Yesterday I tried something that apparently I’ve missed out on for the past 25 years – winter indoor running at the Metrodome, sponsored by the Minnesota Distance Running Association (MDRA).

Aside from the hard concrete surface, this is a great opportunity to continue training during the harsh Minnesota winter. For only $1 per session, you can run from 5:00PM to 8:00PM most Tuesdays and Thursdays from now until March 12th. Parking is free outside gate D (which is also where you enter).

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Tonight I stopped by the Apple Store at the Mall of America to pick up a new MacBook for a colleague at work. After 30 minutes of unpacking and configuration, I have to say, it’s a pretty nice machine.

The previous edition of the Mac Book has served many people I know very well – my wife has one and I purchased quite a few for the school here and in LA. Aside from a few notable melt-downs, they have worked great for the price.

My biggest issue with the new edition was the lack of a FireWire port. This has been talked about all over the web and I understand the reasons Apple dropped it, but I will still miss the convenience of FireWire target mode and the ability to use the huge pile of FireWire hard drives I have laying around.

The build quality of the new machines is top notch – the block of aluminum process creates one solid-feeling laptop. It’s a lot lighter than I expected and the glossy LED-backlit screen is bright and vivid without too much glare. The entry-level configuration is somewhat pricey, but has specs that are usable right out of the box without needing any extra upgrades. No video cable in the box sucks, though.

This is not the laptop for me (I’m a 17-inch matte screen guy), but it’s very nice and would likely serve the needs of 80% of the laptop market quite well.

The economy has me in the blues lately – I wonder how long before the NHL in Minnesota is impacted. I don’t have my season ticket this year (which is one of the reasons for the lack of posts here) and other NHL markets are seriously tanking, but hopefully it won’t spread too much before things improve.

On a happier note, both the Wild and the Gophers are playing good, entertaining hockey. Missed last night’s rare national game in HD, but it sounded good on the radio.

I still plan to add a new feature here soon, but to be honest, there are so many good hockey writers and bloggers out there now that I feel like I should only write when I have something unique to say and not just re-hash what is already out there.

Since new media revenue is starting to evaporate along with everything else, at least I don’t have any sponsors I need to worry about… 😉