Funny Business

Getty Images The Big Apple is now valued at more than five hundred billion dollars - a half a trillion dollars - enough to pay for 100 trips to Mars!

Apple's market cap has topped a half trillion dollars.

Many analysts say the company's

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[AAPL  Loading...      ()   ]amazing run isn't over yet, as Apple's price to earnings ratio is still historically low.

I'll admit it's hard for me to take in.

Five hundred billion dollars for a company which makes gadgets and delivers media? I have the same reaction whenever I see a 747 take flight. On paper these things make sense, yet I can't quite believe it when I see it with my own eyes.

In trying to get my head around this, I asked myself, what does a half trillion dollars mean?

It's enough to pay every American $1,600.  » Read More

I drive about 25,000 miles a year, so changes in gas prices are something I notice. I spend about $13/day just for the round trip commute to work, assuming I don't also drive myself to a story.

Today I'm saving myself some money by reporting from home via Skype on my iPad. Technology trumps my carbon footprint! The downside: bad lighting. I don't look so hot. Holding an iPad at arm's length is not the most attractive angle. But I saved enough to buy lunch!

Like me, a lot of Americans on both coasts are wondering if gas will go to $5 a gallon.  In LA, I've seen prices as high as $4.79. On the east coast, prices are about a dollar cheaper. A big reason for the difference is California's high gas taxes, which average $.56 a gallon, and the more expensive reformulated fuel that has to be sold in the Golden State.  » Read More

Photo: Chip Simons | Workbook Stock | Getty Images The Tooth Fairy

There are lots of ways to measure the health of the economy—consumer spending, sentiment, productivity, home sales.

And now - teeth.

The Tooth Fairy isn't delivering like she used to.

According to The Original Tooth Fairy Poll, the average tooth bagged $2.10 under the pillow in 2011, down 17 percent from $2.52 in 2010 (and a whole lot more than I ever got!).   » Read More

Jutta Klee | Getty Images Feeling sexy? Ah, you must be on Twitter then - all 140 characters of you.

What does a sexy person do—Tweet or Facebook? (Yes, I think we can now use “facebook” as a verb.)

According to AdWeek, people who use Twitter consider themselves sexier than those who use Facebook, based on a survey in the U.S. by global ad agency Euro RSCG.

"Though most people who use Twitter probably also use Facebook," writes AdWeek, "let's ignore that and look at the intriguing infographic."

The infographic posted on its site explicitly shows the differences between the two groups. Who thinks they're sexy?  » Read More

I'm at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, in the heart of the great Central Valley. As many as 100,000 people are expected to visit this huge outdoor farm show, kicking the tires on all the new machines the big equipment makers have to offer.

We wanted to find out what's new.  » Read More

Beer companies aren't known for being romantic. They're aimed at men, who are, generally, well, you know. Not romantic.

However, Heineken is giving romance a shot this Valentine's season with a campaign called "Serenade".

Last week the band who appears in Heineken ads performed live serenades for lovers who called in on Skype.

Sounds silly, but it was actually funny and sweet. I especially liked the French guy who wanted his girlfriend serenaded while living in another country (very French). After he answered a few questions about his lady love via Skype--as she listened--the band struck up a hilarious impromptu love song.  » Read More

Julia Dávila Lampe | Flickr Open | Getty Images

Reporting the weather can be dangerous. Sometimes.

Mostly it's a funny business.

The weather guy or gal stands in front of maps, goes to hospital openings, promotes pet adoptions, gets to eat a nice dinner between newscasts.

Are they worth it?

Take a look and decide for yourself. The Mother Nature Network is celebrating "America's Hottest Weather Forecasters," an embarrassment of riches in muscles and curves. Is it me or is the temperature rising?  » Read More

Rob Verhorst | Redferns | Getty Images Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac performs on stage.

A generation of music lovers is getting ripped off.

That's the feeling among audiophiles who say that MP3 compression, which has made music portable, affordable, and packable on small devices, has ruined the music.

In some cases, it’s ruining your ears.

"There's been an overdose, in my opinion, of this altering of the original sound," says Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac.

For years, Fleetwood and other artists like Neil Young have decried the "dumbing down" of their master recordings through MP3. Some of them have been developing technologies to try to restore the original sound, or at least improve upon it. But often that restoration results in songs taking up a lot more memory. Suddenly, your digital player goes from being able to hold 20,000 songs to, like, 100.  » Read More