You know what grinds my gears? People that need to have the latest gadgets.
Is the technology in consumer electronics still moving forward, or is it just moving sideways? In the past we've been given computers, which are capable of almost anything, from looking up information, to running machinery, to simulating natural disasters for research, to designing buildings. We've been given cell phones, allowing us to call people from anywhere, which has saved many lives, and made getting in touch with anyone at anytime, possible. We've been given GPS. How many hours of driving has that saved you? Not to mention not hitting the car in front of you while you unfold a map. We've been given MP3 players. How much nicer is it running without a diskman skipping every three seconds? The things that have come on the market in the last 20 years, are tools that make life easier, safer, and more fun. But what are we getting now? In the consumer electronics department, in the last five or so years, what have we got? Don't get me wrong, we've got, Itouchs, Ipads, phones that go on the internet, picture frames you can email pictures to, handheld devices you can read books on etc, etc, but anything you can't live without?
The contract I have with my cell phone provider expired many months ago. I'm offered a new phone for free, if I sign another contract. I have no plans to switch providers, so why not sign another contract and get a brand new phone for free? I looked at my options for a new phone, and I'm not interested in anything being offered. None of the features on the new phones appeal to me.
But the new ones play video games! I have a PS3 and a nice TV. Why would I want to play a low quality game on a 4 inch screen, when I can play a good game on a nice TV?
But the new phones take pictures! I have a very nice digital SLR. If I'm going to take a picture, it's going to be a good picture. When is the last time you saw a professional sports photographer, or wedding photographer pull out there Blackberry to take their pictures.
But the new phones can go on the internet! 95% of the time I'm at home, at work, or at someones house. There is a computer in all of those places that can also get on the internet, and again, I don't have to stare at a 4 inch screen. And for the 5% of the time I'm not near a computer, I'm probably doing something more interesting than playing on the internet.
But the new phones play MP3s! My current phone plays MP3s...in my pocket...out loud...when I don't want it to. If I'm going for a run, my MP3 player fits in my hand much better than my phone, and is easier to use.
Todays gadgets are just toys. They don't do anything of importance. Why do you need to email a picture, to your picture frame, from your phone? Has that saved a lot of lives? Do you really need to be able to print, on your home printer, from your phone? You have to go home to retrieve what you printed, so you saved yourself the 30 seconds of print time I guess. You can now read a book on a handheld device. What was wrong with reading a paper book again? Oh yeah, the books battery always went dead! And don't give me the "it saves paper" BS. You are using electricity to use your handheld book, not to mention the polution it took to produce your electonic device.
Some of the new products on the market, do serve a purpose. People that are on the road all the time for their jobs, might find that a Blackberry is esencial. But lets face it, most of the features on todays toys don't serve any sort of IMPORTANT purpose. They do things that are neat, or cool, but nothing you can't live without. Most of the things that these products do, are things that other products already do. You have replaced a computer, a camera, a video game console, a photo album, a way to watch movies, a GPS unit, and a MP3 player with one small, palm sized unit. The problem is, it doesn't do ANY of those jobs very well. Sorry, but a 4 inch screen can't compete with a nice tv with a blue-ray player and suround sound. And even with a full keyboard on your phone, I can type faster on my real keyboard. And I'd love to see you take a picture of a motorcycle traveling at 150 MPH with you phone and have it come out not blurry.
People are lining up to buy anything current on the consumer electronics market. They want it because it's smaller, faster, or has one more built in feature. Companies have run out of ideas for things to sell us, and yet people keep lining up to buy things they'll never use, because it's, neat, or trendy, or they want to be the envy of their friends. How many Itouches, Ipads, palm pilots, and Kindles are collecting dust on shelves? Hundreds of dollars spent, only to realize, "WTF do I need this for?"
I want something to do my laundry, drive my car, cook me dinner, put a new roof on my house, and go to work and do my job for me.
Is there an app for that?
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
The Grand Stage.
You know what really grinds my gears? People that believe that everything celebrities do is real. There are two ways for celebrities to make money. Have talent, or shock people. If you have no talent, your only option is to do something that people will want to talk about. Seeing as how people only have time to talk about trama and drama, this leaves talentless celebs to either make a scene, or hurt themselves, or sometimes both. A classic case is good old Britney Spears. Falling into the talentless catigory, she was slipping off the radar. Time for Drama. I'll give a brief timeline (for full timeline http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-01-04-spears-trouble-timeline_N.htm)
Nov 2006, files for divorce and goes partying with Paris Hilton
Dec 2006, starts flashing everyone her vagina
Feb 2007, shaves her head
Feb-Mar 2007 in and out of rehab
Aug 2007 drives into a parked car
Oct 15 2007 surenders to the police about the hit and run
Oct 18 2007 loses visitation of her two children due to being a loser.
