Archive for June, 2012

Stevi B’s Pizza Buffet and McDonald’s Daily Lunch Specials

Lately my girlfriend and I have been enjoying Stevi B’s Pizza Buffet, an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet restaurant chain still growing down here in the southeastern U.S.  It’s really giving Ci-Ci’s a run for its money.

Although Stevi B’s is like a dollar more expensive than Ci-Ci’s, we’ve seen time and time again that the Stevi B’s buffet is generally better stocked, the workers are friendlier, and the overall atmosphere and dining experience is generally more pleasant than at Ci-Ci’s.  The pizzas at both locations are pretty good, but don’t expect to see the quality levels of Pizza Hut or Papa John’s.

One of my favorite things at Stevi B’s is the dessert pizza, particularly the cherry Bavarian dessert pizza.  Some of the restaurants will rotate the cherry Bavarian and only make it a main dessert pizza every once in a while, but you can always ask the workers to make a fresh one for you any time of the year.  I was able to enjoy one again yesterday evening, and, wow, was that thing delicious!

We’re always on the lookout for coupons and deals for Stevi B’s.  Naturally, we also use the restaurant’s frequent visitor cards and make sure to get each visit stamped.  We’ve already earned ourselves a few free meals from our frequent visits.

The other part of today’s post is about McDonald’s new daily lunch specials. Read more…

Movie Review – Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)

Thanks to the tremendous success and popularity of 1980′s comedic genius of Airplane!, two years later a sequel was released.

Airplane II: The Sequel was released in December of 1982.  The movie cashes in on the popularity of the previous movie along with the nation’s sudden interest in NASA’s Space Shuttle program.  The problem though, is that Airplane II doesn’t really offer viewers anything new (or really good for that matter).

Airplane II begins several years after the first movie.  Technology has advanced to the stage where there is a colony on the Moon, and regular passenger service to there is about to begin.  Airplane II follows the maiden launch of the Lunar Shuttle Mayflower One, the first spacecraft designed to carry passengers to and from the Moon.  Naturally, the Mayflower One spaceship looks a lot like NASA’s Space Shuttle.

It turns out that things didn’t turn out too well between Ted Striker (played again by Robert Hays) and Elaine Dickinson (played again by Julie Hagerty) since the events in Airplane!.  Elaine is in a new relationship with Simon Kurtz (played by Chad Everett), an engineer who helped design the Mayflower One.  They’re engaged to get married soon.

Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Meanwhile, we see a couple of business executives (one of them played by Rip Torn) discussing the launching of Mayflower One.  It turns out that the engineers are being pressured to rush and have the Lunar Shuttle launch its scheduled service on time. Read more…

Movie Review – Airplane! (1980)

Today’s movie review takes a step over thirty years back in time to one of my favorite comedies, Airplane!

A king of the spoof films, Airplane! doesn’t just take jabs at disaster movies, but it follows closely to the 1957 film, Zero Hour!.  If you love Airplane!, try to see Zero Hour! if you can.  I saw it a couple of years ago on TCM.  Just be warned that if you’re an Airplane! addict, it’ll be hard to watch Zero Hour! with a straight face.

Airplane! stars Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty in the lead roles.  Although neither of them had a really shining Hollywood career, they’re still great in this movie.  Airplane! also has a great supporting cast with Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Peter Graves, and of course, the great Leslie Nielsen.

Airplane! is a comedic love story wrapped around a disaster in the air.

Former fighter pilot and current taxi driver, Ted Striker (played by Robert Hays) is traumatized with a fear of flying after fighting in a recent war.  His wartime girlfriend, Elaine Dickinson (played by Julie Hagerty), is a flight attendant (called a “stewardess” back in the day) ready to leave Ted and make a new life for herself in Chicago.  Striker tries to convince her to stay, but she refuses and boards the flight.  Ted summons the courage to purchase a ticket on her cross-country flight from Los Angeles to Chicago.

Meanwhile, we’re also introduced to Captain Clarence Oveur (played by Peter Graves) as he’s checking out a nude magazine at a news stand.  Captain Oveur (pronounced “over”) receives a phone call from a doctor in Chicago.  It turns out his flight will have a special passenger — a young girl flying across the country to receive a heart transplant.  The doctor wants the girl to remain calm during the flight.

