It’s a big election day in the United States, and while politics is not ordinarily on my play list there is no ignoring a power shift that will have repercussions not just here, where the votes are still being counted, but around the world. I’ll let others rationalize the outcome, predict its consequences and do whatever moaning or gloating that deem necessary. I’d just like to spend a few minutes considering what it costs nowadays to run a political campaign in the United States — because whether you’re cheering or jeering today’s outcome, these spending numbers should be frightening.
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My 10-month old laptop is fixed now, and I promise not to rant again about its misleading warranty — as I did when it first quit working without reason or warning.

But I will spend a minute or two looking at how the $16 billion extended warranty industry is bad news for consumers.
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We interrupt your normally-scheduled blog for this rant.

I’m not bitter that my 10-month-old Sony Vaio suddenly ceased working the other day . I’m grateful that its battery did not explode.

Nor was I furious to discover that the $199 extended warranty that I purchased from CompUSA failed to cover the full extent of likely repairs. I was simply relieved to have escaped its San Francisco store front before an earthquake buried me in brick & mortar.
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