netdud blog

I prefer to use the keyboard to do things on the computer, rather than having to move one hand over to the mouse, which interrupts my typing. If you’ve ever been in a conversation with me, this will make sense to you, as I also hate the part where I have to stop talking to breathe, listen, eat, or take a punch to the mouth.

Here’s a really basic set of keystrokes that I should have looked for long ago.

When you are using the Finder to look at/for files on Mac OS X, you can use one of four views. Most people find that 3 of those views are annoying, and only like one. I have, in the five or so years since I got a Mac, spent a total of 24 years and five months switching the Finder window to the view I prefer.

You can switch between views by clicking on the view buttons, or choose a view from the “View” menu, or you can use keystrokes.

• Cmd+1 gives you the classic icon view, which I have always hated
• Cmd+2 gives you list view, which is not as useful as it should be
• Cmd+3 gives you column view, which I find most useful, and is a pain if you have a lot of nested folders
• Cmd+4 gives you “Cover Flow” view, which is only ever used when Macs are on display for sale, because it is otherwise pointless

There IS an unnecessarily dumb-ass way to tell Finder to use your preferred view as the default, but Finder has its own funny way of defining “default,”  so it is much less of a pain to just use the keystrokes to set the view to what you want each time.

All of these keystrokes are shown right there in the “View” menu when you use Finder, but I’ve been ignoring them for years. Please be better than me.

BONUS KEYSTROKE: In 10.5 or higher, if you have a file highlighted in Finder, and you hit the spacebar, you will get a quick preview of the file–if Preview is able to open the file.  This is a quick way to look into a text document, or preview a music file, or look at an image, without opening a big application.  This is one of those obvious keystrokes that is somehow easy to miss.

Filed under: Curse These Confounded Figuring Machines!, Mac by netdud
Tags: « Mac - nerd »
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As Thoreau insisted, the Internets is indeed an information super-highway.

And if you are in a wreck by the side of that highway, your vehicle shattered, your body broken, your hope in ruins, and you stand waving your arms and asking for aid, you can count on a constant stream of people to come to a stop beside you, roll down their window, tell you that their vehicle is working just fine, and then drive on.

Filed under: clever?, that nuttty interweb by netdud
Tags: « .5 over clever - short 'n' sassy »
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What every woman should do today:

1. – Call up an ex-boyfriend on the phone.
2. – When they answer, say in as flat a tone as you can “It’s [your name] Happy Father’s Day.”
3. – Count the seconds of silence, and post your best score in the comments.

Filed under: clever? by netdud
Tags: « .5 over clever - short 'n' sassy »
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I sometimes play with and always tech for, an Irish band called “Ellis Island.”  The band was playing both Friday and Saturday nights this weekend, about 4 hours per night.

On Friday night (Friday NIIIIGHT?), the cross-brace at the back of Mick Doyle’s bodhran broke.  I think that this had something to do with it being a completely silly design, considering that the player’s hand is constantly flexing against the thing. Here is a picture of the fail, with bonus footage of the utter mess that is my sanctum sanctorum.

Well, I mean, what were they thinking?  Two pieces of crummy dowel, cut into each other at the point that takes the most stress?  This will not stand!

Of course, I was under a time crunch to fix this, as the drum was needed for a show the next night. There was no way I could get the thing to Larry’s Bodhran Shoppe and back in time for the show, because it’s the weekend, I don’t drive, and there is no such place as Larry’s Bodhran Shoppe.

So I had to cast about the house for something that I could use as a brace that would be strong enough and comfortable enough, while still maintaining the unique machismo that is such a defining characteristic of my work.  The answer was obvious:

For the one or two of you who might not be able to tell by looking, that’s the butt end of a Sherwood PMP 7000 (Coffey).  The Coffey was the best choice,  because  backhand shots are just not an issue for bodhran players.  Also, I had two of them in my garage.  Note that this is the older Kevlar-reinforced 7000, not the newer, fibreglass reinforced model.  I would never have used one of those!

So how does it sound?

It sounds like a bodhran.

Filed under: let me fix that, Music by netdud
Tags: « Let me fix that - music »
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http://www.penmachine.com/2011/05/the-last-post

Derek Miller was the epitome of a good guy, and the world is poorer for his passing. We were not close friends, but I knew him for many years–briefly in person–mostly through unfailingly helpful, well-though-out and supportive replies to my rambling pleas for information.

