Jetsons Time?

Commence holding breath: X-Hawk flying car could be here by 2010
Posted Jan 31st 2007 4:34PM by John Neff
Autoblog.com

The flying car is the equivalent of transportation's carrot on a stick. It's a concept that always seems to be 3-5 years down the road. According to an Isreali inventor named Rafi Yoeli, the flying car will actually be here by 2010 in the form of his X-Hawk. The X-Hawk uses a ducted fan design that allows it to have the same manueverability of a helicopter without exposed blades that prevent choppers from hovering near buildings and the like. Yoeli's own company, Urban Aeronautics, is developing the X-Hawk first as a workhorse vehicle that could be used by firefighters, rescue teams, and the military to aid in the recovery of people stranded in hard to reach places.

Like a helicopter, the X-Hawk can take off and land vertically, it will be able to fly up to 155 mph, reach an altitude of 12,000 ft and remain in the air for two hours. The size of the X-Hawks rotors, which are powere by four internal combustion engines, will be much smaller than a helicopters, which will make the vehicle quieter but also guzzle 50% more fuel. The X-Hawk only exists as a full-scale mockup right now, but Yoeli expects an unmanned Mule version to fly in 2009. A larger version capable of carrying ten people is also planned. The estimated price for an X-Hawk will make a Veyron owner blush: between $1.5 and $3.5 million, and Yoeli admits those estimates might be low.

(End Quote)

Let's see, if I save $10 a week I could get one of these by... oh well

Dell Gaming Micro-PC Possibly in the Works

PC Plus
Dan Grabham

Dell to launch gaming handheld in future?
Mini-gaming machine more likely to resemble UMPC than PSP

A senior Dell executive has admitted the company could look to make a gaming handheld in future. Global gaming chief Abizar Vakharia was speaking at Dell's European Innovation event in Marbella. There, Dell had earlier launched the XPS 710 H2C top-line gaming PC.

When quizzed about a future handheld, Vakharia looked serious as he said: "You know, that's definitely one that's on the radar screen, but we have no plans to talk about anything today."

Dell has made no secret of its desire to grow share in the gaming space, underlined by last year's acquisition of Alienware, but it would be some departure for such a major box shifter to launch a portable gaming device.

Any such handheld would be almost certainly a Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC) style device because of Dell's close connections with Intel and Microsoft.

(End Quote)

This could be pretty cool, something like the PSP but enough like a real computer to justify it to geeks not quite ready to sink a couple of thousand into a toy.

Dani California

I just discovered this video (sorry, I don't watch too much MTV or VH1), and I love what they did to cover the entire history of rock. Here are my guesses of who is being spoofed / paid tribute to, in order:

Rockabilly era: Elvis Presley
British Invasion era: Beatles? Kinks? Herman's Hermits?
Acid Rock era: Sgt. Pepper Era Beatles? Iron Butterfly?
Glam Rock era pt 1: Angel
Glam Rock era pt 2: David Bowie / Mott the Hoople
Punk Rock era: Sex Pistols
Goth era: Bauhaus
Hair Metal era: Poison
Grunge era: Nirvana
Modern Alternative era: Red Hot Chili Peppers

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9kb_8LNTrpw

Short Movie Review (Retrospective Edition) -- The Notebook

Sometimes a guy can be in the mood for a maudlin chick flick. Either this was not the movie or I was not in the mood.

Murdoch: Big media has less sway on Internet

The Hollywood Reporter Online

By Georg Szalai
Jan 27, 2007
NEW YORK

Big media companies and governments ultimately can't stop or reverse their reduced agenda setting power brought about by the Internet and digital media, but must learn to live with it and embrace it as an opportunity, a panel at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland said Friday. Big media conglomerates have less influence amid the continued explosion of news sites, blogs and podcasts, News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch said in the session moderated by Charlie Rose and available via Webcast. "It's so pluralistic," Murdoch said. "We all have less power, much less...(we) the big companies."

