Max: 15 ways stores trick you into spending

15 ways stores trick you into spending

Ever notice how you can go to a store to pick up just one thing and then, by the time you get to the check stand, you have five or six things in your cart and a bigger bill than you had anticipated?

This happens over and over because department stores use an array of techniques (grocery stores use many of the same tactics) to get you to pick up these items. By itself, each technique isn't very strong -- it's the use of them in combination that is powerful.

Here's a list of 15 of the best tricks. After the list, watch for 10 ways to combat these techniques so you can get in and out of stores with your finances intact.

Max: Nathan Petrelli for Congress

Nathan Petrelli for Congress

I’ve made no secret of the fact that my father’s death prompted me to run for Congress. With my father’s memory at the heart of my campaign, I bring his philosophy to the problems that face our district and our nation today. With a philosophy centered on family, personal responsibility and the desire to make a difference, I will build a brighter future for all the constituents of the 30th Congressional District.

Max: Testify, Brother

Olbermann: Mr. Giuliani, How Dare You, Sir?

Claim a difference between the parties on the voters' chances of survival — and you do Osama Bin Laden's work for him.

And we — Democrats and Republicans alike, and every variation in between — We — Americans! — are sick to death, of you and the other terror-mongers, trying to frighten us into submission, into the surrender of our rights and our reason, into this betrayal of that for which this country has always stood.

Max: Dignity? Too Expensive

O'Reilly - Safari Books Online

Safari is the premier electronic reference library for programmers and IT pros. With Safari you can search across more than 4000 leading books simultaneously - to pinpoint just the information you need. Safari subscriptions start at $19.99 per month for a 10-slot Bookshelf plan. Or you can choose Safari Library, which gives you unlimited access to the entire Safari library at a special introductory price of $39.99 per month. Safari Library also includes Rough Cuts, early access to cutting edge books as they're being written.

If anyone wanted to buy me a post-anniversary/pre-birthday present....

Jericho: Hey, Baby! Nice set of ... brains!

People confuse me. A lot.

I need someone to explain this to me. A normal, intelligent woman puts on clothing. The clothing is revealing - it accentuates or some how shows off her breasts. This female then goes out into public and becomes angered when males examine her chest instead of making and not breaking eye contact. Now, if a store didn't want to sell an item, they wouldn't put it in the front window, would they? If you don't want people to look at your breasts, why show them off?

I ran across an ad on a dating site that just infuriated me. This woman had a very high opinion of herself to begin with. She was indeed somewhat attractive, but nothing out of the ordinary. This is one of my favorite parts of her profile:


The First Thing(s) People Usually Notice About Me

First, I get the dumb guy drool from those who notice my body.

Then, I open my mouth, and people notice the stark contrast between their foolish stereotype and who I actually am.


Then they notice I'm an ego maniac! Geez. The above would be just annoying, but the pictures she included with her profile make the whole thing insane. The first picture is of this blond, wearing jeans and a black top. But, she is squatting and leaning forward. So, the eye is immediately drawn to the deep "v" between her bra-less breasts. You can see all the way down to her stomach - no exaggeration. The second pic is the same girl in a red dress, cute but no big deal. The third picture illustrates the point beyond all else. Again, our blond brainiac is in a sexy top. This time, it's red lace and nothing else. Her nipples and tan lines are visible through the top. The caption was: "Eye contact, guys."

Okay. You put your tits out there and expect guys to not look? How moronic is that? Why set people up to fail? If you don't want guys to look at your boobs - hide them!

Just so you ladies who perpetrate this are aware, there is a reason why the guys you are attracted to never stick around. Think about this for a second: a guy approaches you in a bar while you are wearing a slinky, revealing top. He is very well dressed and never once obviously ogles you. Soon, you are dating this guy. Maybe you end up in bed with him. Then, he follows the pattern of all the rest of the guys in your life; he never calls you again or he simply dumps you and runs. Why does this always happen?

It's simple. If a guy doesn't look at your exposed, accentuated or highlighted boobs - it means there is something wrong with the guy! The male in question might be gay, married or a well rehearsed "playa". Once he gets whatever it is he wants out of you, i.e. access to your closet, a b.j., a romp in the sack, etc. - he moves on. You fell for him because he recognised your weakness. Your "booby trap" actually turned out to be a "tell" - he was able to defuse it and get to whatever he wanted from you.

