Random Is As Random Does
Monday mornings are usually reserved for errands which couldn't be accomplished over the weekend, meaning that I measure my achievements in barely perceptible increments...the same as the logic in this post.
- Why is it that the good folk who ensure that the 12-packs of my favorite soft drink are readily available at HEB (my local grocery store of choice) also have the annoying and mystifying habit of stacking said packs so that the convienent punch-in "handle" is facing away from the customer? They do it consistently, so there must be forethought involved. Is this their subtle way of Sticking It To The Man (yes, I watched "School of Rock" on DVD this weekend)?
- I see where the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus is calling Apple on its ridiculous claim that the PowerMac G5 is "the world's fastest, most powerful personal computer." Even the most Mac-centric of publications have never been able to quantitatively confirm this claim, except in isolated unreal-world tests specifically designed to measure areas where the Mac+software combination has a built-in tilt toward the G5's architecture. I'm an unabashed Mac user, but I was never comfortable with this claim. For Apple's part, they say that they've finished that particular ad campaign, but "will be mindful of NAD's views in its future advertising." (At the same time, I hereby present Dell with the Big Whiny Company of the Month award for filing the complaint with the NAD.)
- Speaking of Dell, I'm much reassured about my security after learning that the company is requiring you to answer the following question before they'll ship you a computer: "Will you be using this PC to design weapons of mass destruction?" If you answer incorrectly, Dell won't sell you a computer. And, for the sake of our national security, I'm not authorized at this time to disclose the criterion by which an answer will be identified as incorrect. (But here's a hint: it rhymes with "Hess.")
- I think God was in a particularly good mood when He created geckos.
I liked this post. It was informative. More randomness.
Posted by: Christopher at March 29, 2004 10:51 PMIt would be nice if those lads were reminded that "The Man" is paying them a salary to stock those shelves properly. They seem to confuse "The Man" with their spineless parents who give them money for free.
Next time it happens, you might want to escort The Man-ager over to the shelf and suggest a quick game of "What's Wrong With This Picture". If he gets enough complaints (from, say, people you've encouraged to complain as well) he'll crack down on them.
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Dell, however, goes so far as to ask customers to promise their PC isn't going to be used "in connection with weapons of mass destruction". ...And, as if that isn't clear, the site goes on to explain that this would include "nuclear applications, missile technology, or chemical or biological weapons purposes".
Do mucho caliente chili recipies count as a nuclear application, a chemical/ biological weapon, or both? Texans are far more qualified to make that decision than New Englanders.
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Humanity shares its nativity day with the gecko (day 6, I believe). God most definitely was a good mood. :D
Dell has completely misunderstood the regulations on the sale of dual use items ( those being things that can be used both for innocuous purposes and for weapons, esp of mass destruction ).
Speaking as someone who actually deals with those regs of course.
Yes, there are all sorts of things you can't send to particular countries, or to specific companies within countries, but all of them are irrelevant if they are available at retail in the US. Yup, a reasonable bureaucratic rule ( gasp !! ). If you can wolk in and buy it off the shelf there are no restrictions.
Some idiot company lawyer covering his ass ( and yes I have had an experience in the past couple of weeks with one of those over exactly the same set of regs.)
Some idiot company lawyer covering his ass
Well, as any good "company lawyer" should readily admit, his or her highest calling is to bestow upon the absurdly improbable all the trappings of ironclad certainty via the magic of legalese.
Posted by: Eric at March 31, 2004 09:14 AMAbout the publisher
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the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus is calling Apple on its ridiculous claim that the PowerMac G5 is "the world's fastest, most powerful personal computer."
I can't believe that anyone believes advertising claims to begin with. "fastest" and "most powerful" are weasel words. Fastest at what? most powerful at what? And of course Apple isn't going to admit they were wrong. It's advertising after all. These are the same people who somehow convince us that every toothpaste and laundry detergent is different from every other toothpaste and laundry detergent to such an extent that it really is "best at getting stains out" or "makes your teeth the whitest."
And, yeah, Dell has a lot of nerve, considering how they crow over their customer service numbers when the reason they have such high customer service numbers is because so many customers have to call to fix their computers!
Posted by: bryan at March 29, 2004 07:55 PM