In the news 05/29/2014

There is a line in the article that says the following,

"...a controversy in which Donald Sterling insulted African-Americans in a secret audio recording..."

Click here for the article while it lasts.

I've tried to stay silent about it but I just can't anymore.

The man was SECRETLY recorded in a PERSONAL conversation with his STUPID ASS girlfriend!

Is what he said wrong? Sure. Is a he a complete and utter dumb ass? Sure. Should he be fined by the NBA and have the Clippers forcefully removed from his ownership because a personal conversation was recorded and made public? I don't fucking think so!

Do I like the guy? No. He looks like an arrogant, douche bag, asshole! But all these people crying for his head are the same stupid mothers that are against people/big business/government intervening in their personal lives.

If Donald Sterling was as big of an asshole as he's made out (and seems) to be and has all the money that he has, I would hope he'd sue the NBA. Not to condone his comments as acceptable but to show that NOBODY can or should allow big business use their secret, behind-closed-doors (essentially), personal interactions be used against them in business.

Now I do know that people should conduct or try to conduct themselves in a certain manner at all times in public as they are almost always an extension of their business (the NBA in this sense). However, as far as I know, this was not in public but on a cell phone in a personal conversation. To me, using this as a way to finally get rid of the racist, bigoted man is a huge misuse of justice.

Best advertisement ever

...for men, of course. I've ordered gifts for the wife (is it really for the wife? Hmm...) from Victoria's Secret before so I'm on their email list. I get email ads from them probably every other day but at least twice a week. I usually just delete them since I'm not looking for anything to purchase from them at this time. I opened today's email and was wonderfully surprised by the image you see (click it to view in all it's wonderfulness.

Does it make me want to purchase whatever it is they are selling (as I didn't even read it to see what they were promoting)? Somewhat, yes, it does. Does it make me just want to stare at my computer screen gawking at this image? Yes, yes it does! However, I cannot since I'm at work.

Bummer for me!

I really don't want the product but what is wearing the product...or is it what the product is wearing?

Anyway, it's definitely eye-catching.

Royal Pains versus Rush

I don't understand why the USA Network would create a show that looks to have the same exact premise as another successful show already on the network.

I've been seeing a commercial for Rush which, as mentioned, looks EXACTLY like Royal Pains. The Royal Pains doc caters to the rich people of the Hamptons. The Rush doc caters to "LA's elite."

See the similarities? I'm not sure they'll change too much between the two shows although Pains seems more of a dramedy compared to just drama.

I watched a few episodes of Royal Pains and thought it was good and funny. I didn't get to watch much more because I got too busy with life. However, if I wanted to watch one of these shows, I think I'd go back with Royal Pains. Who am I kidding? I might have enough time to watch both shows if I ever have enough time.

Firefox has a new update. Looks more like Chrome.

I overlapped Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox in the screen capture after the recent Firefox update. Can you tell the difference between the two browsers?

 

I actually liked easily knowing the difference between the two visually. Why do companies end up losing their individuality? You see it in computers, cars, cameras and now browsers. Why not just join forces and make one browser under one name like Chrozilla or Chrofox?

People and their funny wifi signal names

I was in the drive thru lane at my local Taco Bell. I saw a sticker on the window that said "free wifi." I was curious and looked for it on my phone. That's when I saw these two wifi signals. Coincidence that they are so near to each other? Maybe just some nearby people messing with each other.

Dallas Stars lose 1st round playoff matchup

What a disappointment! I guess I shouldn't have expected too much.

I know, I know. I am a fan and should be happy that they got to the playoffs. I should be happy that they are a young team and will have a good chance next year to get into the first round again...and lose again.

I'm just bitter. That's what I am and what I do.

To top it off, the Dallas Mavericks blew it in game four of their series. They got lucky to pull out a win in game three because there were to many individuals. If they would keep playing like a team versus individuals trying to make the dumbest shots and the dumbest attempts, they would have won game four and it'd be 3-1 for the Mavs.

This is why I hate liking sports teams. They piss me off.

Hell, everyone and everything pisses me off.

I may need counseling. :-)

2014 NHL Playoffs

The playoff brackets have been set for the pursuit of Lord Stanley's Cup. I haven't been able to watch a lot of hockey this season. Even a bunch of the Stars games have been missed. Mainly for two reasons: (1) I'm not that into the Stars this season. They've been pretty miserable the past few seasons or so and they just haven't given me a lot of reasons to religiously watch them when there are so many other good entertainment options available on TV and (2) When I moved to my new home, I switched from DirecTV Total Plus to AT&T Uverse U300. U300 does not have the NHL channel for some reason. So, I can only get my hockey games for the Stars and/or the ones that are broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2.

