When chivalry is misunderstood

I've been surprised at how vehemently some people denounce acts of chivalry -- you know, actions such as helping a woman down some difficult steps or pulling her chair out when seating at a table. "Don't do it for a woman if you wouldn't do it for a man!" they say.

I understand the sentiment, but I think it's overreacting. People shouldn't take offense at these gestures. They're not meant to imply that the other person is incapable of walking down steps by themselves, or that they can't open their own doors. These are just social niceties and signs of respect.

I like what Carrie Lukas said in her article from the National Review Online:

Gentlemanly conduct isn't about women at all. It's about men and their sense of themselves. Paul Anderson continues to say that he would give up his seat to someone truly in need, such as the elderly, pregnant women, and the disabled. But that's not gentlemanly, that's just humane.

A man giving up his seat to a woman who he knows is equally capable of standing on her own is different. It's a gesture that doesn't (as some feminist suggest) imply women are weak. It's a simple show of respect. Respect not just for the woman, but also for himself. It shows that this man believes himself to be a gentleman and holds himself to high standards. Those standards are more important than enjoying the comfort of a seat on his morning commute.

Resurrecting chivalry begins by remembering why it's important. Chivalry is part of a civil world. Women should welcome gentlemanly gestures, and graciously accept them with a thank you. I'll start by thanking the men of the Titanic, who 96 years ago gave up their seats so that the women could live.

When HP fails to fix a laptop properly

This excerpt is from a letter that I once wrote, complaining about my HP laptop that required multiple repairs.

The fellow that I spoke to on HP’s tech support line instructed me to include a note with this computer, explaining what’s wrong with my computer. I explained the nature of this problem on the telephone, but just to be thorough:


• The computer does not power on. It is simply dead. Nothing I do causes it to turn on.

• This is the fourth time that this problem has occurred within the past year. The first time it happened, I took it back to CompUSA and the problem mysteriously disappeared. The second time, it took about two weeks to fix it. The third time around, it tooks 2½ months to effect repairs.

I am very deeply concerned about this situation. In effect, I have only been able to use it for about 75% of the past year, due to all the problems this thing has given me. Please, please get it back to me soon. This item cost me a huge amount of money, and if this continues to be a problem, then I will have to look to other companies for my future needs.

Joan Rivers needs to hear this

One Mary Kreutz posted this on Annie Duke's blog. I think that it's worth repeating.

To Joan Rivers,

I respected you before, but was so disappointed by your remarks equating or making an analogy about Annie Duke and Hitler. Those remarks are unforgivable in my view. Your remarks about Melissa being a “Wharton” grad and inferring that somehow it made her better than Annie showed even more your lack of class. I don’t really know the personal issues that caused you to show your hatred for Annie so much, but your remarks about Adolf Hitler (said over and over and even made worse by the implication that Annie was worse than Hitler), and the Wharton remark showed a real lack of class, self control and an even greater lack of caring for other people’s feelings. I know that you’ll say, “To hell with other people’s feelings,” but making money and being in the right place with the “right” people shouldn’t take away your compassion and humanity. I’m proud to say that I don’t and never desire to fit into your group. It’s a mean group. That type of group has brought America to its knees financially. You must be friends with the bankers that sit in their mansions and could care less about those that have lost their homes. Their personal greed and lack of morality seems to be your style. I’m sure you’ll continue to be their friends because they still have their mansions and money, and since ethics and morality don’t seem to be very important, they are your “peers”. Fortunately, most people that are wealthy are also ethical and moral. I’ve known many and I know that most do care and teach their children to remain responsible, caring and polite when challenged with things that don’t go their way. Few have celebrated rude, spoiled and bratty children. Their children have grown up showing those values-even those that have gone to Wharton. I teach first grade. You’re right, my students don’t fit into your group, and you may consider these 20 seven year olds not worthy. Their parents work hard, but they are just middle class, working poor and some at my school are homeless. I’ll try to continue teaching them that the words that come out of their mouths do matter, that sticks and stone hurt, but words hurt more. Sometimes, holding hurtful words is the hardest thing to do. The easiest thing is to blurt them out with no care or concern for what damage those words can cause. My kids said that being a hero means doing the right thing, when the right thing is the hardest thing to do and the wrong thing would be the easiest. My second graders gave that definition. They may never be “Wharton” grads, but I am happy to be in their world. They make me proud. They care about others and don’t judge others by how much money they make, who they know, what they wear or how pretty or thin they are. The best part is that when they do something nice for someone, it’s not done to promote themselves. I hope that you learn that before it’s too late. Your grandchildren need to know that. It’s never to late to learn. I know that I will be learning long after I am 75, God willing. The only good thing out of this show this year is that good causes will get money. Your group will get a lot of laughs and I cringe at what the young people will learn from what they’ve heard. The one thing that I know, and this is for QVC- I’ve spent thousands and thousands of dollars with QVC, but that has changed this month. I will never buy another thing from Joan or Melissa’s. It won’t mean much in the long run, but at least I’ll be able to sleep at night.

