I'm becoming a crotchety old person

This morning, not even for the first time, I wrote in to complain about a newscast.

The story was about a local city pushing for a "soda-free summer". Anchor read, "To help people control their weight", and then clearly adding on his own, "Because they think YOU can't do it on your own...". Hello? Percent of noninstitutionalized adults age 20 years and over who are overweight or obese: 67% (2005-2006), Study predicts 75 percent overweight in US by 2015. So, Mr. Newscaster, your answer would be NO. Keep your opinions to yourself next time!

The other time was more annoying. In the afternoons there's this news/talk show on, a local thing. These people run stories on ghosts, psychics, astrology, etc in the same way they do real news stories, they treat them just as serious. They often have guests on from those areas and treat them as though these were 100% real things. It drives me insane! One day, after they had a guest on who explained how wearing the right crystals would help you find a better job, I emailed the show to let them know how insulting it was that the hosts treated this as real things. I mean really! Two grown adults were listening to the guest, nodding and smiling and asking what crystals show hosts should wear and crap like that!

The senior directory of programming wrote me back on that second one, but he didn't say more than "thanks for your comment".

AND YOU KIDS NEED TO GET THE HELL OFF MY LAWN

I'm becoming a crotchety old person

This morning, not even for the first time, I wrote in to complain about a newscast.

The story was about a local city pushing for a "soda-free summer". Anchor read, "To help people control their weight", and then clearly adding on his own, "Because they think YOU can't do it on your own...". Hello? Percent of noninstitutionalized adults age 20 years and over who are overweight or obese: 67% (2005-2006), Study predicts 75 percent overweight in US by 2015. So, Mr. Newscaster, your answer would be NO. Keep your opinions to yourself next time!

The other time was more annoying. In the afternoons there's this news/talk show on, a local thing. These people run stories on ghosts, psychics, astrology, etc in the same way they do real news stories, they treat them just as serious. They often have guests on from those areas and treat them as though these were 100% real things. It drives me insane! One day, after they had a guest on who explained how wearing the right crystals would help you find a better job, I emailed the show to let them know how insulting it was that the hosts treated this as real things. I mean really! Two grown adults were listening to the guest, nodding and smiling and asking what crystals show hosts should wear and crap like that!

The senior directory of programming wrote me back on that second one, but he didn't say more than "thanks for your comment".

AND YOU KIDS NEED TO GET THE HELL OFF MY LAWN

Mumble mumble iPad

For a fun little toy, the darned pad sure does bring a lot of annoyance into my life.

I had seen this as a joke around long before I bought it myself. How the heck does one carry the iPad? It's smaller than a magazine, so using something like a backpack (or, as it turns out, a messenger bag) is way overkill. It's way too big to fit into a purse.

I bought this messenger bag intending it to be just for the pad, but it's much too big as well. It's a really, really nice bag, I'm not going to return it, but it's way too big for day-to-day work use.

This Engineers' field bag military bag would be a better fit, but do I want to buy another bag for it? (Edit: I think I will. Looks like it'd be a good fit...) (Edit edit: Or maybe not. Olive drab is covered by Prime, so zero shipping. If I want the black (which I do), it's $10 more for shipping...)

As there's so little reception at work, I haven't even been taking it with me lately. Instead I try to read my LJ friends list at home before I go, then just ignore that the net exists while I'm at work.

The few times I take it, I've been carrying it with no bag (just its own "skin tight" case). This worries me though, as I have way more chance of dropping it. Supposedly you can drop it without issue, but I don't want to test that.

When I can get a signal with it, it's the best little toy ever. I took it with me to a doctor's appointment yesterday and they had free wifi. Made the wait seem like nothing at all!

I've googled, and it seems some people are sewing their own bags for it. I've not done any sewing in ages, but that actually seems like it might be the best option...

Mumble mumble iPad

For a fun little toy, the darned pad sure does bring a lot of annoyance into my life.

I had seen this as a joke around long before I bought it myself. How the heck does one carry the iPad? It's smaller than a magazine, so using something like a backpack (or, as it turns out, a messenger bag) is way overkill. It's way too big to fit into a purse.

I bought this messenger bag intending it to be just for the pad, but it's much too big as well. It's a really, really nice bag, I'm not going to return it, but it's way too big for day-to-day work use.

