- Did anyone out there need another reason not to own a Zune? Let’s face it, Zune owners are the black sheep of the technological community, the losers who can’t score an iPod and are stuck with a third-rate MP3 player that earns them endless mocking from their friends. You own a Zune, you just keep it tucked in your pocket and hope no one sees it. But if you really needed another reason not to own one, here goes. A leap-year related glitch caused thousands of Zune MP3 players to simultaneously stop working late Tuesday and early Wednesday, a problem Microsoft readily owned in a posting on its website. Of course, the company had a very Microsoft answer for the issue: do nothing and allow the problem should resolve itself, which the company predicted would happen after 7 a.m. ET Thursday. "A bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year is to blame,” Matt Akers of the Zune Product Team said in a posting on the Zune’s website. And if it makes you feel any better, Microsoft claims that the issue was limited to older Zune 30GB models, which I’m guessing are probably among the most popular memory sizes available for this particular product. For the four of you out there with a Zune, here’s how to fix the problem: First, allow the internal battery to fully drain. Then, recharge the battery by connecting the Zune to a computer or AC power. What I found funny about this story is that according to one message board posting, there is a tool out there who actually owns three Zunes. "It seems that every Zune on the planet has just frozen up and will not work," posted a Mountain Home, Idaho, user. "I have 3 and they all in the same night stopped working." Not sure you want to admit that sort of thing, but whatever. All I know is that this isn’t going to help make the Zune a more legitimate competitor for the iPod any time soon…..
- Okay Ukraine, who was supposed to mail the check for the gas bill this month? C’mon, just own it and stop hiding. Maybe you forgot to mail the check because you were too busy getting ready for Christmas, maybe you were just depressed about living in the Ukraine and didn’t want to get out of bed, but whatever the case, you now have a major problem on your hands. Russian energy monopoly Gazprom, the main supplier for natural gas to the Ukraine, has cut off supplies of gas to Ukraine after a payment deadline expired. Like a greasy, foul-smelling, wife-beater-wearing landlord in the Bronx, Gazprom had been threatening to shut off the gas for a while now, claiming that months of fruitless negotiations with Ukraine had failed to resolve the issue of outstanding payments. Just how much in the hole is Ukraine on its gas bill? Try in the neighborhood of $2 billion. However, a sticking point in the negotiations has been Ukraine balking at the new price set by Gazprom for 2009 deliveries, which was initially more than double the price from 2008. The dispute has no effect on gas supplies and delivery for the rest of Europe, but that doesn’t mean other nations aren’t weighing in on the matter. "The United States would like to see a restoration of normal deliveries," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said this week. "The parties should be resolving their differences through good-faith negotiations, without supply cutoffs." While those good-faith negotiations wait in the wings, many Ukrainians will be more focused on not freezing their asses off, as the temperature at midday Thursday in Kiev was 25 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 degrees Celsius),and the forecast called for a high of only 32 F (0 C), with snow on the way. A temporary stop-gap could be Ukraine's state-controlled energy company, Naftogaz Ukrainy, which claims to be ensuring domestic natural gas needs are covered by taking gas from underground storage facilities. As with any slacking tenant or customer whose account is overdue, Ukraine is claiming that it has paid its debt to Gazprom in full and doesn’t owe any more at this point. Ukraine is also contesting Gazprom's price hike for 2009 gas deliveries, saying it can't afford to pay the new price. And like any pissed off, shorted utility company demanding payment for overdue bills, Gazprom made good on an initial threat to turn off gas supplies on January 1, 2006, but turned the supply back on a day later. This is the second threat and this time, gas supplies don’t look to be coming back on any time soon. Next time, dudes, just pay your gas bill on time, and we won't be having this discussion at all……
- Call me crazy, but it doesn’t sound like Brett Favre’s teammates with the New York Jets are too excited about the prospect of having the enigmatic, erratic quarterback on the team next season. Favre, as is his custom, plans to take weeks, months and possibly years to decide whether to retire or return for another season, but at least two of his teammates have made statements that would seem to indicate that playing with a living legend this season wasn’t all that pleasant of an experience. First, there was the infamous anonymous teammate, quoted as describing Favre as a "distant" teammate who, when at the Jets' practice facility, spent his down time away from teammates in an office specially designated for him rather than hanging with everyone else as one of the fellas. "There was a lot of resentment in the room about him. He never socialized with us, never went to dinner with anyone," the player declared. That player may not have been willing to attach his name to his sentiments, but running back Thomas Jones has no such problem. "We're a team and we win together ... but at the same time, you can't turn the ball over and expect to win," Jones said in an interview Tuesday. He was answering questions about Favre's final-game performance in the Jets' season-ending 24-17 loss to Miami that clinched the AFC East for the Dolphins and cemented a disastrous 1-4 finish to the season