late night commercials

commercials, on the whole, are pandering to idiots but the late night commercials are so annoying because they are pumped out at about twice the volume or more of the shows they interrupt... if the companies only knew how much that turns me off to their products, they would wise up and stop forcing me to press the volume down or mute button every time... and the stations themselves blare commercials for their own shows just as annoyingly...

the bad taste lingers in the mind...

brighthouse shut me down again

and once again i am in the middle of working on internet research and in the middle of watching something on tv and the crappy brighthouse service that i pay $130 a month for decides i can not do what i want to do and will i be compensated for my time?... the reboot started automatically about ten minutes ago and it continues... does brighthouse really care?... is brighthouse really a friend?... don't believe the bullshit commercials, they do not care and are not your friend... they continue to tell me that this should not be happening and continue to ask me for my time and my services without compensation - and they continue to provide a mediocre product with ineffective service...

and during the last service call, just two weeks ago, i told the tech what was going on and he suggested getting the new box... in other words, call for service again... and talking to two csrs on the phone to set up the service call (the first one was "disconnected" somehow), i explained all the issues and what happened?... nothing... the service tech had no clue...

so now this latest brighthouse-initiated reboot that interrupted my service took fifteen minutes and turned off my tv twice and now my tv will not go on... whatever signal was sent to the tv apparently rebooted my tv as well... and of course it turned off the cable box so the channel was reset... so now, twenty minutes later the tv is trying to connect to the but and on comes what?... not the channel i was watching (not that i want to watch a show after brighthouse forced me to miss 20 minutes of it), but the first-on channel and, of course, without sound... worst of all, the internet service has gone downhill since the move and it was the internet that was keeping me... the neighbor's dishes are looking more attractive once again...

brighthouse is amazing

after waking to no internet again and giving my unpaid time and service to brighthouse, i decided to ignore the meaningless complain it might have been and just mention it as i mention most everything in my daily blog where i mention most everything just to mention most everything for whatever reasons i might have at the time (and brighthouse will not alter my good mood this time)... but now, just a couple of hours later, the cable box decides it's time for yet another reboot - as if it doesn't matter that i pay for the box and the service, it and brighthouse arrogantly believe it is ok to control it in my home... no respect... no is it ok if we interrupt your activities in your home right now and shove yet another reboot up your ... tv?)... ... the lack of customer consideration remains amazing... astounding...

ridiculous...

to brighthouse techs, csrs, and management: click here and read this before you comment if you are not just SPAM commenting... simply, if you want more of my time and energy, pay me...

most consistent complaint: no sound at start up... random re-boots...

only acceptable solutions: service that works... pay me for my time...

brighthouse digital hd cable tv (table updated 2/5/13):

working perfectly working adequately not working properly not working at all

0% of the time 0% of the time 95% of the time 5% of the time

no problems delays, box/channels reset occasionally, software does not adjust aspect ratio and picture size automatically sound does not go on at start, box resets/blinks every 60 seconds, aspect ratio and picture size are off box/channel resets every 10-15 seconds or other issue requires reboot, call to tech support, or visit

the tech who installed our service here last week suggested getting the other brand of cable box, samsung again... other techs have suggested this sysco cable box when we had the other brand... their answer is always just give us more of your time (without compensation) and try something else (that won't work)... we watched the superbowl at a friends on century link and it worked fine... most neighbors here in our new place have satellite dishes so we'll be talking to them about service and reception as we meet them... brighthouse just does not seem to get the message...

goldmach sachs spam

goldmach sachs sucks... they get this dubious mention because goldman sachs just tried to take over my computer... and slate helped them... i clicked on a video on the slate site and a 2 minute 49 second video advertising goldman sachs opened four times in different windows, one full screen blocking my start menu and everything else on my screen - when i click just once... and worse, when i close one, the full screen was hidden behind the browser and i only noticed because the start menu bar was black... i expect this from a company that worships money, but trust for slate has gone down considerably...

we live in a very sad culture...

