Useless Conversation

[Yegolev]

I don't even have Okami yet.  Last night I was playing Chibi-Robo, which is a great game.  I figured out how to clean stains from the walls, and I am pretty happy about that.  The Sandersons have the most awesome house in the history of domiciles.

Trying to make progress in Contact.  Currently irritated at my ineptness at cooking; will go and try to get more meat next time I get the DS.  Trouble is that my wife is totally into Lost in Blue, which I did not forsee.  I am constantly getting minor spoilers since she absolutely cannot do the Build minigame, so I do them for her.

Three more days until I can fly my new ship in EVE.  Unless I forgot yet another skill I will need.  I am hoping that this new ship will help me get started on the road to profitability, even though the problem is that I spend too much money.

Bought one of those third-party PS2 memory cards, the 32MB one.  Now I can have more than one Digital Devil Saga save, and can therefore start playing again without the wife, saving the game in strategic places so she can just watch the cutscenes later.  Games need a built-in cutscene viewer, and not one that you have to grind/beat the game to use like Dirge of Cerberus.

My son watched Complete Cosmos last night, a Science Channel overview of the solar system.  Twice.  He's not yet three.  Didn't move.  He might be a huge nerd.  I'm getting a little verklempt just thinking about it.

[Cyrrex]

My son watched Complete Cosmos last night, a Science Channel overview of the solar system.  Twice.  He's not yet three.  Didn't move.  He might be a huge nerd.  I'm getting a little verklempt just thinking about it.

That is awesome.  Seriously.  This is the same kid that taught us that Neptune was windy, yes?  My oldest has the brains to be that nerdy, but lacks the patience to exercise it.

[Fabricated]

What show is this from again?

[NiX]

So you think you can dance?

[Lantyssa]

My internet connection has been lousy of late.  The picture loaded in slow-motion, which enhanced it quite a bit.

[Yegolev]

I like how Trump reflexively grabs the toupe.

This is the same kid that taught us that Neptune was windy, yes?

That's him.  It's fascinating to interact with someone that asks me relatively intelligent questions during a Science Channel show about the Snowball Earth theory, then pisses all over the sofa because he just doesn't feel like going to the potty.  This past weekend he was feeding himself pancake pieces while watching something (Dora?) and kept putting the fork in his hair and close to his eye.  Sometimes I call him Ruprecht.

[Trippy]

It's fascinating to interact with someone that asks me relatively intelligent questions during a Science Channel show about the Snowball Earth theory, then pisses all over the sofa because he just doesn't feel like going to the potty.

Clearly you've breed yourself an MMORPG player.

[Yegolev]

You might be joking, or not, but I fear you are right.  I'll spare you the anecdotal evidence and just say that he seems to have some aversion to going to the potty.  Then there's the fork problem.  Hence "Ruprecht".



Of course, he's only two so I'm just being mean.

[Oban]

A few months before my daughter was born, I went out and bought a few chairs and a couple of sofas from Ikea.  I moved all of our good furniture in to storage, sold the plasma and child-proofed the house.  Now when she wants to eat strawberries or yogurt using her unique interpretive dance method, I usually just laugh it off. 

As for the poop sock method of science education, my daughter has been potty trained for about six months, but accidents do happen.  If she falls asleep in the car I have about a twenty percent chance of having to wash the car seat liner. 

[Yegolev]

Hardwood floors.  Recently gave up on one of the sofas.  Most importantly, I resigned myself to losing all of my stuff well before now.

[Oban]

Yes, thank god for hardwood floors.

[Yegolev]

Right now I am sitting in the north baggage claim of Hartsfield Intl, waiting on a friend from NJ. Yawn. Should have had the forethought to bring the DS (Contact!). Airports suck now. Thanks, Bin-Fucker.

[Oban]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/surviving-the-long-haul/2006/11/15/1163266559596.html

[Merusk]

Motherfucking Black Friday.

I need to live in a goddamned civilized area.  There's ONE major shopping district for N. Ky, so I  had a feeling it was going to be bad.  I had NO IDEA.

My Daughter wants a DS lite w/ Nintendogs.  He look, Circuit City is giving away a $20 case/ accessory pack when you buy a DS. I'd better get there early.   Woke-up at 4:30 and hauled my ass to Circuit City, which is close to my house and the start of the mall sprawl.  Traffic was horrible just to get into the area, and I parked illegally behind a dumpster.  The line circled around the building and up into the strip mall lot next door when I got into it. It continued to fill out until they opened the doors at 5:05.  I figure I was 250-300th in line, and the chair & sleeping bag crowed who were at the entrance had been there since 3:00 the previous afternoon according to the employees in the lot keeping everyone in queue.    Oh, a $200 PC for rednecks to surf porn. That explains the line.

