Archive for the ‘Not Cool’ Category
Names have been changed to protect the boneheaded innocent…
I just want to share with you something that happened to a friend of mine recently. My friend, Jake, works as a master plumber and was at a job site recently when a truck pulled up with a couple of guys. One of them got out and asked him if he or any of his crew would be interested in buying some home theater equipment. The guy told Jake that he was doing some work in an exclusive area of town (The Dominion for those that are familiar with San Antonio) setting up a home theater. He then said that by accident he was sent double of each piece of equipment and that his home office wasn’t aware of this mistake, so that he wanted to unload it in a hurry.
So Jake asked to see the equipment. They showed him the boxes that were still sealed and didn’t appear damaged. There were boxes for speakers, a projector, a receiver, etc. Jake saw the brand was Visionmax, which he hadn’t heard of. That’s when he called another buddy of ours, Brent. Jake basically told Brent that these guys were looking at selling all this equipment for $800 and asked Brent to research it online real quick to see if it was even worth that much. Brent went on the internet, found the Visionmax website, found the model number, and saw that they sell for $4,000! The website look legit! Damn! Sounds like a good deal at this point, right?
So after Brent give the thumbs up to Jake, he hangs up the phone. However, he continues to Google Visionmax. And then he starts reading a couple of links talking about a scam. And that’s when he reads of a scam where a guy shows up to a work site and claims to have extra home theater equipment! WTF?!? So Brent calls back Jake multiple times and he doesn’t answer. Finally Jake calls him back and Brent tells him “It’s a scam! Don’t do it!”…. (silence on the other end of the phone…) It was too late. Jake had given the douchebags $800 for the garbage they were peddling. A tough lesson to learn. And we don’t speak of it. Mainly because if his wife finds out, he’s a dead man.
Anyway, I hope this makes you aware of these scams and maybe helps you avoid a tough situation. Not worth it. Ask “Jake”.
-Dave Q.
It’s been almost a year since my dog, Max, passed away. I think about that dog a lot. But not nearly as much as the roommate he left behind, Murphy. Since Max has been gone, Murphy went from being a happy-go-lucky ball of fur to being lonely and depressed. I’m nod Cesar Milan, but I’ve seen this with my own eyes. So because of that he went from being an outdoor dog to being an indoor dog. He absolutely hates being alone, so when I have put him in the backyard for whatever reason, he flips out. He hates the backyard. And do he has done whatever it takes to not stay back there. And that includes eating my fence to get out. More than once I’ve gotten home to find Murphy sitting at the front door waiting for me. He has no interest in roaming around the neighborhood or causing trouble. He just doesn’t want to be in the backyard alone.
So this past weekend, I spent the days working on rebuilding the gates that Murphy had torn up. My Dad, being the jack-of-all-trades type, gave me a hand. So far it looks pretty good. We also took some precautions should Murphy decide to make this new fence an appetizer again. I bought some stuff from Petco called Bitter Apple Spray. Apparently, it’s supposed to taste so bad that dogs want no part of it. I sprayed that all over the bottom of the fence. Sadly, I don’t have much faith in it. I mean, when your dog likes the way a fence tastes, then he probably will like the taste of anything.
-Dave Q.
With this whole mosque debate going on and about how close it could be built to Ground Zero, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the subject. We practice freedom of religion in this country. We have the right to practice whatever religion we choose. So from a legal standpoint, the mosque should be allowed to be built. But that being said, it is an absolute slap in the face of Americans everywhere to build this. It is the ultimate in disrespect. And in my opinion, it is clearly being built for one purpose: to provoke us. I think my Dad said it best when he said “They can build that Ground Zero mosque the day that Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the rest of those hard line Muslim countries allow a Christian church or Synagogue to be built without obstruction on their turf.”
While freedom of religion is “practiced” in the US, it is done within our laws. But in a global view of things, I can’t say I’m for freedom of religion. If freedom of religion means I have to be cool with a group who mistreats women by cutting their noses off or stoning them to death as forms of punishment, then I guess I’m against freedom of religion. So sue me. There is something really jacked up when a religion is cool with something as heinous as honor killings. Screw that. I know I’m pointing the finger at Islam, but I feel this way towards any religion that violates human rights. That goes for the Catholic church and their child abuse scandals, as well as any cults or wackos like David Koresh.
Sexiness for everyone from Glow Berlin on Vimeo.
Anyway, I hope I’ve gotten my point across. But one more knock against Islam. If Islam is keeping girls like this girl in the video under wraps, then I’m even more against freedom of religion. Not cool.
-Dave Q.
Yesterday, I lost my Grandfather. He passed away after it was discovered last week that he had an advanced case of prostate cancer. I wish I could be in Costa Rica for the funeral, but I am stuck in Boston for a few more days. Had the funeral been planned for the weekend, I might have been able to make it. But apparently there is a quick turnaround on these sort of things in Costa Rica, and the funeral is today.
