(Leaked photo of prototype Apple Tablet, code name "K48")

(iPhone resting on supposed Tablet, image fits the rumored design "bigger iPhone".  Note he iconic "Home" button on the Tablet, similar to the Home button on our iPhones.)

A friend of mine on Facebook excitedly posted a status that the release of this supposed Apple Tablet would cause a major change.  Little to no surprise, there were many nay sayers as per usual.  Typical cynicism, stating that Apple isn't all that it's "cracked up to be".  Here was my response to a particular reply:

RE: "retarded, nothing apple makes will change the world" 

Maybe not change the world but surely creates/leads innovation in the industrial sectors which they bravely ventured into. 

Digital Music Player a.k.a. mp3 players. Owned 6 before ever buying an iPod (2nd gen). They were all based on flash memory (memory sticks, cards etc.) that could only store 32-512mb at a time. I owned the worlds first mp3 player Rio Diamond: 8 songs max. The core value and innovation of the Apple iPod, MASS STORAGE (hard drives able to hold GBs vs. MB= hours of music). It wasn't until this change that other companies decided they'd give a try at it and use mass storage, e.i. Creative Lab's "Jukebox". Hence forth the copy cat/killer effect. 

Same principle with the iPhone: now everyone (cell phone manufacturers) all of a sudden has their "touch screen" "iPhone killer" phone with a half-assed "app store". If you pose yourself as a "Apple killer", you've already shot yourself in the foot and become a "Mr. Me Too".

Beyond creating a handheld device, whether it be iPod or iPhone, they've created new markets behind those devices: iTunes store and App store which have revived and monetized the industries respectively.

Point being, a company that was solely a computer company delved into other markets, brought forth innovation and changed how the game was played.

Thanks for reading this till the end. 2 cents for you.

(Click image for full size)

Had a home cooked lunch, rested a bit and unpacked.  Made it downtown around 6:00 to enjoy the city bustle.  Walked the Magnificent Mile: photo op, shopped a bit at H&M and had some good ole Deep Dish.

More to come with photos! 

Original:

For Mara's Birthday, I decided to get a small group of friends and family together and hit up a comedy club. Something different. Something out of the ordinary. Something we haven't done before as peers.  We've always talked about it, but have never successfully accomplished such task.

When I think comedy club, one image comes to mind:

Dave Chappelle in the Nutty Professor, making a foolery of his audience.

Being exposed to what a comedy club "was like" at a young age, my understanding of it was skewed.  I had this deep fear that I might be called out and be made into a fool.Whatever the case, I decided to hell with it and make it happen, (we'll just sit in the back and avoid all eye contact with the comedian. lol.)

We all went to the Improv in Addison, with headliner Robert Hawkins.  Everyone in company was an Improv newbie, so we were all in the same boat, excited and looking forward to it.

With the Improv being a full service restaurant, the accommodations were awesome. Tables big enough to sit,eat and drink comfortably with your company, yet have a good view of the stage.  The area as a whole is quaint and makes the visit feel that much more of a personal experience. 

The opening acts were awesome and could have been headliners themselves.  Robert Hawkins performance was hysterically funny and yet so true.  The humor was blunt, crude, clever and witty,just how I like it.

We all had a blast and there was never a dull moment.  We all laughed our hearts out. My cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing continuously. The show was about 2 hours long, well worth it!

Looking back, I don't know why we never did this sooner!?  We will definitely be doing this more and more as time permits! You should join us.

Ah. The essence of a dying blogger.

It demonstrates how easy mobile banking is from a cell phone. A techie by nature, I noticed some minor details....

Apple's iPhone interface on a Verizon branded unit?! Compare the top menu bar of the above photo with a screen grab off of my iPhone (nevermind the fact that I'm on T-Mobile).

To make things really weird, look at what type of Verizon handheld it happens to be.

Look at the bottom buttons of the phone and compare it to the following:

Yes, it's Verizon's very own, "iPhone" killer, the Droid.  This image was pulled directly from Verizon's website.  Oddly enough, the branding in the commercial, reads Verizon at the top, and the advertised unit via Verizon's website, reads Motorola.

Team Apple is asking "What are we doing in a Verizon Droid... in a Bank of America commercial?!" and Team Verizon is wondering "What's Apple doing in our phone?!".  Somehwere in post editing, there was a fanboy prankwars.

 Bank of America, home of awkward tech branding.

In addition to Facebook uploaded videos, one could  also embed external videos via wallpost. This was the only way we could share random videos (from break.com, vimeo, youtube,etc.) on Facebook.  Remember, there's a difference between uploading videos to Facebook and "sharing" an embedded video on someone's wall.

Slowly but surely, I'm starting to see a trend:  Random "youtube" videos are now working themselves into the format of Facebook uploaded videos.  This means at one point in time, someone with a facebook profile had the actual copy of these random videos and are now uploading them to their personal Facebook profile..this would further imply:  they either downloaded a hardcopy via an additional download source, bittorrent and or p2p network like limewire or kazaa OR ripped the video format straight from the source using additional software.  This is too much work for someone to actually do, especially when you consider the general demographic of Facebook users: young, on the go, status updating social butterflies.

My point? I'm pretty sure there are fake accounts dedicated to uploading random crap straight into the servers of Facebook and/or this may be some sort of underground testing, hitting to the fact that facebook will soon try to become a central media hub like youtube to eventually attract more marketing and advertising.  Who knows. I'm just ranting without research.

Thanks!

Beer was good. Sausage was good. Company was good. Can't complain. One of the best Friday's I've had in a while.  Thanks Mara! Great idea.

This was where the "Food and Beverage" was served. The picture doesn't do it justice, as the hall was massive! Rows beyond rows of people drinking and eating.  There were many other booths serving and selling everything outside of this hall, I just didn't take too many photos; busy having a good time.

p.s. Found what looked like to be 20 dollars on the ground.  Picked it up and it was two 20's folded together.  Thanks for the "all expenses paid Oktoberfest" to whomever dropped it. :) As a kid, the naive and honest Mikey would turn it into lost and found.  Knowing people today, I'm sure anyone and everyone would have tried to claim it.  Shoot. Might as well be me.  Finders Keepers. Losers; don't ask for it back, you should keep better track of your money.

As Richard says, "You deserved it man."

We all played video games as kids.  I was never really a gamer.  I dabbled here and there and would play occasionally.  Only until my senior year of high school and freshman year of college, I discovered Halo and respectively Halo 2.  I became seriously addicted to playing Halo online via xbox LIVE;I skipped Cal to go downtown and buy Halo 2 on the day it released (I know I know: tsk tsk, what a nerd).   I played for hours on end.  Dormroom internet connection was blazing!  I had to literally disconnect my console and pack it away inside my dormroom closet, just to get some studying done.

I fell out of the loop and never upgraded to a 360, I subsequently never played or experienced Halo 3. :(

[/Foreword]

Why am I telling you this? Watching the following video evoked every bit of giddiness and adrenaline in my body.  It reminded me of the days before my xbox LIVE account expired and my xbox console was made obsolete by this thing called 360.  Halo, how I miss you.

WATCH IN HD!