Anyway, the Dallas Stars have made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2008. I'm glad for them. I'll probably...definitely...watch their playoff games. I've followed them since their inception into Dallas back in 1993.

There are a lot of new, young faces on the team. There are a lot of new frustrations I have now when I watch them play. I'm too old to give this much shit about it.

Anyway, here's a screen grab of the playoff bracket in case anyone wants to see it immediately.

 

∞
That's all I got to say about that!
 

In the news 04/13/2014

This was actually something that I saw/read a week or so ago but I've just gotten around to posting about it.

     From Deadspin:

          Cleveland Indians Fan In Redface Meets A Native American

Click here for article while it lasts.

To turn stuff like this into bullshit controversy is what's wrong with the press or news industry. They try to make things that aren't that big of deal or controversial in to a controversial big deal. I'm not saying that Native Americans (aka Indians) weren't taken advantage of or oppressed but to say that team names and mascots are racist is ridiculous to me.

Just because some person (in this case a white man) dresses up in some fashion of his favorite team mascot doesn't mean he should feel insensitive, embarrassed or ashamed for the way he supported his team. Now if someone was saying, "Scalp the Redskins or Chiefs or whatever" then maybe there can be some insensitivity there.

I guess we should just go ahead and fix the names for Chicago Blackhawks, black tea, black ice...in respect of the oppression and mistreatment of blacks.

What the hell...we should just go ahead and start at the top and change the name of The White House!

I think you get the ridiculousness of it all. If you don't, the great old U. S. of A. is doomed.

Genghis Grill "rewards"

I'm a Khan Klub member with Genghis Grill. As such, I get email deals sent to me. Sometimes they're not very good deals. Sometimes they are good deals. Most of the time they are just okay deals.

To me, as a business if you create a "fan club" for people to join, it should provide its members with mostly good or very good deals. These members obviously use your business and were willing to join your email fan club for perks. It would be courteous for the business to reciprocate the customer's gesture.

I'm not saying EVERY deal has to be BOGO or something like that but 8 out of 10 deals emailed to me from the Khan Klub are a waste of digital space and a thankless poke in the eye from Genghis.

I've used a few of the Khan Klub deals that I thought were good. One was a BOGO bowl with the purchase of two drinks. Now, if I didn't always get a drink, this wouldn't be that good of a deal. A dinner bowl is like $9.99. A drink is $1.89 x 2. So, the deal would cost roughly $13.80 before tax and small tip. Which is like $10.00 off. That's not too shabby. I've also used another deal that was two bowls, two drinks, and a dessert for $19.99 So, technically that's getting the two drinks and dessert for free.

Today's deal wasn't too bad but I've had better (like the ones I've described). Deal of today was BOGO small bowl with purchase of two drinks. A small dinner bowl is like $7.99. So, I just saved around $8.00 but that's better than spending $8.00. The small bowl is noticeably smaller than the regular bowl but it's not like I couldn't pile that shit in the small bowl like I do the regular!

In conclusion, it doesn't cost anything to sign up for the Khan Klub. The deals usually have to be used by a certain time...typically anywhere form 3-5 days after I received the email. You also get some kind of points every time you dine there as long as you have your Khan's card or your Klub member number. I usually forget to have my card and there's no way I'll memorize my member number but now I have it in my wallet. I'll probably not go again since I have it in my wallet. :-)

Email deals from TigerDirect

I am on the email listserv for TigerDirect. The above image is from their latest email blast. I can't say that I've ever purchased anything from the TigerDirect sales email. I may have purchased something from TigerDirect.com in the past which is probably why I'm on the email list.

I don't understand why they would put an item in their sale email blast that is ALREADY sold out. What the hell is the point? Are they trying to show that they are that good at deals and the products sell out quickly? I just don't get it.

I'm not a marketing professional and I certainly wasn't a marketing major but I really don't think there is a need or a good reason to place an item in a sales email blast that is not available.

And just so you're sure, the email does not reflect real-time. So if the product sold out after the email was sent, it would not have reflected the sell out.

Anyway, just thought I'd say something about the stupidity!

Grocery shopping not just about the groceries

With the grocery store "rewards" cards for the major grocers, it's not just about the groceries anymore. Add the fact that the big grocers of Kroger and Tom Thumb have apps, it makes it even easier to learn about or get deals.

A few months or more ago, I moved from one side of the neighborhood to the other...basically about a mile across town.

