Flip MinoHD

I think I'm ready for a Flip now! Who buys video cameras if they're not HD?!

Blackberry's new icons

Ok, I'm obviously not going to give up my iPhone for a Blackberry - but you have to admit the icons for the new OS and phones is pretty slick. Kind of wish I could have that look and style on my iPhone.

I feel like an idiot

A week or so ago I picked up some Asian Pears from Costco - amid Will's protests they were too expensive. I haven't had asian pears in years, but remember them being juicy and delicious. So I get them home and quickly bite into one... Its was bland and tasteless... crap! I couldn't tell Will and be 'wrong' or throw them away. So I took one with me everyday for my afternoon snack at work. They were neither pleasant or wholly unpleasant. But a funny thing started to happen as I reached the end of the bunch... they became rather flavourful. OMG - they weren't ripe!!

I used to be embarrassed that Minnesota voted Jesse Ventura in as Governor.... but Alaska has us beat with Palin.

Wow! Palin the Pathetic

2.1

Well worth the wait. Battery life is definitely improved - it last
all day now on a charge.

Favorite new feature is how the podcasts now auto-play the whole list
which is great for music podcasts.

Sent from my iPhone

To the guy on the bus watching a movie with his laptop... It's called,
get an iPod.

Note to self

No more connecting flights through Chicago. Ever.

Sent from my iPhone

Perspective

MacDailyNews: "*Last quarter: Dell posted $16 billion in revenue to make $784 million net quarterly profit. Apple posted $7.46 billion in revenue with $1.07 billion net quarterly profit."

Batman

Wow! Now that is a good movie - Heath better get an Oscar nom for
that performance. Christian did a great job as well - looking forward
to seeing him in the next Terminator.

Sent from my iPhone

Vivanno

I got to try out one of the new fruit smoothies from Statbucks last
night. I had the chocolate banana without an espresso shot and it was
rather tasty. I can definitely see myself enjoying these, but way
with a little extra from the espresso - it is Starbucks after all. I
just didn't know I could when I ordered it.

Sent from my iPhone

I met someone Friday who didn't know what an iPhone was? How is that possible?!?!

Mine should be delivered late next week - I hope.

PS3 Update rocks

With the latest PS3 update - the one that works - we've now been able to connect both the Apple wireless Mighty Mouse and wireless aluminum keyboard. The experience so far has been really smooth and intuitive - score one of Sony.

Rogers is totally ruining my iPhone day. The plans totally suck - though the wifi access is a little saving grace - but at least I'd still have a reason to buy something from an Apple Store. Which is by far my favorite store and shopping experience. But now thats gone! How could Apple let it get this far out of control that they decide to not participate?! I get it, but damn't.

One more week, just one more week.

Rogers announces iPhone 3G plans, unlimited data isn't one of them - Engadget Mobile

Rogers announces iPhone 3G plans, unlimited data isn't one of them - Engadget Mobile

It might not be everything we hoped for, but the unlimited WiFi at Rogers and Fido hotspots does it for me!! It won't be long now.

July 11th cannot come soon enough.

I love my MacBook Air - absolutely no regrets in getting it. Though it seems to heat up a lot lately, and it didn't when I first got it - but I suppose its to be expected since the case is so small. Not a big deal at all. The lack of a DVD drive has definitely not been an issue - I haven't even 'borrowed' Bills DVD drive for anything. Though the wireless migration from one Mac to the Air was a joke - its was going to take 45 hours to move everything over - (movies and pics take up lots of room). So I just used my iPod to ferry the data over - which was a good exercise in cleaning out junk since the hard drive in this thing is quite a bit smaller than the old iMac.

But I'm terrified Apple is going to come out with some MacBook Air/iPhone hybrid sooner than later to make mine look old school way before its prime is over. I'll just have to be content with the new iPhone - now that one is finally coming to Canada.

MSN vs. AIM

I discovered another difference between Canadians and Americans.
Apparently canucks are all about the MSN messaging and yankees are far
more into AIM. Did not know that. So now I need a stickin' MSN
username, but I'll use Adium and not that crap Microsoft calls MSN
Messenger.

Lost in Translation

I was asked for a serviette for the first time today, and honestly I
just stared at her for a moment not understanding she was asking for
one of my napkins.

The Logitech Harmony One universal remote is one hell of a good buy. Its a real universal remote - not like those cheap things that we've all dealt with. The Harmony One isn't a cheap 'remote' but it will sell itself after you go through the setup and use it just once.

So I moved.

Well I'm in Toronto now and loving it. I endured about a month of mostly just sitting around the condo waiting for something to happen and applying to jobs. Everyone else was off doing their own thing, and me, I was just cleaning up after them. At first I certainly enjoyed not having to head to work, but that feeling soon subsided. After just four weeks 'off' I'm back to the grind, landing my first Canadian job!

