I remember when I was younger, before I was able to drive, I rode my bicycle everywhere. There was no place that I wanted to go that I could not ride my bike, or I could find someone to drive me. It was not a big deal, it was easy, and I was always able to go where I wanted to go. But, as all teenagers do when hitting that 16th birthday, I just “needed” a car to drive. I eventually got the license and got a car to drive to places that I used to ride my bike too. However, I still rode the bike to school. Now? If I can’t drive there, I’m not going. I don’t even own a bike anymore (although I do at some point want to get one just to exercise more). I cannot even imagine life nowadays without a car. You just “have to” have a car in So Cal (or so we are lead to believe). Public transportation is a joke and if you want to have any type of life, you just need to drive there.
I used to have a 19″ CRT television set in my bedroom a while ago. I had it for the longest time and I never complained and I was able to watch the shows I wanted to. Four years ago I got a 40″ LCD television, and looking back I can’t even imagine how I lived all those years with that crappy 19″ non HD television. My next television after this one? I can guarantee you it will not be smaller than 40″, and you can be sure it will be bigger instead. And when I do get it, I will watch that new set thinking back and wondering how I could ever of watching my shows with such a puny screen.
Why is it that the more you have, the more you want? I suffer this as much as anyone and I can’t explain it either. Is it just built into our culture and taught to us consciously or subconsciously? Are we just spoiled Americans that can never be satisfied? Is it just further evidence of our material culture, our keeping up with the jonses’ attitude? I mean, my 40″ LCD is sufficient now. I admit it. I use it everyday to watch my DVR’d shows. If I don’t get a new television, I know I will continue to be satisfied. But, I just want a bigger one. I don’t know why and can’t explain it. I just do. Our culture? Greed? Society teaching us to never be satisfied? American companies are just spectacular marketers (after all, where in the hell did women believing diamonds=love come from)? Human nature to always want what your friends have (If this really were the case, other countries would be the same so I’d be interested to see if that were the case)?
I think, though, that I myself do have limits (I’d like to think I do at least). I “want” a bigger TV because I know that realistically I will be able to save enough to buy one without having to sacrifice too much for things like saving for retirement or eating ramen every day. It won’t be tomorrow, but I know I can get there. But, I can’t say the same for, say, a nice sports car. I don’t care how nice it looks, there is no way I’d be able to justify to myself buying that no matter how cool it might be to own unless I won the lotto or something. (Actually, the scary thing is that I can see myself in a luxury car. Uh oh. I can restrain myself! I can restrain myself!) If I don’t want to work until I die, then it just will never happen. I think many people though do not have that restraint, and I think that’s part of the reason why so many get into trouble. I just hope that I do not ever meet a purchase that breaks me and keep that discipline in check.
After this past weekend, the Superbowl was set when the New England Patriots and the New York Giants won their respective Conference Championships. This is the exact same Superbowl matchup from a few years ago. And I hate both teams. Now, this Superbowl is a lot easier to stomach because I already went through the exact same thing a few years back. Back then, the Patriots were going for an undefeated season and Eli Manning, who is the only reason I hate the Giants, was going for his first ring. It pained me much more than I thought it would when the Niners lost. So sad.
I hate pretty much all the Mannings, but I hate Eli the most because he forced himself out of San Diego. Yes, whatever, get over it. I know. Doesn’t matter anymore because he won his freaking ring and so it made it all worth it for him. I was so hoping he would never win but I guess that’s over. I still hate him. The Patriots? I actually have nothing against them, and I think Brady is a good guy. But, being a lifelong Laker fan and thus lifelong Celtic hater, I think all things anti-Boston had seeped into me.
So, what is a person to do when watching something like the Superbowl in which you just hate both teams? Pretty much the whole country watches it, and its become an event so big it is hard to ignore. I guess if you can’t ignore it, you can just try to watch the game, and try to enjoy the sport of football. But, its harder to watch 2 teams you hate rather than watching 2 teams you don’t care about. If it was the Ravens against the Lions, I could care less who wins. Maybe then, I could just enjoy the awesome athleticism shown by both teams. But a couple years ago when the Patriots could of been in the record books for ever with an undefeated season or Manning Jr. get his first ring? Was there a way that both could lose?
