Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Hey Mother Nature...you can stop at anytime now.
After the 3rd pretty decent snowstorm in as many weeks (I have not worked a week at work without extended hours some days since the first week of January) I'm absolutely sick of winter. For the most part, I have rearranged my work schedule to avoid working during or in the aftermath of these storms. I'm grateful that my schedule can be so flexible that I can say "The weather looks like shit Wednesday, I'll work 4 extra hours on Monday and Tuesday and I'll stay home Wednesday." (In fact I took a snow day today. Couple that with tomorrow off (my birthday is Saturday) and I have myself a four day weekend...but still)
The majority of my issue with winter and snow is driving in it, and dealing with other people's complete stupidity in poor conditions. Now driving on Connecticut's highways is less than a treat in favorable weather conditions, so the mere sight of a few flakes of snow instantaneously makes the commute a living hell. Now the first snow event or two of the season, stupidity can be excused to an extent, I understand people need to be re-acclimated to the treat that is driving in winter in Connecticut.
See, winter sucks. I even felt the need to record a rant about this while sitting in traffic the other morning when I was crawling at 5 miles an hour when we got ONE LOUSY FRIGGIN INCH OF SNOW!
However, this far into the season, stupidity can't be excused. We've had 2 blizzards and a few other fairly significant snow events. By now, people need to know how to act in snowy, sleety, crappy conditions. If they don't, then I recommend leaving for a warmer locale, ASAP. I kid you not, a few weeks ago, the roads were dry, but a DOT truck was out pretreating the highway for whatever reason (can't remember if we were under the threat of another storm, although the way this winter has been, I'm sure that was the case.) and NOBODY PASSED THE PLOW. It of course was creeping along at like 45 on the highway and there was a quarter mile backup, just from that. It wasn't snowing, it wasn't slippery, I don't see why nobody was passing. When I did finally get around the thing, the plow was not down either. Basically, these idiots were willingly allowing their car to be sprayed with salt for no reason.
The morning I recorded the above video was particularly crappy for driving. We got a whole inch, inch and a half of snow, and people were needlessly crawling at 5 miles an hour on the highway. It took me an hour and a half to get to work that day. On a good day with minimal to light traffic, it takes me a half an hour.
Let me reiterate this: You live in New England, driving in snow is not a foreign concept unless you just moved here from Florida or Hawaii or something. Drive like there is a rotten egg under your gas & brake pedals. No sudden movements or pedal mashing, otherwise your car is going to smell awful because you broke the egg. HEY IDIOTS, THIS MEANS NO BRAKE STOMPING. Seriously, think about it. In shitty weather you need to allow for more stopping distance. Stomping on the brake with more force will not stop you any faster...in fact you have more of a chance of sliding...and screwing up your gas-guzzling piece of crap SUV. Another thing, driving a 4WD monstrosity does not give you a license to be a douche. If I can truck along in my little runty hatchback Hyundai, you can behave yourself in your stupid Ford Expedition.
(Seriously, my dad used the egg example on me. I got my license in 2007 when I was 18. My parents moved to South Carolina the day after the first storm of the season. He had to give me an extremely crash course in winter driving...OVER THE PHONE. Having taken driver's ed, I think that element is lacking, there should be a winter driving discussion. That might solve some idiocy problems around here.)
Mother Nature, we give up, you win. No more snow until right before Christmas next year, okay?
The majority of my issue with winter and snow is driving in it, and dealing with other people's complete stupidity in poor conditions. Now driving on Connecticut's highways is less than a treat in favorable weather conditions, so the mere sight of a few flakes of snow instantaneously makes the commute a living hell. Now the first snow event or two of the season, stupidity can be excused to an extent, I understand people need to be re-acclimated to the treat that is driving in winter in Connecticut.
See, winter sucks. I even felt the need to record a rant about this while sitting in traffic the other morning when I was crawling at 5 miles an hour when we got ONE LOUSY FRIGGIN INCH OF SNOW!
However, this far into the season, stupidity can't be excused. We've had 2 blizzards and a few other fairly significant snow events. By now, people need to know how to act in snowy, sleety, crappy conditions. If they don't, then I recommend leaving for a warmer locale, ASAP. I kid you not, a few weeks ago, the roads were dry, but a DOT truck was out pretreating the highway for whatever reason (can't remember if we were under the threat of another storm, although the way this winter has been, I'm sure that was the case.) and NOBODY PASSED THE PLOW. It of course was creeping along at like 45 on the highway and there was a quarter mile backup, just from that. It wasn't snowing, it wasn't slippery, I don't see why nobody was passing. When I did finally get around the thing, the plow was not down either. Basically, these idiots were willingly allowing their car to be sprayed with salt for no reason.