Little story: Bill is made a bet with me that I couldn't land a job within four month (July 1) - he's quite the pessimist so from his perspective four months was pretty good odds for him. The wager: if I landed a job he'd get me a MacBook Air, if I didn't, well I'm not sure what I owed him and it doesn't matter now anyhow. I'm typing this out on my new MacBook Air and loving it. Of course I have to fight him for it - its so damn light and the backlit keyboard comes in handy.

Not having a DVD drive, ethernet port or firewire port was a small downer when it came time to transfer files from the iMac, but between an external hard drive and my iPod it wasn't much of a challenge. The hard drive on the MBA is smaller than what I'm used to so I've junked all the junk but I still have 30 GB open.

But wait, there's more. I mentioned during my interview that I'm a Mac user/fan/fanatic/devotee - so guess what they purchased for me?! A MacBook - so in about one week I've received two new Mac laptops. Being able to work on a Mac at the office is a dream come true for me - I'm delighted to finally have the option and the freedom it represents. I know it might be dorky, but it really is a huge perk for me.

So there it is. I'm working again, but on a Mac this time. Kitty is a Canadian immigrant now and loving being back with "mom and dad." Life is good - the wait to get here was long and emotional but its done now.

Google Sites: Hosted Wikis for Group Sites - Rev2.org

Its about frickin' time JotSpot was taken out of private beta status. How long has it been since the Google purchased the site?! (16 months)

Google Sites: Hosted Wikis for Group Sites - Rev2.org

Second most annoying comment about moving to Canada

"Do you have to learn a new language?"

Some people even seem confused about what language they actually speak up there.

Dear SuperTarget,

Oh how I will miss thee. You've been so good to me - most of the time - and though I've enjoyed my visits I couldn't help but smile this evening. You see, I won't be visiting anymore. That was the last time for awhile I'll swipe my shiny red Target card at your register. I'm moving on to a land deprived of SuperTargets or Targets of any kind. Sad, yes I know but I think you'll agree its a small sacrifice I must make. Oh and don't worry about visits to Wal-Mart - that for sure as hell ain't happenin'. Maybe I'll get a chance to visit you in Buffalo. Are you Super in Buffalo? (Is anything super in Buffalo?!)

Thanks again for everything SuperTarget! I'll miss your little lemon poppy seed scones - with the bit of frosting on top. I'm having a couple right now.

Sincerely,
Erik

Most annoying comment about moving to Canada

"Wow, I hope you like the cold."

It better not be snowing more on March 2nd in Toronto. I'm not interested in that annoyance on my first day.

Its about damn time! Starbucks is coming out with free Wi-Fi for their US locations in 2008.

Welcome to Canada

Well the time has finally come. After many months of putting my application together and waiting for an official response, I've been invited to immigrate to Canada. During the wait, the months dragged on and on and now that the time has finally come it feels like its only been a couple of weeks waiting. Today I gave my resignation at work and planned the going-away happy hour. Then on March 2nd, kitty and I are jumping in a packed Coop and driving on through to Toronto. Well, as long as the border officer is nice...

Yes we can

Way to go McCain! I don't like you, but I definitely don't like Romney.

Google Gears for Docs - coming soon?!

Looks like Google Gears might be coming to Google Docs oh so soon! Well, I hope its soon.

I've been using Google Docs more and more - especially for group work in my classes which has been a huge benefit when working with multiple people on one document. Its cool to see sentences come out of no where and appear on the screen.

Such a beautiful graph

found on AppleInsider.com

iTunes Movie Rentals

On a cold winter's evening such as the one Minnesota is currently suffering from, going outside really isn't the first thing that comes to my mind. What luck it is that Apple debuted their movie rental service just this week - perfect timing for me to rent a movie from the comfort of my room. No getting bundled in multiple layers, getting the car warmed up and spending $4-5 dollars at Blockbuster and being tempted by high calorie snacks. Just find a movie in iTunes - that was the hard part since the selection is rather slim for the moment, but that will be changing.

I picked out "Live Free or Die Hard" - it wasn't on my list of movies to see but it was the best choice out there for movies that I haven't seen. I'll admit Justin Long tipped the balance, even if just because he plays Mac in the commercials. The movie was all I expected, but it was cute and funny and definitely full of action - it was just right for my night of staying in.

Macs to help Best Buy earnings

Ok, you know Apple has come along way from the dark days of the 90's when its reported Best Buy is increasing the number of stores stocking Macs in an effort to stabilize earnings.

iTunes movies bigger than HD and Blu-Ray?!

Wow - who knew that iTunes has sold more movies than HD-DVDs or Blu-Ray movies and in less time. PCWorld breaks out the stats like this:

• HD DVD has sold 2.5 million movies since April 2006 (20 months)
• Blu-ray has sold 6 million movies since June 2006, (18 months)
• Apple has sold 7 million movies since September 2006 (15 months)

So much for thinking iTunes Movies and the AppleTV thingy were a failure. I'm thinking Apple has another hit brewing with movie rentals and the AppleTV Take 2.