So, what did I do a few years back? I think I just decided to somewhat cheer for the team I hate just a little bit less. And in that case, it was the Patriots. They had already won before, so I had no problem if they won again. But little Eli? I hate that guy, so I didn’t want him winning. But, we all know what happened there. If you hate both teams equally, but just have to watch the Superbowl to attend your Superbowl party or something? I guess you can just enjoy the food?
This time its a little easier to stomach since its a rematch. I still hate little Manning as much as ever, and I can stomach the Patriots a lot more than I used to. So, here is hoping that Brady punks Manning, and that he never wins another ring and is never ever discussed again as being an elite quarterback.
I have been using a recorder for decades. Well before the TiVO/DVR was invented and made mainstream, I was recording shows on my VCR and then watching them on the weekend so that I could fast forward through the commercials. Yes, I know. I was ahead of my time 
. I just hate commercials. They are a freaking waste of time. Do you people out there realize how much time you save when you skip commercials? A 30 minute program only takes 20 minutes to watch, and as such an hour long program is only 40 minutes. In a world when EVERYONE says that they don’t have enough time or they are too busy or whatever excuse they have, then why would you NOT use a DVR to watch your television programs? They never get me to want to buy anything, and so I’d rather save my time instead. Whenever I click on a link online of a video and the first 15 or 30 seconds is a commercial, I most often just hit the back button on my browser. There is usually is no video that I want to see so bad that I’ll waste 15 seconds of my life with that crap.
But, getting back to DVR’s, outside of those that can’t afford them, I see so many reasons why you should always watch shows/movies on DVR’s or on sites like Netflix rather than watch them live. The aforementioned save time by skipping commercials is the biggest. But, what else? We now are in a world where networks cancel their new shows after a couple episodes due to low ratings. This has always been so lame to me. If you don’t give your show a chance to find an audience, then how is it going to? And if you are going to have such a short hook on your shows, then why in the hell should I waste my time watching new shows? Instead, what I will do is just record any potentially new shows that might be interesting, maybe wait a few months or even the whole year, and then and only then start to watch the show. Otherwise, if I watch a show for one episode and its cancelled, then I just wasted my time. And as I said earlier, I hate wasting my time.
You can watch your shows anytime that you want to, not when the network tells you to. If you work late every night and can’t watch the show at 8 pm, then you can do so at midnight, or whenever it is that you want to.
Somewhat related to that, you can wait weeks and months for many episodes to air before watching all the episodes in a long marathon. There are so many shows that have mini-cliffhangers when the episode ends. If you hate that, then just watch all the shows back to back and you don’t have to worry about that….until you reach the end I suppose. Or, if you just don’t feel like watching the show week to week, just watch them all in the summer or whenever it is that you want to.
I’m not sure what percent of people fully use their DVR’s as their primary method of watching TV shows and movies. But, whatever it is, it is way too low. Outside of sports, I see no reason why anyone should watch TV live. The other day, my friend and I were talking about a show and then he asked me when the show was on. I had no idea. I oftentimes watch my shows on the weekends, so I just never bothered remembering when it actually broadcasts live. The only issue I ever run into is when I just record too much and fail to watch the programs in a timely manner. I’ve never had to delete any prior to watching them, but there have been times on occasion when I had to force myself to watch something so that I could record something else. Seeing as how I am used to watching TV in this way now, I usually don’t have this issue anymore and am sure to watch what I need to before ever running into that problem.
If you don’t have a DVR or think it is too much money, just think about the time you save when doing so. That can very well be worth the cost.
Everyone knows that people who buy Macs are famously loyal to Apple and all things Apple. It doesn’t matter that their computers are much more expensive than PC’s. Fanboys swear they are just better products, work better, are more intuitive, and so despite being more price-wise, they are not more expensive. Now, Apple fanboys are probably much more loyal to Apple than most other brand loyalists, but brand loyalty is a very common phenomenon. I know someone who only buys Nike athletic gear. I know some women who only buy Coach bags. Even I am guilty of this. For the most part I only buy the best reviewed or cheapest products, but when it comes to televisions, I have a strong bias for Samsung. I have 2 in the home currently.
