Ouch!!!

I hope everyone had a much better weekend than Fernando Vargas did.....I think several ice packs will be in order for the next several weeks...

Stupid product of the day

Today's moronic product can be yours for a low $9.95. Useful for anyone with fused wrists and/or fingers that lack the dexterity or motivation to turn an ice cream cone in their hand. Also, for any carb nazi who wants to avoid a real cone...Sheesh, what will be thought of next? Hip hip hooray for the motorized cream cone. :p

I will kick (verbally, at least) if provoked...

Once again, I think one of main reasons for being put on this earth was to observe people in their native state of mind and manifesting their inner soul into external foolishness...Really. It's true...It's true....Exhibit A: I went to a local grocery store to get a few things and Libera was at home, therefore, I planned a very systematic trip in which I was armed with a list of a few items (it happened to be a pretty good sale)we needed and some that were priced too good to pass up at the time. Anyway, I get most of the items and make my way to the checkout....Low and behold, there is ONE cash register open...ONE!! On a Saturday morning and there are like 6 people in front of me...Sheesh, plan B kicks in and I jettison over to the U-SCAN (aka, self-check out stations) and although I had 1-2 more items than the maximum, I took the risk of being reprimanded and made my way there...So, the first item (Dole juice) rings up as $3.99 (it should have been $1.99) and I tell the girl watching me that it did not ring up the sale price...That was the first switch I flipped on her and she just flips out talking aloud about how the "system is messed up again and it was the same way during the super bowl weekend" this chick then grabs a fellow co-worker and proceeds to spin a web of misery around him and tell him to tell the manager that she was "quitting for sure this time" and the guy just stood there and listened to this poor soul. I scan item number two (Barilla Pasta) and it rings up at $1.99 and should have been .99cents. I proceed to inform her of this same issue and the second switch is flipped and she performs the same moronic rant. I was VERY VERY annoyed, but realized that it was not her job to key the sale prices into the system. She was stuck in the middle and she just hated her job. I got my revenge on this situation by checking my receipt for the store manager's name and called him later in the day to explain that I did not appreciate hearing her rant and told him that his store was not represented in a good way and several customers heard this and told him that I was not concerned about the system not being updated with the sale prices, but I would not sit idly by again if I heard a store employee rant out loud like this chick. He knew who the person was since he was able to describe her to me without me describing her to him. I hope she had a nice conversation with this guy.

The second situation I must describe happened within 10min of the previous one. I was leaving the grocery store and needed to get some petrol. I stopped by a nearby station and proceeded to pay at the pump. The digital display was not functioning at all, therefore, I was not able to tell what I was agreeing to or if it was asking me to pay inside or if I needed a carwash, etc. I am sure you know that not every gas station has the same method or displayed message at the pump if you decide to pay that pump. Anyway, this annoys me, but I would rather walk inside and clarify then move my car to another pump. I tell the girl behind the counter (she was on her cell phone and acted like I was not even asking her a question). I said, "Excuse me, but the display at the pump is not working." She says, "You can still pump and don't need the display to pay." I said, "It might help if you posted a sign out there telling people to pay inside since the display is not working." She tells me, "You can pump without needed the display." I said, "Oh, ok. Thank you." I gave her the benefit of the doubt since I could see what the amount of gas/money was going into the tank. Fine.....I thought. I pump the gas and then I hear that dreadful sound of a receipt printing, but nothing comes out. Another trip inside finds this store clerk still on her phone and I am really annoyed. I said, "Seriously, you should post a sign out there because now it is not even printing receipts and I just wasted 2 trips coming in here. If there was a sign, I would have known and not expected to pay at the pump." She says, "They're tearing this place down at the end of the month." I said, "Uh, ok. What does that have to do with posting a sign out there today?" She just looks at me with this empty stare. I said, "Well, I guess you just don't care since you hate your job." Again, she just looks at me as if I must be speaking to her in some other tongue. I turned around and just left after grabbing my receipt from her. I did not bother to call her boss since I figured that anyone who works at a gas station (who is not the owner or family of the owner) is already punished....

Sneaks help......Sneak SalesPeople don't!

Yesterday, I decided to hit up a local sporting goods store to check out some new sneakers. As has been mentioned in this blog in the past, I recently (just over a year) added running to my fitness routine on a more consistent level and the treadmill has made this more feasible throughout the winter months. Anyway, I get to this place and I approach the WALL-O-SHOES...I am, by no means, intimidated by fitness gear, but since I am a novice to the sport of running, I would prefer to avoid any pitfalls with inappropriate gear selection and certainly not spend more than I have to to get the desired results. Of course, I did my research before walking into the place..

So, I am walking around picking up various sneakers and checking out the Made in China craftsmanship and sickened by the prospect of overpaying for something that was most likely made for $10...I press on...I checked out Nike, Asics, New Balance, RBK and ended up going for some Adidas that were on Clearance from $90 to $60. I figured it was a good buy and the toolbox who worked there really did not add too much value to my shopping experience since he stood by on the sideline thinking about which shoes were ok after I explained I wanted to spent under $80, but did not really want to sacrifice support....Seriously, the sneak sales guy was as useless as teets on a frog....The pic in this post shoes the new pair (on the left) and the retired nike that I purchased at a nike outlet for about $30, but they did not really last long. It's like a 2year old shoe with heavy use the last year due to my advanced running, but sheesh, I only run like 20miles a week...I think I might go with some Asics next since the reviews I have read on that brand tend to be good. Either way, I ran with the Adidas today and they felt good. Let's hope that keeps on...My shins will be forever grateful...

