Bricks and Mortar sucks!

Today was a case of those who would rather buy online, like me and those who have friends or family who would rather drag me to BB and deal with temporary holiday help who just talk out of both sides of their mouths...Sheesh, it was UNBELIEVABLE the number of contradictions uttered by those fools. And of course, we had to go there for the hot ticket category of HDTV. Outside of the Computers area, I am sure HD is the next big thing if not THE biggest area there. I understand the HD technology very well and was in the store for ONE cable..........ONE! Of course, my compatriot opens his mouth to confirm if his setup is correct like I already told him it was before we left his house, but for some reason he asks one of the clowns in the accessories area about how we have things...Blah, blah, blah, I walk over after checking prices on some other items and he says, "Explain the setup to the guy." I tell the story and after it's all said and done, when I had already spotted the 25ft cable we came there for as I walked up to both of them, the BB guy says, "You'll need Monster cable this and that." Correction sir. I would need a loan from my credit union to follow your advice...Idiot. I won't drown you with details on my verbal sparring session with this guy....So, we bounce over to the speakers section and listen to a pretty nice Klipsch set that was purchased soon thereafter. I confirm with the next blue shirt what he has pumping into those things and ask to see all wires so as to not have a secret amp out of sight that makes them sound better than what they are. Fine. This guy was much better than the two tools in the HD area. He pulled the receiver out of the cabinet and showed me everything and we followed the cables to the two speakers. Fine. Well, guess who decides to ask THIS guy about our setup? You guessed it...I finished explaining ish and the guy says, "Oh yeah, I would keep the setup you have." I said, "How interesting that you would contradict the guys in the HD area." He tells me in a low voice, "Those guys are morons. They think everyone comes in with absolutely zero knowledge of technology." Anyway, then it was a nice 35min wait in the line with only 5 people ahead of us when we got there....5 people!! Two did returns and the other three finalized their financing...Man, I wanted to pull my hair out. The only time I can say I ever go into BB is if I get a gift card, I get asked to go or I want to peep something I am going to just get online for much cheaper anyway...Thank God for the Internet! I have a few friends who have been in retail hell before and have told me some stories of the inner workings...BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY comes to mind. It's nice to actually deal with someone who is not a drone when you go to a bricks and mortar store....It's rare, but nice....Customer Service is dead Damas y Caballeros...

Sweet Product-O-The-Day

If you were unlucky enough to snag a Wii this holiday season, how about one of the best boardgames of all time, Monopoly + Nintendo? The game features characters such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, Star Fox, and Wario, and the specialized pewter game pieces include a Donkey Kong barrel, Link's boots, a Hylian Shield, a NES controller, Mario's hat, and a Koopa shell.

This has to be one of the coolest editions I have seen.

It's Merry Christmas to you buddy!

Oh brother......One of those moments in my life that I wish could have just been a blip on the screen...Last week sometime, I was walking down a hallway at work and someone said a few words to strike up some conversation and points and counter-points were made and blah-blah-blah...At the end of our quick conversation, the person says, "If I don't see you, have a Merry Christmas....Oops, I mean Happy Holidays." I said, "Why did you say that?" The person says, "Merry Christmas is not the PC thing to say these days." I said, "I'm not offended by you saying Merry Christmas to me." The person says, "Oh, ok. I just know there are people who work here that don't celebrate Christmas." I said, "Right, but do you really think someone is going to file a complaint against you or something?" The person says, "You never know."

Moron.

I guess that person should have wished me a happy Festivus instead. :p

"Dr. Death"

I forgot to blog about this story last week, but since this picture is absolute money, I decided to post today about the story and the man. You could not believe the airtime that Dr. Jack Kevorkian received locally when he was helping people die in MI. Sheesh. The story obviously grew wings for a national spotlight, but as every story that gains national attention, it's MUCH worse for the citizens near it. Mix in Geoffrey Fieger and you have serious drama. Anyway, I laugh at these fundamentalists who are trying to get their grills in front of the cameras to pop off about how Dr. Death is going to get back into the killing game the second he gets released from jail. The guy's own health is deteriorating rapidly; he's frail and has fallen a few times adding further injury to his person and yet people want to keep him in jail to rot.
Personally, I don't see the issue with Dr. Kevorkian as being a danger to society. People ASKED for his help and if someone was unable to request his help, then those who had legal say in a person's healthcare asked for the help. Explain to me how that is wrong? People say that Kevorkian was sick and twisted and LIKED to kill people. Are those same people saying anything about the hundreds (probably thousands) of doctors who are vacuuming kids out of the uteri of women across the US on a daily basis? Probably not, but when an ADULT asked someone to inject them with a compound that causes them to stop breathing, the person (Kevorkian) pressing the syringe is crazy? I'm not here to say that Assisted Suicide is right or wrong, but I am also not someone who lives every second of their life in excruciating pain and have been unable to get any relief through conventional or homeopathic options.

