Part 28

I didn’t ask for anything, but I did make a wish when I blew out the candles on my early birthday cake last night. I rarely make birthday cake wishes, but for some reason it seemed like the thing to do. And the wish came true. It was about 4.00PM and I was in York, Pennsylvania when I realized it.

There’s only about an inch of it outside right now, but you can hear it falling. The edges of my footprints from an hour ago are starting to blur, and I’ll probably sleep for an extra hour tomorrow just to celebrate the occasion.

It’s possible that it’s only one inch of coincidence, but it’s also not impossible that there’s much more to wishes that do come true. Whatever stance you take on coincidence, or the lack thereof, there is still an inch of something in Baltimore that wasn’t there when I woke up this morning.

iPhone

Well all the rumors of its release turned out to be true, but I had no idea how comprehensive this device would be. That’s probably because I avoided reading too much of the rumor mill. I’m not even sure the bravest guessers thought the iPhone would do this much. After all, every phony “iPhone” image out there had the nerve to try and put buttons on the thing. Oops. Check out the functions here, or watch Steve Jobs talk about it here.

I have already read questions and speculations about what the introduction of the iPhone will do to the life of the iPod. Given the $499 for 4GB and $599 for 8GB versions, I don’t see the iPhone killing the iPod for quite a while. In my mind the Nano will still improve as will Apple’s relationship with Nike. The flash memory is still getting cheaper, smaller, and holding more, so I predict more Nano upgrades down the road. My guess is similar for the iPod. I think the wide screen technology will bleed over to the more classic forms of iPod, as will better prices and more storage. So people that like to carry their entire library with them will still not find the iPhone has it all. (I’m not one of those people. I still carry a silver mini, so there!) It will be a while before one device is all you need, but the iPhone cracks the genre wide open.

Slick Shoes, Good Cause

Laid back shoes + a good cause = TOMS Shoes

These are what I’d consider “big chillin” footwear, but they offer more than just a laid back fashion statement. For every pair of TOMS that you buy, the company gives a pair away to help protect the feet of Argentinian children. The prices range from $38-$48, hardly more than a pair of Vans. But unlike Vans, these are made under strict “no sweatshop” criterias. Here’s some footage of the first TOMS shoe drop in Argentina.

Here’s a couple cool color schemes.

And here’s Blake Mycoskie (designer/chief shoe giver) with some kids that now have shoes.

I think I’m going for this pair.

P.S. If you caught the Goonies reference, I owe you a cookie.