Pop-up Ads Suck
I think for as long as I have used web browsers, Espn.com has been my "Home" page. I know it shows that I value sports maybe a little too much, but it's always been a solid site to open my browser with, providing a quick summary of the top sports stories as well as some interesting columns that go more in depth. So, I never thought twice about setting all my Home pages to espn.com.
That is, until now. Lately, the page has been opening up pop-up ads every time I load it, which was annoying me more and more by the day. At first, the windows were just a little nuisance which I got used to closing. But today, it seemed like they had switched to some sort of super-pop-up-ad that opens up but makes it hard for you to close by switching between the espn window and the ad window until both are fully loaded. I don't think this was by design, but I open up new browsers probably over a hundred times during the course of the day, and as you might expect, by mid afternoon (around now) I was soooooo pissed. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be on a slow internet connection and have to go through that.
So I wrote a nasty email to the folks at espn.com who brought such atrocity upon my life, but being quite confident that they don't give a schnitt about my ordeal, I will probably end up having to change my Home page to something else before the pop-up madness makes me flip. Here's the thing: I know that me writing a strongly-worded email isn't gonna change anything, and that's pretty much why I don't usually do that kind of stuff. But, if more people write emails, and more people switch from espn to some other site, then they will be forced to take notice. I'm hoping this will happen and that the idiots who decided to sic these dumb ads on me will be forced to endure punishment similar to what I faced with these stupid ads this morning.
Anyways, this leaves me somewhat open to what my new home page shall be. So far, the possible candidates include:
1. cbs.sportsline.com, cnnsi.com - Two other major sports sites that don't have pop-up ads (I think)
2. www.google.com - A simple page that loads fast with no ads. I like google.
3. my.yahoo.com - I customized a page a while back on yahoo and it's pretty good. A Search bar near the top, weather, my email, news, links to my yahoo fantasy teams, and movie showtimes. Convenient and organized.
4. dudo509.blogspot.com - An awesome page that I visit frequently anyways. This guy has some of the most brilliant thoughts ever and we all could learn a lot from him. Plus, he's pretty darn good looking.
5. www.cnn.com - I've found myself visiting CNN a lot lately, maybe it's because I'm bored from reading sports all day, or maybe I am becoming more mature and world-conscious. It's not boring at all, as many people think, many of these stories are relevant and worth reading.
6. www.salon.com - You may have noticed that I included this site, which is kind of like an online magazine, on the links at the left of this page (I'll change them when I get around to it). I used to visit it more, but not so much lately. Still, it has a good coverage of recent events and overall, its writers put out well written pieces (unlike my blog entries). I doubt it will end up being my Home though, among all the other choices I'm listing.
7. www.espn.com - Ah, in many ways, I am still a stubborn, stubborn man. It's hard to change the habits that have been formed over 4 or 5 years, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Hmmm.... I think I am gonna grow up to be one of those old grandpas that annoys the crap out of everybody by refusing to listen to anyone.
If anyone reading this has any thoughts or suggestings about what I'm writing, feel free to contact me. Also, if anyone knows where the espn.com offices are located, please tell me so I can go reward them with eggs and toilet paper. Just kidding, vandalism is never the answer. But whoever wants to harrass espn.com with emails like I did has my full blessing.
Thursday, July 25, 2002
Yao Ming
The latest #1 draft pick in the NBA just happens to be a 7'6" Chinese guy who can shoot three pointers. While it would be great to see him do well in the NBA, the more I think about it, the more I think it's gonna be a disaster. I mean, the guy is tall and everything, and I'm sure he has good fundamentals, but I fear that the first time he tries to put a body on Shaq will also be his last. He's gonna get so crushed it's not even funny. Shaq is gonna knock him over and eat him.
We've already seen skinny 7'6" guys in the NBA, and they usually end up being freak shows instead of dominating players. Can we forget Manute Bol and Shawn Bradley so easily, they might block some shots but they don't do much else other than stand there and look goofy.
And today I read an article on how they are gonna make Yao a huge endorsement commodity like Tiger Woods. Sorry, but that is gonna be more hilarious than anything. There is no way people in this country are gonna think this thuggish Yao Ming character is cool. Unfortunately, Chinese guys are not meant to be cool, especially oversized awkard-looking ones. Ichiro is cool, but Yao Ming is not gonna be Ichiro. At most, they might get him to appeal to the Asian-American community by having him do commercials for rice or something. And they might sell a bunch of "Yao #11" jerseys to Asian kids trying to be hip. But McDonalds and Nike should probably stick to players like Jordan and Tiger if they are any wiser.
