JohnA lifeBlog

I tried to buy tonight’s woot, but alas, I didn’t have enough in the ol’ Paypal account.. maybe you do?

Woot has so much fun. I can’t wait to see what is actually in tonight’s offerings.

Courtesy of my friend Crystal…

If you take any of the tests, let me know so I can see the results!

This post is written courtesy of an anonymous friend who is now worried about Chloe and her lifetime of kidney dialysis.

As all of you know by now, Menu Foods has issued a recall for a complete cross-section of their product. The recall affected numerous brands, and even more product types. With every stage, they continue to expand the recall.

Now, let’s be honest. I am an opportunist, and this seems to be one of the world’s best examples of branding gone wild.

Thoughout this progress, the Media made it out to be some bass-ackwards producer in Canada. What they failed to report was that said producer worked with numerous vendors as a private label proudcer.

Here is the deal. So many of us pay premium prices for the premium food for our pets. This whole process reveals the fact that there is no such thing as premium food. We just choose to pay more money for the same chemicals that invade the store brands.

I don’t want a refund, or a store credit. I want blood. I want justice from these top-tier vendors who promised results, only to deliver death.

Thanks.  Here is some commentary from JohnA, the blog owner:

I don’t know what to say.  I feel your heart and your horror.  I wish I could help you find closure.   All I can do now is say that I love you, and I long for your chilling chapter to be brought to justice’s light. JohnA

… if you don’t stop once in a while to look at it, you’ll miss it.

So, the last few weeks have been spent installing over $100k of new hardware to support our next generation platform.

While I was in the data center, I had a chance to tour another site’s cage, and got to see what it takes to power a 800-ish ranked Alexa site. Sorry for the poor quality pictures, I wasn’t exactly taking them with position:

I won’t name names, but that appears to be around $2 million worth of hardware. And according to the contractor I talked to, they have dual gigabit fiber connections to the Level(3) network. I can’t imagine how much money that bandwidth must cost.

Oh, I have pics from our new cluster… e-mail me if you want a link.

Finally, I know I have been lax in updating my blog.  Long story there, too.  If you want / need details, let me know.

Apple Unveils New Product-Unveiling Product | The Onion - America’s Finest News Source

This is almost as good as the perinneal classic iProduct. Laughs were had, stereotypes embraced.

Fun!

This entry is cross-posted from my clinically neglected movie blog.

Tonight’s first movie is Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Tim Burton’s take on the classic Roald Dahl novel.

This is now among my favorite family films, up there with Matilda, High School Musical and Sky High. I, like all of my generation, still view the Gene Wilder version of the film as a childhood favorite. But this version, hands down, is SO superior to the previous effort. Indeed, while the Quaker Oats version of the film made you smile, this version genuinely tugs at the heartstrings.

The acting is top notch, with all of the golden ticket children doing a superb job in playing their corresponding larger-than-life roles. And Johnny Depp is in rare form, playing the compassionate and creepy Dahl creation to a t.

This one is definitely a buy, or at the very least, a “move to top” Netflix addition.

Oh, I watched the film on HD-DVD, and the picture and sound were perfect. The “nerve center” was especially impressive, with amazing visuals and lush colors that pushed the envelope of the format. Additionally, the HD-DVD special features far surpassed expectations, with over a dozen different areas to explore.

As many of you know, I am the world’s biggest fan of the Cadbury Creme Egg.  It is why I look forward to Easter… (I mean, aside from the whole resurrection of the Savior to pay for my sins).  Each year, I buy far too many servings to count.

This year, I bought my first Creme Egg, and I immediately suspected something was wrong.  Upon further investigation, I realized what was throwing me off.  Nestle, the North American distributor for Cadbury, had unilaterally chosen to reduce the size of the product from 1.4 oz to 1.2 oz.  While this may not seem like a lot, it was passed off silently, ignoring years of tradition.  Futhermore, this season, I am paying MORE for an inferior product than I have in seasons prior.

I am sending a letter tomorrow.  It may seem stupid, but I encourage you to do the same.  Pretending your customers will not notice a product change is arrogant at best, and simply ignorant at worst.

Ugh, just another reason to hate Hershey’s. I feel betrayed, especially since the British FAQ discusses this very issue when they state that the size has not changed.