Airplane! (1980) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Soon everybody is boarding the flight to Chicago.  Elaine is helping the passengers get seated, Ted Striker is nervous as ever, and the flight crew is preparing the aircraft for takeoff.  Yes, that is basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar playing the role of co-pilot Roger Murdock. Read more…

The Lost Skills of Spelling and Grammar

As many of you have seen, I like to point out general observations with today’s society and how it continues to gradually slide downhill.

The downfall can be blamed on a variety of reasons from stupid / lazy parents to too much reliance on technology to the dumbing down of our school systems.  You can go blue in the face arguing the root cause of today’s problems and if there’s a realistic way to fix them.

One issue that bothers me in particular is the way that more and more people these days have problems with spelling and grammar.  The ability to form a coherent sentence apparently challenges too many people.  Many high school graduates write as poorly as my classmates and I did back in second and third grade.

Before I go any further, yes, I’m well aware that not all of my articles are 100% perfect with the spelling and grammar.  English was never one of my strong subjects.  The occasional hiccup still occurs when these writing articles.

About a week ago one of my cousins decided to share a letter that one of her students wrote her at the end of the school year.  This was my cousin’s first year teaching.  She liked teaching and supposedly had a great time doing so.  I’d love to sit in her class for a day, but she’d probably kill me when I offer her (and I would) some constructive criticism and advice.  😉  Perhaps it’s better that we live on opposite sides of the country.

Here’s that very letter of appreciation that a HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT wrote to her teacher.  All names and references have been removed to protect their identities.  If the school system really knew how poorly some of the students wrote, they’d probably fire everybody in the English department.

I think it’s great that a student took the time to write a letter of appreciation for her teacher.  How many teachers receive one of those these days?  Hell, how many teachers received those letters back in my or my parents’ days of going to school? Read more…

Too Many Scripts and HostGator

The other day I received an e-mail from HostGator, my website hosting company, informing me that my account was suspended because “multiple scripts were causing high loading issues on the server.”  My public_html directory was temporarily locked, not only taking down my websites, but also preventing me from using FTP software to access my files.

I have a shared hosting account with HostGator, and apparently one of my websites had an issue that was causing unnecessary strain on the overall system.  Those issues have since been addressed, and now my account is in good standing and things are running better than ever.

So am I upset that HostGator suspended my account without asking me first?

Nope.  Not in the least.

I wasn’t happy with the problem, but dealing with HostGator’s technical support went well and I was back up and running relatively quickly.  That is, after I spent hours (before e-mailing tech support) researching solutions and getting a checklist ready for changes to make to my software.

It turns out that the process of repairing the software for my websites was easier than expected. Read more…

Book Review – James Rollins’s “Subterranean”

Late last night I finished reading James Rollins‘s action-adventure book, Subterranean.

This is a standalone book and NOT part of his later SIGMA Force stories.

Published back in 1999, Subterranean is a modern day story that takes a team of explorers and researchers deep beneath the surface of the Earth.  No, they don’t try to reach the Earth’s core or anything far-fetched.  This is a more realistic look at cave exploration along with some fictitious (and quite terrifying) creatures thrown in for fun.

Subterranean beings in a New Mexico desert as anthropologist Dr. Ashley Carter is returning home from an excavation.  She’s a leading researcher in her field.  Upon arriving at home, Ashley Carter is greeted by a few armed Marines escorting Dr. Andrew Blakely, the head researcher of a secret research site in Antarctica.

At first Ashley is furious about armed men being in her home and around her son, Jason.  But when Dr. Blakely explains his visit and shows Ashley an extremely rare artifact, something pointing to an ancient human civilization living beneath the ground, she considers joining his research team.

Across the world and in the southern hemisphere we’re introduced to Ben Brust, a bit of a troublemaker who’s very experienced in leading teams of people through caves and unauthorized areas.  He has an Aboriginal ancestor in his family tree, though Ben doesn’t consider it important.  While sitting in jail, Ben’s former commander in the military pays him a visit and offers him a job of escorting scientists deep underground in Antarctica.  Ben accepts the mission.