Hopefully I am wrong, because heaven knows I would love to see a Chinese athlete succeed in professional sports (I almost bought a Bruce Chen jersey a couple years ago when he came up with the Atlanta Braves, boy, would I have looked dumb). But in a year or two, we may be looking at Yao Ming as the biggest disappointment, the biggest bust ever. I predict he will foul out every other game now that he isn't playing in China where everyone is like 2 feet shorter than him.
The latest #1 draft pick in the NBA just happens to be a 7'6" Chinese guy who can shoot three pointers. While it would be great to see him do well in the NBA, the more I think about it, the more I think it's gonna be a disaster. I mean, the guy is tall and everything, and I'm sure he has good fundamentals, but I fear that the first time he tries to put a body on Shaq will also be his last. He's gonna get so crushed it's not even funny. Shaq is gonna knock him over and eat him.
We've already seen skinny 7'6" guys in the NBA, and they usually end up being freak shows instead of dominating players. Can we forget Manute Bol and Shawn Bradley so easily, they might block some shots but they don't do much else other than stand there and look goofy.
And today I read an article on how they are gonna make Yao a huge endorsement commodity like Tiger Woods. Sorry, but that is gonna be more hilarious than anything. There is no way people in this country are gonna think this thuggish Yao Ming character is cool. Unfortunately, Chinese guys are not meant to be cool, especially oversized awkard-looking ones. Ichiro is cool, but Yao Ming is not gonna be Ichiro. At most, they might get him to appeal to the Asian-American community by having him do commercials for rice or something. And they might sell a bunch of "Yao #11" jerseys to Asian kids trying to be hip. But McDonalds and Nike should probably stick to players like Jordan and Tiger if they are any wiser.
Hopefully I am wrong, because heaven knows I would love to see a Chinese athlete succeed in professional sports (I almost bought a Bruce Chen jersey a couple years ago when he came up with the Atlanta Braves, boy, would I have looked dumb). But in a year or two, we may be looking at Yao Ming as the biggest disappointment, the biggest bust ever. I predict he will foul out every other game now that he isn't playing in China where everyone is like 2 feet shorter than him.
Wednesday, July 24, 2002
New Cell Phone Number
As of Tuesday evening, my old cell phone number no longer works. I got a new number in the (630) area code. If you would like to know, please call my cell and I will tell you. haha just kidding, I'm pretty funny aren't I. Anyways, I will hopefully get an email sent out to everyone who calls me ever, but if you are dying to know, try calling my house or emailing me to ask.
As of Tuesday evening, my old cell phone number no longer works. I got a new number in the (630) area code. If you would like to know, please call my cell and I will tell you. haha just kidding, I'm pretty funny aren't I. Anyways, I will hopefully get an email sent out to everyone who calls me ever, but if you are dying to know, try calling my house or emailing me to ask.
Monday, July 22, 2002
Stop Unwanted Spam Emails
One of the few good things about my jychen@uiuc.edu email expiring soon is that I won't have to sort through all the dumb ad emails I get all the time. Seriously, there's at least 3 or 4 of these messages in my mailbox every day, and I swear I have been very careful about giving my email out. The annoying thing is that these clever folks title their emails "From: John" or something generic and subject as "I got it working" or "Quick question" so I have to open it up and make sure it's not someone I know. Unfortunatley, 99 to 100% of the time it is some ad for refinancing my home, signing up for traveler's clubs, or gay porn... leaving me feeling frustrated and somewhat bamboozled. One was from McAfee and titled "Stop unwanted spam emails," which I thought was ironic. SO STUPID!!! I know somewhere, some guy is having himself a hearty chuckle at my expense.
But once that address is deactivated, it will be I that is heartily chuckling. All that effort put into hoodwinking me will have been wasted... and what better revenge than for these punks to receive a good old dose of "Returned mail: address unknown"? muahahahahah... ugh. Anyways, if I ever find one of these people who have nothing better to do than annoy millions of people at once through email, then I am gonna have to pull out their eyes and shove them down their pants so they can watch me kick the crap out of them (courtesy of Moe in Simpsons, again. gotta love Simpsons).
One of the few good things about my jychen@uiuc.edu email expiring soon is that I won't have to sort through all the dumb ad emails I get all the time. Seriously, there's at least 3 or 4 of these messages in my mailbox every day, and I swear I have been very careful about giving my email out. The annoying thing is that these clever folks title their emails "From: John" or something generic and subject as "I got it working" or "Quick question" so I have to open it up and make sure it's not someone I know. Unfortunatley, 99 to 100% of the time it is some ad for refinancing my home, signing up for traveler's clubs, or gay porn... leaving me feeling frustrated and somewhat bamboozled. One was from McAfee and titled "Stop unwanted spam emails," which I thought was ironic. SO STUPID!!! I know somewhere, some guy is having himself a hearty chuckle at my expense.
