Insignifica

carls jr fixes ad

My girlfriend pointed out yesterday that Carl's Jr. has fixed its "Delis don't have drive-thrus" advertisement, and the spots no longer contain the apostrophe in their pluralization of "deli". I wonder if it was because of public opinion, or if someone on their side finally caught it. Here's my previous discussion on the topic.

new years, frys certificates

It's currently Noon on Tuesday - it's always weird to me when I look at a clock, then start singing a song with the time in it. Somewhere, Sheryl Crow is smiling.

Some crazy weather here in the socal, with driving rains, roof-ripping winds, and lightning a little north of here. I never heard/saw any of the lightning/thunder, but friends up north did. If you didn't know, I'm phobic about lightning, so last night wasn't the most fun. I seem to have gotten through it ok, though. I'm ready for the Sunshine now, however.

New Years Eve is upon us - if I know you and you'd like to come to a party (the 6th Annual New Years Mikestravaganza), send me an email. It's gonna be a great time.

Did you get a gift card for Christmas? If you're in California, you're in good shape. If you're most anywhere else, read this. I know companies are in business for your money, but this is just them cheating you. Don't stand for it. No surprise to see Simon and Wal-Mart on that list, however. It's also worth noting that Frys still does not offer gift cards, but instead uses paper gift certificates. I bought two a few weeks ago, and the process went like this:

- Approach cash register, ask for two $25 gift certificates.
- Get asked for my name and phone number.
- Refuse, repeat request.
- Get asked for ID.
- Give ID, wait.
- Wait.
- Get asked again for number and denomination of certificates.
- Get told he'll have to do each one separately, get asked for debit card.
- Wait for manager approval and signature.
- Given first certificate.
- Get asked for debit card again.
- Wait for manager approval and signature, again.
- Leave with two certificates.

This whole process took over ten minutes. I received two separate charges on my bank statement, and received two paper gift certificates with the denomination written in ink and signed by a manager. Frys accepts every major credit card, so they have to have been approached by the companies and offered gift card sales, which would have taken less than 2 minutes from start to finish. However, Frys insists on keeping the old method. Does anyone know why? It really is a weird cult they have going on there.

post xmas wrapup

Happy holidays!

I had a great Christmas this year - got to see most of my family, all of my girlfriend's family, and received some wonderful gifts from everyone. Not that past Christmases were disappointing, but this year's just seemed unusually good. I think my favorite gift so far is my new Waterpik brand shower massager. I finally have a shower with the water falling from above my head, plus all the neat variations in pressure/style. Of course, the Maggiano's gift card, the DVDs, and all the poker-related stuff very much doesn't suck either.

Speaking of sucking, Frys has to have the least helpful employees in existence. We went there with Adam yesterday to get him a new computer. We waited around for quite a while after we'd pretty much picked out the one we wanted. I finally went to their help desk and let them know we needed to buy a machine, and the guy there lazily looked for someone to help me, and the first two people he asked ignored him even though they heard him (they did turn around and look at him, then kept walking). Finally he asked a guy sitting next to him, and once he was done with his important labeling job, he stood up and asked which we needed. I walked over to it, he said he'd go and check in the back, and a few minutes later he returned, saying that system wasn't in stock. We asked if the next one over was, and he said it wasn't either - in fact, none of the lower-end systems were in stock. I then asked if he knew when they'd come in (he didn't), and if I could talk to his manager about it (he said his manager didn't know either). He did offer us some Sony Vaio systems, which started about $700 more than he was willing to spend. Bait and switch, anyone?

Luckily, there was a happy ending. Adam went on to Best Buy, and they had the same system for $50 less, and it was in stock. As much as I hate Best Buy's business practices, and love Fry's in terms of stock, it seems that yesterday, BB wins over and Frys will get the angry letter.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! May the new year be filled with Peace.

quick poker story

Quick poker story:

I just entered a large $5 multi-table tournament online. First hand is A-9 offsuit, and I'm sitting to the right of the dealer. Only one other person is in before it gets to the blinds, and he raises to 30 (from the 10/15 blinds). I call, and both blinds fold.

The flop is K-2-2. The other guy checks, so I assume he's holding two lower cards - it's hard to tell at this level of play, as people play most hands. I bet 50 to scare him off, and he calls. Next card is a 7 - no help for me, and he checks again. I check behind him.

Now it gets interesting. An ace comes on the river, giving me two pair Aces/Deuces with a King kicker - good hand, especially with his checking to this point. He checks on the ace, and I bet 75. He then raises all-in. This is not at all unusual at this level of play - I put him on an ace, and at worst we'll split the pot. I call his all-in.

I was not so lucky.

Dude turns up K-K, meaning he had a full house Kings full of Twos from the flop, and he was either retarded, or had been perfectly slow-playing me. He knew the only hands that could beat him before the river was 2-2, and A-A after that last one came up. I've never taken such a low tournament position (1679 out of 1681!), but it's hard to protect against something like that. I don't feel bad about it at all.

radio winnings

Before I forget, I've won the following things on the radio recently:

risk of death?

From an AP story reported on CNN called Fit but fat not good enough:

Women who were physically active but obese had almost twice the risk of death of women were both active and lean.

I've always thought everyone had the same risk of death - right near 100%...

Happy solstice

I meant to post earlier in the day, but got busy working, working, working, then noticing a few hundred comment spam I had to get rid of. Happy solstice to all my friends, it's been another year, and the days are finally getting longer. Yay for sunshine.

