So I just found out tonight that my Grandfather (on my Dad's side) has cancer.  It doesn't seem to be too serious from the sounds of it, but we'll know more by the weekend.  I'm just thankful he's actually going to get it taken care of rather than be stubborn about it.  He's going in for some kind of operation Thursday or Friday so hopefully we'll know more, and more importantly, he'll be okay.  He's one of the strongest people I know and I hope he knows how concerned I am.  I just hope that it's early enough that something can be done.

It's been almost 7 years to the day since my Grandmother died of Pancreatic cancer, I'm praying that it turns out better for my grandfather. I love both of them and really don't want to believe this.

Tags: thoughts, prayers

Google has just announced that it has integrated AIM into GMAIL. What does this mean? It means that from GMAIL, you can access and talk to your contacts on AIM from the side chat menu. This is pretty big news as it is I believe that first real integration between the IM companies (AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft, & Google). I mean there are the multiple protocol clients like Adium, Trillian, Pidgin, & even the web clients like Meebo.com, but never done before by the service company. I tried it out, and it runs just like Google Talk. With everything that Google has done to GMAIL lately, I'd be curious to see where else they go.

UPDATE: I also just happened to notice that the chat feature in GMAIL now works on Safari, which is great because Safari is my primary browser on my Mac and once the final version is released for Windows, it may very well become my primary brower there too.

Google Integrates AIM into GMAIL [macworld.com]

Tags: google, gmail, aim, links, news

The MPAA has pretty much been beaten at their own game. The controversial toolkit that they were trying to push for Universities to use to help combat piracy has been hit with a Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice. Why? They decided somehow that the GPL did not apply to them. The toolkit was based off of Ubuntu, and the GPL states that if they use code licensed by the open-source GPL license, they must make the source code publicly available. The MPAA seems to have decided that they didn't have to follow this as the source was never released. Ubuntu Technical Board Member Matthew Garret sent the takedown notice and as of this morning, the toolkit seems to be no longer available for download from their site.

This toolkit was being pushed to try to get colleges and universities to install on their network to help monitor the students and track those who might be downloading movies, music, etc.

MPAA's University Toolkit hit with DMCA takedown notice after GPL violation [arstechnica.com]

Tags: mpaa, mafia, gpl, ubuntu, dmca, links, news

My weekend was jam packed. It seems like the only time I really spent at home was yesterday (Sunday) evening. I was out all over the place. Went to Bristol Saturday and had lunch and hung around with Cass.Saturday night I went over to LJ's and played Rock Band. (Pictures here) Game was fun, not sure it's worth the $180 for me, but still a fun game. Sunday I slept in til like 1, and then went shopping like all day. Didn't get much other than Apollo 13 on HD DVD. I still need to do more Christmas shopping. Pretty much need to figure out what to get everyone.

Sunday evening was spent relaxing and gaming. I played Call of Duty 4 mostly. That game is fun. Multiplayer just kicks ass and the single player campaign ain't half bad either. I also played several levels of Jedi Knight 3: Jedi Academy. I beat that game years ago, but even today, it's still fun. Gotta love using force grip to throw people off the edge.

Now, the week begins. Back to the grindstone for me.

Tags: weekend, fun, busy