Episode Title: B Mine, You Nasty Person

Episode Date: 02/20/12

Happy "B" Lated Valentines Day

Now that I wished it to all of you out there, I'm going tell you how dumb and pointless I think this holiday is. Don't get me wrong I'm not a totally heartless person, I do think it's kind of cute for little kids to have secret admirers and share candy, maybe by a little chocolate heart for their mommies.

What gets me is the commercialism of the holiday, and for no apparent reason this day was appointed as the day to celebrate the love of your life but at the cost of jacked up prices of flowers, cards, and food. Then they show these commercials on TV of women getting thousand dollar bracelets from amazing men that don't exist. Then your girl wonders why they can't get an expensive piece of jewelry like the women on TV do. I'll tell you why it's fantasy and it's purpose is to brainwash the sheep out there into convincing their loved ones that love is shown with money.

Bottom line for me is I don't believe you need some appointed day to show your love for the one closest to you, by them a gift out of no where any other time of year, or go out to a nice restaurant on some Friday night, or how about just offer to do some help around the house, or give a nice massage. Just don't give into the bullshit of this stupid holiday like a good little drone.

On a side note, I got totally reamed for confronting my girl about the price of a watch she bought me, that I accidentally stumbled upon online. For more on this story listen to my podcast.


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DMC & Fallout 3

I did get two games this week and spent a few hours with each. Fallout 3 I got for 14.99 on Xbox live as a download, figured I love Skyrim so why not try this game made by the same company. The game is kind of boring in my opinion, and although it has some good qualities, including the a slow motion system where you can aim at different parts of the enemies body, it gets old pretty quick. The environments are kind of bland, and I didn't seem to care about any of the characters I interacted with in this game.

DMC or Devil May Cry on the other hand, I have been having a lot of fun with. This game is fairly new and cost $60, but I had a gift card for Bestbuy since Christmas so figured what the hell and picked up a copy. If you've played prior games in the series, it's very similar, but this reboot of the series takes place in an alternate world with and alternate version of characters form past series including the main character Dante. The action is very fluid and fun, within minutes of playing you'll be pulling off combos and having a grand old time killing demons. Things only get better as you unlock other weapons and abilities allowing for some unique combos and cool looking fight scenes.

Bottom line DMC is well worth the price, Fallout 3 may have been great for it's time but even at 14.99 I don't recommend it as there are better games out there like Skyrim which have taken what Fallout may have started and really perfected it while getting rid of the flaws.

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Nasty Co-Worker

I could go on and on about the crazy shit my co-workers get away with on a daily basis, but I'll save those stories for another day. This week I want to tell you about the nasty little man that sits next to me. While our job may not be the best as far as pay goes, it is great in regard to medical coverage, and time off. I currently have about six months of sick leave, and over three hundred hours vacation leave. So when my co-worker decided to come to work sick as a dog when he too has plenty of time and could have stayed home to recover while getting paid to do so, I have to ask, why?

I don't really have to ask, the answer is he is just an inconsiderate little F. Don't get me wrong, I've gone to work with a minor headache and other little issues, but when I had the Flu a month ago, I stayed out a full week, even as I started to feel better by the end of it. If coming to work sick isn't enough this guy sits next to me and I have to witness as he uses the same towel all day to blow his nose over and over again, and then puts the towel back on his desk. He leave his heater running facing in my direction, while he sneezes and coughs without covering his mouth. I told him several times he needs to go home and get some rest, but he refused to listen, I even called our supervisor who works off site and she agreed to send him an email telling him he has plenty of time and should go home and rest, still he declined. No he would rather spend the rest of the day on personal calls and browsing the web on work computers while spreading germs than go home and heal.

His nastiness has no bounds, even before this myself and others have witnessed him using the restroom and leaving without ever turning on the sink to wash his hands. He also scratches his private area frequently as well. He is a foreigner and has told me on more than one occasion he plans on returning back to his home country in the near future, all I can say is I'm counting the days down, and hopefully my next co-worker will be a little bit more sanitary and considerate.

Episode Title: B vs. The Needy

Episode Date: 02/07/13

B's Encounter With The Homeless Guy At McDonalds

Hey all, I have a funny story(in a weird sort of B'ish way). The other day after being harassed by the old lady to pick her up some McNuggets after work to bring to her job I finally gave in and went their after work. While standing in line I was approached by a young man in a hood who told me he hadn't eaten in two days and asked if I could buy him something. I being my usual cheap self asked him what exactly he was looking for to eat, he responded by asking I purchase a Big Mac meal for him. I looked up at the menu and saw that this would cost me about $8 after tax and told the guy it was too much, but I would buy him a Mcdouble for $1 and a small fries for another $1, and that he could get a cup of water for free. With out much choice he said okay and I placed the order. After receiving the order I gave him his bag and he walked away without even a thank you. I did see him approach another customer and he seemed to be giving him the same story, the guy nodded so I assume he would buy him some food as well.

Later that same week I was driving down a major avenue and noticed a guy dressed up like the Statue of Liberty dancing around with a sign to come do our taxes with whoever he was advertising for. It had to be about twenty degrees out and this poor guy is dancing around like a fool with a sign no one is really reading at forty miles per hour. The point of these two stories is that no matter how much you may think your life or occupation may suck, look at these two guys and be very grateful.

