Need a back massager that doubles as a wine fridge? Look elsewhere, because Sharper Image is closing half of its stores “as soon as possible” and declaring bankruptcy.
The Washington Post featured a delightfully snarky article reflecting on the steady collapse of everyone’s favorite browse-but-don’t-buy shop:
“What are we losing? A world of luminescent safety leashes, hideaway gyms, telescoping ladders — an entire chain dedicated to the idea of streamlining your life by .002 percent. The Sharper Image is a place that sells a lighted nose-hair trimmer, which is to say it targets men who already own a regular nose hair trimmer in the hopes they’ll think it’s worth $40 to get a better look up their nostrils.”
I own a single Sharper Image product. Predictably, it’s a beard trimmer. I have no idea why I purchased it at Sharper Image versus…well…any other store at the mall. But I digress. The fact is, many trips into Sharper Image stores resulted in one (~$30) purchase. Apparently, I’m a typical customer.
It’s hard to believe, but we’re approaching the two-month mark for Tropophilia. Feels like much longer than that to me, actually. I’ve spent a little time looking at some of our stats this afternoon (yes, work is that slow today), and thought I’d share some of the more interesting ones with you. If you’re interested, make the jump.
I saw an ad for the film while browsing the web a few weeks ago, and I almost scrolled right by. I usually don’t pay attention to web ads, let alone click on them, but I took the bait on this one upon seeing Ron Howard’s name attached to it. The film had received several honors and awards, but it was the enticing trailer that finally won me over.
And, as I’ve noted before, I’m a sucker for pretty much everything related to space. So I queued it up on Netflix and waited patiently.
A week or so later, the mailman brought me my little red envelope. I bought some beer, gathered some friends, and settled in to be entertained. I was not entertained. I was spellbound.
Those who know me are aware that few things scare me as much as snakes. I hate those squirmy little death-vermin, and I refuse to acknowledge (rational) arguments of their merits…or the complete inability of some species to kill me. The point is, they freak me out.
So imagine my inadvertent bowel movement surprise when I stumbled upon this story in my Google Reader. Let me save you the suspense of clicking through by highlighting the basics (emphasis mine):
The US Geological Survey has published maps predicting that burmese pythons currently breeding in the wild in the USA could spread across all of the lower USA.
[...] The snakes, which can grow to 20 feet and 250 pounds, [...] are another example of the dangers of trade in exotic species. Originally sold as pets, many owners release the snakes into the wild when they tire of caring [for] them. Amazingly, this is occurring often enough that the snakes have established breeding colonies, the first step towards spreading out into their new environment.
Mashable reports that Google introduced an “invisibility” feature into its Gmail version of Google Talk over the weekend. I am very much against this type of feature, and am disappointed that Google has chosen to implement it.
If you’ve used AOL Instant Messenger (or its Microsoft and Yahoo! competitors), you’ll be familiar with the invisibility option: while you are able to see which of your contacts are online and even initiate conversations with them, it appears to them as if you’re offline.
The Argument
Instant messaging is a form of social networking. By choosing to become invisible, you’ve chosen to selectively participate in your social network. You have elected to receive all the benefits while experiencing none of the risks or costs. I believe that this goes against the very social nature of the whole social networking phenomenon.
The Story
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