by Peter Marus

February is shaping up to be a fun month. On the 11th the US plays Mexico in a World Cup Qualifier. This is THE matchup in the region. it's like Yankees-Red Sox, but actually interesting. A match of this magnitude deserves the best venue for which the combatants can go at each other. The US Soccer Federation chose as this venue....Columbus, Ohio. And to tell you the truth it's the best place to hold the game. See, in world soccer, national teams choose venues that are best advantageous to them. Mexico chooses Mexico city-where the high altitude, heat, and pollution in mid-day gives them an advantage over other teams. The US 2 years ago decided "let's fuck with the Mexicans" and put a game in Columbus in the cold weather. the result? Mexicans wouldn't leave the locker room to warm up and the US dominated the Mexicans. SInce then it's almost a rule to put this game in Ohio, where there will defiantly a pro-US crowd (as apposed to most major cities where it turns into an away game), and weather the US players are more acclimated with. I intend on going to this game. I cant' wait for it.

Last weekend I bought a new computer. I got an Imac to replace my Macbook. Why am I doing this when the Macbook still is good? well I don't need it since I can get the web and email on my Iphone, and I like the idea of my computer "plugged in"-where the DSL modem and my hard drive for back up is constantly plugged in. Here are the specs of it:

20" iMac -
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz,
2GB Memory, 320GB HD,
WIRELESS KB & MOUSE
2GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM,
360GB SATA, 8X SuperDrive, 10/100/1000,
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro,
AirPort
Extreme 802.11 Bluetooth 2.0,
iSight,
OS X 10.5 Leopard

Got a good deal on Macmall.com for it. Why didn't I wait for any upgrades coming this year? Well seeing the potential upgrades Apple will do, I don't see it worth waiting for. Here's a simple conversion rate for Apple's upgrades:

whatever they do to the Macbook, it will happen to the Mac Mini.
Whatever they do to the Macbook Pro, it will happen to the Imac.

Look at the changes hardware-wise between the old and new Macbook Pros, I don't see it being worth it. I also got a wireless keyboard and mouse, and I will be looking into putting the Imac where my TV is now and I can use my computer in bed. If not it will look good on my computer stand.

Merry Christmas to all