Let the guy out of jail and worry about bigger issues like a war, education, rising healthcare costs or the US economy. Some people just amaze me.

Carrots+Roids+Botox = Yuck!

Unconditional Love?

Ok. Here's the situation. I recently overheard a conversation when I was somewhere about a person talking about how much they loved pets. The two people talking were fans of dogs very much UNLIKE myself. One person said, "I just love the unconditional love that my dog gives me." The other person says, "I know exactly what you mean. When I come home from work, it's so nice to have my dog get sooo excited to see me." You idiots!! You interpret THAT as love?! Pavlov, anyone? Sheesh, the dog does not "love" you. The dog just knows that you are the person who will feed it, let it outside to fertilize your grass, and walk it whenever you do that sort of thing. Unconditional love with pets and people is a human construct that just sounds nice, but means nothing. Swing for the fences with a golf club on that dogs hind parts or scream at it X number of times and see how its "unconditional love" just happens to change. Many people say babies and children show unconditional love, but again, not true. They lack the understanding on what love is. They just mimic what adults do as far as kissing other people and hugging and things like that.

People claim that caring for a sick loved one is a form of unconditional love, but that's not true. It's most likely the reciprocation of the care and support given by that person before they were sick.

My point is that there are ALWAYS conditions to love. Every time. No question. Thinking otherwise is just avoiding reality or seeing things for truly what they are. Any thoughts?

Top 3

Luxury SUVs.

I am NOT an SUV person at all, BUT if I were, my Top 3 would be the following:

Land Rover Sport ($57,950US)
BMW X5 4.8i ($54,500US)
Porsche Cayenne Turbo S ($111,600US)

Stupid Toys & RUNAWAY

So, on one of my recent travels on the Information Super Highway, I spot one of 2006's featured Christmas toys for the tots out there. I'm not sure if your mind works like mine in that there can be certain triggers (a sight, sound, smell, taste, or phrase) that immediately triggers memories. When I saw this toy, I began to think about the cinematic greatness that was one of the best and by best, I mean worst 80's sci-fi films ever--RUNAWAY. Tom Selleck & Gene Simmons on screen is a dream come true for any self-respecting sci-fi fan!I went to school for and I work in IT and this movie captures the essence of programming like no other film shown to the civilized world. How genius are programmed robots that kill? Deep. I know. Simmons is so evil. Selleck is so frustrated.
The 80's 'stache of Selleck was the great equalizer and made many women's knees quiver....so, I'm told. I never had a 'stache in the 80's....I don't even think I had hair on my legs in the 80's. When this film came out, I was 8. The only reason I happen to see it was either I snuck into the room when my parents were away and switched on HBO or my dad rented the VHS tape and somehow I was able to peep the film; I don't recall my exact method. Either way, you should see this film to see when Hollywood made great and ultra-predictablefilms on a shoe string budget.

In addition to Malta India, Pasta de Guayaba and the One to Grow On PSAs, RUNAWAY made me the man who I am today...........

Corporate Hypocrisy

I've worked at a few places in my life on this earth. I am in no way a "job-jumper" by any stretch of the imagination; not my style. In fact, outside of several jobs I held while an undergrad, I have only been with two companies post BS and MS. Different positions, of course, but two companies and several different management styles and teams. Anyway, today was pretty interesting...Well, not really; it was a typical day in the rat race with a bunch of frightened rats scurrying about as the big cat one of the BIG, BIG bosses came into town. If there is one thing I cannot stand is a person or persons who are scared of another human being for some baseless reason(s). Seriously, I would not care if the CEO of my company came through the door any given day to observe me or talk with me. I have absolutely nothing to hide and treat everyday as IF the big man or woman were going to come in and ask me to justify my paycheck. I mean, come on! There were people today giving an approximation of when this Big Boss was going to arrive and to have everything "looking just right" so as to not piss the Big Boss off. What idiots! Again, if there is nothing to hide, what have you to fear? If you act in a professional manner to your own boss, fellow co-workers or even the janitor, there should be no fear. It was no different when I was at my previous company. A big account manager would come in from out of state to join us for a meeting and everyone was in a moronic frenzy....Unbelievable. There are so many people who take their jobs for granted and cannot justify what they actually do most times that they live in fear. Amazing! My conscious is clear and I welcome the opportunity to talk with anyone of a "position of power" because I operate in a deliberate manner. I wonder if this is just a US thing......

