Mystery Shopper

So this past weekend I ventured out to buy some holiday gifts/Black Friday specials. I had no idea what I was in for, but I knew what I had experienced in the past. First stop, Best Buy. I guess that the big box retailers still think that no one has a tv. Since that is ALL they seem to have. That and air fryers are all the rage, but it doesn’t seem like customers feel the same way. With streaming devices everywhere dvds and blu-ray discs are no longer marked down to ridiculous prices like before. It has been 2 years since the PS5 released and still there is no gaming consoles to be found. If I was a mystery shopper all of the stores would have failed. I know why they are down in sales. They don’t even say hello to customers, let alone shoplifters. The funny thing is Best Buy rearranged their layout, so loss prevention now faces the front door, and customers can see all their cameras in plain view. And a weird thing is they don’t give you a receipt unless you ask for it, so you literally walk out the door with no proof you paid. Yeah, I don’t get it either. Can we say “shrink problem”?

I tweeted to Best Buy and let them know of the epic fail on their part. They were very concerned and I gave them more detail in an email. I don’t know why they don’t sell things people actually want as gifts.

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Colorado adds a seat in congress

Did you know that Colorado scored an additional seat in congress? Yep, all the new residents that moved here allowed a totally new district, technically representing me — Thornton & north. New York lost one of its seats, and we elected an ethnic female pediatrician doctor as our representative. Colorado joined six other states to gain seats. Texas picked up two seats, while Florida, North Carolina, Montana and Oregon also gained one. Doing the census survey is important and could ultimately shift the balance of power when it comes time to those votes in the electoral college. While it appears that most of the country is done with the election, there are still five states that have an additional election to determine the final and ultimate winner.

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So if you are one of my readers and you are in one of those states. Vote. Use your voice and make a difference. Go with your friends and vote for your future. There was low voting turn-out, and they know how many are registered and how many show up. So vote. You need to think in a hive like mindset. YOU are part of the hive. WE have all voted, and some of us will vote again, in huge massive numbers. WE are a force of power. The minorities now outnumber the majority.

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Stop saying “It is what it is.”

Instead say, “I am extremely disappointed in the outcome of this situation and I understand there is nothing in my power to change it. So it is pointless to complain and bitch about it. So I will move on with my life and look to the positive things in life that I can control.”

Pointing out the obvious and displaying your shitty attitude just makes you look like an ugly person, so don’t do it.

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What do you want to be when you grow up?

Do you know what “I” would do for the education system if “I” were in charge? Well, Mister Stephens, what would you do? First off, I would make it mandatory that every single high school student before the age of 16, take a career management class. We would call it … that’s right you guessed it, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Part of that year long course would be investigating, researching, job shadowing and interviewing real live people doing the job. It would include budgeting, finance, credit, and a slew of other actual helpful tactics to manage your career, the finances that go along with it and the ways you can earn income. When I was teaching that class, at the college it was too late to tell someone they picked a really shitty career with no hopes of ever making any money. Trust me when I tell you there are thousands of unemployed video game artists/developers. My year long course would include ALL kinds of professions, from trade to pHd and I would have forums where students could actually learn, ask questions and decide what is right for them.

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NO ONE plans to be an Uber driver, a ditch digger, or construction worker. It just doesn’t happen that way. And no one tells you that you can make money as an influencer, a sugar baby, a housewife/husband, … or even as a drug dealer. But yet, all of those occupations exist. Almost every job out there has the wonderful things and the shitty things. It is a good idea to know what both of those are before you commit yourself to that career. A buddy of mine from high school, super smart, went on to be a lawyer. He was very musically inclined and artistic, so I wondered why he would go in a direction like law. Well, turns out he didn’t stay a lawyer and he went back to his artistic side of things.

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WHY do you want to be a millionaire? What do you want/need to buy that is THAT expensive? Know what your minimum and maximum salary needs are and focus on what is important. Making 200k a year sounds great, until you find out you have no life, and you work 70 hours a week. I think to myself, “If I didn’t have any bills, how much would I need each month to live comfortably?” Once you have that number you don’t have to kill yourself to overachieve. Just remember, NO ONE is banging down your door to pay your bills in full each month. They’ll get their money when they get it, right? As one of my managers once said, “We work to live, not live to work.” And when you confuse the two we will have a coming to Jesus meeting to get your priorities back on track.

