Just trying to clarify…


Submitted via webform to VO5.com, Alberto.com, & the Unilever US & UK sites.  Maybe I’ll get an answer eventually…

Hello Good Citizens of Earth,

I write to you today with questions about your VO5 clarifying shampoo. I have been using one of the vanilla-smelling Tea Therapy shampoos in a frosted bottle that clearly says “CLARIFYING” on the front.

While I find that the product feels great, was a ridiculously low price, and cleans my hair remarkably well (and my wife likes the smell), I believe that the product label may be misleading. I have used over half of the bottle, and I cannot see through my hair at all yet. It is most definitely not clear, and I deduce thusly that it has indeed not been clarified.

You see, my plan is to become completely invisible as soon as possible, in order to further orchestrate my plan for total world (and lunar) domination.

I had hoped that the clarifying shampoo would take care of my hair, and then I would be able to get something else to cover the rest of my body. Perhaps I could obtain that new invisible jacket that has popped up in the news. I shall set my minions upon research for that. But in the mean time… Do I need to use the entire bottle before any clarifying effects take place?

Any assistance or insight that you may offer would prove extremely valuable, and bode well for your company under my eventual complete control of the world (and moon). Once the planet is mine, I can ensure that VO5 products are the only legal hair care products in the world, and the first to be used on the moon!

Thank you for your time in reading my query and addressing the concerns of your future emperor of the Earth (and moon). I look forward to your response and expected cooperation.

Inquisitively,
-Waldo Lunar
W(aL)D.

This is an old one that I never got a response from, so I tried again.  With some help from Twitter.

https://twitter.com/#!/W_a_L_D/status/164815268164542464

https://twitter.com/#!/VO5ExtremeStyle/status/165006779279884288

I did get these so far…

From: <do-not-reply@vo5.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 1, 2012
Subject: Thank you for contacting VO5
To: world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com

Thank you for contacting VO5.

Your correspondence is important to us. Your message has been directed to the appropriate person. If a response is required one will be sent to you shortly. As this is an automated response, please do not reply to this email.

Which roughly translates to “Blah blah blah blah blah.”

From: <UnileverTeam@unilever.com>
Date: Thu, Feb 2, 2012
Subject: Thank you for your message
To: world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for contacting Unilever.

Your message will be directed to the appropriate Unilever expert with immediate effect. We try to answer all communications as soon as possible, but please note that in certain cases this may take up to three weeks.

As this is an automated response, please do not reply to this email. However be assured that you will receive a personal reply in due course.

Kind regards,
Customer liaison team Unilever

Which roughly translates to “Blah blah blimey blah blah blah.”

♩♫ Where have all the Quiznos gone? ♬♪


Some people are no fun.  Quiznos pretty much refuses to write back to this:

Salutations Sandwich Sultans!

♩♫ Where have all the Quiznos gone? ♬♪  (I imagined that in my head as sung like that “Where Have all the Cowboys Gone” song from the 90’s. – Hopefully you did too!)

I live in & around Pittsburgh PA, and all the Quiznos locations seem to have dried up.  At one point we were over-saturated, then poof!  They were all gone.

What happened?  Was it too easy to open a Quiznos?  Are they deceptively hard to run for a profit?  Is it hard to find good workers?  Certainly you have a better product than Subway and there aren’t many Jimmy John’s, Jersey Mike’s, or Firehouse Subs in the area (yet).

I ask only because I keep receiving emails asking me to come eat at Quiznos… yet there aren’t any near where I live or work, thus eliminating weekday lunch or dinner visits.  This doesn’t discount weekends, but I also don’t find myself near any Quiznos locations when I’m out & about.

This brings me back to by original query; ♩♫ Where have all the Quiznos gone? ♬♪  (Did you hear it this time?)

Inquisitively,
-Waldo

Quiznos

♩♫ Where have all the Quiznos gone? ♬♪

Really, what happened?  That’s all I want to know.  They are actual legitimate (if slightly embarrassing) questions.

I’ve submitted this to their contact form, and haven’t received a reply.  I sent it to some email addresses I had for Quiznos employees, and it bounced back.

They didn’t really answer well via Twitter, as they couldn’t get my whole letter:

https://twitter.com/#!/W_a_L_D/status/162938645433688064

https://twitter.com/#!/Quiznos/status/162940367585546240

https://twitter.com/#!/W_a_L_D/status/164450783432155136

…and no reply to that last one.  So, I tweeted at a Quiznos that responded with a valid corporate email address…

https://twitter.com/#!/W_a_L_D/status/164794357063487490

https://twitter.com/#!/QuiznosRSM/status/164936161679257600

https://twitter.com/#!/W_a_L_D/status/165059805118083072

https://twitter.com/#!/QuiznosRSM/status/165117413602496512

https://twitter.com/#!/W_a_L_D/status/165164293313150976

…and I got an error message that bounced back saying the following:

Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

helpdesk@myquiznos.com

Technical details of permanent failure:
Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 550 550 5.7.1 <helpdesk@myquiznos.com>: Relay access denied. (state 14).

Weird.  That message (according to a quick Google search) sort of tells me I’ve been marked as spam.  I tired sending from a different email address, but got the same thing.  I may have to print & mail this one.  I wonder if even that will garner a response?