Caption This image of the Day

Land's End

I have an affinity for fashion. Be it the fashion on my person or other persons. It’s certainly not a status thing with me. I could care less if I have an Armani suit on or an outfit from Target; if it looks good, it just looks good. I don't necessarily have an allegiance to certain brands either, but I do have certain expectations if I buy a KCole shirt that it will hold up in terms of quality longer than 2-3 washes or dry cleanings. I like certain places for shoes unless I need sneaks or some other form of workout shoe, but I digress.

A guy at work was telling me about Land's End today. As I said earlier, I have no allegiance to a brand or store. I am pretty confident that I can find at least one item in pretty much any clothing or shoe store and make it work with whatever particular style/look I had in mind. I don't own anything from Land's End. No reason; I just don't. Most clothes and shoes have a really weak guarantee / return policy. Check out the guarantee policy from the Land's End site that this guy told me about:
The world is full of guarantees, no two alike. As a rule, the more words they contain, the more their protection is limited. The Lands' End guarantee has always been an unconditional one. It reads: "If you’re not satisfied with any item, simply return it to us at any time for an exchange or refund of its purchase price."
We mean every word of it. Whatever. Whenever. Always. But to make sure this is perfectly clear, we've decided to simplify it further.
GUARANTEED. PERIOD.®

That is just crazy! I may have to add some Land's End to my fashion options. That guarantee is just too good to pass up.

My Top 3

I will do my best to keep up with this feature on my blog once every two weeks. We'll see how it goes. The premise is that I will provide a list (in no particular order) of My Top 3 anything. By 'anything' I could mean favorite vehicles, food item, shoes, exercises, etc. Essentially, it's the respective category of something that interests me and what I feel to be my top three favorite items at that moment. You can agree or disagree with me or provide your Top 3 or do whatever you see fit. Get it? Got it. Good.

Without further ado, the first entry for my Top 3 will be my Top 3 Reggaeton artists:

1. Daddy Yankee
2. Wisin y Yandel
3. Calle 13

Armed and Disgusting

Thoughts on the Slingbox

If you have not heard of the Slingbox, then you might want to crawl out from under the rock you are living under. From a business perspective, this is true genius. From my own affliction of pragmatism, it's a nicely designed paperweight. I mean, give me a break, am I that hooked on my cable that I essentially need a huge extension of AV to my home? Please. The funny thing is that many consumers have gone away from the wired model for their home networks and into wireless. I have both....on purpose, but not for the Slingbox.

The funny thing is that if you are a business traveler, the locales in which you would log in would most likely have a firewall that would kill your dreams of remotely viewing your cable/sat provider channels. So, is the thinking that I would hit up the nearest free WiFi spot and log in to my home cable to watch that must see episode of House? Uh.........lame. Or would I just impress my friends by logging in from their house and pat myself on the back? Again, from a business perspective, this capitalizes on the perception that people NEED to view a particular show at a particular time. DVR anyone? Sheesh. Hats off to the boys from San Mateo, CA who thought of this concept two years ago and are marketing the F out of it and moving product.

It's Friday....and it's Black?

...but many people are more in the Red at this moment than they were last night...

No one likes to get a good deal more than me. I live for paying less. Seriously though, it is truly a struggle at times for me to give my cash out for some consumer goods or services that I have not either exhaustively researched or have been given a thorough recommendation from a trusted source. The reason? I absolutely hate getting ripped off! I find there is a delicate balance of need-price-quality-want factors. I don't impulse buy. That lesson was learned many years ago. It's crazy, but even after an extensive research to lend support to an eventual purchase, I still feel sick to my stomach for a least a day and then I'm over it, but it's just some sort of innate reflex that I feel probably just grounds me and makes me not get so comfortable with spending money on a whim. As some have said, "You cannot take it with you" and I am well aware of that, but to purchase a "must have" item for a quick and temporary fix is not too smart and I just hate to think of myself as someone who gets consumed with consumerism. I find it to be pretty morally reprehensible when people are out there camping out to save 40% on a stupid electronic device or some item that will be in a garage sale in the summer months when they are one paycheck away from being evicted or are in such debt with frivolous use of their credit cards for mostly "lifestyle" purchases. How interesting that bankruptcy fillings increase each year. I know that not all bankruptcy can be attributed to morons who overspend on Black Friday, but it would be naive to think that several thousand fillings could not be attributed to that.

