Rob's Blog

The movie theater

2008-05-28T22:20:00.000-07:00

The movie theater

In my view, the theater needs a lot of improvements. Why do people just pay an arm and leg for tickets prices and food? Also it annoys me a lot to hear constant munching on popcorn and the noise of wrappers during a movie. Are people that addicted to eating? I remember several studies that proved people eat more when they are watching something on television, and at the theater. They just keep shoveling the food in their mouths, and don't even realize it! My advice to prevent this: eat before you go to the movies. This saves you money, and makes you less annoying in the first place. The movie theaters don't need to make your money from their overpriced food.

Random Thoughts #5

I've been sick since Sunday. My nose is stuffed up, I have a headache and a sore throat. I've been taking nasal spray, and some pills. However they haven't done much yet. It's just a cold I believe, but it's annoying. I can't seem to even stay awake for long. Then when I do sleep, it's for a long time.

A warning to people that buy used books: look inside the book more. Many stores sell used books that have pen marks, ripped pages and even stickers stuck inside. I find this a horrible resale practice. The store should take the time to clean the book up more, otherwise sell it for cheaper.

Wikipedia, IRC and internet language

2008-05-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia

I've mentioned this in my blog before, and it's time I brought it up again. Why are people so obsessed with articles on Wikipedia at times? It's not just vandals, it's regular editors that are too involved with an article. To the point, that it's controlling and they act like they own the article. Settle down people, it's a website where everyone can edit! Also, at times people don't even pay attention. I've gotten several messages from people that obviously didn't read all the comments posted. READ CLOSELY! It's not hard to do. Then there is the anti-deletionists. I'm fine when they have a point and actually know policies. But this one editor doesn't read policies, and chooses to ignore many of the ones he thinks he's read completely. His excuse of "Wikipedia isn't paper" is one of the lamest things he posts in many deletion debates. Apparently in real life, he is a teacher. If that's true, his students are learning the wrong things. Lastly: I got harassed and yelled at for a busy tag. Yes, you heard right.. a busy tag?! I was called a liar, because I wasn't away non-stop when the tag is on my talk page. The kid didn't understand the purpose of the tag, even when myself and others explained it. If something minor as a busy tag bugs you, perhaps you shouldn't be on Wikipedia in the first place. (Note: I'm in reference to the english Wikipedia only, with these comments. I don't visit the other language Wikipedia sites.)

IRC

In case people don't know what IRC is, I'll explain it briefly before I rant about it. It's a series of chat rooms, for tech support (and other help) as well as just chatting. It's a lot better than using email most of the time. However, the idiots run wild on it. First there is the admins (also known as ops), that block you for the tiniest thing. However, when their friends do something even worse (racist comments and so on)... not a thing happens. These admins don't deserve jobs, period. However my biggest complaint about IRC: all the inactives. The IRC rooms (for Wikipedia and several others) are packed with people, however only a small percent actually chats. People need to stop wasting energy and turn off their computers when they aren't using them. At times the rooms are in full and can't be entered, due to the inactives. (Note: this is for the regular IRC, not any seperate ones that are around.)

Internet language

Why have people turned typing into a thing of laziness? Exhibit A: okay was demoted to ok, then it's demoted to just the letter k (in many cases). Is it that hard to type four letters?! I'm fine with ok usually, however just the k (over and over as responses) usually gives me the impression the person isn't even paying attention. Some other examples:

lol: it means laugh out loud, but the way it's used now... it seems to be just chat filler most of the time. Just type haha if it's funny, otherwise DON'T post lol at all.

BRB: be right back. This one is fine with me.

Owned: this is probably the most overused thing that is said during/after online games. The word is stupid, and needs to just go. The same thing goes for "pwned" which is just a different way to say owned, and apparently it means the "owning" was a lot bigger.

Random Thoughts #4

Why do people ramble in chats at times? This week (as one example): I've heard detail by detail of some guy's dad playing a video game. Am I supposed to care? This might sound rude, but I simply don't need to know every detail.

