Black Friday is just Stupid

To my recollection, I've only ever participated in a Black Friday event back in 2006. And it was really really tough. In a nutshell, I went shopping at midnight, went home to nap, then went out again to shop during the day, totally 15 some hours of shopping by day's end. It's something that I hope to never do again in my life. (Note: I only did this because some girls wanted to do some shopping).

The point I wanted to make, is that Black Friday is stupid and represents some of the things that's wrong with this country (USA). The following article on Gizmodo really sums it up:

10 Reasons We're Doomed: Black Friday Edition



What's stupid about it is how so many people camp outside the stores, lining up in the cold weather, to buy crap they don't really need. Like yesterday, I heard on the radio that some people have been camping outside Best Buy (BB) for 5 days. When a man was asked by the reporter what he was planning to buy, the fool replied that he did not know.

So this guy set up a tent outside of BB, for over 100 hours, to wait for some deals on merchandise he doesn't even know he'll want? It seems more like people in general will want it, after they see how much they're "saving" from the sale.

I can understand it a little more if someone were to do the research for an item(s) he/she wants in particular, and then going shopping that day at the exact store that's selling it. With this information age, it's not hard to find our who's having what deals and where. But to go out and spend money on stuff you don't know you'll even need/want, is just crazy.

For me, this year, I did my shopping online. I knew what I wanted to get. No lines. No cold weather. No crazy shoppers to deal with. No hassle.

And now I can add, dangerous and potentially life-threatening to your health/well-being:

• Worker dies at Long Island Wal-Mart after being trampled in Black Friday stampede

How to Save Heroes

I previously wrote a blog entry titled, How to Fix Heroes Season 3. The show is halfway through Season 3, and not much has changed. If anything, things have gotten worse.



What Sucks
The dialogue sucks. It's bland, predictable, and lacks any meaning to move the story forward. Honestly, is there anything a character says in yesterday's episode that couldn't have been said in a different way from last season, or even the first season? I think not.

In a recent interview, Tim Kring talked about the show's short volumes:

...every couple of months, 'come on in, the water's fine.' You can hop on the train and you won't have missed too much. -- Tim Kring (Source: IGN)

This may actually be true... but that would be because nothing meaningful has really happened in terms of character development! This still feels like the first season when they are trying to introduce us to the same characters. I know Kring wants to move away from serialized storytelling, and more into short stories on new characters, but he hasn't even told a decent story with the ones he's already introduced!

How to Save it

1. Shrink the cast. There are still too many characters. Focus on a few, develop them, and have them fall back to introduce other characters. The current mode is to tell bits and pieces, here and there, which is hard to follow.
2. Have more meaningful dialogue. Stop recycling the same conversations from past episodes. Say something refreshing, and move on to say something else.
3. Stop Time-traveling! It creates too many plot holes not to mention removes meaning to anything since a time traveler is essentially a "redo button". Not to mention it's been at the heart of all the plots each season. The future is always in trouble and needs fixing was old last season.
4. Enough with buildups! Why is everything always a buildup to something that is always a let-down? Enough with tag-lines. Save the cheerleader, save the world was great, but let's not try to top that with a dozen other ones that are just plain stupid.
5. Write stories that make sense, target and listen to the true audience: comic-book nerds. There are so many other plot-holes that aren't even time-travel related. They don't have an overall direction and end up writing themselves into a hole. Their stories are too generic and try to please everyone.

The last point is pretty important. I believe the true audience is the comic book nerds. They've been subscribing to this flavor of mythology for years. They are loyal to what they love, and they are quick to point out if something is just plain stupid. Heroes has hit prime-time television, where it has the opportunity to attract a wide audience. But executives shouldn't try to please everyone at the expense of losing the audience that has supported this medium for decades. Get it right with the comic nerds, and things should fall into place because the quality is good.

Links:

• List of Heroes Episodes (wiki)
• Tim Kring apologizes for calling fans 'dips***s'
• Heroes: Serial Killer?

My Impressions of the G1 running Android

I've had my G1 for a few weeks now. My overall impressions are pretty good. I like the touch screen, I like the free applications available through the market app, and I definitely enjoy the web browsing experience on the 3G network over my old Blackberry Pearl on the EDGE network.



But I do have a few complaints:

• Battery Life is too short. I can maybe go for a maximum of 2 days without a recharge if I very minimal use of the phone. But I suppose this is understandable since it is 3G and touchscreen.
• 3G network still not available everywhere. I go to the Chicago suburbs, and I'm back on the EDGE network when I want to browse.
• Facebook's regular website is not G1 friendly. This is not the G1's fault. In fact I use the Facebook iphone website instead.
• Gmail's contact does not sync well. This is what pisses me off the most. Since your contact list is from your Gmail account (at least it should be for back-up purposes), it's a one way sync: Gmail app to phone. If you enter a new contact in the phone, it will not sync up into the Gmail app, or at least not quickly.

Went to the Obama Rally in Grant Park

I witnessed history in the making last night by attendeding Barack Obama's Election Night in Grant Park.

How I got the ticket: Sheer Luck
It all started after I got my lunch and was heading back to the office. A lady one floor beneath mine hopped on the elevator early (she wanted to go down, I was going up, but a co-worker of hers just got off), and she mentioned to her co-worker that if got his ticket yet. I noticed how she was wearing an Obama shirt, pins, and hats. My intuition made me stare at her more. She mentioned that they were mailing tickets out today for the rally. Apparently she was an Obama supporter. As I was getting off, I quickly asked if they had any extras. As the elevator door was shutting, she put her arm to stop the doors, and told me to stop by her office at 3pm, told me her name, and that if she had any left, I could have one.

So 3pm rolls around and I stop by, one ticket available waiting at the receptionist desk for me. Sweet.

Many have called this ticket the "golden ticket" also. Because it isn't a web ticket (no +1 guest) and it wasn't sent via email to be printed out. Mine is a genuine ticket that I guess is issued to volunteers and guests of the campaign. I'm so glad I endorsed Barack Obama on Facebook the day before Election Day.



The rest was pretty much history. I was under the impression that there would only be 70,000 people in the ticket area. But when I got there, and looking around, I'm pretty sure there was way more than that, more like at least 100,000 people.

Other than the smell of weed, farts, and horse crap, the event was pretty nice. And of course, president elect, Barack Obama's speech was heartwarming and inspirational. I have a feeling this will be the president my generation will measure all other presidents, in our lifetime.