All PS3s shipped to Europe will be confiscated

Bad news for Sony: The Guardian reports that LG got its wish in a patent lawsuit concerning LG's patented technology which Sony appear to be using in the PS3. Tens of thousands have already been seized in the current 10-day ban which LG can appeal to have extended, and if the worst came to the worst have the PS3 consoles ordered to be destroyed.

LG are also hoping for a similar judgement in the US. These disputes are alongside another six patent battles between the two companies - Sony would like LG smartphones to be banned from the US.

The likely outcome is that Sony will have to pay LG a licensing fee for the patent, which will also be retrospective for all PS3s ever sold. On top of the fact that each PS3 sale loses money for Sony already, they're not going to be too happy.

These ongoing patent battles never seem to accomplish anything - so is the current patent system not the best possible way of dealing with inventor's rights? Discuss.

I leave you with a nice song for reflection. I must declare an interest, as an owner of a gaming laptop and an Xbox 360.

Skiing fail

Ager Stefan Stubai drop PTTP from Stefan Ager on Vimeo.

Stefan Ager, a skier, films himself here about to do a nice drop into powder, and ends up doing a drop alright.

He was OK.

The future is closer than you think, flying cars are ready to buy now.

The Parajet Skycar is the world's first street legal flying car. It may look more like a dune buggy, and it flies more like a paraglider than the cars in Futurama, but you can buy one now for £55k. The car was taken from London to Timbuktu - 3700 miles - by the creator and a former British army officer showing it can cope with the extremes of the Sahara, (and driving in London!).

See more on the Parajet website. If only that was a referral link and my readers could be persuaded to buy one..

Perhaps this is more like the image that 'flying car' brings to mind:






UPDATE: After writing this, I browsed to XKCD and had a 'Randall, get out of my head' moment:

Real life The Simpsons intro

Come Home To The Simpsons from devilfish on Vimeo.

Commissioned by Sky One, this video does a real life take on the classic introduction. Needs no more explanation. 

Laser Cat Bowling

 This clip made me laugh a lot today. I won't describe it any more than the title as its so short and I don't want to spoiler it for you...but from the title you can probably take a guess at what's going to happen.

No cats were harmed.

Whoops, it won't let me embed from that site, so visit the link: dumpert.nl

Still busy, and car insurance

Again I've been too busy to have time for a long post. But a quickie about car insurance. In the UK car insurance is mandatory and costs upwards of a thousand pounds for young male drivers. I heard recently that the EU had ruled it was discrimination to give women cheaper car insurance, so I hope this will lower my insurance premium in future. At least you can get a swift car insurance quote off the comparison sites - whose adverts we all hate - and find the cheapest. Still, my car insurance this year cost a lot of money I'd rather have. End of rant.

"Out of touch" Conservatives u-turn on forests, say they're sorry

Just a quickie today, as I've been busy: BBC News reports that the British Government has decided to throw out the plans to sell off 40,000 acres of England's forests. Ironically, the government is composed primarily of members of the Conservative Party, whose logo consists of a tree - yet they had decided it was a good idea to sell off the nation's trees, which would probably result in many being cut down.

The party leader and Prime Minister, David Cameron, was humbled yesterday at question time - Ed Miliband asked whether the PM was happy with the plans to sell off the forest, to which Cameron responded with a simple 'no' and a bow of the head. It seems in this case, this Eton and Oxford educated arrogant man realised he wasn't always right.

Apple branches out with their revolutionary new Apple Water

Scoopertino reports on the latest development from Steve Jobs' marketing machine, Apple Water. Clean. Simple. Wet. The revolutionary bottle of water incorporates such features as QuarterTwist technology, allowing the bottle to be opened with a maximum of 90 degrees wrist movement; Molecular Perfection, with literally twice as many hydrogen atoms as oxygen atoms.

For the connoisseur who doesn't mind paying that bit extra for Apple innovation and design.

Downing Street adopts a cat - David Cameron, British Prime Minister's first agreeable move.

Unrelated: Wow, 200 followers in 4 days. Thanks everyone for your support.

Larry settles into his new home today

As a consequence of a rat problem at 10 Downing Street, Larry the cat has been adopted today. The rat infestation became famous across the country when one was seen running across the doorstep of the residence of Prime Minister David Cameron on the BBC national news in January.

Larry was a stray cat taken in by Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, is around 4 months old, and is said to be family-friendly but also has "a high chase-drive and hunting instinct".

Larry is the latest of the cats to live at Number 10, the first since 2006. His predecessors include Rufus of England, nicknamed Treasury Bill, Munich Mouser who lived under Chamberlain and Churchill during World War 2, and Humphrey, who moved out in 1997 amid reports that Cherie Blair did not get on with the cat.


However different the political views of Britain's Prime Ministers have been throughout the years, they seem to all have a soft spot for our feline friends.


Via BBC News

UK Government can't decide about nukes

The Guardian reports that the two parties in the United Kingdom's coalition government are split on the issue of whether to replace Trident, the submarine-based nuclear deterrant which at the moment consists of aging submarines which will reach the end of their lives soon.