Trump and Respect

I just watched a season two episode of "The Apprentice" (episode four, in fact) in which Trump said, "People have to respect you or you cannot be a leader."

Well, after turning his TV show into a parody of its former self, after making all sorts of capricious firings, after repeatedly ignoring his own rules for evaluating his TV show candidates, and after hiring Joan Rivers in defiance of all logic -- not to mention his behavior with regard to Rosie O'Donnell -- I don't see how he can expect people to respect him.

Really.

A documentation sample

Here is the introduction to some documentation that I once wrote. The formatting is awry because I cut and paste this from the original Word file, and some of the formatting (the table, in particular) was lost.

Wafer transfers are done through the use of stations – that is, user-specified locations at which the wafers are to be picked or placed. These stations can be wafer cassettes, prealigner chucks, or any other location where a wafer might normally reside. Each station is identified by the following set of parameters which determine where and how the wafer is to be picked up or set down, and how the robot should scan for their presence.


Station Parameters
Radial (mm) The radial position (i.e. the R-axis position) at which the robot would pick up the wafer or set it down.
Theta (deg) The rotational angle (i.e. the -axis position) at which the robot would pick up the wafer or set it down.
Z (mm) The height (i.e. the Z-axis position) at which the robot would enter the station to set down the bottommost wafer. Equivalently, this is also the height at which it would retract from the station when picking up the bottommost wafer.
Z offset (mm) A parameter used by the pick/place routines for certain end-effectors. When using the ROB310 vacuum gripper, its value should be set to zero.
Pitch (mm) The vertical distance between consecutive wafers in a multi-slot station. This distance is measured between the bottom surfaces of each wafer.
Stroke (mm) The vertical distance that the robot moves when the arm is extended and picking or placing the wafer. Its value should be less than that of the pitch.
Retract (mm) The R-axis position to which the robot should retract after grasping a wafer. This is also the position to which the R-axis would retract before rotating to the station for a pick or place move.
End-effector option An integer designating the end-effector to be used (typically 0 or 1).
Slots The number of slots at the station in question.
Pick/Place Vel (mm/s) The maximum velocity to be used during the vertical stroke, when picking or placing a wafer.
Pick/Place Accel (mm/s2) The maximum acceleration to be used during the vertical stroke, when picking or placing a wafer.
Radial per Slot (mm) A parameter for compensating for stations that are tilted from the vertical axis. In most situations, this should be set to zero.
Scan Radial (mm) The R-axis position to be used for scanning the wafers. This value should be selected so as to place the wafer mapping sensor at an optimal distance from the wafers.
Scan Z (mm) The height at which the robot begins its upward scan movement
Scan Velocity (mm/s) The maximum vertical velocity to be used when scanning a station.
Scan Acceleration (mm/s2) The vertical acceleration limit to be used when scanning a station.
Scan Radial Offset (mm) A parameter which allows the robot to use two different radial positions for the upward and downward scans. This value should typically be set to zero.
Scan Theta Offset (deg) A parameter which permits two different rotational positions to be used for the upward and downward scans. This should typically be non-zero.
Scan Above (% of pitch) One of the parameters used for identifying cross-slotted wafers
Scan Below (% of pitch) One of the parameters used for identifying cross-slotted wafers
Scan Thick (% of pitch) A parameter used for identifying double- and cross-slotted wafers