This Engineers' field bag military bag would be a better fit, but do I want to buy another bag for it? (Edit: I think I will. Looks like it'd be a good fit...) (Edit edit: Or maybe not. Olive drab is covered by Prime, so zero shipping. If I want the black (which I do), it's $10 more for shipping...)

As there's so little reception at work, I haven't even been taking it with me lately. Instead I try to read my LJ friends list at home before I go, then just ignore that the net exists while I'm at work.

The few times I take it, I've been carrying it with no bag (just its own "skin tight" case). This worries me though, as I have way more chance of dropping it. Supposedly you can drop it without issue, but I don't want to test that.

When I can get a signal with it, it's the best little toy ever. I took it with me to a doctor's appointment yesterday and they had free wifi. Made the wait seem like nothing at all!

I've googled, and it seems some people are sewing their own bags for it. I've not done any sewing in ages, but that actually seems like it might be the best option...

WoW being down = homesick for FFXI! // West Wing

WoW has been down for 16 or so hours now, almost eight hours longer than intended, which has given me lots of time to do other stuff. Pick lint off the carpet, balance my checkbook from 1994, count cans of soup in my kitchen...

Among other things, I've been looking through my FFXI screenshots. It's easy to do, since I have a directory of many hundred of them still online. For the first time since I left, I actually have a positive feeling towards the game, a real homesick feeling. Literally! Looking at screenshots of my house was what did it, but the more I looked, the more things that made me smile. Besieged! Man, I remember waiting up until 3 or 4 AM on work nights waiting for them! Going to work late, having "lunch" last four hours so I could catch one...

I know when I was playing I didn't have fun, and I know if I went back now I'd still feel the same*, but... I sure did have a great moghouse. :)

*I don't like XPing, I don't enjoy doing missions or things like Dynamis (did I spell that right?), the idea of the level cap being raised makes me sob, and I sure as heck didn't need more gil, so, really no reason for me to go back. :/

---

West Wing. I've been wanting to write about this show for a week, but it keeps never feeling like the right time. It's such a good show, I want to write the best post about it, but all I end up doing is going EEEEEEE IT'S SO GOOD EEEE, which doesn't make for a great post.

I'm near the end of the second season (five more seasons to go, thankfully!), and I don't think I've ever watched a better TV show. Every ep is amazing. Every character is amazing. This darned show can make me laugh and cry in the same hour! I mean seriously, laughing out loud and sobbing my eyes out!

If you're like me and somehow missed seeing it, GO FIND IT NOW. It's all-caps worthy! I'm dying to watch more, but I'm trying not to rush though it! I don't want it to end!

WoW being down = homesick for FFXI! // West Wing

WoW has been down for 16 or so hours now, almost eight hours longer than intended, which has given me lots of time to do other stuff. Pick lint off the carpet, balance my checkbook from 1994, count cans of soup in my kitchen...

Among other things, I've been looking through my FFXI screenshots. It's easy to do, since I have a directory of many hundred of them still online. For the first time since I left, I actually have a positive feeling towards the game, a real homesick feeling. Literally! Looking at screenshots of my house was what did it, but the more I looked, the more things that made me smile. Besieged! Man, I remember waiting up until 3 or 4 AM on work nights waiting for them! Going to work late, having "lunch" last four hours so I could catch one...

I know when I was playing I didn't have fun, and I know if I went back now I'd still feel the same*, but... I sure did have a great moghouse. :)

*I don't like XPing, I don't enjoy doing missions or things like Dynamis (did I spell that right?), the idea of the level cap being raised makes me sob, and I sure as heck didn't need more gil, so, really no reason for me to go back. :/

---

West Wing. I've been wanting to write about this show for a week, but it keeps never feeling like the right time. It's such a good show, I want to write the best post about it, but all I end up doing is going EEEEEEE IT'S SO GOOD EEEE, which doesn't make for a great post.

I'm near the end of the second season (five more seasons to go, thankfully!), and I don't think I've ever watched a better TV show. Every ep is amazing. Every character is amazing. This darned show can make me laugh and cry in the same hour! I mean seriously, laughing out loud and sobbing my eyes out!

If you're like me and somehow missed seeing it, GO FIND IT NOW. It's all-caps worthy! I'm dying to watch more, but I'm trying not to rush though it! I don't want it to end!