My wife noticed the graphic makeover of Newsweek magazine first.  “The whole magazine looks like an advertising supplement,” she told me.

The magazine, which has been losing money for its parent, The Washington Post Company, decided a makeover was in order, and in this case it was more than a cosmetic one.

Newsweek updated its graphics and the kind of news it will cover.  Unlike other newsweeklies, Newsweek says it will give up covering the week’s major events and focus instead on more opinion pieces.

It’s a gamble, but faced with falling circulation, it had no other choice.  It hopes to target a more affluent and highly educated audience and feels it can do that by doubling the subscription price.  That will certainly weed out some readers!

To me, the new layout makes Newsweek look more like The Economist.  I agree with my wife.  The new Newsweek is a little too slick for me.

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Speaking of my talented and lovely wife, we will be celebrating our 35th anniversary in the coming days as we go on vacation.  See you soon!

If you ever tried to use a wireless card to connect to the internet, you know what a pain in the laptop it can be.

The card I’ve been using has a small, plastic antenna that tends to fall off at the slightest touch.

Now, Verizon Wireless has come up with a device that makes the wireless card obsolete; the MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot.  It’s a 2 ounce piece of plastic the size of a thick credit card that connects to Verizon’s 3G network and creates your own personal, secure wireless mini-network.

As many as 5 different wireless devices can connect to the internet within about 30 feet of the MiFi.  Your network is password protected, so you control access to it.

The rechargeable battery in the MiFi provides up to 4 hours of active use, and 40 hours of standby time on a single charge.

It’s reasonably priced.  With a 2 year contract, the MiFi is 99 bucks after rebate.  Access is extra; about 40 dollars a month for 250MB of data or 60 dollars for up to 5 gigabytes.  If you don’t want to sign up for a monthly plan, you can pay $15 for 24 hours but you’ll have to pay $150 for the unit.

Because the MiFi interacts with your WiFi-enabled device, there is no software to set up, and it’s Mac-friendly.

To use the MiFi, you just press the power button, wait a few seconds for it to connect to Verizon’s data network, and enter the password listed on the back of the MiFi.  That’s it.

How fast is the connection?  That’s the other reason to use this.

I used the iPhone app called Speed Test to compare the speed of the AT&T 3G network to the MiFi network connected to Verizon’s 3G network.

Let’s say it wasn’t a fair fight. Look at the screen shots. On the left is the AT&T network; on the right, Verizon.  A series of tests confirmed consistently higher speeds for Verizon.

If you need to connect to the internet with your laptop, and you are on the road, the MiFi should be something to consider.

There are few performers I would go out of my way to see nowadays, but one of them is coming to Orange Beach in July and you can bet I will be there.

I’m talking about Bob Dylan.

I can remember the name of the first Dylan album I bought, (The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, which cost $2.49 for the monaural version, $2.99 in stereo), the first time I saw Bob Dylan in concert (with The Band, at the Boston Garden, January 14, 1974, the early show), and the first time I saw Dylan in Mobile (at Expo Hall with the Rolling Thunder Review, 1976). I’ve seen him since at the Biloxi/Gulf Coast Coliseum and at the Mobile Civic Center.

Being a Dylan fan wasn’t easy.  My Mom thought his voice sounded like a cat being tortured; my wife still has a low tolerance for his vocals.  It doesn’t matter to me.  I like his songs more than his vocals, especially since age has limited his already narrow range.

I’ve only actually disliked one of his albums (Self-Portrait, unfortunately a double album).  His best was Blood on the Tracks, which came out while I was in graduate school.

I was bummed to find out Dylan was playing in my hometown on my birthday (which was admittedly a little out of the way), but delighted when John Edd told me last week, “You know, Bob Dylan is playing at the Wharf in July, right?”  I had tickets within hours.

If you want to see Dylan at the Wharf, don’t wait.  I’m told the show (also featuring Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp) is close to selling out.

Since there’s no shortage of opinions concerning the Miss California controversy, I thought I would add my two cents.

Initially, I was going to keep quiet.  After all, it’s always easy to sit back and judge and criticize.  And I simply did not want to be one of those people, especially having competed in Miss USA pageants (on a local level) and knowing how fierce the competition can be.  I give absolute kudos to anyone brave enough to delve into pageantry.

But all bets were off following Tuesday’s news conference.

In case you’re not familiar here’s the issue:

Miss California USA Carrie Prejean was catapulted into the spotlight when she declared opposition to same-sex marriage.  The answer was in response to a question asked at the Miss USA pageant April 19^th.  She was asked her view of marriage by blogger Perez Hilton. Prejean said she believes marriage is between a man and a woman.  Shortly thereafter, let’s just say a firestorm ignited.  There was an abundance of chatter from groups both speaking in favor and against Prejean’s comments.  Now somewhere along the way, seminude photos surfaced of Prejean.  The pictures were taken when she was a teenager.  The news did not sit well with California pageant officials and an investigation was launched.