Inside the store was a fucking zoo.  People jammed into each other as 3-wide beer-bellied men and women tried to fit through aisles narrowed down to 2 1/2 feet just from displays, not to mention the folks crowded around it.   Finally squeezed through the phone area to get back to the games.  Oh joy, all the DS's are gone, this was totally worth it.  Nab an employee and ask if he's got any in back.  "Yeah" he says and then dissapears into the stock room.  I never saw the fucker again.   There were 3-4 other people there asking about Gameboys as well, but they all wanted the SP.  They were picking up 2-3 at a time.  Wtf? I don't get it. 

  So I spy a few Wii's (4-5) sitting there, and begin to wonder if I could convince my 8-year-old daughter this is a better toy, even though she REALLY has her heart set on Nintendogs.  The combination of my parents trying the same stuff on me and the register line that started at the front of the store and wound its way back to me in games convinced me this was a bad idea.   Time to leave, because Target opens in 40 mins.

On the way out I struggle through the same herd I had to struggle through to get in back.  People bumping into me and milling about with clueless, glazed looks on their eyes.  WTF, you came out at 5:00 for something, don't fucking 'mall walk' in the middle of a crowd, jackass.   I nearly punched the 3 college kids in front of me who thought it'd be brilliant to stop the only moving lane of people so they could discuss the new South Park season on DvD.  Crowds like this are a BIG 'rage' button for me.

Get outside to my car and thankfully the human masses exiting are smaller than those trying to enter. Taking a right turn out of the non-signaled lot only took 3 mins.   Tool down the highway 2-3 exits and take a glance at the Best Buy/ Meijer area on my way to Target.  Motherfuck it's solid red brake lights around the entire store and it's only 5:30.  I laugh to myself about what a face all this Black Friday crap is.

Get to Target, and lo and behold the same line scenario is playing out.  What?  It's motherfucking  TARGET.  There's no $200 PCs or $500 HDTVs to be found here, it's TARGET, motherfuckers!  My son doesn't need that Spider-Man basketball stand that badly that I'm going to put up with this same shit (and likely come away empty-handed again) at Target. 

Go home pissed, because I got up so early, did all this shit, got nothing, and still have to go in to work in two hours.   Do a quick search on the 'net and discover, Oh. Circuit City is indeed the only one in Ky until you get to Lexington.  Sure there's one "10 miles away" from that store, but that's a long ass haul for most KY folks, and they have to cross "the River".  Fuck me for not doing research on that.   Do the same thing for Target.  Once again, it's the ONLY one in Ky.  9 stores in Ohio, but one in Ky.   

The worst part is, as I'm in the middle of cursing out these masses of seedy humanity struggling for 'a bargin' that's really not,  the realization that I'm one of these stupid fuckers too. Fucking holidays.

[Cyrrex]

(frothing puddle of bile)

Thanks, that was great stuff.  I never really understood the hype.  Just staying home seems like a good idea.

[Signe]

Can't you buy that stuff online?  I haven't been to a mall in years.  The only things I don't buy online are meats and some veggies, beer and liquor, cars and frozen chicken biryani. 

[Merusk]

You can buy most things online, but they still want to support the B&M stores.  As a result there's some deals you can only get by going to the stores.

No, it's certainly not worth it.  The only reason I even attempted it was because I had to be at work today, so I had to get up early anyway. (Granted, not as early as I DID..)

[Signe]

I heard that some shops were opening as early as 3 AM.  Still, it seems crazy that it was so crowded and they were sold out of what you wanted at that time in the morning.  Looking at the news videos of shoppers today, I think most people just run through and grab stuff.  It seems to me that the amount of people surrounding you would mostly block your view of what the heck you're buying anyway.  I guess people reckon if someone else wants one, it must be a good deal.  It reminds me of penguins moving from side to side all at the same time, only not cute.

[Sky]

I don't make much money, but there's no WAY I'd deal with Black Friday just to save a few bucks on something. It's retarded. I can remember when I was manager in walmart's unloading docks, cheap pcs wouldn't even make it to electronics, people were lurking in the shoe department to pick the pallet clean while it was being pulled out.

Some people only care about getting something cheap, I guess.