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Yo Biden. The department of education needs a revamp with a focus on finding students meaningful careers that will pay their bills. Each graduate needs an understanding of where their money comes in and goes out. It’s not rocket science, but kids these days can’t even do math or count back change. There needs to be a small business course so everyone can learn about tax breaks and advantages they had no idea they could claim. I don’t have a doctorate, so I don’t think that person in charge would be me. I just came up with the idea that could literally revolutionize America for a better tomorrow. Although it could be a lot of fun developing courses like, “eBay, and other online sources of income.” And while we are at it, everyone needs to take an ethics course.

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Forgiving a small amount of debt doesn’t fix the problem of students going into careers with no idea how to earn an income. Millions of people have useless degrees that have no relevance to their actual source of income.

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Elon Airport

So if you didn’t hear, in addition to SpaceX headquarters in Texas, Mr. Billionaire has decided to build his own private airport. The airport less than five miles from his base of operations had issues and probably didn’t kiss his ass. So you know, he has his own private jet that some kid on Twitter was following him. Musk offered him 50k to stop posting it on Twitter and the kid said no. So of course it makes sense to build an entire airport just for your own personal usage. Of course there will probably be Tesla chargers everywhere on site. Great for the Texas grid right? I mean, if they installed millions of acres of solar chargers on all that land then maybe … just maybe they might stand a chance.

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And just in case you missed it, one ticket for the Mega Millions lottery was sold in Illinois. Yay for them/him/her. I still call it the idiot tax. Lotteries are the biggest scam that everyone seems to be okay with on a worldwide basis. Sadly that winner ends up getting taxed at an obscene rate, actually more than 50% considering state taxes that also are entitled to the winnings. So I guess when you wonder where the government (in the USA) gets all their money, they literally steal it from lottery winners every single day. I would love to see the books for the Internal Revenue Service. The bank account must just be massive.

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What If?

If abortions become illegal, under any circumstance, … then in 18ish years we can expect that the low-end hourly workers will return. Right? Because in theory, the last 20+ years or so, women have been aborting those babies, who never make it to the adoption or foster care system. Science and technology made it possible to women no longer have to breastfeed, so they use formula. Well now that there is shortage, the babies that did make it, won’t because they will die of malnutrition. Sorry ladies – that you didn’t want your nipples sore, so you took a pill to dry up your milk. It really makes me wonder if those women who decided to abort their mistake … if they will have consequences in the after life? Personally I think if you don’t want to have a baby, don’t put a penis in your vagina. I also know that if a woman is raped, that she can immediately have any traces removed within the rape inspection done with the nurse. Texas made it quite clear that there was a lot of unprotected sex going on that women all of the sudden had to admit.

The world is producing less babies. There are more people who are living longer that they are supposed to due to science, technology and medicine. Think about the millions of people who are alive because of a pacemaker. Exactly, and they are just a fraction of the people who faced death and survived.

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And did you see Dr. Strange 2? Wow, that should really be WandaVision 2.0 on steroids. No question now who is the strongest Avenger! I really liked that they introduced some new/old characters as cameos into the MCU. Isn’t it weird how you can buy crypto and not have to buy a whole coin/share? Like you can own .0000215 of one bitcoin. Bad week for Bitcoin as it dropped millions of portfolios. I think it was down to like, $28k, and it WAS trading at $48k the week before. Wow. No I didn’t buy any shares, I don’t have an extra $28k to buy an invisible magic money coin. But there are thousands that are selling their partial coin ownership.

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Media News Sources Blocked

Instagram joins the latest media news outlets that is being blocked by Russia. Damn. Yep, they can only hear/see what Russia wants them to see. Did you know that they are telling Russians that the Ukraine is full of NAZI’s and they are taking back what is theirs. They also bombed a maternity ward hospital. Fucking bastards. I am pretty sure that my site isn’t banned, and in fact, I have more and more international readers than I do readers from the United States. Crazy huh? And if you haven’t been watching the news or can’t … McDonalds, Visa, MasterCard, American Express and even Paypal have shut down operations or will be shortly. Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, … yeah, all are now history for Russians.