Bottom line: I saw no deals today worth throwing cash at...We'll see what the deals look like on "Cyber Monday" which is another stupid media label.

You gonna eat that......?

I was reminded of a somewhat interesting phenomenon that some of you may not have experienced yet in your life. We had a meeting at work today and food was brought in. Nothing too gourmet, but some edible deli sandwiches, a monster Greek salad and a dessert tray. Well, as I was filling my plate with some of the Greek salad, I thought about how as a child I seemed to avoid certain foods for silly reasons or I just legitimately did not find the taste of these foods to be worthwhile. The beets in the salad are what triggered my thoughts. I NEVER ate beets as a child; I really like them now. I suppose I can understand if one was sheltered from certain foods that may contribute to not being able to really determine if one liked or disliked a particular food, but I had a pretty assorted diet in terms of fruits and vegetables. Another food I did not like as a child was Pecans. I love them now. I'm not talking super sweet Pecan pie because I'm not a fan of that, but shelled Pecans are excellent and I was reminded of this recently when a friend of mine gave me a bag that his family from Georgia sent up from a farm they own. Man, those MFs were excellent! Lima beans would be the next food item I did not care for as a kid. I could eat a bowl of those any day.

Anyway, you get the point. Has this happened to any of you?

Who's your Lima?

In honor of my Tigers and the silly marketing campaign they used this year which was entitled, "Who's Your Tiger?", I ask the readers, Who's your Lima?

#1 Lima, Peru

#2 Adriana Lima

#3 Jose "Lima Time" Lima

They all just get along.....

I have to laugh at people who make the DISCUSSION or usually just a one-sided, ignorant rant of politics a huge deal in every conversation that they have in the belief that they think they can actually impact what happens on The Hill. It's usually just some moron who wants to sound clever, but it is just empty banter.....The politicians are laughing at us unless "us" happen to be in the circle of politics as well since they are the ones who get the social/professional/financial connections that many of us could never dream of being a part of. For anyone who thinks that politicians don't take each other to lunch on the tax payers dime and enjoy the excesses of life and then flip the script when the cameras are on are just really blind to the reality.

Come on, these people make more money "retired" than many of us will ever see in our lifetimes. And, you have these people outside of the political elite who insist on protesting certain issues thinking that getting dragged away in handcuffs is some badge of honor or some form of martyrdom...Wake up! My main reason for this post is to just point out that politicians know how to spin the public for their own personal gain...It's just the American Dream baby! Now where do I sign up?! :p

The immortalization of Halo's Master Chief

I submit to those of you who read this post that the piece to the left of stained glass art work is the freakin' coolest and I would love to have one, but not for $500. It was created by someone who is pretty obsessed with Halo. I do think Halo is one of the best games of all time...concept, graphic and sound-wise....and seems to offer interesting enhancements with each version that comes out. Agree?

There's a new Chef (or Sheff) in town

My Tigers have made a good move and signed Gary Sheffield for three pitching prospects. EXCELLENT move! The lack of power in the lineup is what contributed to the World Series slipping through our fingers...Sheff is a much needed addition. I know the guy is going to be 38 years old, but he can still contribute immediately. I know if Jim Leyland were not here, Sheff would not have signed with the Tigers. No way! It's nice to actually be discussing the Tigers in a positive light....It's been too long. I am already looking forward to next season.

Midterm Election Day

Let's hope the clowns we voted for bring us as much fun as sitting in the audience of the circus does....Such a shame how few US citizens vote....

Corporate Brainwashing

I was reminded of the reality I live in whilst reading a yahoo article discussing A Guide to the Latest Batch of Corporate Buzzwords and it is just amazing to me how these words evolve through the years. I have worked in the IT, Business and Education worlds and am never at a loss for a list of BS words and other terminology used in those fields. Seriously, it's as though you are just a Lemming and are almost looked at as being an outsider if you don't pepper your speech with some of these lame terms. Geez....it really drives me crazy! The funny thing is that these buzzwords or figures of speech tend to be initially uttered by some big wig, high-rank manager that people think if they sneeze around this person will impede their ascension in the company..Oh brother....I worked at a place where I must have heard "Here's a head's up..." and "An addendum to the last email.." about 10,000x!! I can agree with the yahoo article regarding the term "network optimization" and that just annoys me because I get calls on a weekly basis or spam at my work email about exploring the possibility of undergoing a network analysis for eventual network optimization....Sheesh! Will it ever end?!

The art of penmanship..

