Almost Science

 pet peeves, science  No Responses »
Apr 212006
 

Crazy ScienceIt is pretty sad what passes as science these days. Was this study even set out to observer what they have claimed (that men have lingering distractions when presented with images of attractive women)? Did they completely forget to have a control group? Did they actually state that they measured men's testosterone levels by measuring the length of their fingers? Where is the science?

Then again, maybe it's time for me to start on that research proposal for the Belgian governemnt so I can study whether or not alcohol impares the ability to make sound judgements. Sound like just the kind of thing they'd back!

Celebrity Cooking Craptacular

 pet peeves, TV  No Responses »
Apr 182006
 

Welcome to the latest lousy idea from TV execs! This weeks Celebrity CookingIron Skillet Showdown has started, and after one episode, it has ended for me. With another washed-up actor as host (this time Growing Pains' Alan Thicke, who I also loved in the Not Quite Human movies, but he hasn't done anything significant in years), a collection of C-list "celebrities", great chefs with little personality, and some garbled format, it was just terrible and almost painful to watch.

Let's see where they went wrong exactly:

  • The biggest celebrity on the show is probably Tom Arnold, who is best know as Roseanne's ex-husband.
  • Any show with Ashley Parker Angel is doomed to fail.
  • While obviously taking inspiration from the success of Iron Chef, they removed all the elements that make Iron Chef great. Instead of giving them a theme ingredient, they were already given recipes. There's not much intrigue when I know what they're making.
  • The tag-teaming with the great chefs is just rediculous, and really takes away from the "celebrity cooking" aspect.
  • Don't hide ingredients from chefs.
  • Don't force female contestants to wear high heels in the kitchen. It's terribly impractical.
  • I'm pretty sure they just pulled the judges off of the street.
  • Ah, constant drama music…without thee I would have my sanity.
  • Don't go telling the television audience that you are having a live 50-minute cookoff that starts at 9:09pm and ends at 9:49pm. I can do math, and I know that means you're not live.

My advice is to avoid this show at all costs. I belive the principal in Billy Madison put it best:

At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

 

Rich People Must Be Gullible

 pet peeves, technology  No Responses »
Apr 172006
 

Wasting MoneyOtherwise, Millionaires24.com, a site that provides exclusive e-mail addresses for individuals to demonstrate their fiscal standing, wouldn't fly. The service has fewer features than Gmail, but costs a whopping $399/month to be one of the "exclusive" 10,000. Maybe I'm just too practical, but you'd have to be an idiot to think that the service would be remotely worth it.

Sadly, they probably will find their 10,000 idiots before long…

Scarlet – Gray = Crap

 pet peeves, sports  No Responses »
Apr 122006
 

 

 

The Ohio State University unveiled new jerseys recently, and apparrently the screen printers ran out of gray. You'll see here the "new" Ohio StateWisconsin Badgers football uniforms, that crazily look a lot like the current Wisconsin Badger uniforms. While a seemingly small departure from the classic design, the change has sent shockwaves through the legions of Ohio State fans, and almost all the the opinions have been negative. I mean, they've removed the gray from the Scarlet & Gray. Did Nike and OSU not notice that problem?

Having lived a number of years in Columbus, I can understand the flack. Basically, Nike (yes, I'm pretty sure those fools are the origin of this problem) Classic Ohio State Uniformhas decided to destroy one of the all-time iconic uniforms in favor of brand conformity. At best, the change is a disgrace, and would be on-par with an idea to eliminate the pinstripes from the Yankees uniforms. I'm sure Paul Lukas over at Uni Watch can attest to some of the other bad ideas that have come out of the Nike factories, as well as the fans of Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida and Oregon.

Memo to Nike: A team uniform is meant to quickly allow the identification of a group of individuals as a team. If you continue to make everyone look the same, I won't know if I've turned on Ohio State, Wisconsin, NC State, Miami (Ohio) or New Mexico.

"In our case, we're going to sell jerseys regardless," athletics department spokesman Steve Snapp told the Columbus Dispatch. "We don't have to change our jersey to increase sales." Well, they may have to now!

Careful, New York…Nike may be eying your team next.

A Loophole That's Better Than Dentures

 culture, interesting, pet peeves  No Responses »
Apr 072006
 

GrillzGovernment lawyers were recently thwarted in their attempts to confiscate the bejeweled "grillz" of two criminals who were facing drug and weapons charges. While the mouthpieces were most likely purchased with ill-gotten funds, they cannot be retrieved because they are permanently bonded (according to lawyers) and removal would cause damage to the teeth of the incarcerated.

Can I get a Lil' Jon "YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" up in here?

Of course, the lesson is that if you obtain a large sum of money illegally, just put it towards some nice mouth bling, and even the government can't take it from you. Isn't it nice to learn something new?

Why I Hate Marketing: Reason Number 35,291

 business, pet peeves  No Responses »
Mar 242006
 

BlingHave you noticed that the voices rambling on and on in the background of your commercials have begun to sound more familiar? This is something I had noticed myself in the past year, but didn't really think anything of it. Probably because it didn't make much of a difference to me. However, CNN.com had a story today Who's the celebrity voice in that ad? discussing exactly this topic, and it got me thinking.

Well, the amount that these celebrities are paid is what really got me thinking. Paying an A-List celebrity in the 7-figures to do a voiceover just seems excessive, and wouldn't appear to have a very high return on investment. Heck, that's making a toilet out of gold. Sure, it seems a little nicer, but it still doesn't change the effectiveness.

I guess it's just an excuse to keep the prices up…

 Newer Entries