Must have missed . . .

U.S. Fighter Jet Bombs Australia Building

DARWIN, Australia - A U.S. Marine Corps fighter jet dropped a bomb and damaged a building in an accident at a remote military range in northern Australia, the government said Friday.

The bomb, dropped by an F/A-18 Hornet, exploded near a control tower and damaged facilities at the Delamere Air Weapons Range in the Northern Territory on Wednesday, Australia's Defense Department said. No one was injured and no details were released on the extent of the damage.

Defense Minister Robert Hill said the mishap was under investigation by both Australian and American authorities.

"We certainly regard it as a serious incident," Hill told reporters in the northern city of Darwin.

Bombing exercises have ceased at the weapons range, some 80 miles south of the town of Katherine.

"Things like this will always happen; we hope not very frequently and we hope not any more dangerously," Prime Minister John Howard told Melbourne Radio 3AW. "But the idea that you can conduct any kind of military exercise without some kind of potential for mishap is unrealistic."

The U.S. Marine contingent, which is based in Japan, was conducting an annual training exercise called Southern Frontier that involves 500 troops, 15 F/A-18 Hornets and two KC-130 Hercules aircraft.

The U.S. Marine Corps said the ordnance was a 500 pound laser-guided bomb, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Hello, I'm Diego from Peru. I write to say that we want you to come on a G3 tour in Sudamerica on late 2005.

I'd like you to come to Lima - Peru, because people here like a lot your music and because you have never come to Peru, We'd like you to come for the first time.

This message is a petition from all your peruvians peruvians fans. We will be waiting

Did Microsoft Invent The iPod?

According to the U.S. Patent Office, patent applications that cover much of the technology associated with the iPod were submitted by Microsoft.

If you think Apple Computer's Steve Jobs invented the technology behind the Apple iPod, don't bet your 60GB, 15,000-song model on it.

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, patent applications that cover much of the technology associated with the iPod were submitted by Microsoft, which has been on a patents tear recently filing thousands of patents.

If the patents hold up on appeal, Apple could be accountable for royalties on the spectacularly successful iPod. Jobs and others associated with Apple filed for patents covering the technology in October, 2002, but that application was rejected by the patent office last month. AppleInsider.com reported the rejection this week.

Apple won't take the matter lying down. "Apple invented and publicly released the iPod interface before the Microsoft patent application cited by the (patent) examiner was filed," said an Apple spokesperson in a statement. Apple also noted that the firm has received other patents for technology relating to the iPod and in addition has other patents pending on the iPod.

The documents in the Patent Office do not mention the iPod by name. The documents describe a "portable, pocked-sized multimedia asset player" that can manipulate MP3 music files.

Microsoft's claim appears to center on the work of John C. Platt, a senior researcher in the Knowledge Tools Group at Microsoft Research. According to media reports, on behalf of Microsoft, Platt applied for the patent in May of 2002 some five months before the Apple filing. Platt's application was rejected in December 2004, but he amended it in April of this year and Microsoft's pending patent was subsequently approved.

According to a citation on "Platt's home page, he and other colleagues at Microsoft developed a paper in the 2001-2002 timeframe discussing AutoDJ, "a system for automatically generating music playlists based on one or more seed songs selected by a user."

Apple's iPod dominates the MP3 player market. The NPD Group has reported that Apple has shipped nearly 22 million iPods. Predictions that Apple's strength in the MP3 market would slip haven't borne out, and Apple accounts for about 75 percent of MP3 players sold in the U.S.

So far, Microsoft hasn't been able to dent the Apple iPod dominance, although the software giant has said it is working on music playing devices that it plans to introduce later this year.

tato_guitar

Does anyone know if Joe Satriani and/or Steve Vai get along with Michael Angelo Batio, or is there some bad blood between them? 'Cause I know I'm not the only one who'd love to see that G3.

By the way, Joe? I want guitar lessons! You turn out more champions than Phil Jackson (or at least cooler, more talented ones).

Hey Joe!

You are the greatest, are you okay!?! Please let us know. JS rules forever!!'

Joe, enjoying a cannabis-enhanced listening of "Searching" here. It's like nothing I've ever experienced, and I am so convinced right now that you must be a regular partaker of the stuff...ha

Michelle - Throwin down my third Vodka cran and just wanted to hello to the Vodka- cran girl.

civgeek, I'm on my second! Cheers dude! lmao!!

HEY JOE WHAT UP HOW'S THING'S BEEN TOURNING AND STUFF MAN IT'S GOT TO MAKE YOU TIRED SOME TIMES DO YOU? I BET YOU HAVE A VERY GOOD TIME TO WITH ALL THE FANS AND PLAYING ON STAGE GOT TO BE AWESOME SITE TO SEE, I JUST STARTED A BAND UP ABOUT A MOUNTH AGO AND WERE HAVEING A CONCERT HERE IN SEPT AND IT'S GOING TO BE AWESOME I THINK IM A LITTLE NERVOUS THOUGH IM LEAD GUITARIST AND VOCALIST, I BOUGHT ONE OF YOUR GUITARS THE JS2000 AND IT'S SOUNDS JUST BEAUTIFUL I THINK THE FAN'S WILL LIKE IT. WELL I HOPE EVERYTHING IS GOING GOOD FOR YOU, ILL KEEP YOU IM PRAYER, GOD BLESS.

HI JOE HOW'S IT GOING, HAVE YOU BEEN BUSY LATELY TOURNING AND STUFF OR ARE YOU WORKING ON A NEW CD? HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT COMEING TO HOOD RIVER OREGON TO HAVE A CONCERT IT'S JUST LIKE 60 MILES FROM PORTLAND THIS SUMMER WE HAVE B.B. KING COMEING HERE TO MARYHILL IT'S A WINE PLACE THEY MADE A BIG STAGE THERE IT'S AWESOME, AND OPENING UP FOR BB KENNY WAYNE SHEPPARD, AND ZZ TOP'S GOING TO BE HERE TO, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME IF YOU CAME DOWN I LOVE TO HEAR YOU IN CONCER, MY FAVORITE SONG IS ALWAYS WITH ME, ALWAYS WITH YOU I BEEN LEARNING THAT SONG ON GUITAR IT'S BEAUTIFUL, I STARTED A BAND ABOUT A YEAR AGO AND ARE FIRST CONCERT IS IN PORTLAND AT DY'S BROADWAY DINNER IT'S AWESOME IT'S LIKE A JAZZ CLUB AND BLUES I PLAY MORE BLUES THOUGH,

WELL I HOPE EVERYTHING'S GOING GOOD FOR YOU MAN ILL KEEP YOU IN MY PRAYERS AND KEEP PLAYING MAN YOUR AWESOME.

g'day to all in satchland,

wow , finaly a new song whoo

Glowing in the dark