Saturday, January 30, 2010

Man boobs are odd

Whether a man is muscular or fat, man boobs are odd.

So, I get this email from Amazon talking about some specials going on. I click and come to a page with sale-priced hoodies/sweatshirts. I browse the page and I came across this image.

My first thought is, "WTF?" Of course, I saw the full image and what I show you here is just a part of it.

If you look at this part the image, you would think this is a female, yes? Well, you'd be wrong. Click on the image to see the full photo.

Weird!


I hate stupid drivers



I may have mentioned that before.

Here's one more to share with the world.


Sent on the Super Jay Network from Super Jay's BlackBerry®

Friday, January 29, 2010

Domino's Pizza, take two

So, I just had some leftover Domino's Pizza for lunch. Hey, I didn't say I totally hated it. Besides, it was free and I'm all about free (and not because it's old and rotten) food.

I realized one thing that really bugs the crap out of me in regards to their pizza. It's all the shit that flakes off of it when you are eating it. Mainly it's whatever spices or unnecessary junk on the crust. It looks like little flecks of seasons and herbs although I don't ever taste them because they always end up on my hand, table, desk, plate, or whatever.

Anyway, count one more tick against Domino's Pizza!

Just a foot/side note: I will eat just about anything, especially if it is free. So don't take my eating Domino's Pizza as an automatic "See, you do like it." I don't despise it. I just don't think it's as good as it used to be.


Thursday, January 28, 2010

Nook versus Kindle

Today, I got my wife's Nook. It originally said expected ship date of February 1, 2010 but I got an email yesterday that said it shipped on January 26, 2010. I tracked it online early this afternoon and it was already out for delivery. And in fact, it was delivered. Unfortunately it was delivered damage. It turned on. It charged. The color touch screen worked fine. The actual reading screen, the eInk, jacked! It wasn't cracked. It just had a distinct line down the center of the screen. One side worked, sort of worked, and the other side was completely useless. It would illegible. It would double view lines of text or it would be very dim. Overall, the Nook expectation and delivery ended in utter disappointment.

As soon as I could when I got home from work, I jumped on the (1-800-THE-BOOK) to speak with customer service, or as they call it 'digital support', to get an RA# and ratify the situation. After holding on the line for two hours (yes, you read that right) on my house phone, I called a local Barnes & Noble store from my cell phone to see if I could return the Nook there. The person on the line said I could but they don't have any in the store that they could exchange it with. They would just send it back and I would have to purchase a new one. I asked if they could just do the exchange for me and have a new one sent to me because I still did want the Nook. After talking to someone off the phone, he said that they thought it would be easier/better for me to call the 800 number and work it out with them. I told him that I am on hold right now with that number and have been for two hours.

I thanked him for his time and continued to hold on the other line. I then started thinking that this is bullshit. Not just bullshit, but fucking bullshit! I don't know what kind of customer service digital support is but they royally suck! I did get an email from one person I spoke to before holding forever for the Nook support. It is nooksupport@nook.com. I emailed them the Nook issue, the holding issue, and my complete dissatisfaction with their product and customer service line. I asked for a prompt response. We'll see how it goes. I don't expect a return email this evening but it should come within twenty four hours, in my opinion.

I finally hung up the phone after two and a half hours of the most dreadful hold music. I decided, "Fuck it!" I'm going to drive to my local B&N to return my damaged Nook. It won't cost me anything because it's obviously damaged (see the pics below). I'll have them credit my account and then in a few days or so I'm going to order a new one. I don't know if I want to because I'm not sure I want a Nook in my house now but my wife thought this would be a good solution. She wants the Nook but if this is the type of product and customer service I'm going to deal with, forget it!

Onto the Kindle...

So, I purchased a Kindle right after Christmas. My wife was bugging the shit out of me for not getting her a Nook before they delayed the shipping time until February 1st. Our family in Illinois already ordered one and the wife really liked it while we were there. In fact, I believe she read four, three-hundred+ page books in the 7 days we were visiting. Anyway, I didn't want to get a product without seeing it in action. The Nook was cool to see although the color screen is nothing more than a glorified touch mouse or menu button.

Anyhow, I purchased the Kindle the Saturday after Christmas while we were still in Illinois. I kept it secret to surprise the wife. I figured she really liked the concept of the e-reader and would like whatever kind it was as long as it functioned just as well as she experience with the Nook. The Kindle had been around a while and they had just come out with a firmware upgrade to support portrait mode and some other things like text-to-speech on certain books. I assumed I couldn't go wrong with the purchase, it would satisfy the wife's need for the Nook until she got the Nook, and once she had the Nook I might the lucky recipient of the no longer needed Kindle.

The Monday or Tuesday after ordering the Kindle, it as delivered to my porch. They delivered a package which contained the Nook and another one that contained the Kindle cover. They later mailed me the service plan I purchased.

Out of the box, the Kindle fired right up. It had about half to three-quarters of battery charge which was plenty of time for the wife to tinker a bit. Everything about the Kindle worked flawlessly. It came preregistered to my Amazon account which the wife didn't totally like because it said, "Jay's Kindle" in the top left corner of the screen. I also am emailed every time she makes a book purchase which she feels like it's helping me keep tabs on her. I just like to harass her about purchasing a book every two-three days because she has a reading addiction and that was before the e-reader made it much more convenient to get a book.

The only thing that was wrong with the Kindle is that I should have gotten two of them and foregone getting the Nook. It's not that the Nook is so much worse but I think the only thing that really gave it the overly inflated awe factor was the basically one-dimensional color TFT.

Having experience both the Kindle and the Nook, I'd have to say that the Kindle has won so far. Comparing apples to apples:
  • Kindle worked right out of the box without defect
  • Kindle page turn is actually much faster than on the Nook. Insignificant if you only have/use the Nook but quite noticeable when you compare them side by side
  • Kindle drawback is the previous/next page buttons. On the left-hand side there is a previous button and below that the next button. On the right-hand side there is a Home button and below it the next button. Personally I would have put the same buttons on both side (like on the Nook) and put the Home button closer to the Menu button or be able to select Home under the Menu choices. It just doesn't make sense the way they did do it
  • Nook's TFT screen is certainly cool but it has a learning curve and is not easily responsive. Kindle's joystick and Menu button aren't that much better but at least they are more tactile so you can know what you are touching and selecting
I guess there could be more but since I couldn't delve deeper into the workings of the Nook because of the defective screen, I don't want to be biased in further functionality without giving a run-through with a working Nook.

So, that's my story so far. I don't know if it makes sense or helps anyone out. I've been typing this over a few hours with multiple interruptions from the family but I think you get the gist. It's usually been my experience that if you come across problems from the start, they usually continue and get worse as they do. We'll see.

Here are the pictures I took of the problem I could see (may be more but, again, I couldn't get past this to find out). I took these pictures just in case B&N wants to be asses about the problem that wasn't cause by me but is indeed a manufacture defect.

So, this is one of the screen saver pics. You can see how his head is split by the line in the middle.
This is after using the color TFT to select a book. The left side shows that the book is formatting/loading but the right side still shows the man's head but also one of the other screen saver images, a rose.
This is after the book finally loads (which is longer than the Kindle but I don't know if it is affected by the screen issue or not). You can still see how the screen is split by the line (defect) and one side is lighter than the other.
Same as previous image but one or two pages into the book.
And once again, similar as the previous two pictures. You can also see that some of the text is dim and illegible.
Finally, you can see the color TFT is bright, gorgeous and seemingly functional (it is/was) but once again you can see the screen split. The left side is showing My Library and the right side still showing the book description from the previous screen or two.