It's estimated that replacing the subs will cost £20bn ($32bn US) to replace, which to put things into perspective is about four times the government funding given to universities each year, at least before the higher education reforms.

The Liberal Democrats in the coalition government are generally pacifists and believe we don't need nuclear weapons in this day and age, while the Conservatives think it's necessary for national security. This kind of dispute was certain to arise in a coalition between two parties on opposite sides of the political compass.

Personally, this blogger would argue that nuclear superweapons will never be used again as long as there's a country which can fire back, although with the threat of extremists its probably wise to maintain some level of deterrant.

I'd like to hear people's views on nuclear weapons in the comments.

Vigilante parking ticket

I came across this on the internet today (credit to Atticus_Flinch) and thought I would share it with my followers. All 146 of you - its awesome that I got that many in 3 days.

Keep a copy of this in your car for next time you find examples of people who can't park. And on that subject, here's a woman who really can't park at all, but you've got to admire her perseverance.

Operation Dogfight: tracking down a Spanish guy who TORTURES PUPPIES

This puppy is not one of the harmed ones.

Operation Dogfight is the attempt to track down someone who has no excuse for their actions. This horrible individual, who lives in Badajoz, Spain, has recorded the deliberate torture and slow death of two puppies, and said he will post more. The videos are horrific (with a big Not Safe For Life stamp) so I'd urge you not to watch them - I wish I hadn't even attempted to.

I feel very strongly about the welfare of animals, particularly innocent baby animals such as these, and if you've got some spare time please visit the site and see if you can do anything to track him down and have him dealt with by the proper authorities, or blog this, and contact your local media and get this widely publicised, so justice can be done before another innocent animal is harmed.

http://operationdogfight.info/ is just a page of text but links to the aforementioned videos and has more information on the hunt for this guy.

Tahrir Square: Not so square - an interactive guide to the camp that took down the president

Click the image to see BBC News' interactive map of Tahrir Square, Cairo, where Egyptian people, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, have been protesting since the 25th of January. On the 1st of February it has been reported that over a million people gathered there.

The peaceful protest of this many people was enough to bring down the Egyptian government, by forcing President Mubarak to resign. Here in the UK the recent protests don't seem to have accomplished much, and the media only seem to cover the ones that turn violence, but it seems the Egyptians can inspire us all with what they have achieved.

Egypt is now under military rule, and the people are hoping for democratic elections to create a new government over the next few months. I wish the people of Egypt good luck.

BBC News - Egypt: The camp that toppled a president

Indeed I Have Read It

This newspaper from 1865 appears to be very similar in concept to a modern site on the internet that I used to visit. Unfortunately, this site 'Digg', lost most of its users when it was poorly redesigned - I heard they all went to another site but I have no idea where.

Where do all my readers find their news online?

(Credit to internet user aviopticus)

Likes its polyjuice potion too much? Noone will adopt a cat that looks like Voldemort

This poor moggy had its ears and nose removed because of skin cancer. He was a stray before a lady took him into her house and took him to the vets - where they performed surgery resulting in this unconventional look for a cat.

Charlie, a 14-year-old cat, would be the perfect pet for anyone who can convince themselves he won't try to kill them for being a Mudblood. Marie Loveridge of the Blue Cross says 'He looks you in the eye when you talk to him, loves fuss, lots of tickles and cuddles and wants to be near you.' Sadly, noone will adopt him from them.

Via Daily Mail

Kettled in while protesting? Have some fun with Metakettle

If you're involved in the upcoming anti-cuts demonstrations, and if you're British you better have a good excuse if you're not, you will probably get kettled by the police. Play a game of Metakettle while you're stuck inside the kettle, and have a bit of fun while legally mocking the police. Disclaimer: I don't know whether this is, or will remain, legal.

See Metakettle @ Terror Bull Games

BBC News: Quiz of the week's news

Old news?

In the spirit of this blog, the BBC each week posts a quiz on the more light-hearted aspects of the week's news.

I scored 6/7, not recognising the true hairline of Margaret Thatcher, mistaking it for Meryl Streep's in the upcoming film The Iron Lady. How appropriate a time to make the film, when we're living in the UK under a government with Thatcherite policies, but probably even more devastating for the common person.

Who did David Cameron ask to be his Tory candidate for the Barnsley Central byelection - by doing so admitting his party has no chance of winning the election, as his choice couldn't possibly be a serious MP.

And in world affairs which country is inspiring women of Belgium to go on strike from having sex until a government is formed?

Take the quiz and see if you can beat me.

New blog

Hello there, fellow citizens of the internet.

It has come to my attention recently that while surfing, I like to keep up on the latest news and also take delight in the humorous light-heartedness that the internet hivemind is so great at coming up with.

As a politically left-leaning citizen of the United Kingdom I will be posting my take on the increasingly ridiculous actions of the Coalition Government. We'll also be following the developments in Egypt, a hot topic at the beginning of 2011, and interesting stuff that's happening all over the world, not necessarily political.

To keep things from getting too serious, there will also be a selection of the finest light-hearted content that there seems to be so, so much of today. The cuteness of cats and their amusing actions will undoubtedly take up a large amount of space. Anything else I find mildly amusing on the internet, as well.