The morning I recorded the above video was particularly crappy for driving. We got a whole inch, inch and a half of snow, and people were needlessly crawling at 5 miles an hour on the highway. It took me an hour and a half to get to work that day. On a good day with minimal to light traffic, it takes me a half an hour.
Let me reiterate this: You live in New England, driving in snow is not a foreign concept unless you just moved here from Florida or Hawaii or something. Drive like there is a rotten egg under your gas & brake pedals. No sudden movements or pedal mashing, otherwise your car is going to smell awful because you broke the egg. HEY IDIOTS, THIS MEANS NO BRAKE STOMPING. Seriously, think about it. In shitty weather you need to allow for more stopping distance. Stomping on the brake with more force will not stop you any faster...in fact you have more of a chance of sliding...and screwing up your gas-guzzling piece of crap SUV. Another thing, driving a 4WD monstrosity does not give you a license to be a douche. If I can truck along in my little runty hatchback Hyundai, you can behave yourself in your stupid Ford Expedition.
(Seriously, my dad used the egg example on me. I got my license in 2007 when I was 18. My parents moved to South Carolina the day after the first storm of the season. He had to give me an extremely crash course in winter driving...OVER THE PHONE. Having taken driver's ed, I think that element is lacking, there should be a winter driving discussion. That might solve some idiocy problems around here.)
Mother Nature, we give up, you win. No more snow until right before Christmas next year, okay?
Friday, January 21, 2011
Minor Rant (feel free to ignore)
Again, you are the douche at fault for being a stalker moron.
Do not play the victim...as you are NOT the victim. I am.
Stop bringing me up on your twitter feed by referring to me as "a girl I used to know" or "someone who will remain nameless". Just stop. (and don't kid yourself, I know you're still stalking my feed despite the fact that I blocked you.) And also, the whole wanting to piss me off still shows just what a psychotic moron you are.
Also, hitting on the taken...classy, you douche, real classy. Apparently you still delusionally seem to think that girls are going to throw away what they have for your stalker ass. Reality check. You're a bitter psycho, nobody wants you. Unless you find an equally bitter and psychotic girl.
The fact that you see no fault with your actions and continue along your merry effing way speaks volumes.
To quote Fall Out Boy: "Let's play a game, called 'when you catch fire, I wouldn't piss to put you out.'"
(readers: if you are confused about this rant, don't be. It makes sense if you know what happened & to whom I am referring, but if you are not already familiar, I'm not going to explain.)
Do not play the victim...as you are NOT the victim. I am.
Stop bringing me up on your twitter feed by referring to me as "a girl I used to know" or "someone who will remain nameless". Just stop. (and don't kid yourself, I know you're still stalking my feed despite the fact that I blocked you.) And also, the whole wanting to piss me off still shows just what a psychotic moron you are.
Also, hitting on the taken...classy, you douche, real classy. Apparently you still delusionally seem to think that girls are going to throw away what they have for your stalker ass. Reality check. You're a bitter psycho, nobody wants you. Unless you find an equally bitter and psychotic girl.
The fact that you see no fault with your actions and continue along your merry effing way speaks volumes.
To quote Fall Out Boy: "Let's play a game, called 'when you catch fire, I wouldn't piss to put you out.'"
(readers: if you are confused about this rant, don't be. It makes sense if you know what happened & to whom I am referring, but if you are not already familiar, I'm not going to explain.)
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Being domestic: Making Rigatoni Carbonara.
I've taken a domestic turn as of late, as evidenced by the cupcakes, chicken, and other stuff I've been making lately that has been well recieved. Me, the "world's shittiest cook" (my own declaration) cooking...and not killing people in the process. I never thought I'd see the freakin day. I suppose getting sick of seeing your boyfriend live off of Taco Bell will drive you to learn how to cook I guess.
Someone decided to leave a metric shit-ton of cookbooks in the break room at work sometime during the last week. One day on one of my long work days, I was perusing one and found a recipe for rigatoni carbonara, which I made yesterday. It was easy enough to make...minus slicing the prosciutto because that stuff is ridiculously sticky. It came out really good though so I'll share the recipe.
