eBay sucks (2) Mar 20, 2007
I was reminded again today why I don't like buying things off eBay:  Sniping.  Sniping is when somebody or some automated system places bids on an item seconds before the auction ends.  So some unsuspecting person like me could be winning an auction and then all of a sudden get outbid in the last 20 seconds and lose.  I hate it.  And I can just hear the geeks who won snickering and saying, "Sniping is what makes eBay awesome."  I say screw that.  I only use eBay for Buy It Now, which is still inferior to Amazon Marketplace.  Therefore, eBay sucks.  Buncha jerks. #technology
Rechargeable or not Mar 20, 2007
Most battery-powered devices use rechargeable batteries.  Or so I thought.  It seems that more and more devices these days are moving away from proprietary (and thus, expensive) rechargeable batteries and switching to standard (and thus, cheap), readily available ones. 

I bought a new digital camera recently.  I was surprised to find that most of the newer cameras that aren't super small are powered by two AA batteries.  It's pretty much a standard thing now.  I was worried the batteries wouldn't last very long, so I was conned convinced into buying "extra long-lasting" AAs.  It turns out these special batteries weren't compatible with the specific camera I bought (an unintentional mistake by myself and the Best Buy guy; something about lithium vs. alkaline), but the normal AAs worked fine.  As far as longevity, I took somewhere around 500 pictures and a few videos, all on 2 sets of batteries.  I used the camera like I normally do, which includes using the LCD, zooming, flash, deleting, transferring pictures from the card, etc.  I didn't do much to conserve battery life, and they ended up lasting quite long. 

And just yesterday, I was looking at GPS devices and noticed the same pattern:  Most of the newer models use standard AA or AAA batteries, and only a few models use rechargeables.  I think it's a great trend because it can obviously cut down on the overall cost of electronics, including the cost to develop the battery technology and the cost to mass-produce them.  And when you're on vacation in the middle of nowhere and your camera's battery dies (which happens to me quite often ... stupid little Canon batteries!), you can just buy some new ones at the nearest convenience store.  And you don't have to charge them before you use them, unlike normal camera and cell phone batteries.  I'm a believer. 

Update (2007-03-21 3:25pm):  A few more thoughts on this: 
  1. Having to regularly buy new batteries might not necessarily be less expensive than buying one battery and continually recharging it.  But I would imagine it would take quite a few disposable batteries to equal the price of a single proprietary rechargeable battery.
  2. The downside to disposable batteries (as Wendy pointed out to me) is that they're not a renewable energy source, or more specifically, they're yet another thing that gets regularly dumped in landfills.  Rechargeable batteries have the advantage of not contributing quite as much garbage to the environment.  They'll still probably hurt the environment, but probably much less.
  3. It's possible to buy rechargeable AA batteries.  They're a little more expensive, but maybe they're worth it.
#technology
Highway nose-pickers (3) Mar 20, 2007
Every time I'm driving on a highway, I pass people who are trying to scratch their brain via their nose.  These highway nose-pickers don't seem to realize that other people can see them, and that it's a horrific experience to watch someone pick their nose with such vigor.  I feel that we as a human race need to do something about this.  Any ideas (comments welcome)? #travel