lagniappe

lagniappe la·gniappe [lan-yap, lan-yap] noun

1. Chiefly Southern Louisiana and Southeast Texas. a small gift given with a purchase to a customer, by way of compliment or for good measure; bonus.

2. a gratuity or tip.

3. an unexpected or indirect benefit.

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I was familiar with this word, but not because of ever hearing it used but rather reading it. I don't remember looking it up, but understanding the meaning of it by the context in which it was used.

Tipping is something that's a sore point with me and I've participated in forums where I've been slammed for how I feel about it. I disagree with those who say a tip is always warranted; I've had servers who were so rude that if it had been in another setting or they had been men, I'd have punched them in the face for speaking as they did. I always thought a tip was a "thank you" for good service. Why thank someone who did a lousy job? Many times I've had a server take my order (sometimes after waiting a long time) and then bring my meal (again, sometimes after waiting a long time) and that will be the last time they come to the table until they bring the check. (and sometimes THAT takes a long time) I'm supposed to actually PAY them for ignoring me? That's not right.

Secondly, who sets the amount of the tip? The standard tip used to be 10%, then it was 15%, then within the course of a few years it's now "supposed" to be 30%. Good grief, to pay nearly a third more of the bill in a gratuity is outrageous.  I know about inflation, the cost-of-living and all that, but the price of eating out has gone up along with everything else.  There used to be a place here in town that served a "blue plate special" for a little over four bucks total. (it's been a long time, but while it wasn't gourmet food, it was tasty and filling)  The place is long gone, but other establishments have been the same type (diner) and their meals are closer to ten dollars.  A 10% tip then was .50 cents (rounding up a little bit) but now I'm supposed to pay at least $3.50 for the tip?  I'm not great at math, but that looks to me like more of a raise than inflation or cost-of-living can account for.

Granted, most servers don't even make minimum wage, but I don't understand why an eating establishment can't just go ahead and pay a decent wage - why are servers exempt from the minimum wage law? That needs to be changed. The argument against that is if servers are paid more, then the cost of your meal goes up. Well, duh....if you're paying 30% extra for the meal, then the cost HAS gone up.   There are places that add a percentage to the ticket for the tip and that's fine if the service is excellent, but otherwise... Plus, there are places that make the servers pool and split their tips and that's annoying.  If I'm tipping, I want to reward MY server, not another table's.

And another thing that annoys me:  while it wouldn't be that much for most places, but if you have a meal for several in a more expensive place, then why is the sales tax figured into the total for the percentage of the tip?  It's not uncommon for a meal for four to cost a hundred bucks and if the sales tax is 8%+, then you're paying $2+ tip on a tax!  Ridiculous!  It's not the extra two dollars, it's the principle.

I'm NOT a cheapskate;  I believe in tipping, but it needs to be more of a reward for good service, not an obligation to pay an exorbitant amount.   Other countries don't have the custom of tipping and I wish the U.S. would do away with it as well. 

Is It Down Right Now?

After a few attempts at accessing my Feedly reader, I decided I'd check the site to see if the problem was mine or was with the website.  Using the Is It Down Right Now? site, I found out there was a problem, but it wasn't on my end.  Searching the news, I saw Feedly Hit With Denial Of Service Attacks with some person or persons attempting to blackmail Feedly.  I hope the perps are caught and prosecuted.  Personally, my own form of punishment would involve a hatchet and their hands, but that's just because I'm a savage, callous knuckle-dragger who is sick and tired of spammers and scam artists taking over the 'net. 

That said, Is It Down Right Now? is a great resource.  From the site:

"Is It Down Right Now" monitors the status of your favorite web sites and checks whether they are down or not. Check a website status easily by using the below test tool. Just enter the url and a fresh site status test will be perfomed on the domain name in real time using our online website checker tool. For detailed information, check response time graph and user comments.

Is It Down Right Now?

verbicide

verbicide ver·bi·cide [vur-buh-sahyd] noun

1. the willful distortion or depreciation of the original meaning of a word.
2. a person who willfully distorts the meaning of a word.