Domino's Pizza lies

This is an email I got this morning from Domino's Pizza. I'd like to meet Domino because he's full of shit.

The subject line of this email was "Our Best Pizza Ever!" If this is the case, they will go into bankruptcy. The pizza isn't bad. It's just not the best ever. I remember back in my early years, circa the late 80s, when Domino's Pizza was the bomb! Yeah, I said it, "The Bomb!" Personally, I felt it beat out Pizza Hut and Pizza Inn (remember the Inn? Where are they now? Still around but where? Not very many left around DFW, anyway...)

Anyway, the crust was soft (before all this other crust types like deep dish, thin, etc.). The cheese was cheesy. The toppings were fresh and delicious. The sauce was spot-on. The overall pizza was a little greasy. Good...no, GREAT...times!

All these years of wanting the food to be healthier and shit. Fucking people causing the same-old-same-old to be changed because kids and adults are getting fatter. It's not the damn food. It's the damn people. I remember growing up and eating all kinds of shit but it didn't affect me because I was ALWAYS active. Of course, they didn't have cool shit like they do now. It was basically airwave TV, Atari 2600 (which Yar's Revenge was the bestest!), ColecoVision and Intellivision, of which our household had the TV and Atari.

Back on topic, Domino's Pizza better do some more research because their pizza tastes plain and no better than a Totino's frozen pizza or a Cici's Pizza. To be brutally honest, I think one of the best pizza places now is Papa John's (which happens to be running the same $10 any large offer right now as Pizza Hut).

So, anyway, Domino's Pizza needs to get re-inspired, better inspired or become expired.


How to add a signature in Outlook 2007

A coworker and friend of mine called me from her house to ask how she adds a signature in Outlook 2007. I had to look it up because I have Office XP on my work machine - I know, I just haven't upgraded yet because the last time I did it almost screwed up my entire machine. I have Office 2007 on all my machines at home but I don't use a signature so I didn't have any experience on adding/using them.

Anyway, I thought I'd share what I found with a quick Google to help out others. So, thanks to How To Geek.

Click here for the link on how to add a signature in Outlook 2007.


Do they really still do this?

I had to go #2 before class and this is what I see above the TP dispenser inside one of the stalls. This is so eighth grade!

I know TMI!

Sent on the Super Jay Network from Super Jay's BlackBerry®

AT&T must be rolling in the dough

I am a Sprint cellular customer. I have been for a long time. I haven't had any issues with their service. I have had issue with their pricing (for phones) and subsequent customer service. As a long term customer, I should be able to get any benefits a new customer would get i.e. free or very low-priced new model cellular phones. I shouldn't have to renew my commitment. It should be obvious that I am committed!

I'm not into all the hub-bub about who has 3G, 4G or whateverG. As long as mine works and it's damn near the competition, I'm pretty much satisfied.

I've heard many issues with AT&T's network, especially with the iPhone. Congestion on and overwhelming the servers, etc. I would think that any service would have had problems not knowing to the extent the iPhone would tax their equipment. New product, new service, new problems. It's the way of business.

What I don't understand is that AT&T has always had issues with simple cellular and data usage. I can't say this from personal usage as I've only been on Sprint and a brief, regrettable stint on T-Mobile many years ago when I left Sprint for "better phone pricing" but shittier service (there is a reason T-Mobile customer service is rated highly...they had to make up for the shitty service).

Anyway, I just read that AT&T was once again awarded the network deal with the iPad. Story here while it lasts.

I guess it's great that Apple and AT&T have this budding relationship. It's good to see that companies can make money off of each other and still maintain the partnership. The problem is that AT&T is adding another product that will tax their equipment, the iPad.

First we had the iPhone. Then the Kindle. Then the Nook. Now the iPad. All working on the AT&T 3G or 4G network. I'm not sure how the 3G separates from the 4G but if all but the iPhone will be on 3G then I think there is going to be further issues.

Our relatives in Pawnee, Illinois purchased a Nook and got it a few weeks before Christmas. While we were visiting over Christmas vacation, my wife wanted to purchase a book on her cousin's Nook on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They couldn't. The Nook kept telling them that the network was unavailable and to "Please try again, later." WTF?! The day after Christmas it worked just fine. What we assumed happened is that all these people opened their Christmas presents to find a Nook and started downloading books. This in turn clogged the network for a few hours/days. Now, granted this won't happen every time or hardly at all but I think they will be entering new "happening every time" territory with the iPad.

Anyway, I just thought it was interesting how everything mobile is basically on the AT&T network. So, AT&T should not ever run into money problems for at least a few years.

The other funny thing I see in their commercials is how they compare their network and package pricing for cell service to Verizon and T-Mobile but never Sprint. To me, it's got to say something. Some will say that Sprint isn't seen as competition. Others will say, and I agree, that Sprint isn't competition because the network on top of better service plan pricing puts Sprint above the others. I'm not saying Sprint is the one to beat overall (even though I've had no issues with the service itself) but their service plan pricing seems to always have been better than Verizon and AT&T.

Okay, end of random thought for now...


In the news 01/28/2010

Just some quick links with limited comment because I'm busy at work...dammit!

From WFAA:
No formal complaint filed in case of TCU student 'branding'

Click here for story while it lasts.

All I have to say is, "Dumb ass!" Literally!

From MSNBC:
Neil Patrick Harris shines in Dallas for ‘Idol’

Click here for story while it lasts.

I don't know what it is about NPH but he seems to always be a hoot. Maybe it's because he doesn't take himself too seriously like a lot of those other Hollywood maggots. I loved Doogie and I also loved his guest appearances on the Harold & Kumar shows.

From Frontburner:
Bank of America Tower Gets Plastered

Click here for story while it lasts.

If you click into the comments section, there is a comment by dfwcre8tive. He posted a pretty cool picture of downtown Dallas. You can click the link from his comment, or click here, or click here.


Live Long and Prosper!

Any thoughts on web hosting?

I'm thinking about getting my own personal domain. I also want to get a place to host this web site.

I saw a link on SlickDeals for GoDaddy for a 1-yr domain name registration for $.99. I assume that's a good price. I don't know. I'm new to this because I usually search out the free (with or without ads) web hosting.

I remember using Geocities. Loved that place for my basic, meager needs. It's gone. I've tried a few others like Weebly and Webs. They are okay but I want something with a little more control for building/coding the pages myself and just uploading them. Now these may have that option but I either haven't found it, haven't looked hard enough, or haven't had the time yet. What I do like so far about Weebly and Webs and the way they present photos. They open in kind of a slideshow format which makes it a nicer viewing experience. I have seen coding/Java that can create web pages and stuff for you to do this but if it's built in, all the better.

I like free, or very, very cheap. That being said, I think the Deluxe Plan at GoDaddy might be a good fit. I don't know what the MySQL databases are for but I'm sure I can look it up. I don't need the email accounts. The space and transfers are more important. The space is obvious and I think the transfers means the total bandwith a month(?). To start, I would use the web hosting more for uploading, saving and sharing photos with family and friends so I guess that's the transfers(?) but not sure. Again, I'm sure I can find the answer for sure somewhere. I believe I will probably upload more than 10GB of pictures but not sure.