weather idiots

also know as weathermen (and not weatherwomen, but that's a prejudice so inherent in our language and culture it deserves complaints of it's own so we won't let this one get too distracted for now) and meteorologists... giving the people in this particular field of study some benefit of doubt, i will not propose to assume that all those who study meteorology are idiots... this complaint is primarily about tv meteorologists anyway... even there i will not propose to assume that all tv weather-people are idiots either... what i will state as this complaint is that almost all tv meteorologists appear to be idiots in the way they are scripted, presented, and possibly manipulated... business as usual, the media is selling product and not reporting the news accurately without bias and ulterior motives...

what i mean is... just like the news, the weather sells product... the news (and sports and weather) programming is big business and made way more dramatic, scary, shocking, and stupid than it needs to be to do what it is supposed to do, present an accurate report on real events outside of our homes and immediate daily experience... we want to know there are traffic delays on our routes to work or wherever we go, we don't need to know how many people died or are injured and what agony their family is going through "how do you feel about the critical condition your son is in?" type reporting... we want to know it is going to rain or snow or storm, but we do not need to know live coverage of idiots hanging on to street light polls in hurricanes telling us not to leave our homes...

today, i refer to an even more serious stupidity... a dangerous stupidity... i refer to the vultures picking at the carcass of potential news, specifically the over-excited alarmists trying to make much more out of the weather than is necessary or responsible... the problem with meteorologists who pander to the news media and actively represent themselves as prophets of doom on television is that goes beyond the irresponsible scare tactics that manipulate viewers... the serious issue is that people are conditioned to worry, stress, and even panic over storms that never appear and then are complacent when a real threat arises...

today's tv meteorologists are boys (and girls) who cry wolf and much like the story about the boy who cried wolf, they reduce their value to the public to side show annoyances... they find the one power line that is down and present it as widespread damage... they find the one branch that fell on one car and interview the owner as if he is one of many who were devastated by the storm... they "predict" worse case scenarios as if there is no doubt that we are all in serious danger...

earlier this year they did this with a storm that never actually became a hurricane but was still presented as a potentially catastrophic event... Hurricane Sandy that is heading up the east coast of the USA this week is the latest storm to be the fuel for irresponsible and dangerous reporting... if the world (God, Mother Nature, or whatever you believe might control the world) had a Risk Management department would identify the irresponsible cry wolf reporting by television meteorologists as a potential risk reducing actual preparedness for an actual serious weather event...

the culpability of the news media for false reporting and actively pre-determining heightened threats could be called into question in court by a savvy lawyer who demonstrates that repeated exposure to over-zealous television meteorological reports could desensitize and therein give credible cause for inadequate preparation that leads to serious injury by the public the news organizations are commissioned to serve...

beyond litigation, people can be hurt and killed because they do not take weather dangers seriously because they have repeatedly been exposed to television weather idiots who manipulate news to over-state dangers only to be repeatedly proven to be wrong...

NFL Fail

the nfl really sucks this year mostly due to the inexperienced officials losing control of games and making very bad calls that effect the momentum and the outcome of games... no amount of spin is going to convince me that this season's first two weeks would have had different outcomes of some games if the regular refs were out there...

it is apparent now that the nfl commissioner and bosses were lying over the last few years when they stated they were imposing fines and changing rules to protect players... they obviously do not care about players... say it again - the decision to let players play under these poorly officiated out of control conditions is proof the bosses do not care about player safety...

the commissioner is certainly a gambler... gambling fans will watch crap and gambling nobody will get hurt enough to permanently scar nfl football... i hope a superstar's career is not ended because the nfl is allowing this fiasco to continue because that would be a permanent scar and legacy for this current commissioner...

news and weather

i am beginning to feel enough dislike (i really hate the word hate ya know) the news and weather media in the usa... it is madness and so very unhealthy, which is why i stay away from watching or reading it quite often... the fear-driven culture we live in has produced a society of adrenaline junkies afraid of everything and worse, unable to think for themselves... a clear sign of a failing culture...

what brings this meaningless complaint out today is the tropical storm isaac reports that have been pounding into millions of people's heads over the past week, especially the last few days as the news people are begging for the national weather service to call this storm a hurricane (in fact, the weather people have mistakenly called it a hurricane more than a few times, on the weather channel no less, where they are supposed to know what they are doing - and don't they?... they know scaring people gets more people to watch and rating and selling products is their first priority, not protecting people or providing fair and accurate reporting of the news... journalism is such a dead profession these days in the usa)...

