Category: Geek Stuff

My friend Garnett just tweeted this hilarious map of the world according to San Francisco. As a former resident of that great city, I thought it was fantastic. Check it out above or click below for a larger version. Great stuff!

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That random Los Angeles missile is baffling several of the most respected American institutions, including the Pentagon. While some have stated that it’s clearly a jet or missile contrail, nobody knows — or is honestly saying — where it came from. According to CNN:

The Pentagon is unable to explain images of what witnesses took to be a high-altitude rocket launched off the coast of southern California at sunset Monday, officials said.

The Federal Aviation Administration, the Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, and California Reps. Dana Rohrabacher and Jane Harman — whose coastal districts are closest to the offshore contrails — were at a loss to explain the images.

I’m abandoning my theory that the “missile” was an act of defense against a skrull invasion. Clearly the government has made breakthroughs in repulsor-ray technology and is testing out a form of Iron Man armor. It all makes sense now….

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I can’t believe I missed this yesterday! Apparently a random and mysterious “missile” was fired off the coast of Los Angeles. Military officials are still investigating the matter. The fact that they don’t know what happened — or are not revealing the truth — is extremely disturbing. Here’s the skinny from the LA Times:

Military and aviation officials said Tuesday they don’t know who may have launched a mysterious object spotted in the sky late Monday off the Southern California coast, but noted that whatever the projectile was, it did not pose a threat to national security.

A KCBS news helicopter spotted what appeared to be a missile traveling through the sky northwest of Catalina Island, about 35 miles west of Los Angeles.

Holy hell!!! The United States of America has the largest and most sophisticated military in the world and it can’t keep track of its own missiles?!? A case of “oops” is completely unacceptable. That said, the truth could be really cool. In my head the missile was launched to repel a fleet of skrulls or some other nasty alien race.

What do you think happened? Also, thanks to Jason for the link! (Also also, I was going to file this under mobile tech. *snicker*)

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For a company with the unofficial motto of “don’t be evil”, Google’s tax practices seem a little bit…sketchy. The company has used various loopholes in numerous countries to save $3.1-billion in taxes. While I understand that a publicly traded company is supposed to maximize profits to keep shareholders happy, it’s a little funny that the “don’t be evil” company has cost America money when the country has an enormous deficit. It’s even funnier when you consider that Google is based in California, a state with a wrecked budget that has resorted to imposing unpaid furloughs on government employees.

Here are the details on Google’s scheme via Bloomberg:

Google Inc. cut its taxes by $3.1 billion in the last three years using a technique that moves most of its foreign profits through Ireland and the Netherlands to Bermuda.

Google’s income shifting — involving strategies known to lawyers as the “Double Irish” and the “Dutch Sandwich” — helped reduce its overseas tax rate to 2.4 percent, the lowest of the top five U.S. technology companies by market capitalization, according to regulatory filings in six countries.

Don’t be evil, hey?

Google is hardly the only American company engaging in these practices, but it’s one of the biggest and most influential. What do you think of these loopholes? Is it cheating America out of money? Or is it fiscal cleverness that Google is obligated to pursue on behalf of its stockholders? And yes, I fully expect RPadholic smartguy for a full analysis from an accountant’s perpective.

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