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I thought of several instances of verbicide, but most were curse words or otherwise obscene. (I like to make the comments for these words funny, not offensive - this entry is a little more serious, though)  The only other two that came to mind were involving homosexuality; the word "gay" has changed its meaning by the gay community and "queer", once a term for "odd", then became a pejorative for gays, has now been embraced by many in the gay community.

I decided to see if I could find other examples and found this other definition of verbicide:

Facetious. misuse or overuse of a word or any use of a word which is damaging to it.

Words - at least those that AREN'T swearing -  are much easier to think of for this definition and the first one that popped into my head was racist; it's been thrown around so much for quite some time and particularly since President Obama was elected that it's lost it's meaning...and that's sad, because simply disagreeing with certain policies and actions of this administration are not racist in nature and it takes away from identifying actual racism.  That's as absurd as accusing a black person of racism just because they didn't agree with Bush's economic policies.

I've disagreed with many things from each and every President since I've been voting as well as with many president's actions before I was even born. I take great offense at being labeled a racist simply because I have different political views than the person making the accusation. (I also wonder if the person making the claim is guilty of projection)

It's one thing to call me a racist in a forum or on a message board, but it's another thing altogether to say it to my face. That would be a big, big mistake on your part.  That would make me guilty of assault and battery, not racism.

ad hominem

ad hominem ad ho·mi·nem [ad hom-uh-nuhm -nem, ahd‐] adjective

1. appealing to one's prejudices, emotions, or special interests rather than to one's intellect or reason.

2. attacking an opponent's character rather than answering his argument.

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Most certainly a word I'd never heard of until I got on the 'net and then I saw it used as a counter-argument/accusal in forums and on message boards.

Personally, I feel if someone's character is less than desirable - evidenced by their comments and behavior in said forums and message boards - then I don't give a lot of credence to their argument.  I often see the term used as a rebuttal to someone ridiculing an argument, but the problem is the original point made appealed "to one's prejudices, emotions, or special interests rather than to one's intellect or reason".  It's hypocritical to start out a point with an ad hominem then be offended when one is used in return.

That said, an ad hominem reply is something to be avoided if possible.  On the other hand, sometimes it's very satisfying.

Don't agree with me?  Yo momma.

rile

rile [rahyl] verb (used with object), riled, ril·ing.
Chiefly Northern and North Midland U.S.

1. to irritate or vex.
2. to roil (water or the like).

---

I definitely know this word, because too many things rile me on the Internet; sometimes it's the news, but most often it's somebody whose comments go beyond the pale.  I'm getting better, though, but I sometimes will still sign up for an account just to reply to some jerk on a forum I'll never visit again.

I don't let too many people rile me on Facebook because I've already blocked most of the a-holes who post to the pages I follow.  I also do it for a few people who are friends with some of my Facebook friends but I don't want to get into it with them on my friend's wall, just out of respect for them.

I've quit commenting on YouTube videos because 99% of the time the person making some outrageous statement knows absolutely nothing about the subject.

Women in the News

Was checking my Bing search page and clicking on links ( not just to read the news, but also to get points, which I redeem for Amazon gift certificates - which *some* might think a waste of time and not worth it, but in the last couple of months I've got discounts on my Amazon purchases to the tune of $25) and was reading various articles about different women in the news.

The first article was "DWTS host let go"  The host was a woman by the name of Brooke Burke-Charvet and to be honest, I've never heard of her...but that's because I don't watch Dancing With the Stars. She's a pretty young woman, but not only am I not a fan of DWTS, I'm not a fan of hyphenated names. Before my ex and I married, she said said she wanted to keep her maiden name and hyphenate it with mine. I told her I'd rather she keep her maiden name rather than alter mine. I didn't insist she take my last name; I just didn't want hers tacked onto mine. I'm not only not a fan of hyphenated last names, I'm not a fan of hyphenated labels, particularly those like "African-American" and the like.  We're Americans, plain and simple.  If people insist I refer to them that way, then I'm a "Super-Duper-Wonderful-Great-American".  You HAVE to call me that or I'll get all offended and butt-hurt. ("Butt-hurt" should be hyphenated, though.)

