I Blame Justin Long

My old PC died last night. It gasped, gave a quick shudder and shut its eyes forever. I've known for awhile that my poor PC had one foot in the grave, so in its last month or so, we've been carefully making succession plans. The back up hard-drive is full of files, the research on replacement computers is done. So when PC flashed it's final screen at me and faded to black, I mourned for about a minute and then put on my shoes, grabbed the dog and headed to the Apple Store.

I freely admit that it was Apple's clever marketing campaigns that drew me in. It all started with the iPhone. Who can resist all of those fantastic applications? Clearly, I can't - and now I cannot remember what life was like pre-iPhone. I mean, how did I live without a phone that can act as a compass, a level, play music and find the nearest public restroom for me all at the same time? So, now the transformation is complete. I'm now a Mac user. Although, I'm not sure I can qualify myself as Mac "user" quite yet - that would suggest that I actually know how to use my Mac...... WHICH I DON'T. If you need to find me over the next couple of weeks, I'll be over here.

And then there were 60 (technically)...

Shamon

I was surprised by how sad I was the night Michael Jackson died. I wouldn't have called myself a fan prior to Thursday night, but after his death I felt a strong desire to listen to his whole discography again. I blame MTV. It took Jackson's death for them to start playing music videos again, and the night he died they did nothing but replay old MJ videos. All of a sudden I was transported back to my childhood, singing along to Billie Jean and PYT. Soon I found myself searching through closets and boxes of old tapes hunting for my copy of Bad or Thriller. I found neither - but after pouring $16.99 down the iTunes drain to buy songs I know I already own, somewhere, all the old MJ classics are back in my life.

Many aspects of his life were disturbing, and I'm not one of those people that's ready to put that aside now that he's passed on - but I'm willing to admit that in elementary/junior high school I was a fan and his music added context to many of my formative years. If that doesn't deserve my respect as a fan, it at least deserves $16.99. Shamon, MJ. Shamon.

Poop Expert

Yes, that's what I said. I'm a Poop Expert, duly certified by the fine folks at the Minnesota Zoo. Jealous? There's no need to be, because you too can become a Poop Expert. Head on over to the Minnesota Zoo's new "educational" site called "Who Pooped" and see how well you can match up animals to their dung. There are plenty of visuals, real and animated, as well as sound effects galore. Have you ever heard an ostrich break wind? Well...here's your chance. Enjoy!

Open Letter to Arlen Specter

Dear Senator Specter,

WTF?

Sincerely,
Random Muser

P.S. Welcome to the party.

I Totally Get How This Kid Feels

I twitter. It started last August when I noticed that dooce had a link on her site to her twitter page. Twitter is hard to explain, and I have yet to convince any of my friends to join. I mostly follow the twitterings of blog authors, politicos, reporters, local businesses and the odd celebrity. My own tweets typically consist of inane musings, political observations, and the odd random link.

I've discovered many interesting websites from other people's tweets...and this evening I believe I ran across the mother of all links. Demi Moore (aka @mrskutcher) posted a link to this utilitarian website. The site is essentially a White Pages for the best viral websites/youtube videos (and by viral, I don't mean to suggest that you should be worried about updating your anti-spyware software before visiting these sites...although you can never be too safe).

The title of the web page reads: "GREG RUTTER'S DEFINITIVE LIST OF THE 99 THINGS YOU SHOULD HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED ON THE INTERNET UNLESS YOU'RE A LOSER OR OLD OR SOMETHING," and while I admit that earlier today I was contemplating the rapidly closing window of my youth, I don't consider myself to be an old fogy quite yet (I mean, I twitter for goodness sake), so I decided that I needed to check out several of the links that I hadn't come across yet. That's when I came across THE FUNNIEST YOUTUBE VIDEO EVER. It's right here, and you must check it out. I laughed so hard at this video that I cried and had to cross my legs to keep from peeing my pants. Perhaps the fact that I can completely relate to this kid speaks volumes about me...or maybe it's just a really funny video. You decide. Oh, and if you know where I can get some of what that kid had, let me know.

Adios, Au Revoir and Auf Wiedersehen

I'm off. Flight to San Juan, via Newark, leaves in 6 hours. Not sure if I'll get any sleep tonight as I'm still doing laundry, but who cares...soon enough I'll be napping on the beach. On the itinerary, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados. Oh, and rum. Lots and lots of rum. I hope my liver is up for the challenge.