| Nov 1, 2014
Comments Off on Halloween 2014

Halloween 2014

Another Halloween has come and gone. Unfortunately it was kind of a let-down as the number of kids was the lowest ever. However, I can say the kids were quite polite, most saying “trick-or-treat” and “thank you.” And all loved that I give out full size candy bars.

In years past Nadia and I would trade answering the door. But, as Nadia had to work it was left to me. So, what do I do? I make a game out of it for me! Since I couldn’t play my typical computer games as there isn’t pause when you’re playing against others online.

No, I wasn’t mean to the kids. Instead I took stats – YES! Stats are fun to me (to a point). Costumes? No, though zombies seemed most popular (more so with the girls than boys). Number of boys vs. girls? No, and I think there were more girls. Parent / older sibling escorts vs. not? No, but I think more with escorts than not. I kept it simple: what time and how many kids. And here are the results:

First arrival: 6:19 pm
Last arrival: 8:32 pm
Total visits: 13
Total kids: 30
Average kids per visit: 2.31
Median: 2
Mode: 2

Visits & Kids per visit for 2014 Halloween

Visits & Kids per visit for 2014 Halloween

Shockingly, not only did we not run out of candy, but I think I gave out less than half, and that includes two pieces I gave to two adults (not included in numbers above). I even bought slightly less than the last few years!

I do feel bad though, as I was closing the door I heard a girl give a squeal of excitement that she got a Snickers, but she actually got a Milky Way – similar colored packaging, but very different candy bars.

Take away: I don’t know if I should bother with candy next year.

Category: I Witnessed This | Pointless
Tags: | |
| Sep 29, 2014
Comments Off on Vegas, It’s Magic

Vegas, It’s Magic

I like Las Vegas. I’ve gone there many times – all but two times under the guise of having fun. Gambling. Surprise birthday party. Wedding. Hanging out with friends. And most recently a surprise anniversary trip – the anniversary wasn’t the surprise, the destination and what we did were.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Well, I’m too tame to have anything crazy happen so I’m going to boast of the luck I’ve had in Vegas when it comes to magic shows.

2010 – David Copperfield made me (and several others) disappear! Show Info
Not only was this my first Vegas show after so many trips, but I was able to be part of the group of people he made go poof! He called me Dr. Evil on stage, that was funny. He had us all sit in some chairs onstage, covered us up, a little hocus pocus, and we appeared at the back of the room. Do I know how he did it, yes. Did he pay us or have us sign something to keep quite, no. Did he ask us out of respect to keep quite, yes. Will I keep quite, yes. I haven’t told my wife and I won’t tell you. (As it was the final illusion he came to the room we were in and talked to us for a couple of minutes.)

He did give us an autographed photo, but as my mother-in-law is a huge fan I was too happy to let her have it.

2014 – Murray Celebrity Magician Show Info
My wife and I watch Pawn Stars and when we saw he had a show at the Tropicana we decided to go on a whim. It was a Sunday and not a full room, but we were up close and it was so fun. Was I part of any trick? Alas, I was not, if only I had thrown my flip flop at him when he asked for a left shoe I could have been part of a card trick as well as have my foot warmed by a pink slipper the entire show. But I hesitated. But, we did get to meet him after the show and Nadia got a picture with him!

Murray_and_Nadia_Sep142014

Murray posing with Nadia after the show!

2014 – Penn & Teller made my phone disappear (and thankfully) reappear! Show Info
My second planned magic show I saw in Vegas and lo and behold I was selected by Teller from the audience for one of the first illusions. After getting on stage I handed my phone to Penn. He had my wife – in the audience – call the phone and had a brief conversation with her. He started the video recording for my viewing after the show so I’d know how the trick worked. After a fun introduction and me striking a pose, Penn did some abracadabra and *poof* my phone was gone, later reappearing inside the oddest thing from an unexpected location. After watching the video of course I know how it’s done. Was I asked to sign anything to keep quite, nope. Did they imply (or I infer) that the video was for me, yes. As I respect the craft I do keep secrets.

I cut the video where I did because I liked my pose there at the end and the trick is about to start. I don’t want to show or describe much of the trick because like Copperfield and Murray, and I’m sure many others, Penn & Teller’s show is worth seeing live, so why see any part of the trick from my camera’s point of view?

Take away: Vegas, it’s not just for gambling.

Category: I Witnessed This
Tags: |
| Nov 7, 2013
Comments Off on Amazon: Prime vs. Basic Account

Amazon: Prime vs. Basic Account

Is Amazon Prime worth the $85 / year premium? Some of the pros include free 2-day shipping, access to their version of Netflix, and even the ability to “borrow” a book from their Kindle library. Some nice perks.

My wife and I decided to try it this year and have it on her amazon account as it has her kindle associated to it whereas I just buy stuff every so often. And in the last few months I’ve noticed something. Sometimes things cost more on her Prime account vs. my non-Prime account – even when shipping (digital downloads or free anyway or super-saver shipping) and taxes (we live at the same address) are not factors.

You did not read that wrong, sometimes things cost more on her Prime account than my basic account. My most recent discovery is for MS Office 2010. No image editing was done. I found the product, CTRL+clicked it (new tab), logged in to each each account and refreshed the page. You will see a different number of tabs, but that’s because I originally was going to do a side-by-side screenshot. However, I decided a full screen image was better so you can see the URLs are identical, only the accounts (and resulting cart) were different. All of this was done in the same browser (yes, there is browser-based pricing out there) and first I hit my account, then hers, then mine all within 1 minutes so it wasn’t a timing issue either.

If you’re curious, the price shown when you aren’t even logged in is the cheaper price. Sure, it’s just $4.53 for this product and it’s not necessarily every product they have different prices for, but with the number of products they have and the number of Prime users they have (10,000,000 as of 3/11/2013) it adds up for them and you.

Amazon non-Prime Account

Amazon non-Prime Account Pricing

Amazon Prime Account

Amazon Prime Account Pricing

Take away: if you plan to have an Amazon Prime account, make a second basic Amazon account for when shipping doesn’t matter.

Category: I Witnessed This
Tags: | |
| Sep 4, 2013
Comments Off on Chicken & Cheeseburger Big Mac

Chicken & Cheeseburger Big Mac

While eating in a food court I saw a guy take off the top buns of his chicken burger and cheeseburger. At first I thought he was trying to reduce how many carbs he was eating, I’ve seen people do that.

Oh no, after he readjusted the buns – putting both tops back on and taking the bottoms off – he then stacked the cheeseburger on top of the chicken burger. Two buns, two patties, not quite a Big Mac and not quite the flavor profile I would look for.

After he finished his double mixed burger he then ate one of the bottom buns. Three buns, two patties, we have a Big Mac with no secret sauce but with cheese. So why didn’t he just build it that way to begin with?

Category: I Witnessed This
Tags: |