Wow! I’m extremely flattered to be on Violet Blue’s list of Top 10 Sexy Geeks of 2007! Violet has put out this list for the past two years, and every year it’s full of wonderfully smart and talented people. I guess I’m a little biased, because so many of them are my pals!

I love that she also used one of my favorite photos of me and Ryan (who was a runner-up on the list, that sexy devil). Well, this certainly made my day!

In other news (while I have your attention):
* I did an interview with MacMost recently, and realized that I say “really” more than is probably appropriate.
* Mahalo Daily is going on a short hiatus for the holidays, but we’ll be back on the 31st with some really (oops, I mean totally) amazing episodes.
* Then on the week of the 7th, look for our very special CES coverage. It’s gadget time!

Have a great holiday!

Photo credit: Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

So, last spring I went on MSNBC to talk about… oh, I don’t remember, it was either “Geek Fight Club” or the “Dangers of MySpace. ”

There was a  woman being interviewed before me, and she was very distraught, and talking about how her monkey was taken away from her! It was like her child. The interviewer was really nice, but the transition from the monkey story to mine was really awkward. Something like:

“We really hope you and your monkey are reunited! Best of luck. And now, geeks that are beating the crap out of each other!”

Well, it looks like she got her monkey back. Congrats!

Last night I was on the Typical Mac User Podcast with Victor Cajiao, and it was great to be able to have a chat about some of the apps we love, and our predictions for this year’s Macworld. I’m hoping for a ultraportable laptop, and Victor has a crazy prediction that has to do with AppleTV (you’ll need to listen to get the full scoop!).

But the best part about the show was taking live calls from listeners via Talkshoe. This was my first time using their interface, and I think they’re definitely on the right track. It reminds me a lot of Stickam and Ustream, except without all the pesky video. Yes, sometimes it’s nice to not have to deal with video, it’s true. Users interact with the host over chat, phone, VoIP or not at all (just listening). The host can queue up questions and bring them into the discussion at will.

The chat interface could use a little improvement, but I heard from someone over Twitter that they’re planning on implementing an IRC-based chat interface sometime in the future. Despite that (and it’s a small issue — I got used to it after a couple of minutes) I really enjoyed the experience. I didn’t even mind downloading their small app, which usually drives me crazy.

I love that there are new services enabling podcasters to really engage with their audience. My favorite part of podcasting is interacting with users, whether it be via forums, emails, social networks, etc. Now we have to figure out how to do a live Mahalo Daily, and we’ll be all set!

I’ve had my iPhone rebate burning a hole in my pocket for some time now, so I decided it was time to head on down to the Apple Store to pick up a little present for myself. I’ve been meaning to buy a speaker dock for a while, because I wanted an easy way to play music off my iPhone away from my existing setup in the office.

Yes, I know that technically you’re not supposed to use iPhones with standard iPod accessories, but it works just the same. If you can tolerate the occasional interference from the phone, that is (”deet deet deeedeeedee deeet!”). Anyhow, after a little poking around, I found this iHome2Go OutLoud dock. So far, so good! You can use it with only one cube, or both for stereo sound. The sound is very good, impressive considering the terrible acoustics in the apartment (and especially the totally square bedroom… major phase cancellation issues).

It comes with a tiny little remote, which is always nice, and it has line-in. We’re probably going to set it up for with the Squeezebox that I’ve been wanting to use for a while now. What I like best about the OutLoud is the design — all the other players had about ten different knobs and buttons on them. Yes, this may not have a clock radio built in, but that’s not what I needed it for. I already have an alarm clock, and I hate the radio. Three buttons are enough for me. Well, I’ve only had it for a night, so hopefully nothing will go wrong to shatter my good impression in the near future!

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