This is the only time I can think of when anything to do with Derek has caused me bad feelings, and that’s not a fair way to do this.  You don’t have to have known Derek, or feel bad about his death, in order to appreciate him.  I highly recommend you read his excellent writing, as much of it as interests you, in the archives at the other end of this link.

Derek’s writing reflects the same clarity, wit, and grace that stood out when I met him.  He wrote like someone who truly loved life.  He loved to learn, and he loved to share what he knew with others when it was helpful to them.  He wrote meaningfully, but never stridently.  He was an excellent writer but more than that, he wasn an excellent person. We need more of those.

Long live the Penmachine.

Filed under: Excellent by netdud
Tags: « Excellent »
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I am a person who, in the main, embraces change. In fact, I am cuddling a nickel right now…

But seriously, ladies and germs, I am fine with things changing. If there is an improvement to be made, if the mores of the times shift, if there is more comfort to be had by doing things a different way, if life will be improved, or harm and strife averted, I’m on board.

I’m quite lucky, in that I have always lived in countries which were DESIGNED to handle change.  They were created of whole cloth–the governance of these countries did not just kinda get put together out of what was already there.* It was actually conceived of in advance of being put in place.  And nothing was deemed infallible.*  The whole thing was set up so there was recourse in case mistakes were made.  It was very very clever.  …didn’t necessarily work out that way in practice, but it was a swell try, and between that and the fact that the whole shebang is still very young, at least the IDEA that things will not be the same forever and ever still bangs around this continent from end to end.

Besides, a lot of stuff sucks, so if you’re kind of cranky like I am, change is a win-win:  You either get one less bit of suckage, or you get a whole bunch more to be cranky about.

So yes.  Change.  WHEN IT IS REQUIRED, a very good thing.  Not to be fought once it’s inevitable.  I’m on board.

But I am not going to say that I’m a FAN of change. That would be like saying I am a FAN of exhaling.  It’s necessary–done as a matter of course. But there’s no point in just doing it for the sake of doing it.  You’d eventually fall down, wouldn’t you?

Some people–the kind who believe there is an actual reason to eat the crust, so they do it even though they don’t LIKE crust–think that any change is good.  That change and challenge have some innate virtue. That they prepare you for something.

Well, these people are obviously goofy.

All change-for -the-sake-of-change does for you is make it harder to know when you’ve found something good–or missed it altogether.  Lots of stuff will change in your life.  Some you will want, some you won’t, and very little of it will you have a say in.  There is no need to force change upon yourself, because it’s all around you, and if you aren’t getting enough of it, you are simply not paying attention.

There is no innate virtue in change. Nor is there any innate danger. It’s in the way that you use it.

Which brings me, of course to the phone company. I live in an area which is just now changing over to 10-digit dialing.  We now have to use the area code when dialing a local number.  Oh BOY does this kind of thing make cities feel like they are all grown-up!  I remember when this happened in Vancouver, and it was just all the rage!  Over night, it was suddenly a world-class city, whereas the day before it was but a small fishing village on the Fraser River.  Good times.

Anyway, I am sure that this change was initiated for a good reason. People breeding or moving or whatever.  People are like that–always moving very close together or farther apart.  How the change was  implemented however, ends up being needlessly annoying to people who use the phone. Seeing as those people outnumber the people who implemented the changes, you’d think…

Well, wouldn’t you?  YOU WOULD THINK!

There are now TWO area codes that share the same area: 402 and 531.  402 is the old one, and contains an overwhelmingly greater percentage of the numbers.

Here’s what currently happens when you live in the area and you dial a number without the area code:  A recording of a slightly peeved dude (who really should have gone to bed a bit earlier last night but you know what?–he’s going to stay up and watch this movie, because it’s HIS life and dammit he could do that damn job in his sleep and besides it’s not like he’s ever faked calling in sick, or refused to come in on the weekend or even ever shown up late so screw it, he’s going to watch Three Days of the Condor because it’s NEVER on anywhere but TCM and he’s got like, 100 movies in his Netflix queue, and you know what?–screw it TWICE he’s going to have another beer too.  Whatever.  He just won’t shower and instead of picking up a coffee he’ll just drink that swill in the lunchroom.) tells you that you have to dial the area code.  Then you have to hang up and dial the number again with the area code.