Microsoft needs a new design team...

IE7 is on the horizon, but what M$ plans to put out to the public is a noisy toolbar that really looks like junk...Sheesh...Safari is so much more superior and less noisy.

Well, I supose that users can hope for themes or whatever M$ will decide to call "the-ability-to-mask-your-default-browser" since the default they came up with is really ugly.

Either way, Gill Bates smiles.....

Some people are the KING of running their mouths...

Oh brother...It's the classic situation of machismo gone wrong...This clown I know (not a friend..I know the guy) recently got punched in the eye. He has a black eye. He received this nice treasure over SuperBowl weekend (last weekend) and was telling so many stories of how it happened. He said he got into a car accident, got it while playing hockey, got it at the Maxim Party.....Please. As the previous mention of NameDropping had me seething….this guy was no where near the MaximParty unless he was dumpster diving looking for some chewed up gum from Jessica Alba. Why try to deny?! He was at a seedy bar and drunk and tried to step to some dude's female and he got busted up. Of course he claims that he dotted the other guy as well....Sure he did. Why do so many people deny reality to make themselves feel better? Idiots.

I am positive everyone knows of people who try to pull this crap....

Pedro Reloaded

The reviews are not so hot for Nacho Libre, but the promo media is right on.....

I'm also not the biggest Jack Black fan in the world, but I can tolerate him...

I normally don't care about reviews, but I'm also not 100% sold on this film either...

Lady Luck kissed me...

And it goes a little something like this....Earlier this week, I made some time to drive to a car dealership near our house. My reason was pure selfishness. Well, not really. It was in response to a postcard that I was sent to test drive a new car and they would give me a $50 gift card. I have participated in situations like this before and believe me, they are NOT as simple to get the desired "reward" as advertised. Each car company usually has a different process (number of hoops to jump through) for getting the reward for wasting your time trying to persuade you to buy a car. Either way, I have yet to actually test drive the specific car because, frankly, I don't care to do so. If I was in the market for a ride, then that would be a different story, but to test drive just to test drive? Please.....spare me the theatrics. Anyway, as I said, I have yet to actually test drive a vehicle in the context of getting a postcard mailed to my home with some form of reward attached to it. Examples of past rewards have been Kelty Backpacks and Tees. This time I was on a quest for that $50 gift card. I went into the dealer showroom with my game face on and the sharks (sales clowns) smelt that drop of blood and were ready for a frenzy. It was as if I was the first customer in several hours. Anyway, this guy walks up to me and asks if I was looking for someone in particular. I said, "No, but I did receive this postcard in the mail." The guy acted like he had no idea what it was and read it to himself 2X and then went to check with his manager who was within ear shot of me and I could hear him saying to call blablabla and check on it. Long story short....I waited about 5min walking around the showroom checking out the ridiculous overly priced autos and the guy came back to me and said, "We could not find anything on the $50 gift card, but I have a substitute card you might be interested in." I was thinking he might try to pull a fast one and come at me with some BS story or lame option. He says, "It's from another car and this one is a $100 gift card." In my mind I was still playing it cool and said to him, "Are you sure? Do I need to send anything in?" He says, "Naw, we're all set. Have a great day." I shook his hand and was on my way sans obligatory test drive... It was the fastest Benjamin I have ever "earned." LOL! Anyway, I suppose the true test of their good will towards me will be if I don't get denied at the store when I try to use that thing.....

I loathe Name Droppers

I'm sure we all know that moronic someone who likes to Name Drop. You know....that fool who says they know "so and so" and "him (celebrity, of course)" and "her" when it turns out to not be true. The person has been exposed so many times it just turns into another episode of GroundHog Day when they run their mouth about the same tired situation.
As all of you should know, Super Bowl XL is in the D and man, the hype machine is in full effect. They have really dressed this pig real nice....put some nice lipstick on the pig....a beautiful dress on the pig.....it's still a pig, but at least the negatives are on hold up to this point.....so far, so good....Big Kwame (the mayor) is holding his breath for a few more days....Anyway, as with every SuperBowl, there are mad celebs in the D and in surrounding burbs.....As the underlying theme of this post would suggest, I will unleash my verbal furry on that moron that is the NameDropper....I, of course, am not one of these people. I feel sorry for those people. I must admit that I do know many people in various areas of industry and some that are connected to marketing of some type for locations in the D and throughout SE MI for the SuperBowl, but I am not so connected that I will be going to the game and that's fine with me. I said I know them....these people are not my friends, but it would be safe to say we are acquaintances.....My real friends can be counted on ONE (maybe two) hands....It's not that I don't trust people...it's just that I don't trust people and that's a convo for another post....Anyway, back on topic...so, I know this clown who has been NameDropping ever since I met him (2-3yrs ago) and it is AMAZING what this guy comes up with...He consistently has stories about celebs he's hanging with...I got "bla-bla-bla's" blackberry digits, "this celeb's" cell number "that model's" email address...WHAT_E-V-E-R Fool!!! Man, calm it down because you're nothing but proletariat like me...Sheesh. He acts as though I should be impressed and anyone within earshot of his banter should ask further questions about this crap. The only way this guy could really prove he knew who he said he knew is if I never saw him again because he would be in NYC or Hollywood with the movers and shakers...Until then, he still pays rent and drives a used car, but he knows Diddy, he knows Jessica Alba, he knows Suge Knight, he knows several NFL and NBA players..........Sure thing idiot. Keep NameDropping and someone will believe you one day, but not today.....