Well it is the last day of 2010. I did get my Christmas shopping done on Christmas Eve at Fred Meyer even though there were a few problems that arose during the checkout process.
But I really want to talk about game shows. Since Gabe Okoye and Brittany Mayti, contestants on the FOX game show "Million Dollar Money Drop," are going to get a second chance for picking the answer Post-Its that many are calling an answer that was correct even though the show's answer of Sony Walkman given by host Kevin Pollak was the most correct answer, how about a second chance for the contestant on Thursday's night edition of "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire"?
Meredith Viera, the host, gave the guy on that show a question about which coin the initials VDB, which stands for Victor David Brenner, appears on. I can't remember the exact wording of the question. But there was no reference to when the initials first appeared in the question which means the contestant could have interpreted that the coin has had these initials the entire length of that coin's existence.
But after looking at my US pennies dated from the 1980s and earlier, I could not spot the VDB on the penny. They are visible to the naked eye or with a magnifying glass from about 1990s and onward though.
So if someone was to have relied on knowledge from looking at older pennies, the answer given on the show would not be right. Since the guy walked away on the question, he should be brought back at the level he made it to when he quit because the question was misleading in my opinion.
So it is time for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to do the same as Million Dollar Money Drop and bring back a contestant who was given a bad question.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
There will be a Savings Certificate for Christmas Eve at Fred Meyer!
Well it turns out that Fred Meyer decided to give us the opportunity to use a Savings Certificate right before Christmas after all!
However, there are a few catches. First, it is a printable coupon. So you will need a printer to print it out. Second, it is only good for the Electronics Department which unfortunately has had a poor selection recently. They really need a new Electronics Department Buyer in my opinion.
So this is a start. Now if we could just get a Savings Certificate for all the departments at Fred Meyer in the newspaper tomorrow for Christmas Eve, then I would be really happy.
However, there are a few catches. First, it is a printable coupon. So you will need a printer to print it out. Second, it is only good for the Electronics Department which unfortunately has had a poor selection recently. They really need a new Electronics Department Buyer in my opinion.
So this is a start. Now if we could just get a Savings Certificate for all the departments at Fred Meyer in the newspaper tomorrow for Christmas Eve, then I would be really happy.
Last minute shopping reminder
If you are like me and find yourself doing Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve for like the very first time, I want to let people know that despite the number of us last minute shoppers, many of the stores will actually close around early evening. Fred Meyer for example will close their stores at 6PM. Walmart, Target, and K-Mart will likely all be closed no later than 9PM tomorrow.
So get out early as you can tomorrow. I just hope Fred Meyer will give us a Savings Certificate in the newspaper tomorrow, but the odds are very slim of that happening now. Hopefully next year they will do a much better holiday ad campaign that will make Freddy's bad ad campaign for this year seem forgettable.
So Happy Holidays in case I don't get around to posting anything until after the holidays are over.
So get out early as you can tomorrow. I just hope Fred Meyer will give us a Savings Certificate in the newspaper tomorrow, but the odds are very slim of that happening now. Hopefully next year they will do a much better holiday ad campaign that will make Freddy's bad ad campaign for this year seem forgettable.
So Happy Holidays in case I don't get around to posting anything until after the holidays are over.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
FOX's "Million Dollar Money Drop" is actually correct on answer
It has come out just hours ago that FOX's "Million Dollar Money Drop" had the wrong answer on Monday's episode where the couple lost most of their remaining money. This could be bad news for FOX since the last quiz show they tried never even aired because of questions over how legitimate the outcome was.
The question was which was sold first: Mac Computers, Post-It notes, or Sony Walkmans. The answer revealed on the show was the Sony Walkman. But then information on Post-Its was found that make it seem like it was actually the right answer.
Well I have looked into it. This is becoming an open and shut case. The show is correct. The following are the reasons why:
1. The show referred to which was sold first, not which was invented first.
2. 3M did sell something similar to the Post-Its prior to the sale of Walkmans, but they were called Press & Peel instead of Post-Its.
3. Since the answer specifically had the words Post-It, the earlier date should not count. That would be like saying the Apple Macintosh computer was sold first because Apple II computers were sold in the late 1970s and that was the predecessor to the Macintosh computers. But the choice on the show referred to the answer specifically as "Macintosh Computer." Since the name Post-It was specifically used as the answer choice, the product's predecessor called Press & Peel should also not count meaning that the name Post-Its was used to sell them only from 1980 and later which was after the Sony Walkman was first sold in the late 1970s.
4. 3M even refers to 1980 as the official start of the sale of their Post-It notes on their company's website which anyone could have looked up and remembered prior to being a contestant on this game show.
So case closed. No need to offer this couple a second chance on the show or any more prize money here. This is just a case of bad luck for that couple and a reminder that this show has some gambling element to it. Just thought I would clear this up since this is a good show and several people and media outlets are misrepresenting the facts that Post-Its were sold before Sony Walkmans.
The question was which was sold first: Mac Computers, Post-It notes, or Sony Walkmans. The answer revealed on the show was the Sony Walkman. But then information on Post-Its was found that make it seem like it was actually the right answer.
Well I have looked into it. This is becoming an open and shut case. The show is correct. The following are the reasons why:
1. The show referred to which was sold first, not which was invented first.
2. 3M did sell something similar to the Post-Its prior to the sale of Walkmans, but they were called Press & Peel instead of Post-Its.
3. Since the answer specifically had the words Post-It, the earlier date should not count. That would be like saying the Apple Macintosh computer was sold first because Apple II computers were sold in the late 1970s and that was the predecessor to the Macintosh computers. But the choice on the show referred to the answer specifically as "Macintosh Computer." Since the name Post-It was specifically used as the answer choice, the product's predecessor called Press & Peel should also not count meaning that the name Post-Its was used to sell them only from 1980 and later which was after the Sony Walkman was first sold in the late 1970s.
4. 3M even refers to 1980 as the official start of the sale of their Post-It notes on their company's website which anyone could have looked up and remembered prior to being a contestant on this game show.
So case closed. No need to offer this couple a second chance on the show or any more prize money here. This is just a case of bad luck for that couple and a reminder that this show has some gambling element to it. Just thought I would clear this up since this is a good show and several people and media outlets are misrepresenting the facts that Post-Its were sold before Sony Walkmans.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Still waiting for the Fred Meyer Savings Certificate
Well what I was afraid of is coming true. Fred Meyer continues to disappoint me with their daily ads this final week before Christmas. Every day's ad this week is a repeat of the coupons for 15% off apparel and 10% off home departments which were available in the Sunday ad and are not the kind of coupons I want to use. So there were hardly any daily deals to be had this week.
All of the ads through Christmas Eve are now available online. Unfortunately the Savings Certificate is featured in none of them which is a major disappointment. I am now going to have to likely do my Christmas shopping at other stores this year which puts me in worse shape than I already was. So much for Fred Meyer being my One Stop shopping place this year.
But I am still going to wait until the 24th just in case Fred Meyer does put in one of their Savings Certificates in the newspaper. But this means I may not get any Christmas shopping done this year. But there will always be next year to do Christmas shopping should I fail to get it done this year.
All of the ads through Christmas Eve are now available online. Unfortunately the Savings Certificate is featured in none of them which is a major disappointment. I am now going to have to likely do my Christmas shopping at other stores this year which puts me in worse shape than I already was. So much for Fred Meyer being my One Stop shopping place this year.
But I am still going to wait until the 24th just in case Fred Meyer does put in one of their Savings Certificates in the newspaper. But this means I may not get any Christmas shopping done this year. But there will always be next year to do Christmas shopping should I fail to get it done this year.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Fred Meyer introduces 1-day deals!
After I was already frustrated with Fred Meyer for their lack of a Savings Certificate this weekend, it is going to get more a lot more interesting this final week up to Christmas.
Fred Meyer is introducing 1-day deals this week. Basically it is a different ad in the newspaper every day this week! The good news is that this is great for many people because Fred Meyer weekly ads as well as the door buster ads are a bit too similar to each other in terms of merchandise and deals being advertised, and this should make the Fred Meyer ads seem more fresh.
However, this is bad for me because this requires being able to shop the day of what you want to buy when it goes on sale if it does go on sale for a day. And I don't have hardly any flexibility when it comes to when I can shop nowadays. Furthermore it creates a problem for someone like me who relies on the one-stop shopping that Fred Meyer is known for. I will likely have to make more than one visit to get the savings that I am trying to get.
So I am hoping my shopping this week will turn out OK, but this sounds like a much bigger shopping challenge this week than I originally thought it would be.
Fred Meyer is introducing 1-day deals this week. Basically it is a different ad in the newspaper every day this week! The good news is that this is great for many people because Fred Meyer weekly ads as well as the door buster ads are a bit too similar to each other in terms of merchandise and deals being advertised, and this should make the Fred Meyer ads seem more fresh.
However, this is bad for me because this requires being able to shop the day of what you want to buy when it goes on sale if it does go on sale for a day. And I don't have hardly any flexibility when it comes to when I can shop nowadays. Furthermore it creates a problem for someone like me who relies on the one-stop shopping that Fred Meyer is known for. I will likely have to make more than one visit to get the savings that I am trying to get.
So I am hoping my shopping this week will turn out OK, but this sounds like a much bigger shopping challenge this week than I originally thought it would be.
Fred Meyer advertising disappointing this crucial weekend
Well it is one week until Christmas. This Saturday is the busiest shopping day of the year, not Black Friday which many people actually think would be the busiest shopping day of the year.
Well I was hoping for Fred Meyer to do their annual tradition of putting a Savings Certificate for like $10 off a $50 purchase in the local newspaper like they have done in years past during this busy weekend. I was looking in the paper for their full page Savings Certificate Ad this morning.
IT WAS NOT THERE!! There was a full page ad in the part of the newspaper where it would have likely been, but it was for another major retailer. Then I thought maybe it was an online only deal this year. Nope. Just a coupon for next week arrived this morning online.
So now what do I do? Without that Savings Certificate, I now have to pay higher prices no matter what I purchase at Fred Meyer. They have the 10% off coupon for items in most departments other than Electronics, Groceries, Apparel, and Jewelery. But it lacks a UPC so it has to be applied by the cashier manually to each item as you check out so it is a little frustrating to get savings this way. The Savings Certificate was nicer because they were fewer exceptions and could be scanned at the end with other coupons.
I just haven't decided what to do about my Christmas shopping which I haven't even begun yet. I don't blame Kroger or Fred Meyer which like me have been hit very hard by the ongoing recession.
I am likely going to have to wait until next week now, hoping for some last minute savings from Fred Meyer which traditionally has better savings earlier on in the holiday season than the last few weeks before Christmas.
The good news is that this year's Holiday shopping mess will be over in 1 week regardless of what happens next week!
Well I was hoping for Fred Meyer to do their annual tradition of putting a Savings Certificate for like $10 off a $50 purchase in the local newspaper like they have done in years past during this busy weekend. I was looking in the paper for their full page Savings Certificate Ad this morning.
IT WAS NOT THERE!! There was a full page ad in the part of the newspaper where it would have likely been, but it was for another major retailer. Then I thought maybe it was an online only deal this year. Nope. Just a coupon for next week arrived this morning online.
So now what do I do? Without that Savings Certificate, I now have to pay higher prices no matter what I purchase at Fred Meyer. They have the 10% off coupon for items in most departments other than Electronics, Groceries, Apparel, and Jewelery. But it lacks a UPC so it has to be applied by the cashier manually to each item as you check out so it is a little frustrating to get savings this way. The Savings Certificate was nicer because they were fewer exceptions and could be scanned at the end with other coupons.
I just haven't decided what to do about my Christmas shopping which I haven't even begun yet. I don't blame Kroger or Fred Meyer which like me have been hit very hard by the ongoing recession.
I am likely going to have to wait until next week now, hoping for some last minute savings from Fred Meyer which traditionally has better savings earlier on in the holiday season than the last few weeks before Christmas.
The good news is that this year's Holiday shopping mess will be over in 1 week regardless of what happens next week!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
My video on how to connect the Archos 32 internet tablet to a TV set using composite RCA-type cables is now on my YouTube channel page
My newest video entitled "Tech Confusion: Finding a composite cable with television output compatible with the Archos 32 tablet" is now on my YouTube page.
This is me showing how to display the Archos 32 internet tablet screen on a composite tv or monitor with a yellow RCA jack using various cables and adapters. I made this video since Archos doesn't have an official video to my knowledge about how to display the Archos 32 screen on a TV set nor do they tell you how much or where to buy a compatible cable for the Archos 32 in the 32's manual.
Let me know what you think about this video and tell me if you find this one interesting or helpful. And please rate this video by giving it a thumbs up or thumbs down. It helps to get good honest feedback so I can determine if these videos are helpful!
One final note: I have gotten a lot of people asking me whether you can connect the other Archos Gen8 models such as the Archos 28, 43, 70, and 101 models using an analog Yellow RCA connection and the answer is no. For the reason why, you can watch my video or read the comments section of the video page on YouTube for this video.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them here or on the YouTube video page. I will try to answer them as soon as I see them.
The video is located on my YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/nathanroadinwa .
This is me showing how to display the Archos 32 internet tablet screen on a composite tv or monitor with a yellow RCA jack using various cables and adapters. I made this video since Archos doesn't have an official video to my knowledge about how to display the Archos 32 screen on a TV set nor do they tell you how much or where to buy a compatible cable for the Archos 32 in the 32's manual.
Let me know what you think about this video and tell me if you find this one interesting or helpful. And please rate this video by giving it a thumbs up or thumbs down. It helps to get good honest feedback so I can determine if these videos are helpful!
One final note: I have gotten a lot of people asking me whether you can connect the other Archos Gen8 models such as the Archos 28, 43, 70, and 101 models using an analog Yellow RCA connection and the answer is no. For the reason why, you can watch my video or read the comments section of the video page on YouTube for this video.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them here or on the YouTube video page. I will try to answer them as soon as I see them.
The video is located on my YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/nathanroadinwa .
Monday, December 13, 2010
A reminder of the problems with morning news shows
I am back to write something after yet another long delay. So here are my thoughts about the morning news shows this morning.
I was watching NBC's Today Show this morning, and they announced Ed Smart, father of kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart, would be interviewed at the start of the 7:30AM portion of the show. I was flipping channels and went to CBS' Early Show. CBS is also airing at the same time an interview with Ed Smart. So I flip to ABC's Good Morning America at 7:30AM. And guess who was being interviewed on that channel? Ed Smart!!
How does the same guy appear on all 3 of the major morning news programs at the same time? Unless this is like the President of the United States doing a live press conference being broadcast to multiple networks, there is no possible way for a person to be in 3 different buildings at the same time. Since Ed Smart was wearing the same tie in all 3 interviews, all 3 of these interviews were probably filmed on the same day which was today. But only one of them was probably actually live, while the other 2 networks thought and did pull a fast one on the viewer by making it look like their interviews with Ed Smart were live too.
