Random thoughts and reviews

If you haven't seen this

nobody@vox.com(Joel) — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 15:56:14 -0800

Then do yourself a favor and go to StumbleUpon and sign up...the most fun you'll have on the internet since they figured out how to get Pong on this thing...

my profile there: http://jagreen78.stumbleupon.com/

...and since I've just been educated about StumbleVideo I thought I would add the link to it as well. Thanks grumblebunny :D

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The biggest excuse known to...

nobody@vox.com(Joel) — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 15:44:01 -0800

The biggest excuse known to man/woman-kind is, I do not have the time (or however you would like to phrase it).

Let’s really take a look at the many situations we use this term, as well as the fact that when we truly want to make time in our busy days we find a way to do so. Now the majority of us are in school, at a job, or taking care of more domestic matters on a day to day basis. These are the tasks that keep us busy and never give us the time we need to do the simple things in life. So often, in conversation with others, I speak too, whether in person or on line, this phrase comes into play. Being that I don’t use this term much at all, I have to question the reasoning or evidence of this so-called busyness. The response, after a few minutes, is normally one of schoolwork or job related activities. But if I dig deeper and bypass the fact with the person that we all have these common, tedious tasks to deal with each day, I find that there is more to this excuse. Regardless of what this inquisitive nature has come to find, lets make one simple conclusion with the following statement, in which I will quote myself,
Being busy is something we create, but when we really and truly want time for friends, family, loved ones, or random entertainment (1) we all somehow manage to change our busy label to something more convenient (2).
Where did this self-installed idea of being busy come from anyways? Just thinking over the years that I can recall growing up, I do remember my parents using this term quite often. Even today, they use the phrase in more situations than I can count. Maybe that is why I promised myself never to live by that state of mind, and to always live for the day. If you’re too busy to stop and listen, talk, or appreciate the world around you then why are you even here at all. If you died tomorrow, and had a chance to go back and do it all again, would you still use this excuse. Because I have proven, to some small extent, that this phrase really is an excuse
My suggestion, to those of you that find yourself relying on this phrase, is to form a new habit with your daily schedule. Start out simple, take baby steps even, and just stop at lunch to notice how nice the day is. Maybe talk to a friend you dont speak to very often, or a co-worker who you don’t know much about. If you do this, make sure this person is not negative or carrying the same horrible attitude about being busy that you are trying to rid yourself of. Our lives hold so much meaning and we become so involved with the lackluster of our jobs, pay, unhappiness about other things, or etc. that we end up losing any reason to exist. Push yourself to realize more and more each day that the trees, ocean, people, etc. around you all hold a story of their own. Discover a world around you that you have lost site of because your own life has made you comfortable with monotony.

1. Random entertainment meaning what ever you do to relieve stress, boredom or any other reason you may conjure to break out of your busy daily regime.
2. Convenient meaning that all of a sudden we now have time for that new person in our life, or that new pet we just fell in love with, or maybe for family, or it could be just getting drunk with friends, or any other activity that we have discovered to overcome our busy life.

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I must send my thanks...

nobody@vox.com(Joel) — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 06:07:16 -0800

I must send my thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet towel with every envelope that needs sealing. Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.
I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258 the time.
I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.
I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish.
I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.
I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
I no longer can buy gasoline without taking a man along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas.
I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.
I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.
And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face...disfiguring me for life.
I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.
I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.
I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army.
I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.
I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.
I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.
Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.
Thank you too for all the endless advice Andy Rooney has given us. I can live a better life now because he's told us how to fix everything.
And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up $5.00 I dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.Oh, and don't forget this one either!
I can no longer drive my car because I can't buy gas from certain gas companies!

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You just got served by Dora!

nobody@vox.com(Joel) — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 16:45:53 -0800

Think you can hang...?

dancing dora

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If you're NOT getting a new Apple MacBook...

nobody@vox.com(Joel) — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 10:10:46 -0800

...then you should go check out the sweet laptops through the Alienware Exclusive Savings before you go to DELL or Gateway! I have known so many people that have had horrible experiences and wasted thousands of dollars with DELL and Gateway over the years that it makes me sick. If I wasn't already totally convinced about buying a new MacBook then my next best bet would be with Alienware. And I don't know if you've heard but Alienware hasn't had to recall their laptops due to batteries catching on fire or blowing up. I mean hey, don't take my word for it...do your own research and go over to Cnet.com's reviews for all Alienware products! I remember when the only place I would see an ad for Alienware was in WIRED magazine or PC World, but now these guys are all over the place so get off the DELL and Gateway bandwagon and invest your hard earned money in a real product.

