iPod Nano Accessory Disaster - UNFRIGGENBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!

This just happened to me today!!! It is so unfriggenbelievable, I don't know whether to laugh, cry, send pictures to The Letterman show, Leno, and/or Bob & Tom!!! Any of you who have iPods know how ridiculously expensive accessories for them are - like $35 for a velcro armband so you can wear it while jogging?

Well, my kid just got a new Nano for Xmas. So she asks me to buy her a "cover " for it. So, we go to Best Buy, an electronics chain here in Bakersfield. Everything is like $20 - $40. What a rip-off - materials must be worth about $1 and labor another $2. So, anyway, she's my kid. She spies a "Liz Claiborne" wristlet for iPod nano. Black patent leather. $24.99 plus tax!!!!!! Box says it "keeps all ports easily accessible for iPod controls." WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!!

We wait in line for 20 minutes to buy it. Thankfully, we thought, we aren't in the "returns" line, which stretches all the way around the store. People have been waiting in that line since October it seems!

Anyway, we get home, get it out of it's box, slip the new Nano in, and my kid goes, "Dad, the hole in the top is on the wrong side!". Sure enough, I look at what we just bought and she's right. All Nano's have a "function lock" switch on the top left side of the Nano. The opening for it on the Liz Claiborne wristlet is on the top right!!!!!! Unbelievable!!! How could a store like Best Buy have such a ridiculously flawed item on their store shelves!!! How can Liz Claiborne, a respected clothing and accessory retailer, have its name on this joke of an item????!!!!!

Gawd, what the hell is the world coming to when something as simple and obvious as designing something so that the hole is in the right place is ignored and people are charged outrageous prices for it?

I'm speechless...

Lamb Videos

Lamb is a cool downbeat band that I really like, as do some special friends. Here are some links to some cool music videos of two of their tunes:

Cotton Wool


Gorecki

Bakersfield Sucks - here's a tune to show why

Bakerfield sucks. Geezuz what a crappy town. Here's a video to show why that is:

The Armpit of the State - Bakersfield, CA

Saw a Fiery Accident on the Freeway today.

Didn't have my camera, but, I was driving back from having my G serviced inValencia when I noticed a lot of commotion ahead. Police lights, slowed traffic, folks with towels waving traffic to move over to the left lanes. When I got closer I saw the problem - there was a mid-sized car on the side of the road, its entire front end was engulfed in flames! It was like watching a movie. I worried it was going to explode and shower broken and melted metal and glass over everybody.

Don't know what happened - didn't see anything on the news about it after I got home.

JOHN BELUSHI's CLONE SPOTTED IN PHILLY!!!!!!

OMG!!!!!!! JOHN BELUSHI LIVES!!!!!!!

Here's a pic of his clone - he's undercover selling tickets to an amphibious Philadelphia tourist trap attraction. I didn't believe it until I saw (and heard) him in action!!!

Would you buy tickets from this man??????

Missing Kevin Pollack Video Clip

"Frankenstein never scared me....marsupials do...'cause they're fast!"


Well, looks like the powerful American Entertainment lobby managed to take the Kevin Pollack doing Chris Walken clip off of the YouTube site. Those of you lucky enough to have seen/heard it will probably miss it as much as I do. Oh well.

Guess it's up to me to brush up on my own Walken imitation and put my own videos on-line.

I Got My Own Domain - Finally!!!!!

Well, the impostor who somehow had secured my domain name apparently failed to pay his bills or something. Today I learned that www.aceyou.com was available once again and I snatched it up. So, therefore, ahem, I AM ONCE AGAIN MASTER OF MY DOMAIN!!!!!!

Airport Security - August 2006

I had the misfortune to be on the other side of the country when all the crap hit the fan regarding possible terrorist bomb schemes on airplanes. So, I got to the airport early, took all the liquids out of my carry-on beforehand, and went thru security with minimum delays.

But then I noticed something - after going thru security, I had to wait 2 hours before I boarded my 1st flight that day. I heard the gate agents telling everyone that no liquids or gels were allowed. Same thing when I waited in the next airport (4 hr wait unfortunately - but that was a scheduling problem, not security). The gate agent told everyone that no liquids were allowed.