Is it even necessary to buy video games anymore? Many people brag they beat the game only weeks (or even less) since they bought it. Why waste $50 (or in many cases: money from your parents, because you don't have a job), when you can rent for a lot less? Then there is the spoilers (key events in the game), that are said... even when you do NOT want to hear them. I shouldn't have to wait until I beat the game to visit boards/chats about it. I also don't think I need to avoid every chat and message board just because of everyone else's ignorance on the matter.

People complain about inactivity on message boards too much. Why can't they just be bold, and help the matter out? They whine because there is no good topics to post in. However, they can easily make one if they wanted. If they can't, perhaps they shouldn't be on the message board in the first place. It's like going to a baseball game: it's hard to catch a foul ball, unless you actually try to get it.

Recent events

2008-05-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted here for a while. No I didn't go missing, I just wasn't in the mood to post. Here's a few things that I've done since then, plus a new random thoughts.

Wrestling (March)

I went to the WWE show in March and got a lot of great photos. The only downsides were the table didn't break during the main event, and I had to walk a bit to get into the building. Parking was a pain.

Jeopardy (April)

I went to a Jeopardy taping in April, and it was pretty fun. They taped three thows which aired in May. I watched the shows, but wasn't on camera from what I saw.

May

Not much to note in my life this month. I bought Mario Kart Wii and Boom Blox, both are very fun video games that I highly recommend. I've also applied for jobs a few places, but no responses yet.

Random Thoughts #3

I'm so sick of hearing about rising gas prices on the news. Yes we know it's going up! Why report each new record, every day? I'm sure you can find other things to report about, stop being so lazy. On the subject of gas prices, perhaps if people would carpool more... prices wouldn't be a big deal. The prices aren't fair, but it's not like they will magically go down anytime soon.

What is with all the crap on network television now? New replacement shows (for the regulars now in reruns), include mostly celebrity crap and game shows. I think I would take reruns or sports over most of those.

Also on the subject of celebrities, why are there so many shows focused on the lives of celebrites? There is one for the Kardashians (Kim is a "socialite" that was friends with Paris Hilton, and yet another sex tape celebrity), one for Gene Simmons, one coming out for Lindsay Lohan's sister and so on. I guess we can blame this trend on the Osbournes, Nick+Jessica and other similar shows. Stop being addicted to celebrities, then this nonsense can stop airing.

Bad drivers, baseball, random thoughts #2

2008-02-25T15:22:00.000-08:00

Bad drivers

Why must so many people be bad at driving? It's been a bad winter here, and people usually blame the weather on the accidents. But frankly, it's the drivers that are most to blame. People drive like they always do, or just too slow in bad storms. This leads to most of the accidents in the winter here, in my view. There is bad ice on roads, but if you're careful on it... you should be fine usually.

Then there is the ignorant drivers, that think they own the road. People blast their horns, thinking it will help things. It just makes others mad, and doesn't fix a delay. If I had the power to do so: I would put all the people that do this in a room, and force them to listen to loud horns for a while. Learn to grow up people, horns shouldn't be abused just because you have road rage.

Lastly, there is the annoying drivers. People that play their music so loud, it vibrates all other cars nearby. Noise pollution needs to stop.

Baseball

Major League Baseball starts in a little over a month. This is my favorite sport, so I'm getting excited. My Brewers have a great lineup this year, so it's very possible they will be in the playoffs. Last year they did well, but then struggled. This year looks very promising for them. The steroid scandals will probably turn some people off of the game, but in the long run: I doubt it will have huge effects on the popularity of baseball. More laws and regulations against steroids will be put in place, and that should fix things. Personally, I find it stupid that people need to use steroids and other drugs to enhance their ability. Play the game how it should be played: without enhancement drugs. If you don't have the ability to play (without using drugs), then you probably shouldn't be in the major leagues in the first place.

Random Thoughts # 2

Only a few weeks until Super Smash Brothers Brawl comes out. I will probably get it when it comes out, but I don't think I will wait in line at midnight. Some stores have midnight sales for the obsessed fans that can't wait. It doesn't matter if you buy the game at a different time: it's still the same game. Sometimes people need to just be patient, instead of being so obsessed over something.

I'm going to a WWE wrestling event in March. It's a house show, which is a show that's not televised. Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels and more will be in action.

