all i can say is, with a 2-0 game lead, the 'Sox ought to win this one. and im glad. id be just as glad if it were the other way around, as long as the best record in baseball's regular season doesnt mean squat in the post season. while we'd all like to know that the best team in each league is going at it... that doesnt always translate into an ordinal grouping by win/loss columns. on paper, in run production especially... st louis is a stronger team to favor. but. the nl central was pretty weak this year. where as the al east is pretty well contended every year. besides, how many times did the cardinals play the yankees??? yeah.. with the richest payroll in the game, they are a team that year in and year out buys out talent from everyone else.. not to win.. but to keep others from winning, making them win. and the Sox out lasted that. its a great story. one id like to see the Red Sox give a happy ending too. oh. and i do hate the cardinals.
other random thoughts.
i wish people held real jobs, all the college friends of mine have no idea what a real job is like... to work it while putting yourself through school. cafeteria isnt a real job. uni library isnt real job. try going out in the real job market, getting a job, being responsible for a company's assets.. and prove to them you can convert that into a profit. its much more difficult than people realize, then trying to just change a shirt and sit in a chair, and feel completely motivated in both worlds, once back in the classroom is not so simple. as much as i loathe the work environment im in, i detest the principles of the modern college teaching approach in america more. but ive done well, ive missed 2 classes all semester... both on account of work and not being able to leave, not that i didnt want to go. both times homework was done, in my bag; just i never got to leave on time to get to class ----- people younger than me should shut their mouths, and take some ques from someone who has been around the block about these things. ---- cars with tire gashes big enough to stick your palm in, should be leaking air... but curiously... arent. ----- sometimes i miss being a kid at home, especially when the weather changes. ive always felt much more comfortable at home, in a warm house, with my parents around, than here in the cold apartment by myself. i guess it was the simple things i took for granted growing up ----- the price of gasoline is rediculous. its gone up about 20 cents in two weeks. its still cheaper than what it is in 90% of the world... and yes, even soda is still a bit cheaper in this country; per gallon, than gasoline; yet that doesnt at all make it right for a 15% hike in two weeks time. also add in that oil production went UP at the last cartel/opec meeting. ----- election season has grown old on me. ive tired of the radio ads, print ads, web ads, spam ads, phone spam ads, etc. really... is any amout of advertisement really going to change people's minds about voting bush or kerry at this point. i remember reading some study in an intro class long, long ago about how early on people actually make their decision in elections. kinda wonder how true that really is, or how pointless all this advertising really is. ----- i cant remember the last time i wore tennis shoes. i saw my pair in the bedroom today, and they have dust on them. DUST. ----- my blog now has 206 posts. crazy. i remember the night i made the first post. and its turned into this long, turning ramble of a thread. ----- never stick your finger between a safe door and its frame. when the safe weighs like 600 pounds.. the door prolly weights 60... a finger bone isnt all that much to stop it when you get it wedged like a door stop between the two. yes it fucking hurts. yes, i have a crease in my finger from it ----- frozen windows suck asss. scraping windows is something ill never miss about winter.. or driving like Ace Ventura when you finally say, fuckit and give up scraping. ----- i thought pimpels went away after like 14. i feel like such a retard with this one on my shoulder that i found in the shower today. ----- why make scented toilet paper? i mean, its not going to make a difference in the ambient smell; and why change the scent of shit.... unless you plan on doing something with said beautified shit.... then thats really messed up too. ----- 3 cheers for the lady having her baby at work. henry james was 8 some odd pounds. hes a little bugger. always gets me how small the fingernails are on newborns. like the size of a pin head. incredible. also like kids who have hair when they are born. equally perplexing is why it falls out in a month ----- 12 cans of beer scarcely lasted me 3 days. i dont remember drinking it all. ----- why is it the one raging hot girl you know, always ends up hating you the most? shell talk to anyone and everyone else, flirt away with them all... but when i come around its; "what." "do you want something, or what" ouch. ----- for that matter, how is it EVERY girl i know seems to hate me deeply? i cant remember the last date i was on.... cant remember the last time a girl smiled at me out of genuine feeling... nor can i remember how i did it. some days i just want to die. atleast id never have any more expectations to try to fill, only to be unable to fill them. i think everyone else my age is on that road to marriage... and here i am trying to remember what the hell i did to make a girl smile at me the last time.... *sigh* it hurts some times. ------ why is it i keep rethinking what you said to me, years later now? why do i care so much? and why dont i care about other things? and how come i still feel like i was short changed for being written off; yet i was prepared to write you off and you beat me to it? ----- cooking is simple. who cant handle this? i mean, really noodles into hot water. pour on sauce. really, spagetti isnt tough; how do you muck it all up? or claim not to know how to do it?
---// rambles //---
Monday, October 25, 2004
Monday, October 18, 2004
work was also interesting. for the first time, the management refused to give me an answer on policy. they made me do it. its a step i know they trust me to make. but its still a weird feeling to do it. some guy had a box of pens, in packaging we dont sell.... who knows how long.... no receipt... and the kicker is he tells me; "i dunno that i even bought them here, but id like to return them" i guess 2 of the dozen pens dont work... he lost one... and didn't want to try the other 9 or whatever. the clear answer to this is... tough shit dirt bag. the staples answer is, lets see what we cant do. my sales manager came up; handed me the store key set, and said "scott, you know the policies, take care of the customer, you dont need me for that anymore" so... i walk back over to the customer.... look at the pens in my hand, look him in the eye, and fully intended on telling him to shove it. but the keys in my left hand made me think. so i told him, "let me see what i can do. i tell you what, if this is a product i still carry, ill offer you store credit for the price it rings at now, and you can use that immediately against another box of pens youd like to pick out, does this work for you?" ... silence. then he smiles. ' are you serious young man? ' "mmhmm...." ' hell, you dont have to do that; but i thank you very much for doing it' so he prances around finds some pens he wants, and Staples eats it on the 7.95 box of pens, from 4 years ago. he owes me 3 dollars difference on that, and buys a second box at full price. leaves grinning ear to ear. and im not sure thats a good thing.
i dunno. pleasing the customer is what my 2nd directive is according to the keyholder/management garbage they made me do for the company. safety of assets, customers, and employees is 1st. but.... really... he came in just to see if we do it... no one else in town would do something like that, and im fairly certain we never carried that pen or that packaging for it.... but i did it. and my sales manager told me thats the right thing for us to do, as much as we might hate doing that. Russ, the GM from Dubuque talked to me a week ago, and gave me some good advice on it that ive thought about since then... he told me; "think about how that return, or that claim is going to affect the company Scott" some customer had brought in an open copy of Windows, which im adamant against doing ANY kind of credit on... "sure, Staples bends over and takes it for that, 95 dollars at a time, but my paycheck is still coming, yours is still coming, and were still making alot of money for the people in suits, so; if you look at it as, how is that going to hurt Staples, not just taking it back, but how much would it hurt us if we DONT take it back, you understand why we end up breaking with the rule for the customers benefit." and from Russ, this is just an off the cuff thing. but hes right. for that company atleast. i still dont sit right having to damage off 95 dollars in stolen product everytime some chinese person or student brings back a copy of Windows with no cd key on it... and i never will. nor do i understand the nerve of customers to bring in product they know they probably didnt buy from us, used, lost part of, and expect to get something out of it. but we do it. i did it because its not my company. i just know, that they want it run that way.
i dunno. pleasing the customer is what my 2nd directive is according to the keyholder/management garbage they made me do for the company. safety of assets, customers, and employees is 1st. but.... really... he came in just to see if we do it... no one else in town would do something like that, and im fairly certain we never carried that pen or that packaging for it.... but i did it. and my sales manager told me thats the right thing for us to do, as much as we might hate doing that. Russ, the GM from Dubuque talked to me a week ago, and gave me some good advice on it that ive thought about since then... he told me; "think about how that return, or that claim is going to affect the company Scott" some customer had brought in an open copy of Windows, which im adamant against doing ANY kind of credit on... "sure, Staples bends over and takes it for that, 95 dollars at a time, but my paycheck is still coming, yours is still coming, and were still making alot of money for the people in suits, so; if you look at it as, how is that going to hurt Staples, not just taking it back, but how much would it hurt us if we DONT take it back, you understand why we end up breaking with the rule for the customers benefit." and from Russ, this is just an off the cuff thing. but hes right. for that company atleast. i still dont sit right having to damage off 95 dollars in stolen product everytime some chinese person or student brings back a copy of Windows with no cd key on it... and i never will. nor do i understand the nerve of customers to bring in product they know they probably didnt buy from us, used, lost part of, and expect to get something out of it. but we do it. i did it because its not my company. i just know, that they want it run that way.