(End quote)

While this isn't actual news (who was Time magazine's Person of the Year again?), it's always interesting to hear the fact of the democratization of media admitted by a media titan. It's also interesting that this story comes out the same week as a story about News Corp. suing YouTube's owners to release the name of someone who posted episodes of 24 and the Simpsons before they were even broadcast. In some ways the current state of YouTube reminds me of the original incarnation of Napster -- it seems as thought you can find just about anything, for free, if you are willing to look. It seems silly, for example, to pay $1.99 to iTunes for a video you can almost always find on YouTube.

Moxie Dreams

I had s strange dream last night, where I was in high school and all of (us) cool kids were in a karate class. There was a submarine sandwich place next door and they sold Moxie, which of course everyone started drinking once I recommended it. Then there was a party of some kind at someone's house, and I wasn't keeping up with the cool kids enough for some reason (not rowdy or debauched enough, I think). Then I went to work where my job was to print out financial statements (pretty cool job for a high schooler I guess), and that is sort of where it ended. I remeber explaining that debt ratios had no direct effect on income tax rates, since debt incurred isn't income.

At any rate, the Moxie was as good in my dream as in real life...

P.S. From Wikipedia: "One of the key ingredients of Moxie is “Gentian Root Extractives”, which probably contributes noticeably to its unique flavor. For those without access to Moxie, the flavor can be approximated (and adjusted to taste) by adding Angostura bitters to root beer. Its bitter taste is also reminiscent of Italian chinotto soda."

T Mobile Hot Spot Wireless

I am currently posting from a T Mobile Hot Spot. These are pretty handy but my complaint is that they don't recognize returning customers automatically -- I am not good at remembering all the various user names and passwords for the accounts I have set up with assorted websites, and it seems to me that something like wireless connections at hotspots should have some sort of feature to automatically sign in if the user so desires.

Update: I know that there is a technical name for this involving Wireless Network Connections and something called a WEP key, but I was just making the more general point that once you have an account set up with a wireless provider it would be nice to have it recognize your computer the way home or other networks do. For example, once I set my WEP key at my parents' house, I haven't had to sign one once.

Amazing Amazon

I love Amazon. They ship things so rapidly that they almost always satisfy my need for instant gratification, and the prices are usually less than those at my local Borders or Barnes & Noble. I stocked up on computer books during a recent spree, and with free shipping I came out far ahead than if I had bought the same books at any bookstore. Today I received the following books, which are almost all on my reading list for 2007 (except for The Time Traverer's Wife, which I had already read but wanted my own for my library):

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life
The Time Traveler's Wife
Artemis Fowl
Me Talk Pretty One Day
The Book of Lost Things
The Secret History

My nightstand is piled high with these books, and I am excited to begin catching up on my reading list. Updates to follow.

Coca-Cola Redux

According to Wikipedia, the following are the purported secret ingredients to Coke:

Caffeine

Citric Acid

Vanilla

Lime Juice

Sugar (Lots o' sugar)

fluid extract of coca leaf, decocainized

caramel coloring (i.e., burnt sugar)

orange oil

cinnamon oil

lemon oil

coriander oil

nutmeg oil

neroli oil

No mention of the kola nut in this list, but according to rumor there is both coca and kola flavorings in the top-secret recipe. Also, Coke with real sugar is rare in the U.S. and corn syrup is usually substituted; the ingredient label itself also lists an ingredient not found above, Phosphoric Acid. Assuming at least some of the other flavorings are true, there are some surprises: I never would have guessed neroli oil, as this sounds like a new age candle scent more than a food ingredient, and coriander is a relatively obscure spice. Some of the others (such as the orange, lemon, cinnamon and nutmeg) do make sense, as you can tell that there are some citrusy flavors and spices in Coke. It's remarkable how unique this American classic truly is, with none of the dozens (hundreds?) of knock-offs really coming close, in my opinion.

Chili Recipe

From Patricia Cornwell, author of the Kay Scarpetta series (Postmortem, Body of Evidence, The Last Precinct, Predator etc.)

Miami-Style Chili with Beer

1 pound lean ground turkey or extra-lean ground beef
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups trimmed and sliced white mushrooms
1 1/2 cups chopped green, red, or yellow bell peppers
1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (28 ounces each) chopped tomatoes with diced green chilis
2 cans (16 ounces each) red kidney beans, rinsed and well drained
1 can (16 ounces) black beans, rinsed and well drained
1 bottle (12 ounces) Mexican beer
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or marjoram
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
coarsely shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese for garnish
sour cream if desired
Sourdough bread, cornbread or tortillas if desired

In a large Dutch oven or 4-quart saucepan, cook the ground turkey in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until browned, breaking up the meat with the side of a spoon. Drain the turkey well. Transfer to a double layer of paper towels and press out the excess fat. Wipe out the pan.

