February | 2019 | Piss and Moan

Marketing mayhem

Posted on February 14, 2019 by backuphill

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Anyone else already tired of today?

Anyone else think this day, Valentine’s Day, is dumb?

The stores love it because it is just a marketing bonanza filled with stupid little gifts. Money, money, money! The cash registers ring non-stop.

Ever notice that the price for things that are normally reasonable suddenly go way up? Case in point, flowers. A dozen roses at Safeway any other time of the year is $14.99. The days surrounding Valentine’s Day…$45.99. Seems like a scam to me! Hopefully you ordered yours early or you may be outta luck, or pay through the nose as the price probably went up.

Sappy cards @ $5.99 a pop. Little trinkets and stuffed animals @ $7.99. Chocolate, of course varies on size and quality, is priced like there is going to be a shortage in the near future. I mean, really, nothing says “I love you” like a box of chocolates. I love you so much, why don’t you add a few pounds.

Don’t even think about reservations at the last minute! Prepare to drop a fortune if you are going to a special restaurant. You might as well just hit up the McDonalds drive-thru and go home to sit on the couch.

Alright. I am sure you get it. I’ll stop.

Today is stupid.

Got a Valentine’s Day horror story? Do you agree with me? Tell me in the comments!

Wolf in sheep’s clothing

Posted on February 13, 2019 by backuphill

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If you have watched any TV, either live or on a paid service, you have probably seen an ad for something that was vague enough to be intriguing but also vague enough to seem just a bit shady.

I saw the commercial again last night and I just gotta think that someone is marketing the hell out of dangerous app. Dangerous? Why? Well, because it is just a pay day loan repackaged to look like something else. I would recommend you stay a long ways away from that app called Earnin. Here is a review, or the BBB, take if for what it is worth.

Now you don’t have to actually walk into one of those Money Tree stores or find the local loan shark to get your legs broken, you can just get money via your phone. Yeah, brilliant. Except that it preys on people, especially low-income people. It just creates a dangerous cycle that is hard to get out of.

**Quick disclaimer: I am not speaking from experience. I am not stupid, or desperate.**

I have known people who get stuck in these cycles and it rarely seems to have a pretty ending. How about we teach people financial responsibility instead of sucking them into spending money they don’t have?

Watch out people. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Cliche, I know, but there is a reason these cliches exist.

Useless feedback

Posted on February 12, 2019 by backuphill

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We have probably all been there at one time or another with our jobs. Those instances where the boss, or someone else, gives you some feedback on your job/project/presentation/training and it is utterly useless.

Thanks, XXXXX. If only your input made any difference to me at all.

I have a Teachers Pay Teachers site where I sell materials I created over my 15 years in the classroom. Some things are simple worksheets and some thing are more involved lessons or units. Side hustle? Yes. Gonna get rich doing it? Definitely not. I know some people are making good money on/from the site, but no me.

One really irritating thing that happens when someone buys an item is that they are supposed to leave feedback. Now, obviously, this isn’t a requirement but it is highly suggested. What I have found more times than not, is that those who leave feedback offer nothing valuable. Wanna know the most common “feedback” left on the site?

Thank you.

Now, how in any way is that valuable feedback? Why even bother? Why not just leave it blank?

TpT needs to have a minimum number of characters for feedback. Do you think maybe people could leave a comment that is say, at least 140 characters? Seems reasonable. Get it together TpT! Let’s find a way to make the comments a little more valuable.

How about you? Do you have an instance where you got utterly useless feedback? Tell me about it in the comments.

Sit down and shut up

Posted on February 11, 2019 by backuphill

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One thing I know for sure, teaching a class or training people never goes quite as planned. There are always things you can’t account for, even when you have experience and account for things you know will happen – because they always do.

I was a high school teacher for 15 years. One thing I got used to was that students, no matter how engaging the lesson was, never were really invested in what they were learning. I mean who are we kidding, right? Students don’t see how what they are doing now prepares them for something down the road, in the future. They are too focused on today to understand that. So interest in class was always a challenge, no matter the subject.