But once that address is deactivated, it will be I that is heartily chuckling. All that effort put into hoodwinking me will have been wasted... and what better revenge than for these punks to receive a good old dose of "Returned mail: address unknown"? muahahahahah... ugh. Anyways, if I ever find one of these people who have nothing better to do than annoy millions of people at once through email, then I am gonna have to pull out their eyes and shove them down their pants so they can watch me kick the crap out of them (courtesy of Moe in Simpsons, again. gotta love Simpsons).
Thoughts on Shopping
After spending much of the past couple days shopping at Oakbrook and Water Tower with Olivia, I came away feeling somewhat worn out, but not left without some random observations to share.
If you ever feel like seeing a bunch of really bored men, just visit a local department store and observe the area right outside the women's waiting room. There you will find men of all ages and races waiting impatiently for their woman while she tries on 8 different tops in various shades of pink and in each size within a relatively large range. I saw an old man about 60 or 70 years old at Marshall Fields, reading a book outside the women's dressing room. Ah, his age must have made him wiser... next time I shall bring a book or buy a Game Boy for such situations.
When it comes to sizes, men use "Small," "Medium," "Large," and "Extra-Large." Pretty simple and self explanatory, and it does the job pretty nicely. Women, unfortunately, must have missed reading my blog on simplicity and they must use sizes 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, in addition to the small/medium/large categories. I'm wondering, what's wrong with good old small/medium/large? And how can something be size 0? If size 0 is too big for someone, do they need a size negative 2?
Banana Republic makes about 300,000 types of men's pants that are all apparently different from each other. That's apparent to everyone but me, it seems. I can't seem to tell if there is actually the slightest different between an "Emerson" and a "Gavin" fit is, not to mention a "Dawson" vs. "Smithfield." Nor do I really care. Just give me a pair of normal pants, for cryin out loud.
Girls use the term "power-shopping" to describe the act of going to the mall with a mission, having either a mental or written list of exactly what they need and trying to get everything as efficiently as possible. You know, that is how I would choose to shop all of the time if it were up to me. If I don't go to the mall knowing what I want, there's almost no point in going at all because I will pretty much never end up getting anything in those situations. Unfortunately, while "power-shopping" is a good thing in my opinion, the other 95% of times girls head to the mall is usually a matter of walking around the stores for a few hours and letting yourself be sucked in by a cute dress, a big sign that says "CLEARANCE," or the smell of cookies. That is why I must conclude that shopping malls were definitely designed with women in mind, not men, because all of these signs, or the cute dresses, or the cookie and ice cream shops are so well placed so as to lure the typical shopper, who wasn't really planning to get anything, to suddenly feel like they need to buy everything. You ever see beer sold on a clearance rack? No, beer sells itself. When you go to a hardware store or auto parts shop (yes I am being stereotypical here please forgive me), every aisle is clearly marked and organized to save the shopper time. You go to Oakbrook, Woodfield, whatever, they are designed to force shoppers to walk past as many stores as possible. Evil, evil, evil. If the rest of the world ran like that, it would take 2 hours to find a pack of gum at the gas station or the local 7-11.
I don't think I've ever encountered a girl who doesn't need something at any given time. Especially shoes, have you ever met a girl who wasn't looking for a new pair of shoes? They could have 18 pairs of shoes for any given occasion I could imagine, but obviously girls have a stronger imagination than me because there's always a new reason for needing some new shoes. Wedding coming up? Gotta get new shoes. Got a new skirt in baby blue? Better get some baby blue shoes to match. Allergies bothering you? I know just the cure, how about some new shoes.
One other thing I've always wondered is, how come for every dance or special occasion or whatever, girls need to go out and get a new dress? Are there strict classifications like some dresses are only for homecoming and others for prom? Or, are formal dresses designed like kleenex, you can only use it once or else you risk it falling apart? Some might argue that having a different dress for every occasion is a way of making each occasion special and unique. I guess I might be able to accept that, but not every dance is like your wedding, you know? Plus, how come guys don't get a new tux for every new dance they go to (ok, so it's more expensive but still). I'm kind of afraid to ask a girl these questions because I have a feeling they will think I am dumb. If you ask me, I think it's just because it's a convenient excuse for girls to get themselves a new dress.