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Philips 6GB Mp3 player....booo!

nobody@vox.com(Joel) — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 10:02:36 -0800

HDD1630

The Philips 6GB Mp3 player, of which I have owned for almost a year now, is not worth my time spent with customer service, or the time wasted on waiting for a replacement, and certainly not worth the $199.99 I spent at Circuit City.

When I bought this player I was impressed with the storage space and number of songs/pictures that I could store on it. I was also making an attempt to go against the status quo by not purchasing an Ipod. I wish I could go back in time and kick myself in the head now after finding myself stuck with this piece of garbage.
Philips wants you to think that the slick design and touch screen menu controls are the best things that any Mp3 player could have. But let me tell you a little about these worthless features and horrible design thought that went into this player.
First of all the slick design, does nothing at all but gather smudges and fingerprints through out the day and leaves the face of the player looking dirty. So by evening you find yourself have to scrub the surface just to clear all the smudges off of the face of your player. Then you have the touch screen menu's that don't respond to the touch of your fingers. It just looks at you while you press frantically away trying to go to the next song. And if you touch too many times it flies ahead and passes 5 songs all at once. I don't see how one minute of research & development went into this worthless piece of metal. And the picture storage...think again, once you figure out how to get images on this player, if you get that far, then you can't even see the images at all. I haven't seen one piece of album art that shows up in my media player 10. Based on these facts alone I would have purchased an Ipod without a doubt.
Now let’s get into the good details about my experience with Philips when my first player DIED on me after 6 months. I had to call them, about 5 times, just to get an RMA number to return the stupid thing, and at one point they had technical support on the line with me trying to troubleshoot a Mp3 player! Was I supposed to get out my handy toolkit and start opening this thing up to find out why it wouldn't work?? So once I had my RMA in hand, I was then told that I would have to wait a MONTH just to get another from them. When I finally received the exchange player back...it was refurbished...imagine that. Go get an something other than this mp3 player people...

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Jackass number two

nobody@vox.com(Joel) — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 06:38:31 -0800

jackass2~Jackass-2-Posters

If you want to laugh until you cry, feel sick at the same time, and possibly vomit.....then this is your movie! I cannot say I am a fan of vomiting but I have to give these guys respect for sheer originality on every stunt they came up with for this new movie. They did what everyone would have expected from them in this movie without a doubt. They took it up, not one level, but 10 levels and they have once again placed Jackass on top. So all you viral video freaks out there who carry a video cam around just to record your crazy stunts, and mimic Jackass, you have all been out done. I would say this movie is worth seeing for everyone without a weak stomach.

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Dana Carvey's best scene ever....

nobody@vox.com(Joel) — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 06:29:25 -0800

If you don't think this is funny, then you must be french...lol

Dana Carvey Guitar HBO Special

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Flickr photo album

nobody@vox.com(Joel) — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:24:05 -0800

I was going to put all my flickr photo albums on here but I think I have too many. So you can just visit my photo album on flickr if you want to check them out. My Albums

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Buying Plasma or LCD....or Laser?

nobody@vox.com(Joel) — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:03:58 -0800

So like everyone else I went out on Black Friday, not at 4 a.m. but 3 p.m., hoping maybe I would find a few sweet deals left over from the hysteria of that morning. I went to Best Buy first, looking for a TV, and out of the three I wanted to purchase there, none of them were in stock. Go figure right. So I made one last attempt and stopped by Costco, which is a Wal-mart/Sams Club/warehouse of stuff, and I couldn't get the TV I wanted there either. After that I just decided to forget about the whole ordeal and instead convinced myself that buying a 50 inch plasma just wasn't going to happen today. What bugs me the most is that a year ago I bought a 27 inch Sharp LCD TV for $1000.00 and now I can get a 50 inch plasma for $300.00 more...grrrr. So anywho, like I said, I have had convinced myself that I don't need a plasma right now so I forgot about it. THEN, today I was roaming through random pages on StumbleUpon and found an article on the next new technology in TV's which is said to be the "plasma display killer". The Australian company Arasor International and its US partner Novalux say that they have developed the first laser TV which will be cheaper, provide better picture quality, and use less electricity than plasma TV's. Unbelievable! I could only find one picture of it thus far but they will soon be showing up everywhere in 2007, so I guess I'm not buying a plasma at all now...Thanks technology! =P

Mitsubishi laser TV

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