and after hours of telling us that the 11am national weather service report should upgrade the storm to a hurricane (note, that's an upgrade - sick) again and again and the disappointment was obvious in the reporters voices and words, even questioning the national weather service making statements like "it would have been better if they upgraded to a hurricane"...

how shameful greed is so acceptable...

how irresponsible fear-mongering is so acceptable...

everybody be afraid, stop thinking, just be afraid and above all else - keep watching the news because we have very important commercial messages you need to see between all the fear-mongering reports we repeat over and over...

how ignorant will this culture get before it collapses?...

did i just fear-monger?

education in the USA

It is sad that leaders in the USA do not understand how important education to national security. Comparison scores declined for decades last century. Some improvement can be seen this century, but USA scores still fall shamefully behind other countries.

1995 results: "...tests showed U.S. fourth-graders performing poorly, middle school students worse. and high school students are unable to compete. By the same criteria used to say we were "average" in elementary school, "we appear to be "near the bottom" at the high school level. source

2003 comparison of more than 250,000 15-year old students from 41 countries. USA Ranks: Math: 27th, Reading: 18th, Science: 22nd. source

2010 Ranks show minor improvement, but when considering the wealth and resources available in the USA, these scores still show a sad disregard for education in the USA: Math: 25th, Reading: 14th, Science: 17th.
source

This does not address the unavailability of higher education for the majority of Americans who cannot afford $100,000+ for a basic college education and double that for an advanced degree. Government loans and long-term debt or bankruptcy is not the answer, but the only alternative for many young people.

Until Education is as high a priority as Defense, no amount of bombs/guns will protect us from the defenselessness of technological and intellectual inferiority.

#NBCFail

complaint in progress... actually it is a tape-delay, but we'll pretend it's live...

the person and/or people in charge of the NBC broadcast of the 2012 Olympics learned nothing from two weeks of harsh criticism and complaints from thousands (at least) of viewers and most of the media critics as the hashtag #NBCFail appears all over the internet... sadly, the error that Twitter made in supporting and even colluding with the #NBCFail failure compounded itself tonight as they blocked the #NBCFail hashtag from showing up as trending in spite of the hundreds of tweets per minute with the #NBCFail tag... #TwitterFail hurts even more as it shows the new boss is the same as the old boss and people are getting fooled again...

the irony of the song lyric reference is excruciating as perhaps the largest exclamation point on the #NBCFail failures was to edit to death the closing ceremonies (editing out Muse, the band that wrote and played the Olympics theme song, among other bands) and almost an hour of the closing ceremony production and finally cutting away just before the finale starring The Who to insert a new #NBCFail sit-com - without commercial interruption (after more than 33% commercials per hour throughout the Olympics, that is insult upon injury) - and pushing the finale off for an hour to midnight on a Sunday night (so even non-internet savvy people, their primary demographic audience perhaps, had to miss the 2012 Olympics finale - getting up for work in the morning, are we?... and each night Ryan Seacrest (who was definitely not cresting this week) was asked how they were doing on the social networks to lead into a segment on how social media was talking about the Olympics and they lied by omission as the dozens of articles and many thousands of complaints were never address #NBCFail...

even the lead commentator for NBC, Bob Costas, acknowledged the issues and validated the complaints tonight as he noted that the next Olympics will be just in a much closer time zone, referencing the complaints over ridiculously alienating (and poorly produced) tape-delays... but like a nightmare that repeats, NBC failed again tonight even bigger than previous nights... the band playing the final song?... The Who... the song?... My Generation.... yeah, and we did get fooled again...

Costas also mentioned that two high ranking NBC sports producers did call this their last Olympics... whether that was their intention before the games or whether the criticism and their poor judgment calls lead to the resignations or retirements is for anyone to speculate)... most Olympics viewers are shuddering to think about the next few Olympics as #NBCFail has exclusive rights to mess up those broadcasts too...

The New York Times agrees, establishment enough for you, #NBCFail producers?