Rigatoni Carbonara
(The recipe claims it serves 4, but the boyfriend ate half, I had some and saved a serving...so yeah)
You will need:
1 pound box of rigatoni (although I'm fairly sure any pasta would be good, it's just shapes, right)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (more if you put it in your pasta water like some people do)
1/4 pound of prosciutto (I bought a 3 ounce package of it, and I thought it was plenty)
1/4 cup of chopped yellow onion (slap chop optional...I used it, merely because I destroy veggies when I cut them.)
1 clove of minced garlic (hint that's a 1/2 teaspoon of the jarred stuff)
3/4 cup of pasteurized egg substitute (Egg Beaters, btw)
1/2 cup of grated romano cheese
Salt
Pepper
Cilantro
1. Cook your pasta per the directions on the box/however you normally do. Drain it, and set aside.
2. Cut your prosciutto into matchstick sized pieces (I cut them wider. It was too sticky & I'm impatient)
3. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the prosciutto pieces, onion and garlic. Saute this for 4 or 5 minutes...or less if you accidentally had the heat on high like me. Just make sure the onions are translucent. (Kinda sorta see through but not really) Then you add this to the pasta, stir it and make sure the prosciutto and such is evenly distributed.
4. Combine the egg substitute, romano cheese, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Mix them well. Then add this to the pasta & prosciutto mixture. Toss the pasta so everything is pretty evenly coated.
5. Dole out onto plates & sprinkle with cilantro. Then eat. Add more grated cheese if your heart desires
Given the lack of Italian blood coursing through my veins (I'm mostly Irish and French), I thought this came out really good. The boyfriend's response was "It's good, for a white sauce", but that's because he's a pain in the ass and wants tomato sauce on everything. I think I might make it with a little tomato sauce next time just to shut him up. I've been going through a white-sauce stage just because when I lived with my parents, they drowned spaghetti in way too much tomato sauce, so I'm rebelling haha
Someone decided to leave a metric shit-ton of cookbooks in the break room at work sometime during the last week. One day on one of my long work days, I was perusing one and found a recipe for rigatoni carbonara, which I made yesterday. It was easy enough to make...minus slicing the prosciutto because that stuff is ridiculously sticky. It came out really good though so I'll share the recipe.
Rigatoni Carbonara
(The recipe claims it serves 4, but the boyfriend ate half, I had some and saved a serving...so yeah)
 |
| Prosciutto, garlic, onion |
1 pound box of rigatoni (although I'm fairly sure any pasta would be good, it's just shapes, right)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (more if you put it in your pasta water like some people do)
1/4 pound of prosciutto (I bought a 3 ounce package of it, and I thought it was plenty)
1/4 cup of chopped yellow onion (slap chop optional...I used it, merely because I destroy veggies when I cut them.)
1 clove of minced garlic (hint that's a 1/2 teaspoon of the jarred stuff)
3/4 cup of pasteurized egg substitute (Egg Beaters, btw)
1/2 cup of grated romano cheese
Salt
Pepper
Cilantro
1. Cook your pasta per the directions on the box/however you normally do. Drain it, and set aside.
2. Cut your prosciutto into matchstick sized pieces (I cut them wider. It was too sticky & I'm impatient)
 |
| Sauteeing. |
 |
| Egg sub, cheese, s&p |
5. Dole out onto plates & sprinkle with cilantro. Then eat. Add more grated cheese if your heart desires
Given the lack of Italian blood coursing through my veins (I'm mostly Irish and French), I thought this came out really good. The boyfriend's response was "It's good, for a white sauce", but that's because he's a pain in the ass and wants tomato sauce on everything. I think I might make it with a little tomato sauce next time just to shut him up. I've been going through a white-sauce stage just because when I lived with my parents, they drowned spaghetti in way too much tomato sauce, so I'm rebelling haha
 |
| The final product. |
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Oh hey, it snowed today.
Is it spring yet? Damn.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Calm Before the Storm.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Music Monday - Wonderwall (Or the story of my first date with the boy)
I haven't done a music Monday in a while...and then I erased most of them anyway when I decided to revamp the blog. Anyhoo...
I was driving home yesterday, and Oasis' song "Wonderwall" came on the radio. Spare me the lecture of how it's the song that made Oasis famous and blah blah blah. I hear that song and I instantly go back to me and the boyfriend's first date over two and a half years ago.
It was a beautiful summer night, July 2, 2008.
