Those crazy kids down in Cupertino unveiled a "minuscule" new iPod Shuffle on Wednesday. It's so small, in fact, that those of you who aren't anal retentive or born under a Virgo sun would probably lose it within a week. We sure would. Anyway, it comes with a whopping 4GB of storage, which means you can hold up to 1,000 songs. It goes for $79 too, which is a deal.

This leads to the question: why would anyone prefer an iPod Shuffle over a regular iPod? (Sadly, we don't use either because neither device comes equipped with a television set.) Seems like having a screen would be the obvious choice.

We were thinking of recycling our geriatric, four-year-old ("fourth-generation") iPod for a ten-percent discount on a Nano when it gave us a very nasty sad-face last month. We thought we were doomed when it wouldn't respond to the reset commands, but funnily enough it keeps coming back to life after letting it sit for a while. Maybe we'll hold out for an iPhone (if the voice quality ever gets better).

Submit your Bay Area finds to found [at] sfist [dot] com, or tag them sfist and found on Flickr. Let us know where and when you found the item and any other interesting info.

We see there are some good finds via the sfist found Flickr tags. We will post more soon!

For the eight or so of you who don't have an iPod yet -- sadly, we would be one of those eight -- you can break your iPod hymen with the positively adorable iPod Shuffle (1GB), which is now going for a paltry $49. Pennies! The 2GB iPod Shuffle will be available later this month for $69.

And the 18-karat gold iPod Shuffle from Xexoo of Germany, right, goes for a mere $19,343. No word yet whether or not it too will see a snip in its price tag.

Welcome back, little piggies, from your night of binge eating and sipping. (That is, if you were fortunate enough to do so.) Why not get up, out, and about tonight to work off that meal, hangover with the following:

-- Kristi Yamaguchi Holiday Ice Rink at Embarcadero Center: Our Kristi, our Kristi, why hast thou forsaken us? Alas, although no longer branded with Olympic gold-medal allure, you'll still have a blast at the holiday rink at the tip of the Embarcadero center. Stays open until 10 p.m. at Justin Herman Plaza (next to Four Embarcadero Center across from the Ferry Building) until mid January '08. The hours and prices, according to the Chronicle, are as follows: "ninety-minute sessions, starting every even hour, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sun.-Thurs., until 11:30 p.m. Fri. and Sat. $8 adults, $4.50 seniors and children 10 and younger. Prices are 50 cents more from 6 p.m. Fri. until closing Sun. Skate rental: $3.50. Through Jan. 15. The rink may close for inclement weather or private parties."

-- iPod Dance-Off: In front of the downtown Apple store (not the new one opening up today) there will be a dance off. Beware: dance-offs can be brutal. The "spontaneous" flash mob event starts tonight at 5 p.m. at the Apple Store; free.

-- Biscuits and Gravy: The fifth annual post-Thanksgiving hip hop, Latin, fun, and club classics throw downs is not to be missed. For reals. DJs Vinnie Esparza, Asti Spumanti, and Johnny Deeper man the decks tonight at the yearly club night starting at 10 p.m. at the Elbo Room; free.

In the end: Maroon 5 is decent, safe KOIT music. Nothing more, nothing less.

Check out more pictures (and two videos) after the break...

We also learned a new word, from the notice alerts they flashed on the Now Arriving screens at our BART station of origin as we waited for a train to arrive: did you know that area by West Oakland where all the lines cross each other is called the "West Oakland Wye"? That's apparently where all the bottlenecking happened.

We did really appreciate the frequent updating on the status of the traffic jam, and the repeated apologies for the jerky stop-and-start movement from our sincerely-sorry-sounding BART driver this morning -- particularly during the 10-15 minute delay in the tunnel (we went through about 3 songs on the iPod while waiting). Take heed, MUNI! Everyone loves an explanation.

A first-generation Chevy Camaro (French slang for "companion") whisks this young couple over SOMA as they listen to the same iPod. Sans stereo, but avec good times. Adieu!

Valentine's Day is only a few days away, and we here across the Gothamist network wanted to express would like to tell you, in the spirit of the holiday, just how much we love you, our readers. Don't let it get to your heads, though. There are plenty of things we love, you included. Just be glad you're not amongst the things we hate.

In New York, Gothamist isn't sure whether to love or hate a sorta-stroller-ban at a local Barnes & Noble. They do, however, hate the idea of a law that would fine people for crossing the street while listening to their iPod or talking on their phones (people ♥ gadgets!). Who doesn't love ideas for hangover coffee suggestions? They are especially needed after seeing pictures of Rudy Giuliani and his wife mack - it's nice they love each other, but Gothamist doens't think anyone needs to witness it. And Gothamist loves that Orthodox Jews need to incorporate Hebrew graffiti into their billboards so people won't get upset.

SFist saw their beloved mayor enter rehab, and they the opportunity to gossip about it. Of course, that doesn't stop local Facebook users from totally crushing on him. Meanwhile, they asked their readers which MUNI line they hated the most, and got a conclusive answer.

