Random Rants - IV

R.a.n.t. of month November, 2016

It's coming back! That's right, my R.A.N.T. feature is coming back. I've gotten so engrossed in musical posts lately, I've let my other love (ranting) fall by the way-side. Well, it's finally back.

And what better way to get into the swing of things, than with my annual Random Rants feature. Yes, every 13 month I head over to Twitter and give the job of ranting to you. (Can you believe this is the fourth year)? It's fun listening to other people rant for a change and I don't have to do the hard work of preparing a rant. Truth be told, it's a lot more work than coming up with my own. And, of course, I try to come up with some humorous and/or witty responses.

Note: I didn't say I'm successful (at writing humorous and witty), I said I try.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

(Random) Random Rants
@stinestinks - I like to rant. I was on Big Brother 16 or something.
You like to rant too? I knew there was a reason I liked you season 16.

@chakri_iiith - Life, is sometimes like the game Jenga, you make one wrong move and it all comes crashing down.
I always thought life was more like the Game of Life from Milton Bradley.

@hello_andi - when I feel like waiting 2 hours, have none of my questions answered, and leave with a still-glitching phone, I visit a #sprint store
Now I know where to go when I feel like that next time.

@rahimaxarsenal - I don't understand people who plagiarise jokes and pass them off as their own. I may be unfunny but at least I'm original.
I agree, it's as ridiculous as a box of Grape Nuts. I looked inside a box once, no grapes, no nuts. What's the deal with that?

@TARDISArchives - I can't watch a scene of Doctor Who with Donna Noble in it without the urge to rant about how AMAZING SHE IS
(rant) I do not think that word means what you think it means.
(But I agree, Donna is amazing!)


Grammar Department
@MarkMolloy - I really dislike writing "that that" in a sentence - how is this allowed in the English language?
It's not that that is allowed, it's that some people don't care how awkward it sounds. Trust me, there are worse things afflicting the English language...

@summertimedrive - Here's the think like you know what you're doing dude like you're not dumb you
...for example this sentence. I think my IQ just dropped 10 points.

@deanashraf - So I can be trusted to pay for all items I pick up in a shop, but I have to ask for a 5p bag? I KNOW THEY'RE ARE 5P IT'S BEEN A YEAR
And then... "They are are". Almost as bad as Michael Scott's "ASAP as possible."


Time is Money Department
@davidmarsh - Do you have time critical information to pass on? Just send an email and then sit around for hours waiting without saying a word.
Sorry about that. I guess an email was not the best way to let everyone know the building was on fire.

@AldWells - If you wanted something urgently don't give it to me two days ago knowing it takes two days to setup.
The building is on fire. Is it too late to ask you to install the smoke alarms today?

@HYost_Photo - Pricing goes a lot father than just for the photos. You're paying for my time, travel & editing. Good photography isn't cheap.
Speaking of editing (perhaps this should be in the grammar department), what does your father have to do with your photography?


Coffee Department
@lpatrao - Coffee with a huge dose of some rudeness from someone this morning. So unnecessary.
I guess your barista didn't have her cup of coffee that morning?

@sniperkc - " DO YOU NEED A CUP HOLDER " nah Ima walk all 5 of these drinks in the house with my hands
If you can balance all five on top of each other, I'd pay $10.00 to see that. Could you please?

@natshane - Popcorn, headphones, coffee and a good book. Then you realise, you have work tomorrow.
Gee thanks a lot! Here I was enjoying my rants article and you had to remind me I have work tomorrow.

@milda_cup - @FDNCoffee your WiFi is a joke! Came in to do some work and couldn't connect! Also music in clubs is quieter than here! Not OK!!!
If their WIFI is a joke, I wonder if I could use it to help me write better jokes. No, I agree, probably not. Nothing can help improve my lame jokes.

@Skegee_Man - The worse ones are the parents who have on the new shoes, fancy clothes, fancy car, but complain about $3. $50 worth of starbucks tho.
According to the film Back to the Future, Starbucks is supposed to cost $50 a cup. I can't imagine that. I still complain about $3 Starbucks. 


Parking Department
@Kendal_22 - I'm glad I paid $140.00 to park on campus and it takes me 30 minutes to find a spot
For my humorous comment on parking, click HERE for a short poem I wrote last year. You must read and see if you agree.

@iMello12 - Why do we have to pay parking at the hospital or no parking at the emergency? "Okie, I'm almost dying but first lemme pay my parking"
How am I supposed to make jokes if you already include one on your rant?

@alternajock33 - For the people that dont have the street numbers for their house posted for people to find you, you are a horrible person
You should see me looking for house numbers at night. I have to use a pair of binoculars. And yes, I have been reported to the police a number of times. 


Driving Department
@drdrehole - Yield does not mean come to a complete stop when you're in a merging lane that's a half mile long and the speed limit is 45.
It's either that, or people ignore the yield sign altogether. "What yield sign? I don't see no sign." Where's Bill Engvall when you need him?

