Interesting day...

...not here at work of course, but in general. I finally read about the tragedy in the wrasslin' world today -- and not just Chris Benoit killing his wife and son before killing himself. I didn't realize how high the death toll was for this "sport". It's a sobering thing to read about -- as are the reactions of the fans. Several points some of the fans made probably should use some expansion. For example, while there are several deaths associated with any given sport each year, the somewhat smaller number of wrasslers compared to say football players leads to a much higher death percentage. Also, dear Mr McMahon really does share some culpability in this, if only morally. While it's very true that McMahon does not hold a gun to the wrasslers heads and tell them what to do, he does hold a gun to their wallets. Each year, televised wrassling gets more and more tawdry, more and more amoral, and less and less watchable (although millions still do). This has been going on for years (I even wrote about this several years ago on my web site) and shows no sign of stopping. Many of these guys are freakishly large (when your neck is bigger than your head, something is wrong), and the physical abuse they put themselves through leads them into chemical abuse that kills them before their time. It's sad, really...

The other thing I noticed is that professional reviews of the iPhone point out what I already mentioned as it's Major Problem -- the reliance on AT&T's crappy data network. Apple should have gone with an EVDO carrier first, then offered it to AT&T customers (disclosure, I sell Sprint, and carry a Verizon -- both high-speed EVDO carriers. And no, even if they were offered in a cdma version I wouldn't be buying one anytime soon.)

Lastly, I told Erin I wouldn't be leaving at 3:00 pm today -- even after she assured me she would be back by then (it's 3:38 now...)

I have to admit, it's getting better...

Yesterday sucked, more or less. Oh sure, I got redshirtsquad caught up from my vacation, but we had some nastiness here at work, and I was just all sorts of tired. Today though is going pretty good. I think my sleep schedule is finally back in sync (I was awake just a little before the alarm went off), and the nastiness at work from yesterday came in polite and friendly today, and given luck, I should finally catch the mobile blog up with the last of the vacation photos by tonight.

That, and I visited the Rage Boy website...

iPhoney

OK, it's not a great name for a post, what can I say, but I do have to wonder about a few things concerning apple's new darling. The commercials look great, the fluid movement, the wonderful interface, the slick operating system, the "oh wow" factor is very high on this gadget. But what happens when you actually try to do some of this stuff in the real world? I'd be willing to bet it's all neato-keen like that when you're within range of a wireless hot spot -- but a lot of pocketpc and palm gadgets can be fun that way. What happens when you're left to try that tricky stuff on AT&T's network? How much extra will that cost you? Just how fast will it actually work? AT&T's wireless network is not very fast, especially compared to Verizon and Sprint (when you can find it). Have you tried to use graphic intensive sites with a dial up connection lately? I tried doing a few odds and ends with a phone-as-modem while on vacation, trust me, it was not an iPhone-like experience.

I guess the real score will be how many phones get returned in the first few months after the big release...

Catching up

I have been spending the last several days (among many other things) catching up on my vacation postings. I'm almost done -- I've got most of the pictures I'm planning on using FTP'd to the website, it's just a matter of getting them layed out and viewable.

Maybe if it's a slow day tomorrow...

The Price is Rosie...

So Rosie wants to host The Price is Right now -- just one question.

Has someone pointed out that "Barker's Beauties" is just a phrase, and that the show's host doesn't really own them?

Matthew

We have a frequent visitor to our house named Matthew. Our daughter is quick to point out that he is not her boyfriend, though she usually treats him as if he was (at least in the way that a 12 year old girl interacts with 13 year old boys). They make an unusual looking couple, Laura is small, pale, blue eyes and long blond hair -- Matthew is at least 2 feet taller than her, tanned, dark hair and dark eyes. He is also, uncharacteristically polite and respectful -- which is why we don't mind having him around. He's helpful (sometimes almost too helpful), friendly, able to reach things without a ladder -- just an all around useful kid. He helped us move, helped put up the shed, planted trees, watches Alex, and now he's helping Sharon sort through our garage of stuff. He is, the teenage son I don't have yet.

And in 5 or 6 years when Matthew outgrows us, I'll be better ready for the teenage son I will have.

This isn't from Apple...

Leave it to Microsoft to create something like an iPhone on steroids -- it's 10 times larger than an iPhone (and costs 10 times more). Of course, you have to use Cingular/ATT to use the iPhone...

128 vs. 256

Ok, this is just really funny...

http://link.brightcove.com/services/....

See, I told you so...