Then I think that I am such a tight wad with my money that I think PicasaWeb is just fine. If I needed more storage for it then I think I can handle $5/yr for 20GB or $20/yr for 80GB.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Apple iPad

I still haven't jumped on the Apple bandwagon for any of their products although I really do crave a 120GB iPod Classic or the 64GB iPod Touch once they aren't so expensive.

But the iPad looks pretty damn cool. Again, too expensive for my pocketbook but it would be cool to play around with for a smaller price.

I'll have to see it in action personally before I really even considered purchasing for $500-$900 and it not be a full laptop or desktop.

Photos at Cnet here.


Bluetooth Cell phone mics

Why do people walk around all day/most of the day with the phone ear plugs in their ears?

Do you think you look cool?
--You don't!

Do you think it makes you seem like you have money?
--You don't because everyone can afford one now!

Do you get that many calls or need to talk that often?
--Maybe if you're in sales otherwise YOU DON'T!

Do you...?
--Nope!

Just take the damn thing out! It isn't cool and you look like Lt. Ohura in the old Star Trek films but not cool!

Stupid!

Sent on the Super Jay Network from Super Jay's BlackBerry®

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Australian Open 2010

I think it's time to have new blood in the Australian Open finals. The Williams sisters are great players but the bring too much drama, attitude and NOISE with their game. It's nice to see Justine Henin return but she had her time although she's still got a great one-handed backhand.

I am rooting for Na Li although she's down one set to love and currently winning the 2nd set 6-5 when she was down 4-0 against Venus Williams (and Venus serving now to stay in the set).

If Na Li can't make it, there is still hope for Jie Zheng. She will play Henin which should be a good match.

I guess I'm just ready to have some new nationalities winning in tennis than the same old Americans, Belgians, Spanish or Russians. I think it'll be a first too if a Chinese player wins a major.

Now that I've labeled them by their countries that brings me to a point that bugs the shit out of me. I think the commentators should have their asses jabbed with a baseball bat with nails when they call the players by their country. They'll say, "It's a good shot by the Belgian," or "First set to the Spaniard," or "...the American," "...the Russian," "...the Argentine." Why the hell does it have to be about race or creed? I can understand if it was a world championship like the Davis Cup or the Fed Cup. But the Australian Open is called such because it's in freaking Australian. I think they are just racially prejudiced commentators. LOL!

The other thing that bugs the shit out of me is how the women players are always wanting equal pay and shit. Fuck that! Equal pay should be equal play. If the women want the same pay, they should play 3 out of 5 sets and NOT 2 out of 3 sets. They also shouldn't have "coach time" when they play. Coach time is when the female player is able to have a consultation with their coach once (maybe twice) in a match for like the time of the change over or another set time, I don't know for sure which. The men don't EVER have their coaches come on the court for consulting and haven't ever asked for this option.

Along with this equality of play, I think someone needs to do a cost effectiveness study of the men's and women's tournaments/matches to see how much viewership and/or revenue is brought in by each. If the women outperform the men, then that's a check in the justification for equal pay for women column.

Then let me make a final comment about Serena Williams and the huge fine she had to pay for her outburst/threat at the U.S. Open. Serena keeps saying stupid ass shit like, "We live in a man's world," and "I don't know why I'm getting singled out because I've seen others do worse and get no fine."

Serena, Miss Ignorant Dumb Ass, your first mistake is basing your incident on other people. Joe Blow got away with it so why can't I? That's an excuse...pointing the finger...instead of just taking your punishment and moving the fuck on. I also believe that these other people never threatened to shove a tennis ball down the line judges fucking throat! The previous highest fine was around $28k for Jeff Tarango walking off a Wimbledon court and accusing the chair umpire of showing favoritism. WTF? $28k for an accusation. And Serena's bitching and complaining?!

Okay, I guess that's enough of my tennis ranting for now.


Talking on your cell phone while in a restroom stall

Is it weird? My boss thinks so. She told me a few minutes ago that someone was talking on her cell phone in one of the stalls when she was in the women's restroom.

I wonder what she'd say to blogging while in a stall going #2.

Maybe it's the audible part that weirds her out instead of what the actual activity is. I wonder if silent masturbation would be okay?

Now that weirds me out and I'm the one that typed it.


Sent on the Super Jay Network from Super Jay's BlackBerry®

In the news 01/26/2010

Not good news for a college football program that was "on the rise." Guilty or not guilty, he won't live it down because it will always be in a background check. People will assume the worse because of his race. Unfortunately, that's just the way it still is.
From the Dallas News: SMU football player arrested in rape case.

Click here while the article lasts.

Way to mar a victorious season, dude! It's always someone that brings you down after you work so hard to lift yourself up (guilty or not, it still brings negative light to the football program).

Or could it be true that any press is good press? Doubtful.

From the Trail Blazers Blog at DMN:
Texas' teen pregnancy ranking: 4th highest

Click here for story while it lasts.

Go figure. I'm with some of the comments about how it seems to be the border states that rank in the top 4 out of 5. I'm no statistician but if I were I would find some interest to see why the border states are consistently at the top. Hm...? The other issue is that I've been around a lot of Texas mothers with teen daughters who are mothers and notice that they always say shit like, "I'm so happy that my daughter had a child [at 13-17 yrs old]. I'm happy to be a grandmother!"

WTF, right? I mean if it were my daughter and I found she was pregnant I'd say, "I love you but this is going to hurt you more than me!" and give her the beating of her teenage life! Because not only do I have to take care of my daughter until she's legal age but now I have another freaking mouth to feed!

I could go on but I'll stop because it's supposed to be a "fun"-ish blog.


Monday, January 25, 2010

Chuck

I am watching Chuck. I haven't seen it in a while because I have too much going on already. I like the show. My coworker watches/TiVos it and then tells me about it. I always mean to watch it but with school, work, family and Jay-time it's tough. I do have TiVo but the wife's shows are being recorded on Mondays. What's worse is that I have dual-tuner TiVo and the wife is using both of them at the time Chuck is on.

Anyway, I am reminded of the first time I saw Casey, Chuck's babysitter at the Buy More, on film. He was Linderman in the movie My Bodyguard. I thought that movie was great. One of the most memorable clips from the movie is when the main character, Clifford, is battling Moody (Matt Dillon). Linderman tells him to aim for the nose. Clifford does and breaks Moody's nose. Moody is kind of shocked and just repeats, "You broke my nose. You broke my nose." Oh yeah, Joan Cusack was in that movie too. Neither Adam Baldwin nor she has changed much since 1980.

I also noticed that Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) is currently starring in Chuck. Brandon has a look to him. He's an attractive man. I think he's got that wholesome, good-natured aura about him like Christopher Reeves did.

Sounds like I have a man crush, huh?


Live Long and Prosper!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

The Wrestler (2008)

I just got finished watching The Wrestler (2008). Yes. I'm a few months or whatever behind compared to the rest of the world. It's not because I'm behind the times but more because I didn't want to waste rental on a movie that really wasn't that good even though some/many people have said it was a decent flick.

After watching, I can honestly say that I've seen worse...much, much worse. I'm not saying the movie is bad.