Current Musical Selection: Megadeth - Die Dead Enough
i was listening to some tapped radio interview with dave mustaine tonight. its hard to hear it really. one of the most startling things to me was his mentioning, several times, that the new megadeth album was meant to be his solo cd [obviously it is.... NO members from the band appear on it other than him]; yet that he has thoughts of being done with it after this. appearantly this last cd was done to fullfill contract obligations to Capitol Records. which, again i dont doubt. in fact. id side with the record company on this one. his 'injury' sounded like a lame excuse to break up the band since it sounds like he wanted out. the interview had several snippets about how hard [heh.. remember this is the egomaniac that only does things his way] to get the rest of 'the band' to play parts and produce the right kind of album the last 2 records out... its funny, since he ommitts the odd So Far So What? record, leaving off with Cryptic Writings and Risk. which..... byyyyy the way. many fans loved parts of Cryptic Writings, and most of Risk does sound like a cd for a record company to fill single based air play with. yet, Mustaine made some comment about how this new cd is how the last several should have sounded. i laughed out loud. listening to lots of this newest cd.... i hear alot of the shit that was Risk, and parts that became Cryptic Writings... nothing really on this cd sounds a hell of alot like Rust In Peace, Killing Is My Business, Youthanasia, etc, etc, etc. id also never listened to Mustaine talk at length. i have to say, hes quite conceited. hes a match for the boys from Metallica.... which he also seems to bring up in every printed interview in the last 20 years ive ever read. *shakes head* money does that. he took several cheap shots at the band members hes since parted ways with. no wonder some of them are suing him. its still a good cd. just listening to it after i heard what he had to say makes me like it a bit less... or atleast in my mind, i like it a bit less that i paid the full amount for it. not as hard a i kick myself for buying that last Metallica cd.... but nonetheless... its just funny how hearing the source, behind the music, definitely changes one's opinion, if even but subtly, about the music.
i was listening to some tapped radio interview with dave mustaine tonight. its hard to hear it really. one of the most startling things to me was his mentioning, several times, that the new megadeth album was meant to be his solo cd [obviously it is.... NO members from the band appear on it other than him]; yet that he has thoughts of being done with it after this. appearantly this last cd was done to fullfill contract obligations to Capitol Records. which, again i dont doubt. in fact. id side with the record company on this one. his 'injury' sounded like a lame excuse to break up the band since it sounds like he wanted out. the interview had several snippets about how hard [heh.. remember this is the egomaniac that only does things his way] to get the rest of 'the band' to play parts and produce the right kind of album the last 2 records out... its funny, since he ommitts the odd So Far So What? record, leaving off with Cryptic Writings and Risk. which..... byyyyy the way. many fans loved parts of Cryptic Writings, and most of Risk does sound like a cd for a record company to fill single based air play with. yet, Mustaine made some comment about how this new cd is how the last several should have sounded. i laughed out loud. listening to lots of this newest cd.... i hear alot of the shit that was Risk, and parts that became Cryptic Writings... nothing really on this cd sounds a hell of alot like Rust In Peace, Killing Is My Business, Youthanasia, etc, etc, etc. id also never listened to Mustaine talk at length. i have to say, hes quite conceited. hes a match for the boys from Metallica.... which he also seems to bring up in every printed interview in the last 20 years ive ever read. *shakes head* money does that. he took several cheap shots at the band members hes since parted ways with. no wonder some of them are suing him. its still a good cd. just listening to it after i heard what he had to say makes me like it a bit less... or atleast in my mind, i like it a bit less that i paid the full amount for it. not as hard a i kick myself for buying that last Metallica cd.... but nonetheless... its just funny how hearing the source, behind the music, definitely changes one's opinion, if even but subtly, about the music.
Friday, October 15, 2004
Current Musical Selection: Black Sabbath - Die Young
well i was just thinking about something... thought i should dedicate some space to the rest of my rambling mind for it. andrea and i were talking about the clip of Jon Stewart, from the Daily Show on Comedy Central; where he goes on Crossfire, a political show, as a guest. - link to the clip - Stewart has openly criticized the genre of political advisarial commentary shows {hardball, crossfire, buchanan and press, lehrer news hour, bill o'reilly, ad finitem}. anways, the clip starts off as funny... however, in my opinion... and sure, i might be wrong... however, it looks like Stewart really takes the offensive, and stops the role of funny man. he takes several shots at the show, its hosts [including personal attacks against Carlson] and the entire notion of a show like this; while they are asking him serious questions. as it progresses, you can see they dump to commercial early, and break it up. it just goes downhill from there in my opinion. i can see how people could find it funny... yet i didnt. had i been a producer or staffer for Crossfire, or one of the hosts, id have taken great offense at Stewarts remarks and conduct. despite that. Stewart is attempting to reprise his role as, King Apathetic Funnyman. where, humor comes at the expense of the "absurdity" of the government, and the utter contempt that he holds the political area in. thats fine. what bothered me was the question that you can see host Tucker Carlson hit at in 2 ways, and host Begalia hit at once as well... Stewart claims that shows like Crossfire, pose a moral problem, as they lack journalistic credibility; by shaking up guests with questions and rhetoric to produce sound bytes for use, or by subjigating the viewers to political "spin" which he calls known lies, that challenge the credibility of serious media outlets. its a fair contention to make on Stewarts part. however, he repeatedly approaches it with violent outburts and rudeness to his hosts, and continues to drag on the point well after it was made. ironically. in a similar manner as all other guests on the show tend to do, when they come on the show to make a point. the diference, that Stewart wants us to think is; "my show is different" his show, which "the opener for my show are puppets doing crank phone calls" is to be funny, not to be taken seriously; and Stewart chides away from taking the several serious questions the hosts put to him about his own sense of journalistic integrety [ie. as an interviewer of important candidates, should you be more responsive with appropriate and serious questions, rather than giving John Kerry a foot rub]. Stewart claims no. he says, and maybe correctly, his show is about humor. not to be taken seriously. ... ... ... so unseriously should it be taken, hes written a book; a bestseller now i must add, that reinforces his thoughts on all politics and american poltical things. my point is. Stewart is off based in whats really going on.
. link 1
. link 2
21 %, at the time, of 18-34 year olds, utilize the Daily Show as their only source of information on political candidates. framed that way, the truth is clear about who had journalistic credibility isssues to examine. my point is, that while being funny is a all well and good... at some point when people stop taking it as being funny, and take it as the truth... or as news... or as their only source of news. there comes a time, when you must shoulder some responsibility in this credibility argument. regardless of whether or not you split an hour with puppets making fart jokes. the question should have been worded to Stewart; "If you are being seen by a near majority of viewers as a serious outlet for news [assuming that those 20 some percent ONLY category and PARTIAL categories {which werent given in the poll}], do you not then, have a responsibilty to act with those same issues of journalistic credibility, that of which you accuse us to be refusing?" Stewart wouldnt answer they way they worded it. instead he continues with the "my show is on a comedy network, if you want to compare your show to a comedy show, go ahead" - as he laughs. the laughing matter for Stewart is; his show, comedy network or not, HAS become a serious outlet for many people. and denying that it is a serious outlet is just a serious aversion from the truth as the "spin alley" which he damns.... or those people that knowingly distort the truth for their own purposes... Stewart, if the truth is people see your show as a serious source, and you deny that to sell books, make ratings, etc... isnt that a rather grave distortion of the truth for your own purposes? while i dont claim to be good at ethical judgements in this situation, i would levy the question to Stewart; "if we move Crossfire to Comedy Central, does it now become a funny show?" the answer is not necessarily. but id follow him on it; "So then why is it you feel people can't take a show serious on a comedy channel?" because the truth is, on some level these people do. this is whats hurting America, as Stewart calls it. for it, i damn Stewarts show much more than i damn Crossfire. and we should. though both pose the problem for us... which is more deeply hurtful, the show we know and recognize for what it does to us? or the show we can not seem to recognize for what it is they do to us?
where the line needs to be drawn is not the question... the question is how to handle that which crosses the line of fire. Stewart thinks we shouldnt pull the trigger automatically... especially not for shows like his; but yet freely fire away at shows like Crossfire. i think the integrity issue is plauging him. id open up on him, as he stands firmly on the wrong side of the line in the sand. his show, has crossed that line; probably unintentionally, but he hasn't made any move back across... instead, these books, these speeches, these apperances only solidify his position over there. and it is with the stick in the sand that we envision conflict in this country. i may have made the mistake as well, using that illustration; however, this very illustration proves that the line moves. the only thing that stays a constant is how to handle what comes over the line. ethically speaking, i feel that Stewart, who does reasonably know of the serious impact his show has, does have an ethical obligation, to act in response and in accordance with that knowledge. just like we as children look up to others; we must know that the examples they set for us are right in all instances, becasue one day, with one slip, we might be modeling the wrong behavior. and that is why as adults, we tell our children not to lie, not to steal, and not to harm; problem is when the children see us break those rules we've always told them about. Stewart, in making royalities, contractual dollars, speaking fees, and the like, from this; has an obligation to stop acting with this ruse, and begin accepting the truth. funny men, get taken seriously. Bill Mahr did this 5 to 10 years ago, throughout the 1990s. Johnny Carson did this with his Tonight Show through out the 1980s. Beloushi and Akroyd did this with Weekend Update in the late 1970's. not a one of these men have lived their lives since deluding themselves that they couldnt have been taken seriously. just as if i were in Stewarts shoes, i would be a bit more careful, and give more thought, to what is done, knowing that so many people see this show as a serious show. and really, how different is Stewarts show than Crossfire? he too produces soundbytes that he pushes to the masses for his views... he calls it a punchline, they call it politics; but its all in the delivery. its time Jon Stewart realized this. someday, Stewart may see the terrible price hes taken out, $29.95 at a time, on an impresionable core of citizens, and that is no laughing matter.