Joan Rivers is wacko

Joan Rivers has conducted herself very poorly on "The Celebrity Apprentice." Frankly, she is giving us plenty of reasons not to respect her conduct as a businesswoman. She has competence and business savvy, but she does a poor job of dealing with people.

I like the following comment that someone on TWOP made about the elder Ms. Rivers:

Whether I like her or not, I have to respect her business sense. She's also a contradiction, because she often seems stuck in a different decade ("poker players are trash"...she's probably recalling her performing days in the 50s and 60s), and yet she's always been known for her crudeness & brash humor, even back when that was frowned upon for anyone, male or female. She tries desparately to be 'current' and yet she isn't.

Also the following:

The Brande arc really bothered me. Joan said that if Brande looked like Joan, she wouldn't still be sitting there... but the truth is, that if Brande didn't look like Brande, no one would have been calling her "dumb." The stereotype that a blonde woman with big boobs is dumb is offensive and unacceptable. Brande was no stupider than anyone else there! In fact, she defended herself very effectively and articulately several times. Jesse sat there like a post half the time, and no one called him dumb. Dennis Rodman needed friggin' captions to know what the hell he was talking about, and no one would have dared to call him dumb. But it's perfectly fine to throw around the word "dumb blonde" for Brande, to the point where Piers thought it would be an embarrassment for her to win? Really? On this show, THAT would be the embarrassment?

Abs

Gotta work on my abs. I am so disappointed in how weak my abs can be... and I'm in pretty darned good shape. Yikes.

Incidentally, I'm sick and tired of people saying, "Oh, take it easy with those workouts! You don't want to look like Arnold." These people have NO IDEA how difficult it is to reach bodybuilder levels. It's very difficult to do without being a full-time gym rat and without using steroids.

Ladd and the Angels

I was watching this "Best of Charlies Angels" DVD that covered episodes from the first season. Actually, I mostly skimmed through it. The women were beautiful, but the storylines were forgettable and the dialogue was positively horrible. ("I am not a yo-yo!" said Farrah. Ugh!)

Besides, I liked Cheryl Ladd best of all. Here are a few shots from a very early appearance of hers prior to her days as Kris Munroe.

Have you seen this?

Holy cow! Have you seen this? This has got to be one of the top late night talk show moments of all time -- and I remember watching it in its original broadcast.

I'm talking about the time when Debra Winger discussed her old Wonder Girl role with David Letterman. At the end of that interview, she quickly changed into her old duds and then ran out of the studio. The studio audience went wild!

And so did I.

eBay

I ordered an item off eBay, but after one month, I had not heard back from the vendor. This was despite multiple attempts at contacting them.

On my third attempt, I reminded them that I'd like to leave positive feedback if I can. I received this response:

Thank you for your purchase.

This order did not go out yet. There is a chance that it was misplaced in our inventory (we stock several thousand items on our shelves). I did personally find the order, pack it and ship it yesterday (Tuesday). You should receive it tomorrow (Thursday). It shipped via USPS Priority Mail.

I really do apologize for the inconvenience. We sell a lot of misc. surplus equipment (I have approximately 5000 listings on eBay). And stuff like this can slip by me sometimes.

We always try to avoid negative and/or neutral feedback (since eBay counts neutrals as negatives now). If you have any further issues, please contact me directly.
Feel free to call or email if you have any other questions.

