Odds and ends

[wellinghall]

Military penguin becomes a "Sir"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7562773.stm

Eight ugly watches that might tell the time
http://inventorspot.com/articles/8_ugly_watches_that_might_tell_the_time_14955

Pension accounting rules must reflect the uncertainties in the pension promise
http://www.cass.city.ac.uk/media/stories/story_77_18491_96639.html

Another busy year for archaeology on Orkney
http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/003043.html

ETA: Boing Boing's Christmas present guides:

for children, featuring "Baby's first mythos": Cthluhoid picture book:
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/11/26/boing-boings-holiday.html

fiction, featuring "Futures from Nature", edited by Henry Gee
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/11/27/boing-boings-holiday-1.html

Comments

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

If I recall it correctly (and it's been a while), SSAP 24 required companies to smooth deficits over the estimated remaining working life of the employees.

Or something like that.

[king-pellinor.livejournal.com]

An excellent idea.

I thought it was that the deficits were left out of the accounts, but the company had to agree with the trustees how to fix them - but that being a cash issue it didn't affect this year's results.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Long term insurance companies have to* publish sensitivites around the value of their liabilities; maybe this could be done for other companies with pension liabilities.

*For a given value of "have to".

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

See my response to king_pellinor's comment.