Improv Everywhere causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places and that's all I'm going to say about it. Just watch the videos below...
Every boys dream...
Poking fun at "The Man"...
Mesmerizing...
Improv Everywhere performers are unpaid, uncorporated, and unwashed volunteers. I'm a member and you can be one too! Sign up and join a local chapter today!
Click here: Improv Everywhere
Verdict? Improv Everywhere Rocks!
This Is What They Give Me!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Charity Begins at Home
A local news station recently featured the St. Vincent de Paul thrift stores in our town. The spokesman for "St. Vinny" said that because of the sluggish economy, donations were less than usual and that contributions of household goods like would be greatly appreciated. This call-to-arms led me to a day of closet/basement rummaging where unworn clothes were washed, unused items were located and dust bunnies were dusted. "Hot Damn!"--altruism and spring cleaning in one karmic bundle!
So I make the call to the donations office and a very nice lady asks me what kind of items I would like to donate. I rattle off the list--bed frame, new speaker stands, clothes, vacuum cleaner, computer monitor etc. She then tells me that all these items were acceptable and asks if a Wednesday pick-up would be good for me. I said it was and asked for a time. "Well we can't give you a time", the nice lady tells me. "If you can't be there then leave the items in your driveway or porch before 8:30am and they'll pick it up between then and 5pm". Hmmm, so I have to go "redneck" for a day and leave all the stuff in my driveway even with this April showers thing going on. But it's for charity, right?
So I agree to have it picked up and spend a good chunk of time Tuesday night hauling the items up from the basement and covering everything in plastic for the next days pickup. I'm then in and out of the house Wednesday and notice that the items are still there and I start to become a little anxious considering we are supposed to receive an inch of rain the next day. At 3:30 I call the nice lady and she assures me that the items will be picked up by 5pm and not to worry. Well, it gets to be 4:45 and I start to worry. I decide to call the nice lady again but I get an automated recording that says that their office closes at 5pm and won't I please call some other time? Ahhh! The nice lady cut-out of the office early!
The time is now 5:20 and I call again only this time I leave a message basically asking what's going on with my pickup and should I leave it out again tomorrow even though the April shower thing will be in full swing. As soon as I hang up the phone the truck pulls into the driveway. Hurray! Relieved that I won't have to blog St. Vincent, I start to get that altruistic glow all over again...
But what's this? The driver pulls away and leaves most of the stuff in the driveway!!! He takes the clothes and the vacuum but leaves all the other items! I then start to over think the situation. Maybe his truck is full and he has to come back? Did he not the think the other items were for pickup? I leave the nice lady another message asking why the man left me with all the stuff that I am trying to get rid of and do NOT want to haul into the basement again. Oh, the horror...
While I'm scratching my head trying to figure out what to do with this stuff I notice some papers sticking out of our mailbox. One of the papers was a rejection letter that the driver filled out. There were several boxes on the form that he COULD have checked (unrepairable items, needs cleaning, weather damaged, etc..) but he checks-off the "Items Not in Demand" box. But attached to this paper is a donor/tax deduction receipt that the nice lady printed off which lists, "4 bags of misc, 1 bed frame and two-speaker stands" as my donated items. WTF? They originally tell me that they need these items but now they say they don't!
So I guess that the driver felt that people do not need a bed frame to sleep on, a stand to put their speakers on, a computer monitor to see what they're typing or a printer to print what they've typed. Either that or it was the end of the day and the driver felt that the light weight items were more in demand than the heavy ones. No demand for the bed frame, huh? I guess that's why I CARRIED that thing for a half mile to my house when I found it so that my mattress wouldn't be on the floor. And don't they use those twin-bed frames at their homeless shelters for people to sleep on? No one could use a 20" computer monitor, right? I guess that's why I bought a monitor similar to it from St. Vincent when I first moved to town. Yet when I was in St. Vincent this past weekend I saw the same jig-saw puzzles, porcelain figurines and tea sets that have been sitting on the shelves for the past three years. But then again knick knacks are a little easier to load onto a truck...
So the gist of the story is that even a charitable institution/business is more than capable of not following through on a deal. Even though they depend on people like me for free merchandise they have no problem with sifting through the donation and leaving the rest of it in your driveway even after they agree to collect it. I try to give to them and this is what they give me!
