I'll take, "What is Trivia", for a thousand

I was watching an old episode of some game show the other day, and had a revelation. Trivia based game shows, for example Jeopardy and trivia type games, like Trivial Pursuit, used to be easier. Why? Because, with our relatively fast advancements in many areas (technology, medicine, entertainment, science), there comes much more history. What does this mean? It means that there is A LOT more stuff to know. So, when my grandparents were young, there was not movies or internet, much less even TV or radio. But now, by the time my kids are contestants on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire or Jeopardy, just imagine all the books, movies, celebrities, tv shows, historical events, sporting events, politicians and so on and so on and so on that will have happened. People's heads are becoming more and more filled with all this useless trivia of things that have happened, are happening and will happen. It's no wonder that all the great thinkers and inventors seem to be so long ago....they had more time and less to think about!

Look, Ma! No hands!

So here's a picture of me driving down the freeway.....right after I.....made a cell phone call while driving! I know, I know, it is now illegal in California (and quite a few other states) to make a cell call while driving and not use a hands-free device. Well, sometimes, you just need to make a very brief call to see if someone is home, or what they want for dinner, and so on. I used to feel indifferent making these quick calls while driving around, never giving it a second thought, feeling nice and confident while driving. However, now when making these calls, I feel like my make focus of attention is on looking out for a law enforcement vehicle. Now that these calls are ticketable, I feel like my driving has become more dangerous rather than more safe, as I'm sure that the law makers intended. If I crash or get a ticket, I blame them!

Back again....again

So it's been awhile. About six months since the last post, I think we had a strech about that long once before. I don't remember why I had such a dry spell in posting last time, but this delay in posting was mainly caused by two reasons...one is about 20 months old and the other was just born. Yup, the little boy and wife being pregnant really take a lot of time. Oh, and there's the whole work thing. Anyway, there have been countless times I've seen or thought about something and had a lightbulb go off above my head and thought, "That would make a great blog topic", then only to get busy with the above mentioned things or just some needed but not deserved rest.
So what prompted me to finally get back to postin'? Well, I'm trapped in a waiting room at a clinic while wifey is at an appointment and I walked to a cafe across the parking lot and saw the following...

Yes, I know, it's just a hill. But where I live the terrain is so flat and monotonous, it was so nice to see a geographic structure within walking distance. Yes even if it is just a hill. I see what I'm missing by being surrounded on every side with miles of manmade conveniances. Oh, well, the grass is always greener.

Future Sean?

Saw this car ahead of me driving home the other night. In case you can't see the license plate, it is "I SPK K9". Maybe it was me in the future and I came back in time, got a vanity plate with a message and drove in front of current me to convey it. Does it mean that I, Sean P Kennedy am a dog? If I figured out this message, then it means it is a message that I would create. Wait, I'm confused. I guess I better just be nicer to evryone, just in case.

We need this why?

If you can't see what's going on in the above picture, it's the top of a bag of socks I recently purchased. What's interesting is two words in small yellow print just below the Men's Socks and Spanish version of the same. The two words are "resealable bag". Really? I mean, really?!? This is wrong on so many levels. First of all, I'm not complaining about the invention or making a bag "resealable". There have been plenty of recent products -'ve bought that had a resealable feature and I was really glad it did. Like raisins, Oreo cookies, salad and so on and so on. But, I'm sure you notice something that all those products have in common...they all depend on not having contact with air to retain freshness and thus quality and usability. Hmmm...nothing worse than stale, dried out, moldy socks. But wait, whew, my package of socks came with a resealable package. Now comes the question of who decided to include this "feature" with a package of socks? I would have loved to be there in the meeting where the guy that thought this up, pitched it to the others present. How could you possibly sell that?
"Well, who hasn't taken one pair of socks out of a plastic bag package of socks and wished he could seal that bag up to keep the other socks safe and fresh? If we only would put a resealable, ziploc type top on our sock packages, this could be a reality for all our customers! Now, who's with me!?!"
What else could the guy have said? And who actually one uses ONE pair of socks at a time? I know I take them all out, wash them, then put them all in my drawer. Am I weird? Do others only take out one pair and just replace the one pair that got a hole in it, while resealing the rest, safe and sound and fresh in their closet, until another pair meets an unfortunate fate, then returning to the sock bag for one more fresh pair? How about a resealable bag on....oh, let's say....something that might mold or get stale in a week or so....like BREAD! Instead of that little piece of paper covered metal that we twist and un-twist every time you want a slice, maybe just a nice ziploc would work better. At least the under-garment people got something right with the tagless t-shirts.

The name game

What would you call the above bug if you saw it in the wild, wild streets of neighorhood? Well, I and a group of friends saw the exact bug above (thus the picture), and in between insane gestures, jumping up and down, and people screaming, everyone was yelling to look at the "leaf-bug". So, I'm pretty sure that the really name for the insect isn't "leaf-bug". But we were all so quick to spew that name out, almost all at the same time, like we knew that was the name. Maybe it is named that. Anyway, the point I'm getting to is: why are some things named so descriptively simple? Such as the "leaf-bug", and while on insects, how about a "walking-stick". Then things such as an "orange". What about "cork-board". The list goes on and on. It seems to be more of a modern phenomenom though. Anything new that comes out or is invented seems to be a description of what it does (printer), what it can do (flushables), or what it looks like or is (keyboard). When are we going to have some inventive and creative names for the next big thing? My suggestion is to call whatever it is....Smookle. I can't wait to see what it is.

Winner, winner, chicken dinn...breakfast?

I saw a billboard a few days ago advertising the new Southern Style Chicken sandwiches at McDonalds. The ad showed a breakfast one on a biscuit and a lunch/dinner one on a bun (I think). Well, being the advertising lemming that I am, I couldn't wait for a trip to Mickee Dee's to try this puppy out. Here's the sandwich...

Nothing too exciting. Pretty much a biscuit with an over-sized chicken McNugget on it. I'm not saying it wasn't good. The biscuit was moist and buttery, the chicken had a seasoned batter it's fried in, so it tasted alright, although a little on the dry side. It could have used a quick swab of mayo or something else to make it a bit more unhealthy, while multiplying the party for my taste buds. I think I would by something else on a regular basis, but if you're not in the mood for a red meat breakfast sandwich, this is a nice alternative.

I also ordered a large coffee with the sandwich. No surprises. However, I noticed something interesting on the lid of the coffee. It has to do with what is written on top, click the picture to see it larger and see if you notice something odd like I did.

Ok, so you need to know some Spanish to "get" it, so let me expound. The lid says, "Caution I'm Hot:Precaucion Esta Caliente!" Let me translate : Warning I am at a High Temperature : Precaution This is Hot! (If my Spanish is still good enough) So, the English version is written in a way that portrays that the lid is an animate object telling you about it self, and the Spanish version is a blatant stating of the facts. Does McDonalds feel that its English speaking costumers need to be "talked down" to, treating them like kids that believe a cup lid is talking to them. Or, does Ronald think that the English users have a better sense of humor and will think it's cute or funny that a lid is telling one about it self. Or, does Sean just think about weird and insignificant stuff too much. Don't answer, please.