This puts me in a quandry. I don't buy their excuse, since I did repeatedly contact them. On the other hand, I know that eBay is charging higher fees for vendors nowadays when they receive negative feedback. I don't want to discourage people from using eBay, so perhaps I'll just decline to offer any feedback. Sigh.

The Price is Right

I caught some video clips of "The Price is Right" on YouTube recently. The one that stands out the most is this clip from a recent Drew Carey episode where some hysterical woman apparently has trouble with basic math.

You know how four contestants are required to estimate the cost of an item without going over? Whoever gets the closest bid without going over wins the chance to compete for more prizes. Well, this lady decided to bid $1 *LESS* than the woman behind her -- the worst possible strategy, short of deliberately overbidding. What's more, when Drew called out the actual price, she went hysterical, thinking that she had won, and then proceeded to excitedly go up on stage. What an embarassment it was for her to be told that she didn't win.

I have to wonder... Did she have a mental glitch, or was she really just that bad at math?

Speaking of "The Price is Right," there's a "Best of..." DVD set with various classic Bob Barker episodes, plus some from his last week of hosting. Personally, I'd rather see some episodes with the luminously lovely Chantel Dubay, but she was only on the show for a couple of years.

Yet another Locrian example

By now, there should be no doubt that this Locrian character thinks like a six-year-old and that he has no regard for the welfare of other people. He pretty much acts like scum.

Just to hammer the point home though, here's another example of what he said:

Last year in Van Nuys, CA (little Mexico, as some call it), it was Easter Sunday. On a corner near Van Nuys Bl, there was some tie up at a light. On the corner was a man with one o' them ancient speakers around his neck with a mike attached. He was spouting in Latin American Spanish about Jesus. With each sentence, I held my horn, drowning out his distorted testimony. He got REAL angry after about five straight minutes of this, dropped his pamphlets and ran towards my car. I rolled down my window and we started arguing (me in English him in Spanish, so it wasn't really going anywhere )

A cop on a bicycle saw him run towards me and interceded, pulling the yelling gentleman away. I said, "It's alright, officer." He asked me why all the noise with the horn. I said, "I was drowning him out." He reminded me it was Easter Sunday and I replied with, "So?" He told me to just drive ahead when the lane's clear. I said thank you. (Thank goodness I wasn't in Burbank, CA, but there, the only Spanish people allowed are ones cleaning homes.) When I drove off, I did a little polite, donk-donk, with the horn and politely waved to them man who put the mike/speaker back on. He politely waved back too.

So, no fight, no tickets, no harm, no foul to either of us. I just thought if he should witness in public, I should disagree in public.

So the guy had no problem making a public nuisance of himself, and why? Just because he didn't want to hear a street preacher. This fella is a child, plain and simple.

Locrian: Is this guy for real?

This Locrian fella is almost too twisted to be real. Here's an example of something he said.

Somebody asked, "So, 'Would you please not say that around me?' is rude?"

His reply? "I really do think it's rude. Especially from an adult. 'O, wuld yooo pease not say around me?(Baby voice)' Ugh. I'd say, we're in public, rosary gripper. The best reply is, 'Then don't be around me.'"

He honestly sees no problem with pretending that these people are spouting baby jabber? And he has the temerity to impugn their maturity?

The guy is a jerk and he knows it. He just tries to take the moral high ground, even as he's fully aware that he's behaving in almost the most obnoxious manner possible.

Here is how politeness is demonstrated

Now here is an example of a polite reply (referencing previous posts). This is from another fella's contribution to that discussion thread.

This happened to me at work. I was working on a project with a guy. I said "Christ on a bike" at one point. He visibly winced, and said "please don't say that - I find it really offensive". I said "Oh sorry, didn't realise" and never said anything similar in his presence again.

Short, simple conversation.

It doesn't take much to make little adjustments to ensure we all get on in the workplace.

