Okay, so if witnessing the murder of a groundhog this morning wasn’t bad enough, tonight’s no better!
Now I am faced with stinky, runny cat poop to clean up and a spider.
I give up. Today is just crappy.
Going to bed now.
Night.
Mar 162010
I had a rather disturbing thing happen on the way to work and quite frankly it was a horrible way to start my day.
I was speeding along the turnpike as usual when up ahead I spotted a little groundhog trying his hardest to make it across the road. He got across the first lane of traffic fine only narrowly escaping the Mack truck only to be struck down by the SUV in the next lane.
His, hopefully, lifeless body came tumbling towards me at a high rate of speed coming to rest up against the cement medium.
I still can’t shake that image. It really messed me up most of the day. Poor little guy. Even if he had made it across where would he have gone? Upon reaching the middle of the road he would have been met with an insurmountable cement wall. Why don’t they make them with a gap in them every few yards? Or make the mediums out of cement columns instead of solid walls? Something.
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Note: if you do check out the info on the above site, the links at the bottom of the pages do not work use the ones in the header.
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Feb 232010
I was witness to an invasion last night.
Okay, not so much of an invasion as one giant spider from Mars.
Okay, it wasn’t from Mars.
It was from the ceiling.
Okay, it wasn’t giant either, but when it is only inches from your face hanging there with all eight of its evil little legs squirming at u in the light on the TV it looks friggin’ HUGE!
I detest spiders.
Okay, maybe that is a little strong.
I hate them.
Still too strong. I extremely dislike them and do not want them near me ever, especially two inches from my face when I am trying to go to bed.
My fear, disgust, distrust of them keeps me from even being able to squish them dead so that I can go on with my pathetic little existence as a spider loathing human being. I was ousted from my own bedroom in the middle of the night from a creature the size of my thumb nail. How does that work?
I like Spider-man. I like spider themed jewelry and art. I even like watching them on the Discovery channel. I just don’t like them on my head.
Spider: 1
Me: 0
(If you are keeping score.)
We have been thinking about selling our home and moving into a new single family home, but all the things involved with selling a house can be very intimidating. Just looking for a Realtor is confusing and a bit scary. Everyone and their brother will be glad to give you pointers whether you want them or not.
So far one of the best pieces of advice we have been given is about interviewing Realtors. Finding the right Realtor will only be the beginning though.
Figuring out things like what the Closing Cost will be and who pays for what is more than confusing! Apparently here in Reading there is a 2.5% closing cost on both sides. That’s right 2.5% for the buyer and 2.5% for the seller. However, that is not the only local regulation we will have to deal with. We still have much more research to do, but there is some kind of city inspection involved too. That’s on top of having a Pest Inspector come through and make sure the house isn’t falling apart from termites or infested with some other nasty beasty.
Do we offer the buyers a New Home Warranty to help sell the house? Or just leave it up to them to buy it themselves? Will it help us sell the house or not?
As you can see I have a ton a questions and a ton of research ahead of me. Thank god for the internet and the wealth of information to be found on it.
Well I have pretty much already beat this to death, but I feel it needs repeating. FEARnet is the only horror channel on Comcast and quite frankly it is the worst one out there. Come on Comcast give us something better please.
Oh, you can ask for channels but they never add them so why bother?
Additional reasons that FEARnet and Comcast suck can be found here:
Feb 132010
Well if you have been reading my blog for any amount of time you know I have an ongoing issue with Comcast Cable and their crappy service. This time it is their customer service. I have already pointed out their enormous cost before so let me just tell you how shocked I was by my bill once my triple play pricing special ran out. So I grabbed a phone and gave them a call. I was put on hold then disconnected. Okay, so I call back this time I get some one who says they are going to look into it for me. Again I am put on hold and the call is disconnected! At this point my frustration has turned to anger so I decide I am going to wait a few days and call back.
A couple of days go by and I try calling again. This time I get some one who seems eager to help and isn’t hanging up on me. He supposedly tries to change my plans to reduce my costs, but every time he does his computer crashes. He reboots twice before telling me to call back again.