I turned off #NBCFail and missed the fiasco, but it was interesting reading all over the internet... sad that #TwitterFail conspired in the corporate betrayal of consumers... but the bigger they get, the more out of touch they get... history repeats, redundantly... la la la...

and the NY Times was not alone... i'll be back with more as this turns into a rant for other blogs... StarTribune - monkey shine perez hilton just look up (Google for you younger folk... snark at m-m-my generation nyuk nyuk narf... oh, and you'll have to use -zimmerman in your search query or you'll get all the apologies NBC made in their George Zimmerman reporting mess-up... if you don't understand, then google how to use google for advanced searches or boelean searches and you'll be fine... aherm) apology online (especially the past 24 hours) and even Google will prove #NBCFail - it even gets it's own label...

so how was your night? (laughing with me, i hope :)

refs 2, boston 0

the game is tied 105-105 and rondo drives for a lay-up... a flagrant foul, a hard blow to the head knocking his head back hard, knocking him to the ground, slow to get up... no call... no call giving miami a fast break and a two point lead... how do you miss such an obvious foul under the basket?... you don't, not if you are good at your job,,, you don't, not unless you are are incompetent - or you have an agenda...

one minute left... so a four point swing for miami with less than 90 seconds and the next series, a clear offensive foul, a kick with the foot to knock the defensive player back, but it's miami so it is allowed and worse, the foul is called on boston... no foul call against miami on a blow to the head which by rule is flagrant, no foul call against miami on an obvious offensive kick, foul called against boston to a slap to the arm after getting kicked out of the way... five point lead under a minute...

seven fouls for boston, zero fouls for miami in the first 7 minutes of the game... fifteen more fouls against boston than against miami... similar to game one... it's no coincidence... a key star for boston fouls out again just like the first game... it's no coincidence... it is such a sad shame that the refs dominate the play leaning to one side so much...

all game the refs made miami calls giving miami a lopsided advantage in foul shots and still, game tied in overtime... and then, one minute left, tie game, and a blown flagrant foul call gives miami a bogus lead... you can't beat a team with the refs on their side and that was clear tonight...

ridiculous win for the refs and miami... they needed the refs just to get the game tied and sent to overtime... no team can win a close game when the refs are so clearly biased to pne side... anyone who respects this miami win did not watch the game, especially not the last 90 seconds when the refs took over and game the game to miami...

it's professional sports... the refs calls in the last two minutes should not be one of the subjects discussed by objective sportscasters in the post game shows... the refs calls should not be a topic of discussion after the game two games in a row... boston is getting a raw deal... two ridiculous technical fouls in the first game had sports commentators raging and wondering if the refs have a specific agenda... are the refs getting told what to do by the nba management?... so it seems to the professionals watching, so it seems to this sports fan...

but the fact is, it would be very bad for business for the nba for the spoiled and arrogant golden boys of miami to not make it to the finals... due to their own immaturity and boasts, they'd be a laughing stock if they don't win a championship soon... so they can get away with much more... the refs bias may be ignored after the obvious immediate commentary points it out... but for anyone really watching, really paying attention, really looking for sportmanship, it cheapens the game of basketball...

whatever...

ted turner broadcasting

i don't know if it is ted turner himself who is the psychotic control freak deluded with religious fears of sexuality and realism in movies but the television stations he created have destroyed so many good films by editing and re-editing until they are artistic nightmares made of chopped up scenes and hacked-job cuts that would be laughed at by professionals in the industry and are flat out insulting to the original film crew, actors, editors, director, and others who worked on the film (some of whom won academy awards for the original film before it was 'edited for television'...

just happened on to total recall on tnt... pathetic... criminal, even, or should be... there really ought to be a law protecting art from such incompetent, talentless, deliberate vandalism by people with a religious agenda... would it be ok to paint over the mona lisa or change the last supper painting?... so why is it ok to change the editing of a film?...

human beings destroy, that is what they are best at... sad, really...

google plus minus me

google plus is really ticking me off... i keep clicking on links that take me to a page that someone talking to me online on facebook or somewhere referred me to and find myself on google plus, only i can't do anything there because i am not a google plus approved member or whatever it takes to get in there and it's wasting my time...

whenever google plus does open their doors to me, i might go in, but this bad taste in my mouth will go with me...

