Build Date: Mon Feb 16 20:00:14 2026 UTC
Your life is at the crossroads of pleasant ennui and sheer terror.
-- Mr. Bad
Your Jet Pack Is Recalled
2003-01-21 00:51:47
Remember back when Trek Aerospace was going to auction off the SoloTrek XFV on eBay? Well, bidding got up to almost $7 million by the second day. Then, on the third day, the seller ended the bidding early because of an error in the listing.
It turns out that,
"...significant information relevant to this item was omitted from the original listing. This item is nonoperational and as such is not warranted or represented to be capable of performing flight or other operations."
Omitting the fact that the contraption doesn't even work is more than just a simple listing error. The original listing states,
"As a condition of sale, the successful bidder will have to execute an agreement warranting that they will use the aircraft for static exhibition and educational purposes only."
A second listing was posted after the error was corrected. The second listing adds this bold, simple phrase,
"The aircraft will be sold in its as-is, nonoperable condition."
Apparently, "nonoperable condition" is clearer than "static exhibition."
So I think this was just a grand marketing test by Trek Aerospace to see how much some idiot would actually pay for the XFV Prototype. Seven million dollars. That's how much. Just about probably enough to keep them from having to go out of business. Since the Segway Human Transporter has been banned from the sidewalks of San Francisco, the personal-motorized-vehicle market is wide open. Watch, Sharper Image stores everywhere will have the second generation vehicle in stock for $8.5 mil. by Christmas. Meanwhile, not a single bid was placed during the second eBay auction for the "nonoperable" XFV. Trek Aerospace not only learned the value of their product, they also learned that no one wants their junk.
Sorry Trek Aerospace. Call me when you invent an operable amphibicopter.
T O P S T O R I E S
The Crossroads are real and The Blues is a place; The enduring myth of Robert Johnson (More...)
California Glory Hole attracts huge crowds
A glory hole at Napa's Lake Berryessa is drawing huge crowds. According to Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, the glory hole hasn't been active since 2019, and only restarted operations on Feb 4. (More...)
Republican State Senator busted after soliciting a teenage girl
Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn of Minnesota was arrested for soliciting a teen girl on Monday just hours after he introduced a bill proposing "Trump derangement syndrome" (TDS) as a form of mental illness. (More...)
Parents claim measles is not that bad after having only one child die
The parents of a Texas girl who died from the measles are defending their decision not to vaccinate their daughter. "She says they would still say 'Don't do the shots,'" an unidentified translator for the parents said. "They think it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be." (More...)
Delusional rich man tries to fire town staff
"I'm mayor now" said write-in mayoral candidate and founder of Pirate’s Booty Snacks Robert Ehrlich after losing the election for Mayor of Sea Cliff, NY. Then he tried to take over the Village Hall and fire everyone. (More...)
Musk claims Xitter security is staffed by idiots
Earlier this month Xitter experienced a massive outage. In an interview, Musk told Fox Business that he believes the attack came from "IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area." (More...)
C L A S S I C P I G D O G
A Day in the Life of a Beverotologist
It was starting to look like a very boring Saturday, trapped as I was in the suburban wastelands of the outer Bay Area, so I called my Able Assistant (AA) and proposed that we perform some Spocktail field tests. For some time I've been working on creating the quintessential cinematic beverage and even tho' SMRL does most of its testing during nocturnal hours, this seemed an opportune time to roll up the sleeves of our labcoats and get some science done. While the beverotology creation tested this day (The Neurotoxin) must be deemed a success, this article focuses more the journey of the experimenters, rather then the science of beverotology. (More...)
Patient Joab's scientifick editorial discusses aspect of the space-time-beer continuum never before processed by sub-bush-robot minds!!! Too fabulantastic to contempulate! (More...)
About 14 years ago when I was on a road trip and stopped in Seattle, I was invited to a party. At this party there were these little tiny glasses sitting in a flat-bottomed bowl of ice. Thin cylinders about an inch in diameter and 4 inches tall, with thick glass at the bottom. Into these were poured frozen AKVAVIT... also known as the water of life. (More...)
Paranoid Strippers & Psychotic Crack Dealers (Tales of Christmas Eve)
Christmas day, for the last 17 or so years has bored me. I find that the real fun and excitement always takes place on Christmas Eve. Every other year, it's the excitement of the metaphorical hunt instead of the kill. Otherwise, it's just plain bad craziness. (More...)
An innocent trip to the Central Market resulted in a severe attack of arachnophobia (and a meal) when a depraved street kid set her vicious pet spider on an unsuspecting shopper. (More...)
Report from Spiritual Machines
Arkuat gives you the inside scoop on the "Spiritual Machines" panel and conclave. Wacky excitement ensues! (More...)