Now I am calling out for organizations that set rules for responsible media reporting to do something about these kind of situations. The public should have the right to know which of the 3 interviews are actually live and the other 2 that are not live should have a disclaimer on the screen during the entire interview that it is taped to avoid the confusion as to which appearance is actually live at that moment.
This should easily be corrected. Why it hasn't already been, is a complete mystery to me.
I was watching NBC's Today Show this morning, and they announced Ed Smart, father of kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart, would be interviewed at the start of the 7:30AM portion of the show. I was flipping channels and went to CBS' Early Show. CBS is also airing at the same time an interview with Ed Smart. So I flip to ABC's Good Morning America at 7:30AM. And guess who was being interviewed on that channel? Ed Smart!!
How does the same guy appear on all 3 of the major morning news programs at the same time? Unless this is like the President of the United States doing a live press conference being broadcast to multiple networks, there is no possible way for a person to be in 3 different buildings at the same time. Since Ed Smart was wearing the same tie in all 3 interviews, all 3 of these interviews were probably filmed on the same day which was today. But only one of them was probably actually live, while the other 2 networks thought and did pull a fast one on the viewer by making it look like their interviews with Ed Smart were live too.
Now I am calling out for organizations that set rules for responsible media reporting to do something about these kind of situations. The public should have the right to know which of the 3 interviews are actually live and the other 2 that are not live should have a disclaimer on the screen during the entire interview that it is taped to avoid the confusion as to which appearance is actually live at that moment.
This should easily be corrected. Why it hasn't already been, is a complete mystery to me.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
A look back at this year's blog
I know I am not posting as often as I should, but that is out of my control at the moment. But I thought I would mention that if you enjoy this blog, it is totally amazing how much I have put together in terms of blog postings and videos this year. I did just about all of the video parts by myself without any help. Even the theme music in all of my videos thus far which are rather short tunes were completely composed by me. I am not paid or given free samples of stuff for my reviews, so I have a very limited budget unlike many other reviewers and bloggers on the Internet.
So now with no helpers and limited resources, I have to determine which projects I will pursue for future blog entries and videos. It is sad that I know a lot of blog entries and videos that would have happened will likely be scrapped now, but I know there are some really good opportunities ahead for this blog and my YouTube page. So stay tuned for my future blog entries and YouTube Videos. If you find this blog enjoyable or informative, there should be some more good stuff in the coming months.
So now with no helpers and limited resources, I have to determine which projects I will pursue for future blog entries and videos. It is sad that I know a lot of blog entries and videos that would have happened will likely be scrapped now, but I know there are some really good opportunities ahead for this blog and my YouTube page. So stay tuned for my future blog entries and YouTube Videos. If you find this blog enjoyable or informative, there should be some more good stuff in the coming months.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Correction: New Western Digital WDTV online features already available!
In the last post I mentioned that existing WDTV Live and Live Plus owners would be able to soon access other online services such as Facebook, AccuWeather, and Blockbuster. Well I checked for the latest firmware, and the latest firmware just released the other day contains support for these services.
I will install the new firmware soon to check out these new services on the WDTV Live.
I will install the new firmware soon to check out these new services on the WDTV Live.
Finally some really good news from Western Digital
As you can probably tell from watching and reading my product reviews, I tend to be negative on a lot of products and companies. Well for once I have some good news to report about a product that I have covered in a few of my Tech Confusion videos.
After Western Digital put out a new firmware recently which lacked any major new features to the WDTV Live Plus, they just made a major announcement this week.
The announcement is that the WDTV Live and Live Plus machines will soon be able to access Facebook, AccuWeather, Blockbuster, Flingo, and a few other online services. This should make up for that disappointing firmware they just released for the WDTV Live Plus as long as the services that are usually free online like Facebook are available for free through the WDTV like YouTube currently is.
Finally a change we can believe in! I sure hope if happens very soon.
After Western Digital put out a new firmware recently which lacked any major new features to the WDTV Live Plus, they just made a major announcement this week.
The announcement is that the WDTV Live and Live Plus machines will soon be able to access Facebook, AccuWeather, Blockbuster, Flingo, and a few other online services. This should make up for that disappointing firmware they just released for the WDTV Live Plus as long as the services that are usually free online like Facebook are available for free through the WDTV like YouTube currently is.
Finally a change we can believe in! I sure hope if happens very soon.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
My Tech Confusion videos about Temporary Sync Files and Logitech Desktop Messenger now on YouTube
Once again I want to thank all of those people who helped me reach over 5,000 total views between all of my YouTube videos on my NATHANROADINWA channel.
I have recently uploaded 2 more editions of my Tech Confusion video series. They are called "Tech Confusion: Trying to figure out if the Logitech Desktop Messenger software is necessary" and "Tech Confusion: Determining if Temporary Sync Files stored on a hard drive can be deleted".
Both videos show me talking about what the functions of certain programs or files are and whether you should leave them on your PC's hard drive.
Please rate and let me know what you think about these videos and look for the other videos I have done on my NATHANROADINWA YouTube channel.
Click on this to go to my NATHANROADINWA YouTube channel.
I have recently uploaded 2 more editions of my Tech Confusion video series. They are called "Tech Confusion: Trying to figure out if the Logitech Desktop Messenger software is necessary" and "Tech Confusion: Determining if Temporary Sync Files stored on a hard drive can be deleted".
Both videos show me talking about what the functions of certain programs or files are and whether you should leave them on your PC's hard drive.
Please rate and let me know what you think about these videos and look for the other videos I have done on my NATHANROADINWA YouTube channel.
Click on this to go to my NATHANROADINWA YouTube channel.
Monday, November 15, 2010
2 years of WMW!!
On this week's "Washington's Most Wanted" they mentioned that it has been on the air for 2 years now. Hard to believe they have helped capture around 150 fugitives in just the past 2 years since the TV show premiered.
For those who are unfamiliar with Washington's Most Wanted, it is like a local 30 minute version of America's Most Wanted with local hosts featuring cases and wanted fugitives from Washington State. Many places around the country have similar type programming but not in the form of a half hour weekly show like we do here in Washington State. Most other places just have local commercials or segments that run during the news or America's Most Wanted.
I don't remember watching the first few episodes since it kind of premiered around the time that President Obama was elected in November 2008 which means it probably wasn't promoted well on the Fox station at that time with all the election advertising and news. But I try to watch it every week now. The show is now seen on Fox stations around the state and in Portland, OR which is just across the river from Washington State.
For those who are unfamiliar with Washington's Most Wanted, it is like a local 30 minute version of America's Most Wanted with local hosts featuring cases and wanted fugitives from Washington State. Many places around the country have similar type programming but not in the form of a half hour weekly show like we do here in Washington State. Most other places just have local commercials or segments that run during the news or America's Most Wanted.
I don't remember watching the first few episodes since it kind of premiered around the time that President Obama was elected in November 2008 which means it probably wasn't promoted well on the Fox station at that time with all the election advertising and news. But I try to watch it every week now. The show is now seen on Fox stations around the state and in Portland, OR which is just across the river from Washington State.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
My Honest Video Review of the AVG Internet Security Software Versions 9.0 and 2011 now on YouTube
I recently uploaded another video review to my NATHANROADINWA channel on YouTube. This time I reviewed the AVG Internet Security software Version 9.0 and the new 2011 Version. I bought AVG Internet Security originally to replace my old anti-virus program that was free but was later discontinued.
Please comment about this video review and be sure to rate it if you have a YouTube account.
The video is located on my YouTube channel which is located at http://www.youtube.com/nathanroadinwa.
Please comment about this video review and be sure to rate it if you have a YouTube account.
The video is located on my YouTube channel which is located at http://www.youtube.com/nathanroadinwa.
Fred Meyer Rewards Coupons are coming late
Just thought I would let everyone else out there know that if you haven't received your Fred Meyer Rewards thing in the mail for the last period that it is probably because they are being mailed out late this time. Fred Meyer/Kroger should have e-mailed their customers to let them know that there is a delay. It might be an intentional move by Fred Meyer since Black Friday is coming up soon and the Rewards coupons can be used during Black Friday as incentives to get you to shop at their store on Black Friday.
Also Fred Meyer has their free turkey offer starting today where you spend $150 for a free turkey within a certain pound limit. And Thursday is another one of their One Day Doorbuster sales.
I don't know whether I will be able to take advantage of the free turkey or the doorbuster sales because so many bad things have happened in my life lately. And the really bad thing is this period right now is when you get the best buys all year round at Fred Meyer (better than WalMart even!) And I shop primarily at Fred Meyer which means I will have to pay more the rest of the year. That's life!
Also Fred Meyer has their free turkey offer starting today where you spend $150 for a free turkey within a certain pound limit. And Thursday is another one of their One Day Doorbuster sales.
I don't know whether I will be able to take advantage of the free turkey or the doorbuster sales because so many bad things have happened in my life lately. And the really bad thing is this period right now is when you get the best buys all year round at Fred Meyer (better than WalMart even!) And I shop primarily at Fred Meyer which means I will have to pay more the rest of the year. That's life!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Did the right person really win in the Murray/Rossi race?
First off, I should congratulate Patty Murray for being the top vote getter for US Senate this year in Washington State. Now for the ugly truth about this Murray/Rossi race.
If you noticed in the paragraph above, I carefully referred to Sen. Patty Murray as the top vote getter, not as the winner of the race. Because she didn't win!! Confusing? Read on.
After Dino Rossi did the right thing by conceding the race to Sen. Murray, many people who were against Rossi acted like complete jerks and started the silly name calling on the comments sections of the election results pages.
Time after time, I would read comments stating that Dino Rossi is a 3 time loser and that nobody wants him representing Washington State and that he should simply just go away.
These kind of comments were childish and inaccurate. These people act like Rossi got no votes at all. The truth is that he would have won if you eliminated King County from the vote count. Patty Murray couldn't win one county East of the Cascade Mountains. Rossi was winning in counties on both sides of the Cascades. So Rossi was winning in most of the state geographically.
Another dumb comment that was repeated several times was the fact that all 3 of these so-called losses were to women, and that he should face another man in order to win a race. The truth is that if he ran against a Gary Locke or some other prominent Democrat here in the state, Rossi would probably still lose because Rossi has been portrayed as a corrupt businessman by the Democratic Party and all the Democrats have to do to win an election against Rossi is to remind people of the 2004 Governor's race in which Rossi hired lawyers even though our Governor Gregoire did the same thing! It just seems like there is a double standard between the actions that Democrats and Republicans take when it comes to business dealings.
But the one type of comment that offended me the most by the Anti-Rossi supporters of Sen. Murray's which again was after Rossi bowed out was the comment that he should go back to mopping floors. This is a reference to the commercials saying how Dino Rossi started out as a janitor at the Space Needle to earn money when he was young. This is an insult not just to me but to any hard working American both Democrat or Republican who actually works for a living unlike career politicians or rich athletes who earn money for doing little physical work.
The people who make comments like the ones saying Rossi should go back to mopping floors are the ones who are helping to create a job market for immigrants because they are associating physical labor with undesirable jobs. No wonder why we have to allow so much legal and illegal immigration in this country, because if you don't become Senator of this state you are considered a loser.
Now to be fair, there have been many anti-Murray comments as well but not near as negative as the anti-Rossi comments.
So should Rossi run again for political office here in Washington? I think he should run again just to prove to these people calling him a 3 time loser that THEY are the losers, not Rossi. But until the attitudes of these shallow minded Washingtonians change, I am afraid to say Rossi will likely come out on the losing side again in any future election he runs in.
The only sure thing is that Patty Murray is NOT the winner. Neither side won because Murray's support base is contaminated with people who call anyone they want a loser based on their past occupation or the number of races lost. And do you really believe that everyone voted for Sen. Murray because she will lead this state in the right direction? We all know many who voted for her were just trying to spite Rossi and make him a 3 time loser which is a totally pathetic way to vote.
To kind of paraphrase Sen. Murray's camp's TV spots, "We can't trust some of Patty Murray's supporters to be for Washington State."
If you noticed in the paragraph above, I carefully referred to Sen. Patty Murray as the top vote getter, not as the winner of the race. Because she didn't win!! Confusing? Read on.
After Dino Rossi did the right thing by conceding the race to Sen. Murray, many people who were against Rossi acted like complete jerks and started the silly name calling on the comments sections of the election results pages.
Time after time, I would read comments stating that Dino Rossi is a 3 time loser and that nobody wants him representing Washington State and that he should simply just go away.
These kind of comments were childish and inaccurate. These people act like Rossi got no votes at all. The truth is that he would have won if you eliminated King County from the vote count. Patty Murray couldn't win one county East of the Cascade Mountains. Rossi was winning in counties on both sides of the Cascades. So Rossi was winning in most of the state geographically.
Another dumb comment that was repeated several times was the fact that all 3 of these so-called losses were to women, and that he should face another man in order to win a race. The truth is that if he ran against a Gary Locke or some other prominent Democrat here in the state, Rossi would probably still lose because Rossi has been portrayed as a corrupt businessman by the Democratic Party and all the Democrats have to do to win an election against Rossi is to remind people of the 2004 Governor's race in which Rossi hired lawyers even though our Governor Gregoire did the same thing! It just seems like there is a double standard between the actions that Democrats and Republicans take when it comes to business dealings.
But the one type of comment that offended me the most by the Anti-Rossi supporters of Sen. Murray's which again was after Rossi bowed out was the comment that he should go back to mopping floors. This is a reference to the commercials saying how Dino Rossi started out as a janitor at the Space Needle to earn money when he was young. This is an insult not just to me but to any hard working American both Democrat or Republican who actually works for a living unlike career politicians or rich athletes who earn money for doing little physical work.
The people who make comments like the ones saying Rossi should go back to mopping floors are the ones who are helping to create a job market for immigrants because they are associating physical labor with undesirable jobs. No wonder why we have to allow so much legal and illegal immigration in this country, because if you don't become Senator of this state you are considered a loser.
Now to be fair, there have been many anti-Murray comments as well but not near as negative as the anti-Rossi comments.
So should Rossi run again for political office here in Washington? I think he should run again just to prove to these people calling him a 3 time loser that THEY are the losers, not Rossi. But until the attitudes of these shallow minded Washingtonians change, I am afraid to say Rossi will likely come out on the losing side again in any future election he runs in.
The only sure thing is that Patty Murray is NOT the winner. Neither side won because Murray's support base is contaminated with people who call anyone they want a loser based on their past occupation or the number of races lost. And do you really believe that everyone voted for Sen. Murray because she will lead this state in the right direction? We all know many who voted for her were just trying to spite Rossi and make him a 3 time loser which is a totally pathetic way to vote.
To kind of paraphrase Sen. Murray's camp's TV spots, "We can't trust some of Patty Murray's supporters to be for Washington State."