Now, THAT is silly.     Here’s what would work better:

- Caller dials the number, and for whatever reason, does not include the area code.
- System checks if that number exists in 402 AND 531.
- If the number only exists in one area code, the call goes to that number in the area code
- If the number exists in both area codes, then the caller hears “This number exists in both the 402 and 531 area codes.  Press 1 to be connected to 402[number] or two to be connected to 531[number].”

One dial, a meaningful error ONLY if necessary, one extra key press ONLY if necessary, and we all get on with our day.

“But wait!” I hear someone screech “The system wasn’t designed to do that!”

“Oh.” says I “Well, THAT needs to change…”

Spam sez “A satellite phone gives you worldwide calling ability.”

*Oh my WORD is there ever a big kettle of stinky fish being barely side-stepped here.  Believe me, I can smell it.  And if you’re thinking what I’m thinking, I completely agree with you (tautology much?). In the interest of brevity, let’s keep pretending we didn’t notice that, just for this post.   But I hear you.  I hear you.

Filed under: clever?, let me fix that by netdud
Tags: « .5 over clever - Let me fix that »
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A dude with bad hair wants to name the government of his country, which produces a lot of oil, after himself?  Where have I heard THAT one before?

Seriously–if CANADA’s Prime Minister starts showing up in uniforms he designs himself, with lots of gold braid on them, it’s past time for the guys with the butterfly nets.

Spam sez “Cox Buzz“

Filed under: let me fix that by netdud
Tags: « .5 over clever »
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• Someone makes up a simple application that they think is neat.
• Somehow the application gets idiotically popular.
• OMG OPRAH’S USING IT!
• The creators of these applications get called geniuses by people who are paid to call people geniuses, and suddenly have access to cool clothing, cars, and sex they previously did not have.
• The people who are paid to call people geniuses show pictures of the creator of the application and make jokes.  This makes the application much more attractive.
• The original simple application does not work very well with millions of people using it, which makes a few people bitch about it , which, when heard from above, sounds exactly like millions of people saying “I consider this application important enough to bitch about!” which is inevitably interpreted to mean “YOU NEED TO PUT ADS ALL OVER THIS THING!”
• In order to keep millions of people from getting bored with a simple trick, layers of shiny, sticky paint are added, then advertising, then 78 coats of clear-coat, and finally, threatening-looking doors (made of carefully-stacked lawyers), which give the impression that something important is behind them.
• Original users moan-brag about how much better the application used to be, and how terrible it is now.  And continue to use it.
• A greybeard who has been working at another company for a long time, but is JUST SO DARN EXCITED BY THIS IDEA that he couldn’t bring himself to say no to a mind-boggling huge equity position, comes onboard.
• Enormous security/privacy/spamming problem occurs as a result of no-one giving a good goddamn about that kind of thing until they get burned by it.
• Application creator issues a statement about how seriously security/privacy/spamming is taken and how sorry he is OR a statement about how anyone expects security/privacy/non-evil behavior on the Internet is a tool.  Doesn’t matter, because the first one is usually free.  One week later, this problem is reported on TV news.  Following weekend, joke about it on edgy network TV comedy.
• Once the application is sufficiently popular, and has had enough updates that’s it’s pretty much incompatible with anything for more than a week, it’s time for
• IPO or BUYOUT!  Hooray!  Money! Creator and greybeard appear on the “Business” minute of TV news, ringing a bell in front of a high concentration of Lipitor and silk ties.
• The application has now attained nirvana–a state in which people now use it because EVERYONE USES IT, and it must be good, because it generates a lot of money, though no-one is sure exactly how.
• Many miles away, there’s a shadow on the door of a cottage on the shore of a dark Scottish lake.

Filed under: clever?, that nuttty interweb by netdud
Tags: « .5 over clever »
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I loves me the envelope filters.  Oh, how I do!

Here’s some stuff about the ones I have, or have tried.  Remember–YMMV.

Couple of things I should mention first:

- I’m not going to go all nerdy on how these things work.  I do that too much. Heck, this is like, the fourth time I’ve written something like this. I’m just going to talk about what they are like to use.

- To that end, I am only going to talk about pedals, and in particular, pedals I have had enough time to really get to know–in most cases, with my own gear, at volume.  There are a couple here about which I note that this might not be the case, but I will not do the “I heard this was rilly gud on TalkBass and watched a YouTube demo” thing.

