Numerous self-inflicted crises loom, but cliff-jumping as the clock strikes midnight January 1 2013 is not one of them.

FORBES: Happy New Year? Fiscal Cliff, Meet The Costberg

At eight o'clock each university states how many points are needed for both free and self-funded places.

BBC: News

Shopping online, for example, with round-the-clock access and no crowds, traffic or pesky salespeople, lends itself to self-service.

ECONOMIST: REPORTS

In the history of European clock technology, the monk is an early and very rare example of a self-acting automaton, one whose mechanism is wholly contained and hidden within its body.

FORBES: The World of Clockwork Robots