What is wrong with Best Buy?

Posted on 2 January 2012 by Carl Flippin

This Christmas, I got a Kindle. I wanted to get a case with a built in light to go with it so I went down to the local Best Buy. They carry the full line of Kindles so it seemed reasonable to expect that they would have cases as well. When I got there, I found a few cases for second tier readers in torn packaging. Fair enough. It was right after the holidays. I let it slide. Tonight, I returned and found that the case was still not there. I used their godawful kiosk to discover that the cases were only available in the store but that the 15 nearest stores had none in stock. I left disappointed.

When I sat down at my computer, I happened across this article which fits my experience exactly. Many years ago, I was a retail lackey at the now-defunct CompUSA. The customer service was aggressively bad and they failed not long after I left. It seems that Best Buy is on the same path.

I apologize in advance for this meme

Posted on 30 December 2011 by Carl Flippin

There was a young fellow of Italy…

Posted on 29 December 2011 by Carl Flippin

The witty hacking of technology to reveal security problems is not a new phenomenon. In 1903 Marconi was publicly humiliated by a hacker with a chip on his shoulder during a public demonstration of wireless telegraphy.

Sir, did you declare these rocks?

Posted on 11 October 2011 by Carl Flippin

Having just gone through customs coming back from Brazil, I can only imagine the manhandling involved coming back from the moon. Have to make sure they didn’t smuggle in any lunar cocaine or infected fruits and vegetables.

Apollo 11 Immigration Form

Osama bin Laden Dead

Posted on 1 May 2011 by Carl Flippin

I have never killed any one, but I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction.

— Clarence Darrow

3eanuts

Posted on 28 March 2011 by Carl Flippin

“Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comics often conceal the existential despair of their world with a closing joke at the characters’ expense. With the last panel omitted, despair pervades all.”

3eanuts

The Black and White World That Was

Posted on 23 March 2011 by Carl Flippin

This collection of inexplicable black and white photos is pure awesome. From what I can tell, before color photos, life was amazing. It included lots of smoking babies and children wielding pistols. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Down With π Day

Posted on 14 March 2011 by Carl Flippin

Today is π day. We are all supposed to celebrate the loveliness of π by eating pies and talking about how wonderful π is. The only problem is the π is demonstrably wrong! We should actually be celebrating Tau day (τ day). For more information, see The Tau Manifesto. I will see all you real math nerds on June 28th.

For more of Vi Hart’s wonderful videos, see here.

Trailer Park to the Stars

Posted on 16 February 2011 by Carl Flippin

In Malibu, there is a trailer park called Paradise Cove where the trailers go for up to $2.5 million and Minnie Driver cooks doughnuts from scratch for the residents. If visiting, be sure to check out the cafe. Vanity Fair has the whole story here.