WoW Cataclysm Beta Spam Scam

I periodically skim my Gmail spam folder for false positives. Once every 90 days or so, Google decides to start flagging the wrong type of automated message as spam (Twitter follower emails was the latest one). While doing this, I noticed the following type of email had started showing up recently. It appears spammers are now preying on the desire of WoW players who want to get an invite to the new World of Warcraft closed beta. Looking through my box there were 5 or 6 of them from just the past 24 hours, from multiple sources, each of them different. This particular one looked the most legitimate, despite that Google flagged it as malicious and its origin came from a Yahoo spoofed account. Nice try.

Craig Ferguson's Many Musical Intro Covers

I've been a fan of Craig Ferguson for several years, especially after this aired: Part 1, Part 2. I think he is one of the most genuine people on TV.

What I love about him is his utter disregard for making a complete fool of himself every night without shame. Occasionally he will replace his before-the-credits intro to his show with a music-video-cover which usually include costumes. I've been lucky enough to watch a few of these shows, but I stumbled across one of these on Youtube over the weekend and noticed that he's actually done quite a few of these. I felt compelled to make you aware of them all, because they're all great.

They Might Be Giants - "Istanbul"

The Village People - "In The Navy"

Robert Palmer - "Addicted To Love"

Fatboy Slim - "What A Wonderful Night"

Britney Spears - "Oops I Did It Again"

Hanson - "MMMBop"

Michael Franti & Spearhead - "Say Hey (I Love You)"

unknown - 'The Yodel Song'

Jason Mraz - "I'm Yours"

"Fireball"

Duran Duran - "White Lines"

"Look Out There's A Monster Coming"

"Scotland Rite Temple Stomp"

"Melt With You"

"Dr. Who"

What I Carry

A blog post from Patrick Rhone is soliciting others to submit pictures of what they carry in their pockets on a daily basis. The idea started from Dave Caolo which was prompted by a tweet from Patrick. Patrick responded to Dave's post and solicited others to do so as well. These types of things interest me as well, so here's mine:

Before I got my iPhone I would have my Blackberry (work), iPod Classic, wallet & keys. That was 2008 & prior. Over the years my keychain has shrunk as well. Our most recent move in June allowed me to shed a security fob which was needed at my old apartment. My new apartment key has a fob included in it (that weird circular thing on my keychain - yes, that is both a key & fob).

Merlin Mann speaks to ASAE members

I had the pleasure of accompanying my wife on a recent business trip to San Francisco where her organization, ASAE, had hired Merlin Mann to speak for one of their events. ZeFrank was to keynote the event, but at the last minute, we found out that he was ill and unable to attend. Merlin graciously stepped up and keynoted in his place doing an excellent job.

I've been a huge fan of Merlin for a long time. He is the reason my first DSLR lens was a 50mm, that I know what Thayers™ Original Witch Hazel is, and my yacht wax of choice is Monocle Pete's Magic Yacht Wax. If none of that makes sense to you, well....you're missing out.

Fortunately, I remembered to bring my Flip Ultra HD and Gorillapod with me to San Francisco. However, I want to apologize for the quality of video/audio as my thought to record this was last minute. The room wasn't very videographer friendly, but I managed to attach them to the back of a chair. It starts off a bit shaky a first but settles down after a few minutes. As several times the view is obstructed by some audience members but it shouldn't interfere too badly with your watching/listening to Merlin.

During the event and afterward I snapped a few pictures with both my iPhone 4 and Canon 40D. I event got a few pictures with Merlin and myself. He really is the nicest man on the internet folks.

My View of San Francisco As I Work

Also, loving the cool temps and light breeze.

Who Says You Can't Dual Screen iPads?

Working while waiting on my flight at Dulles. I'm using my iPad with a Bluetooth Apple keyboard and Steff's iPad as my second screen as I write documentation for our new website.

William Shatner Stole Leonard Nimoy's Bike

MS Office for Mac 2011 Shipping in October

Microsoft announced today that Office 2011 for Mac would ship in October of this year. The release of Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 will be simultaneous across 100 countries at the end of October. Two versions will be available, Office for Mac Home and Student 2011 and Office for Mac Home and Business 2011.

Starting today, if customers purchase Office 2008 for Mac, they will be able to upgrade to Office 2011 when it is available at no additional cost through the Microsoft Office for Mac Technology Guarantee Program.

The following editions will be available.

• Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Student 2011 includes Word for Mac, PowerPoint for Mac, Excel for Mac and Messenger for Mac, and it will retail starting at $119.
• Available in two editions — a single install for $119 (U.S. ERP) and a Family Pack for $149 (U.S. ERP) with three installs for families with more than one Mac in their household.
• Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Business 2011 includes Word for Mac, PowerPoint for Mac, Excel for Mac, Outlook for Mac and Messenger for Mac, and it will retail starting at $199 (U.S. ERP).
• It also will be available in two editions — a single install for $199 (U.S. ERP) and a Multi-Pack for $279 (U.S. ERP) with two installs for a user with two machines.
• Microsoft Office for Mac Academic 2011 includes Word for Mac, PowerPoint for Mac, Excel for Mac, Outlook for Mac and Messenger for Mac, and it will retail at authorized academic stores and Microsoft for $99 (U.S. ERP).