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The Most Annoying Website Feature Ever

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Is there anything worse than going to a website and having it automatically start blaring some video, jingle, or promotional material at you? A little earlier I was flitting around the internet and I came across some gaming website that automatically started some video promoting a new game and it was the most annoying thing in the world. Why was it annoying? Because the video was loud, obnoxious and paired on the same page as an article that was completely unrelated to the advertisement! So I go to this website to read about emerging technologies from software companies and I get to hear some Japanese-inspired music on a video that isn’t even viewable unless you go all the way down to the bottom of the page? No thanks.

TNAWrestling.com also has this problem. If you head over to their site you immediately get a blaring loud version of their “TNA Today” video or one of Don West’s Insane Deals yelling at you. This is one of the primary reasons why I stay away from that site. Why can’t they just leave the YouTube video there in an “off” position? Are they afraid that I won’t be able to figure out how to push the “play” button? Are they afraid that I won’t push that play button at all? Don’t I have a right to not push that button if, let’s say, I’m on my lunch break at work? Annoying.

And the most aggravating advertisements of all are those ones that say, “Congratulations. You’ve been selected to receive a free Apple iPod.” Bullshit! Those advertisements are total crap. For those of you that don’t know, they are for “freebie” sites where you essentially turn yourself (and whatever digital platform you can offer such as e-mail, blogging, personal site, etc) into a marketing tool for a variety of companies. Once you reach a certain number of people, you get a free iPod sent to you. The catch? You’re marketing services that sometimes cost $1 or $2 for the “trial” period and you need to include your credit card information in the required information. Plus, you need something like 5 or 6 people to sign up underneath you before you can get anything for free. The advertisement should say:

“Congratulations. You’ve been selected to have your identity stolen. We think that you just might be dumb enough to click on this link and give us your credit card information. Oh, free Apple iPod.”

Morons. To all website designers and developers out there – STOP this crap! Do NOT have automatic videos playing, do NOT put up advertisements that talk to the web surfer, and do NOT put up your own promotional propaganda and set it to auto-play. It’s incredibly annoying!

Robbed by Verizon Wireless Again!

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By now I’m sure that you all know the myriad problems that I’ve had with Palm’s Treo 700p. This smartphone/PDA is a complete disaster (as you can find out by reading comments on Palm’s own blog on the matter). I’ve had the Treo replaced numerous times and each time I get a new device, it has a technical glitch. This time around the earpiece doesn’t work. In other words, when I have to use a hands-free device while I’m driving (because it’s the law), I can’t use one because the connection doesn’t click. I can hear the person, but they can’t hear me.

It’s a joke. This phone is a damned joke.

So I called Verizon Wireless a little while ago and to make a long story short, there’s nothing they can do to help me with this phone. After some discussion with two folks who, by the way, were very pleasant I asked this question: “I have a phone that I can’t use, I can’t replace, I can’t return, and I can’t fix. So are you telling me that I have a $500 paperweight here?” And God bless the Supervisor I was talking to because without actually saying, “Yes,” she said, “Yes.” That’s skill right there!

She made a point about what other business allows you to return a device months, even years, after you bought it? A clever ploy on her part which I’m sure confounds many people, but I came back with the fact that there are lemon laws in place where if your purchase is faulty you can return it. After reminded her that this would be the FOURTH replacement for this phone in an 18 month time frame, she dropped that argument. But she still saved Verizon Wireless some money because in the end – and without actually saying so – she suggested that I dump this device in the garbage. And there you have it, folks. I have a $500 paperweight sitting on my desk. If you’re interested, I’ll let it go for a mere $400… 😉

At this point, I’m not sure whether or not I’ll stay with Verizon. It’s extremely insulting to have them come back at me with, “There’s nothing we can do. Sorry.” I’ve been a loyal customer who pays his bill EARLY for almost a decade and these bums can’t do anything for me? That’s not right. It used to be that the customer was always right – within reason. I believe that I am far within reason on this issue and that Verizon is trying to save themselves from having to give back a few bucks (or even from replacing this phone) from the consumer. It’s a shame, really.

Apparently my business isn’t worth much to this company. But of course, everyone I know has Verizon so if I go to a different carrier my bill will undoubtedly go up due to the fact that I’m on a new network.

I’m incarcerated by my mobile company!

And now I put this out to you folks – what do I do with my phone? Do I bag it up and demolish it with a hammer? Do I box it up and send it over Verizon Wireless and tell them to keep it? Do I donate it to some group when I know that it doesn’t work? Let me know what you think!

The Dumbest Phone Lady Ever

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Last week when I was trying to plan a brunch for Mother’s Day, I called up one of the local buffet breakfast places up in North Jersey where my Mom lives. The purpose of the call was to make reservations, but let’s be honest – trying to make reservations a few days before Mother’s Day usually means that you’re not going to get in. My mindset was, “This ain’t going to happen, but I might as well give it a shot.”

