Silly/Odd News Stories from around the World

[MrTerrorist]

Batman fans take Gotham village sign in 'prank'

That was mean. Batman would disapprove of their actions.

[Xefi]

Colorado Man Could Sue Divers Who Saved Him From Submerged Car

A Colorado man, despite acknowledging that he's lucky to be alive after being trapped in a submerged car, has filed an intent to sue his rescuers for half a million dollars.

Roy Ortiz filed his intent to sue the county of Boulder and his rescuers for a tentative $500,000 as a "preservative" measure, his attorney, Ed Ferszt, told ABCNews.com.

Ferszt said the county should have closed the road during floods in September. He said the first responders were also included because they did not realize Ortiz was trapped in the car until they prepared to lift it out of the water.

Source: http://gma.yahoo.com/colorado-man-co...opstories.html
comments: i feel sorry for the divers that save his life.... ><

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

Honestly, things like that should be laughed out of court and the idiots that file them charged with wasting time.

[SaintessHeart]

'Candy Crush' maker sees up to $7.6 billion IPO valuation

(Reuters) - King Digital Entertainment Plc, maker of hit mobile phone game "Candy Crush Saga," expects to be worth up to $7.6 billion when it goes public this month, looking to take advantage of strong demand for technology investments.

IPOs by technology companies have been highly popular in the United States and analysts say that despite King's reliance on a handful of games, its IPO would be well-received due to the popularity of its games and the conservative pricing.

Twitter Inc's successful IPO in November and a surge in Facebook Inc's shares have fueled speculation that other tech firms could go public, including music-sharing service Spotify, lodging website AirBnB and mobile payments company Square.

Dublin-based King said on Wednesday it expected to price its initial public offering of 22.2 million shares at between $21 and $24 per share. At the top of this range, the company would be valued at about $7.6 billion.

"I think the bankers have priced the deal in a way so that initial investors can realize a first-day pop in the stock," said Josef Schuster, founder of IPOX Schuster, a Chicago-based IPO research and investment house.

However, Schuster and other analysts questioned if King could maintain its breakneck growth rate and avoid the fate of other game makers such as Zynga Inc and Rovio, whose fortunes have mostly relied on one game.

"Candy Crush," launched in November 2012, involves moving candies to make a line of three in the same color. It was the most downloaded free app and top revenue-grossing app in 2013.

Founder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi, who has led the company since it started in Sweden in 2003, will have a 9.5 percent stake following the IPO.

"I think the valuation of a P/E ratio of 13 for a high-growth company is indeed reflecting a skepticism about the ability to continue growing at such a rapid pace," said Jay Ritter, a professor and IPO expert at the University of Florida.

"The ability to come up with future games and get people to pay for the game is a big question mark."

ANOTHER ZYNGA?

King's revenue has grown to $602 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 from $22 million in the first quarter of 2012.

The company offers 180 games through mobile phones, Facebook and its own website.

But much of its growth has been fueled by "Candy Crush," which brings in about three-quarters of its revenue.

The game has been downloaded more than 500 million times since its launch in 2012. The basic games are free, but players must pay for add-ons or extra "lives".

King has launched other games, particularly on mobile phones, as it looks to avoid the fate of other game makers.

Zynga's stock price has halved since its IPO in 2011 as the popularity of "Farmville" waned, while Finland's Rovio has struggled to replicate the success of "Angry Birds".

To be sure, King's revenue for the quarter ended December 31 declined 3 percent from the preceding quarter, which the company said was due to a fall in "Candy Crush" gross bookings.

However, bookings rose for its other games, with 73 percent of total bookings coming from mobile users.

King's five games for mobiles have drawn a "substantial fan base" Zacconi said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (r.reuters.com/bar57v).

"The opportunity in front of us is exciting: mobile usage is exploding and games are commanding the lion's share of time spent."

COMPANY PROFITABLE

King's IPO is scheduled to be priced on March 25, two underwriters told Reuters. The stock will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "KING" on March 26.

The company will sell 15.5 million shares in the offering, while stockholders, including Apax Ventures, will sell 6.7 million shares, King said.

Unlike most other tech companies that have gone public recently, King is profitable, has no debt and generated positive cash flow from operations for each of the last nine years. It posted profit before tax of $714.3 million in 2013.

In February, an average of 144 million daily active users played the company's games more than 1.4 billion times per day.

At the top-end of the planned range, the IPO will raise as much as $532.8 million, slightly more than the $500 million placeholder figure it disclosed in its first public filing in February.

Entities related to Apax will own 44.2 percent of the company following the offering, according to the IPO filing.

