The Preds (4-3-1) are back in action tonight hosting the San Jose Sharks (7-3) , and I’m pondering the following questions as they prepare to take the ice:

1. What will matter more: the Preds’ five-day break since losing to Vancouver on Saturday, or the Sharks’ loss to the Red Wings last night?
2. Which team will give up more shots tonight? The Preds (46) or the Sharks (39), who both were heavily outshot in their last contests.
3. How will the Preds matchup with the Sharks now that the Preds have added some size at forward (Arnott, Dumont and Vasicek, the last of whom is likely out for tonight)?

We’ll see in a few hours. This one should make for a good game. Go Preds!!

Have you carved your pumpkin yet? If you’re like me and you haven’t, don’t worry. Extremepumpkins.com can give you some advice on how to make a really unique design. The site also has techniques for preserving your pumpkin, so it isn’t black and rotting by next Tuesday. My favorite pumpkin is rated PG-13, but he’s still funny.

Note: If you haven’t seen this week’s episode, there are spoilers below.

I have come to love Lost since my wife and I began watching it on DVD this past summer. My initial impressions of this show, based on the preview ads show before its debut in fall 2004, were that the series was basically a serious take on Gilligan’s Island: a bunch of castaways stuck in the middle of nowhere, minus the hi-jinks.

Boy, was I wrong. I thought the writers would run out of ideas within months. It’s no secret that many fans are tiring of the constant mystery and confusion that Lost displays and it’s tendency to generate new questions before answering those that it has already raised. I love that about this show, though I’d be happy to see a few more answers emerge, too. The creativity in storytelling is unique and amazing, and I love seeing them continue to tangle the Web. I can be patient, but my one sincere hope is that, in the big picture, the writers know where this whole mess is going over the long run. I’ll only be truly disappointed if they never make an effort to connect the dots, or if their resolution isn’t satisfying. Until that day comes, I’m along for the ride and enjoying the breeze.

The psychological torture inflicted on Sawyer last night was fun to watch. (The injection scene in the midst, however, was not. Pulp Fiction 2.0.) The writers continue to give him great lines each week, and his approach to the character makes him a very likeable jackass. (That’s my favorite kind.) When one of the Others tries to bait Sawyer into a beating as he’s been taken off for a phantom surgical procedure, he says, “Give me a reason [to beat the hell out of you.]” Sawyer’s reply, “I thought I just did,” is classic and gave me a good laugh. I feel like his character is an adult take on John Bender from The Breakfast Club, and most any show can benefit from that kind of personality when it’s done well.

I liked seeing the Others have to call on Jack for help in trying to save Colleen’s life. I thought it was powerful that Jack couldn’t do it, and that will make for increased tension in this storyline. (It sure did in the aftermath, when Colleen’s husband takes out his wrath on Sawyer. Wow.)

The big tease from last night: There are two islands. Whoa! All this season, the writers have allowed us to believe that the Others have been holding Jack, Kate and Sawyer on the opposite site of the island from the rest of the Oceanic flight passengers. We knew Jack was underwater, but I had still assumed he was near the shoreline. Now we know differently, but we still don’t know what it means. Oh, and now we know there’s a submarine, too.

I sure hope this is all leading up to an exhilirating cliffhanger in two weeks, when the series prepares to take its mid-season break until February. We’ll see.

I love the recently released Google Maps Mobile application for smartphones. I downloaded it a few days ago and have used it frequently on my Treo 650 (that’s a 700p above), and it is genius. I think it’s essentially a Web browser that surfs only to Google Maps, but it is really well designed.

It loads quickly and displays only the map interface. Adding locations from the Menu is really easy, and the application very quickly loads the relevant area. This has been so handy for me when heading toward a new destination around town. I highly recommend it.

Ready to check it out? Visit www.google.com/gmm from your phone’s Web browser. (You may want to go there on your PC first to make sure your phone is compatible.)