First, let me say that Mickey Rourke fit and played the part perfectly. It's a good thing his real-life physical appearance was a perfect match to Ram Jam's fucked up body and life. On that note, what the hell happened to Mickey Rourke? I mean, I've seen him on television interviews and shit but to see him consistently for an hour plus in a movie just left me scratching my head. I never thought he was an appealing guy (thank God, since I'm a guy) but apparently he was thought of as so by many others. Even though he wasn't eye-catching or appealing to me, he wasn't like an ogre either...but he looks like one now. He really seems like he had "Arnold envy" and decided to bulk up like other male actors/performers.

Second, how hot was Marisa Tomei!? I guess she was about 45 years old when she did this movie. The amount of naked boobs and thonged ass she showed was great and she looked great. It made me laugh in the scene where the young college-aged kids were telling her that she was old and shit. In real life, those little fuckers would have been pushing each other out of the way to get her to lap dance them!

Overall, the movie wasn't really exciting or thrilling. Don't get me wrong, as mentioned before, it wasn't a bad/horrible movie. It just wasn't a thrill-a-minute entertainment ride. It was interesting to see a movie on the job of wrestler(s) and what a close-knit family they seemed to be.

Anyway, rent it or borrow it from a buddy. It isn't fast-paced but it isn't dull either.


North Main BBQ in Euless, TX

I decided it was time to hit the BBQ place on my way back home from tennis.

I figured that a "value meal" at a fast food restaurant would be $6-$7 or more and North Main BBQ (map) is $12 for all-u-can-eat. So, the executive decision was made.

Ribs, pulled pork and juicy sliced beef! A well made decision!


Sent on the Super Jay Network from Super Jay's BlackBerry®

Saturday, January 23, 2010

The things you find while out shopping

What is this? Is it a volcano? Is it a bunghole? Or...


Click the picture to find out.


Sent on the Super Jay Network from Super Jay's BlackBerry®

MediaMonkey Gold Free? Not really.



I'm a MediaMonkey user (and other media players as well). I opened the program the other day and it told me there was an upgrade. I selected YES to upgrade and it took me to the home page. I clicked Download Now for the free version and it took me to a page in the first image.

I was tempted by the offer of the gold version for free so I filled in the fields. I didn't use actual information, of course, because I had a feeling this offer could be a true deal or a downright flub.

It's a deal alright but I think more for MediaMonkey and the partner companies than for me. With MediaMonkey Gold costing only $19.95, I don't think signing up for the partner company offers is a better deal. Some people will fall for it but not this guy (that's me)!

Anyway, I thought I'd share in case there were any others out there using MediaMonkey and thinking about getting suckered by this "deal."

Email humor 01/23/2010

14 Mexican "Words of the Day"

1. *Cheese*
The teacher told Pepito to use the word cheese in a sentence. Pepito replies: Maria likes me, but cheese fat.

2. *Mushroom*
When all my family get in the car, there's not mushroom.

3. *Shoulder*
My fren wanted 2 become a citizen but she didn't know how to read, so I shoulder.

4. *Texas*
My fren always Texas me when I'm not home, wondering where I'm @!

5. *Herpes*
Me and my fren ordered pizza. I got my piece and she got herpes.

6. *July*
Ju told me ju were going to tha store and July to me! Julyer!

7. *Rectum*
I had 2 cars but my wife rectum!

8. *Chicken*
I was going to go to the store with my wife but chicken go herself.

9. *Wheelchair*
We only have one enchilada left, but don't worry wheelchair.

10. *Chicken Wing*
My wife plays the lottery so chicken wing.

11. *Harassment*
My wife caught me in bed with another women and I told her honey harassment nothing to me.

12. *Bishop*
My wife fell down the stair so I had to pick the bishop.

13. *Body wash*
I want to go to the club but no body wash my kids.

14. *Budweiser*
That woman over there has a nice body, Budweiser face so ugly?



Someone finally explained this...






Live Long and Prosper!

Hooters with the tennis boys

Tennis got rained out a little earlier than expected. So we decided to make a jaunt down the road to get some wings. Hooters at Grapevine Hwy and 820 West.


Sent on the Super Jay Network from Super Jay's BlackBerry®

Friday, January 22, 2010

Parodies of porn

Don't ask me how I got to a page that would display this but somehow I did. I found it funny how they (the porn movie creators) come up with similar but hilarious names. I mean "Coctomom" is priceless!

Anyway, some day I may find out if these parodies are actually any good...some day...

UPDATE 8:37 p.m. — I just realized that I have actually seen the Twilight spoof. It's funny but not very good to watch. The porn ladies aren't very pleasing to the eye. I don't recall all of it as I watched it at about 8x speed. I just wanted to see it quickly to see if it was worth keeping. It wasn't.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Yahoo! needs to get their shit together

So, this is the left-hand menu in the "new" Yahoo. I've been meaning to bitch about this for some time but I just got around to it.

If you look at this screen cap, you'll see that Yahoo! is trying to hard to compete with other Internet-based email programs, blogging sites, and/or photo-sharing sites.

I'm an Outlook user. I have DSL and I have the emails set to download to Outlook so I technically never have to open a web browser to check my email, not to mention that I also have a Blackberry which does basically the same as my Outlook.

The main part that bugs the crap out of me is the applications section. I can't turn it off. I can minimize it after logging in and doing so but it comes back when I log in again after logging out or closing the browser. I would presume this is something you can turn off if it was the paid version of Yahoo! Mail but I'm using the free and will always use the free version. As such, I would never use the calendar nor the notepad. I do have and use a Flickr account but I don't need the quick-click access from my Yahoo! Mail account.

Anyway, sometimes I think companies should do a better job at polling/surveying their current customer base (or polling/surveying if they didn't) because I really don't think that Yahoo! did.

I guess I'll just have to deal with it until the next "upgrade."


Pick your poison - Monster or Full Throttle

Today I went down to the 1st floor of one our buildings. Technically, it's the basement because it's about two stories underground but "1st floor" sounds more aesthetically pleasing.

Anyway, along one of the walls, they have drink vending machines. They are actually Coke brand vending machines. Two of the machines are sale sodas and water. The 3rd one vends shit like Gatorade, vitamin water, and energy drinks. Almost 2/3 of the machine is energy drinks. I guess college students need to keep their pep.

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Darn good coffee?

I don't think so. Maybe "Darn 'okay' coffee."

This is a coffee box used for catering at Einstein Bros. IMHO, I make better coffee at home with my Mr. Coffee and bag of Dunkin Donuts regular roast coffee.
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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Blogs blogs everywhere

I wish I could get paid to read blogs. Unlike mine which is always exciting, engaging, interesting and enjoyable like an everlasting gobstopper :-P, some have a few interesting posts and then a few non-interesting ones. Good with bad/bad with good, it's the way of the world and it can't be helped.

I just find it interesting to read about other people's experiences, opinions, rants, and raves. Sometimes, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who turns most every spoken phrase into something dirty (like a hockey commentator saying, "He's a wizard with his stick!" or "He really rammed him from behind that time!") or has off-hand comments about EVERYTHING (usually spoken when they are said versus putting in a blog). I enjoy knowing that I'm not the only one that's had inappropriate thoughts (in my wife's opinion) about my sister-in-law, my mother-in-law, my child's Kindergarten teacher, my wife's best friend, my wife's best friend's daughter (finally she's 18 and the thoughts aren't so full of guilt anymore...lol).

Anyway, I guess you get the point. So, to go along with this point here are some random blogs that I came across today...yes, while I was working...

