Stuff That Irks Me - Continued

Yesterday I shared with you my disgust over a limo that was parked over three handicapped spaces in the parking lot at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. After I posted that entry I went to the website for Luxury Limousine of Harrisburg and sent them a message through their contact section to politely inform them of what I had seen and why it was upsetting, as well as directing them to my post about the vehicle.

I even gave Luxury Limousine of HGB an opportunity to apologize publicly for the incident. Perhaps I was on the harsh side of my initial contact with the company, but I do not think I went too far over the line. You be the judge. Below is the message I sent Luxury Limousine of HGB;

I wanted to alert you that I saw one of your vehicles parked over not one, not two but THREE handicapped spots Tuesday evening in the parking lot for the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. I made sure to publicize this illegal act at the following web address; http://kevinmcguire.blogspot.com/2009/04/stuff-that-irks-me-parking-in.html Feel free to leave a public apology there if you wish.

I left the above message with them in the morning, briefly after posting my rant. Yesterday afternoon I received a response from the limo company and I was left wondering if somebody had actually taken the time to visit the URL I sent them. The link would have provided them with photo documentation of the vehicle in question. Below is what I received from Luxury Limousine of Harrisburg;

In the future, You should make sure that you send your e-mail to the right people. We are luxury limousine of HGB. and we didn't have a vehicle anywhere near PHILADELPHIA on Tuesday evening 4/29/09. You should try Luxury Limousine Co. in the Philly AREA-First. CHECK the vehicles out better before you accuse people the next time. You feel free to leave a public apology to LUXURY LIMOUSINE of HARRISBURG if you wish!!

Alright, I'll be fair and balanced. Let me go through this e-mail line by line and see if I have been mistaken based on what I saw...

"We are luxury limousine of HGB. and we didn't have a vehicle anywhere near PHILADELPHIA on Tuesday evening 4/29/09."

Ok, so this vehicle, labeled with "Luxury Limousine of HGB" on the side with the Wachovia Spectrum in the background, is NOT yours? I remain somewhat skeptical, but let me keep going. Never mind the fact that this picture was taken on Charlie Manuel bobble head night at the Phillies game, which according to the promotional calendar on Phillies.com was Tuesday April 28, 2009 (I'll just assume that the claim about the 29th was a typo).


"CHECK the vehicles out better before you accuse people the next time."

Uh...I did.


Last but not least I wanted to confirm that I had the correct web address. I will not share with you the actual e-mail address that I received this response from, but I will tell you that the domain of the e-mail address was "@luxurylimoofhbg.com." Do I mean the same "luxurylimoofhbg.com" that was printed on the back window of the vehicle...


...why yes I certainly do!

By all accounts I seem to have done my research on the vehicle and personally I feel that the response that I received yesterday was in poor judgement from the individual who sent it. I am not really out to fight a war against a limousine company, although if I somehow get a free or discounted limo out of the deal I would not be upset. Instead I state that I am fighting a battle against rudeness and disregard for those in need and showing no respect for the rules of the road.

What if a police officer had seen what I had seen. Would Luxury Limousine of Harrisburg try to convince the officer that they did not have a vehicle "anywhere near PHILADELPHIA"? Probably not. I realize that I may have gotten the response I did because I am a "blogger" and businesses should not bother with such little quibbles. Is that fair? No, but that is not the issue at hand.

Is it fair to force up to three cars of handicapped drivers or passengers to park farther away from their destination and travel between rows of cars in a full parking lot at a sports arena complex so one limo company can show off their large vehicle. No. Handicapped parking spaces are for drivers and passengers in special need. It's just that simple. Don't park in them!

That my friends, is the issue I am concerned with.

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Stuff That Irks Me

I am normally pretty easy going but there are some things that irritate me beyond belief. People who decide to smoke in a huge crowd walking out of a baseball stadium is among the top of my list, although people who smoke at all usually find themselves in this mix anyway. People with no regard for polite cell phone usage is another. A third is people who park in handicapped spots when they are not handicapped.

But what about when a limo parks over not one, not two but THREE handicapped spots? Well that's where I go over the top. As I left the Phillies game last night (photos up) I walked by a limo that did just that in front of the Wachovia Center. I feel that it was wrong to do this, so with my camera handy I decided to catch the illegal act on film (metaphorically speaking as I used a digital camera) for the world to witness.


You will notice that this limo spans three clearly marked handicapped spots. I was curious so I checked the licence plate for a handicapped plate. Nothing. What about a handicapped sticker hanging from the rear view mirror. Nada.