It doesn’t take long for the team of scientists and escorts to gather.  Dr. Blakely gathers the team at a hotel in South America where he holds a briefing.  The new team members get to know each other before making the long voyage down to a military base in Antarctica.  Once there, they board vehicles and make the trek into a mountain and down to Alpha Base.

At Alpha Base, the team members prepare for their underground expedition, complete with a Marine and couple of Navy SEALs providing an armed escort.  Are armed forces really necessary for exploring caves deep under the Antarctic ice?  Ashley Carter and her fellow teammates learn that their team is not the first to explore the caves extending out from Alpha Base.  The previous expedition sent a few weeks earlier has yet to return to base. Read more…

Movie Review – Project X (2012)

Every so often Hollywood goes back to the classic theme of high schoolers and college students wanting to party, drink, and of course, have sex.

While that theme has been fully saturated in Hollywood, it can still be entertaining when used correctly.  Or in the event of 2012′s epic party movie Project X, something so over-the-top that it tries to blow you away.  That is, as long as the movie does it correctly.

So what is Project X?

2012′s Project X (not to be confused with the 1987 movie of the same name starring Matthew Broderick and Helen Hunt) is one of those “found footage,” documentary-style movies where we’re seeing the events taking place mainly through a friend who documents the preparation and party itself.  This style of format was also used in Chronicle (2012) and Cloverfield (2008).

One of the first things you’ll notice about Project X is that there are not any big name stars in the movie.  In fact, the vast majority of the actors and actresses have little to no acting experience on camera.  This was intentional to help make the story itself more believable.  The downside is that it’s quite obvious that these people are pretty much nobodies in the industry.

Project X (2012) – (c) Warner Bros.

Project X begins with three friends (Thomas, Costa, and J. B.) planning on throwing a birthday party for Thomas’s 17th birthday.  The fourth friend, Dax, is the chief person filming the events for the next 24 hours.  While Dax’s story is mysterious and somewhat disturbing, we rarely see him on camera.  We quickly find out that the birthday party is just an excuse to try to get laid.  The only issue is trying to invite enough people to the party to make it possible. Read more…

Summertime and the 1-2-3 Miracle Blaze Charcoal

It’s official, folks.

Summertime has arrived.  Based on that blazing hot spring that we had this year, right now the summer weather actually feels a little bit on the cool side, which is fine with me.

One of my favorite summertime activities is outdoor grilling.  Actually, my grilling season normally lasts from February to November, but that’s just me.  For many people the grilling season is from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the more “traditional” days of summer.

I’m a real picky person when it comes to grilling.  I have my techniques, and often I get upset with myself when things don’t finish as desired.  But that’s a different issue.

Recently, my girlfriend found an interesting charcoal briquette at a local dollar store.  I think it was Dollar Tree, or one of those other stores.  Anyway, she found the 1-2-3 Miracle Blaze charcoal briquette and thought it would be something interesting for me to try.  Normally I’m grilling with either propane or natural gas, but who out there doesn’t enjoy a nice charcoal BBQ?

Here we have the 1-2-3 Miracle Blaze charcoal briquette.  As you can see, it’s one giant charcoal briquette.  The package claims that it’s easy to ignite, and once heated, it’ll give off something like 350 degrees of heat for 90 minutes. Read more…

Movie Review – Prometheus (2012)

Released today in the U.S. is Ridley Scott’s latest science fiction / suspense movie, Prometheus.

Prometheus is set earlier and in the same universe as his 1979 classic thriller, Alien.  Prometheus isn’t necessarily a prequel to Alien, but in the movie you’ll see some similar elements, especially when it comes to the derelict spaceship in the beginning segments of Alien.

Take note that Prometheus runs with the notion that life, specifically human life, was brought to Earth from another world.  Humans were genetically engineered by a greater race of beings, though the reasoning for the creation is still unknown.

Prometheus begins with an alien spaceship visiting the Earth thousands of years ago.  We see a humanoid alien (later called an “Engineer”) drink a vial of black liquid.  Suddenly, the alien goes through severe biological changes as the black liquid attacks it.  The alien disintegrates as it falls into the waterfall.  The remaining black liquid also falls into the waterfall, supposedly spreading the seeds for life on Earth.

