2015 Resolution

Well, 2015 is fast approaching (good thing I don't have to write the date out - that would mess me up for weeks).  I guess in most of the world it is already here.  Like using a new calendar really changes anything (different year, same um stuff).  This is a time where people set goals for themselves which sound good in theory, but are virtually impossible in practice.


So what Herculean task did I set for this year?
Win a lottery jackpot of  at least net $31 million with less than $3 spent out of pocket (existing ticket winning would count).

After Xmas Sales, i Guess a Week After is too Late

Well, I finally got out on my after Xmas shopping trip (looking for Xmas decorations, candy, etc).  The sidewalks here were still snow covered and annoying. 


So what did I find this year?  Not a lot - it turns out most of the clearanced stuff is gone by New Years Eve, go figure (New Years isn't a real holiday by the way).  I didn't exactly walk away empty handed (though maybe I should have). 
* I added 2 small bags of candy (though not the 24oz popcorn thing I was in the mood for)
* an outdoor darkness sensor thing (I wonder if it works to turn the lights on when dark, off during the day).  So far, so good
* My addition to my "Philips" LED Xmas light collection this year: a color changing 12' flat rope light (not sure exactly what to do with it, but it was marked down 70%).  I'm sure I can come up with something in a future annum (assuming such a thing exists). 

Hacking/Malware Creation Should be a Capital Offense

Yes, I said it, hacking (including Ddos attacks) and malware creation (trojans, worms, viruses, et al) should be a capital offense (and not with all of the wussy appeals).  I am getting sick and tired of the jackass hackers causing harm (because they can), stealing data and other mal-intentioned activities.


Everyone else has to follow the rules - and this is a big problem in an increasingly digital world. No, the companies/organizations hacked (or other things) should not be held liable for the criminal activity of others (and it is impossible to stop all attempts).


Losing one hacker (or millions) wouldn't be a bad thing.  These slime do not deserve to live.  I am not advocating violence against these "people", but I am also not dissuading it.  Would I support drone strikes against hackers (even those in the US)?  Definitely.   

Miscellaneous Xmas Pics

So, for no good reason here are some miscellaneous Xmas pictures (though it didn't really feel like Xmas at all this year)....

Black Friday: Yourself or Others

This might be a little chronologically asynchronous, but... on Black Friday do you go looking for stuff for yourself or others?


Personally, every time I have gone out it is to look for something for myself (like Electronics, Video Games, Movies, etc).  Maybe the way my "budget" works incentivizes getting stuff cheaper for myself.  Maybe that is just because there is nobody I care about enough to get presents (no annoying monsters looking for whatever the toy cartels have convinced them what they want).


So Xmas is coming soon.  Hopefully it won't have to come without packages, boxes or bags.   

My Wishlist for Santa

Since I am currently unaware of the correct address/email address for Santa Claus, I guess i'll just post this here - in case the elves in the mailroom decide to read this...

Halloween 2014: The Pumpkining: Part Something

Well, it's almost here again... the most wonderful time of the year - Halloween.  So what to do on my favorite holiday?  i have to remember to buy a MegaMillions ticket tomorrow.  Because "miracles happen most every day to people like you and me".  Come on Great Pumpkin.

For some reason, chronoligical adults aren't allowed to go trick or treating (how lame).  They are still allowed to carve pumpkins horribly and take pictures.  So here we go (trying to embed Flickr photos this time, not sure how it will work).  Nah, i don't feel like taking the time to figure it out (not as easy as i expected it to be).

Political: Are Women Really That Stupid?

So, unfortunately another election cycle is underway.  The airwaves (especially here) are being inundated with political ads.  It is kind of weird seeing ads for both candidates in a race being shown as to extreme for X.

What is the big theme that democrats are pushing?  The war on women.  There isn't really a war on women, but if they buy into these ads maybe there should be.  Of all the shit going on in the US and the world, they chose to focus on this?  Really?

i guess a $17 trillion (and growing debt), irresponsible government spending, really bad potential environmental legislation, the Obamacare lie (was their anything in the original pitch that was true), and the like don't mean anything.

The Hail Storm of the Centennial

I figure that if I had a blog (which I don't) I should post some stuff sometimes.


