Tag Archives: Star Wars

I’m still not McDonald’s.

Posted on by Standard 16

The McDouble, a cheeseburger from McDonald's.

Image via Wikipedia

Have you heard that I’m not McDonald’s?  I decided to write to my new friends in McNeed, and I got a great response out of Harmony.  She is apparently convinced that I am McDonald’s.  I got a somewhat puzzling response from Scott, the manager of the Canonsburg store.  I’ll share what’s transpired.  This is me, trying to clear up the message…

From: Waldo Lunar <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Sep 1, 2011
Subject: AiXeLsyD13 / W(aL)D – I’m not McDonald’s
To: krebs955@gmail.com, shovelman11@yahoo.com, pastorskid_tiwtc4u@yahoo.com
Cc: pit.05834@us.stores.mcd.com, Ella Jones <Ella.Jones@us.mcd.com>, info@westliberty.mcdtoday.com, sandra.jaeger@gmail.com, skausky33@verizon.net

Hello Harmony, Shirley, & Amber,

 Thank you for taking the time to write to me!  While I understand your frustrations with your McDonald’s visits, I have to say… I am not McDoanld’s.

 I’m not sure how you all arrived at using the contact form for my website whilst thinking the message was going to McDonald’s.  While I applaud your vigor, it is sadly misdirected.  I do however feel that it would be an injustice if I left the messages fall upon deaf ears (or blind eyes as it were).  So, I am copying this message to the known addresses of several people representing the McDonald’s location on West Liberty Avenue in Dormont.  Hopefully they will follow-up with you directly about your respective incidents; runny oatmeal, lack of napkins & ketchup, lackadaisical manager (Jeff), and all.  Chaos apparently still abounds at this location.  It’s been quite some time since I have been there.

If you’d like to know what I’m talking about, or where this email is from… I encourage you to check out my blog:  I AM NOT McDONALD’S.  It also contains other avenues to explore (namely Twitter) should this email prove to be no help.

Until then, since the nearby Wendy’s is under construction and possibly worse than this McDonald’s, I encourage you to try Dormont Dogs, SLICE on Broadway, or Tom’s Diner.

Good luck in your journey form consumer advocacy to customer satisfaction, may you be amused along the way, & find what you’re looking for eventually.  Consider me your GPS.

 Don’t argue with the Garmin,
-ERiC AiXeLsyD
World (and Lunar) Domination

Simple enough, right?  Harmony is not convinced:

From: krebs955@gmail.com <krebs955@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Sep 1, 2011
Subject: Re: AiXeLsyD13 / W(aL)D – I’m not McDonald’s
To: Waldo Lunar <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>

That is interesting since your e-mail address is on the receipts there lol.

It was almost immediately followed by this:

From: krebs955@gmail.com <krebs955@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Sep 1, 2011
Subject: Re: AiXeLsyD13 / W(aL)D – I’m not McDonald’s
To: Waldo Lunar <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>

Thanks for the helpful info though.

Can someone get me a receipt from that place, just so I can be sure?  I’m guessing that Harmony is using a phone, and thought she emailed Ella Jones… & didn’t realize she was using my contact form.

I’ve had positive interactions with Mr. Kausky before.  Apparently my repeated use of “I am not McDonald’s” pushed a button.

From: Scott Kausky <skausky33@verizon.net>
Date: Wed, Aug 31, 2011
Subject: Re: AiXeLsyD13 / W(aL)D – I’m not McDonald’s
To: Waldo Lunar <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>

Dear Sir,

I am also NOT MCDONALD’S.   I do however, represent the Canonsburg McDonald’s.  I can assist you with anything from that perspective.  I might suggest however, to take the time and thank a soldier that gives us the freedom to criticize in the land of the free and be thankful that we can peacefully drive down the street and stop by and pick up a quick meal if one so desires.

 Thank You.

Scott is apparently unamused by my insolence.  The reason I copied him is that he’s the only one who gave a response before, and seems to actually take pride in his store.  I believe it also helped get a response from Ms. Jones.

I don’t know where thanking a soldier came into play.  I never voiced any disrespect for the government or military.  Both of my grandfathers fought in WWII, my dad served in the army, and I have uncles that served in the Marines & Air Force… as well as many other friends & extended family members who have served in active duty much more recently.  I appreciate all of their service, and the fact that I’m here and able to whine about the quality of fast food service because of them.