The film then jumps ahead to about eighty years from now.  We see an archaeological team in Iceland led by Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (played by Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (played by Logan Marshall-Green).  Inside of a previously unsealed cave, Shaw and Holloway discover ancient cave paintings depicting people worshipping a much larger person who is pointing to a cluster of stars.

Prometheus (2012) – (c) 20th Century Fox

The film then jumps forward to the year 2093. Read more…

Super Stylus (smartphone / tablet stylus) – A Marketing Review

How many of you out there have problems using touch screen technology with smartphones and tablets?

How often do you accidentally press the wrong button because of the sensors being confused with a large finger tip?

Do you ever get frustrated when not being able to use the damn phone because your fingers are slightly damp, dirty, or even when it’s cold and you’re wearing gloves?

Let’s face it.  Touch screen technology is pretty slick when everything works properly.  However, when the smartphone or tablet is constantly registering incorrect touches because of things like large or sweaty fingers, then that same technology is annoying as hell.

The other night I saw a TV commercial for something called the Super Stylus.  It claims to be a stylus (a.k.a. pointy selection device) that works with virtually any smartphone or tablet.  Let’s take a closer look and see how the Super Stylus is being presented to the general public.

Super Stylus website — www.GetSuperStylus.com

To view the TV commercial you’ll have to visit the product’s website.  Go ahead and watch it before continuing with the remainder of this marketing review.

Super Stylus TV commercial — The frustration of hitting the wrong buttons.

The Super Stylus TV commercial begins with showing a very common problem for a lot of smartphone & tablet users:  the device registering incorrect hits on the display screen.

I’m one of those people who gets frustrated when the phone doesn’t register my finger correctly.  There have been many times where a slightly sweaty or damp finger cannot view or send text messages, or even perform the simplest task of answering a phone call.  Don’t even get me started on the countless smudges and streaks left behind that require constant cleaning of the damn phone.

Okay, Super Stylus, you’ve got our attention.  Show us your solution to this annoying problem. Read more…

Red Bull Events From Soapbox Racing to Crashed Ice

Recently I’ve been seeing TV commercials advertising an upcoming Red Bull Soapbox Race here in Atlanta, GA.

I’ve known about Red Bull Air Racing for quite some time, although it is rather disappointing that my TV channels no longer air the air races.  But Red Bull Soapbox Races with a wide (and wacky) variety of cars and competitors?  Now that has entertainment written all over it.

Check out some of the action from previous Red Bull Soapbox Races!

Red Bull Soapbox Race – Los Angeles (2011)

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Red Bull Soapbox Race – Guadalajara (2012)

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Red Bull Soapbox Race – Belgium (2012)

We know that Red Bull sponsors some pretty wild events.  Take a look at a few other events sponsored by the energy drink. Read more…

Movie Review – Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

What do you get when you combine a classic fairy tale with a setting reminiscent of something out of The Lord of the Rings?

The answer is Snow White and the Huntsman, the latest addition to a growing list of 2012′s better movies.

Snow White and the Huntsman takes the classic Grimms’ fairy tale and takes it up a few notches.  This is definitely not the joyous and kid-friendly animated version made by Disney back in 1937.

Snow White and the Huntsman begins with the queen pricking her finger on a thorny rose bush.  Three drops of blood fall upon the pure white snow as she wishes for a daughter.  The king and queen have a beautiful daughter as they wished, but about seven or eight years later the queen dies.

After the death of his wife and still stricken with grief, the king leads his knights against an evil army out in the woods.  But as we see, the army is more fantasy than reality.  The king notices a beautiful woman named Ravenna (played by Charlize Theorn) being kept prisoner and he frees her.

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) – (c) Universal Pictures

The king falls for Ravenna and it doesn’t take long for him to marry her.  As Ravenna notices in the wedding ceremony, the eyes of the people aren’t on her but rather the young Snow White standing behind her.  The night of the wedding, Queen Ravenna tells the king that he’s no different than every other man, using a beautiful woman like her before essentially tossing her aside.  Before he can respond, Ravenna kills him with a large dagger. Read more…