I realize I have been commenting incessantly about how fast this year appears to be going but really it is remarkable that it's now 1/12 done. The pressure is on to get things done in 2010. And the pressure is on for the economy to mend, the politicians to stop bickering, and for China and the United States to figure out how to work together. I think this is crucial to world happiness. China-U.S. relations were the big items I saw in the news today. The Apple iPad hype is subsiding like the coed crowd at Fort Lauderdale on the last day of spring break, leaving behind a pile of media trash. I feel quite a hangover, was it worth the party?

• U.S.-China relations hit a bad patch (BBC). They're angry we're selling arms to Taiwan. Which is right next door to them. And which they consider part of China. Can you blame them? Wouldn't this be like China selling arms to Florida? Oh wait... Florida is still part of America... and Miami is already fully stocked up on arms.
• Arms deal chills U.S.-China ties (Wall Street Journal). More on this. Only because, it matters.
• $3.8 Trillion (Bloomberg). Is it just me, or does that seem kinda lika lotta dough?
• I was up late last night reading this New Yorker article on Education Secretary Arne Duncan. A good read. If only I was invited to play basketball with them.
• The first Amazon-Apple publishing skirmishes. It's only the beginning. This should be fun. Competition is good.
• Steve Jobs sh*ts on Google (Apple Insider).  Allegedly says Google's "don't be evil" pitch is bogus and predicts the demise of Adobe Flash. Who's evil now?
• Intel, Micron to announce world's densest flash memory (Computerworld).
• U.S. sets a record in wind energy production (TMCnet). No, they are not talking about Congress.
• Swiss warn UBS bank could collapse (AFP). If you read the fine print, you discover they think this because everybody is picking on them.
• Did you know you can run Windows 7 on an iPad? (PC World) Not sure why this is exciting though, as to me it sounds like drinking decaf espresso.
• How to hate the iPad (ReadWriteWeb). I can't think of a more solid idea for a headline.
• Facebook COO: 175 million people log on every day (TechCrunch).
• How videos are found and consumed online (TechCrunch). You mean, it's not through my mother-in-law's e-mail spam?

Well, that's it for today. A little slow this morning. February feels different.