well i was just thinking about something... thought i should dedicate some space to the rest of my rambling mind for it. andrea and i were talking about the clip of Jon Stewart, from the Daily Show on Comedy Central; where he goes on Crossfire, a political show, as a guest. - link to the clip - Stewart has openly criticized the genre of political advisarial commentary shows {hardball, crossfire, buchanan and press, lehrer news hour, bill o'reilly, ad finitem}. anways, the clip starts off as funny... however, in my opinion... and sure, i might be wrong... however, it looks like Stewart really takes the offensive, and stops the role of funny man. he takes several shots at the show, its hosts [including personal attacks against Carlson] and the entire notion of a show like this; while they are asking him serious questions. as it progresses, you can see they dump to commercial early, and break it up. it just goes downhill from there in my opinion. i can see how people could find it funny... yet i didnt. had i been a producer or staffer for Crossfire, or one of the hosts, id have taken great offense at Stewarts remarks and conduct. despite that. Stewart is attempting to reprise his role as, King Apathetic Funnyman. where, humor comes at the expense of the "absurdity" of the government, and the utter contempt that he holds the political area in. thats fine. what bothered me was the question that you can see host Tucker Carlson hit at in 2 ways, and host Begalia hit at once as well... Stewart claims that shows like Crossfire, pose a moral problem, as they lack journalistic credibility; by shaking up guests with questions and rhetoric to produce sound bytes for use, or by subjigating the viewers to political "spin" which he calls known lies, that challenge the credibility of serious media outlets. its a fair contention to make on Stewarts part. however, he repeatedly approaches it with violent outburts and rudeness to his hosts, and continues to drag on the point well after it was made. ironically. in a similar manner as all other guests on the show tend to do, when they come on the show to make a point. the diference, that Stewart wants us to think is; "my show is different" his show, which "the opener for my show are puppets doing crank phone calls" is to be funny, not to be taken seriously; and Stewart chides away from taking the several serious questions the hosts put to him about his own sense of journalistic integrety [ie. as an interviewer of important candidates, should you be more responsive with appropriate and serious questions, rather than giving John Kerry a foot rub]. Stewart claims no. he says, and maybe correctly, his show is about humor. not to be taken seriously. ... ... ... so unseriously should it be taken, hes written a book; a bestseller now i must add, that reinforces his thoughts on all politics and american poltical things. my point is. Stewart is off based in whats really going on.
. link 1
. link 2
21 %, at the time, of 18-34 year olds, utilize the Daily Show as their only source of information on political candidates. framed that way, the truth is clear about who had journalistic credibility isssues to examine. my point is, that while being funny is a all well and good... at some point when people stop taking it as being funny, and take it as the truth... or as news... or as their only source of news. there comes a time, when you must shoulder some responsibility in this credibility argument. regardless of whether or not you split an hour with puppets making fart jokes. the question should have been worded to Stewart; "If you are being seen by a near majority of viewers as a serious outlet for news [assuming that those 20 some percent ONLY category and PARTIAL categories {which werent given in the poll}], do you not then, have a responsibilty to act with those same issues of journalistic credibility, that of which you accuse us to be refusing?" Stewart wouldnt answer they way they worded it. instead he continues with the "my show is on a comedy network, if you want to compare your show to a comedy show, go ahead" - as he laughs. the laughing matter for Stewart is; his show, comedy network or not, HAS become a serious outlet for many people. and denying that it is a serious outlet is just a serious aversion from the truth as the "spin alley" which he damns.... or those people that knowingly distort the truth for their own purposes... Stewart, if the truth is people see your show as a serious source, and you deny that to sell books, make ratings, etc... isnt that a rather grave distortion of the truth for your own purposes? while i dont claim to be good at ethical judgements in this situation, i would levy the question to Stewart; "if we move Crossfire to Comedy Central, does it now become a funny show?" the answer is not necessarily. but id follow him on it; "So then why is it you feel people can't take a show serious on a comedy channel?" because the truth is, on some level these people do. this is whats hurting America, as Stewart calls it. for it, i damn Stewarts show much more than i damn Crossfire. and we should. though both pose the problem for us... which is more deeply hurtful, the show we know and recognize for what it does to us? or the show we can not seem to recognize for what it is they do to us?
where the line needs to be drawn is not the question... the question is how to handle that which crosses the line of fire. Stewart thinks we shouldnt pull the trigger automatically... especially not for shows like his; but yet freely fire away at shows like Crossfire. i think the integrity issue is plauging him. id open up on him, as he stands firmly on the wrong side of the line in the sand. his show, has crossed that line; probably unintentionally, but he hasn't made any move back across... instead, these books, these speeches, these apperances only solidify his position over there. and it is with the stick in the sand that we envision conflict in this country. i may have made the mistake as well, using that illustration; however, this very illustration proves that the line moves. the only thing that stays a constant is how to handle what comes over the line. ethically speaking, i feel that Stewart, who does reasonably know of the serious impact his show has, does have an ethical obligation, to act in response and in accordance with that knowledge. just like we as children look up to others; we must know that the examples they set for us are right in all instances, becasue one day, with one slip, we might be modeling the wrong behavior. and that is why as adults, we tell our children not to lie, not to steal, and not to harm; problem is when the children see us break those rules we've always told them about. Stewart, in making royalities, contractual dollars, speaking fees, and the like, from this; has an obligation to stop acting with this ruse, and begin accepting the truth. funny men, get taken seriously. Bill Mahr did this 5 to 10 years ago, throughout the 1990s. Johnny Carson did this with his Tonight Show through out the 1980s. Beloushi and Akroyd did this with Weekend Update in the late 1970's. not a one of these men have lived their lives since deluding themselves that they couldnt have been taken seriously. just as if i were in Stewarts shoes, i would be a bit more careful, and give more thought, to what is done, knowing that so many people see this show as a serious show. and really, how different is Stewarts show than Crossfire? he too produces soundbytes that he pushes to the masses for his views... he calls it a punchline, they call it politics; but its all in the delivery. its time Jon Stewart realized this. someday, Stewart may see the terrible price hes taken out, $29.95 at a time, on an impresionable core of citizens, and that is no laughing matter.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
some random thoughts on Anthrax/Dio...
. Dio, youve made shit tons of money, stop with the no picture requirement at shows. really. and dont have them try to steal my camera as i come in the door. thats just lame.
. its sad when 25 dollar concert tshirts are the cheapest prices youve seen in a few years. however, when stores charge the same price, for non concert shirts, im gladly stuffing my cash in the hand of the 'Thrax.
. security guards who are cool to you are the shit... security guards that are cruel to you are shit. yeah fatboy, i came back, and yeah you got too close to me and the rail during Deathrider
. band members that appearantly have something better to do sunday nights, 2000 miles away from civilization as they know it, are full of crap. those band memeber cool enough to go to a bar later on have forever made my coollist.. even if they drop a crapbomb as a next album.
. charlie runs fast. so fast that he evaded most of the crowd. and me from getting my freakin autograph. however, scotty ian took every devil horn i threw at him jumping around on the rail. rob too, he just gave me a silent "fuck yeah", as ian just tried playing chords with devil horns back for our mob on the rail. very fucking cool.
. john bush is getting close to being a god. even not withstanding the 'fat man that knows every lyrics' comment, youre still the shit pal.
. running around the pit, taking out old Dio Farts, to the tune of 'Thrax's Caught In A Mosh; is fun.
. hearing songs you havent heard in 5 years, live, is a nifty surprise.. 'Thrax rules for those presents like Antisocial. Deathrider!!!! What Can Not Die. and Ronnie Dio... holy shit. Sign of The Southern Cross. AND Heaven and Hell. not to mention Stargazer, Gates of Babylon. aaaaaand Man On The Silver Mountain. nice work.
. faggot kids pushing me trying to power bounce to Dio were lucky they didnt die. if mommy wasnt wearing leather pants i might have dragged your Hershey-filled asses to the pit with the real men.
. well... any fucking kids trying to mosh or power bounce to Dio is just wrong, now that i think about it.
. Goldy. stop with the gay-porn faces while making guitar solos. its creepy. beyond creepy. and rudy... man no one came to see you. diddo on the drum solo for 8 minutes. yes, i looked at my watched several times during it.
. going all out for Anthrax's hour long power set, then 2 freakin hours of Dio. then waaay too long at the bar, plus the 3 hour drive home [by myself], really isnt good when you work less than 2 hours after you get home. any customers in those first 4 hours or so, i appologize.
some random pictures that i took AFTER the concert was over, and later on. enjoy.
. Dio, youve made shit tons of money, stop with the no picture requirement at shows. really. and dont have them try to steal my camera as i come in the door. thats just lame.
. its sad when 25 dollar concert tshirts are the cheapest prices youve seen in a few years. however, when stores charge the same price, for non concert shirts, im gladly stuffing my cash in the hand of the 'Thrax.