My Honest Video Review of the Dockers Men's Leather Belt 17DK0101 now on YouTube
I just uploaded another video review to my NATHANROADINWA channel on YouTube. This time I am reviewing the Dockers Men's Leather Belt Model Number 17DK0101. I bought it to replace my GNW leather belt which didn't fare too well after only a year or two of wearing it.
Please comment about this video review and be sure to rate it if you have a YouTube account.
Please comment about this video review and be sure to rate it if you have a YouTube account.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Time is running out to vote!
Today is Nov. 2, which happens to be Election Day this year. I have just voted. For those who are registered to vote and haven't voted yet, you still have a few hours here on the West Coast to vote and you may still have an hour or two left on the East Coast to vote.
I want to remind people that I have made 3 videos about R-52 and Initiative 1107 under the Confusing Olympia series which are all on my YouTube channel. Click on this to go to my YouTube page. The videos are located under Downloads and then scroll down to the Confusing Olympia videos.
I gave my opinion at the end of these videos, but feel free to vote the way you want. I am presenting these Confusing Olympia videos to better inform people on the issues, not to force people to vote a certain way.
I would have liked to have covered more issues, but I just simply didn't get around to covering them.
Last I want to remind people to please rate my Confusing Olympia videos and the rest of my YouTube videos after you watch them.
I want to remind people that I have made 3 videos about R-52 and Initiative 1107 under the Confusing Olympia series which are all on my YouTube channel. Click on this to go to my YouTube page. The videos are located under Downloads and then scroll down to the Confusing Olympia videos.
I gave my opinion at the end of these videos, but feel free to vote the way you want. I am presenting these Confusing Olympia videos to better inform people on the issues, not to force people to vote a certain way.
I would have liked to have covered more issues, but I just simply didn't get around to covering them.
Last I want to remind people to please rate my Confusing Olympia videos and the rest of my YouTube videos after you watch them.
Monday, October 25, 2010
My NATHANROADINWA YouTube Channel's videos hits 4,000 views
Just thought I would mention that the videos on my YouTube channel,NATHANROADINWA, have been viewed over 4,000 times now. Over 1,300 views of the 4,000 views came from one of my videos alone. It was the "Tech Confusion: Trying to enable Wi-Fi on the WD TV Live Plus" video.
So I just want to thank people for their continued interest in my NATHANROADINWA channel on YouTube and remind people to please rate the videos after you watch them.
So I just want to thank people for their continued interest in my NATHANROADINWA channel on YouTube and remind people to please rate the videos after you watch them.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
My Honest Video Review of the Timex Sport Collection Replacement Watch Strap is now on YouTube
My latest Honest Video Review of the Timex Sport Collection Replacement Watch Strap for Casio Water Resistant Watches is now on my YouTube channel, NATHANROADINWA, which is located at http://www.youtube.com/nathanroadinwa.
This is a video review for a Timex Sport Collection Watch Strap Replacement that I purchased to replace my old watch strap. I also try to demonstrate how to replace the old watch strap with the new watch strap in this video.
Let me know what you think about this review and be sure to rate it if you have a YouTube account.
This is a video review for a Timex Sport Collection Watch Strap Replacement that I purchased to replace my old watch strap. I also try to demonstrate how to replace the old watch strap with the new watch strap in this video.
Let me know what you think about this review and be sure to rate it if you have a YouTube account.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Two new Confusing Olympia videos now on my YouTube Channel Page
I have recently uploaded 2 new videos, "Confusing Olympia: Initiative 1107 Arguments" and "Confusing Olympia: Referendum 52 Arguments" to my YouTube Channel page NATHANROADINWA which is located at HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/NATHANROADINWA.
In both videos I discuss the arguments each side makes for that political issue and try to explain what is the truth and lies that they made in their arguments. Both of these issues deal with the recent bottled water tax passed here in Washington State which I briefly mentioned in the "Confusing Olympia: The Candy Tax" video I made back in June.
I want to mention that both of these new videos contain a couple of scary Halloween-type scenes and viewing these 2 videos in front of young preschool age kids is not recommended.
In both videos I discuss the arguments each side makes for that political issue and try to explain what is the truth and lies that they made in their arguments. Both of these issues deal with the recent bottled water tax passed here in Washington State which I briefly mentioned in the "Confusing Olympia: The Candy Tax" video I made back in June.
I want to mention that both of these new videos contain a couple of scary Halloween-type scenes and viewing these 2 videos in front of young preschool age kids is not recommended.
Friday, October 8, 2010
My Honest Video Review of the Case Logic TBC303 Camera Bag is now online on my YouTube Channel
My latest Honest Video Review which is of the Case Logic TBC303 Black Camera Bag is now online on my YouTube channel, NATHANROADINWA, which is located at HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/NATHANROADINWA.
Please comment and/or rate my video on the YouTube pages as usual. Starting with this video, you will probably see some cheaper quality reviews and videos because of my current economic situation. I hope people will bear with me until I can somehow improve my videos and reviews. This period of economic despair for me could last for months or even years. Only time will tell.
Please comment and/or rate my video on the YouTube pages as usual. Starting with this video, you will probably see some cheaper quality reviews and videos because of my current economic situation. I hope people will bear with me until I can somehow improve my videos and reviews. This period of economic despair for me could last for months or even years. Only time will tell.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Correction on the Unemployment Compensation
Yesterday, I mentioned that I didn't want to accept Unemployment Compensation from the State of Washington because of my long-term unemployment.
I looked into the Washington State Unemployment Compensation Rules and learned that I don't even qualify for unemployment benefits this year because I haven't worked enough hours this year. So it obviously doesn't matter now what I feel about taking unemployment compensation this year since I can't get any assistance anyways.
To make matters worse, I looked at the newspaper's help wanted ads today, and they are so few in number and are dominated in one area, the medical area. And I am definitely not in the medical profession.
So the cutbacks will continue...
I looked into the Washington State Unemployment Compensation Rules and learned that I don't even qualify for unemployment benefits this year because I haven't worked enough hours this year. So it obviously doesn't matter now what I feel about taking unemployment compensation this year since I can't get any assistance anyways.
To make matters worse, I looked at the newspaper's help wanted ads today, and they are so few in number and are dominated in one area, the medical area. And I am definitely not in the medical profession.
So the cutbacks will continue...
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Sadly, more personal spending cuts on the way
Well I got a little bit of good news. I now will have more time to post on this blog for now.
Now for a ton of bad news. I was laid off the earliest I have been in many years. I was hoping to work a lot longer because I really needed to get rid of my current car which has been damaged a couple of times in accidents which neither were caused by me. I only made around $4000 this year in gross pay. Even if I used that entire amount towards the purchase of a used car, I would have no money to spend on food, clothing, etc. My last check will probably be only $100 at most which would only be enough for the gas for like a month or so to drive the vehicle I am driving now.
To make matters worse, I will not even be able to go to store as often that I regularly go to which is Fred Meyer which was near where I worked so I could stop their frequently after I got done working. And I have family members who rely on me to buy their groceries for them. Now I have to make a long special trip to go to Fred Meyer if I want to shop there.
I already made the decision that I won't accept Unemployment Compensation because I feel it would be wrong to accept money when I am unemployed as often as I am. Unemployment Compensation should be for short-term unemployment periods. It shouldn't be a way of life in my opinion. Since I am out of work until well into next year, this is not a short-term situation.
So the bottom line is don't expect any reviews of anything brand new on the market anytime soon on my NATHANROADINWA channel on YouTube as I can't afford anything expensive right now, and I am not compensated for any blog entries or reviews or YouTube videos or even my Podcast comments on Marc Berman's Programming Insider podcast.
It is just going to be a long Fall and Winter for me this year.
Now for a ton of bad news. I was laid off the earliest I have been in many years. I was hoping to work a lot longer because I really needed to get rid of my current car which has been damaged a couple of times in accidents which neither were caused by me. I only made around $4000 this year in gross pay. Even if I used that entire amount towards the purchase of a used car, I would have no money to spend on food, clothing, etc. My last check will probably be only $100 at most which would only be enough for the gas for like a month or so to drive the vehicle I am driving now.
To make matters worse, I will not even be able to go to store as often that I regularly go to which is Fred Meyer which was near where I worked so I could stop their frequently after I got done working. And I have family members who rely on me to buy their groceries for them. Now I have to make a long special trip to go to Fred Meyer if I want to shop there.
I already made the decision that I won't accept Unemployment Compensation because I feel it would be wrong to accept money when I am unemployed as often as I am. Unemployment Compensation should be for short-term unemployment periods. It shouldn't be a way of life in my opinion. Since I am out of work until well into next year, this is not a short-term situation.
So the bottom line is don't expect any reviews of anything brand new on the market anytime soon on my NATHANROADINWA channel on YouTube as I can't afford anything expensive right now, and I am not compensated for any blog entries or reviews or YouTube videos or even my Podcast comments on Marc Berman's Programming Insider podcast.
It is just going to be a long Fall and Winter for me this year.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Yes on 1107 commercial seems very similar to my Candy Tax video!
I have recently noticed a television commercial of an older guy who is advertising Yes on Washington State Initiative 1107 which would repeal the recent taxes on candy and bottled water. The commercial at times looks like they are paraphrasing my "Confusing Olympia: The Candy Tax" video I made back in June.
If you live in Washington State and have seen this commercial on TV, watch AND listen to my Candy Tax video which is in a previous post on this blog as well as on my NATHANROADINWA YouTube channel page. Let me know what you think. I think there are some very striking similarities such as the examples of what is taxed and what is exempt.
If you live in Washington State and have seen this commercial on TV, watch AND listen to my Candy Tax video which is in a previous post on this blog as well as on my NATHANROADINWA YouTube channel page. Let me know what you think. I think there are some very striking similarities such as the examples of what is taxed and what is exempt.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
My Honest Video Review of the Vivitar ViviCam 38 Digital Camera is on my YouTube channel
I uploaded another video review to my YouTube channel NATHANROADINWA. It is a video review of the Vivitar ViviCam 38 Digital Camera I bought with the intention of replacing my Vivitar ViviCam 15 Camera which I wound up returning to the store. My YouTube channel page is located at HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/NATHANROADINWA.
Please let me know what you think about my videos and rate them if you are able to.
Please let me know what you think about my videos and rate them if you are able to.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Bret Michaels cancels Yakima, WA concert on Saturday Sept. 11
I am sorry for not posting very often on here. I have been rather busy working long hours just about every day right now.
I thought I would mention my feelings about Bret Michaels canceling his Yakima, Washington tour appearance this Saturday which happens to be September 11th.
The show was canceled due to a lack of ticket sales with the poor economy being cited as a major reason. Ordinarily, I think this would be an acceptable decision to cancel a concert due to low ticket sales. But since this concert was supposed to be on Sept. 11th, to not have it just feels totally un-American. And we are talking Bret Michaels here. This is the guy who was in the hospital during the airing of the Celebrity Apprentice and people were thinking he would not even show up for the finale which Donald Trump made Bret the winner of the show.
So what happened to this never give up attitude of Bret Michaels? How can he just cancel a concert on a very important day in our nation's recent history? Even Jay Leno did free shows for people out of work recently.
My plea to Bret Michaels is to do your Sept. 11 concert in Yakima, Wash. But don't just do it for your fans, do it for your country!
I thought I would mention my feelings about Bret Michaels canceling his Yakima, Washington tour appearance this Saturday which happens to be September 11th.
The show was canceled due to a lack of ticket sales with the poor economy being cited as a major reason. Ordinarily, I think this would be an acceptable decision to cancel a concert due to low ticket sales. But since this concert was supposed to be on Sept. 11th, to not have it just feels totally un-American. And we are talking Bret Michaels here. This is the guy who was in the hospital during the airing of the Celebrity Apprentice and people were thinking he would not even show up for the finale which Donald Trump made Bret the winner of the show.
So what happened to this never give up attitude of Bret Michaels? How can he just cancel a concert on a very important day in our nation's recent history? Even Jay Leno did free shows for people out of work recently.
My plea to Bret Michaels is to do your Sept. 11 concert in Yakima, Wash. But don't just do it for your fans, do it for your country!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Potential good news for ABC and NBC while not so good news for CBS and FOX
Recently I uploaded my Fall 2010 Preview videos to my YouTube channel, NATHANROADINWA, where I gave my analysis of NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX's upcoming fall schedules.
As of the time I am writing this which is Thursday evening Aug. 26, the ABC video now has the most views at 105 views. The NBC video has been the second most viewed video at 94 views. The CBS video is a distant third at 39 views. The FOX video is dead last at only 15 views. All 4 videos were uploaded within a few days of each other so the large difference is not because the NBC and ABC videos were uploaded much earlier than the CBS and FOX ones. It is a slight possibility that YouTube has presented the NBC and ABC ones more often under their recommendations of videos to watch after watching a certain video, but I feel that is highly unlikely.
If these views are a good measurement of what people are interested in watching this fall, ABC and NBC should be in great shape. It also doesn't bode well for the FOX network which has only 3 new shows on its Fall 2010 lineup. It suggests that the 2 new comedies are likely going to be canceled quickly if people aren't interested in their fall lineup. Even though the CBS preview video was not as watched as much as the NBC or ABC videos, I think CBS still have good shots at some of their shows such as the new Hawaii Five-0 and Bluebloods which could very well fit their typical crime drama lineup.
I just thought the results were quite interesting. We shall see which network really does pick up viewers this Fall which is less than a month away now!
As of the time I am writing this which is Thursday evening Aug. 26, the ABC video now has the most views at 105 views. The NBC video has been the second most viewed video at 94 views. The CBS video is a distant third at 39 views. The FOX video is dead last at only 15 views. All 4 videos were uploaded within a few days of each other so the large difference is not because the NBC and ABC videos were uploaded much earlier than the CBS and FOX ones. It is a slight possibility that YouTube has presented the NBC and ABC ones more often under their recommendations of videos to watch after watching a certain video, but I feel that is highly unlikely.
If these views are a good measurement of what people are interested in watching this fall, ABC and NBC should be in great shape. It also doesn't bode well for the FOX network which has only 3 new shows on its Fall 2010 lineup. It suggests that the 2 new comedies are likely going to be canceled quickly if people aren't interested in their fall lineup. Even though the CBS preview video was not as watched as much as the NBC or ABC videos, I think CBS still have good shots at some of their shows such as the new Hawaii Five-0 and Bluebloods which could very well fit their typical crime drama lineup.
I just thought the results were quite interesting. We shall see which network really does pick up viewers this Fall which is less than a month away now!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Still around despite the Internet outages!
Just want to let you people reading this know that I am still around since the Internet was down late last night and when I woke up around 7AM, it was still down!
Then by noon it was still down. But it was back up by around 1PM this afternoon. I just wish I knew why the Internet connection at my house goes down so often. It goes down almost every day. 3 hours (or sometimes even more hours) of Internet connection downtime seems to be a normal everyday occurrence these days.