If we’re invoking patriotism inappropriately here: Maybe the next time a McDonald’s employee is screwing up an order, they should thank a soldier that they have the freedom to screw up that order.

I haven’t written back to Mr. Kausky yet, but I did fire this off to Harmony & company:

From: Waldo Lunar <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Sep 1, 2011
Subject: Re: AiXeLsyD13 / W(aL)D – I’m not McDonald’s
To: “krebs955@gmail.com” <krebs955@gmail.com>
Cc: shovelman11@yahoo.com, pastorskid_tiwtc4u@yahoo.com, pit.05834@us.stores.mcd.com, Ella Jones <Ella.Jones@us.mcd.com>, info@westliberty.mcdtoday.com, sandra.jaeger@gmail.com, skausky33@verizon.net

Hello again Harmony,

No problem for the contact info, good luck in your quest for customer satisfaction!

But, I must say that I’m confused.  You didn’t email anyone, you used the contact form at my website: https://aixelsyd13.wordpress.com

Is that what appears at the top of the receipt?

I’m guessing that more than likely it says “ella.jones@us.mcd.com” at the top of your receipt.  I’m not Ella Jones.  You didn’t email me.  You didn’t email Ella Jones.  You did a Google (or Bing) search for the email address, and landed on my page.

If it does say “https://aixelsyd13.wordpress.com” at the top of a McDonald’s receipt, I’d love to see a photo of that.

Rock on!
-Eric

No response as of yet from Harmony, Shirley, or Amber (who all thought or still think that I was/am McDonald’s) …and of course as expected no response (to me anyway) from Ella Jones, Sandra Jaeger, Rick Sapko, or anyone representing the West Liberty Ave. McDonald’s.

Should I write back to Scott & try to clear things up?  Should I leave well enough alone?  I know that pressing Sandra, Ella, & Rick will get me nowhere.

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I AM NOT McDONALD’S

Posted on by Standard 26

I am not McDonald’s.  I’m just sayin’.  This isn’t the 1st time this has happened.  I got this message in my inbox today:

From: Harmony Krebs <krebs955@gmail.com>
To: me_at_my@email.addre.ss
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 6:59 PM
Subject: W(aL)D Feedback

Name: Harmony Krebs

Email: krebs955@gmail.com

Website:

Message / Comment: First, the oatmeal was filled to the top with water and extremely runny. The order taker didn’t offer a mango pineapple smoothie, and when I went back up to order an additional sandwich and small rolo mcflurry, it took 15 minutes to get them. There was only one guy taking orders, while 3/4 of the crew members were over by the drive through just talking and congregating.

How’d you find my blog?: It was on my receipt.

Time: Wednesday August 31, 2011 at 6:59 pm

IP Address: ##.###.##.###

Contact Form URL: https://aixelsyd13.wordpress.com/contact/

Sent by an unverified visitor to your site.

Odd.  You may remember this gem:

From: shirley kelly
To: me_at_my@email.addre.ss
Sent: Tuesday, August 2, 2011 7:33 PM
Subject: W(aL)D Feedback

Name: shirley kelly

Email: shovelman11@yahoo.com

Website:

Message / Comment: went in Imperial store on Aug. i,2011, the service was horrible . They acted  as if they were doing us  a favor by waiting on us .There were no napkinks out , no containers for ketchup  both myself and  another had to ask for napkins,  when they gave them to us  it was like an effort to do so  The management at night is horrible

How’d you find my blog?:

Time: Tuesday August 2, 2011 at 7:33 pm

IP Address: ###.###.###.###

Contact Form URL: https://aixelsyd13.wordpress.com/contact/

Sent by an unverified visitor to your site.

Really weird.  I AM NOT MCDOANLD’S.  I think I see what’s happening here, at least with the message up top.  See if you can follow along with me…

