Last Friday at work, all kinds of memos went out about the upcoming May 1 Immigration Rally to be held at the state capitol. Organizers said there could be up to 100,000 people attending, whereas previously the biggest demonstration ever held at the Capitol was only 10,000. The usual steps were taken when there is a big event downtown: the state patrol was called in, helicopters would be on hand, barricades were placed along some streets, and other streets would be closed. We had a special staff meeting Friday afternoon to let us know what was going on and that we would be open for business (and that anyone who decided not to come in on Monday would have to sign leave). I made a mental note to bring something for lunch so I wouldn’t have to go out in the throngs. Some people decided not to come in rather possibly get stuck downtown in the masses. One of my bosses said it would be like the Olympics again where the streets were turned into rivers flowing with people. I was looking forward to seeing it.
Katie Digs a Hole
Katie’s pretty much recovered from her surgery and back to normal Katie things like digging holes in the backyard. She was very excited about something in that hole today (probably a chipmunk).
Lucky Lucky Charms
I was at Kroger last night buying some milk and walked through the cereal aisle to see if they had any good deals. For a while now they’ve had Cocoa Pebbles for $2.15 when just about any kind of cereal there is costs more than $3.00. I hadn’t had any of that in a while and I had some healthier cereals at home already so I picked up a box. Further down the aisle I saw that Lucky Charms were 2 for $4.00. But then I saw on the front that every box included a free iTunes purchase on the inside. That was like getting 2 boxes of cereal for $2.02! So I put the Cocoa Pebbles back.
Once I was at home, I tried to be very careful cutting the box without cutting the bag, but I wound up cutting the bag anyway. The box also said that 1 in 10 redemptions also would receive 5 extra free songs. Even with 2 boxes those were long odds. Tonight I entered the web address www.itunes.com/redeem in Mozilla and it started a 3 megabyte download before I gave up and started Internet Explorer which instantly opened iTunes (I guess Mozilla was downloading iTunes, that would have been a wait at 50.6 kbps). Anyway, I entered the code and instantly received 6 free songs!
Katie’s Day
4:05 AM: Think I’ll walk around a while. If I do this long enough maybe I’ll get to go outside.
4:15 AM: He’s getting up! Yay. I get to go outside.
4:16 AM: I want back in please.
4:17 AM: I want back in
4:19 AM: Let me in!
4:20 AM: Back inside. Zzzzz.
Idea for Apple
Apple has been very successful with iTunes and the iPod. Maybe it has even helped them sell more iMacs. But clearly it is time for them to move on. I don’t just mean little tweaks like the rumored iPod phone or full-screen video player (which I hope comes out in July and will be cheap enough that I can pay for it with AdSense and Amazon money). And I was thinking about the nano today and how easy it would be to bend or break it while it is in your pocket and I thought a good idea would be to put a hinge in it like a small cell phone.
Actually I’m thinking that Apple could really beef up iTunes, maybe calling it iHome or something and really make a big play on home automation and controlling home entertainment systems. I think they could put all the ingredients together by using wireless networks to stream programming to home stereos and TV’s. They could record HDTV programming from cable, satellite, or broadcast signals (like Tivo), along with letting you download music and video either to own or rent. Maybe they could find a way to combine DRM and let you rip your own DVD’s to store on a giant hard drive. And it would all be served by an Apple computer. You could surf the net too and do it via a remote control (which could be a Blackberry or iPod). If a TV incorporated Airport you could completely eliminate all the wires connecting to it except for power.