I.B.M. to Buy Consulting Giant for $3.5 Billion. I.B.M. said today it would buy PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting for $3.5 billion in cash and stock, boosting the computer giant's large services business. By Reuters. [New York Times: Technology]

Says that PWC turned down an $18 billion offer from HP in 2000.   

I saved it off

I tossed out the phrase "saved it off" to Sondra a moment ago. She thought it a strange construction. I consider it a completely idiomatic expression. Here's how I used it: "The log was full, so I saved it off to a file and cleared the log. It saves messages to the log now."

"Saved off" works as a variant of the verb "saved". I saved the changes I made to the database. When you save something, it remains important. When you save something off, you turn it into the technical equivalent of Ted Williams in liquid nitrogen -- no longer relevant, but possibly useful at some future time.  

Alien Blood Soap

Milo wishes that such existed. Thinks it would be cool.