Apple is being sued.

Write that down. Refer to it once a day.

If you need details on the ever-changing lawsuit Apple is either the plaintiff or defendant in, just enter Apple and Lawsuit into your search engine of choice. I got 307,000 results.

Damn.

In other news…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting an Easterly sunrise tomorrow.

A diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables is considered by many medical experts to be more healthful than one in which Double Whoppers with Cheese figure prominently.

There is unrest in the Middle East.

Statistically, skinny celebrity blondes with boob jobs have a high probability of being clinically depressed, clueless sexual deviants with substance abuse problems.

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Apple charges more to upgrade MacBooks than Dell charges for the same upgrades to their equipment. Over on dash-slut is an opinion that Apple is “quite literally ripping off” people who go to them for upgrades.

If price is your only metric, you don’t have an Apple product. Have I mentioned “value shopping?” If your money is more valuable to you than your time, buy crap and spend your spare time trying to fix it. Buy a Dell.

As an analog, I pay the highest priced plumber in town to unclog my drains. I could do it cheaper myself. I could get a cheaper plumber.

Am I stupid?

If money is the only metric, yes.

The highest priced plumber in town treats me like a valued customer instead of a number. The receptionist speaks English – politely – and has some idea of what’s being discussed. The plumber shows up on time, works quickly, doesn’t ask me if I have a screwdriver he can use, and sometimes does more than I expect without an additional charge. The work gets done right the first time.

The cheap plumber does the job, sort of, looks for ways to add things to my bill for things he didn’t even do, and frequently has to be called in a second time to fix problems caused by his shoddy workmanship. That’s if I can get him to come to the house in the first place through the rude and utterly clueless daughter-in-law who answers the phone.

The difference in price between the most expensive and the cheap-ass is pennies on the dollar.

I don’t know about you, but I can go make some more money. I cannot go make some more time. Therefore, my time is more valuable than the difference between cheap and good.

If you don’t understand that concept, you probably own a Dell (or an Acer) and the whole argument is moot.

Anyway, the comment string over on Dash-slut is largely between those who think Apple products are superior and those who think it’s merely the flavor-of-the-month (dumbasses).

It’s an absurd argument, but then it’s Dash-slut. The people who post there fancy themselves smarter than the average guy, and certainly superior to us Mac users.

Dorks.

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Wesley Clark said that having been a POW doesn’t qualify John McCain to be President. For some reason this is a HUGE political football. The statement itself doesn’t mean anything. If you’ve ever listened to Wesley Clark jabber, the emptiness of the statement should not be surprising. Having been a POW doesn’t qualify anybody for anything that I know of. Are there jobs that state “Former POW” as an employment criteria? Maybe I missed something. Does being a former POW disqualify McCain to be president? First Lady? What? 

The Los Angeles Times Headline calls it, “The campaign comment that will not die.” It doesn’t die because none of the papers is significantly smarter than the LAT. They keep it alive because frankly, they have nothing to say and lots of column inches to fill around the used car and strip club ads.

As long as no one will give them a meaningful sound bite, the major media is happy to harp on an utterly inconsequential statement from an utterly inconsequential former military officer. It certainly has nothing to do with a critical analysis of the statement or its significance.

They mean well. They’re just not terribly smart.

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A stitch in time could close a wormhole.