From the Desk of David Pogue: An Ode to Bill
===============================================

A funny thing is going on with Microsoft these days;
It's got its fingers in our lives in 50 thousand ways.
There's Windows on our palmtops, and, of course, on the PC,
There's Windows for our dashboards, too, and even for TV.

It's not enough our offices run Windows every day;
Now Microsoft, with X-Box, wants to tell us how to play.
The giant has made it clear that next it wants the Net --
As close to global-domination lust as you can get.

But what's to stop the company from widening its sights?
So many juicy markets -- they must keep Bill Gates up
nights.
If there's a product anywhere with profit in its path,
The Redmond gang is really good at figuring the math.

Consider all the fun we'll have if things go on this way:
In 20 years, a Windows watch will speak the time of day,
We'll download patches for our phones, buy upgrades for the
fridge,
We'll put our homes in Safe Mode, and reboot the Brooklyn
Bridge.

We'll grow up eating Window-O's from MSN.com,
We'll buy a Windows tux and take our dates to ActiveProm.
We'll marry, spend our honeymoon at MS Pyramids,
Then go upstairs for ActiveSync and soon have PocketKids.

And over time, the phrase "Pay as you go" will fade away;
The world Bill Gates imagines will be more, "Go as you pay."
Yes, innovation, privacy and choice will suffer -- still,
We'll get to see a U.S. first: a trillion-dollar Bill.

Well, the Gorge Amphitheater was an amazing site. The view was most spectacular. You can read reviews and see photos here. Radiohead also put on a fantastic show. The only downside was the campground. We were stuck next to a bunch of underage drinkers away from parents and adult supervision. Bart had been anticipating the group to somehow invade our space all night, and it finally happened at 3:30 a.m. The drunkest kid got into my car to pass out. Bart immediately was there pulling him out and scolding the entire group. Everything was quiet after that. It's funny to think that we acted like that too, at some point in our lives.

After work today Bart and I will be heading for the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington (near Martha) to see Radiohead on Saturday night. I am somewhat dreading the drive (approximately six hours), but after reading some reviews of Wednesday night's show at Red Rocks, I am bubbling with excitement to see this band live. Nothing short of brilliant, most people seemed to say. Let's hope the weather is good too.

Feels like summer is here early. Beautiful weather with lots of sun. Just rode the Eastbank Esplanade yesterday evening, then continued over the Hawthorne Bridge, on to Waterfront Park on the west side, then over the Interstate Bridge back to the east side. A wonderful five mile or so jaunt that is highly recommended!

These square watermelons are so surreal looking. The green in the photo is so vibrant and striking that it just adds to the weirdness of the melons.

Go Avalanche! The Stanley Cup has got to be the coolest trophy in sports.

Wow! I, along with almost everyone else who cares about basketball, want the Sixers to cream the Lakers. However, I didn't think it could be done. I thought the Lakers were on their way to another sweep. It was to my great surprise that Philly was able to send the game into overtime and then pull out the win. I admit that I even turned off the game with three minutes left in OT because it looked as if the Lakers would be able to maintain their five-point lead. I haven't been a Philly fan all season, so I didn't really know the extent to which Allen Iversen and the rest of his team could scrap together and come out ahead. Iversen really is amazing! Go Sixers!

Since first twins, Jenna and Barbara, don't seem to know the legal drinking age (or rather, can't seem to drink without getting caught), a countdown has been established for them.

I just visited Evhead and was surprised to see a similar post!

I watched Requiem for a Dream yesterday, not expecting to like it much because of knowing how depressing the story was going to be. However, I ended up loving the movie, particularly Darren Aronofsky's visualization techniques: the split screen, the hip-hop style montages, the fast motion sequences. These techniques really helped to tell the story of the various characters. True, the subject matter (mostly toward the end) was depressing, although I think quite realistic. Ellen Burstyn should have won the Oscar for this performance. In fact, all the characters that were focused on–Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, and Marlon Wayans–were superb. The DVD has a great menu too.

"And sometimes a fast smack does fix the problem, you know..." We're talking about computers here.

You know you have seen an excellent movie when it causes you to want to research more information and reflect on how fortunate one's situation is. Such is the case with Before Night Falls, the memoir of exiled Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas. I have never read any works by Arenas, but I now want to. I thought Julian Schnabel created a moving film that documented Arenas' life in an interesting manner. Great acting by Javier Bardem and small cameos by Johnny Depp and Sean Penn (whom I didn't even recognize). I had rented the DVD and particularly enjoyed the documentary shorts that were included with the special features. I loved this movie much more than I expected I would. Next up is Requiem for a Dream.

I've just read entries from two separate blogs, both by males, that have to do with romance and marriage. Anil says that he wants "to not forget that I am at heart a romantic, that I aspire to be worthy of, and do justice to, a commitment to share my life with another person. That this most personal of relationships is important enough to require the most public of displays. That we are our best selves when we give our love to another." And then Jack says "when i'm eighty-five years old, or ninety-five years old, or one-hundred-and-five years old, i won't have lapsed into the expected stereotypes of the 'male.' i'll remember who i was when i was sixteen, twenty-one, twenty-four.. and i'll remember why i got married in the first place." It's interesting to me that men think these kinds of thoughts about marriage. I usually assume that men never think about marriage. I guess I never really think about marriage. But it's nice to think about in the way that Anil and Jack expressed.

I would die for a TiPB, but the new iBook is pretty cool too. Check out this iBook that was painted. Directions on how to paint your own iBook are included.