Some quick hits as we move towards the weekend:

- Circuit Shitty has announced that they will be closing 69 stores and laying off buttloads of greasy, obnoxious salespeople. I’ve always hated that company. I used to be a field trainer for Compaq Computers and found the Circuit City vultures to be the lowest form of scummy, pushy spiff chasers I’ve ever seen. My wife once won a gift certificate through a company sponsored contest. We used it to get a video camera which was basically DOA. When we took it back to be worked on, they told us that it was outside of the 30-day return policy, so they wouldn’t give me a replacement. Not only that, but when I told them to fix it, they returned it two months later still inoperative. When I pointed out that the fucking thing still didn’t work, they said that I was now outside of the 90-day warranty and they weren’t gonna fix it. Ever since then, I haven’t set foot in one of their stores, and I’ve told countless people what a bunch of crooks they are. I hope my efforts have at least partially led to their financial problems. And I hope their corporate office burns down, and they all go to hell.

- Whew, I feel better already.

- Enough hullabaloo about the Super Bowl Commercials. We all agree that they suck compared to some of the great commercials of yesteryear, but for that very reason, we shouldn’t be talking about them anymore. All of this bitching about the Snickers macho-gay smooch and the suicidal robotic arm needs to stop. They’re fucking commercials and not very good ones. Talking about them only perpetuates their memory. If everyone had ignored the ads and the products they push, it would have all gone away.

- Lost was just OK. I still get the feeling that they’re just making up shit as they go along, kind of like an improvisational drama. Characters pop in and out of that thing like SNL comedians. My favorite scene was when that guy gets hit by a bus. Seriously, every show should have someone wiped out by a bus. That would be high comedy.

- I haven’t even watched the last three American Idol audition shows. Enough with the freak parade! They’re pandering to the America’s Funniest Home Video crowd, the toothless Springer-esque crowd chanting for bigger and badder screeching. Most of these people auditioning shouldn’t be in public without assistance, and I totally blame their caretakers. After all, we can see that these people can’t legitimately function in the real world; they must have someone that is helping them perform the basic tasks of everyday life like getting dressed and driving a car to work. Why isn’t that person telling them “Y’know, Poindexter, you can’t sing worth a shit and you look like a demented lemur, maybe you should stay home and pop your pimples instead of humiliating yourself on national TV.”?

- I found out that I was about one day too slow in pulling my money from Neteller. I currently have $350+ dollars “pending” withdrawal. I initiated the withdrawal on 1/18, just one day prior to the announced investigation and freezing of funds. Crap.

- Remember my wife won a trip to Vegas and I was going? Well, now she’s interviewing at a couple of other companies and I might lose out on the trip if she takes one of the other jobs before 2/26. Not sure whether it’ll be worth the bridge burning to go to Vegas on someone else’s dime, and put in two weeks notice when the plane lands back home. Stay tuned.

- Side note on the kids. My son somehow managed to make Honor Roll (fourth straight semester) despite being a total screw-up and blowing off multiple assignments. My daughter pulled off straight A’s in her first semester in middle school. I’m very proud of both of them. My wife thinks I’m too hard on them. Tough shit. It seems to be working.

- One more week until pitchers and catchers report.