I’m sure you have heard of 80’s pop sensation Rick Astley. For those that are new to INTERNET or INTERNET pop culture in general, you will probably need a refresher course on this phenomenon of “rickrolling”. For the rest of you, this may be unexpected or the “jumping of the shark”. For years, I haven’t really cared much about The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Several hundred VIPs get to see all the whizzbang Broadway performances in Herald’s Square with seating, millions in New York City watch it live in person standing for hours in the freezing cold and millions more watch it on national TV in their warm and cozy homes. It’s practically a giant infomercial for kids and NBC personalities. Since I got off Thanksgiving this year, I was considering going out to see the parade as an excuse for my SLR camera, but I forgot that I hate cold weather and chickened out.
I may regret that for the rest of my life. Continue reading →
On Wednesday, November 19th, Microsoft will release a brand new version of the Xbox 360 “dashboard”. This interface allows you to interact with people, play games, videos and music using the Xbox Live Internet service. While the interface was slick and polished, increasing competition from Sony’s Playstation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii might have forced them to shake things up as sales were falling flat for their Xbox 360 console. Did Microsoft succeed in making the best videogame experience ever or will the competition sleep easy at night? It will offer my NON-expert, opinion from an actual Joe the Gamer (or should I say Ronald the Gamer). Continue reading →
by The Consumerist
Sometimes, you have to trust your instinct whenever things fall apart.
If you have been following me (and YOU SHOULD), I have been out of work for awhile. It’s no surprise since the economy is total shambles (something that Obama can’t fix all by himself). I figured that I would go out and get me a crappy retail job to keep me from falling even further in debt. Miraculously, electronics retailer Circuit City was somehow HIRING for the holidays. Yes, I knew that “The City” was in pretty bad shape (but what retail establishment isn’t these days?), but even in the worst case scenario, I would try and hold on until the very end and eventually land a (hopefully) better position some place else. Also, the location that I applied to was doing pretty good business in the Firedog division. Infact, sales for Firedog was number one in the whole company.
Good news can always be deceiving.
If you have been under a rock lately or have been bombarded by election coverage, Circuit City has decided to shut down 155+ stores across America. With it’s stock price now worthless, chapter 11 bankruptcy is the only card that CC can play right now. Now, I won’t be a jerk and badmouth the 1,000’s of employees who will eventually be looking for work after the stores close, but you have to facepalm so hard for the inept management that fired several higher paying salespeople and hired inexperienced, cheaper replacements or the bonus that the execs got after the stock and revenue started to free fall.
Going back to my experience. About 3 weeks ago, I applied for the “Firedog” in-store PC installation service. I went to fill out the paperwork and met my “new” co-workers. I was slated to start on November 4th and expected to work lots of hours on Black Friday. Then, the ship begins to sink. I knew that all regular employees had a “kickoff” holiday meeting on Sunday the 2nd. Funny that I wasn’t invited for some reason. So, I went to the outlets (since I’m cheap) with my brother to pick up some dress shoes. All of a sudden, I get a phone call from one of the managers and he tells me that the store, which was NUMBER ONE in Firedog tech sales in the entire freakin’ chain is closing! Despite the closing, somehow they still offered me to stick around, although I wouldn’t be doing much in PC installations or selling services. Instead, I would be apart of the liquidation crew! While I had the potential of getting a severance, it would be a pittance anyway. Luckily, fate steps in and sees you through and I found another job that pays more than CC.
As a result, I’m kind of lucky. Unlike most of my peers, I’m aware of things that affect me outside my world. I bet those Circuit City employees were in for a rude awakening once they heard the news. If you are working for a company that is not doing strong and the signs are obvious, get your head out from under and prepare yourself for the worst!