Phillyist loves its local Billy Bob Thornton, and cars. Also on its good side are pretty sunsets over the city. On its hate list right now, though, are law-flaunting smokers, and the hearts-and-flowers holiday itself.

Austinist is blissfully in love with the upcoming SXSW lineup, and more than a few bands playing in it. When not with their musical crushes, they're romancing giant bunnies and bloggers with a good bottle of vino. Of course, it's not all hearts and flowers for Austinist. They hate the lack of quality street food downtown. And, don't you hate it when you find glass in your soda bottles, too?

Shanghaiist positively hates that they're sinking into the ocean. And everyone seems to hate Chinese footballers. But lest you should worry that Shanghaiist is bitter, you should know how much they love sandwiches, technological innovation, and their city's top tourist destinations.

Meanwhile, Londonist doesn't hate anything. They're all about Valentine love for the guy who gives out free iPods, highly-skilled bees, being invited on private tours, their city in Lego, and giant snowmen.

Torontoist wasn't feeling as lovey-dovey as Londonist: they had plenty of hate to go around. Torontoist hates angry jewelry store owners who harass local TV celebrities,
"independent" teenaged girls, and punk kids messing with change on the subway. But they weren't without some love, for its local basketball team (whom they want them taken off notice by Stephen Colbert), and for continuing to solve the Bridezilla mystery, and for cute misspellings.

Bostonist is hating the Celtics' losing streak. But they totally love screwing around with said team's logo and the new hit song 99 luftbaloons 99 Mooninites.

LAist wasn't really about love or hate this week. They were more about the ambivalence, especially toward the Colts' reactions to that Snickers commercial and John Waters. They do, however, know where to send you if you're lookin' for love, yourself.

Seattlest totally loved this pro-breeding story, fist fights of the past and present, and ironic content matching. Of course, they kinda hate Canada (kind of) and the local buildings that everyone else seems to love.

Chicagoist gave its readers some love, and got some love from local TV. And then they got some hate on a somehow-controversial post. The honeymoon, apparently, is over.

Parisist reports that Parisians who love the NFL have options—if they are willing to watch a game that kicks off at midnight, that Parisians who love each other can leave Valentines messages on electronic traffic signs, and that Parisians who love indie bands with awesome dance numbers were able to catch OK Go! live in concert. No hate in Paris, though. It is the City of Love and all...

Compiled and edited by Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey.

This whole thing started way back in the '80's when Beatles Corp got a little pissy about the trademark infringement on the use of Apple's apple logo. A deal was struck allowing Apple to be Apple but in 2003, when Apple started getting into the music biz, the Beatles, who of course totally need the money, sued yet again.

Actually, it could be awhile before you could download "Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me & My Monkey." While this settles the long-standing legal dispute, Apple now has to work a deal over putting their music on iTunes. Expect it to be sooner rather than later as Paul needs a lot more money to pay Heather Mills.

For the past few seasons, the Warriors primary marketing slogan has been, A Great Time Out". Brimming with hope after Tuesday's trade, SFist decided to catch a game at the O-rena to find out for ourselves. This team now has new hope, and SFist was eager to see if there was a new buzz to go with it.

Since the Merc's Tim Kawakami couldn't make it, we figured we'd step in for Saturday's game against the Cavaliers.

Our audit considered 11 different categories: parking, Oraclelization, concessions, personnel, entertainment, the crowd, new players, visuals/lighting, the seats, music/sound, and the game itself. Each category was ranked from 1 to 10, with 10 being Pac Bell/SBC/ATT park and 1 being, well, Candlestick.

Parking -- We know that BART is great for the O-rena, so we decided to emulate the experience of schlumps driving in from places like Mill Valley and Half Moon Bay. Like an elbow to the mouthpiece, parking is $15. Once inside, we discovered that the lot is actually compartmentalized into many smaller lots, intertwined by a rigging of cable and cement barriers. Very confusing, especially at night. If you like to tailgate, wait for football season, because the parking lot was a library. Also, while there are two exits for the O-rena off the 880, they are off the 880, easily one of the most consistently strictured freeways in the Bay Area. Allow plenty of time for stop-and-go on your way to the game. After the game, we were on the freeway within five minutes of getting in the car. Overall rating: 8

Oraclelization -- Given Larry's much bally-hooed ego and questions surrounding the motives for Oracle's arena sponsorship deal, for the most part, the Oracle stuff wasn't too oppressive. Outside, there are two Oracle signs at each entrance to the arena; with its prominent iPod silhouette banners, Apple has a more visible brand presence outside the O-rena than Oracle does. Inside was similarly restrained, with one massive exception. Just before tip off, every video screen and flashing light in the building started burning our irises with Oracle red as part of a three-minute marketing piece. It was absolutely egregious. The flashing Oracle logos and bright red screenshots were jarring and visually painful. Somebody is going to have a seizure one these days from that action. Overall rating: 6

The Warriors are a hot ticket in town. SFist decided to check it out. Image from SFist Chris.