Well, this has been a pretty good weekend... First off, Apple released a software update to the iPhone which not only installed the iTunes Wi-Fi Store, but also a number of nice improvements and fixes. Being able to double-click the home button to bring up the iPod controls from any screen is a major plus. There are some people upset that the software update disabled their hacked phones, but in reality, Apple gave everyone fair warning that it would likely happen and to not upgrade if you had done any modifications to your phone. Live and learn I guess; I only hope this ordeal doesn't make Apple reconsider releasing further updates in the future.

The Office didn't disappoint Thursday night as it picked up right where it left off last season. The next couple episodes are an hour long as well, and I can only imagine where they are going to take some of the stories. Yesterday, Cheryl and I drove over to Akron to spend some time with Brian, Trisha, and Matthew. We went to my favorite restaurant/bar, The Winking Lizard, and watching the Buckeyes cruise to another victory. Toledo was not so fortunate, as they lost two quarterbacks (probably for a couple games) and had to finish with a true-freshmen on their way to a loss at the Glass Bowl. I also picked up John Grisham's latest novel, Playing for Pizza at Borders; can't wait to get started on it tonight. Finally, I officially became a member of the Wolf Creek YMCA just down the road from my apartment. As luck would have it, today was the last day they were waiving the joiner fee, plus I get a discount on monthly dues thanks to Dana. I'm going to try and make it there three times a week, while playing Wii Sports on the other days for a fun little workout. =)

The title's right, this YouTube clip is of a high school marching band, from Washington Court House, OH no less, performing The Hand That Feeds off of the With Teeth CD. I don't know if I'm impressed or deathly afraid of what I'm seeing...

Tonight's season premiere of Heroes was pretty good in my opinion; My Name Is Earl and, more importantly, The Office premieres this Thursday... just wish I was going to be able to download these seasons via iTunes. Oh well, I'm sure I'll figure out something...

I just got back from my first trip to the "geniuses" at the Apple Store (in Ann Arbor, MI) to figure out what was wrong with my Macbook Pro. The short version of the story is that the laptop was no longer recognizing the battery, therefore it could only be used when plugged in -- not something that is very useful when you already have a desktop Mac (an iMac in my case). I was actually very impressed with the whole system: the genius bar is located in the back of the store, and they have two large LCD monitors behind them showing your place in line. They called my name a couple minutes after my appointment was supposed to start and worked with me quickly to determine that my battery was at fault and a new one would be needed. Unfortunately, batteries are only covered for 1 year after purchase (even with Apple Care), so I had to shell out $129 for a new one.

While I was waiting, I got to play around with the new iPods, the new keyboards, and look at different pairs of headphones (all while enjoying a Café Mocha from Starbucks). The new iPods are pretty nice, and the Nano is much better looking in person than in the pictures you can find online. While the shape does take some getting used to, it is an overall nice form factor if you're looking for a small, compact media player with video capabilities. I also got to play around with the iPod Touch, which is slightly thinner than the iPhone. I was most interesting in the iTunes Wireless Store, which I played around with for a couple minutes. I noticed all of the iPhone promotional posters showed this icon as well, so I expect to see the firmware update sometime in the very near future. The new Apple keyboards are pretty nice as well, and I'm seriously considering purchasing one with the $100 credit I received a week or so ago. They aren't wireless, but I'm growing somewhat tired of the latency when typing with my current Bluetooth one anyways.

As for the rest that has been going on since my last post, work has been keeping me busy, but I am finding it to be an enjoyable environment. I've already setup a couple linux servers (running Fedora) to perform various tasks for the department and am slowly getting into more and more every day. Outside of work, I went down to Ottawa last weekend for Morgan's 2nd bitrhday (pictures available in my iPhone gallery). I also took the mini-kegerator with me and, after some emergency engineering to fix a problem (I won't mention who caused the problem), we drank draft Buckeye beer all night long. This weekend was pretty quiet; yesterday I watched some college football while Cheryl and her friends were out of town, and today I made the trip to Ann Arbor I talked about above. I think this week I am going to look into joining the YMCA a mile or so from here; I'd really like to start working out again, especially since I'm done with classes now. We'll see how that goes...

This month's edition of Business Advantage Development News offers a little bit more information on the Granite City Food & Brewery scheduled to open at the nearly-completed Fallen Timbers complex in Maumee. According to the article, construction on the building is underway, but it is not expected to be completed before January 2008. It will be the chain's first entry into the Ohio market and will be a part of the fourteen new locations scheduled to open by the end of the next year. While the restaurant will feature a number of unique styles brewed onsite, it will also serve a number of the national beer brands (a bad move for any brewpub in my opinion). Overall, the project is expected to cost over $3 million dollars when completed. We'll have to see just how it stacks up to its competition, both locally and against the regional giants in the area. I'd also like to see their new patent-pending brewing process, Fermentus Interruptus, in action...

On another note, if anyone knows of any iPhone-compatible (i.e. microphone and button) aftermarket headphones, please let me know. I'm looking for something that has all the functionality of the Apple headset but with better sound quality. They must be comfortable to wear for an extended period as well; I'll probably use them daily at work and on the plane to/from Utah this winter. =)

Well, they did it. I didn't expect them to, or even care if they did, but Apple announced earlier today through a message from Jobs himself that early iPhone adopters will receive a $100 credit to the Apple Store. Don't get me wrong, I'll gladly take the $100 credit and buy a copy of OSX 10.5 Leopard or a new keyboard, or even a $100 gift card for iTunes, but it was completely unnecessary and surprising. It's the price you pay when you want to be an early adopter, and I hope this doesn't come back to bite Apple in the future when they want to do something similar with another line. But thanks Steve, you've further cemented my position as a genuine Apple fanboy.

9inchnails.com has finally posted their Year Zero fan remix CD entitled The Limitless Potential for download. This two CD set contains 21 tracks selected from over 200 submitted remixes and features some pretty interesting tracks. Much credit must be given to Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails who released the original songs in GarageBand format that allowed them to be easily remixed by these fans. If you want to check it out, visit http://www.9inchnails.com/remixes/.

Apple hosted one of its press events earlier today and introduced a completely revamped iPod line, including the phone-less iPod Touch, as well as a significant price reduction on the iPhone itself. While I am a little upset that I paid $200 more than the current price approximately 70 days ago, I'm still very satisfied with my purchase as it is simply the best phone I have owned... ever. Besides having no coverage between Findlay and Kenton on my way home, AT&T has worked out very well for me, with just as good of coverage as I recall using Verizon. That might change when I travel to Utah in January, but I'll have my Verizon company phone on me just in case anyways. The most interesting announcement was the introduction of the Wi-Fi iTunes Music Store, which will find its way to the iPhone later this month. While I'm sure I'll make a lot of use out of this feature, I do wish you could browse videos as well. I also have to wonder if they plan on extending this functionality to the AppleTV anytime soon. Now if they could only work things out with NBC...

Thanks to Jared who sent me an article from the Toledo Free Press. It talks about the Maumee Bay Brewing Company, the beers that they offer and a little history about how the current head brewer came to the brewery. While the article is an interesting read, I'm most excited about the following part as I've wanted to attend one of these for awhile now:

There are plans for Brew dinners to be offered starting in November. Pollick sees the events as a way to expose people to different brews.

He expects the meals will be about $60 with five or six beers paired with different courses. Maumee Bay Brewing would invite two other regional brews to participate.

“Pairing beer with food is a good idea, and with what they are doing at Rockwell's we can do some matchings,” Pillock said. Rockwell's is the fine dining restaurant that is also part of the Oliver House.

Click here to read the entire article.