My girlfriend is out of town, so I've had the house to myself for a few days. On Sunday, I got nothing done. Not that there's anything wrong with that - it can be very relaxing to do nothing important, but there was plenty that really did need doing. Monday, though, I redeemed myself. I got all the cards signed and addressed (and sent today), i put the lights on the tree, I cleaned the kitchen and living room, finally took down Halloween's blacklights, and I organized the other things that needed doing. There's a certain relaxation in having things done, too.

Site move

Looks like the site is all moved - even though there are a few problems (notice the dan_o errors above). Otherwise, though, looks like we're in good shape.

windy christmas

This week is passing quickly, and Christmas is approaching fast. I've gotten most of my shopping done, and that which isn't done should be by this weekend. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Except for the Santa Ana winds.

In grand Southern California tradition, it's going to windy and hot for a few days. That's fine, but it does take something of the Christmas spirit away when you're shopping in shorts. Not that I mind the sunshine - it's been a pretty rainy fall - but at least some cool temps would be nice. Maybe by next week we'll have more seasonal weather. Until then, We'll just have to suffer in our comfort.

peterson gets death penalty

News: Jury Recommends Death Penalty for Peterson.

I'm anti-death penalty, for many reasons. Check out the Death Penalty Information Center for lots of great stats, facts, and figures.

Fun facts: What are the four crimes punishable by the death penalty in California?

(Highlight between the brackets for the answer)

[First-degree murder with special circumstances; train wrecking; treason; perjury causing execution.]

here comes Christmas

Boy, it's getting closer and closer to Christmas, and the people I have to buy for primarily (my girlfriend and my mother) have given very little in terms of hints on what to buy. I'm sure I'll figure something out, and besides, they're both like me in that they like that they've gotten something, the actual gift isn't the most important part of the whole thing.

I'm really enjoying the "Season", though. It doesn't seem as forced or pervasive as in years past (maybe I'm just better at avoiding it), and there's a good mix of Xmas tunes on the radio. I'm sure it must seem much worse if you work somewhere Christmas has exploded upon, but I'm not at all overwhelmed. Now, if just the oven repair people would get to work, so I can bake some cookies.

random thoughts

Some random thoughts:

You never realize how well-made and tasty M&Ms are until you have a knock-off product. Their shells are a perfect thinness, the chocolate is delicious, and it works well in the mouth.

It's nice to end the day content, happy with what you've accomplished, even if it isn't earth-shattering. Not every day is going to be like that, either by your own doing or by things totally out of your control. When they come, relish in them.

To that end, life is short. And as fond I am of saying that, it still holds true. Get out and enjoy the sunlight when it's been raining. Write a letter to friends you haven't seen in a long time. Try something new, but enjoy what's familiar. We're only here for so long; get out there and enjoy life.

I'm throwing a party on New Year's eve. If I know you, and you'd like to attend, send me an email. I love events where lots of my friends from my various social groups all get together. That, and I throw a hell of a party. Co-workers, old friends, school chums and casual acquaintances all encouraged!

christmas gifts

I tried this experiment last year, with limited success. I'd love for it to work better this year. I have an amazon.com gift list, and lots of my readers do to. If you buy me something on the list, I'll return the favor. While I love getting gifts from close friends and family, it's very cool to get gifts from people I might not know as well, and to give to them too. I'll do my best to get you something that's about the same price as whatever you get me (unless you get me the Segway - I'll just thank you a whole lot). Let me know (in comments) if you do send a gift, so I can get yours on the way.

Also, if anyone would like a Christmas card, send me an email or leave a comment. The same goes for if you'd like my address to send me one. Happy holidays!

dear carl's jr.

Dear Carl's Jr. advertising executives:

In your new advertising campaign featuring your Pastrami Burger, you incorrectly pluralize the word "deli" with an apostrophe, specifically in the text "Deli's don't have drive-thrus". While I agree that "delis", looks like it should be pronounced "del-is" instead of "del-ees", it is, in fact, the correct usage. "Deli's" can be either the possessive form of the word (as in "the deli's sandwiches are fantastic") or used as a contraction for the phrase "deli is" (as in "the deli's on 4th and Broadway). Neither of the uses above makes sense the way it is used in your campaign.

I offer this note only as a suggestion, as a corporation of your level should be able to hire someone smart enough to tell you how to punctuate words in your multi-million dollar advertising campaigns. While I don't eat at your restaurant, I wish you the best of luck in your future marketing efforts.

Sincerely,

Michael Doss

webcam / downtime

Readers of sites in the Michris Family of Sites (including Insignifica.org) might notice some downtime this week as we move sites to our new server. This'll be due to moving files, as well as DNS transfers.

Also, you'll notice the webcam is back up (to your left, in the current design). I'd taken it down before I moved, and never bothered to get it up and working again. Well, it's up and working, pointed at me, out the window, or no where in particular. Let me know if you see something funny/weird/interesting. Save the pic and send it this way.

While I don't know the guy, many congratualtions to Rob Cockerham. He announced on his website today that he's gonna be a daddy. Also, make sure you order your Cockeyed.com calendar today!

In Mike news, I've been sick all week with whatever's going around. It doesn't totally mess you up, but enough where it's annoying to sit and concentrate, or do anything active. Here's to getting better.

geekiest comic ever

This is likely the geekiest comic I've ever seen. It took me a few minutes to get it, but it's awesome.