Barence writes "Two weeks after announcing its sponsorship of a special episode of Fox's edgy animated sitcom Family Guy, the computer giant has pulled out, saying the program is 'not a fit with the Windows brand.' Quite why Microsoft thought Family Guy would complement their brand is anyone's guess — the Family Guy special that was to be sponsored by Microsoft was recorded on October 16 and reportedly features jokes about deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest. Fox plans to air the show on November 8, as scheduled, partnered with a new, as-yet undisclosed, 'integrated' sponsor."

An anonymous reader writes "Here is something for idle to chew on. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is ticked off. He’s tired of signing bills that don’t address the pet causes he deems important. So when another unworthy bill crossed his desk recently for signing — addressing funding issues for the Port of San Francisco — the guv vetoed it and sent lawmakers a little note saying why. Only the note said a little more than lawmakers were expecting. A shortcut to the letter supposedly sent by the Govenator can be found here. If you are still stumped, this should clear it up. I have to admit, I never expected him to be this clever."

An anonymous reader writes "Motherboard.TV reports, 'In Monrovia, Liberia, there’s a guy taking the matter of a lopsided, state-run media and reshaping it into a free-of-charge, independent news-aggregator—all accomplished with dry-erase board and couple markers. (Sorry, internet!) Each morning, at 10:45 AM, Alfred Sirleaf wakes up and heads down to his bulletin board to post the day’s news, culling together a slate of stories his countrymen might otherwise never see. Grateful readers line up in droves, on foot and in cars, to read these updates, in what has been described as the country's — and probably the world's — only analog blog.'"

A woman in Georgia was able to scare a would-be burglar off by pretending to be a dog. According to police, the woman dropped to the floor, scratched at the door, and acted like a large dog when a man tried to open her door. The noise scared off the mystery man and police were unable to find anyone matching his description. The woman and her property are reportedly fine and she hopes to be house trained in a few weeks.

According to Professor Svante Paabo, director of genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Neanderthals and modern humans had sex across the species barrier. The professor has been using DNA retrieved from fossils to piece together the entire Neanderthal genome, and plans on publishing his findings soon. He recently told a conference that he was sure the two species had had sex, but still had questions as to how "productive" the relations had been. "What I'm really interested in is, did we have children back then and did those children contribute to our variation today?" he said. "I'm sure that they had sex, but did it give offspring that contributed to us? We will be able to answer quite rigorously with the new [Neanderthal genome] sequence." What remains a mystery is what Paleolithic brewery provided the catalyst for these stone age hook-ups.

The marketing team at EA are doing a great job with promoting Dante's Inferno. Take a look at their 17 pounds of wrath.

Proving that UN security is as tight as a typical car show, and that there is nothing that a KFC Famous Bowl can't fix, a man impersonating the Kentucky Fried Chicken founder talked his way into the UN headquarters in New York and met with a senior official. Michele Montas, a spokeswoman for Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general said, "It should not have happened – that I will stress, and very strongly. There was some lapse in security and the individual in question was, on the initiative of one security guard, taken into the UN."

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that bong water is a drug saying it is, "a preparation, compound, mixture, or substance containing a controlled substance, regardless of purity." The 4-3 decision means that possession of 25 or more grams of bong water can lead to first-degree drug charges instead of a fine of no more than $300 for paraphernalia. At least someone is trying to stop the epidemic of glassy eyed children selling little thermoses filled with smelly water at school.

Barence writes "Social-networking site Facebook is planning to preserve the accounts of dead members. The new 'memorialized' accounts will continue to display photos and wall posts, but remove 'sensitive information' such as status updates and contact information. Friends or family who want to report the death of a Facebook member are encouraged to fill out the site's Deceased form. The form asks for proof of death, such as an obituary or news article, although it's not clear how Facebook can validate the death of a member if neither of those pieces of information is published on the internet. How long before someone snuffs it on Facebook before their time?"

35-year-old Anthony Armatys had about the best job anyone could have. He had almost 5 years worth of paychecks deposited into his account from a New Jersey company that he didn't work for. Armatys took a job with telecommunications company Avaya Inc. in September 2002, then changed his mind. The company's computer system liked him so much however it never removed his name from the payroll. Prosecutors say that he received more than $470,000 in paychecks.

Judge a man by his clothing.

boombaard writes "News is spreading quickly here that scientists writing in a popular science periodical (Dutch) have debunked the 2012 date (google translation linked) featuring so prominently in doomsday predictions/speculation across the web. On 2012-12-21, the sun will appear where you would normally be able to see the 'galactic equator' of the Milky Way; an occurrence deemed special because it happens 'only' once every 25.800 years, on the winter solstice. However, even if you ignore the fact that there is no actual galactic equator, just an observed one, and that the visual effect is pretty much the same for an entire decade surrounding that date, there are major problems with the way the Maya Calendar is being read by doomsday prophets." I wonder what Amazon's return policy on a box full of 3 doomsday wolves shirts is?

New Jersey's David Smith has built a model train that is 35,200 times smaller than the real thing. It took months to build and the locomotive only cost about $11.

Researches say that today is really unproductive.

Fotograf writes "Yahoo's latest embarrassment seems like a sign that the company is just trying too hard to be cool. The latest debacle is earning the company some additional publicity. After Yahoo hosted Taiwan Open Hack Day, a special event for engineers and developers that was held last weekend, a series of photos found their way onto the internet — as ill-thought out decisions often do. Yahoo offered lap dances to the attendees of the hack event. Since the pictures have come out the company has decided to apologize."

yog writes "An assistant at a grocery store in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, was ordered by the Performing Right Society (PRS) to obtain a performer's license and to pay royalties because she was informally singing popular songs while stocking groceries. The PRS later backed down and apologized. This after the same store had turned off the radio after a warning from the PRS. We have entered an era where music is no longer an art for all to enjoy, but rather a form of private property that must be regulated and taxed like alcohol. 'Music to the ears' has become 'dollars in the bank'."

29-year-old Eric Williamson is facing indecent exposure charges after a passerby spotted the man naked in his kitchen making coffee. A spokesman for the Fairfax County Police said officers arrested Williamson because they believe he wanted to be seen naked by the public. Williamson says, "Yes, I wasn't wearing any clothes but I was alone, in my own home and just got out of bed. It was dark and I had no idea anyone was outside looking in at me." I have to agree with Eric. It's not like he was doing anything potentially dangerous like working a waffle iron without clothes first thing in the morning.

Westword, an "alternative" newspaper in Denver, has placed an ad for a medicinal marijuana reviewer. The paper has been running reviews by a staff writer, but the writer "wanted to return to the day job," opening up the position. Applicants must write a short essay on "What Marijuana Means To Me," and a MacGyver-like ability to make a bong out of common household objects is a plus.

Australian police were able to use blood DNA from a leech to convict a man of a 2001 armed robbery. Peter Alec Cannon had picked up a leech near a safe at the scene of the crime. Forensic scientists took a sample of blood from the leech and that DNA profile was found to be a match to Cannon's after he was arrested and charged for another crime. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those meddling scientists and that mangy Annelida.

If you're in the market for a set of slightly used gold teeth the Nashville Police Department has just the thing for you. The police are auctioning off a "set of custom made teeth grills," confiscated from a perp. The grill is made of 10 karat yellow gold, and is set with six topaz stones and two citrine stones. Officials say the grill has been thoroughly cleaned by a jeweler.