In the same pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, until the bell peppers are tender. Stir in the turkey, tomatoes with their juices, the kidney and black beans, beer, vinegar, oregano, basil, bay leaves, chili powder, salt and cumin. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Taste the chili for seasoning. Remove the bay leaves. To serve, ladle the chili into bowls and top each serving with cheddar cheese and/or sour cream if desired.

Serves 8 - 10; freezes well

ABC mulls 'Lost' wrap-up

Producers try to decide show's end date

Variety.com
Posted: Sun., Jan. 14, 2007, 10:00pm PT

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

ABC, Touchstone TV and the producers behind "Lost" are actively discussing how and when to retire the hit castaway drama.
According to "Lost" exec producer Carlton Cuse, picking an end date for "Lost" would help the show's creative team to map the next several seasons as they plot the show's thick mythology.
"It's time for us to find an endpoint to the show," said Cuse, speaking Sunday at ABC's portion of the TV Critics Assn. press tour. "It's a struggle for us, because we don't know if we have three years, four years or more to go. If we had an endpoint, then we could figure out where everything goes."
Such a move would placate fans of the show, who frequently gripe that they have no indication whether the show's ever-increasing mysteries will pay off. A set timetable would send a message to viewers that all of their questions will be answered eventually.

Old news by now, but I missed this story when it appeared last week. Good for them, a show like 'Lost' needs a well-defined story arc before it devolves into tedium or becomes a joke.

Mentos and Diet Coke

By way of debunking a story about the purported deadly effects of eating Mentos and drinking Coke, www.snopes.com helps to explain why dumping Mentos into a bottle of carbonated soda causes the famous fountain...

"Mentos, a candy that has a soft, chewy interior encased in a slightly hard shell, is no longer just for noshing on -- when combined with a carbonated beverage in a closed environment that has a small opening (think "soda bottle"), it serves to produce a frothy geyser that shoots many feet into the air, a secondary use of the product that has served to enthrall countless persons with a penchant for making things explode.

The combination of any carbonated liquid and mint-flavored Mentos will rapidly produce copious amounts of foam because the candy works to disrupt the surface tension of the liquid, thereby releasing all the drink's fizz (carbon dioxide) in one surprisingly speedy whoosh. The resulting effect is quick, high and explosive, yet what takes place is not a chemical reaction but a physical one."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4B88kWyaLg

http://eepybird.com/exp214.html

Congratulations Colts

Impressive comeback after having been down 21-3 earlier in the game.

Club House Games for Nintendo DS

OK, to make up for my last post whining about what I don't have, I'll review the most recent addition to my Nintendo DS game collection. Club House Games includes dozens of card games, board games and others such as darts, bowling, pool and Mah Jongg and features pretty good interfaces throughout. One twist is that you have to succeed at some of the easier games to 'unlock' other games, an approach that I've never been a fan of (this is also a feature of Sega Casino, for example). I also wonder if they are trying to be too many things to too many people by including games such as Old Maid with ones such as Texas Hold'em. Overall, though, I think the game is a good value for the money, considering how many games are represented and the relatively uniform quality of the presentation. Bowling in particular makes good use of the dual screen of the DS and is both challenging and fun.

Waa; You Snooze You Lose

Evidently quite a few Nintendo Wii units were distributed to Best Buy, EB Games, Game Stop and Target today, as advertised in inserts into the Sunday papers. I'm not much of an early riser even when I have to (such as for work), so I don't know if I could have made it down to stand in line in time to pick up one of the units. I think I'll have to lean on a connection to get me a Wii, but if that doesn't work I just may be down in front of Best Buy with my sleeping bag next weekend.

Toys 'R' Us is promising shipments 'any day now', but evidently these come during the middle of the day, which doesn't do those of us with daytime jobs much good; most frustrating for me was seeing Circuit City's inventory system which showed something like 846 units in their warehouse. At first I was told that I could put in an order for one of these, and then someone else told me all such orders are cancelled automatically.