By the way, if you are the type of person who likes to have your mattress on a frame or your speakers on a stand then please email me for my address. It's all still sitting in my driveway...
So I make the call to the donations office and a very nice lady asks me what kind of items I would like to donate. I rattle off the list--bed frame, new speaker stands, clothes, vacuum cleaner, computer monitor etc. She then tells me that all these items were acceptable and asks if a Wednesday pick-up would be good for me. I said it was and asked for a time. "Well we can't give you a time", the nice lady tells me. "If you can't be there then leave the items in your driveway or porch before 8:30am and they'll pick it up between then and 5pm". Hmmm, so I have to go "redneck" for a day and leave all the stuff in my driveway even with this April showers thing going on. But it's for charity, right?
So I agree to have it picked up and spend a good chunk of time Tuesday night hauling the items up from the basement and covering everything in plastic for the next days pickup. I'm then in and out of the house Wednesday and notice that the items are still there and I start to become a little anxious considering we are supposed to receive an inch of rain the next day. At 3:30 I call the nice lady and she assures me that the items will be picked up by 5pm and not to worry. Well, it gets to be 4:45 and I start to worry. I decide to call the nice lady again but I get an automated recording that says that their office closes at 5pm and won't I please call some other time? Ahhh! The nice lady cut-out of the office early!
The time is now 5:20 and I call again only this time I leave a message basically asking what's going on with my pickup and should I leave it out again tomorrow even though the April shower thing will be in full swing. As soon as I hang up the phone the truck pulls into the driveway. Hurray! Relieved that I won't have to blog St. Vincent, I start to get that altruistic glow all over again...
But what's this? The driver pulls away and leaves most of the stuff in the driveway!!! He takes the clothes and the vacuum but leaves all the other items! I then start to over think the situation. Maybe his truck is full and he has to come back? Did he not the think the other items were for pickup? I leave the nice lady another message asking why the man left me with all the stuff that I am trying to get rid of and do NOT want to haul into the basement again. Oh, the horror...
While I'm scratching my head trying to figure out what to do with this stuff I notice some papers sticking out of our mailbox. One of the papers was a rejection letter that the driver filled out. There were several boxes on the form that he COULD have checked (unrepairable items, needs cleaning, weather damaged, etc..) but he checks-off the "Items Not in Demand" box. But attached to this paper is a donor/tax deduction receipt that the nice lady printed off which lists, "4 bags of misc, 1 bed frame and two-speaker stands" as my donated items. WTF? They originally tell me that they need these items but now they say they don't!
So I guess that the driver felt that people do not need a bed frame to sleep on, a stand to put their speakers on, a computer monitor to see what they're typing or a printer to print what they've typed. Either that or it was the end of the day and the driver felt that the light weight items were more in demand than the heavy ones. No demand for the bed frame, huh? I guess that's why I CARRIED that thing for a half mile to my house when I found it so that my mattress wouldn't be on the floor. And don't they use those twin-bed frames at their homeless shelters for people to sleep on? No one could use a 20" computer monitor, right? I guess that's why I bought a monitor similar to it from St. Vincent when I first moved to town. Yet when I was in St. Vincent this past weekend I saw the same jig-saw puzzles, porcelain figurines and tea sets that have been sitting on the shelves for the past three years. But then again knick knacks are a little easier to load onto a truck...
So the gist of the story is that even a charitable institution/business is more than capable of not following through on a deal. Even though they depend on people like me for free merchandise they have no problem with sifting through the donation and leaving the rest of it in your driveway even after they agree to collect it. I try to give to them and this is what they give me!
By the way, if you are the type of person who likes to have your mattress on a frame or your speakers on a stand then please email me for my address. It's all still sitting in my driveway...
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Hope of Nader
Ralph Nader has tossed his hat in the Presidential arena for a third time. Some say that this is for the good and some say it's for the bad. A "Spoiler" some call him. Some incorrectly say that a vote for Nader is a wasted vote (a truly wasted vote is a vote that wasn't cast) as he has no hope of being elected president...
No hope? On the contrary, Ralph Nader's entire life has been fueled by hope and hope is what drives his campaign. It was hope for a better America that drove him to fight for legislation that has made our lives livable. He was instrumental in implementing the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Whistleblower Protection Act, Mine Health and Safety Act, Consumer Product Safety Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and dozens of other essential laws that impact our daily lives. He has started or helped start over fifty organizations that provide hope for Americans such as Congress Watch, Clean Water Action Project and Freedom of Information Clearinghouse. The man's hope has provided us essential laws that allow us freedom and safety and yet he has never been elected to a governmental position.
