Personal Finance

All About N-Gage have the dirt on a game that looks like it has a lot of potential: Asphalt: Urban GT.  I can't say that I've played much more than some FIFA and other random stuff on the N-Gage, but a good racer can add a lot of value to a gaming platform.  Of course I'm still waiting to see if Call of Duty rocks as much as it should.

Nine hundred NBA games, at your fingertips.

Volker Bertelman discovers when he's 10 years old that he can make a piano sound like a harpsichord by sticking metal tacks into the hammers. As an adult, his penchant for piano modification gains the respect of music fans the world over.

Speaking of Mini DisplayPort, here's another entry from Apple in the shipping hall of shame. They're shipping the five-inch Mini-DiplayPort-to-DVI adapter in a box that's bigger than the MacBook's. Check out the waste.

As Kevin notes, it might seem nitpicky, but when you compare this to how much Apple boasts on the MacBook's green packaging, it is kind of jarring:

"The new MacBook packaging is up to 41 percent smaller than the previous generation. And smaller boxes are much better for the planet. Because smaller boxes mean we can fit more boxes on each shipping pallet — up to 25 percent more. Which means more products will fit on each boat and plane. Which means fewer boats and planes are used, resulting in fewer CO2 emissions. It’s just one seemingly minor change. But it has a major positive impact on our environment."

Surely they've got a smaller box lying around somewhere. If not, we hope they transition all of their shipping boxes to a greener variation—not just to align them with Apple's own standards and goals, but to set an example for the rest of the industry. [jkOnTheRun]

The Compleat ÜberNerd: a fascinating series of blog entries detailing the nitty-gritty behind the mortgage industry by Calculated Risk's "Tanta." If you're curious about automated underwriting systems or the ins and outs of mortgage servicing or if you just enjoy some Mortgage Pig Excel art, Tanta was the blogger for you. Tanta, otherwise known as Doris Dungey, passed away on Sunday morning (NYT obit, CR obit).