First Keynote for New Apple CEO Ternus: Premium Only

 Wednesday, Sept 9, 2026 noon Chicago-time. “Surprise and Shine.” First product keynote for John Ternus, Apple’s new CEO as of Sept 1. He ran hardware engineering; Tim Cook is now executive chairman. Ternus already called next week a “huge launch.”

Source: OSXDaily

New iPhones

September is the expensive aisle.

Expected

• iPhone 18 Pro — same shape as last year’s Pro, smaller Dynamic Island, A20 Pro chip, camera upgrades, new colors (Dark Cherry is the one)
• iPhone 18 Pro Max — same, plus a bigger battery
• Foldable iPhone (likely iPhone Ultra) — first Apple foldable, book-style, ~5.5" closed / ~7.8" open, rumored $2,000–$2,500

Dummy units say the Pros barely change on the outside. Color is the visible update.

Budget iPhone?

Not this month. No base iPhone 18. No 18e. No cheap model.

Apple is splitting the lineup. iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, and iPhone Air 2 are expected in spring 2027. If you want a new phone that isn’t Pro or foldable, wait.

iPads

Don’t expect one on the 9th.

The one that could still land this fall: OLED iPad mini, first OLED on the mini, faster chip. Gurman says it should go on sale by late October, likely as a press release, not a keynote. Air, base iPad, and Pro updates are pointed at 2027.

The list: three expensive iPhones on Sept 9. Budget iPhone next spring. Mini in October.

Lonestar Trip Reports: Chicago to Portland by Train (46 Hours)

Just watched this engaging new trip report from Lonestar Trip Reports: “Chicago to Portland by Train: 46 HOURS on Amtrak’s Empire Builder!” A full 2,257-mile journey across eight states in about 46 hours. Great watch if you’re into rail adventures and seeing America the scenic way.

Watch the full report here: [VIDEO]

'The Social Reckoning' trailer

 

[VIDEO] I found out about this via Ben Shapiro who said had Donald Trump not gotten re-elected this movie wouldn't have been made. This film is a sequel to the 2010 The Social Network - a movie I missed out on, but plan to see in the near future.

Facebook seems to have fallen out of favor from it's 2000s peak. The saying goes Facebook is for old people and Instagram is for people who can't read. Let me find the actually quote, let me visit with A.I. for a moment.

Facebook is for old people. Twitter is stupid, and Instagram is for people who can't read.

Thanks A.I. I should find a kid who's more adept at social media. Right now the next hot social network is currently TikTok. What could it be in five years?

Anyway, The Social Network dealt with Facebook as an emerging company the spiritual sequel is more of the impact of Facebook after it's emergence. Sadly to see The Social Reckoning I have to wait until October. 

Columbo - Sharp as a glass

 

[VIDEO] I had binge watched a number of Columbo episodes last year and you can always find clips of that show on YouTube.

Columbo as a character started off in two TV movies with different versions of the character. One portrayal in the TV movie Prescription Murder, he doesn't seem like the one to mess with once he's on your trail. He starts harrassing the female accomplice telling her that he will break her.

Of course later portrayals are far more softer. Columbo is very adept at lulling his suspects into a very false sense of security. And he's "sharp as a glass" enough to get all the proof he needs to prove the committed the crime.

This video I found today via Count Akira is a love letter to this beloved TV character portayed by Peter Falk which was part of the line-up for the NBC Mystery Movie during the 1970s. I do wish they could find a way bring this character back even if they had to recast him.

Michael Franzese on the NBA betting scandal arrests

 

[VIDEO] Former Columbo crime family captain discusses how the mob operates when it comes to athletes (college or professional) involvement in sports gambling. He illustrates how the mafia (perhaps any organized criminal organizations) are able to sink their teeth into these athletes.

Chicago Tribune: NBA’s Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups charged in sprawling sports betting and Mafia-backed poker schemes

OTOY: Creating Kubrick's Space Odyssey

 

[VIDEO] 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of my all-time favorite movies.

When I first saw it on cable in about 1995, I couldn't believe that something like this could be produced & released in 1968. I thought I was watching something that had premiered in the 1980s.

Also the movie was closer in time to 2001 and I also knew there was no way we were going to launch a Jupiter mission. We haven't even gone to Mars and the Apollo lunar program was over in the early 1970s, thus we don't even have moon bases there in 1995.

Oh and we didn't even have flights into Earth orbit. PanAm wasn't flying anywhere because they had closed down in 1991. If someone could revive the brand for flights into Earth orbit and to the moon that would be very cool.

And in this almost hour long documentary we see the thought put into this movie by Stanley Kubrick and his crew. This is one of his many masterpieces. 

So far I've only seen Paths of Glory, Spartacus, 2001, and a Clockwork Orange. He didn't make that many movies during his career and when he does make movies he puts a lot of time and energy in them. I'd say that works for him. Basically quality of output more than quantity.

Also OTOY is also know for some of their own Star Trek projects, so look out for them also.

Isaac Asimov: The Last Question

 I found a video of this last month on YouTube which I will share with you, however, if you prefer to read it here's a link that I found to this short story. Can't believe it's publicly available. Perhaps this is something worth saving to your hard-drive before it's taken off the internet due to copyright.

Upon finding out the story, I just see it as an instant favorite. Seems to combine A.I., questions about the universe with even a biblical origin story. I've been using A.I. to ponder the fate of the universe - don't worry much about it though it's trillions or more in the future, not imminent.

This is of course a sci-fi story taking place in the future. Who knows what mankind's fate will be after thousands of years let alone millions of years.

Here's the video that discusses The Last Question [VIDEO]