What Grinds Our Gears - Bentok/Hammer

Hammer's Greatest Hits

2008-10-26T22:24:00.002-04:00

Looking over the blog, I've chosen a few of my favorite blogs of all time, now with breath freshening commentary!

The Matrix Movies - I forgot how good this post was. Reading over it, I was reminded of how much I dislike Hollywood and mainstream culture's hypocrisy of loving Christian morality but hating Christianity and religion itself.

Anime Music Videos - I find this still true today. Almost all AMV's show the same scenes. The only difference between the AMV's is what song is playing.

Cans That Don't Stack - Cold weather is setting in, so I decided to start eating soup for lunch at work. It's very inexpensive (about $1.50 per meal) and has few calories compared to eating fast food for lunch. I buy a few cans of Campbells, and wouldn't you know it. The cans don't freaking stack.

Speedometers - I still don't use the right half of my speedometer. With a speedometer that reads to only 80 or 100 MPH, the readability would greatly increased.

Absurdly Long Anime - I've lost interest in the long anime that I used to watch: Bleach and Naruto. They still continue to this day. I was watching the Bleach manga online earlier today, and instead of advancing the storyline, they decide to give flashbacks of secondary characters. At least I'm reading it online for free.

Wendy's Fast Food - I still go to Wendy's sometimes, but every time I remember why I can't stand that place. You can tell from just a single dining experience there that the company's mission statement focuses on money-making and very little on customer service. Case in point: They make it a hassle to get a refill on a drink.

Ghost hunting tv shows

2008-10-26T21:32:00.002-04:00

Ghost hunting tv shows really grind my gears. They have never found anything conclusive to prove an afterlife-on-earth. But what gets to me is this: having hardly any evidence to support ghost stories, these self-proclaimed experts assert that they know quite a bit about ghosts.

Did you know that ghosts emit electromagnetic waves that can be measured by EMF readers? Sure, this can't be proven by scientific method (seeing a ghost right beside you while reading EMF emissions) but wild hypothesis's work just as well, right?

Did you also know that ghosts so powerful and intelligent that they have the following abilities:
-To choose when to pass through walls at will, but still not fall through the floor.
-To interact with objects such as flashlights.
-To say the phrase "Get out" in a very soft-spoken and creepy way.

With all the billions of people who have died in human history, wouldn't our entire world be filled with ghosts, and their presence be undeniable, should they exist? What would have been a rhetorical question is now just something to be posted in a FAQ by the experts! According to ghost hunters, ghosts are just people's souls that haven't went to heaven or hell because of being lost or because of very strong emotions that tie them to the earthly world. I wonder if ghost hunters get their information from fortune tellers...

BB&T in Sylva/Cullowhee

2008-09-24T17:45:00.003-04:00

Back in early July, I applied to the part time position of bank teller at the BB&T in Sylva. I was invited back for a second interview shortly after. At both interviews, I was informed that there would be a full time position opening up shortly in Cullowhee, and my interviewer (P.M.) asked if I would be interested in that position and I said of course! The Cullowhee position was full time and 15 minutes closer to home.

Soon after, I got an email saying I didn't get the part time position. I call P.M. and asked about it and she said that they felt that I was "better suited for the full time position," which made me very happy. Now things get annoying...

About once per week, I attempt to contact P.M. on the full time position to see if it was open yet. At first, she says there is a computer problem getting the job posted. Sure. A few weeks later, I notice that the job is actually posted on the website! Immediately I post my resume since she failed to call me back several times and my faith in her is almost nill. I keep calling her and leaving messages, since she never picked up her phone.

Tired of being given the cold shoulder, I show up in person. She tells me that she's glad I keep calling and that I showed up since it shows I'm still interested in the position. She tells me that she "will call me to schedule a 3rd interview" since she wants me to be interviewed by someone else. Also, she makes it a point to mention that I am still a strong candidate for the position, which of course makes me very happy. She tells me this on a Thursday and she says she will call me, and that she might be able to reach a decision on who to fill the position by that Friday (just 1 day away) and Monday. It struck me as odd that she would call me, get me an interview, and reach a decision in less than a day, so automatically I felt like she was jerking me around.