JP Morgan, Credit Suisse and BofA Merrill Lynch are lead underwriters for the offering.

What the hell is wrong with this world.

[Libros]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

'Candy Crush' maker sees up to $7.6 billion IPO valuation



What the hell is wrong with this world.

Now wouldn't we all like to know.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Family Calls 911 When Angry Fat Cat Holds Them Hostage



The Suspect:

When officers entered the apartment, the black and white cat, who has a “history of violence,” scrambled on top of the refrigerator, “attempting to flee custody,” police said.

[Xefi]

^ it's a good thing they call the police, huh? who knows what that angry mean looking violent
crazy cat would do to those weak and helpless family?

[Xellos-_^]

probably going through catnip withdrawal.

[Ithekro]

House cat vs. Commoner.

[Xefi]

This Tortoise is the Oldest Animal on the Planet. Respect

Just what do you get a 182-year-old for his birthday? Well, if it's Jonathan the giant tortoise, thought to be the world's oldest living land animal, a bunch of bananas or a few carrots would be perfect. But not too many—overindulging on anything but grass gives him an upset stomach

Source: http://shine.yahoo.com/pets/tortoise...180300866.html

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Jonathan circa 1900 (REX Images)
------------------------------------

comments: "gosh, he's sooo old. just look at how young he was back in the 1900!"

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

He looks like he's face-planted in that spoiler picture. Also, Giant Tortoise are supposed to be able to live for 400 years aren't they? Or is it 200? Probably 200. He's also only 44 years younger than my country.

[SaintessHeart]

Mizuho got into trouble. Again.

Japan's Mizuho in U.S., Canada suits over Mt. Gox bitcoin losses

Greatest Pharmacist Ever Prescribes Anti-Monster Spray for 6-Year-Old

If there's an award for the most adorable prescription of the year, pharmacist Jeff Dodds of Watford City, North Dakota has this year's title on lockdown. And all it took was some creative labeling and a very sleepy six-year-old girl with a monster problem.

While at the local Barrett Pharmacy & Variety, a little girl approached Dodds with a not-entirely-medical condition; all those monsters under her bed were keeping her up at night. And being the resourceful pharmacist that he is, Dodds decided to whip up a cure of his own concoction, ultimately producing the holy grail of frightened children everywhere—100% pharmacist-certified anti-monster spray.

The instructions are simple enough: "Spray around the room at night before bed, repeat if necessary." But this one, simple act has likely done loads for the little girl's peace of mind. Not to mention what it's done to restore our faith in humanity. The world could definitely use a few more Jeff Dodds.

I don't mind offering to be around her at night for free to protect her from monsters - *gets sprayed with mace*

[Ascaloth]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I don't mind offering to be around her at night for free to protect her from monsters - *gets sprayed with mace*

"No! I must repel the monsters!" he shouted

The radio said "No, SaintessHeart. You are the monsters."

And then SaintessHeart was a monster.

[Patriot's Blade]

Originally Posted by Ascaloth

"No! I must repel the monsters!" he shouted

The radio said "No, SaintessHeart. You are the monsters."

And then SaintessHeart was a monster.

*cue Pacific Rim Stacker Pentecost's famous speech*

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

for some reason I thought of President Witmore's speech from Independence Day.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Mr Hat and Clogs

for some reason I thought of President Witmore's speech from Independence Day.

Originally Posted by DRAGUN H.E.X.

*cue Pacific Rim Stacker Pentecost's famous speech*

Originally Posted by Ascaloth

"No! I must repel the monsters!" he shouted

The radio said "No, SaintessHeart. You are the monsters."

And then SaintessHeart was a monster.

Stop slandering me. I have her good intentions at heart!

[JokerD]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Mizuho got into trouble. Again.

Japan's Mizuho in U.S., Canada suits over Mt. Gox bitcoin losses

Greatest Pharmacist Ever Prescribes Anti-Monster Spray for 6-Year-Old



I don't mind offering to be around her at night for free to protect her from monsters - *gets sprayed with mace*

You might want to check that the anti-monster spray does not repel you...

[Ithekro]

Movies have shown that girls like monsters...
(...or was that that they don't like monsters?)

[Fireminer]

Answer: If you meet a Loli that likes monster, a very high percentage that the girl is a sadist and yandere.

Just look at Illya and Berserker!

[Patriot's Blade]

Originally Posted by Fireminer

Answer: If you meet a Loli that likes monster, a very high percentage that the girl is a sadist and yandere.

Just look at Illya and Berserker!

not sure if he was trying to reference disneyPixar's Monsters Inc.