I finished my first year at the Community College with a 3.96 GPA.  I fought into overtime for a 4.0 but to no avail.   It’s been great experience.  I’m humble enough to accept the GPA I earned with an asterisk.  It’s been my experience that the community college system for all its pluses is the “minor leagues” of college life.  I’ve heard that some of our 2 year colleges in CT are actually academically rigorous but my own college prided itself on what I call “academic welfare”.    I had to endure a lot of students who were not motivated and were constantly badgering professors to dumb down assignments.  Some of the professors gave in — if you could believe that.   Honestly looking at the situation, I would probably say my GPA would have been at least a quarter point less at a 4 year college unless I was willing to step up to the plate and increase my performance.    I am willing.   I will be continuing my studies at 4 year institution sooner than you know it and I expect nothing less of myself than I’ve proved so far.  I’ll keep you updated.

Saturday marked the first time I stepped onto a baseball field in 14 years.  I played Babe Ruth League from age 13 to 15.  Due to controversies in my hometown Little League, I had no choice but to play ball in a town and in an environment that was very foreign to me.  I had to use a made up address and background information, though I was able to use my name.  I quickly learned to appreciate my fellow teammates who came from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds than myself.   That was 3 years that will forever be permanently etched in my memory.

Back to Saturday.   I was up at a campground in Northern CT for a Mens’ Retreat.  I joined with a bunch of men from Stamford, CT to defeat a team made up of players from various locations across southern New England in the annual softball tournament.  I played 3rd Base and even dove for some ground balls. I’m still sore.  However, the best part was that I drove in 2 runs to win the game for my team.  There was no fence in place in center and left field that would set the boundary  for an automatic home run.  With a mighty rip of the bat, I hit the ball out of the left field grass onto the middle of the basketball court some 250 feet from home plate.  Game over!!!  I have a first place trophy to prove it.   Ahhh…. to be a kid again.

a)They are coming out with a new and improved iPhone on June 19.  It will not necessarily be faster until AT&T completes network updates in the summer, but it will have better battery life, allow users to record video and send MMS messages for the first time.   Existing 3G iPhone users can download a 3.0 software update on 6/17.  Big news:  the base price of the iPhone is dropping to $99 — with a 2 year AT&T contract starting at no less than $69.99, of course.

b)   Apple’s entry level laptop will remain at $999 — the Mac Book.  However, the 13 inch aluminum MacBook will now be called a MacBook Pro and include a FireWire port at a cost of $1199.   The battery on this model is not removable, but there is a claim that it will last 7 hours.   Laptop batteries usually don’t last more than 2 years.  Get the warranty and you’ll be all set.   The price of the premium, 15 inch MacBook pro is dropping from $1999 to $1699.  This is welcome news for those who need a professional laptop.

c)  Apple’s latest operating system 10.6 (aka Snow Leopard) is coming out in September.  Surprisingly the cost is only going to be $29 for the upgrade or $49 for a family pack.  Apple is really doing us a favor here!!  This pricing applies only to those of you who are running 10.5 – Leopard which was released in the Fall of 07.  For those of you still running 10.4 – Tiger, I recommend you do upgrade come the fall.  It is likely that you will have to pay the typical price for a new Mac operating system ($129), but I’d hate to see you fall 2 versions behind the current release.   APPLE’S NEW MAC OSX 10.6 will be Intel only.  Those of you still using PowerPC Macs — can only upgrade to 10.5 (a very smart move if you haven’t done so already and aren’t planning to buy a new Mac anytime soon).

Microsoft’s latest operating system Windows 7 will be released on October 22.  Expect to be able to order new computers with 7 installed a few days in advance.    If you are considering a new Windows based computer, its best to hold off until then if you can.   Everything I’ve heard tells me that 7 will be a massive improvement over Windows Vista.  By the late summer, computer makers like Dell should be offering a free upgrade from Vista to 7 for all new systems bought after a certain date.  I’ll keep you informed.