Impressively/sadly I got the mobile version working before the desktop one.

sgrizzle.me.

American Psycho on IMDb

For more information on what the changes in trash service mean, and what to do (whether for or against) visit: http://talktrashtulsa.com

Having just finished “Torchwood Miracle Day” (thanks Netflix) I can safely say the fourth season capitalized on all of the disappointment of “Children of Earth” (aka season 3) and took it to a new level.

For those who don’t know, Torchwood is a Doctor Who spinoff, similar to the X-files with a new alien mystery every week and a mysterious crack team operating above the law to save the world.

But in the latest season, Gone are the adventures of a team of great people doing great things and replacing it is a storyline made up of 85% “struggling to work despite being chased by the man” combined with 5% “irrelevant interpersonal storyline” 5% “reinforcing that Jack likes guys” and 5% plot. And as a side note, the character of Jack is someone who hits on men, women, aliens, etc. he’s an intergalactic flirt, basically. In this series he is graphically conquering any and all mid-twenties white males he can find, and nothing else.

I understand the creator’s intent to find a wider audience on a new network, but he would’ve been better off doing this as an arc in a larger series, or a miniseries at most. In retrospect, episodes 2-6 of this 10 episode series seem to add almost nothing to the storyline.

If you haven’t seen Torchwood, watch seasons 1-2… 3 if you’re daring, but pretend 4 doesn’t exist.

There have been many posts, tweets and stories in the last few days about the passing of Steve Jobs. He was not a miracle worker, not a relative, and I’ve likely never even been in the same state as him. So why was I upset over the news? I’ve never even owned a Mac PC until a couple of years ago. People mourning this “one guy” was even making others upset, leading to much spirited debate about his life which I considered to be disrespectful, but still I felt there is a reason that I and others care about his passing.

It took a few days, but I finally figured it out…

Growing up, all I knew of Apple I saw at school. I did some BASIC programming on an Apple IIe, worked in the library checking out books on an Apple IIgs. After that I didn’t see another one until college when I studied them a little bit to learn how to setup networking on them, but I only spent an hour on it. I didn’t get into Apple, but i did get into music.

While I can’t remember a time I didn’t have a computer at home, I didn’t own an Apple product until about 2005, when I got an iPod mini as a present. Apple’s first attempt at a compact iPod had durability and build quality like I’d only seen in a few Sony products previously. I loaded a lot of MP3′s on it, and even tried out this “podcasting” thing. The click-wheel on the iPod seemed to be genius to me, and amazed me in the same ways adding a mouse to my PC did.

I’m a huge geek and followed tech news incessantly. I had a cell phone and used PDA’s at work (Palm II, Palm V, iPaq, etc.) In late 2006 and early 2007, rumors were swirling that Apple may combine my cell phone, PDA and iPod into one device. Just the idea made my head spin. When the announcement finally came about the “iPhone” I was amazed. I started selling things (including my iPod mini) and saving money because I knew this thing was going to be groundbreaking, and I wanted to be part of it.

Fast forward a few years. I am writing this post, as well as doing a lot of other work, on a MacBook I bought off of Craigslist. My Apple iPhone is the Chewbacca to my Han Solo, the R2 to my Luke. The vast majority of the communication I do is handled by a device the size of a pack of cards. I organize my calendar, my budget, my workload, my workouts and about everything else. when I am walking or working out, I am using my ipod classic. When in the car, I’m using it to listen to music and podcasts. I read, watch TV, take notes, shop and do many other “internet things’ using my Apple iPad. I don’t have a desktop at home and only pull out my laptop for about 20% or so of the “computer things” I do outside of work.

We have basically dropped cable at home in favor of AppleTV boxes which allow us to access the shows we really want to watch without the huge monthly fees. After using a half-dozen different routers, my home internet access is managed by an Apple Airport. That same network lets my kids use Facetime on the Apple iPhone to video chat me at work, when they have “important news” to share.

My kids’ favorite activities? They love watching Pixar movies (Pixar being another Steve Jobs creation) and listening to music, which they do on iPod shuffles. When on long car rides, the kids like playing physics puzzle games like Angry Birds, playing memory match games and drawing on their parent’s iPhones and iPad.

Have I joined some cult? No. Every one of these items was purchased over the last 4 years as they were the best choice to fill a need. The devices have broadened my family’s access to information and educational tools for the kids. They have saved us money, kept us entertained and they just work. With a large number of Apple products in our home, we have had only two minor problems and both were handled for free by Apple technicians in store without even a day’s downtime.

So why mourn Steve Jobs? Because the guy who showed how a company should be run, showed how technology should work, showed how technology could improve lives and provided the foundation for so many other things (Microsoft Windows, Google Android, etc) will not be around to inspire and push things forward anymore. The world of technology lost it’s 4-star general and war her, and in today’s world technology leader like Steve Jobs has more power to shape the world than any politician.

While my family and many others will continue to improve their lives through his products for years, it is sad to think that the person we have to thank for these great creations is no longer around to thank.

Some inspiring words on life and death from the man himself:
Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Address

The focus clearly seems to be on duplication, not innovation. However, you would think they would do a better job on it, if that was the focus.

Windows Internet Explorer on Mac OSX