. security guards who are cool to you are the shit... security guards that are cruel to you are shit. yeah fatboy, i came back, and yeah you got too close to me and the rail during Deathrider
. band members that appearantly have something better to do sunday nights, 2000 miles away from civilization as they know it, are full of crap. those band memeber cool enough to go to a bar later on have forever made my coollist.. even if they drop a crapbomb as a next album.
. charlie runs fast. so fast that he evaded most of the crowd. and me from getting my freakin autograph. however, scotty ian took every devil horn i threw at him jumping around on the rail. rob too, he just gave me a silent "fuck yeah", as ian just tried playing chords with devil horns back for our mob on the rail. very fucking cool.
. john bush is getting close to being a god. even not withstanding the 'fat man that knows every lyrics' comment, youre still the shit pal.
. running around the pit, taking out old Dio Farts, to the tune of 'Thrax's Caught In A Mosh; is fun.
. hearing songs you havent heard in 5 years, live, is a nifty surprise.. 'Thrax rules for those presents like Antisocial. Deathrider!!!! What Can Not Die. and Ronnie Dio... holy shit. Sign of The Southern Cross. AND Heaven and Hell. not to mention Stargazer, Gates of Babylon. aaaaaand Man On The Silver Mountain. nice work.
. faggot kids pushing me trying to power bounce to Dio were lucky they didnt die. if mommy wasnt wearing leather pants i might have dragged your Hershey-filled asses to the pit with the real men.
. well... any fucking kids trying to mosh or power bounce to Dio is just wrong, now that i think about it.
. Goldy. stop with the gay-porn faces while making guitar solos. its creepy. beyond creepy. and rudy... man no one came to see you. diddo on the drum solo for 8 minutes. yes, i looked at my watched several times during it.
. going all out for Anthrax's hour long power set, then 2 freakin hours of Dio. then waaay too long at the bar, plus the 3 hour drive home [by myself], really isnt good when you work less than 2 hours after you get home. any customers in those first 4 hours or so, i appologize.
some random pictures that i took AFTER the concert was over, and later on. enjoy.
Janis, Em and me hanging out at the bar [they are 1/2 of Fireball Ministry, the opening band] here were getting yelled at for being "too fuckin rowdy"
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
well after listening to the entire vice presidential debate; all that i can say is im again, unsatisfied by what i heard. what did surprise me, however, was the willingness and abilitiy of both parties to resort to statistics... dizzying in both their spread and redundancy in depth. in my opinion, and its just me thinking outloud, we should be selecting the president [or his runningmate] based on who is best at recalling the most facts in general statistician form. i was hoping to hear more from chenney about himself. he did mention briefly that he doesnt talk about himself, and he doesnt. he needed to open more as a person to drop that cold stern image that has been projected about himself. the few issues where he did begin to speak about himself he abruptly stopped. it could have been a tide turning moment that people would have remembered, that he didnt capitalize on. nor did he follow up on points of view where appropriate. 4 times he offered no rebuttal when given one. not once did edwards let his time go. its something that anyone with practice in debate will have drilled into them.... saying nothing is conceeding to your opponent. i remember a round once, early in high school where i did that same mistake. and i was hammered for it. not by my opponent, but by my judge, and by my teammates, for failing to realize the effect that has on the audience.
edwards [who has a plan for that], made several mistakes [weve got a plan for that too]. one was continually dogging ontop of statistics his opponent had rebutted.... id have drawn him across the flow for that [debate terminology for an opponent that abandons and issue when confronted] and instead, continues using his 90%-90% statistic when directly critized; but edwards gives no alternative nor defense of his contention... poor skills. i, in chenneys position, would have zinged away at that opportunity. edwards, surprisingly, had no plan for that. im guessing it was only pursued for effect on the audience, something i had little practice in, but in the course of constructing an argument; thats bad. really, baaaaaaaaaaad people. edwards major annoyance, in my mind showed 2 ways. first, everything had a plan. ive got a plan for that. john kerry and i have a plan for that. lets check out this plan we have. over, and over and over. while ovbiously being coached to drag on with certain statistics and phrases, his coaching staff overlooked his reluctance to phrase responses in the same manner. not only is that boring to listen to [and it was], but it just opens up a logic driven attack by your opponent; where anything you say is going to be challenged along the lines of your syntax, and thats a terrible hole to dig for ones self. his second major err, was his cuteboy coy smile/smirk, and shuffle. similar to chenneys scowl, lift hand, left eye squint and reply. mannerisms matter in a televised debate. which is why both parties had stipulated to ban dual camera views, in the side by side format the debates were shown in. after awhile i couldnt stand it; and switched over to the radio broadcast because of it.
over all. as orators. id rank them low. edwards clearly held an advantage with the comfort of his particular manner of questioning and responding. his method of response is probably something he perfected as a trial lawyer, talking not in court, but to the media and during mediation agreements. chenney held true to form, as a cold stoic man falling into the defensive on nearly every snap. im sure it was also [according to plan!] that edwards sought this, but being constantly on the attack brings about the image of viciousness. what both candidates needed to come across with tonight was a mix; of a bold and empassionate response against the most dire of criticisims against them, as well as the open shit eating grin and yarn spin about the world that will be, under their administration. i think edwards was more successful at projecting that, but i wouldnt call it in his favor. i think, if answered on paper, chenney better argued and defended the points as they arose, in person if faltered for him. he had several great points to pursue and thoroughly give rout to edwards, but he chose not to. [particularly on edwards absence from his senatorial duties, and reliance on challeneged data without offering more contentions to show for its precision]. compassion was shown, with edwards soft words about the chenney family "gay" matter and public policy problem; however, it was out of true respect... i think the media wanted that question in there, not the public nor the parties. policy is fair game. ad hominem to someone's family matters should be left out; and the question was clearly articulating at a point against that.
again. its a draw. no clear winner. on paper, chenney would get my vote; on tv edwards is going to be seen to be a victor. television is a bitch my friends. its quite a gamble.... the pay off is great... but the odds are youre going to loose a fight on tv, much more often than youll win one; the question is how do they react now?
on second thought.. never mind.. what do i know about a good debate? those plaques on the wall, that national recognition gavel, the newspaper photos, and the box full of trophies means nothing in the realm of POLITICAL debating. this is indeed a different game. the stakes are much higher than points on a wall, stickers on a degree, or the winning cash in my pocket. whats at stake are people voting for a block of mixed signals, and whoever comes out cleaner than the opponent. it is politics friends. lets not confuse it with anything else.
edwards [who has a plan for that], made several mistakes [weve got a plan for that too]. one was continually dogging ontop of statistics his opponent had rebutted.... id have drawn him across the flow for that [debate terminology for an opponent that abandons and issue when confronted] and instead, continues using his 90%-90% statistic when directly critized; but edwards gives no alternative nor defense of his contention... poor skills. i, in chenneys position, would have zinged away at that opportunity. edwards, surprisingly, had no plan for that. im guessing it was only pursued for effect on the audience, something i had little practice in, but in the course of constructing an argument; thats bad. really, baaaaaaaaaaad people. edwards major annoyance, in my mind showed 2 ways. first, everything had a plan. ive got a plan for that. john kerry and i have a plan for that. lets check out this plan we have. over, and over and over. while ovbiously being coached to drag on with certain statistics and phrases, his coaching staff overlooked his reluctance to phrase responses in the same manner. not only is that boring to listen to [and it was], but it just opens up a logic driven attack by your opponent; where anything you say is going to be challenged along the lines of your syntax, and thats a terrible hole to dig for ones self. his second major err, was his cuteboy coy smile/smirk, and shuffle. similar to chenneys scowl, lift hand, left eye squint and reply. mannerisms matter in a televised debate. which is why both parties had stipulated to ban dual camera views, in the side by side format the debates were shown in. after awhile i couldnt stand it; and switched over to the radio broadcast because of it.
over all. as orators. id rank them low. edwards clearly held an advantage with the comfort of his particular manner of questioning and responding. his method of response is probably something he perfected as a trial lawyer, talking not in court, but to the media and during mediation agreements. chenney held true to form, as a cold stoic man falling into the defensive on nearly every snap. im sure it was also [according to plan!] that edwards sought this, but being constantly on the attack brings about the image of viciousness. what both candidates needed to come across with tonight was a mix; of a bold and empassionate response against the most dire of criticisims against them, as well as the open shit eating grin and yarn spin about the world that will be, under their administration. i think edwards was more successful at projecting that, but i wouldnt call it in his favor. i think, if answered on paper, chenney better argued and defended the points as they arose, in person if faltered for him. he had several great points to pursue and thoroughly give rout to edwards, but he chose not to. [particularly on edwards absence from his senatorial duties, and reliance on challeneged data without offering more contentions to show for its precision]. compassion was shown, with edwards soft words about the chenney family "gay" matter and public policy problem; however, it was out of true respect... i think the media wanted that question in there, not the public nor the parties. policy is fair game. ad hominem to someone's family matters should be left out; and the question was clearly articulating at a point against that.
again. its a draw. no clear winner. on paper, chenney would get my vote; on tv edwards is going to be seen to be a victor. television is a bitch my friends. its quite a gamble.... the pay off is great... but the odds are youre going to loose a fight on tv, much more often than youll win one; the question is how do they react now?