Ok, let’s fast forward to Tuesday morning, when pageant owner Donald Trump held a news conference and said, “We’ve reviewed the pictures carefully.  We’ve made a determination that the pictures taken were acceptable. Some were risqué, but we are in the 21st century.”

Ladies and gentlemen, that’s when I my silence was broken.  ”Some were risqué, but we are in the 21st century?”

What!

The issue isn’t whether the pictures were beautiful, or in bad taste.  The issue was whether she didn’t tell the truth and was in breach of contract.

Participants are clearly asked whether they have ever been photographed nude or partially nude.  Prejean answered no.

Yet instead of having her crown taken away for being dishonest, the “risqué” behavior was rewarded and seemingly justified because we’re in the “21st century.”

I’m sorry but Trumps decision not to fire Prejean just sends the wrong message.  It tells young ladies you can lie in a competition and still keep your prize when you’re caught.

Incidentally, how is Miss North Carolina is doing?  You know, Kristen Dalton, the young lady who actually won the title of Miss USA.

Saturday was a beautiful day on the campus of Spring Hill College.  I had the chance to put on a cap and gown once again and walk with the rest of the faculty for the commencement exercises on the Avenue of the Oaks.

The most memorable moment for me came when retiring President Rev. Gregory Lucey choked up a little bit as he asked the new graduates to “stay in touch”.  It had to be a bittersweet moment for him, as he prepares to turn over the presidency of the college to someone new.

To illustrate the importance of community, he told the story of a rabbi who learned a longtime member of the congregation was no longer attending services.  He went to the woman’s house, and sat with her in front of her coal-powered fireplace.

Neither said anything for a half hour.

Finally, the rabbi reached into the fire with a set of tongs, pulled out a single piece of coal and set it apart from the others.  Within minutes, the coal ashed over and died.

A few minutes passed, then the woman finally spoke.  “I see your message,” she said.  “I will return to services”.

Yes, it is important to “stay in touch”, no matter what you do.

Newspapers are some of the biggest backers of Amazon’s latest creation, the Kindle DX which was officially unveiled today.

Offering a much larger screen than the Kindle, it’s designed to mimic the appearance of a traditional newspaper and is touted as a way to save the industry by introducing a paperless way to deliver news by subscription.

That sounds good, until you look at the price of the device.

While I’ll admit being an early adopter who loves courting the bleeding edge of technology, the $489 cost  made me gasp.

This may not be the salvation the newspaper industry needs…if there is one.

UPDATE:  Consider this post from paidcontent.org and the Washington Post:  “Apart from unveiling the new, larger screen Kindle DX, Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos announced that subscriptions for the Washington Post, NYT and its troubled NYTCo sibling The Boston Globe will offer reduced monthly Kindle subscriptions. But as Amazon’s press release points out: only in areas where home delivery doesn’t already exist. After the big build-up at the press conference, this detail is very anti-climactic.”

This hasn’t been a good couple of weeks for Mobile’s effort to land at least a part of the multi-billion dollar Air Force tanker deal.

Mounting Murtha problems

The man Mobile courted, Pennsylvania Representative John Murtha, gave up the fight to get a split contract between Northrop Grumman/EADS and Boeing this year. While other presidents have courted Murtha, President Obama has not. Obama’s choice to remain Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, dismissed the idea of dividing the contract, saying it would make the project more expensive. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel have been working behind the scenes to reduce the influence of Murtha, who has been wounded politically by investigations of contractors or lobbyists close to him.

Speaking of politics

Another factor working against Mobile is the outcome of the 2008 election. Alabama and its 9 electoral votes went to John McCain. The two counties that would benefit most from the tanker project, Mobile and Baldwin, voted overwhelmingly Republican. Does anyone remember what happened to Brookley Air Force Base after Alabama voted for Republican Barry Goldwater over Democrat Lyndon Johnson in 1964? Just days after LBJ’s election, President Johnson announced the closing of Brookley, which once employed 13,000 workers.

Some don’t believe there was a link between the two, but the timing was curious, nonetheless.

Combine that with the real (or perceived) influence of Boeing in Congress, and it’s clear that Mobile has some work to do to keep the tanker deal from going into a tail spin.

I have always been proud of my daughters (and now, their husbands as well) for their commitment to helping others,  whether it is serving in AmeriCorps as our younger daughter is doing or helping homeless women, their children and homeless youth, as our older daughter does.

A father’s pride really rose in me as I heard our Erin’s voice as she was being interviewed on public radio talking about VinCare, which helps homeless moms become self-sufficient.

Take a listen for yourself (click on the play button).