Poorly Thought Out Website

Today, I would like to tell you about frustration in its purest form.  That frustration revolves around the website of one AT&T Wireless.  I shall explain.

My contract with AT&T will be up in December.  Because of this, I can upgrade my phone or my family's phones at a discount.  So, I went to the website to attempt to do so.  There is a special going on that says if you upgrade to a particular Sony phone, you also get a Bluetooth headset for free.  Now, I tried to click on the link to upgrade my wife's phone.  It listed my name instead of hers.  So, I changed the name to hers.  OK.  Then, I clicked on that model phone, and it added the phone to the cart, but gave no place or information to add the headset.  Hmmm...time to chat with the company, but wait!...they are closed!  You can't even chat with someone from India!  Are you getting the picture?  I also wanted to upgrade my son's phone to get him one of the free Razrs but....they are sold out!  Yay!

You know, AT&T's network has been pretty good for me.  I have had very few problems with dropped calls and such.  But AT&T...your website bites!!!  You are a communications company, for goodness sakes!  Make your website more useful. 

I thank you.

Gettin' Sick of Being Sick...and of Sick People

Well, here I am on day 12 of being sick. Frankly, it's getting old. But you don't want to hear about that, do you? Neither do I.

I decided that today I was going to live up to the description of this blog and be opinionated. The opinions today are going to surround some of the legal issues that are being plastered all over the news. Yeah, I'm sure that you're sick of these cases, but I haven't commented on them and I want to.

OJ - How the mighty have fallen. He used to be such a talented football player and was making at least a little money in the movies. Then he decides to play "Juice the Ripper" and escapes the prison laundry. Now, he walks into a hotel room to, excuse me, steal back his own items? This guy needs more mental help than shock therapy can provide. Even if the stuff was his, it wasn't, as everything that has monetary value belongs to the Goldman family.

I do have one more question, though. Can he get a fair trial of impartial jurors? I think that any attorney would be worried that the jury would be trying to convict him for the murders rather than the robbery. Mistrial on its way, folks.

Michael Vick - Another footballer fallen by the wayside. I'm not going to comment on the dog fighting, as it is disgusting, no matter where you are from. I do want to comment on the latest bit of idiocy provided by Mr. Vick. How...HOW stupid is a person who smokes pot while on parole. Yeah, the judge in this case is going to feel a lot of sympathy for Vick. Now he is on house arrest with his ankle bracelet showing is location and is probably wondering why everyone is picking on him. Perhaps we should have seen this coming. Not because of the airport incident with the water bottle with the secret compartment, but just by checking the family tree; particularly the branch leading off to his thug of a brother. Sheesh.

Larry Craig - Oh, I just can't think about this one. It's so warped on so many different levels.

Brittney Spears - Here's another one that I can't think about. However, a group rate at rehab with Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Nicole Richie could probably save her some money, don't you think?

This is one twisted world we live in, isn't it?

Guilty Pleasures

We all have them; guilty pleasures in the area of reading material or viewing material that we really like but may be a bit embarrassed to admit that we like. Well, no more hiding. I am about to admit publicly some of my guilty pleasures in books and movies.

Books
Let me start with a series that I am currently reading. In fact, I'll list a couple by the same author. His name is Lawrence Block, and the two series are the Evan Tanner and Bernie Rhodenbarr series. Evan Tanner is the "Spy Who Couldn't Sleep". Without going into too much detail, Tanner took some shrapnel in the Korean War which destroyed the sleep center of his brain. He spends that extra time learning languages and writing doctorate thesis papers for paying students. He got roped into secret government work, and the books are about his adventures. To bring him to our day, Block had to use cryogenics. (You see why this is a guilty pleasure?) The Bernie Rhodenbarr series starts with "Burglars Can't Be Choosers", as Bernie is a burglar turned bookseller who can't give up his old profession. He frequently has to use his skills to get the cops off his case when he gets accused of other crimes. Both series are fun, even if they do stretch credibility a bit.

Other favorites include books by Christian Jacq (especially the Ramses series), Agatha Christie (go Poirot!), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock rules), and (here's the extremely guilty one) Pride and Prejudice.

Movies
Oh, man...I could go on for weeks about movies. I think I'll just list a bunch rather than go into details (in no particular order):
Support Your Local Sheriff
Clue
Real Genius
Airplane!
Hot Shots Part Deux
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Cats Don't Dance (animated and a salute to Gene Kelly)
Gigi
An American in Paris
Singin' In The Rain
Asterix: Mission Cleopatra (in French)

I must admit, I don't feel guilty about many of these...unless you count Cats Don't Dance and numerous other cartoons (Animaniacs, Cars, Incredibles, among others). Still, try some if you haven't seen them. And don't worry...I won't tell anyone.