@Brady_01 - Beet truck drivers can drive a man to the brink of insanity.
When I was married, my ex-wife drove me to drink all the time. Then when I was done, she came and picked me up.

@Al_Apun - Tho there's a lot of roundabouts here but people still fails to use common sense. They'd stop even tho d incoming car is miles away.
Were they looking for a yield sign?

@AmandaKingcup66 - when did it become a choice whether to stop for a red light??!
I must have missed the notification too. I guess peoples lives don't matter much to some people. And how much time are they really saving? 30 seconds? Where are they going they need an extra 30 seconds?


Restaurant Department
‏@hwiley10 - Rant for the night: DO NOT COME INTO A RESTAURANT IF YOURE NOT GOING TO TIP
And certainly don't order food if you are not going to tip. Honestly, don't you wish you knew in advance who is not going to tip?

@emmypickle18 - PSA: Please don't tip your waitress/waiter in change, you are not helping them out, and it never leaves their apron or change pouch!
My friend and I shared a hotel once for a convention we were at. Every morning he kept leaving a few dollars and some change for a tip. At night the bills would be gone but the change remained. I kept trying to explain to him why, but he never got it. Finally, on the last day, he left five dollars in quarters. After he left, I picked up the quarters and left a five dollar bill instead. (On top of the tip I was leaving, of course).

@fan_breakeven - ... because of course the point of takeaway is to order something 1-2 days after you actually want to eat it. What a joke
It wouldn't be such a bad thing if you were a traveller. Somehow, I'm guessing you are not.


Technology Department
@k8seren - As an IT person, I hate Adobe programs. I can't figure them out, the licensing is confusing, and they take 6 years to install.
Have you tried turning it off and on again?

@FrogMichaels - Pet hate: when ppl try to make their #twitter profile interesting with varied, random facts. 'Tofu, yoga & knitting'. Stop it!‏
So what's your stand on random rants?

@LauraSeeber - Anyone else get annoyed by pop ups that block the web content? If you want to lose me as a potential customer, this is how.
I have no pop-ups on my blog. Is that enough to retain you as a reader?

@Larooooon - Replacing the pistol emoji with a water gun was such a great decision. I'm sure that's really gonna cut down on gun violence.
Water guns can be dangerous. If they are filled with acid, and you are the Joker.

@browncoatgrimm - only recently started referring to emoji's as "emoji's". they were emoticons back in my day,
Back in my day, we didn't even have emoticons, we had to smile with our face. You kids today are so spoiled.

@sheilajoymags - #rant rant rant rant rant Rant Rant Rant Rant Rant Now that's how you rant on social media
So I've been doing it wrong all these years?

C is for Coffee Mugs

R.a.n.t. of day 04/03/15

A few weeks back my rant was having trouble finding whole bean coffee as opposed to ground coffee. What I don't have problems with is finding a coffee mug to drink said coffee. Can too much of one thing be too much? Perhaps, because my biggest coffee complaint is having a problem deciding which coffee mug I want to select for the day. Yes, I'm coffee crazy and this has resulted in a large collection of coffee mugs. (Coffee being one of the most used tags on my blog). The excess of coffee mugs also means I'm running out of room fast. I have a coffee mug tree that holds six mugs. Quite laughable! It's getting to the point the tree will only hold 10% of my coffee mugs. Yes, one day that will actually be true. So I then bought a novelty coffee mug the size of a large cooking pot. I place a few of my coffee mugs in that thing. The rest are shoved in my cupboard. An entire shelf devoted to coffee mugs. And, of course, there are coffee mugs on top of coffee mugs.

You know the adage, "There's an app for that?" I have a similar saying for my coffee mugs. "There's a mug for that." Depending on what I'm doing, I'll have the perfect coffee mug. For example, the blog photo of the day is inspired from one of my favourite video games, Portal. So I'll use this one when I'm playing early morning video games. Let's be honest though, I drink coffee all day long. What other mugs might you find spilling out of my kitchen cupboard?

When I'm in a comic book mood.

When I'm in a Star Wars mood.

When I'm feeling smart.

When I'm in need of an Irish Coffee.

When I'm watching sports.

Feeling tragic. It's a replica of the mugs used aboard the Titanic. I picked this up when visited Belfast.

When I'm feeling photographic.This was the first photo I ever took when I visited London for the first time. Utilizing CafePress, I created this mug.

Though this is more to advertise the Mall of America, the obvious nod to the Survivor series insured I was going to pick this up. Besides, I like Mall of America. And I have indeed survived shopping there a few times.

This is a replica of a mug used on the Star Trek series. Yes, I have a lot of nerdy mugs.

So there you have it. A taste of my coffee mug collection. Other mugs I have I can remember off the top of my head:

Grumpy Cat - "I had fun once, it was awful"

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - "Don't Panic"

Disappearing Tardis - Tardis disappears with hot liquid and reappears on the back.

Solar System - Minus Pluto. That's kind of like inviting someone to a party then at the party telling them they didn't really mean to invite them. "So get out!"