And, I liked Quiznos…

How to Solve a Maze With Photoshop…


Similar steps/tools would work in GIMP or paint.NET if you don’t have Photoshop, but check this out:

…unfortunately it won’t work on the mazes I draw, as you can’t just select one side.  They’re all connected.  If anyone can come up with a similar way to solve my mazes, I’d really dig it.

Zero8


Zero8 | Resto-Bar

Restaurant sans allergène

I’m going to need to get my passport, a long weekend, and maybe even a French/English dictionary so I can drive to Montreal and have several meals at my new ideal vacation destination: Zero8

I just learned of the wonderful existence of Zero8 thanks to the ever informative Allergy Eats Blog.  Paul at Allergy Eats is always on top of current allergy issues with restaurants (like recent fast-food menu changes), and it’s great to see that a restaurant like this even exists in the first place.  What’s their deal?

Well, they are free of the top 8 allergens, plus a few other things… and seem to be extremely sensitive to the needs of those with food allergies, food intolerances, and celiac disease.  This quote alone from their “Learn More” page is really incredibly comforting:

As everyone suffering from food allergies knows, going to the restaurant with family, friends or colleagues is not always enjoyable: limited knowledge of the ingredients used in dishes, fear of cross-contamination, lack of confidence in the staff are some of the worries that can come with ordering a simple meal!

A food allergy cannot be taken lightly. Difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, inflammation and vomiting are some of the extreme reactions that the immune system can have when confronted with a food protein. The consequences can be dramatic. Serious allergies can cause an anaphylactic shock, a violent reaction that can cause loss of consciousness and sometimes death.

At Zero8 we offer a secure environment where you can eat with confidence. We guarantee a worry-free meal!

…And something more restaurants ought to understand, express, & practice.  Or at least this could translate to other restaurants:

Since most food allergies are caused by the 9 priority allergens, you may be allergic to other foods. That is why we identify all of the ingredients in our dishes on our menu and that the list of our kitchen’s authorized ingredients is available upon request at any time. Whenever possible, we try to accommodate our clients’ requests in adapting dishes to their particular needs.

Zero8 pays attention to your needs!

Is that too much to ask?

I have no idea why Canada seems to be light-years ahead of the United States where food allergies are concerned.  They have better legislation, tolerance for epi-pens, and awareness.

Chefs in the US need to get behind this!  If there was a place like this in Pittsburgh, you could bet I’d be there all the time and I’d tell all my friends & family about the place.  There were a ton of Pittsburghers at the Food Allergy Walk last year, you have your clientele ready!

Click the Allergy Eats Blog logo to read about Paul’s experience there!

Allergy Eats Blog

Pepto’s #GotUCovered


Heh.  Sorry for the TMI.  If this bothers you, be glad you didn’t see my delirious lack-of-sleep & fever-induced Facebook post yesterday.

https://twitter.com/#!/Pepto/status/164075607032999936

https://twitter.com/#!/AiXeLsyD13/status/164345237425242112

https://twitter.com/#!/Pepto/status/164431998084063232

Pepto-Bismol in sink

Pepto!

At any rate, don’t be fooled that Pepto-Bismol will stop you from puking.  Apparently I caught some stomach virus that’s going around.  I think now my wife unfortunately has it (after she so graciously cleaned up & nursed me back to health).  I believe my grandma had it a week ago, and now we hear that Bethany’s uncle has it.  It’s nasty & going all around.  Wash your hands!

Tres Delinquentes [Mazes]


Not feeling well yesterday, so I ended up drawing a bunch of mazes.  Like with the others, post a link to the solution in the comments, or email a photo or scan to me at world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com.

Tres Delinquentes (1)

Tres Delinquentes (1)

Tres Delinquentes (2)

Tres Delinquentes (2)

Tres Delinquentes (3)

Tres Delinquentes (3)

Name taken from that song in the movie Bulletproof

Curvilinear Course [Maze]


Are you getting these?  I have had a few people interested, and  a bunch of people “liking” the posts, but no results so far.  If you take the time to print & solve this, I’d appreciate if you left the solution (or a link to the solution) here in the comments, or you can email it to world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com.  Take a photo with your phone, or scan & send it.

Curvilinear Course

Curvilinear Course

Sidewinder [Maze]


So I said I’d start naming the mazes.  I’ll call this one Sidewinder.  I have no real reason for the name, other than I simply drew it “sideways” instead of longways on the paper.  Like the other mazes, if you take the time to print & solve this, I’d appreciate if you left the solution (or a link to the solution) here in the comments, or you can email it to world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com.  I can work from a scan or a photo.  If you want to snail-mail the solution to me to scan, you can do that too.

Sidewinder [Maze]

Feb. 4th. 2012 – Come to this show! (Check out video of all the bands here…)


One week from tonight, this is where you need to be!

Ernie and the Berts's avatarErnie and the Berts

The Bands:

The Place:

The Details:

View original post 11 more words

Yet Another Maze ↷


I’ve just slowed down, I haven’t stopped.  Here’s yet another maze that I’ve been doodling for the past couple of days.  You’ve seen all the other mazes, right?  It seems like that’s all I was posting for a while.  I should maybe start naming them.  Any suggestions?

Yet Another Maze ↷

Yet Another Maze ↷

If you’re adventurous enough to print & complete this maze (or any of the others), I’d really appreciate a scan or a photo posted here in the comments (or a link to it), or emailed to me at world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com.