Does anyone else have this problem? If so let me know. I am going to try to get on here when I can because I will have a more hectic work schedule soon.
Then by noon it was still down. But it was back up by around 1PM this afternoon. I just wish I knew why the Internet connection at my house goes down so often. It goes down almost every day. 3 hours (or sometimes even more hours) of Internet connection downtime seems to be a normal everyday occurrence these days.
Does anyone else have this problem? If so let me know. I am going to try to get on here when I can because I will have a more hectic work schedule soon.
Friday, August 20, 2010
My Honest Video Review of WD My Passport Essential SE 750 GB Portable Hard Drive now uploaded on YouTube
I have just uploaded my latest video review to my YouTube channel which is of the Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 750 GB Portable Hard Drive.
It is located at http://www.youtube.com/nathanroadinwa and please leave comments and/or suggestions and those with YouTube accounts can rate the video too.
It is located at http://www.youtube.com/nathanroadinwa and please leave comments and/or suggestions and those with YouTube accounts can rate the video too.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Deadly fire in Zillah, WA and more Network Preview videos uploaded
I want to briefly mention that the Fall 2010 Network Preview videos I made for CBS, ABC, and FOX are now all uploaded to my YouTube page at www.youtube.com/nathanroadinwa.
Now on a very sad note, 3 Washington State Patrol employees from Zillah, WA which is near where I grew up died very early this morning in a house fire. Someone I told the news was surprised that they weren't alerted by a smoke alarm. It would be hard to believe that the house of 3 WSP employees didn't have a working smoke alarm. So it will be interesting to find out if this is a case of arson in the coming days.
This is the largest loss of life in the history of the WSP according to one news report.
What is weird about this news is that I was stopped by a young WSP male trooper about a week ago for having a brake light out and he looked like the photo released of the youngest victim of the fire. The place where I was stopped by the WSP trooper was only about 10 miles away from Zillah, WA so it could have been the same guy who died in the fire this morning. I probably will never know if it was the same guy who died in the fire, but if it was it is really a shame because he was very understanding when he stopped me.
If I find out that it was the same trooper who stopped me last week, I will let everyone know.
Now on a very sad note, 3 Washington State Patrol employees from Zillah, WA which is near where I grew up died very early this morning in a house fire. Someone I told the news was surprised that they weren't alerted by a smoke alarm. It would be hard to believe that the house of 3 WSP employees didn't have a working smoke alarm. So it will be interesting to find out if this is a case of arson in the coming days.
This is the largest loss of life in the history of the WSP according to one news report.
What is weird about this news is that I was stopped by a young WSP male trooper about a week ago for having a brake light out and he looked like the photo released of the youngest victim of the fire. The place where I was stopped by the WSP trooper was only about 10 miles away from Zillah, WA so it could have been the same guy who died in the fire this morning. I probably will never know if it was the same guy who died in the fire, but if it was it is really a shame because he was very understanding when he stopped me.
If I find out that it was the same trooper who stopped me last week, I will let everyone know.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
My NBC 2010 Fall Preview video has been uploaded to my YouTube page
I have uploaded another video to YouTube. This time it is called "Fall 2010 Network Preview: NBC", and it is my analysis of the NBC schedule starting this fall. You can find it at my YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/nathanroadinwa.
I will try to do as many of the major broadcast networks as I can. The next one I am planning on doing will cover CBS's Fall 2010 Schedule.
Feel free to leave comments or suggestions about the video on one of my YouTube pages or here in this blog if you prefer. And don't forget to rate them on YouTube if you have a YouTube account.
I will try to do as many of the major broadcast networks as I can. The next one I am planning on doing will cover CBS's Fall 2010 Schedule.
Feel free to leave comments or suggestions about the video on one of my YouTube pages or here in this blog if you prefer. And don't forget to rate them on YouTube if you have a YouTube account.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Another Tech Confusion video has been uploaded to YouTube
I uploaded last night my third edition of the "Tech Confusion" series on YouTube. It is called "Tech Confusion: Converting video files to the Samsung P3 using EmoDio or Roxio Creator 2010". The link to my YouTube page is http://www.youtube.com/nathanroadinwa .
This video shows how to copy a video file to the Samsung P3 player that needs to be converted to another video format before it will play on the Samsung P3 using either the EmoDio software or Roxio Creator software.
The bad news was it took a little over 2 hours to upload. But the good news is that the Internet connection I had actually stayed up last night as it uploaded. The prior 5 days the Internet connection at my place was down for 3 or more hours a day.
Please rate the video or comment on my YouTube pages or here if you prefer.
This video shows how to copy a video file to the Samsung P3 player that needs to be converted to another video format before it will play on the Samsung P3 using either the EmoDio software or Roxio Creator software.
The bad news was it took a little over 2 hours to upload. But the good news is that the Internet connection I had actually stayed up last night as it uploaded. The prior 5 days the Internet connection at my place was down for 3 or more hours a day.
Please rate the video or comment on my YouTube pages or here if you prefer.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
New "YouTube Special" video now on my YouTube page!
I have uploaded a new video to YouTube called "YouTube Special: Now being able to upload 15 minute videos!" to my YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/nathanroadinwa. I had a very hard time uploading this video since the internet at my place was down for at least 3 hours everyday for the first 3 days of August. Hopefully this Internet company I am using will get their connection problems fixed.
Let me know here or on my YouTube pages what you think of my new video. In the video, I am discussing how the YouTube service now allows 15 minute uploads which would have been helpful last month when I joined YouTube and had to split my Philco Converter Box review into 2 parts because it was a little over 11 minutes long and YouTube had only a 10 minute upload limit at that time.
Let me know here or on my YouTube pages what you think of my new video. In the video, I am discussing how the YouTube service now allows 15 minute uploads which would have been helpful last month when I joined YouTube and had to split my Philco Converter Box review into 2 parts because it was a little over 11 minutes long and YouTube had only a 10 minute upload limit at that time.
Friday, July 30, 2010
The futures of "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance"
It has been a long time since I have talked about TV shows in my blog.
So the word is Ellen is out for sure, Kara is most likely out too, leaving just Randy as the only judge returning next season on American Idol. I think Ellen leaving is absolutely a positive change for the show as she did not fit the American Idol concept.
As for Kara possibly leaving, I am mixed on this one. She does know the business and she is actually not the type of female judge that tries to make all the contestants feel better if they don't do well which I think is a good thing. But she does seem to try to put the contestants in to a box like Michael Burgi who used to be a regular on the Programming Insider podcast pointed out.
I am not a fan of either of these two. I will have to wait and see how they do as judges on American Idol before I can say if this is a good move or a bad move like Ellen.
So You Think You Can Dance has had a very disappointing season this year. The all-stars are too involved in the show. They are dancing with the contestants in the performance shows each week, then on the results shows for the opening number, then during the musical performers towards the end of the show. And for a few weeks they had a look back segment on some of the all-stars. They need to drop the all-star format for next season.
Then there were the injuries of Alex, Ashley, and Billy that hurt the show just like the Baseball season interfered with that Fall season last year. The injuries this season were just kind of a fluke.
But the thing that really bothered me the most this season was Billy Bell. He was given one opportunity after another to continue on the show. The week Alex left due to an injury, Billy should have been eliminated that week. The week Ashley left due to an injury, Billy should have been eliminated that week too. Last week when Billy and the other 2 bottom 3 were spared, Billy should have been eliminated yet again.
Billy's extended stay on the show ultimately put Jose into a bad situation when 2 of the bottom 3 were eliminated this week. Jose also had two lousy numbers this week that didn't suit his personality almost ensuring that he would be in the bottom 3. So I feel that Billy staying hurt Jose's chances this week a lot and that Jose was almost forced off the show. But at least Billy is off the show now which is where he belongs.
Nigel is set to return to American Idol which he left a year or two ago to focus on other dancing projects. Those projects were not so successful so now he is going back to help American Idol which is now fading in recent years.
So Nigel not only has to make major changes to So You Think You Can Dance which seems to be losing interest the last few years as well, but he also has to fix American Idol too.
I have to say good luck to Nigel, because neither show will be easy to fix. The two shows' formats are becoming too predictable. Hopefully they will come up with new ways to make these shows fresh and current again.
Ellen Out, Kara Uncertain
So the word is Ellen is out for sure, Kara is most likely out too, leaving just Randy as the only judge returning next season on American Idol. I think Ellen leaving is absolutely a positive change for the show as she did not fit the American Idol concept.
As for Kara possibly leaving, I am mixed on this one. She does know the business and she is actually not the type of female judge that tries to make all the contestants feel better if they don't do well which I think is a good thing. But she does seem to try to put the contestants in to a box like Michael Burgi who used to be a regular on the Programming Insider podcast pointed out.
Jennifer Lopez & Steven Tyler Reportedly In
I am not a fan of either of these two. I will have to wait and see how they do as judges on American Idol before I can say if this is a good move or a bad move like Ellen.
Billy Bell finally eliminated on "So You Think You Can Dance"
So You Think You Can Dance has had a very disappointing season this year. The all-stars are too involved in the show. They are dancing with the contestants in the performance shows each week, then on the results shows for the opening number, then during the musical performers towards the end of the show. And for a few weeks they had a look back segment on some of the all-stars. They need to drop the all-star format for next season.
Then there were the injuries of Alex, Ashley, and Billy that hurt the show just like the Baseball season interfered with that Fall season last year. The injuries this season were just kind of a fluke.
But the thing that really bothered me the most this season was Billy Bell. He was given one opportunity after another to continue on the show. The week Alex left due to an injury, Billy should have been eliminated that week. The week Ashley left due to an injury, Billy should have been eliminated that week too. Last week when Billy and the other 2 bottom 3 were spared, Billy should have been eliminated yet again.
Billy's extended stay on the show ultimately put Jose into a bad situation when 2 of the bottom 3 were eliminated this week. Jose also had two lousy numbers this week that didn't suit his personality almost ensuring that he would be in the bottom 3. So I feel that Billy staying hurt Jose's chances this week a lot and that Jose was almost forced off the show. But at least Billy is off the show now which is where he belongs.
Nigel Lythgoe has a lot of fixing to do
Nigel is set to return to American Idol which he left a year or two ago to focus on other dancing projects. Those projects were not so successful so now he is going back to help American Idol which is now fading in recent years.
So Nigel not only has to make major changes to So You Think You Can Dance which seems to be losing interest the last few years as well, but he also has to fix American Idol too.
I have to say good luck to Nigel, because neither show will be easy to fix. The two shows' formats are becoming too predictable. Hopefully they will come up with new ways to make these shows fresh and current again.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
My two Tech Confusion videos are on YouTube
I have uploaded to the YouTube video service two videos in a series I am calling Tech Confusion which will attempt to show how to solve certain tech problems. The first two are called "Tech Confusion: Trying to enable Wi-Fi on the WD TV Live Plus from Western Digital" and "Tech Confusion: Trying to play .MP4 video files wirelessly on the WD TV Live Plus".
If you are a YouTube account holder and watch any of my videos there, please rate them or give them thumbs up or down.
The link to my YouTube channel page is HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/NATHANROADINWA
Also feel free to leave any comments here or on the YouTube pages for my videos.
If you are a YouTube account holder and watch any of my videos there, please rate them or give them thumbs up or down.
The link to my YouTube channel page is HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/NATHANROADINWA
Also feel free to leave any comments here or on the YouTube pages for my videos.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
All of the videos are now on YouTube
All of the videos I have made for this blog have now been uploaded and are playable on YouTube. The only one that I had to modify was the Philco Converter Box Review because it was over the 10 minute limit set by YouTube. So I split it and uploaded it into 2 parts.
One of the nice things about YouTube that Blogger lacks is the ability to rate the videos. If you have watched my videos before, please go to my NATHANROADINWA channel and rate my videos. It should help people know which ones are the least and most helpful when you rate them.
One of the nice things about YouTube that Blogger lacks is the ability to rate the videos. If you have watched my videos before, please go to my NATHANROADINWA channel and rate my videos. It should help people know which ones are the least and most helpful when you rate them.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Major announcement: My videos are now being uploaded to YouTube!
I apologize for the long delay between posts. I have an announcement. I am uploading my videos featured on this blog to YouTube. I have already uploaded the Candy Tax video and my first review video so far, and I will upload the other videos within the next few days. The only exception might be the Philco Converter Box review because YouTube has a 10 minute limit and that one was a little over 10 minutes long. If I can split the video, I will include that one too on my YouTube channel.
In case you are wondering if this is the end of the blog itself, it is not at least for the near future. One of the reasons I want to upload these videos to YouTube is that I will have a larger audience since YouTube videos are available through many devices which have Internet connectivity but not a full Internet connection such as the Sony Dash or the WDTV media players. My blog is only available to mainly those with computers and not to people who do not have computers or people using mobile devices. And with the growing popularity of Facebook and Twitter, Blogger is not getting as much Internet traffic these days.
So if you are reading this, tell me if you think putting my videos on YouTube is a good or bad idea.
In case you are wondering if this is the end of the blog itself, it is not at least for the near future. One of the reasons I want to upload these videos to YouTube is that I will have a larger audience since YouTube videos are available through many devices which have Internet connectivity but not a full Internet connection such as the Sony Dash or the WDTV media players. My blog is only available to mainly those with computers and not to people who do not have computers or people using mobile devices. And with the growing popularity of Facebook and Twitter, Blogger is not getting as much Internet traffic these days.
So if you are reading this, tell me if you think putting my videos on YouTube is a good or bad idea.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
My "Let's Talk Renewable, Not Trash!" bag design NOT A WINNER! ALSO: Poor judging by Kroger again this year!
For the second year in a row I did NOT win again this year! But that was Kroger's fault because they messed up this contest for the second year in a row as soon as the contest started again for this year.
I hate to be brutally honest, but my design was easily better than some of the 10 Winners this year. The judges apparently could not pick mine because of my comments that the contest was rigged.
To give you an idea how bad the winning bags were quality wise, go to this page and take a look for yourself. It is embarrassing who actually won when you compare them to my design and several other people's designs this year.
All but one of the designs have a plain white background and did very little artwork. One winner did a whole bunch of bags very similar to each other and apparently the multiple entry trick worked when it obviously shouldn't have worked.
Hopefully Kroger will do a much better contest next year than the last couple of years that is more fairer and picks better designs for the winners.
I hate to be brutally honest, but my design was easily better than some of the 10 Winners this year. The judges apparently could not pick mine because of my comments that the contest was rigged.
To give you an idea how bad the winning bags were quality wise, go to this page and take a look for yourself. It is embarrassing who actually won when you compare them to my design and several other people's designs this year.
All but one of the designs have a plain white background and did very little artwork. One winner did a whole bunch of bags very similar to each other and apparently the multiple entry trick worked when it obviously shouldn't have worked.
