As an extra treat we are offering Newsprint for 50% off for the next week!

So don’t delay and pick up a copy today.

For more information on Newsprint, please visit: NewsprintApp.com

To access Newsprint in the iTunes App Store, please visit: App Store

*On sale from April 21, 2010 until April 28, 2010.
*50% off is $2.99, based on the normal price of $4.99

Now to get to work on the iPad version….

ESPN’s coverage will include six games live in high definition on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD, and 39 on ESPN3.com, ESPN’s 24/7 broadband sports network. The schedule will include the MLL All-Star Game, one semifinal and the MLL Championship Game.

The 2010 MLL television schedule kicks off on Saturday, May 22!

For my convenience your convenience I have created a web calendar with all the games (as currently listed. ie: number wise a few are missing, including the semifinal and championship games) (I will update the calendar with any new data I see)

You can subscribe to the calendar by using the following URL:
webcal://ical.me.com/kdbdallas/MLL%20Telecast%20Schedule%202010.ics
If your browser doesn’t open your calendar program, you will need to manually add the “shared” calendar in your favorite calendar program.

You can also view the calendar on the web by following the URL:
http://ical.me.com/kdbdallas/MLL%20Telecast%20Schedule%202010

Enjoy.

Official announcement can be viewed at: http://majorleaguelacrosse.com/news/pressreleases/?article_id=1652

What if you or someone in your family had something happen, and then say even years later you lose your job? You would look to get coverage some other way, but they won’t take you because of that pre-existing condition, or they will but want you to pay 2 mortgage payments worth every month, plus a huge deductible and 20-50%.

Even getting another job isn’t enough all ways. If that company is not large enough or is just getting setup with coverage they will drop the entire company or will charge everyone in the company so much that they can’t offer it…. (I have been in this exact situation so I know it’s true)

I agree that the Govt should not provide universal health care for everyone, and the current bills aren’t trying to do that. (we have read through many drafts of the bills because its so important to us) So using that as a reason to stop reform isn’t valid.

Hope that helps to explain my families views of health care reform.

On January 25th, 1982, I was born.

It’s kind of sad that I am only 2 years older then the Mac.

This book is great for new iPhone developers as well as experienced ones.
You will need some Objective-C knowledge, but if you have some OOP (Object Oriented Programming) experience you should be ok with picking up an Objective-C book as well for as you work through the book.

If you are in a B&N stroll into the Geek, err, I mean Computer Programming section and look for the book.
Feel free to buy a copy to support my good friend and author of the book, Jiva DeVoe.
If you can’t get yourself to that level of geek, at least pick it up and look at the ‘Credits’ page, right before the Table of Contents and then you can go around to all the geeks in that area and say, “I KNOW THIS GUY!”

This makes 2 iPhone development books that I have been involved in, each one with more of a role than the last, however I can safely say it will be my last as after being involved with the book writing processes and having the author be a close friend of mine, I don’t really have a desire to write one myself (unless it’s an offer I just can’t refuse).

KidFlix is for parents with small children. KidFlix stops kids from accidentally activating the on-screen controls while listening to audio or watching videos on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Therefore eliminating accidental exits, fast-forwards, etc and therefore eliminating the need for you to constantly fix the problem.

KidFlix is not meant to be a substitute for proper child care, but instead to be a helping hand in keeping your child entertained.

As a parent of a young child I know how valuable of a tool this program can be when you are at say a restaurant and your child starts getting bored.

You can purchase KidFlix for $1.99, directly from the App Store by following the URL:
itms://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kidflix/id307595676?mt=8

Today we mark the end of GeoCities!

GeoCities was the premiere place to get your own personal “web space” back circa-1995.
GeoCities provide the initial playground for many of today’s web professionals (including myself).

I remember many-a-night hacking away on my GeoCities page.
Having informal feuds with others on who could do the best site with the latest and greatest web technologies of the times, like frame and guest books!

