Contemporary Inanity

Sure, I'm a chumbolone, but what about him?

I was riding my bike to work this morning -- the weather was misty with temps in the low 40's.  As I was cursing my inanity, I looked up and saw the goofiest sight gliding by on Lake Street.  An MG Midget convertible, top down.  The driver was wearing a light jacket and a flat cap.

I have to assume that he had the heater on full blast.

A tip on what not to do at the bar

If you've already a) been drinking for a while during the day, and b) you stumble while being dropped off by your friends, and c) you stride rather unsteadily into a different bar, it's probably not a good idea to be a complete jackass with the first thing you say to the bartender.

For example, if you're a guy, and the first thing you ask your bartender is "Can I get a mustache ride?", you're probably not going to get a drink. 

Stop it with the marketing already!

As I was running around posting notes today at work, a woman came in and asked to speak to a manager.  Luckily for me, the woman was speaking to another manager, so I was spared the chat.  I did pick up a snippet of the conversation, though.

It appears that the woman is in sales for a company that has a business model that goes a bit too far for my tastes.  Maybe your tastes are different.  She represented a firm that prints advertisements on pint glasses and places these glasses in various drinking establishments.

Is nothing sacred?

Seriously, I know that we are marketed to 24/7.  I know lots of good people involved in this constant marketing, and I don't want to take bread off their tables.  I know that when I walk into a bar, my glass might have the name of the bar or a beer on it.  Sometimes both.

Seriously, though, if I walked into a drinking establishment, and I was handed a glass with random ads on it, I'd leave.  Maybe I'm old fashioned -- OK, I know I am -- but I tend to think we have reached a tipping point of some sort here.

At what point does the drone of marketing become too much?  At what point do people completely ignore the messages they read or see on TV?  I've probably reached that point, I guess.

 

Things that are useless

I'm riding to work this morning, through a steady mist and rain puddled on the streets when I heard the most curious of sounds: a sprinkler working full-bore.

Someone's new garden must need lots of water.

As if we needed it...

...more evidence that Wall Street mandarins don't really get it.

Really?  You don't think that this was a massive conflict of interest?

Look Mr. Liddy, you work for us now, and your affairs should be so clean that they squeak.  Saying that his Goldman holdings "constituted a small portion of his net worth", might fly with your buddies on the street, but not with ordinary people who are paying attention.

You and your bobos on the Street might not like the fact that the rules are changing, but the rules are changing because of the nature of your rapaciousness.  Quit treating us as nothing more than a bunch of chumbolones, okay?

Good day turns bad -- fast!

My first guest today was a guy who comes in for lunch on the weekends from time to time.  He sat down, ordered a beer and a slice and took two sips of said beer when another guy came in and asked him, "Do you own that BMW bike outside?"

"Yes, I do"

"Well, somebody in a green Suburban knocked it over and took off, but I got his license plate number."

"What?  Really?"

He made a few calls while waiting for the Police to show, and he figures that there was about $2000 in damage.  That might make your day a bit worse.

I hope they catch the driver, but I know it's unlikely that they can charge him or her with anything, since all he or she has to do is deny that he or she was driving the truck at the time.

Tidbit -- April 10

On this date in 2005, those of us who were watching TV at the right time witnessed something special.

Wow. I guess he managed to leave it somewhere inside Chris DiMarco's ball.

Tidbit -- April 9

So much to choose from today, but here goes: on this date in 1413, Henry V was crowned King of England. He would later hold dominion over much of France before an early death from dysentery.

Something I did not know about Henry V: he invented the passport.

He also gave some good speeches.

Tidbit -- April 8

On this date in 1975, Frank Robinson became the first African-American to manage in the Major Leagues.  Though he won the AL Manager of the Year Award in 1989, he never led a team to the playoffs and his final record as a manager was 1065-1176, though you can take that more as an indictment of the sorry teams he had to work with than a indicator of his knowledge. 

He was certainly Old School, though.  If you respected the game, he respected you and would be fiercely loyal.  In 2006, he felt that he had to pull Matthew LeCroy in the middle of an inning.  Frank was so upset after the game that he broke down in tears.  No video of the news conference seems to exist, but I remember it well.

Late Tidbit -- April 7

On this date in 1954, President Eisenhower made this statement during a press conference:

Finally, you have broader considerations that might follow what you would call the "falling domino" principle. You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. So you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences.

This was the first recorded instance of the theory that would get the US into a quagmire in Vietnam.  I don't agree with the theory, but it gives me an excuse to feature this short video.  Enjoy.