Diana Krall - I collected this on her 'Quiet Nights' Tour

Cafe 80's - A mug with the logo from the same cafe featured in the Back to the Future film.

Some questions for discussion:
Do you have a favourite coffee mug?
Which coffee mug featured today do you like?
What do you collect that seems unusual to others?

Bonus Photo

I just received this mug last night.

Welcome to the family!

Fresh Ground Coffee

R.a.n.t. of week 03/15/15

I don't know if this makes me a coffee snob or not, but I refuse to buy pre-ground coffee. Personally, I don't understand it. There is nothing I enjoy more than waking up and grinding a fresh pot of coffee.

WARNING! This is the paragraph showing how I'm not such a coffee snob. You see, when I'm shopping for coffee, I'm attracted to various different flavoured coffee. If it's something I'm going to enjoy, I'm going to buy it.

Now time for the complaint. It seems most coffee I find is pre-ground instead of whole bean. What good is that to me? For a time I was wondering if maybe flavoured coffee doesn't come in whole bean. But that can't be true. One of my favourite coffee places, Berres Brothers, has an abundance of awesome and different flavours available. All whole bean! (Or ground if you prefer). The down side to Berres Brothers, if there is one, is they  are not in my neighbourhood. I need make a special trip to Watertown Wisconsin and personally buy from them there in the cafe. Well, I guess it's not such a down side. I usually go with my sister and her family and we make a special day of it. It's our Berres Brothers time. And as they say in their store...

What is Berres Brothers Time?
BB time is a time to relax, talk, chill out, warm up. Just be you. It's time to think, laugh, whatever.
BB time is a feeling. A state of mind. An experience. A place where you're in control of the moment, protected from the stress, the noise and the hassle of the day. Whether it's with friends, family or all alone. First thing in the morning or late at night. Simply put, BB time is your time. And it's a little different for everyone. But when you're in it. You know it.

But let's be honest. No matter how special Berres Brother Time is to my sister and I, I'd still like to find whole bean coffee in the stores. I mean, is that such a hard thing?

Out For A Drive

Kenosha

I decided to go for an impromptu drive and see where it led me.

My first stop was in Kenosha.

One of the first things I noticed after stopping was this trolley. Interesting.

The main reason I stopped, I noticed a dinosaur museum. How could I not stop?

I'm terrified looking at this impressive beast, and he's long since dead.

So many dinosaur bones in this exhibit. No wonder dogs are not allowed inside.

One last display in the main hall. He looks hungry and angry.

Downstairs display shows fossils being cleaned and catalogued.

Another look at the dinosaur lab. Cool!


Chicago

Continuing my drive, I end up in Chicago. This is a shot inside a cool music store called the Exchange. Found it on Milwaukee Ave.

This is the Wormhole. A very popular coffee cafe. It's Science Fiction themed. You'll notice a Delorean hanging on the wall in back.

It was a nice drive and a good excursion for the day. I followed route 32 till I hit Illinois. I think next time I'm going to head North instead of South and see where that leads me.

Random Rants - II

R.a.n.t. of week 09/28/14

It's that time of the year again. That's right, I've dusted off and turned on the twitter machine to once again find what other people are r.a.n.t.ing about. You've heard me complain enough in the past, it's time to see what everyone else has been irate over this past month or two while I've been on blog hiatus. Of course, as always, I've added my own thoughts on each topic.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Tearoze
Ok, I've now concluded my twitter rant on behalf of all good and authentic bloggers.
>Sorry I missed it. I must not be a good or authentic blogger. But, I'm just getting started with my rants.

Matt
business not seeing jobs as careers but just temp work
>The CEO of McDonald's might disagree with you.

Rosie G.Whey are Mars Bars so much smaller these days? When I was a kid they were so big you had to carry them in a backpack.
>"Fun Size" has ruined the world and made it less fun. Of course, you could try the candy bar in the link below..
World's Largest Chocolate Bar

Kate D
The price of tea in China.
>Is this a rant about how expensive it is? Or just a statement pointing out that China puts a price on tea?

Crystal Espin
When did it become acceptable for PRs to call you less than 24hrs after sending an email because you haven't responded yet?
>I've learned patience is a virtue. However, some people are far too impatient to learn that.

Dani Torres
I can't stand when professor gets behind on grading, like your the one assigning all of this, if you can't keep up with it then stop
>Some people need to learn patience. (See above).

Allyson
It's fall. 2 months till winter. Of course it's gonna be cold! Maybe you should wear more clothes and stop complaining.
>And just a couple months ago, people were complaining it was too hot. The madness never stops.

Marissa Rebischke
Owning a nice camera doesn't make you a photographer. Much like owning a good set of knives doesn't make you a chef.
>Also, standing in a garage doesn't make you a car. And eating gluten free foods doesn't make you trendy. (See last years random r.a.n.t.s).

Fiona Fussi
I HATE castings where models are treated like cattle. Totally disrespectful and humiliating.
>The looks I get when I tell someone I went to McDonald's for dinner. Totally disrespectful and humiliating. I wonder if that's ever happened in Her World.

kennedie carlson
We know you're in college. We know you drink beer. No need to snapchat it everyday.. nobody from high school cares if you look cool
>Same goes for people and selfies. No need to post what you look like every day. I know what you look like, not cool.