I wish I could be therefor my Father. He left last Thrusday to Costa Rica after my Grandfather’s condition worsened. I’m glad he had a chance to say goodbye. I know if I were in his shoes, I would have wanted that opportunity. I know he’s hurting because of this. My Father is a stong man, but the heart can only take so much.
I never knew my Grandfather as well as I would have liked. The physical distance between us was one reason. The language barrier was the other. I will always regret that, but it wasn’t anything I could do much about. Or was there? Of course now I can second guess just about everything I did or didn’t do. And I am.
At this point I’m looking to just get back home and be with family. This trip can’t end soon enough. But one thing my Father has instilled in me is that you can’t back out of a commitment. Which is what his Father taught him. So while it would be understandable to call my boss and tell her that I have to leave, it wouldn’t be what they would want. So I’ll stick around. With a heavy heart.
-Dave Q.
Today I got some disheartening news. I found out that my Grandfather is suffering from advanced prostate cancer. I know nothing about medicine, but that doesn’t sound good to me. From what I understand, he is going to have surgery this week. Until we hear the results of this, all we can do is pray for the best. Making matters worse, my Grandmother isn’t doing to hot either. She has a bad elbow and recently fell hurting herself. She is in the hospital awaiting her second suregery. Both of my hurting grandparents are my Father’s parents.
My grandparents live in Costa Rica. Geography has kept me from having close relationships with family there. In recent years, I have been able to communicate with them much more frequently thanks to technology, but my grandparents are old school, and never got into any of this. But that’s no excuse for me to not call more often. My Spanish being pathetic at best doesn’t help the situation. Phone calls are difficult because of the communication barrier. I regret not being a better Spanish speaker.
I have a trip to Costa Rica scheduled this summer. Needless to say, it just got a lot more significant. I want to get there as soon as possible and see them, along with all my other family. No doubt there will be a good amount of soul searching on this trip. In more ways than one.
-Dave Q.
I snapped this pic over the weekend. Nice car. But that Dominos sign on the roof of it can’t help when it comes to the ladies.
I get that some people are consumed with status symbols. But to be forced to deliver pizzas because of it? Come on, man. Sell the car. Drive something a little more modest. And then you won’t have to take that part-time job just to pay your car note. You also won’t have people taking pics of your fancy car delivering pizzas. What’s so hard about living within your means?
I didn’t take into account that it could be some spoiled rich kid who got the BMW for their birthday and their parents forced them to get a job. In which case I applaud the parents. But let’s face it, chances are if you’re buying your kid a BMW, then they don’t need a job to get some cash. They have mommy and daddy for that.
I almost feel compelled to get Dominos delivered when I watch the Spurs-Mavericks game tonight in the hope that I get this guy as the delivery driver. If I see a bimmer parked in the street when I open the front door, not only will I give him his $3 tip, but I’m also gonna give him a pat on the shoulder. And maybe an “I’m sorry”.
GO SPURS GO!!!
-Dave Q.
That’s Jared. Yeah, that Jared. Subway’s Jared. Jared friggin’ Fogle. Mr. I Lost Weight By Only Eating Subway. Yeah. I think he found all that weight he lost.
What the hell happened??!? I remember joking with friends back in the day that Subway better pray that Jared didn’t one day keel over from a heart attack. This can’t be good for business. Someone needs to renew his gym membership or something. If I owned any stock in Subway, I might want to consider selling. And then recommend at the next shareholders meeting that they stop offering cookies with those oh so healthy sandwiches.
Speaking of fat guys, surely you saw this pic by now. The pic above was taken by a stewardess flight attendant who had to be wondering how the hell she was gonna get the drink cart past that dude. Seriously though, WTF? Big time safety risk. If there was an emergency, can you imagine all the problems the passengers would encounter? I’d be pissed if I died in a plane because a fat guy crushed me during some turbulence.
For all I know that guy on the plane could have been Jared.
-Dave Q.
I’m not a big fan of going to the doctor, but I came down with a cold over a week ago. I got over the cold about Wednesday of last week, but the cough that accompanied it has remained. And it is killing me. It is really bad at night when I am trying to get some sleep. My sleep habits aren’t great to begin with, so when you toss in the coughing factor, I’m just not getting any reasonable amount of quality sleep. And of course I’m just yawning during the day. I couldn’t even eat enough turkey over the Thanksgiving weekend to induce a cough-free coma.
This week I will be at an off-site training instead of going to the office. Good thing because I’ve been coughing a lot at work. And a co-worker likes to point out that I am not coughing in the government approved manner, which consists of coughing into your arm? This whole time I’ve just been covering my mouth. My bad.
I hope it’s not swine flu. My coughs sound like traditional coughs. Not oinks. So I may be okay.
-Dave (cough) Q.