Date posted: January 26, 2008 - Saturday
Title: TW3 01/25/08
Current mood: frustrated
Why Brag About That?
I bought my first new car in 1984. Yep, I was a late bloomer.
It was a Toyota Tercel and it lasted until about 2005. It is still drivable, but not legally since there is a problem with the smog levels and that makes it illegal to drive in California.
I'm not in the market for a new car, but the television is jammed with car ads so I do see what's available. And what I see doesn't impress me.
When I bought my Tercel I was getting 40+ miles to the gallon driving on the highway to work. Even years later and only driving 2.5 miles to work I was still getting in the mid-20's per gallon. And that is with all the crap that California makes you put on the car to fight smog.
So imagine my amazement when commercials these days are bragging about getting 35 miles to the gallon on a new car.
Oil prices hit $100 a barrel last week and you would think car makers would be a little more aware of that. But, no, we seem to have regressed. I haven't heard any car maker bragging about their mileage and getting anywhere near what I got 21 years ago.
With the economy looking grim for the foreseeable future where is the efficiency in automobiles we seem to have had in the past and now abandoned?
Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame?
I read a column in my local sports section talking about the Baseball Hall of Fame ceremonies in the future. Specifically the 2013 induction into the hall when (if they both quit this year) Roger Clemons and Barry Bonds would be eligible and probably be voted in.
The speculation comes because neither has been signed to a contract for next year and if they decide to retire would be eligible for induction into the hall five years after their exit from baseball.
The author of the column speculated on the atmosphere at such a ceremony given the recent accusations of substance abuse by each of these players. Chilly would be an understatement. He also wondered if either or both of the players would come clean about their alleged drug use.
I don't think it is going to happen. Nope, I couldn't imagine either of those two guys telling the complete story about anything. And why don't I think so? One word.
EGO!
Probably the biggest statistic with either one of Clemons or Bonds is their ego.
You Have Got To Be Kidding
A good part of TV these days (especially in the middle of the writer's strike) is hyping upcoming shows. And with the lack of original content without writers, reality TV is getting the air time and the hype.
So I see this advertisement for the latest incarnation of "Big Brother", the CBS reality show. I haven't ever watched this piece of garbage. (Yes, I said garbage.) The idea of sticking a bunch of weird people in a house and then watching their antics for 24 hours a day is not only boring, but borders on disgusting voyeurism.
Anyway, once they show some scenes of junk going on in the house an attractive oriental woman who serves as host of the show turns to the camera and says, "Great television."
This woman has got to be kidding. I know she is paid to say that, but I don't see how she didn't gag on the words. Great television? Not in this lifetime or any other.
And aren't we ashamed we have come to this where voyeurism is not only broadcast on a major television network, but celebrated?
And on the subject of television, I wonder what ever happened to the concept of the "public airwaves"? Supposedly television networks and stations were supposed to serve the public good since they were entrusted with something which was supposed to be the property of the public.
Can anyone actually say they have lived up to that goal? In the past television has been called "the vast wasteland" and "the opiate of the masses". Can anyone take an honest look at programs like "Big Brother", "American Idol", "Survivor" or "America's Next Top Model" and not think those old pronouncements have been met and even surpassed?
White House E-Mail Redux
I hate repeating myself, but I think this warrants it.
I spoke last week about the mess at the White House where a huge number or e-mails and electronic records seem to be missing. There was also the factor of first an admission about the missing records and then the denial of that admission.
So, this week, a story comes out of Washington D.C. where not only did the White House admit to the missing records, but they provided a chart of the dates when there were missing records to a Congressional committee in September. And guess what? The dates of the missing records come exactly where the probe of the CIA mess started and at another point where there was a possible Congressional probe of Iraq intelligence failures.
How convenient for the White House and the Bush Administration that records which might have been damaging go missing.
And how believable are repudiations of the chart now? Do the people in the Bush Administration think everyone in the country has short-term memory problems? Didn't they think their denials last week that records are missing would be refuted by the chart they, themselves, had provided to Congress?