About two weeks before, I was in South Carolina visiting my parents. It was the day before I came home and I was laying on their couch watching TV and messing around on Facebook when I got a message from some random dude saying "Oh hey, I saw you in (whatever group it was pertaining to the northwestern part of CT) and I wondered if we could talk sometime. (For the longest time, our message exchange was saved on Facebook...but it has since disappeared...I wish I could quote verbatim but my memory is not that fantastic haha) Having nothing better to do, I replied, because he looked vaguely familiar and he didn't have that whole creeper vibe going on. Plus he was obviously very attractive :P
I looked at his profile and noticed he was a senior at good old Ollie Wollie when I was a freshman, so I figured thats where the familiarity was from. We went back & forth with the requisite what do you do, do you go to school, blah blah and so on. It had come out that "oh yeah I'm in South Carolina visiting my parents but I'm coming back tomorrow", so he asked if I wanted to go to Dittos in Litchfield and watch his friend play a show/talk/whatever. At this point I was dealing with another guy, who against my better judgement, I had agreed to go out to dinner with when I got back so I had to shoot him down with a "Oh man, my friends have already called dibs on me for tomorrow night." A few days later he had messaged me again, asking me how work was going and so on and so forth...and apparently he was having a bonfire or something. Again, I was hanging out with doucheriffic guy and had to shoot him down...I used the friends excuse again. As it turned out, the bonfire plans were a wash anyway, so I didn't feel like such a bitch.
Now bless his heart for being so persistent, because if I were in his position, I would have been like "oh fuck this bitch" after the second time.
I remember him offering to have me over anyway and he said he'd cook for me (ummm what the hell, he needs to do that now) and I think I had a legitimate reason to turn him down in that I was working til 3am that day.
A few days later I had been about fed up with douche guy when Justin messaged me again and asked when I was free. For whatever reason, I was working all of two days that week, so I told him aside from going to Lake Compounce on Tuesday with my friend, I had no plans. He invited me to Dittos again (at this point I had no idea it was essentially Bohemian Pizza, just thats the name of the bar) for dinner/to watch his friend play a show. I think an hour before douche guy had stomped on my feelings for the last time, so I finally said yes to poor Justin.
The day rolled around and I ended up deciding on a purple shirt, some nice jeans and purple sandal-flat thingies. I remember going to Fashion Bug right beforehand to get a bracelet to complete the outfit.
I headed there and took the long-ish way out South Main Street to 118 to Litchfield. As I reached the intersection of South Main or whatever it's actually called right there, and 118, I see a maroon Mitsubishi Eclipse coming down from Harwinton and zip past me. As a total joke, I think "Watch that be him". Meanwhile I have Motion City Soundtrack cranked on my stereo (as loud as it could without sounding like crap in my beater Ford Escort) in an attempt to calm my nerves. At the top of the hill in the center of Litchfield at a red light, I caught up with the Eclipse. I saw glasses in the sideview mirror and little else. At that point I was having a mini dance party in the car and being a total dork so I was praying it wasn't him because if he took one look back at me he would have been like "what a freak!". The light turns green and we head down the hill. I'm willing the car to turn off before Bohemian. It doesn't. Instead it turns into Bohemian. I follow and park a few spots over. Trying not to be completely obvious, I glance out of the corner of the eye. I was pretty sure it was him. I had one picture to go by, and said picture contained facial hair. This guy didn't have any. I decided to wait a few minutes and attempt to compose myself from nervousness/the total FML moment I had when I realized "yeah, that probably is him, and GOD I hope he didn't see me rocking out like a total dork fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck". In our final arrangements we'd exchanged phone numbers so I texted him that I was there, took a gulp and got out of the car and walked in. He was standing just inside the door and introduced himself.
We had dinner and talked. We found out each other's opposing baseball allegiances within about 20 minutes as a Sox game was on the TV in the bar. He revealed that he thought it was me when we were at the light (obviously that didn't drive him away...haha) and then we played pool on this ratty table before Andrew showed up to play. He taught me how to hold the stick because I was a total spaz, and add to that I had just been to play pool with some friends a week or so before, and I was trying to remember what they taught me, and then I was confusing it with what he was saying, plus I was just nervous anyway...somehow I ended up winning, I'm pretty sure he let me. When Andrew showed up, he politely excused himself to help Andrew set up. After they finished doing that, he introduced me to Andrew. I thought he completely hated me because he made fun of my handshake. In retrospect, it was probably nerves, because after he got a beer in him he was less of a jerk (Meanwhile I'm thinking "Crap, this kid's best friend doesn't like me, I'm friggin doomed". Don't ask me what of his songs he played...because at that point I didn't know any of Andrew's songs. Justin kept asking me to think of songs to ask Andrew to play and I kept drawing blanks, mostly because I knew most of the stuff I wanted to hear, nobody would know. To this day, I'm pretty sure Andrew does not know how to play any Motion City Soundtrack or Panic! At the Disco songs...the two songs I remember him playing were covers: "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" by Jack Johnson, and "Wonderwall" by Oasis. Neither of them were on my iPod at that point, but later that night you bet they were.