on second thought.. never mind.. what do i know about a good debate? those plaques on the wall, that national recognition gavel, the newspaper photos, and the box full of trophies means nothing in the realm of POLITICAL debating. this is indeed a different game. the stakes are much higher than points on a wall, stickers on a degree, or the winning cash in my pocket. whats at stake are people voting for a block of mixed signals, and whoever comes out cleaner than the opponent. it is politics friends. lets not confuse it with anything else.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
I HATE THE GOD DAMNED DEER RUNNING AROUND OUT HERE
i thought id drive back into town to drop off my rent check so i wouldnt have to get up so early tomorrow... all well and good until i hit deer alley. im doing 40 in 55 to watch for them.. see one.... drop to 20.... it stops and stands in the middle of the road. i hit the brakes and try to stop in about 10 feet. it walks to the left side of the road as i swerve right. just in time to see 4 more wandering up from right side from a blind corner full of trees by the Reservoir sign... so i slam the gas, drop shit, swing wide left to make it around them , hop on the brakes and realize im not stopping this time, all that wet asphalt isnt giving me any grip...i end up slidding off the edge of the road about 3 feet from a fence line. i look back and see the deer just standing in the middle of the road, looking back at me.
fucking deer.
i thought id drive back into town to drop off my rent check so i wouldnt have to get up so early tomorrow... all well and good until i hit deer alley. im doing 40 in 55 to watch for them.. see one.... drop to 20.... it stops and stands in the middle of the road. i hit the brakes and try to stop in about 10 feet. it walks to the left side of the road as i swerve right. just in time to see 4 more wandering up from right side from a blind corner full of trees by the Reservoir sign... so i slam the gas, drop shit, swing wide left to make it around them , hop on the brakes and realize im not stopping this time, all that wet asphalt isnt giving me any grip...i end up slidding off the edge of the road about 3 feet from a fence line. i look back and see the deer just standing in the middle of the road, looking back at me.
fucking deer.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Current Musical Selection: Cradle of Filth - Absinthe With Faust
well i didnt really watch the entire debate tonight. however. im going to call it in favor of kerry. while both seemed to rely on their rehearsed tag lines.. [bushes fountain and the valley of peace - one tends to stand out], it wasnt nearly as good as i had hoped. more of a degenerative, high browed; you do this, and youre wrong, time-structured-argument. i think the questions over nuclear powers were very 1960's ish and not worth our time.... seriously. how few voters would actually be affected by information like that.... besides which; its pretty clear who favors what stance before you even have to ask a question like that... regardless... all of the talk about multilateral talks is backwards to me. ive always been a firm believer in confronting my problems myself. as it stands, bringing 6 nations to sit down to discuss 1 or 2 nations issues is really showing alot of fear towards that nation. and the reality of the situation is; that at current course north korea will dissappear as a viable nation in the next generation or two if it stays at this course. barring some desparation attack, or pact for success... as a country shes sunk. id never waste the time paying lip service to a nation thats not worth the chapstick... so to speak... besides which, all this talk of multinational anything drives me up a wall. this is a world of nations, not of perpetual treaties, mutual self defense pledges, and non functional international committees on items.... you dont like that my country has, for 70 years, harnessed the power of the atom, send an emissary to talk it over. its not changing my vote. not that it would have. kerry isnt getting it. and so far, im not satisfied enough to vote bush. hes on his legs as a war president. all things considered, hes a tough sell on much else than that. forget that he created new jobs; people still hang the past couple of difficult years on him, economically, atleast. the war isnt nearly as divisive, to me, as are certain other policies skirtted in under the hem of war time preparations... chiefly the far reaching and deep pocketed exceptions found in the USA Patriot Act and similar "terror stopping" articles of legislation. all of which are slowly being used against american citizens, in non terror related proceedings. bush's stance on education irks me as well. i think most of my friends have heard my frank remarks on "national education policy/funding" and if you havent; sum it up as... NONE, it should all be axed. this No Child Left Behind bullshit isnt making the grades among educators or pupils, and its rather difficult to judge schools in a wealthy boston 'burb against schools in poor urban mississippi; and dice up funding based on that. id much rather let the states and local school districts decide best where money needs to go, and how to make adjustments in cirriculum. standardized testing is never the answer. even though its bushs' baby.... im sure shit-snorkelling kerry has a similarly asinine policy waiting in the wings. regardless, its a fact that kids still cant read in this country, have roofs that leak in classrooms, while other schools have marble floors and 3 story libraries. and lastly the entire iraq question better be finished now. watch it come up for another 20 minutes in every debate. but i think people have their opinions on it; listening to these two chatter on about it isnt going to change much. again, the fact is weve shipped home over 1000 caskets so far; and burried tens of thousands of iraqi people to make this thing happen. maybe we shouldnt have done it; but we are there now, and life is better because of it for the people of iraq. its like when the class bully breaks his arm riding his bike. everyone his happy and smirking about it... but very few kids had the balls to shove him over when he was riding past them. think about that france. kerry however is still wrong for america. this debate did nothing more than turn me off to entertaining his respect. well. no matter. there is no way in hell id ever vote for a multi-term mass. senator running for pres. the only slightly redeeming quality kerry has is edwards. who... even for a democrat, somehow strikes me right. he seems geinuine [more so than most politicians], but thats probably because hes still a new kid. sure, he likes those wacked out liberalist ideas... but he doesnt hold on to his guns on as much of it as im sure his party would like. so in my mind, tonights debate wasnt worth watching... however... its the vice presidential debate that interests me... im still leaning 3 party candidate this time around. maybe ill write Pat in again. maybe Keyes... but tonight just didnt really sell me on Bush, not enough to get a vote out of me. yet, he can rest assured, kerry will not get it either.
well i didnt really watch the entire debate tonight. however. im going to call it in favor of kerry. while both seemed to rely on their rehearsed tag lines.. [bushes fountain and the valley of peace - one tends to stand out], it wasnt nearly as good as i had hoped. more of a degenerative, high browed; you do this, and youre wrong, time-structured-argument. i think the questions over nuclear powers were very 1960's ish and not worth our time.... seriously. how few voters would actually be affected by information like that.... besides which; its pretty clear who favors what stance before you even have to ask a question like that... regardless... all of the talk about multilateral talks is backwards to me. ive always been a firm believer in confronting my problems myself. as it stands, bringing 6 nations to sit down to discuss 1 or 2 nations issues is really showing alot of fear towards that nation. and the reality of the situation is; that at current course north korea will dissappear as a viable nation in the next generation or two if it stays at this course. barring some desparation attack, or pact for success... as a country shes sunk. id never waste the time paying lip service to a nation thats not worth the chapstick... so to speak... besides which, all this talk of multinational anything drives me up a wall. this is a world of nations, not of perpetual treaties, mutual self defense pledges, and non functional international committees on items.... you dont like that my country has, for 70 years, harnessed the power of the atom, send an emissary to talk it over. its not changing my vote. not that it would have. kerry isnt getting it. and so far, im not satisfied enough to vote bush. hes on his legs as a war president. all things considered, hes a tough sell on much else than that. forget that he created new jobs; people still hang the past couple of difficult years on him, economically, atleast. the war isnt nearly as divisive, to me, as are certain other policies skirtted in under the hem of war time preparations... chiefly the far reaching and deep pocketed exceptions found in the USA Patriot Act and similar "terror stopping" articles of legislation. all of which are slowly being used against american citizens, in non terror related proceedings. bush's stance on education irks me as well. i think most of my friends have heard my frank remarks on "national education policy/funding" and if you havent; sum it up as... NONE, it should all be axed. this No Child Left Behind bullshit isnt making the grades among educators or pupils, and its rather difficult to judge schools in a wealthy boston 'burb against schools in poor urban mississippi; and dice up funding based on that. id much rather let the states and local school districts decide best where money needs to go, and how to make adjustments in cirriculum. standardized testing is never the answer. even though its bushs' baby.... im sure shit-snorkelling kerry has a similarly asinine policy waiting in the wings. regardless, its a fact that kids still cant read in this country, have roofs that leak in classrooms, while other schools have marble floors and 3 story libraries. and lastly the entire iraq question better be finished now. watch it come up for another 20 minutes in every debate. but i think people have their opinions on it; listening to these two chatter on about it isnt going to change much. again, the fact is weve shipped home over 1000 caskets so far; and burried tens of thousands of iraqi people to make this thing happen. maybe we shouldnt have done it; but we are there now, and life is better because of it for the people of iraq. its like when the class bully breaks his arm riding his bike. everyone his happy and smirking about it... but very few kids had the balls to shove him over when he was riding past them. think about that france. kerry however is still wrong for america. this debate did nothing more than turn me off to entertaining his respect. well. no matter. there is no way in hell id ever vote for a multi-term mass. senator running for pres. the only slightly redeeming quality kerry has is edwards. who... even for a democrat, somehow strikes me right. he seems geinuine [more so than most politicians], but thats probably because hes still a new kid. sure, he likes those wacked out liberalist ideas... but he doesnt hold on to his guns on as much of it as im sure his party would like. so in my mind, tonights debate wasnt worth watching... however... its the vice presidential debate that interests me... im still leaning 3 party candidate this time around. maybe ill write Pat in again. maybe Keyes... but tonight just didnt really sell me on Bush, not enough to get a vote out of me. yet, he can rest assured, kerry will not get it either.