Mark Cuban's opinion post on Conan-Leno-NBC fiasco -- which I agree but don't agree with Mark that what is business without risk but NBC should have known that Leno's show was stupid and almost exactly like The Tonight Show. Why would anyone want to watch the same old gags, bits and funny classifieds? Boring! The Tonight Show has its time slot and works well there because it's AFTER all the good prime time shows no matter which network they are on. Prime time shows are like dinner and The Tonight Show is dessert. I didn't regularly watch it but that's just my own analogy (anal-oh-gee!, ha ha).

Now from Cuban's post, there were comments. And from these comments is where I found a few of the next blogs. I found it interesting how most of the commenters who put a web site had a Wordpress page versus Blogger.

The man who wants to kill crunches -- I thought I had a valid medical reason to not do sit ups but then I read some of the comments and my confidence is shaken in "the man's" findings. It hurts my feelings too that he compares you all (not me) to pigs.

Movies/Music/Mayhem -- goes to a Wordpress page but then you need to click for redirect.

Nick Pipitone -- pee pee tone, hee hee.

Critically Speaking

The Update...

Bradezone

Finger Food -- A Typepad blog...that place is still around?

Alright, I've got to go to class so that's enough sharing for now.

Fozzy?

Holy crap, Batman! When did this happen?

It's amazing how one thing can open doors to another. Of course, Chris Jericho has to have a decent voice because his "celebrity" status will get him only so far. It's still interesting. I wonder if his band is taken seriously because I remember when Jared Leto came to the scene with 30 Seconds to Mars. I actually liked the songs and Jared has always been a little odd. Anyway, I'm going to have to see if I can sample Fozzy music somewhere. I'm sure it won't be hard to find.

Apparently the band is signing autographs at the brick and mortar store of J&R in NYC.


Live Long and Prosper!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

1st day of class for Spring 2010

I don't know if I have mentioned it before but I really don't like school. I don't like studying. I don't like going to class really either. To make it more enjoyable is I almost double the ages of the othe "kids" in the class and they irritate me with their texting and Facebooking while the professor is lecturing (class hasn't started yet so that's why I'm posting).

Anyway, here's to an exciting new term! Yippee!

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Is it a dog or a rabbit?



Witchblade (Japanese anime series)

You know, there is a reason why there are so many males into comics and anime. With posters like this, it's hard to deny any interest.

Got this from an email from the Buy.com listserv. I actually saw Witchblade (TV series) and then saw Witchblade (anime).
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Live Long and Prosper!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Zamboni pussy wagon at the Stars game

This is new to me since the last game I have attended. Cool but weird and a seemingly waste of money in my opinion. But oh well!


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Chipotle blimp at the Stars game


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At the Dallas Stars game

vs Minnesota Wild at the AAC.


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Some one is grouchy at Kohl's

I think this is a girl's shirt and I love his strategically placed eyes. Now, you will be looking at her "eyes" when you are talking to her.


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Saturday, January 16, 2010

Defective Diet Dr Pepper?

I think there is a reason Kroger was running a sale a couple of weeks ago on Dr Pepper products: 5 12-pks for $12.

I pulled at least 6 cans out of one 12-pk that were leaning like this one.

As long as the drink tastes like it supposed to, I don't care about the packaging when I get a good deal on it.



Outrageous shipping charges

I was perusing one of my favorite shopping sites, SlickDeals, and came across this:
Fellowes Powershred C-220C Small Office Confetti-Cut Shredder $60.
Turns out this is at Adorama, more of a photo supplies store). I wouldn't consider this a deal in my eyes as the shredder is priced at $15.00 but the shipping and handling is ridiculous. I screen captured what it would cost to ship to my zip code. So, this $60 deal is almost $100 after added MY shipping costs. I guess it may still be a better price than other places (I didn't check) but shipping something this size and weight does not cost $66.

It reminds me of when I would look to buy cheaply priced DVDs on eBay. I would find a DVD priced at $2 Buy It Now but then the s/h was $10-$15. WTF, is right! I wouldn't buy/bid on it if I could go down the street to Movie Trading Company, Blockbuster or the plethora of other DVD vendors and get a cheaper overall price. So, if $12-$17 was cheaper than the local store price then I would get it. Otherwise, the eBay seller could kiss my ass and see if another sucker would come along. What's worse is when those DVDs that did purchase for an overall cheaper price than local, the shipping envelope would have a postage price of something like $1.74. So, $10 shipping my ass!

Anyway...


Live Long and Prosper!

The Shake Weight

I'm watching the Australian Open Classics on the Tennis Channel...they are playing these because the 2010 Australian Open starts on Monday, January 18, 2010. Didn't you already know?

Anyway the classic I am watching is 1995: Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras, Final.

On to the point though...I saw a commercial I saw a week or so ago on TV, probably the Tennis Channel during some other match I was watching. I think it was early in the morning before work when the wife and I saw the funny infomercial.

It's called The Shake Weight. I think the subliminal images are obvious to those of us that don't live in a cave somewhere...but even those people would actually get it too.

Funny thing is I'm not the only one. PopwatchEW wrote something here and the comments all fall in line with the same impressions I got.

Anyway, thought it was funny and worth mentioning.

And yes, I am watching a tennis match from almost exactly fifteen years ago. My wife said I'm a loser! LOL!


Live Long and Prosper!

Friday, January 15, 2010

People are stupid #1000

I occasionally read Mark Cuban's blog. Not because I think he's an amazing writer or that I really give a shit about what he writes. I've just got nothing else to do at random moments throughout my day and I feel like seeing what ridiculous insight he might have in the future of the world.

Actually, he occasionally does have some interesting comments on certain things. Other times he takes his billionaire-ness a little over the top. I don't think it's that he pushes his knowledge and "expertise" on people as he just has his own opinion on things. I don't think he has any valuable knowledge to help my financially but he does make for a humorous read now and then.

Take, for instance, this post. The whole "pimping out his daughter" comment is funny but that's not what gets my attention.

I don't know what platform he is writing from (i.e. iPhone, Blackberry, Laptop, etc.) but it obviously doesn't have a spell check feature. I can forego the occasional keystroke miss but blatant ignorance is difficult to overlook. Again, I'm not professing to being a genius at everything because I almost lost (in my own mind) $1,000 last night while watching "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" because I couldn't remember what the hell a linking verb was. I would have gotten the answer on sheer guessing but...anyway...back on topic.

If you look at Cuban's post, 2nd paragraph 5th sentence, you'll see how he shows emphasis by upper-casing the word "LAZYNESS." Oh no, that's not my spelling. That's how he spelt/spelled it.

My point is/are (1) I don't question that Cuban is a smart guy at the things he is good at but perception is key in all things and when he can't spell worth shit it makes me question his overall intelligence, (2) I don't know why people think Cuban would be a good business partner other than a man with very, VERY deep pockets but I guess that's all that matters to start.

Cuban isn't a great or even good businessman. What he is, was lucky. He worked hard and built his own company (MicroSolutions) and sold it for a $2mil profit when the dot-com/computer boom was gaining in popularity. Then, he and a few buddies started something they wanted for themselves. It turned into something bigger and he just happened to be in the right place at the right time when Yahoo! wanted to purchase AudioNet or Broadcast.com. This made him a billionaire and now he had HUMONGOUSLY deep pockets to take a chance with other ventures. So far, those ventures have been good but I don't read anywhere that they (excluding the Mavs) are the same as the two previous endeavors.