But the scary thing was, despite being in an area (after the security checks) where lots of restaurants were present, where almost everyone waiting for a plane was drinking something that could be bought in the eateries and shops in the gate area, DESPITE ALL THIS LIQUID NOT ONE PERSON WAS ACTUALLY CHECKED FOR LIQUIDS AS THEY ENTERED THE GATE TO BOARD THE PLANES!!!!!!! NOT A ONE!!!!

Seems to me it would have been easy for these assholes to hide a powder or even a gel on their person in plastic bags when they went through the security check before they entered the gate area. After that, and before they boarded their plane, they could have purchased a drink, went to the bathroom, mixed up their liquids, then hid it in their carryon luggage. NOBODY CHECKED THE LUGGAGE OR THE PASSENGERS BETWEEN THE TIME OF THE SECURITY CHECK AND THE TIME TO BOARD THE PLANES!!! All anyone did was say no liquids or gels were allowed.

So how is this for a solution: Make all the stores and shops that sell drinks in the gate area put the drinks in OPEN CONTAINERS. Short of that, the only way to minimize the risk would be to either ban drinks altogether or do another bag x-ray and body search right at the gate.

Scary stuff. I was glad to get home.

GEEZUZFRIGGINGCRAP!!!! It's PDH* here in BAKO!!!

It was 97 F at 1030 PM last night!!!!!!

Here's my favorite spot now - moving my bed into the middle of the pool and not leaving except to address, er, uh, issues related to food and drink intake.

Presidential campaign is heating up but for the wrong reasons!

*PDH: Pretty Damn Hot!!!

Ace for President!!! Vote for Me!

Vote for Ace! He's No Worse than Anyone Else!

Was arguing with some folks in the Literati Chat Lobby today (that goes on a lot) and the idea came up that I should run for President of the good ol' US of A in the next election as a write-in.

I mean, how much worse could I be than everyone who has been there and/or is trying to get there?

I think I'm very qualified. I piss folks off very easily, I have strong views on many subjects that many people disagree with, and I'm never wrong (although sometimes I may be mistaken). Also, I just told one of the world's largest oil companies to go screw themselves, so, I'm not beholden to corporate favors! (And I have lots of time on my hands now, too!)

So, I hereby announce my run for President. Vote for me - you won't regret it anymore than the votes for all the other losers you've made before!

Vote for Ace! He's No Worse than Anyone Else!

Movies - Everyone has a movie blog, why not me?

Ok - just sitting here wasting time before bed. How about at least a list of some favorite flicks?

Here goes, not in any particular order, a mixture of old and new:

1. Citizen Kane
2. Psycho
3. The Conversation
4. Godfather 1 & 2
5. Appocalypse Now
6. The Deer Hunter
7. Vertigo
8. Casablanca
9. Days of Heaven
10. Taxi Driver
11. Thief
12. Heat
13. The Last of the Mohicans (Mann's)
14. Collateral
15. The Machinist
16. Memento
17. Star Wars
18. The Birds
19. 2001: A Space Oddysey
20. Bonnie and Clyde
21. Raising Arizona - I love that flick!

Lots more - these were off of the top of my head. What are your favorites? Any comments on the above?

And, how about some favorite directors (yeh, I believe in the "Auteur" theory):

1. Hitchcock
2. Coppola (Francis, not Sofia, but she's a helluva better director than an actress)
3. Scorsese
4. Arthur Penn
5. Michael Mann
6. Christopher Nolan
7. Orson Welles
8. Clint Eastwood (yeah - this one's surprising, but not if one is really objective about it)
9. Antonioni
10. Kubrick
11. Ford
12. Hawks
13. Spielberg
14. Huston
15. Malick
16. Bergman
17. Chaplin
18. Keaton
19. Brian De Palma
20. I think I'm missing someone important here - any suggestions? I know - 21. Joel and Ethan Coen!!!!! Who are your favorites?

Gee - no women on the above list. Why is that? Am I sexist, is my memory bad, or what?