Two Different Views of Gray

I was talking with my wife this morning, and she told me that she needs to find a stylist who can do highlights at a reasonable price. Knowing that she didn't mean those yellow pens that you use when studying, I asked why she thought she needed this done. Her response was that she is tired of all of her gray hair.

Let me describe the level of gray in my wife's hair...maybe...MAYBE 1 - 3 %. I have far more gray than she does. But I have no desire to get highlights done or anything of that nature. Heck, I'm just glad that I still HAVE hair, but even these allies are deserting me quickly.

The Bible links gray hair with wisdom and glory. But in terms of human ego, gray represents something very different. Oh sure, many women will say that gray hair makes a man look distinguished. If that's so, why is Walt Frazier advertising Just For Men hair coloring? They are trying to convince us guys that we can't attract women unless we color our gray and make it brownish-orangeish color. No thanks.

But women see gray hair in themselves as a sign of old age. The first gray hair results in depression and mourning over lost youth. And men tend to view women with gray hair in a similar manner. Why? Why this form of discrimination? I don't have an answer to that.

Thankfully, "Madison Avenue", the world of advertisers, is starting to use some very attractive gray headed women in commercials. Maybe this can help to break the stigma.

Almost all of us get gray eventually, except for a few really freaky people who keep their color and I despise them horribly. Maybe someday, as long as gray hair still exists, we will see it as the Bible does and think how distinguished women look with that color as well.

Too Tired

This is a sort of substitute post for today.  I had to take my wife down for biometric scanning today.  It went very quickly, so props to the USCIS for that arrangement.

Anyway, I have a meeting at 7:30 tonight, and I think I need a nap.  Old age must be creeping up on me.

So, let's count this as a post and try to do better tomorrow, shall we?  We shall.

When You Can't Think of What To Write...

Wow. I've been doing pretty well in keeping this blog going. Six days out of seven each week isn't bad. But I find that on certain days that I have brain clog. I just can't think of a topic. I suppose I could try some "creative writing - fiction", but I'm doing enough of that for my English class. Frankly, fiction isn't my best genre. It's on days like this that I tend to rant, so why break the mold?

I find that I have given my wife the "gift that keeps on giving". Yes, as sick as I was last week, I decided to share the sickness with my loving spouse. I told her that I should have slept on the couch but no, she wouldn't hear of it. Because of her generosity and love, now she is sniffling and coughing like I was. What's the moral of the story? Wives, if your husband offers to sleep on the couch when he is sick, accept it as an act of love. Frankly, it's also a bit of selfishness on our part because we know that when you're out of action, nothing gets done around the house. Okay, that may sound chauvinistic, but I only say it because I know how lame I am at cleaning and cooking. (Take out food, anyone?)

Rant the second...the San Francisco 49ers are overrated. I think I said something about this last week, but after watching part of the game against the Steelers, I feel justified in my statement. Alex Smith, congrats on being the number one pick a couple of years ago, but you are NOT good enough to be a starter. Sorry.

Rant the third...Thanks to Asia for being, as far as I know, the only reader of this blog. She is the only one who comments, so I have to assume that she is the only one that reads it. I appreciate it, Asia.

Rant the fourth...To all residents of Sacramento, California: Does anyone else think that Cal Expo would be an absolutely horrible place for an NBA arena? Can you say "traffic nightmare"? (I knew you could.)

Final rant...Why do parents give their kids names that they are going to hate or hate dealing with all their lives? For example, they spell names differently for the sake of being different. Let's take an imaginary (I mean it...it's imaginary) example. John and Joan want to name their baby daughter Jane, but instead of spelling it "J-a-n-e" they decide they want to be different and spell it "J-a-i-n-e". As the child grows up, she will have to correct pronunciations and spellings just because the parents wanted to be different. People, please consider things such as this and other things such as sources of teasing. Being unique is fine, we are all unique. But when you clamp a ball and chain of a bizarre or too-different name on your child, you aren't stressing uniqueness. You're saying, "Yes, please, tease my child. It will be good for her." Trust me; it isn't.

Digital Cable

You know the old jokes about 100 channels and nothing on?  Like Frankenstein's monster, "They live!!!"  

We recently upgraded from analog cable to digital cable.  Cool, right?  Indeed, there are some benefits.  We now have Turner Classic Movies, which makes American Movie Classics look cheap.  TCM does have the classics, particularly the old MGM collection.  We also have (because we coughed up an extra $10 per month) TV5, which is the French television network.  For those of you who have read earlier columns, you know that my wife is French, so we are glad to have shows in her native language.

