So I'm gonna rant here for a second. It's my girlfriend and I's 5th anniversary this week and we're going on vacation. I thought it would be a great idea to get her a small, cool, well made digital camera. Here is where the problems began...

(btw, hopefully she doesn't read this before then...)

So I go to Circuit City, Costco & Target in search of getting my hands on a nice small camera with a good user interface and good shot quality. All of these stores have these great displays where you can pick up the cameras off these special mounts that have been designed to serve two functions (according to my friend who works in electronics retail):

1. Lock the damn thing down using a big base &
2. Provide the camera A/C power through the special security cord.

In theory, this serves two functions...both keeping the camera safe and letting people take pictures of the person next to them (who's probably taking pictures of your butt while you're checking out the nifty macro feature). This way you get to get hands on time with any unit you want without having to buy it first.

Now this is where everything stopped working. None of these three stores had the setup working correctly. Worst case scenario, the store opted to get the cheaper version of the security system...the kind that requires you to pop in a charged battery whenever they die--this is what appeared to be happening. There were maybe 2...3 at the most in any given store that would actually function, and of course they were the a) ugly one & b) the one that's like $900+.

So here I am...with mere days to go. Forced to buy retail instead of online because there's not enough time to do this without getting railed on shipping cost (well not literally railed...that would take weeks wouldn't it?).

Moral of the story: Draw things instead of taking digital photographs. Talk to your signifigant other about gifting options more than a week in advance. And most importantly...don't put up with sub-par displays for $250+ electronics...it's insulting!