Sunday, September 19, 2004
oh... and i guess Brit is married again.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-09-19-spears-wedding_x.htm
maybe when "its for love" it will make it longer than 50 hours.
but i hope not... i hope she does it again... ends up single... hating her life... decides to tour iowa for no appearant reason than to find a place to die.... and ends up shagging me for several years... that would be sweet. oooh sweet revenge.... id do her to something like Dimmu Borgir, or old school Iron Maiden.... yeah. that would be sweet. mmmm.. brittney.... captive sex slave... mmmmmm drooollll..........
droooooll.............
god i need a woman.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-09-19-spears-wedding_x.htm
maybe when "its for love" it will make it longer than 50 hours.
but i hope not... i hope she does it again... ends up single... hating her life... decides to tour iowa for no appearant reason than to find a place to die.... and ends up shagging me for several years... that would be sweet. oooh sweet revenge.... id do her to something like Dimmu Borgir, or old school Iron Maiden.... yeah. that would be sweet. mmmm.. brittney.... captive sex slave... mmmmmm drooollll..........
droooooll.............
god i need a woman.
Current Musical Selection: The Eagles - Hotel California [live]
man.. its been a long night, allright i got thrown in jail at this party in malibu, and the cop was a total dickhead about it... so alright. could you just not play the Eagles..
well after 2 days of not having to work; i get to go straight back in to hell tomorrow. man. i cant wait. i believe i was called at home twice in two days; and people wonder why i have to check in on my days off. its quite pathetic. when i leave, everyone seems to forget how to do anything in my department. no one sells anything. freight is never finished. tags are missing. or wrong. and there is always; ALWAYS some stupid customer complaint that i have to deal with first thing. 2 days wasnt enough time off.
speaking of time off; i played DoD for the first time in nearly a month. besides being a bit rusty; i still managed to own several morons. there is just something about raping people with the garand... being tk'd for the high number of kills; then takin a BAR and just pwn'ing all in sight before i discconect. my worst score, of 4 maps i played was 35 to 27. but i had 60 points in flag captures. its sad. no new maps. no nifty weapons. no wonder i stopped playing it. im not going to play a game to the point that i master it so minutely, that it would only be a matter of having enough ammunition. some guys on those maps were litterally picking head shots, on the run, at 50 yards with smg's. disgusting. quite the similar reason why i loathe counter... MONKEYstrike. i grew tired if being 1 shot with carbines from across a map, through a crack in doors about pixels wide while on the run. DoD is getting that way now. the only thing that keeps it interesting is revolving spawns. without that it would have gone the way of the ape shootout. sigh.
i so dont want to go into work tomorrow. i think im the only one opening with the manager, and i have to do TJ's job on top of mine all this week... ugh. i hate cycle counts. i hate outs walks. then i hate being mad about doing that and having to deal with the customers asshole questions as i do it. maybe it will be different. but lately the customers have gotten into this great habbit of arguing with us about any suggestions we make... typical situation:
"customers" -- me ((what i think to myself))
"hi; im looking for pens."
-- k, we have a big selection in aisle 6, about 2 aisles down ((look in aisle 6, not at me))
"well, they need to be red ink pens"
--ok, well we have probably 2 dozen kinds in red ink, let me get someone to help you then ((you arent looking in aisle 6 bitch... now i have to find a handler for you))
"and i read this article in ___(dumbass magazine)___ that says theives can steal your checks and remove all the information thats written in pen, so they need to be gel ink"
--well someone will be up here in a second, and well have several kinds of gel ink pens to show you ((so write in pencil for all i care))
"you dont seem to carry any of those check ink pens, do you?" [make sure they make up some name for them]
-- you know, i dont really know; i sell computers over here, ive got someone who deals with office supplies coming to help you with this (( i suppose youll have to use cash to buy shit now))
"how would you keep theives from stealing your checks without those special check ink pens?"
--im not sure, i guess i just wouldnt make out checks to any place that isnt reputable ((since there is no such thin i dont worry... but i just dont keep any money in my checking account... and for that matter i dont really have any money... none for checks... and none for special check ink pens... 20 bucks says she makes out a check to us for this 3 dollar pack of pens))
"well, do you know of a place that would have them?"
--im not even familiar with the product, let the office supply specialist talk to you about it; it could very well be a special order part ((look in your imagination, it seems well stocked with things that dont exist... ))
"well i know there is an office depot in town, can you give me directions?"
--no. ((just no. get out.))
"and why not, you obviously dont have them, why not just give me their phone number?"
--one, im not sure where its even at; two- its our policy not to refer people to direct competetors ((why dont you just leave and go there then))
"this is rediculous, i want to see your manager... this is the worst customer service ive ever had; all i want is a phone number and you wont tell me what it is"
--well ma'am carl here is going to help you with your pen problem ((im not a phone book, and besides you want pens that dont exist))
that happens atleast 100 times a day. oh. its going to be such a long day at work ....
...
...
man.. its been a long night, allright i got thrown in jail at this party in malibu, and the cop was a total dickhead about it... so alright. could you just not play the Eagles..
well after 2 days of not having to work; i get to go straight back in to hell tomorrow. man. i cant wait. i believe i was called at home twice in two days; and people wonder why i have to check in on my days off. its quite pathetic. when i leave, everyone seems to forget how to do anything in my department. no one sells anything. freight is never finished. tags are missing. or wrong. and there is always; ALWAYS some stupid customer complaint that i have to deal with first thing. 2 days wasnt enough time off.
speaking of time off; i played DoD for the first time in nearly a month. besides being a bit rusty; i still managed to own several morons. there is just something about raping people with the garand... being tk'd for the high number of kills; then takin a BAR and just pwn'ing all in sight before i discconect. my worst score, of 4 maps i played was 35 to 27. but i had 60 points in flag captures. its sad. no new maps. no nifty weapons. no wonder i stopped playing it. im not going to play a game to the point that i master it so minutely, that it would only be a matter of having enough ammunition. some guys on those maps were litterally picking head shots, on the run, at 50 yards with smg's. disgusting. quite the similar reason why i loathe counter... MONKEYstrike. i grew tired if being 1 shot with carbines from across a map, through a crack in doors about pixels wide while on the run. DoD is getting that way now. the only thing that keeps it interesting is revolving spawns. without that it would have gone the way of the ape shootout. sigh.
i so dont want to go into work tomorrow. i think im the only one opening with the manager, and i have to do TJ's job on top of mine all this week... ugh. i hate cycle counts. i hate outs walks. then i hate being mad about doing that and having to deal with the customers asshole questions as i do it. maybe it will be different. but lately the customers have gotten into this great habbit of arguing with us about any suggestions we make... typical situation:
"customers" -- me ((what i think to myself))
"hi; im looking for pens."
-- k, we have a big selection in aisle 6, about 2 aisles down ((look in aisle 6, not at me))
"well, they need to be red ink pens"
--ok, well we have probably 2 dozen kinds in red ink, let me get someone to help you then ((you arent looking in aisle 6 bitch... now i have to find a handler for you))
"and i read this article in ___(dumbass magazine)___ that says theives can steal your checks and remove all the information thats written in pen, so they need to be gel ink"
--well someone will be up here in a second, and well have several kinds of gel ink pens to show you ((so write in pencil for all i care))
"you dont seem to carry any of those check ink pens, do you?" [make sure they make up some name for them]
-- you know, i dont really know; i sell computers over here, ive got someone who deals with office supplies coming to help you with this (( i suppose youll have to use cash to buy shit now))
"how would you keep theives from stealing your checks without those special check ink pens?"
--im not sure, i guess i just wouldnt make out checks to any place that isnt reputable ((since there is no such thin i dont worry... but i just dont keep any money in my checking account... and for that matter i dont really have any money... none for checks... and none for special check ink pens... 20 bucks says she makes out a check to us for this 3 dollar pack of pens))
"well, do you know of a place that would have them?"
--im not even familiar with the product, let the office supply specialist talk to you about it; it could very well be a special order part ((look in your imagination, it seems well stocked with things that dont exist... ))
"well i know there is an office depot in town, can you give me directions?"
--no. ((just no. get out.))
"and why not, you obviously dont have them, why not just give me their phone number?"
--one, im not sure where its even at; two- its our policy not to refer people to direct competetors ((why dont you just leave and go there then))
"this is rediculous, i want to see your manager... this is the worst customer service ive ever had; all i want is a phone number and you wont tell me what it is"
--well ma'am carl here is going to help you with your pen problem ((im not a phone book, and besides you want pens that dont exist))
that happens atleast 100 times a day. oh. its going to be such a long day at work ....
...
...