He hopes that people recognize all his accomplishments. He also hopes that voters recognize that he actually practices what he preaches. He doesn't own a car because he feels it would be hypocritical since he's taken on auto companies and big oil. He buys his off-the-rack suits for $90 because he has preached for both individual and governmental fiscal responsibility. He hopes that voters will recognize that he has been the candidate for real change long before Obama wrote, "The Audacity of Hope". He hopes that although he has never been elected in a government election, that people will recognize that he has more legislative and political experience then the ex-first lady/carpet-bagger senator offered in Clinton. He also hopes that people will remember that a position challenging wars can be just as patriotic as supporting wars. Unlike McCain who has based his whole campaign on his personal war achievements and current support of the Iraq war.
So, what if the planets align and people decide not to vote for the lesser of two-evils and actually vote their convictions? Let's say that a shocked congress that is afraid of losing their own jobs to an independent get behind President Nader. His vision, his hope is now being parlayed into Presidential action. What would it look like? Well, we now have the secured borders that we hoped for and NAFTA has been revised to be fair to all three countries not just two. Corporations that ship jobs overseas no longer receive goverment tax breaks and grants. Our economy is flourishing as we now operate under a philosophy of "Fair Trade" and not a "Free Trade".
We are now the leader in environmental technology which has created thousands of high-paying tech jobs while drastically curbing our CO2 emissions. With the implementation of "Universal Health Care" all Americans have health care and the burden is now lifted off of U.S. corporations, allowing them to become more competitive in foreign trade. The nation's collective psyche is less strained now as it watches it's soldiers permanently returning from the Iraq war. We now no longer have troops in Iraq, Bosnia and...ah, fuck it. Maybe it IS too much to hope for...
No hope? On the contrary, Ralph Nader's entire life has been fueled by hope and hope is what drives his campaign. It was hope for a better America that drove him to fight for legislation that has made our lives livable. He was instrumental in implementing the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Whistleblower Protection Act, Mine Health and Safety Act, Consumer Product Safety Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and dozens of other essential laws that impact our daily lives. He has started or helped start over fifty organizations that provide hope for Americans such as Congress Watch, Clean Water Action Project and Freedom of Information Clearinghouse. The man's hope has provided us essential laws that allow us freedom and safety and yet he has never been elected to a governmental position.
He hopes that people recognize all his accomplishments. He also hopes that voters recognize that he actually practices what he preaches. He doesn't own a car because he feels it would be hypocritical since he's taken on auto companies and big oil. He buys his off-the-rack suits for $90 because he has preached for both individual and governmental fiscal responsibility. He hopes that voters will recognize that he has been the candidate for real change long before Obama wrote, "The Audacity of Hope". He hopes that although he has never been elected in a government election, that people will recognize that he has more legislative and political experience then the ex-first lady/carpet-bagger senator offered in Clinton. He also hopes that people will remember that a position challenging wars can be just as patriotic as supporting wars. Unlike McCain who has based his whole campaign on his personal war achievements and current support of the Iraq war.
So, what if the planets align and people decide not to vote for the lesser of two-evils and actually vote their convictions? Let's say that a shocked congress that is afraid of losing their own jobs to an independent get behind President Nader. His vision, his hope is now being parlayed into Presidential action. What would it look like? Well, we now have the secured borders that we hoped for and NAFTA has been revised to be fair to all three countries not just two. Corporations that ship jobs overseas no longer receive goverment tax breaks and grants. Our economy is flourishing as we now operate under a philosophy of "Fair Trade" and not a "Free Trade".
We are now the leader in environmental technology which has created thousands of high-paying tech jobs while drastically curbing our CO2 emissions. With the implementation of "Universal Health Care" all Americans have health care and the burden is now lifted off of U.S. corporations, allowing them to become more competitive in foreign trade. The nation's collective psyche is less strained now as it watches it's soldiers permanently returning from the Iraq war. We now no longer have troops in Iraq, Bosnia and...ah, fuck it. Maybe it IS too much to hope for...
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
At Last! last.fm!
Boy, I sure like music. Do you like music? Wow, really?--then hold my hand and let me take you on an e-ticket ride! The name of the ride is www.last.fm where we can gorge ourselves on tons of free music!