The night ended well, I thought. Well, obviously it must have...I'm still with him, right? Okay, maybe it was kind of awkward. We said goodbye and hugged. But I was on cloud 9 the entire way home.
Wonderwall became my ringtone for him about three days later (the day after the best 4th of July ever) and the rest is history.
Because of Justin I've become a huge Oasis fan, I have most of their catalogue on my iPod, and we actually went with Andrew to go see them at Madison Square Garden in December 2008, right before Liam and Noel decided they hate each other and broke up the band. When they started playing the song at the concert, I had a moment. There I was standing with the guy I love, listening to Oasis play the song I associate with him, and the person who played it on our first date was there too. I cried like a little baby for a few minutes. Just because I'm sappy like that.
But for the record, this isn't even "our song". "Everyday" by Jamiroquai holds that honor. The story of how that came to be is a good one for another Music Monday.
Here's the song
I was driving home yesterday, and Oasis' song "Wonderwall" came on the radio. Spare me the lecture of how it's the song that made Oasis famous and blah blah blah. I hear that song and I instantly go back to me and the boyfriend's first date over two and a half years ago.
It was a beautiful summer night, July 2, 2008.
About two weeks before, I was in South Carolina visiting my parents. It was the day before I came home and I was laying on their couch watching TV and messing around on Facebook when I got a message from some random dude saying "Oh hey, I saw you in (whatever group it was pertaining to the northwestern part of CT) and I wondered if we could talk sometime. (For the longest time, our message exchange was saved on Facebook...but it has since disappeared...I wish I could quote verbatim but my memory is not that fantastic haha) Having nothing better to do, I replied, because he looked vaguely familiar and he didn't have that whole creeper vibe going on. Plus he was obviously very attractive :P
I looked at his profile and noticed he was a senior at good old Ollie Wollie when I was a freshman, so I figured thats where the familiarity was from. We went back & forth with the requisite what do you do, do you go to school, blah blah and so on. It had come out that "oh yeah I'm in South Carolina visiting my parents but I'm coming back tomorrow", so he asked if I wanted to go to Dittos in Litchfield and watch his friend play a show/talk/whatever. At this point I was dealing with another guy, who against my better judgement, I had agreed to go out to dinner with when I got back so I had to shoot him down with a "Oh man, my friends have already called dibs on me for tomorrow night." A few days later he had messaged me again, asking me how work was going and so on and so forth...and apparently he was having a bonfire or something. Again, I was hanging out with doucheriffic guy and had to shoot him down...I used the friends excuse again. As it turned out, the bonfire plans were a wash anyway, so I didn't feel like such a bitch.
Now bless his heart for being so persistent, because if I were in his position, I would have been like "oh fuck this bitch" after the second time.
I remember him offering to have me over anyway and he said he'd cook for me (ummm what the hell, he needs to do that now) and I think I had a legitimate reason to turn him down in that I was working til 3am that day.
A few days later I had been about fed up with douche guy when Justin messaged me again and asked when I was free. For whatever reason, I was working all of two days that week, so I told him aside from going to Lake Compounce on Tuesday with my friend, I had no plans. He invited me to Dittos again (at this point I had no idea it was essentially Bohemian Pizza, just thats the name of the bar) for dinner/to watch his friend play a show. I think an hour before douche guy had stomped on my feelings for the last time, so I finally said yes to poor Justin.