Well their ploy worked. I gave up trying and I continue to pay them way too much money all because I could not get any customer service.
Their commercials talk about how wonderful they are and how if they don’t fix something on the first call they’ll give you $20. Wonder if that guarantee works when you cannot get satisfaction from their call center?
Oct 012009
Last week, September 22 to be exact, we saw a horrible image on the news. It was of an adorable little brown tabby cat all wrapped up like a mummy in duct tape. We could not bear to watch the whole news clip to find out what, who or why it had happened.
The news is just to darn depressing to watch especially when it shows poor helpless animals or children who have suffered at the hands of an adult that should know better. (That is why I have such a hard time forgiving Michael Vick or the Eagles for signing a dog murderer.) We treat all life with respect and wish the rest of humanity would too.
The following day we learned that the little kitty would be okay and that the PSPCA was offering a reward for news leading to an arrest in the case.
The PSPCA had named the lil tabby cat Sticky (how appropriately cute). While we really wanted to run into Philly and adopt her on the spot, we already have four cats in our little city home. We just couldn’t offer a proper home to another cat at this time. So we silently wished her well knowing she would be quickly adopted since her horrible ordeal was aired on the news. Turns out more than 100 people had called in wanting to adopt her!
Today we got the good news from the PSPCA that not only did Sticky get a forever home, but the bad man that had done this to her had been arrested and is now facing criminal charges.
Our hope is that the 99 plus people that did not get to adopt Sticky could open their hearts and their homes to another kitty cat awaiting adoption at the PSPCA.
Every day on my way to work I pass this sign (okay not exactly this sign since I photoshopped it — the real one says Travel Time Ahead). And in my dyslexic mind I ALWAYS read it as Time Travel Ahead (so I went ahead and made it say that since that is what I see in my mind’s eye anywho).
Just some random silliness.
Jun 012009
Below you will find two signs I happened across. Both of which are missing commas therefore making the meaning of the sign slightly different than intended. Not quite as much fun as the Blog of Unnecessary Quotes, but almost. I am not quite sure what an alcohol dog is and I have never heard of a drying vacuum either…
 
The fine and rather sarcastic folks over at Pophangover.com must have been hungover when they reviewed the Spock action figure on their site.
Take a look at the picture to the right. As you can see they are clearly talking about the NEW Spock action figures from Playmates Toys, but are comparing it to Leonard Nimoy as Spock. So of course the photo of the actual person isn’t going to look ANYTHING like the action figure and vice versa.
Perhaps as a pop culture site they are so out of touch with reality that they don’t really know what is going on in the world of pop culture any more? Have they had their collective heads in the sand for the past year? Do they not know that their is a NEW Star Trek movie with a whole new cast? Spock is now played by Zachary Quinto (Sylar from Heroes).
Now with that new knowledge people, try your little review again. Your two main complaints about the figure seem a perfect match when compared to the correct actor.
I would say the toy is pretty close, not dead on, but pretty dang close to Quinto (but certainly not Nimoy). And I’m the slacker here 
May 082009
Saw the new Star Trek movie last night and all I can say right now is “WOW!” I am headed to the IMAX today to see it again and maybe I will be able to formulate more of an actual review at that point, but until then here is my friend’s review from last nights viewing (Warning some spoilers most are at the end of the review — enjoy and go see the film!)
Kent’s Review:
It has been a long, long time since I have given a four star review to any science fiction film released in the theater of late. I was beginning to think the endless sequels, remakes, retreads and prequels had Hollywood in a funk they could not get out of, which certainly did not justify the recent writer’s strike and does even less to fuel the rationalization of the pending actor’s strike. In short, there are very few new ideas out there, and even fewer new ideas that are actually decent and play well from beginning to end without being mucked up by the Hollywood machine. So, in these times of uncertainty, unoriginality and unappreciation, we turn our eyes to what offerings ther are on the table and hope for the best. Sadly, more often than not, we are disappointed with the results.
Until now.
Make no mistake, Star Trek is back, not only in a big way, but in a way that will please fans both young and old and also give chance to newcomers to the saga to hop on board without needing any previous knowledge of the canon or its characters. This is not a reboot. This is not a remake. This is (slightly skewed) fresh start for us to see played out the first meetings of the beloved Original Series characters and many of the snippets of their pasts that were mentioned or alluded to in episodes but were not actually seen. This is no easy task since director J J Abrams needs to walk the fine line between diehard fans, and deeply entrenched legendary history, established and beloved characters, the demands of special effects and action sequences of today and the board of critics, both novice and professional, that have been waiting anxoiusly for this much-hyped recalibration. An impossible task at best, but the results are as mindblowingly close to perfect as anyone could possibly hope to come.
First and foremost, if the cast doesn’t work, the rest of the film doesn’t matter. You can’t just have anyone don a classic Trek uniform, have them deliver tagline references and hope to pass them off as the iconic legends these characters have become. But there are absolutely no worries in that department. Chris Pine’s Kirk is savvy, rebelious, slightly egotistical, reckless and has a weakness for the opposite sex. Equally inpressive is Zachary Quinto’s portrayal of the emotionally and logically divided Spock, who is still trying to determine who he is and sort out what sort of man he is to become. Everyone else – Sulu, Uhura, Chekov, Scotty – is more than passable, even if the looks don’t exactly match or the character developmen is a bit off. But above them all, dead on, perfect-for-the-role is Keith Urban’s portrayal of the late, great DeForrest Kelly’s Dr. McCoy. Just close your eyes as he delivers his crusty county doctor repitoire and try to separate him from his predecessor. Then open them and copare the mannerisms, gestures, expressions and side-of-the-mouth dialogue delivery and try not to believe he is Kelly reborn. The comparisons are staggeringly uncanny.
Then there’s the plot. Well, whenever you have a villain that goes dickering around with time, there are bound to be a few flaws, not to mention inconsistancies that result due to the interference with the space/time continuum. However, since this is not an exact history and some latitude needs to be given for plot devices, the few changes to what history we know of Star Trek are both forgivable and understandable. We can suspend our belief and accept a few minor changes here and there for the sake of the Trek we have all been so eagerly and patiently been waiting for.
And finally, the finishing touches. Special effects; check. Music; check. Surprising and unexpected castings for the supportng roles; check. classic taglines that don’t feel forced or out of place; check. All systems; check. An a kickass ship to put them all in; absolutely.
For so many years the “blockbuster” start of the summer has been a mixed bag of disappointments, half-hearted attempts and critically bashed tripe. This year, without question, the summer film season has begun on an extremely positive note. And with the Enterprise out in front, with any luck, this time it will live long and prosper.
Star Trek **** (out of four) Rated PG-13 for violence, language, sexual situations, alcohol consumption, and scary situations. Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Keith Urban, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saladna, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood, Eric Bana, Ben Cross, Wynona Rider, Deep Roy and Leonard Nimoy.
Spoiler stuff from here down.
- Things we would like to have seen or heard that were not included in the film:
- Nurse Chapel
- Yeoman Janice Rand
- “He’s dead, Jim.”
- “I’m only one man, captain.”
- “Beam me up, Scotty” (only because no one officially ever said it ever) or “Energize” all by itself.
- “Fascinating.”
- For the timeline to have been restored, even if only to bring back Amanda or Kirk’s dad, or at least save Vulcan
- Captain (or Admiral) Robert April
- Lt. Arex and/or Lt. M’Ress (now that the special effects are available, they could do it)
- Things that seemed out of place:
- That little alien creature hanging around with Scotty (sorry Deep Roy)
- The violation of the orignal canon regarding no one knowing what a romulan looked like before Balance of Terror
- and, again, the destruction of Vulcan and the loss of Amanda and Kirk’s father
- That whole scene with young Kirk stealing the car and driving it off the cliff
- The premise that Budweiser beer will still be around hundreds of years from now.
- The Spock/Uhura relationship
- Things that were absolutely cool:
- The continued death-of-a-red-shirt tradition
- Uhura being smokin’ hot!
- The inclusion of an Orion girl. Always welcome.
- The inclusion of other alien races in crowd scenes. Nice touch.
- The playing out of the whole Kobyashai Muru incident.
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