Francesco Pretelli ‏
I cant believe airport wifi is a joke everywhere.
>Not a Boingo fan? I don't blame you. You'd think for the price of a ticket, it could be complimentary. Less peanuts, more wifi.

ashley edgar
Not really sure when not caring about things or people became 'cool', but it's not...Care about people, have dreams, and work hard.
>Though I agree, I hope you don't care I stole your rant. My dream this week is to not work hard and let others do my job for me.

Kim Brown
It is mind boggling to me how rain affects traffic. Just drive, people! And turn on your headlights. Many forgetful folks, it seems.
>Tell me about it. "What is this wet stuff falling from the sky? I better drive like an idiot."

Scott Smith
I hate when I send my friends a text message and they never respond do it. Feels like I'm being ignored.

Stephanie Mertens
If you can drink every weekend but complain you're to broke to do anything else, you should probably reevaluate your life
>Maybe step down from drinking Guinness to Pabst? Of course, if you go that route, may as well skip buying the Pabst all together and just turn on the tap water. Tastes about the same.

SLAMMIN
My hands are clammy, my ears are big, I'm a hairy guy and I'm touchy. I've heard them enough. Every now and then a compliment is nice.
>I liked your rant so I stole it for my blog. Hope that counts as a compliment. Also never forget you're good enough, you're smart enough, and dog-gonnit people like you!

Jaclyn ‏
The technology of this generation has absolutely destroyed the quality of relationships, friendships and human interaction in general.
>Tru dat. I h8 interwebs. B dumbing us all down. But INCYDK I no h8r. C Ya!

Jill Rudison
I absolutely detest doing cardio when the fans are blowing straight down on me. I'm trying to sweat here...grrrrrr
>Perhaps the gym thinks it's not cool to sweat, so they turn the fans on as a courtesy? Still, not cool.

Ahna Kate
Absolutely CAN NOT STAND when other parents judge other kids for their actions when they have no clue about their own.
>Or worse, when they are trying to tell you how to discipline your kids and they don't even have any.

LaToya C ‏
You want your coffee done right? Go to Starbucks because McDonalds will play with your emotions
>Let's not limit our dissatisfaction with McDonald's to just it's coffee, okay?

Martin Ferro-Thomsen
Don't be 15 minutes late for a meeting that you requested. It's more than enough time to decide I don't want to do business with you
>Five minutes would do it for me. Unless they came in with coffee. Then I'd be fine with it. Unless it was from McDonald's. (See above).

Andy Welsh ‏
Sydney yeh you have a nice harbour and beaches but shame you get no time to enjoy them because your stuck in traffic all the time.
>Maybe they are only meant to be looked at as you drive by?

Kelsie Fitz
You have a bf and you talk to like 7282 different guys and you think you're adorable but really you're annoying. sorry
>Talk to 7282 different guys? Are you sure? Haven't I told you a million times to stop exaggerating?

sean
Instead of dropping the "unhealthy" foods from school lunches, why doesn't Michelle just tell kids to take a jog.
>Ever try and get a kid to choose between eating an unhealthy food and taking a jog?

Melissa A.R.
Being sick.
>This is what happens when you eat unhealthy school food and refuse to go out for a jog. (See above)

Broooooke ‏
I hate when people ask "why are you dressed up"? umm maybe because I wanna look cute for myself and actually be confident for once
>To be cute and confident? Or in case you run into Justin Timberlake?

Dave Hale ‏
Pps just need to exercise their manors. It doesn't cost you anything to be polite... That is all..
>I hear Bruce Wayne exercises in his manor. Just don't ask if you can use his gym. That wouldn't be good manners.

linds
just bc someone might have more fat on their body than you doesn't mean they can't be healthier or in better shape
>Fair enough, but I've never seen Jabba the Hut win a footrace.

Bacardi Oakheart
I always think rants say more about the person ranting than the thing they're ranting about anyway.
>My blog must say volumes about me then.

michael
people...an apostrophe + "s" does not make a plural!
>People... they're grammar mistakes using apostraphes is hilarious.

Christina M
Being put on the spot....
>Children are good at doing this. Parents just need to teach their kids basic aspects of decency.

Abdullah
So many little kids these days are spoiled ingrates whose parents couldn't bother to teach them the most basic aspects of decency
>Would you rather see the parents smoking in front of their kids? How crazy would that be?

Formula Frank
Seeing a pregnant woman smoking makes me furious. That poor child doesn't have a chance before its even born
>People still do this? Thought everyone had moved over to those 'vapor' cigarettes.

superozzie
"Vapor" cigarettes. They still stink.
>Not that I disagree with you, but people always find something to complain about. (See below).

enrique29
Derek Jeter haters!
>Hating haters. What could be funnier?