There are some other cool channels.  The History Channel International is nice, as is the Sci-Fi channel.  BBC America is an awesome addition.  But other than those?  Bleah!  A whole lot of crud, garbage, poubelle, etc., etc.  But the joke has to be changed.  Now, we have to say that we have 500 channels and there is nothing on!  Sheesh.  TV - off...book - in hand...time to read.

Waitin' On The Comcast

I am now taking part in a ritual that all homeowners or renters go through at one point in their lives or another.  It is a ritual that all can identify with and empathize with.  It is the waiting game.  It may be experienced with a phone company, a cable company, or an electric company, but it will be experienced.

Many moons ago, you were given a 9 hour window in which the technician was promised to arrive.  "He'll be there Tuesday."  

"When on Tuesday?"

"Some time between 8 and 5."

"Can you be a bit more precise?"

"Some time between 8:01 and 4:59."

"Thanks a heap."

Ah, but thank goodness for progress.  Yesterday, I came home to my phone answering machine reminding me of my service appointment with my local cable company.

"Your service appointment is scheduled between noon and 5 p.m. tomorrow.  Please call us if you have any questions." This has been a recording.

You see?  Progress!  The nine hour window has been reduced to five hours!  Just think!  Ten years from now it will be 3 hours!  I don't know about you, but I'm psyched!

Sports Day

It's that time again! Time for my random rants on sports.

Basketball - Each time I look at the Sacramento Kings' roster I scratch my head and wonder. How in the heck did we get into this mess? I won't go into details, or this wouldn't be a short rant. Nonetheless, what are the chances that we can get rid of everyone except for Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia...and that's it?
AK-47 (Andre Kirilenko) wants out of Utah, and, of course, Kings fans wonder if we could get him here. Personally, I'd love to have him here, but I just don't see how it could work. But I'm sure going to keep my eye on www.sactownroyalty.com for the latest news and opinions. Just think how much Sacramento's Russian population would go for this trade!

Baseball - To Marc Ecko, the man who bought Barry Bonds' record breaking baseball: Can you please be a bit more self-serving and self-righteous? I would be curious, however, how you plan to get that baseball into space. Do you really have so much money to waste on these things? Feed the poor, plant some trees, do something useful!

Football - Fans crack me up sometimes. The Raiders are 0 - 2 and the haters are pulling the plug on the entire season. The 49ers are 2 - 0 and bandwagonneers are ready to anoint them the rulers of the NFC West. Both teams have looked mediocre at best, and it's only been two games! Calm down, will ya?

Three Cheers for the River Cats! - The Sacramento River Cats just won the Triple-A championship. And that's with more call-ups and roster changes than one can even imagine. That says a lot about the players, the coaches, and the fans who supported the team. Way to go, guys! You rock!

TheraFlu Rules

Still sick today, and have already had to write a lot for my creative writing course.  Thus, no big blog commentary again today.

Yet, I do have to write something, per my self-imposed instructions.  Thus, today I sing the praises of TheraFlu daytime formula.  Man, does anything work better to get a person through the day when he's sick?  Not that I've found.  I do have some advice for those who want to use it.  First, daytime formula only.  The others are almost undrinkable.  Second, use very hot water and finish drinking the concoction before it gets lukewarm.  The hotter the better and the less gagging.  Finally, whenever possible, add honey. 

That's all, and that's all I have to say today.  Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Sick Tuesday

I'm not feeling too well today, so here's just a few random thoughts.

Is O.J. Simpson evil, deranged, sick, stupid, or all of the above?

I like how Jeff Foxworthy describes the side effects of medicines. He lists everything from diarrhea to low credit ratings. It's funny, but it's true. I looked up the side effects of a medicine that my doctor prescribed for cluster headaches. Thanks, but I think I'll just suffer. Sheesh.

It used to be that women looked at the inner man when choosing a partner while the man looked at the outer woman. Studies have shown that to be true. But does anyone else think that young women are becoming just as shallow as men? What does that say about society?

Being sick stinks on ice.

That's all. Just wanted to post before my brain completely seizes up like an engine without motor oil.

Monday...Bleah! (Title Supposedly Borrowed)

***NOTE: A friend who has another blog has accused me of borrowing the title. Even though I can't find proof, I will give her credit. http://asiavou.blogspot.com/ (You crack me up, girl.)

Yes, that just about sums up my mood today.

