Month: March 2019

Win a prize!

Posted on by backuphill

box celebration gift package

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

OK, guys, here’s your chance to win a prize!

I have a great give away lined up for you. Make sure you read all the way to the end (no cheating!) to see what you get. The rules are easy and there are only 12 steps!

First the rules:

  1. Like this blog post.
  2. Follow this blog, if you haven’t already.
  3. Like three other blogs with the word “Loop” in the title.
  4. Stand up if you are sitting; sit if you are standing.
  5. Pat your head and rub your tummy.
  6. Follow EVERYONE, and I mean everyone, I am following.
  7. Stand in front of the house/building doing “The Crane” pose from Karate Kid for a total of 4 minutes (if you don’t know what that is, watch Karate Kid first. Oh, and wear pants if necessary).
  8. Buy charcoal toothpaste.
  9. Brush vigorously with said toothpaste until you foam at the mouth – take a selfie and post in the comments.
  10. Find a dine-in pizza place, walk by a table with a pizza one it, and take THREE pieces of pepperoni off the pizza. Tell table occupants those were tainted and eat them.
  11. Thank a police officer and a member of the armed services.
  12. Leave a pic of the shocked pizza restaurant faces after you ate their pepperoni in the comments.
*If you completed steps 1, 2, 3, 6, & 11, I thank you and so do other random bloggers.
*If you completed steps 4, 5, 8, & 9 then you are a moderately rational person.
* If you completed 7, 10, & 12 – well, you need help.
*If you completed all the steps above, thank you. You’re also an idiot.

The Prize

You probably didn’t do any of these things (OK, hopefully at least #1 & #2), so the prize is the satisfaction of knowing you don’t fall for these stupid “follow loops” to win prizes like other social media people. Good job! Pat yourself on the back.

Anyone else annoyed by these things? It seems to be the trend on Instagram right now.

Can you hear me now?

Posted on by backuphill

close up photography of microphone

Photo by Studio 7042 on Pexels.com

Perhaps I am just a little weird when it comes to noticing things. Perhaps I am not. Perhaps I am just “that guy” that brings stuff up that should just be left alone…but what they hell, I like poking the bear.

Anyway, I want to brings something to your attention that I am sure is a national scandal. I hope all the “fake news” agencies pick up this observation and made a big deal of it. I really need to get my 15 minutes of fame in quick because life is short and I am over half done already.

Is there an unwritten code for comedians that the rest of us don’t know about? I’m serious. Think about this for a second (ok, three, because you’re gonna have to wrack your brain for a moment). Here goes…

Why do comedians used corded mics while performing?

Clearly technology exists that would allow for a wireless lapel mic, or just a wireless mic, or one of those cool wrap around the head wireless mic things (I don’t know what those are called). So why, in 100% of performances I have seen live or on TV, do the comedians use a wired mic?

Think about this: I saw Jim Gaffigan live and he drug a corded mic all over the arena stage. I have watched the Netflix Original shows for numerous comedians and all of them have had wired mics on stage. Kevin James, check. Ray Romano, check. Ken Jeong, check. I have watched comedians perform on America’s Got Talent. They all use a wired mic. Get the pattern here? It doesn’t matter how famous or “big” the comedians get, they still use a corded mic.

So what gives? Is there a secret code we don’t know about? Is it a security blanket they just can’t get rid of?

I NEED to know WHY? Seriously.

Any comedians out there that wanna break the silent and secret code and let us in on this obviously important national question?

Hacking and snorting

Posted on by backuphill

man old depressed headache

Photo by Gerd Altmann on Pexels.com

These are not two things that will win you friends, either in a crowd of strangers or at work.

I have now been dealing with a cold/flu for a week now. The fever and aches didn’t last long at all, but the congestion is hanging on like a baby opossum hangs onto it’s mom.

I think I have hacked up about 2.5 gallons of something from my lungs and snorted or blown about 6.7 gallons of snot from my sinuses. Pretty picture, I know.

Supposedly I am getting better. That’s my unprofessional opinion because I haven’t seen a professional.

Here’s to another dose of cold meds and being that annoying co-worker hacking and snorting in the corner of the office…

Please, stop already

Posted on by backuphill

hands black and white fingers palm

Photo by Josie Stephens on Pexels.com

I am gonna go out on a limb here and assume that you can identify with my pain.

