Black Friday is a waste...

...of your time, money, blood (could be literally these days) and sweat!

I don't know why people [still] put themselves through the Black Friday mess. If you know how and take the time to price compare, you will always get the best deal online or at the store. It's way more worth your time to shop around all year or months before the holidays than on some fictitious 'super sale' day big business marketers created.

For instance, Target has a few brand new PS3 games (like COD: Ghost, ACIV: Blackflag, BF4 and FIFA 14)on sale for $35.00 + tax + in-store purchase only...roughly $38.00 total. Amazon has those same games for $34.99 + tax + free 5-7 day shipping...roughly $38.00 total. If you happen to have Amazon Prime, it's free two-day shipping.

So, who makes out better: the person who braves the crowd of people that believes they're getting the best deal(s) to hoping a copy of the games remain on the shelves for their potential purchase or the person who ordered from Amazon knowing they're getting the games and continues to sit in the warmth of their home eating dessert and watching TV? I'm with the latter. Besides, if I can't find something at the price I'm looking with the easiest effort possible, I feel like it's not something I "need" at that time.

Fight the urge people! Force them to have Black Friday every day!

The Game of Washers

This is a little...okay, a lot...late but when I was on vacation in Taos, NM a couple of years ago I entered a Wal-Mart looking for one thing and happened upon these little gems.

This is what we poor people call the game of washers. Before they became a product at Wal-Mart, Target, and wherever else, these washers were randomly found at hardware or plumbing stores or maybe just by dumb luck.

My dad created a "course" in the backyard of our house out of the bottom of a dual burner gas grill and some washers that were like 2-3 cms thick, about 2-3" in diameter with a center hole about a 1/2" in diameter. I don't know where my dad found these washers because you can't find them anywhere nowadays. They cannot be found exactly like I remember nor can they be found similar in size and weight. They are either too thin or too light and typically none in 3" diameter. They at least can't be found at your local Lowe's, Home Depot or Ace Hardware stores.

Anyway, this is a really fun pasttime for the family. It's similar to horeshoes in scoring and play (tossing something on to something else). When I was in junior high school, the coaches made the game out of an empty can goods can. Again, the washers weren't the same in size and weight as the ones my dad had but the ones they had served the purpose. It was fun playing a game that these adults were new to that I was used to playing my entire life.

When I saw this package in the Wal-Mart, I had to buy it. Even if I didn't have a 'course' set up to play it on it was worth already having the washers because the holes are easy to construct out of just about anything. It wasn't until months later when I got back to Dallas that I saw these again at Target. However, this time they were part of a set and it wasn't exactly the same game I grew up playing. There are tons of variations but none will replace the game of old. Some of the variations are similar in set up to the old game.

There's just nothing like sliding or bouncing a washer from about 10 inches in front of the hole into the hole. Or having a washer toilet bowl the hole to either make it close or inside the hole. Some of the variations now are set up to where you have make a hole-in-one to get a point or points. That's not the fun part of it. The fun part is being able to knock the opponents washer away from the hole if it's closer than your washer OR making a sinker. The sinker isn't the end all be all.

Anyway, that's my brief walk down memory lane that only took me two years to type about. I'm glad to see it the washers game coming (or came) back. I guess we should thank tailgating and it's appreciation of any game that can be made into a drinking game.

In the news 09/19/2013

This is ridiculously stupid. From the Park Cities BubbleLife News:

HPHS Softball Field Lighting Still in Limbo

A decision on whether the Highland Park High School girls softball team should have lights at their stadium, one that has been in the making for over two years now, still was not reached at Tuesday’s University Park city council meeting.

Click here for article while it lasts.

This is just ridiculously stupid! Did I type that already?

These residents are bitching about the possibility of noise and light pollution from the high school for which probably is the reason why they moved into the area in the first place!? Highland Park residents are the whiniest, most egotistical people. The odds are probably zero for any activity at the fields in Highland Park to go past 9:30 or 10 p.m.

I wonder what the residents around the TCU, SMU, UT Austin, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and others schools say about the noise and light pollution—not to mention parking pollution.

New advertisements in Yahoo?

Is this the new way that Yahoo is advertising in its email? I don't know if they decided to minimize their ads like Google does or what. I noticed it first in the Yahoo app on my Samsung SIII about a week ago—I think it was after a Yahoo app upgrade. I then noticed it on my computer via the browsers.
 

 
If they wanted to be like Google, they need to move the ad a few lines above the emails list. Google at least separates the emails and ad by a couple of lines.

Anyway, this is just me sharing my powers of perception.

AT&T Uverse tried to skim $7/mo. off me

Here's something to look out for when you move. This happened with my ATT Uverse account/contract but I'm sure seemingly little things like this occur in all aspects of B2C interactions that people overlook or discard as not that big of deal. Not this consumer!