Oct 26 2007 RELEASES HER NEW CD!
She was claiming a breakdown. She went crazy, started using drugs and acting like a freak, but she had time to record her album and release it? She made the news dozens of times, for lude or crazy acts, right before the album came out. Are people that dumb? Do you really buy this?
Oct 21 2007, Kid Rock gets in a fight at a waffle house, made the news for days. He released his album Oct 9 2007. What are the odds!
I heard on 3 different, local radio stations, that Lady Gaga spent $5000 at a concert she played to have someone check to make sure there are no ghosts in the arena. So for $5000 she was talked about on hundreds of radio stations around the world while she was in the middle of a tour. That's some cheap advertising.
It's all staged people! It's not real! Any time you hear of a celebrity doing something wierd, or dumb, look to find out when their next movie or album is coming out. I bet it's right around the corner.
Then there are the celebrities that don't even do anything and are famous. Where did Paris Hilton come from? Who the hell is Tila Tequila? What is a Snooki?
Which brings me to my next topic, reality TV. I don't want to offend anyone reading this, but it's time you know the truth. Santa Claus isn't real, there's no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and reality TV isn't real. Reality is boring. No one would watch boring, so they add a bunch of drama, and poof, now you care. I've never watched Jersey Shore, but I get the point. A bunch of pretty boys and sluts live together, yell and scream at each other, do wild and crazy things, and have sex with anyone/thing. Now if maybe, instead of throwing something at each other, they sat down and found a solution to their problems, or didn't bring home the greasy douche bag, or acted like human beings, the show would be a little more believeable, but that would make it boring, and who would watch? These actors are told to act crazy. Given the choice of being calm and rational or throwing a glass at someone, throw the glass. It makes for better TV. All the shows are the same. Celebrity Rehab. Have you seen it? No one acts this way in real life. They are told to act out, make a scene, punch someone!
It comes down to one thing. "I think the whole world's addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that'll bring the trauma" Black Eyed Peas. No one cares about how many lives were saved, how much money was donated, how much aid was given. It's all about who dumped who, who got punched, who slept with who, who showed their vagina. There are celebrities that make the news all the time, and the ones that don't. When's the last time you heard about Dave Grohl punching someone? Or Sigourney Weaver getting drunk and flashing? Or Matt Damon going to rehab? Some people get by on talent. Others need to make the headlines every day, any way they can, or run the risk of being replaced with the next, talentless, shameless, prepackaged, whore.
Nov 2006, files for divorce and goes partying with Paris Hilton
Dec 2006, starts flashing everyone her vagina
Feb 2007, shaves her head
Feb-Mar 2007 in and out of rehab
Aug 2007 drives into a parked car
Oct 15 2007 surenders to the police about the hit and run
Oct 18 2007 loses visitation of her two children due to being a loser.
Oct 26 2007 RELEASES HER NEW CD!
She was claiming a breakdown. She went crazy, started using drugs and acting like a freak, but she had time to record her album and release it? She made the news dozens of times, for lude or crazy acts, right before the album came out. Are people that dumb? Do you really buy this?
Oct 21 2007, Kid Rock gets in a fight at a waffle house, made the news for days. He released his album Oct 9 2007. What are the odds!
I heard on 3 different, local radio stations, that Lady Gaga spent $5000 at a concert she played to have someone check to make sure there are no ghosts in the arena. So for $5000 she was talked about on hundreds of radio stations around the world while she was in the middle of a tour. That's some cheap advertising.
It's all staged people! It's not real! Any time you hear of a celebrity doing something wierd, or dumb, look to find out when their next movie or album is coming out. I bet it's right around the corner.
Then there are the celebrities that don't even do anything and are famous. Where did Paris Hilton come from? Who the hell is Tila Tequila? What is a Snooki?
Which brings me to my next topic, reality TV. I don't want to offend anyone reading this, but it's time you know the truth. Santa Claus isn't real, there's no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and reality TV isn't real. Reality is boring. No one would watch boring, so they add a bunch of drama, and poof, now you care. I've never watched Jersey Shore, but I get the point. A bunch of pretty boys and sluts live together, yell and scream at each other, do wild and crazy things, and have sex with anyone/thing. Now if maybe, instead of throwing something at each other, they sat down and found a solution to their problems, or didn't bring home the greasy douche bag, or acted like human beings, the show would be a little more believeable, but that would make it boring, and who would watch? These actors are told to act crazy. Given the choice of being calm and rational or throwing a glass at someone, throw the glass. It makes for better TV. All the shows are the same. Celebrity Rehab. Have you seen it? No one acts this way in real life. They are told to act out, make a scene, punch someone!
