Black Friday disappointment

Utter disappointment for Black Friday this year. C'mon retailers...trying the GPS sale again? Gas prices aren't going to stay low forever, and when they go back up, you're still stuck with a poorly functioning GPS unit that probably makes you use more gas taking its "calculated" route.

Sad to see all the people injured or killed by shoppers. I know people are stupid, but its awfully sad to see people fall for the "50% off MSRP" deal, when retailers normally sell the item for 45% off MSRP anyway...

I had to laugh, too, at Best Buy. They had doorbusters that were the exact same price as they had been for two weeks prior to Black Friday. Online retailers did the same thing. Everyone internally just laughed at shoppers when they knew stores only had 2 of the items that were actually priced as a doorbuster anyway.

Now, in this slowing economy, I can just say one thing about the failing retailers: Let Em Burn.

AMC Theaters = Not Student Friendly?

Well, after going to see Eagle Eye (not too bad, kinda like Terminator and Die Hard: Live free or Die) I am basically forgetting about AMC Theaters. It costs $10.00 to see a movie at our Cantera 30 location; the worst part, believe it or not, is that they eliminated the student discount. Are they trying to ruin their own business?

I don't make as much money as all the lawyer schmucks that live around the theater, and don't expect to have to pay as much as them. I'm a college student. I don't mind paying $7.50 to see a movie...that's acceptable. The principle of the matter is missing though. Being used to the student discount made going to the theater a meaningful event, because I felt like my patronage was appreciated.

Now, it seems like AMC doesn't care. Ten bucks for the movie. Another eight for the popcorn. Four more for a drink...and then the gas to drive to the theater.

My solution: skip AMC altogether. Ask yourself if you want to give money to a business that doesn't care about YOU. Save that money and buy a cheap LCD Tv, surround sound, and if you have money leftover, some beanbags to sit on. Then watch the movie that you would have gone to the theater for on DVD when its released a mere three months later.

News and Music

Heh, it sucks for CERN that their LHC is down, but that really only benefits us at Fermilab. I suppose we have a little more time now to discover something, and shift the world focus back here.

So the other day I purchased (yes, purchased, legally) two previously owned albums. At least, I think that is legal. The nice part was, I could listen to the cd's in the store, and listen to the WHOLE SONG! What a crazy concept. I was able to determine how good or crappy an album was before I bought it. So I've realized this system works a whole lot better than iTunes, since I can legally purchase the music, rip it, and not worry about DRM garbage. Then, I can sell the CD back to the store, or online, etc. So even if a few of the songs sucked, I didn't pay as much for it in the first place, and I won't feel too bad about pawning it off again.




At the same time, iTunes is nice, because of their large music catalog, but hearing 30 seconds of a song can make me think twice about buying it. Hopefully the music industry can adapt to a changing world, and truly create a good solution that benefits the consumers the most.

Back to the Blog Future

So I decided to kick back and restart the blog. Why not? So long as I don't share any of my money making schemes I am pretty safe.

Anyway, I watched live as the LHC was started up on sept. 10th, and was pretty impressed. The world didn't end, and a major scientific achievement was made. Next step: a giant ring in outer space that is secretly a weapon...wait no that's a video game.

While watching the startup, and feeling like I got kicked in the balls, I realized that the Fermilab I worked at was no longer the biggest particle accelerator. Then, my head started to really spin. Not because the cost of their accelerator was $10 billion, but that the cost of the war in Iraq was $550 Billion.

Thats where the kicked in the balls feeling came from. Not only are the Europeans laughing at our piddly science endeavors, but also that we could have had an accelerator ten times bigger if we hadn't been pissing our name in the sand a few thousand miles away.

Oh yeah, and if someone gave me $550 billion, not only would I be the first person to shit a gold brick, I would make cars run on water.

Death of TV

I was looking around at a television today, and realized, why bother spending $700-1000 for a decent TV? There really isn't a lot of good programming anymore, so I never honestly watch much TV, except when I eat. I eat fast, too. Therefore, I never watch much tv to justify spending that much. At the same time, the conversion to digital TV is also quite a stir. So many retailers do not say that the TV you are about to buy may not work over the air anymore. Still, there are some good shows worthwhile, but they end up online or on DVD in a short period of time. I can wait for that to happen. In the meantime, my computer functions nicely as a TV, DVD player, Tivo, and just about anything else that a TV can do.

With more features, my computer wins. I can check news and weather whenever I want. I can listen to music and see the same things on TV on Youtube without sitting through repulsive advertisements.

Sorry TV, you lose.

I just don't get it.

Hmmm, gas price increase and economic stimulus refund? Just a little too coincidental.

Oh yeah, if you haven't seen the movie Vantage Point, it's kind of like Groundhog Day meets the show 24.

I kinda feel a little terrible today, I was at Fry's, looking for an item that I called for and they said they had in stock for me. Well, when I went to get it, it was on hold for someone named Tom. I went to a different person, and said my name was Tom and that an item was on hold for me. Luckily, they didnt check any ID, and sold me Tom's item. The good thing is that I got what I went for. The bad thing is that I screwed Tom over and now Fry's is going to have to deal with an angry Tom.

Nine Inch Nails Ghosts albums

I was attracted at first by the 'free music download' of NIN Ghosts albums, but realized that it was a limited number of downloads. I just listened to a few tracks, and realized, for 5 bucks, you could download all the tracks! Quite a deal, since they are very well edited and assembled.

free mc skillet burrito

I was somehow convinced to go to McDeez to get a free mcskillet burrito with a purchase of a drink. Afterwards, I figured out why burritos aren't a breakfast food. Plus, it kinda sucked and I could never imagine myself paying that much at a mcdonalds for it. At least I enjoyed the drink I purchased.

sharper image is dulling...

Just read news that Sharper Image is filing for bankruptcy. Could that be because most of the products in the store are cheap Chinese toys that are filled with lead or break after 2 weeks? I don't feel bad about the jobs either, the employees should have protested the crap that was on their shelves.

job

Started work the other day, all I can say is that its a marvelous place. Great people, atmosphere, food, etc! I hope to see Fermilab continue to excel and improve in the scientific field, especially after the terrible Bush administration is out of office and on their way to the grave.

OLPC...

The "One Laptop Per Child" project is somewhat pointless. Donating these "laptops" to third world countries really won't achieve much. Priced at $200, the hardware is sub-par and placing these into the hands of impoverished children in third world countries isn't going to miraculously change their predicament. It would be far more useful to award midrange laptops to poor American students that display strong knowledge and interest in science and technology, rather than spread outdated technology to people that can't grow enough food to support themselves. It always feels good to be charitable in a short timeframe, but think about where resources can go to provide a better long term solution.

seriously....

I feel that working at Blockbuster is getting pointless. I don't get paid enough, and dealing with so many idiots gets on my nerves. One of these days, when someone starts to complain about something, I am just going to stare blankly and then tell them I don't care.