..is one "skill" I lack COMPLETELY. I wonder where I would be if I did not have a keyboard in my life the last 10-12 years. Sheesh...I was reminded of my cruel reality recently at work where I decided to write up something only about the total length of one page. Man, it was a mess and even a 5year old would have laughed. I felt like a complete amateur. I keep looking for words to show me a red, squiggly line underneath when I was sure that the word was misspelled...Microsoft owns my mind as far as word processing goes; we all know that OSX is the best OS out right now! You see, I seldom write on paper. Even in undergrad and grad school and the sporadic class/training I take these days is a chore when I don't bring a laptop to class and actually write using a pen or pencil. The funny thing is that I am not crazy about taking notes on my laptop. They just don't feel like they sink in as well as written notes do, but then my notes are a train wreck...Technology has spoiled me. I don't mind because my job rarely involves situations where I am actually forced to write on paper. It's primarily the use of a keyboard in the form of emails, reports or other respective memos. That works fine with me.

If I ever get a job with the absence of technology, I might starve. :p

Attack of the Clones!

Hide all babies and small dogs.....

P_I_M_P_O_L_O_G_Y 101

It was a funny instance at work that lends itself to the inspiration for this post...A coworker of mine asked me about another coworker's name plate and how someone had written "The Pimp" next to the person's name on the name plate with a dry erase marker. I knew who wrote it on there only because the person who wrote it on there is very close in age to the person who's name plate had "The Pimp" written on it and has a desk near this person as well. The coworker who asked me about this is not very close to the age of the two coworkers involved in the name plate incident. This coworker was very close to being offended by such an act almost to the point of informing upper management and was visibly shaken at the idea of anyone being called a pimp. I told the person that I also wondered who would have wrote such a derogatory thing about someone as I was yawning in my mind and wondering how lame this whole conversation was.

It's just kind of a funny example of generations not being aligned in terms of vernacular and slang that is harmless amongst people within the same generation. One could think of so many words that have changed (in terms of context) over the years and how generations disagree about the use and become offended. I understand the language of academia and business and calling someone “The Pimp” in a professional setting is probably not the best move, but a casual setting is a much different situation in terms of verbiage used amongst those “in the know.”

Where I COULD have been earlier tonight.....

, but lady luck did not whisper in my ear...

As some of you may know, the World Series began earlier tonight. I have a friend who knows somebody who knows somebody who has their hands into many prominent events in the city. Well, my friend calls me this morning to let me know that we could possibly be on the field tonight for the opening act (Bob Seger) since several dozen extras were needed to hold a giant American flag for the aerial shots and related situations during the singing of America the Beautiful. So, at first this situation is sounding like it's a sure thing and I was hyped about the prospect of being out there in front of 50K people in the stadium and millions of TV and Internet users, but then my friend gets a callback that makes it sound as though it's now more of a 50/50 shot because there seemed to be enough people confirmed and we may have not been needed. Anyway, when I heard that it was not a sure thing and I would have rearranged some things I planned to do for today just to go in the first place, I did not want to set myself up for the letdown if the whole thing fell through and we went down there and wasted our time, therefore, I told my friend he should go w/o me if he wanted to test his luck...Well, my friend was on the field and I was watching the game at home....Better luck next time, hopefully.

Just because....

This mechanical tiger in Brugge, Belgium is the wackiest thing that you have seen in your life today...Tell me otherwise and I shall call you a liar! :p

The land of Hugo Chavez produces great beisbol players...

Who said Maggs was overpaid?!

The Venezulano was clutch!

The brooms were out in full force over the weekend..

Well, well, well...The unthinkable has occurred in the world of US sport. My Detroit Tigers swept the mighty not really Oakland Athletics and are on their way to the World Series. Anyone inluding myself who thought this would be the destiny for this team in 2006 is crazy or on some interesting chemical influences. The best I was hoping for was just above 500 for the year. Man, was I wrong, but man, am I super-happy about the team this year. I was nervous when they choked out the end of the season to the Royals and did not secure the Central Division title, but I'll trade that in for a World Series victory appearance any day.

Contrary to popular just El Oso belief, I have been down with the Tigers since the days of Magnum P.I. in the 1980s when I was a wee lad playing T-ball and then to Little League...

The NLCS is tied right now and I am pulling for the Mets to win ONLY because I would love for the Tigers to KO another squad from the NY. That would be excellent.

Dave, it looks as though you should be pulling for the Mets also since they have the most Ricans on their team amongst the active teams at this time. Even though he's not a Boricua, I love to watch Julio Franco play. Man, that guy is a friggin dinosaur at 48years old. Amazing! Of course, if they do play the Tigers, I expect our pitching to remind him that he should have retired long ago. :p

World Series bound after today?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. We have the brooms out and we are ready to destroy the city & make national headlines party it up like it's 1984.....The door is closing fast on those A's.

