Hey, about that jet that Steve received as a "special executive bonus..." Do you suppose there's any particular reason the Board went with a Gulfstream V? Sure, we hear that the GV is the ultimate executive status symbol and all, but we can't help but wonder if there was another factor to the decision, especially after eagle-eyed faithful viewer Harold noticed something interesting while cruising the Gulfstream web site. If you like, you can take a virtual gander at the interior of Steve's new plane-- via the magic of QuickTime VR.

So the company that's providing the planes for Apple's fleet is using Apple technology to hawk its wares. Coincidence? Not likely. Something's going on behind the scenes of these two companies-- probably something sinister. According to the New York Times, Steve claims that the whole "let's give him a jet" idea was the rest of the Board's, not his: "They thought of this, and it's something I'll probably actually use, and it's something I'd probably never have bought myself." But we know better than to take his Surprised Little Boy act at face value, right? He obviously RDF'd the Board into giving him this plane. The one marketed using QuickTime VR.

To what end, you ask? Well, first he bought that helicopter, and now he's managed to shmooze a jet... Faithful viewer Caleb Wilkerstan knows where this is going. "You think Steve's just going to use the plane and the helicopter for his business? Don't you see? He's slowly amassing an air force!" As for that extra $45 million on Apple's books supposedly to help defray Steve's tax bill following the gift of the jet, Caleb notes that "you can pick up a relatively good MiG-29 for a cool $25 million on the black market." And if Steve cashes in on those ten million shares he managed to squeeze, he'll have plenty of money to build a small armed fleet. It's all just another step in the plan for world domination. Duck and cover...