More on Quitting My Job

Spent the day talking with investment counselors about rolling over my pension into an IRA, and other possibilities with my 401K and other investments. Basically, not only should I have no problem generating the conservative amount of income I've planned for retirement, but, if I do this right, there's a real good chance my investments would earn at least as much, if not more, than the salary I was getting!

As the financial advisor said, "Man, this is where the fun part of your life starts! What cool trip are you going to go on first?"

I feel better about leaving those incompetent assholes every day!

My NANO finally works!

Geezuz - what a trip! Sent my Nano in for repairs, 1 month later it comes back with exactly the same problem. Skips all the songs I downloaded from iTunes. Gawd.

So, I get on the phone - spend the entire day calling Apple tech support until I finally, finally find a geek who knows what the hell she is doing. She spent about 45 minutes with me, running tests on my pc, tests on the iTunes player, tests on some test music downloads.

Lo and behold - my Nano now works!! So now it isn't a complete waste of $250!

But, before you start thinking I'm supportive of geeks, they still can't figure out why I still can't burn iTunes downloads to cds. Got a feeling I'll see pigs fly first before that happens...

Just Quit My Job - Screw the Lying Bastards!

Well - a momentous decision was made last week. I told my boss to shove it and quit my job. I put up with all of the bullshit I was going to take. They're telling me all my customers hate my job performance, so therefore, I'm not going to get a raise. And I'm sitting there with a printout of a customer satisfaction survey that says just the opposite! My boss's response - "Well, they lied when they filled out the survey."

Can you believe this shit?? (Heh, do people really do this shit? Yeh, "People do!")

Plus I've gotten over 3 dozen recognition awards the last 2-3 years from my customers, including 2 of the biggest award that the corporation even gives out. Plus, I just got another award 2 days before he tells me this.

What a bunch of crap. I was so mad I couldn't see straight.

Anyway - I'm now in AARP land. My investment bankers are gonna be my best friends.

This was without a doubt, the best decision I ever made.

iPod / iTunes - JUST SAY NO!!!!!!!!

Ok - you aren't gonna believe this. This is true. This just happened to me. Read my earlier post first about my inability to burn iTunes cds. This next problem is unfriggenbelievable.

I just dropped $250 on a new iPod Nano. Figured, if I can't burn to my cd player, I ought to at least be able to transfer my Apple iTunes to an Apple iPod, no?

Well, that would be too easy. I loaded the software for the iPod, connected the iPod, watched iTunes' player transfer the iTunes downloads to the iPod, then watched the iPod screen as it time and time again scrolled past all the iTunes downloads and refused to play them!!!

UNFRIGGENBELIEVABLE!!!!!!! WHAT IS IT WITH YOU GEEKS!!!!!?????

This is the new business model for recorded music? ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

Apple won't give me my money back - next stop - Califonia Attorney General's office and the BBS.

The above are all facts - I'm not making this up. I have copies of all the technical support emails back and forth to prove it.

Thinking about buying an iPod or downloading some iTunes??? Here's my advice, based on what has happened to me:

JUST SAY NO!!!

More on iTunes cd burning problems

Finally, FINALLY!!!!!!!!!, I get an e-mail from iTunes technical support. Guess what - they say I have to purchase Quicktime 7 Pro from the Apple store in order to make it work.

What a bunch of crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What the heck does Quicktime have to do with burning music downloads to cds????

iTunes CD Burner Problems

Geez - thought I'd seen it all. I won a gift card for iTunes. Went to their website - looked ok, they said you can easily download songs to your PC AND burn them to your cd.

WHAT A BUNCH OF MISLEADING CRAP!!!!!!!!

Everytime I try to burn a CD from iTunes I get a burner failure error (2123). Their downloads are protected and in a format no one else recognizes and/or are allowed to use.

I've spent the past week talking to my PC manufacturer, my cd manufacturer, my cd burning software manufactuer, downloading driver updates, BIOS updates,....ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WORKS!!!!!!!!

I've gotten crappy support from iTunes on this matter. My emails to their technical support folks seem to always end up in the hands of their music salepeople.

I think it's just a scam to get folks to buy an iPod. (Which I did by the way, they are kinda cool - bought a black Nano.)

Fortunately, although it appears that one might need an iPod to use iTunes, one doesn't need iTunes to use an iPod.