This is somewhat unrelated, but I got a linen shirt a couple weeks ago, and I must say that I am very unimpressed. It's probably the only non-cotton shirt I've ever gotten, and I thought cotton wrinkled easily but linen is 50 times worse. All I do is sit down for a couple minutes and when I get up, there are folds galore on the bottom half of my shirt. Seriously, it's like Fold-land down there. Fold-city at least. Anyways, there's no point in ironing it at all because no matter what, by the end of the day, I will find myself wearing the "wrinkliest shirt ever" (said like the Comic Book Guy in Simpsons).
After spending much of the past couple days shopping at Oakbrook and Water Tower with Olivia, I came away feeling somewhat worn out, but not left without some random observations to share.
If you ever feel like seeing a bunch of really bored men, just visit a local department store and observe the area right outside the women's waiting room. There you will find men of all ages and races waiting impatiently for their woman while she tries on 8 different tops in various shades of pink and in each size within a relatively large range. I saw an old man about 60 or 70 years old at Marshall Fields, reading a book outside the women's dressing room. Ah, his age must have made him wiser... next time I shall bring a book or buy a Game Boy for such situations.
When it comes to sizes, men use "Small," "Medium," "Large," and "Extra-Large." Pretty simple and self explanatory, and it does the job pretty nicely. Women, unfortunately, must have missed reading my blog on simplicity and they must use sizes 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, in addition to the small/medium/large categories. I'm wondering, what's wrong with good old small/medium/large? And how can something be size 0? If size 0 is too big for someone, do they need a size negative 2?
Banana Republic makes about 300,000 types of men's pants that are all apparently different from each other. That's apparent to everyone but me, it seems. I can't seem to tell if there is actually the slightest different between an "Emerson" and a "Gavin" fit is, not to mention a "Dawson" vs. "Smithfield." Nor do I really care. Just give me a pair of normal pants, for cryin out loud.
Girls use the term "power-shopping" to describe the act of going to the mall with a mission, having either a mental or written list of exactly what they need and trying to get everything as efficiently as possible. You know, that is how I would choose to shop all of the time if it were up to me. If I don't go to the mall knowing what I want, there's almost no point in going at all because I will pretty much never end up getting anything in those situations. Unfortunately, while "power-shopping" is a good thing in my opinion, the other 95% of times girls head to the mall is usually a matter of walking around the stores for a few hours and letting yourself be sucked in by a cute dress, a big sign that says "CLEARANCE," or the smell of cookies. That is why I must conclude that shopping malls were definitely designed with women in mind, not men, because all of these signs, or the cute dresses, or the cookie and ice cream shops are so well placed so as to lure the typical shopper, who wasn't really planning to get anything, to suddenly feel like they need to buy everything. You ever see beer sold on a clearance rack? No, beer sells itself. When you go to a hardware store or auto parts shop (yes I am being stereotypical here please forgive me), every aisle is clearly marked and organized to save the shopper time. You go to Oakbrook, Woodfield, whatever, they are designed to force shoppers to walk past as many stores as possible. Evil, evil, evil. If the rest of the world ran like that, it would take 2 hours to find a pack of gum at the gas station or the local 7-11.
I don't think I've ever encountered a girl who doesn't need something at any given time. Especially shoes, have you ever met a girl who wasn't looking for a new pair of shoes? They could have 18 pairs of shoes for any given occasion I could imagine, but obviously girls have a stronger imagination than me because there's always a new reason for needing some new shoes. Wedding coming up? Gotta get new shoes. Got a new skirt in baby blue? Better get some baby blue shoes to match. Allergies bothering you? I know just the cure, how about some new shoes.
One other thing I've always wondered is, how come for every dance or special occasion or whatever, girls need to go out and get a new dress? Are there strict classifications like some dresses are only for homecoming and others for prom? Or, are formal dresses designed like kleenex, you can only use it once or else you risk it falling apart? Some might argue that having a different dress for every occasion is a way of making each occasion special and unique. I guess I might be able to accept that, but not every dance is like your wedding, you know? Plus, how come guys don't get a new tux for every new dance they go to (ok, so it's more expensive but still). I'm kind of afraid to ask a girl these questions because I have a feeling they will think I am dumb. If you ask me, I think it's just because it's a convenient excuse for girls to get themselves a new dress.
This is somewhat unrelated, but I got a linen shirt a couple weeks ago, and I must say that I am very unimpressed. It's probably the only non-cotton shirt I've ever gotten, and I thought cotton wrinkled easily but linen is 50 times worse. All I do is sit down for a couple minutes and when I get up, there are folds galore on the bottom half of my shirt. Seriously, it's like Fold-land down there. Fold-city at least. Anyways, there's no point in ironing it at all because no matter what, by the end of the day, I will find myself wearing the "wrinkliest shirt ever" (said like the Comic Book Guy in Simpsons).
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