For the most part, this idea of brand loyalty is beyond reason. People can’t even explain why they love their products so much. They spout out things like it works better, it looks better, etc. But, even if you were able to supply objective numbers that prove otherwise or subjective reviews that say otherwise, those will be ignored or explained as biased or wrong. Myself? I have no real objective numbers that I can show to people on why I like my TV’s to be Samsung. I have had a good experience with mine as it has always looked good and has never broken, I like it, and so see no reason to get a different brand when I do eventually get a new one. If you were to blind test me with various televisions, I would bet that I fail to identify which is the Samsung and which isn’t by looking at the picture quality. For me in most products, not just TV’s, once a product gets above a certain threshold of “good”, I probably can no longer really tell the difference. So, there really is no logical or sound reason to be brand loyal to Samsung TV’s, other than that I have had good experiences with them in the past. But, is that all it takes to be loyal?
Enough to be loyal? Not normally for me no. But, maybe to help me understand better and to explain it more clearly, I should try to talk about the opposite. How? Can one purchase be enough to be brand disloyal? Yes I believe so, and actually can believe so quite easily. If I spend money on a product that just sucks, then barring no other choices in the market, I will never buy that brand again. So, I get that people can be fiercely brand disloyal. I know that years ago my parents got a Hyundai Sonata that did not even last 90k miles, but was even falling apart well before that. Buttons and knobs broke inside, the passenger window no longer worked, the sunroof broke, the air conditioner was done, and in the end it failed a smog check and that was it for me. I told myself then that I’d never buy a Hyundai ever again. Since that time, I believe that they have a 100k mile warranty or something now, but too late. It was the crap that was my car which forced them to develop that warranty, but unless they give back the money to us that we wasted on that car, why in the hell would I ever spend tens of thousands on them again when there are so many other choices out there, like my current Nissan Maxima having lasted 10 years and still going strong?
So, when thinking of it in those terms, maybe brand loyalty really can be explained strictly on personal experience and word of mouth. After all, if I have nothing but good experiences with my brand, why would it matter to me what anyone else said? I think this gets back to my post the other day about how often times people over value reviews, and under value their own personal experience and judgement. If you have no experience with it, then you are much more likely to value reviews. Why can’t, “I just like it better” be good enough? While I can see how this explains why people keep buying a certain brand over and over again, I’m not really sure it explains why people are so fiercely defensive in protecting that brand. They have no monetary or personal stake in that company. Maybe at that point, its no longer protecting the brand, but also protecting yourself since you made the purchase? That might explain more why the huge loyalty.
For almost any purchase that I make nowadays that costs probably more than 20 bucks, I always read reviews before buying them. If the reviews are for the most part bad, I pretty much do not make the purchase. In the age of the internet where you can get any information you want instantly, I think more and more people are doing the same. Although, I don’t think they are as obsessive compulsive and over-reliant as I am. I get pretty bad sometimes when I am spending like $50 bucks or more, to the point that I spend so much time “researching” and overanalyze it way too much that it makes choosing between a few “well rated” items more difficult then it has to be. Imagine how much worse I am when the item costs much more than that. I think most times I just rely too much on reviews, to the point that I use the reviews only and not my own personal experience, judgement, friends, family, and feelings in deciding to get the item.
How many times does that happen to you? When you are dead set on getting a particular model vacuum for example, let’s say your friend or someone you know got it and says its great, and then just prior to making the purchase you read some reviews about it and they are overwhelmingly bad. How many of you out there then decide not to buy that vacuum, even though your own friend likes it and you had already decided to buy it? Or in the opposite case your friend says that the vacuum sucks, but then you see that most reviews say its the best. Do you end up getting that vacuum?
I think I fall into the category of just putting too much emphasis on reviews. Yes, I know that many of the people who write these reviews are sharing their own personal experiences with that item. But, I sometimes forget the very rule that I always live by. Most people are stupid. LOL, j/k. Maybe. For sure, most of the time you cannot just look at the number of stars or average numeric value of reviews. You have to actually read them as some of these reviews are just lame, like they blame the retailer for badly packaging/shipping the product when that has nothing to do with the actual product’s performance. Plus sometimes when I read these reviews, I just wonder how crazily they must of treated the product before it broke and thus give a bad review. That being said though, I still don’t know if I can make myself purchase a product, especially if it is expensive, if most of the reviews are bad. Have I been burned before when I bought a purchase that had great reviews only to have it turn out crappy for me? Yes. So, am I just being the poker player I am and going for the best odds?