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While the people have nothing to do with the war, it is the citizens who are being punished. When Trump bombs with a drone, we the people in the U.S. didn’t get punished … other than having to hear/see his obnoxious voice/face. I think I saw over 2 million refugees have fled, although if you aren’t white you aren’t going to be admitted. Even in the U.S., white Ukrainians were refused asylum. So, don’t try to enter the U.S. from Mexico, where they are still racists. Last I checked there was still a war in Afghanistan, but I don’t see anything in the news about that 20+ year war. Why? Brown skinned people.

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And here is the latest coronavirus number for the U.S.

DAILY AVG. ON MAR. 11	14-DAY CHANGE	TOTAL REPORTED
Cases	35,036	–49%	79,400,847
Tests	973,360	–12%	—
Hospitalized	31,323	–43%	—
In I.C.U.s	5,725	–46%	—
Deaths	1,272	–33%	965,746

It appears that “most” of the U.S. has done away with masks as most people have gotten the shot and booster. In Colorado we are at a 90% vaccination rate.

Okay … many of you are wondering if I watched the new Batman. And yes, as a matter of fact, I watched it twice and then had to watch the YouTube spoiler review since evidently I missed a ton of shit since I don’t read the comic book or keep up with any of the “Easter eggs” they put in the show. It is NOT a superhero movie. Go in thinking … this is the DARK Knight who is going kick the shit out of a lot of people. There are a lot of long, boring scenes. This is NOT your DC Avengers movie. This is also not Oscar worthy. He wears a costume most of the movie. It is him or a stunt guy? Right. Would I recommend you spend the extra cash to see it? No. It will come to HBOmax. It will come to blu-ray/dvd one day. Instead you should watch the Amazon Jack Reacher. It has a real plot, with real people characters, not a comic book rebooted, reboot. Technically Batman should be dead. He’s just a man, not an immortal.

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Colorado is Cursed

Thursday afternoon hellfire winds tore through the Rocky Mountains, knocking down power lines sparking the first of many wild winter fires that would destroy the lives and homes of many. The Mile High city has seen less than an inch of rain and zero snowfall. As of now, the fires still burn like mad on New Years Eve. Over 600 high-end luxury homes, … gone. Burned to the ground. The Target in Superior … gone. 36 and McCaslin was hell yesterday. The sky darkened as the black smoke traveled for miles blocking out the sun, where it was only a bright pink ball hidden in the clouds of smoke.

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If you text REDCROSS to 90999 you can donate $10 to help the effort. They add it to your cell phone bill.

Pray for the much needed snow & precipitation to extinguish these flames of doom. Give thanks that you and your family are safe and still have a place to call home.

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And were you one of the few million who ventured out to see the all new Spiderman movie? <raises hand> Yes, it was a great movie and well worth the 2 hours of mask wearing. Matrix fans? Yeah, guilty. What did I think of the reboot? I will just say that I loved the first and even the 2nd one. The 3rd was kind of a stretch, but I was highly disappointed that they recast Morpheus. Fishborne didn’t die. He just wasn’t invited back to the party. Truth? Don’t waste your time. You will be sad. Do you like scary movies? Antlers and Old are both thumbs up from me. And if you are reading this, then you made it to New Year’s Eve!!! Yay you’re not dead! Let’s all have a drink that 2022 is going to be a bigger, better, safer adventure for all of us. Cheers!

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Who taught you how to lie?

How old were you when you realized you could tell a lie and get away with it? Oooooohh good question! It usually is one that you have to think about for a moment, and then you think about what it was that you did when you lied. Or worse, you think about the one time you decided to lie and you actually got caught. Damn. Not exactly ideal. Some parents like to live in this fantasy that their kids don’t lie, at least … not to them. My mom certainly did not teach me how to lie, and my dad wasn’t going to share HIS secrets. He was one of the biggest liars I knew and never once did he tell me the tricks of his trade. While it is something you aren’t going to ask your parents, it is something that everyone should be aware of, and what the consequences are. Just so you know, lying under oath is against the law, and if you lie in an interview, pray they don’t follow up with further questions. Termination can be an option. Remember the movie “Don’t tell mom the babysitter’s dead.”? Of course, you might not get caught and if it happens, they might just look the other way like in the movie.

