Barbaro passes away

I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that this isn't news. Barbaro was a horse. He's been euthanized. He ran in the Kentucky Derby and won. He broke his leg in the Preakness and it was all down hill from there. End of story.

However, I had to sit through something on NPR today that made me gag. They made him out to be this underdog winner who fought against the odds and inspired a country.

First of all, he's a horse. No one is inspired by a horse any more than they are inspired by a giraffe.

Second of all, he's a horse. He ran in circles so rich people could make money.

Third of all, HE'S A HORSE! He didn't bring attention to AIDS. He didn't bring attention to poverty. He didn't work to balance the wage discrepancies between men and women. He didn't work to protect us against nuclear proliferation. He didn't work to further the work of Dr. Martin Luther King. He didn't travel the world teaching kids about tolerance. He didn't support saving the rain forests. He wasn't even a member of PETA. He didn't do any of the above mentioned things, all of which could arguably require some sort of remembrance with his passing. No, he was a horse. He ran in circles. Now he's dead.

I don't understand why people put so much time an effort into trying to make a story out of this. It's a horse people. It's owners aren't even that remarkable, nor did any of them partake in any of the activities I mentioned in the paragraph above.

There is no touching story about a boy and his horse. There is no benefit to be had from studying Barbaro's life. There's nothing. Just a horse who ran in circles for money.

Instead of spending time covering something that has zero impact on any real person's life, go knock on the White House's door to find out why the price of gas has barely budged even when oil continues to sink. That's a story. A story that the average person could get something out of.

-Steve

Iguana has penis removed after week long erection

I saw this on BoingBoing and thought it was hilarious:

"Iguana erection update: vets at a zoo in Brussels have chopped off the penis of an iguana called Mozart, so he can walk again after suffering with a permanent erection.
...

Zoo officials decided on the operation after keepers called in experts when they saw the iguana was in some discomfort, and having trouble walking because of the permanent erection."

I wish I got that kind of attention when I had an erection.

Read the original story here.

Link to the BoingBoing story here.

-Steve

The Show With ZeFrank

I don't know if anyone else has come across this site but it's freaking great.

The Show With ZeFrank, check it out.

-Steve

So today is the big day...for Apple

So today is the big day for Apple. The big keynote speech. The day Steve Jobs changes everything. Or so the hype would have you believe.

I switched from a Windows based desktop to an Apple based laptop back in August. Let me tell you, best thing I could ever do. My home computing is just much better now, and significantly more fun. Also, I use the term "based" above on purpose. You see, I also run Windows on my Apple laptop, when I want to. It's a nice plus. You can't run OSX on a Windows computer. I get the best of both worlds. Luck me.

At any rate, back to my original statement. Today is the big keynote statement by Steve Jobs at Macworld. I've been waiting for this for a while now. I always get geeked up about it. All his keynote speeches have a certain vibe around them. It's am amazing little media frenzy Apple has created for itself. For each person who craps on Apple for being so secret I offer you this one argument. Tell me the last time HP or Dell had hype introducing a new item. Now, tell me when they did it twice in a row. Okay, now three times in a row. Can't do it, can you.

The point is, Apple created this hype machine years ago and it does wonders for them, WONDERS. It's at the point today where Apple doesn't even need to add to the hype by dropping little hints here and there. Nope, the media and financial firms do it all for them. Everyone loves to speculate, talk up, say they know, and otherwise speculate on what might be announced during the keynote.

Fact is, this is simply the best hype machine for any tech company there is. HP, Dell, Gateway, Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, LG, and anyone else out there should take note. This is how it's done. Financial analysts hate it. They say public companies need to make it know what they're working on, for the sake of the stock holders. WILL SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE STOCK HOLDERS!

The only other show that used to generate this amount of hype for new tech was E3, and now that's gone. Once a year Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony would have their big presentations, setting the stage for the upcoming year, and maybe the year after that. It was the only thing that compared. And not it is gone.

I'm excited, but I don't think anything Earth shattering will come out today. I'm interested in the possibilities of an Apple branded cell phone. So far I'm the only one out there saying that they'll have to models. One named the MacPhone, the other, more upscale and smart phone version, the MacPhone Pro. But hey, that's me, and what do I know.

Now, I could be wrong about there not being anything earth shattering. Apple's banners and image say "The Last 30 Years Were Just The Begining." What could this mean? I think it means that Apple is going to start offering a whole line of consumer products. Phone, Computer, TV, Media Center, Radios, iPods, Alarm Clocks, Toasters, the works. I mean, Apple could do to appliances what it did to computers, make them sexy. If they do, watch out Cuisinart.

I'll have a full run down later tonight after work with a Podcast, both in generic MP3 as well as SUPER ENHANCED M4A FORMAT. In other words, it'll have pictures that display if you play it in iTunes or on your iPod, no big deal really.

I'll be tuned in to all the blogs that cover the presentation and I'll watch it myself later today. Should be fun. Glad I take lunch from 12:00-1:00 EST, just in time for the keynote. Whoopie!

-Steve