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Passion

Love iTunes But Amazon Is My Mistress

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While I love all that the iTunes Store has to offer, I have a secret. I’ve been cheating on iTunes with my mistress also known as the Amazon MP3 Store. Yes, Amazon is my dirty little ho. I can find similar offerings on both iTunes and Amazon, but sometimes Amazon offers up a deal too good to resist.

For example, take U2’s latest CD, No Line on the Horizon. iTunes has the deluxe version that includes bonuses for $17.99. Today, Amazon has a special offer on the regular version of the CD going for $3.99. How can you not give Amazon some lovin’ with deals like these? And I don’t really care about MP3 versus AAC formats.

So I’ll typically shop iTunes first, but I can’t deny that lusty Amazon anymore.

Woz Is So Going Down on DWTS

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Yikes! Cnet has this exclusive video of Steve Wozniak practicing his dance routine for the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars.

He’s not going to go very far in the competition…

The Lightness of Twitter

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One of the things I’ve noticed about using Twitter is its “lightness.” Once you’re using Twitter’s microblogging service, you’re not tied to or heavily dependent on any particular Twitter client. You can use the default Twitter web interface, or you can try other web UIs that improve on Twitter shortfalls like Ginx.

There are Twitter clients for mobile platforms like Twitterriffic or Tweetie for the iPhone. And there are a ton of desktop clients such as Tweetdeck and Twhirl.

With all these various client apps, you can easily switch without losing much. Because Twitter is so light and specific in functionality, trying out various apps ain’t nothing (try changing email clients – what a pain). I’ve now switched to Twhril since it better manages multiple Twitter accounts, but I also use the Twitter web and Ginx web interfaces and Tweetie while mobile.

Disappointing Dessert Finishes Off Top Chef

Top Chef Season 5’s finale featured the trio of Stefan, Carla, and Hosea going head to head, simply creating their best meals for the panel of judges. Stefan dominated his way to the finals, Carla picked up serious momentum, and Hosea had been steady all season.

But to finish off this season of Top Chef, it came down to a disappointing dessert – not the ones Stefan and Carla created but Hosea’s victory. Yes, Hosea won the title of Top Chef, yet it feels anti-climatic. Going into the finals, it was Stefan’s title to lose, but Carla was definitely in her groove in New Orleans. It just never seemed like Hosea had a chance. But what’s that saying again? “That’s why you play the game.”

Carla was immediately out of the running as soon as her souffle fell apart. She didn’t stick to her cooking style of love and soul and let too much of her sous chef, Casey, influence her dishes. The judges immediately recognized the non-Carla-ness of her dishes.

Stefan was unflappable the entire season. Even getting stuck preparing a surprise alligator soup for the first time, he pulled it off. His dessert was welcomed but didn’t impress which is more or less telltale of Stefan. He executes to perfection, knows what to do, but his dishes are, well, too jaded. He’s been there, he’s done that. So he can kill all the elimination challenges, but when left to his own free choice and creativity, he admitted he has difficulty. As a well experienced, life-long chef, I think Stefan forgot his deep down passion for cooking.

Which is why Hosea won. He felt like he had something to prove. All finalists said that but Hosea (and Carla) really felt that. With Carla faltering and Stefan producing solid but not soulful enough dishes, Hosea managed to create a balanced menu showing off consistency along with his passion.

Congratulations are in order for Hosea, but I must admit that I am disappointed with this dessert.

Larry Bird Is Still Ill

After watching this highlight reel of Legendary Larry Bird, he’s still an ill baller. Those funky moves and that all-seeing vision for some sick passes!

Music background is by Eminem with some profanity.

Will Ginx Groups Obfuscate Fandom?

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I’m digging the concept of Ginx groups to help filter tweets.  Basically, you establish a Twitter account and follow other Twitter users to form a “group.”  Now in Ginx, you follow that newly created user/group, and you’ll see  Tweets from all the followed members of that group.  Pretty ingenious!