that left the Jets on the outside of the playoffs looking in. "The other day, the three interceptions really hurt us. I mean, that's just reality," Jones said in a radio interview. "If I were to sit here and say, 'Oh, man, it's OK,' that's not reality. ... I don't like it, I know everybody else on the team doesn't like it. "If somebody is not playing well, they need to come out of the game." Tell us how you really feel, Thomas. The thing is, he’s right. This is the same act Favre pulled his entire career in Green Bay before jerking the Packers around so much with his retire/un-retire routine that they traded him to the Jets this past offseason. The difference this time is that Favre’s not in Green Bay, where he’s a beloved icon with a crap load of goodwill in the bank. He’s in New York, where the fans and media are relentless and unforgiving. Also, he’s a year older and not nearly the quarterback he used to be back when he was chucking sidearm passes and ill-advised decisions with the Packers. That much is clear from his play down the stretech, compiling nine interceptions and only two touchdown passes in the final five games of the year. Of course, the man on the hook for Favre’s salary - should he elect to play again - is on the record in support of Favre being back with the Jets. Team owner Woody Johnson has stated clearly that he wants Brett Favre to be the New York Jets' quarterback next season, but he might want to check with his team’s best player this year - Jones - and other team leaders before making that call. Before we wrap this up, how about one more verbal salvo from Jones, ripping Favre a new one? Thought so. “You're jeopardizing the whole team because you're having a bad day. To me, that's not fair to everybody else. You're not the only one on the team. So when you get to the wire and somebody is just giving the game up, I mean, it's just not [fair]," Jones lamented. Well said, T., here’s hoping your owner is listening…..
- There’s the New York I know and love. Enough of this tourist-friendly, don’t-kill-other-people bullsh*t that has led to declining murder rates in the Apple the past few years. New York isn’t a happy, people-help-people town where everyone smiles, laughs and gets along. No, it’s a place where grumpy, impatient, irritable people with bad tempers cram onto an island too small to hold all of them and battle it out daily. You put that many combustible elements in such a small space day after day, you should see some interpersonal fireworks. In 2007, that wasn’t the case, as the murder rate was on the decline. But showing the spirit of New York, everyone banded together and worked as one to make sure that the number of homicides in New York City rose about four percent in 2008 compared with the previous year. That’s an initial estimate based on preliminary figures from the city's police department, so the number could actually inch even higher. Still, the 516 homicides in the city last year, aren’t anywhere close to the astronomical totals the city racked up in the early ‘90s, when there were as many as 2,262 homicides reported in a year (1990). The 516 is up 20 from the 496 reported in 2007, but not nearly enough to retake the "murder capital" of the nation title that the Apple held following that city-wide killing spree of 1990. Worse still, those 516 murders aren’t enough to match the tally of 596 homicides investigated in New York in 2006. You’re losing your edge, New York, and while last year was a step in the right direction to regaining your throne, I think we both know you can do better. I’ve also pinpointed a culprit in this dilemma: Operation Impact, a project by the NYPD which places more uniformed officers in concentrated areas where crime rates are high. In other words, if you want to kill people like you did back in the day, you’re going to have to be smarter, plan better and be more precise in your execution (pardon the pun)…….
- The Grateful Dead will be hitting the road this spring and we may have our new President-elect to thank for it. The surviving members of one of the most legendary rock groups in history will use the spark from playing two reunions at benefits for Barack Obama to fuel a 16-show tour that begins April 12 in Greensboro, N.C., and concludes May 10 in San Francisco. The living original Dead members - Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart - will be joined by keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Allman Brothers Band/Gov't Mule guitarist Warren Haynes for the tour, giving stoners from coast to coast a chance to see their favorite band (outside of Phish anyhow) one more time. Basketball legend and NBA analyst Bill Walton must be ecstatic about this news, as he’s a huge Dead fan. For all of you Dead Heads out there wondering about tickets, they go on sale Jan. 13. Phil Lesh sounds pumped about the tour as well, saying,
"For me, it's the question mark that's really pulling me in ... what's gonna happen? When you walk out on the stage the possibilities are infinite every time." To see for yourself what will happen, check out the listing of tour dates below and find the show nearest you:
April 12: Greensboro, N.C. (Coliseum)
April 14: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center)
April 15: Charlottesville, Va. (John Paul Jones Arena)
April 17: Albany, N.Y. (Times Union Center)
April 18-19: Worcester, Mass. (DCU Center)
April 21: Buffalo, N.Y. (HSBC Arena)
April 22: Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Wachovia Arena)
April 24: Uniondale, N.Y. (Nassau Coliseum)
April 25: New York (Madison Square Garden)
April 26: Hartford, Conn. (XL Center)
April 28-29: East Rutherford, N.J. (Izod Center)
May 1-2: Philadelphia (Wachovia Spectrum)
May 5: Chicago (Allstate Arena)
May 7: Denver (Pepsi Center)
May 9: Los Angeles (Forum)
May 10: Mountain View, Calif. (Shoreline Amphitheatre)
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