Hopefully Kroger will do a much better contest next year than the last couple of years that is more fairer and picks better designs for the winners.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
AMAZON.COM currently messed up!
It appears AMAZON.COM is messed up. Many items' links and other pages are not working or not loading correctly. I had a $1 MP3 Credit I may have to forfeit because it is no good after this month. I guess that will teach me to not wait until the last minute to apply my $1 credit next time. Oh well, that is life!!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Confusing Olympia: Candy Tax Video
This is a video I made to "educate" people about the confusing new sales tax law that went into effect at the beginning of June.
I used a Flip Ultra HD Video Camera to record the video footage for this video. However, the footage uploaded here is not in HD. Maybe in a future post or video I will explain why.
If you have any comments about this video or find any inaccuracies in this video, please let me know. It should be mostly correct.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
An Honest Video Review of the Cobra Digital DVC955 Video Camera
This is a video review of a cheap camcorder I bought to replace my Vivitar Vivicam 15 after I returned it to the store. The Vivitar Vivicam 15 was a nice camera but unfortunately the battery door broke on it. I "outgrew" the Vivitar Vivicam 15 camera because I wanted a camera that did both photos and videos with sound.
So I bought this camcorder only to have problems getting it to work, so this video camera went back to the store as well.
Please let me know what you think of the Cobra Digital DVC955 Video Review.
Note: The thing in the bottom right hand corner lets you switch to Full Screen Video if the video is too small for you to see. I think Blogger just added that feature to the videos on this blog because I never noticed it being there before.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
I-90 news & Kroger/Fred Meyer news
Sorry it has been so long since I have posted.
First off, if you are planning on traveling on I-90 between Western and Eastern Washington expect an hour (maybe longer) delay tonight (Tuesday night) around 8PM. They are going to close the main freeway connecting the west and east parts of the state to blast away some rocks as part of a Freeway construction project.
Second I want to mention that Kroger has recalled some of their chocolate ice cream because of unlisted tree nuts that weren't in the ice cream ingredients listing. The states that have Fred Meyers instead of Kroger such as Washington state are NOT affected by the recall to my knowledge.
I have some bad news on the video reviews. My cheap Vivitar camera accidentally got dropped a few feet on the ground and the fall caused the screw in the battery door to not function properly. Because I couldn't get the battery door open without likely breaking it open, I returned it and got a cheap camcorder from Fred Meyer in its place. Unfortunately the camcorder is most likely going back to the store as well. I might review it on here in the near future if I get the time and resources to put the review together.
Finally on a positive note, Fred Meyer is going to have a 2 day sale this weekend with their savings certificate and will have Father's Day activities this Saturday during most of the day.
First off, if you are planning on traveling on I-90 between Western and Eastern Washington expect an hour (maybe longer) delay tonight (Tuesday night) around 8PM. They are going to close the main freeway connecting the west and east parts of the state to blast away some rocks as part of a Freeway construction project.
Second I want to mention that Kroger has recalled some of their chocolate ice cream because of unlisted tree nuts that weren't in the ice cream ingredients listing. The states that have Fred Meyers instead of Kroger such as Washington state are NOT affected by the recall to my knowledge.
I have some bad news on the video reviews. My cheap Vivitar camera accidentally got dropped a few feet on the ground and the fall caused the screw in the battery door to not function properly. Because I couldn't get the battery door open without likely breaking it open, I returned it and got a cheap camcorder from Fred Meyer in its place. Unfortunately the camcorder is most likely going back to the store as well. I might review it on here in the near future if I get the time and resources to put the review together.
Finally on a positive note, Fred Meyer is going to have a 2 day sale this weekend with their savings certificate and will have Father's Day activities this Saturday during most of the day.
Monday, June 7, 2010
An Honest Video Review of Innovative Technology Wireless Headphones ITHW-858
This is another one of my video reviews. It will probably be the last one for at least a while as I am considering doing other projects in the very near future unless of course I find a product that I really like or hate so much that I want to do a review of it right away.
Please let me know what you think of this video review of the Innovative Technology brand wireless headphones.
Mural-in-a-Day event in Toppenish, WA
After going to the Dino-in-a-Day event down in Granger, WA, I traveled to Toppenish, WA to see the Mural-in-a-Day event. As you can see in the photos below, they were almost done with the mural.
Now in the photo above, you can see some of the fruits grown in that region of Washington State such as cherries, peaches, and pears which they were still painting the pears part. There is also a mountain in the mural, which Washington State has at least 3 that can be seen from many miles away.
This above is a picture taken a short time later of the left hand side of the mural.
And finally this is a picture taken of the right hand side of the mural. This event took place at a local park in Toppenish, but I think the mural will be moved to a building somewhere in town or else repainted somewhere on a building downtown.
Now in the photo above, you can see some of the fruits grown in that region of Washington State such as cherries, peaches, and pears which they were still painting the pears part. There is also a mountain in the mural, which Washington State has at least 3 that can be seen from many miles away.
This above is a picture taken a short time later of the left hand side of the mural.
And finally this is a picture taken of the right hand side of the mural. This event took place at a local park in Toppenish, but I think the mural will be moved to a building somewhere in town or else repainted somewhere on a building downtown.
Dino-in-a-Day Event in Granger, WA
I went to Granger, WA this Saturday to see their Dino-in-a-Day Event. It was at Hisey Park which is on the edge of town. In this photo above, you can see the lake and there is a waterfall type thing where the mound looking thing is in the lake. Between the tree and the waterfall thing in the distance is a dinosaur that sits in the lake, but it is very difficult to see in this photo.
This is Granger's new outdoor Ampitheatre that they just finished constructing which is right next to the lake at Hisey Park.
This is Granger's Dino Store which is usually open during the warmer months, but it was actually closed on Dino-in-a-Day when I was there!! Sad considering that dinosaurs are their main city theme.
Above is the new dinosaur they created during Dino-in-a-Day after it was completed since it was already completed when I got there. They have local people put on plaster or some kind of material over the wire frames of the dinosaur. The wire frame of the dinosaur was already constructed sometime earlier during the year. The final result actually looks real for a dinosaur.
Finally, here is another picture of the dinosaur created for the Dino-in-a-Day event this year at a distance.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Memorial Day Photos of Zillah, WA Part Two
This is the Teapot Gas Station that has been around for many years. They stopped selling gas there a few years back from what I recall. There were rumors that they were going to move this landmark into the main part of Zillah and use it as a tourist center for the town. Since I don't visit Zillah much these days I have no idea if they are still planning on doing that.
And here is just another shot of downtown Zillah. It is kind of dark because the Vivitar ViviCam 15 digital camera I reviewed doesn't have a flash and it was kind of a cloudy day in Zillah on Memorial Day.
Memorial Day Photos of Zillah, WA Part One
Here are some photos of a little town called Zillah I used to visit frequently as a kid. I was in Zillah for a free breakfast on Memorial Day at a new church building there. These photos were all taken with the Vivitar ViviCam 15 digital camera I reviewed in yesterday's post.
This picture above is of the Old Warehouse, which sells furniture I believe. They had a little replica of the Teapot Gas Station that Zillah is well known for, but it is very difficult to see in this photo. It is on top of the building on the right side of the picture near the tree.
Pictured above is downtown Zillah. It is a little hard to see in these photos, but they had flags out along the streets of downtown for Memorial Day.
Above is the outskirts of Zillah. There are a lot of orchards and farms just outside of the city limits.
This above is a picture I took at the free breakfast they had on Memorial Day at the new church building in Zillah. The new church has a picnic area and a large field for playing Baseball and other sports. The flag was put up by the local Scouts. And they had a little Memorial Day program after the free breakfast.Continued in next post.
Monday, May 31, 2010
An Honest Video Review of the Vivitar ViviCam 15 Digital Camera
This is the video review of the cheap digital camera I bought to take photos and video for my video reviews. I created a new opening title sequence for this review.
Please let me know what you think of my latest review.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Lee DeWyze and Gary Coleman
I Just wanted to write about the American Idol Finale. I thought for sure Crystal had it in the bag after her performances during the final week of the competition. I guess I was wrong about that! As much as I like Lee, I thought Crystal probably deserved to win more after the final performances. I will not be a bit surprised if Crystal has a bigger music career than Lee now that Idol is over. It seems America keeps voting for the "underdog" contestant each year on Idol.
2 years ago, David Archelleta seemed to be the presumed winner only to lose to David Cook. Then the next year, there was Adam Lambert who everyone thought would beat Kris Allen except Kris won. Now this year Crystal who should have won based on her finale performances gets beaten by Lee DeWyze.
I think Michael Burgi of the Programming Insider Podcast made a very good point the other day when he mentioned that Crystal was better off NOT winning because she will have more freedom what she can do than what she would be able to do under the Idol winner's music contract. So I think Lee and Crystal will both do just fine. I don't know about American Idol though when Simon is gone and Ellen is still there!! We will have to wait and see what happens to American Idol next year.
Now on to Gary Coleman. I never met him. But I did drive by the area a few times where he lived in Utah recently up until his death today. I have relatives who saw him around that area. While he was only 42, his death was not really a big surprise to me because there has been many reports of his poor health and my relatives seemed to say he was not that healthy looking when they saw him a few weeks back in the Provo area.
I hope maybe he will finally be at peace since he seemed to be very angry all of the time. And hopefully I will get to see his movie "The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins" which I haven't seen in ages! That had to be one of the first shows to include scenes that had a parody of "Star Wars" in it.
Hope everyone has a good Memorial Day Weekend!!
2 years ago, David Archelleta seemed to be the presumed winner only to lose to David Cook. Then the next year, there was Adam Lambert who everyone thought would beat Kris Allen except Kris won. Now this year Crystal who should have won based on her finale performances gets beaten by Lee DeWyze.
I think Michael Burgi of the Programming Insider Podcast made a very good point the other day when he mentioned that Crystal was better off NOT winning because she will have more freedom what she can do than what she would be able to do under the Idol winner's music contract. So I think Lee and Crystal will both do just fine. I don't know about American Idol though when Simon is gone and Ellen is still there!! We will have to wait and see what happens to American Idol next year.
Now on to Gary Coleman. I never met him. But I did drive by the area a few times where he lived in Utah recently up until his death today. I have relatives who saw him around that area. While he was only 42, his death was not really a big surprise to me because there has been many reports of his poor health and my relatives seemed to say he was not that healthy looking when they saw him a few weeks back in the Provo area.
I hope maybe he will finally be at peace since he seemed to be very angry all of the time. And hopefully I will get to see his movie "The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins" which I haven't seen in ages! That had to be one of the first shows to include scenes that had a parody of "Star Wars" in it.
Hope everyone has a good Memorial Day Weekend!!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
My American Idol Finale Week Confession
Well tonight is the big night when the next American Idol will be crowned.
I have been a big Lee fan since the Top 24 days. I was not really a fan of Crystal's throughout the entire season.
Well it hurts me to say this, but I must confess that after watching the Finale Performances on Tuesday night, it was obvious that Crystal was the more deserving contestant to win the Idol title for 2010 based on Lee and Crystal's performances that night. I think Crystal has the Idol win in the bag at this point and most people will probably agree with me even though they won't announce her as the winner until the very end of the 2 1/2 hour show tonight.
I felt Lee's song choices were not as good as last week's while Crystal's song choices were much better this week. Lee was more subdued in his performances while Crystal was very energetic and her performances seemed to play much better to a TV audience and with the giant screens in the large Theatre they were performing in during the Finale week.
Crystal's final song came off very genuine while Lee's final song was about average for him in my opinion. The momentum has clearly shifted to Crystal after tonight. I just can't see Lee winning now. Too bad he wasn't doing the Hallelujah performance this week instead of last week.
Here is who I thought did better in each of the three rounds:
Crystal won slightly over Lee in Round One
Crystal & Lee tied in Round Two
Crystal won by quite a bit in Round Three
So I am not really going to be watching for the suspense tonight, but mostly to see Simon on the show for the last time as well as some of the musical guests. I thought it was odd that they didn't mention who is performing tonight on the 2 hour results show. I sure hope General Platt is going to be there to perform his "Pants on the Ground" song. I would hope so because he generated more buzz than Ellen did on the show this season.
Hopefully this will be Ellen's final regular appearance on Idol as well tonight. As for who should replace Simon Cowell, I would like to see a male judge with a good musical knowledge and who is like Cowell in the sense that they are brutally honest. I don't want his replacement to be someone who is going to tell singers they are great when they are terrible.
So far replacements for Simon that have been mentioned include Jamie Foxx and Adam Lambert. Adam Lambert is way too new to the world of Idol to be a judge while Jamie Foxx would be a great judge based on musical knowledge. But I doubt Foxx would give very critical reviews to the contestants.
If I were Idol, I would choose someone who has been in a band recently such as Bret Michaels, Mark McGrath, or a Tommy Lee. But not Ozzy Osbourne, because you would need subtitles to understand what he is saying half of the time. And we all remember how Osbournes Reloaded turned out for FOX.
FOX will announce Cowell's replacement shortly after the end of Idol this season, so stay tuned!!
I have been a big Lee fan since the Top 24 days. I was not really a fan of Crystal's throughout the entire season.
Well it hurts me to say this, but I must confess that after watching the Finale Performances on Tuesday night, it was obvious that Crystal was the more deserving contestant to win the Idol title for 2010 based on Lee and Crystal's performances that night. I think Crystal has the Idol win in the bag at this point and most people will probably agree with me even though they won't announce her as the winner until the very end of the 2 1/2 hour show tonight.
I felt Lee's song choices were not as good as last week's while Crystal's song choices were much better this week. Lee was more subdued in his performances while Crystal was very energetic and her performances seemed to play much better to a TV audience and with the giant screens in the large Theatre they were performing in during the Finale week.
Crystal's final song came off very genuine while Lee's final song was about average for him in my opinion. The momentum has clearly shifted to Crystal after tonight. I just can't see Lee winning now. Too bad he wasn't doing the Hallelujah performance this week instead of last week.
Here is who I thought did better in each of the three rounds:
Crystal won slightly over Lee in Round One
Crystal & Lee tied in Round Two
Crystal won by quite a bit in Round Three
So I am not really going to be watching for the suspense tonight, but mostly to see Simon on the show for the last time as well as some of the musical guests. I thought it was odd that they didn't mention who is performing tonight on the 2 hour results show. I sure hope General Platt is going to be there to perform his "Pants on the Ground" song. I would hope so because he generated more buzz than Ellen did on the show this season.
Hopefully this will be Ellen's final regular appearance on Idol as well tonight. As for who should replace Simon Cowell, I would like to see a male judge with a good musical knowledge and who is like Cowell in the sense that they are brutally honest. I don't want his replacement to be someone who is going to tell singers they are great when they are terrible.