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Ender's Game

On a much brighter note I decided to resign up with Audible.com, and used my credit of the month to get the audio book Ender's Game. I'm too lazy to actually read a good book, but in audio form I can listen to and from work every day as well as with my headphones at home. So far I'm about half way through this twelve hour audio book and I am really loving it.

The story takes place in a future, and focuses on a young boy named Andrew Wiggen, aka Ender Wiggen. He is the third child in the family, which is actually illegal in this time but due to his siblings talents and genetic superiority the parents were given permission to have a third. Ender is recruited into a school for gifted kids where they prepare them to be commanders and soldiers in a war against and alien race known as the buggers. As of the point in the story that I am up to there have been no encounters with this race. This book so far seems to focus on the training of young Ender who is only six years old at the beginning of the book, and the psychological stress he is put through by the leaders of a combat school in order to make him the best weapon possible.

I have been enjoying this book so much that I decided to look into what is next in the series, and was delighted to stumble upon the fact that they are making a movie based on the book, and it is scheduled to come out later this year. I am super excited and hope it is done well. I highly recommend this book to anyone in the sci-fi genre, and even if your lazy like me, get the audio version.

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Man With The Iron Fists

I came very close to buying this movie last week, but at a $15 price tag and mixed reviews on Amazon I decided to wait. The next day I went over my friends house and he asked if I wanted to watch a movie, I said okay what is it? He said "The Man With The Iron Fists", I laughed and said I came close to buying this the night before so sure pop it in.

Two hours later I was very glad I did not waste $15 on this very cheesy Kung Fu film. Don't get me wrong the action sequences were kind of cool, but everything else was just a joke. From a generic story line to badly cut editing this movie seemed kind of amateurish at best. Even some of the CG in the movie seemed like unfinished garbage, especially during the end credits where they show a bird flying and then it looks like a computer game as it crashes to the ground. Granted my friend got a copy that may not be exactly official, but I don't think it matters much.

If your looking for a good laugh and are really a die hard Kung Fu movie buff I say rent this one or wait for it to be on TV, everyone else don't bother.

Episode Title: The Costly, The Bad, and The Boy Wonder

Episode Date: 01/31/13

End of January, Already?

Can you believe it, already into the last week of the first month of the New Year. Time goes by so quickly and for me losing track of time cost me $15. I signed up for the stamps.com service back in November not knowing that they charge you $15 a month for this service even if you don't mail anything for the month.

 After noticing that first charge on my financial statement I decided to call and cancel. Well cancelling is allot harder than signing up, and when I finally found the phone number to cancel the lady convinced me to stay another two months with their service as she would waive the fees. Low and behold two months have gone by and I wasn't paying attention, so I got charged $15 the other day. This time I called and after many attempts at trying to get me to stay the customer service rep on the phone finally agreed to cancel my account. Don't get me wrong, the ease of printing stamps from your own printer did come in handy during the holiday season, but the rest of the year this would be a wasted service for me.

Had they made this service easier to cancel, say like with the click of a mouse, I could see myself using it again next holiday season, but with the hoops you have to go through as you are questioned to death on the phone by this company I think I'll just make the trip to the post office and stock up next year.

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Breaking Bad

Here's a show I've been meaning to get into for a long time. Friends and family members have been talking about this show like it was the second coming. Well you may be asking, B does it live up to the hype? Well as of the time of this podcast I'm about 6 episodes in, and while I do find it enjoyable enough to keep watching, I don't think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread or better than current shows I'm watching, like Sons of Anarchy, Dexter, or Arrow.

I do think the premise of the show is very good. It's about a chemistry teacher who finds out he's dying of lung cancer, so in order to insure his families financial security after he's gone, he decides to team up with an ex-student turned drug dealer and sell Crystal Meth. Of course things aren't so easy, especially being that his brother in law is a DEA agent, his son is handicapped and his wife constantly suspects that he is up to no good.

Every episode is a recipe for disaster, and this is where the entertainment comes in. Just like another show I used to watch (The Shield) you know these guys are doing something wrong but you still root for them to somehow get away with it. It may not lived up to the super hype as of this time(don't know if it will), but it is still a very good show and is something I will continue to watch. It's on Netflix, which is where I'm watching it off of, so it's not costing me anything extra, and I recommend this one.

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Boy Wonder

I never heard of this film, but Netflix had it down as a recommendation for me. The description said it was about a boy who witnesses the brutal murder of his mother, and grows up to become a vigilante who dispenses his own brand of justice. The description alone was enough to get me to want to watch it, so I figured why not.

While the description was accurate, it was also misleading. I thought I was going to be watching some kind of super hero movie, and while their were scenes that featured some kick assedness, this was not the focus of the movie. The movie was more about the psyche of a young boy who had gone through some serous shit, and was coping with it in his own way. I couldn't tell you the names of anyone in this film off the top of my head, but they all played their parts well. The main character had a little bit of an odd look to him and reminded me of a kid I knew in high school we used to call forehead, due to an odd shaped hairline that made his forehead look bigger than it was.

Bottom line, if your looking for an action packed super hero movie avoid this one. If your looking for a story that really pulls on your heart and has it's moments of action, and has you really feeling for the protagonist check this one out.