The day rolled around and I ended up deciding on a purple shirt, some nice jeans and purple sandal-flat thingies. I remember going to Fashion Bug right beforehand to get a bracelet to complete the outfit.
 |
| Said picture. |
We had dinner and talked. We found out each other's opposing baseball allegiances within about 20 minutes as a Sox game was on the TV in the bar. He revealed that he thought it was me when we were at the light (obviously that didn't drive him away...haha) and then we played pool on this ratty table before Andrew showed up to play. He taught me how to hold the stick because I was a total spaz, and add to that I had just been to play pool with some friends a week or so before, and I was trying to remember what they taught me, and then I was confusing it with what he was saying, plus I was just nervous anyway...somehow I ended up winning, I'm pretty sure he let me. When Andrew showed up, he politely excused himself to help Andrew set up. After they finished doing that, he introduced me to Andrew. I thought he completely hated me because he made fun of my handshake. In retrospect, it was probably nerves, because after he got a beer in him he was less of a jerk (Meanwhile I'm thinking "Crap, this kid's best friend doesn't like me, I'm friggin doomed". Don't ask me what of his songs he played...because at that point I didn't know any of Andrew's songs. Justin kept asking me to think of songs to ask Andrew to play and I kept drawing blanks, mostly because I knew most of the stuff I wanted to hear, nobody would know. To this day, I'm pretty sure Andrew does not know how to play any Motion City Soundtrack or Panic! At the Disco songs...the two songs I remember him playing were covers: "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" by Jack Johnson, and "Wonderwall" by Oasis. Neither of them were on my iPod at that point, but later that night you bet they were.
The night ended well, I thought. Well, obviously it must have...I'm still with him, right? Okay, maybe it was kind of awkward. We said goodbye and hugged. But I was on cloud 9 the entire way home.
Wonderwall became my ringtone for him about three days later (the day after the best 4th of July ever) and the rest is history.
 |
| Me and the boy on my 21st birthday last year. |
But for the record, this isn't even "our song". "Everyday" by Jamiroquai holds that honor. The story of how that came to be is a good one for another Music Monday.
Here's the song
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Allow me to gloat please.
They don't suck.
I think I'm not a sucky cook after all as evidenced by the last few days.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Traffic spike = Connecticut loves Geoff Fox.
Yesterday was a banner day here at Word Vomit. I posted that article about Geoff Fox and my traffic quintuppled over normal. Still paltry numbers for a girl who delusionally would love to have the readership of someone like Perez Hilton, but I'm still very pleased. As Mike Valletta said over at In Touch With The Litchfield Hills, it's a testament to how much Geoff is an integral part of the broadcasting culture in this state.
One can only hope that between the publicity over this and people's extremely negative reaction to the news that someone over at WTNH/LIN will come to their senses and offer the man a new contract, as he rightfully deserves. If not, I hope someone at the CBS, NBC, or Fox affiliates in Connecticut is scheming how to snap Geoff up. FoxCT, to me, seems the most likely pursuer, but even that is probably wishful thinking.
There are over 4000 members in the Facebook group and people seem to be "liking" WTNH on Facebook only to let them have it for being so stupid.
I can't attest to anyone else, but to every post their twitter account has been making, I've been replying with a snide remark about Geoff, and it certainly garners me retweets so people clearly agree.
People like the anonymous douchebag who left the comment on the original post last night can say "Get over it", but when someone has been in your home on a nightly basis since you were born (nearly 22 years ago) and then some, it feels like a personal affront when WTNH pulls a stunt like this.
Also, if you're going to be a dissenter, fine...but don't be a little baby who fights with his keyboard and hides under the veil of anonymity that the internet offers you. I have no problem having a mature debate, but trolls will henceforth be banished. You have been warned. I may have had a traffic spike, but I'm still small enough that I can easily banish your stupidity with a click of my mouse.
On a crappy snowy day like today, you know what my first thought was when I was driving home?
What the hell are we going to do without Geoff Fox!?!?
Seriously. The man keeps the state informed. If it weren't for Geoff (and to a lesser extent, Gil, I wouldn't know what the hell was going on today.) I refuse to get my weather from someone who knows more about what's on sale at Sephora than the weather...as that seems to be the trend over at WTNH as of late...young and attractive over experience and trust.
Let WTNH and LIN know that their stupidity will cost them dearly in viewership. It may have been a financial call to refuse to renew Geoff's contract...(Obviously 26 years will command a healthy salary and healthy benefits) and decreasing advertising revenue may have been a driving factor, but guess what? Pissing off loyal viewers is going to make them bleed more advertising revenue. I've seen countless small business owners who do in fact advertise with WTNH incensed by this decision and vow to pull their advertising dollars in retaliation. Their ratings are going to go down the toilet substantially as a result of this fiasco, and their advertising revenue will follow. I personally will stay until Geoff's last day...and after that...I'll probably turn elsewhere on principle for my news and weather.