So instead of you following Twitterers, you can follow the group that contains Twitter users you’re interested in.  So what’s the big deal?  Well, if you’re a Ginx user, you can use this Twitter group as a filter and hide the tweets from followed members of this group.  Why?  Well, I like AllTop and Guy Kawasaki, and did you know that he LOVES hockey!  I mean really loves hockey.  I mean really, really loves hockey.  I mean he loves hockey in an incredibad “MF-er, I’m going to cut my b@11s off, and die for hockey!” kind of way.  You get the point?  I know he loves hockey so sometimes I don’t want to see umpteen tweets that he loves hockey (or whatever new AllTop topic just launched) so instead of wading through these, I can simply hide them using Ginx groups.

So now I’m thinking, if Ginx groups catches on, will your count of followers need adjusting?  Instead of having individuals follow you, you might have a ton of groups following you, possibly reducing your overall followers.  Yet, each group might have a bunch of followers.  So how do you balance this out and not obfuscate your fandom?

Quick Look at Dancing with the Stars Season 8

No particular insight, just reading the descriptions of the contestants for the upcoming 8th season of Dancing with the Stars.

Belinda Carlisle represents the cougars and is the senior this year. Wasn’t she just one of your heart throbs in high school? Getting old! “Heaven on Earth” is paired with Jonathan Roberts who usually gets these assignments.

Speaking of stereotyping, Kym Johnson dances with funny man David Alan Grier. Kym usually partners with those full of personality, dancing skills aside.

Singer Jewel is making her debut with a DWTS newbie, Dmitry Chaplin. Will Jewel outlast her husband, Ty Murray, also dancing on the show?

The “King of Cowboys” Ty Murray can lasso cows and ride bulls but can he paso doble? Like his wife, Ty is dancing with a newcomer Chelsie Hightower.

At 17 years old and an Olympian, Shawn Johnson must be the predicted front runner. That and she’s dancing with former DWTS champion, Mark Ballas.

Mark’s good friend and also champion, Derek Hough, has a lil’ partner as in Lil’ Kim. Is Lil’ Kim too much diva to take criticism from the judges?

Gilles Marini is the international hottie I think since I don’t know who he is. Can Cheryl Burke take this Parisian to the finals?

Steve-O does outlandish stunts for television. Will he incorporate that jackass bravery (or stupidity) in his performances with Lacey Schwimmer?

Nancy O’Dell and Tony Dovolani? Unless Nancy can bring it, this pair is mid round material at best.

A Wild Thing (and we’re not talking about her partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy), Denise Richards and Maks have looks on their side. If Denise has any dancing skills, this duo can do some damage.

Can the defensive minded NFL HOF-er Lawrence Taylor tackle the dance floor competition? So far, NFL players have done well on DWTS with their unusual mix of size and agility. LT’s partner is Edyta Sliwinska who should be in the DWTS Hall of Fame.

Jewel and hubby, Ty Murray, are facing off and so are newly engaged Maks and Karina. But dancing together is Chuck Wicks and his gal pal, Julianne Hough.

Rounding out the athletes and performers is the geek, Steve Wozniak. Woz was with Apple in the early years but left in 1985. I hope he’s been practicing his dances since then. You think Steve Jobs is difficult to work with? Try dancing with the aggressive perfectionist, Karina!

I can’t pick a clear winner. Shawn Johnson is an obvious vote. LT and Edyta could be good if LT ain’t too banged up from his NFL years. Denise and Maks might be smokin’ but she’s foul mouthed. Who has the style, attitude, and dancing ability to be this year’s champion?

Woz is Ready to Waltz

Steve Wozniak, the other “steve” of Apple, is ready to waltz in Season 8 of Dancing with the Stars. He’s paired with Karina Smirnoff who recently married other DWTS alum, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Does Woz have what it takes outside of the tech arena? Will the geeks maximize their wardialing and multiple email accounts to vote for one of the founders of Apple? Please have pity!

DWTS starts on March 9.

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