The Aviator

I forgot to mention I caught "The Aviator" at the theatre this past weekend, and although it was fairly long it was still a great movie. Well worth watching, and I must say I'm quite fascinated with the life of Howard Hughes, he left quite a legacy that impacts us each and everyday even if he was a "bit" mental. Not only are 40% of the communication satellites in orbit today built by a Hughes company, he also invented the half-cup bra (not that I really care), and produced roughly forty movies one which I know earned an Oscar.

What a day to be a Mac user, or become one...

About twice a year Apple's CEO Steve Jobs goes up on stage, activates is distorted reality field and I become immediately entranced by his every word. I can understand what it was like to hear Jesus speak during his time on earth, simple moving. Jobs can do no wrong in my mind, but this MacWorld Expo everyone is singing his praises as he continues an aggressive push with the Mac and the iPod.

Meet the Mac mini:


I think this little 6.5 by 2 inch little box is going to change a lot of things this year, especially since it starts at just $499. Plug it into the monitor and keyboard you already have and you've just plugged into the most advanced operating system in the world. Genius!



But thats not all. Apple already owns 65% of the mp3 market - that including flash players, and its up from 31% a year ago. But Steve isn't stopping at 65%, he's going for it all and he's doing with the iPod Shuffle:



Its a little piece of genius and for only $99 its going to sell big. I just got an iPod mini so I'm all set but who knows, right?!

Gene clue to HIV origin in humans

BBC NEWS

It appears that only a single change to the human gene is needed to enable it to block HIV infection.

I think this is rather exciting news, researchers have identified that changing just one amino acid "building block' in one protein can switch a cell from susceptible to insusceptible to long-term HIV infection. Wow! That seems like something to me, though granted it doesn't mean much in the short-term but hopefully this research can go somewhere fast.

Supreme Court Lets Stand Florida's Gay Adoption Ban

Yahoo News

Just another reason why I have no intention of ever living in Florida, and if I can avoid vacationing there all the better.

NewsFire RSS

So obvioulsy we all know what a blog is, but I'm not sure everyone know's what RSS is. Hell, I don't know what it stands for, Remote Syndicate Streams or some such thing. Basically, it pulls blog entries for reading at one's own pleasure. Or to put it another way, the RSS reader (program on your computer) checks every site set up for it and pulls the latest and greatest. This particular reader, NewsFireRSS for Mac OS X, pulls the new entries, then alerts me when something new has been posted and lets me read it without having to click through all the sites I typically read.


This particular news reader is currently version 0.62 and made just for Mac OS X, and I think its made by the same guy who did Acquisition. Which basically means this is a program truly made for the Mac, this guy knows how to design programs that truly look good and work even better. I love it. The only challenge is not everyone has their site set up for news readers like this. Blogger has the option, but doesn't alert readers to its presence. I have mine turned on, fyi.

Find it at: www.newsfirerss.com

I'm sure people have heard it before, but why do PC users deal with all the hassles of owning a PC?! I deal with PCs everyday at work and its not a pretty site. In the span of six months, 4 of our 6 computers have either been completly replaced or taken away to be 'repaired.' Already my new computer has problems that the tech guy just kind of shrugs about. I'm constantly checking for software updates, spware and viruses.

I'm crossing my fingers for a monitor-fee iMac, as is rumored to be coming out, I think a switch opportunity is brewing. These PCs are just too expensive to keep around the office.

Big news already?!

I don't know if I just missed this news or what, but it seems this year is the last for 'Queer as Folk' and 'Dead Like Me' has been cancelled. QAF is a pretty good show, entertaining at least, but I guess they want to go out on top. Sounds like most of the actors just don't want to stick around any longer.

I think DLM is a victim of bad writing or something, its first year was pretty good, but its second season was fairly lame and other not so good things. But still, it was fun to watch. So now I guess my Sunday evenings are devoted to 'Desperate Housewives' until May when QAF finishes things up over the Summer.

Yet more positive LRT news

Playing it safe with light rail

I hope the state Republicans are listening, it seems LRT just keeps getting better and better news and New Years was no different. I think the line is great, but its not a system. This legislative session is going to be tough, but I'm crossing my fingers that the Central line to St. Paul will make some headway. Light-rail just makes too much sense, other cities wouldn't be going gung-ho over it if it didn't.