Cyprus vs. Somalia : children vs. adults

Comparison between Cyprus and Somalia, children and adults is nothing more but a coincidence in my news stream.  Consider the two articles that appeared not next to each other, but near enough for me to group them here.

First, in incident in Cyprus, as reported by the Cyprus Mail.

AN ANNUAL festival in Anogyra village held to celebrate the honey and sesame sweet, pastelli, ended on a sour note on Saturday after three people were slightly injured in a fight over balloons.

Chairs and bottles were thrown in the fight between two families that resulted in four arrests and three people getting slightly injured.

Second, a little competition in Somalia, as reported by the Guardian.

An Islamist-backed radio station in Somalia has awarded assault rifles and hand grenades to the winners of a children’s Qur’an recital competition.

Andalus radio, which is run by al-Shabaab militia, said on Monday that the first prize was an AK-47 and £450. The runner-up received an AK-47 and £320, while the child who came third received two F1 hand grenades and £250. The three children also received religious books.

There goes my hope for the World Peace.

Septemberfest 2011

Cyprus Mail reports that a (hopefully) annual event is being organized first time this year in Nicosia.  Inspired by the famous Octoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany and, possibly, by Limassol Wine Festival, it should boost the Nicosia tourism a bit.

Six beer importing and producing companies will headline the festival, while customers will have the opportunity to choose from up to 49 different brands. Cyprus will be represented by its three local producing companies: KEO, Carlsberg and Leon, while 20 kiosks will be set up, with local pubs also participating.

Drinks, food, music, and a traditional in such cases funfair promise a lot of fun.  Septemberfest starts today, Wednesday, September 21st and will continue until the end of the week, Sunday, September 25th.  Entrance tickets are 5 EUR for adults, including free drink.  Children can go in for free, but my guess is that they won’t be served any alcohol.

Hopefully by the next year the organizers will build up a website of some sort.  Until then, there is a Facebook page that you can use to share photos and updates.

Microsoft catching up with Google

Way too often do I hear from the Microsoft fans that the company is catching up with Google.  Each and every time I disagreed, but in the heat of the discussion it’s not always easy to find supporting facts.  Yeah, I know, I should come ready for such arguments, but I really take them when and where they find me.

Anyways, Google Android and Microsoft Mobile is only one side of a discussion.  Advertising is the other.  And search is yet another one.  Well, I’ve heard the numbers before, but never bothered blogging them.  This time I will.  Slashdot links to a CNN Money article, which tells a really sad story.

Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) has lost $5.5 billion on Bing since the search service launched in June 2009, but the company’s search losses actually pre-date that. In fact, the software giant has never made money in its online services division. Since Microsoft began breaking out that unit’s finances in 2007, the company has lost a total of $9 billion.

There is even a little visual aid in case you prefer your trends simplified.  It doesn’t look good, and it will never will.  And the secret is very simple.  Microsoft is not an online company.  It never was and it is too large to change.  If it will ever change, it will be as different from what it is now as IBM is different from the company it used to be in the last century.

 

Day in brief – 2011-09-20

  • Good morning ladies and gentlemen. And I am back from the Hangoverland. Feels good to be alive. :) #
  • @mattcutts I had it with a girl once. :) #
  • @jasonclarke Happened to me once. This is a good sign that a diet and some exercise are in order. Once you recover, of course. #
  • I favorited a @YouTube video http://t.co/mRrfFSpM Sad But Superstitious (Stevie Wonder vs Metallica Mashup by #