Slow News Day

Well, it’s a slow news day, this being the end of August and all. I don’t give two hoots about today’s “top stories,” according to the NYT, the WaPo, and memeorandum. And the Clovis News-Journal, too. I don’t know about you, Gentle Reader, but I’ve heard enough about Alberto Gonzales to last me the rest of my natural life and several months into the after-life, as well. And yet another pol got busted in some men’s room somewhere. Spare me. This is news?

On the other hand…this is interesting: “The World’s Most Expensive Hotel Suites.” Not that I’ve bookmarked any of the websites or jotted down the reservation desk’s phone number for my next sojourn amongst the movers and shakers, or anything like that. I exaggerate not a whit when I tell you the price of the first house I bought was substantially less than the rack rate (howza ‘bout $52K per night?) at this flea bag. Your $52K buys you 24 hours in 17,000 square feet, because, after all, some of us just need our space. I’m sure it’s just perfect for you and your close circle of friends the next time you head out to Geneva…

On the other, other hand, if the Presidential Suite at The President Wilson isn’t exactly your cuppa, you might want to try Glamping:

GLAMPING is a heady mix of glamour and the great outdoors, in which the freedom and challenge of going back to nature are tempered by home-making skills and the pleasures of domesticity. Glampers donate their roll mats to the boy scouts. For them, sheepskin rugs, leather pouffes, chilled champagne boxes, silk- and muslin-strewn gazebos, Egyptian-cotton sheets, blow-up sofas, double duvets – even tea-light chandeliers – are all part of the alfresco setup.

Or not.

Well, that’s the end of a long run (for me)… “Acer buys Gateway to cramp Chinese plans for Lenovo.”

A Taiwanese computer maker has dealt a significant blow to China’s hopes of making Lenovo a flagship global PC brand.

Acer, Lenovo’s arch rival, has agreed to buy Gateway, the American computer maker, for about $710 million (£353 million).

The deal will catapult Acer above Lenovo to make it the world’s third-biggest PC manufacturer, give the Taiwanese company a significant presence in the United States for the first time and strengthen its position in Europe.

I’m pecking this post out on a Gateway computer, the fifth (and last) Gateway computer I’ve owned… the others were two laptops and two desktops, in a relationship that goes back to the early ‘90s. I’m not naïve enough to think my current computer is made out of largely American parts, assembled in America. Nope…more than likely this box and its internal parts originated somewhere in Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, or some other Asian Tiger. But the name on the front is American, and the profits generated from the sale of the box stayed at home. I’m running out of options here, what with Dell and HP being just about the only mainstream American PC makers assemblers left. (I’m excluding the boutique builders, obviously.)

More food for the “Buy a Mac next time” thought.

Today’s Pic: “Whaddaya mean ‘go outside and play?’ It’s RAINING!” I’ve posted another pic from this particular series before, specifically a close-up of SN3’s wild hair after a session of puddle-stomping with Mom and Dad during a summer shower. This is just another installment.

July, 1998. Perinton, NY.