  1. Where I started my “WTF?” journey was the line “How’d you find my blog?: It was on my receipt.”  Um, I highly doubt that https://aixelsyd13.wordpress.com was on your receipt.  So, we go to the next step…
  2. The WordPress stats page is awesome.  The only McDonald’s-related search term that landed someone on my blog today was “ella.jones@us.mcd.com“.  Avid readers know that Ms. Jones’ email address does indeed appear at the top of a receipt.
  3. What we’ve learned is that Ms. Krebs above has typed “ella.jones@us.mcd.com” into Google, and discovered my blog.  Luckily for Ms. Jones, the 1st for things that pop up (today anyway) send people to my blog.
  4. Here is where we have to make some educated guesses.
    1. Ms. Krebs thought that all my ramblings about McDonald’s were some sort an official complaint form.
    2. Ms. Krebs is unable to distinguish a web browser from a mail client (or webmail, as it is a Gmail address), or an email address from a URL, which could break down (even further) to…
      1. She thought ella.jones@us.mcd.com was a url, and the contact form on my site was to contact McDonald’s.
      2. She thought that by typing the email address “ella.jones@us.mcd.com” into the Google or Bing search bar, she was indeed sending an email.
    3. Ms. Krebs thought she was commenting on my blog, & instead of using the “Leave a Reply” box at the bottom, she hit the contact link at the top.
    4. Ms. Krebs has a Smartphone, and no idea how to use it.

That was fun, wasn’t it?  Do you think I’m close?  I may have to change to look of my comment page to let people know who I am, and that I am not McDoanld’s.

I do love the interaction.  As a blogger I feed off of comments, replies, and feedback.  I do appreciate & empathize that you were so wronged by McDonald’s that you feel the need to express your frustrations via written electronic communication.  I totally get that.

If you have had a bad experience, and want to vent… please, I encourage you to share the experience (hopefully with a humorous bent) here with me & all the other people who’s McDonald’s-related Google and Bing searches have led them to my humble corner of the internet.

That being said, there are a plethora of comments on my blog: A day in the life of McDonald’s #5834 (West Liberty Ave. – Brookline/Beechview/Dormont)

A lot of those comments seem to be directed at McDonald’s.  I am not McDonald’s.  I try to reply to each commenter to let them know where to direct their anger… but they must not have checked the “Notify me of follow-up comments via email” box while they commented or ever check back, because they never seem to get my reply.

Wow.  As, I’m typing this blog… I got something in my inbox that is so amusing I’m going to pee my pants:

From: Amber Ross <pastorskid_tiwtc4u@yahoo.com>
To: me_at_my@email.addre.ss
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 10:01 PM
Subject: W(aL)D Feedback

Name: Amber Ross

Email: pastorskid_tiwtc4u@yahoo.com

Website:
Message / Comment: Hello, i would like to inform you that i have visited your store twice today and both times the service has been extremely slow and very disappointing.  Both times i have waited twenty minutes in line and both times it was for something small. The line had at least eight people in it, that were not helped and the manager (Jeff) was at the drive thru window drinking a pop and not caring that people were waiting. i also would like to inform you that i will not be returning to your store along with my entire family. Thank You.

How’d you find my blog?:

Time: Wednesday August 31, 2011 at 10:01 pm

IP Address: ##.###.##.###

Contact Form URL: https://aixelsyd13.wordpress.com/contact/

Sent by an unverified visitor to your site.

Seriously?  Is someone playing a joke on me, or is my website really at the top of McDonald’s receipts?  Ha ha.

I hope your disgruntled McSearch leads you here, because, I’d like to let you know that (say it with me)…

I am not McDonald’s.

If you would like to read my McDonald’s-related ramblings, may I suggest the following?

If you’d like to contact McDonald’s, there’s a myriad of ways you can do so, although I cannot guarantee you a satisfying reply (or a reply at all):

McDonald’s #5834 (West Liberty Ave.):

McDonald’s #4856 (Canonsburg):

The McDonald’s Twitter Team plus a few more:

Here are even more contacts, gathered from my Comments:

Oh man, I forgot about this genius:

jeffrey s miller jr | December 17, 2010 at 12:51 am | Reply | Edit

I was very unhappy with my visit from store 10848 delmont 6526 route 22 pa the servise was the worrise that i ever had and i had only had three things two frys and a fish sandwitch and i had a pice of chees on mu fish and the frys where cold and when i asked for ketchup they said i had to pay for it pleas email me back or i will call and complaine

Jeffrey; I am not McDonald’s.  While we’re at it… “sandwitch” & “complaine“?  …and “worrise“?  You clearly have issues to address, my friend.  Best of luck with that.

Wow.

Please, share your experience below (but, note… again, that I am not McDonald’s)!

I’d also love any theories on how/why peopel are using my contact form and comments sections… thinking I’m McDonalds.  (Which I’m clearly not.)