I can understand distribution problems during the busy holiday shopping system, but I am mystified as to why it is still so difficult to pick up a $249 consumer electronics device which can't be all that difficult to manufacture and distribute. Another concern is that some of the more popular games are getting scarce themselves, which may mean that people would be well advised to pick up the games in advance of securing the actual units.

Paul Van Dyk - Nothing But You

One of my favorites in the Electronica / Trance genre; the lyrics are in Norwegian -- "jeg har ingenting men jeg har alt når jeg har deg" -- and translate as "I have nothing but I have everything when I have you."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQDZ87KrXvU

Lost

For some reason, the videos I have been trying to post from YouTube haven't been going through lately. Here's a link to one I liked, about one of my favorite TV shows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z_zVROAdLU

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk

This book was recommended by a friend and I have to say that it was one of the most interesting books I had ever read. I loved the narrative structure which had a main story surround short stories purportedly by (and usually about) one of the characters in the novel. The goings-on get pretty gruesome -- it's about a group of aspiring writers who are kept in a writer's retreat but run out of food -- but each story within the story had me wanting more. Warning: the first short story is one of the toughest things I have ever read, and is akin to a bad car crash that you can't look away from. If you make it past that one, everything else seems like lighthearted fun in comparison (even though the main story and some of the short stories are pretty tough reads themselves).

I had purchased an Audiobook version on iTunes to "re-read" certain parts, but listening to it didn't have the same visceral impact as reading it did; in fact I found my mind wandering in parts. I haven't listened to a lot of audiobooks, so perhaps this is a skill that I haven't yet mastered. At any rate, I would recommend the book over the audiobook due to the way the printed word registers.

Coca-Cola

I hadn't had a Coke in a quite a while and I forgot how good it is. The flavors are just a perfect balance of sweetness, spiciness and tartness. Plus there's that great sugar and caffeine buzz...

Mom's Apple Pie

8' Unbaked pastry shell
4 cups sliced apples
1/2 to 2/3 cup sugar
1 T Flour
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 T butter

Cook 40-45 minutes at 425 degrees

I like spices so I add 1/4 tsp. nutmeg and a dash of allspice, and I add the lemon juice while slicing the apples to keep them from browning. The real secret to my mom's apple pie is in the crust, and I don't have that recipe yet. I'll let that stay a family secret... ;-)

Current Netflix Queue

21 Grams
Shattered Glass
The Devil Wears Prada
House of Sand and Fog
The Parallax View
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Adaptation
House of Games
Sliding Doors
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
12 Monkeys
Family Guy Volume One Disk Two
Good Night, and Good Luck
Cellular
The Upside of Anger
How to Eat Fried Worms
Phantom of the Opera
Family Guy Volume One Disk Three
Family Guy Volume One Disk Four
Family Guy Volume Two Disk One
Family Guy Volume Two Disk Two
Family Guy Volume Two Disk Three
Family Guy Volume Three Disk One
Family Guy Volume Three Disk Two
Family Guy Volume Three Disk Three
Twisted
The Station Agent
The Truth About Charlie
The Game
Catch 22
Nashville
City of God
Finding Neverland
The Legend of Zorro
Akeelah and the Bee
The Departed

iPhone

The Apple Of Your Ear

Time Magazine Online

Friday, Jan. 12, 2007

By LEV GROSSMAN / CUPERTINO

The iPhone started out the way a lot of cool things do: as something completely different. A few years ago, Steve Jobs noticed how many development dollars were being spent--particularly in the greater Seattle metropolitan area--on what are called tablet PCs: flat portable computers that work with a touch screen instead of a mouse and keyboard. Jobs, being Jobs, was curious. He had some Apple engineers noodle around with a touch screen. When they showed him what they came up with, he got excited.
So excited he forgot all about tablet computers. He had bigger game to hunt.
Jobs had just led Apple on a triumphant rampage through a new market sector, portable digital-music players, and he was looking around for more technology to conquer. He found the ideal target sitting on his hip. Consumers bought nearly a billion cell phones last year, 10 times the number of iPods in circulation. Break off just 1% of that, and you can buy yourself a lot of black turtlenecks. "It was unanimous that this should be it," Jobs says. "It wasn't even by a little, it was by a mile. It was the hardest one too." Apple's new iPhone, which will be available in June, could do to the cell-phone market what the iPod did to the portable-music-player market: crush it pitilessly beneath the weight of its own superiority. This is unfortunate for anybody else who makes cell phones, but it's good news for those of us who use them.

