Uh Oh...

I glanced at my Google homepage this morning, which contains a few stocks of interest (this actually started as a game with my friends Mirko and Brandon to have an imaginary portfolio to see what would happen with $10,000), and noticed something interesting that I haven't seen before. The stocks for both Google and Microsoft were listed as being "null" at $0.00. It looks like the epic battle between the two giants has caused an implosion that no one was expecting. Based on this listing, Apple (AAPL) and Yahoo! (YHOO) are clearly reaping the benefits of this.

A Little Over a Year Later

So, just over a year after the picture below with my nephew was taken (the one with his sights set on me), I took this picture. Any hope that his desire to take me down had subsided is surely gone. Before, he used his powers to simply manipulate time and space independent of anyone or anything else around him. Well, apparently he has learned to channel those energies and take this to the next level. If you look closely, you'll notice the open hand in this picture, just moments away from using the force to send that water bottle into my face. Look at the determination in his eyes... It's definitely the end for me.

Apple Unleashes the iPod Fury

What do you do next with a product when you already have the most market saturation? If you ask Microsoft and Apple, you'll get two totally different answers (look at Vista, and this new line of iPods as evidence). In any case, Apple unleashed a new line of iPods yesterday. The Nanos are now "phatty" little video iPods, the old video iPods have increased storage, and there is now an iPod Touch (which is essentially an iPhone without the phone). I have no interest in buying a new iPod (since the one I currently have has plenty of room and functions properly), but what I'd really like to see is an "iPhone Nano" in the sense that it's an iPod and a Phone, but none of the other stuff that's on the iPhone (I don't need web browsing, etc.).

Secondly, Apple dropped the price of the iPhone by $200. That's a pretty big drop considering the product has only been out for 2 months. But at the same time, it makes perfect sense with the price point they were setting for the iPod Touch. Either way, I guess a lot of people (early adopters of the iPhone) felt ripped off, so Jobs has responded with a $100 credit to the Apple Store for all of them. Here's his response. That's a pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

All the while Microsoft is not worried, and is planning to stay on their current track for the Zune (if you haven't heard of the Zune, you just proved my point). In any case, here's an article about Microsoft's response to yesterday's event. Microsoft has their work cut out for them. Not to mention the negative feedback Vista has received, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Fantasy Football Returns!

Oh, how I look forward to this time of the year. I'm not a HUGE sports guy (for example, I'm not one of those husbands who come home and just have to watch Sports Center for a couple of hours to make sure I'm up to date on all of the latest happenings in the world of sports). However, I do enjoy football season a great deal--particularly fantasy football. I definitely would not know as much as I know about teams or individual players if it weren't for this fun game. Of course, also having an excuse to talk smack to my friends and family is also welcomed... he he.

And of course, I can't just sign up for one league... that's like putting all your eggs in one basket. No, I must sign up for many to increase the chances of actually having a playoff team... I must also avoid the temptation of adding the same players in every league--all of my "favorites" if you will.

Anyway, I'm participating in three leagues this year, two of which have already drafted... I can already tell it's going to be a good season! I also wanted to mention that I know that there are people out there who when watching a game on TV, including their favorite team, end up rooting against them, just to get the extra fantasy points. Let it be known that I will never stoop to that level. The greater good must always prevail--the greater good always being the Chargers winning the Superbowl.

Licensing Music...

I was reading an interesting article regarding licensing music so that you can add it as the background song in a YouTube video (here). After the very brief article, there is a large discussion consisting of comments on the article. Well, some talk about their experience, some talk about their thoughts of licensing, but the true gem isn't found until you get to the very last comment, which states:
"In mother Russia, music licenses YOU!"

I just thought it was funny...

Mount Hermon Extravaganza

This past week was our first "real" vacation since our honeymoon last year. We had the privilege of being able to go to Mount Hermon (a Christian camp in Santa Cruz) for Dallas Seminary week. Basically, the average day looked like: wake up, go to breakfast, hear an amazing speaker, eat a donut, hear a second amazing speaker, eat lunch, [insert fun activity here], dinner, hear a third amazing speaker, [insert another fun activity here]. The chaplain summed it up well by saying it seems like we're just eating and going to church... it was a wonderful experience, but here are the highlights:

• Riding the zip line. If you've never been on one, basically you get harnessed in and you hold on while you glide across in the air over a multi-hundred yard space from one side to the other.
• Going to downtown Santa Cruz and checking out the boardwalk. This is where that "Share the Road" picture comes in. While we were driving to get to the main mall area I saw this sign and thought to myself, "Only in Santa Cruz would you have a sign that includes cars, bikers AND hitchhikers/bums."
• Speaking of bums, in downtown Santa Cruise there was a guy just laying in a sleeping bag on the sidewalk right outside the shops and sat up abruptly just as we walked by... that was interesting. And then, there was another "entertainer" who was dressed up like a woman and was holding an umbrella while silently looking at people as they walked by...
  
• Getting our pictures taken in one of those photo booths where it's like 5 pictures in row and they print out on a long strip. I can't remember the last time I did that, but it was a lot of fun.
• Playing hours of ultimate frisbee. Priceless. I love that game.
• Tim Lundy. He was my favorite speaker of the week... he had great illustrations and you could tell he was speaking straight from his heart.
• Being able to spend time just relaxing with my wife.
• Hanging out with my wife's nephews/nieces/cousins that we don't get to see very often. One of them was repeatedly saying "Wendy's" (in reference to the restaurant) fairly regularly to show his devotion. A couple days into it I responded with "Carl's" every time.
• Archery. We were taught how to shoot a bow and arrow (though I vaguely remember this skill from our Boys Brigade -- basically Boy Scouts run by our church -- days)
• The "East vs. West" ping pong tournament. Every year the West (or White Dallas professors) challenge the East (or Asian Dallas professors) to a ping pong tournament -- best 3 of 5. Usually, the East dominates, without even allowing a win for the West... but the West got close this year bringing it game 5. Of course, this is due to the fact that the guest musician -- who often sounded like he was singing Disney songs by the music, and worship songs by the lyrics -- was a secret weapon.
• Playing my guitar. This is something I haven't done in about a year. It was nice just having the time to pull it out and play a little... but since I haven't played in so long, my fingertips could only take so much.
• Being upgraded (for free) to a deluxe room. Basically, we got moved from a smaller cabin-like room to a hotel room with a porch. An amazing blessing!
  

There was so much more... and I'll probably come back and edit this post as I think of everything, but it was a total blessing. If you ever get the chance to go, you should definitely do it!

Simpsonize Me!

Have you ever seen one of those cartoonist places (usually found at carnivals, fairs, and the like) where they offer to draw you as a cartoon character? I've always been curious what I would look like if I were to shell out the cash for it. Well, I stumbled across an article that made mention of this Simpsonize website that takes your photo and turns you into a Simpsons-style character. Out of the same curiosity described above, I made the decision to test it out. The first few times I tried it, the site was so busy that I just kept getting errors. But, this past Sunday afternoon was clearly a time for victory. I have added the Simpsonized versions of myself and my wife for your viewing pleasure... but you should check it out if you haven't seen it before... it's pretty fun!