iPhone Development here I come.

Overview-hero

Just ordered my MacBook Pro so I can start playing around with iPhone development... Well that, and because I am satisfying my technolust.

Here are the specs... Just in time for Christmas!

  • 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
  • 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
  • 128GB Solid State Drive
  • SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
  • Backlit Keyboard (English) / User's Guide
  • Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter
  • 1-year subscription
  • AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll

FCC says WoW causes College Dropouts.

"You might find it alarming that one of the top reasons for college drop-outs in the U.S. is online gaming addiction - such as World of Warcraft - which is played by 11 million individuals worldwide."

World_of_warcraft

This article references the FCC Commissioner's speech on telecom.

In college, we had SF2, MUDs, and 1200 baud modems. Oh and we walked a mile in snow barefoot to get to class. Isn't the real reason for dropping out of college lack of discipline, lack of interest, or a future as a Web2.0 gazillionaire?

Blagojevich is screwed

The Chicago Tribune reports that IL Governor:
Blagojevich is accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy, including alleged attempts by the governor to try to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife.

We need to add "vacant Senate seats" to this list:
www.cracked.com/sites/cracked/images/favicon.gif&source=http%3A//cdn-i.dmdentertainment.com/funpages/cms_content/16862/video_16862_480x360.flv&demand_show_replay=true&TITLE=5%20Things%20You%20Shouldn%27t%20Be%20Able%20to%20Buy%20on%20eBay&height=37&demand_related=1&demand_preroll_source=http%3A//cdn-www.cracked.com/sites/cracked/images/videoplayer/Pre-Roll1b.swf" />

Robert Grant
, FBI special agent in charge of the Chicago office, said the arrest of Blagojevich should serve as notice that "business as usual will no longer be tolerated. That selling your office for personal gain is a thing of the past."

So, selling offices in Chicago politics used to be business as usual. Guess it fits with the stereotype. ;)

Oops! We are stealing from Ukrainian arms traders...

I've been catching up on this whole crazy Somali Pirate saga. When I first heard the stories, it summoned imagery of  5 determined ex-fishermen in crappy little speedboats with AK-47s, a grappling hook, (and the most important factor, nothing to lose), pulling up and hijacking ships 1000 times the size of theirs...
(download)

This Wikipedia List shows a list of ships that have been attacked.

Here is a pretty crazy one: On September 25th, Somali Pirates hijack the MV Faina, then shortly afterwards discover that it is loaded with: "33 battle tanks and large supply of grenade launchers and ammunition", headed, possibly illegally, to Kenya or Sudan.

Maybe I've watched too many Hollywood movies, but it seems to me that stealing from Ukrainian arms dealers is something that James Bond or Batman does, not a bunch of guys on a dinghy dressed in rags and bandannas... and certainly, not by accident. The self-awareness (or lack thereof) displayed by these pirates is pretty astounding... Their "spokesman" Sugule Ali:

He said that so far, in the eyes of the world, the pirates had been misunderstood. "We don't consider ourselves sea bandits," he said. "We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard." 

So, after discovering this possibly illegal payload, the decided to demand a ransom of $35 million. Maybe they realize that they're potentially dealing with the Russian Mafia, maybe it's being surrounded by the US Navy, or maybe they are just starting with a high bid, but they quickly lower their ransom demands. Last report I've seen is it's down to $3.5 million.

If you ask me, the Ukranians should have just sent Les Grossman in to negotiate:

Anyway, it's a crazy world these days, and while I browsing around on this topic, google adsense seems to have outsmarted itself, serving up an ad that reads "Great Somalia Vacation Rates! Plan your Getaway Today and Save." Somehow, I don't think they're getting many click-throughs...

...and here is an actually well written account of the situation.