Things that Anger Me.

So it’s 3am, I just got back from work, and I am about as pessimistic, irritable, and dejected as I can be at the moment, which means it’s time to rant and rave through my magic 17” window to the internet.

First order of business: why am I up at 3am on a Sunday night? Well, because it was physical inventory night today at best buy, and HOORAY, I was one of the lucky ones who got to stay and count EVERY. SINGLE. SOLITARY. STINKIN. ITEM. In the store. The schedules all said 6pm to 12 midnight, but alas, that was all optimism, and as the night progressed, we all realized that we weren’t getting out of there at midnight. It’s something that must be done, but seriously, this is the kind of thing we should be using robots for, not orchestrated dance performances in Japan or whatever the hell they do with those things nowadays. I don’t think I’ve ever counted so many packs of ink or blank cds or laptop bags in my life. If that wasn’t annoying enough the stupid archaic pieces of scanning equipment that was shipped to us for the night beeped every time you scanned something (like a good little scanner should), but dear lord, by the end of the night, the convoluted, chaotic, grating symphony of beep beep beep BEEP echoing across the store was enough to drive even the most hardened retail workers to the brink of pure MADNESS (this is where I’d put a 300 joke but they’re overused now so you don’t get one).

Second order of business: The Hotspot, why is it that every single time we have campus tours, the food suddenly gets better and there’s more on the menu. Well obviously it’s because they’re trying to impress the visitors and give a skewed, better view of campus food. On top of that, half the time they just let the parents in for free, why serve better food on the night your losing the most money, I demand pot pie and steak any damned night of the week. Sadly, that’s not how things work, when the visitors aren’t around, what do I get? The same usual menu with a slight bit of changes. I will give props to magellan’s for having something new nearly every day, however there is one major problem. Zucchini, seriously what the hell is their deal? It seems they put zucchini in everything, its like this amazing super-veggie that solves all the world’s problems. Chicken? How about zucchini fried chicken. Pasta? HELL NAW, we need zucchini ravioli. Zucchini? NO WAY, WE NEED DOUBLE FRIKKEN ZUCCHINI IN A FESTIVE ZUCCHINI SAUCE. Aggghghh I hate zucchini, it is quite possibly the worst tasting vegetable in existence, to top it off they things are freakin huge, you can’t just put a few slices in and call it quits, you got a whole damned gourd to cut up and throw in and ruin your dish with (or in the words of magellans, “improve” your dish). I swear, the breakroom must have this poster in it, hell they probably have it on every wall, the ceilings too.



I was gonna have a third and maybe fourth order of business, but you know what, screw it, nothing will top my hatred of zucchini’s and their incessant use at Magellan’s. Burn in hell zucchini, burn in hell.

A New Contender Enters the Arena

Today, I am going to cover a vitally important topic that is affecting campus-livers everywhere: Breakfast ...Subs.

In case you've been living in a cave for the past week (or maybe just south campus…or off of campus... or you just dont eat at the union), subconnection has launched a daring new campaign: Breakfast All-Day Subs.

It all started on Tuesday when I was standing in a longer than usual line at subconnection, when, after eons of waiting and waiting, I turned that little corner out of the ramp, almost there! However instead of being greeted by cheering people with little cups of water and a finish line banner, I am greeted by something entirely unexpected: A simple three-leg easel with a sign on it, the sign showcasing a glorious, almost glowing sub of breakfast items and the words “BREAKFAST ALL-DAY SUBS”. Perplexed by this ominous and foreign concept, my brain struggles to comprehend. I mean what do we have here… Breakfast: Good, Breakfast All-Day: Even Better, Breakfast All-Day …Subs: ..wha?, there has to be a catch. So the line slowly moves on and I approach the counter and I have to make a decision, do I abide by the man’s unspoken law and fear the breakfast sub, and instead stick to the safety of my Italian cold cut trio? No! Today, I am a MAN, and I am going to conquer this new foe. One of the subconnection regulars asks me what I’ll be having today, and I proclaim “the breakfast sub, on jalapeño cheddar bread”, a few people in the line stare as my sub is taken to the toaster oven, “that’s right, you were all to scared to try it, I own you”. Ding! Sub is done, and the guy asks me if I want anything on it… I stall.. do I want anything on it? Its already breakfast sausage, egg, and cheese… what the heck do you put on that? Vinegar and Oil? Lettuce? Banana Peppers?, I just don’t know… I falter, and go with the cop-out “no that’s all”.