Oh, and just for further discussion, the missing records cover 473 days over a 20-month period. This isn't misplacing a single backup tape from your server. This smacks of either total incompetence or a calculated effort to eliminate a "smoking gun" before Congress could find it.
Greed Confirmed
Yeah, I know several of you don't want to hear about football, but allow me this one comment.
Once the AFC Championship game had concluded there was an immediate commercial for products from the NFL Shop on its website. You could get a t-shirt or a baseball cap commemorating the victory by the New England Patriots. The price?
$30 for a baseball cap. $30????!!!!
I wouldn't pay that kind of money for a baseball cap if it was made out of mink, ermine or unborn alligators and delivered by my fantasy woman in the nude.
The pure greed of these guys who have the revenue from massive television deals, luxury boxes for fat cats and stadium naming-rights deals is just astounding.
Why Actors Are Not Noted For Their Deep Thinking
With the political campaigns in full swing the endorsements by celebrities on the campaign trail are surfacing. Oprah jumped in early, but now the 'lesser' stars are offering up their endorsements. I present the following tidbit…
Campaigning for Mike Huckabee, actor Chuck Norris said Sunday that Sen. John McCain is too old to handle the pressures of being president.
Ahh, yes. That noted deep thinker and political pundit has made his pronouncement and all should take note. NOT!!!
"I didn't pick John to support because I'm just afraid that the vice president would wind up taking over his job in that four-year presidency," said Norris, who was hosting a fundraiser for Huckabee at his Lone Wolf Ranch.
OK, host the fundraisers. Pose with the candidate. Smile big and declare the candidate of your choice is your man.
But, please spare us your reasons for endorsing anyone for president. Chuck Norris should stick to breaking boards with his Karate and making cheesy action movies. One piece of free advice, Chuck, there's an old saying that I think you should take to heart. "Better to be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and prove it."
Drug Dealer Update
OK, not your 'traditional' drug dealers, but the legal kind.
It's Tuesday and the makers of Zetia and Vytorin ran two full page ads refuting the recent reports about their drugs in my local newspaper.
"Tell a lie often enough, loud enough, and long enough and people will believe it."
Adolph Hitler
Do Colors Really Matter?
I have Type II diabetes.
That means a few times a day I have to use a glucose meter to test the level of glucose in my blood. It's a pain; literally in my finger and generally overall, but it has to be done to make sure the drugs I have to take are working.
There are a lot of people with the same disease in the United States and the number is growing every day as our sedentary, overweight lifestyle catches up with the Baby Boomers.
And because the numbers are growing, it means big business for drug companies. If I didn't have at least a little health coverage the cost of the drugs I have to take would be out of the question. It's not as bad as some of the drugs a friend of mine has to take, but it is bad enough.
Beyond the drugs, the supplies for the glucose meter are not cheap. Not exorbitant, but about $75 for 100 test strips (roughly a one-month supply).
So, with that amount of money at stake it comes as no surprise we see periodic advertisements for diabetes supplies on television. I saw them first on some cable channels that are somewhat out of the mainstream. But now I am seeing them on major network stations. They picture a new "small" blood meter and talk about how easy it is to use. But the "big" selling point the commercial makes is. …
Color.
Yep, they hype the fact the glucose testing meter comes in several colors.
How out of touch with customers can you get? Why should I care what color the damn thing is? I care more about the cost of the test strips you have to use and how painful the implement used for piercing the skin is.
This is just as absurd as the car commercial where the female driver makes fun of car companies for being more concerned about the number of cup holders in a car instead of comfort and safety.
On a more hopeful note for those who suffer from diabetes is the announcement this week a study has shown some patients who have had gastric bypass surgery have actually reversed the effects of the disease enough to be able to stop taking drugs to control it.
What Are Your Standards?
I was amazed by a piece of mail I got in my post office box today.
Prestigious looking envelope and a return address in New York. What is it, you ask?
An invitation to submit my vitals for inclusion in the Cambridge Who's Who Executive and Professional Registry.
So here I sit in my sweat pants, hooded sweat shirt and house slippers -- a potential executive professional.
I wonder what these guys use for standards to get you included in their directory?