I then read about Maria von Trapp, the last surviving member of the family that was the basis of "The Sound of Music". She was 99, so it was hard for me to feel overly sad at her passing. (most people would love to live that long) I'm also not a fan of musicals, so I wasn't a fan of that one.

Next was an article about Katy Perry getting booed at a Milan Week fashion show because she was late to the event. I used to be enamored with Ms. Perry, then she married Russell Brand...which made me question her good sense. She then spoke out on politics, which verified she has no sense at all. I used to think she was pretty, but after looking at recent photographs, I've come to the conclusion that her looks have peaked and it's all downhill for her from here on out. (because I don't think she'll get by on her "talent")

Wanting a change of pace, I read an article about Jennifer Lawrence's new Dior ad campaign. The photos made her look glamorous, but not as pretty as she's been in other ones...and I think she's very pretty in the photos I've seen of her without makeup. She'll be a lovely woman when she's 60 yrs. old, I bet. I haven't seen any of the movies she's done, but have seen her interviewed several times and she seems to be a down-to-earth person with a good sense of humor and not too full of herself, a lovely person both outside and in. I hope her success won't spoil her.

After that, I clicked on an article about Miley Cryus kissing Perry at one of Cyrus's recent concerts. Yuck. I don't know why, but I clicked on another link leading to a video about fans outside the concert and one woman with her daughter in tow was saying Cyrus was a good role model. Good grief.

Sick of that crapola, I read an article about Ronda Rousey and her first round KO of Sara McMann in last night's bout. I found a place to watch it online and was certainly glad I didn't pay to watch 66 seconds of two women fighting. What I WOULD pay for, however, is to see that woman - who thinks Miley Cryus is a positive role model - get into the ring with Rousey. Maybe Rousey could knock some sense into her head. Heck, put Cyrus in there too, along with Katy Perry. Three against one, that *might* be a fair fight. I'd love to see Rousey knee Cyrus in the liver like she did McMann.  Ouch.  Actually, I'd love to see Rousey knock Cyrus out.  The only trouble would be if Cryus started having a seizure from a severe blow to the head; the referee might think she was just twerking.

I know one thing, I wouldn't get into the ring with Rousey;  I doubt I'd last a minute.  I'm not sure I'd last 60 seconds with her in other places, either.

Good Movie, Bad Move

From Indiewire, a movie website.

These types of 404 pages are the most annoying to me; why would I want to search for something else if what I wanted to read in the first place wasn't there? 

I'm giving the site a bad review for a bad link!

Patience is a Virtue

One that I don't possess.

You Are Patient Enough

In most cases, you are patient enough to keep it together. You may feel impatient on the inside, but you don't usually let it show. However, if you're made to wait for too long, you will usually crack. You're only human, after all. You don't like for your patience to be tested.

Are You Impatient?

 

I've never been a patient person; I never cared to fish, hate waiting in lines, can't stand sitting in a waiting room. When I was a driller on rigs, I fired guys for constantly having to wait on them and making me late for work. I've dated women with no sense of time, so frustrating for me, especially when they KNEW we had to leave at a certain time to get to the movies or some other function that required us to be on time only to show up at her house and find that she wasn't anywhere nearly ready to go.

It annoys me when I'm behind someone in a store and they don't even get their checkbook out until the transaction is complete; they could have at least had it ready with the other information before the total was announced. (or get a freakin' debit card, for cryin' out loud!) I really get annoyed when I'm behind someone at the grocery store and they stop to look at an item, leaving their cart in the middle of the aisle blocking any way around them...and when I clear my throat and get ignored, then speak up and say " 'SCUSE ME!" only to have them reach over and move their cart an inch or two, expecting that to be enough...then they give you a look like "What I'M doing has to be much more important than what YOU want to do!"

Stick your passive-aggressive attitude where the sun don't shine, lady. My time ain't worth a lot, but it's worth as much as yours.

It's infuriating to be behind someone at a red light, watching them put on their makeup or changing stations on their radio when the light turns green. I don't like to honk my horn, but after 20-30 seconds I do and they look up in surprise, see the green light turning yellow and then speed off through the intersection, leaving me to sit through another traffic light cycle because they had their head in their ass.