What is wrong with people who just don't get it? Who think that the only appropriate response is to be a grade-A jackass?

As another person said,

Of course I would. Doing otherwise would be what's called, by those of us who like this whole 'politeness' thing, 'being a raging a**hole'.

Another Locrian gem

Good grief. Here's another gem from that Locrian fella.

With regard to people who believe in God and ask that he refrain from using God's name in his swearing, he said,

[I]sn't it MY responsibility to reply with, "Jesus never existed", or "there's no god, sweetie"? I always add the "sweetie" in my reply to them. In essence, they are children. What would be offensive about showing this person there's an alternative?

So he thinks that he should show people that there's an alternative. (Nothing wrong with that per se. And he apparently thinks that this gives him free license to state things with a complete lack of tact or diplomacy. Sheesh.

And he feels perfectly comfortable in regarding them as little children. That says a lot more about his own childishness than anything else.

He then goes on to say,

Basically, if I utter, "Jesus Christ", and I'm told I'm offending them, please realize that I AM VERY offended that they believe such nonsense. Maybe we can have a truce: I'll never take your fictitious god's name in vain, and that person will never mention anything religious around me. Wait-- wasn't that in the Constitution?

The guy just takes complete delight in being as obnoxious as possible, doesn't he?

Locrian and people's motives

Continuing my previous ruminations...

To say that these people (those who ask that one avoid swearing with God's name) must just be trying to get points from the big guy is simply obnoxious. Even if we grant that they're trying to save you from hell (which is surely not their motivation, at least not in this case), isn't it possible that this is simply out of genuine concern? Heck, if a Moslem were to try to evangelize me, I wouldn't assume that he's just sucking up to Allah. I'd assume that he's acting out of genuine concern, even if I disagree with his beliefs.

The thing is, it's not enough for some people to simply disagree with one's polite request. No, they have to ascribe the vilest of motives to that person first, even in the absence of any evidence for such motives. It's simply reprehensible. Even if you disagree with that person, why not give the benefit of the doubt?

BTW, it's also foolish of Locrian to think that when someone asks him to avoid swearing using God's name, it's because they think they need to keep him from uttering such words lest he fall into Hell.

After all, some people are just uncomfortable with that kind of langauge. Also, if people really feel some sort of devotion to God, perhaps they don't like his name being used disrespectfully. To paraphrase another person, "I had a teacher who took us to watch 'Meet the Parents' on a free day. She never said anything in order to 'get points from the big guy,' but she winced a little when the phrase 'goddammit' was said."

This Locrian guy is a real piece of work

I came across this message board that had some real colorful characters. One was a fella by the name of Locrian, and he's a really interesting individual. I don't mean that in a positive way.

Somebody posed the following question (and I paraphrase): "If somebody were to ask you not to take God's name in vain in their presence, would you agree to do so?" Most of the respondents -- whether theist or atheist -- said that they would; after all, it was a minor inconvenience, and it's just good manners.

This Locrian fella took an extreme view, though. Here is his response:

Absolutely NOT. Most likely, if the request WAS polite, I feel it's my duty to politely request the complainer to stop believing in just bullshit. I would counter request that they actually go home and read their bible, beginning to end and quiz them the next day to see if they really had. If they DO read it, they wouldn't need religion, if they didn't I'd tell them that they really weren't a believer anyway.

People who request such a thing are only making their own version of their religion, like all so-called believers do. They're most likely thinking, "I'll get points from the big guy if I make someone stop.", or "If I allow this person to keep saying this, I'LL GO TO HELL!!!"

I really don't think it's polite to even believe in it, or smart, or responsible.

Now that's just needlessly abrasive. Even if you don't agree with their beliefs, only a first-class jackass would say that it's his duty to "politely request the complainer to stop believing in just bullshit." (Hey, I do think we sometimes have a duty to correct other people, but not in that way!)

This guy claims to be somewhat mature (in one thread, he was talking about a driving experience), but he comes across as a hostile ten-year-old.