So far replacements for Simon that have been mentioned include Jamie Foxx and Adam Lambert. Adam Lambert is way too new to the world of Idol to be a judge while Jamie Foxx would be a great judge based on musical knowledge. But I doubt Foxx would give very critical reviews to the contestants.
If I were Idol, I would choose someone who has been in a band recently such as Bret Michaels, Mark McGrath, or a Tommy Lee. But not Ozzy Osbourne, because you would need subtitles to understand what he is saying half of the time. And we all remember how Osbournes Reloaded turned out for FOX.
FOX will announce Cowell's replacement shortly after the end of Idol this season, so stay tuned!!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
An Honest Video Review of Hunt's 24 oz. Ketchup
This is another video review. This time it is for the "New" Hunt's Ketchup. ENJOY!!
If you have any suggestions on how I can improve future video reviews, please let me know!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
2PM Pacific Time Friday is the end of voting period
If you want to vote for my "Let's Talk Renewable, Not Trash" bag design, you have until 2PM Pacific Daylight Savings Time Friday to vote for my design in the Fred Meyer/Kroger Design-a-reusable bag Contest.
I know my odds of winning are very poor because I only have around a half dozen votes and the top half dozen vote getters have around 30,000 votes each. And Kroger said that special consideration would be given to these bags with the highest vote.
Unless a miracle happens, there is practically no chance that I will win. If we want to defeat the people who cheated in the contest, please tell everyone you know who has a computer to vote for my design. My bag number is #22186. If I can get enough votes maybe I will get noticed by Kroger's judges this year and actually win the contest this year instead of one of those people who cheated.
I don't want a repeat of last year where my entry was most likely ignored by the judges.
I know my odds of winning are very poor because I only have around a half dozen votes and the top half dozen vote getters have around 30,000 votes each. And Kroger said that special consideration would be given to these bags with the highest vote.
Unless a miracle happens, there is practically no chance that I will win. If we want to defeat the people who cheated in the contest, please tell everyone you know who has a computer to vote for my design. My bag number is #22186. If I can get enough votes maybe I will get noticed by Kroger's judges this year and actually win the contest this year instead of one of those people who cheated.
I don't want a repeat of last year where my entry was most likely ignored by the judges.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
An Honest Video Review of the AVIA 104 Men's Cross Training Shoes
This is another one of my video reviews. This time I used a new cheap quality digital camera I just bought to take the photos and video that was used in this review since I don't have much of a budget right now. I will probably review that cheap camera I used to take the pictures for this video in a future review.
As always let me know what I can do to improve my future video reviews.
30,000!! and American Idol Top 3 Performance Show Report
Since there is not as much to talk about on American Idol because there are only 3 people left, I decided to mention something else in this same blog post.
I am referring to the 30,000 in the title of this blog post. By now if you are a regular reader of this blog, you probably know I am referring to the number of votes for the top vote-getter in the Kroger/Fred Meyer Design a Reusable Bag Contest.
In approximately 10 days, a bag jumped from 20,000 to 30,000 votes. That is 10,000 mostly illegal votes for that bag. You are only allowed to vote once in the contest per day. In order for 10,000 votes to be cast for one bag in 10 days, 1,000 people would had to have voted once every day which obviously couldn't have happened since like I explained in an earlier blog post that it is very simple to vote over and over again in the same day. And I can tell that the votes are not being cast in a pattern that would be realistic.
I know I probably should just let it go since Kroger seems uninterested in making this contest fair. But my problem with this is that I want to continue doing business with Fred Meyer, and I regularly review products from their store on this blog since I do not get around to many other stores these days. I feel uncomfortable to be recommending products at a store whose corporate management team is obviously not taking actions when there is known cheating in a contest like this one.
But to be fair, since I shop at Fred Meyer, I am much more familiar with their stores' operations unlike some of the other retailers and I am certain that other retailers operations have issues too and many of them are worse than Fred Meyer.
So enough about that and on to last night's Idol episode.
Lee DeWyze stole the show last night. He was the best in my opinion for both rounds. Lee just ran away from Casey & Crystal in the first round. The second round Casey didn't fair much better. For Crystal in the second round she was OK, but I didn't really think Ellen picked the right song for her in the Judges song pick round.
And Crystal's personal pick in round one, "Come To My Window" by Melissa Etheridge felt like an imitation of the original performance. She should have been superb on this song. Ironically, Michael Burgi of Marc Berman's Programming Insider Podcast said that he thought that Crystal already knew what kind of artist she should be. That song was non-risky and kind of predictable for someone like Crystal. She didn't take any real risks with her song choice this week which she should have if she knows what kind of artist she should be.
So Lee is going to be in the finals unless America votes really crazy this week. The question is who will join him. Crystal or Casey? I think it could easily go either way. Crystal has been good on several occasions this season which would put her through if people voted how well they performed the entire season. But if you are going with last night's performances alone as the criteria who should advance to the finals, I am sorry to say that Casey probably should go to the Finals over Crystal because she was the much bigger disappointment this week of the two.
I am leaning towards a Lee & Casey Finale because Casey is the only representative left this season from the South and almost all of the previous 8 winners of Idol were from the South. Plus I believe Crystal will lose a lot of votes because of the poor rendition of the Etheridge song she chose.
So here is the order that I now believe the Top 3 will finish in this season:
3rd Place: Crystal Bowersox
2nd Place: Casey James
1st Place: Lee DeWyze
Yes, I think Casey will make it to next week but will lose to the non-Southerner this year for a change which will be Lee.
We shall see tonight if Crystal goes home like I am predicting or if the obvious choice Casey goes tonight.
I am referring to the 30,000 in the title of this blog post. By now if you are a regular reader of this blog, you probably know I am referring to the number of votes for the top vote-getter in the Kroger/Fred Meyer Design a Reusable Bag Contest.
In approximately 10 days, a bag jumped from 20,000 to 30,000 votes. That is 10,000 mostly illegal votes for that bag. You are only allowed to vote once in the contest per day. In order for 10,000 votes to be cast for one bag in 10 days, 1,000 people would had to have voted once every day which obviously couldn't have happened since like I explained in an earlier blog post that it is very simple to vote over and over again in the same day. And I can tell that the votes are not being cast in a pattern that would be realistic.
I know I probably should just let it go since Kroger seems uninterested in making this contest fair. But my problem with this is that I want to continue doing business with Fred Meyer, and I regularly review products from their store on this blog since I do not get around to many other stores these days. I feel uncomfortable to be recommending products at a store whose corporate management team is obviously not taking actions when there is known cheating in a contest like this one.
But to be fair, since I shop at Fred Meyer, I am much more familiar with their stores' operations unlike some of the other retailers and I am certain that other retailers operations have issues too and many of them are worse than Fred Meyer.
So enough about that and on to last night's Idol episode.
Lee DeWyze stole the show last night. He was the best in my opinion for both rounds. Lee just ran away from Casey & Crystal in the first round. The second round Casey didn't fair much better. For Crystal in the second round she was OK, but I didn't really think Ellen picked the right song for her in the Judges song pick round.
And Crystal's personal pick in round one, "Come To My Window" by Melissa Etheridge felt like an imitation of the original performance. She should have been superb on this song. Ironically, Michael Burgi of Marc Berman's Programming Insider Podcast said that he thought that Crystal already knew what kind of artist she should be. That song was non-risky and kind of predictable for someone like Crystal. She didn't take any real risks with her song choice this week which she should have if she knows what kind of artist she should be.
So Lee is going to be in the finals unless America votes really crazy this week. The question is who will join him. Crystal or Casey? I think it could easily go either way. Crystal has been good on several occasions this season which would put her through if people voted how well they performed the entire season. But if you are going with last night's performances alone as the criteria who should advance to the finals, I am sorry to say that Casey probably should go to the Finals over Crystal because she was the much bigger disappointment this week of the two.
I am leaning towards a Lee & Casey Finale because Casey is the only representative left this season from the South and almost all of the previous 8 winners of Idol were from the South. Plus I believe Crystal will lose a lot of votes because of the poor rendition of the Etheridge song she chose.
So here is the order that I now believe the Top 3 will finish in this season:
3rd Place: Crystal Bowersox
2nd Place: Casey James
1st Place: Lee DeWyze
Yes, I think Casey will make it to next week but will lose to the non-Southerner this year for a change which will be Lee.
We shall see tonight if Crystal goes home like I am predicting or if the obvious choice Casey goes tonight.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
CW and MyNetworkTV this Fall
Since I already mentioned the big 4 commercial broadcast networks and haven't mentioned CW and MyNetworkTV yet, here are my thoughts on these 2 smaller networks.
MyNetworkTV announced their Fall 2010 lineup like a month ago. Without Wrestling on Friday next season, this network has very little going for it. I think this network should focus on niche programming such as the game show combination of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and Don't Forget the Lyrics they are planning on Tuesday nights and the occasional magic specials since magic specials have been largely ignored by the other major networks these days. They need to get away from the repeats of dramas such as The Unit or Monk. Since it is getting easier to watch old series repeats on the Internet, MyNetworkTV's audience will probably shrink to levels of some of those basic cable channels if MyNetworkTV sticks to mostly drama repeats in the next few years.
The CW announced they were renewing most of their current series like months ago. While that sounded like a good idea at the time, they reduced the likelihood that they would pick up some good shows for this Fall. They probably should have waited to renew their shows after hearing the buzz for their possible new shows for this Fall.
As for which shows CW should have ended this season, I think One Tree Hill should end this season. The new Melrose Place should definitely end. High Society and Fly Girls should definitely end.
CW should definitely consider canceling next season the new 90210, Gossip Girl, and Life Unexpected (assuming Life Unexpected is renewed for next season) if ratings for these shows continue to decline next season.
Vampire Diaries and Next Top Model should stick around for another couple of years. Supernatural should stick around for at least one more season after this one and maybe another season yet if ratings don't decline much next season.
Now what does CW do with one of their biggest successes of last season which really just happened by accident? Of course I am referring to Smallville. This show is entering its 10th season next Fall and likely its last according to the people close to the show. It is obvious that the show has had a good long run and that 10 seasons would be a good place to end the show. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the CW and Smallville people discuss an eleventh season. I wouldn't be surprised if was picked up for an 11th season which would start in Fall 2011 if it should happen. Stranger things have happened!!
For Smallville to get around 2 million viewers on some episodes still after 9 seasons and for Vampire Diaries (even with all of the recent vampire popularity) to do no better than 4 million viewers per episode in its first season is a good reason to consider what would seem like a far-fetched idea to bring Smallville back for Season 11 in 2011. What CW should do for Fall 2011 is to replace Smallville with another DC Comics property and air it after Vampire Diaries for a season or two, and then they can move it to the Friday slot that Smallville currently has assuming the new DC Comics show does well on Thursdays after Vampire Diaries.
Now I am not going to discuss ION or any other TV networks since I do not get them where I live and/or I rarely watch them.
MyNetworkTV announced their Fall 2010 lineup like a month ago. Without Wrestling on Friday next season, this network has very little going for it. I think this network should focus on niche programming such as the game show combination of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and Don't Forget the Lyrics they are planning on Tuesday nights and the occasional magic specials since magic specials have been largely ignored by the other major networks these days. They need to get away from the repeats of dramas such as The Unit or Monk. Since it is getting easier to watch old series repeats on the Internet, MyNetworkTV's audience will probably shrink to levels of some of those basic cable channels if MyNetworkTV sticks to mostly drama repeats in the next few years.
The CW announced they were renewing most of their current series like months ago. While that sounded like a good idea at the time, they reduced the likelihood that they would pick up some good shows for this Fall. They probably should have waited to renew their shows after hearing the buzz for their possible new shows for this Fall.
As for which shows CW should have ended this season, I think One Tree Hill should end this season. The new Melrose Place should definitely end. High Society and Fly Girls should definitely end.
CW should definitely consider canceling next season the new 90210, Gossip Girl, and Life Unexpected (assuming Life Unexpected is renewed for next season) if ratings for these shows continue to decline next season.
Vampire Diaries and Next Top Model should stick around for another couple of years. Supernatural should stick around for at least one more season after this one and maybe another season yet if ratings don't decline much next season.
Now what does CW do with one of their biggest successes of last season which really just happened by accident? Of course I am referring to Smallville. This show is entering its 10th season next Fall and likely its last according to the people close to the show. It is obvious that the show has had a good long run and that 10 seasons would be a good place to end the show. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the CW and Smallville people discuss an eleventh season. I wouldn't be surprised if was picked up for an 11th season which would start in Fall 2011 if it should happen. Stranger things have happened!!
For Smallville to get around 2 million viewers on some episodes still after 9 seasons and for Vampire Diaries (even with all of the recent vampire popularity) to do no better than 4 million viewers per episode in its first season is a good reason to consider what would seem like a far-fetched idea to bring Smallville back for Season 11 in 2011. What CW should do for Fall 2011 is to replace Smallville with another DC Comics property and air it after Vampire Diaries for a season or two, and then they can move it to the Friday slot that Smallville currently has assuming the new DC Comics show does well on Thursdays after Vampire Diaries.
Now I am not going to discuss ION or any other TV networks since I do not get them where I live and/or I rarely watch them.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
What FOX should do this Fall
In this blog I have previously mentioned what NBC, ABC, & CBS should do starting this fall. It is now time for me to discuss the last of the big 4 broadcast networks which is FOX.
Let's start out with FOX's strengths (not including "fading" shows):
Glee Tuesdays at 9PM
and that is it!!
Now FOX has a lot of decent performers but they are all fading though. They are:
Animation Domination Block Sundays
House Mondays at 8PM
24 Mondays at 9PM but is ending this season
American Idol Tuesdays & Wednesdays in Winter & Spring
Bones Thursdays at 8PM
So here is what I think FOX should do each night of the week:
Sunday: Stick to all animated comedies on this night. Sons of Tuscon which I liked a lot and was pulled after just 2 or 3 episodes is the latest in a long string of failures of non-animated comedies on this night for FOX.
Monday: Keep House on this night. If House is moved again it will probably start going down in the ratings a lot at this point. They need to put a new scripted show (not a reality show) to put on before or after House on this night.
Tuesday: They could put reality shows on this night in the Fall such as Hell's Kitchen or a pair of new reality programs. Then in Winter, Idol can come back on this night like it always does each year. Another option in the Fall is to put Fringe back on this night at 9PM (if it doesn't get canceled this season) after a reality show at 8PM because it is not up to the task of facing all of the big shows on Thursdays at 9PM. And here Fringe could attract Lost's viewers since Lost is ending this season.
Wednesday: They could use Human Target here in the 8PM hour like this past season and pair it with Lie To Me or some other new drama. Or they might want to save Human Target for mid-season so they can release the First Season DVD set in the fall to give people the chance to see all the episodes and get exposed to the series more. If they do save Human Target for Mid-season they could do 2 new dramas here until Idol returns in Winter.