Okay, so before I get too deep and useless, my final point is that why people think rich people like Cuban (and Donald Trump) are these great business-minded people is beyond me. Yes, they are rich mo-fos but it's not remotely because of their insight. Once you got money, it's easy to invest in other ventures. Some work some don't but you really don't feel the "don'ts" as much if the investment wasn't over done. Trump for example has probably lost as much money as he has gained. For the longest time, Trump was in the red. I'm not sure if he still is or not but people ask him for advice...why?

Anyway, once again, I've had to do some work since starting this post and I've lost my original "good and mindful" train of thought. So, I'll end here.

Office doors with funny name

I was walking through the office hallways today and this just "jumped out" at me. I do not think I would have liked this last name as a kid, especially being a male.




In the news 01/15/2010

From the Dallas News:
Dallas police officer fired in nude-photos case

Click here for article while it lasts

After reading the article, I don't really see why this officer was fired. Don't get me wrong. His actions were not conduct becoming of a police officer but they didn't fire him for the proper infraction (unless I missed it somewhere in the article).

He was fired for nude photos. It didn't state that he was fired for nude photos sent to a 17-yr-old girl. If anything, that's the criminal part. He should be penalized for being stupid and sending incriminating evidence just as much as improper contact with what the state considers a minor.

The overuse of text messaging and phone calls on his PERSONAL cellular phone is excessive but I would consider completely inadmissible. It's personal, although he did do it while on the job, but that's just a misuse/abuse of company time. Who doesn't do that? Hell, I'm doing it now as I'm typing this while at work!

The nude photos of the other officer(s) are minor too. They are all adults and if the other officer(s) wanted to share her naked body with others then what infraction is there...other than the police officer uniform being in the photos? It's like me sharing this post or sending emails to people...if you don't want it to be seen, then don't do/send it! Simple as that. If I had nude photos of a female coworker, hell yeah I'd probably share it with my buddies but those that I fully trusted.

The crime scene photos, tickets and ID issues are worthy of demerits or temporary paid/unpaid leave. I mean who wouldn't want to keep cool or interesting photos of a crime scene? Again, hell yeah I would definitely consider it! It's not everyday that someone may personally see a decapitated head or severed arm or just an overall gruesome scene. Some people may want to relive that over and over with a photo!

In conclusion, in my opinion, they should further investigate the nude photos to a minor. All else should be given a temporary suspension or leave of absence without pay because if he's wasting taxpayer money, my money, while ON the job then he shouldn't get paid while OFF the job. All in all, though, I think the investigation and litigation should cease as this comes down to inappropriately obtained evidence from an obviously bitter soon-to-be ex-wife. Like one of the comments said, "How is she going to get any money from him now?"

I'm not a lawyer but I do watch CSI, Law & Order, Monk and Psych and those shows are so based on actual reality! ;-P


Live Long and Prosper!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Tom Clancy's End War for PS3

So, I purchased Tom Clancy's End War PS3 game (Wiki entry) about a month ago. Yes, it's been out a while and that's why I got it for $14.99 at my Blockbuster store. I didn't do much research on the game other than at Gamespot where I saw the rating was 7.5-Good. I saw some of the screen captures and thought it looked like a good game.

Not doing more research and the screen captures being a little misleading (for my simple mind), when I finally got a chance to play the game about a week ago, I realized it was not the game I expected. It was especially not the type of game I've come to expect from the Tom Clancy video game series (another Wiki entry).

The ones I'm used to or more like the 1st/3rd person shooters like the Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell games. It's what I like. It's what I prefer.

End War is nothing like these. It's more of a tactical game play where you control multiple vehicle types and such. Kind of like Star Craft or Command and Conquer. Now I like Star Craft and the C&C games but I know/knew what kind of games they were and expected a certain style of game play. All of those games are "overhead" game play except for C&C: Renegade and probably one other.

Anyway, I'm not saying that End War is a bad game. The graphics that I did see while tinkering around the game were pretty decent. Nothing exciting but also nothing noticeably terrible. For me, it was as exciting and intuitive as the SC and C&C games and most definitely is not a fun, tactical 1st-person shooter.

If you like to and want to read the instructions and learn how to play the game, it will probably be a good one for you. Personally, I'm in the pop the disk in and let's start firing mode at the moment...or any games that are similar to such.


Email spam 01/14/2010

This came in on an email account I check at my job. It used the name of our company but the sender email address is 0002581@att.net, which is OBVIOUSLY not from my company. Sadly, I'm sure people fall for this for some uneducated reason!
We would like to inform you that we are currently carrying out scheduled maintenance and upgrade of our account service and as a result of this your accounts have to be upgraded.

We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.

To maintain your account, you must reply to this email immediately and enter information below:

User name:..........................
Password: .......................

Failure to do this within 48 hours will immediately render your account deactivated from our database.

Thank you for using our Services!

"WEBMAIL SUPPORT
© WEBMAIL ACCOUNT ABN 31 088 377 860 All Rights Reserved.
E-Mail Account Maintenance.


Hang on a sec, I need to go reply to this email. :-)


Live Long and Prosper!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Bend me over, force it on me, then take my money

The Dallas Stars' organization is a money(blood)-sucking institution. Granted every business needs to make money but trying to force the issue on its customers is a little over the top.

I was interested in maybe attending the Stars versus Avalanche game on January 29th.

I, of course, am a pretty cheap bastard. I like to attend the occasional game but I don't need to be really close to the rink, especially at the exorbitant costs. It's one thing for just me to pay $50+ but to add the wife and kids that $50+ turns into $200+ and that shit's just not going to happen since my family isn't as into the Stars as I.

So, I thought, I'll try and get some tickets somewhat early. I wasn't really concerned with the actual opponent. I just wanted an evening Friday or Saturday game since my kids would be going and I didn't want them up late the night before a school day. To find that the 29th was against the Avalanche was a bonus...until...

Look at these screen caps. You can see that I select the $20 nose bleed seats in cap #1.

I click CONTINUE and it churns a little bit until I get these results in cap #2.

As you can see, I went from my peasant pricing of $20 a seat to the all-mighty-Stars'-computer-recommended seats of $150 a seat. Are you fucking kidding me? I'm sure I might think about it if I had money coming out my ass or wiped my ass with hundred dollar bills but then again, I doubt it. IMHO, you really don't get much of a benefit from mid-arena seating versus nose-bleed seating.

Anyway, it would have been different if I selected "Best Available" or "Fuck Me In The Ass Without Lubrication" seating but I didn't. I specifically selected the "Paid-For-By-Recycling-Aluminum-Cans" seating.

I did see the little notification outside of the some of the seat selections that says, "Dynamic Pricing." Some would think this meant good pricing and they'd be wrong. If you read the fine print, it says that some games and some seatings at these games will be rated at the current going rate depending on how well the team is doing, who they are playing, if the "company" just wants to randomly fuck it's customer/fan base, etc., etc., blah, blah.

I guess the $20 listing price is basically just to let people know that $20 is the absolute lowest these seats will ever go for but most definitely not the actual rate unless the market at that particular time states that $20 is the rate to be charged...blah...blah...blah.

Oh, I meant to point out that the $150 seats are actually closer to the rink and not the nose bleed section but, again, that's not the option I picked.