I think the only reviews I do not normally read prior to the purchase are those for movies. I generally know the types of movies I like, the actors I like, etc. such that I don’t really care what the review says beforehand and I just want to watch the movie, without getting spoiled. In fact, I sometimes think that reading the reviews are not good because they give me expectations going into the movie that cause me to be too harsh or too lenient after watching the film. I then base my opinion of that movie not on if I actually like the movie, but versus the prior review(s) read. A movie is just fun, escapist entertainment for me and I don’t really care what a critic says most of the time. Then again, maybe I am only like that because the movie costs 8 bucks?
But for pretty much anything else, whether its phones, refrigerators, TV’s, vacuums, video games, etc. I almost always do read as many reviews as I can and I almost never buy anything that gets more bad reviews than good ones. I might be more swayed in purchasing a badly reviewed product if I have family or friends that disagree and love their purchase. Despite the reviews oftentimes causing me to overanalyze to the point of paralysis, I do think that having them is good more times than not and I think people really should be as informed as they can before making any purchase. Just don’t be too anal like me when making your purchase. If you overanalyze too much like I do, it takes the fun out of it. I really wish I could listen to my own advice there and just make my purchases like I do my movies. I might just enjoy them more that way.
As many of you know, there was a tragedy recently with a cruise liner, Costa Concordia, carrying 4,000+ passengers hit a rock off the Tuscany coast causing it to capsize, causing many people to lose their lives, with many more still missing even now. A very sad story. The captain, Francesco Schettino, is currently sitting in a minimum security prison awaiting charges such as manslaughter. Released yesterday was also a conversation the Italian Coast Guard had with the captain while the disaster was taking place. If you have heard the conversation or read the transcript, the captain pretty much abandoned ship well before everyone else did and when ordered to get back on the ship to coordinate the rescue, he pretty much refused.
Now, this captain is getting pounded on by any and everyone. I read some comments left by people who read some of these articles calling him a coward, among other things. I don’t really want to join in with all these commenters, as I’ve learned from experience that most of these commenters hide behind the internet and post all kinds of things that they themselves would have no courage to say in person. And I’m not really defending the captain in any way, but I guarantee you that while many of these commenters would of stayed on the ship and helped with the rescue, many more would of done exactly the same as the captain even though they join in on piling on him online. I do would like to say that I would of stayed on board if I was captain and do my job, but its one of those things that you say you will act one way, but you never know how you actually will act if the situation ever presents itself. After all, as a captain of a cruise ship, how often does your ship capsize? How many people out there, when their lives are in danger or they fear that their lives are in danger, would act the way you are “supposed” to?
In any case, what I really want to know is, what exactly is a captain’s responsibility in such a situation? For pretty much all my life, I’ve always heard that the captain is always supposed to go down with the ship. Now, first of all, is that really true? Or is it just something you see on Hollywood to make the hero look that much more heroic? Is it a law or unwritten rule? Or is it not really a law, but more something of etiquette? I can understand how the captain can be charged for manslaughter in the same way that a driver can be charged for hitting someone. But, is that all he can really be charged for? Can he be charged with abandoning ship? After listening to the conversation with the captain and the Coast Guard, can that be used against the captain or is that more just a bad PR thing for him? When the Coast Guard ordered him to get back on the ship, was the captain disobeying orders or does the Coast Guard have no authority over him? I don’t know any captains so I can’t ask them directly. Anyone know if this captain actually broke the law or just kind of broken an unwritten rule?
We are in full campaign mode as this is an election year. Well, actually we are probably in half full mode as the Democratic candidate is already set in that President Obama will be running for re-election. The Republican side, which is pretty much set as well with Romney, is thus the one getting much of the coverage. Thus, much of the coverage is still focusing on the Republicans and their campaigning to become the nominee. I don’t even know why I even bother reading political stories here and there. Every single time I read them, they are just filled with hypocrites, and that is what our political system has fallen into.