This could be huge. The touchscreen looks to be a killer app that would certainly appeal to fans of iPods as well as devices such as the Motorola Q, Samsung Blackjack and other multiple-use cell phone devices. Apple has proven themselves to excel at design and the form and function of their products are as sleek and slick as they come. This could complete the transformation of Apple from a computer company to a full spectrum consumer electronics company.

Wish for the Day

That the San Diego Chargers hire Pete Carroll to be their next head coach.

Bose

I have two Bose products now -- the Sound Dock for the iPod, and a pair of 'earbud'-style headphones. I am just amazed at the engineering of Bose products, with the sound quality amazingly clear and rich. What I like best is the bass response of both of these items -- you can really feel the lows in all styles of music, and nothing sounds tinny or thin. Someday I'd love to have one of their home sound system setups, but they aren't cheap. Still, I think the Bose products are worth the extra price based on what I have so far.

iTunes Store - Movies and Music

Sometime in the past week it looks as though Paramount Pictures has added a number of films to the iTunes Store -- I think that just last week it was only films from Disney/Touchstone that were available. There must have been an announcement of some kind that I must have missed. Anyway, the more the merrier -- it's good to have a selection to choose from if you're going to commit to a new format for content.

On a related note, it's amazing how large the selection of music is on iTunes, but this makes the occasional absence of a song or artist that much more notable -- for example, there are still no Beatles songs available, and Black Sabbath's 'Iron Man' is only available as a live version. Kid Rock's 'Bawitdaba' is only available from a 'Kid Rock Tribute' collection, and I'm sure there are many other such examples. Fortunately, it's easy enough to take a CD and rip it into iTunes, but the tools to do the same with TV shows and movie DVDs are difficult to work with (when they work at all).

Update: According to Gizmodo, Apple is about to announce the availability of the Beatles' catalog on iTunes in a few weeks.

New Blog Template

I've changed the template for this blog along with upgrading to the 'new' Blogger using Google accounts. I didn't realize that I would lose all my links once I did this, but I tried to recreate as many as I could from memory. I have also added more content to the side, a feature I really liked on a friend's site.

Overall, I'm not blown away by the improvements in the new Blogger, but perhaps as I get used to the new tools I may change my mind. There are still many advanced features that I'm sure I'm not getting full use of, but I hope to start exploring these soon.

Audiobooks on iPod; iTrip

Audiobooks on iTunes aren't a bargain, with most of the ones I have bought costing more than a hard copy would. The technology doesn't seem to have been perfected yet -- I will often go back to a book (or segment of a book) only to find that the iPod has lost my place (there is supposed to be a virtual bookmark). Still, it's hard to beat the convenience, and it's a great way to take audiobooks with you wherever you go, especially when combined with an FM transmitter device such as the iTrip.

The iTrip is tiny, adding only about three quarters of an inch to the end of my video iPod, and the transmitter navigation couldn't be easier. However, it is tough to find an empty frequency in Los Angeles, and this causes a degradation of audio quality due to interference. I also find myself touching the iPod for better reception; perhaps a unit with a docking stand or cord of some kind would fare better.

New Look for Disney's Website in the Works

Disney to unveil website revamp
Much is riding on its Internet push to a wide age group that includes MySpace-style offerings.
By Joseph Menn, Times Staff Writer
January 8, 2007

The stakes could scarcely be bigger for Walt Disney Co. as it unveils a revamped flagship website today.

Reversing the company's past Internet stumbles is a top priority for Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger, whose reputation as a new-media leader in an old-media business could be tarnished if the site fails to attract more viewers.

Disney.com is already among the most popular sites with children, so company executives have tried to convey modest goals. They say Disney simply wants the current 25 million monthly visitors to stay longer, watch more ads and deepen their connections to Mickey, Pooh and mermaid Ariel.