I respect the A's and like many of their players, but the Tigers look like they belong on that grand stage that is the World Series.

And the winner is....?

Ms. Minogue....

After


Before

In the Zone...

..as in have you ever had one of those days where things just go your way and you have no real explanation for it, but you accept...you embrace it. For those who play or are fans of sport, you understand me when I say that you can actually be "IN THE ZONE" for a period of time in which the opposition can do absolutely NOTHING to stop you. Of course this does not limit itself to the world of sport...let's say you nail a presentation or a major deliverable for a project at work or school. Or you cook something that is just absolutely money and your peoples are impressed by the feat. Or in a budding relationship when you are at that crossroad in which you decide is it time to change directions or move on in a common direction. Get my point? Those days occur to some more than others, but relish those days when they fall in your lap.

Who JUST advanced to the ALCS?

The Detroit Tigers.

Let me say that again....THE D-E-T-R-O-I-T TIGERS!

Who did my squad beat? The Yankees.

Let me say that again.. The freakin' highest payroll in MLB NewYork Yankees.

Many of you can NEVER understand what it is like to have one of your beloved sports teams have a losing season for the past 19yrs and then advance in the playoffs. It is freakin' crazy in the D right now!!!

Man, this is amazing and when you have been no where but bottom feeding in a league for so long, you can do nothing but improve...My boys are hungry and I have a good feeling about the next round.

Restore the ROAR baby!!!

Disgusting product of the day

Is it really such a surprise that so many Americans are unhealthy, obese and pretty much cesspools internally?

I hate certain technologies....

..and the one I would like to mention would be the somewhat recent (last 2yrs) inclusion of hearing music or a comedian or a line from a movie rather than the generic "ring-ring" when you dial someone's cell number...MAN, I HATE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!! I called someone today and had to sit through Steve Harvey trying to be funny...To think, these idiots actually PAY for that option because they are so clever and progressive...Actually, the cell companies thank these idiots for falling prey to the idea of THINKING they need such a moronic "enhancement" for the entire call experience because no one in their right mind should buy a cell phone w/o fully customizing (NOT FREE) it with custom ring tones, ring music as someone waits, wallpapers, etc. because that is SO PERSONAL and you/they would be SO UNIQUE and not unlike anyone else except the thousands of other people who keep making T-Mobile, Cingular, Sprint, etc. rich off of complete BS ad-ons.Serioulsy, if anyone reading this has that stupid music or anything outside of a normal ring, you should find the nearest mirror and slowly mouth the following words in affirmation: "I am a loser. I have misused my disposable income on something that will not help people like me in any way."

Of course, from a business perspective, this makes perfect sense. Give the people what they THINK they need and make money off their stupidity. More power to big business if they create something that generates rev, but consumers should be smarter to cause further improvements in call quality and equipment.....Cell service is such a commodity these days that telecoms need to reinvent themselves since the consumer has several options now, but sheesh, people really believe that they NEED such things to be happy?

Resemblance...?

The pic was taken during shooting of El Cantante. I wonder if Ren was sent a royalty cheque or if there is some sort of hidden track on Marc's next disc. :p

Nude/Naked/Nekked

What's the big deal, you may be asking yourself. I was having a conversation with someone (an XX in genetic terms) recently and this person was describing a dinner engagement at a restaurant that I have been to before, but the person never had. Anyway, there is some wall decor that displays a nude in the female form (MUCH more detailed than the Picasso image I used for this post). This person lowered her voice when describing this to me like this, "...and on the wall above the bar was a naked women.." Her voice deliberately lowered when she said 'naked' and I replied with, "Uh...ok." She said, "Can you believe that?" And I said, "What's the big deal?" It's not like she was in a seedy adult bookstore or some nonsense like that. CONTEXT-CONTEXT-CONTEXT. I don't think her reaction would have been the same had she been walking through the halls of the DIA where there resides numerous nude paintings and sculptures. I'm not sure about what anyone else thinks, but I happen to appreciate the human body and find no problem with a nude painting or statue in a restaurant, city street or obviously an art museum. It's a celebration of the human form. We're not talking Cheetahs TaTa Bar or something like that. I know this is a facet of American culture where there is an aversion to the celebration of the body. I’m not saying I’m for nudist colonies and porn ads on TV, but I am saying that something like a nude body is to be appreciated and seen as homage to such a beautiful creation. I love the way in which the human form is celebrated in Puerto Rico, throughout the Carribean and in many parts of Europe. There is a much more comfortable acceptance.
There certainly is a difference between art and porn and my argument is that art taken out of context (from a museum to a restaurant or a statute on a city street) scares some people because there is just an overall uncomfortable-ness about talking about naked bodies outside of an object of sexual fulfillment and desire. I recommend everyone take a Human Sexuality class and then an Art History class and learn to appreciate the human form and stop being so prudish...

