YOUR 15 MINUTES: Fire In My Pants (not talking about a yeast infection).

Ok. I suck at blogging lately. I promise I will return to my old non-stop-blogging self soon. Please forgive me because I have a story for you:

The new iPod Nano is hot. But one Douglasville man said his old Nano got even hotter -- hot enough to burst into flames. "So I look down and I see flames coming up to my chest," said Danny Williams. Williams said the burn hole from the pocket of his pants marks the spot of his 15 seconds of flame. He said he had an iPod Nano and an glossy piece of paper in his pocket. He believes the paper shielded him from being burned. "I'm still kind of freaked out that after only a year and a half my iPod caught fire in my pocket," said Williams. The iPod uses a lithium ion battery -- the same type of battery under recall for setting laptops on fire. Williams said the fact is iPod Nano burst into flames while he was at work was bad enough, where he works could have been another issue. He works at a kiosk in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. "If TSA had come by and seen me smoking, they could have honestly thought I was a terrorist," said Williams.

HOT POCKET!

iPod nano: the latest trend in IEDs. Ok IED's aren't funny but still...I wish my iPod would catch on fire at work so I could leave early. Totally an excuse I haven't used yet!

Hacker Wanted: Reward - A New Car

The teenage hacker who managed to unlock the iPhone so that it can be used with cellular networks other than AT&T will be trading his reworked gadget for a new car.

George Hotz, of Glen Rock, New Jersey, said he had reached the deal with CertiCell, a Louisville, Kentucky-based mobile phone repair company. Hotz posted on his blog that he traded his modified iPhone for "a sweet Nissan 350Z and 3 8GB iPhones." "This has been a great end to a great summer," Hotz wrote. The 17-year-old Hotz said he will be sending the three new iPhones to the three online collaborators who helped him divorce Apple Inc's popular product from AT&T's network. The job took 500 hours, or about 8 hours a day since the iPhone's June 29 launch. Hotz made the deal with Terry Daidone, co-founder of CertiCell, who also promised the teen a paid consulting job. "We do not have any plans on the table right now to commercialize Mr. Hotz' discovery," Daidone said in a statement. [source]

Lucky sonofabitch. I'll take apart my stupid pink razr if someone wants to give me a car and a new job. Hell, I'll do a lot more than just take apart a phone. In fact, I'd do just about anything to have someone just give me a new car. Bob Barker was probably my best bet. I guess I'll have to ask Drew Carey now....

Corporate Love

A recent survey conducted by Outlaw Consulting, a San Francisco research firm, concluded that Generation Y trendsetters are more drawn to brands that speak to them in a "straightforward and stripped-down way, use plain packaging, and avoid excess. Outlaw surveyed 100 of what it calls its 'most forward trendsetter panelists' in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami, asking them which companies they most respected, and why," Ransom reports. "The sample mostly targeted the first wave of Gen Y consumers, aged 21-27. The goal was to compile a 'Trust Index' of brands that evoke 'deeply positively feelings' among the trendsetters."

The Most Trusted 15 brands named by the trendsetters in the survey were:

1. Apple
2. Trader Joe's
3. Jet Blue
4. In-N-Out Burger
5. Ben & Jerry's
6. Whole Foods
7. Adidas
8. American Apparel
9. Target
10. H & M clothing stores
11. Levi's
12. Volkswagen
13. Converse
14. Vitamin Water
15. Red Stripe Jamaican beer

The survey was conducted in late 2006, before Jet Blue got loads of bad publicity when one of its planes sat on the tarmac for several hours and wouldn't allow passengers to leave the plane. You know that one incident might bump it under Red Stripe beer, unless the 100 surveyers were drinking Red Stripe beer at the time and missed the scandal. I'm a little sad because I just realized that I'm on the ass-end of the age bracket for this survey which might explain why I don't drive a volkswagen, wear levis/converse or drink Red Stripe. Apple is still my favorite and it would be followed by Harris Teeter (greatest grocery store of all-time), Nordstrom, Target, Tivo, Trader Joe's (in VA because of the wine) and Ketel One vodka. Maybe. I haven't thoroughly thought through this. [thanks dan]