But investors will be looking for more dramatic results.

"We've seen a lot of announcements out of Disney with respect to the Net. Now the expectations are higher," UBS analyst Aryeh Bourkoff said. "This year, the focus has to be on execution."

Since assuming the top Disney job from Michael Eisner 15 months ago, Iger has won praise for dropping Disney's previous antagonism toward Web innovations and striking such pioneering deals as being the first one to sell prime-time television shows and movies over Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes store.

But for all of Iger's proclamations about finding new ways to reach consumers over the Internet, Disney's own website has changed little, and the zealous policing of its creations has limited the Web environments that children can create using its characters.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today, Iger will give a preview of the overhauled site that will be accessible to the public later this month.

"I believe we successfully strike the right balance between the huge strength of the existing business and the potential of new media," Steve Wadsworth, president of Walt Disney Internet Group, said in an interview.

More than any other big media company, family-oriented Disney must worry about navigating between the strict controls that appeal to parents and the increasing expectations of freedom held by their children.

Disney is aiming its site at preschoolers on their parents' laps to the 14- and 15-year-olds who populate MySpace, the enormously successful social-networking site News Corp. acquired in 2005.

The new Disney.com will present itself differently to various age groups, though all will get expanded video, games and other interaction. As on MySpace, visitors will be able to create their own websites, communicate with each other and mash together and share music and videos — as long as they're Disney music and videos.

Handheld Computing, revisited

The OQO Model 2 looks like a strong entry in the UMPC marketplace, weighing in at about a pound and including built-in mobile broadband capabilities. The tech specs are impressive: 1.5GHz CPU, 60 GB HDD, 1 GB RAM, 5" sliding WVGA LCD Screen, integrated thumb keyboard and track stick, and capacitive TouchScrollers (whatever those are). The model 02 is also Windows Vista ready and comes with a docking station which includes an optical drive.

Pretty cool, but it still looks like it has that "overgrown Blackberry" feel to it.

Recipe Time pt. 2

(from allrecipes.com)

Welsh Rarebit

INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS
In a 2 quart saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Stir in and blend the flour, salt, mustard and pepper. Stir in the milk and Worcestershire sauce. Continue stirring the mixture for 10 minutes, or until thickened.
Stirring continuously, melt the cheese into the mixture and blend well. Serve immediately over warm toast.

(alternate version from epicurious.com)

Welsh Rarebit Fingers

10 firm white bread slices (each about 4x4 inches), toasted, crusts trimmed
2 1/2 cups (packed) grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)
5 tablespoons beer
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup soft fresh white breadcrumbs

Arrange toast so that sides touch on large baking sheet. Combine cheese, beer, butter and mustard in medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; stir in breadcrumbs. Spoon over bread slices to cover. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Chill.)
Preheat broiler. Broil until topping begins to brown, watching to avoid burning and turning baking sheet around, if necessary, for even broiling, about 2 minutes. Cool 2 minutes. Cut each slice into 5 strips. Transfer to platter; serve.


...I used to make this quite a bit when I was growing up. It's sort of like a poor man's fondue, and is very heavy and rich but really yummy if you like cheddar cheese. I prefer using sourdough bread for the toast.

Recipe Time

1. buy package of Top Ramen
2. boil 2 cups of water
3. dump noodles in water
4. boil until noodles are done
5. dump in seasoning packet

OK, I'm in a snarky mood...

CBS, Disney to Push Movies, TV at Electronics Show

from Bloomberg.com

By Andy Fixmer and Ari Levy

Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co. will use next week's Consumer Electronics Show to expand efforts to get more of their movies and television shows onto the Web and mobile devices.
Disney Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger will announce an overhaul of the company's Web site at the Las Vegas event, which kicks off Jan. 7. He joins CBS's Les Moonves as the first media company CEOs to give keynote speeches in the conference's 40- year history. Moonves plans to broaden the ways CBS offers its shows.
``We have our toe in the water of 100 different lakes,'' New York-based Moonves said in an interview yesterday. ``Some will work out, some won't.''
The presence of Moonves and Iger underscores the entertainment industry's need to counter traditional advertising declines and lower DVD and box-office sales. Disney and CBS have forged partnerships with phone, cable and Internet providers as well as companies including Apple Computer Inc.
``Hollywood has a great opportunity for things like digital distribution and greater flexibility in how consumers use the content they've created,'' said Kurt Scherf, an analyst at Dallas-based Parks Associates, who plans to attend the show along with about 10 other researchers from the consulting firm who study the use of technology in the home.