One can only hope that between the publicity over this and people's extremely negative reaction to the news that someone over at WTNH/LIN will come to their senses and offer the man a new contract, as he rightfully deserves. If not, I hope someone at the CBS, NBC, or Fox affiliates in Connecticut is scheming how to snap Geoff up. FoxCT, to me, seems the most likely pursuer, but even that is probably wishful thinking.
 | |
| I-84 Westbound - Waterbury, CT @ 5pm |
I can't attest to anyone else, but to every post their twitter account has been making, I've been replying with a snide remark about Geoff, and it certainly garners me retweets so people clearly agree.
People like the anonymous douchebag who left the comment on the original post last night can say "Get over it", but when someone has been in your home on a nightly basis since you were born (nearly 22 years ago) and then some, it feels like a personal affront when WTNH pulls a stunt like this.
Also, if you're going to be a dissenter, fine...but don't be a little baby who fights with his keyboard and hides under the veil of anonymity that the internet offers you. I have no problem having a mature debate, but trolls will henceforth be banished. You have been warned. I may have had a traffic spike, but I'm still small enough that I can easily banish your stupidity with a click of my mouse.
On a crappy snowy day like today, you know what my first thought was when I was driving home?
What the hell are we going to do without Geoff Fox!?!?
Seriously. The man keeps the state informed. If it weren't for Geoff (and to a lesser extent, Gil, I wouldn't know what the hell was going on today.) I refuse to get my weather from someone who knows more about what's on sale at Sephora than the weather...as that seems to be the trend over at WTNH as of late...young and attractive over experience and trust.
Let WTNH and LIN know that their stupidity will cost them dearly in viewership. It may have been a financial call to refuse to renew Geoff's contract...(Obviously 26 years will command a healthy salary and healthy benefits) and decreasing advertising revenue may have been a driving factor, but guess what? Pissing off loyal viewers is going to make them bleed more advertising revenue. I've seen countless small business owners who do in fact advertise with WTNH incensed by this decision and vow to pull their advertising dollars in retaliation. Their ratings are going to go down the toilet substantially as a result of this fiasco, and their advertising revenue will follow. I personally will stay until Geoff's last day...and after that...I'll probably turn elsewhere on principle for my news and weather.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
WTNH: Where screwing longtime employees reigns supreme.
I'm going to start this post with a simple statement: WTNH and LIN Broadcasting...what in the fuck is wrong with you people?
For those of you who don't live in Connecticut...or do and haven't heard: Meteorological Wonderboy Geoff Fox has been canned from WTNH after 26 friggin years of dedicated service. When the rumor started to spread last night via Facebook, I wanted for this to be a sick and twisted joke. The man has been my weatherman since birth - and long before. He started there in 1984...he is their most capable weatherman. (That title did belong to Dr. Mel, but due to his age and declining health, he can't do it all anymore.) First it started with WPLR morning show Chaz & AJ posting "Geoff Fox out at News 8". After reading that, I posted to Twitter that I sincerely hoped it was some sort of twisted joke. Then one of my followers, who is a personal friend of Geoff's direct messaged me and confirmed my worst fear, but said he wouldn't be saying anything more about it. Not long after, the New Haven Register tweeted an actual confirmation. This was followed by Geoff acknowledging the rumor on his Facebook page. After that, the reality sunk in and it felt like David Beckham mistook me for a soccer ball and kicked me in the stomach.
My parents watched WTNH for local news for as long as I can remember, and probably long before that. Dr. Mel and Geoff Fox were the weather A-Team. There's even some stupid rumor that Dr. Mel is his father-in-law, but it's not true, and he's discussed it on his blog. Dr. Mel would tell you what to expect for the day in the morning, and Geoff would keep you informed at night.
This is a recent clip from our recent blizzard, but it exhibits his fabulous broadcasting skills. Mind you, this was the day after Christmas, and he does not work on the weekends...and he VOLUNTEERED to come in to work.
Now there is a man dedicated to his work and his viewers. You do not refuse to renew the contract of someone like that.
I understand that the whole trend in news is young and attractive, but weather people need to be exempt. I don't want my forecast from some clown who has very little training, is 2 years older than me, and looks like he spends more time at the gym than in front of a weather computer figuring out what the hell mother nature is going to throw at us. After 26 years, a loyal viewership trusts this man to give them the forecast. Now, because they can probably hire someone at half of what he's making, they're going to flush that element of trust down the shitter? Not. Cool. Hell, my parents, who left Connecticut for South Carolina three years ago have said that Geoff and Dr. Mel are the two things they miss most about this state, and the weather people down their suck. (Yes, they miss the weathermen more than me, but that's another story for another day.)
