Them Duke Boys

I managed to catch the pilot episode of the Dukes of Hazzard on a DVD I borrowed. Somehow the show you watched when you’re 7 isn’t as good as when you’re 29. Whew. Some bad acting in it. Groundbreaking? No. Somewhat entertaining to rednecks and 7 year olds? Yep.
During the pilot episode Luke made references to having his own car. So one would have to suppose that Bo was the true owner of the General Lee. But strangely enough you don’t see Luke’s car in any of the episodes. Strange. Even stranger was that both Bo and Luke had to share a car with each other. And what exactly did they do for a living? You never really saw them working on the farm. Seems like Daisy and Uncle Jesse were the only breadwinners in the family. Daisy was a waitress at the Boar’s Nest and Jesse worked on the farm. The only thing Bo and Luke did was run from the law.
For me the Dukes were required viewing on Friday nights during my elementary school years. Never missed an episode. Yet somehow during the latter years, the show lost its appeal to me. Maybe I became burnt out on it.

A funny thing happened on the way to the ski resort

I ran into one of my old coworkers. From that job I love to hate. He seemed all so friendly toward me. And I guess I was just very quiet back to him. It was alkward (and painful immediately afterwards). What he didn’t realize is that he betrayed me. On the day I decided to resign my position, I told him my plans first thing that morning. His immediate response was to tell our immediate supervisor. I wasn’t up for that. I knew my supervisor intemidated me. I was going to go just through HR.
So the next thing I know is that my “trusted” coworker told my boss I was leaving. Bootlicker. It was sorta the good cop/bad cop type of thing. My coworker wanted to protect himself, so that the boss-man wouldn’t fire him for knowing that I was leaving and not telling him.
So anyways it was painful remembering those sobering memories from my old job. Here I was having a extremely good time skiing and I let my old job and old memories creep up on me. Bummer. The only thing I could think of when I was there “let’s go tubing.”
I now know that honesty is not always the best policy. You have to withhold information if you want to get further in the world. You don’t need to tell everyone your plans. Keep the hand you were dealt with close to your heart.

Perfect North

It was a beautiful sunrise at the YMCA camp where we stayed at this weekend. There was about 2 inches of snow on the ground. The sun’s reflection on the lake near the campground was beautiful. Makes me remember how beautiful God can truly make things.
I discovered I still can ski. I guess it’s like riding a bicycle. You never forget. One thing I need to do is to get some good goggles for future trips. Skiing in falling snow is murder on the eyes.
Tubing was good too. I think the option of tubing is good for non-skiers. Makes for a better trip and not having any people sitting around bored in the lodge.
At the YMCA camp, we’d like to thank the mystery “Karl” who left his wi-fi network open and available to anyone with a laptop and wireless receiver. I was able to check my mail while at the camp. And play a game of Rook. Woot!
And you can (but shouldn’t be able to) get a buffet to go at KFC. That’s what this older gentlemen demanded while we were eating lunch today. Made for good lunchtime dinner theater. After some arguing on whether or not a buffet-to-go is an actual option, the manager said “We can refuse to serve you.” Meanwhile the man did get what he wanted when the other KFC worker gave in on him, if only just to get rid of him. So the man pointed out what he wanted on the buffet and the KFC worker bagged it up and charged him some obligatory charge.

Old High School Classmates

I saw an old classmate from high school at Kroger today. Or rather, he saw me. I’m not the type of person to actually look at faces. Rather I try to avoid visual contact with strangers. I don’t know why. I think it started in college. I would avoid eye contact with people in trying to avoid having a conversation with them. Introverts are like that.
This is the 2nd time within a couple of years where someone has noticed me and I didn’t necessarily recognize them. I guess I haven’t changed much physically since high school. I’ve gained a little weight (upto 140 lbs according to my last doctor’s visit) and wearing glasses now.
Anyways the conversion with the classmate was the obligatory “I know you. Yeah, what’s you’re name? What are you doing now?” That was it. Which is how most people converse with acquaintances from high school. It’s not that we dislike each other. It’s just there’s not much to talk about.