Well, on the eve (more like afternoon) of September 29, 2014 there was some heavy rain.  Then the hail came for maybe 20 minutes.  I opened the door to take a few pictures and had to scrape off the hail/ice to close the door.  Even small hail stones do not feel great when they hit you.  The dog, who was outside finally got inside (despite the driving hail, that is why you go downstairs under the deck dog - you still get soaked, but you avoid ice pellets).

Ready for some pictures (some misleading as to the amount). Too bad, for some reason Blogger and IE 11 don't work well together).  Chrome has no problems though.  Picture 3 - that is a quarter.

Halloween 2014, Just n-1 days Away

Well Halloween 2014 is approaching at the normal speed (by the way Xmas is in 90 Days from today).

i thought i would have a post to show a couple of the "new" Halloween decorations that i got for Xmas last year.  Ready for some bad low light pictures and long-ish shutter speeds (someday i may have to figure out how to embed Flickr images, but not today).

Interesting Recent Bing Search Items

Yes, I Bing.  Why don't I Google?  Well Bing gives me points for searches that can be used for Xbox "Points" or Amazon gift cards.


So, what strange and unusual (and borderline exciting - yes, I have no life) thing showed up on the Bing search picture scroll thing.


* Real Genius the TV show:  I'm not sure how this would work being that it is supposed to be a "work" sitcom - being developed by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison productions.  The original 1985 movie was kind of awesome - featuring Val Kilmer in his best role (at least to me) as a sarcastic genius with an extensive t-shirt collection.  The movie dealt with the lives of geniuses on a college campus working with lasers.  I don't know how this would work in a workplace (with no Kent). 


* Bill and Ted 3: Excellent!  This one will supposedly follow the saviors of all things (or maybe not quite yet) as a couple of 40 somethings that may not have accomplished what they were foretold to (despite the ending to Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey).  I was wondering why mini golf scores hadn't gone down yet and why bowling scores haven't gone up. 

Maybe Target isn't Completely Useless

I am not a huge fan of Target stores.  However, I "shop" there every once in a while because it is the closest store to me (Wal-Mart is another mile or so down the road - and I have the weird notion that if I want to buy something I should force myself to walk there). 


Well, what did I confirm on my latest trip to Target?  Target price matches Amazon.com (at least on advertised items).  That means that I can now get Amazon prices and pay with cash (I prefer cash purchases) and get it that day.


So what do you need to know? 
- Many Target stores have free Wi-Fi
- They want you to have a mobile device to confirm the price (especially if it is Amazon, Best Buy, Wal-Mart. com).  
A mini tablet, tablet, or if you are a weirdo (like at least 65% of the population) a smart phone works.     
- Find the customer service desk (that is where they do it)


So, hop on their Wi-Fi (or use your mobile data plan), pull up the price and show it to them, get a better price than the Target advertised one (since Target's advertised prices usually kind of suck).  

Big Sandwich (or the Puzzle Saga Reaches its Conclusion)

Well, back on April 21, 2014 I had a post about a puzzle I completed.  If I completed the puzzle one of my alleged sisters said that she would make it for me. 

Happy Friday the 13th 2014

Well, it's Friday the 13th again....   This is the only Friday the 13th in 2014 (supposedly there are 3 next year).  Apparently, this is a rare Friday the 13th with a full moon too (the next one of those should be in August 2049). 


I celebrated in the traditional way, buying a couple of lottery tickets and hoping that this day will be the luckiest in my life (I guess that wouldn't be hard).


For some reason, I've always liked Friday the 13ths (not the movie series so much - it's ok).  I guess that's because I'm weird. 

Bad Hail Pictures

i considered titling this post with some lame puns ("what the hail", "This place is going to hail", etc), but I decided that would be kind of cheesy.  So instead I decided to just post a couple pictures of a minor even here that happened recently (i think this was June 5th).

Then i realized that IE and Blogger don't get along, so i switched to Chrome for the remainder of this post.

Losery Post of Loserdom: Movies Watched In May 2014

Yet another month has gone by.  I surprisingly watched some movies again this month.  Why a post for a month and not wait for a quarter or something?  Well I started taking out AFI Top 100 movies from the library with a vengeance and watched as many as the library had/was able to get in.