The previous side was closer to Kroger so I shopped there more for my groceries with my Kroger Plus card. Originally, the Kroger Plus card gave gas points that I could use at the pump depending on how much I spent. It only worked at the gas stations that were Kroger gas stations. The Kroger I shopped at has a gas station in the parking lot but it is a Chevron. So, these gas points were useless to me except for when I drive through Euless, TX which is the only place where I know a Kroger with a Kroger gas station exists and is in my paths of mostly traveled. A couple of years ago Kroger teamed up with Shell to provide these points and so the same gas benefit was now available. Good since there is a Shell a few blocks from the Kroger. I grocery shopped at Kroger a lot for this "benefit" as well as they were the only close grocery store that had self-check out registers.

My current side of the neighborhood is closer (very close) to a Tom Thumb where I use my Rewards Club card for groceries. This store is much smaller than the Kroger where I used to shop and it doesn't have self-check out. The convenient location is great but the selection isn't always for what I'm looking. I occasionally have to drive to another Tom Thumb which is a few blocks or so down from the Kroger I used to frequent. Anyway, I always use my Rewards card when shopping at Tom Thumb because it gives me really good BOGO deals or cheaply-priced items that I frequently purchase.

A little sidebar—I sometimes, but rarely lately, shop at Albertsons because each store has their own good pricing on certain items I like and Albertsons has had many a good deal, on meats particularly. Although Albertsons no longer uses a rewards card (marketing ploy), they do have some very good deals once in a while. However, Albertsons is far from either side of the neighborhoods I've lived.

I mentioned it before that one of the perks of the rewards cards is gas points. Since I've been shopping at Tom Thumb, I've earned some fuel points here and there. Recently, I earned $1.70 off my price per gallon at the Tom Thumb gas pump. The price on the receipt below shows $2.09/gallon. The price before using my fuel points was $3.79/gallon. That shit's unheard of!

So I guess the point of the post is use your grocery rewards cards, especially if it's for a Kroger or Tom Thumb.

Aloha Hawaiian BBQ in Dallas

Before the Christmas holidays (yeah, this post has been THAT delayed), I was asked by a friend and former neighbor if I had ever eat at Aloha Hawaiian BBQ. My response was, "No, but now that I know about it I will more than likely try it...pretty soon." Five days later on a Monday evening, I took my kids to go check it out.

The problem with restaurants claiming to serve Hawaiian or Filipino food is they tend to miss the mark. However, Aloha does a very good job in matching the tastes of many dishes I've had in Hawaii as well as at L&L Hawaiian BBQ in Plano.

Portuguese Sausage Musubi (left), Spam Musubi (right)

Lunch Chicken Katsu/BBQ Chicken (far) and
Chicken Katsu/Kalua Pork (near)

This is just a couple of the items that they had on their lunch menu. There are others like Kalua Pork Plate and BBQ Mix Plate which I've only had at dinner. The mac salad is very close to L&L or any of the restaurants in Hawaii. I'm not sure what makes it taste slightly different but it's still completely acceptable.

So, if you get a chance, make a run to Aloha Hawaiian BBQ on Lemmon Ave near Inwood. You won't be disappointed unless you're like the many clueless mainlanders that do not understand the Hawaiian cuisine and therefore are looking for just steamed rice, fried chicken or barbecue Texas-style.

Charley's Grilled Subs in The Dallas Galleria

I took the kids and a couple of their friends to The Galleria Mall—you can tell it was some time ago if you look at the date on the receipt. I don't frequent malls much at all these days. Hate 'em! Hate being around so many people caught up in themselves, their phones, the cluelessness. It's a horde of people unaware of their surroundings or other people and I prefer not to be around them else I find myself as the top story on the five o'clock news for beating the crap out of one of the mindless.

Anyway, we were all hungry and weren't sure what we wanted but didn't want the standards of McDonald's or Subway.

Enter Charley's Grilled Subs on the top floor! (or company website here)

I've never heard of Charley's. One of the kids' friends had it once and said it wasn't too bad. So, we decided to try it.

 

If you look at the price per combo on the receipt compared to the size of the philly sandwich pictured (albeit it's only about half a sandwich but it wasn't much bigger full), I'd have to say that it wasn't worth it to me. It's as much the size of the sandwich as it was the taste of the philly sandwich. It just wasn't anything tasty and special where I'd have say, "Damn, I'm at the Galleria and hungry so I'm going to have Charley's again." Add in the fries which were very underwhelming and I'd have to say I'll probably never eat at a Charley's Grilled Subs again.