A Wacky Weekend at the Porcelain Throne
It was pretty obvious Monday morning that there had been still another “wacky weekend” at the X10 headquarters in Kent, Washington. Some personnel were still worshipping the Porcelain Throne as they contemplated a weekend in which they gave chase to the Midnight Bandit.
Much to the dismay of the Big Guy, the Midnight Bandit had become something of a “Pied Piper,” firing up the imaginations of marketing people as they watched hundreds of bargain hunters lining up to take advantage of X10 deals of the century. It seems there are some who will buy the champagne of surveillance cameras with bubbly control software if the price is less than the cost of a case of sparkling cider. It seems there are legions of ventriloquists who wish to throw the voice of their MP3 players to their remote stereos for the price of a weekend’s play on the tavern jukebox.
In short, there are folks who will consider buying X10 electronics for CHEAP, rather than for the advanced technology and craftsmanship that is found on every product.
Naturally, this makes the Midnight Bandit a popular personality in these parts. So popular, that some X10 employees have given him access a Lola video sender that feeds him a picture directly from the Big Guy’s big-screen TV in the corner office. This way, he can stay on top of any efforts to locate him while he is on the premises.
The Bandit has gotten an appreciation for the surveillance camera technology and the Action Home capability over his month of watching X10 security monitors. Sometimes, he even feels badly that he is giving away this technology to unsuspecting customers simply looking for bargains.
Still, a bandit must always be a bandit. He must rob from the rich in technology and give to those devoid of a respect for craftsmanship. Perhaps there will come a day, he believes, when bargain hunters will join him in his appreciation for the labor that went into the development of each electronic device.
Until then, the Big Guy is the one you’ll see praying to the Porcelain Throne.