The "New" Movies this month: Better Living Through Chemistry - ok / The Book Thief - I found it a little pointless / 47 Ronin - ok special effect laden movie / Grudge Match - better than I thought / I Frankenstein - they turned Frankenstein into an angels vs devils action flick, I guess it was an ok movie considering I didn't have to pay to see it / The Monuments Men - I found it kind of boring / Pompeii - completely disposable action movie (better than many I watched this month), with really cheesy volcanic eruption.  I was waiting forever for the pyroclastic flow / That Awkward Moment - it was ok / Vampire Academy - kind of feels like a "me too" picture, not quite Twilight.  One of the females occasionally had some decent lines


Many of the Top 100 movies kind of suck and leaves me wondering why they were on the list.  There will probably be a few "impression" posts about that in the future.  Here we go....


DVDs From the Library and a Couple Blu Rays (95) :
The African Queen, All About Eve, All The President's Men, All Quiet on the Western Front, An American in Paris, Annie Hall, The Apartment, Apocalypse Now Redux, The Best Years of Our Lives, Better Living Through Chemistry, The Birth of a Nation, Blade Runner, Bonnie and Clyde, The Book Thief, Breaking Bad: Season 2, Bridge on the River Kwai, Bringing Up Baby, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cabaret, Chinatown, Dances With Wolves, Do the Right Thing,


Doctor Zhivago, Dr. Strangelove Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Easy Rider, Fantasia, Forest Gump, 47 Ronin, The French Connection, From Here to Eternity, The General, Giant, The Godfather, The Godfather Part 2, The Gold Rush, Gone With the Wind, The Graduate, Grapes of Wrath, Grudge Match, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, High Noon (TBS), I Frankenstein, Intolerance, In the Heat of the Night, It Happened One Night, The Jazz Singer,


King Kong, Labor Day, Lawrence of Arabia, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, The Maltese Falcon, The Manchurian Candidate, MASH, Midnight Cowboy, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Modern Times, The Monuments Men, Mutiny on the Bounty, Network, A Night at the Opera, North by Northwest, Out of the Furnace, Patton, The Philadelphia Story, A Place in the Sun, Pompeii, Pulp Fiction, Rebel Without a Cause, Rocky, The Searchers, The Shawshank Redemption,


Silence of the Lambs, Singin' in the Rain, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Some Like It Hot, Sophie's Choice, The Sound of Music, Stagecoach, Sunset Boulevard, A Street Car Named Desire, Swing Time, Taxi Driver, That Awkward Moment, 3 Days to Kill, To Kill a Mockingbird, Tootsie, Toy Story, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 12 Angry Men, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Unforgiven, Vampire Academy, West Side Story, The Wizard of Oz, Yankee Doodle Dandy


Borrowed DVDs (2):
Planes, About Time


Other Blu-Ray/ On Demand
none


Movie Theatre:
none

Bing Rewards Just Became Useless to Me

So, I finally had enough Bing search credits to get my "reward".   In the past, everything was so easy... get the credits, click confirm, click complete my order, done. 


Now they added an extra step that I absolutely cannot stand.  What did they add?


A confirmation code that can only be received on phones.  I hate telephones (and want nothing to do with them).  You can only get text messages to a mobile phone or an automated call (no VOIP) phones (which is where the non-mobile segment seems to be trending).


I know that something like 56% of residents of the US have a smartphone and 91% own some kind of mobile phone (mindboggling to me).  What about those people who want nothing to do with cell phones?  It is just another annoying trend - like Target in-store offers that you can only get if you have an Apple or Android phone (if I was going to get smart phone - which I don't plan on, I would go for Windows Phone 8)


http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/06/05/smartphone-ownership-2013/


So, I guess my Bing search credits are now absolutely useless to me.  Why even bother to use Bing if I don't get incentivized to do so (though I like it better than Google)? 

Update:
So a while ago (late July or so) i caved and got a mini tablet that is capable of sending and receiving texts - a Nokia Lumia 521 prepaid.  It costs a little, but i can live with $10 every three months.  Especially as i can get up to 10 Bing credits per day for searches on it.  

Photographic Metaphor for Life

Let's try this (assuming that it won't work again since Blogger seems to hate IE)...

This image is today's metaphor for life (though lighting and lack of zoom kind of make it a little off - I hate natural sunlight) ...

