Seriously, get me out of here!

I definitely need a new job. I've been at Taco Bell since I was 17, and I'm going to be 22 in a few months. It's getting ridiculous. I've been looking for new jobs. I've even rearranged my school semester to where I'm only taking evening and online courses, so I could work a day job. I only have this last semester left in school, and I'm getting nervous that I'm not going to find any kind of decent job after I graduate. I'm willing to work full-time while going to school full-time. I've done it before. I guess this blog isn't so much about fun, more just me venting about my apprehensions about my future.

Anyone have any ideas?

Toothpaste for dinner agrees...

So, I'm not the only one who finds this CAPTCHA stuff to be questionable. Check out this comic.

It's hard to explain...

Sometimes I have a really difficult time explaining why I don't like the Olympics. I've never liked them. They just bore me. The repetitive, predictable games, the droning, unoriginal commentators. Booooorrrinnnnggg! Seriously, how long can I watch people swim before I get the idea? I get it, I get it. America wins. Very exciting.

I think it'd be easier to tell people I refuse to watch them because I'm boycotting China's human rights. At least that way I'd seem like an admirable, compassionate person, not just a bitter, unathletic man with an insufferably short attention span.

The CAPTCHA question

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be revealing my true computer ignorance with this blog, but I have some questions about this CAPTCHA stuff. I'm sure a lot of you have seen this. When there's an issue of privacy or something, you have to read this tilted and messed up-looking series of letters and numbers. Then you enter it in, and you're good to go.

Who exactly is this stopping? Am I to understand that hackers, despite their hacking skills and general computer know-how, cannot read slanted letters and numbers? Is that just a god-given skill to all of us non-hackers in the world? We finally figured out that the true downfall of hackers is that they can't decode letters or numbers if they're slanted or overlapping? Like I said, I'm sure I'm just dumb and there really is some entity hacking into sites that cannot type in letters that appear jumbled on a screen, but what is it? I've heard of "bots". Are these just robots going around hacking into random accounts that people have? And am I correct in understanding that these robots, then, can type in a series of regular, upright, and not overlapping numbers and letters? Who programs these robots? I think if I had a robot, it would be smart enough to read jumbled up letters and numbers. I mean, if we can program a robot to read regular numbers and letters, why can't it read them all slanted and stuff? Haven't we figured out a way around that yet? So many questions I have about this.

What's next? The computer will show you a picture of random things going on, and you have to enter in a short, expository essay about what's going on in the picture to prove you're human or non-hacker (hackers can't write, either)? Or it ask you what emotion you are feeling right now, and if you can honestly answer, you can pass, since these "bots" can't possibly experience human emotion?

Somebody please let me know. I'm a very curious and inquisitive young man with a thirst for knowledge.

No Mrs. Doubtfire?

Earlier this evening, for some strange reason, I had the urge to watch Mrs. Doubtfire. So, naturally, I thought to myself, "I'll just drop by Blockbuster and pick it up." I ask Rachel to go with me, and she (being very intelligent and practical like she always is) said, "Let's check the website to make sure they have it in stock." I thought it to be unnecessary. Certainly Blockbuster, the leader in movie rentals, would have Mrs. Doubtfire, a timeless 90's classic. But Rachel has a tendency to be right about everything at all times, so I agreed to check the website just for kicks. I was horrified to discover that NO BLOCKBUSTER IN FORT WAYNE OR BLUFFTON CARRIES MRS. DOUBTFIRE!! How ridiculous is this? Mrs. Doubtfire is not some obscure independent silent film from the late 20's, it's Mrs. Freaking Doubtfire! It's a family movie staple. So we checked Movie Gallery, no Mrs. Doubtfire, either. Great.

Now, if any of you know me, once I get on a kick or get an idea to do something, I stop at nothing. There was NO WAY that I was not going to watch Mrs. Doubtfire tonight. So I said, "Fine. I'll buy it. Let's go to Wal-Mart. There's no POSSIBLE way that any Wal-Mart wouldn't have Mrs. Doubtfire, at least in one of their $5.50 bins." Once again, she urged me to check the website, and, skeptical and worried, I did. No Mrs. Doubtfire carried at ANY Wal-Mart location in Northeast Indiana. "This is insane!", I screamed. I almost gave up, completely defeated and disillusioned about the world I live in. Then I remembered Delmar Video, an obscure but versatile movie rental place tucked away up past Lima Road in an almost unknown local business center. I call, and sure enough, they have Mrs. Doubtfire.