Also, after further tinkering with the seat selecting, I found that the nose bleed section indeed is available at $20 but only for single seating. They automatically direct me to the $150 seats if I select 2 or more. Bastards!


789 Chevy

789 Chevy

1957, 1958 & 1959 All Rolled Into One!

This car was built by N2A motors (No Two Alike). Unbelievable! The company is planning a production run of about 100 vehicles. It sits on a Corvette C6 chassis, front styled like a '57 Chevy, side like a '58, rear like a '59. Hence the designation "789".




Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Gas at Valero

Valero station. Corner of Glade Rd and Hwy 121 in Grapevine.


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Taco Bell/Pizza Hut Combo

Taco Bell at I35 and NW Hwy.

Just because I can.


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8775401330 (877) 540-1330

Received a call from this number 8775401330/(877) 540-1330 on my cell phone. Why? Who the fuck knows.

Anyway, I ignored it and they left a voice mail. Voice mail says that I won "a free cruise and a 1000 dollar shopping spree."

Funny! I don't recall ever registering for anything, especially with my cellular number!

The government has to do something about these bullshit telemarketing calls! Yeah right, immediately after they balance the budget.

Anyway, I thought I'd vent and share my experience to help others. You can also click here to find what others are saying about this number in particular.


Live Long and Prosper!

Do Not Disturb

If you see this on the door, I would most definitely just keep on walking by...



Monday, January 11, 2010

P90X - The Proof, The "Pause 2"

It's been quite a while since I "paused" with the P90X work out. With the ankle sprain, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's, I've been too busy (lazy) to start back up.

It's not complete laziness, though. The weather has finally dropped below comfortable in Dallas, Texas. Along these lines, I work out in my two-car garage. It's not insulated so if it's cold outside, it's cold inside the garage. And lately it's been too cold inside the garage. It's not too cold to work out in a parka but it's kind of hard to move around in one of those to do the exercises.

I did try to move the "work out" room inside to my sunroom but the wife put a quick stop to that. The problem is that I don't have a pull-up bar or anywhere to put one so I use the bands for the pull-up-type exercises. The problem with the bands is that they require some sort of hook on the ceiling to provide the resistance. This hook is easily installed in the garage without any fuss from the wife. Unfortunately, she's not so silent with putting it in the sun room.

So, I have to pause a little longer. Luckily, the weather in Dallas is freezing one day and 50-60 the next. I have done some of the Cardio X in my sunroom but it's not ideal and I don't feel that I'm getting enough of a "strenuous" workout with the cardio. No pain, no gain. No sweat...no...I got nothing. It probably does enough but I just like to feel it and I don't really feel it during or after the cardio.

Anyway, I hope the next week brings warmer weather. I may just get some thicker sweats than I currently have and go ahead and start up the routine again in the freezing garage. I'm lazy but I'm also kind of like jonesing for the routine.

We'll see how it goes in the days, weeks, to come.

In the news 01/11/2010

Apparently there was some deal on Sunday where a small group of random people took their pants off to ride the DART system. Harmless stunt or criminal activity? For me it would depend on how the drawer-droppers looked physically. Shallow I know but who would want some 5'2" 300# man or woman sitting with their pants off ANYWHERE much less on a rail train? The girl in photo one of the slide show is acceptable. I think it's good that people, apparently a few were strangers to each other, can come together for a little harmless fun. Yes, I would have some splaining to do if my kids saw this but they would have just thought the people were silly and dumb for doing it in the freezing cold.

Unlike the lady that threatened to call the po-po, I would have first inquired to WHY (because there for sure would have had to be a reason). After that, I would have assessed if a po-po call would be needed.

Also, unlike the quoted "wanna-be-a-cop-but-can't-pass-the-academy" transit police, I also don't think it is a crime (disorderly conduct is way too broad...I could let a horrible smelling fart on the train and they could call that disorderly conduct if someone wanted to complain, yeah?)...

Uh, oh...tangent! Why do the DART transit police need to have Dodge Chargers as police cars? I mean they are train cops so they should really only need something like a Kia to get them from train stop A to B or they could take the damn train! Leave the driving pursuits to the real po-po.

Okay, back to our regularly schedule program...

Anyway, I've done some work since then and I've lost my train of thought...as if I had one. So, click here for the story while it lasts at Dallas News.


Live Long and Prosper!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

I miss my 90' Jeep Wrangler

This is was my 1990 Jeep Wrangler. Got it in 1992 with 4,000 miles on it. I put approx. 130,000 miles on it.

I sold it in 2008 or 2007. I forget which as it was traumatic so I blocked out the actual event.




Friday, January 08, 2010

Chick-fil-a coffee versus McDonald's coffee (pt 2)

I just posted about this the other day here. I actually started that post pre-Christmas, maybe even weeks before that, but I didn't want it to show in the past somewhere deep in the confines of the blog.

It must have been karma because two days after finally posting, I decided to take the kids to Chickfila for breakfast on the way to school. I sent my oldest in to make, pay and bring the order back out to the car since it's damn cold in Dallas right now (it's mainly the wind though). After ordering and paying, I saw her (the manager) say something to my kid while they waited for the hot-off-the-steamer grub. The manager recognizes us every time we go in because, as I said, we were frequent visitors for mainly coffee but also the Minis. She gives my kid an empty coffee cup and lid while saying something. I see my kid walk to the left out of sight in the direction of the coffee urns. My assumption is the manager said to take your parent a cup of coffee for being so wonderful and having such cute and polite kids.

My kid comes out with the coffee and food order and hands me the coffee saying the manager said that she just got new coffee and wanted me to try it. I don't drink it straight so I had to wait until I got home after dropping the kids off at school. My wife was home and I told her the story.

She sampled it first. Crinkling her nose, she said, "Uh, uh." I said, "Really?" I took the cup, put in my milk, sipped (swigged) and I had to agree with her. It was better as it didn't taste like pond water but it was still pretty bitter tasting.

In their defense, I didn't know which urn my kid got the coffee from. This restaurant usually had light, dark, decaf (from left to right) but I don't know if this was still the case. My kid said the coffee came from the furthest urn to the left but, again, I don't know for sure how they set it up with the "new" coffee. Like I said, the coffee wasn't horrible. It was just really bitter...strong may be a better descriptor. This being the case, my kid could have gotten the dark - which is more bitter (or strong) for those people that like it that way.

For now, I will give Chickfila the benefit of the doubt. I can't make it into the restaurant until tomorrow morning so I will hopefully be able to visit, select from the correct urn and give it a try.

I will let you know how it goes when I get to test.


Thursday, January 07, 2010

More help on ways to apply for an MBA program

Just a quick jot...

  • We do not need every godforsaken certificate and/or award letter that you may have gotten from your job, some school club or what-the-fuck-ever! (This is mainly for internationals.) We are glad you are proud but we really don't need this useless information. All you are doing is wasting time and killing trees! What we do care about is your EARNED DEGREE(S) transcript(s) and that's fucking it! If you got a bachelor's of something and that's what it said, then OK. If you built the best damn popsicle cabin, who really cares but you and your parents!?

  • We don't care to see a certificate proving that you worked for the United Way or Red Cross or some entity like that. Put it on your resume and leave it at that. We will see it, read it and probably even mention it if you get a interview.

  • Select proper recommendation providers. We are looking for people (mainly managers) that can vouch for your work ethic, work experience, strengths and weaknesses, etc. A friend and/or coworker is not a qualified recommendation that can be unbiased. Duh!