* hint: look in the center, or a little below (probably should have cropped it)

Movies Watched: AFI Top 100

After a string of pretty bad movies from the library, I decided to check out the AFI list of 100 top American made movies. 


http://www.afi.com/100Years/movies.aspx

Losery Post of Loserdom: Movies Watched Q1-ish 2014

Ready for another exhilarating post on movies that I watched in Q1 2014 (ok, no exactly Q1 - but February through April 2014.  I already had a January post for some reason).  In my records it corresponds to months 26-28.


Would it surprise you, the reader, to know that I watched several movies during that time span?  No.  oh well.  Would it surprise you to know that I "watched" some of these (not every minute).  I accidentally added some awful indie movies. 

Non-PC Post of the Day: NBA: LA Clippers Owner

So, what topic do I want to mention today?  Well, if you read the title you would probably know.


Recently, there has been kind of a blow-up in the sports scene as the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of Los Angeles (Donald Sterling) apparently said some potentially racist comment.  You don't get enough money to own a professional sports franchise without being at least a little slimy. 

Puzzle and After Easter Sales

Some time ago (I forget how long, maybe a 1-3 weeks) I finished this puzzle.  An alleged sister of mine said that she would make me the thing pictured on the puzzle.  Here is where you intrepid personages come in here....

What exactly is in the pictured image (not counting the invisible gummy bears that are obviously
there).

The Blood Moon and Palindrome Week

Based off a news story I got up at 2:45 AM local time to try and see the blood moon (couldn't get to sleep anyway).  What I didn't realize was that the stupid news story was wrong and it would just be wrapping up at that time.  Between midnight and 3 AM wouldn't have helped me much - I mean it's shouldn't be as hard to predict the time as it is to predict the weather.  They said it would be best/brightest at that time - nope.  So, no I didn't really see any red in the blood moon (just the tail end of a lunar eclipse).


The next one is supposed to be October 8th or something like that.


So what did I learn this time.  The news kind of sucks (stupid third or fourth tier city).  Also, autofocus doesn't work worth a damn in low light situations.  Too bad I didn't remember that my lens had manual focus (I hate using manual focus, it's too hard/finicky).  Also, if you want a moon picture you probably want to use a tripod (actually I already knew that).  Long exposure times like to blur far too much.  I could have also used more mm in my lens (over 55mm). 


Palindrome week: so what's that?  Well, a palindrome (why do I keep trying to spell it with and "e") is something that is the same forward as backwards (like the Weird Al "song" called "Bob").  Stuff like Madam I'm Adam.  But since these are dates, it will be something like 4/14/14.  Basically, 4/10-4/19 will work.  That is using the US date format, of course (because the other formats are just weird).  I wouldn't have though of palindrome dates if it hadn't been a thing on Bing search. 

Psych

Sadly, Psych has ended its run.  At least they finally got that Val Kilmer (that guy from Real Genius) cameo in this series.  At least I got a decent 8 seasons of crime solving activities (who would have thought White Rock, B.C. - I mean Santa Barbara would be such a murder capital) - there is even a song about that in the show.  Now what will I have to watch on TV? 


It was one of my favorite shows on TV.  In a sea of procedural investigation shows, this one had a more comedic take.  It wasn't CSI, SVU (or any other acronym show).  It was a show about a fake psychic detective who solved cases along with his magic headed sidekick. 


I started watching it from the first episode.  Some episodes and seasons were definitely better than others, but compared to what else was on TV at the time, I found it much more entertaining.   There are also a lot of interesting quotes and one liners in the show.


Unlike some other previous USA network show that sort of had a detective (who was better as Antonio Scarpacci), I found it to be watchable.  Monk was kind of an old person show, I couldn't relate to.  Psych was more of a sarcastic, over the top series (with numerous '80s references - awesome).  I guess it helps that Shawn Spencer was far more relatable (age, references, attitudes) than some other detectives who are probably in the pantry alphabetizing the canned goods.


Now, I guess i'll have to wait until season 7 and 8 go on sale for less than $20 (I think I don't have season 7).     

Modern "Music" Kind of Sucks

After to "listening" to the radio station a teenage neer-do-well put on, my suspicion has been confirmed....  modern music sucks, it really really really sucks. 