First of all, my apologies for not posting yesterday. I'm giving myself a pass for two reasons. Reason number one: I had a really busy day along with some health issues. Reason number two: If I don't give myself a pass, then I'm being really hard on myself, might discourage myself, and become even more bitter towards myself. Thus, a full pardon has been granted. Hurrah!

I was helping my son with his drafting homework last night. Let me rephrase that, because what I know about drafting could fit in a thimble with room left over for Lake Tahoe. I was loaning him my eyes because he was so tired. Why was he tired, you might ask? He was tired because, at age 19, he put in a day at work on Saturday that was not to be believed. He started work at 7 am, worked until 4, then had to go back to work at 7 pm to do inventory and didn't leave till about 1 am. He had to work so many hours due to a bunch of irresponsible co-workers who put partying ahead of agreed upon duties.

I'm so tired of these teens and twenty-somethings who think that they have every right to do what they wish, be as loud and obnoxious as they wish, be as vulgar and rude as they wish, and to do it so that it infringes on others' rights. For example, there are neighbors in my building who will play their music loud at 2 am, and then stand in the parking lot or sit on their balcony and scream, cuss, and just generally make a nuisance of themselves. If you try to call them on it, they turn it on you! (I won't even begin to go into the sight and sound of young women using language that is so vulgar that it wouldn't even qualify for an "R" rating!)

Parents, you need to teach your children from an early age that other people have rights, too. You need to teach them to put others before themselves, how to display manners, and how to have some self-respect.

What are the chances of that happening? Not good, as I see a bunch of parents out there who don't even understand the concept themselves.

Why am I ranting on this? I don't know. I guess I'm just sick of what I see and wish that people would consider what they look and sound like, and how they treat others.

And to those young women who think that cussing makes you mature and sexy? You're wrong. You seem cheap, trashy, and ignorant. Guys, the same goes for you. Try a few sentences without a cuss word in the middle of it. You might be surprised that you can sound intelligent.

Done for now. I'm tired, it's Monday, and I'm rambling. But at least I posted!

Grocery Stores

I just got back from doing my weekly grocery shopping.  Yes, I'm a guy and I do the family shopping.  There is something depressing about shopping.  I'm not talking about the prices, although those can get a person and his budget down in a hurry.  I'm talking about selection.

Hear me out.  I realize that American grocery markets carry a wide variety of foods.  I also understand that they can't make everyone happy.  But let's compare, say, Safeway to a much smaller store such as Trader Joe's.  Safeway has a huge variety of items compared to TJ's.  But as I wander through Joe's place, I find things that I want, not just things I need.  I find good prices on things such as French cornichon pickles, cage free eggs, wine, pasta, and other items.  But on top of that, I find items from all over the world.  In comparison, Safeway feels sterile and, well, safe.  Safe is fine, but safe is not always best.  When I walk into a market in France, I can smell the flavor in the air.  The stores are clean, but they don't try to hide the aromas. Here, the smell of...nothing...is in the air.  

Where in the world am I going with this?  I don't know.  I guess I'm just down because I'm tired of seeing the same old boring products every week.  Hey Safeway.  Why not get juuuust a little daring?  How about a nice cassoulet?  Perhaps some true Italian mortadella?  Something?  Oh well, just give me half a pound of the overly processed sliced chicken breast, please.

Writing Prompts

Today I had to do two prompts for my creative writing course. The first prompt was to describe a "black sheep" of the family and write about why they were considered to be odd and why you might have liked or admired them. The second was to describe someone's room using descriptions for all five senses, and then reveal a secret at the end.

The reason I am putting this in my blog is to reveal something I have learned about writing; you don't always like what you have to write.

I hated these assignments. They weren't me! But I also realize that if a person wants to earn money as a writer, they may have to take freelance assignments where he has to write about a subject that doesn't interest him. These qualified, that's for sure. But in writing these stories, I began to understand that I have to take even more care when writing in cases like this. One student who reviewed my paper said that he could tell that this subject was less appealing to me than previous papers. He could tell! Even though I thought the work was pretty good, this student - who doesn't know me at all - could tell that I wasn't thrilled with the assignment!

Thus, the lesson for myself today is to make myself interested in what I have to write. If I can't get interested in my mind, it won't be interesting on paper.

Second Guessing

The title of this post should in no way be construed as meaning my decision to post every day. This is actually good for me, if not for anyone else.

I have signed up for extension courses in a local university which, upon completion, will point me towards a different line of work. Sounds cool, doesn't it? Yeah, well I'm having those old second-guessing, self-doubting heebie-jeebies. The new career is beginning to sound too much like the old one, and the whole point is to get out of the old one!

