What is it with Illlionis Governors?

According to several sources Rod Blogojevich and his Chief of Staff John Harris were taken into custody before 9 AM this morning and charged with defrauding the State of Illinois. Here is the complaint courtesy of the Chicago Tribune.

After reading the complaint I am stunned at the stupidity and arrogance of Blago...I think it is fair to say he will be spending some time in jail and if he thought he was "financial hurting" before wait until he gets out!

Iphone Apps

I am blown away by the announcement that over 300 million Iphone apps have been downloaded from the app store since it launched in July of this year. Proof that if you design a great product that is functional, and open the platform to outside developers there is a chance you can catch lightning in a bottle. Kudo's to Steve Jobs and his team and I look forward to the newest announcements at Macworld Expo in January.

The other interesting trend I have noticed browsing the internet with the Iphone is that content providers are designing Iphone specific mobile sites that are very good. USA Today and ESPN come to mind...ESPN's site is extremely fast and easy to navigate. You can still go to the full site if you want to read full stories etc., but the Iphone mobile site is great for quickly checking scores and stats. No need to have the Jumptap application which does the same thing.

The Opiate for the Masses

I was thinking about several business ideas this morning and one that I thought could have some potential is Loopt meets Twitter for sports. Imagine having the ability to know where your friends are during the big game and having the ability to communicate about the in-game action across the stadium/parking lot.

You could do one version for actual attendees of the game who could be shown on the actual diagram of the seating configuration that are commonly available for all major sporting venues. You could also use the Google Maps version to identify the location of friends not at the stadium but watching the game at home, in bars, etc.

You could add functionality as the service became popular...buy your buddy a drink. Teams could also use it to communicate with their fans and/or create a live community for fans.

Thoughts?

Sean Avery=Idiot

Hey Sean it probably would have been a better idea to keep your comments about Dion Phaneuf and Jarret Stoll on the ice and away from the cameras...I guess you weren't getting the attention you craved...your stupidity will probably cost you a couple of hundred grand.

You Learn Something Everyday

So I am relaxing on the Friday after Thanksgiving and my brother mentions that there are two Frank Lloyd Wright homes in Oskaloosa a small town located approximately 15 miles from my hometown of Lovilia. For reference Lovilia is all of 580 people and Oskaloosa is aroud 10,000.

So on our way back to Chicago we decided to take a drive past the Carroll Alsop house which is located in a very nice section of Osky. The Alsop house was pretty intresting and definitely stood out in the neighborhood it was situated...perched on a hill with a ravine running through the rear of the property and the house seemed to be in very good condition. The triangle home with numerous windows must provide a sense of being a part of the surrounding nature similar to what van der Rohe and Johnson achieved via their masterpieces.

As we drove past the house several times it reminded me of the day we were biking around New Canaan and stumbled upon Johnson's Glass House and had the opportunity to peak over the brick fence surrounding the property. Obviously, the Glass House has much more significance, regardless it is pretty cool to stumble upon the work of a true master.

Growing up I was not interested in architecture, and for that matter the architecture in Iowa is not the interesting. Now that I have a better appreciation I am amused that there are two homes so close designed by someone of Wright's stature. 

Now on to another fact I learned as I researched the Alsop house. I was a big fan of the HBO series Deadwood and specifically of the character Al Swearengen played by Ian McShane. So not only does Osky have great architecture but it is also home to a very colorful character from the Wild West days, and if even half of the dialogue on the HBO show is accurate, Swearengen was smart, cunning and master of the English language.

My grandfather spent some time in and around Oskaloosa in his early years, I wonder if he ever encountered the notorious Mr. Swearengen in his youth?