Picking on conservatives (not that they aren’t hypocrites either, but just because as I said much of the debates are focusing on who can be the most conservative nominee), I always find it funny that they always, always, always, want to cut spending and have a smaller government. Cut taxes!!! Cut programs that waste money! Yet you then try to cut things like Social Security and/or Medicare, and instantly these same conservatives, go whoa. Can’t have that. I use those. To the senior citizen community, that is just untouchable. And then, you say fine, let’s cut defense spending. And whoa. Wait a minute. Can’t have that, in the name of “protecting our nation’s security.” Oh I see how it is. You have to cut ALL spending, make the government smaller, get rid of money wasting programs, but you have to leave the programs I like alone. Oh, is that what ALL spending means? Let me ask all you conservative women out there. How about we cut all money spent by the government on maternity leave? You do know that is a “social program” right? Oh, wait, can’t have that because I use that too. You just cannot have it both ways. Either you want to cut spending or you don’t. I like it how every single one of these candidates say that they have to reform Social Security, but when asked how they would do it, every single one of them says that they will not cut any benefits at all for any current retiree. Oh really? That’s nice of you.
Trust me when I say I hate paying taxes as much as the next person. I hate that most of the money that I pay federal and state governments is used on programs that I will never ever use. If it was my choice, I would rather pay no taxes and pay for the services I want, kind of like how I want a la carte cable TV choices. Make all roads toll roads for all I care as I will just pay for the roads I use when I use them. Get rid of social security and I’ll just save money on my own. But, we don’t live in that world. If you want to cut certain programs, then do it. Just don’t be freaking two faced and claim you want to cut all spending or want to have a smaller government only to get all offended when the actual program that you use is on the chopping block. That being said, please for the love of all, do not add any more programs that will come out of my pockets.
There was an article I read in yesterday’s LA Times about how the newest counterfeit good which the pirates of China are now peddling is expensive high end wine. The writer mentioned a story about some wine enthusiast with some associates breaking out a $2k bottle of French wine. The enthusiast knew immediately after taking a sip that it was not the actual wine it claimed to be, but kept his mouth shut so as not to embarrass anyone. What does that mean to me? No, it doesn’t mean that I felt sorry for the guy who spent so much money on an essentially cheap wine. No, it doesn’t mean that this is yet another counterfeit good that the pirates in China are now into. To me, it just is further evidence that our society is stupid, and we do things just to show off, impress others, or just try to keep up with our friends and associates.
If you buy a $2k bottle of wine and you can’t taste the difference between that and a $2 bottle of wine, then you are stupid and it is just proof that all you are doing is showing off that you have too much money. Its one thing if you truly are a wine expert, make a lot of money, and so like to spend it on things you enjoy, like expensive wines in which you can actually taste the difference of and enjoy. But, if you can’t taste the difference or even if you can but do not like it, then you truly do belong in that keeping up with the Joneses category.
That whole idea is just so lame. Why the heck is image so important to everyone? Yes, I am as guilty as others, but I guarantee I am nowhere near as bad as many people out there. I never buy expensive clothes because the cheap ones work just as well for me. I can’t even comprehend spending more than $30-$40 bucks for most items of clothing like jeans or whatever. I don’t care how much “nicer” they feel. Anytime I see the price tag of some clothing that is $50 bucks or more, I pretty much always just stop looking at it. They are freaking clothes. I bet like the wines, if you blind tested people, many would not be able to feel the difference between a $30 pair of jeans versus a $100 pair. And yes, I could of bought a “cheap” $10k car, but I ended up with a now 10 year old Nissan Maxima. I just liked it. But, I didn’t buy it because I thought others would think I was cool. I just bought it because I thought it would last long (and it looks like it has and will continue to do so….knock on wood) and I just liked how it looked and drove. I didn’t buy a BMW for the sole purpose that it says BMW on the car and that you can show off with it. If you like how a beamer looks, great, then buy it. But, I guarantee there are many people that don’t get luxury cars for that reason. So Cal is especially bad when it comes to this. The percent of people who drive BMW’s and Mercedes cars here is much higher proportionately than the rest of the nation.
Part of me is saying this because I am cheap and I hate wasting money. I just don’t understand why people would spend money on things just because of image or to keep up with a friend or family or neighbor. What’s worse is that there are so many people who spend more than they really can just to keep up with a certain image. Putting yourself in financial risk or failing to save for the future just to look good or show off? That is not only lame, but just stupid. At least if you fall into that category, try to at least appreciate what it is that you bought, or be able to tell the difference between that item and a cheaper version of it.