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I have Star Wars fever (again).

Posted on by Standard 6

Star Wars Series

Image by Wyckthöor via Flickr

Damn you, George Lucas.  I’m pretty sure you could sell the proverbial air conditioner to the Eskimo (is Inuit the correct term now?) without a problem, but I bet you can also amazingly re-sell him the air conditioner that he already has just by cleaning it, maybe adding a new filter, and putting a shiny sticker on it… and repeating that process every few years for the next 30 or 40.  You are a genius.

If you took a nod from L. Ron Hubbard, you could have made potentially more money by founding the official Jedi cult.  Don’t people already try to list that as a religion for the Census?  Pass the plate!

Fanboy rant that you’ve already heard a million times over aside, George Lucas is a creative genius, and no matter how much we love to bicker about changes with new actors/voices, re-releases, re-edits, mis-colored & re-colored lightsabers, flying CGI droids, who shot first, and dancing Yoda…  it all comes down to the fact that we love the Star Wars films and feel some kind of connection to them.  If we didn’t feel so strongly about them, we (hopefully) wouldn’t waste our time bickering.  (Sorry, can’t let it go: I still want “Yub Nub” back, I hate hate hate the new Ewok song in Jedi.)

Of course I’m going to get the Blu-ray version.  To have them all in one package?  Awesome.  Seems like forever-ago that I was pontificating on what I’d like to see on a Blu-ray release.  Now that it’s almost here & available for pre-order, I’m getting jittery… like I’ve had too many cups of coffee.  Maybe I did that, too.

At any rate, this was sparked by a killer article from The Digital Bits that you might want to check out:  The 2011 Star Wars Saga Blu-rays – First Insights

Bill Hunt is a lucky bastard that got a preview of the discs, and he shares the goods with us.  Basically there are a lot of error fixes, clean ups, and a bunch of sound remastering and rebuilding.  Some cool bits…

One thing I should confirm for you at this point: The original theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy are not included on these discs. Personally, I never expected them to be. I know a lot of fans want them, but it’s clear that Lucas has no intention of making them available at least for the foreseeable future.

Figured as much.

In addition to these sorts of fixes, significant additional dirt removal has been done, more garbage matte lines have been cleaned up and other little “fixes” have been applied as well. Here’s an example of one such fix done to Episode V. For years, fans have complained that in this shot of the Wampa attacking Luke’s Tauntaun, you could see part of the puppeteer’s arm because the costume didn’t extend quite far enough… Now, that’s been fixed.

Cool.  But I hope they don’t fix the clumsy Storm Trooper…

For Episode IV, however, “getting it exactly right” required a rather extensive forensic effort, as this material just wasn’t cataloged with future surround remixes in mind. In many cases, Matt and his team went back to original analog tape recordings made in 1976 to get the best quality of all the required elements. As a result, it’s fair to say that the surround mix for Episode IV was almost completely rebuilt from scratch, with Matt comparing his work to the original print master to ensure its creative accuracy. And at every step of the way, director George Lucas and original sound supervisor Ben Burtt were consulted to ensure that the mix reproduced as closely as possible their original intent for the film’s sonic experience. In fact, Matt says he played the film’s reels many times for George, in 15-20 second chucks, to get his feedback.

Crazy.  I think I’m going to have to break down & buy a surround-sound system just for this Blu-ray release.  Maybe a better Blu-ray player too.  Any ideas on how to convince my wife why this is necessary?

Now, you’ll recall that a little bit ago, I said these should probably be best considered new 2011 versions of these films, and not the 2004 DVD versions. All the fixes and corrections alone justify this in my opinion, but there’s another reason too… and you can probably guess what it is: Once again, George has apparently added a few new “surprises” into these films. I don’t know what they are and didn’t get to see any of them on Friday, but I was assured that there will be “new things to notice” when we watch the films. I think we can safely assume that one of them will be the new all-digital Yoda in Episode I…

More tweaks?  Hopefully more archive/deleted footage put into the films in lieu of additional background lizards, droids, clones, or new musical numbers.  (Although, if more aliens popped up in the background… like the ones from Close Encounters, Alien, Predator, Cowboys & Aliens, or even a Klingon, that would be kind of geeky fun.)  I’d like to see the Revenge of the Sith ending that Simon Pegg wrote about in his book.