Friday, I hear nothing from her. Monday, I hear nothing from her. No phone calls or rejection emails. It is now 7 business days after the day she said she would "definitely" have a decision. The ironic thing is that during my interview, one of the interviewers asked about my job at Jackson Hewitt, and their policy on returning phone calls from customers. I said we always called back our customers back that very day. The interviewer said that's what BB&T's policy is as well.

I've even thought that the reasons for the delay on a decision was that the financial world is very fragile right now and that BB&T didn't want to spend money on a new hire. But instead of being told anything, I'm jerked around and given promise after promise.

Even when I was applying for the job at the Mountaineer, my supervisor told me she was still waiting to see if more applicants came in, which meant she didn't think I was a perfect candidate for the position. I didn't like knowing that she was wanting to see if anyone more qualified people applied, but I love the honesty and professionalism that she showed me!

With her complete lack of professionalism, I am very angry at P.M. and BB&T for jerking me around and for so many broken promises. In a conversation with Ben recently, he said that you can't expect professionals to act professionally. How appropriate.

Nintendo

2008-09-14T02:16:00.002-04:00

Nintendo's end is coming. Its doom is palpable to the tongue. The Wii was great at first, but after a while, the coolness factor of wielding two nunchuks of mighty power is fading. There were many times when playing Twilight Princess that I just didn't want to have to swing the controller to make Link attack. Just let me press a button to make him do that.... Please? There were a few times I avoided playing TP just because I didn't want to swing the controller around.

Perhaps it wouldn't be such a problem if the motion sensing actually sensed your motions. Playing Rayman: Raving Rabbids the other day was frustrating because the Wii kept misreading my movements. Sure, the MotionPlus is coming out someday, but the Wii has been out for over 2 years. This new motion sensing technology is long overdue. Also, the Wii has 512 MB Harddrive space to store all of your game saves and Virtual Console downloads. That's not even 1 GB of space, while the Xbox 360 Pro comes with 120 GB - That's 240 times the amount of Harddrive space.

What makes me believe that Nintendo's end is coming is that the Wii is so weak compared to the Xbox and PS3. Sure it's a neat system and it's innovative. But does Nintendo even have the resources to create a new system that is HD-ready and has the processing power of either of the current competitors? If it does, then the big N has given no indication that it can do such a feat. Nintendo is so far behind in power that I'm going to have to buy an Xbox 360 or PS3 just to play Resident Evil 5. For shame.

I've been a fan of Nintendo for a long time, and I would hate to see the company get left behind in the console wars. Sure, the DS is a fine system and Nintendo has always been the leader in the handheld market, but I would hate to see them die off in mainstream console gaming.

Microsoft has had massive problems with the Xbox's red ring of death and other hardware problems, and Sony has had problems selling PS3's for many reasons. But Nintendo hasn't had any problems with console systems ever since the NES's game reading problems, which were solved by blowing on a game cartridge. It would just be a shame to see Nintendo get left behind after so many years.

Some things that would make me happy with Nintendo's next system:

-No more motion sensing crap, except in first person shooters. Resident Evil 4 is fantastic on the WiiMote, but everything else is just a gimmick.
-An actual harddrive. And no more of this 'Blocks of free space.' Speak to me in English. I know how to read the number of megabites I have left. I still don't know how much space a 'block' is.
-More online play. The Wii is a great party system, but put more emphasis into online play. Hypothetically, I can play Mario Kart with my friends, but I would have to talk to them on AIM.
-More power! Since it will be after February 2009 when the next Nintendo system is released, let's get some high definition! More processing power and better graphics would make the next system much more desirable. Recent gaming news shows that developers are just starting to utilize the full potential of the Xbox 360, but it will take developers quite a while to find a way to use the PS3's full potential. And the Wii? It's potential was maxed out on release day with Zelda: Twilight Princess. You might could argue that it's potential was reached a year after release, in which Super Mario Galaxy showed that the Wii could create some beautiful graphics and smooth gameplay. But still, it only took one year at most.

I cross my fingers for Nintendo. I don't want to see them go the way of Sega and create their games for other systems, or be stuck in the handheld market - But N has to make some major changes to keep me loyal.