So I return to my room with the sub, not being one to make a public spectacle of myself (actually I just had chemistry soon and had to get my books, but lets just pretend the sub was that dangerous I had to eat it in the privacy of my own room). I sit down and unwrap my opponent….. ITS ****ING GO TIME!

After a few bites, the tension has subsided in my stomach, I let go of my phone with the poison hotline dialed in and ready to call. The sub… is …DELICIOUS! Sub connection has succeeded in a complete re-invention of the definition of the meaning of the theory of sub sandwiches entirely, amazing.

With that said, here’s the rundown: Mainly, it tastes great, aside from clashing with the sides (I mean come on.. chips.. and soda? Not my kinda breakfast sides, but to each his own. Huge ego boost, this sub screams “I’m more daring than you, mr. roast beef and provolone”, its American as all hell, I mean they just took one of the only entirely healthy places on campus and threw in greasy breakfast sausage, egg, and cheese, this isn’t just a McMuffin, it’s like three McMuffins, or a McMuffin squared. To top that off in the corner of the sign it re-assures you that this is 100% USDA Pork, because frozen dehydrated pork bricks taste SO much better when its from the good ol’ US of A. Rated on a scale of 0-5 Disconfigured Hand Holding Sub Things heres how the Sub performs:

My Blog Really Isn't Better Than Yours, Better is a Subjective Term Anyways.

I probably thought about what to write about for this blog longer than its going to take me to actually write it, maybe thats a problem, maybe its not. Either way, you're gonna get an awesomely thought about topic instead of a spur of the moment one, i guess thats cool.

Today i'm ranting about how history keeps repeating itself in stupid ways in the technology world.  Many of you probably know about the recent death of HD-DVD, vanquised by its fierce competitor Blu-Ray Disc. Was this a justified death? not really, an inevitable one? by far. 

Back in the days of VHS vs. Beta-Max i guess Beta was actually better and stored more information or something, at least thats what my dad says, the master of getting hyped up on formats that die (the idiot bought a minidisc player quite possibly a month before ipods and mp3 market blew up, i'd be suprised if you could even find those things outside of the internet nowadays, oh how quickly the minidisc died.... 

...but back to my main point at hand, not my father, Beta max died out due to a lack of support, bad advertising, and bad image, VHS was by no means better, but the "normal people" whom knew nothing of the technology simply believed what was forced into thier heads by the advertising that was rampant in the day and age, if a poster in an electronics store said something was better, and thier neighboor had it and "it does everything" for them, then it was better. there was no blogs or internet reviews or widespread communication systems to unveil the real truth.

Now, with the huge demand for HD Entertainment, the video industry is pushing the next big transition, the death of DVD's and the birth of Next-Gen Discs (aka Blu-Ray, now that HD-DVD has given its wilhelm scream). But why Blu-Ray? why not use HD-DVDs, those seem more realistic, i mean arent they just like regular dvds but with more lines of resolution?

Not exactly, despite Blu-Ray's out of the blue name (oh dear lord i really didnt intend that pun) or or HD-DVD's more straitforward, simple name, both discs rely on new, untested, and unrefined laser technology, neither have reached thier full potentials, and neither have any huge advantages above the other at the moment. I could go on about the minute complexities and differences, but ill forgo that and just post a link here.

So in the end, Blu-Ray is victorious today, and honestly, it had nothing to do with any of its capabilities, and possible refinement to become better than HD-DVDs and store more. It is a simple repitition of history that successful widespread marking, flashy names, and big business support will make or break a new technology. It's sad but true, Blu-Ray won this battle simply due to money and investment, Sony knew what they were doing when they pushed it, with flashy commercials, big investments, huge contracts with movie companies, and a plethora more deals with third party electronics manufacturers. Toshiba had thier heads in the right places, but became mere children compared to the big bad boys at Sony, and thus HD-DVD is now nothing more than a relic, which is sad because i love my Toshiba Laptop.

The HD-DVD player attachments for the xbox are on clearance now for 50 bucks at my work (best buy). Maybe i'll buy one so i can be "that guy" and insist on owning and collecting a dead format, hell, i already collect vinyl, hell, maybe there already an underground HD-DVD culture spawning, collecting cult movies that those stupid mainstream blu-ray kids wouldnt even appreciate. And since capitalism brought about the ultimate end of HD-DVD, i would totally be fighting the man if i did, and for future reference, i am pro-fighting the man. wrar.