It comes down to one thing. "I think the whole world's addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that'll bring the trauma" Black Eyed Peas. No one cares about how many lives were saved, how much money was donated, how much aid was given. It's all about who dumped who, who got punched, who slept with who, who showed their vagina. There are celebrities that make the news all the time, and the ones that don't. When's the last time you heard about Dave Grohl punching someone? Or Sigourney Weaver getting drunk and flashing? Or Matt Damon going to rehab? Some people get by on talent. Others need to make the headlines every day, any way they can, or run the risk of being replaced with the next, talentless, shameless, prepackaged, whore.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Justification for your SUV is almost here!
You know what really grinds my gears? People that "need" a SUV or 4x4 truck, for the snow. I have many issues with this, so I'll make a list:
1: Not all SUVs are 4wd, and not all cars are 2wd. You could buy any Subaru, most, if not all Audis, a Suzuki sx4, a Volvo S40, a Toyota Matrix XR, an Infinity G35, the list goes on. Lots of cars are AWD. Ranging from cheap, commuter cars to high end luxury cars. Why do you need it to be a SUV to be good in the snow? Some people that buy their SUVs, don't realize, they are 2wd until the snow comes! They assume SUV = go anywhere, in any condition. Ford Escapes, Mazda Tributes, Nissan Rogues, Jeep Compass and many others are availble in 2wd.
2: You drive around a tank, getting 10 MPG, all year long, burning hundreds of dollars in extra fuel, for the 3 days a year there is snow on the ground. A lot of new SUVs are AWD, not 4wd. What's the difference? 4wd can be shut off, with the push of a button, and the vehicle becomes 2wd. AWD is always in 4wd. It doesn't shut off. On most domestic SUVs, this is a very poorly designed system, that has constant drag on the drive line, meaning a lot more fuel is needed to get the vehicle to move. So you pay an extra $5000 for your AWD system, hundreds of extra dollars in fuel every year, and added maintainance to the AWD system for the life of the vehicle, incase it snows. Wouldn't it be cheaper to stay home from work for those 3 days a year?
3: SUVs and 4x4 trucks spend more time in the ditches in the winter than 2wd cars. Why? If you have a 4wd/AWD vehicle, it accelerates much better in the snow/ice than a 2wd vehicle. The problem is, it doesn't turn or stop any better. People in SUVs hit the throttle and the vehicle takes off, convincing them, there is lots of traction on the road, so they drive comfortable, and faster. Unfortunatly, when they need to stop, or turn, that is when it becomes aparent to them, the roads are actually very slippery. SUV drivers very rarly buy snow tires, because they have 4wd, why would they need them? 4wd doesn't help you stop, or turn, snow tires do. I spend a lot of time driving on the freeway in the winter, and 4 out of 5 vehicles in the ditches are SUVs or 4x4 trucks. They are always traveling 20 or 30 KPH fatester than other vehicles, and when they need to stop, they lose control and in the ditch they go.
4: SUVs are safer right? No. Studys have shown SUVs are more likely to be involved in fatal accidents. Why? They rollover. I already stated that they spend more time in the ditch in the winter, and because they are "safer" people tend to drive them faster. Combine that with their high center of gravity, and they quite often end up on their roofs.
Last year, I was on my way to go snowboarding, up a local mountain. I was driving a 1994 Volvo front wheel drive with snow tires. In front of me was a 4wd SUV, I'm guessing without snow tires. We started climbing a small hill, which was covered in black ice. The SUV in front started losing traction with all four tires, which put him out of control very quickly. He ended up spinning 180 degrees and landing in the ditch across the road. I was going to stop to see if he was OK, but as I looked through his window I could see that all that was injured was his ego. I continued up the mountain in my 15 year old 2wd car and went snow boarding. He called a tow truck, and a bodyshop. Good thing he bought that SUV for the snow!
1994 Volvo 850- $1800
4 snow tires - $500
Lift ticket -$45
Driving past the untimate 4wd, $50,000 snow vehicle as it goes into a ditch- priceless.
1: Not all SUVs are 4wd, and not all cars are 2wd. You could buy any Subaru, most, if not all Audis, a Suzuki sx4, a Volvo S40, a Toyota Matrix XR, an Infinity G35, the list goes on. Lots of cars are AWD. Ranging from cheap, commuter cars to high end luxury cars. Why do you need it to be a SUV to be good in the snow? Some people that buy their SUVs, don't realize, they are 2wd until the snow comes! They assume SUV = go anywhere, in any condition. Ford Escapes, Mazda Tributes, Nissan Rogues, Jeep Compass and many others are availble in 2wd.