GeoCities has therefore always been, and continued to today’s closure, the ultimate place to find the worst looking webpages with the most crap and the worst code.

In honor of the closing I took it on myself to throw everything I know from doing professional web development for 12 years, out the window and come put together the following for your enjoyment.

Needless to say it is the first issue I was eagerly awaiting to show up in the mail.
(not that it’s not a good magazine normally, just not as good as with me in it)

When it finally came I was even happier to find that it was mentioned not only once, but twice in the same Months magazine!

The first was what I was expecting, a review of iDeskCal.
(If you have been following this site for a while, you will remember that several months ago Macworld had done an online review of iDeskCal)

(click image for full size version)

The second mention was smaller, but still nice…
It was in a section they did this month called “Budget Mac”.
The idea was for three Mac users to build their ultimate setup for $300.
iDeskCal showed up in the “Student’s” setup.

I took the liberty to create a little collage of the main items.
For the full text please pick up a copy of the magazine.

(click image for full size version)

I also thought I would go ahead and share that letter here, so here it is.

Dear Mr. President,
My name is Dallas Brown.
I wanted to take a minute and write you concerning the proposed health care reform.

Let me start by saying that I am not a Democrat, nor a Republican.
I personally do not like the close minded nature to the “other side” that both parties seem to show.
Instead I would consider myself a Constitutionalist or more towards a Libertarian.

As such, I am usually in favor of less government, however when it comes to health care reform I am in favor of anything that will truly fix such a important yet broken system.

If you would allow I would like to explain my circumstances to help better explain how imperative it is that something is done, and fast!

My son, Tyler, now 4 years-old, was born 3 months early at 25 weeks gestation.
He weighed under 2 pounds.
As a result of being so early, he had to have heart surgery the day after being born and he had what is called a brain bleed, which is basically a stroke.
Tyler spent the next 3 months in the hospital and running up a medical bill of around 1 Million dollars.

As a result of the brain bleed, part of the brain was killed.
It also resulted in Spinal fluid not being to drain correctly so he had to receive a Shunt, which allows the Spinal fluid to drain from his brain into his stomach.

In 4 years of life Tyler has had heart surgery, eye surgery, and about 7 brain/head surgeries including a total skull reconstructions.

Tyler has Cerebral Palsy as a result of the brain that was killed off.
He walks with a major limp, and does not talk, however he is mentally very aware and smart.
However, he is like a 1 year-old in a 4 year-old body.

All of that being said….

I am self employed as a Apple Mac and iPhone software developer, and my family and I would qualify as “Middle Class”.

With being self employed we are desperately searching for a health insurance plan, however the second any of the private health insurance companies look at my son, we are immediately rejected. Even the so called “non-profit” companies reject us, some times before even submitting an application.

Since we are middle class citizens we do not qualify for any of the current government plans because we “make too much money.”

We are willing an trying to pay upwards of $600+ a month for health insurance, yet no one will accept us.
This means that if my son gets sick we can’t take him to his pediatrician unless we can afford to pay the entire bill upfront.
If he has another shunt failure (which he has had 4 of) the hospital will only do what they are required by law to due, and “make sure he is stable”, which means he will not receive the care he desperately needs, and would most likely die.
That entire hospital visit will be billed to us and with being upwards of $10K for a shunt failure, we would be unable to pay.

(We received many bills during Tyler’s stay in the hospital, yet the kicker was a Single bill of Over $100K that we received)

So here we are, Middle Class Americans, willing to pay extreme rates if only we could get health insurance, and all because of a medical condition that my son did not ask for, and makes everyday already more difficult than normal.

I apologize for the length of this message, however I hope it helps show how desperately we need some kind of health care reform and soon.

There have been talks about things like just capping the amount someone can sue a doctor for malpractice.
The problem with something like this, is that while it may change some things, it would not help someone like me, as the health insurance companies would still refuse to give us coverage.

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to read this letter.
Please feel free to use Tyler’s story if you think it would help.

Sincerely,

-Dallas Brown