Joan Rivers is a nutjob on "Celebrity Apprentice"

Okay, so I'm watching the latest episode of "Celebrity Apprentice." Joan Rivers is out of control and out of her gourd. She needs a few dozen chill pills -- stat!

What a nutjob. Her criticisms of Annie Duke were completely over the top. Watching her flip out was just painful to watch. Argh.

Is that how she behaves in real life? The woman must be utterly unstable.

Yeow.

I do like Annie Duke. Obviously, a lot of other people like her, as evidenced by the number of outsiders who are willing to fly in just to help her. I wish that she'd stop swearing so much, though. It simply isn't necessary.

Cell phone users on the road

Once again, I had to deal with a motorist who was crawling along at a snail's pace. Upon passing her, I found out that she was gabbing away on her cell phone.

I should have guessed. If you can't keep pace with the traffic, then put the phone down, lady! Either that or pull over. Sheesh.

What's the big deal? Quite simply, not only is she inconveniencing othet motorists, she's also creating a road hazard by slowing down so much. Argh.

Buy Google stock!

I'm serious. If you're smart, you're going to buy Google stock right now!

It is severely undervalued and worth a lot more than it is selling for. Morningstar gives it a five star rating, and for good reason. Its value is bound to keep increasing, and increasing, and increasing.

Let's face it; nobody is going to topple Google. Not anytime soon, at least. Yahoo? Not strong eough. MSN? Left in the dust. Altavista? Don't make me laugh.

Give 'em a shot. Their ticker symbol is GOOG. Easy to remember, right? Do it now.

Senile dementia

I keep hearing stories about people who suffer from Alzheimer's disease. I really hate to hear these stories.

It's a sad, sad thing to see someone's mind just deteriorate away. I remember hearing storis about my grandfather and what it was like for him. I earnestly hope that I never have to deal with it myself, and that none of my family members ever have to suffer in that manner. You need to have wellsprings of patience to cope with situations like that.

What a terrible, terrible state to find one's self in.

Well, it's tax day

It's that time of the year again. It's the deadline for filing one's federal and state income tax returns. Whoopee.

Actually, I'm fortunate in that I'm receiving a rather large refund. Still, I hate the amount of work that goes into computing one's taxes. I also hate all the documentation required, not to mention the amount of tax I have to pay.

It'd be different if the government were run in a cost-efficient way. There's just so much wastage though, largely because of bureaucracy, incompetence, and taking on too many programs that should have been left to the private sector. Terrific.

And now some people want to increase taxes on those who are in the best possible position to create jobs. I'm concerned that this will drive those companies and their jobs overseas.

More on Wendy and Marvin

A bit more on the "Wonder Twins Phenomenon" feature.

One of those talking heads commented on Wendy and Marvin of the original SuperFriends. He said that Marvin at least tried, on the grounds that he wore a superhero outfit. Wendy just wore street clothes.

I think he had it backwards. Oh, they both tried to be heroes, and they both made valuable contributions despite their lack of powers. Marvin was delusional though, having an overly inflated sense of his abilities. Wendy was heroic, but she understood that she didn't need to wear a costume in order to be a hero.

The Wonder Twins Phenomenon

So I borrowed this Super Friends DVD from Netflix. It had one special feature on it: "The Wonder Twins Phenomenon." I groaned; after all, the Wonder Twins were incredibly stupid characters who almost never used their powers effectively. What kind of phenomenon was that?

To my relief though, the commentators did lay down a lot of snark. They commented on how they should have been nearly undefeatable but usually changed into the same three or four forms each time. They also commented on Gleek's stupid name and his mysteriously appearing bucket.

"Zan could be beaten by a roll of paper towels." That's funny. Funnier than the laughing fadeouts that Gleek invariably produced, and which the talking heads in this feature rightfully mocked.