Today's True Quote

"Happy Endings?  There are no happy endings.  Life is an uninterrupted series of humiliating failures"


Brain, The (from uninspired series Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain).   

Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups vs Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Butterfinger (ok Nestle) launched their version of peanut butter cups around Super Bowl time.  So how do I feel these stack up against the venerable Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. 

Image: Blogger not Adding Selected for some reason, it sits there and does nothing

Pro Sports Championships

Well, a Seattle area team finally won a championship in one of the four major sports (yes, for some reason the NHL is included).  This was not the Seattle area sports championship I really wanted to see (the Mariners), but I guess it will have to do.  Anything with a "W" in front of the league doesn't count as a sport to me.


So that got me thinking, what sport seems to be the easiest to win a championship in (at least to me)?  Well let's see...

Go Seahawks and Post Super Bowl Stuff

Well it's Groundhog's Day... again.  Apparently Punxsutaney Phil saw his shadow.  Oh, and I guess there is a football game today (with ads).


So, as a native Cascadian... go Seahawks.  I hope you can win to be the first Seattle area team since the 1978- 1979 SuperSonics.  I kind of hope Marshawn Lynch wins the MVP (since he hates talking to the press).




So what do I expect from the big money game outside the football game?  Disappointment.  We'll see since this post is not about expectations so much as it is reactions.

Losery Post of Loserdom: Movies Watched in January 2014

Well, it is 2014 already.  Does it seem to anyone else that 2013 just started.  Oh well.  As is my custom, I watched a few movies in the month of January (posting now so it won't be in the triple digits).  I'm not sure exactly what I watched in December or January (Xmas presents). 

Home Town Super Bowl Wondering

Ready for yet another useless post (though short)?  Too bad, you get one anyway.


When I went to high school (no there were no dinosaurs roaming the earth, though there were movies about them and animatronic versions), the school I went to had a rivalry with the other high school in the town area. 


That school's sports teams were called the "Seahawks"


Now, I am wondering if my hometown high school (the much better one) has halls filled with people in Seahawks gear (not to be confused with "Sea Chickens" or the like). 

NFL Super Bowl XLVIII Predictions

Since I predicted so well last time, what do I expect for the "big game".  Keeping in mind that I don't really know that much about football (and don't really care)?  I did get 8/10 Xbox One NFL app picks right for that week though.


Enough with the Roman Numerals (48 already).  It is getting a bit much, at least next season's will be IL.

NFL Playoff Predictions 1/19/14

It feels weird to write 14 in the year spot (US date format). 


So anyway, today marks the win and you're in the Super Bowl game.  It's a battle of teams in areas where I may or may not have "existed" vs teams from states I cannot stand.  Seattle must be interesting right now, they are such a big bandwagon town/metro area. 


Today sees the Denver Broncos (previously ridiculed in the Simpsons, then they won two consecutive Super Bowls) vs the New England Patriots.  There will be many "Omahas" uttered.
Wild Prediction: New England 38, Denver 31


The second game is between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco '49ers.  As if the Calivermin menace haven't been trying to turn Seattle into San Francisco 2.0 for decades. 
Wild Prediction: San Francisco 16, Seattle 9


If you can't tell, I'm not a fan of MA (at least no team from NY made it) and CA. 

2013: My Favorite Movies (Some of them)

Well 2013 came to an end, mercifully.  So what were some of my favorite movie that I saw this year in the theatre or on DVD (from the library)?

Well here goes....

Losery Post of Loserdom: Movies Watched Q4+ 2013

Maybe I should update my list of movies watched more recently so that no one can read them more frequently.  Or, maybe not.

Anyway, I watched (well mostly "watched") a few more movies since my last post (was it through August 2013?).  So, for no reason other than I feel like it, here is the list (or most of it).  There will probably be a few Halloween/horror movies on the list. 

2014 Movies That May Theoretically Interest Me

i was bored today, so I decided to look through IMDB for 2014 movies (probably not the complete list).  So what movies coming out in 2014 remotely interest me?  The stuff in parenthesis says how I would prefer to watch it: theatre - in the theatre, Library - from the library, Rental (not too likely), etc.  I will probably see less movies in the theatre as the ticket price on cheap days (Sunday) went up from $5 to $6 (apparently it is still $5 with rewards card).