u.s. politics

philosophically there is a difference between the parties, but actions override philosophy and ideals and the actions of the u.s. government over the past thirty years have been hawkish, aggressive, greedy, and bent on world-domination... sheepskin does not change the wolf... we elect politicians, but business interests control them regardless of party affiliation... especially at the top... until we unite against the real enemy, greed and the fear-mongering and divisive finger-pointing that distracts from the greed, we will, just as many empires have before us, continue as a nation down the path of self-destruction from within...

beware of groupon

that is groupon, a good idea but a website and company that is not to be trusted because they secretly install something on your computer that creates links on your web pages that create pop-ups advertising the groupons... very not right... and the virus software and windows software and all the protections on this new computer didn't stop it... very sneaky...

it took me a while to figure out why my web pages, even my personal web pages, were altered... hopefully it is not viable from other computers because using my personal web pages to advertise their site would be very unethical... and should be illegal...

if you check out their site, which is a good idea, make sure you email their support people first to find out how not to become a shill for their business without knowing...

media whores

sometimes it's just too obvious... for the first time in many months, maybe longer, i turned on the tv to see the news because i have no clue what evidence was presented in the casey anthony trial and i was curious to see just how stupid people are and how masterfully the media once again jerked off the public to create a feeding frenzy just to sell their sponsor's products... and based on the choices the people and their handlers made, leading the way today are...

jay leno - in a pathetic attempt to be funny, is too egocentric to admit he bombed...

nancy grace - who?... an sarah palin without the fake smile?...

WKMG Orlando - vultures standing around in front of the courthouse, in front of casey's home, rallying the lynch mob with lines like "this is where the action is"... yes, they said that in front of casey's home...

CNN - fooling so many like TNT and TBS and the rest of the turner empire (whether he still officially owns it or not) by pandering to the ignorant trashy low-life prejudices inside so many in this land of the free...

and of course, everything FOX - the ruppert maddox empire of mass destruction... his weapons, your fear and love of hating... you don't care who you hate, just so long as you can hate someone... it gives you a sense of community, of belonging, just like religion...

a delusional justification for a lynch mob mentality...

jay just couldn't wait to stick it to casey anthony, using her to try to be clever, something he so rarely is even with the tonight show writers (though i think the best left not long after johnny retired)... and when the audience sat there silently he did not show any respect or find a clue, he asked if his mike was working, the oldest most pathetic bit of desperation a comic grasps at to bully an audience into applauding after he repeats it... so typical of an insensitive egomaniac... or a republican...

who the fuck is nancy grace?... she comes off as a clown faced know-it-all who epitomizes the adage if you can't do, you critique and represents the worst whoring of the legal profession... she will say anything to get an audience and panders to the lowest ignorance and fear-based hatred in insecure people... she is a master baiter, a masturbating her audience of melodrama junkies with finger-pointing and table turning arguments so typical of the religious right culture that has god to defend them so they don't have to be held accountable for their gross irresponsibility and hypocrisy... the only reason i even heard of her is as one more self-righteous angry nobody waging her tail chasing the casey anthony bandwagon...

my dog makes more sense...

and then we come to the right wing media, the fair and balanced news corporations, which, whether we acknowledge it or not, includes CNN cuz, well, have you ever seen what ted turner does to movies?... control freaks think they know what everybody else needs and their blatent patronization of the stupidity so many wear as a badge of honor... fat jobless irrational pathetic people with obviously no lives to live of their own chanting appeal outside of the courthouse and the news media soaks it up... irresponsible parents bringing their children to the spot the decaying skeleton corpse of a child was found, innocent children exposed to the news media wondering what the depressing emo-circus is about, the emotional abuse carved into their helpless mindless faces...

and everyone except the judge and jury so certain she is guilty... everyone except the unbiased people who actually saw the evidence that the state, in all it's arrogant cockiness, presented... everyone except those who actually know acts astonished that those who actually weighed the evidence without emotion of the lynch mob mentality americans so dearly love could possibly come to a fair verdict...