I could never be a vulture.

fiddlesticks

fiddlesticks fid·dle·sticks [fid-l-stiks] interjection
(used to express impatience, dismissal, etc.)

fiddlestick fid·dle·stick [fid-l-stik] noun
anything; a bit: "I don't care a fiddlestick for what they say."

---

I had to laugh when I saw this as the World of the Day; just a couple of weeks ago, I was telling an employee of a store where I purchase the Beej's food that there hadn't been any on the shelf in over a month. "Oh, yeah." the young woman replied. "That's one of those things we didn't get on the truck.".

I didn't believe her.  "Fiddlesticks!" I said. "The office marks you out of the product?" I asked in a blustering manner, knowing how their inventory system worked. "Mmm-huh." the girl said with a surety I knew was feigned.

"Fiddlesticks!" I said again. I knew they had been having problems keeping employees, but it wasn't just cat food that wasn't being put out; I estimated that at least 10-15% of their shelving was empty.  "Why would they mark YOU out of the product when your other store always has it in stock?" I went on ranting: "That's where I've been having to go to get it.".

"What was that you said to me?" asked the young woman, acting offended. I repeated what I had said, that the other store had it and..."No, at first, that 'fiddle-something'?" I started to explain, but about that time the mgr. showed up and wanted to know what was wrong. I repeated my problem and the girl interrupted "He wants some sort of fiddle cat food."

The manager looked at me like I was nuts and I laughed and told her I had said "fiddlesticks", not believing they didn't have any of the cat food and that I bet it was in the back room. The manager, a woman not quite my age but quite a bit older than her employee, laughed too. "Fiddlesticks" said the mgr. to her employee. "It's an old-fashioned and polite way of saying 'Bullsh*t'!"

Anyway, long story short, the mgr. consulted her inventory sheets and the young woman was sent to the back room to dig though the mountainous pile of stock to find the cat food.  Sure 'nuff, they had loads of it. I bought a couple of cartons, enough to last the Beej for a few weeks.

From now on, maybe I shouldn't use such a polite term as "fiddlesticks".  I've got plenty of the regular curse words in stock.

misoneism

misoneism mis·o·ne·ism [mis-oh-nee-iz-uhm, mahy-soh-] noun

hatred or dislike of what is new or represents change.

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I wasn't familiar with this word, but definitely am familiar with the definition. I'm one of those people who resist change, but it's basically with websites or operating systems or the layouts of my favorite stores (especially when products I often buy are put somewhere else!).  When I get used to something, it's hard for me to change over to the new system...but I eventually do.  What annoys me the most is when I don't see the upside to the change and think that it's just change for changes sake.

I've never seen this term applied to them, but many conservatives get accused of a hatred of change, but in most cases, that's not true or deserved.  I can't speak for other conservatives, but as for me, I don't generally dislike the change after I get used to it, but I don't like things to be changed just to be changed.   If the change is good...and doesn't cost a ton of money...then I'm all for it.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.   Dallas Cowboys, why in the world did you abandon the run when it was working so well?  The conservative approach was winning the ball game.

I'm Ashamed To Be a Fan

I saw that posted on the Facebook and other Dallas Cowboy fan sites today after the blowout loss by the 'Boys Monday night against "da Bears".  I also saw "I'm embarrassed by them!"

I was disappointed, sure; a win would have kept them tied with the Eagles at the top of the division, but embarrassed?  Ashamed?  No, of course not.  I slept like a baby last night and only got annoyed today when turning to a sports show on TV or on the radio where I had to watch/listen to so-called experts who list all the things wrong with the team or what they would have done differently. 

Sure, it's easy to look back with 20-20 hindsight and say what should have been done, but if they're so smart, then why are they not coaching an NFL team instead of calling in to a radio or TV show (or hosting one) and griping? It's one thing to have a former player or coach critique the team's play, but for some schmuck on the couch to pretend to be an expert...well, that's too much.  Those armchair quarterbacks upset me more than how the Cowboys play.

Look, if you're ashamed of your team, then maybe it's time to root for another one;  I know I would.  Then again, I know I have absolutely nothing to do with the Cowboy's success OR failure.  Wearing a Dallas jersey and screaming at the TV doesn't help, no matter how loud you yell.

