As I was sitting patiently in Long Beach waiting to exit the plane and listening to that weird sawing sound that I hear every time I fly on an Airbus A320, I was wondering two things:

1) Why does it sound like Paul Bunyon is attacking my plane with a drywall saw, and

2) Who is going to be the first person to make some stupid joke, like “Oh no, Paul Bunyon is attacking our plane with a drywall saw!” Would it be the young woman to my right in 20D — we’ll call her “Cathy” — with whom I was fiercely trying not to make eye contact for the duration of the flight, for fear that I would be not only subjected to the inordinate flow of words streaming from her mouth, but also socially obliged to smile and nod at the relevant pauses in her soliloquy?

SOFIA, Bulgaria, August 18 /PRNewswire/ --

Direct Petroleum Exploration Inc. (DPE) has finished the initial phase of the completion of its Deventci R1 gas discovery well in northern Bulgaria. Limited flow testing was undertaken on the high pressure Lower Jurassic Ozirovo zone on Sunday 17-August at the well site some 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, Sofia. Substantial gas and rich condensate flows were observed at the surface though no verifiable measurements were taken due to the limited availability of testing equipment for the high pressures encountered. The 12 hour shut-in tubing pressure was measured at 8,000 psi. The indicated BHP was ~ 11,500 psi.

LONDON, August 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Agents looking to reach the influx of Brits, who are looking towards Australia for a better life, can now market their properties and related services via http://www.propertyindex.com­ - a 'pay for results' property portal, free of commission, monthly subscriptions, set-up fees and minimum term contracts. Despite being less than a year old, PropertyIndex.com has over 150,000 overseas property listings from a client base of 850 agents and developers across 4,000 destinations.

LONDON and PHILADELPHIA, August 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- Quarterly Reports use Market Intelligence and Competitive Analysis from Thomson Reuters to Explore Various Aspects of the Pharmaceutical Pipeline

Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, has announced the availability of the Pharma Matters reports covering the time period January-March 2008. Launched more than two years ago, the quarterly Pharma Matters reports cover all aspects of the pharmaceutical pipeline, leveraging strategic intelligence and competitive analysis from Thomson Pharma(R), Newport Horizon Premium(TM) and the Thomson Messaging Mapping System(SM).

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, August 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- Mike Bartlett to Lead Mazu Networks' Aggressive Growth in the Application Performance Management Market for Enterprise IT -

Mazu Networks, the leading provider of behavior-based, enterprise-class performance and availability solutions, today announced the addition of Mike Bartlett to the management team as vice president of sales. Bartlett joins Mazu Networks from HP Software where he continued his executive leadership position as vice president of sales after the acquisition of Mercury Interactive Corp(1). Bartlett will lend his strong background in executing successful sales campaigns in the application performance management market to his new role leading the Mazu Networks sales organization.

BOCA RATON, Florida, August 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- London Hotel Implements InfoGenesis POS(TM) by Agilysys to Streamline Food and Beverage Operations

Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading provider of innovative IT solutions, including specifically-designed hospitality software solutions, has announced that Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in London has selected the InfoGenesis POS(TM) system from Agilysys to streamline food and beverage operations and enhance guest service at the award-winning 200-room property, which is owned and managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030915/AGLSLOGO )

PARIS, August 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- Deployment Includes CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision A Technology and IP Backhaul Solution

PARIS, August 18 /PRNewswire/ --

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel) (NASDAQ: SHEN) and Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced an agreement valued at more than USD 30 million for equipment, services and software to upgrade Shenandoah Personal Communications Company's network in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

BAAR, Switzerland, August 18 /PRNewswire/ --

Manas Petroleum Corp. (MNAP.OB)

Seismic acquisition commenced in Albania

Manas Petroleum Corporation today announces that it's wholly owned subsidiary DWM Petroleum AG has commenced the first part of a 600 KM 2-D seismic program in Albania.

The seismic crew from the Geological Institute of Israel (GII) has mobilized 5 vibrators to Albania and set up a camp close to Tirana (Albania). Today the first line was successfully shot. It is planned to acquire 183 KM of seismic using vibroseis technology in Blocks A, B and E during Q 3 2008. The seismic crew will continue the program using explosive sources in Blocks B, D and E in Q2 2009.

STOCKHOLM, August 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- Batelco has Awarded a Mediation Contract to Ascade, and Successfully Implemented Their Cutting Edge Solution, Carrier Cockpit(TM) Real Time Mediation

Ascade; a leading OSS/BSS provider for the Interconnect Market, today announced that Batelco; the Bahrain based world-class full service provider, has awarded a mediation contract to Ascade, and successfully implemented Ascade's next generation mediation platform, Real Time Mediation.

Batelco made a thorough evaluation of the existing systems and implementation project options in the market and found Real Time Mediation to be the most flexible solution to handle Batelco's expanding and advanced service portfolio.

LONDON and DUBLIN, Ireland, August 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- ReconNET for Accounting and Treasury Lifecycle Management to Help UK Hospitality Company to Improve Transaction Reconciliation and Exception Management

Trintech Group Plc (Nasdaq: TTPA), a leading global provider of integrated financial governance, transaction risk management, and compliance solutions, today announced that Somerston Hotels Ltd has selected ReconNET to improve reconciliation and exception management processes while increasing operational efficiencies.