What the other changes to these films may be, I have no idea, but I suspect there will be no lack of blog posts on this very subject within hours of the first discs becoming available to fans.

Or even before, I bet.  Ha ha.  Get the Star Wars tissue box covers ready.

Now then, let’s move on to the extras. Is it really worth getting the Complete Saga set just to get the three extras discs? For me at least, the answer here is clear: Absolutely. Yes… I’ve now seen many of the Original Trilogy deleted scenes. No… I can’t tell you much about them (believe me, that drives me as crazy as it does you). But I was pretty surprised by them and in a good way. What I can tell you is that they are substantial – at least for the Original Trilogy. This isn’t just dribs and drabs stuff – it includes long sequences. And they’re extremely cool. Frankly, for me this is the real draw of the entire BD release. As you’ve seen in some of the teaser clips Lucasfilm has released, they’re not pristine, but most of them are in HD – at least the Original Trilogy clips. And trust me, they’re well worth seeing. It’s stuff some of you have wanted to see in good quality since 1977, along with a few things fans may not have known even existed.

Nice.  I might have to start having Star Wars nights again.

What’s more, each film has two audio commentary tracks – the ones that were on the previous DVD release as well as an all-new commentary compiled from tons of vintage and archived interviews with the cast and crew. Finally, I’m assured that there are indeed a handful of “very fun” Easter eggs scattered throughout the set.

OOOH.  How will I find these?  Ha ha.  I’m going to have to set up a Google News alert or something.  I’m never good at just finding them on my own.

Go read the main article, it’s worth it if you’re a geek… and there are some killer photos!

In with that, they point to yet another article, that says exciting things like…

On the special features, we spent 3 years sifting and digging through 30 years of material that is in the vaults at the Ranch, it’s been quite an undertaking.  We uncovered boxes that hadn’t been opened in over 20 years, it was a very dirty experience! We looked through work prints, we found dailies, we went through behind-the scenes videos, we really uncovered a slew of new gems that we’re really excited to share with the fans.

Oh what I wouldn’t give to dig through those archives.

Q: Is the holiday special on there?

A:  You’ll have to wait and see!  The holiday special is a challenge, but look for some Easter Eggs – what’s a Star Wars release without a couple of Easter Eggs?! J

I’m guessing not the whole Holiday special, but maybe a clip…  especially the Boba Fett cartoon.  A clean version of that would be excellent!  (If it exists, watch it have overdubs from Temuera Morrison

If the whole special shows up, that would be killer.  No one ever asks about the Ewok movies.  What about those?  When are we going to get more forest creatures, lost footage, and an all-new CGI Gorax?  How about Cindel & Mace running around in Jedi somewhere?

Oh yeah, maybe Troops will pop up as an easter egg!

Thanks to HarrisPoll Surveys, PNC/Visa Points, and a jar o’ change, I was able to pre-order from Amazon for only $2.49 out of pocket.

I can’t wait until it gets here!!!

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Batman Movie Night

Posted on by Standard 6

Batman - Mic Check

Batman - Mic Check

So, soon we’ll be having Batman movie night.  Batman has always been my favorite comic book character.  He’s smarter, he’s darker, he’s a crazy detective, he’s relentless, he’s not invincible.  He’s most likely just as insane as the villains he helps take down.  I like that.

I’ve been a comic book & especially Batman fan since I can remember.  I’m sure it had to do with the 60’s TV show being rerun in my youth in addition to Super Friends and Batman popping up on Scooby Doo for whatever reason.  As a kid, I remember digging the Hulk (even though I ran out of the room during the transformation scenes), Spider-Man, and especially the Greatest American Hero.  I want to say I even used to play with my aunts’ Barbie-doll sized Batman & Robin action figures.

The Dark Knight Rises (a.k.a. Magnus Rex) has been filming in Pittsburgh.  Anyone with an ounce of geek cred or anyone that lives in or around the ‘Burgh knows this.  There are a bunch of photos, videos, & spoilers and crazy stuff all over the place if you do a quick Google search.  I won’t bother re-posting/rehashing here.  (Here’s a cool article about the day. …And another one here.)