  • Don't be a dipshit about transcripts. Official transcripts are UNOPENED and typically come directly from the school to the MBA admissions office. We don't want (although we can use for reviewing) a transcript you got after graduation and then you opened it. That's not official. Yes, it's an official document from the school but it's not official because it has been opened and possible tampering could have occurred. With technology today, someone could turn that 'D' into a 'B' quite simply. Yes, we don't trust you!

  • If you bomb the GMAT and haven't applied to a school, don't! Save yourself the embarrassment of people knowing how really stupid you are at taking tests. If you retake it and do much better, then the bombing doesn't seem so bad since we can see that you greatly improved. If you bombed again, you might look into a lower (very low) ranked school for applying to because you are not going to get in with anything below 630 or even higher as a base number. I here The University of Phoenix is very accepting as they don't require the GMAT. I'm not dogging "Phoenix" but I know it's not quite reputable yet with their MBA program although they are the leader in online colleges.
That's enough for now. I really should write all the other ideas I know I had while processing recent apps but I didn't. I just see a lot of really stupid prospect students doing really stupid things. It wasn't so bad in the past but the Milleninals* of today are a different breed.

*Explained here and best put here in regards to the "Trophy Kids"


Email humor 01/07/2010

BEST EVER BLONDE JOKE

A blonde calls her boyfriend and says, "Please come over here and help me. I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out how to get started."

Her boyfriend asks, "What is it supposed to be when it's finished?"

The blonde says, "According to the picture on the box, it's a rooster."

Her boyfriend decides to go over and help with the puzzle.

She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table.

He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns to her and says, "First of all, no matter what we do, we're not going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a rooster."

He takes her hand and says, "Second, I want you to relax. Let's have a nice cup of tea, and then" he said with a deep sigh,...




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"Let's put all the Corn Flakes back in the box."
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In the new 01/07/2010

The first "in the news" post of 2010. Woohoo!

1) From Dallas News:
About midnight on New Year's Eve, Kerri Lyn Smith, 41, was kissing her boyfriend of four years in Far North Dallas when Smith bit the man's bottom lip and tore it off his face, according to police documents.

Click here for article while it lasts

I find it funny that they say she "tore it off his face."

Funnier is that the dumb-son-of-a-bitch guy didn't want to press charges! I'm glad the police charged her and took her in anyway. The way I see it, for something like this, if the cops have to come out and the medical emergency people then someone should be charged with a crime or at least the bill for the services rendered. That way the city(ies) can make their monies for budget shortcomings...maybe.

2) This article comes from Pegasus News:
Dallas radio station KEGL 97.1 FM to announce major changes on Friday

Click here for article while it lasts

I wonder what their change will be. I used to listen to 97.1 back in the days of say the late 80s and almost all of the 90s. Right up until the time they changed it without warning (or my knowledge of knowing, anyway) to a Mexican radio station. One day I was listening and it was mandatory Metallica. The next time I tuned to the station it was hardcore, old school Mexico! I haven't really listened to it as much since they've been back but I haven't really listened to much local radio lately. There are just too many damn repetitive commercials. I don't care about how they have to make their money. When one commercial is played almost twice an hour but definitely once an hour, that's just too much for me! Same goes with the songs they play. When the playlist consists of 30 songs roughly 3 minutes each played every hour, it gets kind of annoying, boring and WAY monotonous. That's why I use my trusty 30GB Zune (in my CRV anyway as it has the auxiliary input).

I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. If I was nerdy enough, I'd put this on my calendar to remind me to tune in. Sadly, I probably will.


Live Long and Prosper!

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Chick-fil-a coffee versus McDonald's coffee

vs.

Recently (not too recently), the wife and I started drinking Chick-fil-a coffee. Not because of preference, but because they opened a restaurant closer to our house than the McDonald's. They opened this Chickfila basically across the street from where we live and right down the street from the kids' school. So, we drop the kiddos off in the morning for school and we stop by to sit, drink coffee and visit by 8am. It's quite convenient.

We used to drive to a McDonald's that was about 3-5 minutes down the road. It was actually pretty good coffee...way better than a plain coffee at Starbuck's and better than Chickfila. I'm not a long time coffee drinker but I do know tastes. I prefer to drink my coffee with about 3/4 coffee 1/4 milk or cream. But the McDonald's coffee we would drink, their "gourmet" coffee, had a good taste without milk or cream. I don't like to drink but I do occasionally sample coffee without milk or cream just to see how it actually tastes. The McDonald's coffee is "tasteful" but I still can't/don't/want to drink it without milk/cream. It's kind of nice to know though that I can stomach the taste without milk/cream if I absolutely had to though.

When we began visiting the Chickfila, it wasn't because we were displeased with the coffee at McDonald's. What attracted us, mainly the wife, is that they had Chikfila Minis. If it had this good breakfast and some decent coffee, then maybe we'd have a new place to cop a squat because the wife felt that the breakfast options at McDonald's were a little higher in calories.

The coffee turned out to be pretty good at Chickfila. It wasn't McDonald's coffee but it wasn't gross, overpriced or overrated like at Starbuck's or some other "fancy" places. We had basically become regulars, sitting and visiting before she or I had to go to work. Mainly enjoying the coffee along with individual or shared orders of the Minis. We enjoyed the Chickfila coffee for about a year now I guess but...it's gone bad.

One day a few months ago we noticed that it was tasting "different" but assumed it was just a bad batch. We had a few more "bad batches" over the next few visits. It was almost like they used pond water to make the coffee or they reused the grounds after the first run through (our cousins in Illinois do this and you can taste the difference between run 1 and run 2). I think after the 3rd or 5th bad tasting, we asked an employee...manager-in-training we think...and he said that he hadn't heard of any other complaints but he did know that they recently changed coffee machine vendors or something like that. We told him we have noticed a change for the worse since the vendor change but it must be just us if he hadn't heard of anyone else complaining.

We left it at that and went on our merry way. A few mornings later, a Saturday, we stopped by to get some breakfast and got sodas instead of coffee because we didn't want to waste our time and effort on shitty coffee again. We sat on the patio with the kids waiting for this parade to start and th same employee we asked about the coffee days before came out to tell us that he had found more information about the coffee. It turns out that the new vendor came to them and said there was an issue with the settings on the new coffee machines. He said they had someone come out and fix it so he believes the coffee should be back to normal.

A few mornings later, we found that he was wrong. He just happened to be on shift that morning and we told him that the coffee was still bad, bitter, and we would not be spending any more money on it. I told him that I put cream in my coffee and if I can taste the badness over it then it must be really bad.

So, long story short, I pretty much have gone back to making my own coffee at home. It's actually way cheaper but it was more of the atmosphere or feeling like the wife and I were hanging out together for a little bit every other day. We kind of miss it but we won't sip down another bad cup of coffee!

Going back to McDonald's is a little out of the wife's way as she would drop me off at work on her way to work. Going to McDonald's would put her already 5-10 minutes down the road so what would be the benefit of having to drag my ass back to drop me off at work? Starbucks was never really an option anymore as the regular cup of coffee is no better than buying the cheapest brand in the grocery store and brewing my own pot. It would cost more at Starbucks. I will occasionally go to Starbucks for their cafe white mocca (hot not iced) when I feel like blowing $5 on a drink instead of an entire meal.

I guess that's all I have to say about that.