You can't improve the decor of a typical Radio Shack store without making stock changes. A typical urban Radio Shack is a small mall shop loaded with low-cost radios, cell phones, computers, GPS receivers, RC cars, and parts. The retail stock IS the decor, whatever surface isn't covered by clam shells is covered by sales posters. I'd guess RS is going to eliminate more of the catalog and go upscale. So they're going to sell $400 radios instead of $100 radios. They're going to make the stage for product sales look a lot less...cheesy. The thing is, I used to go to RS just for PARTS. I never buy high end stuff there. And...it probably makes sense, the net is filled with parts companies who really don't need a brick and mortar store front to sell stuff. There's one really good parts store in the entire Seattle area, at least, for when you have no clue what you really need.

I've just seen the one for Batman, and I am very impressed with it, it kept my interest. The idea is excellent, this piece would seem to be at home in a Batman play or musical if that's possible. I appreciate the singer being able to hit the notes well. I think it is smart, it hints at the story, it provides insight to the character, with an appreciable musical choreography. Nicely done.

A lot of stuff on the net deserves to be gonged, but for this I wouldn't even threaten to pull out the hammer, I'd want to hear the whole thing.

I have been reading that average temperature is down somewhat during the last few months, despite the apparent continuation of polar melting. I don't know if there is a correlating period of less sun energy aimed at Earth, I'd like to see that info.

I have also been reading that uncontested plant growth seems to be on the rise, perhaps in reaction to the higher atmospheric CO2 content.

I have read other articles that propose sprinkling more pollution into the air to reflect more light away from here, but I do not think adding more pollution to what appears to be a pollution-based problem in the first place as a good direction.

I go by what the toy company says it is, that Lego is singular and plural. To me, Legos is in the same dictionary as nukular.

Br"i"ce Schneier?

Kirby also created a title called Kamandi. It wasn't part of the New Gods thing so far as I remember.

This is absolutely marvelous! A step in the right direction!

I wrote in my blog last week that I think license agreements must be clearly disclosed before or at the time of purchase, not when you open the box well after purch...er, license.

Yes, I think the EULA is terrible. Particularly that one. I nevertheless *commend* Fujifilm for not just making it very clear that it exists, but also for allowing the customer to opt out of buying the product before customer actually buys the product (!) because they are presented with the license agreement for the product before purchase!

Now, imagine what happens in a few months when more and more products require customers to sign license agreements before or at purchase: the big box stores and the web stores all display the EULAS where customer inspects product, so reading the EULA won't slow point of sale throughput.

Dozens and dozens of EULAS for software and hardware products appear all over the stores, cluttering up displays and obscuring merchandise.

So the next step of course will be for the big box stores figure out how to move the EULAs to a kiosk in a distant corner of the store, and have customers always sign during purchase. Customers will be confronted with a concurrent credit card and EULA signature and they'll have a right to see the EULA. The store will say that you sign for your purchase, insisting that you had your chance to see the license agreement.

At that point, local, state and federal government will need to insist by law that licenses need to be displayed near merchandise before purchase for it to be legally binding, just forcing someone to sign for it at the POS will not suffice. Big box stores will make it their mission to hide those EULAs as best they can.

And then there will be the wonderful folks who will display the EULA on screen at POS. Go ahead, TRY to read the whole darn thing! For each product you purchase! I know few people who will ignore peer pressure strong enough to not just read it, but attempt to understand what it says.

Ah, progress.

I think I would have provided your student your highly desirous letter of recommendation by way of a crypto-signed email sent directly to him. I would then send the university and the service a copy of your BB commentary regarding the EULA. I would like to think that I would not have entered into the demesne of the EULA by clicking through that sucker, but, you know, the occasion hasn't yet come up. This feels a bit like Kobyashi Maru, a lousy situation to find oneself in. Your email amounts to saying "whoops, I changed my mind!" but on the whole I think you handled the situation pretty well.

There are times when you have to pretend to be a camera for the old Batman television series when aiming at windmills.

The employment biz has become way too complicated from one end to the other with overbearing web automation.