I went to one of the open casting calls but wasn’t called… but it worked out better as the wife & I were both able to do some unpaid extra work thanks to BeInAMovie.com (peep their Facebook page for possible spoiler photos)!  It was all in all a really long but incredibly fun day.  It was cool to see a bit of the daily grind on a film that’s sure to be a blockbuster.  When else will I get to say that I was an extra in a movie… let alone a BATMAN movie?  Ha ha.  That’s just awesome.  Whether we make the cut or not, it’ll be an experience we’ll never forget.

In an email from BeInAMovie.com after the fact…

What gracious and appreciative people are the family that Warner Brothers are.

And they so appreciated each of your participation and how you came dressed for the scenes. And stayed through rain and heat and humidity.

AND Chris Nolan was awed by your acting ability when Bane and Mercenaries blew up the stadium and mayhem was everywhere.

In with all that, I’m just a fanboy at heart… so we arrive (again) at Batman movie night.  The wife & I hosted a series of Star Wars movie nights that were a good time, a good excuse to get together, and a good excuse to nerd-out with a group of people… fellow fanboy geeks & newcomers alike.  (On a side note… we never did get past the movies proper… we’ll perhaps have to revisit these to delve into the Ewok & Holiday Specials, Fanboys, then the cartoons & parodies.)

Darth Vader vs. Batman

How awesome is this painting?

Whereas Star Wars is one man‘s singular vision (with a couple of ridiculous re-writes), Batman is an iconic character open to many valid interpretations.  Some of the old Legends of the Dark Knight books would showcase this, as well as the recent Gotham Knight movie.

Batman & Jokers

Batman & Jokers

This brings us to… the movies I’d like to show:

Why not Batman Begins out of the Nolan series?  I’d argue it’s all about Batman vs. the Joker here.  Sure, some other villains clutter up the ’66 movie, and I ought to include something animated with Mark Hamill & Kevin Conroy… but 3 movies in one night is about all this attention span can handle.  The Joker is as mad & random as Batman is cold & calculated.  The characters play of off each other so well.  In the comics anyway, Batman won’t kill.  He won’t cross that one line to become a madman.  (And after the early 40’s, he wouldn’t use guns either.)

I love all of these interpretations of both of the characters.  The ultra-straight-laced Adam West & zany Cesar Romero are a great pair.  They play off of each other well in the campy style of the old show.  I remember being old enough to think “Mr. Mom is going to be Batman?” in the late 80’s, but Michael Keaton was a stellar Bruce Wayne/Batman.  He played such an odd person, and it worked.  I also remember thinking Jack Nicholson was too fat… the Joker in the comics & in novels was very tall & lanky.  I was surprised on both counts.  Nicholson plays a maniacal psychopath like no other.  Christian Bale is gruff and guarded, and Heath Ledger has redefined the Joker for a whole new generation, effectively making Dark Knight a Joker movie, not a Batman one.

If these nights work out, perhaps we can delve into Return to the Batcave,  some of the animated films, Batman Begins, & maybe even a Joel Shumacher film.

We’re looking at Sat. Aug. 27th for Batman movie night.  Let me know if you’re interested!  We even got Batman cookie cutters!

I’m pretty sure this is illegal. (Driving advice for horn-honking traffic trolls.)

Posted on by Standard 6

I’m pretty sure this is illegal, but I see it happen all the time.  Can someone of authority weigh in on this?  Opinions are of course welcome, but if you’re going to claim why it’s legal/illegal… you have to give me some kind of backup.

Let me describe the scenario with the help of an illustration thanks to Paint.NET, Google Maps, & a Google image search…

This is a dick-move.

This is a dick-move.

We’ll pretend I’m the blue car, behind the white truck, and in front of the little yellow bastard.

The white truck is trying to make a left at the light, only problem being (use your imagination here) a flurry of automobiles in the other 2 oncoming lanes coming forth with less than a car-length in between them, and at a speed well over the posted 25MPH limit.  (Never-mind that here the middle lane switches traffic directions depending on the time of day – that’s a whole different ridiculous issue.)

Of course, the truck is forced to stop in what I would like to consider the middle of the intersection, causing frustration to rise exponentially for each halted vehicle behind the pale horse of immobilization.

As the truck plays the waiting game, and I hone my skills with the Force trying to will a break in traffic to allow him (or her) to turn and more importantly get out of my way… the impatient arrogant bastard behind me decides to honk the horn.

Honking the horn when one is stuck in traffic is the action of a self-absorbed angry little person.  A honk is expected & appropriate if someone cuts you off, someone’s sitting at a green light, or backing into you.  A honk is inappropriate when everyone is stuck, & no one can go anywhere.