I recently moved. These days most utilities can be canceled, restarted, and/or relocated from one location to another via an online portal. ATT Uverse is one of them and I used their portal to set up my start date and installation time at my new place.

All was fine and dandy until I received my first bill for the new address. I see this $7/mo charge listed for a receiver. I don't know why as I signed on to a contract for a free wireless receiver with my home base DVR. So, I call Customer Care.

Longer story shorter. I signed on for a one-year commitment contract with a guaranteed price for two years. When I moved, about six months after the start of my contract, the promotion for a free receiver had ended so the new pricing took effect at my new address. They said that because the free-receiver promotion had ended that now I'd be charged a $7 monthly fee for it.

I don't think so! This isn't my first rodeo.

After raising my voice and getting my $7 back for the already billed charge, they gave me a lump sum for the remainder of my two-year pricing to cover the $7/mo. It came to $112 plus some estimated taxes. They had to do this because their system will not allow them to remove the $7 fee since the promotion is no longer going. I never ended my service, I just transferred it to a new location. So, I will be billed $7/mo for the next 16 months because some programmer does not know how to program to keep the original contract valid after a promotion ends.

The Customer Care rep kept telling me I forgot to check a box that said keep my receiver or some idiotic thing she knew nothing about. I had to tell her that when I used the online portal to move my service. I had to input my new address and then it stated something like the following: Congratulations! You are able to move your service "AS IS" to your new location. Press 'Next'. To me, that means service at my new address will be exactly like my service is at my current address. When I pressed 'Next', it took me to a page to pick my appointment date for a technician to come out and set up my service. Nothing else.

Anyway, that's my rant. I've not had any issues with ATT Uverse service since my original DVR was bad after initial installation. However, this kind of action just pisses me off as they are already charging so much for something and now they are trying to milk an extra $7/mo out of me because their stupid system can't keep up with all their promotions.

So, lesson to learn from Absent-Minded Jay?

Always go over your bills with a fine-tooth comb. At the very least, it could save you the cost of a Chipotle burrito/tacos.

Blockbuster really needs help

Blockbuster should seriously reconsider their marketing plan and business model. If they want to survive, Blockbuster is going to have to come up with something WAY better than this!

Why would I want to rent three movies to get ANYTHING at a Blockbuster store for free? The popcorn, candy and/or Coke have usually been around the store for a while that's why they are "giving them away for free." But they already make their money off of you by making you pay $1.99-$3.99 for each of the three rented movies.

I guess that's smart business if you can get the stupid customer to do it. I'm not a stupid customer and no one else should be either!

If you haven't read any of my other Blockbuster rants, I am a Blockbuster Total Access Plan member. So, I don't speak from inexperience or from an outsider looking in. I have a pretty good grandfathered deal with my Total Access Plan but the moment they increase it or get rid of it, I will no longer rent movies from Blockbuster.

I've recently used Red Box a few times and although it has to be watched within 24 hours, I think $1.20 (total with tax) isn't a bad deal—especially back in the day when there was a dollar movie theater. I also got a free movie rental for signing up and after my initial rental. Then I got a free online credit for one movie. Basically I've watched seven movies from Red Box for the price of four. Granted they don't have a lot of new releases and sometimes I have to find the movie I want at different Red Box locations but overall it's not been too bad.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

What makes people think family fucking them over is acceptable or overlook-able?

If it were a friend or an acquaintance, would they give them the same leeway?

Just because they are family, it doesn't excuse them for the negative behaviour. In fact, in my opinion, it makes them worse because they ARE family!

I don't understand people putting up with the bullshit from family just because they are family. If it was a friend or just an acquaintance, they would surely distance themselves from these people.

I just don't get it. I'm baffled.

I for one can say that I don't take shit from anyone like that; not family. not friends. I don't need you around if you are not going to be a positive influence on me or my kids. I get taken advantage enough at work as it is but they pay me to put up with their shit!

Anyway, it was just a thought that popped into my head because I saw a Facebook wall post that my niece and nephew (two of the few family members I tolerate) were a part of with my older sister, their aunt. Their aunt responded to them about some "family" get together but she said that it wouldn't really be family because of the ones that are "Above Us All."

You goddamn fucking straight! I AM above those assholes and ALWAYS will be. I do not treat and take advantage of family the way those fucks did so they are no part of my family anymore and that makes me "Above Them All."

Oh well, just a quick rant. Back to my meditation or medication. :-)

Frozen food stuffs from Schwan's

A relative of mine sent a care package to my family that she ordered online through Schwan's. I don't recall ever hearing of this company but who am I to turn away from trying free food?