Now that I am no longer in the classroom, I am teaching at a different level, so to speak. I am teaching adults (teachers and school district employees) about how to use the software they use every day. Now, we are talking about people with different life experiences than students. People who know that what they are being taught will be useful to them immediately, or at the very least in the very near future. YET, they are, in some cases, a worse audience than high school students!

Teachers are a notoriously bad audience. I know because I was one of those bad audience members. But I see it all the time from adults. They sit and have side conversations, text, look at email, grade papers, etc. I even had one teacher watching the World Cup on his computer while at a training class. Yeah, real professional, buddy.

Listen, I get that teachers have a millions of things on their mind and a billion other things to do. I can totally relate! BUT, if you won’t let your students (or at least have the expectation that your students will not) act this way, why do you think it is acceptable to act that way when you’re in class? You’re an adult, for pete’s sake. Have a little more self-control than your 4th graders for crying out loud.

So, SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!

I’m not done loving you

Posted on February 8, 2019 by backuphill

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I am sorry. Your once forgiving ways have slowly diminished over the years and it is time for us to part. The way you met my needs was unparalleled, unselfish. We worked together so well, it was like you were a part of me. I wasn’t done loving you, but I think you were done loving me. I’ll never hold another like I held you. I’ll never watch over another like I have watched over and protected you. I’ll never look at another like I have looked at you. You will be missed, but not forgotten.

Ever had one of those experiences you just wish you could take back? An instance of regret as you dispose of something you have loved for a long time?

Do you have favorite items you just can’t bear to let go of because they are worn out?

I had that experience a few days ago.

My favorite mechanical pencil has finally decided it doesn’t want to hold an eraser. The mechanical part (lead dispenser) works just fine. But the eraser. The eraser kept falling out and I couldn’t patch it any longer to make it stay. As soon as I had to erase something, it would just fall out. I am not perfect, so having the ability to erase is kinda of big deal. So, now, after 10 years of using this pencil I was faced with a choice.

Do I continue to use it and get an eraser that isn’t attached to the pencil? Then I would have to keep track of two things…OR, do I just bite the bullet and toss it – moving on to my next favorite pencil?

If you read the first paragraph, you know the outcome of this love story. It is a sad story.

So, what favorite item did you hate to get rid of but were forced to? Tell me what it was and why in the comments!

Choices vs. Choices

Posted on February 7, 2019 by backuphill

There are days were choices are just hard. It’s always this versus that. Me versus them. Us versus them. Me versus that.

So today, the choices seemed harder than most days:

Get up, work out, have a fabulous body (some day, because it isn’t right now).

Stay in the warm, comfy bed and sleep more.

Effort and exertion versus rest, comfort, and warmth.

Dang it.

Fine.

I got up.

But I hated it.

Stupid choices.

Why can’t we just have both?

Choices suck.

Stir the crazy

Posted on February 6, 2019 by backuphill

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In the PNW, we have had cold and snow and ice. Reality check = it doesn’t look like it will let up any time soon. The overnight lows are high teens and daytime highs are mid thirties. Yes, I realize those aren’t polar vortex numbers, but for our area this is cold and it doesn’t usually last this long, nor does it give the prospect of lasting long.

Anyway, my job affords me the opportunity to telecommute (you know this already) and I have taken advantage of that since driving with stupid people (more so than typical days) isn’t my thing (I’ve mentioned this already this week too).

That being said, I think I might be going a bit stir crazy. Cabin Fever. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” kind of crazy. I haven’t left the house since Sunday evening. My interaction with others has been limited to those in the house and those I can communicate with at work, via Skype, Zoom, text, and email.

While I haven’t hacked my way through a door with an ax, yet, I think I will venture out this afternoon and try some human interaction before the next wave of snow and ice comes this weekend.

Super Bowl of extortion

Posted on February 5, 2019 by backuphill

nfl stadium field full with crowd watching the game during daytime

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I am not sure if anyone noticed. Well, maybe some of you did, but you weren’t sure what you witnessed with this last Super Bowl and the halftime performance. Yes, it wasn’t fantastic, but it wasn’t lackluster either. They invited some extra performers that weren’t really necessary and that always perplexes me. But, let’s get down to the real topic at hand.