Snow, Super Bowl and random thoughts

2008-02-07T18:38:00.000-08:00

Snow

It's been snowing a lot here lately. The other day, many people were stranded on the interstate due to the storm. They were stuck for many hours. I find it a bit annoying when the news makes a big deal out of an odd cold day (in a usually warm city). Deal with it! One cold day isn't that big of a deal. Trying living in Wisconsin's winters, then you might realize what cold really is.

Super Bowl

I'm not a huge fan of football in general, so I didn't watch much of the game. I think it's a bit out of hand how much people pay the network to air commercials now. Seriously, do advertisements for the most known products even need Super Bowl exposure anymore? Pepsi, Coke and Nike as some examples. Also, why such the hype for the commercials anyway? Most of the time they are stupid and aren't even about the product itself. Some people even watch the Super Bowl just for the commercials. What's the point of that? A majority of the commercials will air later, and are easily found online after the event.

Random Thoughts #1

Since my blog is about random thoughts, I will have this section from now on. Instead of many small sections, I will group several together to end the entry.

Why do most stores have to sell groceries now? Wal-Mart, Kmart, Shopko and many more retailers offer a lot of food. In my view, grocery stores work just fine. Most retailers with the exception of a few, sell food at high prices. I guess the stores assume people will want to get everything in one place. It obviously is working, as this trend doesn't seem to be ending soon.

Movie theater food/beverage pricing is just out of hand. The same goes for sporting events. A lot of these places ban you from bringing in your own food and drink (just so they can rob you blind with their prices). A good suggestion: eat before you go to the theater. If many more people did this, theaters would lower prices or simply stop offering food.

I enjoy comedy, and it's a great way to relax. Some of my favorite comedians are: George Carlin, Bob Newhart and Larry the Cable Guy. I also enjoy sitcoms on televison, as well as comedy movies. Just about any Bill Murray, Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler movie is worth watching.

Recent passings

2008-01-23T12:21:00.000-08:00

Heath Leader, Bobby Fischer pass away

Yesterday, Heath Ledger was found dead due to an overdose. This is certainly sad news, as he was a great actor. Some people are saying it was suicide, but I think that's a bit wrong to say. Not every overdose in history has been suicide. The assumption of "it's an actor, so it must be suicide" is very ignorant.

(His last completed role was as the Joker in the newest Batman movie, due out later this year.)

Since I havent had time to update my blog, I also want to discuss the recent death of chess legend Bobby Fischer. He passed away on last week on January 17. He was a true great in the world of chess, however his anti-American ways were simply ignorant in my view. It's pretty clear he went crazy at some point in his life. I suggest that people should see Searching for Bobby Fischer. It's a great movie that is about a young boy that is very good at chess just like Bobby was.

Rest in peace Heath and Bobby.

Lazy typers, poker and card games

2008-01-17T15:15:00.000-08:00

Lazy Typers

Why are people so lazy when it comes to typing out full words on the internet? I find it very annoying they can't type a few extra letters.

Some examples:

4 instead of for or four

u instead of you

Then there is the people that spell things wrong on purpose, "wut instead of what" and so on. People simply can't be that bad at spelling, can they? I suppose part of it is due to bad spelling, and part is them thinking it's cool I guess. Well it's not cool, people need to stop taking shortcuts just to be a very tiny bit quicker.

Poker and card games

I'm a huge fan of no limit Texas hold 'em poker. I play in free online tournaments (that have cash prizes) daily. Usually each is a few thousand people, and I make it in the top 100 in most of them. I've only won a few tournaments however. In general, I enjoy most card games: uno, solitaire, spades, cribbage and so on.

Game shows, wrestling, Super Smash Brothers Brawl

2008-01-16T11:54:00.000-08:00

Game shows

I enjoy game shows. My personal favorites are Deal or No Deal and Jeopardy. Game shows are appearing more and more on networks in prime time, due to the writer's strike. Usually I would think this is a good thing, but they are making big mistakes.