The food came frozen in a pretty sturdy styrofoam chest about 2 1/2 feet long by 2 feet deep and wide. All the food was sealed in plastic and placed in cardboard boxes. There was a variety of food stuffs she ordered. There was chicken pot pies, pizza, angus mini cheeseburgers (pictured below), and lasagna.

At the time of this picture-taking and posting, I had only tried the mini cheeseburgers. However, the posting started about 4-5 weeks ago and I'm just now getting to typing something.

So, first of all, the mini cheeseburgers reminded me a lot of these frozen White Castle cheeseburgers a friend shared with me some time ago. Similar packing, presentation and taste—yes, I just equalled the taste of them to White Castle frozen burgers...if you've had frozen, precooked burgers you show know that they all pretty much taste the same when heated. They also reminded me of sliders. Anyway, the burgers were tasty. They may not win cooking awards but for free and frozen, I wasn't grossed out.

  

It was probably a few weeks later before I was able to try more dishes but the next item was the lasagna. The lasagna tasted just about the same as a Stouffer's, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine or any other kind of frozen lasagna. Again, it wasn't horrible but it wasn't like "Wow!"

Next was the frozen pizza. We were afforded two of them. They were just pepperoni and cheese but my kids are kind of picky on their toppings for pizza anyways. I hate to sound like a broken record but once again the pizzas were good but they weren't mouth-watering or awe-inspiring just like the previous two items.

Some days later, the wife and kids finally tried out the chicken pot pies. If having one barely eaten and the other untouched after baking tells you anything, it would be that these were not very good at all...to my family. I didn't try them because by the time I realized there were leftovers, they were already way too cooled down and I didn't think reheating them again would help with the taste.

What's left in the freezer is a box of frozen enchiladas. I've had frozen enchiladas before from the likes of Healthy Choice, Smart Ones, Hungry Man or those type of meals and I wasn't very impressed. Therefore, I'm a little skeptical at trying them from Schwan. We'll see how it goes.

Overall, I can recommend the mini cheeseburgers, the lasagna and the pizza...probably in that order too. I don't know how much these costs as they were gifts but if they aren't a huge savings versus the grocery store, I don't see why one would ever order it online from Schwan's.

So, there you have it.

Email humor 04/22/2013

Sprint referral "rewards" is pretty lame

This is the graphic from an email I received from Sprint (Yes, I'm a Sprint customer).

What I find amusing is once again Sprint thinks so lowly of its customers...especially long LONG time customers like myself. A $25 gift card is not worth the time or effort to even just ask a friend to join Sprint. If Sprint wants people to really refer someone, they really need to up their ante.

Hell, almost ten years ago when I first got on DirecTV, they gave me $50 per referral ($10 a month off my bill over five months). Not only did I get $50 but my referral got $50 disbursed the same way. Fast forward to the present and DirecTV is offering $100 per referral...of course, disbursed $10 per month for ten months only for the referrer...BUT the friend only had/has to sign a minimum one-year contract whereas Sprint requires the two-year service contract!

So, who is giving the better deal for a referral? Now it's not exact science comparing a satellite provider with a cellular provider but you get the point.

I just don't see that $25 is incentive enough to refer a friend to Sprint. If I just happen to know of someone that is going/moving to Sprint, then sure I'd ask them to say I referred them, get my $25 and not split it with them. Otherwise, I'm not wasting my time!

Death by paintball

Okay, it didn't quite die from the paintball hit but it did lose an eye.

Tagged this freaking nuisance about 30 feet away running down the trunk of a pecan tree. Shot it in the head (eye).

It kind of staggered on the tree and then leaped off the trunk. It plummeted about 20 feet to my driveway.

I went to take a look and it was breathing/panting heavily with the damage eye towards me.

I hit it a few more times with paintballs just to add to its pain and misery.

I then took this photo.

I went back outside about an hour later and the thing was gone. Either it recovered enough to go to the squirrel shaman for an eye patch or a neighborhood cat had lunch!

Goodbye and good riddance!

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives - a visit to Dallas

Saw an episode (probably old) of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives the other day with the burger joint Maple & Motor as one of the restaurants Guy Fieri visited. Normally, they present multiple items from the menu for the show that impress customers. They only had Jack (M&M owner) cook up one burger—a bacon cheeseburger with fresh green jalapenos.

First, Guy misquoted M&M as the best burger in Dallas. I think that's limited to certain people or an article that was written by one person and with that one person's opinion.

Second, Guy wasn't as complementary of the burger as he is with other restaurant entrees in MANY other episodes I've seen.