Embarrassed by the team?  Not me;  I get embarrassed when I accidentally pull out in front of someone while driving, or look down after I've been into a half dozen public places and see that my fly is unzipped.  (so THAT'S why people were giggling!) If you're embarrassed by one or more of your friends - who root for other teams - making fun of your team...well then, you really need new friends.  Both your and their priorities are in the wrong place.

I used to get upset when I was a kid and Dallas would lose...then again, I was 12 yrs. old and they were an important part of my life - along with many other things I now wonder why I set so much store in when I was that age.  I was immature, and I think that's the problem with a lot of these "ashamed" and "embarrassed" fans. 

Grow up.  It's just a game.  At the end of the season, only one team's fans will be happy, that's the way it works.   If you really want to be upset by games, then watch C-Span and the games our politicians play.  Now THAT'S something that should make you embarrassed and ashamed.

Breaking Bad Halloween

You may have already seen this photo; Aaron Paul posted it to his Twitter account and it's been discussed in several Breaking Bad message boards and other forums. Most people, such as myself, think it's cute and funny but as always is the case, *some* people were offended. "Dressing kids up as drug dealers? Horrible idea! Bad parents!" are the basic complaints. What I'd like to know is this:

Do these same people also complain when parents dress their kids up as Dracula, a witch, a zombie or the like? I asked that very question to someone who was up-in-arms over the photo and they said "But these parents are promoting drug use...and that's not cute!  People die every day from using or selling meth!!!"  I had to point out to them that vampires bite people, either killing them or, with the bite, sentencing them to an eternity of being a vampire as well, that witches in fairy tales captured and ate children and zombies...well, they just kill and then eat everyone, particularly their brains.

"But that's fiction!" came the reply.

Uh...and Breaking Bad wasn't?  Dressing your kids up as characters from a movie or TV show doesn't mean you condone whatever it was the FICTIONAL character did. 

Even with all the horrible things the characters in Breaking Bad did, that photo makes me smile.  *Some* people just want to go Breaking Butthurt and are more offensive than whatever it is they're protesting.

Stop Watching Us

Great video...on the surface. These Hollywood celebs bring up Nixon, yet say absolutely nothing about the person they were, in a large part, directly responsible for putting into office. You screamed about Bush and the Patriot Act, but are silent about this administration, the one that has vastly expanded these domestic spying programs?

Hypocrites.

I'm An Open Book

I'm totally against banning books; to ban a classic book such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because of the "N word" is political correctness run amok. Sure, there are books that aren't age appropriate, but to ban books from the general populace because of what someone else decides should or shouldn't be read smacks of Orwell's 1984 (which is another book that has been banned from certain libraries)

I took this test several days ago and forgot what the other results were;  I'm semi-surprised at my results because I've never seen the movie or read the book (although I intend to) but other than that, the rest of the description fits me.

You Are The Hunger Games

You have a wild imagination, one that is not easily satisfied by run of the mill stories and novels. You like to be transported to a completely different world. You like to be immersed in a life that is nothing like your own. You don't mind an outlandish story - in fact, you require it. You prefer a book that's not just about ordinary, every day things. There's nothing you like better than being lost in a book - especially one with a strong plot and protagonist to root for.

What Banned Book Are You?

I'm No Luddite

You Are Decades Behind the Times

You probably know that you're stuck in the past. And you're not ashamed to admit it. You consider yourself old school, and maybe even a bit of a luddite. You believe the best things don't change, so why concern yourself with the "latest and greatest"? You may be shocked how things have improved. Try and give the present a chance!

How Outdated Are You?

Sometimes these quizzes are a little insulting; first of all, I am certainly no Luddite.(I'd have a robot maid if they made one) I sometimes resist change, but it's almost always "change for change's sake" I dislike. If something works well, I see no reason to do away with it just because the newest model comes out.  It's darn annoying to invest in - as an example - VCR tapes, then DVDs and then Blue-ray and then....???  Sometimes the change is NOT for the better. (Windows ME, for one - the new features were great, the stability sucked)

The test also insulted me with the results b/c I don't have a cell phone.  I seldom travel and don't get many calls on my land line, so there's no need to shell out the bucks for something I wouldn't use.  I hardly ever call on my phone except for tech support or to order a pizza (and lately I've been ordering online - the only way to be more modern with that would be to use mental telepathy to order a beef and mushroom pie)

Also, the test discriminated against me because of my music choices.  I like *some* of the music that's out now, but I prefer the music of my youth and honestly think it was better.  Considering the sold-out crowds at some of these "geriatric" rock band concerts, I'm not the only one who thinks that way.   My favorite music invokes memories of a happier and carefree time, of being young and in love, without the aches and pains of old age. 