A few weeks back, commercials aired for 1 vs 100 stating "someone finally wins the million on the next show". Whatever happened to the ability to surprise viewers? Then there is the commonplace "teaser" clips before commercial breaks. Things such as "coming up, is a moment you wont want to miss", along with a short clip. In my view, the networks need to stop worrying about ratings so much. Produce decent shows, and people will watch.

Wrestling's Royal Rumble

This month is WWE's annual Royal Rumble event. It's one of my favorites of the year. It's a 30-man match to determine who will face a champion at WrestleMania.

For those that don't know how the match works, I'll explain it.

The rules of the match: 2 men start, and every few minutes another enters. This process continues until all men have entered the ring. A wrestler is eliminated at anytime, when he is thrown over the top rope and onto the floor. The last man in the ring wins.

As of now, a little over half of the people in the match have been confirmed. For the most part, the people in the match are decent.

The Royal Rumble event also features a few other matches. This year has WWE champ Randy Orton against Jeff Hardy, World champ Edge against Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho against JBL, and Ric Flair against MVP (with the stipulation that if Flair loses, he must retire). This is probably all the matches the event will have. It's a decent lineup of matches for the most part, but I don't expect Flair and MVP to have a good match.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl

Recently this game was delayed again, and people on the gamefaqs message board threw fits. They whined in numerous topics about it. Seriously, don't they have better things to do? It's just a game, and games get delayed all the time. They act like their life is over because they can't play the game the exact moment that they want to. Be patient people, it's not hard to do.

In other Brawl news, Sheik (the alter ego of Zelda) is confirmed for the game. By doing a special move, you can turn Zelda into Sheik and play as a whole new character to the game (however she isn't new to the series, as she was in Melee.)

Overall, Brawl is shaping up to be a pretty decent game. 30 characters from the Nintendo universe (plus ones that aren't: Snake and Sonic), many stages and modes, and much more. I plan to get the game, but probably not right away.

Video game rant #2

2008-01-13T15:13:00.000-08:00

(For the first rant: since December 11, 2007)

Remember, there is more to gaming than big name titles

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: try other games besides the big name ones. People complain there isn't any good third party games. Why exactly should companies make many when people seem to ignore them most of the time? If people actually bought the decent ones out now, then companies would realize the demand is out there.

Avoid video game stores for the most part

They love to scam customers, and shouldn't be trusted much. If you trade in games, you don't get much and they end up selling it for a lot more than they gave you. Profit needs to be made, but not this much profit. Another scam they have going (which I mentioned in the past), they sell used games as new. They have discs in a cabinet they claim are new, also they shrink wrap used games and sell them as new. The only good thing about video game stores: they have hard to find games sometimes. If you don't want to pay shipping from ordering online, it's a good idea to check game stores near you.

Pikmin 3 in the future?

Pikmin and Pikmin 2 were two great GameCube games, and it's likely Nintendo will make a new game. Hopefully they improve many things in it.

A few suggestions I have:

-Bring back the day limit. The sequel had no true game over and no limit, which was a bit dumb. Every game should have a game over screen, otherwise... what's the point?

-Split time between the surface and caves better. In Pikmin 2, caves were most of the game. They were repetitive after a while. In a new game, time spent on the surface and caves should be about the same.

-New Pikmin types are a must, but don't mess with the old types too much. White and purple should still be grown in caves.

-Online play isn't a requirement. Everyone always assume things such as "online games are the best" and "all games should be online" but that's not always true. Pikmin 2 worked fine as a multiplayer game, and a third game should be the same.

-Improve 2-player battle mode. It was fun for a bit, but got old with the lack of objectives and lack of levels to play in.

Things that annoy me part 2

2008-01-10T12:56:00.000-08:00

Since I forgot a few big things in the first post, I decided to add them here.

-All the people that assume credit cards are free money. Debt wouldn't be such a big issue, if people actually thought before buying things. "Buy now, pay later" is just asking for trouble, if you obviously can't afford something. Things like school, a house and car are the few exceptions to this.

-All the advertisements for poker websites during poker tournaments on television. Unless I'm missing something, why exactly does just about every player need to advertise poker sites? Each player at the table is wearing a shirt, jacket or hat that is advertising a poker website. It just makes them look like employees of the poker website or something.

