Now there is a new application made by Mozilla called Songbird. The application looks remarkably like iTunes (hey, if it worked with FireFox and IE, then why not repeat that same formula, right?) and has features that pretty much mirror what iTunes offers. What I had to do with the Mac Automator, Songbird can do natively with “Watched Folders.”

Given how Mozilla has fared with FireFox and Thunderbird, my guess is that Songbird will also do well. Not only is the app open-source, it is also being backed by Sequoia Capital — the company that funded Google.

I just downloaded it and will try it out for a few days. You can get it at www.getsongbird.com.

So here’s an update: Things have generally been good. Although it is much colder in Chicago (than in California) I haven’t had too many issues adjusting to it just yet. My commute is a whopping 3 minute walk across the street. Really! I live across the intersection from work and so the weather hasn’t really affected me much. It is a little different to be confined indoors but I do see people walking around outside. So, my guess is that once I get used to Chicago again, I will fit right in.

These days both Denise and I are working hard at donating and selling whatever we can to get rid of all the “stuff” we have accumulated over the years. Most of my “junk” consists of antiquated electronics and gadgets (including solar powered car ventilation fans, various generations of iPods, laptops, external hard drives, and cables). The downside to selling this stuff is that it depreciates very quickly — so, it may turn out to be more efficient to donate this stuff than to sell it. The Segway has not been “targeted” yet but I can’t see having much use for it downtown. Besides the “people-pointing-and-laughing” factor, sidewalks in Chicago are simply too crowded for it. Maybe if we were living in a suburb?

So… that’s about it. Adjusting to the new life and de-junking.

We also got around to selling our first item on Craigslist. Some lucky person walked away with our TV for $35. It was a CRT so only two or three people had expressed interest in it. Although the TV was relatively outdated, I have to say that it felt bad to be selling it at such a low price. I had bought it in 2003 for about $300. So, to offset the “seller’s remorse” we have decided to pay down the principal on our mortgage with all proceeds.

Up next: The TEC RadiantWave infrared BBQ grill.

So, I set out searching (I can’t bring myself to say “Googling”) to figure out what makes for a happy marriage. As it turns out, psychologist John Gottman and applied mathematicians James Murray and Kristin Swanson at the Relationship Research Institute at the University of Washington in Seattle have set forth a mathematical model that can predict the success or failure of a marriage with 94% accuracy. (Here’s a link to the story at BBC).

To make their predictions, the team videotapes a married couple’s conversation about an area of marital contention. Then, they quantify the ratio of positive to negative interactions during this conversation. The higher the ratio, the better the marriage. Where the ratio falls below 5:1, the marriage could be doomed.

I found this to be very interesting. Do you think there is any merit to this theory? What do you think I can do to ensure a happy and long lasting marriage?

So, these days we’re trying to figure out where and how to sell our furniture and cars. Not sure if we should just go to a dealer and sell our cars or try CraigsList or Ebay.