I am not opposed to buying items that my friends or family have gotten. But, I don’t do so for the sole purpose of showing them that I too can buy it. If my cabinet door keeps opening for some reason (or some other silly problem I can’t think of making up right now) and I go to my friend’s house and he has some expensive clip that solves that problem, I would definitely consider buying that expensive clip too, although I would first explore looking for cheaper ones first. But, if it doesn’t solve my problem and my door keeps opening then why the hell would I want to even consider buy it?
We all have our vices and weaknesses when it comes to buying things. Myself as much as anyone else. I just don’t understand why its so much worse in other people. All you people out there dress nicer than me, drive newer cars than me, have more gadgets than I do. Good for you. Enjoy them while you can because knowing you, those items will not last long as the Joneses will continue getting newer and better stuff, “forcing” you to do the same. Just do me a favor then and give me or sell me for cheap that “old” stuff.
As the years pass, I am buying more and more of my stuff online. From electronics, to detergent, to razors. Its just easier and cheaper to do so. I pay less money and it comes straight to my door. What’s not to like? But, as I found out the past couple of weeks while looking, one type of product (outside of clothes which I still do not like to get online) that is not really easier to buy is furniture.
At some point, I do want to get a new TV stand in my living room, along with the rest of my sound system and a new sofa. Not only is it a little more difficult for me, really, to tell from only 1 or 2 pictures whether or not the TV stand will look good in my room. I think I can get by that with the pictures. But, what’s worse is that the descriptions in these listings are terrible because they are not detailed or complete. I have a large center speaker and receiver. So, I need to know what the dimensions of the middle shelves are in these stands. But 90% of these listings do not list this. All they give are the overall dimensions of the TV stand. What good is that going to do me? True, with those dimensions I will be able to tell how much room the stand will take in my room. But, what good is that going to do me if I can’t fit my speaker and receiver inside of it? What’s even worse is that for more than one of these listings, I have emailed the seller to ask for the dimensions for the shelves inside. And more than one of these responded to me and said that the manufacturer did not include that detail in their catalog and so they could not answer me. Oh great. Thanks for your help. Would’t it just be common sense and good business to provide as much detail about the product as possible?
I don’t necessarily blame the sellers for not knowing. But, what this tells me is that the furniture business is still in its infancy when it comes to selling their items online. There is no way I will buy something unless I know that I can use it completely. What is a “good looking” piece of furniture going to do me if I can’t fit my stuff inside of it? Get me the details I need and maybe then I will add furniture to my list of items that I buy online because it is cheaper and easier to do. Many of these brick and mortar places already charge crazy amounts to deliver furniture so there really is no difference there if you are going to pay that fee anyway. What’s even better is that many of the online places I saw do not charge for shipping. So, not only would I not have to deal with pushy salesmen that I hate, but the furniture will be cheaper, and it will be delivered straight to my house. All we got to do is get these listings to include more details and I am there.
As I relayed yesterday, during the time away from work there was an issue at home in which the water would not drain from either bathroom. I was taking a shower in one bathroom and the girlfriend in the other. After I was done with my shower, I noticed that my feet were submerged in water. I looked more closely and saw that it was because the water was not draining. I saw a little bit of hair in the drain and figured that was why. Why, I removed the hair and put it in the toilet and flushed. Mistake! The toilet water did not go down after flushing, but rather came up. It did not overflow, but the somehow the bathroom floors got all wet. I guess the water came up from the bottom of the toilet? Crap! Got some towels. While doing this, I let the girlfriend know and she told me the same thing was happening in her shower, but she wasn’t dumb like me and tried to flush the toilet there. Blocked drain line. Great. Ended up spending the night at my parents house as the toilets were not really usable.
The next day I called a plumber, who by the way showed up 90 minutes late. He used a snake and fixed the problem in maybe 30 minutes. When he pulled the snake back out of the drain, a lone root came back with it. He told me that it was a common problem and that if I wanted, I could have him explore the pipes with a camera so that he could find out where this was happening and repipe that area. But, it was $170 to do this, and probably tons more to fix that. He said I should be good though for now, but since the problem is roots, they would grow back and I’d probably have the same problem again in 6 months to a year.
I was reading online and came across this foam root killer
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