Response to Elementary

So how many of you, my dear readers, have seen this new show on CBS?

As a modern interpretation of the Sherlock Holmes novels, it has been getting a lot of attention. This recent article in the Baker Street Blog caused me to add my two cents to the debate. Enjoy

Updates

Sorry about the long delay all. I have been very busy with my new job of filling inquiring young minds with knowledge. As this is my first year teaching, I wanted to make sure that I was doing the best that I can. But now that the semester is at an end, and I know what my schedule will be like for next semester, I will let you know that I will be returning to our regular reviewing on a somewhat set schedule. As of right now I plan to post a review once a week on Saturday nights. Look forward to seeing you then.

Dragon Con 2012

Well yesterday was the end of another wonderful DragonCon. I had a great time as usual. For those of you who were unable to attend you should check out the Daily Dragon for some really great highlights of this year's festivities.

As usual, I have come back from con with even more books. So be on the look out readers for more wonderful Geekdom Reviews later this week.

5 Days

Count Down: 5 Days

With 5 days left till Con, it is time to buckle down and finish up those costumes. Start packing. Oh, and please make sure all your weapons are peace bonded.

To continue the trend from yesterday we have a video to get us in the mood. Today's offering is in honor of John Barrowman's first Dragon Con this year. Enjoy

6 Days

Count down: 6 Days 

Left until CONNNNNNNNNNN

To get us into the mood: From our friends at Adult Swim and Robot  Chicken

Count Down Begins

Good evening gentle readers. I apologize for the long delay. But I will be getting back into the swing of our wonderful Geekdom reviews starting tomorrow. For tonight I want to begin our count down to DragonCon.

10 DAYS

This weekend will be spent on completing my big costume for con and packing everything else I need.

Also just because I am absolutely looking forward to it; don't forget to check out the 4th anniversary special on thatguywiththeglasses. Here Our friends over at Channel Awesome are always enjoyable.

Tomorrow we continue our look at the 11th Doctor.

Mea culpa, mea culpa

My apologies, gentle readers, for the lack of updates. I have just started a new full time job. In addition to learning all about my new career, I've been getting back into the swing of working 40hrs as week. Hopefully, by next week I will be more used to the schedule and we can return to our regularly scheduled reviewing.

Geekdom Commentary: Who

Well, gentle readers, I have finally broken down and decided to discuss my favorite Sci-fi series of all time; Doctor Who.

FYI there will be quite a few spoilers with this series of commentaries and I will probably offend many as I drive a truck through some of the most recent plot holes.

Do Not Understand

So as a modern crafter and crocheter, I spend a lot of time online looking for inspiration and admiring the works of others. Some stuff is really cool and interesting and other stuff is just WHY. In particular this trend of making hats for babies and infants that look like elf hats with long tails and a pom pom on the end. Anyone who has ever been around a baby for any length of time knows that the try to put everything in their mouths. Why would you make a hat that part of can very easily be put in their mouths and possibly choke on?!

Crafters need to remember that an important aspect of crafts is that they have to function.

People; Just because it look cool, does not mean that you should do it.

Geekdom Review: Sharing Knife Part 1-- Beguilement

Finally. Tonight, gentle readers we look at the first volume in Lois McMaster Bujold's Sharing Knife Series, Beguilement.

Apologies

Apologies, gentle readers, our regularly scheduled Geekdom review will be delayed a bit, due to technical issues. We all love modern technology, don't we? :}

Unfortunately, my computer has been fighting with the Internet and eating my blog posts. But everything is fixed now and I will be posting the first 2 Sharing Knife reviews tomorrow to make up for it.

See you all tomorrow night.

Geekdom Review: The Sharing Knife Saga Part 1

Apologies for the long silence gentle readers. Work has been interesting. But we return to our regularly  scheduled programing with a series of reviews looking at Lois McMaster Bujold's Sharing Knife Quadrilogy.  Tomorrow we will begin our examination with the first volume Beguilement.

Geekdom Review: Steampunk; Gear, Gadgets and Gizmos

It is time for another wonderous Geekdom Review. Today we will be looking at Steampunk; Gear, Gadgets and Gizmos, by Thomas Willeford aka Lord Archibald "Feathers" Featherstone.

To Kenneth Branagh, From Mavel Fans

Dear Mr. Branagh,

We absolutely loved your theatrical release of Thor (2011). However, we would most certainly like to ask if there is a directors cut of the film? We would love to see it. Being familiar with your adaptations of Shakespeare, we wonder if there might be some more to this story.

Thanks again for creating such a wonderful adaptation of a truly unique comic.

