iCringe

With thousands of people just an hour away from getting their IM-primed pinkies on a flashy new iPhone, one should reflect on the decadence of our society. According to CNN some people began waiting in line outside of Apple stores on Monday. That means 5 full days (or 100-120 hours, depending on what part of Monday you begin) devoted entirely the prospect of being the first to own a gadget gaurenteed to bring about the nerd-envy of your friends. Meanwhile, the 55.5% of America who reportedly volunteers on a regular basis, spends 3.5 hours a week at this noble endeavour. 44.5% of America doesn't even bother to lie by pretending they volunteer.

The iPhone, not counting taxes, fees, the mandatory 2-year contract with AT&T at $60 a month and the necessary accessories to strap the thing to your waist and look like you are talking to air as you cruise the sidewalk, will set you back $599. The average american household income comes out to just over $853 a week. That includes the uber rich and the now common duel income households. So you won't be using your new phone to order pizza that week. Hope you like Ramen.

The scary part isn't that some people will give up this much time and money for what amounts to grown up toy - it's that so many will want it that most will be dissapointed at the end of the day.

I don't volunteer enough, give enough to charity, and I certainly own my share of toys. Waiting in the rain for a device that will certainly be faulty for the first few months is silly, but I don't want to condemn anyone. Still, I had to stop and wonder, what if we all donated $600 and took 5 days off of work to go clean the streets or visit shut-ins? Would that bring us more than an extra smart touchpad?

Meh.

Ask A Ninja

It's hard to believe you haven't all found this already, but I can't take that risk. It's a random guy on youtube who fields questions as a ninja. He reminds a little bit of a guy I once knew who had a computer help call-in sequence during his radio show.

Being a Ninja, he's a bit violent and way to into mythical beasts. But he makes up a lot of words, which pleases me so. His earlier episodes are a bit rough, but they improve. My favorites are the omnibus and omnideuce.