Good afternoon -- it's a gorgeous day up here in the North East, so while I lament not being able to properly enjoy it, let's take a look at these headlines...

Have you ever played 'Werewolf'? Apparently it's all the rage along the West Coast where techno-geeks from around Silicon Valley are converging at conferences to play this psycho-whimsical game. Large groups -- often more than one at once -- are deemed the villagers while one unknown person among them is the werewolf. During the 'Night' the werewolf can kill the villagers (who have their eyes closed so they don't know who it is), but during the 'Day' they vote and eliminate on person they think it the werewolf.

Yeah, I've played before, and it can be pretty fun. Of course, when I played, it was with 10 8-year-olds in an acting class based on Harry Potter ... but I'm sure those kids thought they were geeks, too.

In news so sickening and offensive I thought about not mentioning it ... forget it, I can't bring myself to. Needless to say, Apple apologized.

Now, onto better things, Pixar is teaming up with cluster-balloon pilot Jonathan Trappe -- yeah, that weird guy who uses helium balloons attached to an armchair to fly. Pixar is hoping to drum up publicity for it's new film, Up,' about a cranky old man who uses a cloud of balloons to turn his house into a true mobile home .... 4,000 feet high!

President Obama is about to get his new Blackberry that has reportedly been secured by the NSA. They'd better hope the security holds -- Mr. Pres is going to have a bulls eye on his back larger than Redmond! Imagine the bragging rights of the hacker who busts into that account ...

Looking for a good rant for the day? Check out this one arguing how casual gaming is going to overtake and kill hard-core gaming -- or has it already?

I'm going to be gone all next week -- no blog updates!! But check back here May 4 for some full updates, new reviews and lots of snarky commentary :) Have a great week!!

Labels: Apple, balloons, barack obama, BlackBerry, Pixar, shaken baby app, Werewolf

Happy Friday! I spent last night out cracking some ice monsters in DnD, so I'm up for anything today! Some headlines, if you please?

Rumors are flying that Google is looking to buy Twitter. Hm, then I may actually use without being tasked to by corporate. :-) Oh, and while you're at it, check out this list of 8 things that will get you un-followed on Twitter.

Pres. Obama brought the Queen of England a video iPod pre-loaded with videos of her state visit a few years back and, surprisingly, an impressive collection of showtunes. Apparently Her Majesty is a fan. Who knew? On a side note, I love the British monarchy so much! I am fascinated by the pomp and circumstance ... and I think it is absolutely adorable how much Elizabeth loves Michelle Obama!

Good news, slackers! A new study from Down Under shows workers who use the internet for personal use while on the job are actually 9% more productive than their non-online counterparts! So, surf away, and feel free to tell you boss that it is *for the good of the company* that you update your Facebook page a few times a day, and that Perez Hilton is making you a better worker! I certainly do!

Microsoft may be readying a Zune phone that offers free music.

My favorite magazine is making some cuts: Wired.com is laying off 12% of its online staff due to current economic conditions. So sad!

And just so we don't end on the day on a bad note, here is a link to my favorite video game blog, Game Hunters on USAToday.com!

See you all Monday!

Labels: barack obama, Game Hunters, Google, Queen Elizabeth II, Twitter, Wired.com, worker productivity, Zune phone

Brrrr ... spend your spare time with me and a big glass of hot coffee on this freezing day. If it's not freezing for you, I suppose you can read along anyways...

Facebook has officially killed that really funny Whopper story I told you about Monday. The site cites privacy issues over how the application informed your friends that you dumped them because they weren't worth their weight in beef, or something similarly clever. This story links the decision to pressure by Microsoft -- will the anger over them never cease?

In what I think is the biggest non-news story of the week -- and by that, I mean that it didn't take much observation and deduction skills to cut through the PR bull$%&# when it was announced he was skipping Macworld in Jan. -- Steve Jobs has announced he is taking a leave of absence from Apple until June. Steve, I know we don't get along as far as Microsoft vs. Apple, but I wish you the very best and a most speedy recovery. But, you're not coming back, are you?

Want to watch the inauguration? Worried you'll get bored and turn it off before Obama gets to the good stuff? Well, have no fear, Forbes has created 'Obama Bingo' -- complete with four printable cards -- to play at the office while every gathers around the flatscreen. The game is based on what the new president will say during his inaugural address, and you mark off the phrases as they are spoken.

It's been said before -- but you know times are bad when Google axes some jobs. It's not company-wide and is only affecting recruiters and certain engineering offices, but jobs are jobs. In addition to axing workers, Google is also dropping some apps. Click here to read more.

OK, all, have a safe and warm weekend, and I'll catch you on the flip side, where we'll have some cool inauguration coverage and more!

Labels: barack obama, Bingo, facebook, Macworld, Steve Jobs, Whopper

Welcome back, techies! Time is just flying by -- I'm completely reeling that Thanksgiving is only two weeks away. Crazy. Let's slow down and take a look at some of this week's top stories:

Pres.-elect Barack Obama has confirmed that he will appoint a chief technology officer in his cabinet -- a new position that he'd pitched and promised during campaign speeches. No word on who he will appoint -- but stories abound with possibilities, including some comprehensive ones from our friends at CNet.com. Don't look in Google's direction, though -- CEO Schmidt has confirmed that he isn't interested.