They also made comments about Wendy and Marvin, the predecessors of the twins. I think that Wendy and Marvin have been unfairly maligned, but the talking heads were right to point out that there wasn't any good reason for these two to hang around the heroes.

Putting your heart into exercise

I don't mind it when people struggle through the cardio classes at my gym if they are clearly concentrating and putting in a lot of effort. In fact, I've often offered them words or gestures of encouragement. Everyone has to start somewhere, after all, and some of these folks are clearly filled with determination.

However, you've also got people who keep attending the class and cannot do the moves at all. Now I don't want to be cruel, especially since some people are in really bad shape and need to catch up. I also know that some people have non-obvious disabilities. However -- and again, I want to be careful in saying this -- it seems to me that if you can barely lift your feet above the ground, you should probably try some walking or light jogging first before attending a vigorous kickboxing class. I'm not saying this to mock people who do struggle; rather, the reality is that people won't get much benefit from the class if the moves are far beyond what they can do. Better to start off slow, then.

Also, if you have a hard time following the class instructions -- if you keep stepping to the right while everyone else is jumping to the left, for example -- you might want to practice at home before joining a group class. I know that sounds mean, but this is ultimately a safety issue. That, and the fact that you'll probably get more benefits from self-directed exercise anyway, since it lets you focus on the areas in which you have difficulty.

I hope that none of that sounds too harsh. Believe me, there was a time when I was in bad shape and horribly uncoordinated as well. I got better with time though, and so can most people.

Stupid things that kids do

I just read a story about a kid who had shoved a bean up his nostril and let it sprout.

Now I realize that children don't have the same amount of sense as adults; however, you have to wonder about the mind-numbing foolishness of any child who would do such a thing. Shoving the bean in there has got to hurt, and so why would any kid willfully endure it?

On a lesser note, I'm reminded of old classmates of mine who would eat the free toothpaste samples that we received at church. They wouldn't brush with the stuff; no, they'd EAT the toothpaste. Now that's just stupid as well. Just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should.

Wearing a jacket during cardio boot camp class

There's this woman who joined our cardio bootcamp class. She was heavily dressed; that is, she had a thick jacket on. The rest of us were doing jumping jacks, high knee raises, lunges, and other high-intensity activities. She tried to join in, but could barely even throw a punch.

Now, I don't mind that she couldn't keep up; after all, everyone has to start somewhere. I have to wonder, though... if she had such a hard time performing these movies, then why didn't she at least take her jacket off? You'd think that would have been the common sense thing to do.

Ya just have to wonder about some people.

SuperFriends -- what a dumb bunch of cartoons!

I'm watching some old episodes of the SuperFriends on DVD. What a stupid, stupid show! Or more accurately, what a stupid show this was in its various incarnations. The dialog was stilted, the plots were usually paper-thin, the villians were cartoonish, and the way that these heroes used their powers was usually laughable.

I especially hated the way Robin was frequently portrayed as a victim, and how the Bat-duo would invariably have some sort of outlandish gadgets in their boots or utility belts. Ugh.

The very first series was much better, mind you. In the original SuperFriends series, the heroes used their abilities wisely. They were portrayed as having brains (especially Wonder Woman and Aquaman). What's more, Batman and Robin didn't have to rely on an excess of Bat-paraphernalia. (I remember one episode in which they had to slide down some ski lift cables. Did they pull out some Bat-puller or Bat-cable car? No, they just used their batarangs. Sadly, such simplicity was abandoned in favor of increasingly ridiculous gadgetry.)

He was at it again

Remember that guy I mentioned from the gym? The one who keeps bringing up idiotic topics of conversation in the locker room? He was at it again. Once again, he was spouting nonsense about how foreigners don't have to pay income tax for seven years if they come to the USA to work.

Where do people get this sort of nonsense? That's what happens when they rely on gossip and water cooler conversations to educate themselves on the nuances of taxation and immigration law.

I've met some very nice people at the gym. I've also encountered some incredible yahoos. He is one of the latter.