Also, the man apologized when he blew a forecast last year...how many other weather people have EVER done that?
When all is said and done, and Geoff leaves WTNH at the end of February when his contract expires (yet another measure of how awesome he is, how many people would be like "Uh, screw you, I'm out" if their employer pulled this crap?) I really, sincerely hope a local media outlet snaps him up...(Hello WFSB? Your weather department sucks, minus Scot Haney, and he's more of an entertainer than a weather man in my opinion...SNAP UP GEOFF. He and Al Terzi worked together back in the day...let's do it. - or WTIC...you've come a long way in your newscasting as of late, add a 6pm newscast, hire Geoff for weather for then and your 10:00 news and you will be steamrolling your competition.)
Also, WTNH will be losing me as a viewer in the evenings (I can't penalize Gil, Chris, or Kristen in the mornings, especially since Gil is the one decent weatherman they have left) once Geoff leaves.
There has been enormous outcry about Geoff being let go, including a Facebook page, and I really hope that WTNH and parent company LIN reconsider this boneheaded decision. In closing, I'd like to share a blast from the past-even before I graced this green earth of Geoff on WTNH. This is what these jerks are throwing away. Geoff has also mentioned on his blog that he still has the green hat.
 |
| I think he's confused as to why WTNH is making such a boneheaded move |
My parents watched WTNH for local news for as long as I can remember, and probably long before that. Dr. Mel and Geoff Fox were the weather A-Team. There's even some stupid rumor that Dr. Mel is his father-in-law, but it's not true, and he's discussed it on his blog. Dr. Mel would tell you what to expect for the day in the morning, and Geoff would keep you informed at night.
This is a recent clip from our recent blizzard, but it exhibits his fabulous broadcasting skills. Mind you, this was the day after Christmas, and he does not work on the weekends...and he VOLUNTEERED to come in to work.
Now there is a man dedicated to his work and his viewers. You do not refuse to renew the contract of someone like that.
I understand that the whole trend in news is young and attractive, but weather people need to be exempt. I don't want my forecast from some clown who has very little training, is 2 years older than me, and looks like he spends more time at the gym than in front of a weather computer figuring out what the hell mother nature is going to throw at us. After 26 years, a loyal viewership trusts this man to give them the forecast. Now, because they can probably hire someone at half of what he's making, they're going to flush that element of trust down the shitter? Not. Cool. Hell, my parents, who left Connecticut for South Carolina three years ago have said that Geoff and Dr. Mel are the two things they miss most about this state, and the weather people down their suck. (Yes, they miss the weathermen more than me, but that's another story for another day.)
Also, the man apologized when he blew a forecast last year...how many other weather people have EVER done that?
When all is said and done, and Geoff leaves WTNH at the end of February when his contract expires (yet another measure of how awesome he is, how many people would be like "Uh, screw you, I'm out" if their employer pulled this crap?) I really, sincerely hope a local media outlet snaps him up...(Hello WFSB? Your weather department sucks, minus Scot Haney, and he's more of an entertainer than a weather man in my opinion...SNAP UP GEOFF. He and Al Terzi worked together back in the day...let's do it. - or WTIC...you've come a long way in your newscasting as of late, add a 6pm newscast, hire Geoff for weather for then and your 10:00 news and you will be steamrolling your competition.)
Also, WTNH will be losing me as a viewer in the evenings (I can't penalize Gil, Chris, or Kristen in the mornings, especially since Gil is the one decent weatherman they have left) once Geoff leaves.
There has been enormous outcry about Geoff being let go, including a Facebook page, and I really hope that WTNH and parent company LIN reconsider this boneheaded decision. In closing, I'd like to share a blast from the past-even before I graced this green earth of Geoff on WTNH. This is what these jerks are throwing away. Geoff has also mentioned on his blog that he still has the green hat.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
This is about the only thing not sucky about getting up early.
I'm serious. Sometimes the sunrise makes it worth it.
Taken with Retro Camera on my HTC Evo 4G in Waterbury CT
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year's resolutions are crap.
I mean seriously, they last like a week.
I will, however, attempt to be a better blogger.
I can't make any definitive promises on that though.
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