Were you melting from the heat today? You weren’t the only one. Close your eyes and imagine you’re here, preferably on a porch swing. Image: Barn in Illinois, USA -AP Photo/Seth Perlman

THESE ARE THE things you need to know as we round off the day in three easy steps:

THINGS WE LEARNED

#THE HANDSHAKE She came, she shook hands, she waved. The Queen’s visit to Northern Ireland was a particularly noteworthy one as she shook hands with the North’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. It had been speculated that the historic moment would be kept away from public eyes, and while the initial meeting was, a second handshake was documented, and you can see it all here. But what about their body language?

#FRED FORSEY Former Dungarvan town councillor Fred Forsey was today sentenced to six years in jail on six counts of corruption. He was found guilty of accepting €80,000 in bribes from developers.

#GOOD NEWS Enterprise Ireland published their annual report for 2011 today and revealed that exports have reached a record high and jobs have stabilised in their client companies.

#WORKAHOLICS A new survey showed that the typical Irish working day now goes from 8am to 8pm. We asked your opinions on working outside your normal working hours in today’s poll.

#GOOGLE It’s a big day for Google as they announced details of their new Android operating system Jelly Bean and demonstrated a Google Now feature which will get smarter the more you use it. Google’s new Nexus 7 tablet has also been made official. It’ll be the first device to carry Jelly Bean and comes with a price tag of €199 for the 8GB version.

#WILDFIRES Residents in Colorado in the US are continuing to flee the flames as wildfires continue to ravage homes and land. The most destructive fire has doubled overnight. Check out some dramatic images from the area.

THINGS WE LOVED

• What does the way you learned to count on your fingers say about your brain function? Do you start with a closed fist? With the left hand or the right? Find out what your counting says about you.
• Did you know Bill Murray is in Ireland. THE Bill Murray? Here is taking in a spot of golf at the Portrush pro-am, while here he is the other day in some fetching trousers at the Royal Portrush.
• We spotted this heart-warming tweet earlier from John Madden to Irish Rail:

• This is the week when we’ve finally been able to get our eyes around Aaron Sorkin’s (he of The West Wing fame) new show The Newsroom – a place close to our hearts here at TheJournal.ie towers. Kudos to whoever put together this compendium of ‘Sorkinisms’ which shows just how fond the writer is of reusing some of his favourite lines:

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THINGS WE SHARED

Nora Ephron trended on Twitter worldwide today following her death from leukemia, which she had been battling since 2006. Hollywood Reporter have put together a gallery of her movie posters, while Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and Billy Crystal have all released statements. Lists of Note meanwhile revisited a poignant list she made in 2010 of things she will and won’t miss.

You might want to watch through your fingers as scary veteran telly man Jeremy Paxman (who once asked Michael Howard the same question 14 times) conducts a Thick of It/Veep style interview with Minister Chloe Smith (it starts at around 6.10). Here’s what The Guardian thinks she should have said.

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