Archive for July, 2009
Netbooks – Different Than Laptops?
The most popular word in gadget circles the past couple years (besides “iPhone”) is “netbook.” You’ve probably even seen one without realized it. Basically, a netbook is a smaller, lesser powered, laptop (or notebook) computer. Several foreign companies released them at first, but now even Dell and HP have their own versions of netbooks. Originally [...]
World Population Day
Unless you have a desk calendar with odd events pre-labeled on it like mine, you probably missed World Population Day last week. Don’t worry, I won’t tell. It seems to be a day to promote girls’ education and poverty awareness based on the confusing website UNFPA.org. You can read up about the day all you [...]
Commerical Paper Explained
Yesterday, it was reported that U.S. commercial paper fell by almost $40 billion for the week. Before we get into “why,” first you need to know the “what” when it comes to commercial paper. Simply, commercial paper (CP) is a type of short term loan issued primarily by large corporations for the purpose of raising [...]
Whatchoo Talkin’ ‘Bout, Sears Tower?
It was announced a few months ago, but today it becomes official: the Sears Tower in Chicago has officially been renamed Willis Tower. Willis Group Holdings had to lease a mere 3.5% of the 110 floors for 15 years to secure the naming rights. According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, “How did [Joseph Plumeri, [...]
Sugar – As Ubiquitous As Obama
I’ve always been a candy fiend, and lately I’ve been on quite a cereal kick as well, spooning everything from the ultra sweet Trix to the ultra healthy Smart Smart. Except that, it turns out, Smart Start is hardly healthy and Trix isn’t the sugar bomb you’d expect (relatively speaking). After reading a Chicago Tribune [...]
Romo, Simpson, and Tierney in the news
I mentioned directly in The Skinny when this site was first created that the site exists “so you can know the details ahead of time, even if it’s just the name of the latest Britney Spears song everyone is singing.” That means every once in a while, you’ll get a post like this one. We’re [...]
Vegemite – New, Improved, and still Gross
If you are a fan of 80s music, you may remember Vegemite from the song Down Under from Men At Work (“He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich…”). For those not familiar with obscure lyrics from Australian bands from several decades ago led by a singer with cameos in the TV show Scrubs, Vegemite is [...]
Sanchez’s No-Hitter Special
No-hitters are a fairly common occurrence in Major League Baseball, but Jonathan Sanchez’s no-hitter for the San Francisco Giants last night against the San Diego Padres is a perfect Dinner Topic because there’s plenty of back story to the special event. For starters, Sanchez has struggled all year and was removed from the starting rotation [...]