Easing Relations

The past year marked a détente between media and technology companies that typically attend the Consumer Electronics Association's annual convention. The two industries have sparred over copyright and fair-use issues, Gary Shapiro, chief executive officer of the association, said in an interview. In 2006, Apple's iTunes began selling Disney films, and New York- based CBS started providing TV programs to Google Inc.'s YouTube.
``The content community wants to keep exhibiting control,'' Shapiro said. ``We want to make sure consumers have the right to do what they want in their home with content. That's something that's very important to us.''
Media companies are replacing several of the 2006 headliners at CES. Google Inc., which used last year's event to announce the introduction of free software programs and TV shows on its video service, won't have a booth at this year's event. While Intel Corp. and Yahoo Inc. plan to talk about new products at CES this year, their CEOs won't be giving speeches.
Iger, 55, will announce plans to add more social networking features such as personalized pages, games and chat rooms onto Disney's Web sites, spokeswoman Michelle Haworth said in an interview. The company will also sell merchandise, DVDs, travel packages and theme park tickets on the redesigned site, she said.

Peanut Butter Jelly Time

Still funny no matter how many times I see it...

iPod Powers Apple's Finances

iPod, not Mac now leads Apple's revenues

EE Times Computing Blog

by Rick Merritt
Computing Editor

The hidden story in Apple's latest SEC filings has nothing to do with the fuss over back-dated stock options and everything to do with its transformation into a consumer electronics company.
Apple sold $7.67 billion in iPods in its last fiscal year ending in September 2006, edging out for the first time revenue from Macintosh computers which hit $7.37 million. In 2005, Mac sales were still the biggest slice of Apple's pie at $6.2 billion versus $4.5 billion for iPods. But sales of iPods increased a whopping $3.1 billion or 69 percent during 2006 while Mac sales increased $1.1 billion or a more stately 18 percent during 2006 compared to 2005.
The iPod has long outsold the Mac in terms of raw units. In 2005 Apple was approaching sales of 20 times more iPods than Macs. Today the ratio is approach 40 to 1.
Money talks, and the heady $3.1 billion growth in iPod sales in 2006 is amazing. So it's official, Apple—the first successful computer company--is a consumer electronics company now.

Windows Sound on Piano

now this is dorky!

What's in my iPod Now

'The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'
'Tombstone'
An episode of South Park
Texas Hold'em game
'Bejeweled' game
Audiobooks of 'The Martian Chronicles', 'Artemis Fowl', 'Fantastic Tales of Ray Bradbury'
An episode of 'Mythbusters'
An episode of 'Dr. 90210'
About half of the Beatles' albums
U2's 'Boy', 'War', 'October' and 'The Joshua Tree'
18 episodes of 'A State of Trance' by Armin Van Buuren
Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' -- original and demo versions
20 episodes of 'Hearts of Space' radio broadcast
Green Day's 'Dookie' and 'American Idiot'
Japan's 'Gentlmen Take Polariods' and 'Tin Drum'
Nirvana's 'Nevermind'
Smashing Pumpkins' 'Siamese Dream'
ESPN Mason and Ireland Podcast
Disney Insider Podcast
Aldous Huxley's 'The Doors of Perception' Audiobook
...and about 1800 individual songs not mentioned above

Surf the Web in Your Car

The Autonet Mobile In-Car Router promises coverage of over 95% of the U.S. with seamless, secure connectictvity to the internet in your car.

As if cell phones weren't enough of a distraction...

I'm in Love WIth My iPod

I mean, I really really love this thing. I've had the 30 G Video iPod for about 6 months, but I am just now fully taking advantage of it. I now have movies, TV shows, trailers, games, and of course my entire music library on the iPod and I can't imagine being without it.

I know this isn't news to those that have these devices, but the iPods are just way too cool.