This, in my opinion is the job of a limo driver that should be held accountable. Do you agree? Below is the vital information for the vehicle...

By the way, the limo is the property of Luxury Limousine of Harrisburg. I only assume that the passengers in this vehicle were attending the Bruce Springstein concert at the Spectrum on Tuesday night, as the parking lot I was in was mostly for that event instead of the Phillies game.

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Too Early For This

No joke, I just saw this commercial on TV...

Ugh. It is too early for these kinds of commercials!

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Say What Now???

T.J. Simers, a lazy columnist for the Los Angeles Times, has been putting out some absolute filth focusing on Philadelphia fans during the NLCS. It's the same old junk that we have all heard before and as I said it is just lazy to rehash the same stories over and over and over again.

It is a long winded trend to criticize Philadelphia fans for their ill-advised behavior on a number of occasions. The booing of Santa Claus, batteries being thrown at players, cheering for injuries of opposing players, booing Donovan McNabb on draft day and any other flat out nonsense you want to pick. But T.J. Simers, in a cowardly act, somehow blamed Philadelphia fans for the unruly behavior of Dodgers fans in the NLCS games in Dodgers Stadium this past week.

From today's column in the LA Times [link];

SEVERAL DODGERS fans e-mailed complaining about the fan experience in the stadium for Game 4.

"I am not sure I will take my son to another Dodger game any time soon," wrote Ken Gowey. "It makes me absolutely ashamed to be a Dodger fan."

I was afraid of this, knowing some folks born in Philly have probably moved here and become Dodgers fans over the years.

The thing is, you just can't take the Angryville out of them, which obviously explains all the problems in Dodger Stadium.

Yes, "Angryville" is his clever moniker for Philadelphia. And yes he just completely dismissed the behavior of Dodgers fans and blamed it on Phillies fans or natives of Philadelphia who for whatever reason abandoned their team and switched allegiances to the boys in blue.

I have news for you Mr. Simers. Philadelphia is quite the opposite of "Angryville" today. Perhaps you would have known that if you were responsible to do some research, but I suppose it is easier to whip out the old file with a stock column about Philadelphia being unpleasant and obscene.

But in all seriousness, Simers has the gall to say that Philadelphians and their behavior "obviously explains all the problems in Dodger Stadium"? It has been well documented this week that Dodgers fans are not the angels that Simers seems to think they are.

Mr. Simers, I invite you to read any of the following posts;

• Bloodthirsty Dodgers fans - Evan Brown
• Fans are different in La la land - Delaware Online
• Dodging Abuse - No Joshin'
• Dodgers fans: The most classless fanbase in America - Somewhat Opinionated
• In the Belly of the Early Departing Beast - The 700 Level

Ready for the video evidence Mr. Simers? Observe...

Seems to me that the Dodgers fans are the only ones to blame for unruly behavior. Now as for the old tired Philly fan bashing by regional and national media...enough already.

Santa Claus? That happened in 1968. Once.

"And no event has been as exaggerated, misconstrued and inaccurately recalled."
The Great Philadelphia Fan Book, by Glen Macnow and Anthony Gargano

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Facebook Backlash

As [100] million Facebook users now know, the site has been redesigned. The changes have not exactly gone over too well, although more people than not apparently aren't complaining. I for one will voice my displeasure over the new layout.

Many people dislike it. Some are indifferent. I don't like it but I admit it is probably not as bad as some people make it out to be. It certainly has been a news worthy item though in the technology and internet community.

I like this intro to the story in the Chicago Tribune yesterday [link];

Imagine coming home from work to find your house in a different color, the rooms switched around and the furniture rearranged.

That's the virtual equivalent Facebook users have faced or will face as the online hangout forces its 90 million members to adapt to a redesigned site, unveiled in late July. Beginning this week, users' profiles will be irrevocably migrated to the new site. And the changes are being met with a mix of protest and resignation.

Let's take a tour...

The Tabs

I understand the idea going here and it doesn't seem terrible, at first. Why Facebook would decide to implement this tab idea though is beyond me. With the old layout all of the information that would appear in these tabs used to be right on a person's profile page in a resume sort of layout. What I mean is all of your profile information was laid out from top to bottom, depending on what you wanted published. If you wanted to close, or minimize, this information all you had to do was click on the heading and it would all be hidden. The best part about the old way was the clean and efficient look it would give he user.

The new tabs allow the user to view what information they want to see, whether it be comments on the person's Wall, detailed profile information, photos of the person in the profile, or view all of the "extras" the individual has added to their profile.

