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11.23.2005  

O Blockbuster, Why Do I Hate Thee So?

"Blockbuster scrambling to stay afloat. Store closings, job cuts planned as losses mount... Blockbuster said in its quarterly report that an acceleration of the payments could force it into bankruptcy."
~ MercuryNews.com

"...one has to wonder whether Blockbuster's creditors grew more flexible because they didn't want to force Blockbuster to file for bankruptcy by tightening the screws too hard. This latest activity came on the heels of yet another horrendous quarter, in which the struggling chain posted another loss on a dip in sales. An uptick in rental revenue wasn't enough to offset the slain late-fees cash cow."
~ fool.com

Yay! For some reason, I just want this company to be the big loser in our digital movie future. Viacom gave them the heave ho and they deserved it. Clearly they underestimated Netflix or just didn't get it soon enough to compete.

But I have to wonder if Netflix is the next casualty along the way? Here in Greencastle (of all places) they're rolling out broadband fiber connections to the home, which means the holy grail of Video On Demand can't be far behind, right? Surely they're not laying out all that infrastructure for email and telephone services alone. Yes, Netflix says they're testing the market, but what are the chances that a company built around the US Mail system could make that transition? I'd bet against them, what with Apple, Microsoft, Google and every film studio also in the running.

So - why my joy at seeing BB fail? Maybe it's the grudge I hold for that embarrasing summer's employment at the Rancho San Diego branch. Have I even admitted that to anyone beyond the IRS?*

* Geez, which was worse: that, Pizza Hut or delivering the weekly "Super Savers" psuedo-paper? I've sure had some sucky jobs.

11.10.2005  

And Then I Wore Pants

It happens every year.

Sooner or later a day comes where the weather changes, our illusion of an summer finally gives way to fall, and I grudgingly make the transition: off with the shorts, on with the pants.

For a California boy like me this ritual is a tragic acceptance, much like fading youth. A sad confirmation that, for yet another year, I'll endure winter in snow country.

Today was that day.

11.03.2005  

Snackages

O Peanut M&M's, numbered E8 (so sweetly)* in the infernal quarter-sucking machine down the hall; why must Thou taunt me so; with your primary colors, clumped on the desk like some happy game, where you roll and frolick without end; until I've chewed the core out of each and every one; and gained the stale plaque upon teeth and gum that only more M&M's hast power to remove?

* A typical bag contains 23 spherules, for an average cost of 3.06 cents each.