Jason O'Grady's Blog

The US population will grow 46% to about 394 million people between 2000 and 2050, with the number of centenarians projected to grow from 28,000 in 1990 to 834,000 in 2050.

Today, researchers theorize that humans have a genetically limited maximal life span somewhere in the range of 120 years.

The most well-documented oldest living human being was Frenchwoman Jeanne Louise Calment, born on February 21, 1875. She lived to be 122 years old, dying in 1998. Ms. Calment came from good genetic stock–her father lived to 94, and her mother to 86. Defying conventional wisdom, she smoked until 1995, only giving up the habit out of pride at not being able to light her own cigarettes. Her sense of humor always remained, however (when asked about her vision of the future, she replied “very brief”).

And you thought *you* had hinge problems? I wonder if a flip phone with two hinges presents any new engineering challenges? Ya think?! Anyway click on the link above to head over to Howard Forums to check out the unreleased Motorola MPX, probably the hottest phone running Windows. Someone got their hands on an engineering sample and sold it for something like US$1400. I have to admit to liking the dual hinge action although I am a devout bar phone user. Too bad it runs the wrong OS.

Last week we told you that Ladies Night in New Jersey was ruled discriminatory by the state’s Civil Rights Department. Since then, the New Jersey State Assembly has taken up this important issue, with Assembly members saying that there should be a law protecting the practice.

The Assembly voted 78-0 to approve a bill making it legal for bar owners and others to offer special promotions such as charging women different prices for drinks. NJ Governor James McGreevey led the effort to guarantee Ladies Night for all. All women, anyway!

According to this AP story British petrol prices top 1.53 per liter, that’s US$5.79 a gallon.

If case you didn’t know, the United States has the cheapest gasoline prices in the world outside Saudi Arabia and maybe Brunei. Incidentally South Carolina has the cheapest gasoline in the U.S.

If you are looking for cheap gas prices in your area, try these Web sites:

GasBuddy.com is the portal site to more than 170 web sites that help consumers find cheap gas prices. All web sites are operated by the non-profit organization known as GasBuddy Organization Inc.

GasPriceWatch’s US gasoline feature is the voice of consumers when it comes to American gasoline prices. We monitor gas prices across the country so you can get the best deal in your area. Search our database to find the lowest gas prices in your area. Prices are updated frequently by users like you. All Regular prices are per gallon in US dollars.

This article on Methodshop discusses Apple’s removal of a customer’s masturbation iMix claiming that it is in “poor taste.” I’ll have to agree with Apple on this one. It seems to me that the author was trying to push the limits to see how far they’d let him go.

Music aficionados rejoice! Apple’s iTunes version 4.5 now features online sharing of music playlists, called iMix. Naturally, Apple offers this service in order to promote music sales in their iTunes Music Store. Users can vote on your playlists as you gain instant fame …or notoriety! So after installing iTunes v4.5, I was disappointed to learn what mixes other people were listening to. How much talent does it take to make an iMix called “Bob’s Favorite ’90s Hard Rock Hits” or “Best Radio Alternative Songs?” As if the world needed another “Best of the ’80s” iMix? I’m hardly stretching the truth when I say there is not one good playlist in the entire iMix section. Is the entire planet in a coma? It immediately became my mission to make a good playlist that everyone (besides the Apple censors) could enjoy.

As you may know, you can order an iPod from the Apple Store with a custom, laser-engraved message. Apple has been rejecting some messages for editorial reasons. Think all these messages would make it past Apple’s screening process?

Read them at Methodshop.com. (Thanks Vic!)