For those of you with little techies at home -- like my 2-year-old who knows how to work a mouse, my Zune, the Mino, the Razr and the complicated universal remote -- here's some news to bite into: Sesame Street officials announced that the classic and always-relevant kids' show will be hitting the internet, with full episodes available for download off iTunes. No more spending $20 for a 30-minute DVD! Yay!

This is a little out there, but stick with me: Ever wonder what really happens right after you die? People with near-death experiences have visions of a white light and flashes of memories -- but what is the brain actually doing? Scientists in the Human Consciousness Project are out to find out by monitoring the brains of patients at participating hospitals by hooking them up to brain machines while they are in cardiac arrest. I know, it sounds totally morbid, like a modern-day remake of Keifer Sutherland's Flatliners (great movie) but the possibilities are awesome!

SFGate has a transcribed interview held between outgoing Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff and Silicon Valley's think-tank bloggers about the state of airport security and what these people would do to fix it. More interesting, I think, are the questions they asked him about why we still have to take off our shoes at checkpoints and why official systems are so insecure. Fascinating stuff.

Cool -- see you all Friday!

Labels: barack obama, Sesame Street, U.S. CTO, Zune

Happy weekend everyone -- let's get to the good stuff:

OK, so the U.S. has a new president -- what does this mean for tech? Will we have a cheif technology officer of the U.S.? Who will it be? And what about ineternet taxes? Our friends at CNet.com have great commentary in this article about the good news and bad news we cal expect under this new administration.

The Wii Fit is a very cool tech advance, but, as I noted in my review a few months back, I've found its weight readouts can vary dramatically, even on the same patch of light green carpet I worked out on the day before. Why, I'm not sure, but finally someone other than me is calling Nintendo out on it's Wii Fit. Well, it's not quite the criticism I was looking for, but parents' group in Britain are storming the gates over the Fit telling a 10-year old girl that she is listed as 'fat' according to its BMI calculator. Angry parents not looking to face the truth about their daughter, or bad measuring (again) from this fly-off-the-shelves gadget? Which do you think?

Ever thought about commandeering one of those flying saucers so often seen over rural farms in the middle of nowhere? Take them for a bit of a spin? Well, a Calif. company is banking on people channeling their inner Will Smith circa Independence Day to buy a car-sized flying saucer -- which is "designed to seat two, take off and land vertically, fly 10 feet above the ground, and reach 75 miles an hour." It should hit the market soon -- will it revolutionize the personal travel industry? I'm going with no on this one...

Students at MIT are trying to engineer beer that contains the anti-aging properties found in red wine. Oh, come on now -- you mean the caloriepacked brew with their burpy heads and stomach-expanding gurgles aren't already good for you? Please... a group of frat brothers just sat bolt upright in their stinky beds in horror.

"The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to release unused broadcast TV spectrum for unlicensed use, giving technology leaders Google, Microsoft and others a victory in their bid to create a next-generation version of Wi-Fi," say our friends at the San Francisco Chronicle's tech blog. This is good news for fans of the Google mobile platform, and those looking for smartphone evolution.

Have a great weekend!

Labels: barack obama, electric cars, fcc white spaces vote, flying saucers, healthy beer, Nintendo's Wii Fit controversy, technology, U.S. CTO

On the eve of what is billed as being the biggest election in our lifetimes, it seems like everyone has an angle from which to cover the candidates. But what amuses me more than the incessant babble and endless reports from polls of polls -- which I think the vast majority of Americans find terrible, anyway -- are how the various news outlets are vying for our attention.

This USA Today story on the technology behind the election coverage is hilarious (without meaning to be) because of what it shows: blatant disregard on the part of 24-hours news outlets to woo viewers by displaying and pimping good technology for mindless reasons. Holographic interviews? Really? Virtual movable maps that change color when you tap them? Walls of televisions behind someone on my television?

Are we really that information-starved during this tense election season that we need news anchors and so-called 'pundits' who should be on Terrets medication bouncing around our TV screens, which are so otherwise cluttered with scrolling polls, news, views and mindless numbers (45% of suburban housewives who like baking cakes are in favor of McCain...)?

At least there are some outlets for all the hilarity to filter through -- I hail The Daily Show and Saturday Night Live for keeping their (very witty) heads during this tense voting season.

But, other than these cool breaths of fresh air, may I humbly suggest that, in the waning hours of this year's presidential election, you skip the live-action news channels in favor of the good ol' fashioned internet?

www.johnmccain.com/ will give you all the info you need on the senator from Arizona, while http://www.barackobama.com/splash/volunteer.html will spell out the Illinois senator's stance on various issues. Otherwise, try out some of your favorite sites for their takes on the election.

Or, check out http://www.cnet.com/ for info on each candidate's stances on technology, like internet taxes. I've found great stories on non-election sites like http://www.people.com/, where I learned that John McCain will most likely be in a movie theatre tomorrow with his purple-clad daughter. What movie will he see? Well, since that certainly tell how capable he is to run the nation, expect to see it on every news channel around about 3 p.m.

Seriously, wouldn't it be hilarious if he saw Zac and Miri Make a Porno? LOL

And, if you really can't stand to be without up-to-the-minute news (and don't know where to get a news feed implanted directly into your brain) I suggest the classics like www.cnn.com and www.usatoday.com -- both are great sources and will keep oyu (hopefully) from drowning in TV election antics.

Labels: barack obama, election coverage, john mccain