Ideas from Mark Stout

Tonight I learned Harry Anderson, star of Night Court and Dave's World, passed away at age 65.  I met him once, and we talked geek for about 45 minutes.  It must have been sometime in 1985. I was working in the store-within-a-store that was Macys Computer Store in San Francisco. Back then, companies like IBM and Apple did not let just any store carry their products.  There were expectations of marketing and properly trained staff.  We were one of those stores. The year before, we'd been one of the few stores to have the Macintosh on its opening day.  I have written about how Steve Jobs came by that day to gauge public enthusiasm for his new baby. One afternoon -- it was a quiet weekday -- I saw a guy wander into the department. Tall, skinny, wearing a dark suit and a 1960s style men's businessman's hat.  "Who does this guy think he is," I thought, "Harry Anderson?" Then I realized it was. I approached him and he wasn't looking for an...