This Sums It Up

This link pretty much sums up our (as in our President’s; the guy who makes decisions on our behalf) policies and motivations towards the Middle East.

Snobs, The So Called Privileged, and Other Unsavory Big Heads

Don’t you just hate it when you encounter people who think they’re better you? Personally, it makes my blood boil. I deal with them everyday. People who feel it’s beneath them to talk to the lowly helpdesk worker. Like the mere sound of my voice invading their eardrum will lower their perceived social status and importance. Those people are pompous asses and frankly I’m tired of dealing with them. If you’re so much better than me, why don’t fix your own stinking computer. Yeah you know that thing sitting in front of you which has become the single most important piece of equipment in your entire office. The one that enables you to get your work done and stores all your information. Without me and the tens of thousands of other folks worldwide like me you’d be up a creek without a paddle in a leaky boat. All we ask is that you treat us with the same amount of respect we treat you with. Which is a lot by the way at least at first. After continued calls from you where we get to endure your constant condescending, belittling, berating attitude, that respect level goes down to 0 at which point we still provide you with the same top-notch, service with a smile tone of voice while silently cursing your name in our minds and over AIM with our coworkers. If you think yelling, bitching, complaining, and belittling me are going to get you better, faster service you’re an idiot. That ticket goes to the back of the line my friend to be looked at at our latest convenience.

Our Demands

1) Don’t call up here making demands. You called me. I’m the one in control of the situation.

2) Follow my instructions. They’re for you own good. If I ask you to do something I’m not trying to give you a hard time. I’m trying to resolve your problem.

3) Don’t call me unprepared and empty handed and then get mad because I ask you for the same pieces of information we always request you have on hand when you call. Pieces of information that are requested in the IVR message menu you hear every single time you call.

4) You are not God’s gift to the world. Everyone that calls thinks they’re special and deserving of special treatment. You’re not. Everyone gets equal treatment. Things run much smoother that way. People making special requests or demanding special service “right this instant” slow the system down because we’ve got to pull somebody from their normal assigned duties to help your sorry tail. Which in turn pisses off your fellow “special” people and causes them to call in demanding to know why their “special” request hasn’t been taken care of.

I’ve just about had it. Not all of the callers are bad in fact the vast majority of them are really nice and appreciative. But it only takes one apple to spoil the whole bunch and we deal with a lot bad apples. I feel like that guy from that old movie Network. “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!!!” That about sums it up.

Richard Simmons: Savior of the World?

Floyd, my co-worker, has done it again. He found this disturbing picture and decided to share with the rest of us. All I can say is S-C-A-R-Y. I’m not sure what the picture pertains to since I can’t read what appears to be Chinese. Has Richard Simmons started a new world religion? Is he the new messiah? If someone who reads this happens to read Chinese, please translate. I would imagine that this is some type of ad or something. Why anyone would willfully put Richard Simmons’ likeness on anything is beyond me. It makes me shiver all over. Scary stuff.

File This Under Duh!!

One of my coworkers AIMed this article, ‘Ancient tablet echoes Bible passage‘ to me with the caption Duh! I agree. Duh!! This find may corroborate what Christians and Jews have known and been saying for a very long time. Whether it is found to be authentic or not will not hinder our faith but if found authentic it may go some small way towards providing archeologists, historians, and other non believers further proof that the Bible as a whole and the Old Testament more specifically is more than just a mere historical document. Maybe not directly but it may help some make the leap (which I don’t find a leap at all) from acknowledging that the Bible is a historically accurate document to believing that it is the inspired word of God (which I believe it is). If the Bible is a historically accurate document, meaning the times, places, things and people recorded within are written about accurately, wouldn’t it stand to reason that the story of Christ recorded in the New Testament and prophesied in various places throughout the Old Testament is also accurate? Or that what is recorded pertaining to God’s will and his salvation plan for mankind and his place in the “grand scheme of things” would be accurate? Acknowledging the physical, mundane names, places and events without recognizing the many spiritual aspects contained and interwoven within those physical elements misses the very point for which the book was written.

All people will not believe. That too is recorded in the Bible but it also says that God wishes that none should be lost which is why he is always seeking us in an effort to bring us back into a right relationship with him. In the end it’s our choice. He won’t force himself upon us. For some people the Bible and its claims just aren’t enough at least not in and of themselves. A bridge of understanding has to be established somewhere so perhaps, just perhaps this find and finds like it will help begin establishing that. Heaven knows that churches throughout the centuries and even today with our various denominations and sects haven’t always done a very good job at that.

Working Like A Champ

The new shoes are working like a champ. I did the barefoot-shinguard-soccer sock combination last night and they passed the comfort test with flying colors. These Top Salas are great indoor soccer shoes. I got to test them out last night in an actual indoor soccer match. The grip and traction these things provide is amazing. I didn’t really get to test what kind of touch on the ball they provide because I was playing defense all night. My main task was to clear the ball out of the goal mouth as fast as I could. No major ball control required. Next Sunday, I’ll try to play forward so I can take some shots. The last time I played (well over a month ago) I scored a goal with my Adidas crosstrainers on. If I can score in those clunky things, I should be a scoring machine in my Top Salas. Only problem is my beloved shoes got scuffed up a bit. Alas that’s the life of a soccer shoe. If you’re not getting them scuffed up and abused, you’re not playing right. These shoes are well worth the money. Which makes the fact that I got them well below retail that much sweeter.

