As you may have noticed, we here at the Clan of the Gray Wolf have a fancy new HD video camera that we've begun using for our videos.  Unfortunately the camera, which is otherwise great, implements a fun new way to screw consumers - the mini shoe.  It seems Canon has had it with this "universal accessory" bullshit, and figured if they changed the attachment point so that only their accessories would fit, then that should increase sales of said items quite a bit.  There's a special place in hell for people who think like that.

Since I already have a shotgun mic I already like, thank you very much, I figured maybe I could get an adapter so I could still use it with the new camera.  Well, such things exist.  For a minimum of $30.  Let me repeat that as you pick yourself up off the floor from shock.  $30.  For a small bit of plastic and metal.  What is it about technological doodads that makes people think they can charge ridiculous prices for cheap, easily-made products?

Like a midget at a urinal, my thoughts wandered to Monster Cable.

The company that makes its fortune by gold-plating the shit out of cable contacts and charging hundreds of dollars for components that cost all of a few bucks to make.  I don't begrudge companies for making a profit, but my God, people need to make good purchasing decisions and be aware that these overpriced items are a complete ripoff.  I refuse to support such a company that not only crosses the line of common economic decency, but takes the line out on a date, knocks it up, and then refuses to call.  The line is not a piece of meat, Monster Cable!  It has thoughts and feelings!

Wait, where was I?  Oh yeah - Monoprice.com is one of the most successful "underground" online retailers around because they simply sell cables (and similar items) that have a small markup over their production costs.  There's no jerking you around and then asking for 10x the normal price because their cables have double the chroniton particles of a standard nuclear power plant.  There's a good chance all these cables are made in the same plant in China anyway, so why pay an exorbitant fee just to be lied to?  That's what I pay my auto mechanic for.

And it's not just Monster.  I have a friend who works for Best Buy and all of the cables they stock are overpriced.  As an employee, he gets a discount that works out to something like 5% over cost of anything in the store.  He is up to his armpits in all sorts of cables because he buys $30 cables for $3.  That is not an exaggeration, I've seen this happen in person.

All these cables are just copper wires that are used to transmit low power electrical signals - gold contacts and heavy shielding are as useful to the average person as a 1-sided die.  You only need an upgrade from a basic copper cable if you're flying to Mars or expecting an EMP to take down your neighborhood.  To drive home the point, and stave off any rebuttals talking about how the quality of the overpriced brands are so worth it, here are the results of an experiment done by Consumerist in which they performed a blind test of Monster audio cables versus honest-to-God coat hangers.  I'll give you three guesses as to the results.  (Hint: Just bookmark monoprice.com already)