You know what an Earworm is even if you don't......

*For the uninitiated, here is the definition for you. Now you feel my pain because anyone who likes music tends to occasionally get an earworm...*

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! It will not flee from my mind...Currently, ok, the WHOLE day has been nothing but...
"We show stoppin
We show show stoppin
We show stoppin
We show show stoppin
That's how we keep it poppin (hey!)
Make sure the bass knockin (hey!)"

That ridiculous Danity Kane keeps resonating in my brain....Someone please make it stop!!

Don't get it twisted...It certainly is not a guilty pleasure to listen to them. I will keep my guilty pleasure music to myself, but it seems as though the infrequent times in which I actually listen to the FM, that stupid Show Stopper song is on....Diddy, how could you do this to me?!!!

Sloppy 22nds anyone?

Ok, this happens everywhere, but it still troubles me to witness it. A department at work had an early morning celebration of sorts. No big deal. On occasion, things can be festive. That's fine. Nothing like a horrid work environment where everyone just grunts and every second of the day that passes is the longest of your life. Good thing I don't work in a situation like that....Anyway, this particular department had a pretty legit cake. It was large enough for like 30 people. It was a double layer, chocolate mousse cake. Well, as I said before, the celebration was in the morning and after the department did their thing, they left the uneaten portion in the general break room for the frenzy to begin. It usually does not take long for any leftover food to get eaten/taken. Well, this cake sat, sat and sat...Every few hours, I would walk into the break room to see more of the cake gone. To make a long story short, the last piece was devoured just before I left for the day. NINE HOURS this cake was sitting out and what is so great is that in bold letters on the side of the cake box was two bold words that read PLEASE REFRIGERATE. I am not ashamed to accept free goods, but when it comes to unrefrigerated food that has been passed around in another department, I’ll take a pass....I expect a spike in toilet paper consumption in the next several hours.... :p

See what I'm talkin' about......?

Eye see the point....
He's just a Brazilian with a vision...

How....

...does she cover her mouth/nose when she sneezes, shower, take an eyelash out of her eye, scratch her hamstring, roll two yin/yang exercise balls in her hand, give someone the thumbs up, brush her teeth, tie her shoes, get her mail, change a light bulb, eat a piece of pizza.....and thousands of other things the rest of us do.......?

Vengeance is mine sayeth...

...some idiots who feel that they are avenging the death of Steve Irwin by killing sting rays and trying to capitalize by making souvenirs of the poisonous barbs.

What a twisted way of thinking some people engage in to think that something so ridiculous could erase what happened to one of Australia's finest. The guy was a conservationist and now some ocean poachers would like to make a quick dollar or fill their home with reminders of what happened on that day when Irwin was killed. Sheesh...I don't get it.

Must-Have Product of The Day

If the Atari 2600 doesn't hold a special place in your heart, you just cannot say with any true conviction that you are a gamer. You can now take a little bit of that magic with you thanks to these Plug and Play Keychains. Not only do they look exactly like the old Atari joysticks and paddles, but they actually contain games. You can select from Asteroids and Millipede, Centipede and Yar's Revenge, or Pong, Breakout, and Warlords. Just plug in the included pocket-sized cables and enjoy!

Who works on Labor Day?

Me. This pic really does not do the reality of which I created for myself any justice at all. There are 15 lawn/refuse bags in that pic. In a block of several (more than 3, but less than 5) hours, I pulled up all the monster flowers on one side of the house, cleaned up about 90% of the garden and cut the grass 2X since I had to drop the mower one notch to begin getting my lawn ready for the winter.

I hope many of you were able to actually not labor on the US Labor Day.

Just stay home. It's safer for you.

So, earlier in the day, I went to the UofM game and it was a decent day. The Wolverines won. It was an ugly win, but that is a post for another day. My main reason for the post today was in response to several people I saw there...When you are in one place with 109,000 people, you are bound to see something out of the ordinary. Well, I did and what that was was about 6 morbidly obese people climbing up and down the stairs in the BIG HOUSE. I really should just say UP the stairs since they arrived before my boys and I did to our seats right around the middle area of the bowl on one of the end zones. The struggle for these people was just painful to watch. Up 1 stair...rest. Up 1 stair...rest. WHY would anyone put themselves through such a painful experience to then squeeze into a seat in which you are practically on the person's lap as an average sized person tends to be anyway? Why? Why? Why?! Another thing I witnessed was at least 3 elderly people with canes. The obvious pain was in their knees and/or hips. Again...WHY?! You have mobility issues and you subject yourself to an area deep into one of the largest college stadiums in the US and know that you will be paying for it for the rest of the day and even week....Sheesh. Stay home or get to a sports bar and I promise the stress to your heart, vascular system, knees or hips will be lessened. Unbelievable.

