AtomJohnson Blog

Geeks throughout the world wait with baited breath every time Steve Jobs gives a keynote address. It usually means some other gadget to lust over. Today was no exception. Leading up to today’s keynote, there was alot of speculation on what new marvel of technology would be brought into the world.

Engadget hosted the WWJD (What Would Jobs Do?) contest where Apple enthusiasts mocked up what they thought Steve Jobs might have up his sleeve. Check out some of the predictions.

After the keynote, we all breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the world no longer has to live without and Intel-based Mac mini, or an iPod Hi-Fi boombox.

‘Giving the goose’ has always been a favorite past time of mine. There is something about surprising someone with the old ‘thumb in the bum’ that brings great pleasure. I don’t even think it would be as much fun if it weren’t called ‘goosing’ them…i just love it!

I guess I’ve always taken the term a bit for granted though. I’ve never really thought about getting goosed by an actual goose….that is, until my recent trip to Wyoming.

Nat’s mom has a goose in her front yard. The animal is a general pain in the arse. It makes the most god-awful noise at all hours and is generally p*ssed off all of the time. When you come home, it is just waiting to attack you. It lurks behind open car doors and then nips at your toes. Your instinct is obviously to run the other way, because you have no idea what this thing is capable of doing. That is of course when you get ‘goosed’, the real deal Holyfield, the old ‘beak in the bum’.

I love a good prank. Oh Nelly, do I ever! Nothing is better than a tow truck, 5 sheep, a credit card application, a hidden camera and some unsuspecting victims.

Well, this weekend, my buddy George asked if I would take care of his dog over the weekend. His instructions were simple:

Well, upon reading these instructions, Nat had what just might be her most brilliant idea ever:

I don’t think I’ve ever wanted (or needed) a hot tub so badly.  I played soccer today for the first time in a year and a half.  When I got home and prepared lunch, my body was literally shaking as I at the food.  Food never feels so much like ‘fuel’ as when I come home after playing soccer.  The fact that I haven’t touched a soccer ball in a year and a half only exacerbates the situation.

With that said, I didn’t play too badly.  My touch and my fitness are certainly not what they were before I tore my ACL, but I am confident that I will get back to where I was.  We played for about an hour on a turf field in Arlington.  It is strange to rejoin this team after not seeing any of my teammates for a year and a half.  They welcomed me back onto the team and warned me ‘not to mess up, or they’d break both of my legs’….ok, not really.

I am so anxious to get my soccer legs back under me.  I really wish it were already daylight savings time so that I could play each afternoon by the monuments.  Pickup soccer in DC is one of my absolute favorite things.  We usually start up about 6pm and play until the sun goes down.  All the while we are treated to the sun setting over the Potomac, helicoptors flying just over the treetops (looking for terrorists?), and the awe inspiring beauty that is our nation’s capital.

I’ve taken alot of grief about my desire at one point to live in a ‘Yuk’, or a ‘Yupe’, or ‘that crazy tent thing that you kids are looking to move into’. Well people, it is a ‘Yurt’…and in all honesty, most people have been very interested and supportive.

I’m not sure that I’m still looking at living full time in a Yurt, but I still think they are a great alternative to the traditional way of life. Well, if you’re curious as to what it would be like to stay in a Yurt, and also desire to have a night with an ocean front view from the gorgeous cliffs of Big Sur, check out The Treebones Resort. I’m certainly putting it on my list of places to stay…right next to the treehouse hotel.

What are the two things that most Americans claim that cannot find time to do?  Survey says?  Biking and Playstation 2.

Well, I’m happy to report that I have finally figured out a way to integrate both back into my life.  I now start my mornings playing Winning Eleven soccer on the PS2 from the (dis)comfort of my training bike.  I actually got a better workout this morning too then I normally do.  I not only biked for 15 minutues longer than normal, but everytime I had to sprint to a ball in the game, I found myself pedaling furiously to get there.  Who says video games make you fat?

Where was I last night at 12:45am? I think I was in bed….

I wish I had been doing freelance work on my computer. I wish I had become distracted and decided to purchase a song in iTunes. I wish I were like Alex Ostrovsky of West Bloomfield, Michigan, who purchased the billionth song on iTunes. This unassuming 16 year old logged on late last night to purchase ‘Speed of Sound’ from the new Coldplay album. Moments later he receives a call from Apple to alert him that he has just purchased the billionth song and that the $.99 that he spent has also purchased him a 20-inch iMac G5, 10 60GB iPods, and a $10,000 gift card for the iTunes music store. Oh yeah, and we’re setting up a scholarship at Julliard in your name. Again…where the hell was I when all this was going down?

I drive a very practical car. It is a 1997 Honda Civic DX hatchback. The only thing sexy or enticing about it is that fact that my grandmother calls it the ‘Night Rider’. Even though I often get passed by Geo Metros, I have not really had any desire to get a new car….until now.

I just read about the Honda Fit. It is new Honda compact car that is coming out soon. Rumor has it that they are developing a hybrid version for global release in Spring of 2007. Even though it is tiny, the rear seats can be folded up and down in various configurations to allow you to tote around alot of stuff. Throw some roof racks on top for bikes, skis and snowboards, and you have just created the perfect vehicle. Oh yeah…and the sport model will even feature paddle shifters on the steering wheel….pretty cool!

Imagine loading up on a short school bus and driving for nine hours through the moutains of Wyoming, stopping only for bloody marys, beer, beef jerky and potty breaks. This crazy hostage situation turns even stranger when you later arrive at a gorgeous moutain lodge that looks out onto the Grand Tetons. This lodge has a huge fire circle in the middle, serves two gourmet meals each day, a hot tub out back, a game room in the basement and free beer on tap…24 hours a day. In the morning, that same short bus takes you hostage again and your captors force you to ski all day at Grand Targhee Ski Resort. The only break you receive is a stop at the Trap Bar for lunch, more beer, more bloody marys and occasionally three rounds of B52 shots.

As awful as this scenario sounds, I lived through it. If you find this story hard to believe, please check out the photos.

* This wonderful photo was taken by Natalie Condos

Do you ever see a new product or technology come out and kick yourself because you had already thought of it, but decided not to pursue it? Maybe it was the cornballer? Or perhaps it was the motorcycle airbag? Even if it was just the bumper dumper, you realize that you have might missed the boat to guaranteed riches and a better life for you and your family.

Anyway, I had this crazy idea a while back that people would pay money to be online tourist or even to live in a virtual world. I had read an article about the number of hours that people spend in online virtual worlds. There are thousands and thousands of people who spend 8 hours a day at their job and then come home and spend all night in a virtual world. In the scientific community, we call them ‘losers’.

Check out Second Life. Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by nearly 100,000 people from around the globe. Upon entering the virtual world, you create an avatar (a 3D person), cloth them in the limited choice of outfits, and then explore the continent. You can buy land, create buildings, landscape…and basically do anything that you can do in the real world.

Included in that ‘anything you can do in the real world’, is opening a business and making money. Hundreds of entrepreneurs have already opened businesses in this virtual world. Jennifer Grinnell, Michigan furniture delivery dispatcher turned fashion designer in cyber space, makes more in the the virtual world than she ever did in the real world.

I’m currently working on my own idea of creating virtual virtual worlds. You have to imagine that as more normal people start moving into this virtual world, the scientifically described ‘losers’ will need a fantasy world to escape to. Well fellas, step into Third Life…