In all seriousness, last.fm is a great place to be. Just enter a band, album or song in the search bar and you'll see a list of possible matches. Make a selection and then you'll be directed to the bands page with a list of songs. Just press the link and you've got yourself the tune! It's that easy. Most songs are the full length and only a few are the 30 second demos. There are also links to vendors if you wish to purchase the cd.
Best of all, you don't have to download any goofy software to be able to listen. You don't even have to enable 'cookies'. What's also nice is that they list bands that are in the same genre as the one you have selected. My musical tastes are all over the map and I have found every band that I did a search on. Another good sight for exploring new music is Pandora.com which will play music streams based on your musical tastes/preferences.
So set aside a few hours, keep your hands inside the car at all times and take last.fm for a ride!
Verdict? last.fm rocks!
In all seriousness, last.fm is a great place to be. Just enter a band, album or song in the search bar and you'll see a list of possible matches. Make a selection and then you'll be directed to the bands page with a list of songs. Just press the link and you've got yourself the tune! It's that easy. Most songs are the full length and only a few are the 30 second demos. There are also links to vendors if you wish to purchase the cd.
Best of all, you don't have to download any goofy software to be able to listen. You don't even have to enable 'cookies'. What's also nice is that they list bands that are in the same genre as the one you have selected. My musical tastes are all over the map and I have found every band that I did a search on. Another good sight for exploring new music is Pandora.com which will play music streams based on your musical tastes/preferences.
So set aside a few hours, keep your hands inside the car at all times and take last.fm for a ride!
Verdict? last.fm rocks!
Friday, February 1, 2008
The Life Span of a Logitech Z-5500 Speaker System...
When it worked, my Logitech Z-5500 speaker system provided me with great joy. BLISS! if you will. I had it piped into my computer and when I played music I would hear notes, octaves, trebles and crescendos that I never knew existed! When playing war games like "Medal of Honor", the mortar explosions and rifle shots were so life-like and powerful that I would have ARMY basic-training flashbacks. But now my audio beloved seems to be nearing the end of her two-year life cycle and now my world has become much colder. And much darker...
TWO YEARS?!? Give me a fucking break! Of course the sub-woofer has to blow after 26 months----2 months after the warranty expired. Dammit! The worst part is I don't know what exactly is wrong with the system. The Woofer? The Amp? The System Control Panel? And after researching this little problem it seems that I'm not alone. The sub-woofer seems to be the Achilles Heel of this otherwise work of art. Dammit! I got a GREAT deal on mine but normally this thing goes for around $300 new. Could I at least get 4 years out of it? I look on Craig's List and see Yamaha and Bose speakers for sale that are over 30 years old!
By the way, if you have ANY suggestions regarding this problem please feel free to chime in as any and all help would be appreciated. I'm on the Logitech forum as well:
Logitech Forum
Verdict? Logitech sucks!
DAMMIT!
TWO YEARS?!? Give me a fucking break! Of course the sub-woofer has to blow after 26 months----2 months after the warranty expired. Dammit! The worst part is I don't know what exactly is wrong with the system. The Woofer? The Amp? The System Control Panel? And after researching this little problem it seems that I'm not alone. The sub-woofer seems to be the Achilles Heel of this otherwise work of art. Dammit! I got a GREAT deal on mine but normally this thing goes for around $300 new. Could I at least get 4 years out of it? I look on Craig's List and see Yamaha and Bose speakers for sale that are over 30 years old!
By the way, if you have ANY suggestions regarding this problem please feel free to chime in as any and all help would be appreciated. I'm on the Logitech forum as well:
Logitech Forum
Verdict? Logitech sucks!
DAMMIT!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Panera revisited...
This is in reference to my "Panera's Frozen Goodness" post from 1-9-2008(see below).
The quote from Panera's home page simply states,"Enjoy bread baked from fresh dough every morning". When I first read this I took it as implying that you should be enjoying their bread which is baked from fresh dough every morning. Which of course, as I stated, is rather hard to do when the dough is made in a centralized location, shipped by truck to the store, kept in a cooler until it is then baked that night.
But now I see their loophole. The statement, "Enjoy bread baked from fresh dough every morning" can also be taken another way. That you should be enjoying their baked bread every morning. In other words, you should be purchasing and eating their bread every morning. Ahhhh, now I get it!
