Following up on a post from about six months ago (see post here), Googgle has finally released a MAcintosh version of it’s very cool Google Earth software. It requires MacOS X 10.4 Tiger to run, so I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet, but kudos to Google for getting a Mac version out there.

Get it now at earth.google.com

I just found out something disturbing. H&R Block is not producing TaxCut for Macintosh this year. I’ve been using their software for a couple of years now and while it wasn’t the most user friendly software in the world, it did work.

Now when I went to order it for this tax season I found out there is no Macintosh version! Of course, they are spending the money to mail out free copies of the Windows version to people who didn’t even ask for it, but they can’t develop a Mac version. What a great way to alienate your customer base!

So, I’m switching to TurboTax. It’s from Intuit, the people who make Quicken. I’ve been using Quicken for years, so I’m sure their tax software will be just as great.

I just updated the scripts that run all of the forms on my website. Hopefully thi upgrade will stop the influx of spam that I have been experiencing.

You can test out the new script by clicking the guestbook buttons on the sidebar. It won’t look any different to you, but please let me know if you get any errors.

Wow, this one really makes me feel old! It was twenty years ago today that the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off from Kennedy Space Center. It’s one of the first historical moment that I remeber witnessing. It was the first “remember where you were” moment I had. I know that I was at my Grandparents’ house sitting on the floor watching the launch live.

The following people were lost with the Challenger…
Francis R. (Dick) Scobee
Michael J. Smith
Judith A. Resnik
Ronald E. McNair
Ellison S. Onizuka
Gregory B. Jarvis
Sharon Christa McAuliffe

Click here for a photo of the memorial to the crew at Arlington National Cemetary that I took when I was there.

Check out NASA’s bios of the crew.

Now you can have all the wit and wisom without having to watch his show. Check out the Dr. Phil Random Quote Generator and get pearls such as…

You don’t need a pack of wild horses to throw a brick at a turtle.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people mistakenly think that going out in cold weather causes you to catch a cold. A cold is a virus, people! It’s something you catch just like the flu or any other sickness.

Common sense should tell you that a temperature can’t give you a virus, but in case you don’t believe me, take a look at Ask Yahoo!

Today’s the 300th birthday of Ben Franklin. Of course, here in Philadelphia, that’s a huge deal. It’s the kick-off of several months of festivities celebrating the life of our most famous resident.

One of the biggest highlights is a special exhibit at the National Constitution Center. They’ve got a ton of artifacts etc. I need to get over there and see that that before it departs for its world tour.

Find more details about parties, events, special deals, tour packages and more at GoPhila.com/Ben.

While I was looking at that ealier story about Elmo I noticed a link to this story. Someone at Wal-Mart swapped out an iPod with a piece of raw meat. Talk about not getting what you paid for!

I buy plenty of meat and never once have I gotten an iPod in the package.

Read the story and see pictures here.

We all know Elmo, the little red guy form Sesame Street. Apparently he’s getting pretty mean in his old age. According to digg.com and diggnation, someone bought some of the talking dolls, reprogrammed them and returned them. After they were returned, the dolls said “Who wants to die?”

Even though this is pretty tasteless, you do have to give credit to the guy who came up with the idea.

Read more at local6.com.

You may have noticed that The Gatti Family Tree website is currently offline. I’m sorry to dissapoint anyone who was looking for it. I did not want to take it down but some family issues forced me to.

While there is no estimated time until its return, it will soon be back and better than ever. Keep watching my site for updates.

In the meantime if you are someone who’s doing genealogy research and are looking for any info on the Gatti, Pannazzolo, Monzeglio, Martinetti families please get in touch with me because I’d love to talk to you and compare info.