Aaron R
Why they put Jarjar Binks into Star Wars Episodes 1-3?
>To give people something to complain about, to sell more toys, to distract from how annoying Anakin was, take your pick.

Jonathan Morrison
The problem isn’t that the 6 Plus bends the most, it’s the fact that IT DOESN’T BEND BACK.
>Come now, let's be nice. Apple is bending over backwards to give us a decent product.

TMI Memes
I hate when people get mad about my tweets. This is a MEME ACC. IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY.

Closings and Endings

R.a.n.t. of week 05/18/14

Life is about continual change, so life is always changing. Much like a kaleidoscope. A poet once wrote;

Colours shifting, changing.
For a moment here.
In a moment gone.'

There are two aspects of change. One is when something new begins, but the other is when something ends. Sometimes the change (or end) is drastic, like the loss of a loved one. But usually, the change is something small or mundane (to most people). If you are like me, even the ending of a TV show or departure of a favourite character can be sad. I'll admit, I used to watch ER quite regularly, and when Dr. Green left the series I had something in my eye which caused it to tear. Seriously, THAT'S what it was. Just something in my eye. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Of course at the time I had no idea his 'wife' was going to become River Song or I wouldn't have minded his departure, just so she could move on.

Other times, a location you love comes to a close. Years ago, there was a 24 hour coffee shop on Milwaukee's North/East side. My friends and I went there quite often. A few of my friends would frequent the place and play chess till the wee hours of the night. We all loved that place, but it eventually went out of business. So I had to find a new place for coffee. I tried a few till I found one on Highland called, Highland Park Pies & Cafe. It was owned by an older lady but she informed me she had just sold the place to a lovely young coffee barista. So 'Birdies' (as it was renamed) then became my new place. I'd go quite often before work and do a little writing, or just chill out listening to the smooth jazz they played. In the Winter, they had a fireplace and Sarah (the owner) would ask if I'd like to have it lit. Always I'd agree. Usually I'd be there by myself but a few times I convinced someone to stop by. My sister, my dad, my friend Ray or my friend Mike would show up from time to time. I'd also see Terry, a family friend, there quite frequently. Then things began to change. The place didn't play jazzy music any more and I started to bring my own music. Gradually, I was there less and less. When Sarah remarried, she too was there less and less. Just a few short months ago, another friend of mine, Sandi, visited the place and told me how much she despised it because the service was slow. Stopping in with another friend they simply ordered coffee and sandwiches and waited a half hour. They were very upset and that was disappointing for me to hear. The place that had once been one of my favourite places to visit now had people complaining about it. The speculation is perhaps the family that owned it was just getting tired of running it. That may be true, because shortly after the place was closed. I've had to add Birdie's to that list of places I now miss.

 In other words: Sorry for the inconvenience, but Birdie's is closed. PERMANENTLY!

Accidental Rap

At times I'm inspired to vocalize a rap,

it is accidental from a sudden coffee lap.

The words, gibberish, as a Dr. Seuss map,

yet exciting as Ackbar saying, "It's a trap!"

Quickly it's sung, in a rushed snap.

With the loss of the coffee for my yap.

Escape, if you must, through the cat flap.

Do not feel you need to clap.

J.A.Scott

An Anniversary R.a.n.t. Special

R.a.n.t. of week 07/28/13
One year ago, I started ranting about ants invading my house. It's something I've done before, r.a.n.t.ing I mean. Back in 2004 I had a personal website I maintained which came with a discussion group. On a weekly basis, I would find something to complain about, to inspire people talking. It lasted for about four months till I started running out of time and forgetting about it. In 2008 I started my blog and continued with my r.a.n.t.'s where I left off, but this time it only lasted five weeks. Finally, in 2012, I began to r.a.n.t. once more. Here it is a year later and I'm still ranting. A week ago, I asked several people if they'd be interested in helping me do an anniversary r.a.n.t and a few agreed. I asked them to be short, light and as humorous as they could possibly be. I would have done all these topics myself, but sometimes it's nice to get a fresh perspective from someone else. Plus, with such a variety of topics, I'm afraid I'd get writers block before to long.


Business

Thanks for the opportunity to write something. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, but it hit me this morning what I can write about. Just heard the local coffee house Alterra is changing it's name. It's now going to be called Colectivo Coffee. What? So ridiculous. What was wrong with the Alterra name? And they sold the name to another company. Now I'll be confused when I see the Alterra name. Is it the coffee, or the coffee cafe? What's in a name? Such upsetting news, and before I've even had my morning coffee.
By, Erick / Visit my blog at erickthered.blogspot.com
- I couldn't agree more. (Jeffrey Scott)


Food

They are back! Yes, Twinkies are back. I love these golden baked goods. So tasty and fun. What were they thinking not selling them anymore. Everyone loves the Twinkies and thats why they ahd to bring them back. So in a way, us the buyers win. They thought they could deprive us. #Fail. One of the biggest times I ever got in trouble was when my mother came back from the store and I found the box of Twinkies. I remember taking them into the basement and eating them all. I was maybe five. When my mom looked for them I said I didn't no where they were so she thoguht the store forgot to put them in the bags. I was dumb though, and crusehd the box up and stuffed it under the dryer. About two years later we got a new drier and my dad found the empty box. By that time I forgot I put them they're.

