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.
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