Just a bunch of stuff I was thinking about today...

I love the way Apple advertises the i-things on TV. They show happy fingers dragging apps all over the screen at lightning speed, typing stuff, reading newspapers, books and magazines, listening to music and sending messages with charts and graphs. It all seems so ... free. When we stop to think (if the TV gives us time) we realize that all of those things cost money. Apple makes it sound like all you need to do is buy the i-thing and you'll suddenly be hooked up to the world via WiFi or your trusty 3G network, but alas, that costs money too. Your $499 i-thing is suddenly a $300-a-month App Bill. Of course, you can do your banking by the i-thing too, which comes in handy for paying your i-thing bill.

Tiger Woods is back to playing golf. Check the newspaper tomorrow (on your i-thing) and you'll see something like WOODS BACK AT MASTERS, 2 STROKES OFF THE LEAD. Try to find out who is leading the tournament and you'll probably have to scroll down to the third or fourth paragraph.

Speaking of marketing, the new Nike ad featuring a sullen Tiger with his dead father preaching a voice-over lesson on life is rank and tasteless, even for TV. Suddenly, Earl Woods became Jor-El, leaving a posthumous life lesson to little Superwood in his fortress of solitude. It's supposed to resurrect Tiger's damaged image, but instead it reeks of desperation. Maybe Earl knows something, since he is himself an admitted adulterer. Like Jor-El, like son.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP)—As Chris Cooley talked Thursday about how easily Donovan McNabb was fitting in during his first week with the Washington Redskins, the six-time Pro Bowl quarterback was proving his tight end’s point.

Clearly, Chris Cooley has never had a real job. Any time a new employee joins a company he fits in with his new co-workers. It's only after a few months on the job that they realize what a clown he is. We'll see how the Redskins feel in November.

Once again, the tail is wagging the dog, and sports betting is getting another round of support in New Jersey casinos...

Delaware already has tried to establish sports betting and is likely to make another push. New Jersey legislators met Monday in Atlantic City to discuss a proposed referendum on it.

"I believe sports betting in Pennsylvania casinos would generate additional revenue and tourism," said Pennsylvania State Rep. Dante Santoni Jr. (D., Berks), chairman of the House Gaming Oversight Committee.

Sure, sports gambling will generate additional revenue. Even a dopey politician can figure that out. What is interesting to me is that, when new taxes are proposed to pay for new services, people protest because they don't want to pay more. But propose a lottery or some gambling mechanism that invariably costs people more money than they make, we don't hear the protests. Curiously, we would rather take a chance on some random series of events than to actually pay for something -- like health care.

We're funny like that.