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Current Musical Selection: Cradle of Filth - Nymphetamine
its different, and i like it. generally im not a huge fan of stuff like Dimmu Borgir, or Cradle... yet these new songs intrigue me; like never before. i still hate Danni Filths troll on helium scratchy vocals, yet its interesting... its different. it sounds more epic. more... encompassing now. very full.
lately ive been running around alot. this has been about the most hectic week ive ever experienced at work. we were down two managers, and others... we had litterally, no one with keys that could close the store on two different nights... so we borrowed store managers from other stores; which cant be cheap; to do it. sales have been waaaaaaaaaay up; everywhere but electronics. which is getting set again this week. last week i came up almost 20 grand short in sales for where i needed to be. this week hasnt treated us much better. then today happened. if it couldnt get any worse... the one person with keys gets them stuck and broken in the fire door in the back of the store while getting the UPS deliveries... no keys now. plus we have a fire alarm door that keeps going off with a loud wail. then out of the fucking blue, the corporate loss prevention honcho for our area shows up; unannounced. shes back there raping us over the door and no one being out on the floor [again, we had 4 people working... two of us are dealing with this door problem...]; we get a phone call as three of us stare at the door... the district manager is on his way to our store. dammit. line 5 rings. i answer it. its one of the assisstant managers, her maternity doctors said shes done until after the baby. fuuuuck. then someone had the great idea to call the store general manager in. hes, ofcourse, unhappy... and also happens to be the one that doesnt deal with crisis well. he doesnt know LP or the district manager are going to be there. hillarities ensue! to make a short story of it... we ended up using a screwdriver, a hammer and some luck to get the alarm lock cover off... to find broken bits of the door latch inside. i walked out then. decided i could do more help on the floor... since we had 2 people out there. we got sliced apart on the LP walk of the store; the district manager was generally unhappy about our store numbers and lack of customer services [its hard with less than half the departments being staffed at any one time]. its was great. last i heard they were trying to remedy the problems of staffing *laughter* as well as necessary people with keys *more laughter* by *continuous laughing* trying to talk several people into the responsibility that cant point to their own asses even with their thumbs stuck in it. *dabbing away tears from laughter* this place just keeps getting better and better. when i tell customers its like a three ring circus... im being truthful... even though were so understaffed it would look like a one-triangle show at this point.
its different, and i like it. generally im not a huge fan of stuff like Dimmu Borgir, or Cradle... yet these new songs intrigue me; like never before. i still hate Danni Filths troll on helium scratchy vocals, yet its interesting... its different. it sounds more epic. more... encompassing now. very full.
lately ive been running around alot. this has been about the most hectic week ive ever experienced at work. we were down two managers, and others... we had litterally, no one with keys that could close the store on two different nights... so we borrowed store managers from other stores; which cant be cheap; to do it. sales have been waaaaaaaaaay up; everywhere but electronics. which is getting set again this week. last week i came up almost 20 grand short in sales for where i needed to be. this week hasnt treated us much better. then today happened. if it couldnt get any worse... the one person with keys gets them stuck and broken in the fire door in the back of the store while getting the UPS deliveries... no keys now. plus we have a fire alarm door that keeps going off with a loud wail. then out of the fucking blue, the corporate loss prevention honcho for our area shows up; unannounced. shes back there raping us over the door and no one being out on the floor [again, we had 4 people working... two of us are dealing with this door problem...]; we get a phone call as three of us stare at the door... the district manager is on his way to our store. dammit. line 5 rings. i answer it. its one of the assisstant managers, her maternity doctors said shes done until after the baby. fuuuuck. then someone had the great idea to call the store general manager in. hes, ofcourse, unhappy... and also happens to be the one that doesnt deal with crisis well. he doesnt know LP or the district manager are going to be there. hillarities ensue! to make a short story of it... we ended up using a screwdriver, a hammer and some luck to get the alarm lock cover off... to find broken bits of the door latch inside. i walked out then. decided i could do more help on the floor... since we had 2 people out there. we got sliced apart on the LP walk of the store; the district manager was generally unhappy about our store numbers and lack of customer services [its hard with less than half the departments being staffed at any one time]. its was great. last i heard they were trying to remedy the problems of staffing *laughter* as well as necessary people with keys *more laughter* by *continuous laughing* trying to talk several people into the responsibility that cant point to their own asses even with their thumbs stuck in it. *dabbing away tears from laughter* this place just keeps getting better and better. when i tell customers its like a three ring circus... im being truthful... even though were so understaffed it would look like a one-triangle show at this point.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
http://akma.disseminary.org/archives/001518.html
its an interesting article that ran on slashdot today. thinking it over, im finding it tough to find a good way to approach this kind of logic, on the behest of the officer... who, according to my research, is completely in the wrong; unless this should be some local municipalitiy's implementation. regardless, the officer reduced the situation to "its like stealing cable tv" . well. id go for, "its like watching someone elses cable tv" but how can something freely distrubuted be counted as theft, if it is infact being utilized in the very same manner which IS prescribed for free distribution? im not saying that free things cannot be stolen, they can be. say Baskin Robbins decided to give away free ice cream on saturday; that does not entitle you to ask for it on wednesday; nor to break in and steal it friday night. the ice cream is free, under the condition that it is the free ice cream they are giving away, and being given to you on saturday, under the circumstances of the free give away. tounge twister. but were not talking about stealing anything per se. no theft is going on. what this man was doing was utilizing the free, and publically subsidized, access that is free, any time, for anyone, at that location. he wasnt hacking into someones network, he didnt initiate and DDOS attack, and he wasnt trying to zombie out other's equipment to suck down that "free" bandwidth. he was sitting on the park bench, using the internet connection. what makes this any different than if the library had a public use tv set with cable television programming, and the man turned it on to watch tv? a step farther; what makes it different than reading the newspaper the library has on the shelf? sure, we could draw some pretty ingenious sets of circumstances about the cable tv theft issue the office retorted back with; but it doesnt hold up. go back to our ice cream idea. do you cuff the man who is eating his free ice cream, given to him by Baskins Robbins on saturday, at the free ice cream station, and charge him with larceny for wrongfull taking of their ice cream? sounds like this officer might though. the heart of the matter is what eats away like an acid the principles of fair use and acceptable exemptions from copywright and registered marks; that little by little, the consumer's right to fair use exemptions is quickly erroding in this new digital age. what was free, is no longer free. what we call free is really so paired down, its not what you bargained for anymore. we dont bother to tell you that. and we also dont bother to print up the fine print for it. in fact, we just make up the rules as we go along. and whats fair about that? what is fair about fair use, in the digital age, when nothing is fair, if you intend to use it? granted, the fair use exemptions, as aforementioned, dont entitle you to make off with whatever youd please, but under specific circumstance, and under the correct auspices, you are entitled to your own fair use of the good/commodity/property in question. when you sing a Britney Spears song in the shower, when you write a note in the margain of the textbook, and when you photo copy a picture of a loved one; you are exhibiting the everyday expressed value of fair use. the law is quite clear that unless you release a cd of your shower songs, or if you plan to resell that textbook [with your changes] as your own work, or if you are planning on using those photographic duplications to avoid paying the reprinting fees at studio; you stand well within your right to an exemption of applicable copyright law. without that written, codified, exemption status, Brit can sue the shit out of you and your estate. but thats not at all what this is about. this is about the further constraint upon a commodity [for lack of more exacting definition of 'bandwidth'], which is being made available expressly under fair use practices. and im not arguing that this point can not be done. [hell, the federal government has been changing the way you own items around your house for the last 15 years, you just never realized how, or why it matters] but, the idea im reaching around to is, this commodity is being used under the perfect ascription to the rules of fair use, and we are trying to stifle even that. snuff out the last of the embers of acceptable and legitimate use, that have been a part of our recognized codification of copyright doctrination for the past millenium. just throw it out. rip out those pages from the big tomes of legal babble. no more xerox machines either. you should just purchase additional volumes of text books for citation reasons. get rid of high lighters, since those are making an infringing practice of altering the text in that god-given copy of a James Joyce collection, quash the practice of buying cds because if the singer wanted you to hear theyd sing it infront of you; and just euthanize the arts of influence and inspiration since you are just a petty criminal taking away another's good work. instead, help usher in the era of new "rights" where free internet isnt free, where you pay to listen to a radio station, and where the police are free to make up laws to make it all "fair" for you.