I seems that Eastbay got a new shipment in this month. They’ve got Top Salas in my actual size now for the same low price. That’s alright. I’ve gotten used to the pair I’ve got now. They fit just fine since I ditched the thick socks in favor of the thin. They’re nice and comfy now and I think they’ll be even more so after I get a few more indoor games played in them.

Without Sports, …

I’m loving ESPN’s new Without Sports ad campaign. My favorite spots so far are:

1) Family Feud – Tag Line – “Without Sports, What Would Bring Us Together?”

The scenario involves a family get-together. A Spanish family congregates at a relative’s house to watch a soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona (two prominent Spanish Soccer teams). Some of the family members are Real Madrid supports decked out in full fan attire while others are die-hard Barcelona followers. Madrid scores a goal and an intense celebration/argument erupts. Soon after that calms down Barcelona is granted a questionable foul in the box, which gets the Madrid fans in an uproar. The argument escalates and culminates with some family members (the Barcelona fans) getting up and leaving after which the tag line flashes up on the screen. The dialogue is completely in Spanish with subtitles which makes the 30 second love fest all the more special. Definitely my favorite not only for the soccer slant but because the funny dialogue that could only be heard being uttered by die-hard soccer fans (usually of European persuasion).

2) Nelly Air Force One Video – Tagline – Can’t remember it but it goes well with the video

I just like this one because it features Nelly and the St. Lunatic’s recent hit “Air Force One’s”. Give me 2 pere. I need 2 pere… That song is straight up infectious. Props to Nelly. He’s getting major exposure (like he doesn’t have that already) without doing any extra work. They basically just took a snippet of his “Air Force One’s” video and put a Without Sports tagline at the end. Savvy on his part along with his management and record label in addition to ESPN.

My ESPN addiction has nothing to do with my appreciation for these ads. I swear…. well maybe a little bit. Whether you like ESPN or not you gotta admit that the campaign is slick and well put together. Be on the lookout for “Without Sports, …” ads on a billboard, magazine page, and TV screen near you.

In The Spirit of Accessibility For All…

In the spirit of accessibility for all I present the following civic improvements. Each was put in place as a service to the handicapped and those with disabilities. For all you skateboarders and extreme sports enthusiasts out there we have this terrific idea. I’ve had many visually challenged friends tell me that they would like to obey the local traffic laws but they just couldn’t read the signs. This sign was designed to address that very issue. Last but not least we have the issue of capital punishment. The death penalty is still a legal form of punishment in some parts of this country and as such it falls under the equal accessibility statutes as well. So in that spirit this contraption was designed. Accessibility for all I say. It’s nice to see civic-minded individuals out there willing to use their expertise in an effort to help those with disabilities.

These are of course done in jest. One of my coworkers comes up with the strangest, most of the wall, disturbingly funny links. One of his other classics includes the funny Ebay posting. Don’t mean to offend anybody or to ruffle any feathers. I was in an odd mood on Friday and thought these would be interesting to link to.

The Slow and The Furious

I saw two things I’ve never seen before wrapped up in one situation today at lunch. Driving up to an intersection (Winchester and Tchulahoma for you folks here in Memphis) I saw an 18-wheeler tipped over on its side in front of the gas station. That’s the first thing I had never seen before; at least not in person. The second thing was the cargo it was carrying. That precious cargo just happened to be pounds and pounds of trash. Garbage to be more exact. I never knew that they hauled that stuff around in big rigs. I always thought the garbage trucks took that stuff straight out to the landfill. Anyway the trailer wasn’t a normal one. The roof was removed and wire mesh was put in its place. Apparently the truck designers had never foreseen the truck being put into this type of predicament. From the looks of things the truck came barreling through the intersection on Tchulahoma attempting to make a left turn onto Winchester. He must have been going way too fast because that puppy tipped over on it’s side and slid up against the curb. Thanks to the laws of inertia and various other physics mandates the garbage that was in the back of the truck was deposited at various points throughout the intersection and the gas station parking lot; the wire mesh not withstanding. This was a very strange sight to see. The intersection was teeming with city sanitation workers, trucks and firemen trying to get the mess cleaned up. I had to blink a couple of times to make sure I was seeing things correctly. After taking everything in and realizing that I was going to have to detour around the mess to get to my destination, I thought to myself, “I knew I should have gone to the other McDonald’s”. Maybe next time that truck driver will realize that he’s driving a huge truck not a Porsche. He must have watched The Fast and The Furious one too many times. Due to his poor judgment, we the people his stupidity affected became the Slow and the Furious. Thanks a bunch buddy.

Pollution

Pollution is bad. Right? Does this include all pollution? There’s a guy who passes by my office on a motor scooter at roughly the same time each night. He’s usually passing by as I’m heading out to my car. I admire him for using a fuel efficient, less polluting form of transportation. The problem is that tiny scooter is loud as snot. You can hear it coming two blocks away. When it’s right up on you it’s almost deafening. I guess that guy doesn’t mind producing massive amounts of NOISE pollution. If one form of pollution doesn’t get you I guess the others will.

There’s a Pill For Everything

Here’s proof that there’s a pill for everything. ‘Performance Enhancement Supplements for Gamers?’ Wilson, maybe you and your Counter Strike crew need to order a case of this stuff for those marathon Counter Strike sessions. You guys are already dominant. Imagine what you could do with this stuff. I’m stuck on this one really hard part in Robotech: Battlecry. Same thing with the ending of Final Fantasy X. I sure this supplement will help. Aaron and I should probably start taking it while we’re playing Madden 2003. I’ve been looking for the edge that would allow me to pummel my opponents into submission. I think I’ve finally found it. Mwahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!