Wendy's

2008-08-27T18:48:00.002-04:00

There are 2 primary reasons that Wendy's (the fast food restaurant) grinds my gears. First, their latest string of commercials ends with the tag line, "We're waaay better than fast food." Are you FREAKING kidding me? Wendy's is a prime example of what a fast food restaurant is. This is undeniable. Yet so many places try to get away from this stigma of cheap food. KFC too tried this a while back with their tag line, "There's fast food, then there's KFC." It irritates me when these companies treat us like idiots and try to brainwash us.

Another thing Wendy's does is they have the soda machines behind the counter. They obviously do this to make it harder for people to get refills on drinks. Have you ever tried getting a refill? If you have, you'll notice that it will take you a few minutes to get attention from an employee. Knowing that, I have often decided to not get a refill on a drink because Wendy's makes it such a hassle to get liquid refreshment. Wendy's grinds my gears when they are money-oriented and not customer service-oriented.

Apple TV

2007-12-07T12:57:00.001-05:00

I'm quite the fan of Apple, but sometimes I just don't understand what they are doing! Take the Apple TV for instance. This machine costs between $300 and $400, yet it doesn't do anything that is amazing! Let's look at what it can do.

1. Movies - You can download movies from iTunes and watch them on your TV instead of your computer. First, why would I ever download a movie from iTunes instead of buying the DVD? With a DVD, I have a hard copy of the movie; I can loan it to friends and family; and it looks good on a shelf. With a downloaded movie, I run the risk of losing the movie should my computer die; I can't loan it to friends; and without something like Apple TV, I can't watch it on my TV! What part of this makes any sense? Sure, the DVD's cost a few dollars more than the downloads, but how many movies would you have to download to make up the difference in cost? A lot. And after you bought 'a lot' of movies, you still couldn't loan them to friends!

2. TV shows - You can also download TV shows from iTunes and watch them on Apple TV. The same problem comes up as with downloading movies. Why not buy the collections on DVD? There's no reason not to! You're not saving money or time by downloading the shows.

3. YouTube - With Apple TV, you can watch horrible quality videos on your high definition television!

4. Music - If you download a lot of music from iTunes, you can listen to your playlists in your family room. I don't like downloading music from iTunes because buying the physical album is far superior in every way. The only reason I download music is if I want to have a single song, which I've done a few times. Or, you can copy your real CD's to your computer and listen to them on your Apple TV, which wouldn't be too bad for parties since you could have a huge playlist. This, so far, is the only viable reason to owning an Apple TV, but it's not a great one. You can go to RadioShack or similar store and get a cord that connects your Mac to your surround sound in your living room. Problem solved. Of course, if you have an iMac instead of a MacBook, it's not so easy. But does spending $300-$400 solve the problem, when you can spend about $1000 and get a MacBook? It's quite a bit more than an Apple TV, but at this point, Apple TV is just a waste of money.

5. Photos - You can also look at your photos on your TV.

Overall, I see nothing at all that makes me want to spend at least $300 to enhance my digital life. Downloading movies and tv shows from iTunes doesn't make sense to begin with. Watching YouTube on my television would be a waste of time. Since when is YouTube the center of someone's life? The videos on YT are generally only a few minutes long. There is nothing about the Apple TV that justifies spending so much money. Each of its features are worthless, pointless, or so lame that I can't help but feel that this device is just some marketing test by Apple to see how many people will buy its superfluous products.

*Disclaimer: I like Apple. They are a company that has a lot of quality in their products. The Apple TV just seems like a way to get Apple fanboys to buy more stuff.

Waiting Music Instead of Ring Tones

2007-10-11T15:09:00.000-04:00

It greatly disturbs me that some people value individualism over respectful conformity now to the point to where they modify their phones to force their favorite pop song in the ear of the person calling them instead of the traditional ring. No matter if its their grandmother, a businessman, or a someone mourning over a tragic event looking to be consoled, they are forced to listen to a crappy upbeat pop song when calling this person - this seeker of extreme individuality. It's rude, inconsiderate, and egotistical...it grinds my gears.