- I appreciate the humorous story Katy.


Sports

Dude, check it. The Milwaukee Brewers are lame, and everyone knows it. But not as lame as Ryan Braun having to forfeit the rest of the season. The rest of the season? And just because he wanted to help out his team and his career? "But his performance was enhanced" (I hear you whine). Suck it up, buttercup! That's such a bad thing? I can certainly see the tragedy in that.... NOT! Complaining that PED's are a disadvantage to other players is like complaining my wife's coupons are a disadvantage to other shoppers. She uses what resources are available to her advantage, so did Braun. I'm no Braun fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I'll call a duck a duck. I could go on, but I won't. I've got tickets to see the Detroit Tiger's tonight. Now that's a ball team!


- Your fascination with the Tigers baffles me Kenny. But I'm not really in a good position to dispute that at this time. LOL Go Brewers!


World News

Kate Middleton,
Most people are so upset with all the press Kate Middleton is getting lately regarding the birth of her baby. My complaint is about all THOSE people. If you don't like the news, shut it off. Having a baby is a wonderful blessing, and Kate is such a beautiful mother. It's not beneath me to say I'm a little jealous. And how adorable is George Alexander Louis. How could you not fall in love with that precious bundle of joy. Kate, you really have it all; you are gorgeous, have a great fashion sense, a wonderful husband and the cutest baby ever. What more could a girl ask for?
With love,
Vicki

- You know what they say, haters are gonna hate. Nice job Vicki.


Rebuttal
My rant is a rebuttal to something you wrote last year - describing feelings of "being invisible". I wonder if it's ever dawned on you, you are likely the biggest part of the problem. Being quiet and shy isn't an excuse. Get over it and approach people. How can you complain about others doing this to you, if you do this to them? And explaining your problems using Doctor Who? Yawn, give it a rest. Maybe the next time you do this, you can give ME the 'business' section. I'd cover something more informative than a simple name change.
Jenni Long.
- Thanks for the kind thoughts Jen. I can always rely on you to call me out. You certainly like to complain more than I do. I don't know why you don't have your own r.a.n.t. blog.


This anniversary r.a.n.t has come to it's conclusion. Lately, it's been hard when trying to help others celebrate their own anniversaries, when I don't currently have anything to celebrate myself..So now, in a way, I have. Maybe it won't be so bad for me any more.

Once again, thanks to everyone who contributed something! It means a lot. Even if I don't 100% agree with all of your views. I'm looking at you Jen!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jenni Long is a writer and editor
of the Canadian children's magazine
'Fille Forte'. That being said, her
thoughts do not necessarily reflect
those of myself.

Cold Coffee

R.a.n.t. of week 05/26/13

Currently, there is a lot going on in my life. Heartbreak, depression, lack of zeal, disappointment, etc. However, the last straw doesn't come from any of these, but from something just as irritating. It's something that happens on a daily basis while at work, and nothing I've tried seems to work. I'm talking about the temperature of my coffee. It never fails, it's always cold before I finish. I'm a sipper by nature, so my coffee lasts much longer than a thirty minute time frame. You see, I don't drink the coffee at work, I prefer to bring in my own special blends. The result is either drinking my Thermos of coffee quickly before it loses it's steam (pun intended), or try to savour as much as I can during the course of the morning as it grows colder and colder. I've tried many things, and various containers, all to no avail. So what's a man to do? Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Of course you are. Wait around for a coffee delivery service to be introduced, thus offering piping hot fresh coffee. Till then, buck up and drink the cold coffee.

Kopi Luwak

"Give me NOW, something new!
Very tired of cafe au lait."

I can do that, if you must.
Try some pricey Kopi Luwak.

"Make it special, make it right!
Something fancy as an opera."

Don't be so huffy, have a seat.
Enjoy a cuppa from Sumatra.

"Woman really! Is this a trick?
I've had this Joe. Every visit!"

This blend is special, just for you.
Prepared with love from a civet.

"I don't believe it, suggested well.
And surprised you shared with me."

The civet excretes bean from it's rear.
Not every body's cup of tea.

J.A.Scott


*Please, be kind to your barista.

Jeffrey Scott's Coffee Klatch - 2

When I did my traveling of last year, I feared something was going to happen. I had this realization I was likely going to develop the travel bug. Not surprising, it has hit me and I'm desperately trying to decide where I want to go next. Last year I was in Mexico, London and Paris. How do you top that? I likely won't get as much travel in this year, but would still like to go somewhere decent. This year my problem is I'd like to take my kids somewhere but overseas is out of the question. Most likely it'll be somewhere fairly close, like Mall of America, as we did last year. But I don't want to repeat that. So now I must think of somewhere cool to take the kids, and at the same time plan a trip for myself. You'd think traveling would be boring, but I rather enjoyed it. Where have you traveled alone?
__________________________________________________

In lieu of an interview this week I've decided to do a game review.