What's a Big Brother For?

I just got this in my Gmail account, the one I use for most everything. (I have statements and announcements from them sent to Gmail.)They're referring to my AT&T/Yahoo provided email account, one I never use...and am glad of it. Gmail has its own privacy concerns, but they've never altered my address book.

On one hand, it's good that I don't have invalid email addresses in my address book, but on the other I don't like them making changes w/out my approval, esp. deleting information. 

1984, you got here a little late, but I was hopin' you'd never get here at all.

That Casserole Was Mean to Me!

I was going through recipes I had saved this month and saw one for a breakfast casserole that sounded good and thought I'd like to try some day.  I did a search on my computer and found a few more I had saved and thought I'd see if there were others on the 'net that I might want to save in my vast collection. (I save recipes, it's one of my online hobbies)  I saw this recipe at Allrecipes.com, a favorite site of mine: Christmas Breakfast Sausage Casserole.  The recipe got a four and a half star rating out of five, so I thought I'd skim through a few of the reviews.  The breakdown of the reviews was this:

Out of 1,230 ratings, 841 cooks loved it, 272 liked it, 85 thought it was OK, 22 didn't like it and there were 10 cooks who wouldn't eat it.

No matter how you look at it, that is overwhelmingly positive for the recipe.  Sure, there were a few who were tepid in their praise, some who didn't like it and only a few - less than 1% -  who thought it dreadful.   I rate movies on IMDb sometimes and even the movies I love only get a "9" because I've yet to see a movie that didn't have at least a few flaws in it.  I haven't made the casserole, but I would probably be one of the "liked it" crowd because I'm fairly conservative with my ratings of anything.  (That said, I'd give my ex-wife a "7" considering everything, probably a little generous but I wouldn't want to give her a rating of average - she deserves a few points just for putting up with me)

Now, I understand about ratings; it doesn't matter what it is, movies or mayonnaise, taste is subjective and varies from person-to-person. What I have problems with are people who like something but castigate others for not liking it.  It's one thing to dislike...say, a politician, but they should list the reasons, not dislike someone just because they're fat or skinny, black or white, gay or straight.  I'm a Cowboys fan and many people despise the QB Tony Romo, but they don't give a valid reason regarding his play on the field but criticize him for wearing his cap backwards or for dating starlets (before he was married) or liking to play golf. (they didn't want him to take ANY vacations or have a life outside of football.  Silly.)

One of the "most helpful critical reviews" on the casserole was by "hurryup2002" - posted on Oct. 12, 2003, which made me wonder if they were pleased with how fast the year had arrived or still wanted to gripe about the slow pace of time.  Anyway....

They posted this:  "This is not nice at all, i just want to let people know that this is the worst thing ever. It is not nice."

That's one of the criticisms that I wrote about above;  no reason for disliking it, no honest reason why they didn't like it, not that the cooking time was too long or too short or the bread was overly soggy w/ putting it in the fridge overnight, that it was too salty/not salty enough, etc.  No, "it is not nice."

Not nice?  When they put it in the oven, did it scream at them "Hey dummy! Set the oven at 350, not 400 deg.!" or "You don't need to eat me...you're a little too fat as it is." "Don't add any salt, the sausage has it already, ya doofus!"  ???

What's not nice is my review of that review, but it was nicer than I wanted to be.

"It's Just a Dollar"

I went to the grocery store the other day and saw they had a sale on Eckrich sausage;  I don't eat a lot of that, but it sounded good and a pkg. will make several sandwiches, plus some left to be sliced into some slow cooker beans.  I got two packages since they were 2/$5.00, a dollar off the regular price for each.