I called the place and the woman on the phone answered with a type of, “Hello?” where it sounded like she was lost in a cave somewhere. I said, “Hi, I was hoping that I could make reservations for Mother’s Day?” She responded, “Huh?” in a manner such that she didn’t know what was going on. A little perplexed myself I said, “I’d like to make reservations for this Sunday on Mother’s Day.” She said, “Oh, I think we’re all booked. Let me check.”

As she checked the book she made some odd sounds – sort of a crunching, binding sound. Very weird. Then she came back with, “We have availability at night, but our brunch is all booked up.” I said, “Oh, I was hoping for the brunch. Okay, thanks,” and I went to hang up the phone. Out of the corner of my ear I heard, “Well wait, let me check again.”

Odd – I thought she just checked.

Then she came back with, “I can fit you in at 1pm.” For a variety of reasons, this was too late for me and my family so I said, “Oh, no thanks. That’s a little bit too late for us, we were hoping for something earlier. That’s okay. No problem. I guess I should have called a few days ago. Thanks!” And as I got ready to hang up the phone (again) I heard the woman say, “Well it’s Friday today and you’re looking to make a reservation for Sunday I mean we’re obviously booked up.”

Ugh…thank you Captain Confrontational for repeating my own words. Stupid idiot.

Instead of just hanging up, which I should have done, I said to the woman, “Yes. That’s what I just said. If you do not have anything for the morning that’s fine. We need reservations for the morning, but it’s no problem. Thanks again.” The woman started to say something else – obviously looking for a telephonic fight – and I just hung up the phone before I could hear what she was saying.

How stupid are some people? Listen – if you’re the person on the other end of the line at these restaurants, then you need to understand that not everyone is looking for a fight! Granted, this story is comical at this point, but still – get a grip! The woman was right and I knew it going into the phone call – it was way too late to get any reservations. Okay, fine. But then to want to harp on a mutually agreed upon fact? Come on!

Anyway, I thought I’d share the stupidity with everyone. 🙂

More Insanity In Ocean Township…

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As if having a police force that entered renters’ homes at all hours of the night without a warrant or probable cause wasn’t enough, my roommate picked up on this news story yesterday: Pregnant Policewoman’s Request for Light Duty Denied by New Jersey Township Officials. Granted, due to the increased scrutiny from a national media, this story has come to a somewhat amicable resolution, but how much more bullshit needs to happen in Ocean Township before there is real change in this town?!

Stories abound at Monmouth University about the way that the Ocean Township Police Department violates the civil rights of those students who live off-campus (yes, including the vast majority of student renters who are NOT blights on the local community). The local papers run near-weekly stories about major drug busts in Ocean Township. A few years ago the Mayor of Ocean Township was federally indicted for bribing local business owners (and, oddly enough, shortly after the Mayor was indicted the top Code Enforcement official and Chief of Police both retired…shady anyone?). Local high school kids are rounded up by the dozen and arrested for underage drinking (which I’m not opposed to – but arresting? Come on…).

Just search Ocean Township on this blog and you’ll find years and years worth of ridiculous stories coming out of this town. And now we can add this to the bunch – not immediately accommodating a decorated, pregnant police officer. Shameful. Downright shameful.

In the mean time, check out New Jersey Carpet Cleaning for the best carpet cleaning in the Garden State!

Even In 2008, World War II Idiocy Remains

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Hard to believe that a story like this would surface in the year 2008, but here it is: Candidate speaks at Hitler birthday party. Come on. COME ON! You mean to tell me that the guy running for this Congressional seat – a guy named Tony Zirkle – walked into that room and thought, “Hey, this is a great idea!”??? I almost can’t believe it.

If you haven’t, please click on that link above and take a look at this ridiculous picture of this moron candidate standing in front of a picture of Adolf Hitler and huge swastika flags. I’m almost at a loss for words on this one. I just can’t believe this guy – who is (was) a legitimate candidate for this Congressional seat – walked into that room and told himself that it was completely okay to stand in front of that gathering, in front of Hitler, and talk about Jesus Christ. Believe me, my religion is all about evangelizing and spreading the good Word, but come on! If you’re running for office you CANNOT stand in front of Hitler in a room draped in Nazi regalia!

Where is the judgment these days? How is the public supposed to trust their political candidates when they make such stupid decisions? Again, I can sympathize with wanting to spread the good Word to even the most jaded constituencies, but this was not a bright move. In fact, it’s downright insulting. Had the candidate agreed to speak in a different room or in a manner such that he didn’t look like he was endorsing the neo-Nazis, I may have a different take on all of this. But what they say is true – a picture is worth a thousand words and the picture in that article speaks for itself.

Idiot.