Not sure if there are any other game players in my audience, but I do enjoy my games from time to time, why else would I have purchased the PS3? Oh, that's right; the Blue-Ray player. Seriously though, I used to be addicted to games, especially online games. Anyone remember Evercrack? Oops, I meant Everquest. Fortunately I'm much older and have more important things like my writing to keep me busy. But I'm digressing, on to the game review.

If you love creating your own personalized character, you'll love this game. If you love interacting with other characters in the DC Universe, you'll love this game. If you like to play as a villain, you'll love this game. The character creating is great and lots of choices are available such as powers, and movement type. I am slightly (this is a very slight complaint) disappointed in the outfits available. Don't get me wrong, there are many, just not as many as I'd have liked. Of course, if you have a particular hero you'd like to pattern yourself after you have that option. Or if none are available, and you are creative enough you can do so yourself. As a big time Legion of Super Hero fan, I've created a Brainiac 5 and Sun Boy characters. Possibly more on the way, I enjoy creating characters as much as I enjoy playing the game.

Once you finally get into the game, you'll be given various missions from the heroes and villains of the game. As can be expected, the more missions you go on, the more experience you get, the higher in level you become. There are options for joining with others in a group or creating a League. If you love super heroes, online games or the DC Universe I'd highly suggest playing the game.

__________________________________________________

Today's musical guest is 5 for Fighting, "Superman (It's Not Easy)"
Enjoy


__________________________________________________


So what did you watch this week? Maybe I'll cover it here, if not feel free to leave a comment on what you think was awesome to watch this week.

"The Amazing Race"

"V" -

"Biggest Loser" -

"Parenthood" -

"Survivor" -

"Office" -

__________________________________________________

"The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." - Carl Sagan

Jeffrey Scott's Coffee Klatch

Welcome to the first episode of 'Jeffrey Scott's Coffee Klatch'. So what is the coffee klatch? It's a great way to start your Friday morning and weekend. A little rag on happenings of the past week, musical guests, videos, reviews, guests, jokes and/or water cooler chat. You never know what you might find here.

Guests? Do you run a podcast, own a website or have some project you'd like to promote? Contact me and we can set something up. Essentially, I'd like to produce a transcribed interview, highlighting various projects people are working on, the websites where people can find them and other contact information they may want to share.

I hope you enjoy the first edition. Have a seat, pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee and enjoy the show.

__________________________________________________

Being the first episode, I thought it might be fun to do an interview of myself to try and give others an example of how exactly I'd like to produce the interviews. Also, it'll give everyone a chance to see who I really am. So without further ado, I'd like to welcome my guest today, me!

Jeffrey Scott: Welcome to the Coffee Klatch.
Me: Thanks for having me.
Jeffrey Scott: So, are you a coffee drinker?
Me: Like you wouldn't believe. I've even written poems about coffee. (laughs)
Jeffrey Scott: What are you drinking this morning?
Me: I'm in one of my favourite coffee shops at the moment so I just picked up the strongest blend they had. Not sure exactly the brand.
Jeffrey Scott: So you mentioned already you're a poet, do you have any projects in the work?
Me: Not really. I'm always working on my poetry, one day I'd like to produce a collection, right now though I'm concentrating heavily on my blogging.
Jeffrey Scott: Do you have any musical inspirations?
Me: I love music, and love many artists in various genres. My two favourites are 80's and jazz. I love the work of Diana Krall, Mindi Abair, Blondie, Huey Lewis, Sade, Barenaked Ladies and was recently introduced to Tegan and Sara.
Jeffrey Scott: I've noticed a lot of interesting stuff on this blog, do you have any others?
Me: Yes, I do. I have one I call Carrot Sticks & Cottage Cheese, essentially it's dedicated to my zeal for fitness. I've struggled with my weight for many years, I found it a great way to keep myself motivated. And if I can motivate one other person, I'll feel I've done my job.
Jeffrey Scott: So what have been your inspirations for the sight?
Me: If you look at the link address, you'll notice a clue to my motivation. Yes, I'm a big Biggest Loser fan and hope to one day be a "Big Loser" myself.
Jeffrey Scott: Well, thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the coffee, and feel free to help yourself on a baguette on your way out.
Me: Thanks for having me.

__________________________________________________

Well, that does it for the interview. It's now time for our musical guest. For reasons that may or may not be apparent, our first musical guest is 'Tegan & Sara' Enjoy! We'll be back with 'Coffee Chat'. A few thoughts on shows I've watched throughout the week.



I'd like to thank Tegan & Sara for the video. If you want to find out more about this group, visit them at their website here: Tegan & Sara.

So what did you watch this week? Maybe I'll cover it here, if not feel free to leave a comment on what you think was awesome to watch this week.

"The Cape" - I'm a sucker for Super Hero TV shows and such but the one thing always troubling me is, is it really that hard to tell who a person is just because they have a mask on their face? I mean especially if they are well known. Faraday meets up with his old partner, and has much dialogue. You're telling me he couldn't tell it was his previous partner? One redeeming feature for me - Summer Glau.

