This is too good to let go. Apparently a Microsoft employee blogged about seeing the Redmond giant receiving three pallets of new Apple G5s. Shortly after posting the bolg entry with a picture of said delivery, Microsoft fired him. The blog is still up and can be seen here.

And yes, I know that Microsoft has a Macintosh development division, but it still rings ironic, eh?

So I've discovered that first impressions aren't always the best impression. After a couple of more days with Apple's new Black Cat, I've got to say it's pretty freakin' cool. I've discovered that it's not the big stuff that's impressive, but to quote Vincent Vega, "It's the little differences..."

The new file structures of the Finder are greatly improved along with a bitchin' new Mail App. One of the new features is a cool jet plane fly-by sound when you send mail - see, I told you it was the little differences. Application switching has been taken to a new level and Exposé rules with dual monitors. Everywhere I look, there seems to be a more productive way to work in Panther. I'd still say that if all you do with your Mac is surf and check e-mail, right after I ask what the hell's the matter with you, I'd say it's probably not the best use of $129. But once again, I'm not sorry I'm an early adopter and I'm happy to blaze a trail for the rest of you.

After two days with Panther, I'm not sure that OS X update lives up to the hype. On Friday night, folks lined up at Apple stores around the country to get thier hands on the new black cat. Panther is not a new OS but an upgrade to the existing OS X. As such, I'm not sure it's worth $129 but I know there a lot of "under the hood" improvements that aren't immediately evident. I also have to say that I haven't explored all the new features yet. I haven't looked at Font Book, the new DVD Player or interacted with the new iDisk features yet so I can't really call this a review, but merely a first impression. I'd say that the leap to Panther isn't necessary for average Mac users. Most of the new features are targeted to power users like myself. I'm not sure that average user will care about, or even use, Pixlet, iChat A/V, XCode or even Font Book. But, if you're like me and you use your Mac to make money in the creative arts or design field including video and audio production, Panther is a must have.

Today my mind turns from MINIs to my other passion, Macs. OS X, Panther is scheduled to go on sale tonight at 8 PM. I've called ahead to reserve my copy as the store only has limited copies available on opening night. Last year when Jaguar came out, I missed the boat and had to wait an additional week. I don't plan to be dissapointed this time around. Now all I have to do is slip away a little early from the dinner party we're attending so I can go pick up my copy. And I don't want to hear a bunch of PeeCee people slamming Macs in my comments. We've been there done that. Besides, by the time you PeeCee folks get the next big Microsoft OS called LateHorn, er I mean Longhorn, in 2006, us Mac folks will have moved beyond Panther and past Cougar, Tiger, Leopard and Lynx. Happy waiting! For us Mac folks, the future is now...

Today, nearly 150 MINIs gathered at Baron MINI in Kansas City for brunch and a subsequent run through downtown Kansas City on the way to the Country Club Plaza to participate in the annual Duck Derby. If you aren't familiar with the Duck Derby, for a $5 donation to charity, you get a number that corresponds to a one of 30,000 rubber ducks that are dumped into Brush Creek. The first duck to cross the finish line wins a one year lease of a MINI Cooper from Baron MINI. I left before the ducks were dumped so I have no idea the outcome yet.

The coolest part of the day was that the parade of MINIs had a police escort stopping traffic to keep us all together. My gallery of pictures from the day's event can be seen here.

Next Sunday, October 19, is the annual Kansas City Duck Derby charity event. This year's charity recipients are Synergy Services, an organization that seeks to prevent family violence, abuse and neglect by offering various family services and runs four shelters for victims of violence, abuse and neglect; and the The Mattie Rhodes Center offering services for youth development, family services, and visual arts. The grand prize of the Duck Derby is a one year lease of a MINI Cooper courtesy of Baron MINI. If you're interested, you can purchase a duck for a chance at the MINI or other prizes here and help the KC MINI club reach its goal for donations to the charities. You've got a one in about 30,000 chance at the MINI. So go ahead, plop down a five spot, help out a good cause and maybe get a year in a new MINI!

*UPDATE* As of today, Baron is expecting nearly 100 MINIs to participate in the Duck Derby Run on Sunday. So, if you want to see a boat-load of MINIs in a caravan through Kansas City, be on the Plaza this Sunday at noon. I'm stoked!

What I did on my vacation from blogging.

In a quest for more horsepower, a bigger growl and better gas mileage, a couple of weeks ago I installed a new BMP/ProMINI cold air intake in my MINI. As you can see, I added a my own little custom touch. Yes, I've turned into a gear-head. Not really. I approached this from a purely technical vantage point. This modification improved my average gas mileage from 21 MPG to over 30 as of the last fill-up and increased my hp by around 5 percent. So basically, I'm doing my part to save the environment. The next time I pull up along side of a Hummer, I can chuckle and think to myself, "That guy stops for gas four times as often as me..."

I'm baaaack! I figured if the president can take a month off, maybe I should try it.

Anyway, I'm watching Letterman and Rupert is interviewing the latest Survivor cast off, Lillian, a lovely 51 year old mother of two and she's wearing an AC/DC t-shirt! I've got nothing against AC/DC but if you're a 51 year old mom and you're not on your way to being on the Jerry Springer show, lose the AC/DC shirt.








I think I'll be taking a half day tomorrow. The Italian Job comes out on DVD. My wife made me sign a waiver that I wouldn't drive the MINI within two hours of viewing the film.







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