This is not a rant against obese or elderly people. It is just an attempt by my simple mind to comprehend why some people select to inflict pain upon themselves for a college football game...

Headset Phone Dork

I'm not sure if anyone reading this post has a bluetooth headset, but if you do, step back and just think about how dumb you look. You are not futuristic. You are not hip. You are not a übercool in any way. Honestly, I can tolerate most technology fads, but I just really think those headsets are the epitome of lame. I see people at my work with them and it just makes me want to throw a paper airplane at them and knock those stupid things off their ear. I understand it can give you an option for hands free whilst driving, but seriously, if you want handsfree, just peep the pic below and roll like that.......

Fantasy Product of the Day

Admit it — you've always pictured yourself sitting behind a huge stainless steel desk laughing maniacally about your threats to "flip the switch" unless $10 billion is delivered to your Swiss bank account in a very short period of time..... Or not. Well, here's the chair I'd be sitting in. The aptly named Villain Chair is an oversized, futuristic exaggeration made of leather, chrome, steel and aluminum — the hallmarks of an evil villain's office chair. What a bargain at $6,800.

Chewbacca as a baby?

There is an uncanny resemblance....

She did it for the Health of it.....

I was in my car shortly after lunch today and glanced in front of me and saw a gangly women walking towards her vehicle in the lot that my work is very near to. Basically, it is just separated by a plot of grass and curb that extends the length of the lot. She opened her vehicle door and proceeded to light up a cig; I'm sure my last post shed some light on how I think smokers are such intelligent people. I also noticed that she had a small plastic bag with what appeared to be a can of some sort within it. She proceeds to smoke like a chimenea and then out from the bag emerges a SLIM FAST. Unbelievable! This science project, female skelator-looking individual was sippin' on some SLIM FAST in one hand and a cig in the other...Sheesh. Some people never cease to amaze me. I suppose the cig allowed for more of a suppression of her appetite and the SLIM FAST allowed expression of more "gangly-ness" for whatever reason...Interesting. And, by interesting, I mean this women seemed to be not too concerned with health in any form.....

Cancer Alley at Comerica Park

L and I went to the Tigers vs Rangers game yesterday afternoon. M stayed with the in-laws and all was good and well. L has not been out of the house for more than a few minutes for the last month. The day was nice. We had nose bleed seats, but at least I can now say that I have been to the uppermost row in the Palace and Comerica Park...Ford Field is next...There really is not a bad seat in either place, but for $10 tickets, you cannot expect to see the perspiration on the players. It was a work outing and there was good company so the complaints are super-minimal.

The one thing we did complain about was after the game. We decided to take a different way out of the stadium just for shats & giggles. It is basically a series of cement ramps that many of the vendors would push up and down carts of food or other things. Many people took that way down towards the end of the game as we did. Anyway, we get down to ground level and there were like 80 people smoking various cancer sticks and watching several monitors of the game still in progress. This way out of the stadium is basically outdoors, but the GREAT WALL of CARCINOGEN almost knocked L and I out. Sheesh man! Since we were kind of at a standstill for a few minutes, our lungs had no choice but to breathe that crap in for a few seconds since much of the time was just holding our breath. We kept just looking at all the nicotine fiends and just shaking our heads as they just shortened their lives with each inhale. At one point, I said louder than a whisper, "What is this? Cancer Alley or something." To which, I received a few dirty looks and just shook my head and kept walking out of there. It's nice to know that a portion of my paycheck will be going to the care of many of these smokers in the future as they rot in a hospital bed... Smoking stinks!

Just because...

I will probably have nightmares tonight...

This is not your father's Segway

Here you have the new all-terrain version of the ultra-geeky, two-wheeled machine. The x2 features cross-terrain tires, a wider track and higher ground clearance. It's equipped with protective fenders with built-in lift handles. The x2 has a top speed of 12.5 mph and can travel up to 12 miles on a single charge of its lithium-ion batteries.

This can all be yours in Sept. for $5,500; a bit too steep for me, but Christmas is not too far away if anyone would like to know something to buy me. :p