E-Readers, People and Hammers

    Hey, everyone. A few days ago I dropped by Best Buy and looked at their impressive display of E-Readers.  They had an entire aisle, both sides, devoted to the devices. There were multiple Kindles, Nooks and many others that I had never heard of. I was surprised to see that the vast majority of them were 7 inch screens. I guess this is what analysts think is the coming thing. Maybe folks want to stick them in a purse or book bag. Best Buy had a display model for each of them, hooked up and ready to try out. I turned every one of them on and checked them for responsiveness, crispness of display and all that. The device with the best display was one that I had never heard of and I have forgotten the name of it.
     This is going to sound dumb but I really liked the packaging for the Kindles. It made me think about people, as most things do. Isn't it funny how important appearance is for things, and for people too? Not that the Kindle is anything other than a top-notch device. But packaging is important. I think that most of the E-Readers I saw would be fine for your use.
     Some of the best people I've ever met have been as homely as a mud fence. Then, after you get to know them, you never think about their physical appearance. You begin to see them through the prism of their personality and they are beautiful. If someone says that they are ugly it is a bit of a shock to us because they are long past initial impressions in our life. Of course, there are those who are attractive and very nice, but that is a rare combination.
     As a sports fan, I am constantly amused at the scout's analysis of college football players. "He can run 40 yards in 4.3 seconds. He can jump 36 inches vertically." Yes, but can he catch the ball? The NFL is full of players like this because scouts are people too. They are influenced by the appearance, the packaging, and not the essence or functionality of the person.
     If a game has great graphics and poor gameplay it may make money but will not reach the pinnacle of success. Functionality is important. It should be fun, it should work and it should be reasonably priced. Books should be engrossing in whatever format they are bought. A music service should work, above all else. It should be pretty much hassle free. A potential spouse should be functional. Form is fine but a person should be there for you, be dependable, work for a living, be kind. Many creative, intriguing, good-looking people make the worst spouses.
     Weird to have E-Readers prompt such a thought pattern. The same people just seem to get things right in life. If you buy a hammer for the holidays it should work and not break. Metal chips should not fly off the head when you strike something. The handle shouldn't break. If you want to use it for roofing or framing, you'll want a heavier head. Depending on what type material the handle is made of, they bounce more. A wooden one bounces less. If they bounce a lot, a hammer will wear you out over the course of a day. I like a wooden handle but they can break, rarely. If you get a hammer with grooves cut in the head, it will grip the nail more when it strikes and result in fewer mishits and bent nails.
    So, with all these choices in E-Readers and people and hammers, how does one know what's best? I wish I could tell you. Maybe it's just as simple as this. When you see it, you just know. When you hold them in your arms you just know, when you swing it or drive a nail or listen to a song or read a book on it or see that face when you get home from a hard day, it, or they, just seem right. The longer you have them, the more you appreciate them. Like my hammer or these wore-out jeans.
    From the mud fence of people and authors and in defense of that breed, I'm CE Wills.