To warn about the danger of texting and driving, AT&T set up a simulator for virtual-reality drives in St. Paul today.

The simulator lets you you navigate a computer-generated road, much as you would a real one, while also using your phone.

I’m shown here trying the simulator (which includes VR goggles) with my iPhone in hand. I totaled my VR car twice.

I got (a look at) Glass!

This is Google’s much-ballyhooed computerized eyewear, and I was surprised how well it worked over my glasses.

Here’s a related story I wrote.

I will have more to say about my Google Glass experiences (courtesy of space150) soon.

We had measurable snow two weeks ago. Crazy.

Mark Reilly, managing editor of the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal, made my day with his “Julio Ojeda-Zapata’s Apple-fu is pretty strong” line in the article shown above (click to enlarge). Thanks.

(He was referring to this.)

Last week, one of my wackiest stories in recent memory appeared on the Pioneer Press’ front page.

The article is about PetChatz, a soon-to-be-released home webcam for pets (primarily dogs). This device, installed over a wall outlet, allows the pets’ owners to communicate with the animals via their computers or phones while away from home.

The PetChatz device has a couple of pet-friendly features: It dispenses yummy treats via a touch of the owners’ computer keyboards or phone touchscreens, and it emits odors that are pleasing to the pooches.

Over the weekend, my friends Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins and Phil Wilson discussed PetChatz on their fine Minnov8 podcast. They debated the products’ commercial viability and generally offered insightful analysis.

The gang’s blog-post artwork is always good, too.

Apple today reopened its Southdale retail store, which it relocated from a much smaller space.

I talked about this and other tech topics with Allison Kaplan (my former Pioneer Press colleague) and Alexis Walsko, the Shop Girls on MyTalk 107.1.

Here I am at the opening of Apple’s relocated, larger Southdale retail store.

In the top two photos, I am streaming in with other customers who queued up early in order to claim t-shirts (hey, it’s tradition).

To maintain some semblance of dignity, however, I did not high-five a store employee.

I used to live in Chicago, a city with a vibrant Latino community. So I was delighted to be guest #3 on the fledgling Intersections, one of several fine podcasts on the Windy City’s Latino-focused Gozamos.com.

The episode description:

Abraham Vélaquez Tello talks to Julio Ojeda-Zapata, tech writer for St. Paul Pioneer Press. He tells us about his background and his current work as a journalist, his workflow for writing for the web, print and books. We also discuss the intersections of new media, technology and how mobile/social platforms are affecting the digital divide in low income communities.