Planned Obsolescence

My camera broke. I haven't even dropped it in over a year. (At least not that I remember) And all of the sudden, without warning, the zoom stops working. As an engineer I realize the use of plastic gears has its benefits, but I also know that they are under designed. Even though we aren't in the 50's anymore, when planned obsolescence was a common business idea, I still think they do it purposefully.

I've got a camera with a zoom that doesn't work. Sony sells parts, but they are expensive. Spend $150 to fix my camera? I can almost buy a new one that is just as good for that. But here's where they got me by the balls. I spent $100 for a 512 mb memory stick, which I'm pretty sure, for the most part, is only compatible with Sony. So now I'm invested in Sony products.

Damn you Sony, damn you plastic gears, and damn you torque induced shear force.

#20 Is Sweet

After some great athleticism and a little preferential treatment from home court, Michigan has broken into the top 25. Sitting at #20 we look good to being included in the Tourney for the first time in a long time. Don’t get in our way or you might find yourself on the ground. That’s what happened to Kammron Taylor when he got knocked out by Gram Brown. Or Should I say Chris Rock.



I still swear they look identical. Maybe I wasn’t the first to notice the similarity, but I made quite a fuss about it 3 years ago. I still remember screaming that Chris Rock doesn’t play basketball, which led to the Chris Rock chant.

Anyways, keep it up Michigan.

Dedication

So I went out shoe shopping with my girl today. That's how dedicated I am to my relationships.
But she likes really expensive fancy shoes. I told her I'd buy some in the spring when she'll actually wear them, and she didn't mind.

She's the best. And she encourages threesomes. Any ladies interested?





http://www.rx8club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=65717

Things I learned today....

1. I've worked for two weeks and almost the entire paycheck is going to go towards michigan's 6% sales tax on my car. More like thing I calculated today, I guess I learned taxes suck.

2. Coach purses/handbags are ~$400 a pop.

3. The correct ANSI drafting technique of feature control frames and the differences between metric and english versions.

4. I can start putting money in my 401k. Damn.

That is all.


On a side note, I met the president of Numatics today, I think that he thought I was doing a good job.

3rd Gen. Gene Gets 2nd Gen. Rotary

Just like my father had an RX-7, 20 years ago, I now have an RX-8. Saturday I spent the whole day getting a loan, driving down to Toledo, and picking up this car....

2005 Mazda RX-8 Grand Touring (Zoom Zoom)
1.3 liter double rotor engine, 238 hp, 159 ft lp torque
Velocity Red
-Appearance Package
-Accent Package
-Rear Spoiler
-GPS Navigation
-Leather Seats
-Power Seats
-Heated Seats
-Sun Roof

Modifications
-Crome Tipped Exhaust
-Tinted Windows
-Mazda Center Caps for the Wheels

I'm very excited about this car.

I also went out with Mellisa and her friends for her boyfriends Bday. It was a good day.

So at work today....

So work started out just like most Fridays. Well I was a little hung over because of the charity bar night I went to at Touchdown's where there was a plethora of beautiful girls. But anyways I was slowly getting into my work, you know, just taking my time and working my up the productivity ladder. So it was 10:30 and I was maybe up to 50% efficiency when I noticed my computer monitor was looking like a mirage in the desert. Also the fluorescent light on my desk that had not worked in like 4 months flicked on. Then out of nowhere, with a thunderous boom and flash of light, the whole place loses power. I didn't really see what happened, but there was a man outside the window and he was running fast. Then it happened again. By this time everyone in the office was outside or at the window watching. A third time a 3 ft fireball fills the sky. About 30 yards across the parking lot the power lines were surging with electricity. The fireball (which was as blinding as a welding arch) lights the pole on fire and you can see the electricity traveling down the pole and blowing open an electrical box. It goes off one final time before the breakers stop trying to reset. It was pretty exciting to watch.

I figured that this was going to be the closest thing to a snow day that I’m ever going to get again. But nay. They decided to use this as time for spring cleaning. So I did not get to go home, enjoy Friday afternoon, or pass go and collect a free 6 hours of pay.

Actually it was the fastest response to a power outage I've ever seen. Really surprising, I mean they are unionized. They even worked through lunch. Maybe they knew they need to fix it fast before the 1o inches of snow comes. 2 and 1/2 hours later we're back to business as usual.

Oh well, I guess I didn't really do shit today and got paid for it. Victory enough.