Oh, look: there's a storm brewing in the Caribbean... tons of news stories, four full days of warning, and lo! likely not a piece of bread or bottle of water to be found on a shelf from Miami to Bangor. Me, I'm waiting for "Will this storm be another Katrina?" My answer? No, because the people that are in danger of the storm will prepare for it, unlike the residents of The Big Easy years ago.

Same weather - different storm.

QJ.net: Italian American group slams Mafia II, Take-Two responds An Italian American organization is demanding Take-Two Interactive to hold back the release of Mafia II, which will be out next week. Calling the game "a pile of racist nonsense that perpetuates stereotypes of Italian Americans as violent, murderous mobsters," UNICO National, which claims to be the largest Italian American service organization in the United States, is apparently not happy with the portrayal of Italians in the game.

Mission accomplished, UNICO: I wasn't even thinking about this title... didn't play Mafia, still stinging from let down of The Godfather II game, and I general let down when I saw what Mafia Wars on Facebook actually was... but after seeing this article... Now I want to buy this game.

Hallo? Hallo? Are you in there?

People following my Facebook status updates already know that I finally got my mitts on an iPhone 4. No yellow spots on the screen. No reception issues that I didn't have before. Using a Bumper, but that's because it's best "thin" lightweight case I've seen so far. One tiny scratch on the front already - before I left the house, in fact - and I have no idea how it got there... but with all things iPhone, you never notice the scratches once the screen is on and I really hate losing screen crispness with a screen protector. I'll just resell it in 11.5 months as "relatively used".

In other news, I'm watching the "reception issue" fallout with a good amount of amusement because it's beginning to effect the stock price, which I know is going to confuse Apple's leadership. You see, Apple is handling this PR problem just like they have every other one - "ignore it because we are right and people will forgive us! - but the difference this time is that the public they are expecting forgiveness from isn't the same that they are used to.

Ho boy, is that a mistake.

The Voice of God and The Boss both pass in the same week? The Yankees aren't going to have enough room for the black arm bands for both of these giants... I hope there's enough room in Monument Park for another plaque for Steinbrenner, because he needs to be in there. Plain and simple.

As the Voice of God, we can be sure Sheppard is going up; as a teacher for years, as well as PA announcer for the Yankees and Giants, he'll have a space reserved. The question then is where would you put George, after all those years of iron rule, strife, drama, and chaos? After all, the man did hire and fire Billy Martin until he died. Drove an unflappable Torre all the way to the west coast... yet seven World Series rings and eleven Pennants in 37 years?

God is a proven Yankees fan: George should be talking to Captain #9 about how to beast catch a game while wearing wings right about now.

Yes, folks, it has finally happened: I've been pushed from slightly annoyed to aghast to Pissed Off. And in the classic form, that I know makes Jolene laugh:

WHY ARE YOU MAKING IT SO HARD FOR ME TO GIVE YOU MONEY?!

Having been to the gym more often these days, this is no idle thread.

I did not pre-order an iPhone today. I planned to. I wanted to. In fact, there's nothing more irritating than trying to give someone money for a product and you have to jump through hoops before they let you. As you can guess, AT&T got involved in the transaction. It's easy to be pissed at AT&T but I'm even more enraged that Apple continues to stick with the most inefficient wireless carrier in the states. They are to the wireless industry what the New York Knicks are [currently] to the NBA. About as useful as teets on a bull.

Here's how today went.

Right now I'm caught in the middle of the announcement of iOS 4 and the coming E3 conference. Yes, I'm currently living two of the busier times of my work-year. The build-up to E3 is only matched by the build-up to the holiday season every year. The iOS stuff comes at a time when I'm jonesing for new hardware while still debating picking up and iPad; that bit will last most of the summer. Along side all of that, Office 2010 pops onto shelves this month next to about four different games that have raised at least one of my eyebrows, if not both. And running parallel to all of that, the patriarch of my Mom's side of my family has been laid to rest in CT, while I'm in WA. Long life, lots of family and friends, and has been popping all over the world over the last decade or two. A good run, I'd say, but since we lost my maternal grandparents so early on, he's been the root of our family tree for as long as I can remember. Ask any family member about something that happened in the past - last century or last week - and they all start with "Well, let's see. Junior was born in 31..." Yes, 1931. Yes, he was called Uncle Junior. And yes, he was my godfather. Any references to The Sopranos is strictly coincidental.