Resident Evil Movies

2007-09-28T20:51:00.000-04:00

It really grinds my gears when Hollywood ruins a good franchise. What grinds them even more is when brain-dead (zombie?) fans like the movie even though it completely raped the original concept. This is precisely what happened with resident evil. I agree with the critic, Erin Meister:

Watching this stuff unfold onscreen is like sitting by while someone plays your video games without you.

I would just add that watching someone else play resident evil is still entertaining and suspenseful. The Resident Evil movies are abominations.

Bill O' Reilly

2007-09-11T09:20:00.000-04:00

Travis has already posted on Bill, but I just have to reaffirm (as a conservative myself) that Bill O' Reilly is a bigger pinhead than anyone who he has ever insulted on his show. Last night he was a complete jerk to a man of much higher intellect and much nobler values.

Men Who Don't Wear Shirts

2007-09-07T16:28:00.000-04:00

Men who don't wear shirts really grind my gears. Who do they think they are? What's so special about them that enables them to walk into places of business and flaunt their hairy (or effeminate) chests around to the public? It's very conceited for them to think that everyone should be okay with their pathetic display of manliness, or in some cases girliness. For example, today a guy came into my place of business shirtless, covered in tattoos and with his chest hair shaved into a diamond shape. This guy probably had the audacity to believe that his rebellion against conformity, in the form of innumerable tattoos, is somehow a substitute for the civility of covering one's shame with a shirt. Such conceited notions grind my gears.

People With Tongue Piercings

2007-09-04T21:01:00.001-04:00

You know what grinds my gears? People who have tongue piercings.

I was just watching a game show hosted by Drew Carey called The Power of 10. The female participant was brunette, probably attractive by our shallow culture's standards, and yes, her tongue was pierced. Every time she had to open her mouth to speak, she did it in a most deformed way. This would always flash her tongue ring into the camera. I'm not sure if she did this because she wanted the world to see her emblem of slavery to society or if the piercing made it awkward for her to talk, forcing her to speak that way. I believe the reason is the former. Either way, it really irritated me.

When the girl wasn't speaking, the camera, fixed on her face, showed her anxiety as she was waiting to hear whether she was right or wrong. She showed her anxiety by licking her lips. But this was no normal lip licking, she stuck her entire tongue out of her mouth to lick them. I've seen people do this when they are nervous, but hers was not normal. The first inch or more of her tongue was past her lips and the contact wasn't made until about the second inch (If you have seen the Focus on Beauty II skit on the Best of Chris Farley SNL DVD, think of the way that Christina Applegate does it). This was certainly not a natural gesture and its whole purpose was to flash her immature piercing to the nation.

So here's to that girl on The Power of 10. America is so proud of you for your tongue piercing. Even though you made yourself look like an idiot to show us, we congratulate you!

XBOX & New Age Gaming

2007-08-16T09:39:00.000-04:00

I would love to purchase and XBOX 360, but there are so many horror stories online of them crashing and having problems that I'm scared to buy one! Whatever happened to the generation of systems that didn't have problems? In the age after NES, game systems rarely had problems, except for add-ons, such as Sega CD and Sega 32X.

I truly miss that generations of great gaming. Not only did the systems have little problems, but in that age, so many games that came out were landmark games. Today, video games cater to children in mindless, unproductive entertainment experiences. I speak of these games based on children's movies, such as Cars and A Bug's Life. I'm not a parent, but should I become one someday, I refuse to spend $400 for a video game system and $50 per game to entertain my child in a brain-melting, imagination-killing experience.

Television

2007-08-15T21:46:00.000-04:00

Television these days is hear worthless. The programs on TV are undoubtedly the worst in the history of television. Sex, violence, "reality" television, crudeness, and immorality run rampant into our living rooms while being labeled as entertainment. Television programs are nothing short of embarrassing. Sometimes it seems the only thing television sets are good for these days are playing video games and renting some select movies.

Soy Milk

2007-08-08T15:45:00.000-04:00

Soy milk is not milk. It is a liquid that is milked (verb) from soy beans. There is nothing "milk" about it. And it's horrible for cereal, and Ovaltine, and probably baking.