Sincerely,
The Marvel Fan base
(and Loki's army)

Why, Oh Why, do you taunt me BBC

Why, oh why, do you taunt me BBC.com? Why do you allow me to read all your articles, and watch your news clips but prevent me from watching episodes you have posted online? I understand that I do not live in the UK, but once you posted the episode as available on a website, which is accessible internationally, why do you limit its viewership? Particularly, when you are not limiting your news access. Especially if you can't guarantee that show will be available in my country of residence any time soon. It took 4 months to get the episodes of Sherlock after they aired in the UK to be aired here in the US. But I could go online to BBC.com and read the episode synopsis the day it aired in the UK, as well as see the link for the watch online option, that would not work as it was unavailable in my location. Now the same thing will happen with The Hallow Crown, that is if they even release it overseas.

Mind you I know it isn't just the BBC that has problems dealing with the way TV programming is viewed now. MTV won't post an episode for 3 weeks after it airs on TV. Some shows only allow the most recent 4 episodes to be viewed online. Fox has even gone to limiting which service provider can access their online episodes, if you have Dish you get to watch them 3 weeks earlier then any other provider. The problem with this is that most modern series aired in prime time are arc based, meaning that knowledge is built upon over the course of the series. If you haven't seen the earlier episodes, the later ones won't make as much sense.

And you wonder why torrents and such hold such appeal to those who live outside a viewing area or work outside a 9 to 5.

Did you really just say that?!

Sorry, dear readers, for being a little late with this. But today we have yet another rousing edition of Did You Really Just Say That (DYRJST)?!

Crafting: Crochet Presents

One of the more interesting hobbies that I picked back up in college was crochet. I used to crochet when I was younger, but when I got to college my advisor and various people in my department all did a variety of needle craft -- some crochet, some knit and one person did embroidery. It was kind of funny when you think of it -- A bunch of Classics students taking up needle craft. But it was a great way to relax, and occupy your hands while listening to a lecture or discussion.

Grand Opus

Geeky Costuming Work

Geekdom: Book Review

I freely acknowledge that I am a card carrying member of the Geek community. Sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, conventions, I do it all. About the only aspect of the Geek community I'm not really into is Larping, mostly due to a lack of time and energy. But I was extremely excited when the free gift at last months publisher's conference in NY was a copy of Leaving Mundania, by Lizzie Stark.

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Independence Day. Enjoy your freedoms and remember to thank those men and women in uniform who protect them.
I will return tomorrow with a review relevant to the season. See you then.

Sometimes

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother. Why do I put up with the irate customers yelling at me about things that I can't fix? Why do I put up with incompetent coworkers who don't do their jobs? Why do I put up with managers who keep demanding more get done in less time? Why do I put up eith the crap hours and uncertain schedual, and never having a life? Why do I put up with creeper customers, who if we were anywhere else would be screaming in pain on the floor after a knee to the groin? Really WHY?

Then it comes and I remember.....PAYCHECK.

Questions and Querys

Apologies, gentle readers, for my absence from the wondrous inter webs. Friday we will return to our regularly scheduled programing, but for this evening I pose a question. What would you be willing to be fired over? That is to say, what action would you commit even though it might lead to your unemployment, but would be totally content to have committed? I ask this, gentle readers, because I almost came to that point today.

As you may have surmised, I work in retail. I put up with a lot of things from customers and management alike, because that is what you have to do to work in retail. But today I just about reached my limit. Today was the day of the Hipster-bros.  That scary combination of this:

and  this:

Yes gentle readers such a thing does exist and no, it is not cool. Now on to the point of this little exercise. Thanks to those oh so charming gentlemen, I came to the conclusion that I would be totally okay with being fired over breaking their wrist. I freely acknowledge being a young, reasonably attractive, heterosexual female, but that does not mean that I want some random guy grabbing my ass.
I will say, I did not end up having to break his hand, nor was I fired over this, but I did decide it would have been totally worth it. What do you think, gentle readers?

Really People

It is Monday, and that means, crazy things people say. Today we look at the crazy things that kids do and say.


2 boys about 7 or 8 are playing catch through the automatic sliding doors of the store entrance.
Me: Guys that's really not cool, you could seriously hurt yourselves.
Boy 1: You can't stop us. We are customers and the customers are always right.
Boy 2: Yeah.


Little girl comes up to me.
Me: Can I help you find something?
Girl: Can you help me make a bomb? My little brother keeps crying all night, so I want to blow him up.



8yr old boy walks up to me.
Boy: Can you help me find some flowers?
Me: Sure, what color are we looking for?
Boy: Don't know. But they have to be really pretty.
Me: Are they for your mom?
Boy: Yeah. I'm going to give her flowers, so I won't get in trouble when she sees the yard. Just like Dad does.