2: You drive around a tank, getting 10 MPG, all year long, burning hundreds of dollars in extra fuel, for the 3 days a year there is snow on the ground. A lot of new SUVs are AWD, not 4wd. What's the difference? 4wd can be shut off, with the push of a button, and the vehicle becomes 2wd. AWD is always in 4wd. It doesn't shut off. On most domestic SUVs, this is a very poorly designed system, that has constant drag on the drive line, meaning a lot more fuel is needed to get the vehicle to move. So you pay an extra $5000 for your AWD system, hundreds of extra dollars in fuel every year, and added maintainance to the AWD system for the life of the vehicle, incase it snows. Wouldn't it be cheaper to stay home from work for those 3 days a year?
3: SUVs and 4x4 trucks spend more time in the ditches in the winter than 2wd cars. Why? If you have a 4wd/AWD vehicle, it accelerates much better in the snow/ice than a 2wd vehicle. The problem is, it doesn't turn or stop any better. People in SUVs hit the throttle and the vehicle takes off, convincing them, there is lots of traction on the road, so they drive comfortable, and faster. Unfortunatly, when they need to stop, or turn, that is when it becomes aparent to them, the roads are actually very slippery. SUV drivers very rarly buy snow tires, because they have 4wd, why would they need them? 4wd doesn't help you stop, or turn, snow tires do. I spend a lot of time driving on the freeway in the winter, and 4 out of 5 vehicles in the ditches are SUVs or 4x4 trucks. They are always traveling 20 or 30 KPH fatester than other vehicles, and when they need to stop, they lose control and in the ditch they go.
4: SUVs are safer right? No. Studys have shown SUVs are more likely to be involved in fatal accidents. Why? They rollover. I already stated that they spend more time in the ditch in the winter, and because they are "safer" people tend to drive them faster. Combine that with their high center of gravity, and they quite often end up on their roofs.
Last year, I was on my way to go snowboarding, up a local mountain. I was driving a 1994 Volvo front wheel drive with snow tires. In front of me was a 4wd SUV, I'm guessing without snow tires. We started climbing a small hill, which was covered in black ice. The SUV in front started losing traction with all four tires, which put him out of control very quickly. He ended up spinning 180 degrees and landing in the ditch across the road. I was going to stop to see if he was OK, but as I looked through his window I could see that all that was injured was his ego. I continued up the mountain in my 15 year old 2wd car and went snow boarding. He called a tow truck, and a bodyshop. Good thing he bought that SUV for the snow!
1994 Volvo 850- $1800
4 snow tires - $500
Lift ticket -$45
Driving past the untimate 4wd, $50,000 snow vehicle as it goes into a ditch- priceless.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Hug a racist
I was at work today and heard a song by Lauryn Hill. It brought back a story I heard about ten years ago now. A man by the name of Doug Tracht, who worked on air, on a radio station in the states, made a comment about Lauryn Hill. Long story short, he stated "and they wonder why we drag them behind trucks." He was fired from his job and his career ended.
This got me thinking about racism. The way I see it, there are two types of racists. There are the ones who stereo type, and there are the ones that just have blind hate. The ones that stereo type, is where the bulk of the population would fit in. It is still racism, yes I know, but we all do it. Chinese people don't drive well, East Indians smell like curry, Black people are good at sports, etc. Now, I guess those comments are racist, but it's reality. Is every Chinese person a bad driver? No. I'm sure lots drive better than me. Do all East Indian smell like curry? Of course not, but a large percentage of them use curry regularly in their cooking. Are all Black people good at sports? No, but about 80% of both the NBA and NFL are African American. Some stereo types are positive, and some are negative, but a lot of stereo types have a basis. The fact that some people form opinions about a race of people based on those stereo types, is only natural. But this rant isn't about that type of racism, it's about the other type. The unjustified, blind hate of another race.
For the longest time, that type of racist made me extremely angry. The white supremacist, type. The Hitlers of the world. But I now realize, I feel more sympathy for them, than hate. They are uniformed, and ignorant. These people seriously believe that their race, is better than other races. What these racists are failing to realize is that being racist, makes them inferior to anyone that is not. If these redneck, hillbilly, inbred bible thumpers are so superior, why is a black guy running their country? Oh yeah, because he is smarter than them. The hate that radicalists have is really quite sad. They believe other races are closer to animals, than they are to humans, and would treat them as such. If you can see another human being, that doesn't have the same skin color as you, or believe in the same things as you, and want to hurt them for that reason alone, I feel so sorry for you. I'm sure it is passed down from the parents to the children, because who in the right mind would hate another human being for no valid reason, unless it was taught to you. But the fact that as the children grow into adults, they don't start to think for themselves, really indicates how stupid they must be.
