Have you ever sat at your desk fighting back a strong desire to eat some beans?

No, no one in Sneak's office has either. But apparently the people at Heinz are so bean-obsessed that they think that what the world needs more than anything is a USB-powered microwave designed for heating up beans. At your desk.

Yeah - you read that right. A bean microwave for the desk. We had to check the date to make sure that it wasn't actually April Fool's Day, but a story in the Daily Mail has pictures of the device and pictures of a man sitting at a desk using one. The mind boggles - in 57 different ways.

The Daily Mail has spoken to all involved - while presumably keeping a straight face - and has come up with the following facts: that almost 70 per cent of people are too busy to leave their desks at lunchtime, and that the mini-microwave would carry a price tag of around £100. Neither of which really sounds like a good reason for developing or purchasing a deskbound microwave.

Still according to those involved, the possibilities are almost endless: "It is possible to heat a pie, a burger, a cup of soup or tea in quick time," explained microwave expert and the Beanzawave's designer Gordon Andrews. Prompting us to wonder whether the device is aimed at office workers or food concessions at football grounds.

June 10, 2009 Food and Drink, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)

As if customers weren’t already confused by Oracle’s Fusion (is it middleware or is it an apps integration strategy?) Sneak hears that big cheese Larry Ellison is to further muddle matters by opening a restaurant specialising in fusion cuisine. Sneak advises giving this upcoming eatery a wide berth - if it shares anything with Oracle’s licensing, you’ll likely choke on the bill.

January 24, 2007 Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (0)

This account of how to make your own wine left Sneak's hot, non-alcoholic beverage all over the desk, via the nasal cavities:
"You know, there's an old expression that says In wine, there is truth.  In this case, I could also make out some chunks and what appeared to be a severed foot. Then there was the 'white' wine. This one's aroma was slightly more earthy. Do you know that smell of grass right after it's cut? That's nice. I was just making chit-chat, because this smelled like rotten eggs tucked into the anus of a dead cat."

June 22, 2005 Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ah, the benefit of hindsight. Struggling supermarket chain Sainsbury's has admitted that its "complex supply chain solution" unfortunately "simply cannot be delivered to the required scale" and that its IT systems have proven more expensive and less effective than planned. The result being some very empty shelves - embarrassingly not due to the grabbing hands of eager shoppers. So the retailer is now busily doing what beleaguered businesses always do: throwing out staff and refocusing on things that the management hasn't managed to break yet. Of course it's all rather poor news for those who might have crowed in the past about what a great job was being done delivering that complex supply chain solution. Congratulations must surely be due to business magazine Supply Chain Management Review for its particularly helpful and indeed glowing case study into Sainsbury's supply chain miracle. Published in May this year, the article details the "substantial wins on many fronts" delivered by the system. But far be it from Sneak to simply shoot the messenger. No, stars of the article Accenture and Sun Microsystems must surely both deserve a bullet too.

October 20, 2004 Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just look at the price of Tesco.com’s special-offer chipolatas! No wonder profits are up...

October 1, 2004 Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pret A Manger, the chain of sandwich shops that appears to account for roughly 90 percent of the UK's consumption of mayonnaise, has evidently been studying what works in software. It's gone all open source. Sadly that doesn't mean it has introduced a roast penguin and mayonnaise sandwich, but it has posted the recipes for some of its key products on its web site. Much like the source code for Linux, it's nice to know that the technical details are available, even if you don't feel a pressing need to actually bother looking for yourself. After all, even butter-fingered Sneak is capable of making a cheese-and-pickle sarnie without Pret's patronising PDF of directions.

June 8, 2004 Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (0)