Now, had you just gone with the guy who drooled all over your boobs - at least you would know he was honest, right up front. Yeah, maybe he's not into your brain, but at least you know his sex drive is working and in the right place. Next time you date him, put the girls in a sling and see if he can have a real conversation. If he can, let him go to third base after the fourth or fifth glass of wine, as a reward.

As for the brainiac with the moronic profile, I flagged her "nip pic" as inappropriate for the site. The site removed it this morning. Dumb Ass.

Max: 8*2=

Happy anniversary, Lurve.

You've put up with me for 8 years, now. That is impressive.

Love you.

Max: BBC NEWS | Russian ex-president Yeltsin dies

Russian ex-president Yeltsin dies

Boris Yeltsin, who played a key role in the Soviet Union's demise and became Russia's first president, has died aged 76, the Kremlin says.

He may have become something of a joke in his later years, but I will always remember the brave leader who stood up and fought the coup that tried to bring an end to Gorbachev's reforms.

hillary_and_natalie.jpg (JPEG Image, 800x672 pixels)

Hmmm, either it was cold or Natalie really likes Hillary.

Max: A Lone Rational Voice

NeuroLogica

Whenever extraordinary unfathomable human actions take place, like the tragic shootings that occurred this week at Virginia Tech, there is an immediate collective struggle to understand what happened. It creates almost a snapshot of the culture’s current paradigms of the nature of humanity and human behavior. Everyone intellectually grasps for what is at hand to explain events, while career moralizers blame the tragedy on their favorite boogeyman. I don’t pretend to have any profound answers myself, but would like to add my neurological musings and other observations to the conversation.

Dr. Novella's blog is a nice break from the incoherant rantings of morons.

Max: The Masons

Open Sesame

Mammoth sphinxes guard the House of the Temple of the Scottish Rite, a formidable neo-Classical building in the heart of Washington, D.C. Inside, Egyptian hieroglyphics adorn a soaring atrium. The building's nine-foot-thick walls hold human remains. Bronze coiling snakes flank a large wooden throne, canopied in purple velvet, in a second-floor inner sanctum called the Temple Room, where men from around the world gather behind closed doors every two years. Over the centuries the select membership has included signers of the Declaration of Independence; George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Gerald Ford and 13 other presidents; Senators Charles Schumer and Robert Dole; Chief Justice Earl Warren and other Supreme Court justices. Formally they are known as Freemasons, but most people know them simply as Masons. And this artfully forbidding edifice, a mile from the White House, is their southern headquarters.

Max: Yeah

Max: Things I Shouldn't Find Amusing

20 endangered rabbits released; 14 promptly eaten

Most of a group of 20 endangered rabbits that were reintroduced to the wild with great fanfare last month have been killed by predators, state officials said.

Only four of the rabbits released on March 13 remained at the Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area as of Tuesday, said David Hays, pygmy rabbit coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Max: Sex and Nudity Aren't Good Reasons to Fire Someone -

Sex and Nudity Aren't Good Reasons to Fire Someone

I am so sick of the priggishness. Tired of people making assumptions about a person based on their perceptions of the other's sexuality -- especially when they base those assumptions on the single dimension of online expression. Flabbergasted at the assumption that if you participate in adult activity online, you must lack judgment, integrity or reliability.

Max: Benny Don't Like Nobody

Pope says science too narrow to explain creation

Pope Benedict, elaborating his views on evolution for the first time as Pontiff, says science has narrowed the way life's origins are understood and Christians should take a broader approach to the question.

The Pope also says the Darwinist theory of evolution is not completely provable because mutations over hundreds of thousands of years cannot be reproduced in a laboratory.

But Benedict, whose remarks were published on Wednesday in Germany in the book "Schoepfung und Evolution" (Creation and Evolution), praised scientific progress and did not endorse creationist or "intelligent design" views about life's origins.

Max: This Make Brain Hurt

New Experiment Probes "Weird Zone"

Scientists have created a minute cantilever arm on the surface of a silicon chip that they hope will leave the world of classical physics and enter the quantum realm when cooled to near absolute zero.