But then...I'm a bad capitalist. My christmas capitalism was finished weeks ago.

[Signe]

Sky called Merusk retarded.

Just sayin'....

[Sky]

Nah, Merusk came to his senses and went home.

[Cheddar]

I was just watching the news and they showed people lined up in the same manner you described.  When people in the line were interviewed they invariably commented on how they wanted to take advantage of the great deals.  Idiots.

[Strazos]

Merusk, your story was delicious. Thank you.

Anyway, I had to work at Gamestop for a few hours today, and I was due in at 7. Traffic wasn't too bad on the way over. Pretty average actually.

Now, I've worked at the mall on Black Friday before, so I know how comepletely fucking retarded people can get. When I was at Sears, we'd have people outside the doors, crying with their children, because it was cold out at 6 in the morning. Fucking retards. Anyway...

I get in at 7am, and I'm surprised to see the store already open with customers inside. I thought perhaps I was somehow late or that my clocks were wrong, but my Mgr tells me that about 14 people were camping out when he got there at 5:50 am. We had like, 4 Wiis to sell, no PS2s.

Anyway, my shift actually wasn't too bad. Not too many big trade-in orders, and people were pretty civil the whole time. Funniest thing was people calling in at 8, 9, and 10 asking if we had any Wiis.

[HaemishM]

That's some damn fine hate there, Merusk. You make me proud.

My brother-in-law works at Best Buy. He had to be in at work at 3 fucking AM. Since he has a motorcycle and it's cold as frozen steaks, he asked that I drive him in (and his fiancee a few hours later who works at Old Navy across the street). We get there at 2:45 a.m. There are people sitting on the sidewalk waiting, some of them even Best Buy employees who took the day off to be able to purchase a deal. Apparently, Best Buy employees are not allowed to either 1) get those deals while working that day or 2) buy a PS3 this Christmas. If they do, they get fired. So the line of stinking apes is not only stretching down the way, it reaches past the adjacent PetSmart and curls into the edge of the parking lot. The news later said there were 600 people outside at 5 a.m. when they opened.

I'm a cheap motherfucker, but you wouldn't see me doing that shit. The worst I've ever done is go to Wal-Mart at 6 a.m. on Black Friday and I'll never do it again. The bargains weren't worth the pain, the smell and the press of inferior flesh.

[Nebu]

I'm constantly amazed by how little people value their free time.  Opportunity costs are just that, costs. 

[Sky]

After allowing people to line up in the store for the PS3, they made them line up outside for the Wii, according to my buddy who still works at walmart.

Me...I'd call the cops for loiterers.

[Krakrok]

http://www.whatacrappypresent.com/

The best part is the IM screen shot.

[HaemishM]

Le art.

[Ironwood]

 Apparently, Best Buy employees are not allowed to either 1) get those deals while working that day or 2) buy a PS3 this Christmas. If they do, they get fired.

Are you joking ?

[HaemishM]

Nope. Good corporate policy if you ask me. They can still get the Black Friday deals, but they have to take the day off of work and wait in line with the unwashed masses to do so.

And they cannot purchase a PS3 from Best Buy. They are welcome to get one somewhere else if they so choose, just not from BB.

[Sky]

Yeah, if you let them employees buy them while they're working, none will make it to the floor.

[Yegolev]

I don't stand outside anything for anything, except maybe a seat in a restaurant since I know for a fact I'll get one unless the fucker burns down while I'm glaring at the other patrons in the lobby.  Of course, this is why I don't have a Wii right now.  My free time has real value, unlike the throngs that camp out for this shit.  Some people just have more free time or have fun like they are at a Grateful Dead concert, which is fine, but some people are just stupid.  The most retarded part of the campouts is that there still isn't a guarantee that you'll make out with whatever you got in line for.

The gift lineup right now is looking a bit thin, but if people are not happy that we spent more than $40 on their sorry asses, they are welcome to step out into the yard.

I hate to say it, but the DS Lite has been out since June.  Bad move.  I get my bargains in January like a civilized man.

I offer some second-hand information that Target did a great job of handling the mobs in the store, funneling fatties with rows of shopping carts to temporary setups of electronics that were well away from the actual electronics section.

Not having a great holiday season so far.

[NiX]

Scrubs is back! God I love this show.

[Yegolev]

God damn all hot tubs and the people who make them.

[Yegolev]

Too many Firefox extensions:
http://tech.cybernetnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/Firefox200/Fullscreen.jpg