Nice doublespeak there, Mother Bread, you got me on that one.
You can check it out for yourself at this link: Panera and watch the animation which tells you to enjoy their bread.
Verdict? Panera sucks!
The quote from Panera's home page simply states,"Enjoy bread baked from fresh dough every morning". When I first read this I took it as implying that you should be enjoying their bread which is baked from fresh dough every morning. Which of course, as I stated, is rather hard to do when the dough is made in a centralized location, shipped by truck to the store, kept in a cooler until it is then baked that night.
But now I see their loophole. The statement, "Enjoy bread baked from fresh dough every morning" can also be taken another way. That you should be enjoying their baked bread every morning. In other words, you should be purchasing and eating their bread every morning. Ahhhh, now I get it!
Nice doublespeak there, Mother Bread, you got me on that one.
You can check it out for yourself at this link: Panera and watch the animation which tells you to enjoy their bread.
Verdict? Panera sucks!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Panera's Frozen Goodness!
Ever see those BIG Panera trucks that roll down the highway? Guess what's in them? Your bread, that's what. If you look on there web site they have a photo of their bread loaf with a caption reading, "Enjoy bread baked from fresh dough every morning". What they don't tell you is that the dough was made in a centralized location then shipped to local stores in semi-trucks where it is THEN baked. The dough arrives during the day then baked at night and then sold to you the next day.
But what about those yummy cookies and cinnamon rolls? The dough for their pastries is shipped frozen before it is topped with glazing, nuts or whatever and then baked.
Verdict? Panera sucks!
But what about those yummy cookies and cinnamon rolls? The dough for their pastries is shipped frozen before it is topped with glazing, nuts or whatever and then baked.
Verdict? Panera sucks!
Saturday, November 24, 2007
The Home Depot
This was only a mild irritation of a shopping experience but it's the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back and got this whole blog thing going. I needed one door stopper for our front door and I'm at the Home Depot anyways so I figure I'll pick one up. I look at the wall of stoppers and see a white, plastic stopper that would match the drywall that the door knob is denting. So I look in the corresponding box on the shelf and find that it's empty. I ask an ever-present sales associate if they have anymore somewhere in back.
"No" says The Man,"we only have what's up front. But maybe some have gotten mixed up in the brass stoppers." So he digs in the box of brass stoppers and eureka! there's one at the bottom of the box. I said I'll take it.
"Sorry" says The Man, "but it's not in the package and there is two in a package. We wouldn't be able to ring it up without the code on the package." I then explain that I really only need one and the other would just be hanging around. He then jokingly asks if I only have one door. I tell him no, I have more then one door, but only have a problem with one of them and besides the brass stoppers are too tacky.
I then have a brainstorm. "Can't you just ring it up under 'miscellaneous sale'? "No", says the man, we can't do that" and takes the lone stopper and walks down the isle with it in his hand.
What gives? I am a consumer who wants to buy an item that a store stocks but said store can't sell it to me because it doesn't know how. So what do they do with it now? Throw it out? Why would I have to buy 2 anyways and why do you have to sell it in some environmentally-unfriendly plastic bag?
The next day I bought one door stopper at True Value although it didn't come in a fun plastic bag.
Verdict? The Home Depot Sucks!
"No" says The Man,"we only have what's up front. But maybe some have gotten mixed up in the brass stoppers." So he digs in the box of brass stoppers and eureka! there's one at the bottom of the box. I said I'll take it.
"Sorry" says The Man, "but it's not in the package and there is two in a package. We wouldn't be able to ring it up without the code on the package." I then explain that I really only need one and the other would just be hanging around. He then jokingly asks if I only have one door. I tell him no, I have more then one door, but only have a problem with one of them and besides the brass stoppers are too tacky.
I then have a brainstorm. "Can't you just ring it up under 'miscellaneous sale'? "No", says the man, we can't do that" and takes the lone stopper and walks down the isle with it in his hand.
What gives? I am a consumer who wants to buy an item that a store stocks but said store can't sell it to me because it doesn't know how. So what do they do with it now? Throw it out? Why would I have to buy 2 anyways and why do you have to sell it in some environmentally-unfriendly plastic bag?
The next day I bought one door stopper at True Value although it didn't come in a fun plastic bag.
Verdict? The Home Depot Sucks!
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