Thursday: Keep Bones where it is at 8PM. It does rather well against Survivor on CBS and Vampire Diaries on the CW. But they should move Fringe off of this night. They should put a new scripted show here on this night to follow Bones.
Friday: They should just use this night for reality shows and low-rated shows that they plan on burning off episodes of.
Saturday: They should just stick to Cops and AMW since nothing will do any better than those shows these days. There is no need to start experimenting on this night as long as Saturdays continue to be low rated.
Now you might be wondering where Glee is above. Well Glee is a special show that I think would work for FOX on several nights. I think it could work on Monday paired with House, or on Tuesday paired with Fringe, or on Wednesday paired with Human Target or a new drama. I wouldn't try this show on Thursdays-Sundays though. And I would not pair Glee with Hell's Kitchen because many people might get turned off of seeing Hell's Kitchen on the same night leading into or out of Glee.
So we shall see what FOX announces this coming week. So stay tuned.
Let's start out with FOX's strengths (not including "fading" shows):
Glee Tuesdays at 9PM
and that is it!!
Now FOX has a lot of decent performers but they are all fading though. They are:
Animation Domination Block Sundays
House Mondays at 8PM
24 Mondays at 9PM but is ending this season
American Idol Tuesdays & Wednesdays in Winter & Spring
Bones Thursdays at 8PM
So here is what I think FOX should do each night of the week:
Sunday: Stick to all animated comedies on this night. Sons of Tuscon which I liked a lot and was pulled after just 2 or 3 episodes is the latest in a long string of failures of non-animated comedies on this night for FOX.
Monday: Keep House on this night. If House is moved again it will probably start going down in the ratings a lot at this point. They need to put a new scripted show (not a reality show) to put on before or after House on this night.
Tuesday: They could put reality shows on this night in the Fall such as Hell's Kitchen or a pair of new reality programs. Then in Winter, Idol can come back on this night like it always does each year. Another option in the Fall is to put Fringe back on this night at 9PM (if it doesn't get canceled this season) after a reality show at 8PM because it is not up to the task of facing all of the big shows on Thursdays at 9PM. And here Fringe could attract Lost's viewers since Lost is ending this season.
Wednesday: They could use Human Target here in the 8PM hour like this past season and pair it with Lie To Me or some other new drama. Or they might want to save Human Target for mid-season so they can release the First Season DVD set in the fall to give people the chance to see all the episodes and get exposed to the series more. If they do save Human Target for Mid-season they could do 2 new dramas here until Idol returns in Winter.
Thursday: Keep Bones where it is at 8PM. It does rather well against Survivor on CBS and Vampire Diaries on the CW. But they should move Fringe off of this night. They should put a new scripted show here on this night to follow Bones.
Friday: They should just use this night for reality shows and low-rated shows that they plan on burning off episodes of.
Saturday: They should just stick to Cops and AMW since nothing will do any better than those shows these days. There is no need to start experimenting on this night as long as Saturdays continue to be low rated.
Now you might be wondering where Glee is above. Well Glee is a special show that I think would work for FOX on several nights. I think it could work on Monday paired with House, or on Tuesday paired with Fringe, or on Wednesday paired with Human Target or a new drama. I wouldn't try this show on Thursdays-Sundays though. And I would not pair Glee with Hell's Kitchen because many people might get turned off of seeing Hell's Kitchen on the same night leading into or out of Glee.
So we shall see what FOX announces this coming week. So stay tuned.
An Honest Video Review of the Philco TB100HH9 Converter Box
This is my second video review for this blog. It is about 11 minutes long as I was rambling quite a bit, but hopefully it will be helpful information to those people who aren't as tech savvy as myself.
Please let me know what you think. And if you have any good ideas on how I can improve my future video reviews let me know.
Friday, May 14, 2010
What ABC should do this fall
It is time for me to say what ABC, the current #3 network out of the big 4 networks, should do this fall.
Let's start with ABC's Strengths (note: I am excluding the "fading" shows):
Dancing With The Stars on Mondays (Fall & Spring) starting at 8PM
The Bachelor on Mondays (Winter season)
Castle on Mondays at 10PM
Modern Family on Wednesdays at 9PM
College Football Games on Saturdays in the Fall
and that is about it!!
Now I will mention the fading shows that ABC will have to put on the same nights because a move would probably kill them in the ratings:
Desperate Housewives on Sundays at 9PM
Brothers & Sisters on Sundays at 10PM
Rest of ABC's Comedy Wednesday Block
Grey's Anatomy on Thursdays at 9PM
Private Practice on Thursdays at 10PM
So here is what ABC should probably do each night of the week:
Sunday: Should be left alone since these shows would be hurt by a move to other nights.
Monday: Should stick to Dancing With the Stars in Fall & Spring with the Bachelor Edition in the Winter. Also should leave Castle in the 10PM slot.
Tuesday: This is the trickiest night to program for ABC because the Dancing With the Stars Results Show airs on this night part of the year and ABC has to deal with Lost not coming back and no new show with mass appeal to replace it with. ABC's best move would probably be to put the most buzzed new series here along with one or two other new shows that might be able to benefit from the buzz of the other show. They might also consider doing a news magazine-type program at 10PM on this night to take up one hour of the night.
Wednesday: They should stick with the comedy block with Modern Family as the 9PM show. At 10PM they will have to put a new drama there.
Thursday: They will have to stick with Grey's and Private Practice from 9PM-11PM because a move of either show would kill those shows. ABC might want to try another comedy block from 8PM - 9PM Thursdays next season.
Friday: They will have to stick to reality shows like Supernanny and to their 20/20 news magazine program on this night because scripted shows are doing very poor on Fridays for now.
Saturday: They should stick to College Football in Prime Time in the Fall, and Movies and repeats and low-rated shows finishing their unaired episodes after being canceled the rest of the year.
It appears ABC has not been able to break the "LOST Curse" yet. Every show launched with a Lost star in it has been a failure or has done poorly such as "The Unusuals", "Flash Forward", and "V".
What is interesting is that ABC is going to pick up V for like a half season order. My advice is to wait until around November to bring it back for a second season. That way they can release the new "V" series Season One on DVD during the early Fall so people can get caught up on all of the episodes, because this show seems promising, but it may take people several episodes to get really interested in the series because in my opinion the story was moving kind of slow at first.
So that is it for ABC. Next up will be FOX.
Let's start with ABC's Strengths (note: I am excluding the "fading" shows):
Dancing With The Stars on Mondays (Fall & Spring) starting at 8PM
The Bachelor on Mondays (Winter season)
Castle on Mondays at 10PM
Modern Family on Wednesdays at 9PM
College Football Games on Saturdays in the Fall
and that is about it!!
Now I will mention the fading shows that ABC will have to put on the same nights because a move would probably kill them in the ratings:
Desperate Housewives on Sundays at 9PM
Brothers & Sisters on Sundays at 10PM
Rest of ABC's Comedy Wednesday Block
Grey's Anatomy on Thursdays at 9PM
Private Practice on Thursdays at 10PM
So here is what ABC should probably do each night of the week:
Sunday: Should be left alone since these shows would be hurt by a move to other nights.
Monday: Should stick to Dancing With the Stars in Fall & Spring with the Bachelor Edition in the Winter. Also should leave Castle in the 10PM slot.
Tuesday: This is the trickiest night to program for ABC because the Dancing With the Stars Results Show airs on this night part of the year and ABC has to deal with Lost not coming back and no new show with mass appeal to replace it with. ABC's best move would probably be to put the most buzzed new series here along with one or two other new shows that might be able to benefit from the buzz of the other show. They might also consider doing a news magazine-type program at 10PM on this night to take up one hour of the night.
Wednesday: They should stick with the comedy block with Modern Family as the 9PM show. At 10PM they will have to put a new drama there.
Thursday: They will have to stick with Grey's and Private Practice from 9PM-11PM because a move of either show would kill those shows. ABC might want to try another comedy block from 8PM - 9PM Thursdays next season.
Friday: They will have to stick to reality shows like Supernanny and to their 20/20 news magazine program on this night because scripted shows are doing very poor on Fridays for now.
Saturday: They should stick to College Football in Prime Time in the Fall, and Movies and repeats and low-rated shows finishing their unaired episodes after being canceled the rest of the year.
It appears ABC has not been able to break the "LOST Curse" yet. Every show launched with a Lost star in it has been a failure or has done poorly such as "The Unusuals", "Flash Forward", and "V".
What is interesting is that ABC is going to pick up V for like a half season order. My advice is to wait until around November to bring it back for a second season. That way they can release the new "V" series Season One on DVD during the early Fall so people can get caught up on all of the episodes, because this show seems promising, but it may take people several episodes to get really interested in the series because in my opinion the story was moving kind of slow at first.
So that is it for ABC. Next up will be FOX.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
American Idol Top 4 Performance Show Report
Well last week I correctly guessed Aaron Kelly would be leaving over Casey James who had a bad week last week.
This week I agreed with Kara and Simon that the Duets were better than the Solos. I think they should strongly consider doing duets during earlier parts of the competition and on a more regular basis to mix things up next season should FOX decide to bring Idol back next season.
Lee was good vocally (like he would sound good on the radio), but I felt his stage presence was not nearly as good. He could be in a little danger this week, but I think he will probably be safe.
Michael was good again this week, but not really superb. I felt the judges this week were giving him bad advice about what songs he should be doing as an artist like they have done quite often this season with various contestants.
Casey, like Michael Burgi had mentioned a while back on Marc Berman's Programming Insider Podcast, is still being treated like a sex symbol when they started to call Kara "Mrs Robinson" from the movie "The Graduate." I felt Casey was too safe and predictable and laid back during this stage of the competition with only 4 people left.
Crystal, I thought had the best solo performance of the night this week (even though I am a Lee fan) based on both vocals and stage presence. She will likely be safe this week.
So I think the bottom 2 tonight will probably be Michael, who was good but not really great, and Casey who was just too laid back and didn't really try to do anything new.
Out of those two I think Casey will go this week.
Since I am predicting Casey to leave tonight, I am going to stick with my earlier Top 5 prediction for now.
This week I agreed with Kara and Simon that the Duets were better than the Solos. I think they should strongly consider doing duets during earlier parts of the competition and on a more regular basis to mix things up next season should FOX decide to bring Idol back next season.
Lee was good vocally (like he would sound good on the radio), but I felt his stage presence was not nearly as good. He could be in a little danger this week, but I think he will probably be safe.
Michael was good again this week, but not really superb. I felt the judges this week were giving him bad advice about what songs he should be doing as an artist like they have done quite often this season with various contestants.
Casey, like Michael Burgi had mentioned a while back on Marc Berman's Programming Insider Podcast, is still being treated like a sex symbol when they started to call Kara "Mrs Robinson" from the movie "The Graduate." I felt Casey was too safe and predictable and laid back during this stage of the competition with only 4 people left.
Crystal, I thought had the best solo performance of the night this week (even though I am a Lee fan) based on both vocals and stage presence. She will likely be safe this week.
So I think the bottom 2 tonight will probably be Michael, who was good but not really great, and Casey who was just too laid back and didn't really try to do anything new.
Out of those two I think Casey will go this week.
Since I am predicting Casey to leave tonight, I am going to stick with my earlier Top 5 prediction for now.
An Honest "VIDEO" Review of the Coby DP862 Digital Photo Frame
This is my first attempt on the Nathan's Road in WA Blog to do a "VIDEO" review of a product. For now it will be just pictures, as I am not ready to be on camera. If anyone out there watches this video review, please let me know what you think about it.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
20,000 and counting!!!
This is a blog entry that should NOT have been necessary.
What does the 20,000 represent? That is the number of votes (probably 99% of them were cast illegally) received so far by the highest "Kroger design a reusable bag" entry vote getter.
Kroger apparently is still in denial that the cheating is happening.
Now if I could just get another 19,992 votes for my "Let's Talk Renewable, Not Trash" bag design, I will be at 20,000 votes myself with the half dozen vote leaders. I know that is just very wishful thinking however!!
20,000
What does the 20,000 represent? That is the number of votes (probably 99% of them were cast illegally) received so far by the highest "Kroger design a reusable bag" entry vote getter.
Kroger apparently is still in denial that the cheating is happening.
Now if I could just get another 19,992 votes for my "Let's Talk Renewable, Not Trash" bag design, I will be at 20,000 votes myself with the half dozen vote leaders. I know that is just very wishful thinking however!!
Monday, May 10, 2010
What NBC should do this Fall
I had an awful Mother's Day Weekend, but I decided not to blog about it today. Maybe I will in the near future.
For now I want to talk about what 4th place NBC should do starting this Fall.
Let me point out their current strengths (The things they should leave alone):
Sunday Night Football in the Fall
Biggest Loser on for 2 Hours on Tuesday starting at 8PM
The Office on Thursdays (Poor ratings compared to the other networks but still a "strong" anchor for NBC's Thursday Comedy Block)
Dateline NBC for 2 Hours on Fridays starting at 8PM (Not great ratings for a weekly series but good ratings for a series on low rated Fridays.)
And that is about it!
Here is what NBC should do for each day of the week:
Sunday: Reduce Celebrity Apprentice down to one hour next season and put a new show or two in the other hours.
Monday: This is the night NBC could really improve on if they do the following. Do not bring back Heroes! Bring Chuck back mid-season for a small episode order to finish it up. Do not bring back Law & Order either! NBC will likely bring it back for one final season to beat the old Gunsmoke record. Nobody cares other than Dick Wolf & NBC whether it beats Gunsmoke's 20 season record. The advertisers are going to regret paying for ad time on another season of Law & Order when they see the ratings continuing to be around the 5 million range which is about what it does in repeats meaning nobody thinks of this show as must see TV anymore.
Tuesday: One of the nights NBC should actually leave as is.
Wednesday: Should be all new shows on this night.
Thursday: NBC should cancel the lowest rated comedy or maybe even two of them. Then move Law & Order: SVU to Thursdays at 10PM. It would be a risky move, but you got to put a better show on a more watched night to get ratings. Wednesday is not the night to put a buzz worthy show on the schedule in at least the 8PM hour as ratings results have clearly shown in the past season.
Friday: Another one of the nights NBC should actually leave as is.
Saturday: NBC has to stick with repeats here since they are in such bad shape.
But when Winter comes, NBC ought to consider playing around with their Tuesday & Wednesday schedules as Idol will likely be weaker in the ratings next year and should give NBC new opportunities on those nights to pick up viewers.
For now I want to talk about what 4th place NBC should do starting this Fall.
Let me point out their current strengths (The things they should leave alone):
Sunday Night Football in the Fall
Biggest Loser on for 2 Hours on Tuesday starting at 8PM
The Office on Thursdays (Poor ratings compared to the other networks but still a "strong" anchor for NBC's Thursday Comedy Block)
Dateline NBC for 2 Hours on Fridays starting at 8PM (Not great ratings for a weekly series but good ratings for a series on low rated Fridays.)
