FOX mixes Apple with Abu Dhabi, and on the way creates a new name "Abu Dubai". Brilliant.

Worst jobs in science

A list of the top 10 worst jobs in science includes Whale Feces Researcher and Elephant Vasectomist but check out number 6:

Number 6: Microsoft Security Grunt
Like wearing a big sign that reads “Hack Me”

Do you flinch when your inbox dings? The people manning secure@microsoft .com receive approximately 100,000 dings a year, each one a message that something in the Microsoft empire may have gone terribly wrong. Teams of Microsoft Security Response Center employees toil 365 days a year to fix the kinks in Windows, Internet Explorer, Office and all the behemoth’s other products. It’s tedious work.

Each product can have multiple versions in multiple languages, and each needs its own repairs (by one estimate, Explorer alone has 300 different configurations). Plus, to most hackers, crippling Microsoft is the geek equivalent of taking down the Death Star, so the assault is relentless. According to the SANS Institute, a security research group, Microsoft products are among the top five targets of online attack. Meanwhile, faith in Microsoft security is ever-shakier—according to one estimate, 30 percent of corporate chief information officers have moved away from some Windows platforms in recent years. “Microsoft is between a rock and a hard place,” says Marcus Sachs, the director of the SANS Internet Storm Center. “They have to patch so much software on a case-by-case basis. And all in a world that just doesn’t have time to wait.”

Wow. I don't envy these guys!

dark humor from the days of the warlords

Militiamen ruled much of southern Somalia for a decade and half, every street in Mogadishu belonged to a warlord and had check points at every few kilometers. A friend of mine was sharing with me the other day some of the dark humor of those days.

He told me that once a checkpoint was sold for about 70,000,000 shillings, that's about $70. Because checkpoint were seen as a source of income, like having a truck, and was valued highly.

Another warlord came up with a novel idea to make more money of checkpoints, anyone who came through one of his checkpoints would weighed and if more than 50kg, the victim or the relatives are charged per extra kilo (so if 100 kg, it might cost $100 per extra kilo = $5000).

A newspaper run an advert for a "Gandhari", a technical operator, the requirements included like; must be experience in clan warfare and must taking part in at least 15 tribal battles and have killed at least 15 innocent people ... etc. Luckily the ad was just for fun.

Most of the warlords were in Mogadishu and when the Islamic Courts came they removed almost all of them. Though most of warlords are part of the government

Unidentified man

Despite all their coverage on Somalia, Reuters is having difficulty identifying the Somali PM Gedi.

Heaven and Hell in the Arab world

(hat tip: Mohamed)

Aljazeera Humours the Daily Show