I must admit, I love not using a mouse – the trackpad is where it’s at – but going from desktop computer isn’t always accommodating to such needs. That was until I discovered the Mighty Mouse and its wonderful nipple.

In 2001 I got a hand-me-down HP Omnibook laptop that was my best friend over the next 3 years. I’m unsure if I ever plugged a mouse in except at the office when I used the docking station that took up 3/4 of my desk. It had a mini scroll-ball (aka “nipple”) right in the middle of the keyboard. This little red dot was supposed to be hyper-sensitive and do your scrolling based on the slightest movements of your fingertip. Unfortunately, the HP nipple always annoyed me. It was always too fast, too slow, non-responsive or sticky. It wasn’t until I unwrapped my Mighty Mouse at work a few weeks ago that I realized the wonders of the “Nipple 2.0” or “iNipple” and the joys it would bring.

I come home to my computer, slide my index finger over the scroll button located snuggly between left and right click, and it doesn’t budge. “Oh yeah, pfft stupid Dell mouse”. I’m addicted to the sideways scroll, especially with two fingers on the trackpad, oh man I love the Macbook trackpad. But the Mighty Mouse nipple is the next best thing. Tiny, very sensitive and responding gently to my every touch (hm why does it make me feel uncomfortable to state that?) I’d be very happy to never again see another Logitech.

Dave – the Canucks Outsider – was able to attend the hoopla and joyous festivities over at City Hall yesterday where Sam Sullivan proclaimed Tuesday May 29th “Vancouver Giants Day”. He was sure to record audio for his podcast and with his citizen journalism super skills, interviewed Giants players and owners and ex-coaches.

Topics include Gordie Howe’s happiness and sadness, next year’s Giants captain, best way to develop young hockey players, future Mem Cups in Vancouver, Pat Quinn’s next job, Don Hay’s secrets to success and predictions on future success.[HockeyNW]

Visit Hockey Northwest to listen, for show notes and more of Dave’s hockey hijinks.

Aside from worrying about not being tan enough, or having the right summer outfit, there’s a new front for non-anorexic-sized women to battle this summer.

Photo credit: kk+ on Flickr

In the series Seinfeld, muffin tops were coveted items [wiki]. They were sold alone and not with the actual muffin itself because they’re the tastiest part. Tony linked to an article on the LAist yesterday about a different kind of muffin top:

I must ask you Los Angeles: how can we eliminate the social pressure to compress the entirety of one’s belly fat into a sausage-like ring around one’s waist? What sort of protest must we organize to free the spare tires and allow them to disperse in their appropriate locations (i.e. inside the pants)? Which government office should we alert to the rising of the muffin tops over the waistline? [LAist]

Before we hop on the jump to conclusions mat, what the author is really trying to say is that it’s a pet peeve, more than anything. Similar to bra straps showing and thongs visible from the top of the pants.

This is not about being overweight or having a BMI over 30 or society’s pressures to be thin or eating disorders. This is about what the hell were you thinking when you left the house in that outfit with your gut hanging over your belt like that and why did you think that was okay? [LAist]

It happens to everyone and it’s very hard to avoid. The simple solution is to buy clothes that actually fit your body. You can be larger, have an hourglass figure, be bodacious and voluptuous and still not look like the Michelin man. It’s about proportions, sizes, flattering shapes and textures. I am no spring chicken myself but I try my darndest not to cram alls I got into something 3 sizes too small or tiny just because it’s trendy. I’d rather look good and be comfortable than conform to what Robson tells me I should wear – for the sake of it being in fashion.

Oh and if you’re wondering, Tony put his money where his mouth is and posted a pic of his rubenesque muffin top of his blog today as well.

I put the question out in the tech-o-sphere last week and haven’t been able to find any answers until today. Basically, we were looking for a desktop-sharing, online web conferencing application or service (e.g. Webex) that would work with a Mac. Everyone I asked seemed to think it was something that’s needed, and would be nice, but simply doesn’t exist.

I did a few more searches this morning and in the comments section of a blog I found Yugma.

Yugma is a free web collaboration service that enables people to instantly connect over the internet to communicate and share content and ideas using any application or software. Whether you using a Windows, Mac or Linux computer, you can connect on-demand and real-time with co-workers, clients, friends and family — regardless of whether they are across the city, nation or even the globe.

We had a few issues right off the bat, and the free version seems to meet all of our requirements but we’re still testing it out. A little pain in the butt was that when you invite someone to a chat and they log in/create a username that is not stored so they cannot start their own session after that using those credentials. They just have to initial their own session and sign up that way. The same user/email can be used but you have to input it twice [Yugma Features]

We’ll keep looking at it today but for more information on conferencing apps, check out Troy Angrignon’s summary blog post (thanks for the tip, Boris!)

What Troy says about Yugma: “What about some of the new, lightweight conferencing applications? Yugma crashed when I tried it too.”

I admit, I’m bad with playlists. John has running playlists (up tempo and low impact), songs for happy times, and rainy days. I basically abuse my “On-The-Go” which turns into “On-The-Go2” to “On-The-Go6” whenever I plug my ipod into my computer for juice (pause for shudders here).

I try to make and maintain playlists, really I do but I just don’t keep them up to date. Currently I have “summer”, “november”, “‘mallow” and “winturr”. Yes, original I know but seriously I’m still listening to songs I was hooked on about 18 months ago. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with re-visiting favourite beach tunes such as The (International) Noise Conspiracy, The Black Keys, Aberdeen City, Mates of State, and The Dandy Warhols (who are @ the Commodore this weekend), but it’s time I broadened my horizons.

To get a taste of what we’re into or going to be into, check out the RadioZoom podcast – other than that… I have a few favourite artists [Matt][Holly] with albums dropping this summer and am always on the look out for some killer new tunes. Great sources are Promonet, podsafe music network and well, John.

Speaking of podcasting and media, local CBC insider, radio and podcasting guru Tod Maffin is launching Todbits.tv this week.

Well, it’s been a long time in the making, but I’m finally pleased to announce that I’ve inked a deal with Alliance Atlantis to do a six-month season of Todbits on video! The show, called Todbits.tv, will include my visits to some tech companies around Canada, showing off the latest cool gadgets, and 45 minutes of your tech questions, answered live (with you on video, if you have a web cam too).

We’ll have a bit more to say on the topic when the next episode of RadioZoom is released but in the meantime, but first Todbits.tv goes to air Friday night at 10ET/7PT.