This baseball junkie was in need of a fix. After all, it's still three weeks until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. So, we read about alumni day for Arizona State University baseball and were off to Packard stadium. Sunny skies, baseball...what else can a fan want?

ASU is ranked in the 20s this year according to the pre-season polls. It was our first trip to see the Sun Devil baseball team and we will be back for a "real game." The players signed autographs before the event, and featured here is JC transfer Brian Flores, projected to be a high draft pick in the next few years. There was a home run derby, and for the Sun Devils the contestants were Ike Davis and Brett Wallace--both projected to be high draft choices in '07 and '08. After the four players took their swings, out came recent ASU star Andre Ethier (in street clothes) to aim for the fences. We first met Ethier in Fall League '05 when he was with the Oakland A's. At the end of Spring Training, the A's traded him to the Dodgers for Milton Bradley (yes, the kook). In case you missed it, Ethier was a runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year.

Regarding the Sun Devils baseball team: we will be back and hope to see them in Omaha at the College World Series. We should be there.

You sure know which sports team rates here in Arizona: last year, the Phoenix Suns pre-season fan-fest had folks packed like sardines at Desert Ridge Marketplace while today, the Arizona Diamondbacks had only a small handful of fans at their autograph table inside Jillian's at Desert Ridge.

Featured here are firstbaseman-turned-broadcaster Mark Grace and Chris Young, the team's star outfielder of the future.

You have to have a "taste" for the unusual to go out of your way to see a city replica made entirely out of Jell-O. Yep, Scottsdale in Jell-O, now showing at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts. Yep, my tax dollars at work. Actually, the work by Bay Area artist Liz Hickok is quite clever and precise in its attention to detail. I told her, in her depiction of nearby Scottsdale Stadium, she needed a little gelatin statue of Barry Bonds.

Yes, it's snowing right now (Jan. 27, 2007) here in (usually) sunny Scottsdale. I recall one evening of snow back in 1989, but that was a very light dusting. Right now, it's coming down. Al Gore knows what he's talking about.

I have tried accessing the Internet on my mobile phone...honestly, all the mobile phones I have had over the years...and it's generally tough going. That's one of the reasons I really like the Nokia N800, a tablet multimedia computer/device that is easy to use and has a very intuitive interface.

I experimented by having it at my side for the Bears-Saints NFC Championship game. Leaving aside I bet $10 in Vegas for the Saints to win SB41, it was enjoying finding out some details on the players while the game was in play. It was sort of like a disconnected interactive TV application. More on that some other time.

The RSS reader on the Nokia N800 is great and I set up a number of feeds whose headlines come in on an hourly basis. Amazingly, the video and audio on the device works extremely well. My only minor issue (similar to the video iPod) is that there are some on-screen reading challenges for someone with progressive bifocals.

Before coming to the Rio Suites in Las Vegas, my personal trainer Jeff warned me there was a window in the shower. He was here with some buddies, and was rather concerned about the fact that the window in the shower precluded your showering privacy. It’s a frosted window, so you can see in and out, but it’s a rather “obfuscated” view. But then again, who’s looking?

 

Yep, the window is there, and one has to wonder why. I heard folks in the elevator, who are sharing their room, issues great concern. One person has fashioned a cardboard screen that she takes with her in the shower.

 

Again, I ask why the window?

 

The 2007 P.F. Chang Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, a yearly race that takes you some 26 miles through the streets of Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe, forced runners to brave a chilly day this year. When we made our way to the part of the course in Old Town Scottsdale, it was about 40 degrees at Mile Marker 18. Each Mile Marker was supposed to have its own musical acts, but as we walked to Mile Marker 19, the stage was empty, but hundreds of runners of all shapes and sizes proudly and courageously nonetheless made their way along the course. At Mile Marker 18, we were entertained by a '50s band, Come Back Buddy.

We spotted groups of runners on the course for a cause, and we saw runners with families along the route cheering them on, and we saw runners just striding toward the finish line because of the amazing accomplishment that running a marathon represents.

Rao’s is a legendary New York restaurant noted for being one of them most difficult reservations in the nation. It’s a small place in Harlem with something like 10 tables, which are generally saved for such noted celebs as Martha Stewart or Bill Clinton (if you consider him a celeb). I think there was some consternation when the great sportswriter Dick Schaap (who had a table at Rao’s) died, in that there was some question as to that would inherit that cherished seat.

We had the chance to meet Frank Pellegrino, one of Rao’s current owners, who was on a national tour for his Rao’s cookbook. Pellegrino also is an actor of some note who has appeared in “Law & Order” and “Sopranos.” In “Sopranos,” he is the head of the FBI task force, once uttering the words, “So, Tony Soprano…weak in the knees.” (Tony was brought in for questioning after getting food poisoning).

For those who make their way to Caesar’s Palace, there’s now a Rao’s west which offers those who cannot make their way to Harlem to attempt to enjoy this rare dining experience.

JVC was among those who showcased their wares at CES at a pre-show event called The Digital Experience. Check out the cool new HD Everio they’re coming out with. Major props to JVC for being a company that’s been a pleasure for me to work with in the past.

When Sony Pictures bought Grouper last year, one of the promises made was that the movie/TV company would make use of the Grouper channel to distribute clips of its TV shows and movies. Sony has made good (see below) as it offers clips that can be virally distributed. Next, it would be great if we could take these clips and use them in our own consumer content.

What’s there to say about CES—it’s exhausting, exhilarating, a pain in the ass and there’s a lot of waiting in lines. My feet hurt, but I saw the immediate future of the media-technology world. It’s a world going in opposite directions. We are looking to connect everything together and we’re looking as having the freedom to roam. We want portability but we want to have all our gadgets and gizmos connected to alow us to play anything, anytime, where.

This “clip” is long, but has lots of cool stuff inside. Enjoy.

Too much to put in one video. Here is just a warm-up for what's to come. I particularly enjoy the Intel booth where you get to film a commercial (and make a fool of yourself).

 

 

The video drought will come to an end. I am off, in a few hours, to Las Vegas to the Consumer Electronics Show (aka CES). To be confronted with all things media and electronics should yield many videos.

Stay tuned.