I wasn't getting many other items and happened to see that one of the packages of sausage rang up at the regular price.  I pointed it out to the young woman running the cash register and she immediately looked annoyed that I had even spoken to her.  She glanced at the register readout, sniffed in a disdainful way and said:

"It's just a dollar."

I told her if it was "just a dollar", then maybe the store could pay the difference or better yet, she could get the money out of her own pocket and pay it.  She didn't look to see the sale price in the circular, didn't call a manager or do anything else about it, just stared at me as though I was something she wanted to scrape off the bottom of her shoe.  I told her I didn't want it then, didn't want any of the items I had that she'd already rang up and I turned on my heel and walked out the door.  I may never go back, there are two other stores here in town where I'm treated much nicer than that.

I'm just getting tired of the attitude of people who deal with customers, it's happened several times over this last month.  A few weeks ago I was wearing a Texas themed t-shirt and the checkout girl told me she didn't like my shirt.  I asked her why and she she said "Texas sucks."  I wanted to reach out and slap her insolent cheeks, but instead went home, got on the company website and sent off an email complaining about the hateful little wench.  The next day I got an email from corporate headquarters and a phone call from both the store manager and the district supervisor, all apologizing and promising it would never happen again. I told them it had better not, that their competitor was just across the street.

I've always been Caspar Milquetoast on these things; when I ordered a steak and it wasn't done as I liked, I'd eat it and not send it back.  When I wouldn't get good service, I'd go ahead and leave a tip or if my pizza arrived later than promised and cold, I'd just eat it and not complain. Never again!  I got a burger yesterday at the best place in town and when I ordered, I asked that some ketchup be put into the bag, explaining to the young woman who took my order that they always left it out.  She assured me she'd take care of it, but when I got home, there wasn't a single packet in the bag.  I will be letting the owner of the establishment know about it, too. 

What these people need to understand is that, while their boss signs their checks, I pay their wages!  Without me...and other customers...they wouldn't have a job!

I worked at a liquor store while going back to school;  I was a good hand and single-handedly worked the busiest times, the evenings and Saturdays.  The morning staff never had more than a dozen customers from 10-2 and all they had to do was check deliveries (and more often than not, didn't stock the items and left it all for me to do) and were supposed to dust and clean, but none ever did.  One young "lady" told me "This would be a great job if it weren't for the customers." (she had several come in the store while she was trying to watch Days of Our Lives and that annoyed her)

I'm sick of that kind of attitude. 

Two Minutes of Hate

From the 1984 British dystopian film Nineteen Eighty-Four (also known by the name 1984), based upon the iconic novel of the same name by George Orwell.


That scene reminds me of the current discourse amongst Americans these days, getting all riled up in forums and on message boards over some so-called "controversial" issue, all while ignoring the things our "leaders" are doing while we're distracted.

Bing Things

I've recently started using Bing more often, not especially for search (because Google pretty much does it the best) but because I enjoy their daily interactive and informative page, and also because they give points for visiting and for clicking on links. Granted, it looks like it would take a LOT of points to get anything worthwhile, but I imagine that after a year of using it the points would add up to some substantial total.

My problem is this: often, when I visit the page, I see I'm not signed in. The good thing is all I have to do is click on the "Microsoft account" and I'm signed in. (I certainly don't want to connect my Facebook account to anything!)

What I don't understand is how I'm not signed in, but it knows my points total. Strange. What's really odd is this next message after signing in:

You HAVE to click "Continue" to continue because if you don't, you're sent to a blank white page.  Yeah, that's great;  if I wanted a blank white page, I could just go to Google and put in "blank white page". -snicker-  I know enough HTML to where I could make my own!

Another reason I started using Bing is that Google is doing away with the iGoogle home page I've used for years.  I really liked it; I had various modules on it for news and local weather and sports headlines along with a Gmail preview.  I don't understand what's up with Google lately;  they did away with file storage a couple of years ago which was annoying but understandable, but their explanation for ending Google Reader didn't make much sense. 

The 'net is great, but it's also frustrating as hell.  It could also be described as fleeting, because as soon as you get used to something, get it the way you like it, it changes or disappears.