- I’ll add more pedals if/as/when I fiddle with them. I encourage you to do the same in the comments, or tell me what you like, or gimme links.  I love filters.  I’d love to hear more about them.

- On most envelope filter pedals, the “sensitivity” setting really determines two things–when the effect comes on (threshold), and how far up and down the envelope travels. So when I talk about a pedal’s “range of sensitivity” I’m really talking about both.  This also keeps me from getting too nerdy.

- I started life as a bay splayer. Still am, really, though I am only gigging on guitar lately.  If you do it carefully, you can use the same envelope filters for either.  It’s all in where the filter is tuned, and what you want to hear.  If the filter doesn’t let you fiddle with the center frequency and/or Q and/or sensitivity, you are pretty much trapped with using the pedal for the specific thing it does. I don’t like devices like that.  Oh dear me, that was very close to nerdy, wasn’t it?

- As an experiment, I’m not doing links to these pedals, because you can just as easily search for the ones you are interested in (usually by highlighting the name, right-clicking, and choosing whatever “search” option you see).  There aren’t any nice objective links to the old stuff.

- Of course, you want to put these things as early in the chain as you can, so that you get the best control by attack.  I put mine after my volume pedal AND after my compressor.

“WHAAAAAAT?!?” I hear you say  “Doesn’t that mean that, when the compressor is on, you get the same attack hitting the filter?”

“Yes.”  I replied, with a charming half-smile  “It does.  When the compressor is on.”

“Ah”  you say  “Silly old bear.”

• Old Bass Balls – My favorite envelope pedal, on bass at least. Also, my nickname, according to someone who, for a few dollars, was very kind to me…

  This has TWO filters, and you can actually tune their frequencies by fiddling with two mini-pots inside the pedal…and you do this carefully, because the most consistent thing about old EH pedals is their inconsistent build quality and fragility.  There is a sensitivity knob on the outside of the pedal, and a fuzz switch that always seems like a good idea, but rarely is.   Because it is an old EH pedal, it breaks pretty much all the time, and mine has not really been functional since I started gigging on guitar.  If the new old-style pedals are more robust and sound as good, this might be your best choice.  Tuneability eliminates a lot of the problems that most people have with filters, but you have to know it’s there and tweak it.

  NOTE:  The green Russian-y BB pedals do not sound the same as my old one. Mostly, they are grainier, and the envelope doesn’t sound as wide (smaller Q)  You may be able to tune that out, I don’t know what they are like inside.  I owned one briefly, struggled with it, and in an uncharacteristic move, took it back and traded up to the Q-tron.

• Old Dr.Q (I have not tried the new ones) – Simple envelope filter with one knob to tune the filter frequency, and no easy way to tune sensitivity.  It was very useful for one application when I was playing bass, because I would tune the thing with my toes while I played.  If you just want a mild effect in a small range, or you have prehensile toes, it is extremely useful.  If you want a stomp-and-go bwucka pedal, you will probably not be happy with this.

• Q-Tron – Oh!  How much fun this thing is! A ton of sound possibilities!  Great tweakability!  I got one shortly after they came out, and I literally ended up sitting cross-legged on the floor drooling.  One of my favorite pedals, and sooo useful. I used to have two!So why, you might ask, is it not in my pedalboard?  There are three problems:  You can only tune the filter to high-pass, band-pass, and low-pass, and I like a bit tighter control; it is friggin’ huge; and it takes a 24 volt adapter.  It is not easy to find a 24V adapter in 5 minutes, and I don’t like being one drunk cowboy boot away from no filter.  If you love this pedal, look into the Mini format and see if it works instead.  I should have got the Q-tron+, which has a loop in it, though I probably would have drowned in my own drool

• DOD FX25 – I don’t own one, but a lot of people love ‘em. I’ve tried ‘em, and think they are OK, but it doesn’t do anything that the stuff I already have doesn’t.   If you just want a simple plug ‘n’ go bwucka box, finding one of these used might be the best way to go. It’s not my favorite, but they can be had inexpensively.  If you like it, it is a great deal.

• Any Boss product that says “Auto-Wah” or has an “AW..” model number is terrible. Seriously.  It will respond wrong, it will sound wrong, you will hate it.  I tried, man.  I tried.  They comprehensively suck.  Excellent doorstops though, if you leave the rubber on the bottom of them.