its an interesting article that ran on slashdot today. thinking it over, im finding it tough to find a good way to approach this kind of logic, on the behest of the officer... who, according to my research, is completely in the wrong; unless this should be some local municipalitiy's implementation. regardless, the officer reduced the situation to "its like stealing cable tv" . well. id go for, "its like watching someone elses cable tv" but how can something freely distrubuted be counted as theft, if it is infact being utilized in the very same manner which IS prescribed for free distribution? im not saying that free things cannot be stolen, they can be. say Baskin Robbins decided to give away free ice cream on saturday; that does not entitle you to ask for it on wednesday; nor to break in and steal it friday night. the ice cream is free, under the condition that it is the free ice cream they are giving away, and being given to you on saturday, under the circumstances of the free give away. tounge twister. but were not talking about stealing anything per se. no theft is going on. what this man was doing was utilizing the free, and publically subsidized, access that is free, any time, for anyone, at that location. he wasnt hacking into someones network, he didnt initiate and DDOS attack, and he wasnt trying to zombie out other's equipment to suck down that "free" bandwidth. he was sitting on the park bench, using the internet connection. what makes this any different than if the library had a public use tv set with cable television programming, and the man turned it on to watch tv? a step farther; what makes it different than reading the newspaper the library has on the shelf? sure, we could draw some pretty ingenious sets of circumstances about the cable tv theft issue the office retorted back with; but it doesnt hold up. go back to our ice cream idea. do you cuff the man who is eating his free ice cream, given to him by Baskins Robbins on saturday, at the free ice cream station, and charge him with larceny for wrongfull taking of their ice cream? sounds like this officer might though. the heart of the matter is what eats away like an acid the principles of fair use and acceptable exemptions from copywright and registered marks; that little by little, the consumer's right to fair use exemptions is quickly erroding in this new digital age. what was free, is no longer free. what we call free is really so paired down, its not what you bargained for anymore. we dont bother to tell you that. and we also dont bother to print up the fine print for it. in fact, we just make up the rules as we go along. and whats fair about that? what is fair about fair use, in the digital age, when nothing is fair, if you intend to use it? granted, the fair use exemptions, as aforementioned, dont entitle you to make off with whatever youd please, but under specific circumstance, and under the correct auspices, you are entitled to your own fair use of the good/commodity/property in question. when you sing a Britney Spears song in the shower, when you write a note in the margain of the textbook, and when you photo copy a picture of a loved one; you are exhibiting the everyday expressed value of fair use. the law is quite clear that unless you release a cd of your shower songs, or if you plan to resell that textbook [with your changes] as your own work, or if you are planning on using those photographic duplications to avoid paying the reprinting fees at studio; you stand well within your right to an exemption of applicable copyright law. without that written, codified, exemption status, Brit can sue the shit out of you and your estate. but thats not at all what this is about. this is about the further constraint upon a commodity [for lack of more exacting definition of 'bandwidth'], which is being made available expressly under fair use practices. and im not arguing that this point can not be done. [hell, the federal government has been changing the way you own items around your house for the last 15 years, you just never realized how, or why it matters] but, the idea im reaching around to is, this commodity is being used under the perfect ascription to the rules of fair use, and we are trying to stifle even that. snuff out the last of the embers of acceptable and legitimate use, that have been a part of our recognized codification of copyright doctrination for the past millenium. just throw it out. rip out those pages from the big tomes of legal babble. no more xerox machines either. you should just purchase additional volumes of text books for citation reasons. get rid of high lighters, since those are making an infringing practice of altering the text in that god-given copy of a James Joyce collection, quash the practice of buying cds because if the singer wanted you to hear theyd sing it infront of you; and just euthanize the arts of influence and inspiration since you are just a petty criminal taking away another's good work. instead, help usher in the era of new "rights" where free internet isnt free, where you pay to listen to a radio station, and where the police are free to make up laws to make it all "fair" for you.
Friday, August 20, 2004
This is Andrea reporting for Scott! I, Andrea, almost got locked in the bathroom. Took me a second to get the door open because the doors in this new apartment are fucked up.
Scott is playing Axis and Allies: D-Day with Matt (my lovely boyfriend) and our friend Nick. Scott's Germany and is probably going to get ass-raped. Matt is the US and Nick is England. I am drunk. Matt and Scott, the bastards, went to the liquor store not too far from here and decided it would be funny to buy disgusting Beast. I, however, am drhinking JD's Hurricane Punch.
Scott hopes the lucky U of Illinois Sucks hat will bring him good luck. While I have no clue what's going on in the game, I don't think it will be helping him
I'm drunk and hvaing a difficult time typing. Most of what I have typed has been retyped several times and now I'm getting lazy. I sort of want chocolate cake but I'm rather full from all the drinks. I'm a sucker for chocolate. But mind you, everyone who's never met me before, I'm not normally like this. I'm drunk. Rmember that. Or I'll cut you, bitches. I am, after all, from Jersey. Land of the gay gov'ners.
Scott is playing Axis and Allies: D-Day with Matt (my lovely boyfriend) and our friend Nick. Scott's Germany and is probably going to get ass-raped. Matt is the US and Nick is England. I am drunk. Matt and Scott, the bastards, went to the liquor store not too far from here and decided it would be funny to buy disgusting Beast. I, however, am drhinking JD's Hurricane Punch.
Scott hopes the lucky U of Illinois Sucks hat will bring him good luck. While I have no clue what's going on in the game, I don't think it will be helping him
I'm drunk and hvaing a difficult time typing. Most of what I have typed has been retyped several times and now I'm getting lazy. I sort of want chocolate cake but I'm rather full from all the drinks. I'm a sucker for chocolate. But mind you, everyone who's never met me before, I'm not normally like this. I'm drunk. Rmember that. Or I'll cut you, bitches. I am, after all, from Jersey. Land of the gay gov'ners.
Saturday, August 14, 2004
Current Musical Selection: Slipknot - Before I Forget
well i cant say that i normally care much about the people around me. nor do i loose sleep much over other peoples mistakes and shortchanges of their own accord. however. after sitting on the couch this afternoon i heard such a ruckus that even i looked up over the edge of my book. what started out as some young children running around, ended up in one of the most embarrassing displays that their parents and teachers will never see.
one black boy [yes its relevant], and 3 white girls. on bikes. id guess about 13 years old. i had zoned out their conversation till one started screaming hysterically; "FAGGOT" "FAGGOT" "YOURE SUCH A NIGGER COCKER BLOWER". she was screaming into a cell phone, that i doubt shes old enough to responsibly possess. regardless. the outburst drew my attention. i sat on the arm of the couch watching an listening to the rest of it. several more uses of ethnic degration. multiple uses of inflamatory homo-sexual based remarks. and some that were just lewd. and by lewd, one example.
'do you remember, like oh my god the other night at torrie's house when her brother had a boner"
- 'oh my god!'
-- "like jesus christ hes such a whigger walking around with this dong sticking up'
- 'you liked it girl'
-- 'no i didnt'
'yeah you did, maybe hed rub it in youre face for you and you could bite it'
-- 'id stick it up my boo-tay and be like ughh ughhh ughhh [she straddles and gyrates on her bike]
[laughter]
-- ' id fuck that thing'
if one thing said above doesnt disturb you, all of it together ought to. kids have no disregard for what they say, what they think they know, and what is appropriate. its deplorable. utterly. without any excuse. in an instance like this, where you do put blame.... where can you even start? its just left me very, very worried about the future of this country.
well i cant say that i normally care much about the people around me. nor do i loose sleep much over other peoples mistakes and shortchanges of their own accord. however. after sitting on the couch this afternoon i heard such a ruckus that even i looked up over the edge of my book. what started out as some young children running around, ended up in one of the most embarrassing displays that their parents and teachers will never see.
one black boy [yes its relevant], and 3 white girls. on bikes. id guess about 13 years old. i had zoned out their conversation till one started screaming hysterically; "FAGGOT" "FAGGOT" "YOURE SUCH A NIGGER COCKER BLOWER". she was screaming into a cell phone, that i doubt shes old enough to responsibly possess. regardless. the outburst drew my attention. i sat on the arm of the couch watching an listening to the rest of it. several more uses of ethnic degration. multiple uses of inflamatory homo-sexual based remarks. and some that were just lewd. and by lewd, one example.
'do you remember, like oh my god the other night at torrie's house when her brother had a boner"
- 'oh my god!'
-- "like jesus christ hes such a whigger walking around with this dong sticking up'
- 'you liked it girl'
-- 'no i didnt'
'yeah you did, maybe hed rub it in youre face for you and you could bite it'
-- 'id stick it up my boo-tay and be like ughh ughhh ughhh [she straddles and gyrates on her bike]
[laughter]
-- ' id fuck that thing'
if one thing said above doesnt disturb you, all of it together ought to. kids have no disregard for what they say, what they think they know, and what is appropriate. its deplorable. utterly. without any excuse. in an instance like this, where you do put blame.... where can you even start? its just left me very, very worried about the future of this country.
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Sunday, August 01, 2004
ow. the light hurts. taken some time around 3am... not by me.... after we started drinking at about 6pm...
well a quick post. more tomorrow after i get off work... also look for pictures over on the dichotomous.net book soon. but..
poopie is now married to hcwbph. *sigh* yet another one gone.
but.
we did it in grand style i must say. right now im still pretty tired, over a day later. but the ceremony was nice [i missed it], the party was better. drinking for us started at 6ish... we finally were done screwing around at J's house sometime around 3 am . fucking fun. for once i can say, that being with these people in davenport did not produce any annimosity, no hard feelings. just lots of fun. old memories. new jokes. lots of laughs. 1 gold fish was swallowed. a black man was busting moves on the mom's dancing to the boot-scooting-boogie. someone brought a stripper with as a date. someone's mom doesnt swallow. a vegetarian contemplated putting chicken on her plate at dinner. there was indeed fighting with lengths of drainpipe. lots of devil horns. and yeah. poopie nuhts is married.
so much to say. to tired to say it. more pictures will be coming... however..
congrads Adam and Jackie!
s.
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