To Maroon 5’s credit (and the other performers too), they stuck with their performance and didn’t bow out due to the pressure that was mounted against them. I am glad they didn’t bow down and performed on, arguably, the largest stage known to man. I mean, 1 billion (that is a ballpark guess) viewers is a lot of people. However, I am irritated that they satiated the protests by basically being extorted into giving donations to charitable causes. It’s great for the charities, but sets a bad precedent.

Let’s be honest. That Change.Org petition with around 100k signers is a drop in the bucket to 1 billion+ and really should have no bearing on what the NFL or the performers did. Shouldn’t have even been a second thought.

People say they care about the whole Kaepernick thing, and maybe some really do, but I tend to think that it is just something to grandstand on. If you really cared you would have boycotted the NFL completely and stopped paying attention to what they are doing. Here’s the thing, the people who are protesting the issue just keep coming back. Wanna make an impact? Stop showing up and stop caring what they are doing.

No instead they raise a ruckus over some halftime performers who can’t win if they don’t, and apparently can’t win if they do. I saw all kinds of media attention around people being mad at them performing. Then mad at them for not performing right, or not being edgy enough. This is their livelihood and I think they should get a little credit for what they did.

I haven’t seen anything from these protesters who feel so strongly about the Kaep thing that they are boycotting the advertisers who bought ads during the show (at least there is none that I have seen – let me know if I am wrong). Wait, what? I need to boycott them too? OK, yeah, now it gets serious. If you are going to stand on principle, you better be prepared to go the whole way. It’s gonna get real serious if you do and you’re gonna need to make some life changes, not just the NFL but the products and advertisers who support them too.

Yeah, I didn’t think you were that serious.

Extortion. It’s the new form of protest.

Snow day telecommute

Posted on February 4, 2019 by backuphill

black vehicle traveling on road near person walker

Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com

Well, the snow came just as they predicted and it hasn’t let up yet. This is somewhat unusual for the Pacific Northwest and there was a collective “YES!” across the region as schools are mostly closed today.

As you may recall from earlier posts, I drive about an hour to work every day. Weather like this makes it a challenge, to say the least, so I have decided to telecommute today. That makes work much easier and less stressful that trying to battle the roads and elements.

Quite frankly, I didn’t want to drive today. NOT because of the weather. I can handle that and have enough experience to handle what the roads may throw at me.

However, what I can’t account for are the other idiots on the road! I gotta tell ya, for a region that does a lot of driving in less than ideal weather, people are freaking stupid when it comes to this stuff. I see more four-wheel drive vehicles on the side of the road, in the ditch, upside down than I see any other vehicles. Guys (and I do mean that literally), just because you have a four-wheeled vehicle doesn’t mean you are invincible. You still need to use your brain, and a little less of that lead foot.

So, playing it safe from the other drivers today. And, if you live in the NW like I do, take it easy if you have to go out. The object is to get there. It isn’t about how fast you got there.

I have a proposal

Posted on February 1, 2019 by backuphill

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No, not that kind of proposal.

I know there will be some blow-back on this, but I would like to propose a new weekly work schedule. And while I understand there will be some resistance to this, I also know I will get a ton of support. If that support turns into millions of dollars in donations, well then I will run for president and make it happen.

Wanna hear it? I thought so.

I propose that we have Fridays every three days. None of this wait till the end of the week thing or working for the weekend. We should just adjust the schedule so that every three days is a Friday. Work one day, then a weekend. Work one day, then a weekend. Work one day, then a weekend. Understand? Yeah, I think you do. I can feel your support for this proposal growing by the second.

So, if you would like this to happen, donate money to me and I’ll kick off my presidential campaign as soon as I hit $10 million. That math is easy…I need 1 million people to donate $10 each or 2 million people to donate $5 each. See how easy that is?

OK, if you are with me, donate now!

people holding assorted coloured balloons