Souvenir Shot Glasses and Coffee Cups

2007-07-20T19:28:00.000-04:00

On the week of the 4th, I went to a souvenir shop at the Grand Canyon and I realized something that really grinds my gears. Souvenir shops always have shot glasses and coffee cups, but no wine glasses or beer mugs. What's up with that? Are total drunkards and prohibitionists the only people who like souvenirs? Can the moderate alcohol drinker not get a souvenir glass? Apparently not...and it grinds my gears!

Hollywood Explosions

2007-07-12T21:56:00.000-04:00

Hollywood explosions are so fake. Real explosions, save chemical-based ones, aren't giant balls of fire; they're mostly smoke. Grenades are a prime example.

Hollywood is so fake, and it grinds my gears!

Blu-Ray / HD-DVD

2007-06-26T16:55:00.000-04:00

Blu-Ray and HD-DVD technology are definitely not as impressive as they would like you to believe. Why? Because you have to have everything perfect to have the full effect, and the technology isn't needed for everything.

First, to experience super high definition, you have to have: 1) A Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player. 2) An HDTV capable of excellent picture quality. 3) A superb sound system.

That alone costs thousands of dollars. I automatically take myself out of their target market because of this. The HDTV's I've seen don't have a smooth picture. The plasma TV I saw at Best Buy was superb, but it was $5,000. The other HDTV's were bright, but the pictures looked choppy. The pictures, to me, don't always look much sharper either. They just look brighter. And if I'm wrong in this, I stand firm that the picture quality upgrade from standard definition TV to HDTV is unimpressive, and doesn't deserve the hype that the companies are giving it.

Also, there's no need for this HDTV except for action movies and video games. HD cable TV is a horrible idea. Do I really need to see soap operas or cartoon shows in high def?

Lack of Car Mechanics Class at My High School

2007-06-26T16:52:00.000-04:00

I don't think there was a basic car mechanics class at my high school. If there was, I overlooked it, big time. Co-worker of mine took that type of class at his high school. That would have helped me out so many times.

Bill O'Reilly

2007-06-26T16:49:00.000-04:00

O'Reilly is a horrible person. He presents a story and if there's someone he doesn't like or agree with, he calls them a pinhead. I personally think he spawned reality shows with his "blah blah blah" attitude.

Subway

2007-06-26T16:47:00.000-04:00

Subway isn't nearly as good as Quiznos. And they kept giving me cold pizza.

Baking Soda

2007-06-26T16:42:00.000-04:00

Baking Soda grinds my gears. Why? Because it's good. Too good if you ask me. Go to the grocery store and look at all the uses baking soda can be used for. Baking, cleaning, absorbing smells in your fridge, and (of all things) skin therapy. It's so versatile and powerful, it's scary. Baking soda is so good, it grinds my gears.

And it's very inexpensive in a value pack.

Ford Motor Company

2007-06-26T16:32:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, me and Brandie visited Will at Carolina Beach. We had car trouble on the way back. Apparently, a cheap plastic ring that keeps the transmission and motor in sync broke. This would have eventually burned out the transmission, resulting in $900 worth of mechanical work. The mechanic replaced the disintegrated plastic ring with a sturdy metal one. The process took about 5 seconds because the part was on top of the engine.

This is just an example of how Ford isn't always very bright in their engineering. It's hard to think that Ford would allow a cheap plastic ring to be placed on a car in such a vital position that it could cause almost a grand in repairs should that plastic melt, which it certainly did!

Pens

2007-06-26T16:27:00.001-04:00

Pens grind my gears. My handwriting with a pencil is decent if I'm writing on nice paper with a nice pencil. But every time I write with a pen, it looks like chicken scratch.

College Debt

2007-06-26T16:22:00.002-04:00

One third of my minimum monthly payments for my college loans is interest. They're making a lot of money off of me unless I knock out the loan by paying way more than the minimum payment.
Of course, it is nice to not have to pay a lot each month. I have the ability to pay as quickly as I want. Some of the responsibility rests on me.

Mediacom

2007-06-26T16:22:00.001-04:00

Mediacom really grinds my gears. Seriously, I want to be online at my apartment. Grr! Ah well. Looks like some other company will get my money now. That's the most powerful thing I can do against Mediacom. If WCU is dropping Mediacom like I hear, then they're losing a lot of money, not just mine. Sweet.