• MXR Auto Q (new one) – I really hope that everything I say about this is unfair, because the only time I tried one of these, I tried two.  One broke after about five minutes (fresh out of the box), and started squealing and fuzzing and generally making its unhappiness known.  The other one was thin, reedy, and utterly lacking in anything useful. I spent a lot of time with it, and couldn’t get anything useful to happen.   I think the shop just got a bad batch or something, and I really hope this is the case, because otherwise this whole pedal was a huge mistake.

• Maxon AF- 9 – I was SO excited about this pedal!  And SO happy that I didn’t have to spend the money once I heard it!  Thin, reedy, terrible sound.  Those stupid sliders are terrible to use, make it hard to dial stuff in, and WILL break or get scratchy pretty fast.  Sometimes old designs are just..old.

• Boss FT-2 – This is what I actually use in my board.  It is not the thickest, deepest filter, but it’s very, very useful.  I used to think it was a lot more of a compromise–I put it in the board because it covers everything I need, is tough as nails, takes a standard adapter, and wouldn’t break my heart if something happened to it.  Over time, I’ve realized that it’s just a really good pedal on its own merits.  Good range of sensitivity, really tuneable (separate frequency and width controls!).  I really really like this pedal on guitar.  Does not do over-the-top stuff as well as the Q-tron or BassBalls.Highly recommended as a daily driver.

• Korg Mr. Multi - Oh! So sweet!  The only time-based auto-wah I’ve ever liked. In one mode, you get a fixed frequency and Q auto-wah, on which you can adjust the rate (speed) of the wah with a rocker. I didn’t think I would like that, but I really do.  AND IT DOES THE SAME WITH DOUBLE-WAH!  SQUEEEE!  I should mention that I waited a decade to get one of these things and I am building a new pedalboard just so I have room for this.  This thing will get you from 0 to WTF in one stomp, but if you are looking for a sensible, tweakable filter for guitar, without having to go through a freaking Indiana Jones movie to get it, I’d probably stick with the FT-2.

Here are some other filter pedals I would like to actually try. Really try.  Not read about on the 1nt4rw33bs, but really seriously mess around with:

• Chunk Systems Agent 00Funk – OMG!  The name is awesome, it’s purple, and lookit all them NAWBS!  Also, I have heard very good things.  The problem with trying this is that I’m pretty sure I’d suddenly have to own one.
• An actual, real, no-foolin’ old Mutron in good shape but not tweaked.  This is surprisingly hard to do.  I’ve briefly messed with a couple in places where I couldn’t really do much, at far too low a volume, with instruments I didn’t know well. That’s not the same thing. Also, the two pedals didn’t sound the same, and I don’t know if that’s down to different aging, old-school build inconsistencies, modding/repair, or what.I’m not really interested in having an expensive, rare, finicky pedal on my working pedalboard, but it would be nice to really see what a Mu-tron is really like. Like a lot of mythical gear, many people who have never heard one use this as a benchmark.

• Emma DiscomBOBulator. I have no idea why I haven’t tried one.  There’s a place in town that sells them.  I must be getting lazy.

• Frostwave Funk -a-Duck – The name!  The NAWBS!  the color!  The reviews!  Oh I simply MUST.

Please let me know if there are any filters you think I should try in the comments.

Filed under: Music by netdud
Tags: « music »
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Radio Shack!  Come over here and listen to me!

I have your future all figured out.  I do. And I’m serious.  I’m not like all those other guys.  I’m not sucking you in so that I can be mean. In this post, right here, I will outline a simple way by which Radio Shack can actually become something other than the ill-defined butt of jokes it has become.

And please, Mr. Shack (I will be formal here, though I feel that we have become close enough over the years that I could call you “Radio” if we were just sitting around drinking), don’t take offense at that description. You have to accept that it is true in order to move on from it.

Radio Shack used to be the store that most of us made fun of, and shopped at.  When you built or repaired something, and you were showing it to someone knowledgeable, you would have to mention “Yeah well, I needed the parts right away, so I went to Crap Shack…”

That, right there, was the beauty of the place.  It had things you needed RIGHT NOW.  You didn’t have to go to a real electronics store, or order things through the mail–you just went to Radio Crap and THEY HAD THE PART.

Plugs, jacks, hookup wire, resistors, capacitors, soldering and de-soldering stuff, switches, dials, knobs, meters, batteries, cable, raw speakers–all the stuff you needed was there.  And most stores had a nerd right there to help you find the parts.

Sure, it was a love-hate relationship, but there was a lot of love.