Jericho: Oh, FUCK yeah!!

Sorry to flood the channel with YouTube music video .... but ... :)



Irish flutes, heavy guitars and a head banging chick with big pipes in a corset! I don't have any clue what to call this - "awesome" comes to mind ...

Jericho: Gotta be Crazy.

I once talked a girl out of dating me by giving her these lyrics. Not my intended reaction. But, then again, maybe it was my unconscious intention. I don't think I thought I was worthy of happiness. Crazy, depressed kid. I thought creativity and depth came from my depression. It was an addiction and I cultivated it because at least I felt something.

I always wanted to be like the lead singer in this video. So cool, pony tail mullet and all. Beautiful, alluring, insane women stalking me. All the while, walking around a mansion in my white tie and tales, belting out a Top 40 smash hit. I wanted the whole fantasy. But, I was never that cool. Not even a little. Heck, I'm not even cool enough to put a video of my fat ass swinging a light saber on YouTube.

So, as I dip my nose, cut my thrust, dropping toward 40 and oblivion, I am faced with the fact that depth is not a measure of who and what you are, but it is a measure of how little everyone understands you. I don't have video sluts stalking me, true, but my wife hasn't left me and taken half my stuff. I don't have a Top 40 hit, gold records on the wall or even a recording contract, but I do have a bald guy mullet and a steady job that is driving me bat-shit. And, this is the most important thing, I don't have to be depressed to feel something. I haven't been depressed in years - and every day that I go to work I feel angry, frustrated, useless and impotent.

Everything works out in the end. Crazy.

Max: Songslide

Songslide

SongSlide is a Music Download Store. Discover and buy Independent Music at your own price. The more you pay, the more money goes directly to support the Artist.

Max: Mentat Wiki

Interesting

Jericho: How many calories?!?!

A while back a friend of mine found an interesting calculator online. The calculator tells you how many calories you need to intake in one day to maintain your weight. Not lose, just remain steady. When one isn't on a diet, one usually wouldn't count calories. So, it's interesting for me to see approximately what I was eating when not dieting.

The calculator for men is here and for women it's here. These are based on the Body Mass Index or BMI. BMI is a great tool for those looking to stay at a healthy weight or for those having only a few pounds to lose, but it gets a little wacky on the far low and far high ends. The calculators only present an estimate, and considering the numbers I'm about to put in, it's probably a wildly inaccurate estimate.

But, it's fun to watch!

So, I enter 6 feet, 2 inches, 507 pounds, 35 years old and Activity Level: Sedentary (let's face it, I'm a sloth!) and I am told I need to bring in 4906 calories a day to maintain that weight! Yipe!!!

My new-found svelteness of 486 pounds gives me a total of 4742 calories per day!

This estimate is probably way off, but it would explain a few things. I'm trying to stay at or around 2000 calories a day on this diet. If it takes 4700 calories to maintain my weight, that means I'm in default by 2700 calories. With 3500 calories making a pound, this means that every two days I'm losing 5400 calories, or round about a pound and a half. This works in with the numbers I'm seeing on the scale pretty well. This is also assuming I never leave the couch. I do get up and go to work now and then, so I am burning a few more calories.

The really scary thing is that 5000 calories per day isn't that hard to do. Steph and I worked this out a while back and it scared us silly. Now, I'm not picking on McDonald's. I'm using them as an example of a universal constant that we all understand and as something that when I'm not dieting I will READILY eat as many times as I can! The following calorie totals are right from the horse's mouth.

If I were to eat whatever I wanted from Micky D's, my three meals would be the following:


Breakfast:
2 Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles
1 Sausage Biscuit with Egg (Large Size Biscuit)
1 Hash Browns
1 Large Coca Cola Classic

Calories: 1860


Lunch:
1 Big Mac
2 Double Cheese Burgers
1 Large French Fries
1 Large Coca Cola Classic

Calories: 2300


Dinner:
1 Big Mac
2 Double Cheese Burgers
2 McChicken Sandwiches
1 Large French Fries
1 Large Coca Cola Classic
1 Large Chocolate Shake

Calories: 3790


Grand total: 7950 calories.