Have you ever been to a training where the person training you had no business training you? Either because they didn’t know their stuff or because they were incredibly inept at presenting the material?

As a former teacher, I of course sat through lots of presentations from people who were good at presenting but there was the occasional person that snuck in once in a while who really had no business being in front of people. It was a rarity though. But…

Good grief, almighty! I have become increasingly aware that the industry I am in now has  MANY people who should not be training others. In most cases, they know the material. In most cases. But, whey have no idea how to present the material in an engaging way. In a way that gets you involved. In a way that gets you to care about what you are learning. That helps you get invested in what you’re doing.

I sat through one of those sort of presentations, again, yesterday. Man it was painful. But, after it was all over and done, one of my clients came to the back of the room where I was sitting and gave me a nice complement. I was just attending the session like everyone else, but she came up and said, “I wish you had done that presentation. It would  have been a lot more entertaining.”

I guess I am not the only one who doesn’t like to sit through painful trainings with people who shouldn’t be training others.

Look how far we’ve come

Posted on by backuphill

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**This post is totally gluten free.**

I am not sure the title for this little post is a positive thing or a negative thing, but I am definitely leaning towards the negative.

I noticed yesterday that there was some shampoo that was “gluten free”. OH REALLY?

That’s just absolutely great because I was going to drink it (just to see what it tasted like) but I was worried about my allergy to gluten. Since the bottle has now clarified that it is gluten free, drink away! I also noticed the conditioner was gluten free as well, so I’ll be chugging some of that next.

Alright, alright. Truth be told, I didn’t drink it. I was just using that as an example of how stupid our species has become. Two reasons:

  1. We have become so weak as humans that we can’t tolerate gluten in things we don’t even consume.
  2. To sell a product, companies have labeled things a certain way in order pander to people who are afraid of everything, even when the product didn’t contain the ingredient in the first place.

If we survive to the end of the century, it will be a miracle. It won’t be war. It won’t be climate change. It won’t be the plague.

It will be fear.

What products should be advertised as gluten free now? “Gluten Free Tires” perhaps?

Only Olaf and Frosty are happy

Posted on by backuphill

img_5368

It is snowing here, again.

After the “snowpacolypse” a few weeks ago, everyone was happy to see the white stuff go away. Well, mostly go away. There is still a giant pile of snow in the work parking lot from the last time we had the event.

Well, it has returned and I am pretty sure by all the whining around the region that people aren’t happy about the return. I know the schools are not happy about the prospect of having to call more snow days. Some of them ended up missing nine days of school. So, far, I haven’t heard of any closures (at least my kids).

So, today, only Olaf and Frosty are happy about the weather. The rest of us…we will survive.

Derailed

Posted on by backuphill

accident disaster steam locomotive train wreck

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Yesterday was all about “changing directions” since what I expected to be doing was different than what I actually ended up doing.

Today, well, today is just plain derailed.

Fever.

Sore throat.

Headache.

Body aches.

Didn’t sleep well last night.

Yeah, sick day all day. There might even be one tomorrow.

This is not what I had planned and it isn’t going to help the productivity.

The train left the station this week, but it certainly didn’t get very far.

Batten down the hatches

Posted on by backuphill

silhouette photography of boat on water during sunset

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

Crap. This “boat” was sailing in one direction only to have the wind change and now the “sails” are all messed up and there’s a “storm” on the horizon (ok, maybe this was a bad metaphor to use since I am not a sailor…).

Anyway, have you ever gone to bed prepared and juiced up to do something in the morning at work? Like, you totally have all your ducks in a row and you’re psyched to get stuff done! Yeah, that was me last night. I have some projects I need to work on and am excited about doing…

ONLY to find out in the morning your boss has given you a different assignment and your plans are totally out the door? Damn. So much for that “wind in my sails” crap. Deflated and definitely not excited about the day ahead.

So much for progress.

Like a wrecking ball

Posted on by backuphill

trump-1

Anyone else feel like they hit a wall the moment they left the bed?

The urge to return to the warm confines of the sheets and just melt back into the mattress was very strong this morning.

MONDAY came in like a wrecking ball. It never hit so hard…

*There ya go, get that little ditty outta your head now*

You’re welcome, and unhappy Monday to you too.

Now, where is my intravenous coffee pot?