Fourth round of life 

I'll be 51 next week.

You probably think of 51 as a prime number, because it looks all ragged, but it's not. It's divisible by 17 and 3, so I figure I'm entering my 4th round. Kind of like the 17-year cicadas.

Malcontent in iTunesland 

Update on iTunes feed problem: I unsubscribed from my podcast, then resubscribed and my feed reconciled itself.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm looking for things to be pissed off about with iTunes. It could be. I know I resent how Apple's arrival on the scene has sent podcasters into a tizzy to change the way they do things to conform to iTunes ways.

I like that Apple is popularizing podcasting; I'm annoyed that they've barged in and are calling the shots. Here's an example: Gerritt, a student developer in Germany, made Loudblog, a podcasters' application in PHP. I use it for my lit game. He said that because iTunes is causing so many podcast listeners to consume podcasts outside the browser, he's not going to continue to develop his weblog interface with all the nice classy skins. This was a couple weeks ago when the new iTunes with podcast support had only been out for a month. We shouldn't cave so quick.

Late drive after work 

Gotta drive just into Michigan tonight to meet halfway between Chicago and my hometown to fetch my little guy. He's 16; well he's still my little guy. Tried to call him last night, but he was out playing golf with my bro. I like that they get along. Whoever invented uncles and aunts was really onto something.

My mom said to clean out a space in my backseat, that they have a surprise for me, and that they're sure I'll want it. I haven't a clue. I hope it isn't a baby.