Fluid

Fluid is becoming one of my favorite new utilities. Its similar to Mozilla's Prism concept, in that it turns your favorite web application (such as facebook, Google Reader, and Backpack in my case) and turns them into individual applications on the desktop. That is to say, it devotes the webkit engine behind Safari to a single web site and gets rid of everything else like the address bar, etc. So if I want to check my Google Reader feeds, I just click the icon in the dock and I'm taken straight to my feeds.

At first this idea seemed all too silly - I could just type in the address in Safari and be done with it - but oddly I'm finding the simplicity quite attractive and satisfying. I've got just these three for the moment, but I'm thinking about some of the other Google applications for instance.

Its still in beta (version 0.6) at the moment, but its been totally stable for me and I hope it only gets better. It does require Leopard, but who isn't using Leopard already?!

Macworld: BusySync

Macworld has been pretty awesome so far, the Stevenote was fabulous in my opinion. Maybe less than what some people were expecting, but come on - the amount of anticipation that is put on the event its no wonder people are left disappointed. I'm eager to get an AppleTV now, and the iPhone just keeps getting better. Then ofcourse the MacBook Air is pretty sweet, but probably too sweet for me to end up with one anytime too soon. But what really has me excited is the upcoming 2.0 version of BusySync.

Hawk Wings has a nice write up of the version coming out soon. Basically in its current form it allows for iCal syncing between multiple users on a local network. I think with version 1.5 syncing can now happen over the internet without a server sitting in the middle. Pretty nifty and useful for a family or a couple. But the new version coming out takes it up a notch by adding Google Calendar syncing - finally its the best of both worlds. Use whichever one you like and the data is all the same and shareable for everyone. This is definitely on my wish list this year.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

I caught the first half of the series premiere last night. Interesting enough to watch the second half last night, but not enough to yet call for regular tuning in. Its a wait and see in my book just yet - the TV Squad wonders if Fox's history of canceling sci-fi shows early calls for not tuning it at all just to be disappointed later.

MINI bringing diesel to the States?!?

Autoblog has put together some clues to speculate MINI might be introducing diesel MINIs to the States at the Detroit Auto show this month. Sweet! Finally we're getting some diesel options to pick from.

Financial Times: Paramount to Switch to Blu-Ray, Killing HD DVD

Could the high-definition disc 'format wars' be coming to an end? Already? My favorite part of this news is that Microsoft put their eggs into HD-DVD with the Xbox 360 - hehehe. Good for them.

Financial Times: Paramount to Switch to Blu-Ray, Killing HD DVD

via Daring Fireball by John Gruber on 1/7/08

Matthew Garrahan and Mariko Sanchanta reporting for The Financial Times:

Paramount is poised to drop its support of HD DVD after Warner Brothers' recent backing of Sony's Blu-ray technology, in a move that will sound the death knell of HD DVD and bring the home entertainment format war to a definitive end.

[…] Paramount, which is owned by Viacom, is understood to have a clause in its contract with the HD DVD camp that would allow it to switch sides in the event of Warner Brothers backing Blu-ray, according to people familiar with the situation.

(In case you missed it, Warner Brothers did just that last week.)

iTunes movie rentals?

The big rumor this year is the start of movie rentals via iTunes Media Store - and I can't wait! Though the speculated $3.99 for 24 hours seems a little higher than I might prefer, its still less than the local Blockbuster. And its available instantly! Finally the AppleTV will have purpose.

Stargate Worlds

My inner geek is having heart palpitations just thinking about Stargate Worlds. I caught the teaser commercial during Friday's Stargate Atlantis episode about this online-multiplayer game coming sometime in 2008. I just hope they have a Mac version ready to go at launch - though of course I could 'use' a nice shiny new whatever-new-Mac-Steve-has-up-his-sleeves.

Who else is getting excited for the MacWorld Expo?! I am! I am!

January 15th feels like a long way off yet, but I know it will be here soon enough and I have a feeling its going to be a big one. Oh, and who wants to place bets that iPod/iPhone/music news will be at a minimum and saved for a special event a few weeks later? It will be all Mac related news and products - Jobs has lots to cover this year I think.

2 Things that Stink about Canadian Immigration

First, the application is a pain to complete and put together. Though fortunately its not so complicated as to need a lawyer, but grr I didn't have fun doing it.

Second, would be the waiting. Its a killer...

It was about this time a year ago I embarked on a bit of a journey to get in better shape. It was certainly no New Years resolution - the timing was coincidental. Since that time I'm dropped about 40 pounds and three pants sizes, but its still certainly a work in progress. Its a struggle to eat better - or often times just eating less. I love food! But its getting better, and certainly easier. Now its all about turning things up a notch and finally building some muscle. I just don't have any to show and never have - but I know they are there.