and now, the news media will milk the aftermath, the tragedy... the noble fourth estate will haunt the mother who lost her daughter and the parents and anyone who dares consider that the evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that there was reasonable doubt that she did it... americans addicted to watching other people's pain and suffering, maybe that's why we kill so many women and children all over the world every day, we are junkies for the pain, the tragedy, the suffering victims... so addicted are we that we must create victims just to find villains to hate...

pathetic human waste...

overworked, underpaid, still overfed

the most meaningless complaint of all may be this one, that i work too much and am not appreciated nearly enough in the most tangible way, though the appreciation of respect and non-material thanks has improved dramatically in this year (am i finally getting through to them?... well, all but one and a half i think)... and yet, the poverty line come closer every year and still, the body bloats a bit more when saving on the foods would be wise for body, mind, and wallet...

see?... i don't even have my heart in this complaint...

see ya next time...

cars

i drive a twelve year old car, a chevy cavelier... it needs a tune up, a new clutch, new tires, and other work... and it gets better gas than most of the new cars being sold as 2011 or 2012 cars... ridiculous... the car manufacturers are so very irresponsible and government is worse for not forcing the manufacvturers to improve gas mileage... it can be done... it is being done on a very few cars sold at higher prices because they are scarce because the manufacturers will not mass produce the technology that privides 50mpg and better...

let's not even get started on the lack of effort to produce alternative fuel cars... the government allows ecologically criminal and economically unethical practices and all but the very consumers suffer...

i am part of the problem... i could choose to live in a place where i do not need a car, but i choose to live in a car-dependant suburb... my choices in life have not provided the income to buy a nissan leaf or even a toyota prius, so i am hunting for a car within my budget which leaves me with choices that are not as economical as the twelve year old car i drive... adding to the challenge is the lack of availability of economy cars, at least in this area... i visited six large dealers today and found less than ten economy cars, a few dealers had none, new or used...

so philosophically, scientifically, ecologically, ethically, and practically the auto industry in this country is a clear sign of the corruption, confusion, and suicidal thinking that goes into the decision making in this modern world... we, as a species, do not do what we can do to improve our chances of survival... natural selection will eliminate us from the life cycle of the planet unless we wise up and start making decisions and taking actions that will improve our chances for survival on this planet... simple as that...

you want to live?...

corporate america

as if it is news, corporate america does not care and for the second time in this life i am caught in the rat race running in circles always falling behind because the man always wants more than what was produced yesterday not understanding or believing there can be any limits on growth or productivity... is that the root cause for the fall of every empire and civilization, the refusal to accept optimal balance, the active pursuit of the competitive edge and more more more?... does that stem from an insecure ego, fear of idle time, a lack of creativity, or simply pure greed?...

is it the same where you live?...

taco bull

yeah, that's taco bell bullshit in the title there... i should have known better than to go into the college taco belle, too many fast food joints and other food establishments right next to a university dish out crap because they assume most of their customers are drunk college kids, especially on saturday nights... so the XXL double beef chalupa was a great commercial for 'where's the beef'? because there was less beef in it than in the average taco from a decent taco place... most bits had no beef, so much for double beef... and the cheesy bean and rice burrito had no cheese or rice, just a smear of bean dip... by far, this was the worst taco bell food i've ever had...

so the receipt says tell us about your visit on a brief survey and i go to the website to take the survey and enter the store number and

We're sorry, but this restaurant is not collecting Web surveys at this time. We encourage you to call our toll-free phone number 1-888-731-9645 to share your opinions and enter the Sweepstakes.

of course, they probably get so many complaints about this particular location that they've turned off the survey for the store... great customer service there, taco bell bull...

i guess the universe was looking out for me... i've been wanting to try the double beef chalupa since it started being advertised and have tried it and instead of being a deliciously enjanced version of my favorite taco bell food, it sucked so bad i don't want to visit taco bell again... better for my health, the waisteline, and probably the earth...

bye bye taco bell, no more runs to the border for me...

truly meaningless complaint

if you are a taxpayer in the usa, you owe $119,913 to private banks and other countries... rich bankers in this country and others living in obscene luxury by are milking you dry while you struggle to pay your bills and taxes...

and children, what are children learning?... it is ok to go into debt for a few times your annual income and have nothing to show for it?...

anybody want to loan me $119,913 today?