Well, times change, right?  Now nobody listens to the radio, nobody repairs things, nobody needs the old Radio Shack, right?

No.  Wrong, actually.  But wait–let’s keep talking about old Radio Shack.

What else did Radio Shack sell?  Well, radios, for one thing.  And walkie-talkies, and stereo equipment and small PA stuff, and microphones and tape decks and a surprisingly good line of bookshelf speakers called “Minimus.”  None of this was the best you could buy.  Nope. But it was usually solid, lasted forever, and had good warranty and service.  And it was not expensive. These products were mostly sold under the “Realistic” brand.  Which really summed up what you had to be in order to shop there.  You were not buying anything great, but you were getting your money’s worth. Realistic.

But times change, right?  Nobody wants to buy a house brand if it’s not prestigious, right?

No, I’m pretty sure that’s wrong too, actually.  But I promise I will only bore you with this background a little more.

Radio Shack also sold kits.  You could buy a crystal radio kit and build it yourself in about 15 minutes.  I had one.  I listened to Rod Phillips have conniptions about the Edmonton Oilers on it for years.  I also had an electronics experiment kit that I wish I had paid more attention to now.  It was just a bunch of components all cleverly attached to a board that you could clip together with bits of wire to make different circuits.  Mine could do everything from a crystal radio (again) to a tone generator, to basic computer circuits. It was a lot cooler than I was.  I mostly just made the siren over and over and over again.

There were all kinds of kits.  Photoelectric switches, and radios, and electric motors and all that good stuff.

But times change, right?  Are you as bored with all this parallel structure as I am?  Good. Let’s dispense with it and cut to the chase.

A lot of people are getting into fixing and building stuff now. Some are collectors, some are “makers” (folks who build things from other things because it’s a cool thing to do), some are just forced to do so because buying good stuff is expensive. The point here is that there IS a market for small electric/electronic parts again, PARTICULARLY if they are sold by people who actually know how things work.

To the best of my knowledge, there is nowhere within a reasonable distance of my home at which I could buy resistors, capacitors, plastic stand-offs for gears, hook-up wire or a decent metal enclosure.  All the brick-and-mortar places are gone, and everything is done on the Onetarweebs–which does me absolutely no good when I need a stomp switch, a 5 volt DC power supply, a 250K pot, a headphone plug, or anything like that in less than three days.  Or someone who can tell me what I need to buy.

There are even more people who would LIKE to fix stuff, but have been taught that anything through which current flows is a dark, mysterious secret.  For those people a little kit from which they could make a thing that does stuff would be a nice entry point into actually comprehending the world in which they live.  So of course, most of them would buy these things for their kids, and then have the kids explain it to them. That’s how the home computer made it into the home after all, and those things don’t even work.

Thanks to general stupidity and greed, we’re seeing more and more brand-name electronics being sold for high prices that are just plain bad products.  Whether encumbered by pointless DRM, made more expensive by licensing proprietary junk, cross-marketing, bad out-sourcing, or simply being marketed by price-point, these products are unpalatable to folks who want to buy something just for its functionality.  A small but reliable line of simple electronics, sold knowledgeably and supported well, could have a nice, stable market.

So my big recommendation to “The Shack” is to just go back to what it originally did.  Be Radio Shack:  Sell electronics, parts and kits. Stop competing for the same buck as big-box electronicmarts.

It might be a good idea to tweak things a little–have both the “Crap Shack” quality components AND some higher-end equivalents.  You could probably get away with a convenience markup on that stuff.  I know I would rather fix something properly once than do a Saturday fix and then a Tuesday fix.  The electronics should be like the old Kenmore or Craftsman brands used to be.  Not sexy–just good.  And the kits should be for stuff people might use now–wi-fi gizmos, Arduino kits, adapter/convertors, and most of the the stuff you see on sites like Hackaday. There is a lot of cross-breeding potential with sites like Instructables and MAKE as well.

Nobody needs a small retail store in malls, selling the same chip jewelry as everyone else, with no real value-add, that wants your a phone number to sell you a 9 volt battery. Nobody needs “The Shack.”

What IS needed–and what doesn’t exist, is a reliable, knowledgeable electronic store.  Most people don’t even realize that they need this, and that is a good place to start.

Radio Shack could own this space in the market. And I would be there every week.

Filed under: let me fix that by netdud
Tags: « Let me fix that »
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