When we got there, I proceeded to inform the employee there that they were the only place in a 50 mile radius to have Mrs. Doubtfire to rent or buy at all, and that I would not be returning to Blockbuster or Movie Gallery for that reason. He just stared at me. I figured he would be thrilled to gain a new loyal customer. Needless to say, I checked it out, watched it, enjoyed it, and now I am satisfied.

If you don't like Mrs. Doubtfire, seriously, what is your problem? Come on.

Comic book movies and how they're saving cinema

Okay, I'm pretty aware that I'm not the first person to write about The Dark Knight and how amazing it is. I know that. I also know that I'm not the first person to write about how great Heath Ledger was as The Joker, either. I went and saw The Dark Knight on Sunday and it was one of the greatest films I've seen, ever. I'm not very much of a comic book aficionado, to say the least, but I'm starting to love the comic book movie genre that seems to be erupting since the turn of the new millennium.

Comic book movies have something to offer for everyone: the comic book geeks, the testosterone-filled action-loving dudes, and those of us who just love great writing and character development in movies. Lately, the problem with movies seems to be the lacking of a real, actual story. Directors like Michael Bay, Jerry Bruckheimer, and the like seem to find storylines, plots, and character development to be secondary to special effects so out of this world you grow hair on your chest just watching them. Now please, don't get me wrong. I am still a guy, and I do love action, violence, and explosions as much as the next guy.... when they are properly implemented. The Dark Knight has action, violence, and explosions WITH an excellent storyline and chillingly deep characters added on.

See, what the comic book movie is offering this generation of movie-watchers is a chance to get all the "guy effects" in movies with a little bit of writing attached. I know, "What, writing? In an action movie?!" I had never heard of such a thing, either. In The Dark Knight, you get to the core of Batman and The Joker's psyche. You gradually realize what they're all about, and you learn about human nature in the process. While I'm not a comic book fan per se, I'm starting to love the movies coming out about them. Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Iron Man.. all great films. And from now on I'm going to give any comic book movie I can an honest chance, and I'd urge any of you to do the same.

The delusion of comfort

What I'm about to discuss is extremely controversial. So before you continue on, I want you to make a vow to me and to yourself to have an open mind, taking everything I write and carefully examining what it is I'm trying to convey. You don't have to agree with me, but please, for the sake of free speech, hear me out.

Like many young people in this country, I used to be a pretty regular wearer of blue jeans. I accepted the idea that it was the typical "casual clothing" for people all over, and I accepted the idea that they were, somehow, comfortable. Many of you who grew up in the 90's may know that, when you tried to wear other casual pants (such as sweat pants, wind pants, etc.), you were mocked and ridiculed. "Just wear jeans like the rest of us", they'd taunt. So, naturally, I reverted back to wearing jeans for my own social well-being. Well now I am 21 years old and attend college at IPFW, an apathetic commuter campus in a non-college town. Lately I have been wearing sweat pants, wind pants, and athletic shorts to class, just simply because I didn't care and I thought the sweats would really "play up" my apathy and faux angst towards everything. So, later on, I went back to wearing jeans, and I thought to myself "Good lord, these are so uncomfortable. Why on earth did I ever wear these as casual clothing?" Jeans, I dare say, are more uncomfortable than DRESS clothes! Suit pants are made of more comfortable material than jeans! Just feel jeans! Feel them! They are so rough-feeling, tough, and uncomfortable. Hey, I'm not working on machinery all day, I don't need thick, tough material protecting my legs. Why did I wear these all these years? You can't adjust at all in jeans! Heck, you can hardly move in jeans! I am hereby boycotting jeans. I will wear khakis and polos for semi-formal occasians, dress shirts and dress pants for formal occasions, and either sweat pants, wind pants, or athletic shorts for anything else. There's no place for jeans in my wardrobe. I've had it with them. I'm through.

Now, I know I may have struck a chord with the vast amount of jean-wearers out there. Hey, I was brainwashed, too. Middle school will do that. But seriously, just think about what it is you are wearing. If you are an auto mechanic or machinist, I can see the functionality of wearing jeans, and this message is not for you. But for everyone else, think about your comfort. I mean, seriously, we're all in college. Who are we trying to impress anymore?