Facebook's biggest problem may have been the excessive amount of applications that users would add to their profiles pages. Many applications add to the content being provided by users and it was a way of customizing their individual profile to best showcase themselves. The new layout hinders that extra touch of personality and instead shoves it all into a cluttered mess under a tab titled "Boxes".

For example, my old Facebook profile had extra applications that represent me and I felt I placed them in spots that were fit for each. I have an application for Phillies fans, Penn State fans, a game I enjoy, a section for quizzes and a few others I liked. Now it is likely that nobody will ever see them because they are under the vague "Boxes" tab.

Facebook does give each user the opportunity to add extra tabs to better showcase different applications, but I am curious as to just how many people will really do that.

Wall Filters

I admit that this is not the most terrible idea ever. On your profile page you can see all activity on the wall (for non-Facebook users, the Wall is where users can exchange messages to each other that everyone can read, much like the comments section in a blog) or filter it to see only the posts you made on your own wall or comments left for you on your wall. Adding to the much unneeded clutter is the fact that it adds in your status updates and comments you have left on other people's photos.

As if it weren't enough to leave comments on somebodies wall, now you can leave an additional comment on one's status message. I'll use my friend Mike as an example...
I will occasionally leave somebody a message relating to their status message, much in the way people sometimes leave an instant message responding to an away message. The first time I did this with the new Facebook I had trouble finding the message I had left for somebody. I assumed that I had left a comment on their wall, which until now would be the most logical location for my comment, but in fact I had contributed to a completely new string of comments.

While I applaud the thought process here, I have to give a thumbs down. Imagine if I did something like this for the blog. What if you could leave a comment about a blog post in the comments section but also leave a comment responding to the title of the post under the title? Sound confusing. That is my point exactly. In this case, less is good. Which leads me to the next segment...

The Feeds

What you see above is a snapshot of my recent "Live Feed". It gives me a stream of all the activity my Facebook friends are doing. It gives me updates on status messages, what photos they were tagged in, who my friends have become friends with (in case I want to be their friend too) etc. It is nice, straight forward, and clean. It is everything a feed should be. So why am I complaining about it? Because it is not the default feed that shows when I load up Facebook!

Below is a snapshot of the "News Feed" that shows on screen when I log in to Facebook.


Both of the above snapshots were taken within a minute of each other so we can tell the similarities and differences. Personally I want my information to be as clutter free as possible, but Facebook decides to show me the photos that are added and the ones people were tagged in as well as the profile picture of a friends who is leaving a comment for somebody else next to what they said. My beef is not that the News Feed is not the best layout, but that I can't change my preferred feed to load when I log in. I would be much happier if I could view the Live Feed by default instead of the collage-like News Feed.


Look, Facebook users can join their protest groups and people like me can blog about it to their heart's content but the reality is that the layout is not likely to change anytime soon. In a recent article from the United Kingdom the following statement was made [Telegraph.co.uk];

Facebook said about 40 million users had tried out the new design, and that about 30 million had embraced it instantly, without returning to the old layout.

Sounds like tough noogies for Facebook layout protesters to me. I am sure that in a short amount of time many of the angry Facebook users will do one of two things;

1. Get used to the new layout and discover benefits of the new design
2. Forget what they were so angry about
3. Realize that life still goes on (I mean, I personally lived without Facebook for about 25 years, right?)

I believe that Facebook layout detesters should find other ways than joining groups on the service though. Take your complaints, thoughts, suggestions and what have you straight to Facebook. There are a few ways to this as well...

• SEND FEEDBACK! I am sure many people overlook this, but if you log in to Facebook, look in the top right of your screen...
  Ta-da! An instant link to voice your displeasure to the Facebook group.
• If you want to find another way to reach Facebook, why not comment on their own blog? It seems to me that either nobody reads it or nobody leave s a comment on it. Seems to me that if those million plus people who joined 1,000,000 AGAINST THE NEW FACEBOOK LAYOUT had each left a comment on the Facebook blog, the chances of Facebook listening might be a little better.
  

My Final Thought

I can live with it, but like the days of the four man pitching rotation, the old Facebook layout is not likely to return despite my craving for it. I will move on and adjust accordingly, and I would applaud a reversal in thinking at Facebook, but I don't anticipate any retro changes to happen. On the flip side there is something nice I have picked up on. That is that I have been seeing far fewer advertisements make their way into my feeds that advertise applications or are just plain old commercials.

So you see, it's not all bad! Changes are inevitable people, especially in the online community.

What are your thoughts? Leave them in the comments. Oh, and feel free to Facebook me!

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MAKE IT STOP!