Third, unimpressed, Guy cooks/creates his own burger concoction during which it looks like Jack at times isn't happy with because of all the ingredients Guy's using. Which begs to wonder how much did Guy really like the burger Jack cooked if he ended up creating his own? Again, I've never seen Guy do this (cook his own item) on any of the other episodes!

I've been to M&M two or three times because a coworker of mine was initially impressed by the burger. The 2nd or 3rd time finally woke her up to realizing it's not really any better than many other places in Dallas that are closer to our work, have a more inviting seating area and don't have an arrogant, asshole owner!

Don't get me wrong. The burgers I've had there are good. However, it definitely is not "the best burgers in Dallas." As I mentioned, Jack's an arrogant arse and his rules are juvenile (think of the mentality of if you don't like it then go somewhere else). I also was part of the many who "Like" the M&M Facebook page but have since "un-Liked" it. Many of Jack's "joking" posts about his workers and people in general does not go along with a manager, owner or someone who respects that his customers are the reason why he's in business...even the customers he doesn't like. Don't get me wrong. There are always asshat customers but asshat begats asshat quite often with Jack.

So, go and make your own opinion of Maple & Motor. Like I said, the burgers are good. But they are also good (and maybe even better) at Keller's, Jake's, Chili's, Twisted Root, Snuffer's and a whole lot of other places in the Dallas area.

Chile Pepper Grill Food Truck

This is a photograph I took of my order from the Chile Pepper Grill food truck. What you see is (from left to right) the Alambre "deluxe" taco ($3.00) and two carnitas ($1.75 each).

The Alambre comes standard with cilantro and onions but the 'deluxe' status adds cheese, green peppers and bacon. Truthfully I really didn't feel the add-ons added anything to the flavoring or taste of the taco. The green peppers were more like dices versus slices or something of real substance and there were so few that I almost didn't realize they were in there. In fact, I only looked for them I knew they were supposed to be in the "deluxe" taco from reading the menu. The bacon was in small chunks—the kind you'd be more likely to find on a pizza. You can see a little bit of it in the photo near the top left of the taco. There was also cheese. I don't know what kind as it wasn't stated and I don't know how much there was. I guess it was pretty minimal like the green peppers. I think you can see a little bit melted on the steak to the left side of the taco sort of blending in with the diced white onions. All that being said, I have to say that the steak or even the flavoring of the taco in its entirety did not leave a lasting 'flavorable' impression. I did have it a few days ago but I can't remember what it tasted like. For reference, I can tell you exactly what each slider from the Easy Slide Truck tastes like and it's been at least a couple of weeks since I had one. Is the 'deluxe' status worth the extra $1.25 difference from 'regular' taco? I'd have to go with "No."

The Carnitas taco is just corn tortilla filled with cilantro, onions and carnitas. It's their 'basic' taco which only varies (as far as I can remember) from the choice of meat. The carnitas was tasty. I like the simple flavoring. For some it may be a little wet in the sense that they could probably dab it with a paper towel to absorb some of the juice and/or "sweat" from being in the storage container with a lid on it. Hopefully, that last part makes sense. I'm not picky and it doesn't bother me but it did make for a very drippy taco eating session. Anyway, the onions helped to add a little bit of crunch to each bite but like the Alambre, I didn't feel it added any flavoring.

In the image you'll also see to small containers above the tacos that contained two types of sauces. I don't know their official names but I'm going with the green sauce and the red sauce. I dipped a finger into each to see how they tasted. I decided the green sauce was more appealing to me. I first tasted each of the tacos without the green sauce to get a true sense of their taste. I then took a few bites with the green sauce added to see how it changed, enhanced or detracted from the taste of the tacos. I'd have to say that it changed but did not enhance or detract. For the Alambre, it actually hid the taste of the steak...maybe that's why I don't remember it much. For the carnitas, I think the carnitas meat was flavored enough that it still came through the spicy-ness of the green sauce. I actually preferred the carnitas taco without the green sauce and that's how I ate the second one.

Overall, I did not feel that I could recommend this food truck to my friends, family and coworkers. I don't think it was bad necessarily. I just didn't feel like I was awed or impressed enough by the flavoring of the tacos to put my recommendation on it for others. Now, I'm not a snoot and I eat just about anything especially if the price is reasonable for what I'm getting in return. In my opinion, for $1.75 if this is the only food truck available or it's next to one I thoroughly do not like I will most definitely eat Chile Pepper Grill tacos again. In fact, my recommendation for this food truck is to forego the deluxe option and stick with the regular taco. My tab came to $6.50 ($3.00 + $1.75 + $1.75). I could get four regular tacos for $7.00 and feel fuller from eating four tacos versus three since the deluxe I had was really an overpriced 3rd taco. I would also like the feeling that I got a good deal at 4 for $7.

So that's all I've got. Now go try it yourself.