i thought apple was a historically successful company. yet they can’t even figure out a wired connection for $79 a pop.

mikedang replied to your post: please explain this to me.

Same here! But it’s been twice in two years. :(

It’s disgusting is what it is.

getting things done today.

please explain this to me.

Twice in five years, I have had to replace my MacBook Pro power adapter/charger because, due to minimal usage (I never put stress on the connection, I rarely travel with the brick or wrap the cord up — I take care of my things), the internal connection between the cord and the power brick has been rendered ineffective. These chargers cost upwards of $79.00 each.

In 1989, I was given a Nintendo Entertainment System for Christmas. Included in that set were two controllers. These controllers were handled for hundreds of hours by multiple children under the age of 10, every year; they were thrown into walls, floors, and frequently slammed into knees as frustrated gamers attempted to break them in two. Their cords were wrapped tightly around the controllers on a daily basis, as if placing a tourniquet on a bullet wound. When new, these controllers cost about $20. I just found these controllers in the attic, where they have been in storage for well over a decade. I plugged them both in. I played games. These controllers and their wiring still work fine. 

So, Apple can’t figure out CONNECTING A WIRE TO THINGS in 2012 but Nintendo perfected it nearly 25 years ago, for one-third of the price. 

meet the author.

I found a story that I wrote (AND ILLUSTRATED) when I was 8. The story is called “Jaws Goes to College” and is about a shark named Jaws that wants to go to college.

[I wish it was as quaint and cute as it sounds but there are plenty of curveball elements like parents who died before the story, burned down homes (underwater homes, which seems impossible), and a cousin to whom Jaws had not spoken in 15 years. Also, the climax is that Jaws is given a check for $10,000,000, for college. Yeah. And I realize that that information makes the story sound really adult and progressive but that assumption is also weak. It’s just an 8-year-old’s really poorly written story about sharks, okay?]

Anyway, at the back of the book (which was spiral-bound by my teacher), there is a “Meet the Author” page. This page is approximated below:

Name: Justin T. Brown

Age: eight

I’m an expert at: baseball

My favorite book is: Kat Kong

My best school subject is: physical education

Because: I’m good at being physical

What I like to do most is: play baseball

When I grow up, I will be a: baseball player or a lawyer

Other books by this author: Jaws Goes to College, The Sun 

Notes:

• Kat Kong was totally a book. It was basically LOLCATS in print form, about 12 years ahead of LOLCATS. So yeah, I continue to be way ahead of the trends.
• I was “good at being physical” during PE class because from the ages of 6 until 15, I was generally about 31% larger than all of my classmates. I hit “Turbo” on the whole puberty thing a little too early.
• I was never an “expert” at baseball. Aforementioned size disparity between myself and classmates provided a serious hitting advantage for a few years but… even then, I was just coasting on the innate athletic gifts — there was no expertise involved.
• Related: I never became a baseball player beyond Little League. And I think I only wrote “lawyer” there because I wanted my dad to feel like my goals were attainable. Relevant: I never became a lawyer.
• I recently also found my book The Sun. It’s basically a bunch of facts about the Sun, coupled with colored pencil drawings of all the planets, spiral-bound. The best part is a caption below the Solar System: “The Solar System has 9 planets. Some people say that we’ll have ten in 1999.” Such a sweet kid.
• 8-year-old me would be thrilled to know that 18 years later, I was still actively fascinated by sharks, baseball, and outer space*.

* “Sharks, Baseball, and Outer Space” = name for a future book.

a poem i wrote in second grade, that i just found.

Note: this is dreadful.

“Honesty” by Justin T. Brown

Honesty is the best policy,
It means not to tell a lie.
Telling the truth makes you feel good.
If you’re honest with a cook,
He’ll bake you a pie.

Telling a lie can be a real drag,
It’ll make you feel bad inside.
Instead always tell the truth;
You will be filled with pride.

If someone asks you a question,
Always answer with the truth.
And if someone answers with a lie,
Hit them with that cook’s pie.

When you’re playing sports, tell the truth.
Tell the refs if you kicked it out.
If you drink someone’s water, please admit
That you caused the drought. 

I got an “Achievement” ribbon for it so… no big deal.

This is why all you get from studios like Fox is sequels, remakes, and reboots: “Red Tails [and its $18.8 million opening weekend] marks distributor 20th Century Fox’s best opening for a non-franchise title since last April’s Rio”.

People can complain about lack of originality in movies but if nobody is paying to see the rare original release when it does occur… really, isn’t that all the explanation you need? It took 9 months for a non-franchise Fox film to gross over $18M in its opening weekend. So, contrary to Internet comment threads, “originality” really doesn’t seem to be that important to audiences.