One of the best pictures of the year:

[From this article on ananova]

PS Any decent captions? Send ‘em in to the usual address.

Update: That image has reminded me of Blair denying being Bush’s puppet.

Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, has invited five other artists to write his strip for him this week, which is quite an interesting concept. I recall one April Fools’ Day a load of cartoonists all swapped strips for the day, this is an amusing extension of it - like bands doing covers as a tribute, I suppose…

Speaking of comics, my friend Mark’s comic Bob’s Your Uncle is doing well in the Top Web Comics list (11th the last time I looked…). Check it out.

This may be slightly oldish news, but Mozilla Firebird 0.7 is out now. Firebird is an alternative web browser, for Windows, Linux or Mac OS X. It’s fast (runs nicely on my cranky old Pentium III), open source (so you can stick it to Bill Gates) and has some damn good features, like tabbed windows (no more millions of windows or cluttered toolbar), banning pop-up windows and blocking images (no more annoying adverts), a skinnable user interface (although at the moment most skins aren’t compatible with the new version…grrrr), lots of customisation options, and it’s only a 6MB download. It rocks. It could beat IE in a fight with one hand tied behind its back. Go download it now.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has been found dead in a French footballer’s hotel room. Police say it was Murder on Zidane’s Floor.

…he would be innocent, perhaps, apart from the fact his dog is called Adolf

A fascinating presentation (Warning: PDF, 4.7MB) on those phoney institutions that dole out allegedly bona fide degrees for cash - of course they’re totally uncredited.

It’s an operation in both the States and the UK, with multiple different institutions all traced back to the same IP addresses, the same addresses, and the same names. Perhaps most worryingly of all, the author, George Gollin, finds people with these degrees on their CVs, practising psychotherapy, medicine and education whilst totally unqualified.

A fascinating read (although a heavy download), and a shining example of quality investigative journalism using the Internet.

A bit of a linking-to-my-mates entry (sorry), but my friend Max has just gone to Australia to watch the World Solar Challenge, and is keeping a blog of his experiences.

As a precaution, Miller Brewing Company is issuing a voluntary product recall for 12-ounce cans of Sharp’s non-alcohol brew…because of a filling error, some of these Sharp’s containers may contain alcohol.

Doh. Maybe because I’m a bit drunk, but I find this quite funny…