Personal Dork Assistant

Blame Canada

Doesn't a name like "The Chic Geek" just scream "WANNABE"? There's more to being a geek than just accumulating an endless array of gadgets. Apparently most of said gadgets now feature a blue LED as an indicator lamp. Normally I wouldn't care about some newspaper columnist regurgitating pre-digested technical pseudo-advice to the ignorant masses, but he's trying to take food off our table here.

OK, I'll admit I actually thought blue LEDs were pretty neat when I first saw them. I was fascinated by something shiny and new. But my original rhapsody in blue has winked out as these new LEDs have gone from innovative curiosity to pervasive annoyance.

The blue ray of hope I'm clinging to is that things usually reach this level of overkill right before the balance tips and they become extremely uncool. Like neon-yellow T-shirts, Rick Astley albums and Flock of Seagulls hair styles.

Nononono, we want more blinking lights. The more the better. The brighter and bluer the better. Their margins are higher. And I've been meaning to pick up a Flock of Seagulls CD, too. Sony's been doing a good job going all-blue-all-the-time, but apparently the pachinko machine makers make better customers. They love lots of colorful flashing lights, and they're not as nearly as picky as Sony.