Business research firm Basex reports that "unnecessary interruptions" will cost businesses $650 billion next year. Excuse me. My boss is IMing me with a YouTube video I apparently need to watch. Where was I? Basex analyst Jonathan Spira gave Bits a pledge for all of us to take, so we can avoid being part of the problem. What? Not now, Jordan, I'm posting!

Facebook engineer Charles Cheever tells Intern Memo that one of the "most interesting" aspects of interning for the social network is that "it's not unheard of for interns to be older than the full-timers they work with." So by "most interesting" Cheever must mean "soul-sucking," right?

Dick Costolo used to be CEO of FeedBurner, a Chicago startup which publishes RSS feeds for websites. But then FeedBurner got acquired by Google. Now Costolo's got a "significant title" at Google, though, as he explains in this you video, "you can't tell by the words in it." Even before FeedBurner, Costolo used to work the standup mic. Here's the best Woody Allen impression you've ever seen. Laugh it up, fellow Googlers, but remember, there's truth in jest. How does Costolo really feel about Google? He posted the video to his blog using Tumblr and Vimeo, not the Google-owned Blogger and YouTube.

Here, in an October video, ousted Vimeo cofounder Jakob Lodwick explains how Connected Ventures keeps the office young. His opening thought is the kind of thing that's best both read and viewed. So, here. For your pleasure.

Mountain View company Barracuda Networks is "pulling a Yahoo," a tipster tells us. Management told employees on Tuesday there will be a mandatory holiday break December 24 through December 28. "Yes, the only notice was a little more than two weeks before the forced PTO," our source notes. Despite what our tipster thinks, Yahoo's far from the only Valley company to pull this kind of stunt; Sun, Adobe, and others have forced employees to take vacations over the years. The Scrooge-like gesture does have the salutary effect of reducing the employer's vacation liability. If you work at one of these companies, just ask yourself: Which is worth more, your stock options or your vacation time? Here's the internal memo Barracuda sent to spread the holiday cheer.

Cisco says its office's new cubicle-free design promotes efficiency, increases group work productivity, and makes the environment more pleasant. Which makes the redesign seem like a really good idea. Until you hear about the whole back-and-neck injuries thing.

Who kicked up the stir about a possible all-hands meeting today at Facebook? Why, none other than Dave Morin, manager of Facebook's platform for third-party developers. Morin cancelled a keynote speech at the Facebook Developers Garage event in Vancouver scheduled for tonight, telling organizer Gerald Bauer that the reason was "an important internal meeting for the whole team." Now, that could mean just Morin's whole platform team, one supposes, but Morin didn't leave matters very clear. I'd ask someone at Facebook what's really going on. But it's the darnedest thing: I can't find anyone there right now. It seems they're all in a meeting.

Is there a worse affront in the annals of corporate exuberance than a $1.3 million parking space at Moffett Field? Yes, and it lurks in the bowels of the Googleplex: robotic bidets. These remote-controlled fannywashers allow visitors to a wide range of spray customization and an optional vibration setting. Why aren't we surprised that they "aid in productivity?" Japanese toilets of the future are the new envy of every cubicle dweller.

VIENNA, VA. — The mood, as AOL employees face next week's widely expected mass layoffs, remains downright jolly. Why, AOLers are spontaneously bursting into song! This latest mock Christmas carol arrived in our inbox — and Valleywag has a cameo:

VIENNA, VA. — A good many AOLers won't see their jobs last through Christmas, if you go by the rumors of mass layoffs next week. And yet holiday cheer is, incredibly, spreading through Randy Falco's company! After the jump, a little ditty we received in the tips jar from "BobZmudaGuy":

To the beat of the played-out Mims single "This is Why I'm Hot," the happy worker attempt to flow: