Mildly Hurtful Sarcasm

Meaningless ranting, just like everybody else.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Signs of a bad economy (?) II

It's Black Friday 2008

With a slumping economy, Black Friday 2008 not only promised to be the worst holiday season shopping day in recent history, but also see the biggest discounts across the board from Walmart to Macy's. Not so much so, say bargain hunters scouring the internet the night before readying for the raid. Real price slash are rare and free after rebate items are almost impossible to find. The most discounted items are almost always very limited in stock, only there to lure customers into the store.

On the day after Thanksgiving or what has come to be known as Black Friday - the day when accounting makes past the red - merchants traditionally kick off the holiday shopping season by opening their doors up to five hours earlier to compete for business. Just a few years back, deal seekers like myself would have to decide which store to show up at 5am for FAR items. But with rampant inflation in the last couple of years, many of those disguised as deals on the internet are only merchandises going at what they did just a few short years before.

But don't let the lack of price cuts fool you. I was at Fry's Electronics 10:30am this morning (instead of 5am because of lack of incentives) and reality paints a very different picture from the analysts' predictions. One after another, big screen TVs, laptops and other big boxes of high end consumer items sticking out of shopping carts filed through the registers. Traffic to the store was backed up and Fremont PD had to be called. The parking lot overflew and customers had to park across the street and walk over. Still at 11am, 6 hours after the store had opened, an unending stream of people would return to their cars with multiple backs of electronic products, an astonishing sight very different from just a few days ago.

Lower end stores such as Walmart have managed the momentum in attracting shoppers with everyday low prices. Target with its comedic shopping cart runner ad campaign did equally well. I was at Wells Fargo Bank today and was greeted with unusual hospitality probably because of the few number of customers. The ATMs were empty, not a typical Friday scene. Supermarkets also look very different from earlier this week, likely because everybody is stuck with left over the rest of the weekend.

If Fremont's shopping rush is any indication of the nation's economic state, it certainly brings hope to a what is supposed to be a belt-tightening holiday this year. But the San Francisco Bay Area is a far more affluent region than the rest of the US so we still have to wait and see. But I have a feeling when the sales are tallied and the books are closed, this will go down a pretty good Black Friday.

Reporting live from Fremont California.

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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Signs of a bad economy I

I scored a free (after rebate) SD card from Fry's last week. The take away? There are indeed real signs that the economy is bad.

The bay area is an affluent region. Filthy rich people roam the streets amoung us commoners. So I didn't expect things like this: no line at Fry's Electronics (with only 3 out of 40+ registers open, on a Friday). These guys used to give out rebate forms, not now anymore, they make you print your own.



Another sign: there is this boutique near where I lived. Went out of business even before they had a chance to take down the Grand Opening sign. Sigh.

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Monday, November 24, 2008

Microsoft spill resistant keyboard II

Microsoft keyboards spill resistant design is awesome. It allows you to clean the thing thoroughly under the tap without damaging any electronic components. And if you flip it upside down, you'll find something quite entertaining.



Burning sensation? Where did they get that from! I am telling you, your disorders probably caused by your idiotic coworkers, not a keyboard.

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Friday, November 21, 2008

Microsoft spill resistant keyboard I

At work, I use this Microsoft comfort curve keyboard 2000 with spill resistant design. It doesn't have the greatest tactile feel but I like it because I use the cordless version of it (wireless desktop 3000) at home so I'm used to the feel and positions of keys.

Every keyboard gets dirty over time; I am talking about hair, dirt, whatever, that fell into the gaps between keys and get stuck there forever. You can see the dirt, but you can't get to it and you can't shake them all out. Gross.

Yesterday I decided to take the keyboard apart to see if I can at least wipe it alittle, and discovered what a clever design this device has. First of all, once detached, the face board has no electronic component attached to it whatsoever.



Flip it over, it reveals that the spring action of the keys is provided by a rubber sheet underneath it, the keys are all just snapped onto an enclosure, which collects and prevents any liquid from spilling onto the sensor board underneath it.



I don't care about spills but the good news is, that means all the dirt collected are confined to the enclosure... so I could just run it under the tap and let the water wash away all the who knows what in there.

I let it dry, put it back together. Now it is 100% clean. There is some wear, but otherwise it's like new.

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Sunday, November 16, 2008

Victoria beautiful

So I was on business at Victoria, British Columbia this week. First I thought it was a suburb of Vancouver. Then I saw on the map it was a town at the southern tip of an island completely detached from the mainland. A small town I thought, not knowing it is the capital of the province.

I was there for 3 days, it was mostly work for me at a basement office. I didn't really get to check out the place in day light, the quintessential Canadian fir trees, lots of them, from the airplane is all. On the second night, late night, I went out for dinner by myself, and took a stroll around downtown. Took a few pictures of the government building all lit up, and the medieval castle like Empress hotel by the water front.



Local folks told me Victoria has the mildest weather in the country so seniors go there to retire, and they drive slow, really slow. That's my kind of town I said. People there are noticeably friendlier than in the bay area. They don't give you the attitude, they substitute it with a smile.



Overall, it was alot of work but was a good trip.

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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Petrelli mom blunder

Spoiler ahead!

I've always thought/wanted a twist in the plot regarding Angela Petrelli, but would never have thought the writers could mess this up so badly! Not much was known about her in the first season, it was a character full of contradictions: remember in the beginning in the first season she was supposed to be this clueless woman who got herself arrested just to get her sons attention? Then she was the woman who willingly gave up her granddaughter for adoption. And eventually, she was one who conspired with Linderman on the New York grand destruction plan, involving her son being the bomb.

The contradictions could have been a great subplot to exploit upon. When I saw Arthur Petrelli mind controlling her in this week episode, I thought, oh that's why she was clueless in the beginning... but then Linderman repaired her... and that all happened well before Arthur's death - the beginning the the first season. Oh come on, she doesn't love her sons enough to kill her own husband, she ended up sending them to the explosion. They could have played on having her being psychotic, having this habit of giving away offsprings like Claire and Syler... nope, they let it slip.

There are also these inexplicable things like, where did Syler get his finger beam ability after killing only Brian Davis. How could HRG acted like he knew nothing about Syler at first in the first season while now we know he had been watching him?

Last but not least, remember that group photo from last season? The guy with his head turned, that doesn't look like Arthur Petrelli does he? And where is Adam Monroe?


What a complete effed up storyline there is there now. They had a good thing going, and they completely destroyed it. I could have done better than those writers.

The question to how Peter Petrelli's scar failed to regenerate was explained though, he didn't have the power when he got it... or so I hope.

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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

An apple is tougher than a bell pepper

For those of you who have always believed that an apple is tougher than a bell pepper, we now have proof. For in 8 months the fridge only managed to wrinkle an apple



... but has no problem decimating a green bell pepper



... at least I think that's a green bell pepper...

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