Fox Still Thinks It Can Dance

I hate most reality TV, especially the clones of existing reality TV shows. I realize I may be somewhat hypocritical as I am a big fan of Hell's Kitchen, but it's my blog and I can say what I want to say!

While I am at it, what the heck did Juan Samuel do to deserve the honor of being added to the Phillies Wall of Fame? When you think of the all time Phillies greats does Samuel rank in your top ten? Top 25??? Top 50????? He may be a nice guy, but he is no Michael Jack Scmidt, Steve Carlton, Richie Ashburn, or even Gary Mathews...is he?

Juan Samuel Statistics - Baseball Reference.com

Oh, 100 RBI in 1987. Seventy-two stolen bases in 1984 (down hill from there). Surely there are names that deserve the honor ahead of Samuel. If Samuel is going in I would have to assume that Darren Daulton is on deck for the Phillies Wall of Fame, no? Heck, this guy won more Gold Gloves (1), as many Silver Sluggers (1), and won a homerun derby and he's not on the Wall yet*!


Is it too early to start the Ricky Ledée for Phillies Wall of Fame club yet?



*Never mind the fact that Bobby Abreu is an active player in baseball...for the Yankees. But if Samuel makes the Wall, Bobby A should be a lock to be added in the future.

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Ugh.

It seems that somebody in the graphics department at Comcast Sportsnet needs to take the There/They're/Their quiz.

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Public Notice

To the tenants at 521 Cherry Lane, it is February 26. It's time to take down your Christmas lights.

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Why I don't like Fox News #2,924

At the gym this morning I watched Fox News while ESPN was on a commercial break. It was whatever show they have with Steve Forbes. Now, anyone who knows my news of choice knows I prefer ABC News and CNN and it's not even close. Simply put, Fox News sucks.

Want an example of why? Ok, then read on.

They were talking about the congressional hearing with Roger Clemens from earlier this week. Comments were made about how it was a waste of tax payer's dollars (agreed) and how no progress was made (agreed). Then the genius who is Steve Forbes makes the asinine comment on how if they wanted to get anything done then the commissioner (Bud Selig) and/or the player's union director (Donald Fehr) should have been there and questioned why they weren't there.

I kept working on the elliptical waiting for someone on the morning show panel to point out to Steve that both of those men had in fact been in front of the same committee not once, but twice. Not a single person commented on it.

If this is the kind of research Fox News puts into their programming and opinions, then I will continue to stick with CNN and ABC News for as long as I can foresee. I thought it was outrageous to let Forbes get away with that comment without any remarks from any of the four people by his side or via satellite.

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Two Days

I write this on Thursday morning, but I want to say that the Wii and the Wi-Fi USB adapter discontinued working together yesterday (Wednesday). It was actually less than 48 hours that it worked flawlessly.

I am so annoyed.

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Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector

I love Nintendo. I hate the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector. Ever since getting it to connect my Wii to the internet it has been on again, off again as far as the connection's stability goes. I don't understand how the Wii and USB connector stop communicating, because each recognize that their Wi-Fi waves are in the air, they just sometimes refuse to communicate 100%. It's like Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens on the football field; they acknowledge each other, they just don't like each other.

Oh wait, T.O. has always had great relationships with his quarterbacks. Anyway...

Today I will start keeping track of how many days can go by before the Wii and USB Connector stop playing nice for me. Today is Day One.

This kid sums up my frustrations, although in a less mature style of course...

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Letter to Sports Illustrated: Update

Well, I received a response today from Time Inc., responding to my letter to Sports Illustrated from yesterday. It seems to me that I'm getting the usual "We don't have time to read your e-mail but we'll pass it along to the editors" run around. Who knows.

Here is what I received;

"Dear Mr. McGuire:

Thank you for writing. While the editors wish they could reply individually to each person who writes, the volume of mail makes this impossible.

However, we wanted you to know that every letter is read by at least two editors, your views and opinions help shape the content of the magazine, and all editorial letters are considered for publication.

Sincerely,
SI Letters Department"

If I get an actual response at anytime, I'll let you know about it.

Blogged with Flock

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Letter to Sports Illustrated

I have been getting increasingly frustrated with the coverage Sports Illustrated allots to college football. In the "The Week in Sports" section of Sports Illustrated, there is one page given to college football. That is as much as the WNBA receives. Same with soccer. High school football? Try a page and a half!

I wrote Sports Illustrated, much like my grandmother might, to let them know I am displeased with their coverage selection. Here is what I wrote;

"I find it alarming that your issues only feature one page of college football coverage, but one and a half pages of high school football in the “The Week in Sports” section. I understand that high school football is huge in some regions but on a national scale isn’t college football more worthy of the extra coverage? Personally, my interest in high school football starts and ends with my former high school and their league. I can get plenty of coverage on that in my local paper.

