Robot parking garage to open in New York

Would you trust a robot to park your car? The question will confront New Yorkers in February as the city's first robotic parking opens in Chinatown.

Bush Hails NYC Subway Hero During State of Union

President Bush hailed Autrey for his act of bravery three weeks ago in Harlem, when he saw a man fall onto the subway tracks, leapt down to get him, and held the man in a space between the rails as the train roared over them.

"There is something wonderful about a country that produces a brave and humble man like Wesley Autrey,'' the president said, prompting a long standing ovation from the lawmakers.

The 50-year-old construction worker was joined by his two young daughters, who witnessed their father's death-defying leap and have joined him at public ceremonies honoring him.

Autrey shakes hands with first lady Laura Bush as Lynn Cheney (C), wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, watches during the State of the Union speech on Capitol Hill on Tuesday night. REUTERS/Jason Reed

Mutombo recognized at State of the Union

From the State of the Union transcript:
Dikembe Mutombo grew up in Africa, amid great poverty and disease. He came to Georgetown University on a scholarship to study medicine - but Coach John Thompson got a look at Dikembe and had a different idea. Dikembe became a star in the NBA, and a citizen of the United States. But he never forgot the land of his birth - or the duty to share his blessings with others. He has built a brand new hospital in his hometown. A friend has said of this good hearted man: "Mutombo believes that God has given him this opportunity to do great things." And we are proud to call this son of the Congo our fellow American.

First Lady Laura Bush, right, accompanied by Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo during President Bush's State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

It's okay to call a foul

New iPods? New "iPhone"? New Macs? No one knows...

Hey Mac fans...
This Tuesday, 1/9 at 9AM (Pacific)... Apple CEO Steve Jobs will give the keynote address for the annual Macworld Expo and Trade show.

Plenty of websites will cover the event as it happens, in real time, or offer stories on the event and products at some point during the day.

I know many of you wont be hovered over your computer as I will, but if you are, bookmarking multiple sites and hitting "referesh" at the top of your browser will give you the most comprehensive, current coverage.

macobserver.com

macrumors.com

macworld.com expo coverage

macworld.com top stories

themacmind.com

dtgeeks.com

apple.com

The Apple site itself may be down Tuesday morning during the event, as the company loads its new products on its site. Even after the event, logging on to the site may be a challenge, as millions of Mac fans worldwide will be trying to get on the site at the same time.

Heroes among us

Wesley Autrey recounts the events of Tuesday, Jan 2 to host David Letterman on Thursday. Autrey risked his own life by jumping down on to the tracks in front of an oncoming subway train, then pulling Cameron Hollopeter, a 19 year old college student, into a shallow ditch between the rails to safety as the train passed just inches overhead. Earlier in the day, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented Autrey with the city's Bronze Medallion, New York's highest award for civic achievement. (AP Photo/CBS, J.P. Flio)

Max has maximum appeal among dog names

Reuters reports:

If you're in a New York City park and tell your dog Max to fetch, you might find a strange pooch retrieving your ball.

That's because Max was the top dog name in New York in 2005, according to the city Health Department.

The name Max was engraved on 1,228 dog licenses of the 101,274 issued last year, the department said.

All top five names remained the same as in 2004 -- Max, followed by Lucky, Princess, Rocky and Buddy.

Mixed breeds outnumbered any other variety, with 7,374 licensed in 2005, the department said.

More Labrador retrievers were licensed than any other breed, followed by pit bulls, Shih Tzus and German Shepherds.

All dogs must be licensed and have a tag on their collars while in public, according to state law. However, the health department estimates only a fifth of the city's dogs are licensed.

Get that out!

Amare Stoudemire of Phoenix blocks the shot of Jared Jeffries #20 of the New York Knicks in an NBA game played last week in Phoenix. (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

Downtown church plans service marking 3,000th death of U.S. troops in Iraq

The First Unitarian Church in Portland will have an interfaith service Tuesday memorializing the 3,000th U.S. military death in Iraq. It will run from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Salmon Street sanctuary, 1011 S.W. 12th Ave.

The service will be led by Tom Disrud, associate minister; Kate Lore, director of social justice; and David Leslie, director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. It is open to all.

The candlelight service will include a litany of interfaith scriptures on peace, moments of silence and music. The name of every Oregon soldier who has died will be listed in the program. Individuals may light candles and recite names in honor of those individuals.

For more information, visit www.firstunitarianportland.org