refusing a breathalyzer in some places, like Louisiana, carries heavy penalties in itself.

You are correct. In this video he describes how the guitar made its way to space:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoMCrkdee8s

No need to be an asshole. The $15 a month accidental damage plan for cell phones absolutely does cover water damage--from spills. It does not cover full submersion. However, because it's pretty much impossible to tell the difference between full submersion and simple spill damage without disassembling the phone and analyzing it (something we never had the time or ability to do efficiently), we never denied anyone on this basis at my store.

As far as "returning" the device, it sounds like you have a different idea/expectation of what the service is. The Geek Squad Protection for mobile phones entitles you to a replacement refurbished phone. For laptops, it covers repair. It's advertised this way, so it's not like Best Buy is being dubious about it. If the device has been repaired twice (it used to be three times, but was reduced to two last year) for defects, on the third time, the "no lemon" clause kicks in and you are eligible for a replacement. This doesn't apply for accidental damage claims, where Best Buy will repair an unlimited amount of times unless the costs of repair exceed the value of the unit, in which case the unit goes "junkout" and the customer gets a replacement.

Computer models come and go so it's unlikely we would have the same model in the store if we were to replace the computer. For most customers (i.e. normal end user consumers who don't really understand computers), getting a new computer is an extremely complicated situation due to transferring data, configuration, reinstalling programs, etc. This isn't an easy situation to handle because of customers relying on bundled OEM software that isn't available on or differs on the new computer, the impossibility of transferring installed programs, they expect Best Buy to do all that for them, people have to dig through closets to find serial numbers, when they can't find them they expect Best Buy to just give them a new copy of Office, then they want Best Buy to replace incompatible accessories (spare batteries or AC adapters, etc.) etc. not to mention customers who do in-home services wanting us to come back out to their house for free to set things up again with a brand new machine, etc. It's a support nightmare whenever we replace a computer--it's usually much less headaches and frustration for all parties involved to just swap the bad motherboard and be done with it.

I don't think you're looking at the big picture or at least you don't realize how stupid/clumsy most people are. When I worked at Best Buy , we saw people come in all the time--by that, I mean repeat offenders--with water-damaged phones and cracked screens. $15 a month or whatever it is may seem steep, but these people definitely got more than their money's worth out of it. Besides, it's not just about the monetary value, it's also about the peace of mind knowing that you can do pretty much whatever the hell you want with your smartphone, case or no case, and there are no consequences to you.

The bottom line is I saw a lot of people get their money's worth. Other people I'm sure never used theirs. That's the nature of insurance, no? The answer to "Is buying an extended/accidental damage warranty a good idea?" is different for every person because the way each person uses their stuff is different, as is their ability to fix it themselves or get it repaired if something does go wrong. I repaired computers at Best Buy, but whenever I did find myself in a situation where I was selling a computer, I'd ask the customer how they were planning on using the computer, and if it was a situation like it was for their kid and they were hoping this one laptop would get them through the entirety of college, I'd offer the warranty and explain why it'd be a good idea. If they didn't want it, or if they were just a housewife who needed a computer that's going to sit on a desk for a few years, I'd drop it (I'm not a pushy salesman type). Sure, when you do the math, the insurance companies will always come out ahead, but as someone who fulfilled the repair work for warranties, that doesn't mean I didn't encounter customers day-in and day-out who would say "Wow, I'm really glad I bought that warranty."

You act like NOTHING else had changed in these industries in the past 10-15 years.

The world is a very different place.

Do you go on every article talking about the PlayStation and mentioning Sony, yelling "IT'S NOT SONY, IT'S SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA, A SUBSIDIARY OF SONY!!!!"?

This is Sony, there's something proprietary here surely? You can only use their router? You can only connect to the service using some terribad desktop app?

I have to respectfully disagree with you there. While some good points can be brought up on PTI, at most times the show seems so scripted that I cannot possibly accept that Wilbon and Kornheiser believe what's coming out of their mouths. It's like they are purposely given point and counterpoint by writers.

Better the whole world blind than just the assholes with sight.

How was it sexist to talk about big dicks? I'm sure if they talked about big boobs that would be "sexist" too?

So is talking about sexual body parts inherently sexist or something?

It seems to me that making that accusation in the first place, inherently, is sexist... as if women can't talk or hear about about body parts.

This situation is especially funny to me, because I still do occasional support for my ex-girlfriend's mother's small business. She is an ultra-liberal feminazi type. I recall a few months ago mentioning a dongle... and she cracked a "haha dongle sounds like a slang word for penis" type of joke. I guess this means she must secretly hate women or something?

Sure, it was probably an inappropriate joke to make in public--but because it was juvenile, not because it was "sexist." It seems me that Adria Richards saw some type of moment to be seen as a crusader for women and lost site of the actual non-issue at hand. Her website is "butyoureagirl.com," after all. She needs to take a step back and stop trying to define herself by the fact that she's a woman doing things that primarily men do.

Yeah, we've still got that. You know, when you call back, and it rings once and then goes straight to voicemail.

If you want to hang up on someone and deliver the same experience, just shout "fuck you!" and tap the "end call" button. You get the same satisfaction and they'll get the message. Is that so hard?

Stop spending your money on this garbage.

There are plenty of great indie/homebrew games out there. I know it's a long shot that these titles will ever be "mainstream," but the biggest problem is that although I hear gamers whine and bitch about DRM and the like, none of them have the self-control to stop buying these titles. Stop. It. I know it's hard, for example, for a Final Fantasy fan to NOT buy the latest FF title, but realize that as long as you do so, you will keep this going forever.

I don't disagree about how our terribly our government works, but it's kind of funny that you conveniently left out the very next question in that interview:

QUESTION: Is this file, by any chance, connected to the invitation – extended invitation – for President Mubarak to visit the United States?
SECRETARY CLINTON: No. It’s an annual report. It is not in any way connected. We look forward to President Mubarak coming as soon as his schedule would permit. I had a wonderful time with him this morning. I really consider President and Mrs. Mubarak to be friends of my family. So I hope to see him often here in Egypt and in the United States.
QUESTION: How do you view the presidency in Egypt, the future of the presidency in Egypt?
SECRETARY CLINTON: That’s for the people of Egypt to decide. That is a very important issue that really is up to Egyptians.

Microsoft: Develops proprietary non-standard browser set to default on their dominating operating system, takes over the web
Apple: forks an open source browser project, develops Webkit out of it, gives it back to the community and works with the community, refuses to support proprietary buggy exploit-ridden browser plug-ins and helps kill it off from the web

i'm not happy about the whole h.264 thing either, but at least we know they have a reason--their idevices are only capable of decoding h.264 in hardware. it doesn't really make it any better but what they have done isn't anything near what MSFT did 10+ years ago.