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Did you know there are certain clues or signs that someone is a liar? Yep, it is true. In HR you learn all kinds of things when you interview someone face to face. Not looking at someone directly in the eyes many times can be a red flag. Whatever you do, don’t look away when asked a challenging ethics question. Don’t exaggerate your skills or abilities. Sure some things are hard to verify, but other things sometimes it takes a simple phone call. If you claim to know and have mastered Adobe Photoshop, then you should be able to detail your thought process when you retouch or edit a photo. Such as, “Well, before I touch a photo, I lock the layer and create a duplicate layer of that first layer in case if I need to revert back to original. I also like to have a “before” photo to show my results and the work that I have done.” Don’t be taken off guard or suddenly surprised when you are asked a technical question to determine your ability. Once I had an interviewer ask me to submit a marketing plan for the organization to prove my skills. I said I don’t work for free. If you want a marketing plan you hire me and I will do a SWAT analysis of your current offerings and make my recommendations for changes for improvement. In my opinion, if they are fishing for marketing plan proposals, they are already in big trouble. You better have an impeccable memory — so you can keep track of all your lies.

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Whatever you do, don’t change your “story” or lie. Especially if you are being questioned by a police officer. Stick to your story, no matter how awful or stupid it may sound. Although, technically, you are not under oath talking to a cop, supervisor, HR representative or even your parents, so you can just lie all you want. Just remember, there are consequences for those actions. Am I saying it is okay to lie? Yes, no … maybe. Would you spare someone’s feelings by not telling the truth? “That skirt is F’ing hideous.” vs. “I love your skirt! Vintage.” Exactly, we all saw Mean Girls so we know there are all kinds of lies we tell/see.

And for the record, “I” didn’t teach you how to lie. You’ve been lying for years. Some people lie to themselves daily, like the ones who catch COVID and are literally on their deathbed telling the doctor they don’t have it. Millions of people don’t go to a physician for a health check because they don’t want to hear the results, so they just live in denial. Words are power. Use yours to empower.

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Veritas — Truth Serum

“A drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts.”

Dispensing more good advice … this is my favorite quote. What it means in the simplest terms — if you get drunk and your sober friend does not, chances are you will spill your secrets and or truths. You won’t remember it, but he/she will. So keep that in mind the next time you decide to get hammered with your best “work” friends. You really don’t want your subordinate employee knowing all the dirt. Years ago I created a rule for myself that I did not associate with people from work, while I was still employed there. If one of us quits or moves on then it would be okay to “hang out” outside of work. If you go to the happy hour events with coworkers you will find out all kinds of secrets.

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Now some people think this is bad advice as they have made a lot of good or great friends from the workplace. Good for them. I also know of “friends” who had dirt on their other friends and used it to blackmail their coworkers into doing their bidding. In some companies things like, days off and preferred schedule shifts are highly coveted that can be easily granted or denied. Of course you can BE friends AT work. I am saying when you leave the building and go off into your merry little world, there really is no need to have a work friend join you.

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Women are catty (bitches) and men are … untrustworthy. And when it comes to money and the workplace, things can get even nastier. I am talking about sales people who steal sales from each other. Commissioned sales and friends in commissioned sales are not a good combination. Just remember that everyone comes from a different background and way they were raised. Simply being employed at the same company and working in the same department is not reason enough to have a new best friend. I have also witnessed when two best friends apply for the same promotion. You can already guess where that is headed. In the game of sales, there is only ONE number one salesperson each month.

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And just in case you haven’t had a role model tell you … NEVER get drunk at a work function. Romance and the workplace is not advised. You don’t want to work with your ex if you have a bad break up, right? I also do not advise in “friending” your new coworkers on any of your social media platforms, especially Facebook. People are weird and some people do not have good intentions. Remember, there is evil in this world, and sometimes it is in your own company. Trust no one.

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