Is that an excessive amount of food? Sure. But, I could easily have put away that much food in one day a mere three weeks ago. Now that I'm dieting, my stomach has shrunk, but I'm sure I could still do most of that. However, the amount, and the calories, makes me a little sick to look at - or maybe that's just my meds!

It's no wonder that I put on 30 pounds between October and March. It's not that I ate the above everyday - hardly. But, I could have easily done that. On a busy weekend day, replace breakfast at McDonalds with breakfast at Burger King and then change dinner to Arby's - you'll still come out to about the same results.

The good news is that, at least for now, those days are behind me. I can't say I won't fall off the wagon, but we take it one meal at a time. The other fun news is that calculator tells me at 200 pounds, my eventual, over-all goal, I'll need to intake 2500 calories! Woo! That's higher than my current goal intake! If I up my activity to "Light" - I get 2600! I could eat like a bandit!

Jericho: Get on the scales, please.

We ordered a (hugely!) expensive scale. Most scales bought at the local mega-store only go to 300 pounds. If I only weighed 300, I probably wouldn't be worried about my weight! The scales with the little sliders that are popular in doctor's offices and gyms usually only go to 350. When I last got weighed, I was 507. If I was going to monitor my weight, I needed something with more power!

We found a scale online that went up to 440 for an okay price. It wouldn't help me immediately, but we wouldn't have to sell a kidney to buy it, either. Steph thought that was good, but when she got online, she found a scale that went to 660 and it was only twice as expensive! Oy!

Anyway, she talked me into it and we ordered it. Then, it was back ordered, then, it was WAY back ordered. Steph cancelled that order and tried another online store. Sure, they could get it to us right away. Then they were back ordered!

It finally arived last night. Steph immediatly jumped on it - she had lost 9 pounds in three weeks! Nice! She came and drug me away from WoW. The scale read 492. That's 15 pounds in three weeks. Not bad.

This morning, Steph was on the scale again. She reasoned that when we weighed in at the ER, it was closer to 4 in the morning. So, weighing in earlier in the day would give a more accurate reading. I personally think she wanted to try it nude, just after morning evacuations so she could see more weight gone. Either way, she was further down the list - she was at 15 pounds off! She made me get on, the scale read 486, that's 21 pounds since March 19th. That's more than a pound a day.

So, my first goal was more of a psychological goal. I wanted to get below 500 pounds. The thought of being 500 pounds just makes me sick. That goal is accomplished - check! My next goal also has a psychological element. When I hit 475, I'll be back where I started dieting a couple years ago. At my current rate, I'll be there in two weeks. Wish me luck!

Max: IED - Improvised Explosive Duck

Max: Parasite Hijacks Brain

LiveScience.com - Bizarre Human Brain Parasite Precisely Alters Fear

Rats usually have an innate fear of cat urine. The fear extends to rodents that have never seen a feline and those generations removed from ever meeting a cat. After they get infected with the brain parasite Toxoplasma gondii, however, rats become attracted to cat pee, increasing the chance they'll become cat food.

Max: Certifiable

Today I added a Network+ certification to my A+.

I am rapidly becoming "overqualified" for my current position, excess labor.

Max: Tyger

Max: Pax Moderna

Edge 206

In sixteenth-century Paris, a popular form of entertainment was cat-burning, in which a cat was hoisted in a sling on a stage and slowly lowered into a fire. According to historian Norman Davies, '[T]he spectators, including kings and queens, shrieked with laughter as the animals, howling with pain, were singed, roasted, and finally carbonized.' Today, such sadism would be unthinkable in most of the world. This change in sensibilities is just one example of perhaps the most important and most underappreciated trend in the human saga: Violence has been in decline over long stretches of history, and today we are probably living in the most peaceful moment of our species' time on earth.

In the decade of Darfur and Iraq, and shortly after the century of Stalin, Hitler, and Mao, the claim that violence has been diminishing may seem somewhere between hallucinatory and obscene. Yet recent studies that seek to quantify the historical ebb and flow of violence point to exactly that conclusion.

Jericho: Bigger Geeks than I

I am a tremendous geek. But even I must point and laugh at these guys. Oh, dear!

Who would take the time to build a life size Beholder? Who? Only a yogurt!