Demand for KFC Soaring in China

Demand for KFC Soaring in China

“In many parts of China, the local municipal governments actually view the arrival of a KFC as a sign of the city coming of age.”


I ate at quite a few KFCs in China. Not being a big fan of them in the US, I wasn’t too big of a fan of them in China either. But it was a welcomed change from McDonalds.

In China, KFC has outpaced rival McDonald’s Corp., which has its own expansion plans. McDonald’s has more than 600 restaurants in China and plans to open about 100 more this year, comparable to 2004. Its long-range plans call for 1,000 restaurants in China by 2008.


1,000 McDonald’s restaurants in China? I’m guessing Ronald’s reach will go into the deepest parts of China, not familiar with western culture.
McDonald’s are literally everywhere in China. Sometimes one sees them more often than McDonald’s here. The difference in McDonald’s and KFC is that Chinese McDonald’s tastes and looks like McDonald’s. KFC’s chicken portions are much more small than American portions. It wasn’t unusual for a customer to get a miniature leg…more of a kid’s meal.
I distinctly remember eating at a KFC in Xi’an, just down the street from the Hotel I stayed at. It was a fresh oasis in a land of chopsticks. I’m not into eating weird food, so I really did eat McDonald’s, KFC, and Pizza Hut each chance I got.

Abortion

I drove by the local Baptist church today on my way out of church. There are about half a dozen protestors, many of them children, holding up signs with the obligatory “Abortion Kills Children.” It was no surpise why they are doing this now. January 22 is the 32nd Aniversary of Roe v. Wade.
I am of the opinion that abortion does kill a living being. It’s sad and horrible. However I realize that it isn’t such a black and white issue that some people would like it to be. I also realize that some women have made the mistake of abortion at one point in their lives. Instead of holding up signs about abortion, I am proposing that we show love toward our fellow man. Realize that no one is perfect and no one should dwell on the past. Only then can we truly see God’s love, when we show it unconditionally toward our fellow man.

Ebay and Amazon

Can you imagine the shopping bohemoth created if Ebay and Amazon would merge? I’m sure its been proposed in executive meetings at both companies. I’ve done my fair share of shopping on each. Here is what I’ve gathered:
What Ebay does well

  • Feedback – It’s a HUGE part of Ebay. Some people sell and buy just to see their feedback numbers go up, just to get that extra special star beside their name. Amazon has feedback too. I’ve sold quite a bit of used stuff on Amazon, but have yet to receive any feedback. Amazon buyers just don’t care about feedback.
  • No warehousing – Amazon has absolutely no warehousing and supply overhead. They simply hook up buyers and sellers. What a concept.
  • The trill of buying (and sniping) on an online auction – Many buyers get caught up in trying to get the last bid in for the auction. They actually plan their days around when an auction is ending.
  • Online money transfer – Paypal. Yeah the system is not without bugs, but general I’ve found it to work well.
  • Ebay has spawned subindustries – There are actually stores that make money by selling stuff for 3rd parties on Ebay. Other individuals make their living by soley selling stuff on Ebay.

What Amazon does well

  • Tracking customer purchases – If you visit Amazon’s front page, you’ll notice they’re pushing stuff which you search for or bought last time you were at Amazon. Ebay’s front page is pretty static.
  • Amazon has a bigger base of buyers looking for brand new items – Amazon is a trusted seller. With Ebay you never know what you’ll get. Many people equate Ebay as some type of hi-tech garage sale of used crap.

Lightning 100

I borrowed my mom’s car the past couple of days. My bug does not allow me to listen to my favorite radio station, Lightning 100.
Apart from those overplayed manufactured pop songs, Lightning 100 plays those songs by real musicians like Ben Folds, Sheryl Crow, Don Henley. I heard “Hook” by Blues Traveler the other day. I hadn’t heard that in years. It was overplayed then, but has been given new life after aging like a fine wine.
If only today’s young people and “hip crowd” could learn to enjoy good music, rather than a rapper/r ‘n b singer singing new lyrics over a Led Zepplin baseline.
I wish my bug could get clear reception of 100. It might require a complete rewire of the system, which isn’t even guaranteed to work. I’m not sure I want to pay that much for it to happen.