Perspective is sometimes... harder than it needs to be.

Download Squad: But... I wonder if Google spoke to Microsoft before publicly decrying and defaming the state of Windows security -- this is libel. This is yet another example of Microsoft unduly paying the price for old installations of Windows and Internet Explorer 6 -- something the CIO at Google should be held accountable for, not Microsoft. [...] And finally, what if Microsoft turned the tables on Google and simply banned you from searching it on Windows computers? What if 'google.com' was redirected to 'bing.com'?

The same reason why Apple can ship OSX to Europe with a Mail, Chat, Browser, and Media Player right out of the box: there's a set of rules for one company that doesn't apply to all.

It hasn't been a two way street for more years than I can remember.

Almost a note to self, but other people may find this useful: how to get Front Row to see videos that are hosted on a PC.

Use Aliases for SMB shares.

Does it make anyone else wonder how many times a prediction has to be made before it becomes perceived as reality?

Let me give you a hint: if you continuously tell someone it's 1:00pm, you'll eventually be correct once a day. Even if you don't have a clock.

MSN: Starting June 1, you'll have to pay sales tax if you buy candy or gum in Washington state. Local taxes vary, but in Seattle, for example, that's 9.5 cents more on a $1 candy bar.

It's only 9.5 cents right now - there's another effort to raise the sales tax to 9.7%.

What stands out here is the comment from the guy in eastern WA: he points out that the majority of the tax money goes to Olympia and Seattle - in all honesty, that's also where the majority of the taxes come from - but he asks "Why don't our government leaders take a pay cut to help out?" It's a valid question but does cutting back on the spending (and salary) of one government match the same amount of money that will come from 6,664,195 taking more money out of their pockets in taxes? Salary won't but it would be nice to see; spending is absolutely the thing that needs to get cut, but it won't... at least not in WA state. We'll be at 10% before the end of 2011 and still wondering where all the money went. We won't have a solution for the Alaskan Way Viaduct or a solution for SR520. No progress on light rail to the Eastside. Bunch of new parks and at least four new ways to increase recycling, I'm sure, but even that won't be tangible...

Makes me think I should have bookmarked the "our government is losing touch with the populous a little more each day" article I saw flitter by this morning...

MSN: In a recent interview held on New Zealand TV, the teen heartthrob fumbled over the word "German" saying, "We don't say that in America."

OK, so he claims he misheard the guy. I can understand that. Via Twitter, he's been "defending himself": Bieber even linked to another clip -- one, which he said, proved his familiarity with Germany and its native tongue. "Old interview where I count in GERMAN and translate my own name. Guess I know what German is," he tweeted.

Guess he's learning that if you're going to be "that" popular that anything you say can be rehashed via the media. Same thing is true for politicians. At least he can get his own voice out there to prove his own points right?

"Guess home schooling is working out. Do your research next time b4 making a lame attempt at hating on a 16 year old."

And just like that, you have the reason why I'll call him a bimbo: if you are going to defend how smart you are, maybe you should learn to use the language you claim is your own native tongue. This is akin to the one person telling another "no, you shouldn't use white out on a computer screen to fix mistakes - use black out instead!"

If you chide someone for "hating on something" while making a case for your own intelligence, you've already lost the argument.

NYT: A Lost iPhone Shows Apple’s Churlish Side [...] Apple executives have often behaved as though the ultimate custody and control of information lies with them, and the company has gone to extraordinary lengths to protect its interests. [...] As a consumer and admirer of Apple’s chronic innovation, it makes me queasy. [...] Then again, it will take you anywhere on the Web, unless it involves the use of Adobe’s Flash software, which Mr. Jobs has found wanting. The churlishness about Flash again goes to the issue of control, of wanting to have dominion over all aspects of the customer experience.

About freakin' time someone with a blog that's bigger than mine said something about it.

And they don't even get into the compiler lock down that recently got tucked into the SDK EULA...

Lot of crap swirling around the tech world the last couple off weeks... most of it leaves me with a bit of a headache and a combination of "what now?" and "what's next?" feeling.

Let's review.