mcron - cron in scheme

If you like scheme, and you like the Unix cron command, then consider mcron:

The new idea is to read the required command instructions, work out which command needs to be executed next, and then sleep until the inferred time has arrived.  On waking the commands are run, and the time of the next command is computed.  Furthermore, the specifications are written in scheme, allowing at the same time simple command execution instructions and very much more flexible ones to be composed than the original Vixie format.  This has several useful advantages over the original idea.

For Debian fans:
apt-get install mcron 

Troll videos

I've recently been checking out the alt.comp.freeware newsgroup. The amount of trolling there has to be seen to be believed. This inspired me to check out some humourous troll videos on YoutTube. Here's my favourites:

• Internet Bridge Troll
• You've Been Trolled [The Remake]

Enjoy.

Bizarre spam

I don't know why, but today I decided to actually look at the contents of my spam mail, and came across a bizarre offer of a puppy. That's right, a puppy. It is such a strange concept that I thought I'd share the message with you. Here's the text of the message:

How are you today, My name is Esther Brown I am a consultant

gynecologist surgeon and oncologist doctor, I work for different

prominent hospital, me and my husband are giving out this little puppy

for free (Adoption),This little girl weighs 1.3Lbs at 9 weeks old &

should be 3Lbs when full grown only. She is very friendly with children

she fit in both Palms of your hands. She is AKC/CERF registered puppy

.Adorable and sociable with great Personalities and very good

bloodlines. She is vet-checked, up to date on shots and deforming, and

is health is guaranteed. Recently checked by a licensed Vet Doctor for

heart, knees, skin, correct bite, and eyes. Bottom and straight sides

and tender, she is A.K.C and CERF registered and shots are given up to

date. She will come along with Travel crate, AKC/CERF Registered

Papers, Toys and Food and Birth Certificate, I resided in the state

with my husband but after my son's death me and my husband moved to

Africa due  to our work and we have the puppy

Thanks,Esther Brown.

Unfortunately, I don't live in Africa, so any animals would have to be mailed to me personally. Esther is way ahead of me on that one, though, as the puppy "will come along with a Travel crate". Let's hope that the crate is small, to save on postage.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Aberdeen - hottest in UK

I just heard on the news that Aberdeen is the hottest place in the UK today. Excellent!

Worth noting, as you don't hear that very often.

RTN - Restaurant Group - director purachses

Director Tony Hughes buys £909k of shares in RTN.

At 303.2p, RTN has a market cap of £605m, a yield of 3%, a PER of 15, ROE of 27%, all achieved with tiny gearing. It has a z-score of 4.4, and analysts expect to see double-digit growth over the next two years.

A neat little company.

DPLM - profits beat expectations

This article reports:

H1 revenue to rise 25 pct ... aided by acquisitions and better margins in all three divisions. ... Diploma forecast adjusted pretax profit for the year ending Sept. 30 to be materially ahead of the market consensus.

 A post on The Motley Fool comments:

On the medical side, Diploma distribute more to hospitals, clinics and environmental testing labs, than it does to biotech/pharma labs. I would be concerned if it was the latter because the industry is scaling back on drug development plans. In general, Diploma's distributes more to the maintenance Capex budgets of companies than it does to expansionary. It tends to do ok in a slowdown, and if they use the substantive cash flow well, they can always 'buy' EPS growth.

MRW.L - Morrisons - results

Morrison(Wm.)Supermarkets PLC
10 March 2011

Financial summary

· Turnover up 7% to £16.5bn (2009/10: £15.4bn)
· Like-for-like sales (ex fuel, ex VAT) up 0.9% (2009/10: 6.0%)
· Underlying profits1 before tax up 13% to £869m (2009/10: £767m)
· Profit before tax £874m (2009/10: £858m including £91m exceptional credit)
· Net debt £817m (2009/10: £924m) after capital investment of £592m.
· Gearing of 15% (2009/10: 19%)
· Basic earnings per share 23.9p (2009/10: 22.8p)
· Underlying earnings per share up 12% to 23.0p (2009/10: 20.5p)
· Total dividend for the year up 17% to 9.6p (2009/10: 8.2p) - dividend cover of 2.4 times

....

http://fool.uk-wire.com/Article.aspx?id=201103100700126633C


 MRW is trading at 280.5p, with a market cap of £7.4bn, PE of 12.5,  yield of 3.3%, and a z-score of 3.5. Analysts peg FY12 with 7% growth, and FY13 with 10% growth. Share buybacks of £1bn are in the expected. Net debt has actually reduced during the year, and overall this is a pretty solid company with good prospects in a resilient sector.