What's in a EULA?

As I was creating a new GMail account last week for the best movie website ever, I got to thinking about the oft-overlooked end user license agreement, or EULA. You may not know the term, but you've no doubt come across a encyclopedia-type document when installing a new program or signing up for a service account online. Theoretically, this verbiage will let you know what you can and cannot do with the program, what rights the developer has, and all sorts of additional boring information. I say theoretically because I seriously doubt anyone has ever read a single one of these in its entirety.

For the GMail EULA, out of sheer curiosity I copied and pasted the text into a Word document and out came 14 pages! Granted, the paragraphs did have a healthy space in between them so in actuality it may be about nine pages instead. While nine pages isn't War and Peace, it does represent a whole lot more time than I care to invest in setting up a simple email account. Now, there may be pertinent information in there as to how the harvested data is used and secured and if Google reserves the right to your first born if its lust for world domination isn't enough but I don't really care enough to read it. At least there isn't a pop quiz at the end.

Throw a Bottle With the Book

A citizen from the fine state of New Jersey is a total and complete ass with no respect for others. I know, it's not really that shocking, is it?

The aforementioned man, Shaun Campbell, was given a DUI offense (to make a nice divisible 15th for him) after crashing head-on into another car containing a small child. Fortunately the other occupants were not injured. Unfortunately, Campbell apparently is smart enough to wear a seat-belt and was not seriously injured either.

If a BAC of .288 is Campbell's idea of drinking "quite a bit," his blood must be flammable by now.

In this humble writer's opinion, the maximum penalty of three years is definitely the equivalent to a slap on the wrist given the reckless disregard for others. Campbell should be in consideration for a 150 year sentence.

AP News: NJ man on 15th drunken-driving offense: I'm guilty

Rogue Baseball Bat Injuries Boy

Frivolous lawsuits are nothing new but the Domalewski family has taken things to a new level.

Young Steven Domalewski was pitching in a Little League game when an opposing player hit a ball into Steven's chest to cause his heart to stop. This subsequently led to brain damage and physical disabilities for the teen.

The Domalewskis is now suing the maker of the baseball bat used at the time, Little League Baseball, and the sporting goods store where the bat was purchased for the incident claiming the metal baseball bat that was used is too dangerous for the youth to hit flying baseballs with.

While it can be seen that this is a terrible accident that will have a lasting effect on the entire family, it is also clear that this is a very stupid lawsuit for the express purpose of extorting money from parties not at fault.

Surprisingly, the child who was responsible for striking the baseball, the manufacturer of the baseball, the laws of physics (specifically regarding motion and force), and God himself were spared from litigation.

Fox News: Parents to Sue Maker of Metal Baseball Bats Over Son's Injury