-Wikipedia editors that don't understand many of the rules. People assume they own articles that they personally create, think they can do what they want, create anything they want and so on. It's really not that hard to read policies and guidelines. The encyclopedia isn't a guide to everything, it's not a hard concept to understand.

Things that annoy me.

2008-01-07T11:38:00.000-08:00

While I'm not usually one to complain, here is just some of the things that annoy me (also known as "pet peeves"):

-People at stores that have a cart full of items that use the express lane (usually 15 or 20 items only). Employees never seem to stop them, which is just stupid. The phrase "the customer is always right" doesn't apply here, as the customer is just ignorant. It's not hard to read the sign near the lane.

-Used video game stores that sell opened games as new. This is clearly false advertisement, yet they continue to get away with it. At GameStop and a few other places: you bring them a case, and they will get the game disc out of a cabinet. Seeing as how the game is out of the case, it's not new anymore. In my view, these places need to be investigated by the Better Business Bureau.

-All the focus on fashion. Let people wear what they want. There is all these magazines and shows that praise and bash people depending on what they wear. Who exactly made these people the experts on clothes? The majority of people enjoy what they wear, so leave them alone.

-People that judge things that they hardly know anything about. Research something before you comment about it.

-All the DVD editions of the same movie. There is limited edition, special edition, anniversary, unrated and so on. One big problem is that they don't always come out at the same time, so sometimes it's just better to wait a while before buying a movie. Unless you simply don't care about special features. Most of the time they aren't even worth it. Why buy a DVD for a little more, for things that you wont even watch more?

-The video game label of "kiddy". Most of the time when people call a game kiddy, they don't even know what they are talking about. Many people love to call Nintendo kiddy, however the system appeals to everyone and not just kids. There is kid's games (such as ones based on children's shows and so on) and a some kid's educational games, but that's the only things that can truely be labeled kiddy.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T01:26:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas (and happy holidays to everyone that doesn't celebrate Christmas).

I celebrated Christmas early this year: on Saturday. I got what I asked for, with a few surprises. A few of the things I got: some gift cards, cash and the Narnia book set. I've read a few of them already, and it's a great series. I read these when I was younger, and they are certainly one of the better fantasy series out there. Also over the weekend, I saw National Treasure 2. I enjoyed it, and it's a little better than the original in my opinion.

Reality television, celebrities and pro athletes

2007-12-20T15:20:00.000-08:00

Reality television is invading television way too much. With the writer's strike, it's only getting worse. Personally, people are too addicted to American Idol and Survivor. Neither show has been very interesting for quite a while, but the addicts keep the garbage alive. The writer's strike is justified in my view, as they deserve to be paid for royalties and so on. The television companies need to just give in, and end this strike already.

There is way too much focus on celebrities in the United States. Go to a store, and you will find numerous gossip magazines. Turn the tv on: there is probably some sort of celebrity news show on. The paparazzi are paid to basically stalk celebrities for photos. Celebrities are to blame for this as well. They get large amounts of money for the first photo of their baby. That's just sick and wrong. Having a baby, shouldn't be another way to earn money. Also, it makes me a little sick that celebrities seem to be above the law at times. Numerous celebrities have been caught with drugs, sent to "rehab" and thats about it. Any other person would've recieved some sort of jail time. There is some celebrities that have gone to jail: but it's a small minority when you look at the huge amount that havent.

On the subject of money: pro athletes are paid too much. Why exactly is it reasonable that someone should get millions for his contract? Playing a sport (pro or not), should be about having fun, not how much money you can earn. Especially when they just blow the money on numerous houses, many cars and so on. Some donate to charities, but that doesn't justify the huge salaries. Teams will continue to do it, as long as they have the money. I enjoy it everytime the New York Yankees don't win the World Series (or even a playoff game), as it shows money doesn't always buy you a title. Overall, in baseball (and a few other sports at least): it's the same teams going to the playoffs due to the money. Salary caps should be in place, so every team is fair and it's not so predictable. However this probably wont happen ever, as the teams have the money to blow and there will always be greedy players out there.