As I analyze the situation, a very solid truth keeps rising up before me: I don't want to do any of these jobs. Except one. You guessed it. I want to write. But reality sticks its little nose into my business and reminds me that there are a lot of writers out there, and it's tough to make it in the field. Even if you do, it's tough to make ends meet. What to do...what to do?

I guess what I have to do is gut this out. I need to finish the training for the new career, use my old career as a fall-back option if I don't like the new one, and get serious about writing. Until I get serious, I'll never know if I could make it. So, bring on the paralegal courses (yawn)...

...and get out the laptop, pad of paper and pen, and start doing what you've always wanted to do. Yes sir, right away sir.

Here's to seeing things clearly, and a wife that helps me to do so.

Dig Deeper

I promised I would post every day. I don't have much time today, so here it is.

There was an article in the newspaper saying that more and more children are being diagnosed with bipolar syndrome.

Why do I mention this? Because I want people to look deeper at news. I want people to ask questions. The question is this:

Are more children being diagnosed as bipolar because there is more mental disease in the world today, because more children are being diagnosed correctly when in the past such symptoms might have been missed, or because more parents want an excuse for their children's behavior so they take them to psychiatrists and claim that the children are bipolar.

Too often, people read the news and just assume that the easy answer is correct. Don't do that, folks. See the story in context. Think about it. Play out the possibilities. Think for yourself and use insight.

Otherwise, you'll simply take everything - and everyone - at face value.

Football Thoughts -- (Soccer to some)

I just noticed on ESPN.com that the U.S. Women's Football (Soccer) team tied North Korea 2-2. I didn't watch the game because it was on at 2 am PST. I wouldn't watch a game at that hour if it was the U.S. or French men's team going in the World Cup Final! Watching sports can be fun, but sleep is sleep. A couple of weeks ago I read that there is going to be another attempt at a women's professional league in the U.S. That's fine. Just don't expect it to be wildly successful. Football (soccer) is not as popular as the other major U.S. sports, and women's sports are also far less successful than the men's sports. Women's basketball is more popular and more profitable overseas. Maybe that's where a women's league should start.

I'm on a football (soccer) rant now. Let's keep it rolling. I love good football. I hate to tell the MLS, but their brand isn't particularly good. When an aging David Beckham can join the MLS in an injured state and still outplay the others on the field, that tells you the quality of play. That doesn't mean that the MLS should disband. On the contrary. It should go out and get the best players possible. But perhaps a couple of changes would help.

First change: flopping is penalized. Americans constantly complain about players falling down and holding their legs when they aren't even touched. They don't understand that one reason for this is to get a sort of "time out" for their team. It's tough running for 45 minutes straight, so if a player notices his team getting tired, he'll take a fall to give them some water and a breather. This should either be explained to U.S. fans, or there should be a break at 22:30 and turn the game into four quarters like basketball or American football.

Second change: get rid of the ties. Americans hate ties. There are winners and losers. That's all. Thus, every game should have the golden goal period followed by a shootout. It isn't classic football, but it would help the U.S. game.

Third change: increase the exhibition matches. We've had Mexican and British teams come to the U.S. to play MLS teams. Let's get some French, Italian, and other clubs here so that Americans can see the best of the best.

I want the women's league to succeed. I want MLS to succeed. I want Americans to quit whining about how slow football is and instead compare it to a baseball game. You want slow? Watch just a couple of at-bats in baseball. Who needs prescription sleep aids? "OK Mr. Jones. I want you to take two innings of Kansas City Royals vs. Tampa Bay Rays before bedtime and you'll go right to sleep."

I also want San Jose and Raleigh to have teams. Go Quakes!

New Resolve

Have you ever resolved to do something and failed over and over again? I have. The few people who read this blog know for a fact that I have.

I have promised time and again to post regularly on this blog, and have not lived up to that resolution. No more. Today I make the vow: I WILL post regularly.

So...why will it work this time?

I want to write. Period. I want to be a writer. Thus, I have decided to use this blog as a tool to get in the habit of writing daily (or at least every other day...I do have to be a bit flexible, you know.) Even if I don't have a subject prepared, I have to find one. Even if it isn't particularly good, I have to do it.

Thus, I am asking a favor of anyone who reads this: let me know you are there! Post a comment, send a message, do something to let me know that there are living, breathing people out there who read this.

Even if there is no one, I need to do this for myself. So, come with me, if you dare. Take a trip into my brain from time to time and see what is churning between my ears. (For those of you who say, "not much"...bleah to you!!) Let's have some fun and see what happens.

I thank you.