And that is about it!
Here is what NBC should do for each day of the week:
Sunday: Reduce Celebrity Apprentice down to one hour next season and put a new show or two in the other hours.
Monday: This is the night NBC could really improve on if they do the following. Do not bring back Heroes! Bring Chuck back mid-season for a small episode order to finish it up. Do not bring back Law & Order either! NBC will likely bring it back for one final season to beat the old Gunsmoke record. Nobody cares other than Dick Wolf & NBC whether it beats Gunsmoke's 20 season record. The advertisers are going to regret paying for ad time on another season of Law & Order when they see the ratings continuing to be around the 5 million range which is about what it does in repeats meaning nobody thinks of this show as must see TV anymore.
Tuesday: One of the nights NBC should actually leave as is.
Wednesday: Should be all new shows on this night.
Thursday: NBC should cancel the lowest rated comedy or maybe even two of them. Then move Law & Order: SVU to Thursdays at 10PM. It would be a risky move, but you got to put a better show on a more watched night to get ratings. Wednesday is not the night to put a buzz worthy show on the schedule in at least the 8PM hour as ratings results have clearly shown in the past season.
Friday: Another one of the nights NBC should actually leave as is.
Saturday: NBC has to stick with repeats here since they are in such bad shape.
But when Winter comes, NBC ought to consider playing around with their Tuesday & Wednesday schedules as Idol will likely be weaker in the ratings next year and should give NBC new opportunities on those nights to pick up viewers.
Friday, May 7, 2010
My comments about Kroger's Response to the Design A Reusable Bag Contest Rigging
OK, here is the e-mail response from Kroger:
Dear Nathan:
Thank you for contacting The Kroger Co. I understand your concern about the "Create a Bag" contest. Please be assured that we have done our best to prevent any cheating in this contest. I am forwarding your comments for review and consideration.
If you have any further concerns or comments please feel free to contact us at 800.576.4377.
Sincerely,
Christie Metropulos
Consumer Affairs
Reference: 8939704
CUSTOMER COMMENTS:
I am patiently waiting for Kroger to issue a statement that I can put in my blog.
This is regarding what Kroger is planning to do about the cheating by all the top vote getters in the 2010 Design a Reusable Bag Contest. I already sent an e-mail to Candice Kendrick of the Consumer Affairs Division to make her aware of this cheating but I have heard nothing back.
I don't want to keep telling my blog readers that Kroger hasn't issued a statement and that they have not done anything to stop the cheating by all of the top vote getters. This is because there are many good Kroger employees and I don't want to hurt their reputation along with the Kroger Brands.
But if the cheating continues, I have no choice but to let people know that the contest is not fairly picking winners.
Please respond ASAP so I can put something in the Blog saying that Kroger will delete those entries that are cheating or that Kroger will eliminate the voting in this contest.
End of E-Mail Message
So Kroger is basically saying that they are probably aware of the cheating in the contest and they try to convince the people who know the cheating is going on like myself that they are doing something about it, but they really can't do anything about it.
I never have voted for myself in this contest before the other day because I usually feel that it doesn't feel right to vote for yourself. I would rather have other people vote for me because they actually liked my "Let's Talk Renewable, Not Trash" design. I changed my mind to see if it is possible to vote more than the limit of once per day.
So I voted once and then I couldn't vote again. However, I was easily able to vote 3 more times in less than an hour using the same computer by changing program settings or using other cheap programs. I could have kept voting but only stopped because I was just curious to see how easy it was to keep voting for the same bag. That is how the top half dozen bags got over 10,000 votes total so far each is through people voting over and over in the same day using these rather easy methods. These cheaters can easily vote several hundred votes in one day instead of the single vote they are allowed that day.
Even with a thing to keep computers from voting over and over again by making you enter a number that a computer can't copy, it wouldn't take someone long to type in the numbers and re-vote again just seconds later.
So now I am debating whether I should cheat like the rest since Kroger can't seem to do anything about the cheating. Because all they really need to do is just delete the top vote getters to send the message to the cheaters.
If only I could get 10,000 people to vote for my bag daily, then my design would leave those cheaters in the dust. But that will never happen! So we shall have to wait and see if Kroger really does do the right thing and stop the contest cheating.
I want to disclose that I will continue to shop at their Fred Meyer stores though, because I feel it would be wrong to punish the employees of Kroger for bad decisions made at Kroger's Corporate Headquarters in Ohio. The store employees have nothing to do with this contest situation.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Sinatra Perfomance Show on American Idol Report
Last week Siobhan Magnus got the fewest number of votes and was eliminated instead of Lee DeWyze who I thought was in danger of going home last week, and I have been a big fan of his since the Top 24 performance episodes. Apparently people finally got tired of Siobhan screaming at the end of nearly every performance which made me think like she was a one trick pony.
This week was Frank Sinatra songs. I really enjoy some of Sinatra's lesser known songs.
I thought the judging this week was quite off on several contestants. I rarely agreed this week with what the judges had to say about the contestants.
Aaron: I thought he was way too old-fashioned for his performance based on the song choice and the clothing he had on. He just did not feel like a big star when he performed "Fly Me to the Moon" in my opinion. I thought the judges were being way too nice to him based on their comments.
Casey: I actually thought he was better than Aaron, but yet the judges seemed to be critical of his performance unlike the comments Aaron got.
Crystal: I thought she actually picked a good song "Summer Wind" which isn't a song that is usually picked in singing competitions for Sinatra songs. Kara made a good comment about how Crystal said the lines which is one of the very few times I agreed with her this week. In my honest opinion, I think Crystal actually did the best making this week's song sound contemporary, even better than Lee and I am a big Lee fan and not so much a Crystal fan!
Michael: I thought he was good, but not as good as the judges thought he was. I thought his performance was maybe a 7 out of 10 at best.
Lee: He was good and picked another good underused Sinatra song "That's Life", but with me being a big Sinatra fan, I actually thought that he didn't say the lyrics "That's Life" with the authority and expression that Frank Sinatra did it with. But he was still good even though I thought it wasn't his best.
Now I am sure Lee and Crystal will be safe. So the bottom 3 will definitely be Michael, Casey, and Aaron. I think Big Mike will be sent to safety first and will move on to next week.
Now I am torn on whether Casey or Aaron will leave Wednesday night. Casey is who everyone thinks is going to be eliminated tonight, and remember Aaron wasn't even in the bottom 3 last week.
However, I believe Tim Urban & Siobhan Magnus were not even in the bottom 3 the week before they left.
Therefore, I am going to lean towards Aaron going home, because I think America will feel sorry for Casey, and I think most of the Idol viewers are going to see Aaron as being too old fashioned like I did and vote for one of the other contestants this week instead of voting for Aaron again like they did last week.
Here is my revised order of how I think the Final 5 will finish since Siobhan who I had in 4th Place was eliminated instead of Aaron:
5th Place - Aaron Kelly
4th Place - Casey James
3rd Place - Michael Lynche
2nd Place - Crystal Bowersox
1st Place - Lee DeWyze
We shall see tonight if my pick Aaron does go, or if Casey the obvious choice goes instead. So stayed tuned!!
This week was Frank Sinatra songs. I really enjoy some of Sinatra's lesser known songs.
I thought the judging this week was quite off on several contestants. I rarely agreed this week with what the judges had to say about the contestants.
Aaron: I thought he was way too old-fashioned for his performance based on the song choice and the clothing he had on. He just did not feel like a big star when he performed "Fly Me to the Moon" in my opinion. I thought the judges were being way too nice to him based on their comments.
Casey: I actually thought he was better than Aaron, but yet the judges seemed to be critical of his performance unlike the comments Aaron got.
Crystal: I thought she actually picked a good song "Summer Wind" which isn't a song that is usually picked in singing competitions for Sinatra songs. Kara made a good comment about how Crystal said the lines which is one of the very few times I agreed with her this week. In my honest opinion, I think Crystal actually did the best making this week's song sound contemporary, even better than Lee and I am a big Lee fan and not so much a Crystal fan!
Michael: I thought he was good, but not as good as the judges thought he was. I thought his performance was maybe a 7 out of 10 at best.
Lee: He was good and picked another good underused Sinatra song "That's Life", but with me being a big Sinatra fan, I actually thought that he didn't say the lyrics "That's Life" with the authority and expression that Frank Sinatra did it with. But he was still good even though I thought it wasn't his best.
Now I am sure Lee and Crystal will be safe. So the bottom 3 will definitely be Michael, Casey, and Aaron. I think Big Mike will be sent to safety first and will move on to next week.
Now I am torn on whether Casey or Aaron will leave Wednesday night. Casey is who everyone thinks is going to be eliminated tonight, and remember Aaron wasn't even in the bottom 3 last week.
However, I believe Tim Urban & Siobhan Magnus were not even in the bottom 3 the week before they left.
Therefore, I am going to lean towards Aaron going home, because I think America will feel sorry for Casey, and I think most of the Idol viewers are going to see Aaron as being too old fashioned like I did and vote for one of the other contestants this week instead of voting for Aaron again like they did last week.
Here is my revised order of how I think the Final 5 will finish since Siobhan who I had in 4th Place was eliminated instead of Aaron:
5th Place - Aaron Kelly
4th Place - Casey James
3rd Place - Michael Lynche
2nd Place - Crystal Bowersox
1st Place - Lee DeWyze
We shall see tonight if my pick Aaron does go, or if Casey the obvious choice goes instead. So stayed tuned!!
Monday, May 3, 2010
What CBS should do this fall, & a Kroger update
First I want to mention that Kroger has not yet addressed the cheating scandal involving all of the top voted bags in this year's contest which involves a good 20 or more bag designs. I have not gotten any e-mail saying they will stop those cheating and the ones cheating are still cheating as I am writing this entry.
Well last night CBS had what they called a "Season Finale" of "Cold Case." Well Marc Berman of Mediaweek and myself both believe that "Cold Case" will be canceled later this month when CBS announces their fall line-up. That will mean "Cold Case" had their Series Finale instead of the Season Finale that it was advertised as.
I think CBS would actually be making a mistake to cancel "Cold Case" for the following reason. CBS has 3 CSI series in Prime Time. All 3 are down in the ratings this year. Even when they did the CSI crossover event this season, it didn't improve ratings by much. If they keep all 3 CSI series again next year which they most likely will do, they are going to cause the franchise more fatigue than it already has now. Marc Berman on the Programming Insider Podcast mentioned the possibility that CBS may wait until Mid-Season to bring back one of the CSI's.
Well my suggestion to CBS is to bring back CSI: Miami for a full season, move the original CSI to Tuesdays after NCIS while NCIS: LA would move to CSI's old slot on Thursdays. Then do a reduced order for CSI: NY and have new episodes in the Fall & Spring and have a reduced mid-season order of Cold Case take the Wednesday 10PM slot during the winter months. And if one of the new hour Dramas doesn't work out for CBS, they could just air CSI: NY repeats at Wed. at 10PM and use Cold Case to replace the struggling new hour show on the network.
So here are the shows that CBS is not going to mess with and will air in the same time slots next season in my opinion:
60 Minutes Sunday 7PM
Amazing Race Sunday 8PM
Big Bang Theory Monday 9:30PM but might move to 9PM if Two and a Half Men ends
CSI: Miami Monday 10PM
NCIS Tuesday 8PM
The Good Wife Tuesday 10PM
Criminal Minds Wednesday 9PM
CSI: NY Wednesday 10PM
Survivor Thursday 8PM
The Mentalist Thursday 10PM
Crime Drama Repeats Saturday 8-10PM
48 Hours Mysteries Saturday 9-11PM
These are the shows that CBS ought to move in my opinion:
CSI Tuesday 9PM
NCIS:LA Thursday 9PM
Ghost Whisperer Friday 9PM
Medium Friday 10PM
Here is where I would put the new one hour dramas:
Hawaii 5-0 Remake Sunday 9PM
Criminal Minds Spinoff Sunday 10PM
Another new drama Friday 8PM
By putting a new drama on Fridays at 8PM, and if it fails which is likely, CBS could easily bring in Cold Case as a replacement to start the night. So bottom line is CBS should think twice about canceling Cold Case.
And Numb3rs is all but dead from what I am hearing since one of the stars has apparently moved on to a new show pilot. That is why Numb3rs wasn't mentioned above.
Well last night CBS had what they called a "Season Finale" of "Cold Case." Well Marc Berman of Mediaweek and myself both believe that "Cold Case" will be canceled later this month when CBS announces their fall line-up. That will mean "Cold Case" had their Series Finale instead of the Season Finale that it was advertised as.
I think CBS would actually be making a mistake to cancel "Cold Case" for the following reason. CBS has 3 CSI series in Prime Time. All 3 are down in the ratings this year. Even when they did the CSI crossover event this season, it didn't improve ratings by much. If they keep all 3 CSI series again next year which they most likely will do, they are going to cause the franchise more fatigue than it already has now. Marc Berman on the Programming Insider Podcast mentioned the possibility that CBS may wait until Mid-Season to bring back one of the CSI's.
Well my suggestion to CBS is to bring back CSI: Miami for a full season, move the original CSI to Tuesdays after NCIS while NCIS: LA would move to CSI's old slot on Thursdays. Then do a reduced order for CSI: NY and have new episodes in the Fall & Spring and have a reduced mid-season order of Cold Case take the Wednesday 10PM slot during the winter months. And if one of the new hour Dramas doesn't work out for CBS, they could just air CSI: NY repeats at Wed. at 10PM and use Cold Case to replace the struggling new hour show on the network.
So here are the shows that CBS is not going to mess with and will air in the same time slots next season in my opinion:
60 Minutes Sunday 7PM
Amazing Race Sunday 8PM
Big Bang Theory Monday 9:30PM but might move to 9PM if Two and a Half Men ends
CSI: Miami Monday 10PM
NCIS Tuesday 8PM
The Good Wife Tuesday 10PM
Criminal Minds Wednesday 9PM
CSI: NY Wednesday 10PM
Survivor Thursday 8PM
The Mentalist Thursday 10PM
Crime Drama Repeats Saturday 8-10PM
48 Hours Mysteries Saturday 9-11PM
These are the shows that CBS ought to move in my opinion:
CSI Tuesday 9PM
NCIS:LA Thursday 9PM
Ghost Whisperer Friday 9PM
Medium Friday 10PM
Here is where I would put the new one hour dramas:
Hawaii 5-0 Remake Sunday 9PM
Criminal Minds Spinoff Sunday 10PM
Another new drama Friday 8PM
By putting a new drama on Fridays at 8PM, and if it fails which is likely, CBS could easily bring in Cold Case as a replacement to start the night. So bottom line is CBS should think twice about canceling Cold Case.
And Numb3rs is all but dead from what I am hearing since one of the stars has apparently moved on to a new show pilot. That is why Numb3rs wasn't mentioned above.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
