, and nickel was AUD 33,500 a tonne. By those numbers, the metal in a 20-cent coin is currently worth eighteen cents. I think I’ll go out and buy a shedload of 20-cent coins. Even if metal prices plunge, you’ll still be able to sell them for twenty cents.

Jul 3, 2006

Spot FX broker Lonely wail down the line, “Four-five small? Four-five?”