Now, I know this indignant troll of a human being wanted me to take the path of the green arrow above… which is a common Pittsburgh driving move.  I’m sure it happens elsewhere too, but it’s quite common around here.  I believe said move is not only illegal, but also quite dangerous.  I know passing on the shoulder is discouraged if not illegal, and doing it in the middle of an intersection isn’t the best idea.

It’s dangerous for the following reasons if you must know, traffic troll:

  • Someone in the inside oncoming lane could also be making a left, not see me coming around the side of the truck, and we plow right into each other.
  • The truck decides he’s (or she’s) had it with waiting to make a turn, and plows ahead in frustration as I move around & try to merge into that lane.
  • Someone from the road on the right may be coming to the intersection to make a legal right on red while it’s obvious that oncoming traffic is at a stand-still.
  • A final sequence, however unlikely… the light changes while I’m going around, and someone comes from the left straight through their way, and smacks into the side of me.

If you think of any other reasons why it’s a bad idea, please let me know.  If you can show me a link where the laws concerning such vehicular interactions reside online (especially for PA), I’d love to pass the link along to the honking trolls out there.

If you’re a traffic troll, I’d like to express to you that all you’re doing is putting the person in front of you in danger, as well as potentially yourself, and adding to the aggravation levels of everyone around you… when they’re already sufficiently aggravated.

This has been brought to you as a public service announcement warning against the dangers of traffic trolls.  I’m sure PennDOT and the State Police would get behind this if they read my blog.

You’re not a traffic troll, are you?

I will find the droids I’m looking for…

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Star Wars meets Toy Story (via HeatherBlog)

I WILL FIND THE DROIDS I'M LOOKING FOR

I WILL FIND THE DROIDS I'M LOOKING FOR

So awesome…

Star Wars meets Toy Story Have you ever had one of those Six Degrees of Separation moments, in which the cosmos aligns itself around a common theme? That happened to me today. Early this morning, I awoke to a comment from fellow blogger Aaron Graham. He liked my post about shopping for bras, and I loved his diatribe about Star Wars Episode I enough to return the favor. I hadn’t thought about Star Wars in a long time. I saw the first movie with my dad when I was 10, and I … Read More

via HeatherBlog

♬♪ |-o-| [-o-] |-o-| ♬♪

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Originally submitted at 80sTees.com

♬♪ |-o-| [-o-] |-o-| ♬♪

By AiXeLsyD13 from Pittsburgh, PA on 6/2/2011
5out of 5

Fit: Feels true to size

Length: Feels true to length

Pros: Great Colors, STAR WARS, Amusing, Nostalgic, Stylish

Cons: Thin Material

Best Uses: On stage, Casual Wear, Wear To Work, Special Occasions, Wear to School, Date Night/Night Out

Describe Yourself: Geeky, Goofy, Bargain Shopper

Was this a gift?: No

Who wouldn’t love this? The best part is that I’m old enough to have actually owned a ghetto-blaster/boom box like the one Vader’s holding in the shirt… and I did. I also own 600 copies of the Star Wars movies in various edits & formats (thanks, George Lucas), and now I can watch them in this new shirt. Maybe I ought to walk around with my ghetto blaster blasting the Star Wars soundtrack?

A shirt fit for a Star Wars geek!

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Tags: Darth Vader, Ghetto Blaster, Picture of Product, Using Product, Boom Box, Star wars

(legalese)

The Fastest and Funniest LEGO Star Wars stor[ies] ever told

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May the 4th Be With You!

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So, happy Star Wars Day!  Be sure to check out my old Star Wars related posts for some goodies.  Maybe click on a picture or two and you’ll get a surprise.  (Check out the Star Wars Mix Tape or Dark Lord of the 5th Day posts if you’re in a YouTube mood… and last year’s post.)

Excellent news on the content of the Star Wars Blu-ray set today, check out FlyGuy.net for all the details: Star Wars Blu Ray Press Release & Details…Check out Disc nine!!

If you need other ways to celebrate the day, check out “10 Easy Ways You Can Celebrate Star Wars Day” from Death Star PR.

C-3PO vs. Darth Vader…?

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This is amusing…

This is also amusing…

…jokes on them, I love Star Wars and this song.  Ha ha.  You can apparently get their whole alum here.