My point is this. If you have a dumb, ignorant, racist man and he mates with a dumb, ignorant racist woman (which tends to be the case) what do you end up with? An open minded rocket scientist? No. You get a Texan! ahahaha! Seriously, you get a dumb, ingnorant, racist. It's not the kids fault. He will be raised a racist, and will never be smart enough to deceid for himself whether being a racist is ok or not. It's sort of like being religious. Christian parents have Christian children. It's all in the up bringing.
So next time you see a white supremacist spouting hate, or a terrorist putting a jihad on someone, instead of getting angy, try to realize, it's not this persons fault their parents were ignorant and never passed grade 9. Try to be understanding. After all, they are closer to animals than they are to human.
This got me thinking about racism. The way I see it, there are two types of racists. There are the ones who stereo type, and there are the ones that just have blind hate. The ones that stereo type, is where the bulk of the population would fit in. It is still racism, yes I know, but we all do it. Chinese people don't drive well, East Indians smell like curry, Black people are good at sports, etc. Now, I guess those comments are racist, but it's reality. Is every Chinese person a bad driver? No. I'm sure lots drive better than me. Do all East Indian smell like curry? Of course not, but a large percentage of them use curry regularly in their cooking. Are all Black people good at sports? No, but about 80% of both the NBA and NFL are African American. Some stereo types are positive, and some are negative, but a lot of stereo types have a basis. The fact that some people form opinions about a race of people based on those stereo types, is only natural. But this rant isn't about that type of racism, it's about the other type. The unjustified, blind hate of another race.
For the longest time, that type of racist made me extremely angry. The white supremacist, type. The Hitlers of the world. But I now realize, I feel more sympathy for them, than hate. They are uniformed, and ignorant. These people seriously believe that their race, is better than other races. What these racists are failing to realize is that being racist, makes them inferior to anyone that is not. If these redneck, hillbilly, inbred bible thumpers are so superior, why is a black guy running their country? Oh yeah, because he is smarter than them. The hate that radicalists have is really quite sad. They believe other races are closer to animals, than they are to humans, and would treat them as such. If you can see another human being, that doesn't have the same skin color as you, or believe in the same things as you, and want to hurt them for that reason alone, I feel so sorry for you. I'm sure it is passed down from the parents to the children, because who in the right mind would hate another human being for no valid reason, unless it was taught to you. But the fact that as the children grow into adults, they don't start to think for themselves, really indicates how stupid they must be.
My point is this. If you have a dumb, ignorant, racist man and he mates with a dumb, ignorant racist woman (which tends to be the case) what do you end up with? An open minded rocket scientist? No. You get a Texan! ahahaha! Seriously, you get a dumb, ingnorant, racist. It's not the kids fault. He will be raised a racist, and will never be smart enough to deceid for himself whether being a racist is ok or not. It's sort of like being religious. Christian parents have Christian children. It's all in the up bringing.
So next time you see a white supremacist spouting hate, or a terrorist putting a jihad on someone, instead of getting angy, try to realize, it's not this persons fault their parents were ignorant and never passed grade 9. Try to be understanding. After all, they are closer to animals than they are to human.
You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?
So after years of going off on rants, about things I see during my day to day life, to anyone that will listen, I've decieded to start a blog, so everyone can enjoy my rants! In reality, I'm doing this for myself. Sometimes I feel the need to vent about things I see, or even need to rant to someone to help myself undertand something. I choose to not reveal my identity, because I'm sure along the way I will offend someone, and don't really want them knowing where to find me. The point of this, is not to offend anyone, but to hopefully raise your consciousness, and let me vent a little. My views are mine alone. Oviously friends and family will know who I am, but I know the ones willing to read this, probably wont put a Fatwa on me. I can give you a few basics about me. I'm Canadian, I'm male, between 25 and 30 years and I'm white. Oh and I can't spell, so please excuse the grammer. I stole "you know what really grinds my gears?" from Family Guy. A show I must say is one of my favorites. Peter Griffin had a small spot on the TV new where he just talked about things that made him angry. I figured it might be a good way to vent. If it seems like I don't take some things very seriously, that should be, that is because sometimes, things are so grim, the only way to stay sane, is to laugh at them, rather than be brought down by them. I hope you enjoy my ranting, and feel free to leave a comment.
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