Is anyone even reading this? I wonder that, as no one has commented yet on anything I've wrote.

Wikipedia, pro wrestling and more

2007-12-15T02:00:00.000-08:00

I edit Wikipedia (a free online encyclopedia) on a regular basis, and it's fun to a point. However people are just fanatics at times, with their edit warring and personal view that they must get their ways always. One type of fanatic: anti-deletionists that give bad reasons to keep things. Wikipedia simply can't be the place for everything, but they feel like it should be (dispite many policies and guidelines that they choose to ignore and/or not read).

I've been a fan of pro wrestling for a while now, and it surprises me how ignorant people are of it. People assume it's completely fake, but it's not. Wrestlers get hurt for real, because moves are done wrong and so on. When someone falls off a cage, they didn't practice on how to not get hurt from a fall. In a way, wrestlers are stunt men/women: however, they aren't perfect. Before people judge wrestling (or anything for that matter): research the subject, instead of spouting out nonsense about it.

Also on the subject of wrestling, I still prefer WWE over the rest. Seeing as how WWE has no major competition, their product has been slumping over the years. Wrestling in North America needs another rivalry, like the one WWE and WCW had in the 90's (known as the Monday Night Wars). However, the second best promotion: Total Nonstop Action, isn't ready quite just yet. If they would get better writers, and stop relying on former WWE talent so much... things would be better I bet.

I've been playing the video game Pikmin 2 (for GameCube) a lot lately. It's a very entertaining game, however the original Pikmin is a bit more of a challenge.

A little less than 10 days until Christmas. About a week for me, as I'm celebrating it on Saturday December 22nd this year.

Video game rant #1

2007-12-11T23:27:00.000-08:00

I've been a huge video game fan (a gamer in other words) since I was just a little kid, but gaming today is just annoying at times. People complain about way too much.

Just some examples of complaints I've heard too many times (along with my reply to them):

1- There isn't many great games out for this system.

My reply- More times than not, there is decent games for the system. Look beyond the big name titles and sequels (Grand Theft Auto, Halo, Mario, Resident Evil, Zelda and so on), and you will find many decent titles. Being picky is an excuse, not a reason. The big name titles are great and all (usually), but they shouldn't be the only games bought.

2- Nintendo is too kiddy, they need to appeal to adults more.

My reply- The whole kiddy term is ignorant. Nintendo puts out games for everyone, and it's not a big deal. Many people that grew up on the original Mario and Zelda games, still enjoy the new versions to this day. Other systems appeal to the teen and adult markets a whole lot more: with the shoooters and violent games. These types of games are just about a dime a dozen now. People get excited about them, however most play the game and just have decent graphics with nothing else that stands out.

Anyway, I grew up on Nintendo for the most part. I did own an Atari, Intellivision and original Sega as well, however I always played Nintendo systems much more. When Sony entered the picture, I did buy a PlayStation (and then a PlayStation 2), however I still think Nintendo puts out the best quality games that anyone can enjoy.

Sony and Microsoft focus way too much on jamming many features into their systems, while Nintendo is a pure gaming system. I don't see why people want Nintendo to jam DVD features into their systems, just because the others do it. Just because they do it, doesn't mean Nintendo must. Most people own a DVD player now, so it's not important to have one jammed into a gaming console. Many problems have been known with the CD and DVD features of the systems.

Currently I own a Wii, Super Nintendo and PlayStation 2. I have no intentions of getting any other system at the moment. PlayStation 3 is a possible choice, once more games come out for it. However, the backwards capabilities are still the best for the Wii. It plays all GameCube games perfectly, and the Virtual Console has a growing selection of past games from Nintendo and Sega consoles. Other systems out now: don't have much for backwards features, and limit which games you can play. It's like they are telling you to just sell your old games and only buy games for the current system.

That's all for this rant, but I will post another one in a few days probably.

Introduction

2007-12-10T16:23:00.000-08:00

I'm Rob, and welcome to my blog. This first post is an introduction for readers to learn about me (before I ramble on about various things).

I live in the USA, in the state of Wisconsin (COLD!). I'm male and I'm in my 20's. Some of my hobbies include video games, reading, drawing and writing.