"V" - Usually I hate remakes, I loved the original V. But I have to admit, so far I'm really enjoying this show. So what irritated me this week? Anna essentially holding all the cards lately. She's playing Ryan and now Hobbes like fiddles. I hope they break that storyline because I find it boring. I'm waiting for the full-out fight between the 5th column and the Visitors. Something I love they've done is hire Jane Badler to reprise (sort of) her roll as Diana, who was the main baddie in the first series.

"Biggest Loser" - Congratulations to Arthur for his 20 pound weight loss. They were really focusing on him this episodes and I predicted he was either going to lose a major amount of weight, or be voted out. Nice to see it was the weight loss. He certainly still needs to be on the ranch.

"Survivor" - Yes, once again Survivor has started. This time with a few changes. Boston Rob and Russel have been brought back (I think they'll bring each back till they finally win), and they now have 'Redemption Island' where if you are voted off, you've got a slim chance of making it back to the island (if you are good enough). Kristina was stupid in whom she trusted. Couldn't she tell from the initial chat that Phillip was an idiot? Did you know he was a Federal Agent? I thought I'd mention that in case you happened to miss it. I will say, she was brave not to use the immunity idol, but I assumed she wouldn't have. it should give her an additional three days. I loved Rob telling her to give him the idol and she'll stay. It's probably a good thing for Rob she didn't, because he'd have a bigger target on his back.

"Office" - 'Threat Level Midnight' was hilarious. I loved how they made is as if it were filmed several years ago. I really enjoyed the cameos and the campy feel to it. Of course it wasn't supposed to really be a great film, it was made and produced by Michael Scott after all. Quite a bit of fun, I have to admit. In the film, we learn here the reason behind Goldenface's evil ambitions. "Michael Scarn's most evil adversary who goes around blowing up All-Star games in hopes that the trophies will explode and people will turn gold like him."

__________________________________________________

Thanks once again for joining me on this first episode of 'Jeffrey Scott's Coffee Klatch'. Remember to leave a comment with your coffee chat, suggestions for upcoming musical guests or suggestions for real guests. I'll leave you with a little joke, see you next week.

Mexico - Day 3

My sister and I actually planned something for our last full day in Mexico. On Saturday we decided to visit Playa del Carmen and do a bit of shopping. As a person who loves to shop and experience new things, I was all in favour of this. Here is our first view of the city, and one we wanted to remember as our bus back was to be from this exact location.



The driver gave the layout of where various things were, so we set out. This appears to be a park/common area of the city. I love the walk-way.



Prime example of why I'm such a nerd. Not only is the first stop a local Wal-Mart, (I love to visit international versions of local stores for comparison) but I take a photo of the Spanish version of Apples to Apples, one of my favourite games.



Turns out our trip to Wal-Mart was just as eventful as anything else that happened. As we were walking around, we noticed the smell of smoke. Suddenly, one of the associate doors flew open and two staff members ran out carrying axes. A fire broke out towards the front of the store. We were horrified to realize the store was not being evacuated. So after we finished our shopping, a picture was taken of the police and fire truck outside.



We spent the rest of the time at the local street shops. Chris was searching for gifts for home, most importantly a hammock for the family.



I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, probably a good thing since I'm not good at negotiating prices and that seemed to be the trick of the trade. Essentially, I went all the way to Mexico and all I got for my kids were those stupid T-shirts.



Lately, it seems Gelato is the next trendy thing. Even the local Metro Market has suddenly started selling it. So once I saw this shop, I decided it was time to give it a try. Of course I opted for the Mango flavour. Problem is, isn't gelato an Italian ice cream? And I had it in Mexico. So what exactly did I eat? Mexican/Italian ice cream?



I saw this place and really wanted to get a coffee, but we decided to save it for later in case we didn't have time. Turns out Chris really wishes we had gone. Once our time in Playa del Carmen was over we headed back. The two of us were the only ones in the bus and it didn't seem to be taking a direct route back to the highway. Also it was going through some really rough parts of town. I got the feeling she thought we were being kidnapped so I talked to the driver to make sure he was heading back to the highway. This broke the ice and Chris started talking to him in partial Spanish and soon we were on the highway, and more importantly back at our resort.



After our ordeal in the city, we decided to relax on the beach for the rest of the day. On our way I decided to stop at the swim-up bar and get a drink. I need to try any new experience, at least once. I believe the drink 'special' of the day was a Bahama Mama.



After the drink, I spotted a bird I was unfamiliar with. In an attempt to bolster my artistic skills with shots of the local flora and fauna, I decided to shoot this bird, with a camera of course.
Update: I believe this is called a 'Purplish-Backed Jay'.



Finally we made it to the beach where we spent the rest of the day, till evening came upon us. It was time for dinner so we went back to the steak place. Afterwards we decided to do as much packing as we could so we'd have the entire next morning to eat breakfast and say goodbye to the resort.

(To be concluded)