Don't "kids just say the darnedest things" (Bill Cosby)

Sunday Romance: The Bride

Today we begin our regularly scheduled programing. Book Reviews. As we all know Sunday, for most of us, is a day of lounging around, maybe doing a few chores around the house but mostly lazing. The day of long bubble baths and chocolates and romance novels. And since this is my first review on this blog, I thought it appropriate to review one of the very first romance novels I've ever read, Julie Garwood's The Bride.

Sh%t People Say

In celebrations of the Mondays, I am starting a new weekly thing. Monday will now be Shit I can't believe people actually said Day.

Today's quotes all deal with parents and small children.

Small child is drawing on mirror of the store with their ice cream cone.
Me: That's not going to taste very good. Maybe we should stop.
Mother: What are you doing? How dare you stifle my child's creativity?


Found small child crying looking lost.
Me: Do you need help finding your parents?
Child: Yes
Me: Alright lets go up to the front and page them.
Pages parent, another 5min before they show up.
Parent:So what is the problem? You interrupted my phone call.


Come upon a screaming small child.
Me: Hey whats wrong?
Child: I want my mommy.
Me: Do you know where she is?
Child: Yes, but I'm supposed to stay here.
Me: Where is she? I'll tell her you need her.
Child: She went outside to smoke and told me to stay here.

The Failure of Buisness Majors: Part 2

Having already discussed the way that modern retail is run, let us today begin discussing why it fails. The biggest and most obvious problem with the Walton model is the lack of sales floor coverage. Everyone has had the experience of being in a store and being unable to find what you need. You look around for an associate to ask for help, and there is no one there. Finally, you find a person at a register but they cannot help you because they can't leave the register unattended. You feel frustrated and upset. And rightly so. You are the customer, you are the reason that the store exists, and you are not getting what you need. You either leave the store frustrated or spend extra time out of your schedule trying to find what you are looking for. Either way you are unhappy. This could have been avoided very simply by having one associate at the register and another on the floor assisting customers. But more and more often this is not so. Those who work in retail will know the reason why, but I will explain for those  who don't. According to the Walton view, employees are an expense. To make a profit you must minimize your expense. So the store is allowed a certain number of hours to allot to employees, the number of which are tied to the projected sales of the store. The manager is also expected to adjust the number of hours s/he uses depending on whether  or not the store is meeting those sales predictions.  When a store has a slow Monday or Wednesday, they have to cut hours on Friday and Saturday. The problem with that is more people shop on the weekends. There needs to be more sales associates and most of the time there aren't. Because there are fewer associates on the floor, the work load is also increased.  It becomes a vicious cycle. Low sales means fewer associates, which means customers suffer and sales suffer, which means even fewer associates.
Something needs to be done to break the cycle. Retailers need to remember that their employees aren't an expense but an asset. Just like the military...

The Failure of Buiness Majors: Part 1

Recently I hear of more and more companies following the Sam Walton business model, and it worries me. I wonder if these titans of business ever studied basic Capitalist theory. I wonder what these business majors who run the corporate offices of major retailers learn at business school, because it certainly isn't how to run a store. I wonder when was the last time any of these great corporate people actually worked a sales floor. The answers to all of these questions are simple. 99% of the heads and corporate decision makers for retail companies have never worked in the stores and those that did got out as quickly as possible. They never stop to actually think about the real world applications of their little business models. They never stop to wonder if Sith Lord Walton's business model actually functions for their company (or at all), they just think about having a larger profit share.
I have worked in retail for over ten years now, at all levels and types. I can with great conviction state the Walton business model does not work. It can't. Now before you all complain about me not understanding the business world, I do have a college degree. I am an intelligent individual and have actually been on the front lines  and can say this. For those of you unfamiliar with the Walton business model. it takes the viewpoint that employees are an excessive expense, so of course you want to get away with paying them as little as possible. Hire large numbers of people, then arrange shifts so that they are only 5-5.5 hours long, that way you only have to allow them a 15 minute break that the employee does not clock out for and is still on call to respond. Tie your Store Manager's bonuses and job to both how well the store does financially, and how well they can keep to the projected sales-to-payroll hours matrix. If the store is not making the projected sales figures, (made up by some suit in an office states away from where your store is) cut shifts. And finally, make sure to invert the Ford Principle. Instead of paying your employees enough to afford  your product, make sure that what you pay them ensures that they can only shop with you.
My grandfather used to say "Abraham Lincoln may have freed the slaves, but he forgot the shopkeepers."