Kevin McGuire
Souderton, PA"

We'll see what kind of response I get on this issue, if anything.

On the bright side, there was a nice feature article on Matt Schaub in this week's issue. Matt Schaub; Pride of West Chester East High School.

Blogged with Flock

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Another Pet Peeve

Continuing on my "Stupid People" theme this morning...

A movie was recently being shot in West Chester and I suppose some parts were filmed on the campus of West Chester University. Here is a pet peeve of mine that I would like to see stopped immediately on the national scale because I have seen it on more than one occasion.

It is not West Chester State. It is West Chester University. It is not Shippensburg State. It is Shippensburg University. It is not Bloomsburg State. It is Bloomsburg University.

I do not believe any of the schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education are referred to as State anymore, but they are all University. If you are making your schedules for sports or doing stories for the news, please make note that update. In the past week I have seen WCU and Ship referred to as State in a sports schedule, and just this morning I heard WCU referred to as West Chester State.

Thanks for listening!

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Ranting About Customers (Again)

Ok, I should preface this by saying I want you to understand that I was already a little irritable when these customers approached me. Even if I was in a great mood though, these customers may very well have made me irate anyway!

The first was a pair of college aged sorority girls on a shopping mission for their mom. They have a page full of a shopping list and bring their cart up to me and say "We need all these things, can you help us out?" Next thing I know I find myself leading these girls through the entire store hand picking out all of their selections. Now, maybe it's just me, but I would like to think that a couple of college aged girls would be able to browse the aisles for what they need. After all, every aisle is marked with the basic contents that reside on their shelves. And paper? Well if you look at the wall, there is a 15ft x 30 ft sign that says "Paper".

Let this be a lesson for all of you. I am not here to do your shopping for you. I am here to assist you and answer any questions for you. Do your own darn shopping people!

I am sick and tired of people asking me "Do you work here?" Do people really think I'm wearing this get up because I think I look cool? Or because I'm comfortable? Please! Yesterday this lady was looking right at my name tag and then she asked me that question. Do people usually walk around a store carrying a box, cutting it open with a knife, and placing the stock on the shelf? If they do they must be really nice people. I wish those people would make it to my store! But in any event people, please use common sense. If you see a group of people throughout the store wearing identical clothing, an they have name tags on, or they are putting stock on a shelf, then they probably work there. You have no idea how discouraging that can be for an employee. Maybe I should go to your office, walk up to your desk and ask you the same thing.

I realize that the office retail world is different than the office world, and I'm ok with that. But don't you dare start thinking that just because you work at an office, or have a secretary, or have a platinum card with a $100,000 limit, or have a fancy car, that makes you better than me. While I may be ranting and raving right now, truth is I treat all of my customers with respect and I truly enjoy working with people, helping them find what they need, or attempting to work out alternative solutions. If I am out of an item, believe me, I do feel bad but I will do everything in my power to find what you need, whether it is form another store or online. So please, do not complain to me that we had the item the other day, last year, or years ago. Please don't tell me that we aren't doing our job because we are out of an item. Please, do not ask me "Are you sure?" or "Do you have any in the back?" Those questions leave the retail worker feeling a little discouraged and, for some (not me), they will start to feel less inclined to help you out because you are belittling their pride. These people work in the store and know where everything should be. I can't speak for all of my co-workers, but if I tell you we don't have any more of something, I urge you to take my word for it. After all, I have performed the duties of an inventory analyst and in the position I learn where everything would be and know how the inventory system works better than anybody in the store. I'm not bragging, it's just the truth. No means no.

And finally, for today, do not tip me. I know that sounds weird because you would think I love earning extra money on the side. Truth is, I am not allowed to accept tips. If you try to give me a tip I will tell you that it is ok and I appreciate it but will not accept it. I am getting paid to help you put furniture in your car. Some associates will take them, but I find it unethical. I'm not driving you anywhere and I'm not serving you food and drinks. If I am providing you exceptional service, then please send a comment to my bosses or the regional office. Believe me, that helps me out a lot more than $2. So if you are the kind of person who feels obligated to tip the people helping you load your car, instead of reaching for your wallet to give them a couple bucks, make a mental note of their name (or names), go home, and drop the corporate office a line thanking them for the job well done and mention their name and location. This feedback gets back to the store, and a lot of times leads to awards such as employee of the month, which usually ends up as a $20 gift card. Now, your tip of a couple bucks could have transformed to a $20 reward.

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